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LeBron James Comes Home to Cleveland; Tracy Morgan Suing Wal- Mart; Children in Limbo as Border Crisis Rages; Police: Escort Killed Google Executive; Silicon Valley Becoming Sex Valley?; Cleveland Cheers While Miami Mourns; Should Government Step In On Hot Car Deaths?
Aired July 12, 2014 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Hey make some great memories today. We're so glad that you spent part of your day with us.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: That will do it for us.
But stay right here. We're handing things over to Fredricka Whitfield to continue things in the NEWSROOM.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, it's healthy to have a sense of humor, right, no matter you are --
BLACKWELL: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: -- on the map of, you know, hierarchy.
PAUL: Right.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
PAUL: We're with you.
WHITFIELD: Ok. And I know Christi -- you're excited about that Cleveland -- oh my God, the Cavs' new deal with the King James.
BLACKWELL: Yes, all morning we've been hearing about it.
PAUL: You've got that right. I know -- sorry.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And you've got dibs on talking smack for a very long time now.
PAUL: Just for a little bit.
WHITFIELD: Yes, yes. All right, good. You guys have a great day.
BLACKWELL: You, too Fred.
PAUL: You too, Fred -- thanks.
WHITFIELD: It's the 11:00 Eastern hour of the NEWSROOM, which begins right now.
And there you go. King James -- topping our news -- going home after four years away. The four-time league MVP will once again be a Cleveland Cavalier. A stunning blow to the Miami Heat, but exciting news for Cavs fans all over the city.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean my heart is just pounding right now. It's just a complete dream come true. Thank you, LeBron James. I think you're going to bring us a championship.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, that is true happiness there. All right, but after the burned jerseys and an open letter calling him a coward, all of this, really taking place? Is it really forgiven?
And the border crisis in America -- it has burst the immigration system at its seams. President Obama asking for billions from Congress to help fight the crisis, but will Republicans work with him?
And the alleged prostitute accused of finishing her glass of wine after killing a Google executive. Now, cops are looking into the death of one of her former boyfriends.
Indeed, there is a huge type of energy buzzing on the streets of Cleveland this morning -- LeBron James coming back home. You can just feel the excitement from just about everyone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just getting hugged by the people I don't know. I hugged a man earlier. Like it just feels good that we're finally coming back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome home. We love you. We love you.
CHILDREN: Welcome home, LeBron.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: That is some kind of happy there. It's a complete 180 from how Cleveland felt just four years ago, when LeBron left.
Martin Savidge is there for us live, going back home sort of for you, in your home state. So give us a sense of what this city is feeling today and do you have a voice today? Have you been hoarse and all the screaming and excitement? Oh, there's the headline.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right they knew exactly -- there it is. Look at this. It is so big it takes up everything on the front page of the "Cleveland Plain Dealer" special edition. It's very hard to find by the way. Everybody wants one of these. It just means so much to people here. That sound bite with the guy who was saying he was running around hugging strangers and high fiving -- that was me, too. It was that sense on the streets, especially yesterday. People were just, this is a moment. This is like a city-wide northeast Ohio-wide kind of, wow. This is great.
Because it's an area, of course, that economically it's been depressed. It's seen a lot of transition, a lot of change. Sports teams are something they count on. LeBron, it's a different matter. He is -- he's family. That's the way -- people talk about, how could Cleveland be so upset then, so happy now? It's like family. Just like -- you get into these kind of love/hate things.
WHITFIELD: You'll fight and then you make up.
SAVIDGE: They were very hurt. Yes. They were very hurt when he left. They were very hurt in the way it was handled, announced publicly as it was.
Now, of course, all is forgiven. He's coming back home. And you know, I will tell you. There's this line from his letter, and it's actually in the headline here. It says "In northeast Ohio nothing is given, everything is earned. You work for what you have. I'm ready to accept the challenge. I'm coming home."
That bit about working for what you get resonates so strongly in a city that people labored in the foundries, they put together the Fords and the Chevys. All of that work, of course, went away. But the ethic of the idea of working for what you got, that's why what he said in that letter resonated? That's why everything is forgiven.
It's a wonderful day.
WHITFIELD: That's so nice. That is great. And I guess, you know, since people have been watching him since he was a little tyke. You know, 16 already making headlines and showing the kind of promise, of course they would welcome him back.
I do wonder about those folk whose were just so diehard angry about his departure, if, you know, returning to them in any way is possible, and to see if their sentiment has changed? If really all is forgiven from them, their point of view?
SAVIDGE: There are some who are still bitter. There are some who will say, look, I'm willing to forgive but I'm not going to forget. I've got to say, there aren't many. At least, not right now -- not coming out on the streets.
