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CNN Sunday Morning
Can Your Bank Be in Trouble?; Interview With Rescued Hostages
Aired July 13, 2008 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: From the CNN center in Atlanta. This is CNN SUNDAY MORNING, it is July 13, good morning, every. I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.
DAN SIMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: And I'm Dan Simon in for T.J. Holmes. Thanks a lot for starting your day with us.
KAYE: This morning we're talking about one of the largest bank failures in U.S. History. Could your own bank be in trouble? The answer is, yes.
SIMON: The three freed American hostages, they are home. Hear about their emotional reunions with their families. CNN HEADLINE NEWS anchor Robin Meade has the exclusive interview.
KAYE: And some of you just spent awful lot of money on a new iPhone. Would you do this to it?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to blend my old phone. I think I'm going to press the smoothie button.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: We have got your viral video on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
SIMON: Well, a major bank that went bust will reopen tomorrow under the control of federal regulators.
KAYE: For customers of IndyMac Bank, tomorrow can't come sure enough. The agency that insured bank deposits says phones have been ringing off the hook with more than 20,000 calls about IndyMac since Friday. People that showed up a bank branches over the weekend found themselves out of luck. A notice was posted on the door to explain the situation. After customers learned about the bank collapse on Friday, many braced themselves for a weekend of worrying and waiting.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN SANDS, BANK CUSTOMER: It's been nerve wrecking. And I just -- I just don't like -- it's going to be a long weekend. I just don't like feeling -- feeling like this. I can't wait for Monday to at least get some -- some resolution. Some sort of -- you know, I want to get my money out as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: IndyMac was a major player in the mortgage market, it was one of the nation's largest he lenders but when the housing bubble burst, losses at IndyMac started piling up. One financial expert says officials should have seen the collapse coming.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZE ORMAN, HOST, CNBC'S SUZE ORMAN SHOW: Why didn't they want to see it? They didn't want to see it, in my opinion, because they were making so much money. The banks were making money of the banks selling the loans that were no good, they didn't worry about it. To the securities companies, they were selling it to investors. Everybody was making money and everybody was thriving which made the economy look like it was thriving which made the administration look good, everybody s so happy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: IndyMac bank is not alone. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the FDIC, says it's watching 90 other banks on its problem list. CNN's senior business correspondent Ali Velshi talked by phone with our Rick Sanchez, last night, about that list.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALI VELSHI, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah. There's 90.
RICK SANCHEZ, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Who are these other banks?
VELSHI: They won't tell us because they're concerned that if we publicized those names, those people will have a run on their banks causing more banks to fail. CNN is working on getting some sense of who those banks are. They're probably not the major banks, but there are banks that in trouble and the FDIC is watching that. It's not a need to panic, just make sure that you don't have more than $100,000 in a deposit account.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Good advice because the federal government insures most traditional bank accounts up to $100,000.
SIMON: The economy is issue No. 1 for the presidential candidates. Democrat Barack Obama utters the R-word and he points to ongoing probe in the housing and mortgage markets and promoting his economic plans.
We're moving on now. Senator John McCain also talking about what's going on in the housing industry. He says the government cannot let mortgage giants Fanny Mae and Freddie Mac go under. Speculation that the two government created companies might need a bailout rattled investors last week. The companies either own or back almost half of the countries outstanding home mortgage debt.
And if your bank goes under, the federal government steps in to try to protect your money. IndyMac is just a latest example. CNN's Deborah Feyerick explanations how the process works and what's ahead for IndyMac.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Many IndyMac customers searching for answers this weekend heard this recording alerting them someone new was in charge of their money.
RECORDING: As conservateur, FDIC will operate the IndyMac Federal Band to maximize the value of institution while maintaining banking service in communities served by the bank.
FEYERICK: The FDIC was put in charge Friday after regulators announced IndyMac could not meet demands of its depositors calling the mortgage lender's condition "unsafe and unsound."
BEVERLY GOODMAN, SR EDITOR, SMARTMONEY MAGAZINE: The best news is for the individuals that have money at these. When the FDIC steps in, their money is then secure, it's much worse news for the economy in general.
FEYERICK: The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in 1933 in response to the Great Depression, when thousands of banks failed. In order to limit the affects on the economy, banks pay insurance premiums to the FDIC, so a portion of your money is always protected. Beverly Goodman is with SmartMoney Magazine.
GOODMAN: The FDIC is insurance. It's been the government's guarantee that you will not lose your money.
FEYERICK: Experts at the FDIC will run the bank as is. Customers have access to much of their money and those with loans will still have to pay on time.
DAVID BARR, FDIC SPOKESMAN: This is very manageable, it's an excellent example of how the FDIC operates that when a bank gets in trouble, how we come in to protect the depositors.
FEYERICK: Meantime, the FDIC will look for a buyer.
