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CNN Live Today

Recovery Plan; Frist to Bring Immigration Reform Bill Back to Senate Floor; Gas Gauge

Aired April 25, 2006 - 11:00   ET

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

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome to the second hour of CNN LIVE TODAY.
I'm Daryn Kagan.

In the last hour, we listened for about 40 minutes as President Bush spoke in Washington, D.C. about energy and rising gas prices. Other than that at the White House, you have heard about spring cleaning at the White House. It is part of a plan to try to revise President Bush's second term and his popularity.

Now there's a new strategy to win back the Republican base. It could mean the difference between a Republican or a Democratic Congress in the next year.

Our Tom Foreman explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For months, the political wisdom has not changed. If Iraq improves, the president's poll numbers will, too. But the war is droning on, and so are critics, including hard-core conservatives, who fear President Bush is setting up his own party for an election disaster this fall.

PAT BUCHANAN, FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If he's going to win the election in November, I think what the president's going to have to do is turn this into a battle for the direction of the country, conservative vs. liberal, Republican vs. Democrat. He has got to go on the offensive and turn this into an us-vs.-them election.

FOREMAN: Enter Josh Bolten, the president's new no-nonsense chief of staff. "TIME" magazine reports that Bolten has already announced a five-point plan to soothe disgruntled Republicans and get them back in line -- number one, beef up the border, give more agents more funds, more equipment to immigration patrols, give up on immediate plans to bring more Latinos into the Republican ranks.

Two, make Wall Street happy with tax legislation favorable to investors.

Three, brag more, get the president saying more positive things about his accomplishments.

Four, reclaim security credibility. Stand up loudly to antagonistic nations, especially Iran. And five, court the press for more favorable coverage that will appeal to conservatives.

MIKE ALLEN, "TIME": When the president is getting down to the poll numbers he is, almost by definition, he's losing Republicans. And so the idea here is to get Republican strength back, and then you can maybe talk about courting the middle.

FOREMAN (on camera): The nation's fears and doubts about Iraq are still problems for this president. But political analysts say his party will not be able to help him with that in the future, unless he helps his party right now.

(voice-over): And, right now, what matters, along with Iraq, are soaring gas prices, immigration battles, security leaks, issues that Republicans will probably have to make progress on, or voters may send them packing this fall.

Tom Foreman, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And you can get a fresh perspective on the day's top stories from Anderson Cooper. Join "AC 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

Rising gas prices, Iraq, Iran, immigration. Does President Bush have more on its plate than most previous presidents? You try saying that. Here to talk about that is NPR political editor Ken Rudin.

Ken, good to see you. It's been a while.

KEN RUDIN, POLITICAL EDITOR, NPR: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Let's go down the list here. I've got a list of questions ready for you.

RUDIN: A long list, yes.

KAGAN: Yes. OK.

First of all, let's talk about what President Bush has on his plate and what he's facing. Is it really more than most presidents?

RUDIN: Well, it's certainly a Thanksgiving dinner, that's for sure.

KAGAN: A buffet, you might say?

RUDIN: I would say that, absolutely. I mean, given the fact that his numbers are so low and given the fact that nobody seems to have a way out of anything, the immigration mess or the immigration problem, or whatever, the war in Iraq, and now the rise in gas prices, I mean, President Bush spoke to the nation, but how many people are listening and how many people have not already made up their minds about the Republicans and President Bush? KAGAN: Well, he loves talking during our hour for some reason. Loves the 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour.

Let's talk about immigration, because I think it's interesting how President Bush has latched on to that. And the solutions that he says he has for it, not popular with a lot of conservatives in the Republican Party.

RUDIN: The Republican Party is clearly split on immigration. There's a conservative wing who feels that the key issue and the key thing to worry about and to focus on is securing the border and perhaps deporting a lot of illegal immigrants, while President Bush, from day one, and certainly while he was governor of Texas, felt that the immigrants bring a vitality to the economy in this country. The Chamber of Commerce agrees, they fill jobs, they earn honest wages, and, sadly to admit, that they fill a lot of jobs that many Americans would not take.

