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Campbell Brown
Immigration Showdown; President Obama Meets With Israeli Prime Minister
Aired July 06, 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: Hi there, everybody.
Tonight, the immigration showdown that's been looming since April finally coming to a head, on one side, the state of Arizona, on the other, the full force of the federal government. The Justice Department went to court today to try to block Arizona's tough new law. Is this the opening round in a long, hot summer of immigration battles?
Also tonight, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu returns to the White House, his first visit since a very frosty meeting with President Obama in March. This time they looked like old friends. The president even got an invitation to visit Israel. Are the two leaders finally on the same page?
And later, a bizarre new development in the Amanda Knox case -- why the parents of the American student convicted of murdering her roommate are facing their own court battle.
But we are going to begin tonight with the brand-new lawsuit that could have major implications for this country's battle over illegal immigration. The Justice Department argues only the federal government has the power to enforce immigration laws.
So, has Arizona gone too far and overstepped its bounds here or has the federal government failed to go far enough to try to deal with the problem?
CNN's Casey Wian, who has covered this story very extensively, is joining us right now.
And, Casey, we knew this White House lawsuit was coming, or Justice Department lawsuit. Explain the grounds that they are challenging Arizona's right to make this law.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, a lot of the protests over this law have been over the theory that this law is going to create racial profiling, lead law enforcement officers to indiscriminately pull Latinos over on the street and check their immigration status.
But that is not why the federal government is suing to block this law. They are suing it on the grounds that it is exclusively the federal government's responsibility to regulate immigration. Let me read you a statement from Attorney General Eric Holder. He said that: "Setting immigration policy and enforcing immigration laws is a national responsibility. Seeking to address the issue through a patchwork of state laws will only create more problems than it solves."
Now, supporters of the Arizona immigration law say it is the federal government that has created the problem by not addressing the nation's illegal immigration crisis over several successive administrations.
And one of the most outspoken supporters of this law is Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio. He says that no federal lawsuit is going to stop his officers from attempting to arrest illegal immigrants.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA, SHERIFF: Lawsuits or no lawsuits, I'm going to continue enforcing the federal and state immigration laws. Why isn't the federal government asking us for our help, instead of suing, suing law enforcement in the state of Arizona?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And, Casey...
WIAN: Now, it's clear that law enforcement -- oh, sorry.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: No, go ahead. No, keep going.
WIAN: What I was going to say is that law enforcement officers in the state of Arizona themselves are very split over this issue. Some who live and work in areas like Phoenix, where there's large Latino and immigrant communities, want their cooperation investigating other crimes, so they don't like this law. They think it's going to spread fear.
But those in some in the rural counties where drug and immigrant smuggling is rampant are very concerned about violence and they want this law enforced, Campbell.
BROWN: And I guess despite the lawsuits, that is exactly what is going to happen. Arizona is going to move full steam ahead to start enforcing the law right away, right?
WIAN: Yes, Governor Jan Brewer sent out a tweet today saying that she is going to move full steam ahead.
The Arizona State authorities have put together a training video that was just released last week to instruct its officers throughout the state to really look at how this law should be implemented and within the framework of the Constitution. They say the entire country is watching law enforcement officers in the state of Arizona.
It will be up to the courts to decide whether those officers will have the opportunity to enforce this law, Campbell.
BROWN: All right, Casey Wian for us tonight -- Casey, thanks.
Arizona State Representative Kyrsten Sinema back with us tonight. She's a Democrat and a vocal critic of the new law. But also with is state Senator Russell Pearce, a Republican and one of the driving forces behind this new law.
And, Senator Pearce, let met start with you.
I want to read a little bit from the administration's lawsuit that says -- quote -- "A state may not establish its own immigration policy or enforce state laws in a manner that interferes with the federal immigration laws."
In other words, federal law trumps state law. How can you take issue with that?
RUSSELL PEARCE (R), ARIZONA STATE SENATOR: Well, you do take issue.
First of all, enforcement is not regulatory, and the courts have ruled on this. The courts, the 5th, 6th, the 8th, the 9th, the 10th Circuit courts have all ruled. The United States Supreme Court has ruled on this, on states' inherent authority to enforce the law.
If Congress had not wanted us to enforce this law, they could have used what are called plenary powers. They have never done that. And absent that, through the supremacy clause, states have an inherent authority and responsibility to enforce the law.
The misinformation out there is outrageous. The Obama administration simply is filing suit, a political lawsuit, if you will, because they have no leg to stand on, on the preemption issue. They are simply trying to enforce their current policy of no enforcement and amnesty. That's what it's about. They are not worried about profiling. This bill prohibits it.
