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CNN Saturday Morning News

Credit Card Companies and Retailers Settle Lawsuit; Decades Old Murder Case Reopened; New Technology Helps with Identifying Body; Man Survives Weeks Outdoors without Provisions; Presidential Race Heats Up; Man Builds Schools in South Africa; Video Captures Abuse at Convalescent Home

Aired July 14, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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


RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN Saturday Morning.

Shopping with your credit card today? Soon you might have to pay more per swipe. The $7 billion credit card company settlement is being called a victory for retailers, but it could be a loss for you.

Plus, a wave of homicides hit U.S. cities, Chicago compared to Afghanistan, a spade of shootings rattle New York. All morning we'll put murder in America in focus.

And later, an incredible story of survival -- a month in the desert, no food, no supplies, how one man was rescued just hours from death.

Good morning everybody. I'm Randi Kaye. We start this hour with a historic credit card settlement that could have you paying more out of your pocket. If you're just joining us, here's the deal. Visa, MasterCard and some of the country's biggest banks have agreed to a massive settlement with retailers that totals a whopping $7.25 billion. The lawsuit centers around credit card swipe fees.

Merchants allege credit card companies were fixing the price on those fees, but the proposed settlement now gives retailers the green light to tack on a surcharge if you use plastic, which could mean a bigger tab for you. And there's much more when you read the fine print.

Douglas Kantor, who is a lawyer for the National Association for Convenience Stores has read all the fine print and joins us now from D.C. Doug, you have said it is not the retailers or the consumers, but actually visa, MasterCard and their banks that win out in this one. Why is that?

DOUGLAS KANTOR, LAWYER, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CONVENIENCE STORES: Unfortunately, this agreement -- and I want to emphasize that it's not a done deal yet. This would allow visa and MasterCard to keep fixing the fees, the banks not to compete and the fees to keep going up. We pay them now to the tune of $50 billion a year. And we just don't know it. Unfortunately, that's going to continue if this gets pushed through.

KAYE: And $50 billion a year, that is a number we don't hear very often. But the credit card companies agree to reduce the swipe fees for retailers for eight months. What else is included as part of this settlement?

KANTOR: Well, you have to read the fine print when you deal with credit card companies, and that's true here too. When you read the fine print, it's eye-opening. They're not going to reduce the fees even for the eight months. What they're going to do is give merchants the equivalent of that amount of cash and keep raising the fees. The cruel joke is by the time any merchant gets some of this missed money, they will have raised the fees on the merchants more than what they paid out in the first place. So merchants are paying for it themselves.

KAYE: So the bottom line here then, what will this actually mean for any of us who like to use our credit cards?

KANTOR: The sad thing is it will mean nothing other than those fees keep going up. We still won't know we're paying them. And we'll all walk around wondering why we don't have the spending power we think we should have. Unfortunately, it will be in the pockets of the biggest banks and the credit card companies.

KAYE: So if nothing's going to change, why the big hoopla about this massive settlement?

KANTOR: Well, it's in the interests of the banks and credit card companies to say that this settlement does something and takes care of the problem, a problem that has hounded them around the world for years. Unfortunately, it doesn't. And that's why my client has rejected it. And other merchants will now have a chance to choose whether to accept it or reject it themselves.

KAYE: Well, Doug Kantor, I'm glad you read the fine print and had time to share it with us. Thank you.

KANTOR: Thank you for having me.

KAYE: Now to the end of a long manhunt. This is Vincent Walters, the U.S. marshal's 15th most-wanted fugitive. He's now behind bars. Walters was captured in Mexico after 24 years on the run. He was wanted for the 1998 kidnapping and murder of a woman in San Diego.

We head now to Egypt where we are watching a developing story. Details continue to come into CNN. But here's what we can tell you right now. Two Americans have been kidnapped along with their tour guide in the Sinai Peninsula region, the third such kidnapping in that region this year. The region is popular among tourists.