So, his argument, and Senator McCain's argument, Senator Hagel, some moderates in the Senate, Senator Specter, say that there's a guest worker program that will basically take in these 11 million illegal immigrants and make them productive members of society.

KAGAN: What about the staff changes? I mean, come on, Ken. Eight years, an intense place like the White House, any administration has a lot of staff changes, especially, we would say, halfway through a second term.

RUDIN: Well, I was shocked that when they replaced Andy Card with Josh Bolten, President Bush's numbers didn't go through the roof. I mean, that really shocked every -- every American is saying, what we need is Josh Bolten -- no. Look...

KAGAN: I mean, outside the beltway world where you live, people don't know who these people are.

RUDIN: Nor do they care.

KAGAN: Exactly.

RUDIN: They don't care about who's presenting the positions. They care about the positions themselves.

So, if Josh Bolten is going come to -- bring about a good solution to the war in Iraq, if Josh Bolten is going to bring down gas prices, then maybe that's a big difference. But when we talk about a staff shakeup, I think most people feel that it really doesn't matter who's bringing out the news from the administration. They just want the news to be good.

KAGAN: And finally, poll numbers. You mentioned this a little bit ago. From day one, President Bush has said he does not care about poll numbers. Do you think that's true even when they look like this?

RUDIN: Well, he may not care, but Republicans certainly care. And they're very nervous about what's ahead of them in November. And that's why more and more Republican members of Congress are running away from the president and voting against the president's views on many key issues.

KAGAN: Ken Rudin, thank you. We'll listen to you on NPR.

RUDIN: Look for me on NPR.

KAGAN: We'll look for you on NPR. OK. Thank you.

RUDIN: Thanks.

KAGAN: Well, let's go to Capitol Hill, where actually some members of Congress are heading to the White House to talk with President Bush.

Our Dana Bash is calling that for us. Is calling that? How about covering that for us.

Dana, what are they looking for? Bill Frist heading to the White House. Is that right?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Bill Frist and whole -- whole big group of senators, Daryn, bipartisan group of senators, going to the White House. Basically, they realized, even more than they knew before they left for this two-week recess that senators just came back from, that this immigration issue is just not going to go away. And the Senate majority leader told reporters this morning that he is determined to try to break the deadlock and, in fact, do that by the Memorial Day recess, so by the end of May.

Now, remember, there was a broad compromise before Congress left for recess that essentially would allow millions of illegal workers to eventually get U.S. citizenship. Well, conservatives were still very, very upset about that. That, in essence, was why there was a deadlock.

Well, yesterday, we were with the Senate majority leader, Bill Frist, in Iowa. He is somebody who was an architect of that compromise. But interestingly enough, he surprised us by saying he actually agrees with the critics of the compromise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. BILL FRIST (R-TN), MAJORITY LEADER: What has happened now in terms of the amnesty provision -- and I'm against amnesty -- is we have a good compromise bill on the floor that, to my mind, goes too far in terms of amnesty itself. And that's why when the Democratic leaders said no amendments, we're not going to allow the will of the Senate to come forward, I say, yes, we are.

I insist on the opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to be able to amend that bill to improve it, and to make that bill better. To think that a few senators can write a bill without the input of the rest of the Senate is absolutely absurd.

(END VIDEO CLIP) BASH: So there you have Senator Bill Frist in Iowa testing the presidential waters, essentially agreeing, aligning himself with conservatives who call the compromise that he helped create, that he is actually going to try to get through the Senate floor, aligning himself with them, the people who call it amnesty. So, it's a very interesting dynamic here, Daryn.

Basically, the senators -- and there is a big group of them, maybe 65 to 70 who say they want to do this particular compromise, they say that the president simply needs to get involved and really put his print on this in terms of the details. That is what they're hoping he will do at this meeting at the White House this afternoon. It's going to be interesting to see if he does take more of a position than he already has.

