Transcripts For CNN CNN Newsroom 20100813

the israeli national accused of roaming three states, stabbing 18 people and killing five of them. apparently elias abuelazam has been caught twice before but set free to only stab again. it was when he tried to board a plight in atlanta that he was nabbed. he's due to appear at a hearing in just a couple of hours for extradition to michigan on murder charges. homeland security corn den jeanne meserve live in washington with more. what are you hearing now? >> reporter: he's an israeli citizen. as you mentioned he was nabbed as he tried to board a flight to go d'back to his home country. authorities believed that this man is responsible for stabbings in michigan, ohio, and virginia, five of them fatal. elias abuelazam, a 33-year-old israeli citizen, living legally in the u.s., was arrested wednesday night as he was about to board a delta flight to tel aviv. >> the suspect was located at the boarding gate. atlanta's hartsfield airport and was called to the front of the boarding area where he surrendered without incident to customs agents. >> reporter: the stabbings ghan may. the last one was just last weekend. they attracted national publicity because there were so many and so many of the victims were african-american. 17 year old women son was one. >> i pushed off of him and ran. ran to the first house i seen with a light on. >> reporter: during the investigation, police released a composite drawing and surveillance tape of a green suv. a tip eventually connected abuelazam with a car and crimes and when authorities realized he was en route to israel they moved in. though abuelazam recently worked in michigan, he lived for a time in this house in leesburg, virginia. a man who lived just steps away was stabbed and bludgeoned to death last year. the murder is still unsolved. the victim's daughter remembers abuelazam. >> pretty nice, his whole family. >> reporter: officials in virginia and michigan had different responses. when asked p the stabbings were race related. >> my belief is that he selected victims in leesburg based upon the color of their skin good we don't have any other evidence that suggests it is racially motivated. i'm not saying it is not. what i'm saying is that without more evidence, i'm not going to make that statement. >> reporter: on august 5, abuelazam was arrested in virginia. he was driving a green suv and inside authorities say police found a knife and hammer. a hammer was used in one of the stabbing attacks. but he was released because at that point in time the police had no connection between the crimes of abuelazam or the car. late their day, there was another stabbing in the state of virginia. >> we heard about this motive. possibly race. but if that isn't it is there my other motive that surfaced? >> well, you know, yesterday at the press conference in michigan there were questions about that and officials said that they just didn't want to speculate at this point in time. they said at this point that official didn't feel he had the evidence to say definitively it was race but he wouldn't speculate on what else it might be. we don't know if this suspect is talking to police and don't know what else the investigation might have turned up. as of yesterday at least they weren't commenting on what an alternative motive might be. >> jeanne meserve in d.c. dr. laura earned fame and fortune by giving people advice on her radio show. maybe she should have employed some of her own wisdom before opening her mouth this week. here is her jaw-dropping exchange with an african-american colleague. one was concerned about her interracial marriage. the conversation turned pretty testy after dr. laura used the "n" word. >> yeah. i think you have too much -- [ bleep ] and not enough sense of humor. depends how it is said. >> is it okay to say that word? is it ever okay -- >> it depends how it is said. black guys talking to each other seem to think it is okay. >> but you are not black. they are not black. >> oh, i see. so a word is restricted to race. got it. can't do much about that. >> i can't believe someone like you is on the radio screwing up the [ bleep ] and i hope -- >> i didn't spew out the [ bleep ] word. right. i said that's what you hear. yes, they did. >> i hope everybody heard it. >> they did and i will say it again. [ bleep ] what you hear -- why don't you let me finish a senten sentence? don't take things out of context. don't naacp me. >> i know what it means and i know it came from a white person and i know the white person means that. >> thank you very much. thank you very much. can't have this argument. you know what, if you are that hyper-sensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race. >> that exchange created a firestorm. reverend al sharpton called it despicable and dr. laura issued this apology. >> i talk every day about doing the right thing. and yesterday i did the wrong thing. i didn't intend to hurt people but i did. and that makes it the wrong thing to have done. i was attempting to make a philosophical point and i articulated the "n" word all the way out -- more than one time. and that was wron. i'll say it again. that was wrong. >> take a closer look next hour with the cnn political analyst roland martin. outrage and perspective. 1,500 agents, new drones, communication gear will be heading to the border with mexico. president obama plans to be sign a $600 million emergency funding bill this morning, two lawmakers returned from summer recess yesterday to give senate approval. the security bill is being funded in part by raising fees on personal probes that bring foreign workers into the u.s. president obama and his family are leaving tomorrow morning for panama city beach, florida. the weekend trip will be the president's latest visit to support gulf coast residents and businesses since the oil disaster. recent study estimated the region's travel industry could take a $22 billion hit over the next few years. the jury deciding the case of rod blagojevich will have the weekend off. when it returns to zlib ratidels monday, there is growing concern it is deadlocked. jurors told the judge yesterday it reached unanimous agreement on only two counts in the corruption case. another 22 counts are still in limbo. next wednesday expect more wedding bells to ring in california. a federal judge struck down the state's ban on same-sex marriages yesterday. cnn's dan simon has the reaction from san francisco. >> reporter: barring a reversal from an appeals court same-sex couples in california can resume getting married next wednesday, august 18th at precisely 5:00 p.m. that was what was in the judge's ruling. the judge issuing that ruling at city hall, numerous same-sex couples in line hoping to get marriage certificates and get married without a judge saying that cannot take place until next wednesday. we talked to people on both sides of the issue. >> undermines the definition of marriage. institution of marriage in the same way that counterfeit dollar bill affects the dollar bill. the real dollar bill in my pocket. interest undermines the value of that because it takes away and something false in there as something that's true. >> it is life. it will happen for us. >> one step forward and -- >> one step back. >> yeah. you know, like -- it is life. you have to take it through its courses. we are not going to give up. >> reporter: we have a statement from the national organization of marriage which supports proposition 8. it says in part when a lower judge makes an unprecedented ruling that totally overturns existing supreme court precedent, the normal thing for that judge to do is stay his decision and let the higher courts decide. obviously prop 8 supporters making it clear they plan to appeal this ruling and try to keep this ban in place but barring any sort of decision or reversal federal the appeals court, same-sex couples can get married in california. once again, beginning next wednesday. i'm dan simon reporting from san francisco. >> 340 youngsters take to the skies without their parents ever knowing it. >> nobody else had i.d.s. >> more on their ride after lifetime coming up next. 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[ female announcer ] something unexpected to the world of multigrain... taste. delicious pringles multigrain. multigrain pops with pringles. a fantastic opportunity to get 0% apr financing on every new 2010 cadillac model. like the cts sport sedan. the most acclaimed vehicle in its class and a "car and driver" 10 best, three years in a row. or the all new cadillac srx luxury crossover. and even the most acclaimed luxury suv ever, the cadillac escalade. summer brings out the best in all of us. hurry in to get 0% apr financing on every new 2010 cadillac during cadillac's "summer's best" sales event, going on now at your cadillac dealer. ♪ can be unsettling. but what if there were a different story? of one financial company that grew stronger through the crisis. when some lost their way, this company led the way. by protecting clients and turning uncertainty into confidence. what if that story were true? it is. ♪ school is still out. nothing to do. a trio of 40 youngsters had an idea. why not hop on a plane to tennessee without asking mom and dad? we have their high-flying adventure. >> reporter: bobby nolan is just now getting around to unpacking his suitcase. >> he said nashville, tennessee, so that's where we went. >> reporter: tuesday morning 13-year-old bobby asked his friends if they wanted to hang out. 15-year-old bridget texted back, want to go to tennessee today? she saved up $700 from baby-sit. >> i don't know. just wanted to fly and i had the money. >> reporter: she called ahead and asked how much the tickets would be. $238 a pop for a 4:15 flight. the two plus bridget's brother headed for the airport in a cab they found on bridge i's iphone. once at the southwest counter, three tickets to nashville, please. >> he said okay. he told us how much it would