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Campbell Brown
Strained U.S.-Israel Relations?; Have Democrats Found Health Care Reform Loophole?
Aired March 16, 2010 - 20:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, everybody.
On Capitol Hill today, a surprise admission from Eric Holder. The attorney general said he believes Osama bin Laden will never be captured alive. And that story is topping the "Mash-Up" tonight. We're watching it all, so you don't have to.
Holder made his comments during a congressional hearing this afternoon. Republican lawmakers were grilling him on whether terror suspects should be tried in civilian courts. Watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN CULBERSON (R), TEXAS: Granting Osama bin Laden the right to appear in a U.S. courtroom, you are clothing Osama bin Laden with the protections of the U.S. Constitution. That's unavoidable, and something that you've skipped right past.
ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Let's deal with reality...
(CROSSTALK)
CULBERSON: And it's giving constitutional rights to enemy soldiers that is the profound problem, sir.
HOLDER: Let me -- you're talking about a hypothetical that will never occur. The reality is that we will be reading Miranda rights to the corpse of Osama bin Laden. He will never appear in an American courtroom.
CULBERSON: But it is...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLDER: That's a reality. That's a reality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: As for the question of where to try alleged 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, Holder says that decision still very much up in the air.
On to health care, where, tonight, Democrats are fending off accusations they are using legislative trickery to pass a bill. And it's still not clear they have the votes they need. Take a listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: When your dog needs to take a pill, but they don't want to eat the pill, you put the pill inside like a biscuit.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The procedure allows members to vote on one bill while automatically deeming another is also passed. In this case, the House would vote on a fix-it measure that would make changes to the Senate health care bill, and then in the process automatically pass the Senate bill, without actually voting on it.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), HOUSE MINORITY LEADER: Anybody who thinks they can sneak this bill through and deem it, all these other tricks, there's no way to hide from the biggest vote that most members of Congress will ever cast.
REP. NANCY PELOSI (D-CA), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I didn't hear any of that ferocity when -- the hundreds of times the Republicans used these methods when they were in power.
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Kill the bill! Kill the bill!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outside the Capitol, a few hundred members of the conservative Tea Party movement called on Congress to kill the Democratic health care reform bill, as Republicans urged them to keep fighting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Much more on this story tonight. We're going to talk with the congressman in charge of keeping the House in Democratic hands.
And in other news, in Israel today, a day of rage, and here at home, Hillary Clinton was publicly trying to smooth tensions with the Israeli government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Early this morning, protests broke out near those settlements in Jerusalem's old city, masked Palestinian protesters throwing rocks, Israeli police in full riot gear firing back with tear gas and stun grenades.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There is little doubt that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has been as mad at the Israeli government as she ever has been. But you wouldn't have known that today.
HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We have a close, unshakeable bond between the United States and Israel. But that doesn't mean that we're going to agree. We don't agree with any of our international partners on everything.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She made her concerns known in a pointed 43-minute phone call to Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, telling him the U.S. expected him to reverse the announcement expanding the building in East Jerusalem and take additional steps to reassure the Palestinians.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Netanyahu, however, says the settlements will go forward. He did apologize, though, for the timing of the announcement, which came during a visit from Vice President Joe Biden.
ESPN's Erin Andrews spoke out today about her video stalker. Insurance executive Michael Barrett was sentenced to two-and-a-half years behind bars yesterday for shooting nude videos of Andrews through hotel peepholes. Barrett made a tearful apology in court, but Andrews not buying it. Listen to what she said on "Good Morning America."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIN ANDREWS, ESPN: I wanted him to know I think more than anything -- he got very emotional when he talked about his children and how he felt bad for how he let them down. And I wanted to know, I'm a daughter to two parents, and they are just mortified. And they're just so upset. And they feel so bad for me.
And I wanted him to know as a daughter what he did to me. I think he feels bad he was caught. I don't think for a minute this man, after following as many women as he did -- and, you know, the FBI agents said they had a box full of evidence on this guy -- I don't think he ever thought he was going to get caught. And I think that's why he is sorry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Barrett was ordered to pay $5,000 in fines and more than $7,000 in restitution.
The sports world breathing a sigh of relief tonight. Tiger Woods has announced his return to professional golf. He will be playing in the Masters, beginning on April 8.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Why the Masters? Well, because it is a tightly controlled tournament. Yes, he loves playing there. Yes, he has won it in the past. This -- the fans that go there are considered to be the creme de la creme.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, HOST, "NBC NIGHTLY NEWS": More than four months after the Thanksgiving night car accident outside his home led to the unraveling of his personal life in a very public way, Woods said today -- quote -- "After a long and necessary time away from the game, I feel like I'm ready to start my season at Augusta."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was just three weeks ago that Woods said he had so much work to do to heal his family, his return to golf was uncertain. TIGER WOODS, PROFESSIONAL GOLFER: I do plan to return to golf one day. I just don't know when that day will be.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For pro golf and broadcasters, it could induce theme park-quality thrills. Ratings are up 93 percent when Woods plays.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a lot of good golf going on, but not the great golf that we see when Tiger Woods plays. So, I think golf really needs to have him back.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: The president of CBS Sports predicts Woods' return will be one of the biggest media events of the past decade, second only to President Obama's inauguration.