They're not worried about what lawful contact is. The Supreme Court, the United States Supreme Court (INAUDIBLE) landmark decision said if you have a lawful contact, you don't need reasonable suspicion. But we still put it in this bill.
This is about an effort to stop any enforcement as they can usher in their amnesty program. It is a nonenforcement policy. That is the policy. Interior enforcement is down 75 percent in this administration. It is outrageous. States have inherent authority and responsibility.
BROWN: I don't think those numbers are right. I don't have the figures in front of me.
PEARCE: The numbers are right.
BROWN: But everybody who has been on this program before, on both sides of this issue, has conceded that enforcement is actually stronger along the border with more police...
(CROSSTALK)
PEARCE: No, no, no, no. I was talking interior enforcement, not border.
BROWN: OK.
PEARCE: And even then, I was just down there. I was just down there with the ranchers and the widow of Rob Krentz, Susie. And they said it is worse, it's as bad or worse than it has ever been. So, again, the misinformation has to stop.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Well, I want to stay away from the anecdotal and stick with the figures as much as we can here.
PEARCE: Those are facts. OK, those are facts.
BROWN: All right.
Representative Sinema, let me go to you. You have got both of your state senators who say the White House should let the law go into effect and then see what happens before forging ahead with a lawsuit. So, why not wait and see how this shakes out and whether it does do good?
KYRSTEN SINEMA (D), ARIZONA STATE REPRESENTATIVE: Well, I think's important to note, first and foremost, that the Department of Justice has the clear authority and legal right to bring suit, even before the law is implemented.
This law presents a great challenge and a really interesting legal question for our whole country. And hopefully this lawsuit can provide some clarity for those of us who are state actors, so we know where the state authority ends in terms of implementing immigration reform and where federal authority begins.
I think that this law will allow the court to provide clarity not just for Arizona, but for the entire country, so we can have some real guidance on what kind of laws we can move forward with and what kind of laws we have to push Congress to pass and to enforce.
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Let me ask you, because, as I understand it, you are a constitutional lawyer.
SINEMA: Right.
BROWN: And Senator McCain says that challenging a law that hasn't gone into effect is a pretty heavy lift. Does he have a point here?
SINEMA: Oh, yes. It is difficult to challenge a law before it goes into effect.
And what will be happening some time next week is that Judge Bolton, our district court judge, will be hearing what's called a request for injunction by the other five lawsuits that have already been filed.
These groups are asking the court to enjoin the law, which means to stop it from going into effect, on July 29. And the court only grants injunctions when the plaintiffs present a good case and show that they are probably going to win.
BROWN: All right.
Let me ask you about this, Senator Pearce, because you mentioned this in your comments a minute ago. Law enforcement groups, some at least, have -- have expressed concerns about whether they are going to be able to enforce this. There are two separate lawsuits shall as I'm sure you know in Arizona courts right now, one police officer, I believe, from Tucson suing, claiming the law will -- and I have got the right quote here -- "seriously impede law enforcement investigations and facilitate the successful commission of crimes."
I mean, what do you make of those concerns? This isn't -- these aren't about political issues. These are law enforcement officers, right?
(CROSSTALK)
PEARCE: Well, those are fabrications.
Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the largest law enforcement association in the state of Arizona, endorsed this bill and has filed to be an -- as an intervener to support this law. The Arizona Policeman Association, an umbrella organization of over 9,000 police officers, endorsed this bill. Nine out of 15 sheriffs endorsed this bill.
The state fraternal order of police endorsed this bill. The Border Patrol Association endorsed this bill. That is such a fabrication. You always have an individual. The police chiefs don't endorse it because they work for open-border mayors, sanctuary mayors, who have always stated they don't want to enforce the law, have done everything they can not to enforce it.
Let me bring up an interesting point...
(CROSSTALK)
BROWN: Hold on. Before you bring up that point, let me let her -- let me let Representative Sinema respond to that, because we are running out of time for here.
Go ahead.
(CROSSTALK)
PEARCE: Well...
SINEMA: Well, I do think it is important to not that many law enforcement officers are struggling with the failure of Congress to enact meaningful comprehensive reform.
Right now in our state, we really are struggling with the lack of some kind of comprehensive law that gives law enforcement and police officers the tools they need to keep our communities safe. But some law enforcement officials have indicated some concern about the law because they could be sued for enforcing the law or sued for not enforcing the law.
BROWN: Right.
SINEMA: So, it does place some of them in a difficult situation.
BROWN: Representative Sinema and Senator Pearce, I know there are very strong views on both sides of this issue.
(CROSSTALK)
PEARCE: Well, I would like to correct some of the misinformation.