CHRIS ISIDORE, SR WRITER, CNNMONEY.COM: FDIC is hoping to sell the bank pretty much as an intact unit to a larger bank sometime in the next three months. That's going to be somewhat more difficult sale now that it's gone through the failure.
FEYERICK: Ninety banks are on an FDIC risk list, but the agency is confident its fund is large enough to cover any additional bank failures. It's not, the spokesman says the FDIC could always raise premiums.
Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Home at last. American hostages rescued from Columbia after more than five years in captivity are finally able to sleep in their own beds. The three men left Texas for homes in Florida. That's Thomas Howes in Orlando. But before leaving, they wanted remind people not to forget the hostages left behind held by FARC rebels in Columbia.
The three former hostages had been undergoing medical tests and a so-called "reintegration process" in Texas since their July 2 rescue. Now they are asking for a little private time with their families.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH STANSELL, FREED AMERICAN HOSTAGE: We're all obviously happy to be home. We'd just like to say that we're going to come out in a little while and we're going to talk and tell our stories, but just understand I've been gone for five-and-a-half years and the moment right now is my family. Just please respect that. Just tell everybody thank you, everybody's been so supportive, they've been wonderful with us. You will hear from us, but right now it's family time. I want to say, thank you. I appreciate it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Hostage, Marc Gonsalves says they'd like to take about a month-and-a-half or so to unwind. Before heading home, the three talked about their ordeal exclusive with CNN HEADLINE NEWS anchor, Robin Meade.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBIN MEADE, ANCHOR, "MORNING EXPRESS": Let's talk about -- a little bit more about -- some of the remaining hostages families say that they're afraid that the joy and the interest over your story because you've been released will overshadow the plight of their loved ones, the hundreds of people still there.
What would you like to say to those families or those hostages?
KEITH STANSELL, FMR. HOSTAGE: Marc, you were talking about that right when we started.
MARC GONSALVES, FMR. HOSTAGE: One thing that I know is, in my heart -- is that I won't ever forget those guys. They're like brothers to us. I have no power, the only thing I can do is talk and try to remind people that they are there, and I feel for them.
It's almost like a bittersweet feeling that I have because I'm free right now talking to you, but, on the other half, my friends are still there and they're suffering right now. And they're in an abusive environment because the guerrilla know they're losing. And the only people they can take it out on is the hostages, and only God knows what they're going -- what they're suffering through right now.
STANSELL: I'll tell you what they're suffering.
GONSALVES: More security, more chains, bigger chains, bigger locks.
MEADE: Tom, you said...
STANSELL: I'll show you what they're suffering right here. Feel how heavy that is.
MEADE: What is that?
STANSELL: Imagine having that -- that's a lock that was put around my neck every night. This lock, with five meters of chain, thick, one- inch rinks, went to his neck. So, this was locked around my neck like this. The other was locked around Marc's next. We slept like that. Tom had the exact same thing, he slept with a Colombian captain the same way.
You're sleeping with 10 pounds of chain and this lock around your neck. Now, imagine, you go to bed, somebody comes up to you, they take your shoes so you can't move. And they say...
MEADE: They take your shoes so you can't run.
STANSELL: Can't run. You're not going to walk -- and they say, excuse me, Robin, you know, the government, they're real bad people, but we're going to chain you up and it's not our fault. It's the government is forcing us to do this. So, I'm going to chain you around the neck every night like a dog. And if I don't have somebody there or I think you're in a bad mood, I'm going to chain you to a tree. And I'm going to leave you like that.
And then after I've left you in chains for three or four months continuously, 24 hours a day, I'm going to come in one day and say, hey, I think you guys are behaving good, so I'll let you out during the day because we're good people. We're good people.
And then you sit on the radio and you hear people comparing these guys to some, as Marc said the other day, a revolutionary group? No. They don't recognize humanity. They don't recognize human rights. They're animals. They're terrorists.
Anything that you could use to describe along those lines is true, and we always thought about this when we came out. We don't want to exaggerate what happened. We just want to tell the truth. And we wondered if people would talk about it.
These chains right now, this very minute, because of my rescue and because of my luck, victims, not alone just friends, but victims of more time than us, are marching this day. Now, imagine this -- you're marching through the jungle, the FARC are now panicked, and I'm sure they're breaking what prisoners are left into even smaller groups. You've got bay backpack on, or a rucksack, you've got a chain around your neck. There's a guy -- the chain -- there's about 10 pounds of chain, 15 feet long. It's wrapped around your neck, it looks like this. OK?
And then about three feet behind you, you've got a guy holding your chain with a dog leash. And then he's got rifle pointed at your back. And then they're waiting for the order or for a noise to say, hey, here comes a rescue and then it's over. (END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: You can hear the entire exclusive interview with Robin Meade the freed American hostages tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
SIMON: All right. Going to lighten things up here a little bit. Do you think the folks at "Entertainment Tonight" are working overtime this weekend?
KAYE: Oh yea, they're drooling over this one.
