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Utah Couple Sues Over Online Review Fine; Post-Christmas Sales Begin; Ship Stranded in Antarctic Ice; LAX Gunman Pleaded Not Guilty; Man Breaches Newark Airport Security in Dress and High Heels; Vegas Cabbie Returns Passenger's Forgotten $300,000; Scandals of 2013
Aired December 26, 2013 - 15:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: A Utah couple is fighting back against an on-line retailer now. They're suing a site called KlearGear.com after the company fined them $3,500. Why? All for writing a negative comment online.
Pamela Brown has more.
PAMELA BROWN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a story we brought you a month ago and it garnered a huge response from viewers who say it's unfair and should be illegal to be fined for posting a negative review.
Now the couple at the center of the story is fighting back.
A Utah couple fined $ 3500 for writing a negative review of KlearGear.com is now suing the merchant for retaliating against them, according it a lawsuit filed Wednesday on the couple's behalf by Public Citizen.
The battle began when John and Jen Palmer bought a few Christmas gifts from KlearGear.com in 2008, but they say the items never arrived and calls went unanswered
Finally, the transaction was canceled.
Jen Palmer vented frustrations online, posting a review of the company on RipOffReport.com, saying, in part, "There is absolutely no way to get in touch with a physical human being. No extensions work."
Then, three-and-a-half years later, they received this e-mail, appearing to be from KlearGear, stating they'd be fined $3,500 if the negative review wasn't taken down in 72 hours.
JEN PALMER, COUNTERSUING KLEARGEAR.COM: It's ridiculous that anybody would turn around and try to extort us like this, especially for doing something as simple as just posting a review online.
BROWN: But KlearGear told the Palmers they signed away their freedom in an obscure Terms and Conditions non-disparagement clause forbidding them from taking action that negatively impacts KlearGear.
The Palmers tried to take the review down but couldn't.
KlearGear apparently then reported the $3,500 bill as unpaid to a collections company.
PALMER: It was bad enough that when we went to get a second car, it took a month to find a bank that was willing to finance us because of the huge ding that this puts on our credit.
BROWN: The Palmers say they tried to reach out to settle this amicably, but never heard back from the company.
SCOTT MICHELMAN, PUBLIC CITIZEN ATTORNEY: As Jen Palmer's original review online noted, part of the problem with KlearGear's customer service is that they're difficult to contact.
BROWN: Thus, according to the Palmers, leaving them no choice but to sue.
They're asking the court to declare they never owed the $3,500 and are seeking compensation to be determined by a jury.
MICHELMAN: Contract law isn't a game of surprise, where businesses get to extort money based on terms that the customers didn't read in the fine print.
BROWN: CNN did try reaching out to KlearGear several times, but did not hear back.
KlearGear did respond via e-mail back in November to our affiliate, KUTV, saying its request for the Palmers to take down the ad was not blackmail, but, quote, "a diligent effort to help them avoid the fine."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Pam, thanks so much.
And Utah's challenge to blocking same-sex marriage may be delayed. Hundreds of couples in the state are running to get licenses approved while they debate fights out in the courts.
The state's attorney general says that he wants the Supreme Court to get involved, but the official appeal could be delayed by a few days.
Once filed, that emergency appeal will go to Justice Sotomayor and she would have the option of ruling on the appeal herself or asking the entire nine-member court to weigh in.
Well, some people are calling it a Grinch movie, two major satellite TV providers raising rates for millions of you, the customers.
We'll tell you which companies and how much more that you're going to be paying.
Plus, they call Las Vegas "Sin City," but this cab driver's actions were pretty angelic. He found a brown bag.
What was in it and what he did next has people across our country talking. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Opening early and closing late, stores are battling to get your post-holiday dollars right now, making the days between now and the new year pretty good days for shopping.
They can get mega deals for sure, brand-name items such as TVs, clothes, you name it. Retailers are pulling out all the stops to boost the bottom line.
CNN's George Howell is in Chicago and has a closer look of the amped- up Christmas sales.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, this is the week that stores have consumers on edge. Stores are doing everything they can to offer discounts, 40-, 50-, 60-percent off in some cases, all to get you inside.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Just when you thought the holiday shopping frenzy was over, the after-Christmas sales are on, and this year it's expected to be bigger than ever.
Some stores, like Walmart and Kohl's, opened their doors as early as 5:00 a.m. to anxious shoppers hours after Christmas.
According to DealNews, you'll get the best bang for your buck on clothing, brand-name HDTVs, and holiday treats and decor.