BROWN: Well, as I said, I wish we had more time to discuss this.
PEARCE: I do, too. It is very important.
BROWN: But thank you both for coming on. Really appreciate your time.
(CROSSTALK)
SINEMA: Thanks so much, Campbell.
PEARCE: Thank you. Thank you.
BROWN: Coming up next: It was a lovefest at the White House today between President Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Why this visit so was different from their last visit -- when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Our number-one international story tonight: Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu meeting with President Obama today at the White House. The president and the prime minister did everything they could to present a united front today, even echoing each other's words. Their message, that there is no tension in the relationship between the U.S. and Israel and that the Middle East peace process is moving forward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN NETANYAHU, ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER: The reports about the demise of the special U.S.-Israel relations -- relationship aren't just premature, they're just flat wrong.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: If you look at every public statement that I have made over the last year and a half, it has been a constant reaffirmation of the special relationship between the United States and Israel.
NETANYAHU: The president and I discussed concrete steps that could be done now -- in the coming days, in the coming weeks -- to move the peace process further along in a very robust way. This is what we focused our conversation on. And when I say "the next few weeks," that's what I mean. The president means that too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: And it's the pictures that really tell the story. Back in March, Netanyahu arrived at a side door in the White House with no pomp or circumstance and no commander in chief waiting to greet him and no photo-ops.
Today, a very different story, the two leaders posing to shake hands for the cameras, walking from the Oval Office to the prime minister's car side by side.
And what came out of today's meeting?
Joining us right now to talk about is Peter Beinart, what is senior political writer for TheDailyBeast.com, and Noah Pollak, executive director of the Emergency Committee for Israel.
Welcome to both of you.
Noah, let me start with you.
How important was today toward reducing the tensions that have been there clearly for the last few months? Did it actually put to bed notions of this rift between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu?
NOAH POLLAK, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EMERGENCY COMMITTEE FOR ISRAEL: I think in some ways it did. Today represented a big shift in at least the public relations between the two countries. For the past year-and-a-half, the Obama administration has pursued a posture of what a lot of people call tough love toward Israel.
It is a posture of making a lot of demands and criticisms. And today, you could see them put this to bed. In some ways, it was really a bow to reality, because this posture from the administration really wasn't working. It wasn't getting anything done. It wasn't moving the two sides toward talks and it wasn't promoting flexibility on the part of the Palestinians.
So, at least, in the public ambiance, this was a big shift.
BROWN: Peter, do you agree with that?
PETER BEINART, THEDAILYBEAST.COM: No, I don't think -- I think the fundamental differences remain.
And I think the most -- you can see it most clearly in the words that Prime Minister Netanyahu did not utter. He didn't utter the words Palestinian state, which is in some ways even a retreat from a year ago, when, under intense U.S. pressure, he did, in fact, say he would support a Palestinian state, with caveats.
So, while we may move to direct talks with the Palestinians, if you have an Israeli prime minister who would not even say that he supports the idea of a Palestinian state, it is hard for me to see where those talks are going to get, and I think it does underscore a really fundamental difference of vision between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu.
BROWN: So, there was talk of those talks getting under way by the end of the summer. Do you buy that, Peter, given what you just said?
BEINART: Yes. They may well get under way, but the question is what they will achieve in a circumstance in which the Israeli government, I think pretty clearly, has no interest really in negotiating the final status issues that would lead towards a Palestinian statement.
And I think -- so, I think we may well get to direct talks, but seems it hard to me very hard to imagine, given Prime Minister Netanyahu's behavior, at least today, that we are actually going to get anywhere with those talks.
BROWN: And, Noah, I'm guessing you disagree with that?
POLLAK: Yes.
There's of course the other problem of what the Palestinians are able to deliver. And one of the things that I think was very important today was this consensus between the two leaders of moving to direct talks. The proximity talks have been going on for quite a while now. And it's something that Netanyahu has always said he wanted to move beyond.
And Palestinians have been stalling and trying to keep things in that proximity phase. And one of the main reasons is that going to direct talks would really reveal the inability of the Palestinian leaders to make the kind of hard choices that would be necessary to go to accomplish a two-state solution.
There is a lot of fractiousness and powerlessness on the part of the Palestinian leaders. And, of course, there's the whole issue of Hamas controlling Gaza. And proximity talks were a way of sort of papering all that over. You have shuttle diplomacy and everything is run through President Obama's Middle East envoy, George Mitchell.
And so in some ways I think actually this was a big win for Netanyahu to have the president come out and say that he wants to move before the expiration of a settlement freeze in September toward these direct talks. BROWN: OK. Before we run out of time, I do want to get your take, both of you, on Iran specifically.