KAGAN: Yes, I was going to say, those were some interesting travel plans for the senator from Tennessee to be in Iowa. But you explained that very well. Looking for potential future job possibilities.

Dana Bash on Capitol Hill.

BASH: Thank you.

KAGAN: Dana, thank you.

Tough times at the pump means some tough decisions. Do you drive less? Do you carpool more? What about lifestyle changes?

CNN's Dan Lothian takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It started with a trickle, now it seems like a gush, filling an empty tank is leaving a lot of wallets empty.

LOU SERANO, DRIVER: You do what you have to do, you know, Just work hard and pay gas. That's basically what it is all about.

LOTHIAN: But commuters Kevin Rudden and Jim Cantania are both finding detours around the high gas prices.

One got a new job.

KEVIN RUDDEN, COMMUTER: I looked for a job closer to home.

LOTHIAN: The other got new wheels.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I ride it rain or shine.

LOTHIAN: Rudden, a public relations consultant, says he used to travel 100 miles round trip to work.

RUDDEN: I was purchasing $400 a month in gas. You can just go to you boss and say, gee, gas jumped 20 cents a gallon, can I can have a raise? They'll look at you like you're crazy.

LOTHIAN: So he quit his job for a 20-minute commute.

RUDDEN: You know, after a while, a 20 cent, 30 cent a gallon increase when you have a long commute starts taking a big chunk out of your income.

LOTHIAN: Jim Cantania just bought a motorized bike on eBay. He says he gets 87 miles a gallon, and now fills up just once every three weeks.

JIM CANTANIA, COMMUTER: If you can avoid the highway, and you know, you've got a 15 to 20-mile max ride, then it's great.

LOTHIAN (on camera): There is growing frustration across the country, as people spend more to fill up and spend less on the other things they need.

(voice-over): A poll released before the most recent spike shows 54 percent of Americans are cutting back significantly on household spending because of higher gas prices. RUDDEN: It doesn't make you happy when you hear that the president of ExxonMobil walks away with $400 million retirement package, and you have to think that somebody's getting rich off of you.

LOTHIAN: Many are wondering how much higher gas prices will go and how much more they can take.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Definitely. It's too high.

LOTHIAN: That's why many commuters are changing their routines, in order to get more out of every gallon.

Dan Lothian, CNN, Boston.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: So, we're looking to involve you, our viewers and listeners. Want to know what you're doing to conserve gas. We do have the best listeners here at LIVE TODAY.

So, send us your e-mail, livetoday@cnn.com, and we'll share some of your e-mail a little bit later in the program.

Chilling words here. "I'm more than ready to start spilling blood." Police pin the threat on a high school student. They say his home was an arsenal. Wait until you see what they found in that home ahead on CNN LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: You are not going to believe what police say they found at a teenager's house near Tacoma, Washington. It immediately brings to mind Columbine. In a search of the 16-year-old's home, police say they confiscated two rifles, two handguns, ammunition, a homemade C02 bomb, a copy of the "Anarchist Cookbook" and some computers. CNN's Carol Costello has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was kind of scare that actually somebody would actually think about doing that to us.

COSTELLO (voice over): Students at Rogers High School in Puyallup, Washington, reacting to the news a 16-year-old boy at their own school is suspected of plotting to kill fellow students.

ED TROYER, PIERCE COUNTY SHERIFF'S SPOKESMAN: We recovered a couple of rifles, ammunition. He had made a homemade bomb which our bomb team went out and got. So, he definitely had access to the tools to carry this out if he decided to do it.

COSTELLO: A search of the boy's home also netted a downloaded copy of a book with directions for making explosives. Investigators recovered computer messages the suspect allegedly sent to a fellow ROTC student outlining his plan to shoot people at the school this Wednesday.

The graphic messages detail his desire "To finally go out in a blaze of hatred and fury... to wrongly hurt others for my own sick pleasure before ending it for myself."