What was shocking, what I was amazed by, you remember all the images of people burning those jerseys back in the day.
WHITFIELD: Yes, we were just looking at that again.
SAVIDGE: How many people immediately showed up out on the streets wearing the old Cavs jersey? It was like where has that been all this time, you know? And clearly a lot of them were wrinkled so you could tell that they had been stuffed in that bottom drawer waiting for the day that possibly this might happen. So they were now wearing them once again with pride.
The theory is here he's going to have a new number, not 23, but 6. It's just -- you know, it means a lot to this town. Although people were very sympathetic to Miami and they said, look, we know what it's like, when somebody leaves that means a lot. No gloating. Just happy to have the hometown boy coming back.
WHITFIELD: That's great. I'm sure those who maintained, held on to their 23 jersey, boy, they have some collectors' editions now. They are really grinning from ear to ear.
All right. Martin Savidge, thanks so much.
SAVIDGE: They were smart.
WHITFIELD: Very fun.
Ok. Let's talk a little bit more about Miami and, oh boy, how that city just might be feeling, a little bitter or hurt. But hey, at least they had four great years. Right? Well, listen to what some fans in Miami had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I was so surprised. I figured he was going to go somewhere. I'm surprised that he went back to Cleveland, but you know.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know. He cheated them bad when he left.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just find it hard to believe that he would go back to a city after the way they treated him when he left and the way we treated him so good.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Oh, but at least one fan was a little bit more angry than that. Someone painted over LeBron James' face on this mural of the Miami Heat. And the guy who painted the mural initially says he actually understands why.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SERGE TOUSSANT, ARTIST: I spent two months in the hot sun painting this. You were like our idol, bro. You know? You really -- you really left us -- I didn't do that, but I'm totally agreeing with whoever did it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: James' decision is clearly stirring up a lot of emotions. Coming up later on in the hour, we'll hear more from former NBA star and now television analyst Greg Anthony.
All right. After an accident, a critically injured comedian Tracy Morgan, and killed his friend, Morgan is now suing Wal-Mart. Police say one of the company's trucks was speeding on the New Jersey turnpike when it rear-ended the limo carrying Morgan and several others. The suit blames the truck driver for negligence. Morgan broke ribs and his nose and a leg in that crash.
Wal-Mart issued this statement saying this. Quote, "This has been a terrible tragedy. We wish Mr. Morgan, Mr. Fuqua, Jr. and Mr. Malaya full recoveries. We're deeply sorry that one of our trucks was involved.
As we said, we are cooperating fully in the ongoing investigation. We know it will take some time to resolve all of the remaining issues as a result of the accident, but we are committed to doing the right thing for all involved." That from Wal-Mart.
The Homeland Security secretary says he wants to make the message clear to undocumented immigrants -- you will be sent back. Jeh Johnson went to New Mexico to stress the President's goal of deporting most anyone who crosses into the U.S. illegally. But children escaping dangerous conditions in Central America are lingering in U.S. detention centers and some are now calling this a humanitarian crisis.
President Obama wants to give an overwhelmed border service the money to clear its backlog. He asked for almost $4 billion from Congress. The head of the House Appropriations Committee says that simply is too much of an amount. Senator John McCain said the Republicans won't sign off on that money. He said the only way to stem the crisis is to change the 2008 law that he blames for creating the situation in the first place.
Secretary Johnson toured a federal facility that has been converted into a detention center for immigrants. It's one of several stop gap measures by the Obama administration to deal with the flood of undocumented people.
Our Ana Cabrera is there.
ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fred, this is the federal law enforcement training center in Artesia, New Mexico that's been converted in just the past couple of weeks into a temporary facility to house some of these undocumented immigrants.
We had a chance to look inside. It's not what you would expect from a holding facility. In fact, it felt more like a college campus complete with dorm rooms, bunk beds and desks. There are even television sets, we're told, in a lot of these rooms. They showed us the bathroom area, they're shared bathrooms but separated by gender. There are private shower areas. And they showed us some of the toys that these children who are staying her have access to -- bats, balls, hula hoops, teddy bears -- those types of things.
We've learned there are 400 plus women and children who've already been brought to this facility from Texas as they await deportation or an immigration trial. This is the federal law enforcement training center -- a 3,600 acre campus. We're told the women and children pretty much have free rein but they are monitored very closely and nobody can leave until their fate is decided.