Noah, Netanyahu did seem pleased with the administration's efforts to go after Iran's nuclear program. In his words, he said these efforts have teeth, they bite. But are the U.S. and Israel really, in your view, on the same page when it comes to Iran?
POLLAK: I would suspect not, although this is one of those issues where there is a huge amount of private discussion that goes on, although it was very interesting to see today in a story that just came out the ambassador of to the UAE came out and openly advocated for military attacks on the Iranian nuclear program.
So, I think there is a developing consensus that something needs to be done and that it would be very, very bad if the Iranians went nuclear.
BROWN: Peter?
BEINART: I agree with Noah. I don't think the two leaders are fundamentally on the same page. They may both be supportive of sanctions, but when push comes to shove, I think the Israelis may really want the U.S. to take military action.
And I think most of what we have seen from the Obama administration, and, in fact, even importantly, from the U.S. military, which seems very, very, very reluctant to get involved in a third war in the Middle East, is that the United States, as much as the U.S. wants to prevent an Iranian nuclear weapon, does not have an appetite for war with Iran.
BROWN: Or capability, it seems, at the moment.
Peter Beinart -- Peter, thank you very much, and Noah Pollak.
To both of you, appreciate your time tonight.
One program note we should mention: Prime Minister Netanyahu will be Larry King's guest tomorrow night, a prime-time exclusive. And that is at 9:00 p.m. Eastern tomorrow right here on CNN.
Coming up tonight: a glimmer of hope for those animals in the Gulf slicked down with oil, fighting for their lives. We have a firsthand progress report. This is from inside an animal rehabilitation facility that has been working on the front lines since this crisis began. That's when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: Rough weather has hindered cleanup efforts in the Gulf this week, where tar balls from the BP oil spill have washed up on the beaches of a fifth Gulf state now down in Texas.
Wildlife rehab centers across the region have been working overtime. But John Zarrella reports that there are now fewer birds being rescued, although no one knows exactly what that means. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): This northern gannet struggles with its caretakers. If it only knew how lucky it was to be in their hands. Cleaning is just part of the treatment.
HEIDI STOUT, TRI-STATE BIRD RESCUE & RESEARCH: It would be provided fluids, both orally and I.V., much like would happen in a hospital setting or an ICU.
ZARRELLA: This is a rehabilitation facility for oiled birds here in Pensacola. It is one of four such centers across the Gulf. Today, there are 52 birds here. Those closest to being released back into the wild, mostly loons and gannets, hang out in swimming pools. The others, not quite so far along in their rehab, sit in pens, where they can be watched more closely.
(on camera): They have treated about 100 birds since this facility opened in early May. Now, the past couple of days, they haven't gotten any birds. And that is a good sign.
STOUT: It is wonderful for the wildlife.
ZARRELLA: But it is not necessarily -- it doesn't necessarily mean the worst is over, does it? Or does it?
STOUT: Well, the geographic magnitude of this spill makes it difficult to really predict what's going to happen a week from now.
ZARRELLA: The lull right now gives the rescuers and caretakers a chance to catch a breath, to just catch up. The numbers they have been dealing with in the four-state area are overwhelming -- 157 sea turtles rescued, 444 found dead, 53 of 58 mammals, including dolphins and whales, found dead.
About 1,000 birds have been rescued, 410 released, nearly 1,400 found dead. No one knows how many have died, their remains never found. At least this gannet will live to fly another day, washing the oil from its feathers is a meticulous process. For him to be waterproof again, each and every one of his feathers must be cleaned.
STOUT: It's kind of like shingles on a roof. If one of them is damaged, then there's going to be water that penetrates through to the skin of that bird.
ZARRELLA: When our northern gannet's bath is over, the soap is rinsed from his wings and body. With a little tender care, in just a couple of weeks, it should be free to fly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROWN: And John Zarrella is joining me right now from Florida. And, John, you mentioned that the facility hasn't gotten new birds recently. And we don't seem to really know why, given that the oil certainly hasn't let up at all. Do we have any better sense for that?
ZARRELLA: A couple of reasons, one, because the weather, as you can see, has been so bad that a lot of the rescue teams have not been able to get out. The turtle teams, for example, were absolutely stuck on the shore for a while.
The other reason, according to the doctor there that she told me was one of the things that happens, the birds feed close to shore this time of year, and if the oil is pushed offshore by the winds, then they are not so likely to get caught in the oil until the wind directions change again and the -- a lot of oil moves back close to shore.
So, two things going on right there. They are hoping for the best, but, you know, it still could be a lot more birds that end up oiled before this is all said and done -- Campbell.
