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CNN Saturday Morning News
Tropical Storm Isaac; Isaac Hammers Haiti; Romney Courts Ohio Voters; GOP Convention Just Two Days Away; Office Grudge at Center of NYC Shooting; NYPD Officers Kill Suspect in Shootout; Interview with National Hurricane Center Director; Armstrong Stripped of Tour de France Titles; Romney Revealed
Aired August 25, 2012 - 11:00 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 Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is Saturday, August 25th. Good morning, everyone. I'm Randi Kaye.
Trees are down, buildings damaged, heavy rain still pounding Haiti. We'll take a look at the destruction just starting to be assessed from tropical storm Isaac.
With the high stakes Republican convention just two days away, Mitt Romney and his number two deliver a message of change and victory to a sea of supporters in Ohio.
Apple takes a big bite out of the competition thanks to a victorious billion-dollar court order, but the big loser, Samsung, says not so fast, the battle isn't over yet.
First now, we are getting new information on tropical storm Isaac. The National Hurricane Center just released its latest findings. Let's check in now with meteorologist Bonnie Schneider for details on this. Bonnie, what do we know?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well Randi, we have some brand- new information for you here on CNN. The tropical storm threat has actually increased in terms of where it is in Florida. We are not only looking at hurricane warnings, but as you can see if you zoom in here, the tropical storm watch is extended northward into Sebastian inlet and it also extends further on the West Coast all the way to Tarpon Springs and that does include the city of Tampa.
So new advisories posted in terms of where the tropical storm warnings are, but we're also, of course, monitoring some changes with the track and changes where we have hurricane warnings.
Here's a look at the satellite perspective and you can see right now the winds are still at 60 miles per hour, so that's what we're looking at in terms of intensity, but the forecast does call for intensity to grow with this system as we take a look at the track. And I want to highlight one big change.
First off, we're anticipating hurricane-force winds. Notice a Category 1 hurricane by the time we get to Sunday night, so that's within 24 hours and this will likely impact the Florida Keys. You will feel hurricane-force winds in the Florida Keys and likely in parts -- other parts of South Florida. That's why this part of South Florida here is under a hurricane warning right now.
Now, as I put this map into motion, watch what happens a brand-new change in the track. Look at this. We haven't seen this yet, number two. Category 2 intensity, meaning winds by Tuesday will be all the way up to 100 miles per hour. And remember, the track and the intensity is likely to fluctuate as we go through the next couple of days and we just saw that fluctuation from early this morning to the advisory we just got in moments ago from the National Hurricane Center.
As the storm shifts a little bit further to the west, or to the east, of course, it can come over some areas of warmer water in the Gulf of Mexico and depending on how long it stays there, that's where we're likely to see intensification and the latest track does show intensification on Tuesday.
Notice the cone of uncertainty stretches. It does include Tampa, but it also extends all the way towards the Louisiana, Alabama border and Mississippi border and you can see areas into Mississippi in that area of the cone of uncertainty.
So that's something that we're watching as well. And as we go into Thursday, we're also looking at a tropical storm, possibly a Category 1 hurricane well onshore and that's likely to bring heavy rain to a good portion of the south.
So this is a large storm, Randi, that is going to impact many people. Just really quick, you can see the spaghetti models are more in uniform as we can see the storm moving into the Gulf of Mexico within the next two days.
KAYE: Yes, it certainly seems like it's going to make an impact in a whole lot of places. Bonnie Schneider, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
KAYE: And later in the show, we'll go live to the National Hurricane Center in Florida for much more on where Isaac may be heading.
Punishing winds are lashing Haiti as we speak, but it's the rain, actually, that remains the really big concern there. Let's turn to Gary Tuchman live in the capital city of Port-Au-Prince; Gary, what are you seeing there at this hour?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, right now we're inside a camp, a camp that was set up after the great earthquake of January 2010. There are thousands of people who live here. We were here all day yesterday talking about the threat from this tropical storm, and here's what we know.
The rain is finally stopping, but this camp has some serious flooding. It's hard for you to see it from where I'm standing. It's farther back and it's too muddy for us to get back there with our vehicles to show it to you live, but there's flooding down there -- there's streams. I just saw a wild pig swimming in one of the streams. Many of the tents here and there are hundreds and hundreds of tents, were destroyed from trees falling on them.
But the most important thing, as of now, it appears there are no casualties, no deaths, no injuries. But as we speak, people who run this camp are going through this area tent by tent to make sure that nobody was hurt.
But as I said, many of the tents are down, people are now coming out of their tents, talking to each other. We talked about yesterday how almost no one had evacuated; 8,000 people live here. This camp is called Mega Four. I don't know if there's a mega one, two, or three, but this is a mega big camp, and this where they were living. They weren't evacuating.
