Skip to main content

tv   Prime News  HLN  September 16, 2009 5:00pm-7:00pm EDT

5:00 pm
disturbing new information just coming in on the murder of a yale grad student. the medical examiner says annie le was strangled. a lab technician who works in the building where her body was found held for questioning and release. will dna evidence link him to the crime. police are swarming the home of a convicted rapist turning it upside down phillip garrido and his wife accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard, linked to other missing children? this hour, we'll talk to a mom clinging to hope for 21 years. as always, we'll take your phone calls, love hearing from you 1-877-tell-hln. e-mail at cnn.com/primenews or
5:01 pm
send us a text, as well. just start your message with the word "prime" your chance to be heard. >> controversy, opinion, your point of news. this is "prime news." >> welcome this is "prime news." big news as police investigate the murder of yale grad student annie le, a lab technician has been questioned in the case his apartment searched overnight. the guy's name is raymond clark iii, 24, engaged to another lab tech, taken into custody last night. the cops took a dna sample from him and let him go. also new today, we know how annie died. the medical examiner says she was strangled, affix yeah. this puzzling clue, bloody clothing found hidden above ceiling tiles in another part of the building where the 24-year-old's body was discovered. take your phone calls. you guys have great questions so call in 1-877-tell-hln. joining us once again thomas kaplan and don clark former fbi
5:02 pm
agent special agent in charge. starting with you, the latest what investigators are saying right now. >> at this point, i think there are still many more questions than answers people trying to dig into the background of this raymond clark who has been released. we'll see if he's detained again when ncaa results come in but people trying to determine the connection between him and annie le. >> how long was he held. >> he was only held a couple hours. police raided his apartment about 10:00 last night and we're told he was released about 3:00 a.m. after giving a dna sample. >> through that five hours they raid his apartment. don clark, five hours time what are you looking for in his apartment? >> well, you are looking for any hairs, fibers, anything that they can use, ncaa technolodna . certainly if it comes from this girl, unfortunately that is dead so looking for hairs, fibers or fluids there, as well, mike. >> don, is that simple, you link his dna and find it on annie
5:03 pm
le's body, a done deal for him can we go that far. >> i think pretty much s. the bottom line is the police and law enforcement have to make a case because as we know the defense doing their job is going to make every effort to attack that one way or the other. so, not just so much that the fact that it's there, when it got there and the time frame and you put those two aspects together, mike, that's how you'll make your case stick. >> guys, a call in, dlan with us from california. linda, your comment or question? >> caller: yes. my comment was that in the surveillance video, that where there appears to be a small dog and the manner in which he's carrying it, it does not seem to be a companion pet but, rather, part of her job. she's carrying it out, away from her body and the animal looks as though it might be sedated. i wonder if, perhaps, she was killed by an animal activist or
5:04 pm
i'd just like a confirmation, was she involved in maybe some particular lab thing with -- >> no, we had a similar question yesterday, linda, thanks for the call. thomas, was she involved in any sort of controversial animal testing at all, what do we know about that? >> not that we know of. we do know she was involved using animals in her research so that indicates she would have had sort of professional dealings with raymond clark. but, no word whether she was doing anything controversial or whether animal activists had any problem with the kind of work she was doing. >> okay. i want to let everybody know there is a press conference coming up, could happen within the half hour we expect big news. thomas, let me ask you about that what do we expect from the press conference? >> well, i think that remains to be seen. sort of the big question when the dma results come in. it seems too soon for that but police have said once they get the dna, pretty much he will be arrested, raymond clark will be arrested or he'll be let go. he's gone now but they'll move on to other suspects, i guess.
5:05 pm
>> okay another call. chris is with us from org orpg. chris, your thoughts here? >> caller: hi. first i want to tell i love your compassion and your show. >> thank you. >> caller: and second of all i wanted to know is it possible that the killer possibly called her at her work and asked her maybe to come by the lab, kind of real quick and maybe kind to lure her there and it was someone she knew and maybe felt unthreatened by, which is why she left her keys, her purse, her cell phone there and just brought her i.d. she thought maybe she was going to run over real quick to do something? >> okay. great questions there. ace said. call in you guys always have great questions. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. thomas, let's hit you with that. do we know anything about cell phone records here a call she might have received about that 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. hour? we know at 10:00 she swiped herself into the building. >> we don't have details about that though we can savely presume the police have looked into telephone records. we have been told this was a
5:06 pm
fairly routine track for her to run to the lab for a couple of minutes wouldn't be out of the ordinary. whether someone called and summoned her there we don't know. >> don, it is es see if law enforcement to check that, get those records to coincide here. >> absolutely, mike. i would warnlg the police officers have gone through a lot of different people and tried to see what telephone calls came in and, also, what computer messages may have gone back and forth, as well. >> okay. let's take a quick break. more of your calls, again you guys come with great questions. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. when we come back, we'll also talk about this lab technician raymond clark iii, arrested last night detained for a few hours, lives with his fiance. what about that, did the fiance know annie le? achoo!
5:07 pm
(announcer) what are you going to miss when you have an allergy attack? achoo! (announcer) benadryl is more effective than claritin at relieving your worst mptoms. and works when you need it most. benadryl. you can't pause life. of calcium and vitamin d. that's where their favorite cereals can help. general mills big g is the only leading line of kid cereals that has calcium and vitamin d. help them get more of what they need with general mills kid cereals. we created our college of business and management... after collaborating with business leaders. we wanted our curriculum to match market needs, preparing you for today's most sought-after careers. in fact, we have not one but five specialized colleges,
5:08 pm
offering you bachelor's degree programs that... are both relevant and highly marketable. devry university. discover education working at devry.edu.