The goal here is expedited repatriation and Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson spoke about that specifically as he visited on Friday. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEH JOHNSON, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: I think it's fair to say that a good number of them were surprised that they were being detained. I think they expected to be apprehended and simply let go into the interior and they're surprised that they're being detained and sent back so quickly.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CABRERA: In fact, we now know this facility opened on June 27. Secretary Johnson says the first batch of people will be deported from here starting next week. Now that they have a system that's a little bit more efficient for processing and housing these undocumented immigrants, he also said that the goal is to turn their legal cases very quickly, within two to four days of these people arriving here. Again, that's the goal.
It could still take a little longer in certain cases -- Fred.
WHITFIELD: All right, Ana, thank you so much, near the U.S./Mexican border.
Up next, a call girl accused of killing a California Google executive. Why police are also looking into the death of her former boyfriend in Georgia.
And as the border crisis rages, we'll take you inside one of the border shelters. What's life there like for those who have just arrived?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: This year, tens of thousands of children are expected to cross the border into the U.S. without their parents. The Obama administration says they are desperate to escape the poverty and violence plaguing their home countries specifically the Central American countries of Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador.
CNN's Rosa Flores takes us inside one Texas shelter where those children, some unaccompanied, and others with their families, where they're living.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After traveling hundreds of miles, these Central American families find a glimmer of hope at a temporary shelter at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in McAllen, Texas. Most are fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries, arriving exhausted with nothing but the clothing on their backs, laceless shoes and a manila folder handed to them by immigration officials with documents in English they say they don't understand.
Daisy Villanueva says she traveled with her two-year-old son Stanley by foot and by bus from her home country of Honduras, nearly 1,500 miles until she made it to America then turned herself in to immigration authorities. Few meals along the way, the fear and trauma still clear on this family's face. She didn't leave anyone behind but hopes to reunite with her husband in North Carolina.
Not the case for Sergio Bolanos (ph). He left a wife and two children in Guatemala, making the dangerous journey with his nine-year-old son, Vidal, who was anxious to change his dirty clothing and sit down to eat a meal.
Sergio says he crossed the border and turned himself in to immigration, spent three days with his son in a detention center, was assigned a court date to face an immigration judge, and was set free at a bus station. That's how thousands of people end up in temporary shelters like this one.
(on camera): This facility sees between 150 and 180 people a day. Take a look around, it's a quick stop. They get some fresh clothing, a blanket for the road, some shoes, and also some snacks for their bus ride. And if there's time, they get a quick shower.
(voice over): Sister Norma Pimentel established this temporary shelter a month ago and has already served more than 3,000 people.
SISTER NORMA PIMENTEL, CATHOLIC CHARITIES OF THE RIO GRANDE: They may be stripped of everything but one thing they do have is their faith. And so I think this is a beautiful encounter of faith alive amongst our people.
FLORES: It's the common story here.
Daisy says she wants to protect her son from the constant sound of gunshots in her neighborhood and the dead bodies on the streets.
For Sergio, he says he's escaping the extreme poverty in Guatemala where he had trouble putting food on the table working in agriculture. As he and his son boarded a bus to reunite with family in California it was left up to them to honor the immigration court date in that paperwork in the manila folder. Sergio wouldn't say if they plan to show up for the court hearing.
Rosa Flores, CNN, McAllen, Texas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: So the political fight over the border crisis is raging, and the battle lines between President Obama and the Republicans have been drawn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: On the southern border, we've got a true humanitarian crisis under way with children caught in the middle. Unfortunately, it's a crisis of the President's own making. His actions gave false hope to children and their families, if they enter the country illegally, they would be allowed to stay.
Our priorities are clear. Take care of these children, return them safely home to their home countries, to their families, and secure the border.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I sponsored a bill declaring apple pie American, it might fall victim to partisan politics. I get that. On the other hand, this is an issue in which my Republican friends have said, it's urgent, we need to fix it. And -- if that's the case, then let's go ahead and fix it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk more about this. I want to bring in Maria Cardona, she's a CNN political commentator and Democratic strategist -- good to see you. And Ben Ferguson, he's a CNN political commentator and a conservative radio talk show host. Good to see you as well.
Ok, so we saw John Boehner there, saying this is a policy issue and a humanitarian issue and the Republicans have criticized the President for not taking enough action on border security. And now the criticism is because the President wants to take some action. Like the President said there, it seems like he can't win.
Or Ben, you know, who really wins here? Does Boehner's caucus really believe that this argument, or you know, it's really about the President not doing enough? Or overextending his powers or is it really about teeing up midterm elections?
BEN FERGUSON, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean it's certainly a lot about the elections, and Barack Obama when he was running for re-election, 2012 in El Paso -- he declared that we had a secure border. So obviously, that is a failure. We do not have a secure border.
And many Republicans are saying, you told us it was secured. Janet Napolitano at the time said the same exact thing that the border was secure. It is not secure and the big victim here is not Barack Obama. It's these children.
