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Plunge, Surge, Repeat; Three House Democrats Names To The Debt Panel; Five U.S. Troops Killed In Afghanistan; Flying At 13,000 MPH; Three Siblings Due In Court; Streets Of London Quiet
Aired August 11, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Suzanne, thank you.
It is another day on the Wall Street roller coaster, but today, at least we are going through the right direction. You don't have to peak through your fingers, the Dow is up right now about 385 points following yesterday's selloff, which followed a rally, which followed a selloff.
So, consider this, at some point in each of the past three days, the Dow has soared or plunged more than five percent. That happened only once in all of 2010. So, here is where we turn to CNN's Alison Kosik at the epicenter of all the turmoil. Alison, what's happening there? What gives?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: You know what? The Dow is holding its gains right now up 383 points, that's a good sign considering we're more than halfway through the trading day. You're seeing stocks rally on some good economic news. Those jobless claims numbers fell last week, we also got some strong corporate earnings from a bellwether company, Cisco Systems.
So, what you're seeing is Wall Street kind of focus on the positive today, and of course, we're seeing that bargain hunting going on as well, stocks are at some of their lows. So, you're seeing those bargain hunters get in there and buy some stocks up -- Randi.
KAYE: And I want to bring in the trader who's with you there, Alan Valdes. Allen, I want to ask you about the first time benefit claims dropping below 400,000 for the first time in four weeks. How much do you think that has contributed to the rally we're seeing today?
ALAN VALDES, DIRECTOR OF FLOOR TRADING, DME SECURITIES: Well, that was a big part this morning, there's no doubt about it. I mean, under 400,000, we'd like to see that, and you know, that jobs number is probably the most important number for traders. It really is. We watch that number on a weekly basis. And remember, this economy is powered by consumer spending, so if the consumer is not working, he's not spending. So, anything under 400,000, we like to see that. We still have a ways to go, but it's going in the right direction.
KAYE: Alison, so let's work through some of the key factors here that could be playing a role in all this volatility. One of them is fear. We know that small investors are pulling money out of mutual funds for the 15 weeks now in a row. How much do you think that's contributing?
KOSIK: Oh, it's contributing quite a bit. I mean, that's why we're -- we've seen the kind of selloff that we've seen in the past 11 sessions. But you are seeing investors come back, and we know this because we're seeing bond yields rise, we're seeing gold prices drop, so you're seeing investors put their money slowly back into stocks. Don't you think, Allen?
VALDES: Yes, no question about it, Randi, you're 100 percent right on that question, because in the last four weeks, the markets lost $2.9 trillion, so people are a little nervous, but they are definitely coming back into the market.
KOSIK: Yes, but the question is, and let me ask him this, do you think we're sort of in the clear today?
VALDES: Well, I think today we could be in the clear, but this market can turn around on a dime. But, you know, it's the trend we're looking at, and right now, even though the trend is down, if your timeframe is out there for a long lull, it's great bargain hunting, like you just mentioned, great opportunities here. And I really think this is the time -- if you're young, you want to be buying stocks.
KOSIK: OK, Randi, go ahead.
KAYE: Another key factor that we're looking at is certainly Europe. How much is that playing a role, do you think, in the volatility?
VALDES: Oh, sure. I mean, Europe is our biggest trading partner, and we're watching it real closely. Yesterday, we had that, supposedly, news out of the bank that the (inaudible) general was going to have a tough time. They've denied that, and actually the paper that reported it went back and retracted that statement. So, things are looking a little better in Europe. But Europe is still a problem over there, and I think it's a bigger problem than here in the United States.
KOSIK: Yes, and I think that you're going to see the European debt issues continue to weigh on the markets, they're not the focus today, but I think you're going to see them continue to weigh in the markets and the days and weeks to come -- Randi.
KAYE: And Alison, on those down days, does it seem as though political gridlock is also weighing in on the markets? Because we know that they certainly don't like it, the S&P certainly didn't like what they saw in Washington.
KOSIK: And that's what really set off the selloff. I mean, you look at the timing of it. You know, that debt ceiling agreement, you know, it was sort of signed on the dotted line there, but then of course, you had Wall Street react, a bit of delay, but that's what really set off -- set off the selloff, don't you?
VALDES: Yes, and you know, we have clients calling and they feel that they're out there adrift, that there's no leadership not only here but around the world. I mean, we are devoid of any really strong leadership anywhere, especially in the G7 countries.
KAYE: And this really --
KOSIK: Go ahead, Randi.