5:09 pm
welcome back to "prime news" on hln continuing our conversation into the investigation into the death of 24-year-old annie le, there is the man in the white t-shirt there, raymond clark, iii, arrested overnight, had his dna taken, apartment searched, detained for a few hours and released, not yet dubbed a suspect. as always we take your calls. 1-877-tell-hln. bill in florida, hey, bill your question here? bill? >> caller: yes, sir. >> go ahead. >> caller: yes, sir. i'd like to know why in the world they zeroed in on this guy in the first place and also tell you you've got a great show. >> bill, thanks, thanks for the call. it's calls like yours that help drive this show. it's about us walking the road here as we experience some of the stories good, some of them like this, just a tragedy. thomas kaplan is with us "yale daily news" what do we know about that, why they zeroed in
5:10 pm
on raymond clark, iii. >> i think why specifically him not immediately clear. why he was in the pool of people they were looking at probably because he had access to the basement where annie le's body was found. you needed a swipe of an i.d. card and only a few people could get down into this basement and it's a safe assumption that the electronic records put him in that basement last tuesday when she went missing. >> okay. let me -- raymond clark, iii, student at yale, was he an employee at the university, what's his deal. >> he's an employee. he's an animal technician, which means he basically takes care of the animal specimens in this laboratory. it's a basement laboratory. and he's not a stund here. it's unclear if he went to college. he's young, he's 24 and a lot of his family members actually work at yale at the medical school, his sister, brother-in-law and fiance all work there, as well. >> interesting notes there. don real quick we saw the video
5:11 pm
and there was raymond clark, iii, being than handcuffed like that. >> yeah. >> but yet not dubbed a suspect. what do you make of that? >> well, that's a little bit unusual to me, mike. we talk about these persons of interest and usually when they are talking about these persons of interest that's not something they've put the handcuffs on and i've been mulling that over all day, really, as to why put the handcuffs on and yet you didn't have him arrested. that's a little bit escapes me in my procedures that i'm aware of. you put the handcuffs on someone, they are arrested, you know, until they get bonded out. they may have some different procedure up there in the local area, i don't know. but, i would think he would have been arrested by now. >> don, you said, thomas did, as well. there are tons of questions hopefully we'll find out more than a swers, a press conference within the half hour we'll bring it to you. a text question, a good one from one of our viewers if annie le was strangled, why there were bloody clothes? don to you with that one a baffler, too? >> it is but what they may be saying she was actually strangled, the cause of death may be strangulation but we
5:12 pm
might find out as terrible as it could be there other things perhaps done to the body and could have caused the blood there, mike. >> back to thomas kaplan, mentioned raymond clark, iii, living with his fiance. tell us about -- also worked in the lab, same job. >> also an animal tech nan at yale. >> did she know annie le? >> that's unclear because receive presumption entirely possible working in the same building, the same medical school. >> don, what do you make of that, clark, his fiance right there in the midst with annie le. obviously he had access. what's your takeaway from that. >> well, i think this thing has sort of been boiled down to a number of people because there's been word out there the police has really talked to a lot of people which i applaud them for, because that's what they need to be doing but somewhere in this, mike, we don't know yet but probably will know a green light came on somewhere to make them focus on this guy, clark.
5:13 pm
no relations, i might add. but that certainly has to be a light that came on that caused them to go after him. >> okay. again, guys, thanks again, thomas, don, we appreciate your insights, as always. press conference on annie le's murder investigation coming up within the half hour we'll bring it to you and hopefully get more questions answered. the search at a convicted rapist's home, they are just swarming the home of phillip garrido and we wonder is there evidence at that home that connects him with other missing children's cases in that area? from 20 years ago. for an example mckayl mckayla gaerig taken at a very young age. we'll talk to her mom coming up s. there new hope? úapapa in my busy kitchen, i want nothing but the best.
5:14 pm
5:15 pm
eggland's best. in my kitchen, i love eggland's best. that's why they're the only eggs... i make for my son. the chef. eggland's best. the better egg. right now investigators in california are raiding the home of convicted rapist leaving no stone unturned, phillip garrido÷
5:16 pm
and his wife accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard when she was 11 and holding her 18 years. now this question, are they able to link garrido to other missing children cases? police from several agencies in the san francisco bay area are looking for clues that may tie the couple to two cases in particular. mckay la gaerig, kidnapped 1988 and -- imagine being the mother of one of these girls clinging to hope for 20-plus years then hear the news about jaycee, new hope it's slim but there is hope. we'll take your calls. sharon, i want to talk with you. and backtrack. when you hear about this search, the search of phillip garrido's home looking for evidence that may link him to her, what goes
5:17 pm
through your mind at that point, how are you handling it? >> i'm just sitting here waiting to -- to hear back if they find something. i am really hoping that they find something that will lead to a happy resolution in the case. i know that they're looking for possible remains and i'm just hoping for the best. >> yeah. with that said. are you hopeful, are you tritened of what you might find? i couldn't imagine being in your shoes right now. >> i'm not really frightened. i am hopeful. i think that some of the information that's come out in this case, particularly the neighbor who said that she saw five blond girls living in the backyard, not three, you know, all of this makes me hopeful that we might be able to find micheala alive. i don't think he has a history of killing his victims and that makes me hopeful, also. >> when you look at this, is it
5:18 pm
the similarities to these cases, there is a similar look, as we see a picture here of jaycee and michaela at that young age does, that give you hope? >> jaycee's case has always touched me because i looked at her and saw such similarities to michalea there. have been times over the year the investigations have intersected because of the similarities and the circumstances. they were both dragged off the street into the car. the description of the car was similar at the time. and an eyewitness saw the car being pulled out of the backyard of the garridos' property and she called me and told me that looks like the car i saw michaela kidnapped in. >> sharon, what happened that day when michaela was taken? as you talk and go back to the large sedan, the similarity between the two cases. what specifically happened to to michaela? >> michaela and her best friend
5:19 pm
asked if they could go up to the market and get some goodies on a saturday morning but first i said no but michaela begged and begged and i finally gave in. they road their scooters up there, when they came out one of the scooters was missing. she spotted it in the parking lot. she went to get it. when she bent over to pick it up a man jumped out of the car next it to, grabbed her from behind, threw her in his car and took off while her friend watched. >> it doesn't get more innocent, little girls going to markets, scooters on a saturday morning. it is heart-breaking to hear those details again. i want to read, sharon, from your website a message you wrot to michaela, i would like to ge your mind and heart-set after ú that. you write in theú days after we you kidnapped i'd stand in the  doorway gazing down the street  looking for your little blond ú head bobbing towards home for.ú
5:20 pm
weeks, i wouldn't leave the ú house because i was waiting for you to call.ú it's been over 20 years now and my waiting has changed over the years but it has not ended. i am still here and i am still waiting for you to come home. when did you write that, first off, sharon? >> oh, i wrote that several months ago. i -- i first created this website in june, so i've written it between -- between june and when jaycee was found. and this is the main message that i want to get out, with all of the media coverage is i want to get a message out to michaela if she's out there somewhere, i want her to know that we're still looking for her and i want her to know that there's nothing that could have happened to her that could have changed my feelings for her and there's nothing that happened to her that we can't overcome. i thought that maybe jaycee stayed where she was because she had children and the bond to her children and wanting to protect them was so strong. and if that's the case with
5:21 pm
michaela, i want her to know she doesn't need to choose between coming home and taking care of any children she may have. she can bring the children home and we will take care of them. >> sharon, you have noo hope, want to hope, you want to believe. are friends encouraging that or are they telling you to temper those thoughts right now? >> everybody is universally encouraging me. i haven't had anybody tell me that i should not get my hopes up. >> well, sharon, we are encouraging you as well we pray for you for your strength at this time and thank you again for sharing your thoughts, your heart with us and your story. sharon murch, we hope and pray for a miracle for you, sharon and michaela. when we come back we'll talk to our experts and take your calls 1-877-tell-hln. )d)d)d)d)d)d)d)du