BROWN: I'm afraid you're right.
John Zarrella for us -- John, thank you.
My next guest has just traveled from New Orleans to Pensacola Beach, Florida, and he has witnessed firsthand the concentration of oil in various parts of the Gulf. The oil, I mentioned earlier, now washing up in Texas. It has of course been in Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. The question is, how effective are the cleanup efforts state to state?
Joining me right now is Kaare Johnson. He is a talk show host in New Orleans with WIST-AM Radio.
And, Kaare, you have been with us several times on this program. And I know you have described the situation in New Orleans as being really disorganized when it comes to the cleanup effort. And you say I think Florida seems, at least from your take on it since you have been there doing better, or at least dealing better with the situation?
KAARE JOHNSON, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: It seems a little more organized. It seems like the people I saw in Florida, generally speaking, compared to the folks cleaning up in Louisiana, Campbell, a little bit more sense of urgency, a guy in charge controlling a group.
In Louisiana, it seems like you have got people just sort of walking around, lackadaisical, kind of no real sense of urgency, so, nighttime crews in Florida.
BROWN: So, why do you think that is? Why do you think that is, Kaare?
JOHNSON: You know, Campbell, I think Florida has probably their you know what together a little better just generally as a state compared to my home state of Louisiana.
I have been down to Florida a lot my entire life. And what I saw was what you expect of Florida, kind of first-class effort, getting out there early, often, middle of the night, 3:00, 4:00 a.m., I'm not kidding you, lighting up the beach and cleaning up down about 60 miles east in Destin, Florida.
Louisiana, I love it. It is where I'm from, but maybe not quite as organized, not quite as honed in as Florida.
BROWN: Also a lot more oil though, right, I think three times as much from what I read in Louisiana, which is probably making it a bigger challenge overall than Florida's having to deal with.
JOHNSON: Yes, and, obviously, a different coastline. Florida is beaches, and beaches with expensive houses and condominiums and where people visit.
Louisiana is marshes. The beaches are fishing villages and the like. So, it is not that tourist attraction where people are on the water. But you're right, Campbell,, probably three, four times as much oil. Right here, Fort Pickens, Pensacola Beach, they got to oil maybe a week-and-a-half ago really in bulk for the first time, where in Louisiana we have seen it for five, six weeks now.
BROWN: And, very quickly, Kaare -- I'm almost out of time -- the beaches, have you been in the water? You seeing people out there swimming? I know they had a health advisory and were urging people to stay out of the water.
JOHNSON: Yes, the beaches are open and it's swim at your own risk down here in Pensacola Beach, Campbell. But Destin Beach, Pensacola Beach, I have kind of been in the water a little bit and I had no fear of being in the water, although this morning on the beach, you could smell a little of that petroleum scent in the air, no doubt about it. It was a wet, humid morning, and I definitely could smell it.
BROWN: Kaare Johnson joining us once again tonight.
Kaare, as always, we really appreciate your perspective.
JOHNSON: Thanks, Campbell.
BROWN: And when we come back, Her Majesty returns to the U.N. for the first time in more than half-a-century.
Also tonight, the parents of Amanda Knox returning to a courtroom in Italy, but, this time, they not defending their daughter, who remains in jail for killing her roommate. We're going to have details of what's really going on when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: The story getting all the buzz tonight, Queen Elizabeth in the Big Apple. Here in New York, even the biggest celebrities hardly rate a second glance but today, the 84-year-old grandmother in a hat and gloves stopped traffic all over town and made a speech to a standing room-only audience at the U.N., more than 50 years after she first spoke there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was only October, 1957, when the new queen, just 31 years old, four years into her reign, arrived in New York City. And at the U.N. in a demure black dress and hat and the queenly purse, she seemed shy and young.
QUEEN ELIZABETH II, ENGLAND: I offer you my best wishes in your task.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The queen shared the wisdom gained in nearly 60 years as monarch to a standing room-only crowd in the general assembly hall.
QUEEN ELIZABETH: It has perhaps always been the case that the waging of peace is the hardest form of leadership of all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon noted that she's seen it all from the Beatles to Beckham, from television to Twitter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: It was a whirlwind visit and Queen Elizabeth is headed home tonight. So joining me right now with more on her visit though is CNN's Richard Quest who was with the queen today, and our senior United Nations correspondent, Richard Roth, joining me as well.
Gentlemen, welcome to both of you. Richard Quest, let me start with you. What was she trying to accomplish with the speech today?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She was pulling strands together from 60 years on the throne. She was basically continuing, in many ways that idea that only by coming together can achievements be reached. So, she was talked about. But crucially, she was referring to things like the millennium goals, climate change, poverty and peace. This was the queen's attempt to start to really put together the fruits of her reign.