And that brings us to the "Punchline." This is courtesy of Jay Leno. If you think there is nothing funny about Toyota's troubles, well, take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO")
JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": On "The Today Show," they did a segment on what to do if your Toyota Prius loses control. There is a button you press. Again, this didn't seem like the solution. Take a look.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We want to reiterate some of the points that experts had given us. You have got to hold the power button down.
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: Yes, see, that's -- that doesn't seem like the answer. That doesn't seem like the answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And that's Jay Leno, everybody. That is the "Mash-Up."
Tonight, Republicans furious about the last-ditch effort Democrats are considering to get health care passed this week. We're going to talk with a member of Speaker Pelosi's inner circle about the move to approve the bill without a vote when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: This crucial week for President Obama's health care overhaul just took a dramatic new twist. Democrats are now vowing to do whatever it takes to get reform passed. In fact, Speaker Nancy Pelosi is now considering a strategy to allow the House to approve the Senate bill without actually voting for it.
Instead, the House could simply vote to -- quote -- "deem" the bill passed before moving on to vote for more changes in the Senate language. Now, this is a little tricky, but the move could give political cover, in theory, to Democrats who aren't fully on board with the bill.
Republicans, though, are fighting to the end, condemning what they see as a ramming-through of the bill, no matter what the cost. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MIKE PENCE (R), INDIANA: The idea that the Senate bill could be deemed as passed on the House floor without members of Congress being asked to vote for it, I believe is -- is -- not just tramples on the common sense and insults the intelligence of the American people, but really tramples on the Constitution of the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Congressman Chris Van Hollen chairs the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. He serves as Speaker Pelosi's assistant. And he is joining me right now.
Congressman, you know, health care has been such a tough battle, this yearlong battle. Is this really the way that Democrats want to pass this legislation, essentially using this kind of legislative trick?
REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: Well, what we're finding, Campbell, is our Republican colleagues no longer want to talk about the substance of the bill and the merits of the bill and how it will reduce premiums and how it will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage to people who have preexisting conditions, and they want to focus on process.
But what they're not telling people is That what we're going to pass in the House is an amended version of the Senate bill. They are trying very hard to create the impression that the House is just going to be passing the Senate bill. And that's not the case.
And, by the way, this is a procedure that has been used many times, beginning in 1934, and was used by our Republican colleagues on a budget reconciliation bill as recently as 2006, when they were in the majority. So, these are a little bit of crocodile tears, I have to say.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: OK, take Republicans, though, and put them aside, because this really is just about Democrats right now.
And, to somebody like me, to the average person who is watching all of this unfold, we're thinking, really? It comes down to these little bizarre legislative maneuvers? Why can't our members of Congress, our lawmakers just vote, yes, I'm for health care reform or, no, I'm against health care reform, and tell us, the American people, how they really feel about it?
Is that asking so much? VAN HOLLEN: It's not. And that's exactly what we're doing. We're going to be voting up or down on health care reform. We're going to be voting up or down on the issue of the Senate bill as we're modifying it to take out those provisions that I think the American public wants us to take out, like the Nebraska deal, and include the other provisions, like the crackdown on waste, fraud and abuse in Medicare, that some of our Republican colleagues proposed.
They're going to get an up-or-down vote. Look, the Republicans don't want to talk about the procedures the insurance companies are using to deny people care, even after...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Yes, but put all that aside. Again, I'm saying this isn't about Republicans and their talking points. This is about you and your talking points right now.
(CROSSTALK)
VAN HOLLEN: No, no, but...
BROWN: It's that -- it's been made clear here that the whole reason this has even come into play is that certain members of Congress don't -- need some political cover, because they're very concerned about November, and they're having a hard time supporting this. And is that what this is about?
VAN HOLLEN: No, but clearly what is happening is -- you say it's not about our Republican colleagues, but they're clearly succeeding in some part in distracting the conversation away from the merits here, because we are having an up-or-down vote.
BROWN: So, do you believe right now that you have the votes to pass this bill, given -- however you decide to go about getting it done?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, I think the momentum is there. If you were to say, do we have a hard count today, I would say no. But if you look at the count today and you make an educated guess, based on what people are hearing from their constituents, I think the momentum is clearly with us.