5:22 pm
5:23 pm
5:24 pm
5:25 pm
5:26 pm
5:27 pm
5:28 pm
5:29 pm
5:30 pm
we want to let you know we are continuing to monitor what's going on at yale university. we're expecting a press conference. the microphones are set. the latest on the investigation into the murder of 24-year-old annie le. we know that, overnight, raymond clark, iii, a lab technician at the same lab where annie worked was arrested, detained for a few hours. they took his dna, so he was arrested and let go, not being dubbed a suspect as of yet. so, we will take you to yale when that news conference begins to keep you updated on that as we, again, have more questions than answers at this point into that tragic death. we'll go to it when that happened. meantime another story we'd like to follow for you, shocking
5:31 pm
video taken by filmmakers they are conservatives out there and they pose as a pitcher amp and prostitute. here they are. they went to a branch of a.c.o.r.n. two employees in baltimore, maryland allegedly gave them advice how to set up a prostitution ring and evade the irs. that was one of a few tapes we've seen out there. joining me now with more on this an investigative correspondent with our sister network, cnn she's been all over this story. let's get everybody up to speed, first off, with the tapes we've seen, more than one and where we pick up the story today. >> we're talking about four tapes at this point and today we really focused on this tape number four where this woman basically was telling them, you know, it went beyond just giving advice how to evade the irs, she was telling them, hey, listen, you know, i actually killed my ex-husband. i've run a prostitution ring myself and saying all this outrageous stuff and, of course,
5:32 pm
everyone's thinking, oh, my gosh, this is the most shocking, this is the strangest of all the tapes, the most bizarre of all the tapes. i just got off the phone with that a.c.o.r.n. worker moments ago. she said her whole entire world has been upside down. the whole thing was a joke. she said they were playing games with her and she was playing them back. they were trying to shock and she was trying to shock them back and that's what she said really happened. she said she did not kill any of her ex-husbandes anything like that or part of a prostitution ring. she said it was a horrible joke and she was embarrassed when she actually saw herself on camera. she didn't know she was being taped under cover. she had no idea. and when she saw herself, she says, oh, my gosh, i'm embarrassed what i look like. i'm sorry, my family, i'm sorry this happened. she's been suspended indefinitely but, you know, at this point, that's -- that's were we know from her angle and we haven't talked to any a.c.o.r.n. workers on these tapes so it was quite an interesting conversation to say the least. >> do we have tape of her, that
5:33 pm
of her -- i mean, as she puts it playing along with the two filmmakers? >> i think we do. i think we have video of her when she says that she went ÷ ahead and killed her ex-husband in self-defense. so, i mean, we can hear a little bit of that. >> i shot him. i shot him in self-defense then i just picked up the gun and said [ bleep ] you and shot him and he died, right there. >> that's shocking. did you ask her, i mean, why didn't she confront them, call the police, boot them out of the office? >> i did. i asked her that and she said, well, i was the only one in the office working. she said she felt a little bit nervous and she did refer them to go to a friend of hers across the street, which you do see that in the video, where she says, maybe go talk to someone else. i said why did you refer them and she said i wanted them out of the office, quite frankly and that's way d. she said time and time again, though, this was a joke, she was trying to shock them. i said were you trying to be funny or something? she says, no, i was trying to be
5:34 pm
sarcastic and shock them. and that's really what we take away from that conversation and, of course, we'll have a whole lot more on this throughout the evening, so -- >> we'll be definitely watching. what do we know about the other tapes? because all of the tapes release bid the filmmakers are incriminating against a.c.o.r.n. right? >> right now we know four people out of the four tapes that have been shown, four of those employees have been fired. at this point. the person that we talked to today, part of this latest tape in california, she has not been fired but has been suspended indefinitely. so, we do know that a.c.o.r.n. has taken action against some of the employees that were caught on tape but not all of them at this point. >> abbie, more questions but we've got to run. thanks again for the update on that. to yale university now more on the investigation into the murder of annie le. >> the second on a vehicle belonging to mr. clark that. vehicle is now being processed by the connecticut state police. they've -- there are in the process of finishing up the
5:35 pm
processing of the building on amistad and finishing up the water drains, those kind of things and will be releasing that building probably in the morning so that's completed. the issue still for us is two things. and that is to give justice to annie le's family. and to bring the person who's responsible for this to justice and hold them accountable. we have approximately 250 seized items now, a large number of those will eventually have to all go through the lab. we are prioritizing those issuess and this up at the lab now and they are doing dna as we speak. i could get the results in 30 minutes, or it could be hours. it's all up to the lab now. so, they've been working on it. they are working on it, the lab staying open 24 hours a day and they are working on that dna. so, that dna could lead us someplace immediately but it will depend on what that dna tells us. we're still interviewing a few
5:36 pm
additional people and doing some reinterviews but the basis of the investigation now is really on the physical evidence. any questions some [ inaudible question ] >> well, if we have one match on a person that we know was at that location, we will be going for an arrest warrant. [ inaudible question ] >> we know where mr. clark is at at all times. >> there are other people were you looking at as persons of interest. have any of them been put under this much scrutiny. >> we have other people that we know where they're at all the time. [ inaudible question ] >> are you convinced that there's only one killer here? >> that's our belief. >> chief, would you go into -- >> -- a motive might be. >> i won't talk about motive at all yimplsts did you handcuff this guy at all. >> -- a relationship between the two people. >> the question is why did we handcuff the subject last night. one thing we are seizing evidence such as fingernail scrapings so we secure them the best we can before we do that
5:37 pm
[ inaudible question ] >> if you get three attorneys, you get five different opinions. >> chief? chief? chief? if she was according to the medical examiner, the cause of death was asphyxiation. if they found she was sexually assaulted would that also have been released in the medical examiner's report? >> no, sir necessarily. >> chief, could you describe clark's demeanor while he's been in custody. >> he was cooperative last night and provided what we needed and released about 3:00 this morning. remember he was brought in on a search warrant [ inaudible question ] >> i'm not going to talk about who's helped and who hasn't helped. we're still reinterviewing some people. >> do you know where his fiance is? >> i don't know at this point, no. >> can you tell us anything about the relationship between mr. clark and ms. le. >> i'm not going to talk about any of the potential evidence we may use for interview purposes as long as it's still going on and i'm not going to talk about e-mails, either.
5:38 pm
>> sir, you did say there are multiple people under constant surveillance. why is that and what can he tell us about that. >> we don't want in the future be accused of tunnel vision saying we focused on one person and only one person so we're still making sure who was in that building, who had access to the locations in that building that are of concern to us. and until they are completely eliminated, we're trying to keep track of them and i think doing that pretty successfully. >> what is it about mr. clark that is so interesting to you? what makes him such a person of interest here? >> again that's the details of the investigation i'm not going to release at this point. [ inaudible question ] >> are you talking about like the yale building? >> like last night, no, mr. clark's bmg. >> well, last night we had a search warrant a. judge gave us permission. [ inaudible question ] >> that's very possible. last night i thought we were only doing two and we did four sglaukz. >> [ inaudible question ] >> wherever it leads us. i can't answer that question because --
5:39 pm
[ inaudible question ] >> well, he has invoked his rights. i mean, at some point, he may be willing to answer questions but at this point, he's invoked his rights, he has an attorney. we couldn't question him if we wanted. >> was this her must stank. >> yes, we seized one last night. >> so you are saying there was no questioning last night? >> no, there was no questioning. it was purely a search warrant. the search warrant this morning for property that belonged to him we didn't identify in the first search warrant and the second search warrant signed at 5:00 this morning was for the vehicle. it was at the same location but we hadn't named in that search warrant. >> chief, can you tell us if you think there has been any threat of violence against mr. clark, is he under any kind of protection right now. >> no, not to my knowledge. >> chief, there is report in the newspaper are you contact with the branford police department about a 2003 incident -- >> i'm not going to talk about the history of any potential suspects in this because that could play into this investigation. we talked to a lot of people.