BROWN: And, Richard Roth, you've seen so many important general assembly speeches. How did hers sort of rate, compare? I mean, was there something significant on this?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR UNITED NATIONS CORRESPONDENT: You left out some not so important speeches, also, thousands of them. This was impressive. There is no doubt. I mean, I almost feel as a neutral observer, come back, queen, because it doesn't happen every day as we see. And refreshing words. She talked to the delegates saying, you know, governments didn't bring about all this change, the people did. And many times, the diplomats there, forget about the people.
BROWN: Right. ROTH: And she also said so much, I thought, with so few remarks, especially weighed against those ponderous head of state remarks with a lot of inside jargon.
BROWN: So a real moment. And, Richard, she also went to Ground Zero today but it was a really quick trip. She was in the city for six hours only, I think. Why so short?
ROTH: Because this was not a visit to New York. This was not a visit to the United States. This was a trip to the city for specific purposes. She was on a nine-day trip to Canada. They had worked out she was on the western -- on the side of the Atlantic.
BROWN: Right.
QUEST: And they wanted her to accomplish certain things. They wanted to set her agenda at the United Nations. They feel deeply it's important that she was at Ground Zero because of the huge ties between the U.K. and the U.S. And finally, she also remembered the British people who died there. That's what it was about.
BROWN: And she's 84 years old. It's amazing at her age that she's traveling like this. Is there any sense that she may be scaling back or --
QUEST: Every time we think that the queen is about to scale back, she continues. I'll give you an example. She leaves here tonight. She's back in the U.K. She then goes to Scotland for Hollywood House week, then she has a holiday and then she goes to the gulf. I mean, the woman is indefatigable, if there is such a word.
BROWN: So much has changed, Richard, in -- since the last time she spoke. We saw the video of it there a few minutes ago. It was in the late '50s. Does she remain relevant really, on the international stage, do you think?
ROTH: I don't think she is talked about that much at the United Nations, but I think wherever she goes, I'm sure my fellow Richard would agree, she's going to leave this memory of the visit. Her words, I mean, are they going to be lived up to by the governments? I'm not sure. But there were so few, I think singular people, icons, people whose very presence commands respect. I mean, they were packed into that general assembly hall, and then there was an air of anticipation, silence when she walked in. You don't -- I mean, Ahmadinejad, Castro, all of these people -- they've all been --
BROWN: They come rather along.
ROTH: Yes, they're seen everywhere, you know, YouTube, whatever. You know?
QUEST: The one thing that really drove it home is when she started speaking today, and she said, "I speak to you as the head of 16 countries and the commonwealth, and I've been doing it for 60 years."
BROWN: Nobody else can say that. Richard Roth, Richard Quest, it's great to have you both here. Really appreciate it.
It is the heat and it's the humidity, and it's just plain miserable for millions of people tonight. The queen had to endure it as well. The dangers of the heat wave sweeping the northeast. We're going to talk about that when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BROWN: How does it feel to be in 100-degree heat and higher? People up and down the northeast can tell you all about today's brutal temperatures. We've got that story coming up.
But first, Joe Johns is here with a look at some of the other stories we're following tonight. Hey, Joe.
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Campbell. Tonight, a U.S. soldier in Iraq is charged with leaking classified information. The Pentagon accuses Private Bradley Manning of downloading classified video of a military operation onto his personal computer. The footage shows an Apache helicopter gunship attack that killed a dozen civilians. The aerial footage had been posted on Wikileaks, a site that publishes anonymously submitted videos.
Human rights activists are trying to stop the stoning death of an Iranian woman. Sakineh Ashtiani, a mother of two, is accused of adultery. She could be stoned to death under the terms of a sentence handed down by Iranian authorities. A human rights lawyer says Ashtiani was forced to confess after being subjected to 99 lashes. She has retracted her confession and denies any wrongdoing.
And when you break a story that makes international headlines and kills a general's career, why not write a book about it. Michael Hastings' scathing article in "Rolling Stone" led to the firing of the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, and Hastings now has a book deal. The reporter told CNN he signed the deal with Little Brown and Company, he says to write a book on the war in Afghanistan.
And it looks like it's going to be a long, hot summer for actress Lindsay Lohan, not in the sun but behind bars. A couple hours ago, a judge ordered that actress to spend 90 days in jail for missing alcohol counseling sessions. The judge ruled Lohan violated her probation for a 2007 drunken driving conviction. The judge also ordered her to 90 days in rehab after her jail term is completed.