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I walk through the halls, I see the people. You know, they all look like good people, but I guess they're really not, not all of them.

COSTELLO: Police have charged the 16-year-old with felony harassment, first-degree attempted assault and possession and manufacture of an incendiary device.

News of the arrest shocked neighbors, especially those with children attending the same high school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're in the same neighborhood. It's kind of a scary thing, you know. So...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is kind of scary, yes. I've got kids that go to high school, too, and he's graduating this year. So, yes, it is scary.

COSTELLO: Carol Costello, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: And then there's this, another frightening school incident. Shots were fired as police say a 17-year-old student held a teacher and a fellow student hostage in a North Carolina classroom.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody starting running in the gym. We told, like, everybody to go to the gym. (END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: School officials didn't call police to East Chapel Hill High School until the shots rang out. That was about after a one-hour standoff began. No one was injured. The parents of the student who has been arrested found him after he fled the school. They took the teen to a hospital for evaluation.

Illegal guns in the crosshairs. Big-city mayors meeting today in New York. They're doing it this morning to come up with a way to get illegal guns off the street. Some say Washington just isn't doing enough.

Let's get more from CNN's Mary Snow.

Mary, let's talk about which big-city mayors were there.

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Daryn.

Well, this is a summit that's being hosted by the mayors of New York and Boston. Fifteen mayors, in all, from some big cities, Washington, D.C., Philadelphia, but also some of the smaller cities like Jackson, Mississippi. And this is being touted as the first National Gun Summit of its kind by these mayors.

They are saying that if Congress doesn't take the lead on fighting illegal guns, they say that it's up to city and states. And they say that is their purpose for meeting today. They are hoping for strength in numbers.

One of their purposes for meeting is to try and put up the pressure to get tougher gun control laws passed. And mayors of cities like Boston say there has been an increase in gun violence.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR THOMAS MENINO (D), BOSTON: Gun violence is out of control. It's epidemic in America. We hear a lot of conversations about the bird flu. We never hear anything coming out of Washington about gun violence. It ought to be a priority in America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SNOW: Now, some in the gun industry, of course, are skeptical. One group asked for a seat at this summit. The National Shooting Sports Foundation wrote a letter to the mayor saying that its group is also concerned about gun violence and wanted to attend, but the summit is for mayors only -- Daryn.

KAGAN: Well, what does the NRA say about this summit?

SNOW: The NRA did not mince words when it was asked about this summit. It says that this is a publicity stunt. And it's saying that, "If the mayors were serious about combating crime..." -- and this is a statement from the NRA -- "... they would walk down the hallway to the offices of prosecuting attorneys and hand them a check to help prosecute gun crimes in their respective cities."

So, they are saying pretty much that these laws are on the books and are skeptical of this kind of meeting.

KAGAN: Not too surprising with that reaction there.

Mary Snow in New York City.

Mary, thank you.

SNOW: Sure.

KAGAN: Getting to another big topic today, high gas prices putting a big dent in drivers' wallets. So, you'd think they'd stop buying the gas-guzzling cars. Not so, according to J.J. Ramberg -- J.J.

J.J. RAMBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Daryn.

This is interesting, especially in light of that piece Dan Lothian had that you showed about 10 minutes ago that said that people were changing their routine because of the high gas prices. But, according to this new survey that's out, what people are not changing is their car-buying habits, even though the perception is that gases are going to continue to rise.

Now, in the first three months of this year, about 25 percent of all new vehicles sold in the U.S. had eight-cylinder engines. Those are those powerful gas-guzzling engines. They're the ones found in SUVs and pickups and some other cars. And that percentage is unchanged from last summer.

(STOCK MARKET REPORT)

RAMBERG: That's the latest from here on Wall Street. Coming up later, I'm going to tell you about a new promise that one big pizza chain is making that gives a new meaning to the phrase "fast food."

Stay tuned. LIVE TODAY will be right back.