KAYE: I want to ask you about this. Computer trading, from what we understand, 77 percent of stock trades are electronic, based on algorithms. So, when you talk about fear in the market, I mean, computers, they don't know about fear, they can't judge fear. So, it almost seems to contradict the fear factor?
VALDES: Yes, but you know, you're 100 percent right, computers have no fear, and about 70 percent of those trades are held for under three minutes mostly. And what it is, though, these things are programmed such that they run off news events or run off points in the S&P. So, what gets the S&P going, it's regular selling but then the computers kick in and that's when you see these wild fluctuations, once they hit certain buyer sell points in the S&P.
KOSIK: And then I think what you see also, Randi, is you see the average American looking at the jaw-dropping drops in the major averages, and then you see that see that come, it's just the average American jumping in the fray and selling their investments, because it's a scary thing to see, to see 100-point drops in a matter of minutes.
VALDES: Right, and it's the wrong thing to do to sell in this kind of environment. You really want to just -- not to shut off CNN, but you just want to back off and not really watch things and just take your time and wait until the dust settles and then get back in. But to sell in this kind of environment, it's not the right thing to do.
KOSIK: Yes, it's definitely not a time to panic --- Randi.
KAYE: So, Alan now --- OK, so you say it's not a time to panic. In the next few days, or certainly tomorrow, what do you think we can expect? Is it going to be an exciting Friday?
VALDES: Well, it'll probably be a busy Friday, that's for sure. We get consumer spending tomorrow, that's a big number. Remember, like I said, this country is powered by consumer spending. So, we'll see how that numbers. We'll be watching that closely, and that will set the tone for the weekend for sure.
KOSIK: And I'll be watching with him -- Randi.
KAYE: All right, we know you will be. Alison Kosik, Alan Valdes, appreciate both of you joining us. Thank you.
Checking some other top stories that we're following right now, House Democratic leader, Nancy Pelosi, named the final three members to the 12-member bipartisan Congressional Committee on deficit reduction. Joining the nine we already know about are now James Clyburn, the number three House Democrat, Jovier Becerra, member of the Ways and Means Committee, and Chris Van Hollen, the senior Democrat on the House Budget Committee. They joined three Senate Democrats previously appointed to the panel, Republican leaders previously named fiscal conservatives for their six picks to this so- called super committee charged with crafting a plan to reduce the nation's mounting deficits.
The war in Afghanistan has claimed more Americans lives. A Pentagon source says five U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb, today, in southern Afghanistan. The attack comes less than a week after 30 American troops were killed when their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in central Afghanistan. That attack was the deadliest involving U.S. troops in the Afghan war.
Well, talk about fast. The U.S. military tested an experimental aircraft designed to fly at 13,000 miles an hour and reach any target in the world in less than an hour. The high-tech unmanned glider separated from a rocket booster at the edge of space as planned before contact was lost. No updates since then. The military's goal is to develop technology to respond to threats around the world at more than five times the speed of sound.
There's new information this hour on those three siblings wanted for bank robbery and attempted murder in Georgia and Florida. Officials say Lee Grace Doherty tried to reload her automatic pistol before a police officer shot her in the leg yesterday. All three were captured in Colorado after a high-speed police chase that ended in a crash. Lee Dougherty wrote on her flicker profile that she liked, quote, "causing mayhem." She is due to appear in a court today along with her brother, Ryan Dougherty, and her half brother, Dylan Dougherty Stanley.
An eerie quiet overnight in London as police stand guard and stop days of street riots. And today, a surprising profile is emerging of some of the alleged rioters. We'll have a live report for you from London, right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: And welcome back. Let's take a look at the Dow right there, it is still up, positive territory, 354 points. That is certainly nice to see. CNN's Richard Quest is joining me now from London to talk about the markets. Richard, we Americans aren't alone on this roller coaster that we've been seeing the last few weeks, are we?
RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Fasten your seat belts, keep your tray tables in the upright and stowed position is the advice for anybody, and the investors. Europe was up sharply today, London had the best gains, more than three percent, (Zurich) five percent, Paris and Germany was also up. And there was -- look, and I'm being brutally honest, there was no reason for yesterday's fallout of bed, and there's no reason really that justifies what we're seeing today. This is volatility and fear in both directions, and what you see is what you get. You just got to hold your nerve.
KAYE: Well, we are certainly trying to, here on this side of the Atlantic. But what about what's happening in Europe? I mean, it seems as though every day a different European country is in the spotlight, it's not always a positive spotlight, often times negative. We had Italy, Spain, yesterday, France, what's going on?