be. and then we paid him and then he put the little flight thing on our bags and then he said you better run because you might miss your flight. >> reporter: kids say not once did anyone ask where their parents were or for identification. >> we took our stuff out of the pockets, shoes off, walked through, and they didn't say nothing. >> reporter: didn't ask you for any i.d.s? >> no, ma'am. nobody else had i.d.s. we didn't. >> reporter: bonnie snack order pretzels not wondering what they would do with the remaining $40 once they got to music city but how his parents would react. >> what was our mom and dad thing. >> reporter: mom and dad knew bobby had gone to play with the neighbors. around dinner time they called him to come home. straight to voice mail. a neighbor told them a cab picked up the kids around 2:30. while frantically calling cab companies, the phone rang. >> called to say we are in nashville and ready to come home. >> reporter: southwest airlines says their policies permits children age 11 allows them to fly with anyone 12 and older. louisville, kentucky. check out this surveillance tape. police want to catch this couple that's robbing pharmacies and stealing prescription drugs. their m.o., the woman in the drive-thru distract it is pharmacist. the partner jump it is counter, rifles the shelves and bolt with the drugs. police say the duo usually hits on a sunday morning. trusted and respected church couple, he is the treasurer and she is the secretary. they stole money from the church of bank account. $360,000. the money they say they only meant to borrow. investigators say they wrote hundreds of checks to themselves. the church deacon hopes they can replace that money with lots of bake sales and fund-raisers. nice story out of oregon, ohio. bert late than never. korean war vet who left high school to join the navy back in the early '50s finally got his diploma. a proud day for philip shinaver. >> i'm proud i finally got my diploma. maybe 14 days or so until my birthday and i will be 80 years old. i was afraid they wouldn't get around to giving it to me. >> he was given the diploma at the school board meeting wednesday. perfect for insomniacs. if you looked up in the sky you had quite a show. we are going to tell you about it next. it's finally ready. [ female announcer ] just because a counter looks clean, doesn't mean it is clean. but with one sheet of bounty, you'll have confidence in your clean. in this lab test, just oney leaves this surface thr than the bargain brands. want confidence that your surfaces can get really clean? even with just one sheet? bring it. super durable... super absorbent... super clean. bounty. the clean picker upper. and for huge value? try bounty huge roll. our i-reporter stayed up really late. they got up really, really early to send us amazing images of the meteor shower. it is at peak -- at its peak, rather, nasa says could you have seen up to 60 shooting stars per hour. what you are see sing debris from the comet that shows up in the sky every year about this time. it is one of those celestial shows you wouldn't have to need a telescope to see. right, rob? >> sorry. somebody else was in my ear. >> is somebody talking to you? >> you always have one of my ears. but this one has control -- >> are you ignoring me again? i was talking about the cool meteor showers. did you stay up and see it? >> i did not. it is something not to be missed at least sometime in your life. it happens every year. if you missed it this year, like i did, it will be back same time, same place. >> 60 falling stars an hour. >> clear skies, get away from the city lights. >> that's a lot of wishes. >> exactly. live a charmed life. a couple of things going on here. we have thunderstorms rolling across the midwest. into wisconsin. thunderstorm watch out here. some of these are moving at 50, 60 miles per hour. that's the movement of the cell. it is going to have damaging winds possibly over 60 miles an hour. these, by the way, heading towards whistling straits. that will be a bit of an issue as far as the pga championship is concerned. speaking of issues, we have more disturbing video coming out of pakistan. unbelievable amounts of rain there in the northern part of the country. and now getting some of that water flowing downriver towards the more populated areas and -- this is the result of that. just -- flash flooding happening in the cities now with over 1300 if italities and thousands upon thousands of people displaced from that. i want to show you a high-resolution imagery of the indus river. it is the main river that unloads all the water that flows that rain, gets it into the ocean. this is what it looked like before all the rain the past couple of weeks. and this is what it looks like after as far as the width of it concerned. it is like flooding ten miles in either direction. it gives you an idea of all about what it has to be in south. a couple of showers across northeast. we mentioned the rain and thunderstorms moving across the upper midwest. then the heat. turn that down a little for you. come on, guys. anyway, the heat -- over 100 degrees in spots today. yesterday for record highs. we will see similar numbers, i think, today. eventually we will start to see things cool off just a little bit. our friends in the northwest, i don't think they want to think we are ignoring them like i seemed to be ignoring you earlier which i didn't mean to do. >> okay. thank you, rob. check the top stories. serial killer suspect going to court in a couple of hours. elias abuelazam is being held in an atlanta jail. the israeli citizen is being accused of killing five people. bp hopes to have a permanent kill on the ruptured well in a week. and despite a pentagon warning, wikileaks is preparing to release 15,000 more documents about the afghan war. the founder of the whistle blower website says it is redakotaing information that could endanger people. men poured gasoline on a man and put his house on fire. you probably remember this attack on this boy. three years later you are going the see how he is thriving. he was 4 years old playing out his home when masked men attacked him. pouring gasoline on his face and setting him on fire. we brought thaw story of yusef three years ago. he came to america and got the surgeries he needed. dr. sanjay gupta has an update on yusef you don't want to miss. >> reporter: >> an unbelievable journey for this young boy. a young boy, unspeakable act of cruelty, a war zone. then incredible generosity and compassion that changed his life and his family's life in ways i don't think people could have imagined. his story went on the cnn impack your world website and thousands of donations, hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised. enough to bring the family to the united states. they got special visas and got the free services of a burn surgeon, dr. peter grossman, from his clinic in california. he started to -- profound changes. when i first met him, it was before his first operation. 5-year-old boy, shy, introverted, badly burned, very much wanting his face to be fixed. he hardly would talk to anybody. his family sort of -- a little bit the same way. that was all about to change. three years later now, 15 operations, he has had. remarkable number of operations. he's -- his face has changed in many ways. i will tell you, emotionally, first of all, when i met him, you know, immediately gave me a high-five and wanted to play soccer. just a cute boy. 8 years old, learned english and speaks it perfectly. he is in school here and has lots of friends. it was good to see that. as a dad, certainly. from a medical standpoint, you know, what we are going to do is show you the before and after images and show thank you impact of all these different operations and given the mind of a burn surgeon and how they try to take care of someone like youssef. we don't want to show you too much right now because some of it can be tough to look at. certainly we are going to go through his whole story, whole ordeal, this weekend. back to you. >> you can watch "rescuing youssef" tomorrow and sunday. gulf oil disaster, bp is seen as the villain. waited until you hear the latest outrage. a cleanup worker is raped. her supervisor is charged. the oil giant faces tough questions about the people working in the gulf. you talk to these guys. they go through every car and truck we make with a big fat red pencil. because they know a family's going to be inside. a teenager. a guy on the way to the job. the engineers of chevrolet. just another reason why we can offer a 5-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. and another reason why a chevy's a chevy. a 5-year 100,000 mile powertrain warranty. i'm from the gulf coast. i vacation here, my family spends a lot of time here. i have a personal, vested interest in ensuring that we get this job done right. i'm keith seilhan. i'm in charge of bp's cleanup on the gulf coast. bp has taken full responsibility for cleanup in the gulf and that includes keeping you informed. you may have heard that oil is no longer flowing into the gulf. there's less oil coming ashore every day, but we still have thousands of people ready to clean it up if it does. when oil is spotted, we get right to work. we're working with the coast guard and many other government agencies. summer is the busiest time on the gulf, so every day, we're working with residents and local business owners to make sure beaches are clean and that they can stay open. and our efforts won't come at any cost to taxpayers. the work's not over. we're not going anywhere. it may not be perfect every time, but we're going to be here as long as it takes to make this right. yesterday the dow closed negative 60. we will see the numbers in a couple of minutes. the opening bell is about to ring. i was talking about the chinese company that's celebrating its nyse listing and in honored of the ohio indication they will get a chance to ring the bell. if you don't know