KAGAN: Thank you for that, J.J.

Right now, we want to go live to Capitol Hill. Senator Chuck Schumer, a Democrat from New York, responding to some of the points President Bush made earlier today on energy.

Let's listen in.

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: ... the new security package that the House and Senate leadership, Democratic leadership on both sides, have put together.

First, we have to dramatically increase conservation. We're not doing any of that.

The fact that China has higher mileage standards than we do should make us weep. And China is not a country caring about the environment. They're doing it just so keep their economic strength.

We need to develop new energy sources, a crash program for alternatives, a Manhattan Project. And we also have to reexamine whether having only a handful of giant oil companies can coexist with the needs of the American consumer and a rational energy policy in this country.

I do not believe it does. And so I'll be offering an amendment to the supplemental that will require a complete examination as to whether or not we should break up the big oil companies.

Enough is enough. We have no competition. There's signs of it. I've talked to business leaders who buy oil and gas products, major conservative Republican business leaders, and they don't believe the market is on the level.

So, on the supplemental that comes up, we're going to focus on port security, we're going to focus on energy independence and oil prices, and we're going to do everything we can...

KAGAN: Listening in to Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, following President Bush's speech. In President Bush's speech, he had called for an investigation to make sure that the gas prices are not fixed. Chuck Schumer taking that a step further, asking for a look to see whether the big oil companies should be broken up.

I'm sure we'll be getting reaction to that.

Coming up, fast wheels and the keys inside. Too good to be true? You bet. They're called bait cars. They're used to catch crooks. Wait until you see how they caught our own Ed Lavandera.

That's coming up in just a bit.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: Parents, this next story is something you will want to pay attention to. A new survey finds stunning new evidence of teen dating abuse and violence.

According to the survey, one in five teens who have been in a serious relationship report being hit, slapped, or pushed by a partner. One in two teens who have been in a serious relationship say they have gone against their beliefs in order to please their partner.

Nearly a quarter of girls report going further sexually than they wanted as a result of pressure in a relationship. And one in three girls between 16 and 18 years old say sex is expected for people their age if they want to have a boyfriend.

Researchers say the emotional, physical, and sexual abuse is happening to teenagers across suburbs and cities and involves all ethnic groups. Liz Claiborne Inc. commissioned the survey. The company is working to stop the trend.

This week, it's a disturbing -- to a teen dating curriculum called Love is Not Abuse to nearly -- it's actually distributing that to nearly 400 schools across the country.

A difficult and delicate subject today at the Vatican. They're talking about condoms.

Pope Benedict XVI has ordered a study of condom use as a way to stop the spread of the AIDS virus. The church's policy right now prohibits the use of condoms as part of its teaching against contraception. It calls sexual abstinence the best way to fight HIV.

Now, if condoms were allowed, that decision by Pope Benedict would certainly be a fundamental change in church policy.

With us now on the phone, CNN's Vatican analyst, John Allen.

John, hello.

JOHN ALLEN, CNN VATICAN ANALYST: Hi, Daryn.

KAGAN: Hello to you. How shocked are you to hear that this pope would be interested in a study about condoms?

ALLEN: Oh, not shocked at all. I mean, in recent years, there has been a very open public debate at the most senior levels of the church, including a dozen or so cardinals, who have expressed different positions on this question, many of them in favor of a more permissive stance for -- in terms of the use of condoms in the context of HIV-AIDS. And so, I think it's no surprise at all that the pope wants to bring that to some kind of -- some kind of conclusion. In other words, to avoid the impression of division and confusion.

Now, it should be said that this document is -- has a fairly narrow focus. It's looking specifically at the question of the use of condoms in the context of a married couple, where one partner has HIV- AIDS and the other does not. And the question is, can condoms be used in that context to prevent the transmission of disease?

The early indication we have from Vatican sources is the document is likely to say that they can. In other words, to take a favorable stance. The same Vatican sources, however, would say that this marks no change in the church's traditional teaching that birth control is immoral, because if the condom is being used to block disease rather than to prevent pregnancy, they would say that's not birth control.