But about 2:00 in the morning, it was hard to tell what was happening where it was very dark and almost no lights even on a nice night, but about 2:00 in the morning at the height of the storm, a bus pulled them, the government brought in a bus and the bus did fill up with women and children who were evacuated to a shelter.
But most of the rest of the people stuck it out. It appears no one was hurt or killed, but many of the tents are now down and this camp is flooded and they are now trying to clean up as we speak. A lot of nice people, they are glad to have us here, glad to be giving the attention to the world about what they're going through.
This is what they've been living like since January 12th, 2010, and last night was a very rough night -- Randi.
KAYE: And -- and Gary, you were there after the earthquake in 2010. I mean, what is the mood there among the people? I mean now that this storm has hit them?
TUCHMAN: Well, I think it was so catastrophic what happened, 300,000 people died. That's three percent of the population of this nation perished in that earthquake. So there was, frankly, some nonchalance about the storms coming through.
They've had storms come here that have caused flooding, have caused death, but there a lot of people here particularly in this camp where we've spent so much time saying you know what, we've lived through this before, we're going to stay in our tents and we're going to stick it out. You know hopefully no one was killed. No one was hurt.
Right now we're hearing throughout the country there's a lot of damage like here, but so far no reports of death. So what I'm saying is people here are used to adversity. They know how to deal with it and then, doing the best they can right now.
KAYE: Gary Tuchman for us there in Port-Au-Prince, Gary thank you.
And you can follow the very latest on Isaac on our Web site, CNN.com/impact. There you'll find photos, satellite images and information on how you can help storm victims recover from Isaac.
Mitt Romney campaigns in Ohio and clarifies why he brought up the birther issue on the campaign trail. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Just two days before the Republican National Convention kicks off in Florida, presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney is courting voters in another battleground state today, Ohio. And running mate Paul Ryan is at his side.
CNN's political editor Paul Steinhauser is joining us live from Powell, Ohio. Paul, what point did they drive home today at this morning's rally?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, Randi, today it was all about getting back on the message I guess you could say, after a week of distractions for the Romney and Ryan campaign. First, those controversial comments by Missouri Congressman Todd Akin on rape and abortion and yesterday's controversial comments -- the joke I guess you could say from Mitt Romney that brought back the birther issue.
Today was all about hammering President Obama on the economy. Mr. Romney saying that the President is going to say some things at his convention in Charlotte that voters shouldn't believe. Take a listen to what Mitt Romney said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: A couple of things he's going to do. People are going to stop and say, but -- but how are you going to do something different than last time?
They have experienced the last four years. They know if they re-elect him, they'll get four more years of the same. It is not his words that people have to listen to, it is his action and his record. And if they look at that, they'll take him out of the office and put people into the office that will actually get America going again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: And that's the whole idea, Randi. Listen, after all these distractions, they want to get back on message, the want to be talking about the economy and attacking the president. We're two days away from the start of the Republican Convention.
One other thing, where are we? We're in Powell, Ohio. Ohio, of course a crucial battleground state. President Obama won it four years ago. Mitt Romney thinks he can take it this time around -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, so you mentioned the birther issue, Paul. It came up again as we said yesterday after Mitt Romney referred to his birthplace. Let's listen to that first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Now, I love being home in this place where Ann and I were raised, where both of us were born. Ann was born at Henry Ford Hospital. I was born at Harper Hospital. No one's ever asked to see my birth certificate. They know that this is the place that we were born and raised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So Paul, Romney was questioned about that later. What did he say?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, he sure was questioned about it because that was almost a jaw-dropping moment. We're all like, wait a minute did the birther issue just come up? Mitt Romney says no, that was not the -- the point of his comments. Here's what he told CBS News last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why did you say that?
ROMNEY: Well, we're in Michigan and Ann and I both born in Detroit. And of course, a little humor always goes a long way. So it was great to be home, to be in a place where Ann and I had grown up and the crowd loved it and got a good laugh.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But this was a swipe at the President, and I wonder why you took it.
ROMNEY: No, no, not a swipe. I said throughout the campaign and before, there is no question about where he was born. He was born in the U.S. this was fun about us and coming home and humor -- you know, we've got to have a little humor in the campaign as well.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You threw a little red meat at the conservative wing of the party there.
ROMNEY: No, this was all about being home in Michigan, the place we were born and raised.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: As you can imagine, after all the attention yesterday, there was no mention from Romney or Paul Ryan today about that one bit. But above the crowd here there was a protest claim with a sign that said America is better then birtherism. Maybe they misspelled than to then.