anything about the developer, this manufacturer makes orthopedic implants in china. the specialty, products in trauma and spine. we will follow the numbers today. see how they turn out. this morning, there is a new outrage over how bp has handled the gulf oil disaster. a man who supervised oil cleanup workers in mississippi is in jail charged with raping another employee. a cnn investigation uncovers his criminal history and raises questions whether this incident could have been prevented by just doing a simple background check. special investigations unit correspondent abbie boudreau is looking for answers from bp and the company who hired this guy. >> reporter: one of thousands of cleanup workers who descend order the gulf coast was this man, robertson. he was in charge of numerous work others this now deserted mississippi beach. the problem was all of these people who coming to town were strangers and residents here had no idea who they were or where they were coming from. apparently they had good reason to be concerned. robertson was convicted of a sex offender. and he was breaking the law by not telling local law enforcement where he was living. >> i don't understand how they can hire a man like that as our supervisor. >> reporter: do you think what happened to you could have been prevented? >> yeah, i do. yes, i do. that's what makes me so angry. >> reporter: a woman came to this town because she was looking for work and wanted to help clean up the beaches and need ad job. she has four young children and it was important for her to get hired right away. that's exactly what happened. robertson was her supervisor and told us time and time again i trusted him because he was my boss. i respected him. he was the person who was put in charge of me. you just weren't feeling well that day and he offered to drive you home. >> yes. we thought he was a nice enough person to make this offer, i guess. >> yeah. he's the boss. i thought it was all right. >> reporter: she says robertson asked to use her bathroom. and when he came out, she says he raped her. she is repped by attorney adam miller. >> i find it unbelievable because bp and their subcontractors had relationships with all of local law enforce many. they had the opportunity and ability to clearly check all of the people that they were hiring and bringing in to ensure the safety of the public. >> reporter: if anyone checked roberts robertson's background they would have found a lengthy criminal history and he was still on probation for a felony. instead he was made a supervisor. we are in mississippi to talk to a local sheriff. several weeks before this incident, sheriff mike byrd said he met with bp's local head of security about why bp was not doing background checks on beach cleanup workers. >> i asked them directly, i said are you all doing criminal histories and background checks on these people. his answer reply was no, we are not. i said you are kidding me? he said month. there are so many of them, we were told to do drug screenings and that was it. i said, well, that's not good at all. >> reporter: you actually recommended that they get criminal background checks on their employees? >> yes, we did. i told them that we would do that for them. we would do the background checks for them. and they said no. >> reporter: robertson worked for a company called aerotech that hired workers to remove oil from the beaches. you don't want to talk to us? >> give me a couple of minutes. >> reporter: we waited. but they only slipped us a note through the door referring us to the corporate headquarters. did you realize you were hiring people that were registered sex offenders? this is when the blame game began. first, we spoke with the general counsel for aerotech by phone who said aerotech was not the one that decided not to do background checks. quite, we are not liable for anything that happens. once we deliver the people to be supervised by our clients, we don't have anything to do with them anymore." miller environment group which oversaw the cleanup and hired aerotek did not return our phone calls. then bp, which was paying for the beach cleanups, told us in a statement it normally checks its own employees but, quote, this was not done for all contractors in this response. the responsibility lies with the employing company for their own staff. the requirement on subcontractors to bp's contractors is one further step beyond bp's scope of control. >> the buck stops with bp. it was their site. >> reporter: robertson was arrested and he was then charged with sexual battery and failure to register as a sex offender. he told police that the sex was consensu consensual. but now he is being held on more than a $500,000 bond and he is sitting in jail. >> yes, he is in jail. but you have a victim here. what is she going to live through the rest of her life? it is just going to be pure hell for her. that's what it is going to be. >> reporter: it could have been prevented. >> it could have been prevented, in my professional opinion. >> reporter: you warned them? >> yes, ma'am. >> reporter: how does something like this just change everything for you? >> anxiety, you know. angry. i feel dirty. scared. i'm scared. >> reporter: the victim didn't go to police right away because she was afraid she would lose her job and couldn't afford to let that happen. she took a couple of days off work and about a month after the incident she says she was laid off. aertek said she was one of many workers no longer needed to clean up the beaches and it had nothing to do with what happened to her. she says why did i even bother take thing job? why did i leave my life behind to go to the beach to help the cleanup? it wasn't worth it. >> what about other towns and background checks is it happening anyplace else? is this going to change the standard of all of these folks that need to get checked out. >> well, yeah. basically we -- talked to several police departments and many of them told us, especially in grand isle, louisiana, talked to the police chief there. he says we found three sex offenders and we closely supervised them. we paid attention to what was going on in our community. that's what the police chief in the story was saying. >> they hired sex offenders but they give them a chance, watch them closely. >> exactly. you bring up a good point. not necessarily they are sex offenders. it is -- in this particular case, this is a sex offender who was not registered. he was not registering himself with the local law enforcement. that's a problem. and if they would have done the background check according to the sheriff, he would not have been hired. >> wow. thanks. presidential spokesperson or media punching bag? robert gibbs is the latest white house press secretary to feel the heat. but he sure isn't the first. we will take a look at one of the toughest jobs in america. that's why every new toyota comes with the star safety system standard. it's is a combination of five accident avoidance technologies. the star safety system is something that's standard on 100 percent of toyota vehicles. we always think of safety, even in the concept design of our vehicles. [ male announcer ] the star safety system. standard. because we know, there's nothing more important to you than your safety. all our new safety features are at toyota.com/safety. checking top stories. a killer serial suspect will be going to court in a couple of hours. elias abuelazam is being held in an atlanta jail. the israeli citizen is accused of stabbing at least 18 people in three states. five of them have died. president obama will sign a new border security bill today. it will spend $600 million in emergency funds on more agents and equipment to secure the border between the u.s. and mexico. the jetblue flight attendant who cussed out an unruly passenger, deployed an emergency chute, wants his job back. steven slater's lawyer says that's his life. but it is up to jetblue. the company is conducting an internal investigation. today's punch line is aimed at the jetblue flight attendant who lost it the other day. let's go ahead and start with jimmy fallon. >> everybody is still talking about the jetblue flight attendant guy who flipped out and grabbed a couple of beers and jumped out on the emergency chute. jetblue announced passengers who were on that flight are getting a $100 voucher for inconvenience over the outburst. i don't get that. here's 100 bucks. sorry you had to see the ever thing ever because that will never happen again. that was awesome. did you put your foot in your mouth or did you say something you meant? >> i think i have both my fee planted firmly on the floor. there's month truth to the rumor i added an inflatable -- to my office. >> a little bit of humor there. a lot of thick skin. there may be no job in this country more thankless than being the spokesperson for the president of the united states. even when your boss is popular, millions of americans scoff at your every word. the job was brutally from the day it was created. george ackerson went to work for the embattled president herbert hoover just as the country was sinking into the depression. he was the first official white house press secretary and lasted less than two years. the job security is no greater today than it was then. in fact, the job description is pretty much unchanged. handle the press, spin the message, and above all, serve as human shield to commander in chief. candy crowley dealt with a number of white house press secretaries and is joining us from washington. for full disclosure, candy, i said okay, let's talk about press secretaries going back to herbert hoover. i don't go that far back, i can't reminisce about herbert hoover. let's make that perfectly clear. but there was a memorable moment you and i both were talking about. we were talking about press secretaries. the good, the bad, the ugly. we will get to gibbs in just a moment. but how about starring with the shortest stint as press secretary? we