SIMON: Because we got some baby news to tell you about. Angelina Jolie has given birth to her twins with actor Brad Pitt. The boy, Knox Leon and the girl, Vivienne Marcheline. They were delivered by C-section at a French hospital. We're told mom, dad and the babies are all fine. The couple now have six children. Congratulations to them.
KAYE: So, one second watching the rain from inside your house and then...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aah! Oh my god!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Well, that's an excellent reason to stay away from the windows during an electrical storm.
KAYE: And Chad Myers is in for Reynolds Wolf, today.
Hi there, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hi Randi. Tropical Storm Bertha, this was a long, long Hurricane Bertha, but no longer. A very disorganized storm today, but making very organized waves in East Coast. Surfers are very happy about that. Forecast coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIMON: A tanker crash forced the shutdown of a section of Interstate 40 in Cumberland County, Tennessee. State police say the crash between the tanker and three cars caused the tanker to leak a corrosive flammable chemical. That's not good. Officials ordered evacuations within a two-mile radius of the crash. Cleanup will likely take two hours. There are no reports of major injuries.
KAYE: President Bush, last week, signed into law a highly controversial piece of legislation that updates the government' ability to conduct electronic surveillance.
SIMON: And our guy, Josh Levs, he's here to explain why the new FISA law is causing such a stir in certain quarters. JOSH LEVS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. We're going to talk about that and then we're going to open it up for everybody to weigh in. But first we want to bang through some of the basics so people understand what is it that they're weighing in on, make sure we're talking about the same facts when you debate it online.
Here's the beginning. The purpose of the new law is to let the government eavesdrop on phone calls, also intercept e-mails from suspected terrorists overseas without a warrant. Now, the government had been doing that in secret since the days after 9/11, but when those activities were exposed in 2005, the White House began lobbying for an updated version of that surveillance law. Now, President Bush has insisted the new law should shield telecom companies from lawsuits for helping the government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE W BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This bill will help the intelligence professionals learn who the terrorists are talking to, what they're saying and what they're planning. It'll insure that those companies whose assistance is necessary to protect the country will themselves be protected from lawsuits for past or future cooperation with the government. It will uphold our most solemn obligation as officials of the federal government, to protect the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Well, as we'll hear in a moment, not everyone is on the page with him, there. Let's go through what it is. FISA stands for Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act and dates all the way back to 1978, actually. This new law covers things like the Internet and e- mail and requires court review if Americans become subject of surveillance, it also gives the telecoms legal protection from lawsuits and it's set to expire, as you see there, in 2012.
Now, critics, especially civil libertarian groups like the ACLU, they say that the new law gives the government basically a blank check to spy on anyone without court approval including Americans. And they say FISA violates the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches and seizures.
They're also arguing that it could ensnare innocent Americans and they say that the court oversight to protect Americans is too minimal to actually be effective if someone should need it. So, this issue, as you can tell, major hot button issue. On the one hand, you've got the need to prevent terrorist attacks and the other hand, need to preserve constitutional liberties.
So, we want to ask you where you stand. Go ahead and send us a video to ireport.com or send an e-mail to weekends@cnn.com.
And guys, I've seen some are already starting to come in.
KAYE: I bet they are. LEVS: As you know, FISA, I mean, major divisive issue, here. And people are jumping on that one. So we're going to keep an eye on the i-Reports photos and videos and also weekends@cnn.com for your e- mails. We'll be sharing some next weekend.
KAYE: OK, thank you, Josh.
SIMON: Sounds good, thanks Josh.
Well, looks like the worst danger passed for some very relieved residents in northern California. Thousand of people were allowed to return back to their homes in Paradise for the first time since they were sent scrambling by those wildfires on Tuesday, but the flames, they are still threatening some 300 homes. Evacuation orders remain in effect for Concow, California, that's just a few miles away from where 50 homes were burned.
And Chad Myers, looks like this is going to be a record year for natural disasters. You've got the fires and then we're supposed to have so many hurricanes this season, right?
MYERS: Yeah. You know, and we -- obviously, Hurricane Bertha was a hurricane for a very long time, literally an hour and 18 minutes ago, downgraded to a tropical storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MYERS: We're going to go to Tampa, because this is one of my favorite slides, here. Trade Winds Resorts, looking down you can almost see the Don Caesar down here. But this is Bay News-9 out of Tampa, Florida. Seagulls right there in play. You know, I was smoking a cigar on the Trade Winds Resort balcony one time and a seagull actually thought it was food, came and took my cigar away from me and I was not very pleased with that. But there you go, good shot. And that's completely off the record. Just between you and me.
(WEATHER REPORT)
SIMON: Wasn't a Cuban cigar, was it?
MYERS: It was not. But I was still -- I only brought one for the whole week.
KAYE: Oh, bummer.
MYERS: And standing there and this thing thinks it's -- you know, I'm giving it bread or something, came down and took and took it away.