CNN foreign affairs reporter Elise Labott is on the ground in Cairo and joins me now. Elise, tell us what is different about this kidnapping when compared to the other ones?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, what's different is usually these kidnappings are about criminal activity, trying to make a little money, so they kidnap Americans and usually there's a steep ransom paid and then released after a short period of time. This time the kidnappers have some demands. They're trying to get some relatives detained in Alexandra, Egypt, on some drug charges. So they're trying to trade these hostages, if you will, for the relatives. Egyptian authorities say they're working on it. The U.S. embassy is kind of leaving it up to the Egyptian authorities. Obviously they want to get those Americans home safely.

KAYE: There are very specific demands that these Bedouins making.

LABOTT: Very specific. They want to trade the release of their relatives for these hostages. I mean, in the U.S. you don't trade or negotiate with a terrorist. But what the Egyptians are going to do remains to be seen.

KAYE: Why is it that the kidnappings do seem to be increasing?

LABOTT: Well, Randi, since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year, it's been an area of trafficking and militant activity. But since the fall of Hosni Mubarak, the Egyptian authorities are usually pretty good about patrolling the area are focused more on the domestic issues in the city. They haven't been paying enough attention according to U.S. and Israel on their borders. So this kind of activity is continuing and right now Egyptians just don't have the bandwidth to deal with it.

KAYE: We certainly hope these folks from here in the U.S. make it home quickly. Elise Labott, thank you very much.

And now to Canada, where search and rescue crews are struggling to find survivors of a massive landslide. Officials say that the so the search has actually been on and off. Four people still missing this morning. The landslide destroyed three homes and damaged several others on Thursday. Geologists don't know the cause of the landslide, but a record amount of rain in the area may have been a factor.

Kerry Kennedy has been charged with DWI for her role in a hit-and-run incident. New York State police say Kennedy, the daughter of Robert F. Kennedy, was found behind the wheel of her vehicle after 911 calls reported that the SUV operating in an erratic manner just before colliding with a tractor-trailer. But a spokesman for Kennedy denies these charges, saying several tests show that no drugs or alcohol were in her system.

Texas is getting slammed by torrential rain, and there are widespread reports of flooding, especially around neighborhoods in Houston. According to our affiliate, KTRK, dozens of homes have flooded. Rescue crews in Houston scrambled to save a total of 37 people from the flash floods including children from a baseball day camp.

Now to an incredible story of survival. A helicopter pilot spotted William La Fever, the man on that gurney, in a shallow river bed. La Fever had been missing for more than a month after going for a hike with his dog in June. The 28-year-old, who is autistic, managed to survive on frogs and roots.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was in tough shape. I don't think he had another 24 hours left in him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: I'll be speaking with the pilot who rescued William live in less than 30 minutes. You will not want to miss this interview. It's really an incredible story.

A possible breakthrough in a cold case. For 30 years investigators have wondered about a girl known only as Princess Doe. So why do they have new hope now? I'll tell you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back, 10 minutes past the hour. All morning we have been talking about murder in America. Crime trends and now the latest technologies that could free thousands of wrongly convicted felons. This week the FBI and Justice Department announced it will review criminal cases dating back to 1985. In all cases the guilty verdicts were based on forensic methods that no longer stand up to scientific scrutiny. The Justice Department did not estimate how long it will take to get through, but even with the frantic breakthroughs and technological advances, there are still countless gruesome murders that have never been solved, cases like Princess Doe. In 1982 her body was discovered beaten beyond recognition in a cemetery in a rural farm town of Blairstown, New Jersey.

This is a sketch of what investigators believe she may have looked like. Police determined she was between the ages of 14 and 18, but that's really all they know. In 30 years they've never discovered her identity, background or who might have killed her. Joining me now is Lieutenant Stephen Speirs, the lead investigator on this case, and Christie Napurano, author of "The Untold Story of Princess Doe." Good morning to both of you.

CHRISTIE NAPURANO, AUTHOR, UNTOLD STORY OF PRINCESS DOE: Good morning.

KAYE: Now, I know you have something new, never-before-seen information that you hope will crack the case and you're going to share that with us, lieutenant, in just a moment. Let me ask you, lieutenant spears, can you tell us more about the story of Princess Doe?