BROWN: Donna Brazile tweeted -- quote -- "If a handful of Democrats decide to defeat this bill, they deserve to get a primary challenge."
One of President Obama's former top campaign advisers is now threatening to run against his local congresswoman if she votes no. You're in charge of keeping the House in Democratic hands. And what do you make of these threats?
VAN HOLLEN: Well, we will have the votes when the time comes to vote on this. People doubted whether or not we would have the votes on many other big issues that we have decided here in the House. And at the end of the day, we have been able to put together the majority. So, people are going to listen to their constituents, and they're going the reach independent judgments about the best way forward. But I'm very confident that, at the end of the day, a great majority of our members are going to say we need to do health care reform and we need to do it now.
And that's why I'm confident that it will pass.
BROWN: Congressman Chris Van Hollen, appreciate your time tonight. Thank you.
VAN HOLLEN: Thank you. Thank you, Campbell.
And with me now is senior political correspondent and "STATE OF THE UNION" host Candy Crowley.
So, Candy, you heard the congressman there. Republicans are calling this a legislative scheme, a trick. Congressman Van Hollen saying that's absolutely not true.
Where is the truth here?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the truth is that there are House Democrats who don't want to vote for the Senate bill, which they have to pass in order to get health care. It's one of two bills they have to pass.
So, to make that more palatable, they are going to have what is called a rules vote, which we don't need to go into, but it's just another vote. So, it's like voting for the Senate health care bill once removed.
Why do this? Because then you're not on record as having passed a bill that gave special -- special compensation to Nebraska or any of the other things that the House doesn't like about the Senate bill. So, it isn't a direct up-or-down vote.
Now, there will be a direct or down vote, and that's on the second package, which is the fix-it package, the things the House wants to do to that Senate bill. So, there is -- and it's not a little-used legislative thing. Generally, you know when this happens, Campbell? It happens when they go to raise the debt.
Nobody wants their name on a bill that says that they raised the debt to another trillion dollars. So, they vote on the rule and then deem it passed, because then their name isn't on that debt bill.
BROWN: You wonder if anybody really buys it in this day and age.
CROWLEY: Well, exactly.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: ... seems silly.
CROWLEY: It does. (CROSSTALK)
CROWLEY: But it gives the House members cover who might otherwise not vote for it, and then doom this bill.
BROWN: Right.
So, is this something I guess the White House is worried about? What are you hearing from the president's aides on this?
CROWLEY: They're not worried about the process, as they say. Here is what the White House wants. They want the bill, OK?
BROWN: And they don't care how they get there.
CROWLEY: They want to sign it in. They don't care how they get there. And you know why? Because they think a week or two weeks after this bill is signed into law and people understand the consumer, patient protection rights that are in there having to do with insurance that no one is going to say, but they deemed it to be passed. They just -- they think this is nonsense.
BROWN: I do want to show people some of this video and hear some sound from Capitol Hill. These are the protesters, hundreds of protesters on the Hill today, not fans of the bill. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTERS: Kill the bill! Kill the bill!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm American, and I'm mad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, join me (INAUDIBLE) here. Let's deem it dead!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We didn't ask for a last-ditch effort. We're asking them to ditch this effort. Ditch this effort!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: It is not only Republicans who are unhappy about it. You do have a lot of independents, a lot of conservative Democrats. I mean, presumably, there is nothing that can be said at this point to bring them over. And I'm guessing the White House is really just relying on these core people, which is why this is so close.
CROWLEY: Well, actually, here is what the White House thinks will help. They think it will help when it becomes law.
They think that people will take a second look at it, because what do they know? They know that there are huge elements within the bill that people do support. It's just kind of the totality. People like the parts. Somehow, they just don't like the totality.
And, again, the White House thinks that the only way you're going to move these people and move these numbers is that you get that into law, and people will take a second look at it.
BROWN: Candy Crowley for us tonight -- Candy, as always, thanks.
A total breakdown in Detroit's schools, and now an ambitious plan to try to save them by shutting half of them down. We're going to talk to one of the city's reformers on whether it can really work for the kids there when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Detroit's public schools are facing a radical overhaul right now. Plagued with one of the country's worst dropout rates, the district has unveiled a multimillion-plan to close more than 40 failing schools, while boosting graduation rates to 98 percent in just five years.
Last night, the district's emergency financial manager, Robert Bobb, defended the massive restructuring.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT BOBB, DETROIT PUBLIC SCHOOLS: Some people may think, as I stated earlier, that our plan is too ambitious, but the bottom line is that we have lagged behind for far too long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So is the plan overdue? Is it simply too disruptive?
Joining us now to talk about this is Doug Ross, who is the founder of the Detroit's University Preparatory Academy system, a charter school that has been extremely successful in boosting graduation rates.
Welcome to you, sir.
