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Enron Defense Update; A Look at Sexual Assault of College Women

Aired April 11, 2006 - 15:30   ET

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

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: It was a December to remember for New Yorkers hit by a transit strike in the middle of the holiday shopping season. Now the president of New York's transit union is facing 10 days in jail and a $1,000 fine.
A Brooklyn judge found Roger Toussaint in contempt for refusing to order union members back to work after the walk-out began. Toussaint has 30 days to appeal. The strike lasted three days, if you remember, and it forced New Yorkers to walk, bike and otherwise get creative with their commutes.

Absolutely innocent -- not a verdict, but a vow from Jeffrey Skilling on the witness stand for a second straight day. The former Enron boss denies any role in any kind of conspiracy to lie about the doomed company's financing. Reporter Isiah Carey of our affiliate KRIV is at the courthouse in Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ISIAH CAREY, KRIV REPORTER: Jeff Skilling and his defense team are essentially going through the government's indictment, proving to the jury that he did nothing wrong. Now the defense team began the day by attacking the claim that Enron executives propped up the numbers in order to show artificial growth. Skilling says there was real growth every year at Enron, he says to the tune of 15 percent.

Next, they hammered at the government's claim that he illegally increased the price per share in an earnings release from Enron in 2000. Skilling says that was not done. He says information in a company like Enron is always coming in during the reporting period and the numbers are constantly changing.

Also during the day, Daniel Petrocelli, Skilling's lead attorney, hit his client with a list of rapid fire questions to show he's innocent -- questions like, did you and Mr. Lay sit down one day and decide it's time to devise a scheme? Skilling replied no.

Petrocelli asked, did you ever have a single conversation when you sat down at Enron where you said we're not cutting it. We need to break the law? Skilling replied no. Now Skilling could be on the witness stand through the end of the week here at the federal courthouse in Houston.

I'm Isiah Carey for CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE) PHILLIPS: Well, we have been following new developments in the Duke rape investigation all day long. Now, we want to take a broader look now at rape and rape allegations.

My next guest says they are reaching epidemic levels on college campuses, and the cure might lie with the men. Dale Vaughn is a senior at Southern Methodist University and founder of Men With Integrity. Dale joins me now live from Dallas.

Dale, good to see you. Why did you start this organization?

DALE VAUGHN, FOUNDER, "MEN WITH INTEGRITY": Well, when I started this organization I realized that this epidemic, you could call it, one in four women on college campuses being sexually assaulted or raped, is just too many.

And what we decided then as a group, as I decided and found the group, is that men should be the ones who stand up to say let's stop this. Let's make a difference. And let's help these women who we call our mothers, our sisters, our girlfriends, our cousins, our friends. Men have to be the ones who stand up alongside those women.

PHILLIPS: Do you think there are more men standing up to integrity or do you think more men on college campuses now feel silenced by just the pressures of society to fit in, to be cool, to be one of the guys?

VAUGHN: Well, you know, the pressure is there. I mean, I'm part of a fraternity and I have been involved in a lot of things on campus. And so the pressure is obviously there but what we're asking, though, is that the men with integrity on every campus who know what integrity means and what honor stands for should be the ones standing up, and that they shouldn't be afraid because there are other men with integrity in every group.

Oftentimes when I stand up against sexist comment or a sexist joke, I find that I'm surprised that there are four or five other men in that group who stand behind me as well, things that you wouldn't know unless you piped up. And so what we're asking in this organization and in this movement is that men stand up.

What we're seeing in this Duke incident is that a woman has stood up and courageously put herself out in a front of a group and said that this horrible thing has happened to her. She survived it. I'm impressed with her. The truth is that that doesn't happen very often. And what we have seen is that men are starting to stand up and say we support you and we're going to stand behind you.

PHILLIPS: So -- and, obviously, no one has been charged yet in the Duke case and at this point, right now, DNA isn't linking anybody to this alleged rape. But for you, you are looking at this case in different eyes. It's not was the woman raped or who did it, right? You're looking at other things like where were the men that should have been saying this shouldn't happen if indeed it did?

VAUGHN: Right. Where were the men with integrity at that party? I can't believe that there were only four or however many who were involved in the incident. I can't believe they were the only men there. There had to have been other men there at the party, and there had to have been men who knew something was going on.

And even before that party, those men who were on that team, why hadn't they said something about maybe the sexist comments? What had been said to make those four or however men who committed this act, this crime possibly, why didn't their friends say before this is not OK?

And why hadn't that happened? Truly, there are men with integrity in that group and they believe these things, but why wasn't it said is my question? I don't have the answer.

PHILLIPS: Do you think men your age and men on college campuses really understand rape, what it is, the facts about rape, how it affects women?

VAUGHN: I don't. I think a lot of people are misinformed, men and women. I find that we don't understand that one in four women on college campuses are victims of sexual assault or rape. One in four. You have better chances playing Russian Roulette. And if I had a daughter, would I send my daughter to college knowing that one in four was her chance?