LT. STEPHEN SPEIRS, WARREN COUNTY, NEW JERSEY PROSECUTOR'S OFFICE: Princess Doe's body was discovered in the cedar ridge cemetery in Blairstown, New Jersey, which is in warren county northern part of New Jersey. At the time she was discovered she was beaten severely. As a result of that her identification has not been something we were able to do. Throughout the years there have been a number of investigators involved in this case. I took the case in 1999. And my focus then and continues to be trying to identify Princess Doe. And we are trying to do that now that we are armed with a DNA profile of Princess Doe.

KAYE: One of the first things you actually did back in 199 was have the body exhumed. Why was that? What were you looking for?

SPEIRS: At the time I needed a reference sample from the victim. And speaking with experts in 1999, they indicated to me I need a femur bone or long bone from Princess Doe at the time. Of course she was interned at the Cedar Ridge cemetery. So I had to exhume her body in order to retrieve that femur born.

KAYE: And, Christie, you were born in 1982 shortly before Princess Doe was found. What drew you to this case?

NAPURANO: I think what drew me most to the case was the fact it happened in my hometown.

KAYE: And then you've had unprecedented access to the case files and inspired you to write this book about her life. Why write the book?

NAPURANO: The reason I wrote the book was twofold actually. The first was because I felt that just like everyone else, Princess Doe deserved a life. She deserved a name. She deserved an identity. And the second reason was because I hope that this book will help raise awareness on the case and finally, figure out who she is.

KAYE: Lieutenant, have there been any key suspects over the years? I mean, anyone that you've looked seriously at? And is there a person of interest at all at this point?

SPEIRS: Throughout the case even prior to me being assigned the case there were persons of interest. There were several persons of interests developed since I've had the case. The unfortunate thing is we do not have any physical evidence at this point to connect any of those persons of interest to the case. And quite honestly, without the identity of Princess Doe, it's quite difficult to connect the dots, so to speak, with any persons of interest. So we need to identify her.

KAYE: And still no leads in finding Princess Doe's identity. But after your research, Christie, do you have theories of your own about who she might be or what happened to her?

NAPURANO: I do have several theories. Just from doing the research, I think that what's -- what I wrote in my book, that's what my theory is.

KAYE: Do you want to share that theory with us?

NAPURANO: Yes. My book follows the life of a girl who was from long island. And she just had a family tragedy and fell in with the wrong people, which ultimately led to her demise.

KAYE: All right, certainly a lot of theories out there trying to get this case solved. Thank you very much. Princess Doe has been nameless for decades, as we said, but thanks to the latest techniques and forensic science, investigators now have new information that may just help finally close this case. We're going to show you some images of what Princess Doe looked like before her death. They've never been seen before, and we have them first right here on CNN. And Detective Speirs will be back with us right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back. Before the break we were talking about one of New Jersey's most intriguing cold cases. It is that of a teenage girl found bludgeoned to death in the rural town of Blairstown, New Jersey. She still has no name other than one lovingly given to her by police 30 years ago this weekend. That name is Princess Doe. But now investigators are closer than ever to finding her real identity. Lieutenant Stephen Speirs is the lead investigator on the case. Lieutenant Speirs, we're looking at this 3D rendering that you have sent us. This is the first time it's been seen by anyone but investigators. Can you just give us an idea of what we're looking at here and how critical this might be?

SPEIRS: Yes. I'm very excited about this. A lot of times in cases as time goes on it becomes more difficult to deal with those cases. And what I found with cold cases as time goes on, technology has advanced so much that actually time is a friend. And what I've been able to do is with the assistance of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, I sent the skull of Princess Doe to them. They in turn sent it toot Smithsonian Institute. And they were able to do what you see here. This is a high resolution CT scan. Once it's completed it's given back to the specialist at the national center and they are able to give us this 3D image. This, I believe, is the closest likeness to Princess Doe in life.

KAYE: It's really fascinating. How will this help you, I guess? How do you put this to use?