5:40 pm
>> do you have evidence that miss le was sexually assaulted. >> not going to talk about that issue. >> chief, were you involved in this case right from the beginning or how long did yale police have it before they brought you in. >> we were brought in the next morning after they got the report. >> that's what day? >> that would have been wednesday morning we were notified of it. i think they were notified tuesday [ inaudible question ] >> i'm sorry, sir? [ inaudible question ] >> uses he's a technician. he cleaned the cages, the mice -- the mouse cages, did customerial type work. a variety of that type of work. >> do you know -- >> it's my understanding it's more of a customerial type position, not a scientific. >> -- a formal complaint again annie le? >> i'm not going to speak about any of those kind of issues that may be used -- [ inaudible question ] >> -- not to my knowledge, no. >> so he was forthcoming any time a question was asked before he decided to invoke? >> you know, i can't really answer that. i wasn't in the interviews myself.
5:41 pm
so, at one point, he invoked. up to that he answered questions but i can't answer if he was forthcoming or not [ inaudible question ] >> are you at all worried about that he would hurt himself with all this scrutiny and the pressure -- >> i can never predict what a person might or might not do but we have no authority to detain him in any way at this point in time. [ inaudible question ] >> one question. >> is he the only person of interest in the death of annie le? >> set only person that we have gotten any type of search warrant on at this time. that doesn't mean we're not still looking at additional people. but, he is the only one we have went to the judges to get any type of search warrant. >> what you category any other people you are looking as persons of interest? >> not at this time. >> do you believe miss le died tuesday, september 8th? >> i'm not going to comment on that. >> -- have you identified what that object was, was that an
5:42 pm
animal in her hand? >> not to my knowledge. i believe those were notebooks coming from one office to another [ inaudible question ] >> i believe it's going to end in the arrest of miss le, that's my belief. [ inaudible question ] >> i have no indication of that at all. >> do you know anything about the relationship between these two? was it friendship was it acquaint tantship? >> know he, they worked in the same building, they passed in the hallways. anything beyond that i'm not going to talk about. >> do you have video of the suspect inside the building? >> i'm not going to talk about what video we have and don't have. >> chief, based on -- [ inaudible question ] what can you say about that. >> he's got i believe three relatives that do similar jobs within the same lab but -- >> do you believe that they may have been involved -- >> you know, we're still doing interviews. i have nothing to indicate that at this time. >> chief, based on what he did
5:43 pm
working there and what she did, can you kind of describe what she did and how they might have interacted? >> well, she's a ph.d. candidate so she's doing actual research in the lab as are numerous graduate students at yale that do that. then they have staff members that are, in essence support people. they clean the cages, they clean the rooms themselves, they do some types of maintenance, not -- not electrical type maintenance. i mean, they are completely separate. she was a graduate student, she was working on a ph.d.. he's a staff member. >> in a report -- [ inaudible ]. >> i'm not going to discuss any relationships they had. >> chief, once you get sufficient evidence, how quickly would you move, you would negotiate a surrender? >> you know, if -- if dna comes back on anyone that matches anyone -- because, again, you know, we're keeping this open on who it might be, we believe the process of getting an arrest warrant would be a matter of just a couple of hours and we would expect, particularly if
5:44 pm
it's someone we have under surveillance that the arrest would take place very quickly so that's really all i have because i'm not going to answer questions about evidence. >> thank you, chief. >> you've been listening to chief james lewis new haven police department updating the investigation of the murder of annie le a lot of questions obviously surrounding raymond clark, iii, arrested overnight, a lab technician who worked in the same lab there at yale along with annie le. chief lewis was asked about the relationship. wouldn't go into that. how much they knew or did not know of each other. talking about annie le and raymond clark, iii. what he did say of note that, you know, arrests could happen within hours, if they get that one match. 250 items have been seized. now, we know that raymond clark, iii's apartment was searched and dna taken from him, a second search today searching his property, his vehicle again. a question we had during our segment why handcuff this guy if he's only what they are dubbing a person of interest, they, say,
5:45 pm
hey we'll seize evidence especially taking a dna sample we don't want it tampered with in any way. that's an update. much more on this at the top of the hour. stay tuned for that. meantime shocking video for you, a school bus attack. one kid, 17 years old trying to find a seat on a bus, day after day, kids tell him no. finally he sits down, moves a kid's book bag and that was it. he gets pummeled not by one but two kids on that bus. we've got that video, here it is for you. that's coming up. also another beatdown. what's going on with our kids? this is a history of over 50,000 crash-tested cars... and 889 safety patents. this is the world record for longevity and endurance. and one of the most technologically advanced automobiles on the planet. this is the 9th generation e-class. this is mercedes-benz.
5:46 pm
people notice my devotion to family. people notice my love for animals./ my smile. my passion for teaching. my cool car. people notice i'm a good friend and a good listener. people notice that i'm a good boss. people notice my love of nature. people notice i can fix anything. (announcer) thanks to miracle-ear what people don't notice about you is your hearing aid because, look closely, our hearing aids are nearly invisible. our exclusive line of open fit products are so lightweight, so small and so natural sounding even you won't know you're wearing one. you know, most people don't know how good or bad their hearing is... they just know when they're missing things or hearing words incorrectly. miracle-ear can help. with a quick, free hearing test. miracle-ear has been helping folks for nearly 60 years. we're the number one choice in hearing aids. get your free hearing test today. it can change your hearing-- and your life-- for the better. (announcer) call now.
5:47 pm
our simple process can have you hearing better than you ever thought possible. and our full range of products are designed to suit your needs and your budget. people notice my zest for life. my great sense of humor. what sense of humor? people notice my beautiful wife!/ (announcer) let people see the best in you, nothing more nothing less. try a nearly invisible hearing aid at a nearby miracle-ear location. every miracle-ear hearing aid is backed by a risk-free 30-day money-back guarantee. find out for yourself what has made miracle-ear a household name for better hearing, miracle-ear. what will your miracle sound like? call 1-800-293-5548 to schedule your free hearing test or for a free information kit with complete details about hearing loss and how we can help you. call 1-800-293-5548 to take one of these easy steps toward better hearing. that's 1-800-293-5548 call now!