The other thing is that men don't realize maybe -- and women, also don't realize -- that there is more to rape than just the act. There's the build-up, the culture that we set forth, being sexist and setting women up as objects and allowing men to be entitled.

The truth is that there are men out there who view those things and see them but don't understand the connection between sexism and its cousins, domestic violence, rape, all those things, the inadequacies of pay in the work force. It spans our culture and it could be changed. They could be changed.

PHILLIPS: Dale, why do you feel passionately about this? Was it someone in your life that made an impact on you? Was it your father, your mother, somebody? You don't always get a chance to talk to a college student that speaks this way.

VAUGHN: Well, the truth is, Kyra, that everyone knows someone who has been a victim of sexual assault -- everyone. It's just so pervasive, and I have had the fortunate task of -- for the past few years, of being a counselor unexpectedly to women and men who have come forth and said to me that this has happened to them.

And luckily I have studied enough and been involved in this enough to know how to help handle those situations. But, I mean, it's not easy. It's not easy for anyone to do and I think that's where this passion has come from, is that I don't want to see my friends and my girlfriends, my cousins hurt. And it really is something that is difficult to live through and difficult to watch.

PHILLIPS: Dale Vaughn, senior at SMU, founder of Men With Integrity. Thanks for your time today. Interesting perspective. VAUGHN: Thank you, Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Straight ahead, a football hero in South Korea? Well, this year's Super Bowl MVP tackles racism in his mother's homeland, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: American tourists attacked on St. Maarten. It happened early one morning last week outside a bar on the Dutch side of the Caribbean Island. Victims recalled anti-gay slurs being yelled at their group before a car tried to run them down. A man jumped out of the car swinging a tire iron. Dick Jefferson says that that's the last thing he remembers, but what angers him most is what happened afterwards.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DICK JEFFERSON, VICTIM OF ATTACK: The next morning, yes, well 1:00 I called the cops to file a report. And they are going, "We have no record of the incident."

By this time I already knew there were like 50 people gathered that circle. There were like 25 when this thing started but these images, like being put in the ambulance and the dealer from the blackjack table was there, that taught me -- run over to the casino because I'm friends with a lot of people at the casino.

And they were there, the bar guy from the beach was there. The incident attracted that much attention. Yet you know the police claim there was no report of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Jefferson and his friend Ryan Smith remain in a Miami hospital. Police in St. Maarten are now publicly asking for witnesses to come forward.

A Superbowl hero on a mission. Hines Ward, son of an African- American father and a South Korean mother wants to end discrimination against mixed-race children in Korea. CNN's Sohn Ji-Ae has the story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOHN JI-AE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): From throwing passes with the president to throwing out the first pitch of the baseball season, Hines Ward was celebrated everywhere he went during his visit to South Korea. Ward was the wide receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers, who was voted most valuable player in this year's Super Bowl.

Even though most South Koreans have ever watched U.S. football, they embraced the son of an African-American serviceman and a Korean mother as a national hero. These biracial kids happily identified with their new role model.

"I like Spider Man. Do you like Spider Man, too?" asked 6-year- old Hanna (ph).

HINES WARD, PITTSBURGH STEELERS RECEIVER: Yes, I like Spider Man.

JI-AE: In a country that's more than 99 percent ethnic Korean, Ward's triumphant return has caused many to reexamine prejudices against biracial children.

Eleven-year-old Choi Yung Son (ph) is a shy young boy, but that's not why he has no friends at school. "No one will play with me because they say I look like an American," he says. It's that kind of mindset that Ward hopes to change.

WARD: We can't change the past, but, you know, the present day and the future, maybe if I can provide hope and inspiration to make Korea a better place than what it already is, then I'll be more than excited.

JI-AE (on camera): There are moves to take the momentum created by Hines' visit here and to channel it towards something that will provide more long-term benefits to biracial children here.

Lawmakers have started drafting a proposal that would make it illegal to discriminate against biracial Koreans in various parts of society, especially the workplace.

(voice-over): James Lee sings in a nightclub, possibly the only workplace where being a biracial Korean is an exotic plus. James gave up dreams of being a soccer player as a young child when his coach told him no team would take on a player who looked the way he looked. Tired of being teased, he dropped out of high school and knows what his future will look like.

"I have seen many others go down this path," he says. "We don't have an education. All we know is singing at a nightclub. When we get older, people like me do menial labor with a hat pulled over our faces."

James knows it may be too late for people like him, but he ardently hopes changes brought about by the U.S. football star will provide a different fate for those who follow.