So there was a little bit of a reference today with that protest play. Randi, it's been about an hour and a half hour since the rally was over. The last time we talk to a lot of people here they are all gone, but we're still here with you.
STEINHAUSER: You are always there for us, Paul. Thank you very much. Appreciate it.
Romney's big moment comes in just a few days when he accepts the GOP presidential nomination at the Republican convention in Tampa, but tropical storm Isaac, as we've been telling you, is threatening to put a damper on that event.
CNN's Brian Todd is in Tampa. Brian, good morning. Right now we're told the center of the storm is tracking just west of the city, but that could change. How are event organizers preparing, just in case?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Randi, they're saying that communication is key. You're going to have 50,000 people descending on Tampa this weekend; 50,000 who are not here normally.
And officials are telling us that they've got to get the word out to those people. Number one, how to behave in a tropical storm or a hurricane condition, and number two, what to do if an evacuation is needed. They're leaving brochures in their hotel rooms, pamphlets, things like that. They're having officials talk to these people as they check in, just to get the word out.
Number one, you know, if a tropical storm is near this area, even if it's far west, they can get the remnants of it here in Tampa and that can cause serious problems.
Just about eight weeks ago, June 26th, tropical storm Debby just pelted this area, flooded Bay Shore Drive, which is a main drag near the edge of Tampa Bay, but it's also just a few blocks from where the convention is going to be held. The pictures from that, you can see just how serious the flooding can get just when a tropical storm hits.
Now again, we could just get remnants of tropical storm Isaac or hurricane Isaac, no matter -- no matter what it is, by the time it hits here, but even remnants of a storm like that, Randi, very serious. It could cause a lot of storm surge and a lot of flooding.
They're telling people, don't go near it, even if you're curious about it, if you're from out of town and haven't seen a hurricane for the first -- you're seeing a hurricane for the first time, still, don't, you know, don't go out, out of curiosity just to watch it. Stay inside. Stay where there's shelter. Don't go near the edge of the water.
And also, they're going to be getting the word out as to where the evacuation routes are, where the buses are, where you can get on to get out of the center of town, if they need to. They need to get them out of the center of town. That's going to be the key if they need to evacuate.
But Randi, right now they're telling us they don't anticipate having to evacuate the convention site.
KAYE: And there are other worries as well, Brian. Law enforcement agencies concerned about the possibility of extremists staging violent protests there. Is there a security plan for that?
TODD: there sure is. You know, we got our hands on an FBI and Homeland Security intelligence bulletin that voiced concern among officials that anarchist groups would converge on Tampa. The mayor told me just a couple of days ago he knows that they're here already, and his police and his kind of local law enforcement intelligence have been scouting them out and following them, monitoring them. They're concerned that they may target bridges in this area for disruption or shutdown. That came out in that bulletin. They're also concerned that, you know, some of these areas that they may just try to start a confrontation with police. So, that is something that they're watching out for. They're monitoring those groups.
This did happen at the Republican convention in 2008. The anarchists caused quite a stir there in the streets of St. Paul. So that is something that they're watching out for very closely.
KAYE: All kinds of storms heading their way, it sounds like. Brian Todd, thank you.
And don't forget this programming note, CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention starts Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time here on CNN.
A disgruntled employee opens fire in New York City. Brand-new surveillance video reveals exactly what happened. Also, new information on the wounded.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: 19 minutes past the hour now.
New information on the shooting at the Empire State building. Let's get straight to Jason Carroll. He's in New York for us this morning. Jason, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly spoke to reporters, including you this morning. What did he say?
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this new information, as you say, definitely coming to us from New York's Police Commissioner, Raymond Kelly. He says that all nine of those innocent bystanders who were hit and injured during yesterday's shooting, he confirmed were, in fact, wounded by police gunfire.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL (voice-over): Police surveillance video captures the shooting in front of the Empire State building. 58-year-old Jeffrey Johnson suddenly appears to pull a gun when confronted by two police officers. Police fire. Johnson goes down.
Amateur video shows a different angle. Johnson is still moving after being shot. He dies a short time later. Nine bystanders are hurt during the shooting, including Robert Asika, a tour guide.
ROBERT ASIKA, TOUR GUIDE: When I turned around, I see the guy reach in his suit and he pulled out a gun. Then I guess he shot at the police officer and the police officer shot him, and one of them shot me in the arm and I fell.
CARROLL: None of the bystanders' injuries were life-threatening. Police fired 16 rounds but were quick to explain why so many innocent people had been hurt. COMM. RAY KELLY, NEW YORK POLICE DEPARTMENT: There were flower pots and other objects around, so when the officers did fire, their bullets fragmented, and in essence, that's what caused the wounds of the bystanders.