SPEIRS: Well, using the media, thank you, and getting it out to the public, we have some other tests that we are doing right now or using hair samples from Princess Doe with a company called Isoforensics in Salt Lake City, Utah. They're taking those strands of hair and they're able to extract elements from those hairs, the isotopes, and with a reasonable amount of scientific certainty, give us a point of origin, a location of origin where she may have come from. Having that composite and with the assistance of the national center, we can take that composite and saturate that area that is identified through these hair samples and isotopes.

KAYE: Why is there after 30 years -- I mean, tomorrow will mark 30 years to the day that Princess Doe was found. Why such a strong desire to solve this case after so many years?

SPEIRS: It's been my focus from the beginning to identify her. Again, I can't say -- stress enough it's so difficult to solve a case like this without having the identity of the victim. And from '99 when I did the exhumation until now, that has always been the focus. Ironically enough 30-year anniversary is here, and now I'm with Christie writing the book. With this new technology I was able to come across with the assistance of the national center, it's just perfect timing to do this.

KAYE: You think about why -- I would like to know what some of the challenges have been over the years because, you know, we didn't have very good or very strong DNA capabilities all those years ago, 30 years ago. And now we certainly didn't have the technology that you're talking about. How much of a difference do you think all of that makes?

SPEIRS: It makes a huge difference. The technology that is accessible to me today wasn't even available five years ago. Think going back 30 years, DNA wasn't even spoken of when you went to a crime scene. It was just starting in the early '80s. So as time has gone on, we can take the most minute amounts of trace evidence now and extract DNA from that. That certainly will be helpful for us in identifying persons or persons of interest.

KAYE: Something else so fascinating about this case though, was she ever reported missing? Was there ever a girl matching her description? Was there ever family that came forward?

SPEIRS: There's been families in the past that have come forward thinking that possibly Princess Doe was in fact their daughter, sister, et cetera. And now of course we have the DNA from Princess Doe in the database with the assistance of the University of North Texas doing the DNA work for us. So we can take those reference samples, any family that comes forward and says I believe Princess Doe may be my daughter, and then we can do the comparisons.

We've eliminated many. We have a potential match list on our PrincessDoe.org website. That list is ever-changing because we are eliminating and unfortunately then we sometimes have to add continually to that list as more missing persons come in. But to answer your question, Randi, you made a comment about maybe she was never reported missing. That has always been one of my fears in this case is that maybe she was never reported missing, so we have no reference to go to find her.

KAYE: And no clue as to what might have brought her to that cemetery. Do you know if she was killed there? Or maybe brought there afterwards?

SPEIRS: We don't know that at this point. That's why, again, it's most important to get this out to the public. In my opinion, it's the public and media that are going to help us solve this case.

KAYE: Certainly that with a little bit of good work from some great technology as well. Lieutenant Stephen Speirs, thank you so much.

SPEIRS: Thank you, Randi.

KAYE: Do keep us posted on any movement in solving this cold case.

SPEIRS: I intend to return as soon as we get the results.

KAYE: All right, best of luck. Thank you.

A mother returns her adopted child to Russia and is forced to pay nearly $250,000 in child support. The controversial story straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Well, here's something you might not have believed while he was ripping into him at the debates, but Rick Santorum, Mitt Romney's toughest GOP rival, is now stumping for Romney. And we have the proof for you. We just got this video of Santorum in Greensburg, Pennsylvania, at his first Romney campaign event. Santorum is there helping to open a campaign office for his ex-campaign foe.

A mother who adopted a boy from Russia and sent him back home on a one-way flight is ordered to pay almost $250,000 in child support. You may remember this story in 2010. Just six months after adopting the seven-year-old, a Tennessee woman put him on a plane back to Russia all by himself with a letter saying she didn't want him anymore because he was, quote, "mentally unstable." Now a judge has ordered the mother in this case, Tori Hansen, to pay for his care in Russia. She was slapped with a $150,000 fine plus a $1,000 payment every month until he's 18. That amounts to $246,000.

