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A Soggy California; 'The Evening News'; Gilchrist's Angels

Aired April 05, 2006 - 14:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Well, the sky is clearing, but the damage has been done. A saturated California now dealing with mudslides, flooding and evacuations. In Calaveras County, the main worry is an earthen dam.
Reporter Dave Marquis with our affiliate KXTV has the latest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVE MARQUIS, REPORTER, KXTV: Here in the California gold rush country of Calaveras County, you see this dam in the background that has been badly damaged by high water over the last couple of days. And on the front side of the dam you can see a gaping hole where earth has eroded away.

This morning, engineers have been evaluating the damage, and work crews, inmate crews from the California Department of Corrections have been sandbagging. At this point they are being helped by the fact that the rain has stopped for now and the water flows have gone down.

In the meantime, almost 100 homes have been evacuated, and there is still no clear time when those people will be able to return to their homes. The hope here in California at this point is that the rain will stop falling and that with the water flows lower, they'll be able to stabilize things and keep this dam from breaking.

The biggest concern that they have is that if it should have a catastrophic failure, the water could flow downstream and overtop or destroy another dam below and cause serious flooding in the town of Valley Springs. They are hoping they can avoid that at all costs.

In Calaveras County, California, Dave Marquis for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And the rain is moving east, and that could mean more messy weather tomorrow for some other states.

Tracking those storms, our own meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf.

Hi again, Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hello again.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Reynolds. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security is on unpaid leave after some shocking allegations. Brian J. Doyle is charged with using his computer to try to seduce a child.

He was arrested last night at his home in Maryland. Police say he found the online profile of what he thought was a 14-year-old girl and began having explicit conversations with her last month. The girl turned out to be a computer crimes detective in Polk County, Florida.

The county sheriff talked about the case on CNN's "ANDERSON COOPER 360."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF GRADY JUDD, POLK COUNTY, FLORIDA: What stands out to me the most in this particular case was the fact that Brian, on his first conversation with our undercover detective, who he believed to be a 14-year-old girl, clearly identified himself as the deputy press secretary for Homeland Security. And if he would provide that kind of information to include a photograph of himself with his identification tags, who else may he be talking to around the world who he thinks to be a 14-year-old girl?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Homeland Security has suspended Doyle's security clearance. The department's inspector general is also investigating those charges.

Lawmakers are getting ready for more disturbing testimony about online sexual exploitation of children. They've already heard from Justin Berry, a teenager who starred in his own pornography business for five years. It started with a Web cam and a search for friends. It ended with predators and abuse.

Last night on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE," Berry described how they worked to earn his trust.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JUSTIN BERRY, MOLESTATION VICTIM: There were several requests to meet me in person. These people are relentless. These people are -- they're your next-door neighbors, and you'd never guess that they could be talking to children like this online.

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Did you meet some?

BERRY: Yes, sir, I did.

KING: Where was your mother?

BERRY: Where was my mother when I met them?

KING: At the house? You had prostitutes coming over, you're doing all this stuff, you're in your room. Where's your mother?

BERRY: I don't know if you quite understand. When I had sex with the female prostitutes, I was in Mexico at that time.

KING: Your father was there, right?

BERRY: Correct.

KING: Where was he?

BERRY: He was helping, assisting and securing the prostitutes.

KING: And back home -- I know your mother tried to do her best about this, didn't she?

BERRY: Regarding?

KING: Trying to get you help?

BERRY: No, she didn't know about this at all.

KING: Never knew about it?

BERRY: Not until I told her.

KING: What did she do then?

BERRY: I'm currently seeing a psychologist and getting help.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And you can watch "LARRY KING LIVE" every night at 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Central, only on CNN.

Katie Couric, the big news, is ending her dawn patrol. As rumored for months, the popular "Today Show" co-host is leaving NBC to join "The CBS Evening news." It's a history-making move.

Couric will become the first woman to solo anchor a weeknight network evening newscast. She told viewers about her decision this morning, which also happened to be her 15th anniversary on "The Today Show."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE COURIC, CO-HOST, "TODAY": I wanted to tell all of you out there who have watched the show for the past 15 years that after listening to my heart and my gut, two things that have served me pretty well in the past, I've decided I'll be leaving "Today" at the end of May.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "The CBS Evening News With Katie Couric" is set to debut in September. She'll also be the program's managing editor and will contribute to "60 Minutes" programming.