QUEST: Right. So, you had Italy with its bonds in Spain, which is now being secured, and you've then got France, if they're going to be downgraded, well S&P said no, it wasn't going to be. You have Society Asian (ph), one of the big banks, was it going to go bust? And then bank said, no, it was not going to go bust or words to that effect. And today, we had rumors of possible bans on short sells. Look, it's just the stuff. It is the stuff that normally swirls around the markets, and that doesn't really get taken any notice of, but in these markets where people are looking at the fundamentals, you do start to get disproportionate swings.
And we did get good news, that jobs number Alison was talking about certainly encouraging in the United States. We got the British chancellor saying today that the road to recovery in Britain was going to be longer and harder than first thought of, but in a swift dig to everybody else, the British prime minister said austerity is what had made this country a safe haven.
KAYE: All right. Well, I'm just going to take your advice, fasten my seatbelt and sit tight. Richard Quest, it's a pleasure.
QUEST: Don't forget the table in the upright and stowed position.
KAYE: Always, always, I promise. Thank you, Richard.
British prime minister David Cameron says police waited too long to move in to prevent rioting and looting. It began in London, and spread to other cities this week. The streets of London were quiet overnight as thousands of police stood guard. More than 1,200 people were arrested across the country, and today, a shocking profile is emerging of some of the accused rioters. According to British newspapers, among those arrested were a teaching assistant, a lifeguard, even a millionaire's daughter.
Max Foster is live in London with the very latest on this. Max, what more can you tell us about the people allegedly involved in all of this unrest?
MAX FOSTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, there are those cases that you described there, but what we're finding out is that nearly half of them in London, for example, are actually under the age of 18, and more shocking cases are coming out as we have this fast-tracking legal court process that is going through right now to deal with these hundreds of people that are being arrested.
For example, in Nottingham, in the English midland's, an 11-year-old girl is being charged with criminal damage, and she's being held in a police cell, which is quite unusual. They're using whatever force they can. In Manchester, in north of England, you've got a 13-year-old boy who's being sentenced, he's in a cell as well. So, David Cameron being clear, he's being as tough as he can. If you are young to commit these crimes, you're young enough to take the penalty -- Randi.
KAYE: And what does the prime minister think is actually going on there? Is this some sort of gang culture at work?
FOSTER: Yes, and talk about that young boy there, he actually says the problem -- the heart of the problem here is with young boys from dysfunctional families. He's talking about a gang culture which has developed here, and that's at the heart of the problem. He says it's not about poverty, it's about culture and all these riots were in poor areas, of course. And he's taking advice, actually, from a former commissioner of the New York police and the L.A. police, because he wants to get grips with what he calls this gang culture and he thinks he can learn from the United States on this. He's taking it very, very serious.
KAYE: Well, sadly given the gang problem in Los Angeles, he certainly can probably learn a bit, that might help. What about the social services? Is that sort of helping to fuel what's happening there, and what are they doing by that?
FOSTER: Yes, this was not organized by an individual, of course. It was -- but it was organized in the sense that it was organized on social media. Remember, these rioters were communicating through social media and meeting up in groups at various riot positions.
And David Cameron is going to clamp down on this. And this could have international repercussions, because he is saying that he wants to clamp down on criminality on social media.
Let's have a look at what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: Everyone watching these horrific actions will be stuck -- will be struck by how they were organized by social media. Free flow of information can be used for good, but it also can be used for ill, so we are working with the police, the intelligence services and industry to look at whether it would be right to stop people communicating via these Web sites and services when we know they are plotting violence, disorder and criminality.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
FOSTER: This has opened a censorship debate, though, Randi. And -- but we do know the government has called a meeting with social meeting executives to discuss how the police can get greater capability on social media, but will Twitter allow a police officer into the office? I doubt it.
KAYE: Yes. That is going to be very, very interesting, where that goes.
Max Foster, appreciate it. Thank you. Coming up: drinking water growing scarce in parts of Texas, but is recycling sewage the solution? We will tell you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Right now, parts of Texas are running dry. Reservoirs are vanishing, drinking water growing scarce. The situation is really desperate. But there may be a solution, a solution many Texans are finding it a bit hard to swallow.
Ed Lavandera joins us now from Dallas.
Ed, tell us more about the controversy over this solution.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Randi, what is interesting about this, and the idea is turning waste sewage water into drinking water.
Proponents of it say, look, this is future, that technology has improved to where this can actually be done, but it has got a major P.R. battle because everyone else that doesn't like the idea simply says disgusting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In this withering west Texas patch, oil still flows. Problem is you can't drink water. Finding water is getting tougher. It brings us to the town of Big Spring.