We are not doing enough to let them know in these countries, that if you get to America, you are not going to stay. And if Barack Obama was serious about this, he would have gone to the border this week. He says I'm not interested in a photo op. I mean, you look at this president. He had no problem playing pool in a photo op the other night. He also had --
WHITFIELD: Why would it make a difference? FERGUSON: -- no problem using doctors. Hold on.
WHITFIELD: Why does it make a difference in this argument as to whether the President went to the border or not when it's being acknowledged on all sides that there's a problem?
FERGUSON: Well, I don't think he's taking the problem seriously, because he's not willing to go look at it and see, wow, we really don't have a secure border. He said in 2012 in El Paso, we have a secure border. That's not true. And so right now, the President of the United States of America should be doing one thing. He should be spending time getting on Air Force One going to Guatemala, going to Honduras and let the people know there with his big microphone, do not send your kids to America. They're going to be sent home.
WHITFIELD: Didn't he already do that without going there, though? Didn't the President already do that without --
MARIA CARDONA, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Yes, he did.
FERGUSON: He did it in America. That doesn't reach the people in Honduras. It doesn't reach the people in Guatemala. If you want to reach the people that are coming, you don't talk about it from the White House. You don't talk about it in Colorado. You talk about it in Honduras and Guatemala. He can do this in an afternoon. Those are the people that are the victims, and we should talk directly to them.
WHITFIELD: So, Maria, how is this of the President's doing and making? How is he responsible for what's taking place here -- what some are calling a humanitarian crisis, a refugee crisis even, you know, in the terminology of some people. How is it the President is responsible for this and what can he do to fix it?
CARDONA: First of all, He's not. And this is where Republicans are just so incredibly misguided and really don't understand what having a secure border means. These children are not a national security threat. So unless Republicans -- and I know this is something they want. If they want an impenetrable iron fence across all of our southern border that goes up 100 miles, these children would continue to arrive and turn themselves in to border patrol agents. That is what they are doing.
This president has done more to secure the border than any other president before him. The growth of the undocumented population --
FERGUSON: Not true.
WHITFIELD: Meaning?
CARDONA: -- under this president, the growth of the undocumented population under this president which is a big measure in border security, has been net negative. This president has put --
FERGUSON: Maria, then --
CARDONA: Hang on, Ben. Hang on. I did not interrupt you. So this president has put more border enforcement resources than any other president before him. There is a bill in Congress right now that if Republicans were serious about continuing to secure the border, they would have passed. It's called the Comprehensive Immigration Bill that would have doubled border patrol agents and put $40 billion more into border security.
FERGUSON: While giving amnesty --
CARDONA: This president has now -- and that's another problem, Ben. This president has never said the word "amnesty". Republicans screamed "amnesty".
FERGUSON: He didn't have to. He's already offering it.
CARDONA: So when Republicans scream "amnesty".
FERGUSON: Maria --
CARDONA: When Republicans scream amnesty at the top of their lungs, what kind of message does that send? This president has been very clear about who can stay here and who cannot.
He's done it on Spanish language media which is what the people listen to in all of these border countries.
FERGUSON: Maria, if he was --
CARDONA: He's done everything that he can.
FERGUSON: If he was serious --
WHITFIELD: Ok.
CARDONA: He needs help from Republicans to solve this.
WHITFIELD: Ok. All right.
CARDONA: Republicans have --
WHITFIELD: So Ben, respond real quick.
FERGUSON: Yes. If the President was serious about securing the border, then the $3.7 billion he just requested, more than seven percent of it would be for border security. The other issue is, you say he's done more to secure the border. Every illegal immigrant that's crossed would say, "You're wrong". And the humanitarian crisis has proved that yet again, you're wrong. If you want to secure the border he should be going down --
CARDONA: That's not national security threat.
FERGUSON: -- let me finish. I didn't say it's a national security threat. It's a threat to the people. Maria, it's a threat to the people coming across the border who are putting their lives at risk, paying these people to come across the border, thousands of dollars at a time, and many of these kids are falling victim to them. That is a security issue to them as individuals which is why you secure the border.
And you say --
WHITFIELD: So Ben and Maria -- Ben and Maria -- time out for a second. If all of this can be disputed, you know, ad nauseam because, you know, everyone is going to continue to see things differently in terms of how the existing laws are either porous, how they're working, how they're not working, but this point forward, if it means that Congress is pledging, that some act needs to take place, the President is pledging, some act needs to take place, at this juncture now, it's an issue, how do these two executive, legislative branch work together? And I'd love to hear from either one of you or both if you feel hopeful that this is the juncture that we are in right now in which Congress will see eye to eye with the President. The President can see eye to eye with the congress in order to come about with some solution to address the problem?