DOUG ROSS, FOUNDER, UNIVERSITY PREPARATORY ACADEMY: Thanks.
BROWN: I just want to ask you, the Detroit public school system has consistently lagged behind the rest of the country. Its high school graduation rate is only 58 percent, far below the national average, 89 percent.
Why? Why has the system struggled and performed so poorly?
ROSS: I think, essentially, because they have stuck with the system of obsolete, old factory schools. Just the way the factories of Detroit could no longer build a car that was world-class unless they began to change them, the same has been true for the Detroit public schools.
But because they were a monopoly so long, Campbell, they just kept running those big, impersonal, standardized schools. And they haven't worked for a quarter-of-a-century. And they still aren't.
BROWN: So why do you think shutting down schools, I guess, is more effective than trying to fix them or reform them?
ROSS: Well, I think the really big news is, a week ago, a broad civic coalition in Detroit unveiled a reform plan which for the first time offers hope, even if the Detroit public schools fail.
And it calls for the closing of virtually all Detroit public schools, charter schools, private schools that aren't performing, and opening more than 70 new schools using organizations from all around the country that have a track record of successfully educating urban kids.
So, hopefully, this plan Robert Bobb announced will work, but, even if it doesn't, I think we finally have a dramatic plan in place that can offer kids some hope and a future.
BROWN: And how are people reacting to it generally, because it is pretty dramatic to talk about something this massive? I mean, you're talking about a lot of teachers losing their jobs, a lot of parents who I'm sure are sort of curious as to how this is going to work itself out.
ROSS: Yes, I think people are uncertain. I think one of the challenges for parents is, when you talk to them, they will agree bad schools ought to be closed, but they usually don't want their school closed, even if in fact it's a bad one, because it's convenient and it's nearby.
And Robert Bobb hopefully will be closing a lot of failing schools. But I think the encouraging news is -- we have often talked about this -- comparing this to putting a man on the moon. When John Kennedy announced that challenge, we really didn't know how to put a man on the moon. But we actually today do know how to graduate more than 90 percent of urban kids from high school and send more than 90 percent on to college.
We know how to do it. But -- I could take you on a tour of 200 urban schools that know how to do it. So, we know how to do it. We now have to get rid of these big obsolete schools that don't work, and put in place schools that do. And I think we actually know how to do it.
BROWN: And you have done that. I mean, you launched your charter school in Detroit in -- at the middle school level in 2000, and then at the high school level, I think, in 2003, if I have that right.
ROSS: You do.
BROWN: You have seen some pretty incredible results. Why? What is it? What is the secret here, given what you have experienced?
ROSS: Well, the thing that kind of surprised is, first and foremost, it's culture. It's a culture of enormously high expectation that says kind of with the middle-class message, of course you're going to graduate, of course you're going to college. The only question is where and what are you going to study, secondly, very strong personal relationships between each child and one or more adults in the school, rigorous college prep, not watered-down curriculum, and a teacher staff that is committed to the mission, that is willing to do whatever it takes, that gives their cell phone number to every kid and family, and you can call them 24/7.
You do those things, you graduate 90 to 100 percent of your kids, no matter how poor.
BROWN: Well, we really appreciate you coming on and talking to us about what is working, what is not working. And we certainly wish you the best of luck, Doug Ross. Thanks for joining us tonight. Appreciate it.
ROSS: My pleasure.
BROWN: Coming up, new details in the murder of a pregnant American gunned down in the streets of Mexico. Find out why the FBI now thinks it may have been a case of mistaken identity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: New information on the three Americans who were murdered over the weekend in Juarez, Mexico.
You will remember, among those killed was a pregnant American woman who worked at the U.S. Consulate who was gunned down with her husband in broad daylight after leaving a children's birthday party.
Well, now an FBI spokesman says the working theory is that it was a case of mistaken identity. Juarez is the most violent city in the world, with more than 2,500 drug-related killings last year alone.
Michael Ware spent an evening on patrol there.
And just a word of caution here: Some of the pictures in this piece are very graphic.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This footage is difficult to watch, these anguished cries impossible to forget, relatives entering this building seeking the bodies of their loved ones executed by a Mexican drug cartel.
You're witnessing the pain of the Mexican border town of Juarez, the front line in the war on drugs, and this a crime scene I just had to see for myself.
(on camera): There's so much violence that occurs here in Juarez that the world just does not hear about.
And, now, it's disconcerting to see this fresh paint here on these walls, as an old woman makes her home in this building, for, just two months ago, this literally was
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL WARE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: There's so much violence that occurs here in Juarez that the world just does not hear about. And now it's disconcerting to see this fresh paint here on these walls as an old woman makes her home in this building. But just two months ago, this literally was a corridor of blood.