5:48 pm
welcome back to "prime news" on hln. we are seeing some disturbing videos, hopefully not a trend happening on school buses, campus destinationwide, violence against our children like this a video of a high school student's beatdown on a school bus in illinois. two guys on one, the other kids
5:49 pm
on the bus not only sat by and watched. some actually cheered the attackers. inez fair from our sister network cnn has more. >> reporter: watch the surveillance video closely as the 17-year-old boy attempts to sit down on a school bus seat. bellville, illinois police say he's told he can't sit there but he does anyway. he's then taunted by some of his peers and violently beaten, not once, but twice. many of the kids around the fight are cheering it on. one student snaps as cell phone picture. a bellville police captain initially said he thought that, based on the video, race was a factor in the beating. the two suspects are black. the victim is white. today, he backtracked on the comment saying he'll let detectives examine the evidence. it's not the first time video has shown some kids just stand around or even encourage a fight. this video was taken in june by a bystander watching the beating of a south chicago heights
5:50 pm
illinois girl. her attackers cutting her hair and burning her with a lighter. the victim says she was surrounded by five or six bystanders. the victim's five or six bystanders. >> it's sickening. where's humanity in the world. how could you just stand there and watch somebody go through that. and not do anything. >> reporter: a survey by the cdc shows that in 2007, almost 36% of 9 to 12 graders reported being in a physical fight that past year. >> it's a sign of a fill ur of the system. which we should be trying to do something about. >> we need to teach empathy and we need to do a better job of teaching morm importance, that that is more important, quite frankly, than academic success. >> reporter: cnn, new york. >> i couldn't agree more with dr. gail saltz there, moral importance. are our kids safe anymore?
5:51 pm
call in, 1-877-tell-hln. joining me to talk about it, ken trump, school safety analyst. also don, radio talk show host, former teacher. ken, is it getting worse? are kids getting more violent from what you're seeing? >> we're hearing more and more complaints about fights, aggressive behavior by students, even irate parents in activity from outside the school coming onto the school bus. it's certainly a challenge we're seeing not only in the school buildings but in the buses as well. >> don, do you agree? >> i think so. the critical issue to me here is this kid apparently going on for a while, they wouldn't let him sit down. finally had enough of it. >> let's take a break. we have our experts standing by to take your calls, your comments, your questions, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. empathy, empathy, where is it? certainly not there. dddddd
5:52 pm
5:53 pm
5:54 pm
5:55 pm
5:56 pm
5:57 pm
5:58 pm
5:59 pm
6:00 pm
disturbing new information just coming in to us on the murder of yale grad student annie le. the medical examiner says she was strangled. plus a lab technician who works in the building where le's body was found, held for questioning. and released. will dna evidence link him to the crime? we could know more on that within hours. and police are swarming the home of convicted rapist phillip garrido, turning it youp side down. he's accused of kidnapping and holding jaycee dugard for 18 years. is he linked to other missing children's cases? this hour, we'll talk to a mom who's been clinging to hope for 21 years.
6:01 pm
as always, we take your calls. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. e-mail me, cnn.com/primenews. send us a text at hlntv, start your message with the word prime. it's your chance to be heard. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com this is hour number two of "prime news." i'm mike galanos. an important update as police investigate the murder of annie le. a lab technician has been questioned in the case. his apartment searched overnight. and now this, police have seized 250 pieces of evidence. the guy's name is raymond clark iii. he's 24. engaged to another lab tech. he was taken into custody last night for a few hours. cops took a dna sample then let him go. we know how annie le died. the medical examiner said she was strangled. yet this puzzling clue, bloody clothing found hidden above ceiling tiles in another part of the building where the
6:02 pm
24-year-old's body was discovered. we'll take your calls. you guys have great questions on this. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. joining us, dr. brenda wade, clinical psychologist. also back with us, don clark, former fbi, special agent in charge. don, as we listened to that press conference, we're hearing 250 pieces of evidence seized. what do you make of that? do you really think they're zoning in on raymond clark iii here? >> it really seems like that to me, mike. as much as i would like to get more information about it, i think they're doing a pretty good job of playing it close to the vest so nothing gets out and have no problems with this down the road. so i think that -- i feel pretty comfortable they know where they're going and hopefully as soon as they can get the results back, then we'll see a lot more. >> guys, let's listen now. this is chief james lewis, talking minutes ago, and he's expanding the investigation. not only talking about raymond clark iii, but others. let's listen. >> in the future i don't want to be accused of tunnel vision and
6:03 pm
say we focused only on one person. we're still making sure who was in that building, who had access to the locations in that building that are of concern to us. and until they're completely eliminated, we're trying to keep track of them. and doing that pretty successfully. >> don, what do you make of that comment? obviously covering himself here, saying there's other people we're looking at. when you talk about all the attention on raymond clark iii, searching his vehicle, searching his property again, taking his dna, it's all about him right now, isn't it? >> i think it is all about him. but i do think they have to, pr a professional standpoint, to make sure they're not leaving any loose ends. there could be an accomplice out there someplace. even if raymond clark comes out to be the person, he may have somebody working with him in this thing. i think they're doing the right thing to say, look, we're going to turn over every stone we can. >> we want them to, obviously. steven is with us in texas.
6:04 pm
steven, your comment or question here? >> caller: i've been involved with asian women for about the last ten years and all i can say is a lot of times they're not who you think they are. i was in a similar situation where i was set to marry a girl of my dreams that i found out she was cheating on me. >> steven, got to interrupt you here. obviously we're going a little far afield here to say the least. let's bring in dr. brenda wade, clinical psychologist. we're starting to get a picture of raymond clark iii. arrested, not labeled a suspect. we're finding out he's living with his fiance. brenda, obviously that's a baffling move. because when we talked about it, we were thinking more of someone who is infatuated with annie le, yet living with a fiancee. >> it doesn't mean he couldn't be obsessed with her, mike. many, many instances just because somebody is in a primary relationship, doesn't mean he can't cheat, he can't look elsewhere, he can't be obsessed,
6:05 pm
he can't be stalking another person. we have no way of knowing. and of course, mr. clark has not been formally arrested or charged with anything. but i just want to say that it wouldn't be unusual for someone who had this obsession with annie le to also have a girlfriend or even a wife. >> yeah. it is still a stunner for everybody here when we hear he's living with his fiancee. ruth is with us in maryland. ruth, your comments? >> caller: i wonder if anyone considered the possibility of annie le pulling the fire alarm before she was murdered to get help. was there an alarm in the basement? >> the way the time line goes, she uses her student i.d. card to swipe her day into the building where the lab is located down in the basement. at 12:40, the fire alarm goes off. and it went off unexpectedly. don clark, most of us have speculated that could have been the person who perpetrated the crime somewhat as a diversion, not annie le.
6:06 pm
>> i think that's a good point, that somebody could have been trying to cover up the activities that were going on at that time. and let's look at it this way, too, in annie's defense here, not that we need to, but she has been coming and going in this building continuously. she probably felt at home to come back to the building. she probably spent more time there than she actually did at her home. this has never happened to her before, i can see her being caught offguard with this. >> more of your comments, your questions, call in, 1-877-tell-hln is the number. we'll talk about the demeanor of raymond clark iii. the man arrested overnight in the investigation into the death is job, i admit, i had some doubts. probably a lot like you. but i like what i found. i think you will too. car for car, when compared to the competition, we win. simple as that. i just know if you get into one of our cars, you're gonna like what you see. so we're putting our money where our mouth is.