Ben, you first on this.
FERGUSON: Well, first, I do think the President has to just flat out show leadership, go to these countries and make it clear, that if you come here you'll be sent home. Don't waste your money paying these coyotes.
WHITFIELD: But in terms of Congress and the President working together.
FERGUSON: And I'm going to say that. The second issue is don't put a $3.7 billion bill that only 10 percent of it or less goes to border security. And the last thing is make sure when you're requesting money from Congress it goes to take care of these kids, and send them home quickly. Not have a big spending bill for a whole bunch of other stuff that does not deal with securing the border.
WHITFIELD: Ok. Maria, where's the hope? Do you see it?
CARDONA: Well, I hope so because Republicans need to understand that they need to work with this president to actually solve this problem. Again, this president has put the solution on the table. There's more border security enforcement in the senate immigration bill, which could have mitigated a lot of this in the first place.
These families are not coming here because they think the border is open. These families are coming here because --
FERGUSON: Sure they are.
CARDONA: -- they are suffering from violence in their own countries. Ben, have you talked to any of these families? I talk to them every single day.
FERGUSON: Maria -- yes, I have. And in fact --
CARDONA: None of them have said --
(CROSSTALK) FERGUSON: No, no, no. Time-out. Being in Dallas, Maria --
CARDONA: I think the border is open.
FERGUSON: Maria.
CARDONA: They are coming here because they are, there are threats, by the violence.
FERGUSON: I'm in Dallas Texas. Time out.
WHITFIELD: All right. Ben, go ahead.
FERGUSON: I am in Dallas --
CARDONA: This bill is focusing on trying to fix that violence in Central America.
WHITFIELD: Ok. Maria, stop there. Ben, make your point.
(CROSSTALK)
FERGUSON: I'm in Dallas, Texas. I've talked to these families. And they are coming across the border because they know it's open and they're turning themselves in to immigration enforcement. That's how easy it is to get across the border.
CARDONA: They want help.
FERGUSON: And the reason why they're doing it is because they've been told that America's border is open and you better hurry up and get in and you will get to stay. That's what they believe. That's why they're paying the coyotes.
WHITFIELD: We're going to leave it right there. Clearly, this is really just the beginning and this is exactly why discussions are getting so heated over this very topic.
CARDONA: And it's why Republicans need to finally help this president solve this. Do their job.
WHITFIELD: We appreciate the passion from both of you on all sides. Maria Cardona, Ben Ferguson -- thanks so much to both of you.
All right. A call girl may be tied to two deaths in different states. Laurie Segall is here with more on this.
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: He, Fredricka. Well, coming up, I've got the latest details on the bizarre death of a Google executive. Plus it gets even weirder -- an exclusive look at the booming sex trade in Silicon Valley.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: There is a new twist in a chilling murder investigation involving an alleged high-end prostitute. She is accused of killing a Google executive in California by injecting him with heroin and now police in Georgia are looking into whether he killed her former boyfriend in a similar way. Laurie Segall has more.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Dean Riopelle died from a heroin overdose last September, it appeared to be a tragic accident. His girlfriend made the call to 911.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Why do you think it's an overdose.
TICHELMAN: Because there's nothing else it could be.
UNIDENTIFIED DISPATCHER: Accidental or intentional?
TICHELMAN: Definitely accidental.
SEGALL: That was the story from Alix Tichelman, and the case was closed. Until police n California announced this week that the model turned prostitute had been arrested in connection with the death of Google executive, Forrest Hayes. A 51-year-old father of five. Police say he, too, died of a lethal amount of heroin that they believe was given to him by the 26-year-old Tichelman. Georgia authorities reopened the Riopelle case because the circumstances were too similar to ignore.
CAPTAIN SHAWN MCCARTY, MILTON, GEORGIA POLICE: The similarities are basically the deaths of the two men by heroin overdose, and the common denominator being Ms. Tichelman. In both cases the individual seemed to have died from an overdose, what appears to be their first time in using heroin.
SEGALL: Alan Vine told CNN's Erin Burnett, he was a friend of Dean Riopelle.
ALAN VINE, FRIEND OF DEAN RIOPELLE: Back when me and Dean used to play music together, I used to smoke weed and used to party a little bit, and he was always saying, dude, that's not the way to go.
SEGALL: Vine says he was shocked to learn of the heroin overdose given Riopelle's lifestyle.
VINE: You need to do right. That's, be health conscious, and be, you know, it's not the way to go. He always preached that to me. When I heard he died of a heroin overdose, I was immediately, no freaking way.