What was that movie she was in, "Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen." It's like unbelievable, isn't it, what's going on?
BROWN: Yes, I don't think the tears in the courtroom really seemed to help much either today. Joe Johns, thank you, Joe, as always. Appreciate it.
It's the hottest day of the summer, the hottest day of the year so far in the northeast. The East Coast is sweltering under 100- degree temperatures. The heat wave, when we come back.
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BROWN: If you're in the northeast tonight, you are smothering under a record-breaking heat wave. If you're not, you are lucky. And it's not just hot, it is dangerously hot with temperatures soaring above 100 degrees. And it's already turned deadly. The body of a 92- year-old woman was found today in her sweltering apartment in Philadelphia. The National Weather Service has issued a heat alert for Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington. CNN's Mary Snow has the latest for us from the steamy streets of New York City tonight.
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MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just as the thermometer hit 103 degrees in New York, the Bedford Stuyvesant Volunteer Ambulance Corps in Brooklyn was getting busy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going on?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She passed out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, ma'am? How are you doing?
SNOW: A woman unconscious on a park bench. It turns out she mixed alcohol with the scorching heat. She needed oxygen and fluids and had to be taken to the hospital.
STEVE HIPP, BED-STUY VOLUNTEER AMBULANCE CORP.: Her problem overall was just that she needed to get out of the heat.
SNOW (on camera): She's dehydrated?
HIPP: Totally. Being in this weather like this here, anybody would get dehydrated.
SNOW (voice-over): For some New York City firefighters, the heat simply became too much. More than a dozen firefighters had to be treated for heat exhaustion. Concerned about the elderly, the city encouraged those without air conditioning to go to cooling centers, set up in places like libraries and hospitals. And outside, crowds flocked to the city's public pools.
Up and down the East Coast, power grids are being tested, with utility companies urging customers to conserve energy as much as possible by using big appliances only at night and keeping lights off and shades down. In New York City, there are layers of problems.
JOHN MIKSAD, CON ED: Ninety-three thousand miles of underground cable, when it gets hot like this, not only does the electric usage stress it, but also the heat is trapped underneath the streets and sidewalks of the city also cause a stress to our system. I do expect for isolated outages.
SNOW: As triple-digit temperatures were recorded in the northeast, there were scattered power outages. In Philadelphia, a 92- year-old woman died at her home with no air conditioning. In the nation's capital, the heat drove people off the streets. Amtrak set up a contingency plan, putting rescue crews and trains in place along the northeast corridor should trains break down or lose AC.
Just about the only person who seemed to keep her cool was Queen Elizabeth. In two outdoor visits in New York City, she barely broke a sweat and the people gathered to catch a glimpse of her didn't mind braving the blistering heat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nothing would stop me seeing my queen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My son's come over from Dubai and it's really hot. It's hotter here.
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BROWN: And Mary is joining me right now from outside our studio here in New York. And Mary out with those emergency workers today, you've got some insight on just how big a toll heat like this can take on the human body. Tell us about that.
SNOW: Yes, it's really amazing Campbell. You think about this, this it is extreme cases. People who do hard-labor work, such as construction workers, it's estimated they lose about 10 to 12 liters, they sweat that much a day. So when you think about it, this is what one liter looks like. So imagine sweating that much per hour. You can see why all those warnings are out there.
BROWN: Yes, Mary, and any idea when this is going to break?
SNOW: Not -- it's not going to break any time soon. It's expected to last the next couple of days.
BROWN: All right, Mary Snow for us tonight. Mary, thank you.
SNOW: Sure.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starts in a few minutes. Larry, what do you have tonight?
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Campbell we got Lindsay Lohan news, not surprising. She's been ordered to serve jail time. Her father, Michael, is with us exclusively tonight. He'll be right here.
And then the fallout continues from RNC Chairman Michael Steele's controversial remarks about Afghanistan. The DNC chairman, Tim Kaine, is here. He'll comment for the first time publicly about the dustup. And we'll get the latest about that missing boy in Oregon. What a terrible story. What, if anything, does a hitman have to do with that case? It's all next on "LARRY KING LIVE" -- Campbell.
BROWN: All right, Larry. We'll see you in a few minutes.
Coming up for us, Amanda Knox, the American student, college student, who was convicted of murder in Italy, could be getting some prison cellmates. And it is her own parents we're talking about here. We're going to tell you why they are now facing criminal charges of their own.
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BROWN: Tonight, we have a bizarre twist to tell you about in the Amanda Knox murder case. You'll remember she's the young American student from Seattle who's serving a 26-year sentence in Italy for the sexual assault and murder of her British roommate. Well, now, Knox's parents are in big trouble themselves, facing charges of slandering Italian police after repeating their daughter's claims of abuse. And in Italy, a slander conviction can bring a prison sentence.