6:07 pm
buy a new chevy, buick, gmc or cadillac and if you are not 100% happy, return it. we'll take it back. that's our new 60-day satisfaction guarantee. and as always you'll get our 100,000-mile, 5-year powertrain warranty on every vehicle. that's how strongly we feel about our cars. and how committed we are to you. so put us to the test-- put us up against anyone and may the best car win.
6:08 pm
6:09 pm
welcome back to "prime news" on hln. continuing ow conversation, in the investigation into the death of annie le. we brought you a press conference just moments ago. the picture here, the man in the white t-shirt, that's raymond clark iii. overnight he was detained. his dna was taken. he was handcuffed. we know that. and also, his 250 items have been seized, his property, his vehicle also searched. we have our experts standing by. we're taking your calls at 1-877-tell-hln. audrey's with us in arizona. audrey, your comment or question? >> caller: yes. i watch your show all the time and i've never been compelled to call. i'll say it really quickly. i just want to urge women all over the united states are being murdered when they're walking their dogs, i mean, anywhere. i just want all women to just be more aware, be more assertive, pay attention to where you are. i mean, i'm 24, and i'm a
6:10 pm
mother. so i personally have a knife on me everywhere i go, because i want to have that fighting chance. women just need to be more vigilant, be more aggressive. and this has got to stop happening to our women. it's happening way, way, way too much. get some self-defense classes or pepper spray or whatever you need. because this has got to stop. >> audrey, thanks for sounding the alarm again, as if this story isn't enough. >> mike, i need to say something about what audrey just said. it is one thing to ask women to be vigilant, and to ask women to protect themselves. but there's another side to this coin. which is that we need a society that is committed to protecting women. we need men to say, i disavow violence towards women. i will be a protector. i will be a champion. i'll be a warrior. you know, the warrior is the man who stands for something that he believes in. we need more of that idea, move of that consciousness in our culture. so that women are elevated to a status that's equal to that of
6:11 pm
men. and are equally valued and protected. not that women have to run around being fearful and protecting themselves. >> audrey makes a good point, and you do as well. i want to bring don into the conversation. annie le wrote an article about this, about being safe. >> yes. >> what our caller was talking about. being vigilant, being aware. >> and mike, that might be part of the problem. part of the problem might be that she knew her assailant. it could be someone she knew, so her guard was down. >> that's a question we have. don, i want you to get to weigh in on this, as we're talking about staying safe. please weigh in, don. >> i couldn't agree more with the ladies. it's too much harm happening to the women of the world. so we've got to put some grip on this. here's the situation also, mike, i suspect that annie le went to this building not thinking anything in the world. this was a safe haven to her.
6:12 pm
to me, i look at that building as being like her home. you know, because i'm sure she spent a lot of hours in there. and she went there just like she would her home. because she knew the people in there. i think she just really walked into a trap. >> we're talking 10:00 in the morning on campus at yale. let's face it, that's the last time you would think something like this, the beginning of a crime like this would take place. >> and especially in a place you go every day, and spend hours and know everyone in there. >> madelyn is in california. your comment here? >> caller: my comment is cadaver dogs were brought in early in the investigation. why didn't they detect annie's body and who did? >> okay. let's go back to don on that. don, it was because of where her body was that made it so difficult for the dogs to catch a scent, right? >> yeah. and i don't mean to be an expert on handling dogs, but have used them before, that there are sometimes in some situations where if there are things that's going on inside that facility,
6:13 pm
where the dog can't get the scent, then they don't have very much use in this thing. and this was a laboratory. that may have affected them. again, that's not an expert, but that's some of the things i've seen in the past. >> don, real quick, i want to hit on something that was mentioned. we talked about it before the press conference, why raymond clark iii would be handcuffed. the chief said you're collecting evidence, you don't want him to tamper with anything. are you with him on that? >> i certainly am. i've been talking about, wait a second, this guy is arrested. i understand what he's doing there, he's really securing the evidence. it just happened to be that his hands were the items that needed to be secured. very good point. >> don, brenda, we appreciate it, guys. coming up, much more.buddy, e the ride, you know. no problem. ♪ mind if i take a shortcut? yeah, sure. ♪ i knew the subaru legacy was the smart choice... what i didn't expect...
6:14 pm
was the fun. the all-new subaru legacy. feel the love. the all-new subaru legacy. boss: come on in, i had some other things you can tell people about geico - great claims service and a 97% customer satisfaction rate. show people really trust us. gecko: yeah right, that makes sense. boss: trust is key when talking about geico. you gotta feel it. why don't you and i practice that with a little exercise where i fall backwards and you catch me. gecko: uh no sir, honestly... uh...i don't think...uh...
6:15 pm
boss: no, no. we can do this. gecko: oh dear. vo: geico. fifteen minutes could save you 15% or more on car insurance. right now investigators in california are raiding the home of convicted rapist, leaving no stone unturned.
6:16 pm
phillip garrido and his wife accused of kidnapping jaycee dugard when she was 11 and holding her for 18 years. now this question. are they able to link garrido to other missing children cases? police from several agencies in the san francisco bay area are looking for clues that may tie the couple to two cases in particular. michaela gerecht. and eileen mishelloff. the family holding to hope for 20-plus years. there is hope. we'll take your calls, @@ 1-877-tell-hln. joining us to talk@@ about it, michaele's mom joins us now. steve clark, defense attorney, former prosecutor. and don clark rejoins us as well. sharon, i want to talk with you. and back track. when you hear about this search, this search of phillip garrido's home and they're looking for evidence that may link him to
6:17 pm
michaele, what goes through your mind at that point? how are you handling it? >> i'm just sitting here waiting to hear back if they find something. i am really hoping that they find something that will lead to a happy resolution in the case. i know that they're looking for possible remains. and i'm just hoping for the best. >> with that said, are you hopeful? are you frightened of what they might find? i couldn't imagine being in your shoes right now. >> i'm not really frightened. i am hopeful. i think that some of the information that's come out in this case, particularly the neighbors who said that she saw five blond girls living in the backyard, not three. ur know, all this makes me hopeful we might be able to find michaela alive. i don't think phillip garrido has a history of killing his victi victims, and that makes me hopeful also. >> is it the similarities to
6:18 pm
these cases, there's a similar look, as we see a picture here of michaele, jaycee, michaele at that young age? does that give you hope? >> jaycee's case has always touched me because i looked at her and i saw such similarities to michaela. there have been times over the years when the investigations have intersected, because of similarities in the circumstances. they were both dragged off the street into a car. the description of the cars was similar at the time. and an eyewitness saw the car being pulled out of the backyard of the garrido property and she called me and told me, that looked like the car i saw michaela was kidnapped in. >> what happened that day? as you go back to the large sedan, we know that's the similarity in the two cases. what specifically happened to michaela? >> michaela and her best friend
6:19 pm
asked if they could go up to the market and get some goodies on a saturday morning. first i said no, but michaela begged and begged, and i finally gave in. and they rode scooters up there and left them by the door when they went in. when they came out, one of the scooters was missing. michaela spotted it in the parking lot. she went to get it and when she bent over to pick it up, a man jumped out of the car next to it, grabbed her from behind, threw her in his car and took off with her while her little friend watched. >> just painting that picture, it doesn't get any more innocent than that. a little girl going to the market, scooters, goodies on a saturday morning. it's heartbreaking to hear those details again. i want to read, sharon, a from  your website.ú i would just like to read that  and get your mind, your heart ú set coming out of that.ú you write in the days after you were kidnapped, i would stand i the doorway gazing down the ú street looking for your little blond head bobbing towards home for weeks i wouldn't leave the 