SEGALL: Tichelman moved to California, working as a prostitute and surfaced in Santa Cruz. In November, she joined Hayes on his yacht. Investigators say surveillance cameras showed Tichelman doing absolutely nothing to help the distress Hayes after injecting him with the heroin.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She was so callous that in gathering her things, she was literally stepping over the body.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, Laurie Segall now with us in studio. Wow, what an investigation or two investigations.
SEGALL: I mean, completely and I spoke to a friend of Tichelman's first boyfriend that just passed away and she said, I never had seen him do drugs or talk about this and he said, he loved his kids. So this comes as a surprise obviously. It's now an investigation. They keep opening it up. Keeps getting more and more absurd.
WHITFIELD: And then what is this about the business of call girls as it relates to Silicon Valley? Apparently there is a focus or there's something going on here?
SEGALL: There's a booming business. We covered this about a year ago. I spoke to a lot of sex workers who were saying business is great. This is like the new Wall Street. Now I've reached out to a lot of the sex workers I had spoken to when the story came out and they said that the business is even better, more lucrative.
I actually spoke to Maxine Holloway. She is a sex worker. She went on the record to talk about it. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's really interesting that we have this increase of tech employees coming to the bay area. You know, they're working really long and tense hours, which is giving them disposable income. But along with that lifestyle, it doesn't always leave room for traditional dating. So this really nice kind of mutually beneficial relationship with professional sexual providers seems to work out really well.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SEGALL: And it is working out so well that these women are marketing to these guys. This is where the money is. You know, they're wearing these t-shirts in their ads, thrones references. They are accepting mobile payments via Square. They showed me a lot of the stuff. Unbelievable.
WHITFIELD: This is very sophisticated.
SEGALL: It's sophisticated because this is where the money is. Now we're looking at the major safety issues involved.
WHITFIELD: Fascinating. All right, thanks for bringing that to us. Appreciate it, Laurie.
So we'll have much more on this case, the Tichelman case, with our legal guys next hour. How will prosecutors proceed after the former boyfriend's death was also ruled an accident months ago? That's next hour.
We're going to talk a little b-ball action, big b-ball action actually. Lebron James heading back home. A former NBA player weighing in on that very big decision and the impact, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: My gosh, I loved that show. "Welcome Back, Kotter." Really talking Lebron in Cleveland. That city's hopes Resting on this one basketball player. Huge pressure, he can handle it. Lebron James decided to rejoin the Cleveland Cavaliers and now the city he crushed four years ago is so over the top excited.
Rashan Ali joining me now live with today's "Bleacher Report."
RASHAN ALI, "BLEACHER REPORT": Yes.
WHITFIELD: No connection to Ohio except my dad was an Ohio state guy. I'm excited for the entire state.
ALI: It feels so good. When I heard about it yesterday, I was like, is this really happening? I'm a Lebron James fan, but I really feel good for the fans of the Cleveland Cavaliers. To say the city of Cleveland is buzzing right now would be an understatement. The fans have immediately responded. The Cavaliers sold out of season tickets within hours of Lebron's announcement.
Phone lines were so jammed that the team had to redirect line in the office to be used for ticket sales alone. During our summer channel last night, the Cavs owner, who once called Lebron selfish and disloyal said he and King James are ready to move forward together.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAN GILBERT, CLEVELAND CAVALIERS OWNER: Lebron's grown up quite a bit. Besides winning championships he has two kids, a third one on the way and he's a grown man now, and you know what? I certainly talked about the things that I was embarrassed about it and apologized about that night, and talked about a few things and we got out of the way pretty quick to talk about the future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ALI: Meanwhile, the owner of the Miami Heat chooses to remember the good times, tweeting, "I am shocked and disappointed in today's news, however, I will never forget what Lebron brought us for four years. Thanks for the memories, King James."
While Lebron won two championships with the Heat, the city of Cleveland has not won a title in a major professional sport in 50 years. Now hopes are high with Lebron back and Johnny Manziel vying for the quarterback position for the Browns, the city has some real star power that they can truly capitalize on.
WHITFIELD: I heard the numbers. It was in the millions of how much the Cavs thought they lost. Not the team, but the city, the entire, you know, merchandizing of the Cavaliers when Lebron left will now -- it's going to be back probably double, triple fold maybe?
ALI: Exactly. Some of those guys have to bring back those burned jerseys.
WHITFIELD: They are wishing they could bring them back. Ching to ching. Their classics. They are collector's items. We're not done talking about it. My heart goes out to Miami because that, too, was a place I once lived. Not a connection to Ohio but I do have a connection to Miami but it's the business.
ALI: Two championships, can't be mad at that.