KAGAN: Right. But aren't you kind of splitting hairs there, so to speak? That if you're using a condom, then clearly, well, probably, the wife isn't going to get pregnant. But isn't it kind of crossing a line to even advocate condom use?

ALLEN: First of all, I'll not sure it would be say the church is going to be advocating condom use. The question really is, whether they will say it's morally permissible.

KAGAN: That it's OK.

ALLEN: It may look to the outside world like splitting hairs. You know, around here there is something in Catholic moral theology called double effect, which means, basically speaking, if an action is going to have two consequence, one good, one bad, you can still take that act if the good consequence outweighs the bad. According to at least some theologians here, that would be one of these cases.

KAGAN: And what about this pope? just a year ago, since the papal elections, wasn't he branded or described as even more conservative than Pope John Paul II?

ALLEN: Yes. Some branded him as more conservative than Genghis Kahn. What we've seen over the course of the first year has, in many was, contradicted the fevered early impressions.

I think the key to understanding the mind of Benedict XVI is that he makes a very sharp distinction between what he would consider to be matters of faith and morals, and then everything else.

And so on the church's teaching on birth control, he sees that as a matter of faith, and therefore, he will be tenacious about it.

But on this other question of whether or not, condoms could me morally used for a different motive, that is to block disease rather than pregnancy, you know, he is showing himself to be remarkably open, and remarkably willing to listen and remarkably willing to break new ground, if that's what's called for. And this may well be a further case in point.

KAGAN: Certainly caught our attention this morning. Thank you for giving us some perspective as the Vatican looks at the possible use of condoms in the fight against AIDS and HIV.

John Allen our Vatican analyst, thank you.

ALLEN: You're welcome, Daryn.

KAGAN: So what if the virus that causes AIDS could be stopped? That's the perspective of "CNN PRESENTS: The End of AIDS: A Global Summit with President Clinton." It premieres Saturday at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

(WEATHER REPORT)

(NEWSBREAK)

KAGAN: It was a mystery for 30 years. Now the man whose secrets brought down a president is talking to CNN's Larry King. It's his only television interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: Did you ever, during all of this time, were you ever tempted to tell anyone?

MARK FELT, "DEEP THROAT": No.

KING: Never?

FELT: Never.

KING: Did your family know?

FELT: No. They didn't know either.

KING: Your daughter didn't know?

FELT: No.

KING: How did you do that?

FELT: Just maneuvered around and about.

KING: What about when you would read in the papers, this person's Deep Throat or that person's Deep Throat.

FELT: I'd clip it and put it in a book.

KING: You saved items...

FELT: Yes.

KING: about who Deep Throat might be?

FELT: Yes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING: The reporters behind the Watergate story, Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, respond to Deep Throat, telling their side of the story live. It's a CNN exclusive event tonight at 9:00 Eastern.

Our Ed Lavandera gets arrested. It's OK. We kind of set him up for this, arrested for stealing cars. We're going to show you the big bust next on LIVE TODAY.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: From a rape case to an assault case, double trouble for a Duke lacrosse player. A hearing for Collin Finnerty has just finished. A judge has set a trial on an assault charge for the summer. Finnerty is charged with attacking a man in Washington D.C. last November.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you all know, the honorable Judge Bailer set a trial date for July 10th in this matter. We look forward to presenting the facts on that date. Before I go, I just want to make clear, though, however, again, that this incident has been grossly mischaracterized. This is not and has not been charged as a biased- related allegation. I want to make that clear.

Thank you all very much.

(END VIDEO CLIP) KAGAN: Prosecutors had agreed to dismiss charges if Finnerty completed 25 hours of community severance and didn't get into anymore trouble. Well, that deal is now scuttled, because Finnerty now faces rape charges.