(on camera): This is the spring in Big Spring. More than 100 years ago, it was a popular watering hole for settlers heading west. Those days are long gone. And you won't believe what people around here are having to do now to find drinking water.
(voice-over): Crews are now building a $13 million water treatment plant that will turn sewage waste water into drinking water by the end of next year -- treated raw sewage water will be mixed with lake water and treated again, three times in all.
BENITO LARA, BIG SPRING RESIDENT: I will never drink it.
LAVANDERA: But the idea still doesn't taste right to a lot of people, like Benito Lara.
LARA: That's not a good idea at all.
LAVANDERA (on camera): You don't like it?
LARA: No. If they do, we're going to have to leave town.
LAVANDERA: Really?
LARA: Yes, yes. You know, that's too much.
LAVANDERA: Are you kind of the salesman for this plan?
JOHN GRANT, COLORADO RIVER MUNICIPAL WATER DISTRICT: Somebody has to.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Grant directs the Colorado River Municipal Water District. It's his job to find drinking water for half a million people in the area around Midland Odessa. He's got to get people past one big hurdle.
(on camera): When you hear people say, oh, my God, these people are going to be drinking their own urine.
GRANT: There was a fellow in Midland I heard make a comment that said at least he gets to drink his beer twice now.
(LAUGHTER)
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This part of west Texas had a only seen about three inches of rain in the last year. The drought is drying out the areas in the three reservoirs.
(on camera): This is what's left of the E.V. Spence reservoir. It's the only source of drinking water for the nearby town of Robert Lee. Problem is: there's less than 1 percent of the water left.
(voice-over): Robert Lee Mayor John Jacobs says that the water situation is so dire that his town could run out of water in six months. Emergency pipeline is in the works. But he thinks turning waste water into drinking water is the future.
(on camera): On the surface of it, that doesn't sound appealing, does it?
MAYOR JOHN JACOBS, ROBERT LEE, TEXAS: Not appealing. Then again, going thirsty isn't either.
GRANT: This is the water we are going to be picking up and -- taking it back through the new water treatment plant that we are building.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): This new water treatment plant will provide 2 million gallons of water every day. And actually John Grant predicts people will really like it.
(on camera): And you are saying this process is -- could make it taste better?
GRANT: It could. And it will be -- it's good quality water with less salt as you can find anywhere.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): John Grant says he'll be the first in line to pour himself a glass.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LAVANDERA: Get a feeling that a lot more West Texans are going to be drinking a lot more beer, too, Randi.
You know, the fancy title for all of this is called water reclamation. It's actually quite common in many parts of the country, but it's mostly used for industrial purposes, watering golf courses and public grasses and that sort of thing. It's less common to turn it into drinking water, but it's done -- has been done in Orange County, California, in Southern California, some other places. And the astronauts on the International Space Station recycle that stuff to drink later on --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: Too much information, Ed. TMI. But, listen --
(CROSSTALK)
LAVANDERA: I know. Great story for lunchtime.
KAYE: Oh, absolutely.
But, on a serious note, they will run out of water, what, in about six months or so? Is the plant going to be ready by then?
LAVANDERA: Well, that particular town, they are also working on an emergency pipeline. That town of Robert Lee, they have got an emergency pipeline that is being built. Should be online for December. So they hope they will be able to avoid that.
But a lot of those reservoirs in that area around Midland and Odessa are down to some of the last drops. In fact, that water, one of the other lakes, the lake that is most full only has about 25 percent of it left. So they have got several different plans. This is just one of them. They are also tapping into aquifer water and that sort of thing, but this is obviously the one idea that gets a lot of headlines.
KAYE: Yes. Well, I love the guy, certainly a positive out look, saying that, well, I guess he gets to drink his beer twice. So, you got to give him credit for having a positive outlook on a terrible situation.
LAVANDERA: Yes, absolutely.
KAYE: Ed Lavandera, thank you. Appreciate that.
Surviving only on food stamps, it's a way of life for a record 46 million Americans. Could you survive on $200 a month in food stamps? You will meet one man next trying to do exactly that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: We turn now to some startling statistics that should make all of us take notice. A record 46 million Americans are living on food stamps. That's one in seven people -- one in seven people. I had to repeat that.
They depend on the federal program to buy groceries, and as the jobless rate continues to teeter above 9 percent, the number of food stamp recipients has risen a whopping 70 percent in just four years. CNN's Brian Todd caught up with one man struggling to survive on $200 a month in food stamps.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On a short walk to the grocery store with Frederick Mack in the shadow of the Capitol, a bracing window into how tough life has been in recent years.