CARROLL: Police say the shooting happened moments after Johnson shot and killed a former co-worker, 41-year-old Steven Ercolino. Johnson was a women's accessories designer at Hazan Imports. He was laid off a year ago but had a long-standing grudge against Ercolino over sales of his designs. Witnesses say Johnson used his .45-caliber pistol to shoot Ercolino in the head, then kept firing at him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We hear, pow, pow. So, we think it's, you know, construction site, so metal, wood falling. It was really loud. Then we heard more like four more shots, like pow, pow, pow, we were like, ok, that's gunshots. And we look and see a guy in a gray suit just walking away.
CARROLL: Johnson's neighbors say he lived alone in this apartment building on New York's Upper East Side with his cat. One had recently died.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm in shock. I can't believe it. He was the nicest guy. I think he snapped or something, I don't know.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: And Randi, the investigation is still under way. Detectives have been out at the Empire State building this morning still interviewing witnesses. There have been a lot of questions about whether or not this shooting was justified given so many innocent people were hurt, but you have to look at what happened after, given that police so quickly released that surveillance tape, showing the police response. That probably gives you a sense of where police stand on this issue -- Randi.
KAYE: Yes, certainly some frightening moments there and had to act quickly, of course. Jason Carroll, thank you.
We'll talk with a former police investigator to get his take on how officers reacted and whether or not he thinks they followed procedure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: A deadly shooting unfolds on one of America's busiest streets. It happened during morning rush hour yesterday outside New York's Empire State building. A gunman shot and killed his former co-worker, then was shot dead by police. Innocent bystanders were injured in that cross fire, and police now say all nine people hurt on the street were hit by police gunfire.
Earlier, I asked retired police investigator and security director Lou Palumbo if that could have been avoided.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LOU PALUMBO, RETIRED POLICE OFFICER: And in this type scenario, you don't really have any option but to engage them.
I think the difficult part right now that the public is dealing is this notion of collateral damage. We have been traditionally lucky in New York in particular with not having too many issues involving collateral damage. This one, as we now know, a number people might have been injured as a result of some of the errant shots that were fired by this law enforcement agency, the New York City police.
A few weeks ago we had an incident where there was an individual -- homeless man with a knife that was fired at 46 times. In the interview I did with Anderson Cooper, one of the things I pointed out was every time you discharge a weapon in the course of your duty, you have to account for where those bullets are going.
So, you know, they absolutely were procedurally sound. They had no choice but to engage him. Unfortunately we had collateral damage.
KAYE: Is lethal force, I mean is that the only way? I mean how do you make that decision in such a chaotic moment?
PALUMBO: Well, really, what we're talking about is spontaneity. That's what they were handed, you know. They came into the situation spontaneously. They had to assess what they had. They realized immediately that he was armed with a deadly weapon and their life was in imminent danger and so were the lives of other people in their proximity.
And that's the justification for the use of deadly physical force per the penal law in the state of New York. So they were clearly within their right to use deadly force as per the law being written.
KAYE: What about a taser in a situation like that?
PALUMBO: Taser, you know, honestly, there's an expression, and I don't mean to be cute about this. They say never bring a knife to a gunfight. A taser is not an appropriate means of response to someone who is armed with a .45 caliber semiautomatic pistol. A taser is used for someone who might be emotionally disturbed or an individual who is rowdy but unarmed.
This individual had a .45 caliber pistol. He could have gone through reflex reaction if you tasered him, still discharging the weapon. The taser sounds like it might have been a remedy but in reality it wasn't.
And the reality of the situation is the New York City Police Department does not arm police officers with tasers, only the supervisor. You would have had to have a supervisor on scene at the moment they engaged this active shooter, which they did not have. This happened very, very quickly. These police officers responded, I'm going to say, as close to text book as you possibly could.
And considering all of the denominators of that morning, the fact that no one else was killed, we're just lucky. The rest of it we're going to sort out through the courts probably because I'm sure there will be litigations as a result of these injuries sustained as a result of collateral damage.
KAYE: Could they have just shot once to take him down and maybe not opened fire as they did?
PALUMBO: You know, Randi, that's another interesting discussion. You know people will come out and say why didn't you shoot him in the leg? Why didn't you shoot him in the arm? To be very candid with you, with the amount of stress and tension that falls upon you and in this instance, spontaneously, you're lucky you hit him at all.