KAYE: Can't believe you didn't hunt it down.
MYERS: I did, but it fell in the canal.
SIMON: Reminds me of that Bud Light commercial during the Super Bowl where those birds come in and take the beer.
MYERS: Yeah, exactly. That's what it felt like.
SIMON: All right.
KAYE: Thanks, Chad.
SIMON: Thanks, Chad.
All right, well this is what it's like to get struck by lightning. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Aah! Oh my god!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: Oh, that's something else, right there. That's Jessica Lynch, she lives on an island in the Puget Sound and she says she was hanging out a window videotaping a rainstorm when that happened.
KAYE: The lightning apparently hit her left hand, which was holding the camera and then exited through the right hand which was apparently holding a metal railing. She tells CNN the experience left her pretty short of breath for a few minutes, but she's happy to report she's OK. Even the camera still works apparently, but it was too close for comfort.
SIMON: I would say so. Well, a 10-year-old girl with grown up problems. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): Said, "I want a divorce." And he said, "You're married?" And I said, "Yes."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Married off to a man three times her age.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Married and divorced by the young age of 10. A Yemeni girl puts a public face on the tragedy of child marriages. CNN's Paula Newton has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Nujood Ali is every inch a child, and yet at just 10, she has already been married and divorced. The very portrait of innocence, a shy smile, a playful nature, it makes her story all the more moving. In February, her parents married her off to a man more than three times her age.
NUJOOD ALI, CHILD BRIDE (through translator): I didn't want to sleep with him, but he forced me to. He hit me and insulted me.
NEWTON (on camera): It must have been torture?
ALI: Yes.
NEWTON (voice-over): Her husband declined to be interviewed for this story. But Nujood says she was beaten and raped and turned to her own family for mercy after just a few weeks of marriage.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): When I heard, my heart burned for her. He wasn't supposed to sleep with her.
NEWTON: Her parents told her they couldn't protect her, she belonged to her husband now.
The international aid group, OXFAM, says more than half of all young Yemeni girls are married before the age of 18, many to older men. It means the girls are no longer a financial burden to there often impoverished parents.
SUHA BASHREN, OXFAM: A lot of people in the public don't think that is wrong or what happened to her is abuse.
NEWTON (on camera): The truth is, here in Yemen there is nothing rare or extraordinary about Nujood's story. But, what is incredible is that this young girl had the courage to take an intensely private family matter and go public with it.
(voice-over): Nujood escaped, got herself across town to the central courthouse, sat on a bench and demanded to speak to a judge.
ALI (through translator): And he asked me, "What do you want?" And I said, "I want a divorce." And he said, "You're married?" And I said, "Yes."
NEWTON: What unfolded in those few days in April gripped the country. Nujood got her divorce, but based on the principles of Sharia law, her husband was compensated, not prosecuted. There were no charges against him. Nujood was ordered to pay him more than $200. For this determined spirit, it was sweet victory.
ALI (through translator): I did this so that people would listen and think about not marrying their daughters off as young as they want.
NEWTON: But the fact is human rights advocates say it will take more than a generation if any of this is to change in Yemen.
BASHREN: So these girls, they live in a misery that no one is talking about it.
NEWTON: But Nujood hopes her defiance will at least salvage the childhood of Yemen's next generation of women.
Paula Newton, CNN, Sana'a, Yemen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SIMON: Jesse Jackson issues an apology after an open mike catches him saying Barack Obama talks down to black people. He said a few other things, too.
KAYE: He sure did. But how will all that play when Senator Barack Obama speaks before a national African-American organization? We've got politics covered.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye in for Betty Nguyen.
SIMON: And I'm Dan Simon in for T.J. Holmes. The now defunct IndyMac Bank will reopen tomorrow under federal control. Right now customers can use the ATM to withdraw cash. Officials say about five percent of the money deposited was not FDIC insured.
KAYE: In paradise, California, thousands of people were allowed to return to their homes for the first time since they were sent scrambling by wildfires, Tuesday. About 300 homes still threatened.
SIMON: And Pope Benedict XVI has arrived in Austria for the World Youth Day Festival, it is his first trip to the country.
KAYE: Working to win the Latino vote. Presidential contenders John McCain and Barack Obama both speak before the National Council of La Raza in San Diego. Obama today, McCain tomorrow. Meantime, a CNN poll of polls gives Obama an eight-point lead over McCain. Obama has 49 percent, McCain 41 percent.
Senior producer Sasha Johnson is keeping an eye on all things political and she joins us now from Washington.
Hi there, Sasha.
SASHA JOHNSON, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Hi, good morning.
KAYE: Well, let's talk about that poll. Ten percent in that poll still unsure. How important is that number?
JOHNSON: Well, it's the number of people that obviously both Barack Obama and John McCain are going to be going after. You've got Independent swing voters in that group, you've probably got some women in that group, so you can guarantee that that the number is sort of the both campaigns' focus right now and that number will shift, obviously, as the election gets closer and as the numbers go up and down. But again, it's the undecideds that both campaigns are trying to reach.