It is hard to watch. You can almost feel the pain. Fifteen- year-old boy hits his head on the springboard at a U.S. Open Diving Championship in Indianapolis. And there it is again in slow motion. And -- ouch! His coach went into the water, fully clothed, to rescue the teenager. The diver suffered a severe concussion. At last check, he was hospitalized. He is in good condition.

Catching fish? Bait a hook? Catch a car thief? You bait a car. CNN's Ed Lavandera has an alluring story. It premiered on CNN's "PAULA ZAHN NOW."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ever wonder what car thieves do once they've swiped a hot new ride? Well, thanks to the magic of hidden cameras, now you can see for yourself.

First, they always look around for something else to steal. Some smile and laugh; some reach for the car's cell phone. Some brag about how easy it was.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just got it (EXPLETIVE). I got it from Wal-Mart (INAUDIBLE). I parked right next to it. They left their keys in it.

LAVANDERA: And the car thieves are as diverse as the cars they steal. There are male thieves and female thieves. There are young ones and even older ones. Some like to drive to rap music; some prefer to go a little bit country.

Believe it or not, most put on their seatbelts.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Put on your seatbelt.

LAVANDERA: But there's nothing quite like that moment when the thieves realize they've been caught red-handed.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The A.C....

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute. Is this a camera? Look.

LAVANDERA: These cameras are used by dozens of police departments nationwide in vehicles known as bait cars. Reid Stacy is a Dallas police officer. He says using these cars to catch criminals is just like hunters trying to catch their prey.

REID STACY, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: You know, if you go hunting, you've got to know exactly what you're looking for and you've got to know what kind of equipment you need to take care of the job.

LAVANDERA: Stacy and his fellow officers in the Dallas PD auto theft squad have a fleet of bait cars -- they won't say exactly how many -- but this Honda Civic is just the kind of car thieves love to steal. But you definitely don't want to steal this particular car.

ALBERT ALANIS, DALLAS POLICE OFFICER: For someone that doesn't know, they don't even think about that. They see the nice stereo, they see the nice wheels. You know, they hear the engine. The nice seats will be stripped for another vehicle.

LAVANDERA: The officers leave the bait cars in the parts of town where cars are most often stolen. Then they wait for the criminal to take the bait.

(on camera): All right, they're setting up the bait car now. The way it's going to work is, once it's armed, the moment this door opens, it triggers the alarm and sets off the videotape. And we'll take it out for a test drive.

Car's on. Looking around, you can't -- you know you're being videotaped, but you can't really see the camera anywhere.

(voice-over): A few miles away, in the police department's dispatch center, the bait car's movement sets off the alarm.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Once the alarm goes off, here are the GPS coordinates of where the actual car is at. And once you start moving, you'll start to know when that car is moving and speed it's heading, and the direction it's traveling in.

LAVANDERA (on camera): I guess if I were really stealing this car, I'd be out of the parking lot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can tell right now that he has got the ignition on and he is traveling 19 miles an hour.

LAVANDERA: Everything seems to be going well so far.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can disable the ignition on that car at a click of a button.

LAVANDERA: I'm in second gear, and the car has completely just stalled out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The car is coming to a stop.

LAVANDERA: I'm trying to restart it, but nothing. Nothing. The car's -- car's dead.

(voice-over): As the car stalls out, the doors lock.

(on camera): That's it. I'm stuck. I can't get out. I can't open the doors.

(voice-over): Officers swoop in and make the arrest.

(on camera): It wasn't me, you know.

(voice-over): And just like that, our joy ride is over.

(on camera): Nice.

(voice-over): Because of these bait cars, Dallas police say auto theft has dropped 10 percent in the last year. Police departments nationwide are reporting similar trends. Officers hope it makes thieves think twice.

GREG FREGEUA, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Just the thought of it possibly being one of our cars, hopefully someone will have second thoughts on stealing that car.

LAVANDERA: Richard Henderson has a lot of time to think about those bait cars. He was caught stealing one of them last year. We spoke inside the prison unit, where he's now serving a 35-year sentence for theft.