I've been asking for your thoughts on this story all morning, and many of you don't just think she should pay, but that she should go to jail. She should be behind bars. Evan tweeted this, "Yes, abandoning your child does not negate the responsibility of taking care of that child. She should be in jail." And Sharon tweeted, "Yes, lock her up, for forever emotionally marking the child." And Storm Crusader wrote, "Once a parent, always a parent, I say yes to child support. She agreed to raise the child, so she's responsible for that child." A lot of strong opinions about this one. Be sure to keep those tweets coming in to @RandiKayeCNN.

He lost his gear and definitely his way. But a hiker in Utah somehow survived three weeks without any supplies. The pilot who helped rescue him will be here live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAYE: Welcome back everyone. It's about half past the hour. I'm Randi Kaye. Checking top stories, Mitt Romney is firing back against the Obama campaign after a new ad goes after questions about when exactly Romney ended his time at Bain Capital. Romney calls the tactic "demeaning and disgusting" and tells CNN's Jim Acosta he wants an apology.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There's no question but that his campaign is putting out information which is false and deceptive and dishonest and they know it and they ought to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Romney is adamant he had no role whatsoever at Bain after February, 1999.

Turning to Hollywood now where a representative for Sylvester Stallone says the actor is devastated after his son, Sage, found dead in his home. The L.A. coroner's office said it's still trying to determine the cause of death.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED WINTER, DEPUTY LA CORONER: We're currently doing an investigation in the cause of his death. There is a security hold that's going to be placed on the case. All we can confirm is that he's passed away. And we'll be doing an autopsy in the next couple days. And the cause of death will probably be pending toxicology and further testing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Sage Stallone, who appeared alongside his dad in "Rocky V," was 36.

And the outrage over these uniforms for Team USA lead to some changes to the Ralph Lauren company which has pledged to make those outfits in the U.S. starting with the 2014 winter Olympics. The company issuing a statement after controversy erupted over this year's apparel, which was made in China.

And a Massachusetts prison guard is recovering after being stabbed in the neck with a handmade shank by an inmate. But the amazing thing is this x-ray, which shows the shank missed his spinal cord by just centimeters. The man along with other guards was watching 93 inmates at the time of that incident. Incredibly lucky.

A lost hiker proved himself to be the ultimate survivalist. William La Fever, seen here on a stretcher, lived for about three weeks in the Utah desert with literally just the clothes on his back and a lighter. His family says a thief stole some hiking gear and his father directed him to get to Arizona where he would wire him some money. Instead, the 28-year-old, who has autism, embarked on a hike that took 50 pounds off his frame.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHANE OLDFIELD, PILOT, UTAH HIGHWAY PATROL: He was in tough shape. I don't think he had another 24 hours left in him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAYE: Now with me is Shane Oldfield, the Utah highway patrol pilot who spotted William. Shane, thanks so much for joining us this morning. What an incredible story of survival and what a lucky rescue. Tell me about the moment that you actually spotted him. I heard he was able to wave to you, but just barely, right?

SHANE OLDFIELD: Yes, that's correct, Randi. In all honesty, we didn't necessarily expect the outcome that we had. So the river's pretty winding. As I came around that fateful turned, I was pretty shocked to see him in the river waving his arms at us.

KAYE: And so describe that scene for me. You were flying along the river -- first of all, why is that? And what did it look like below?

OLDFIELD: Well, the best reports we had said he was going to be following the Escalante River to lake Powell and then continuing onto page, Arizona. It's the only water in the area. And frankly it's such a large area that it was the only realistic and practical place for us to look. So, you know, lucky for him he was actually in the river and wasn't hiding under a rock or under a tree in the shade.

KAYE: Right. I'm sure he was as surprised to see you as you were to see him. Tell me about that reunion when you got down to the ground and approached him. How did that go?

OLDFIELD: Not as expected, to be honest with you. He didn't really want to get in the helicopter at first. He was more interested in the little human contact and conversation and a snack. So we convinced him to eat a granola bar or two, gave him some liquid, of course after assessing he wasn't in any immediate danger, and let him take his time getting in the helicopter.