KAYE: Something we don't often talk a lot about on the campaign trail is Viagra. But, the subject did come up this week with one of McCain's folks, Carly Fiorina, raising the issue that Viagra is covered by insurance and for women, birth control is not covered. John McCain did not want to talk about this. How do you think it was handled?
JOHNSON: Well, I mean, I think even some in his campaign would admit that that video of him taking the roughly eight-second pause when a reporter asked him about that, it wasn't too great. I mean, it didn't look good especially as he's trying the reach out to women and Hillary Clinton voters and that is an issue that is of concern to a lot women. So, I would imagine that they're going to have to go back at that issue at some point and find a better way to answer it.
KAYE: A lot of talk this week about the comments made by Jesse Jackson off mike about Barack Obama. I did a story on it for ANDERSON COOPER 360. Black leaders telling me that it's -- we're now seeing the passing of the torch from the old guard to new guard. Is this good for Barack Obama?
JOHNSON: Well, I think that the Barack Obama campaign wants to just sort of get away from these Jesse Jackson comments, especially as he's going to speak to the NAACP this week. He mentioned to reporters, Barack Obama did last night, that he has not spoken with Reverend Jackson since those comments.
As far as the passing of the torch -- I mean, I think it is interesting to note that a lot of old guard of the civil rights movement hasn't been too involved up to this point in this campaign. We saw Andrew Jackson, we saw John Lewis support Hillary Clinton and then eventually move over to Barack Obama. So, I don't know if it's a passing of the torch, but Barack Obama has definitely said he wants to reach beyond the old guard and kind of open up his campaign to a broad, new coalition.
KAYE: And speaking of Barack Obama, he is giving few details about his upcoming trip to Iraq. But we do know who he's going with. We know he's going with senators Republican Chuck Hagel and Democrat Jack Reed. This is fueling some speculation about a possible running mate, isn't it?
JOHNSON: Yeah, well, Chuck Hagel has come up as the Republican on Barack Obama's potential short list for the vice presidential nominee. But, you know, one thing you have to note is Jack Reed -- both Jack Reed and Chuck Hagel are very serious policy thinkers when it comes to Iraq and do share a lot of Barack Obama's concerns the direction of Iraq policy.
So, having Chuck Hagel along on the trip obviously adds a little politics, adds a little spice to the trip, if you will, but also adds a little bipartisanship, which is something that Barack Obama is constantly talking about. And Jack Reed is a serious thinker and talks a lot about policy. He's one of the most serious members of the Democratic caucus up there, so having him along adds some gravitas, as well.
KAYE: And before we let you go, we do know that Obama and McCain both fighting for the Hispanic vote. What is it that Hispanic voters really want to hear from these candidates?
JOHNSON: Well, their -- you know, economic concerns are very -- a big issue in the Hispanic community. I know that Barack Obama, when he talks later today to La Raza, as you mentioned, is going to be highlighting his economic agenda on home foreclosures, mortgage issue, things like that. I can imagine that McCain will talk about that, too, later this week. Obviously, immigration is a huge issue and John McCain has a little bit of a problem there because obviously he's trying to walk that line between wanting practical and fair immigration policy and not wanting turn off Republicans and conservatives, you know, for his previous immigration position, so obviously immigration will be a big deal, too.
KAYE: All right. our Sasha Johnson with all the answers this morning. Thank you.
JOHNSON: Thanks.
SIMON: Senator Barack Obama on the record talking about terrorism. He tells CNN he thinks Afghanistan's president has failed to deliver. He also spoke with our Fareed Zakaria about what he would do with a captured Osama bin Laden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, HOST, "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS": If U.S. Forces captured Osama bin Laden, what would you do with him, and you were president?
BARACK OBAMA (D), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I think if he was -- if he was captured alive, then we would make a decision to bring the full weight of not only U.S. justice, but world justice down on him. And I think that I've said this before, that I am not a cheerleader for the death penalty, I think it has to be reserved for only the most heinous crimes, but I certainly think plotting and engineering the death of 3,000 Americans justifies such an approach. Now, the -- I think this is a big hypothetical, though. Let's catch him first.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: And you can catch the rest of the interview on FAREED ZAKARIA GPS, that comes your way today at 1:00 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
Her husband has the bus known as the "Straight Talk Express," but Cindy McCain may prefer a faster way to get around. She took a spin on the Pace car at the Indy race near Nashville, yesterday and CNN's Brianna Keilar, she was along for the ride.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Cindy, do you find it interesting that if you were first lady, you would probably be, I imagine, the first one who could say drift racing is a hobby?