Judy Bachrach is contributing editor for "Vanity Fair." She also taught an investigative journalism in Italy on the Knox case. Judy has been with us many times talking about this.
Judy, Amanda was in court last month at the beginning of her own slander case and now her parents are facing the very same charges. It seems almost like some sort of tactic on the part of police or the criminal justice system in Italy. What is really going on?
JUDY BACHRACH, "VANITY FAIR": Well, obviously, the police are very offended that their reputation has been sullied. In Italy, the police are not famous for being, let's say, incorruptible. And Amanda Knox said she's been hit on the head twice and she testified to that in court by the police. Interestingly, she said that right away to her parents in private, in a conversation that was secretly taped by the police when she was first arrested. So this is something she said right away. That doesn't make it true necessarily, but it gives her far greater credibility. This is not a new thing that she has just invented yesterday. She said it consistently from day one.
The police and, of course, the prosecutor, the whole judicial system in Italy, is very embarrassed -- are very embarrassed by all the bad publicity they have had in the United States. And they are trying to shut up not merely Amanda Knox or her parents. They are trying to put the fear of God in the American press as well --
BROWN: So --
BACHRACH: -- in CNN, in "Vanity Fair," in whoever else is out there.
BROWN: Judy, the Knoxes were quoted two years ago. Why now, though? Why charge them now?
BACHRACH: Well, actually, they had been threatened with that libel suit two years ago, right away actually. It just takes a long while in Italy for anything to come to court --
BROWN: Right.
BACHRACH: -- that isn't a violent crime and this was not. But Italy last year, more specifically, its parliament passed a resolution, a bill, that said specifically that if you insult a public official, you can go to jail. It's considered a crime now. In other words, Italy is not exactly China these days but it's taking its cues from China.
BROWN: Wow. Let me play what Amanda's father, Curt Knox, said about these charges against him and his ex-wife. And this is on CBS' early show this morning. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CURT KNOX, AMANDA KNOX'S FATHER: With respect to Etta and my slander charges, I believe those will get thrown out and this is nothing more than a harassment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: So are there any chance, or is there any chance, rather, of the charges actually being thrown out?
BACHRACH: There's always a chance. The family of Amanda Knox has, for obvious reasons, always been optimistic or prone to optimism. But none of their optimism has been borne out by events.
I am less optimistic than they are. I don't know that they'll be sent to jail, but I think they'll be slapped with a heavy fine that they can ill afford because, of course, as you know, they're enduring terrible financial hardship as a result of their daughter's conviction and long trial. So, I doubt very much that the Italian system wants them in jail, but I do think they want them muzzled and I think they want a lot of other people muzzled as well.
BROWN: And very quickly, Judy, I know the sentiment was not very favorable toward Amanda Knox in that country. Has that changed at all?
BACHRACH: No, it really hasn't. They are very -- in Italy, the public, the general public, has been fed a lot of information from the Italian press, which is very anti-Amanda. And therefore, the public hasn't been given access to all the information out there. They haven't been told, for instance, that the police there were a joke, and that their investigation was a joke and that prosecutor, Giuliano Mignini, was a joke. So, they don't know how very little there is of the serious evidence against Amanda Knox. We here in the United States hear far more than they do in Italy.
BROWN: Right. Well, Judy Bachrach, it's always good to have you on. I really appreciate your insight and coming on and sharing all this with us. Thank you very much.
BACHRACH: My pleasure, Campbell.
BROWN: "LARRY KING LIVE" starting in just a few minutes. But up next, tonight's "Punch Line."
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JAY LENO, HOST, "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": It seems Hall and Oates have canceled an upcoming concert in Arizona to protest the state's immigration law. Well, that will teach Arizona a lesson, huh? Let's see how long they can go without Hall and Oates.
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BROWN: Now, it's time for tonight's "Punch Line." Take a look, everybody.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am not the only one who is not feeling well. Last week, evidently, the Labor Department reported that we lost another 125,000 jobs. And I'm pretty sure the guy who created that report was then fired.
DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST, "LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": And it looks like we may be getting a new Supreme Court justice from New York City. Her name is Elena Kagan. And she's apparently very, very smart. So smart she actually does read all the newspapers and magazines. And --
JIMMY FALLON, HOST, "LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON": Here's a little bit of good news. The Coast Guard says that BP is now catching up to 630,000 gallons of oil a day. The bad news is that they're catching it with ducks.
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BROWN: And that's all for us. "LARRY KING LIVE" starts right now.