KAYE: He lost about 50 pounds? Describe how thin he looked.

OLDFIELD: It was something you'd see out of the movies or, you know, in pictures. I've never seen anything like it personally in my life. And helping him into the helicopter, feeling his frame, there was nothing there.

KAYE: And from what I understand, he'd been living basically on some plants and roots and frogs?

OLDFIELD: That's correct. He told us he'd been eating some of the roots that he could get to there in the river bank. By the time we got him he was unable to stand, walk, or even crawl. He was down to rolling. It was about the only form of motion -- locomotion that he had. He had told us a couple days beforehand he had eaten a frog, said it didn't sit well with him and he didn't like it. There was a raw fish in there at some point. We don't know exactly when that was.

KAYE: And what was -- he said he was more interested in talking than eating, I guess, when you first got down to him. What was he saying?

OLDFIELD: Mostly nonsensical things, as you might imagine, in the state he was in. But we tried to keep him talking about his experience, trying to figure out exactly what happened. We were able to get some bits of information like what he'd been eating. We were able to surmise he'd probably been in that location where we found him for at least three to four days. He basically said that he walked straight until he couldn't walk anymore, and then stopped right there.

KAYE: Well, Shane, I'm sure you're a hero to his family for sure. Your keen eye saved a life it sounds like just in time. Thank you so much, and congratulations on that. It's incredible story.

OLDFIELD: Thanks, Randi.

KAYE: Checking the political pulse now. And right now that pulse is beating faster with thoughts of Condoleezza Rice as Mitt Romney's VP. Is it just a pipe dream? We'll look into it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

KAYE: One of my favorite Michael Jackson songs there.

All right, to politics now and a big week for both presidential candidates. They had the chance to give dueling speeches at a big convention, the NAACP convention in Houston. But only one of them showed up in person, Mitt Romney, and he got booed. He made a joke of it though. President Obama sent a taped message. He also sent vice President Joe Biden.

Joining me now is CNN contributor Maria Cardona. President Obama skipped the convention, which has some even in the African-American community saying that he's taking the African-American vote for granted. Amy, good morning to both of you. Amy, is he.

AMY HOLMES, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Good morning. Well, when America's first African-American president decides not to show up to the oldest civil rights organization in the country during an election year, I think that's a fairly fair conclusion to draw. However, face it, the African-American vote does go 90 percent plus for Democrats in general, and for president Obama in 2008 depending on your news source, 96 percent to 99 percent. So in a certain sense, if you're going to be, you know, pretty tough about it, President Obama was I guess maximizing his time where it's most productive and that's to try to win the independent and swing voters.

KAYE: Maria, what do you think? Can you blame him for trying to pick up other votes when he has a pretty good lock on the African-American vote?

MARIA CARDONA, DEMOCRATIC STRATEGIST: Certainly the man is busy out trying to get those key independent voters. But I do think that he should have been there. I mean, Amy's right. It is the oldest civil rights organization. He's going to be going to the National Urban League, which is also important. And he did send Joe Biden, who gave a terrific speech. And Joe Biden is a lifelong member of the NAACP. And he certainly delivered the administration's message deftly to this group. But I do think he should have been there the same way I think he should have gone to NCLR.

But I will say this, I think both African-Americans voters and Latino voters would prefer a president who is actually going to be there with them on the policies that they care about that will actually help their families and help them with economic empowerment than just somebody who's going to show up and perhaps give them lip service.

I do give kudos to Romney for showing up though. I think that was brave even though he got booed, even though the message was not well- received. I give him kudos for going.

KAYE: Let's talk about Condoleezza Rice. A lot of rumblings that the former secretary of state could be on Romney's wish list for vice president. Amy, to you -- would she be a game-changer?

HOLMES: She certainly would shake things up. But I'm not sure she would shake things up in the way Mitt Romney wants. Let's face it, if he was looking for a VP who was able to give a barn-burner of a speech, Tim Pawlenty wouldn't be on the short list.