Katie Couric will be following in some very prominent footsteps when she takes the anchor chair at "The CBS Evening News." CNN's Daryn Kagan takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is "The CBS Evening News."

DARYN KAGAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): "The CBS Evening News," for more than a half a century the crown jewel of the Tiffany Network.

EDWARD R. MURROW, "CBS EVENING NEWS": Hello, America.

KAGAN: It was mined from the fields of news legends like Edward R. Murrow. The first "CBS Evening News" broadcast hit the air in 1948. Then it was called "The CBS TV News." It was a 15-minute newscast anchored by Douglas Edwards.

DOUGLAS EDWARDS, "CBS TV NEWS": Coast to coast, Douglas Edwards reporting.

KAGAN: Through the waning days of Truman into the Eisenhower years, Edwards covered political conventions, the discovery of a polio vaccine, and the sinking of a luxury liner, Andrea Doria.

EDWARDS: And down goes the Andrea Doria. The time, 10:09 Eastern Daylight Time.

KAGAN: In 1962, former war correspondent Walter Cronkite took over the anchor chair. Through tragedy and triumph, millions turned to the man known as "Uncle Walter" and his calm but authoritative style.

WALTER CRONKITE, CBS NEWS: President Kennedy died at 1:00 p.m. Central Standard Time.

KAGAN: From the Kennedy assassination to the civil rights movement, to the space race, and landing a man on the moon...

CRONKITE: Man on the moon. Oh, boy!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you. You're looking good here.

CRONKITE: Boy.

KAGAN: ... Cronkite was known as the most trusted man in America. And it was Cronkite's words after returning from Vietnam which helped change the course of U.S. politics and perhaps the course of history. He predicted it would not be won but end in a stalemate.

President Lyndon Johnson told a White House aide, "If I've lost Cronkite, I've lost middle America." Johnson decided not to seek re- election, and Richard Nixon won the White House.

CRONKITE: And that's the way it is.

KAGAN: In 1981, Cronkite stepped aside. CRONKITE: I'll be away on assignment and Dan Rather will be sitting in here for the next few years.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is "The CBS Evening News."

KAGAN: Dan Rather ascended to the main anchor chair. A long- time report who earned his stripes covering strife and storms, for a short while he had company with Connie Chung as co-anchor. Last year, after a storm of controversy surrounding Rather's report for "60 Minutes" about President George W. Bush's days in the National Guard, he stepped aside.

BOB SCHIEFFER, "CBS EVENING NEWS": Good evening. I'm Bob Schieffer.

KAGAN: Long-time reporter and "Face the Nation" moderator Bob Schieffer stepped in as interim anchor.

Now it seems it's time for another to follow in the footsteps of Edwards, Cronkite and Rather, and take his or her place in what's seen as many as the high throne of broadcast journalism.

CRONKITE: And that's the way it is.

SCHIEFFER: Thanks for joining us. Good night.

KAGAN: Daryn Kagan, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And now to a job of a very different kind. Why would a suburban mother make it her mission to drive 40 miles to the site where employers hire day laborers? Coming up, we'll find out ahead when we talk with the Gilchrist Angels.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Three southern California women are taking the fight over illegal immigration into their own hands. They're call Gilchrist Angels. They named themselves after Minuteman Project founder Jim Gilchrist, and you'll find them at sites where day laborers congregate.

They are Robin Hvidston, Eileen Garcia and Deborah Sattler. And they're in our Los Angeles bureau to talk about their mission.

Good to see you, ladies.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, Eileen, let me begin with you. What is the mission and why did you guys get together? EILEEN GARCIA, "GILCHRIST'S ANGELS": Well, we came together because we're concerned about enforcing our immigration laws. And what we do is we gather at day labor sites and we document those employers who are picking up day laborers, because it is a crime to hire anyone, whether they're legal or not, without filling out the proper form and paying payroll taxes.

WHITFIELD: So you're not concerned as much of the fact of whether they have the proper papers, whether they're here illegally or not. You are just trying to attack the whole notion of any employer picking up day laborers, period.

GARCIA: Well, we feel that they are breaking the law, and we're here to say that we would like for our laws to be enforced, our current laws to be enforced.

WHITFIELD: And so, Deborah, there are other groups around the country who are doing something very similar. And, you know, they are taking photographs of the employers, the license plates, et cetera. Is that the extent that you are all going? And at the same time, are you actually approaching some of the day laborers to find out if they have proper papers, if they are residents, et cetera?

