these incidents occur more than a lot of people realize according to this maritime lawyer jim walker but often quickly forgoten this, particular incident because of the huge number of passengers involved received a lot of media attention so perhaps will lead to more action maybe a congressional ininjuriy. one interesting thing about this is that these big ships fly under foreign flags. that darn value triumph flies under the flag of the bahamas so they face leg regulations than if they were a vessel regulated and certified here in the united states. companies set up shop in these owe smaller countries and also as a by product they face less regulation. some critics are saying this subjects passengers who buy and large are americans traveling on these ships to these potential incidents and perhaps, there needs to be more oversight. so jim walker this lawyer we are speaking with says he hopes this leads to a thoughtful congressional inquery and that there is a passenger bill of rights coming out of this. right now, passenger rights are pretty much dictated by fine print on tickets, in

maritime attorney jim walker explains it would are a dangerous operation while at sea. >> you would haveo essentially open a crew exit or one of the gang way doors then fashion some type of gang way from one ship to the other. then try to get 3 or 4,000 people across that gang way. >> so for passengers aboard the triumph, the safes way to get back to shore unfortunately is also the most tedious way, staying on board the ship. >> the ship is edging closer to land and we're hearing from some of the passengers, aren't we? >> we are indeed. we have been all day. the ship's been within cell phone range so family and friends have been hearing from their loved ones on board the ship. earlier today we spoke with a couple that has a daughter onboard the triumph. listen. >> she said the conditions is terrible. they had water but it was brown water. they had no bathroom to use. the food has been cold and it's just been a awful trip. awful trip. >> greg, once the ship gets into port, it's not over. dis embarking more than 3,000 passengers is going to take a long time. as you pointed out, they need t

jim walker. >> jim, how are you? >> lee. >> we are doing good. we are happy to be back and the crew did a great job to take care of us. it was not as bad for us as some people. >> why do you say that? >> because it was an interior cabin and mostly hot, and we had intermittent toilet and so we didn't have to go outside on the decks. and we didn't have small children. >> and you had to -- >> we did not. >> how does it feel? >>> it is great to be home and one thing i would say is happy valentine's day to my wife who won't let me go on the buddy trip that went awry. >> where is she? >> back in kansas. >> kansas. and where are you headed tonight. >> i will be here tonight and fly out in morning. >> and you have communicated to her? >> yes, the cell phones were working intermittently coming up alongside other boats, and we had brief periods of time and i don't know if you saw the pictures of the macgyver-like wiring that people had to get at the charging stations, but -- >> quite clever actually. >> we heard it was a little bit interesting. >> yes, int

"outfront" tonight, jim walker. he's a maritime lawyer and cruise safety advocate. bruns a former carnival cruise line cruise member and author of "cruise confidential." and carolyn brown is the editor of cruisecritic.com. and also joining me, our chief medical correspondent, dr. sanjay gupta. jim, we went to book a cruise today on carnival, so we could look at the contract. when you book a cruise, what rights to dough sign away. carnival says, we'll give you the value of this cruise back, discount the future, and give you $500. is that going to be all these people can get? do they have the right to sue? would it be appropriate for them to sue? >> erin, to determine what rights a passenger have, you look at the passenger ticket. the passenger ticket's considered to be the binding contract between the cruise line and the passengers. i used to be a defense attorney for the cruise lines. the cruise lines, for decades, have drafted those tickets to essentially strip all the rights away from the passengers. so you can read all the terms, if you can read the fine print, y

we in fact spoke with maritime lawyer, jim walker, who said that he is hoping that this will lead to a lengthy congressional investigation, that will look into this type of regulation, increased regulation by the u.s. government, but as you pointed out, greta, these cruise ships fly foreign flags, generally from small countries and the companies themselves are incorporated in foreign countries. now, part of this is because it's a tax shelter. they end up paying lower taxes, but also, as a byproduct they face less regulation by the u.s. government. and this lawyer, mr. walker, was telling us that these types of incidents happen more often than a lot of us realize. but, unlike an airline disaster where there's he highly publicized n.t.s.b. investigation, investigations in congress, calls for legislation, changes in policy, quite often if the passengers are taken care of and they leave happy, these types of incidents are very quickly forgotten. there's a short attention span, but this lawyer was saying this particular incident has gotten so much

attorney jim walker, who specializes in representing cruise ship passengers says the offer is likelywould win so why go through the process >> some lawyers take some cases. we feel the passengers are entit entitled to a of a lot more than $500 than was offered by carnival. i'm looking forward for carnival to come out and start having a conversation regarding their misconduct. >> this show has again reached out to carnival this morning, which has again said they don't comment on pending legislation. let me ask you about taking the offer that is on the table from carnival. earlier one of your attorneys was suggesting they should take it because there was no strings attached and they could still sue through your suit. >> if there are no strings attached, they should take the money. if there are strings, they shouldn't take the money. >> we're out of time but just briefly now, what is the timetable for you? >> well, federal court lawsuits generally go quicker than state court lawsuits but i would gegs we'll have a decision regarding class status within the next six months to a year but s

its direct quote in treating with tamil minority there of the suppression of separatist sons walker pay the jim brown told us britain's arms sales strategies long been guarded by anything except respect for human rights. because there's the geostrategic questions because sri lanka occupies a very strategic position. in the indian ocean you have the united states what they call the pivot toward asia which britain is dutifully going along with and good relations with the sri lanka would be very valuable in that context also because this whole idea that britain by and by human rights criteria in arms exports simply doesn't make sense and generally should be discounted the arms trade is a very hard. profitable geo politically important business and that the business which britain is in gauged in arms sales in general and in. particular . victory it's not the world's most famous whistle blower can rest easier after the president's security is job for another term according to exit polls judy the sun to some of the country's diplomatic shield in london a decision made by rafael corera more insight on

josephine -josephine --y, shirl, shirley, christina, chin, ingles, jim inglings, jake block, chi, jane, susan, kay walker, deborah -- brian blake, iris, martis, gran, stacy, kevin, rose, and beth palmer. next speaker. >> thank you. my name is -- i'm a district 8 t.i.c. owner. i purchased a three unit t.i.c. in 2007, with a 20% downpayment. i lived with my wife and two children. since the peak of the market there's been a dynamic change in the financial lending practices of banks in the bay area that i believe is quite unfair. right now, we have tried to sell one of the three units in our building twice, with no success, due to the inability to refinance. additionally, my partner and i have tried to refinance our property twice in the past year and a half. both times being denied. the reason that we are being denied, our mortgage is the fact that many banks right now, we have approached three banks in the bay area, to refinance our house. they required 30% down and above market rates of about 5 to 6% mortgage rate onable basis. what that is telling the marketplace and people like myself who want to live i

jim vance. >>> police in prince george's county have arrested five men today for the murder of 15-year-old charles walker. he was shot and killed on monday afternoon, because the people after him wanted the shoes he was carrying in his bag. also today a second teenager shot in forestville last night has died. that makes seven teenagers killed in recent months. bureau chief tracee wilkins joins us from the headquarters with the interview of the mother of one of the murder victims. tracee? >> reporter: jim, this has been a hard week for the people who live here in prince george's county. three teens killed in this week alone, and now prince george's county police just announced one of these teen murder cases is now closed. swell so with a mother who is hoping that her son's case will be next. >> he was a good kid. he wouldn't hurt a soul. >> reporter: teresa williams is mourning the loss of her second born, aaron kidd. he was shot and killed yesterday, the sixth prince george's county teen to be killed this school year. williams says the last time she sauce her son was yesterday when she dropped him off fo