FREDERICK MACK, FOOD STAMP RECIPIENT: See right here? One of my daughters, my oldest child, died. Yes, sir. They gave her a bus stop.
TODD: A memorial to his eldest daughter, a community aid worker who died of childbirth complications. Frederick now lives in a transitional home for people struggling to get back on their feet.
Unemployed, he tells me, for about eight months, on food stamps for a year-and-a-half, he symbolizes the staggering rise of Americans in the food stamp program since 2007, a climb of about 70 percent to nearly 46 million people. Advocates who fight hunger say it's a perfect storm of hardship.
JAMES WEILL, FOOD RESEARCH AND ACTION CENTER: Unemployment went way up and has stayed high. Wages are flat or down for really the bottom half of the population.
TODD: Frederick Mack is trying desperately to get back to his calling. He's got 35-plus years experience as a cook.
In the meantime, he gets $200 a month in food stamps.
(on camera): Is that enough?
MACK: No, it's not enough. I have just found out ways how to stretch it.
TODD (voice-over): We duck into a grocery store where he shops. There is a lot in here that is off-limits on your food stamp card.
(on camera): Can't do it?
MACK: Can't buy.
TODD: But why?
MACK: Because it's hot. It's already cooked.
TODD: Hot and prepared.
MACK: Prepared.
TODD: What do you buy most of the time, salad?
MACK: Salad and fruits.
TODD: Fruit?
MACK: That's the cheapest thing you can buy.
TODD (voice-over): We comb through aisle after aisle. Frederick doesn't buy anything that's not on sale.
(on camera): Basic stuff here. Toothpaste. What about that?
MACK: Can't do it?
(CROSSTALK)
TODD: Wait. You can't buy toothpaste?
MACK: Can't buy toothpaste. You can't buy soap. You can't buy deodorant.
TODD: Why not?
MACK: Because if it's not edible, you cannot buy it.
TODD (voice-over): For those items, you have to use your own money, if you have it.
Frederick says, at 53, first time unemployed, his pride has taken a big hit from this.
MACK: I don't want to be on it. If I didn't have to eat, I shouldn't wouldn't. But I have to eat to live. And that's the only way I can -- only way I can do it these days. I can't go around. You know how low it would make me feel to go on the street begging or if I had a sign on my chest saying I need something to eat, help me, I haven't ate today or help me, I need something to eat?
TODD (on camera): So, this at least prevents you from having to do that.
MACK: Prevents from begging and panhandling. This prevents me from doing that, because I do have a pride. I am a human being.
TODD: As eager as he is to get out of the food stamp program, Frederick says he has got other priorities. He has got to first get out of that transitional home. And to do that, like so many others, he has got to find a job first.
So, like tens of millions of other Americans, he will probably be on the food stamp program for a little while longer.
Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Coming up: A woman showing the world the results of a facial transplant two years nearly after being viciously mauled by a chimpanzee. We will show you the amazing transformation next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: The time right now about 32 minutes past the hour.
Let's look at some of the headlines and other news that you may have missed. U.S. markets are back up today after positive news about corporate earnings and the labor market boosted investor sentiment. The Dow right now, you can see it there, is up 351 points, after yesterday's 500-point plunge. At some point in each of the past three days, the Dow has soared or plunged more than 5 percent. That happened only once in all of 2010.
The Florida police officer who was shot at allegedly by three fugitive siblings accused of robbing a bank spoke today following the suspects' arrest in Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFFICER KEVIN WIDNER, ZEPHYRHILLS, FLORIDA, POLICE DEPARTMENT: I look forward to seeing these criminals receive the punishment they are due for putting my life in danger, as well as many citizens they showed total disregard for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: The siblings are appearing in a Colorado court today. They also have standing federal warrants in Georgia and Florida.
The war in Afghanistan has claimed more American lives. The Pentagon says five U.S. troops were killed by a roadside bomb today in southern Afghanistan. The attack comes less than a week after 30 American troops were killed when their helicopter was shot down by the Taliban in central Afghanistan. The Pentagon has now released the names of all of those troops killed.
A Connecticut woman who underwent a full face transplant after an attack by an chimpanzee in 2009 showed off her new look today. Charla Nash revealed her new face for the first time in a photo released. She underwent surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston back in May. Nash's face was left mangled after she was viciously attacked by a friend's chimpanzee.
Doctors say it is amazing that she survived this attack at all. Nash is still recovering, but is beginning to feel her jaw and her chin and can now move her mouth and even smile. That is a miracle.