This building had been a drug rehabilitation center. And one of the major cartels suspected that its rivals were recruiting foot soldiers from among the patients. So they came in this door and down this corridor, moving from room to room to room, executing everyone they found. While they're now trying to build a home, this is where 17 people died in yet another day of Juarez violence.
(voice-over): Within two days of this attack, the death toll rose even higher when two survivors died in the hospital. And there is no discrimination to the slaughter. Under these clothes lies a 7- year-old American boy. His father, the target, but the hitman chose not to let the child live.
On this day, we're in Juarez to see the horrors for ourselves. It's just before dusk as I approach a fresh crime scene.
(on camera): The man in that car was hit by cartel gunmen, riddled with eight bullets. His passenger tried to flee, but only made it that far.
(voice-over): This was yet another afternoon of killing in Juarez, with a night of murder yet to follow. Every night joint patrols like this one between local and federal police and Mexican soldiers crisscross the city, trying desperately to stem the flow of blood.
(on camera): Things were so bad that earlier in the year, the Mexican president had to call in the military to help protect the city. For a short time, there's a lull in the violence, but it quickly returned. Now it's worse than it's ever been before.
(voice-over): By now it's close to 10:00 p.m., and the reports of violence are streaming in over the police radio.
(on camera): The patrol has just received another call on the radio. There's some kind of incident. But those lights there, that's America, the U.S. border. This reminds you just how close this war on drugs is being brought to American soil.
(voice-over): But before the night is over, there is even more carnage to come. All this in our one afternoon and evening visit to this deadly city.
(on camera): This time it's almost too much to bear. It's just after 11:00. And where you see those policemen gathered at that door, there has just been four more slayings. This time all women.
The early reports are that a gunman walked in that door and executed all of them. One of them a 12-year-old girl, another one 14. And in a gut-wrenching irony, all of this done with the American border crossing just here, 80 yards away. There can be no more pertinent reminder of the Mexican blood that's being spilled in this war for the right to supply America's demand for illicit drugs.
Michael Ware, CNN, Juarez, Mexico.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: And coming up, five hours in the air, then another 11 on the ground. A routine Virgin Air flight from L.A. to New York got really ugly. One passenger videotaped the whole ordeal and put it online as it was happening. That when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: A routine five-hour flight from L.A. to New York turned into a 16-hour flight from hell, and the whole thing was captured in real time online by passengers who used the plane's wi-fi to tweet and to send video of what was happening on board. And joining me right now is one of those passengers, David Martin, who is the CEO of the social networking service Contain.
And, David, it's good to have you here. And I know you believe that social networking is the story about what happened on this plane.
DAVID MARTIN, PASSENER ON VIRGIN AMERICAN MORNING. FLT. 404: Right. Exactly.
BROWN: And that's your business anyway.
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: But back me up a little bit. I guess first, you filmed all of this, right?
MARTIN: Right. So me and some of the people that were with me that work in the same company.
BROWN: So what -- like at what point did you think hey, it's time to pull out the camera here?
MARTIN: Right. Definitely I already had the camera from day one or from minute one when we came out the gate.
BROWN: Yes.
MARTIN: When we took off from LAX, and showing everyone look at the LAX grid down there.
BROWN: Yes.
MARTIN: Even coming in over Chicago, I already was containing things as I went on contain.com. And then what happened was we got an announcement saying hey, listen, folks, we're going to circle around here for a while, and we might be running out of fuel short slowly. So we got to divert over to Stewart International.
BROWN: OK. And so when did you think OK, I need to start filming for other reasons than this?
MARTIN: Yes. So, all right. So for the more nasty reasons, what happened was when we landed in Stewart International, a bumpy landing, we had passengers after a while that wanted to get off the aircraft, naturally because we were stuck.
BROWN: Because you were stuck there and they won't let you --
MARTIN: First it was two hours --
BROWN: Wow. MARTIN: -- on the tarmac at that stage. And then what happened is the steward or the supervisor from Stewart International came to the plane and wouldn't let people off the aircraft. So we start to pull out the cameras then and contain things as they happened live right there on the aircraft.
BROWN: And the flight attendants actually yelling?
MARTIN: What happened was they got a little bit agitated and they yelled at a couple of passengers telling them to shut up and getting on their nerves. Then we had another flight attendant that went even further. There was a little bit of a physical altercation. And it was a bit of a mess. But it made for good footage.
BROWN: OK. And I was reading they ran out of food I guess also.
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: So you guys were given the option to get off the plane, right?
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: What happened?
MARTIN: Well, let's be very clear about that. We were given the option and then it was taken away from us. So some passengers, the first flight passengers got off the plane.