CINDY MCCAIN, SEN JOHN MCCAIN'S WIFE: Yeah. It'd be fun. If I were first lady, I mean, I don't even think about that, it's too -- it's too much to think about. I would be so honored to do so, but yeah, I guess I would be the first one that would be -- have surf racing as a hobby. My sons and I love it and we have enjoyed the years. We built car together and we raced it together.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SIMON: You can see Brianna's full report tomorrow on CNN's AMERICAN MORNING with John Roberts and Kiran Chetry.
Former and often controversial Georgia congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, is now running for president. The Green Party picked her last night at its convention in Chicago. McKinney made news after September the 11th when she implied that the Bush administration may have covered up information about the attacks. Two years ago she was involved a scuffle with a Capitol Hill police offer who didn't recognize her at a security check point.
KAYE: Now that you've got a brand new 3G iPhone, what will you do with your old one?
SIMON: Well, Josh Levs has one suggestion.
LEVS: Well, I'll admit, guys, there are some moments when I really want to do this to my Blackberry. I'm pretty sure the warranty doesn't cover it, though. And just in case it isn't obvious, do not try this at home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SIMON: Well, everyone knows you're not supposed to send text messages while driving, but a lot of people do it anyway. So, imagine our surprise to see someone doing it on a motorcycle.
KAYE: One of the many amazing videos Josh Levs has found on the Worldwide Web.
LEVS: Yeah, you know, for the next two minutes we have the crazy things to do with the cell phone news network. Look at this one I made. This is a viralest videos in America. And apparently it's (INAUDIBLE) so the control man has a better view for it. Look at it, this is a guy in India who is apparently texting and leaning back and relaxing whilst somehow driving with his feet. Let's listen to what the people taking this video have to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) That's crazy, dude.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: OK, you had trouble understanding that, he says "that's crazy, dude" and they're enjoying it. Now, apparently it actually happened. We have been watching this. Millions of people are watching it all over the world. It is some pretty astounding stuff. Guys, have you ever in your life done anything that crazy?
KAYE: No.
LEVS: No. KAYE: I can barely ride a bike let alone that.
SIMON: Yeah, well, I'm good at texting while driving, I have to say.
KAYE: (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: Hey, let's pretend he didn't admit that.
KAYE: Yeah.
SIMON: I'm an expert on that, I have to say.
KAYE: Glad you live in San Francisco, I'm not there very often, not on your roads.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: Stay far away. This is what your punishment should be. Someone should take your cell phone and do this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I'm going to blend my own old phone. I think I'm going to press the smoothie button.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: This is the latest in an exciting series online, again, getting so incredibly many hits. This stuff is amazing. This is part of the willitblend.com series in which they find out will it blend out. And apparently, if you have an old iPhone and you don't know what to do with it, you might want to turn it into charcoal. How about that?
SIMON: And then grill some steaks with it afterwards, right?
LEVS: Oh, man. Yeah. I imagine it's not the healthiest or most environmental tact you can take, but this is the kind of thing people do love to watching. They do love the destruction. Don't try this at home. We're just saying, it's amusing that is out there for now.
KAYE: Looks even better in slow-mo when they do it.
LEVS: Oh man, so gross.
KAYE: Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Happy Sunday.
SIMON: Well, time is running out on a piece of baseball history.
KAYE: Yankees Stadium, the home of the championship teams, will soon be no more.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: Thirty-three games and counting, hat's what's left for Yankees Stadium in New York.
SIMON: Well, hosting the all-star game, they're going to be doing for the fourth time. It's kind of a fitting end but, you know, another World Series would be more fitting. CNN's Larry Smith, he's here with us.
You know, this is -- this is a big deal.
LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, it really is. When you -- let's face it, we don't know if the Yankees will be in the World Series or not, sorry New York fans, we're very excited, but we don't know that. And so, because we don't know, you know, his could be kind of the beginning of the swan song for Yankee Stadium, fir this great stadium.
It is one of the great venues, really in American history. I mean, how rare is it to have a sports stadium that could transcends culture and be special to people all over the country?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(voice over): When yours walk in, it's not so much the sights, smells or sounds of the stadium that get you, it's just that there is so much of it.
DEREK JETER, YANKEES SHORTSTOP: Without question, I think it can be -- it can be a little bit intimidating. First time I came here, everything just seemed larger than life.
PHIL PEPE, NEW YORK DAILY NEWS SPORTSWRITER: When it was built, it was the Taj Mahal, it was the last word in ballparks. It was the largest. You start with that, the size.
SMITH: Yankee Stadium opened on April 18, 1923. And it took just three innings and one swing of the bat by the game's greatest player for it to be renamed.
PEPE: Isn't it wonderful that they game up with the name "The House that Ruth Built?" I mean, do this day, it is 80, 90 years later and it's still "The House that Ruth Built." Everybody knows Babe Ruth, everybody knows Yankees Stadium.
SMITH: Ruth's blast the first word in a volume of the game's greatest history. Lou Gehrig's farewell speech in 1939, Don Larson's perfect World Series game in '56 and Roger Maris 61st home run '61.