6:20 pm
house because i was waiting for you to call.ú it's been over 20 years now and my waiting have changed over the years, but it has not ended. i'm still here. and i'm still waiting for you to come home. when did you write that, first off, sharon? >> oh, i wrote that several months ago. i first created this website in june. so i've written it between june and when jaycee was found. and this is the main message that i want to get out, with all of the media coverage is, i want to get a message out to michaela, if she's out there somewhere, i want her to know we're still looking for her and i want her to know that there's nothing that happened to her that could have changed my feelings to her and there's nothing that happened to her that we cannot overcome. i thought maybe jaycee stayed where she was because she had children. and the bond to her children and wanteding to protect them was so strong. and if that's the case with michaela, i want her to know
6:21 pm
that she doesn't need to choose between coming home and taking care of any children she may have. she can bring the children home and we will take care of them. >> sharon, you have new hope, you want to hope, you want to believe. are friends encouraging that or are they telling you to temper those thoughts right now? >> everybody is universally encouraging. i haven't had anybody tell me that i should not get my hopes up. >> sharon, we are encouraging you as well. we pray for you, for your strength at this time. and thank you, again, for sharing your thoughts, your heart with us and your story. sharon murch, the mother of michaela. we're hoping and praying for a miracle for you, sharon, and michaela. more on the search of phillip garrido's home. ppp
6:22 pm
6:23 pm
6:24 pm
6:25 pm
6:26 pm
6:27 pm
6:28 pm
6:29 pm
6:30 pm
welcome back to "prime news" on hln. i think a lot of people congressman joe wilson was way out of line, shouting at president obama "you lie" when he was giving his address to the nation. talking about people who oppose the president. here he is, talking to "nbc nightly news". >> an overwhelming portion of the intensely demonstrated animosity toward president barack obama is based on the fact that he is a black man. that he's african-american. >> everwheming portion. does it mean that those who passionately oppose the
6:31 pm
president, that a majority of those folks are racist? we're taking your calls. 1-877-tell-hln is the number. we welcome back roland martin, political analyst for our sister network, cnn. and republican strategist, tara. are you seeing that, a racist root to those who oppose president obama? >> no, what i'm seeing is the left using racism as a red herring to twi to dissuade, quash, poison the dissent on the part of the american people who are suspicious, skeptical of president obama's policies. and the left continues to use racism as an excuse, because what that does is it stops people in their tracks. i think it's grossly unamerican to do that, to make people feel guilty for the fact that they actually have a legitimate opinion and a legitimate reason to oppose the president's policies. i think it's absolutely absurd. what joe wilson did, i agree 100%, it was out of line. you know, i agree with the
6:32 pm
sentiment, just not the venue. that's not the time or place to do it. my boss, congressman error balker, was one of the few republicans who voted in favor of admonishing congressman wilson. it was the principle, you cannot disrespect the quar um of the house. >> shouldn't have done it. roland, to tara's point, does it shut down the conversation when a former president says this? >> first of all, it does not shut down the conversation. i certainly agree, though, that when you begin to say, this action is racist, people naturally say, oh, no, this is not racist in terms of criticism. i do believe there is legitimate criticism from folks on the right, from folks who are independent as it relates to -- in terms of the president's health care policy. i will say this, though, we have seen significant levels where race plays a role. we've seen reports that attacks on this president, or threats on this president up 400% since
6:33 pm
he's been elected. what's the one difference between him and the previous 43. that's one issue. when you have people, conservative talk show hosts who called the first lady trash, who has glenn beck says you have people hating people in white culture, rush limbaugh saying white kids on a school bus being beaten by black kids, assigning it to obama's america. you have seen signs where people held up signs, a sign at one of the rallies over the weekend, i don't want this country to be a third world country. go back to kenya. what you have to have, though, you have to have people at those rallies saying that is uncalled for. we can disagree, but you're not going to have those kind of racist signs. i cannot deny the reality that there are individuals, there are people who have been involved, critical of the president who also have used racist language and actually predicted that kind of image. that is wrong and should be condemned. >> let's listen a little bit more of former president jimmy
6:34 pm
carter. again, this is on "nbc nightly news". and we'll get some calls in and continue our conversation. again, here's the former president. >> that racism still exists. and i think it's bubbled up to the surface, because of a belief among many white people, not just in the south, but around the country, that african-americans are not qualified to lead this great country. >> that's quite a statement there. i think that is somewhat broad brush. because i think, roland, i'll go back to you, when he says many white people, there are going to be people saying, wait a minute, i can't oppose president obama and i'm dubbed a racist? >> we also have to broaden the conversation in that our views about issues, in terms of -- here's a guy 85 years old, who has seen and heard different levels of debate, whose ears are
6:35 pm
tuned to that. so i think for president jimmy carter, when he hears certain things, when he sees certain things, he recognizes what that looks like. and so what he's saying is, there's a different level, a different intensity, ferociousness, if you will, to some of the criticism. i cannot say all. we don't know what was in the minds of people. but i think we cannot overlook the reality, though, that race still plays a role and that we have examples of this playing a role even in this current debate. >> there are a lot of calls in. i'll try and move the ball around. tara, you know, me personally, i have somewhat of a problem with a former president saying this. if it's a pundit saying it, okay. but jimmy carter saying this. when he's dubbing many white people, that's -- you know, has jimmy carter been to a tea party or some of these places where he thinks he's seen some of this animosity? >> first of all, jimmy carter, in my opinion, has been off the reservation on many issues. he was a failed president.
6:36 pm
he had a failed presidency. he continues to stick his nose out in things. he pals around with hamas, and, you know, or terrorist sponsoring organizations. jimmy carter to me is, you know, he's -- it's blemishing his legacy -- >> wait, wait, wait. >> let me finish. roland, i did not interrupt you. as far as being able to read the minds of individuals, it is an absolute broad brush. is there racism, does it still exist in this country? yes, it does. but at what point do we get beyond that. white america elected barack obama. he is the most powerful man in the world. >> let's get a call in real quick. bob in wisconsin, bob, go ahead. >> caller: how do you do. >> go ahead, bob. >> caller: i really agree with the young lady who's speaking. i believe jimmy carter's way off base in that racism, any color, any creed. and we as americans need to come together as americans. i'm not a german-american, i was born here.
6:37 pm
i'm an american of german descent. >> thanks for the call. >> tara said he's destroying his legacy, but she just ripped him to shreds as a failed president. you are disrespecting a former president. >> let's take a quick break. more of your calls, 1-877-tell-hln. úíxñ
6:38 pm
6:39 pm
6:40 pm
welcome back to "prime news" on hln. we're continuing our conversation, a passionate one. former president jimmy carter in an interview with nbc news, saying, among other things, that many white people don't believe that african-americans are qualified to run the country. talking about president obama. the root of this is, whether or not opposition to president obama is rooted in racism to some degree. we're taking your calls. we have our experts standing by as well. jeannie is with us in ohio.