DEBORAH SATTLER, "GILCHRIST'S ANGELS": As a general rule, no, we don't approach the day laborers. I think there's sort of a de facto case that someone who stands on the street corner and doesn't speak the language and is being illegally hired has a greater chance of being here illegally. And there's actually a study done at UCLA that confirmed that 80 to 90 percent of the people that stand on the corner for day labor are, in fact, illegal aliens.

But we tend not to focus on them. We tend to try to focus on the employers, the people that are picking them up, because ultimately, the system doesn't work for anybody. It doesn't work for the people that are hiring them or for the people being hired, because they don't have the proper protection that they deserve in this country either with regard to workers' comp benefits and other benefits.

WHITFIELD: So, Robin, who's the real target here? You are targeting specifically the employers in which to embarrass them, or you're targeting the day laborers?

ROBIN HVIDSTON, "GILCHRIST'S ANGELS": On site at our rallies, we definitely target the employer. We have signs focused on the employer. For example, signs that say, "Employers exploit day laborers," because that is what our issue is about.

We feel like employers are, indeed, taking advantage of these workers, many of whom are in our country illegally. And we are at the day labor centers to say to the employers, stop.

WHITFIELD: So you think you're also working as advocates of the day laborers? Is that your contention as well?

HVIDSTON: You know, in a sense, we are working for anyone in our country being abused at a workforce. And we feel like it's the employers that are allowing this to go forward, and we're saying to the employers, do not hire at day labor sites. Use manpower agencies, obey the law.

WHITFIELD: So, Eileen, what happens next? You document that there are employers coming to pick up day laborers. You take the photographs. You put them on a Web site in which to let everyone know what kind of activity is taking place. But then what?

Are there actual charges filed? Are there fines paid? What's the result?

GARCIA: Well, we do take the employers' pictures and their license plate number. And if we can get their contractor's license number from their truck, we'll post it on wehirealiens.com. Others can go on to that Web site and they can look to see when they're going to hire a contractor whether they're hiring a contractor who is abiding by the law.

We do send letters with the evidence to the IRS and to the state contractor's board and other agencies in hopes that they will take some action against these employers.

WHITFIELD: So, Deborah, what do you say to those who are saying you all are harassing people and that you are also -- the actions that you're carrying out, at least the words of some of your critics, that you are actually advocating hate by targeting -- by targeting primarily these immigrant workers, whether they're illegal or not?

SATTLER: The situation that's created in our communities with these day labor sites, I mean, something needs to be done about them. It's unfortunate that we're in the position that we're the ones that have to do something about them.

I know that one in my community, it has grown to where there's probably 200 men standing there most of the day. They're drinking. They're littering. They're urinating in public, they're buying alcohol from minors, they're dealing drugs.

It's just become almost a gang issue in my community. So...

WHITFIELD: And your group has claimed also that it has led to the deterioration of school grades in your community. That somehow this is impacting the livelihood or the advancement of your children in school?

SATTLER: I don't know so much about school, per se. I know that the area where this goes on where I live, the kids can't go there. They can't utilize those businesses. They can't walk by on their way to school.

There's those kinds of situations. Then, like I said, the day labor center near where I live is right by a liquor store. And a lot of the people complain that they're buying alcohol for the minors as they're going back and forth to school.

WHITFIELD: So, Robin, what next for your group? HVIDSTON: What next for our group? We will continue to go forward with this issue. We also are focused on other issues.

For example, we have also held rallies outside of our senator and Congress member's office. Day labor sites is one area that we focus on, but we also focus on our elected officials. We attend city council meetings and plan to go forward with those plans.

WHITFIELD: OK. All right.

From right to left, Robin Hvidston, Deborah Sattler and Eileen Garcia, thank you so much.

The Gilchrist Angels are joining us from Los Angeles.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you very much.

Thank you.

WHITFIELD: An amazing story of survival and forgiveness. A young woman whose country and family was ripped apart by genocide, a tiny bathroom became her hiding place for nearly -- guess what -- three months, while the killing went on around her. Her story straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A lull before the storm today at the Enron trial in Houston. Former chief executive Jeffrey Skilling is expected to take the stand tomorrow. As you know, Skilling and Enron's founder, Ken Lay, are accused of fraud and conspiracy related to the company's stunning collapse back in 2001.