It's the world's worst humanitarian disaster right now, where starvation and sickness have become double dangerous for Somalia's children. Dr. Sanjay Gupta takes us to the Somali-Kenyan border right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Men, women and a heartbreaking number of children are dying every day in East Africa, and whether from starvation or sickness, much of it is preventable.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta is along the Somali border in Kenya, where the tiny graves are multiplying.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Randi, you have heard the numbers now for some time, 2,000 people coming in a day to this camp, the largest refugee camp in the world. It's hard to fathom exactly how this -- this camp continues to function.
And for the people who came here in search of a better life, it doesn't necessarily mean that they are going to get a better life. In fact, their problems may have just begun. And parents here are sometimes forced to do the unthinkable.
GUPTA (voice-over): The kids here will melt your heart. How old am I? 41. They impressed me with their English. So I spoke a little Somali to them and they loved it.
(on camera): Is that good?
(voice-over): Rare smiles in a place too full of heartbreak. Amin and 1-month-old daughter, Addison, came here in search of a better life fighting so hard not to starve to death. But in the end, it made little difference.
Amin lost the one thing in the world she cared about more than anything else. We are walking to her daughter's grave. They are really just piles of dirt with no name plate, no flowers, no reminders of their lives just small sticks with colored plastic trash blowing in the wind.
She says she brought her healthy baby girl here with dreams of new beginnings. But Addison died within a month. What went wrong? She started vomiting she said and then diarrhea. It wouldn't stop to days and days.
Diarrheal illness, it has been the major reason 30,000 kids have died here over the past three months. So many tiny little graves like this one.
(on camera): Part of the problem is even after you get to one of these camps, there's still not enough food here. Not enough water and there's plenty of infectious diseases. There are viral illnesses. There's also diphtheria. There's pertussis.
And I want to show you something else that's very frightening in a camp like this. This is Osmond. He's 14 years old. As you can tell he really doesn't feel well. People are concerned here that he has measles.
He had a high fever. He had the characteristic rash. He had conjunctivitis in his eyes. He never got vaccinated. He never got any sort of treatment. Measles as you know is very, very contagious. He has nowhere else to go.
(voice-over): And so hundreds of thousands more of these adorable children unvaccinated are at risk of the same fate as Amin's daughter.
(on camera): Is there anything anybody can do?
Just read the book?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
GUPTA: "It is with God."
(voice-over): "It is with God."
And so there's nothing else these kids can do but laugh and play surrounded by the dead.
(on camera): Randi, it's -- it's just hard to think about, but it's happening way too often here, parents burying their children. You also learn that it's not simply about food and water in terms of making a difference. It's also about medical care. It's about vaccinations and it's about doing these things early to avoid tragedies like this -- back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: That is just so very sad, Sanjay. Thank you.
CNN's Anderson Cooper has been in East Africa, along with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He's reporting on the region's devastating drought and famine. Tonight, he is on at a new time, a reminder for you, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.
Find out how you can help by visiting our Impact Your World page. That's at CNN.com/Impact.
Executing their enemies with grenades and high-powered weapons. Mexico's newest drug gang and their link to medieval Christian warriors, we will explain in a live report coming your way next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Mexico's deadly drug war has seen many vicious twists and turns, but nothing like this.
Cartel members who are ruthless killers and who say they follow a medieval Christian code.
CNN's Rafael Romo has been digging into their infamous activity.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SENIOR LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice- over): They're accused of being members of Mexico's newest criminal drug trafficking operation, using an arsenal of hand grenades and high caliber weapons, police say, to attack and execute their enemies. The group calls itself the Knights Templar, a name taken from Medieval Christian warriors who swore to protect Jerusalem and the Holy Grail with their lives. Coinciding with a spate of recent high profile drug gangster arrests, the emergence of this criminal cartel is especially worrisome to another group in Mexico with the same name. But this Knights Templar is a Christian charity whose mission is to help the poor.
Roberto Molinari, prior of the Order of the Knights Templar in Mexico says his group doesn't have anything to do with violence or drug trafficking.
ROBERTO MOLINARI, PRIOR, MEXICO KNIGHTS TEMPLAR (through translator): We work on social causes, helping people in need, and of course trying to preserve our traditions. Violence doesn't go well with us. And I think that's clearly defined.
ROMO: The Mexican drug cartel is not the only one that has used the legendary name for criminal purposes. Anders Breivik, the Norwegian who admitted killing 76 people in a bombing and shooting rampage in July claimed in a manifesto to represent a modern day Knights Templar. The Mexican drug cartel claims its members live by a religious code, but Molinari says the code they follow is anything but religious.