As we're finding out, they fired approximately 16 shots. Seven of them struck him, which is actually a fairly high ratio because the hit ratio at one time was one strike for every 15 rounds fired. People have to realize these are young men and women. They have children, families, mothers and fathers. They are trying to go home. There's an immense amount of pressure on you as you're involved in these situations. And the spontaneity of the situation, you know, they performed -- I have to tell you, I've been around this community -- I've been a law enforcement agent. I've been in this community 39 years.
These two young men, these two people reacted as perfectly, in my opinion, as they possibly could have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And once again, New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly has confirmed that all nine people injured in that shoot-out were wounded by police gunfire.
Where is tropical storm Isaac headed? I'll get some answers from the director of the National Hurricane Center.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The National Hurricane Center is already issuing U.S. warnings ahead of Tropical Storm Isaac. Parts of southwest Florida, including all of the Keys, Miami, are on alert, and Tampa may be the next area to be put under the hurricane watch. Dr. Rick Knabb, director of the National Hurricane Center, joins me live now from west Miami Dade, Florida.
Dr. Knabb, tell us, where is the storm heading right now?
DR. RICK KNABB, DIR., NATIONAL HURRICANE CENTER: Right now, the center of the circulation of Tropical Storm Isaac actually is centered over the eastern tip of Cuba, not far from Guantanamo Bay we're actually with the surface observations, able to see the winds going different directions on the north versus south side, so we know where the center is, right about in here, eastern tip of Cuba.
And it has been struggling a little bit with its organization of thunderstorms because of the nearby terrain of Haiti and eastern Cuba, but generally headed off to the northwest over the next couple of days, and that brings it in our general direction down here in south Florida, including the Florida Keys, and then headed into the eastern Gulf of Mexico or along the West Coast of Florida.
KAYE: So you said it might hit there in the next couple of days. How strong do you think Isaac will be when it reaches Florida?
KNABB: Sure, well, it is going to gradually strengthen. We don't think it will rapidly strengthen, at least not today because it's not really well organized and it's just still tangled up with land a little bit, but we are forecasting gradual strengthening to a hurricane by the time it gets to the Florida Keys, within the next day and a half. But the conditions will start to go downhill in south Florida and the Florida Keys tonight or early tomorrow morning, so today is the day of preparation.
And because we're forecasting hurricane, that's why there's a hurricane warning in effect for the Florida Keys and portions of southwest Florida. That does not mean we are 100 percent guaranteeing it will be a hurricane by the time it gets to the Keys, but chances are high enough that that's what we need to prepare for, and it's not just a windstorm. That we could see some storm surge flooding on the southwest coast of Florida and somewhat in the Florida Keys as well from the ocean.
KAYE: Dr. Knabb, I appreciate the update. Thank you very much.
KNABB: Thank you.
KAYE: An embarrassing incident for Mexico. The U.S. is demanding answers after Mexican federal police shot at two Americans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: In Mexico, a bizarre shooting leads to some tough questions for Mexican officials. Police chased a U.S. embassy vehicle and then opened fire, injuring two Americans.
Nick Valencia is here to talk more about that.
All right, so, what's going on? Why did they open fire?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's a lot of questions that we want answered. Mexican side and the U.S. side are trying to answer those questions right now. We called the federal police just a short time ago, and we spoke to the spokesman there who was told not to comment on this, that this investigation is being handled by Los Pinos, which is the White House there in Mexico.
So, right now, we have -- what do we know is that this U.S. embassy vehicle left Mexico City yesterday morning, it was traveling to Guadanavaca (ph), which is about 50 miles south of Mexico City, when at some point it was intercepted by the federal police, they showed their weapons.
It's unclear if anything was exchanged, if they identified themselves as federal police, but Randi, that's when this -- the U.S. embassy vehicle went back on to the highway and was pursued by the federal police. They opened fire, injuring two Americans and a Mexican Navy captain.
KAYE: So, did the U.S. vehicle do anything wrong here? I mean, should they have stopped?
VALENCIA: Well, you know, there's this precedence set already. The narco-blockades that have been set up in these rural areas, narco- infested parts of Mexico. This part, this part where this incident happened. It's controlled by the Beltran Leyva cartel, so the U.S. embassy vehicle had precedent to be suspicious that something like this, especially if they didn't identify themselves as federal police, which we just don't know, there is precedence set for them to be suspicious and sort of try to maneuver out of the way of this -- of the federal police.
KAYE: And this has happened before.
VALENCIA: Yes, this has happened before. There was an incident in 2010 in Ciudad Juarez, where a diplomatic vehicle was fired upon by a criminal organization. Three people died in that incident. So, it's just a scary and another black eye for the federal police.
KAYE: So, did the U.S. vehicle get helped somehow?