Even after a complete renovation in 1975, there was Reggie Jackson's three straight World Series homers in '77 and finally Aaron Boone's shot to again crush the Red Sox in '03. And of course, all those World Series wins.
RUDY GIULIANI, FMR NEW YORK MAYOR: The team made the stadium. I mean the stadium would be another stadium if it weren't for the world championships, all the pennants, all the great moments. SMITH: But while the Yankees made the stadium great, other greats have made the stadium legendary.
TONY MORANTE, YANKEES STADIUM TOUR GUIDE: The first papal mass in the United States, 30 professional championship fights, college and professional football, soccer, boxing, circuses, rodeos,. Negro baseball, Billy Graham crusade, Jehovah Witnesses, Reverend Sun Myung Moon.
SMITH: Even those events were often extraordinary. Both the Notre Dame "Win One for the Gipper" game and the Colt's/Giants NFL championship, called the greatest game ever played, were held in the Bronx. And Joe Lewis, Rocky Marciano and Mohammed Ali, all fought on the same field that three popes and a newly freed Nelson Mandela prayed on.
GIULIANI: It says something historically about New York. It's become a very important part of what New York City is all about and it's the place you would think of, of where to hold an event that would signify New York City.
SMITH: Frank Sinatra never performed at Yankee Stadium, but you can hear him sing after every game. And his signature line from Sinatra's "New York, New York" might as well be about the ballpark it rings through. If you can make it there, you can make it anywhere.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: And there's no question it would be so special to see one more fall classic played there in the Bronx at the old stadium. If you go there, you have to try to get there before the season ends. My first time there, I just stood in awe behind home plate. It is truly a cathedral.
Now, here's where it stands in the ranks of the oldest baseball stadiums, the five oldest, well, it's one of them. First off, Yankee Stadium opened in 1923, it cost just $2.5 million. That's about two weeks of Alex Rodriguez' salary, in case you're wondering. Lights added just after the Second World War. And again, on of the oldest baseball stadiums. Fenway Park, still the oldest, Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field is in there, as well, Dodger and Shea Stadium but, again, it's a cathedral. You look at that piece, all the things that have happened there that were not sporting events lets you understand the real importance of this great cathedral.
KAYE: And "New York" magazine just did a whole spread on what some of the pieces might go for, because everybody wants a piece of it. I say the ticket booth, somebody wants to pay $25,000 for the ticket booth.
SMITH: You know, when they tore down the old Busch Stadium a couple years ago in Saint Louis they were selling the urinals from the men's room, OK?
KAYE: High bids on those, I'm sure.
(CROSSTALK)
SMITH: Sure. Exactly why you'd want it? I don't know, but for some people that's a really big deal.
KAYE: All right Larry, that was really...
SIMON: When you talk about getting to the World Series, they go some catching up to do.
SMITH: Yeah, a lot of -- a long way to go to get there, it will be special if it happens.
KAYE: Sure would. Thanks, Larry.
SMITH: Take care.
SIMON: Well, now it's time to check in with Howard Kurtz in Washington to see what's ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
Hey, Howard.
HOWARD KURTZ, RELIABLE SOURCES: Hey, Dan. I think Yankee Stadium is a big deal. Been there many times.
Coming up, the media jump on Jesse Jackson's off-mike insult against Barack Obama and a "New Yorker" magazine cover that depicts Obama and his wife as Muslim terrorists. Wait until you see this. Should Obama have put his young daughters before the cameras? We'll talk to the woman who conducted the interview, "Access Hollywood's" Maria Menounos.
What do Lara Logan, Christie Brinkley, Madonna and A-Rod have in common? They've all become tabloid fodder for the celebrity saturated press.
That plus a look back at the life and career of Tony Snow, ahead on RELIABLE SOURCES.
SIMON: He fought for his country in Iraq, now a soldier is waging a legal battle against the U.S. military.
KAYE: He says he's fighting for his freedom from religion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: He served two tours of duty in Iraq, now an army specialist is fighting against the U.S. military over religious freedom. He accuses the military of discrimination against non- Christians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(voice over): Army Specialist Jeremy Hall was raised Baptist. He said grace before dinner, read the Bible before bed. Four years ago in 2004, when he was deployed to Iraq, he packed his Bible.
KAYE (on camera): When you carried that Bible with you to Iraq, what did it mean to you at that time?
JEREMY HALL, ATHEIST: I felt a greater need to be in touch with God.
KAYE (voice over): That was then. Now 23, Specialist Hall has rejected all of that. He no longer believes in God, fate, luck or anything supernatural.
That sudden lack of faith, he says, cost him his military career, put his life at risk and eventually led him to file a federal lawsuit suggesting the United States Military has become a Christian organization.
HALL: I think it's utterly and totally wrong, unconstitutional.
KAYE: Hall alleges in the suit there's a pattern of military practices that discriminate against non-Christians in the military and that his rights under the First Amendment were denied.