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: Then another 16 passengers wanted to get off. But this was not the full diversion in America where everyone else could not get off. This was the fault specifically of the Stewart International airport supervisor who made it very clear in front of all the passengers, shouting that people are not getting off this aircraft. I don't care about this aircraft. I'm not coming back to this aircraft. It was appalling. So we basically didn't have the best time. But we tried to inject a lot of positivity into the cabin because the flight attendants were also having a pretty stressful moment.
BROWN: Yes. So how has Virgin responded to all this?
MARTIN: Well --
BROWN: And who do you blame in this?
MARTIN: Well, Virgin responded quite well. And because they had seen everything on contain.com what was going on as it happened, the CEO of Virgin America, David Cush, called me on Sunday to my home phone and we had a conversation about what went on. And both of us are CEOs and we feel it's very important to move forward from this and to exercise leadership where we can lead in the field of how we exercise, you know, good sense of how to deal with this kind of situation in the future.
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: So JetBlue and American Airlines especially then can follow. But who to blame? Basically, I would say the international -- Stewart International supervisor in that airport did not make an effort to help Virgin get to the gate. So there's two separate incidents really or two separate stories.
BROWN: Right.
MARTIN: One where Stewart completely failed, as in the airport. And the other one where the flight attendants on Virgin definitely had -- could have had better moments.
BROWN: I do know there was one high point for you.
MARTIN: Right.
BROWN: You were sitting by one of the judges from "Dancing with the Stars."
MARTIN: Yes. That's right. Carrie Ann Inaba.
BROWN: Seriously?
MARTIN: Absolutely. One of the most amazing people I've ever met. She actually helped us, some of the passengers when they were getting a bit, you know, agitated tried to calm them down. But you know, she's an amazing, amazing person. We talked since the flight and we've become friends since.
BROWN: Well, it's a fascinating story. Sorry you had such a bad experience.
MARTIN: It was positive in some ways.
BROWN: OK, David, you are an optimist.
MARTIN: Absolutely.
BROWN: It's good to have you. David Martin, appreciate it.
MARTIN: You're welcome.
BROWN: Still ahead, it's official. Tiger Woods will be playing golf next month. But will he be talking to the press? That story still ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Coming up, Tiger's comeback now set. He is playing the masters next month. It will all be forgotten if he wins. First, though, more must-see news happening right now. Mike Galanos here with tonight's "Download."
Hi, Mike. MIKE GALANOS, HLN PRIME NEWS: Hey, Campbell. First off, this one could be straight out of a Hollywood heist movie. Thieves cut a hole in the roof and rappelled into the Connecticut warehouse of pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly. It happened Sunday morning. They weren't there for the money, but they made off with a fortune, about $75 million worth of prescription drugs, enough to fill a tractor- trailer.
Well, anti-childhood obesity advocates, they're cheering today. Pepsi announced it will pull full calorie sugar drinks from schools all over the world. It's the first major soda maker to do so. Now the move follows similar changes by Pepsi and rival Coke here in the U.S., and this will happen over a couple of years.
And there could be a real situation this year at the White House Correspondents Dinner. MTV "Jersey Shore" cast member Mike "The Situation" Sorrentino says he's looking for an invite to the event. The buffed up Sorrentino says he's heard it's a day where the biggest celebrities get to meet the president. He considers himself one, by the way. So he wants in. He says he cleans himself up. Campbell, he says this show is one of the biggest shows of the year and he's the main character of the show, and he's a breakout star as well. And he's humble obviously
BROWN: Yes, clearly. I bet he gets an invite to that event. I would not be in the least surprised.
GALANOS: Yes, you're right.
BROWN: Mike Galanos for us tonight. Mike, thanks very much.
"LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. Larry, what do you have tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Campbell, we've got tragedy. Convicted sex offenders put in prison, then released, only to rape, even kill again. How and why does this continue to happen?
We're going to talk to the parents of 17-year-old Chelsea King. A registered sex offender was just charged in her death. Police are looking to see if he's connected with the death of another young girl in the same area. Plus, how can we prevent these crimes, protect the kids? Sobering and important hour ahead, Campbell, on "LARRY KING LIVE."
BROWN: All right, Larry. We will see you in just a few minutes.
Tiger Woods announcing the comeback of the year. But is his return good or bad for professional golf? We'll have that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Tiger Woods announced today he'll tee off at one of golf's biggest tournaments, the Masters at Augusta National next month, and setting the stage for what may be one of the most watched golf events in history. And joining us right now is David Dusek, who's senior editor of Sports Illustrated's Golf Group. In Washington, it's Christine Brennan, who is, of course, columnist for "USA Today" and author of "Best Seat in the House."
Welcome to both of you. David, you know, I guess this isn't a huge surprise. The Masters is this very tightly controlled event, and I think you were here. The last time you were here you sort of predicted that he would use this because it was such a perfect place for his return. Explain what you meant.