VALENCIA: The U.S. vehicle did get help. Actually, as I mentioned, the Mexican Navy captain radioed into that military installation they were on their way to this U.S. embassy vehicle was on their way to a Mexican training facility. If it wasn't for that Mexican aid, a captain radioing in for help, who knows what would have happened and what would have developed.
KAYE: Wow, that's amazing. And the U.S. State Department not saying much, probably?
VALENCIA: We spoke to them yesterday and they're couching this as an incident of a mistaken identity. They're still investigating, though, a joint investigation between the U.S. and Mexico. But right now, there's just a lot of questions. How could this happen when this car, this Toyota SUV, was clearly marked with diplomatic plates. You know, why did this happen?
KAYE: Yes.
VALENCIA: That's what we're expecting to find the answers to, hopefully this weekend.
KAYE: All right, Nick, thanks for working on that for us. I appreciate it.
VALENCIA: Thank you.
KAYE: Superstar cyclist Lance Armstrong is facing a lifetime ban, but could he also lose seven Tour de France titles? We'll have the details for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KAYE: He is a seven-time Tour de France winning cyclist, but Lance Armstrong has been slapped with a lifetime ban from competition for allegedly doping.
I asked CNN legal contributor Paul Callan earlier if Armstrong could lose all his Tour de France titles as well.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL CALLAN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: There's an International Cycling Agency, there's a U.S. Cycling Agency, and there's this U.S. Anti- Doping Agency, which is the subject of our discussion today. And Lance Armstrong has said they don't have jurisdiction over him. They don't even have the right to hear this case and that their findings will not be recognized on a worldwide level. That's essentially his position. And of course, the agency, which is a federal agency, a quasi-federal agency, differs very strongly.
KAYE: Armstrong, of course, has consistently denied allegations of illegal doping, we should point out, but has decided to stop battling the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency after losing his legal bid to stop the probe, saying he just didn't think it was fair setting to make his case, calling the process "one-sided." Does this imply guilt?
CALLAN: It does in the sense that if you -- I mean, if you thought you were going to go into court and win, why wouldn't you go into court and win? Now, he went to a Texas judge, Judge Sparks, a federal judge, with a very competent lawyer representing him, and they tried to convince the federal judge to dismiss the case, saying the U.S. Anti- Doping Agency has no jurisdiction here, and the judge was highly critical of Armstrong's complaint, saying it was nothing but a glorified press release.
But in fairness, he also, the judge, was highly critical of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, saying what are they doing investigating allegations that are 14 years old in some cases? The statute of limitations only goes back eight years. But in the end, the judge said you know something, Armstrong agreed to be governed by an arbitration procedure of this organization, and he has an obligation to go through the arbitration.
And Armstrong has responded to that by walking away, saying you know something, I'm not going to submit my evidence. This is a kangaroo court that made up their mind, I'm just walking away from it.
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: So, does it imply guilt? A lot of people would say yes, it does. Others would say he's just had enough. So, it depends on where you stand on Lance Armstrong.
KAYE: He has said, though, that he's taken something like 500 or 600 tests and all of them were clean. So, from a legal standpoint, I mean, doesn't that mean something?
CALLAN: Well, he has made that claim. However, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says that they examined as part of their investigation a number of blood samples taken from him in recent years which they describe as -- and watch the wording here -- they say not inconsistent with doping. They don't say that they actually found chemicals that were indicative that something was in his bloodstream, but that the results were consistent with the use of doping drugs.
Now, this would have to do with how many red cells are present in the blood. So, they would disagree with his conclusion that he tested negative on all of these occasions, and they also say they have testimony from fellow riders who say that he did dope himself. But Armstrong says, you know what, these are secret witnesses, they were given immunity for their testimony, and it's an unfair procedure, you can't trust it --
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: And that's what he and his lawyers say.
KAYE: What about his legacy? What happens to that?
CALLAN: Well, I think his legacy will be seriously damaged by this. And you know, if you look at, for instance, what happened to Barry Bonds in baseball and Mark McGwire. You know, all of these athletes who have faced serious claims of the use of illegal, banned drugs have really sustained extreme damage to their long-term reputations.
So you know, unless he fights and wins in court, I think his reputation has really, really been hurt. I mean, look at Roger Clemens as an example.
KAYE: Yes.
CALLAN: As a different. You know, a lot of people said he was crazy to fight the case against him. It was a very, very strong case against him. And you know something, he fought, and in the end, he was exonerated. So, I think he saved a little bit of his legacy, but it's going to be hard for Lance Armstrong to save his, given what's going on.
KAYE: The World Anti-Doping Agency and the International Cycling Union will review the USADA's findings with the option to appeal.