(on camera): Specialist Hall is suing the Department of Defense among others. He doesn't want money, just religions religious freedom in the military. He says after the lawsuit was filed his life was threatened by fellow troops. He says the Army, fearing for his safety, assigned him a full time bodyguard and eventually sent him home early from Iraq.
(voice over): On Thanksgiving two years ago, he refused to pray at his table. Hall says he was told to sit somewhere else. And when he was nearly killed in an attack on his Humvee, he was asked...
HALL: "Do you believe in Jesus now?" I says, "No, but I believe in ballistic armor."
KAYE: And Specialist Hall claims because he is an atheist, he wasn't promoted.
HALL: I was told because I can't put my personal convictions aside and pray with troops, I would not make a good leader.
KAYE: Michael Weinstein, a retired Air Force officer and founder of the Military Religious Freedom Foundation is suing along with Specialist Hall. He says he's been contacted by more than 8,000 military members, almost all of them complaining of pressure to embrace Evangelical Christianity.
MICHAEL WEINSTEIN, MILITANT RELIGIOUS FREEDOM FOUNDATION: Our Pentagon -- our "Pentecostagon" today is refusing to realize that when you put the uniform on, there's only one religious faith, patriotism.
KAYE: Religious discrimination is a violation of the first amendment. It's also against the military policy.
"Keeping Them Honest," we asked the Pentagon's man in charge of military personnel policy what's going on.
(on camera): Is the Pentagon pushing one faith among troops?
BILL CARR, DEPUTY UNDERSECRETARY, DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE: Absolutely not.
KAYE (voice over): Deputy Undersecretary Bill Carr won't talk about ongoing litigation, but says complaints of evangelizing are relatively rare.
KAYE (on camera): If a soldier is atheist, he does not believe in God and chooses to not take part in prayer at his or her base, is that acceptable?
CARR: If an atheist chose to follow their convictions, absolutely, that's acceptable.
KAYE (voice over): Weinstein doesn't buy it and points to this promotional video by a group called Christian Embassy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Christian embassy is mustering these men and women into an intentional relationship with Jesus Christ.
KAYE: The video which shows U.S. generals in uniform was shot inside the Pentagon. They were subsequently reprimanded. Another group, Officers' Christian Fellowship, has representatives on nearly all military bases, worldwide. Its vision -- "a spiritually transformed military with ambassadors for Christ in uniform empowered by the Holy Spirit."
WEINSTEIN: Their purpose is to have Christian officers exercising biblical leadership to raise up a godly army.
CARR: Proselytizing or advising religious conviction is not what the nation would have us do and it's not what the military does. So, I find precious little evidence to support that extreme theory.
KAYE: As for Specialist Jeremy Hall, today, he is back at Fort Riley, waiting for the Justice Department to respond to his lawsuit.
KAYE (on camera): Do you think having faith makes you a better soldier?
HALL: I think being a soldier makes you a better soldier.
KAYE: Do you think believing in God makes you a better soldier?
HALL: No.
KAYE (voice over): For Hall, his beliefs are now a test of his faith in the law.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And the Justice Department filed a motion late last week to have the lawsuit dismissed. It's now in the hands of a Kansas City district court to decide, and it will likely apparently land at the Supreme Court. Both sides, Dan, expect that's where it will go.
SIMON: So, this is going to go on for a while.
KAYE: I think so.
SIMON: Yeah. Great story.
KAYE: Thank you.
RELIABLE SOURCES with Howard Kurtz is just ahead. Barack Obama says he probably shouldn't have done it, that interview he and his family did for "Access Hollywood." Howard talks to the reporter who talked to the Obama's.
SIMON: And later today on LATE EDITION, those Iranian missile tests, Wolf Blitzer goes in depth on the impact and the aftermath.
KAYE: But first a check of the morning's top developments.
SIMON: Sudan's president met with advisers today, amid reports he faces criminal charges linked to the bloodshed in Darfur. International prosecutors are expected to seek an arrest warrant accusing the President Omar al Bashir of crimes against humanity. Sudan's ruling party is denouncing the move as political blackmail that will lead to more violence.
New violence in Afghanistan. A suicide bomber rode a motorcycle into a police patrol and blew himself up in southern Afghanistan. The blast killed at least 21 people, most of them civilians, more than 30 were wounded.
California's IndyMac Bank reopens tomorrow under government control and a new name, IndyMac Federal Bank. The bank failed on Friday, a victim of the mortgage crisis. It was the biggest U.S. bank failure in 24 years.
Angelina Jolie, she has given birth to her twins, a boy named Knox Leon and a girl named Vivienne Marcheline. They arrived by C- section at a French hospital. The doctor says the twins, Jolie and father, Brad Pitt, are all doing well. Congratulations to them.
More top stories in 30 minutes. RELIABLE SOURCES begins right now.