MOLINARI (through translator): We have to make something very clear, we are the heirs of a historical tradition that is real and documented and they took the name to justify themselves and their actions. These are two very different things.
ROMO: Images of the original Knights Templar still abound in European churches and Cathedrals like these in London. But experts say the group is long gone.
MICHAEL WALSH, UNIVERSITY OF LONDON: Well if you put your -- point your browser, as they say, at the word Templar, you'll get all sorts of curious organizations which are claiming the title, most of them sort of right-wing Catholics. But no, there's no survival whatsoever. A lot of them, in France anyway, were put to death.
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KAYE: And Rafael Romo joins us now here in studio.
It's really a fascinating story. Any indication as to why the drug cartel would choose this name?
ROMO: Well, one of the alleged founders and leaders used to be a schoolteacher many, many years ago, and there is really no indication whether he is a history buff or he's somebody who just watched "The Da Vinci Code" or read the book and for whatever reason chose to use the name.
KAYE: Wow. Also the cartel is making it their mission, as they say, to protect people. Is that even possible? How does that sit with the public?
ROMO: They posted banners throughout the Mexican state of Metrocan (ph) saying that that was one of their priorities, protect people, stop robberies and stuff like that. And there was a seemingly spontaneous protest in favor of the group when they first appeared. But later, authorities found out that many of the people attending these rallies had actually been doing that because they were threatened by the group with death if they did not participate.
So, at first people thought, yes, they had some support, but the reality was they were using threats.
KAYE: Yes, doesn't sound like they are doing much protecting at all. All right, Rafael. Appreciate it. Thank you.
ROMO: Thank you.
KAYE: Up next, how small robots like this one you are about to see helped to rescue survivors in dangerous disaster zones. Amazing video of missions after the September 11 attacks and Hurricane Katrina, next.
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KAYE: Disasters. We witness far too many of them from 9/11 to Hurricane Katrina. But did you know land, sea and air robots are being used for search and rescue missions in dangerous disaster zones? Why? Well, the answer's really simple. they can do a lot of things like we can't, like search murky water for hours on end or maybe even squeeze into tiny openings in dangerous rubble. All other human counterparts monitors from a safe distance.
Pretty cool, right? One of the masterminds behind these evolving creatures joins me now from Houston for today's "Big I." Robin Murphy is a professor of computer science and engineering at Texas A&M. Robin, glad you're with us to talk about this. Tell us how your search and rescue center came about?
ROBIN MURPHY, PROFESSOR, TEXAS A&M: The center started before 9/11. It was taking advantage of a lot of DARPA technology and the teams working on what became the robots that you see in "The Hurt Locker." And so using that for applications such as search and rescue.
KAYE: And how were they used in Japan, say, for example after the earthquake and tsunami?
MURPHY: Most people are surprised to hear that we took the Marine vehicles, the water-based vehicles. But we were called in within three days of the disaster. We could not get there until April because of the travel restrictions with Fukushima.
We took a bunch of ROVs because the cities needed their critical infrastructure inspected. You had 400 miles of devastation along the coast, so that meant everybody's bridges is out. Everybody's port is closed. There's debris all over. Everything has been washed out to sea. There's no way to get food and water in, and so it becomes very critical to check infrastructure.
KAYE: And why the water base? Why was that so critical? MURPHY: Well, that's where people live, and it's also very difficult for -- to do this manually. There's not enough divers in the world to inspect 400 miles quickly, and a lot of it is very unsafe. The Japanese coast guard, once they saw us operating, came over, and we worked with them for several days as well as with the cities because they were unable to send their divers into the very shallow areas where there was a lot of debris because it's incredibly unsafe for divers to do that.
KAYE: Yes.
MURPHY: And there were these huge islands of floating flotsam. Houses were just floating out there, and they are not allowed to dive underneath them and see if perhaps if there were any remains to be recovered.
KAYE: These can be used in air as well, right? They are not just about land and sea.
MURPHY: Yes. We've used land and aerial vehicles as well as sea vehicles. Everything that we worked with responders through our Roboticists Without Borders program. Things that are either man portable or man packable. So, either a couple of people can easily carry it, or you can you put it in a backpack
So we've used ground vehicles at World Trade Center, aerial vehicles at Hurricane Katrina. But we see a lot of -- with hurricanes and earthquakes, tsunamis, a lot of damage is by the water. And a lot of the infrastructure, a lot of things need to get fixed there had.
KAYE: Yes. So once you're on the ground or the team is on the ground with this rescue robot, how long does it take to put it in motion and get it started?