could go back to gerald ford's guy, and what happened with the pardon. right? >> yes. i mean, he signed on and he was -- i think he was from the detroit news. may have been at that time "the detroit free press." also might have been -- a detroit paper. he had known gerald ford for some time. covered him on capitol hill. gerald ford becomes the president in the wake of watergate. and then he pardons richard nixon and then he quit. he said i can't work for an administration that pardoned nixon. that was a self-inflicted departure. not how some of them suffer which is getting tossed out good that's interesting because he obviously spoke the truth and his conscience got to him. we always wonder, right, if he is the press secretaries are telling the truth or not. we can go back to scott mcclellan who said okay, in no way, shape or form did karl rove know about the valerie plame issue. well, that definitely took a different spin. >> yes. in fact, it turned out he did know a lot about it. the question always is did they know and deceive either by not telling you the truth truth or flat-out lie or did they not know? you are always stuck as reporter because what you want is a press secretary that knows something. you want the press secretary to -- that does speak to the president. some of them have not. or at least not on a daily basis. they are given talking points and go out and repeat the same thing. what you want when you talk to a press secretary, is to know he has access to the boss. i think in some ways that's why the gibbs comment about the professional left got so much coverage and really did rangel the left because they know he's close to the president. he has been there for the campaign. and that he channels the president in many ways. i don't think this was gibbs -- i'm sure it is how gibbs feels but i don't think he's the only one at the white house that feels that way about the left. >> that's interesting. is that why you think that -- this is getting more attention and maybe the press corps was going at it a little bit more with gibbs because they do see these two as close and that gibbs does have a relationship with the president and so more than likely, he's speaking the truth. >> yeah. how the president feels. it is how others in the white house feel. they are not getting credit. they are not expecting credit from the conservatives. they watched the swing vote, the independents, begin to move to the republican side. and now they have the left. i mean, the folks they need to have come out at midterm which is why i'm not sure this was a great time to bring up how angry they are with the left. i don't think gibbs just off the cuff did that. i think that's how the president feels. and i think that -- you know, again, for reporters, i think why they went after him on this was simply that the left went nuts about it. what are you talking about? i mean, we -- you know, the president hasn't done this or this or this or the other thing. part of it is the pent-up demand. if you had eight years of republican white house, which we did with george w. bush, and then the democrats, democratic white house and democratic, they don't want the president to compromise and don't necessarily want him, they want him to do what they have been wanting him to do for eight years. a lot of pent-up demand. when washington has to compromise -- washington does p work like that. even when you have everybody on your side, not all democrats feel the same way about things and a minority can block things. so they -- they -- really are stuck here with the left that's very upset that they haven't been tougher and gone for what they wanted. >> candy crowley, always great to have your insight. how many presidents do you go back to, by the way? >> second term of reagan. >> okay. next time we will talk about grenada and that whole nightmare. >> yes. >> candy crowley, great to see you. saving money and lifestyles. south carolina's grand social experiment to trim the fat is more than just one way. they want to pay employees to actually undergo gastric bypass surgery. let's flashback to this day, august 13, 1899. alfred hitchcock was moan the master of suspense. his career spanned more than 50 years from "spellbound" to "psycho" and "rear window." "alfred hickok presents." he earned five oscar nominations for best director. in 1968 he was honored with the lifetime achievement award. happy birthday, al. one day, i's in a spot reserved for me. it's got 26,000 miles on it now, but i'm gonna take it to a thousand million. [ male announcer ] when you own a certified pre-owned mercedes-benz, chances are they'll own it one day, too. which is why it undergoes such a rigorous inspection to meet our uncompromising standards. one day, i'm gonna drive this to vegas. [ male announcer ] hurry in to your authorized mercedes-benz dealer for 1.99% financing during our certified pre-owned sales event through august 31st. during our certified pre-owned hey, it's great to see you're back after that accident. well...i couldn't have gotten by without aflac! is that different from health insurance? well yeah... ...aflac pays you cash to help with the bills that health insurance doesn't cover. really? well, if you're hurt and can't work, who's going to help pay for gas? ..the mortgage, all kinds of expenses? aflacccccccccc! it's the protection you need to stay ahead of the game... exactly! aflac. we've got you under our wing. aflac, aflac, aflac... aflac, aflac, aflac mr. burns, can you make me thin again? >> i guarantee it. one, one, one! i'll just pay for the blessed liposuction. >> woo-hoo! >> we laugh at that, but this is pretty serious. the state of south carolina has a new plan, and it has nothing do with statutes, policies, budgets or jobs. it's about obesity. they want to spend $2.4 million on weight loss surgeries for state employees. south carolina thinks it could save a lot of money later by spending the money now, trying to prevent spending money on overweight conditions. diabetes, high blsh and the like. starting in january, the state's 100 heaviest employees will be eligible to go under the 95. it's about $24,000 a person. the state will follow the recovery and the response to see if it's a cost effective plan. this a state what is famous for low country boils, and where they are tipping the scales near the obesity level compared to the rest of the country where the obesity rate lags at 60%. do you think that the government ho pay for its workers to have weight loss surgery? go to my blog, and we'll share your responses next hour. >> here's what's up in the next hour of cnn newsroom. >> hey, kyra. we have your views, folks, on dr. laura's use of the "n" word and the larger conversation. i'm drew griffin. can you people the new orleans depend on their police department to protect and serve? the new mayor says no. i'm elizabeth cohen in atlanta. today is "empower me friday" and aisle answer your questions about dealing with a frustrating medical system. she's out of the white house at the nation's oldest black publishing company. she talking exclusively to former white house social secretary december ray rogers. she was the glamorous face of the new obama administration. desiree rogers brought a fresh style to the white house until a gate crashing incident sent her packing. she is talking about her high profile job and her relationship with the obamas and her one regret. alina show has the interview. >> reporter: ever since the gate crashing incident at the white house, everyone wants to hear from the woman who took the fall for it. she is talking about her high profile job, he relationship with the obamas and her one regret. you're still learning your way around the office? desiree rogers has been on the job for less than a week be her fingerprints are everywhere. the september issue of "ebony" magazine says it all, exclusive interview with rogers' former boss, president obama. how do you get this? >> first of all, come on now, i think i have a few connections. >> reporter: a big reason why the former white house social secretary has moved into the corner office of johnson publishing, the new ceo. they own "ebony" and "yet" magazines, iconic brands but ones that are suffering, too. publishing is new for you. what made you think could you do it? >> i love the magazines, cosmetics, pop culture, the aspect, the whole idea of helping to be one of the major voices in the african-american community, helping to unify. because we're "ebony," because we're "jet," we have a responsibility. >> reporter: you look at the hot pictures of these two. look at what they're saying. i want to be a gentleman. i want to be polite. that is cool. >> reporter: the first order of business, fix the books, update the website and the cosmetic brand, fashion fare, a job she calls humbling. her time at the white house was humbling, too. what did you learn from your time there? >> all eyes are on everything, and quickly things can get misconstrued, manipulated to some extent because of blogs, bad information going out, and it never gets addressed. >> reporter: she just may be referring to this. the infamous gate crashing incident at the obama's first state dinner. the photos, the accusations, and rogers' turn on the red carpet in a designer dress bhap would you have done differently? >> i would have walked in the rain in my dress instead of past the photographers because so much was made of the dress and the walk, and know one would have ever seen the dress had i gone outside. >> reporter: do you regret being a guest at that dinner? >> i actually don't. people have made a great deal about this. many of us, staff, were guests that evening. >> reporter: three months later, rogers resigned. what is your relationship with the obamas like? >> my relationship is great. we were friends before. we still continue to be friends. we're talking about the president and the first lady of the united states and desiree rogers. this is silly. it's silly. >> reporter: she