I think with Condoleezza Rice, one of the liabilities that she would bring to the ticket actually is her association with the Bush administration, one that Mitt Romney has been working to distance himself from. At a recent fundraiser he wouldn't even allow the press to take his picture with Dick Cheney. Hard to imagine he would put Condoleezza Rice on the ticket.

There is also discussion that Condoleezza Rice being mildly pro- choice. That could be trouble, that could be a problem for at least GOP voters and the convention and trying to rile up your supporters and get them out to the polling booth. So, while I think Condoleezza Rice would be a terrific vice president and I admire her --

KAYE: Now you sound like Sarah Palin, because she said that too.

HOLMES: Sure. I'm not sure that Mitt Romney however is seriously considering putting the former secretary of state on his ticket.

KAYE: Maria, what do you think? She's African-American, she's a woman. She brings that to the table.

CARDONA: Absolutely it would be a game-changer if Mitt Romney chose her, which is why he won't because he cannot afford to have somebody on the ticket that is going to outshine him, that is going to out- personality him. And that's why I think more seriously he's going to look at folks like Tim Pawlenty and Rob Portman, who are as milquetoast if not more milquetoast than Mitt Romney is. They're absolutely qualified, but they're not going to be somebody who's going to take the spotlight off of Mitt Romney like Condoleezza Rice would. I agree with Amy that she does have a lot of drawbacks in terms of being associated with the Bush administration. That's something that Mitt Romney certainly doesn't want at this moment. But I am a huge admirer of hers and I think it would be a game-changer. She herself though has said, no, it's not going to happen. So I think we need to take her at her word.

KAYE: Well, they all say that though.

CARDONA: Yes, but she seemed to say it a lot more strongly than the others.

KAYE: I will give you that. You're right.

But very quickly here, there's a lot of buzz also today about the U.S. Olympic team's opening ceremonies outfits made in China. Why are lawmakers jumping on this, Amy?

HOLMES: Well, let's face it. When we are spending hundreds of millions of dollars, taxpayer dollars, bailing out U.S. industries, General Motors throwing hundreds of millions of dollars at green energy and solar making companies here that we couldn't even have the U.S. uniform, which is supposed to symbolize America be made in America? And we outsourced this is sort of ludicrous. Let's face it.

KAYE: Maria, your final word on that one.

CARDONA: I agree. It certainly was a very poor choice. Not a politically deft move by the Olympic committee. Let's say this. Think about the athletes. This is a chance for the American athletes to shine. I don't think that this should be an issue to take away from that. They're there to represent us. We're proud of them and that's what we should be focusing on. KAYE: And I should point out that Ralph Lauren company said in 2014 they will make them in the U.S. so after all this --

CARDONA: I'm sure they will.

KAYE: You know they're already calling.

HOLMES: No berets.

KAYE: I'm with you on that. Yes. Amy Holmes, Maria Cardona, both of you thank you very much. Have a great Saturday.

CARDONA: Thanks so much, Randi, you too.

KAYE: A cheating husband caught. And now his ex-wife is using his infidelity to sell their home. Yes, you will be surprised by his reaction.

And a woman packed up what she could to escape a raging wildfire in Colorado. But on her way out of state she actually started another wildfire. This woman's bad luck next.

But first, the man you're about to meet grew up with big dreams for his hometown, the slums of Kliptown, South Africa. When those dreams didn't come true, he took matters into his own hands.

Meet this week's CNN hero, Thulani Madondo.

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THULANI MADONDO, CNN HERO: Growing up in Kliptown makes you feel like you don't have control of your life. Many children drop out of school because they don't have school uniforms and textbooks. I realize that the only way the town would change was through education. I'm helping educate the children so that we can change the town together.

We help the children by paying for their school books, school uniforms. Our main focus is our tutoring program that we run four days a week. As young people who are born and raised here, we know the challenges of this community. We also do a number of activities. We've got to come together for fun while we also come together for academics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They gave me a chance to go to the university. They paid for my fees. That's why I come back and help out here. A little can go a long way.

MADONDO: What's up -- math and science and English, exactly. I did not go to university, but being able to help them, I feel excited.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am going to be an accountant.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going to be a lawyer.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm going to be a nurse.