CNN's Chris Huntington is covering the trial for us.

Chris, what can we expect when Skilling does take the stand?

CHRIS HUNTINGTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fredricka, Jeff Skilling has never ever been shy about proclaiming his innocence of any wrongdoing at Enron, and he's been public about it on several notable occasions.

He appeared before Congress in early 2002 before both House and Senate subcommittees investigating the collapse of Enron, and he pretty much answered all of the major claims against him. Did he conduct fraudulent accounting at Enron? No, absolutely not. He insisted all the accounting done at Enron was signed off on by lawyers, by the board of directors.

He answered similar questions to the Securities and Exchange Commission. He also answered direct questioning about whether he and Andrew Fastow, the former chief financial officer at Enron, had any kind of wink-wink side deals that were designed to prop up Fastow's famous off-the-book partnerships.

Skilling has been, as I say, adamant that he did wrong nothing, that the only real problems at Enron were what he called a run on the bank, a crisis of confidence. Because that testimony before Congress and the SEC was under oath, Fredricka, that's something that could be admissible here in the court proceedings. So he's going to have to stick to that script, at least on his direct testimony, which should begin tomorrow -- Fredricka?

WHITFIELD: Well, something that by reputation is characteristic of him, Jeff Skilling, is that he is a man of temper and he can be sometimes rather prickly. Why could that potentially be at issue?

HUNTINGTON: Well, of course the biggest -- the biggest gamble when a high-profile defendant takes the stand is that he or she could blow up on cross-examination. And Jeff Skilling, of course, a man who is widely described as super-smart, even perhaps brilliant, but also very, very mercurial, could -- could be vulnerable to the -- to the barbs and jabs by very, very skillful federal prosecutors who, no doubt, are going to try anything, any trick in the book to get him unhinged, because that would just be, as far as the prosecution is concerned, the perfect way to have -- to help them make their case to the jury.

If Skilling just sort of loses it Jack Nicholson style -- you'll recall "A Few Good Men" -- I mean, that's kind of the moment that I would think the prosecutors are shooting for.

WHITFIELD: Something tells me he will hold it all together.

All right. Chris Huntington, thanks so much.

Tomorrow potentially the big day -- or a big day in this case.

Well, some workers could wish they could tell their boss, "You're fired." Maybe with the hand and everything. Well, a human resource consulting company and a Web site, badbossology.com asks people why they would let their bosses go.

Nearly a third of the respondents point to a lack of trust or integrity. Almost a quarter blame micromanagement by the boss. Twelve percent complain about a lack of open feedback. A similar number site a lack of opportunities, while 10 percent don't like the bosses taking credit for employees' ideas or efforts.

Well, if you're considering making a switch from a windows PC to a Mac, some news from Apple today that may make the decision a little bit easier.

Susan Lisovicz is live from the New York Stock Exchange with some potentially big news for computer users.

How significant might this potentially be, Susan?

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: It's huge, Fred, because a lot of people have complained that we're in the 21st century, why can't these big, successful computer programs be compatible? And now, in theory, they are. Apple rolling out today new software called Boot Camp which will allow Intel-based Macs to run Microsoft's windows XP operating system. This software is available to digitally download starting today, but it only works on these new Macs.

And this is an important thing to know. I mean, Intel chips are the chips that are used most often in computers that power Windows operating systems. Apple shifted last year out of IBM's chips and Motorola just last year.

The first Intel-based chips just came out two months ago. The entire Mac lineup will have Intel chips by the end of '07. And you're going to have this compatibility.

FRIEDMAN: Wow. So does it still mean choosing one operating system over the other?

LISOVICZ: No. Actually, if you download this patch today with your Intel-based Mac, you would be able to choose from Windows or Apple's OS starting today. And this is -- you know, this has been huge for Macs.

They've been gaining in popularity. They've long been praised for their stylishness, for their easy to use -- they're easy to understand, easy to use.

One computer analyst said today this makes Mac the most versatile computer in the market. And, you know, for those of us who are non- geeks, I mean, that's a nice thing to have when you're shopping around for a computer. It just gives us a little more power. You don't have this drawback.

WHITFIELD: Right. And in general, I think to a lot of people Mac has been a little intimidating, you know?

Well, meantime, so how is the market overall reacting?

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

LISOVICZ: That's the latest from Wall Street.

Stay tuned. LIVE FROM will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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