hopes her lasting legacy will be making the white house the people's house. not entire lif different from what she is doing, shaping another brand. where do you want ebb mi and "jet" to be in a year. >> top of mind for everyone. >> reporter: she's in not hurry to fix the business. she wants to make the right decisions, not quick decisions. she says it might be right for "ebony" to get into books, tv and other forms of entertainment. she says it needs updating. kyra? at the top of the hour, happening right now, california congresswoman maxine waters getting ready to address ethics charges on capitol hill. she's been staying under the radar and away from tv cameras for days but any minute now she'll face them head on reading a prepared statement on the allegations. we're watching it for any developments. she is accused of violating house rules for allegedly using her position to secure bailout funds for one united bank. her husband owns stock in that bank and served on the board. the bank ultimately obtained more than $12 million in t.a.r.p. funds. keep it right here on cnn. our other top story. dr. laura has earned fame and fortune by giving people advice on her radio show. maybe she should have employed some of her own wisdom before opening her mouth this week. here's her jaw-dropping exchange with an african-american caller who was concerned about her interracial marriage but the conversation turned pretty testy after dr. laura used the "n" word. >> yeah, i think you have too much sensitivity and not enough sense of humor. >> is it okay to say it? >> it depends how it is said. >> is it ever okay to say that word? >> it depends how it's said. black guys talking to each other seem to think it's okay. >> you're not black. my husband is white. >> a word is restricted to race? got it. can't do much about that. >> i can't believe someone like you is on the radio spewing out the [ bleep ]. i hope everyone heard it. >> i didn't spew out the [ bleep ] word. >> everybody heard it. >> yes, they did. >> i hope everybody heard it. >> they did and i'll say it again [ bleep ]. why don't you let me finish a sentence? don't take things out of context. don't naacp me. >> i know what the "n" word means and ait came from the white person. >> thank you very much. can't have this argument. if you are that hyper sensitive about color and don't have a sense of humor, don't marry out of your race. >> that exchange ignited quite a fire storm of criticism. al sharpton calls it despicable. dr. laura issued this apology. >> i talk every day about doing the right thing. and yesterday i did the wrong thing. i didn't intend to hurt people. but i did. and that makes it the wrong thing to have done. i was attempting to make a philosophical point, and i articulated the "n" word all of the way out -- more than one time. and that was wrong. i'll say it again, that was wrong. >> dr. laura ignited outrage before. she has referred to homosexuality as quote a biological error and says women may share the blame if their husband cheats on them. let's get more perspective. in chicago we have roland martin and here in atlanta josh levs checking the buzz on the internet. let's start with you, roland. this woman is no dear abby, and we know her past record. she's not the most sensitive, loving person that you call in to for advice. >> well, absolutely not. i think she really mix two-dimensional different things up. first of all this woman was calling, african-american woman married to a white male calling to say how do i deal with his friends and family members making these comments, and she automatically jumps to why is it racist is comedians say these things. that's a whole different we. how do you deal with that? how would she respond to dr. laura if a woman called in and said my husband's friends use sexist comments, use the "c" word or "b" word around me. i don't think that would be her reaction. she clearly has an issue of comedians using the "n" word on the stage. i put the "n" word on the cover to say, african-americans, either we stop using the word privately to each other or you can't get mad when somebody else uses it. that was a different argument. >> is there a different story between dr. laura using it and a comedian using it? >> absolutely. first of all, i would hope no one uses the word but the reality is people who are on stage, comedians, talking about black folks, white folks, asians, jews, men, women, they talk about everybody. so it is commonly expected in our society when someone is on the stage, there's a different sort of -- there's a line you can't cross on the stage but when you are a radio talk show host, when you are in mixed company, if you are at a party or whatever, you don't pull a stage route stein, you know, off the stage. that's not what you do. and so we accept that in our culture. that's understandable. >> moving away from the "n" word and this comment is he made about you shouldn't marry outside your race. let's listen. >> i certainly wouldn't want to think anybody else was -- >> don't marry out of your race. if you're going to marry out of your race, people are going to say, okay, what do blacks thing? what do whites think? >> that's a little harsh. >> first of all, it's crazy because i'm married to a black woman and i get that question, what do blacks think? first of all this lady was talking about several things in terms of the comment. the real issue is why does he allow these things to be said and doesn't check his friends or family members. she said they use racial epithets around her as if she isn't sitting there. that's a real issue for this woman and dr. laura blew it off. how do you raise the issue of just don't marry outside of your race. that's nonsense. people marry outside race every day and here comments. if i'm married to a black woman and i walk down the street, i shouldn't say anything? that's nuts. >> it's bizarre, seemed are kayic. seemed like it wasn't happening. josh, what are people saying on line? is this getting buzz? have you checked her facebook page? >> it's getting a ton. as soon as we put it up on facebook we got tons. here's one from cheryl. dr. laura seems unaware of the racist attitudes and accepted racist behaviors embedded in our culture. how can the dominant class of whites have anything to say about what people of color say about themselves. roland, do you think it's inherent lly offensive for whit people to go near the conversation? should it stay an internal black conversation? >> no, because you can have a real conversation. what dr. laura should have done as a radio talk show host -- she failed radio 101. she should have addressed her concerns and pivoted to why it is accepted when certain folks use statements and other people can't. she talked about race. i know women who are friends who might call each other the "b" word, but if a guy uses that same word, it's like, wait, a minute, you can't use that word. let's be honest. that's a gender issue as well. she failed to do that. it's an issue among african-americans. i debated this issue before. how can we sit here and just, folks, use it freely among one another, on buses, down the street, on stage, and then say, if you're white, oh, no, it's wrong for you to use the word. i don't find it endearing or a word that's perfectly okay, whether you drop the er and put an "a" on it. it makes no sense. whites can have a conversation but how you have a conversation. you don't say the "n" word six, eight times and think you're going to have a conversation. >> i don't agree with what laura did it but it has to be discussed. we have taken it back way too long. in the end, what's really coming out of this whole dr. laura incident and kyra, you know this as well, is renewal of a national conversation about the intensity of this word and what it means in different ways and the feelings associated with it. that's the opportunity, to have a national conversation about what's going on with this word. who's using it and who should stop. you think everyone. >> it goes beyond the word. it has to do with stereotypes. this woman said, wait a minute, people who are saying it who are my husbands friends and relat e relatives. how do we confront those around us who told racial stereotypes and jend are stereotypes? if we don't check the folks around us, we will never be able to confront the whole issue of race because we let people get away with it at home and church and amongst others around lunch and dinner and don't say, wait a minute, that's not right, you shouldn't be making those kind of comments. why do you hold those kind of stereotypes? that's the kind of conversation we don't like to have. >> we always had that debate. that's not an issue. roland, stay with me, because we are following california congresswoman maxine waters. she's getting ready to make a statement. she's been staying under the radar and staying away from the cameras but she's going to face them with a prepared statement about the allegations of corruption. we're going to monitor that, take it live when it happens. roland, you'll stick around and talk with me about it? >> sure. >> josh, thanks so much. it's beneful incredibites. it's just the way you like it-- with carbohydrates for energy and protein for muscles. 