KATHY GRANNIS, SPOKESWOMAN, NATIONAL RETAIL FEDERATION: The discounts will definitely be deep this week, but what you're getting are leftovers. You can guarantee that you'll see 70-, 75-percent off on wrapping paper and Christmas tree trinkets.
HOWELL: And the sales aren't just in stores. They're online, too.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're doing a lot of Amazon.com, a lot of online shopping.
HOWELL: Retailers like Amazon.com, Old Navy and Saks Fifth Avenue are amping up their day-after Christmas sales in hopes of cashing in on your holiday cheer.
GRANNIS: The week after Christmas can account for as much as 15 percent of what retailers see throughout the entire holiday season.
So, if you add it all up, this final week is just as important for retailers as the week before is.
HOWELL: Experts say the 26th is also a big day for gift card purchases, with target customers cashing in their stocking stuffers the most today.
GRANNIS: Gift cards for several years in a row have been the most requested gift item. We're actually expecting the gift cards to bring in $28 billion once they have been redeemed.
HOWELL: And for those of you who may be lugging around that sack of returns, some advice from "Consumer Reports" -- be sure to read the fine print on your receipts for the exact return window and to see if you can get an extension on holiday gifts.
Also, be on the lookout for restocking fees, and keep in mind that some items, like video games and movies, can't be returned once you've opened them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
No doubt this is a crucial week for retailers, but consumers always ask the question, When is the best time to get the best deals?
Well, experts tell us that, the longer you wait in the week to do your shopping, the more the retailers have to give more discounts, deeper discounts to get the merchandise off the shelves.
Kyra?
PHILLIPS: Well, in one of the most unforgiving places on earth, right now, 74 people on board a cruise ship are wedged in an ice field.
We now have this video that shot by one of the passengers showing the isolation of this remote region off the coast of Antarctica.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRIS TURNEY, AUSTRALASIAN ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION LEADER: As you can see, we're actually in a blizzard at moment with a low-pressure system sitting over our expedition vessel, The Shokalskiy.
We have wind speeds on average of 50-kilometers-an-hour, reaching in excess of 70-kilometers-an-hour.
The vessel hasn't moved for the last two days, and we're surrounded by sea ice. We just can't get through.
Everyone is safe. The vessel's perfectly safe, but we can't make a passage forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Well, the polar expedition crew first sent out a distress beacon on Christmas Day. Help is on the way now, though, with at least three ice breakers en route to help free that stricken ship and the dozens of tourists, researchers, and, of course, crew on board.
Up next, more on that security breach at one of the nation's busiest airports, a man eludes a multi-million dollar security system, all while wearing high heels and women's clothing.
We're asking a security expert how in the heck this could have happened. And the remarkable story of a cab driver in Las Vegas, he faced big temptation, but ended up making a moral decision. We'll tell you what he did.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Well, this just in to CNN, this afternoon, accused LAX gunman Paul Ciancia has entered a not-guilty plea today to 11 federal charges.
Prosecutors said the 23-year-old killed a TSA officer and wounded two others in that shooting at the L.A. airport on November 1st.
The defendant, who was shot in the head by police during the incident, actually spoke in court today. In a very hoarse voice he whispered the words, "good morning" and "not guilty."
Prosecutors haven't decided on whether to seek a capital case.
And a security breach at New Jersey's Newark airport, a 24-year-old man dressed in women's clothing managed to scale a security fence and make his way across two runways, all the way to the terminal, all without even being noticed by the airport's multi-million dollar security system.
Glen Winn joins me now. He's a former security director for United Airlines.
So, Glen, Newark has been known to have security problems in the past, so what the heck is going on here?
GLEN WINN, FORMER SECURITY DIRECTOR, UNITED AIRLINES: I don't know. The United Airlines employee absolutely has to be a hero, because he intercepted this person who had breached the security fences and so on.
That program which has been installed at the four airports in New York under the jurisdiction of the Port Authority is a multi-million dollar production.
And to have a perimeter detection system like that in full operation, supposedly, at the time, I find it very, very disturbing that the individual was not detected going across the fence, and was later detected actually trying to enter into a main terminal at the complex.
PHILLIPS: Yeah, apparently, he wasn't even trying to breach airport security.
So what does that say about this, you know, multi-million dollar system? And also, what about the bad guys who actually want to try and do harm and breach security?
WINN: Well, again, it's very disturbing, because you have this system that's been installed and tested over the last several years, and there continue to be different breaches at the different airports in the Port Authority jurisdiction. So, there's one of two things going on. Either the equipment is not working properly or the observation teams that are to be watching the system are not paying attention.