WHITFIELD: Ouch. All right, Rashan, thanks so much. Good to see you.
OK, so right now, we are joined on the phone by former NBA player and Turner sports analyst, Greg Anthony. Greg, in your view, the right decision for Lebron, for the Cavs, for the NBA?
GREG ANTHONY, TURNER SPORTS ANALYST (via telephone): Across the board, no doubt about it. Just listening to your previous guest and the acceleration this included. The prodigal son comes back home, but he also as a world champion. Much more mature and done something people are talking about, you think about it. When he left, he's been gone four years. The Cleveland Cavaliers have had the first pick of the draft three times in the four years.
So he's allowed them to also bolster that roster in his absence, and now looking at a team in Cleveland that while they're down playing the expectations for next season, you've got to look that the team will have a legitimate chance be in a weakened eastern conference to be the representative and compete for world championships for the next two years.
WHITFIELD: So Greg, Rashan Ali still with me here too, but I do want to ask you and open it up for the whole discussion here, you talk about bolstering the roster. But tell me about the roster for the Cavs. I understand very young team, but what can Lebron bring as the leader? Former coach said an amazing man and leader, and just the way he has handled all of this? I mean, the pressures are being such a huge NBA star, what does he bring to these young players and perhaps what do the young players bring for him?
ANTHONY: Well, I think a couple of things. First, the point I made about being a world champion. The amount of credibility and prestige that gives you. You really can't place a value on it when you're trying to mentor young players.
Secondly now, something that couldn't, didn't happen when Lebron was in Cleveland prior, I think the ability to go out and recruit free agents potentially to make Cleveland now a destination, which would not have been the case prior to Lebron going to Miami and winning those world championships.
So it creates a totally different environment for Cleveland. I think that's also why there is so much excitement and hysteria in Cleveland right now and, listen, I live in South Florida as well, and while there's tremendous disappointment down here for a lot of the folks, I think Pat Riley, Mickey Arison, how they handled this and refuse to reflect -- focused on the positive.
So Lebron was obviously worth the investment there and Cleveland is getting a truly great professional in all of sport, really, when you talk about how Lebron has conducted himself and what he means on a global brand standpoint.
WHITFIELD: Impressive. Greg Anthony, thank you so much. Rashan, you got an exclamation point to add to that?
ALI: Yes, Lebron was coming straight out of high school the first time he is with the Cavaliers. So now he goes away. He equates that to being in college. We get to see his maturation process and it's going to be a joy to see him back in a different role back with his team.
WHITFIELD: The king, never the less.
ALI: That's right.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. Appreciate it, Greg, as well. Thanks to you both. We'll be right back.
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WHITFIELD: It rattles parents to the core. The horrifying case of a father accused of leaving his son in a hot car all day to die. Justin Ross Harris is accused of doing it intentionally, but since then, other cases are popping up across the country. Parents who accidentally leave their children behind. CNN legal analyst, Sunny Hostin told Anderson Cooper, these stories strike a very personal note for her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: I left my daughter when she was 14 months old in the back of our car, and I was with my husband, and it was a hot July day, and literally, Anderson, my husband left her in the car, I left her in the car, we went to get a shopping cart. We took the shopping cart passed the car, went into Home Depot. I went into the garden center and it was only after about 5 minutes that my husband came to me, my God, we left Paloma in the car. I'm still ashamed about it. I'm embarrassed about it. I'm horrified. I can see how someone could do this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Does something need to be done to help parents in general remember? CNN digital correspondent, Kelly Wallace, asks in a new column on cnn.com, should the government step in to require a sort of safety feature in cars? I asked Kelly if it's an issue of product safety or parent responsibility.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KELLY WALLACE, CNN DIGITAL CORRESPONDENT: When you talk to parents, Fredricka, you see this real kind of split, a line in the sand. There are so many parents who say, it is your responsibility. You should never, ever forget your child, and how horrible of you if you do. But then there are others who say, look, we have technology to tell us when to put a seat belt on. When to take the keys out of the ignition, to turn our lights off. Why not have something to alert us if there a child in the back seat? That's the big question.
WHITFIELD: And that could be a pretty decent argument, but drive that potential legislation, because it would be in the form of legislation, right, to make it the responsibility of carmakers, if you're going to sell any of your new cars in the United States, you're going to have to put an alert that someone's in the car when a vehicle reaches a certain temperature just like there would be an alarm on your headlights or battery being low or the car needed oil, something to that effect?
WALLACE: Exactly. And if we look at how long really it took starting in 2018, all new cars will have this technology to try and prevent you from backing over children and over the elderly and that fight started in 2002, 2003, so you do the math to see how long to get that legislation.