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(voice 3) great exercise guys. let's run it again. louisville, kentucky, check out the surveillance tape. police want to catch this couple that's robbing pharmacies and stealing prescription drugs. the woman in the drive-through distracts the pharmacist, and the partner jumps the counter and rifles the shelves. the duo usually hits on a sunday morning. mount holy, north carolina, the treasurer and secretary of a church stole money from the church bank account, $360,000, money they say they meant to quote borrow. they wrote hundreds of checks to themselves and the church deacon hopes they can replace the money with bake sales and fund raisers. better late than never, korean war vet who left high school to join the navy back in the earl '50s finally earned his diploma. it was a proud day for philip shinaver. >> i sure am proud i finally got my diploma. i got maybe about 14 days or so until my birthday. i'll be 80 years old. >> happy early birthday. >> i was afraid they wouldn't get around to giving this to me before i made it. >> well, he did get it, and he got that diploma at a school board meeting on wednesday. we want to take you live now to some of what's happening right now. california congresswoman maxine waters. has she begun giving her statement or thanking folks to being there? she's going to address the ethics charges that she's been accused of, allegations that she put t.a.r.p. money toward her husband's bank. let's listen in. >> i want to have an opportunity to read the statement of alleged violation and have shown a lot of interest in the ethics matter is that is now pending before the committee on standards of official conduct. i'm indeed eager to have been able to an opportunity to present my case and i have requested that the standards committee schedule a hearing as soon as possible. unfortunately, the committee has not yet specified a date for a hearing on this matter, and given the congressional schedule, it is possible that no hearing would be held for months. even after the november elections. such a delay is unacceptable, considering that the investigation has dragged out for almost one year. it does not provide due process. it prevents my constituents and the american public from getting answers and it delays me from being able to respond to the charges spelled out in the sav. i'm pleased that the committee released the sav and related documents earlier this week as i had insisted after waiving my right to have the sav remain private until the adjudicatory hearing. i arranged the press conference to present my side of the case. i recognize the transparency that i'm providing may not eliminate an adjudicatory hearing. to reiterate, i'm, in fact, anxious to share these facts with you and the public because i have not violated any house rules. i fully disclosed all of my financial information as requested by house rules, and, in fact, went above and beyond what was required by repeatedly disclosing my and my husband's financial interest doing financial services committee hearings. neither my staff nor i engaged in any improper behavior and we did not influence anyone, and we did not gain any benefit. we're here today because i believe my actions and the allegations against me are not easily understood. today, i want to be absolutely clear about one thing. this case is not just about me. this case is about access. it's access for those who are not heard by the decisionmakers, whether it's having their questions answered or their concerns addressed. for the past 14 years, i have served in elective office, both at the state and national level, and i've made one of my top priorities opening doors and providing access for small, minority and women-owned businesses. in fact, my advocacy and assistance in providing access for the national bankers association is why we're here today. the national bankers association consists of 103 minority banks, and i have worked with this association and their concerns for many years. i have spoken at their conventions on many occasions. i have participated in hearings about their issues, and i've worked with our federal agencies on their behalf, including the treasury department, fdic and fannie mae and freddie mac. my telephone call to then secretary of the treasury hank paulson during the worst economic crisis this nation has faced in 80 years was to provide access to the national bankers association, which was concerned about the fact the treasury had placed fannie mae and freddie mac into conservatorship. it was represented to me that many minority banks had overleveraged their capital in fannie and fred di, and the association wished to know whether or not their members' capital was lost or if the government was responsible for protecting the capital that they had invested in preferred stock. they had attempted to get a meeting with the treasury department but had received no response, and so they sought me out to assist them in getting up a meeting. the question at this point should not be why i called secretary paulson but why i had to. the question at this point should be why a trade association representing over 100 minority banks could not get a meeting at the height of the crisis. when i contacted the treasury secretary, i did not suggest any solution to the problem of the nation bankers association. i did not ask for any favors from the national bankers association. i did not ask for a meeting for any individual bank you, including one united bank. i did not suggest who would be participants in that meeting. i did not attend that meeting, and there was no such thing as the troubled asset relief program known as t.a.r.p. at that time. there has been a great deal of confusion over a conversation i had with the financial services chairman barney frank. the conversation i had with chairman frank was a conversation several weeks after this meeting had taken place and after t.a.r.p. program had been announced. one united bank was now raising questions about assistance from t.a.r.p. because my office's assistance to the national bankers association was strictly to provide access for a discussion about the impact of the financial crisis on small and minority banks broadly and because there was no t.a.r.p. program at the time of the meeting. i did not wish to get involved with one united bank about any individual assistance or about this new t.a.r.p. program. because my husband had once served on the board of one united bank and still held investments there, i felt i should seek assistance from chairman frank, a represent from the state where the bank was headquartered and someone way record of commitment to the health of minority banks. it's also important to note that no government agency or their representatives have ever said that i requested any special assistance or compensation for anyone or any institution or that i influenced the t.a.r.p. process in any way. there has also been a question about whether or not i instructed my staff not to get involved with one united bank, and their interest in assessing t.a.r.p. funds. my staff had only been involved in understandinged impact of the financial crisis on small and minority banks broadly and assisting in setting up the meeting with the treasurely department for again -- again -- the national bankers association. i told my chief of staff that i had informed chairman frank about one united bank's interest, that we were only concerned about small and minority banks broadly, that chairman frank would evaluate one united's issue and make a decision about how to proceed and given the e-mails that the committee has offered as their evidence, we communicated with each other clearly. so, it's not just about us. it's about those who lack access. i was honored to serve on the conference committee of the wall street reform and consumer protection act. i'm happy to say that much of the legislation i authored, access for women and minority rights, for shareholders, and more accountable consumer, financial protection bureau and assistance for struggling and unemployed home owners were included in the final legislation that was signed by president obama. i'm particularly proud of the offices of minority and women inclusion that will be set up at the federal government's financial institutions, such as the fdic, all of these agencies continuing with my work about access. will now have these offices of minority and women inclusion. hear me clearly. because of the need for access and the work that i have done over many years, i've now opened up new opportunities by creating the offices of minority and women assistance at the fdic, the treasury department, the federal reserve among others to deal with the historic lack of access that minority and women individuals and institutions have hiring, decision making, contracting and procurement opportunities. over the past year, i and nine other black caucus members of the financial services committee have been meeting witness the national bankers association, the national newspapers publishers association, the national association of black owned broadcasters, the national association of minority automobile dealers, the national association of securities professionals and the national bar association, among others, discussing the plight of minority businesses, there lack of access to capital and the lack of support from lir government in banking, advertising and consulting contracts. access is key to understanding the scope of this case. this case is not just about them. this case is about fairness. in fact, the investigative subcommittee ignored or disregarded key pieces of exculpatory evidence to my case, and that is extremely troubling. a a robust process would have taken all of the available evidence into consideration. i believe that if this had been done, we would not be here today. fairness is also key to understanding the scope of this case. the case is not just about that. the case is also about my constituents and the american people. i have truly been touched by the outpouring of support from my constituents in los angeles and from friends in places like louisiana, texas, missouri, new york, illinois, florida and even from abroad. i know the way that the american people view congress. they hear talk of partisanship, of power, of money, of influence. for a congressional critic, it's easy to see a report of an ethics case and completely wash your hands of it all, but my constituents and supporters have seen the many inaccurate accusatory portrayals of my work, and they know me better than that, and they've encouraged me to fight. i admit, there are some who do not believe in my philosophy or my methods, but no one