And you have a third facet of this. You have a fully operational control tower, 24 hours a day, at an airport the size of Newark, and I start to wonder, what were those people doing?
An individual gets over the fence, walks across two runways and approaches the terminal. That's a major breach.
PHILLIPS: OK, so, what about the time of day? Is that significant? Because it happened around 4:00 in the morning.
WINN: No. It's significant in one way, in that the airport basically is in a very slow operational mode, because airplanes are parked, you're beginning to see the arrival of employees to get the airplanes ready for the first bank of flights which usually is 6:00 to 8:00 a.m. in the morning.
So, you have predominantly airline employees and operational people who are functionally at the airport preparing those planes.
And in this case it worked because, again, it was a United employee who intercepted this individual.
Now, it goes backwards to, if the alarm system was working right, the Port Authority police on patrol should have spotted this individual walking across the runway.
Again, you have very few planes that are operational at that time.
PHILLIPS: It'll be interesting to see kind of what the fallout from all of this.
Glen Winn, appreciate it. Thanks so much.
Well, it's not all sin in "Sin City." Who knew? A big night for a big poker player could have ended pretty badly had it not been for an honest Las Vegas cab driver.
Aaron Drawhorn from CNN affiliate KLAS has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON DRAWHORN, REPORTER, KLAS: Gerardo Gamboa was behind the wheel of a cash cab and didn't know it.
GERARDO GAMBOA, CAB DRIVER FOUND, RETURNED $300,000: When I picked up this guy and he wanted to go to palm place. And he carried a brown bag. And who knows what is in there?
DRAWHORN: Gamboa dropped the passenger off at palm's place. Little did he know he was dropping off a professional poker player who had a big night.
GAMBOA: So he gave me five dollars' tip.
DRAWHORN: The guy got out and left a brown paper bag behind. It was discovered by a doorman at the Bellagio who originally thought what was in the bag was chocolate.
GAMBOA: I went to Bellagio. I didn't even know there was money in my back seat.
DRAWHORN: Now at the Bellagio with his next fare, believing his other passenger left behind a bag of chocolate, Gamboa was in store for a sweet surprise.
GAMBOA: I just basically I said what's in there, so I told -- I want to what kind of chocolate was in it. When I reached in there, about this big, one-hundred dollar bills.
DRAWHORN: $300,000 in cold, hard cash.
GAMBOA: So I had the passenger, I told him, look, sir, you are my witness, I don't touch anything here.
DRAWHORN: Gamboa called his company, Yellow Checker Star Transportation, and did the right thing, turning the money over.
Soon, the 28-year-old passenger showed up here looking for his 300,000 bucks.
BILL SHRANKO, YELLOW CHECKER STAR TRANSPORTATION: He wanted to shoot himself in the head. He was devastated.
DRAWHORN: The taxi company called metro police to do a full investigation to determine the money belonged to the many who said he lost it. It did.
SHRANKO: He's on the poker circuit and very, very famous. Worldwide poker player.
DRAWHORN: For his integrity, Gamboa was named Driver of the Year, and received dinner for two at a high-end steak house and a thousand reward from Yellow Checker Star.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hope that goes a long way for Christmas, all right?
GAMBOA: It will.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
DRAWHORN: Gamboa hopes his honesty goes a long way.
GAMBOA: Even though they call it sin city, it's not. It's angel city.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Do you just love that guy? And how about the poker player? He needs to fork up some cash to this fabulous cabbie.
Aaron Drawhorn, thanks for the great story.
And while the cab driver didn't just keep the money, he also said quote, "My dignity is not for sale. That's the way our parents taught us when I was a kid."
Fair warning, if you want any of us here at CNN in your home next year, you're going to have to pay a little bit more. That is if you are a satellite TV subscriber.
For 2014, Dish Network is giving itself a five-and-a-half percent raise. For DIRECTV customers, they will tack on another four-point- four percent to your bill. That comes to roughly an extra $2 to $5 each month.
Analysts say the price of the content you like to watch is going up and that cost is being passed along to you.
PHILLIPS: Remember this unforgettable moment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAYOR ROB FORD, TORONTO: Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine. But no, do I? Am I an addict? No. Have I tried it? Probably in one of my drunken stupors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Or how about this moment?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LANCE ARMSTRONG, CYCLIST: Not the most believable guy in the world right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: We are counting down this year's top 10 scandals, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: I think you'll agree we had a lot of scandals in 2013. Let's take a look back with Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Number 10, beam me up, baby.
It's seldom you get the crack question of the year and the crack answer of the year in the same place.
But it happened to the now notorious star of his own crack-smoking video.