RICHARD HENDERSON, CONVICTED CAR THIEF: When I came over there, the music was up loud, the windows are left down and the truck is running. So I just got in the truck and drove off.

LAVANDERA: Officers dropped the truck off at a convenient store. Within moments, Henderson and a friend jump in and drive off. They drive for several minutes before police roll up on them. Henderson says he had no idea bait cars existed. The night he stole the truck, he says he was looking to make some quick money.

HENDERSON: When you're doing drugs, anything to get the next high, you're going to do it.

LAVANDERA: Henderson says leaving these cars in poor neighborhoods just isn't fair. He says what do you expect when something so tempting just sits there?

HENDERSON: If you set a truck out there with tools and stuff on the back of it, yes, it's going to get took. They know that. That's the problem. That's why they do it. They set a car out there with $2,000, $3,000 rim on it, yes, it's going to get took.

LAVANDERA: The FBI estimates that about 1.2 million cars are stolen every year in the United States. Police officers hope bait cars will help slow that trend down. Word appears to be spreading on the street. Proof is on the videotape. Just listen to these thieves wonder out loud if the car they're driving is a trap.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What about those cars that you talked about where people leave them and (INAUDIBLE).

LAVANDERA: Listen to how confident the driver is that this isn't one of those cars.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They would have done it in the mall parking lot, where it would have been safe to.

LAVANDERA: But when the police lights turn on, some just freak out. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn, he got the gun out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hands up in the car. Hands up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Damn!

LAVANDERA: The prize for the most entertaining bait car goes to the Columbus, Ohio, Police Department when a thief gets caught here...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, look what the (EXPLETIVE)...

LAVANDERA: The radio starts blaring the theme song to "Cops."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (EXPLETIVE)

LAVANDERA: There's not much Richard Henderson can do. But this car thief has one piece of jailhouse advice.

HENDERSON: You all make sure you all stay away from those trucks or those cars.

LAVANDERA: Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KAGAN: Some well-spoken advice there. You can watch "PAULA ZAHN NOW" weeknights at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, 5:00 Pacific.

It is our video of the day for you guys out there. America's favorite fried foods, an orange shorts restaurant. It's sizzling in the People's Republic of China. LIVE TODAY orders up some wings straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, I told you we have the most clever viewers. We asked you, what are you doing to save money on gas? This e-mail from Kristi. She says, "I stopped using the drive-thru line at restaurants. Now I park and go in to buy my food." Very good Kristi.

And our favorite of the day, Fred. "I drive downhill only." Good for you, Fred! Let us know how you make that work.

Thanks for writing in, love to share our e-mail with you.

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KAGAN: Medicare recipients are facing a looming deadline. You have until May 15th to pick a prescription drug plan or face higher premiums. At 1:00 p.m. today, the man in charge of Medicare, Dr. Mark McClellan, will join us live. He's going to take your questions. So send us your e-mail, livefrom@cnn.com. We want to hear from you. Again, that's livefrom@CNN.com. And then you can tune in at 1:00 p.m. Eastern for Dr. Mark McClellan.

We're back with an extra helping of China's hooters girls. Yes, guys, this is for you. We'll show you this after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: All right, we could take the high road and avoid the tacky pun, but come one, who are we kidding? China gets a taste of Hooters. The American restaurant chain knows for its breasts, and legs and hot wings is a shanghai success. The tank-tops are tight, the shorts are skimpy. Most Chinese men don't seem to be too insulted by our Western culture, or lack of it. Locals make up nearly half the restaurant's customers. But China's Hooters girls did have some reservations. Apparently one said "Actually, when I first learned that Hooters means women's breasts in American slang, well, I felt a little uncomfortable." Now she calls the Hooters image healthy. Well, there are some healthy things happening there, but I don't know about the image.

And that will be the thought that we leave you with this hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for YOUR WORLD TODAY. I'll be back with the latest headlines from the U.S. in about 20 minutes.

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