should question my devotion to public service. therefore, i'm asking us all to pause for a moment, set aside cynicism and consider two things, the facts of the case and my life's work in trying to provide access to those who have been denied. >> you are listening to california congresswoman maxine waters addressing the ethics charges being weighed against her on capitol hill there. she hasn't talked to the tv cameras, but she did talk exclusively to our roland martin on the radio just a few days ago. roland, she's basically saying exactly what she said to you, denying all of these charges that she didn't do anything wrong, that she didn't do any favors for her husband's barge, that she didn't do anything unethical with the t.a.r.p. money. where is this going to go from here? >> before i answer that, also, she may very well take questions, kyra. so if that happens, definitely go ahead and jump right in. this is a smart, bold move by congresswoman waters. she's putting the pressure on the ethics committee to set a date to release information, and, so, clearly, that's what she wants them to do because she's basically saying -- this reminds me of 1988 when max robinson stood at howard university and said never lose your integrity or creditability because in the end that the all you got. in many ways she's saying i'm fighting for my name. the question now becomes will the ethics committee step up and release all of the documents and set a date? because she wants this to be a public trial as opposed to what members of congress want to do, have things in private away from the cameras where no one knows. >> what's the possibility of that? she's not going to take questions. >> okay. >> we'll follow this here. her grandson there, her chief of staff, right? >> yes. her grandson is her chief of staff. >> what do we know about him? >> obviously all of the attention has been focused on her. her grandson was also corresponding back and forth with secretary paulson's office and others as well. that's what chief of staffs do in terms of representing the member of congress. >> he's not named here, just her. he's the chief of staff. >> remember, she's the member, so, therefore, ethics committee, they are speaking to the allegations against her, but he is a part of this because he had a certain role to play in terms of communicating back and forth with the national bankers association as well as secretary paulson. >> so we'll see if, indeed, a hearing is called, and we'll take it from there. yes? >> well, absolutely. again, as a member of congress, what she's doing is going after them saying, look, i want my name cleared. again, kyra, we don't see this a lot. most members of congress don't want to be out front and open. she's taking a huge risk by basically saying, bring it on. that's what she is telling them. >> she's ready and denying everything. >> she's also very well known to be one of the biggest pit bulls in congress. so this is vintage congresswoman maxine waters. >> it could get more interesting. >> yes, it could. >> keep us updated on this. >> will do. >> you always seem to be the first to get the information. in new orleans, hurricane katrina didn't just devastate the city but exposed a justice system that wasn't working, and only now is that cleanup under way. 16 new orleans police officers are under indictment or pleaded guilty in post-katrina related shootings. here's drew griffin. >> reporter: on this summer evening, not yet three months in office as new orleans new mayor, mitch landrieu is getting to know the city's poor neighborhoods. >> he tackled me. do you see that. >> he almost tackled the neighbor. >> you think it's funny. >> reporter: land drew and his new police chief ronald service are leading a walk in support of police presence. this woman appeals for help to stop gun fire in a nearby park so children can play in safety. >> that's right. >> you hear, boom, boom, boom. i was down there one day last week with my granddaughter and i had to lay on top of her. she's 5 years old. >> reporter: on this street, guard dogs are no protection against gunshots in the middle of the night. >> saturday night between 11:00 and 11:30, bullet holes from a drive-by. i will show you. the bullet went to the third floor of my mother's house. >> reporter: the new mayor concedes that people are reluctant to trust police. with 16 officers now under indictment or pleading guilty in shooting deaths in the week after hurricane katrina. two of the victims killed on this bridge. when you read the revelations in the bridge case, not just the crime itself, but the coverup, can people in this city right now have faith in their police department? >> no, i don't think so. the department is supposed to protect and serve and right now it's not doing either of those things well. my top priority as mayor is to make this city safe. it can't be safe without a police department that people trust. >> reporter: the city attorney says that police failures have not only fed mistrust but encouraged crime. >> at the same time that we're having terrible problems with corruption and brutality in the department we also lead the nation in crime and homicides and violent crime. >> reporter: in this first year in office for mayor land drew, new orleans has been averaging a murder everier to day. landrieu asked the justice department to come in and help. >> as a kid that grew up in the city of new orleans, you get very, very frustrated that things have been allowed to get that bad. you have to acknowledge that and then right the ship and turn it around and force it to go in the right direction. >> forcing it in the right direction, turning it around. when i was an investigative reporter in new orleans a decade ago, one of my biggest stories was a cop running drugs in a housing development. this has been an institutional problem for years. so what makes the mayor think that he can do anything differently this time around? >> the mayor is being very realistic, and he has been through this before. the new police chief was part of that movement, the mark more yell trying to change everything, and richard pennington. >> he was brought in to take away corruption. >> a lot of people say in new orleans we have seen this all before. that's the problem. what happened the last time he tried to reform the department which was insanely corrupt was the bad cops laid low and they didn't get rid of them and once the hard-charging mayor left town or was termed out of office, they all came back up to the surface. so you really have to strip the department bare, bring it up from the ground up and what the mayor is doing is bringing in the justice department to basically look over the shoulder of everything his department is doing to make sure that there are no weeds out there that they haven't plucked and thrown out. >> this is going to be one of the toughest things to do as you well know. >> this mayor says i was one of the worst police departments in the nation. that's the police department he has now, so you can imagine the kind of political fisticuffs that are going to come between him and cleaning up this force. the people want it. they don't trust the police department with very good reason. >> hey, there's some good cops within that department, too. >> good cops have been victimized because they have not been able to get promoted and been forced to not file reports because had you done that, you get tossed. >> that cost many of times is life threatening. drew, thanks. drew will have more on the actions of the new orleans police department in the aftermath of katrina on cnn this weekend. tune into his special this saturday and sunday 8:00 p.m. eastern time. a twist of fate for a crew cleaning up the gulf oil disaster. they find a letter of grief from a military mom 130 miles away. wait till you hear what happens. cheerios can help. the whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. it's simple; love your heart so you can do what you love. what do you love? ever seen anything like it? me neither. it's beneful incredibites. uh-huh! it's just the way you like it-- made with wholesome grains, real beef, even carrots and 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[ woman announcing ] beneful incredibites. another healthful, flavorful beneful. landrieu. land drew. checking top stories, there's a legal tug of war looping over the man accused of stabbing people in three different states. elias abuelazam is an israeli citizen trying to fly home when he was arrested at the airport in atlanta. police say he's linked to 18 knife attacks in michigan, virginia and ohio. embattled congresswoman maxine waters taking her case to the people. the ten-term democrat is under investigation by the house ethics committee. minutes ago she held a news conference and denied that she helped steer bailout money to a bank with ties to her husband. the jetblue flight attendant that deployed an emergency slide wants his job back. his lawyer says that's his life but it's up to jetblue. they are conducting an internal investigation. cleanup crews have discovered a lot of things since the gulf oil disaster, tar balls, ill slicked birds but this is something they were not expecting, a message in a bolt tossed into the atlantic from barbados washed up in the shores in mississippi. at first, the cleanup crews thought it was a prank. then they pulled the scrolls out of the narrow top of the bolt and red the letters, letters from a grieving mother from wales who lost her son fighting the war in afghanistan. >> it seems too good to be true, you know, both fighting different tragedy, one in war, us fighting the battle, you know, with the oil spill, and it just seems like it was meant to be. you know, what a perfect ending to the story, you know, that's drawn people 1300 miles apart together, so it does seem like we were destined. our crew was destined to find this bottle. >> two tragedies, two continents, one twist of fate. joining us is the soldier's mom sarah