MURPHY: Often 15 minutes --
KAYE: Oh, wow!
MURPHY: -- ten minutes.
KAYE: So fast.
MURPHY: The Seabotic Serbot - yes - the Seabotic Serbot from opening the trunk of a minivan to getting into the water is less than ten minutes. And it's been optimized exactly for that.
The UK has really been a leader in adopting rescue robots. We haven't seen them catch on here in the United States quite as much. We've got a lot of delays. Agencies need to make the final approvals and set aside money like they do for bomb squads to get bomb squad robots.
But anyway, in the UK they have optimized around this idea that if they can get to a car that's gone into a ditch or into the water -- the water up there is so cold -- if you can get to them within 30 to 60 minutes, there's a good chance of successfully revving them. So, having this robot that they can go in and can see through the murky waters, bust through a window, help latch on to somebody or cut their seat belt and get them back up quickly is really important.
KAYE: And when you say the robot is doing that, it's really someone close by behind the scenes working to make that happen, right?
MURPHY: That's right. Right now, all of these robots are utility operated. Now, there's always a person in the loop to see what's going on and make decisions because every disaster and every emergency is different.
But one of the things that we do on the research side of the Center for Roboticist Assistance Search and Rescue is to try to bring in research that does the next thing. So, to make things easier for the responders, to reduce the load, to make it more certain. So looking at how to clean up the -- enhance the video, to coordinate several robots, to make things go faster, to help with the visualization.
We'll be going back to Japan in October, and we're going to be doing a lot of focusing on how to get the information from the robot into a format that's easier for the responders to understand and to start taking advantage of artificial intelligence and cartography work to project where the robot should be looking. And when it finds something, to update that projection in real-time.
KAYE: It is fascinating technology. Glad you were able to come on and share that with us. Robin Murphy from Texas A&M, thank you.
And for much more about these rescue robots, you can check out my Facebook page, facebook.com/randikayeCNN. And don't forget to tune in tomorrow. Same "Big I" time, same "Big I" channel.
Nancy Pelosi has appointed three House Democrats to fill out the supercommittee that's charged with crafting a plan to reduce the country's mounting deficits. Joe Johns will tell us who they are next.
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KAYE: House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi today named the final three members to the 12-member bipartisan congressional committee on deficit reduction. CNN's Joe Johns joins me now live from the political desk in Washington.
Hi there, Joe. I know you've had a chance to look at these names. Any surprises?
JOE JOHNS, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: I don't think you can call them surprises. Congressman Jim Clyburn is the assistant minority leader from South Carolina, number three Democrat in the House. Also the highest ranking African-American member of Congress. No stranger to this issue. He was present for the vice president's debt negotiations.
Xavier Becerra is from California, Los Angeles. The first Hispanic on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, which handles tax issues. I think you can call him a true liberal. He's seen as very sharp, book smart, at times outspoken.
Congressman Chris Van Hollen from Maryland, top Democrat on the Budget Committee. His naming to the committee was expected. He put out a statement a little while ago saying he thinks fixing the unemployment problem is the best way to reduce the deficit. So, that's one of those refrains we hear pretty regularly from Democrats these days. He's seen as a rising star in the Congress.
No real surprises. It's not like she put a conservative blue dog on the committee, which would have sort of turned heads, if you will.
KAYE: Yes. A lot of people there are wondering if this committee is going to be able to get anything done. So, when you look at these three Democrats, what's their history in terms of the bipartisan agreement?
JOHNS: They are seen as Democratic party loyalists. I think you talk to them, they are seen as reasonable people but not exactly ready to sort of bargain away the core issues that the Democratic base cares about the most.
So I -- I don't know that you can sit down and look at these three and say, hey, these are real deal-makers that will just bargain away some of the basics. You know, you have to look to some others, particularly some of those senators who were named to see the people who are going to try to actually come up with a bargain in all likelihood.
KAYE: So, now we know the names. When do these folks actually get to work?
JOHNS: We do know there's talk of them getting together pretty quickly, at least in a conference call of some sort. No idea of when they are actually going to meet and get down to business.
Nonetheless, time is a-wasting as they say, because they have a big job to do, not a lot of time to do it. First thing they have to come up with is some kind of agreement by Thanksgiving. And when you think of all the congressional recesses in the middle there, that's not too easy a trick. And then they have to put something on the floor of the House and the Senate by -- by Christmas.
KAYE: Well, I think, Joe, you'll have a very busy fall.
JOHNS: I think you've got that right.
KAYE: All right, Joe. Thank you.
JOHNS: You bet. Bye, Randi.