MADONDO: The work that you're doing here is bringing change.

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KAYE: Well, if you weren't awake, you are now. Let's take a look at some of the stories catching our eye cross country. Nick Valencia's here with some. Good morning.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Randi.

Remember the story about the bunker killer just outside of Seattle, Washington, in April. In April Peter Keller killed his wife and teen daughter seen here and killed himself when a SWAT team surrounded his hideouts, a bunker he dug outside of a hillside in the woods. This week police released the video he recorded of himself before the murders, really chilling and downright creepy stuff. Listen to what he had to say about why he did it.

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KELLER: I'm getting to the point where just trying to live and pay bills and live as a civilian and go to work just freaks me out. It's actually more comfortable for me to think about living out here.

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VALENCIA: Believe it or not police found thousands of dollars in that bunker. And the victim's family members are using that money to start a scholarship fund for the young women. So you see that using that money a bit toward a good cause.

Look at what this mother of two did in Beaverton, Oregon. She's going through a rough divorce and trying to sell her home. Take a look at her sign for sale, reads "Husband left us for 22-year-old. House for sale by scorned, slightly bitter, newly single owner."

KAYE: You go, girl.

VALENCIA: It was the husband that actually helped create that sign, actually. They're hoping it will give them an edge in the competitive housing market. Randi, listen to this woman's unbelievable case of bad luck.

Kristin McCain packed up from a wildfire in Colorado Springs, only to be stalled on her way out of town. That car started another fire. She says she lost almost anything she owned.

KAYE: That's horrible. She crashed her car and started another wildfire.

VALENCIA: What a stroke of bad luck. On her way to Oregon, goes off the road, fire starts from her burning car.

KAYE: At least she's OK. That's the important thing here.

VALENCIA: That is the important thing.

KAYE: Nick, thank you.

VALENCIA: Thank you.

KAYE: A shocking video of a disabled woman getting beaten, kicked in the stomach and dragged by her hair. The full story just ahead.

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KAYE: It is the type of abuse that just makes you wonder how humans can treat each other like this. A video has surfaced of a group home employee allegedly kicking, dragging, and whipping a disabled patient with a belt. Deborah Feyerick reports.

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DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This group home for mentally disabled adults and those with learning disabilities was supposed to be a safe place. Watch this woman dressed only in a short hospital- type gown treated by a caregiver identified as Angelica Rivera. The 34-year-old caregiver first kicks the disabled woman in the stomach and then hits and taunts her with some kind of belt or strap before dragging the distraught woman by the hair.

Options Unlimited is a private, nonprofit agency that contracts with Connecticut's Department of Developmental Services to run about six such round the clock group homes. The company says it is deeply saddened and appalled by the incident.

DR. TERRENCE MACY, COMMISSIONER, DEPARTMENT OF DEVELOPMENTAL SERVICES: This is the most heinous crime I have seen in my four years. It just takes your breath away.

FEYERICK: Last year several Options Unlimited employees were fired from the group home and cameras installed to monitor activities. It's unclear who shot this video, which was cut together into a 30-second montage. Three copies were sent anonymously, one each to a local news station, the state agency in charge, and Options Unlimited.

DEPUTY CHIEF BEAU THURNAUER, EAST HARTFORD POLICE DEPARTMENT: Wednesday the Department of Developmental Services turned over a videotape to us. And it showed there was some sort of abuse going on between what we found out later to be an employee and a resident of this group home.

FEYERICK: The caregiver, Angelica Rivera, has been charged with several felonies, including cruelty, unlawful restraint, and intimidation. A man who answered her phone would not comment on the allegations or refer us to an attorney.

After Rivera turned herself in, police obtained a search warrant for a second employee who may have additional abuse video on a home computer. Rivera's out on $25,000 bond. Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

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KAYE: Affiliate WFSB tells us that state officials have examined other residents in the East Hartford group home and, quote, "found no bruises or other signs of recent abuse."

A teenager's terrifying underwater battle with a 10-foot gator. What he did to save himself will amaze you.

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