A candidate and his wife locking lips? Children try their hand at humor. We'll look back at some of the most memorable moments of past political conventions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: One party's embarrassing moment can become the other party's opportunity to highlight it. Both Republican and Democratic National Conventions are ready to kick off back to back. So, today, we are walking down memory lane for some of the more memorable convention moments. Comedian Dean Obeidallah joining us now. Dean, good morning to you. Let's start --
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, COMEDIAN: Good morning, Randi. KAYE: Let's start with this awkward pose. All right, Richard Nixon may take the gold for an awkward moment during the Republican National Convention in 1972. Remind us of it.
OBEIDALLAH: Well, I mean and that was a time when Sammy Davis had said, you know, I'm happy you're president, I want you to be the president in the future as well, he already was president. So, you know, those awkward moments I think that define a candidate, in a way it's sort of these off-the-cuff remark and how they respond to it, gives you a little insight into who the candidate really is, because they're so guarded. We only see a calculated image of them. And this kind of things gives us a little bit of fun, so to speak. You know, Richard Nixon trying to be cool there with Sammy Davis Jr. is painful, as you might imagine.
KAYE: Trying being the key word.
OBEIDALLAH: Yes. Very painful.
KAYE: All right. So we all know there are so many speeches during the convention --
OBEIDALLAH: Yes.
KAYE: -- the short ones, the long ones, the bad ones, the great ones and the really, really long ones. Remember how the audience cheered after Bill Clinton's long speech at his party's convention in 1988? Let's watch this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: And don't you ever forget it. Michael Dukakis will never, never, never forget it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CLINTON: In closing --
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: That is so great. Remember? As soon as he said in closing, you could hear the crowd erupt.
OBEIDALLAH: That was a Bronx cheer. That's -- you know, as a comedian, if I go for my last joke and the audience is cheering, and my set has not gone well. And you know, what's remarkable, most people think Bill Clinton is a good speaker. And he is. That speech went an hour. It was supposed to go for 20 minutes. It droned and droned on. Well, Barack Obama gave a speech in 2004, the keynote, 16 minutes, and it's viewed as one of the best keynotes of the modern day. So, shorter is better in these kinds of speeches.
KAYE: OK, let's talk about the lip lock that maybe lasted a little bit too long -- OBEIDALLAH: Sure.
KAYE: Al Gore's kiss with Tipper in 2000. What do you make of that?
OBEIDALLAH: Oh, that went too long. That is like a Bill Clinton speech. This was painful. Look, he's grabbing her. It reminds me of like the cartoon, Pepe LePew who is grabbing the female cat. And she is trying to escape on some level. But you know what, the too long displays of public affection are just like too long speeches. They become awkward and uncomfortable to watch. And I think it (inaudible). I mean it was like -- it's like watching your parents kiss. And no one really likes to see that. I'll be honest with you.
KAYE: Yes, they have the long one, then he went back in for another little one. All right. Then there, of course, those moments when the jokes fail to make people laugh. Remember the Bush twins?
OBEIDALLAH: Yes.
KAYE: How can we forget that? Right? Here's a reminder.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She thinks sex in the city is something married people do but never talk about.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, it wasn't that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: I mean, they said something like -- they're not laughing at us. They are not laughing. I mean, it was painful right, Dean?
OBEIDALLAH: You know, dying is hard. I mean dying is easy, comedy is hard is the adage. And it's true. And I'll be honest, I have told many jokes to audiences where they don't laugh. And it's painful for you at times. Sometimes you have to get a thicker skin. But they were doing a joke about their grandmother and saying "Sex and the City." We don't hear the words grandmother and sex in any sentence at any time, unless you are trying to gross people out. They did have a few good jokes, in their defense. But let's be honest, if you're not a professional comedian and someone says, hey, you want to tell jokes in front of 25 million people, you probably say no.
KAYE: Yes. Grandma was not laughing. And neither was anybody else.
OBEIDALLAH: No. No. It was uncomfortable and awkward. You almost want to watch Tipper and Al Gore kiss after that.
KAYE: Oh, no.
And don't forget this programming note. CNN's live coverage of the Republican National Convention starts Monday night at 7:00 p.m. Eastern time. Don't miss it. And "CNN NEWSROOM" starts at the top of the hour. Fred, what do you have for us?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: I'm sure there won't be zero in awkward moments.
KAYE: You think?
WHITFIELD: I think it's worth visiting back. That kind of reminds you --
KAYE: Isn't that kind of fun?
WHITFIELD: That is probably in the playbook that you don't want to have a moment like this.
KAYE: Yes. The Bush twins --
WHITFIELD: Keep it going. Keep it going, yes.
KAYE: What do you have coming up?