6:41 pm
jeannie, your thoughts here? >> caller: well, i totally agree with mr. carter. i think that he is a great humanitarian. and i still think that there's a lot of discrimination in this country. i think a lot of people don't want to talk about it. but there is, i hear it, and see it, and it's such a shame. i wish everybody could be like small children, you know. through their eyes, everybody is just good and bad. i wish it was that way. i also want to bring up the subject of the minister, remember the minister a few weeks ago that said he hated president obama and he wanted him dead? >> right. >> caller: i think that is the most horrible thing i've ever heard in my life. and why wasn't the federal government in there. why wasn't this man arrested. he needs to be put in prison the rest of his life. there should be nobody allowed  to make threats against the president of the united states. >> jeannie passionate, along with many of you on this issue. also talking concerning jimmy
6:42 pm
carter. roland, let me go to you concerning president carter. again, to have the debate, the conversation, that's fine. i just wish it would have come from another source, painting in an overwhelming portion. isn't it akin almost to calling congressman wilson a racist? >> here's the deal, you want it could tom from somebody else? who do you want it to come from? >> i expect it from pundits, not former presidents. >> you said what you expect. the key is to then go further and say is what caused the former president to make this particular comment. i think one of the things that we often overlook on this whole issue, when we discuss race, and that is, that people have certain views. and they have certain actions and they'll say, wait a minute, i'm not ratist, because we tend to think of somebody as a racist with a hood on and a swastika. we do have people who have racial assumptions that have
6:43 pm
stereotypes. that comes out in various forms. this right here is the block, while we've never really had conversation about race in america, is because we don't want to deal with what is embedded in us. how then do we refer to certain things or react to certain things. when you hear the tone of certain people, and have people literally crying because president obama is going to be speaking to their school children, you have to go deeper and say, wait a minute, what is actually causing that level of reaction. i think his statement is causing us to actually ask some more difficult questions as opposed to saying, oh, well, these folks are just expressing themselves. >> tara, go ahead. >> how many more discussions about race do we really need to have? does racism -- >> until we -- >> racism still exists in this country? yes, it does. is it the majority of americans or fringe? is that the majority? no, it's not. you know what's interesting -- >> how do you know that? >> if that were the case, barack obama would not have been elected president, wouldn't have
6:44 pm
won the primaries in predominantly white iowa, which began the election run to become president. what happens is, it becomes a distraction. because we can have a discussion on race, that's fine. but when it comes -- when it enters into everyday, basic criticism of the president, legitimate criticism of the president, that's where it becomes a problem. >> buttthe liberals sit on thei white towers who inject this absurd aspect of racism. >> guys, let me get some calls in. let me get a couple of calls in. a lot of folks want in on the conversation. pat's with us in mississippi. pat, go ahead. >> caller: yes. i have really, for -- ever since this candidate started running for president, i have been really amazed that nobody has brought out the fact talking
6:45 pm
about racism, they have not brought out the fact he's half white, he's half black. so which side are they being racist on? >> wow. all right, one to ponder as we take it to break. roland, tara, i knew it would be good. thank you, guys. hopefully we'll talk again soon. coming up on the show, a murder/suicide rocked vh1. ryan jenkins, we covered that story. accused in the murder of his then ex-wife, jasmine fiore. he was in a reality show on vh1. what can we learn from it? vh1, are they going to make any changes with reality shows in the future, maybe tone them down a bit, vet the contestants a little bit more?
6:46 pm
this country definitely needs to focus on other ways to get energy. we should be looking closer to home. there are places off the continental shelf. natural gas can be a part of the solution. i think we need to work on wind resources. they ought to be carefully mapping every conceivable alternative. there is an endless opportunity right here.
6:47 pm
welcome back. recently reality tv took a dark
6:48 pm
turn with the murder of jasmine fiore. it's rocked vh1. one of its contestants accused of the murder. a story we've covered extensively. wanted in california in fiore's horrific death. he took off, found dead in a hotel in canada. a finalist on "megan wants a million airplane." now the network is going to tone down its reality programming. be more selective when it comes to casting. it's about time. joining me to talk about it, my colleagues, jane velez-mitchell, host of "issues" with jane velez-mitchell coming your way at the top of the hour. amy palmer for in touch weekly. amy, what does it mean, tone down the reality? what do you make of that? >> how about not showing people who are from the lowest common denominator of society, showing them being drunk, having sex, cheating, lying. how about that for starters. let's tone it down to maybe more
6:49 pm
realistic behavior to put that out in society. >> do we have a promise from them, vh1? is that what they're going to cut out here? >> listen, vh1 today did say that they were looking at shows like t.o., which is about terrell owens, and how his career, and aspiring to be better, so maybe that's a direction they should take. they did say that that is the type of programming that they want to keep continuing with. i mean, something has to be done. it's a shame that a death, a murder had to happen before maybe they thought, hey, maybe we shouldn't be putting this out to the world. >> yeah. a little late. it's a good thing that we stop and look at reality tv, that they're looking at it to make some changes, that maybe some marriages and families could be saved because we know it's a death knell for marriages and families. >> i think the viewer has to look in the mirror and say why am i so fascinated by all these people getting drunk and carousing and acting out, because it's ratings gold.
6:50 pm
that's part of the problem. so it's really a societal problem, not just a problem of one particular network. some have said it's the dumbingf you do some kind of a period drama that involves something from the past, it's box office death, okay? so this stuff is box office or television ratings gold. so we have to look at ourselves and say why are we so fascinated with this stuff and we don't want to have some other kind of programming or entertainment that's maybe not so focused on just t & a and chugalug and may have other messages in there that are more nuanced. >> you got to be creative and think a little bit, right? >> yeah, exactly. exactly. this is more -- it's now more than just background checks. sure, they could have done a better background check on this individual but the fact is, when you see him on camera, there are times where ryan jenkins appears extremely lucid and polite and
6:51 pm
well-behaved. apparently he's from a well-off family. he's a -- he was a self-described millionaire so it's not about lowest common denominator in terms of your finances or your background. it's really about what are we going to be discussing on these reality shows. >> yeah. you bring up the point, jane, if the lowest common denominator of the show is t & a and chugalug, what do you expect? what are you drawing on? you're not going to get the creme de la creme of society if that's the root of the show. maybe to your point, if we change the subject matter, we might change the message. it would sure be nice if it was more redeeming. jane, i know you got to run. any other quick thoughts before we let you go? >> we will dive into this on "issues." we will talk to a casting director who cast ryan jenkins. >> we'll be watching, top of the hour. amy and i will continue the conversation. call in. pnip]p]
6:52 pm
6:53 pm
6:54 pm
6:55 pm
6:56 pm
6:57 pm
6:58 pm
6:59 pm

238 Views

info Stream Only

Uploaded by TV Archive on