DAVID DUSEK, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED'S GOLF GROUP: Yes, this is a venue that's unlike any place else in sports. When you think of big sporting events, you think of VIP Chalets (ph) and all these corporate signage. There's none of that at Augusta National. You won't see a logo other than the club's logo any place on the grounds. They even ask people if they bring in water bottles, please take off the label. There's none of that kind of stuff.
So this is sport in its most pure. And they really sort of hold that to be near and dear. You're not going to see tabloid-type media crashing the gates. You're not going to see people running around holding up signs. When Tiger shows up to play at the Masters, he will be in the most protected environment he could possibly make his entry back into the sport in.
BROWN: And they obviously know that and have thought about that a lot.
DUSEK: Of course.
BROWN: Christine, I was a little bit surprised by your reaction to today's announcement. You say you believe it shows he is a fraud. Explain what you mean.
CHRISTINE BRENNAN, COLUMNIST, "USA TODAY": Well, that's the screaming headline, yes. By the way, I agree with David completely about the Masters, the loving embrace that Tiger will get. It makes perfect sense for him.
What I'm referring to was his announcement that we all watched 25 days ago where in the 12-minute of a 13 1/2 minute speech, Campbell, as you well remember, Tiger started saying, you know, I will come back to the game one day. I don't know when that day will be. I don't rule out that it will be this year. Boy, you hear that and you look at this broken man, and I took him at his word, as did many columnists and I think many fans. And then to hear that that one day is in fact 25 days away. Wow. That was fast.
I wish him well. I think it's a terrific recovery. But is that real? Or is that a fraud? And that's, of course, what I'm asking.
BROWN: And does she not have a point there, David?
DUSEK: Oh, absolutely. I think there's no question there's a point. I was one of the people, I came on and we talked about it. I was pretty convinced that we may not see Tiger Woods until 2011. BROWN: Right.
DUSEK: Maybe the U.S. Open in June, much later. I'm sort of wondering what happened. And the only thing that I can sort of think of is that he and his wife Elin had a discussion and basically came to the understanding that whatever situation their family is going to sort of end up in, they have reached, or are on the cusp of reaching. And I'm hoping that she gave her blessings and said yes, go back to work.
BROWN: So both of you talked to me about the kind of event this is going to be, media event. I know, Christine, you've already got credentials, so you both already have credentials to cover the event.
DUSEK: Yes.
BROWN: But, Christine, you said that you decided to get there even earlier than you had planned once you found out that Tiger was going to be there. Why? I mean, is this going to be that much of a zoo?
BRENNAN: Oh, I think so. I don't know what David thinks, but I'm going to get in on Monday, and this was my plan with my editors at "USA Today." And, Campbell, yes, I think it's going to be -- while the atmosphere inside David describes so well as controlled and beautiful and it's pristine, on the outside, on Washington road, that is going to be a mob scene.
DUSEK: Absolute circus.
BRENNAN: Yes. And you know, the Hootie Martha story of 2003, which I think is a big deal, no women members still at Augusta National, but that's going to look like a picnic compared to what we're going to see with the tabloids in the paparazzi waiting outside the gates.
DUSEK: I would anticipate that they're going to be camera lenses poking out of basically every bush, every shrub throughout the city of Augusta. But once you get into the grounds around the magnolias and the dogwoods --
BROWN: It will be very different.
DUSEK: -- it will be absolutely pristine.
BROWN: But the players usually hold press conferences, don't they before?
DUSEK: Absolutely. If this is something --
BROWN: So is he going to do that?
DUSEK: This is something that started actually in the Tiger era. Before it used to be journalists like myself would approach the guys and would sort of make themselves available.
BROWN: Right.
DUSEK: But when Tiger Woods came out, there were so many people that wanted this. The crush basically became these staged press conferences. Normally the top players and the big names will do something maybe late Monday afternoon, Tuesday, Wednesday, and then they start playing on Thursday. We can anticipate that Tiger will probably do something on Tuesday afternoon. That's his tradition. But I'm wondering if he doesn't necessarily go in and have some type of an open press conference before the Masters, get all that stuff over with, and then when he shows up at Augusta National, it's all about the golf. I'm wondering if that tactic may be employed by him.
BROWN: And just go quickly, guys, how is he going to play? I mean, he's had a lot of time off here.
BRENNAN: Well --
BROWN: You know, how does he get his game back?
BRENNAN: Well, that's the question. You know, Tiger, when he was missing a lot of time after his father passed away, he missed the cut at the next big major, the U.S. Open.
You know, I think Tiger will be ready. But that doesn't mean he's going to win the tournament. And of course, I know everyone in TV land wants to make sure that he makes the cut and plays on to the weekend. But I imagine there'll be a little rust. But Tiger is still the best golfer in the world when he puts his mind to it.