WHITFIELD: A lot coming up on noon, Easter time. Of course, we're going to continue to watch Isaac as it leaves Haiti. It brushes by Haiti. Maybe avoiding Cuba altogether. But, of course, targeting parts of Florida. We're going to keep a watch on all the trouble that Isaac may be brewing. And then our legal guys will be along with this. You know, everyone loves the sleekness of their phones, whether it's the iPhone or maybe the Samsung Galaxy. You know that feature you just kind of, you know, wipe your finger --
KAYE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- to turn the page all that good stuff? Well, Apple wins in a federal court that is their patent. And that Samsung shouldn't be able to use that feature among other things. Our legal guys are going to be along with us to let us know what happens if you have, say, a Samsung phone on order, you are hoping to get it in the mail or you are waiting for that phone call that it's ready? What's going to happen next?
And then Jon Mann, we love him from CNN International, you know, he is a big cyclist. And you've been talking about Lance Armstrong this morning with Paul Callan.
KAYE: Right.
WHITFIELD: Well, you know, what is the latest on this ban? What does it mean? We know he is -- well, he hasn't been cycling because he's been banned from that. But what about as a triathlete now banned from that as well? But what does this mean for the Livestrong Foundation?
KAYE: Yes. The brand.
WHITFIELD: Exactly. And then if do work out more, a lot of times people feel like, you know, I'm trying to lose weight. That means I'm going to eat less. Well, Desiree Nathanson, our fitness guru is going to be long with us to say, no, you work out more, you eat more. You need the calories, and that will help you with your metabolism, that will help modify your body --
KAYE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- tighten up all that good stuff. So, great tips from her along the way.
KAYE: Tightening up. I like that -- I like the sound of that, Fred. Thank you very much.
WHITFIELD: All right.
KAYE: Check back with you in a bit.
WHITFIELD: Thank you.
KAYE: What Romney's years as Massachusetts governor reveal about him. An in-depth look at the making of the next Republican presidential nominee.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Days before Mitt Romney reintroduces himself to America as the Republican presidential nominee, we're learning more about the years leading up to his big moment. Chief political analyst Gloria Borger examines his role as governor of Massachusetts in a special documentary "Romney Revealed."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GLORIA BORGER, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL ANALYST: Two years into Romney's term as governor of Massachusetts, he sets his sights on something bigger, something that would mean a legacy. Health care.
(APPLAUSE)
SCOTT HELMAN, CO-AUTHOR, "THE REAL ROMNEY": He had not had a major achievement that he could point to as some big political success in a future campaign. He needed something to say I had done this and it was a big deal.
BORGER: Romney decided to push for health care to cover everyone in the state. But that meant mandating most residents to buy health insurance.
ERIC FEHRNSTROM, ROMNEY SENIOR CAMPAIGN ADVISER: The governor felt that it would be wrong for the economy and wrong for our business sector to impose a mandate on employers, to require them to provide insurance to their employees. But he felt it very important that people take responsibility for their own health care.
BORGER: It was Romney's big moment. But now a liability. Republicans bitterly oppose any kind of mandate. HELMAN: I think the politics of it had been so complicated that it's ironic that the biggest thing he achieved as governor is something he almost never talks about.
BORGER: No less complicated the politics of abortion. While Romney was personally opposed to abortion, he ran for governor supporting abortion rights. But once in office and presented with stem cell legislation that would in Romney's view have the potential of destroying embryos, he changed his mind.
ROMNEY: Thank you.
And I realized that what sounded good in a campaign, when I actually became the governor and was going to be the person who would sign a piece of legislation which could take human life, I simply couldn't do that.
BORGER: Democrats say it was about ambition.
TAD DEVINE, DEMOCRATIC MEDIA CONSULTANT: He wanted to run for president of the United States. And he understood that within the Republican nominating process, somebody who is pro-choice or pro gay rights or anything in terms of a progressive stance, would lose.
BETH MYERS, ROMNEY CAMPAIGN ADVISER: I didn't ever see it as a flip- flop. I think that what you saw was the tension between personal beliefs and a public persona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That's Sunday night for "ROMNEY REVEALED: FAMILY, FAITH, AND THE ROAD TO POWER", a profile of the soon to be Republican presidential nominee. That is at 8 p.m. Eastern time, it will be followed by a preview of the convention itself, which starts at 9:30 Eastern.
Then, on Monday, live coverage of the GOP convention begins at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN. A very exciting week coming up.
WHITFIELD: I know. We look forward to all that.
KAYE: Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: We'll see you again tomorrow morning.
KAYE: OK, 6:00 a.m. Bright and early.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Bright and early. Thank you so much, Randi. Appreciate it.
KAYE: Sure.