FORD: Am I an addict? No.
JOHNS: Toronto Mayor Rob Ford when he got put on the spot in an open forum with the whole world watching.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have you purchased illegal drugs in the last two years.
FORD: Yes, I have.
JOHNS: Ford was a trendsetter in 2013. leader of the pack in the category of "mayors gone wild," with honorable mention to number 9, San Diego's Mr. Smooth himself, Bob Filner, who resigned as mayor facing a tidal wave of sexual harassment allegations.
Charges of unwanted advances including a former female employee who filed suit, Irene McCormick Jackson, alleging that Filner asked her, "Wouldn't it be great if you took off your panties and worked without them on?"
He was eventually sentenced to 90 days home confinement and three years probation for assaulting women.
Number eight, also in the runoff for worst mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, the former hip hop mayor of Detroit convicted of racketeering and extortion so pervasive that prosecutors said it helped pushed the Motor City into the largest municipal bankruptcy in American history.
Kilpatrick finally got the term he wasn't elected to serve -- 28 years in federal prison.
And speaking of elections, number seven on our list isn't a mayor, but he could have been.
New York's former Congressman, Anthony Weiner a hit performer on the list from past years for the sexting controversy that made him leave Capitol Hill.
Weiner made an encore running for the Big Apple's top job.
But when more explicit pictures surfaced that were sent to a 22-year- old woman under the alias "Carlos Danger", Weiner, who is married, lost the primary with less than five percent of the vote.
Magnanimous as always, Weiner gave the media the universal "we're- number-one" hand signal as a parting shot.
While we're on the subject of popularity, number six on the list is that agency everybody loves to hate, the Internal Revenue Service.
And in keeping with the season what might be described as one of the most notorious naughty list in recent U.S. history.
It seems somebody at the IRS got bright the idea of singling out conservative groups, especially tea partiers, for extra special attention.
The practice attracted outrage from coast to coast, and an investigation by the other federal agency that gins up fear and anxiety everywhere, the Justice Department. And speaking of spilling the goodies, there are some non-government players that must be mentioned for outstanding performances in 2013.
Number five on our list is the former "man of steel," Lance Armstrong.
Here is a guy who was master of the cycling world and the big lie, winning the Tour De France seven times, claiming repeatedly that he wasn't doping to enhance his athletic performance.
But after being banned from the sport, he gave a tell-all, sort of, interview with Oprah, where else?
He confessed and offered what may be remembered as the biggest understatement in the history of sport.
ARMSTRONG: I'm not the most believable guy in the world right now.
JOHNS: Number four on our list was another kind of credibility problem, that phony sign language interpreter who crashed the Nelson Mandela memorial service.
It would be funnier if it weren't so creepy. This guy got within arm's length of the President of the United States, making meaningless gestures.
It later came to light that he had once been accused of rape and murder but was found not guilty.
Number three is Paula Deen.
PAULA DEEN, CELEBRITY CHEF: My goodness.
JOHNS: What would possess a host of a popular cooking show that get herself embroiled in a lawsuit where somebody was actually going to ask her under oath whether she ever used the "N"-word when she knew she did?
Can you say settle the case already?
And speaking of legal problems, number two on our list is the not-so- secretive-anymore NSA, the National Security Agency.
Who would have thought that one government outfit that was supposed to be stealth city could manage to embarrass or anger just about everybody in the U.S. by letting a rogue former contractor named Edward Snowden download a busload of secrets, so-called signal intelligence, from its computer system, splash some of it to the media and then run off to Russia, of all places, while the goodies continue to be spilled item by item for maximum effect?
And, finally, on our list coming in dead-even, tied for first place for the broken government award of the year, Congress, for the absolutely inexplicable government shutdown crisis of 2013 that featured an absurdist dramatic reading of a Dr. Seuss classic in the midst of a 21-hour Senate "talk-a-thon."
SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: I do not like green eggs and ham. I do not like them, Sam I Am.
JOHNS: And not to be overlooked, the Obama administration for the utterly disastrous bungled rollout of the healthcare.gov Web site.
Which debacle was worst is entirely in the eye of the beholder, the futile attempts by a congressional minority to dismantle a law of the land upheld by the Supreme Court with the stated aim of getting rid of the President's signature achievement, or the video replays of the leader of the free world promising that his signature achievement would allow anyone to keep the status quo only to find out that, well, it just wasn't true?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you like your health care plan, you can keep your health care plan.
JOHNS: Joe Johns, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Great piece.
Also, our Joe Johns is filling in for Jake Tapper today. "THE LEAD" starts right now.