adams. >> thank you for having me. >> i'm curious, how did you find out that these workers got the bo bottle and read your letters? >> i was off wednesday from work, and i had a call on my mobile from a lady from one of our local newspapers to say that the guys in mississippi had e-mailed her and were trying to contact me. they had googled my name or james' name and found an article that the august had done about james, and they thought that they would be able to help. >> what was your reaction when -- because you probably never expected anybody to come across this bottle, or did you? >> no, not really. we were if complete shock, and, you know, a week after we came off holiday, after we told friends and family what we had done, i think that was it for us. we had forgotten about it, maybe, because for us it was just writing to james, not about being found. >> do you by chance have any excerpts from the letter that could you read me? could you tell me anything you said in the letter specifically? >> it was just a letter, really, about my feelings for james, and one part of it says i am and always will be so proud of you, james, not just because you were a soldier but more so because of the wonderful, honorable young man you were. your ability to put a smile on everyone's face is now legendary and your gorgeous smile will stay with me always. >> and i hear the tears through the phone, and i know that when you talked to the workers they felt that same love and even said they felt a connection to your son, right? >> i think so, and i think that the point was made that it was meant to make and i'm survived that it made it any time in the sea and somehow it was meant to turn up there and with those guys. >> it was, indeed. what a beautiful way to lift up your son and what a beautiful and magical story. sarah, thanks so much for calling in. it meant a lot to us. >> thank you. >> you're so well come, and we lift up your son, private james prosser for fighting that war in afghanistan, making you very proud and obviously, as americans we thank you so much for his service. thank you. [ barks i' the puppy that atyour bksea i'm a raom windstorm. [ un ] ♪ i' a hot babe t joggin ♪ mayh. [ ires scree ] i'm every rean to have tignsuran. [ tescreech leaving yoselves otecd. yo cavy d be bettepro fromayhem like me [ nn ]aym eryere. otect yourself. e you odhas? mr. burns, can you make me thin again? >> i guarantee it. one, one, one! oh, i'll just pay for the blessed lip suction! . >> the state of south carolina has an interesting plan. it has nothing to do with statutes, policies, budgets or jobs. it's about obesity. they want to spend $2.4 million on weight loss surgeries for 100 state pleas. south carolina thinks it could save a lot of money later by spending that money now trying to prevent expensive medical coverage associated with overweight pleas. we're talking about possible diagnoses of asthma, diabetes, high blood pressure and the like opinion so starting in january, on a first come-first come basis, the state's 100 heaviest employees will be eligible to go under the knife at as much as $24,000 each. the state will follow their recovery and response to see if it's a cost effective opposite. he's what some of you have said. government or private employers shouldn't pay for weight loss surgery or programs. they added the pounds without help. they can take it off the same way. this american says, wow, our state has that much of a surplus they can devote money to this. why not stop cutting jobs and focus on making schools better. patty says, why not use the $24,000 to build a gym with equipment and allow the employees to use it. it's more cost effective for them to lose weight. bobby says it's a great idea that south carolina is doing this. it's time that obesity is recognized as a disease and make available this life-saving procedure to everyone. we love to hear from you. let's take it to south carolina state senator robert ford joining me on the phone from the charleston area. you think this is a good plan. tell us why. >> okay, it's a great plan but along with the plan, ms. phillips is what those negative callers you talked about talked about. we are going to have a health care clinic available. we have gyms available. state employees get a big discount. they get 35% or more. before we do the operation, before we encourage the operation. we work with health care professionals to make sure that this is the bottom line for that particular employee because maybe a lot could be done before we send them under the knife. so before we get to the knife, we want to make sure that they're healthy, can get healthy, that it is not a major risk to the state, and bottom line, we simply want-to-healthy people in south carolina. people come to charleston because we have some of the best food in the country. i think charleston represents a community where the second best food is served, b that food makes people overweight and obese, but it's some great food. number one is new orleans, where i'm originally from. >> yes, it is good food. i have been to your beautiful state many times and enjoyed those low country boils. senator, what do you say to folks that are saying, wow, that's $24,000 per person, you could build an amazing gym and have personal trainers and get people in there to deal with the psychological aspect as well as the physical aspect and that's where the long-term effect will have the biggest payoff? really investment in their health both mentally and physically instead of sending them into surgery, which, by the way, can be very, very dangerous. >> yeah, but that's why i say it. surgery is going to be the bottom line. well before we get to the surgery, like i said early, we going to have -- we got discounts already set up with gyms all over the state of south carolina where employees who are overweight 35% body mass or more can join this gym at amazing discounts. we have health plans set up. >> can you afford to spend $2.4 million on weight loss surgeries? >> oh, yeah, when you talk about the cost of health care. it's a massive program that deals with everything to make south carolina the healthiest state in the country. remember, now, keep this in mind, the surgery is the bottom line. before we get to the surgery, we going to have a lot of preventive stuff, a lot of preventive ways to make sure that people in south carolina, that our state employees and citizens understand we got to get healthy. as a matter of fact, we are going to open a major clin you can in october to start walks throughout the state on a daily basis for people with type ii diabetes. there's a lot of things that go into legislation. the bottom line is we want south carolina to be healthy. we throw away all kind of money in government on a regular basis, so, really, really, i cannot understand nobody who feels that what we done is wrong. what people have to do, ms. phillips is this, understand this, those of us, the 170 members of the south carolina general assembly also live and work and play in our community. we know what it takes to pass legislation that will be best for all of the people of south carolina. they got to understand their comments is welcome but we also look at all of those things before we pass the legislation. >> i'll tell you what, this will be interesting to follow. we'll see how this all pans out. senator robert ford, appreciate your time, sir. >> thank you. >> take a quick break. this site has a should i try priceline instead? >> no it's a sale. nothing beats a sale! wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal. basic.? preferred. okay. at meineke i have options, and 50% off brake pads and shoes. my money. my choice. my meineke. hi, may i help you? yes, i hear progressive has lots of discounts on car insurance. can i get in on that? are you a safe driver? yes. discount! do you own a home? yes. discount! are you going to buy online? yes! discount! isn't getting discounts great? yes! there's no discount for agreeing with me. yeah, i got carried away. happens to me all the time. helping you save money -- now, that's progressive. call or click today. climbing kenya's mount kilimanjaro would be a daunting task for anyone but this trio of brave vets who lost limbs serving their country saw it only as their latest challenge. neil duncan and dan nervens and kirk bower are just back from the 19 thousand-plus foot summit. duncan said he was thrilled and incredibly sore all over. the group's six-day climb was part of the war fighters sports challenge, a series of seven extreme sporting events for disabled vets. hats off for truly making your mark. ♪ i never thought that this would be the way you'd come back home ♪ well it's our daily tribute to our vets called home and away and we'll tell you how you can get involved in a second but right now we want to honor sergeant chase arm smong haag, killed in a road side bomb in baghdad in 2006. jason's mother wrote to us and said i could not have been more blessed to have a son such as you, a man who was true to himself and friends and would defend another's honor, a man that walked through life with a quiet self-assurance but never thought of himself first. whatever you tried or were asked to do, you gave it your all. we'd love to honor more fallen heroes like chase but we need your help. go to cnn.com/homeandaway. type in your service member's name, pull up the profile, send us your thoughts and picks, and we promise we'll keep those memories alive. that does it for us, cnn newsroom with tony hairs starts right after the break. luding a e powertrain warranty. that's 40,000 more miles than ford. chevy silverado half-ton. a consumers digest best buy and the most dependable, longest lasting full-size pickups on the road. now get 0% apr for 72 months on 2010 silverado half-ton models with an average finance savings around $5,800. host: could switching to geico really save you 15% or more on car insurance? 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