Sohn Ji-Ae, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PHILLIPS: Failing eyesight, creaky joints, isn't old age enough of a challenge already? Then imagine the outrage visited on one Mayvis Coyle, 82-years-old of Los Angeles. Coyle was slapped with a $114 ticket for taking too long to cross the street. Coyle, who uses a cane, says she was trying to cross a busy intersection, before she made it to the other side, the light turned red. A motorcycle cop gave her a ticket for obstructing traffic.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYVIS COYLE, PEDESTRIAN: I can't make it across in the amount of time that the light is set for. I understand it's seven seconds.

OFFICER KELLY, CITING OFFICER: The violation had nothing to do about the time it took to cross the street. The ticket is strictly for stepping off the curb illegally against the traffic control, pedestrian control, saying not to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, so where's the helpful boy scout when you need one? Even that might not help when local high schoolers ran across the intersection, they still didn't beat the light. Well it's not a pirate story. This is the real thing. Sunken treasure: what did these divers found down in the deep? We're going to tell you when LIVE FROM continues.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: There's just over a month left for older Americans to sign up for the Medicare drug benefits, as President Bush is the first to point out. He's banging drums today in Jefferson City, Missouri, and admitting the process can be pretty intimidating, but there are people ready to help.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Health care is a vital issue for this country. In my judgment, the best health care plan is one that says we'll help the poor, we'll help the elderly, and we'll make sure the doctor/patient relationship is solid for the rest of us. Because we don't want the federal government -- we really don't want the federal government telling folks who -- you know, what to buy and how to buy and it what price to pay. We want there to be a relationship between doctors and patients.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: More than 29 million people have signed up for the plan so far, but millions of others haven't.

Another poll, another low for President Bush. Only 38 percent of respondents to the poll by ABC News and "The Washington Post" say Mr. Bush is doing a good job, his lowest rating ever in that survey. Sixty percent disapprove of his work in office. Congress is even faring even worse. It's approval hitting hit a nine year low in this poll. Only 35 percent say lawmakers are doing a good job, 62 percent say they are not.

Nothing stirs up a crowd like politics and few politics, and few politicians can mix them like Bill Clinton. At a fundraiser last night in New York, the former president told fellow Democrats they ought not to let Republicans lay exclusive claim to the values vote, and he made a reference to himself that made the crowd laugh.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FMR. PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A minister, a Pentecostal minister who is a friend of mine in Louisiana, confessed that he voted for the reelection of the president. And as a matter of fact, he said he wanted to make a confession to me. And I thought that that is pretty good, having a Pentecostal preacher confess to the world's most famous sinner, so I listened to what he had to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Former Vice President Al Gore was also on the roster, but not on stage with his former boss.

A sunken treasure discovered. The bounty when LIVE FROM returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Time now to check in with CNN's Wolf Blitzer. He's standing by in "THE SITUATION ROOM" to tell us what's coming up at the top of the hour. Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hey, Kyra, thanks very much.

Nuclear muscle flexing. Iran's president announces to the world for the first time, Iran has successfully enriched uranium. How close are they to making a bomb?

Also the wife of an American hostage breaking her silence for the first time, making a direct appeal to her husband's captors. It's a story you're going to see only here on CNN.

Plus, Arnold Schwarzenegger on greenhouse gases. Find out why he's now going against the White House to clamp down on polluters.

And finding his religion, Bill Clinton talks about sinning and voting values.

All that, Kyra, coming up right at the top of the hour in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: So I got a question for you, Wolf.

BLITZER: Yes?

PHILLIPS: You like mint juleps?

BLITZER: Do I like mint what?

PHILLIPS: Mint juleps.

BLITZER: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Yes, you do?

BLITZER: That's my problem, I sort of like everything.

PHILLIPS: Well, have you heard about this $1,000 mint julep they're going to be selling at the Kentucky Derby? BLITZER: I have not, but I want it.

PHILLIPS: You do? Woodford Reserve Bourbon. Will you treat?

BLITZER: No, it's not worth a thousand dollars. Ten dollars, maybe.

PHILLIPS: Wolf, it would be a nice keepsake and we'd have a great time.

BLITZER: A thousand dollars? I'd rather take that $990, Kyra, and give it to a good charity.

PHILLIPS: Oh, Wolf, you're such a good guy. All right. I'll tell the folks that. See you at the top of the hour.

Well, it wasn't as easy as X marks the spot, but a group of treasure hunter discovered sunken bounty off the Florida Keys. Divers believe the two gold bars and silver coins they found came from a shipwrecked Spanish galleon and have been buried under the sea for 400 years.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFF DICKINSON, SALVAGE VESSEL ENGINEER: Using the boat propellers, we blow the sand out of the way, forming like a swimming pool size hole going to the bedrock. And the gold bars, one turned up in the middle of the bedrock. We're talking about a swimming pool.

And the other one was in the sand, and the fellow found it with a metal detector. He got the sound on his metal detector and he brushed away the sand with his hand, and there's a glimmer of gold. I get goose bumps!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Well, that glimmer of gold is estimated to be worth about $250,000.

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