And also, Fredricka, talking to federal officials, they say they have tested the technology. It's been a couple of years now, they did a test in 2012, these sensors that can detect the weight of an infant in a car seat and what happens, you get an alert sent to you when you leave the car.
They say they're not reliable just yet and that yet is the keyword and so, as they evaluate these technologies more and more, if they determine the technologies to be reliable, then maybe at some point, there could be some federal guidelines or mandate to have them in all cars.
WHITFIELD: I wonder if then this will spark the argument of how involved should you allow government to be in individual's lives.
WALLACE: That is big, the big thing. You could see it blowing up in social media. When we said should the government mandate an alert to prevent hot car deaths, so many people say, no, the government should not be involved. This is not an issue for government. This is an issue for parental responsibility, but you have people on the other side who say look, if the technology is there, and if there can be something that is done in a uniform way to save lives, why wouldn't you do it?
WHITFIELD: And then you write in your cnn.com that you know, there is a simple tip or instruction to memorize. Just look before you lock.
WALLACE: I think that is the key. The awareness that comes from this. Look before you lock. Also maybe put your shoes or your cell phone or your purse in the backseat. Something that you would absolutely look for before getting out of the car to remind you that you have your child there and also, there's something else, put a teddy bear in the car seat and then when the baby's in the car seat, move the bear to the front seat. So then you realize kind of a mental reminder when you see that teddy bear, right, I got to get my child. I think it's impossible for us to comprehend how you could forget a child, but it happens to people from all walks of life. It happened to our colleague, Sunny Hostin. It can happen to anyone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much to Kelly Wallace. Lots of great tips there.
All right, crime fighter, John Walsh, is back in the hunt for fugitives and he's bringing his search for justice to CNN. He tells me what it's like to constantly deal with the bad side of the enemy in his words.
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(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN WALSH, CNN HOST, "THE HUNT": I'll always be the parent of a murdered child. I still have the heart ache, the rage. I waited years for justice. I know what it's like to be there waiting for some answers. And over those years, I learned how to do one thing really well. And that's how to catch these bastards and bring them back to justice. I've become a man hunter. I'm out there looking for bad guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: You know him. You recognize that face and voice. That is John Walsh. You know him as the former host of "America's Most Wanted" and now, Walsh joins the CNN family with a new original series, "THE HUNT." After his son, Adam, was brutally murdered, Walsh dedicated his life to fighting for victims' rights and as he says, catching bad guys. Now, Walsh is back on the hunt. I asked him about his crime fighting success and his future with CNN as he continues his "American Journey."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WALSH: We had a great run. I was on Fox for 25 years in prime time. We won a very rare Emmy for excellence in television, but I, the thing I'm the most proud of is besides the almost 1300 guys we caught around the world in 45 countries and 17 of those guys off the FBIs ten most wanted, we recovered 61 missing children alive, so it was a great run, but now, I'm teaming up with the worldwide reach and the credibility of CNN.
WHITFIELD: And what compels you now to host the show on CNN, casting an even bigger net in worldwide man hunts?
WALSH: Well, I tried to, I'm a brand new grandfather and I thought boy, I've been on the road most of my life. Maybe I'll take some time off, but I realized from different law enforcement agencies, my wife who is, we've been married today 43 years. She said you know, this is what you do well. You got to remember who the real victim was in Adam's abduction and terrible murder. He was the real victim, so, I'm saddled back up and I think CNN is the perfect partner because of their credibility and worldwide reach.
WHITFIELD: And people know about your story, your experience, your family's experience with your son being kidnapped and killed. Is there ever a case in which selecting cases for "THE HUNT," perhaps it hits a little too close to home for you?
WALSH: No, I -- you know, people ask me that question all the time. It doesn't have an effect on you when you deal consistently with the evil side of humanity. Men and women have to saddle up and do the right thing. Is it painful? Yes. Does it bring back old memories, open the wound sometimes? One thing I've gotten really good at man hunting. I was a hotel builder.
I never ever dreamed I would be on television, but I got good at this and I got the opportunity from Jeff Zucker, the president of CNN, he said, how would you like to saddle up and get back in the hunt? And that's what we call the show, "THE HUNT."
I hope people will help me catch these horrible guys. If it wasn't for the public, I know at least 1300 horrible people would be still out there doing what they did. Molesting children, raping women, hurting people, serial killers. I hope people will tune in, help me catch these guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Coming up at 1:00 Eastern Time, a sneak peek of the first episode and what compelled Walsh to feature a man suspected of killing his wife and two children. You don't want to miss "THE HUNT WITH JOHN WALSH." It premiers tomorrow night, 9:00 Eastern Time here on CNN.
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