DUSEK: Yes. And not to get to inside golf on this but Tiger Woods has never broken 70 at a Masters in the first round. His lowest score ever is 65. So I think a lot of people when he first comes out if he doesn't go lights out and shoot a great score are going to say, wow, he must really be affected by this. I think he's going to get more and more comfortable every day that he's at the event. And I would look for him. I don't know if he's going to win.
BROWN: Right.
DUSEK: But I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if he improves steadily every day.
BROWN: David, great to have you here. Christine, thank you very much. Appreciate it, guys.
BRENNAN: Thank you.
DUSEK: Thanks a lot.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in just a few minutes. But when we come back, we're going to first tell you about the shocking violence against women around the world, how it has been talked about recently, and ideas about how to stop it. Empowering women and girls, when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BROWN: We've come a long way, baby, or have we? Empowering women worldwide is a priority for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who said recently at the United Nations progress is coming, as long as women do their part.
Tina Brown, founder and editor-in-chief of TheDailyBeast.com is doing her part, especially this weekend. She had this extraordinary conference that was focused on empowering women and finding solutions, hearing people's stories, full disclosure, I was part of it.
TINA BROWN, FOUNDER, DAILYBEAST.COM: You did great.
C. BROWN: I had the great opportunity to be a part of it. And it was fantastic.
T. BROWN: You did great.
C. BROWN: But let me -- let me ask you, this has been a goal. Empowering women was laid out as a goal set by 189 countries 15 years ago with a platform for action. We're going to educate and improve human rights and help care for women and girls around the world. What has happened?
T. BROWN: Well, individually, enormously great efforts have been made. I mean, what was exciting about the weekend is that we had these incredible women with their incredible stories doing these amazingly brave things. I mean, there's this amazing woman in Somaliland who has her own maternity hospital that is just training midwives one at a time, and trying to get $60,000 to make out a well. You know, and there's this incredible woman who ended cutting in parts of Senegal by going from village to village with this amazing woman with her who experienced that for her daughter and telling the villagers that this is something, trying to co-op them, trying to stop them from doing this.
But there's a lot of terrible stuff happening which is getting no attention, particularly in Congo, where women are being raped and a routine, not just raped, but tortured in the most horrendous fashion, and yet the world is kind of really doing nothing about it. I mean, one of the great speakers at the conference was this doctor from Congo who said this is really sexual massacre that's happening. And nothing is happening about it. People are just standing by and letting it happen. So we were really trying to bring these voices together to say let's look outside our own country, just for a little bit. Just for a moment, and see what terrible things are happening to women, and see what we can do to help the people who are trying to stop them happening.
C. BROWN: And I think what came out of that for a lot of people was putting a spotlight on it in many cases. Because also, when you hear these horrific stories of rape, how it is used as a weapon, you know, of trafficking of young women and girls, there's also a stigma that in many cases is attached to these women victims.
T. BROWN: Yes.
C. BROWN: Because of the cultural issues.
T. BROWN: Right.
C. BROWN: Or the countries they come from that they are then stuck with.
T. BROWN: Absolutely. They have the sense of shame after having these terrible things happen to them. Instead of being able to proclaim the people who have done this, they have to hide it. But what was great actually was that we tried to focus on the people who are bringing solutions. Like when you talk about the human trafficking, we spotlighted this wonderful woman in India who's bringing girls out of trafficking and rehabbing them and getting them jobs. And she actually made the point that we should think about ways to help girls who've been through this experience and bring them into companies and give them jobs because they do have the stigma and the shame. So not only are they trying to get over this terrible experience, but they also feel they can't speak about anything and they feel that they have this terrible shadow. As you said, we have to basically encourage them and help them to get a new life.
C. BROWN: So how do you get people who go to a conference like this, who hear these incredible stories to leave there, not just sort of inspired for the moment, but to leave there and to really want to do something?
T. BROWN: Well, what's wonderful actually about the weekend is that we've been deluged with e-mails from people who've connected up with each other at the conference. One of the great things, for instance, that came out of it was an HP (ph) very generously gave $100,000 in product to a fantastic young woman who started a little school for excellence in her hometown in Kenya where they don't even have like one computer. And he's given her $100,000 worth of computer equipment for her little school in Kenya. This was the kind of stuff that was happening all over the conference --
C. BROWN: Right.
T. BROWN: -- connecting up people of means to these small projects that are going to really empower whole communities.
C. BROWN: Well, good luck next year.
T. BROWN: Thank you.
C. BROWN: I know you're going to do it again.
T. BROWN: I hope to be part of it again.
C. BROWN: Absolutely. Tina Brown, good to see you.
T. BROWN: Thank you.
C. BROWN: That's it for us tonight. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now. We'll see you tomorrow.
