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CNN NEWSROOM

Passenger on AA Flight Restrained; Filing Chares in a 33-Year Mystery; SpaceX Dragon Links to Space Station Obama: Debt Claims A "Cow Pie"; Political Slugfest Over The Economy; Huntsman An AARP Sexiest Man; Football Star Exonerated Of Rape; One In Three Homeowners Underwater; Teen Creates Pancreatic Cancer Test

Aired May 25, 2012 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Suzanne Malveaux.

I want to get right to it now.

We are following breaking news out of Miami. An unruly passenger aboard American Airlines flight from Montego Bay, Jamaica, had to be restrained. Police were called in when the plane landed.

I want to go straight to John Zarrella. He's in Miami.

And, John, you've been following this. What happened?

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, apparently, once this American Airlines flight 320 from Montego Bay landed in Miami this male passenger got up from his seat. When he was told to sit down by the flight crew as they were taxiing in, he refused to sit down. He began to move towards the front of the airplane, towards the cockpit.

At that point, he was restrained by members of the flight crew and we believe by some of the passengers as well.

But the plane, again, to reiterate was already on the ground. Now, we have been told that the FBI is investigating the reports that the man moved towards the cockpit, and he is in federal custody while they continue the investigation into exactly what happened and why it happened.

MALVEAUX: John, do we know if he had any intention of going after the pilot or anything like that or was he disoriented? Had he been drinking? Do we have any idea?

ZARRELLA: We don't know. One of the reports we got was that he may have been disoriented as he approached the cockpit, or went towards the cockpit. But that's all we have heard was that he may have been disoriented, but clearly he did not listen for whatever reason to the instructions of the flight crew when they landed and he then got up in his seat and when he was told to sit back down, began moving towards the front of the airplane.

MALVEAUX: Where is he now? Has he been charged with anything?

ZARRELLA: Not charged yet, but he is in federal custody while the FBI tries to sort all this out and figure out whether, in fact, he actually did move towards the cockpit and whether anything else was said, uttered, or anything of that matter.

MALVEAUX: All right. John Zarrella, thank you. Appreciate it.

ZARRELLA: Sure. Certainly.

MALVEAUX: Thirty-three years to the day after a 6-year-old boy disappeared on his way to school, a suspect is expected to face charges of killing him.

Police say Pedro Hernandez confessed to luring Etan Patz into a store, strangling him, and placing his body in the trash. The case helped set off a nationwide movement focused on missing children.

Suzanne Candiotti, she's following the story for us.

And, Susan, I understand, first of all, that the man who has now confessed to killing Etan Patz is not in jail right now. Where is he?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right. At first, he was being held in jail, but we were told that this morning, according to police, that I have learned that he was moved to Bellevue Hospital here in New York City, which is a very highly regarded public hospital, which also has a psychiatric unit. However, the reason I'm told he was moved is because he was on medications.

Pedro Hernandez, the suspect in this case, we are not finding out what kind of medications he's taking. Police refuse to say whether these are psychiatric medications or some other kind of pills, but in any case they will tell us only that he is being moved there because they would prefer to have people in a hospital setting if they are on meds -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Do we have any idea of his emotional state, his mental state at all? Are they giving us any of that kind of information yet?

CANDIOTTI: No, we don't. Of course, it wouldn't be unusual for a mental evaluation and/or physical evaluation to take place in certainly high-profile situations and court cases and investigations. But we don't have any information about that as yet.

We do, according to police, still expect this man to appear in court for his very first appearance to officially hear what charges are being filed against him by prosecutors. And, Mr. Ray Kelly, who is the police commissioner in New York, indicated and flagged yesterday at his news conference that he expected the charges to include second degree, murder, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And I understand we're learning new details about Etan Patz's killing, the murder -- how he was lured into the store and strangled. Do we know how close this was to his home? And any new details that we're learning about the circumstances of his death?

CANDIOTTI: Well, certainly, we know the little convenience store was only located about a block and a half west of where Etan's parents still live, and so very short distance away. Of course, we've got a lot of traffic noise here at the moment so I hope you can still hear me.

What we are understanding is that from police that he lured the little boy -- although he apparently had no prior contact with him -- but he told police allegedly that he offered to have him come to the store so he could give him a soda. And so, that's when he said he got him into the basement and allegedly strangled the little boy, put him into a trash bag, Suzanne, and then took that trash bag out and dumped it into an open area in the street where presumably that trash bag was carried away.

Now, for now police say they believe these statements based on the detail he provided to them. They're not telling us everything they know, but for now, they have no physical evidence to link him to this crime.

MALVEAUX: All right. Susan, thank you very much.

We're going to have much more on the arrest and confession of Etan Patz in the case there. Author Lisa Cohen, she's going to join us in about ten minutes. She wrote the book "After Etan" -- find out why she's actually not convinced that the man who confessed actually did it.

A historic meeting in space happened this morning when the SpaceX Dragon linked up with the International Space Station. Take a listen to how it all went down.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Capture is confirmed.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Congratulations on a wonderful capture. You have made a lot of folks happy down here over in Hawthorne and right here in Houston. Great job, guys.

UNIIDENTIFIED MALE: Houston station, looks like we got us a Dragon by the tail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: Lizzie O'Leary, she is live in D.C.

Lizzie, wow, this is pretty extraordinary. This is history- making. The first SpaceX flight to connect to the International Space Station, first private enterprise here. I think there are more to come or what are we looking at here?

LIZZIE O'LEARY, CNN AVIATION AND REGULATION CORRESPONDENT: There are more to come. This is the first of 12 flights, Suzanne.

You heard that phrase, "a Dragon by the tail". That was astronaut Don Pettit. He was operating that robotic arm that reached out from the International Space Station and captured the Dragon capsule. Remember, there's no people on Dragon. It's got a lot of stuff -- supplies, food, more laptops, batteries, things for those astronauts on the space station.

Now, SpaceX has got a contract with NASA, about $1.5 billion, to do these flights, to bring stuff up to the International Space Station. Right now, humans can only get there courtesy of the Russian space flight program.

So, there's not a way for humans to get there on the commercial side yet, but that is certainly something that SpaceX and a couple other private companies have their eye on, kind of looking down the road as, of course, we know the shuttle program was phased out and private space flight, in cooperation with NASA, is starting to take over some of those responsibilities.

And today, we saw the first cargo one. They're slowly working on hooking this thing up to the space station and then they'll open the hatch probably tomorrow, Suzanne, and start to offload the cargo.

MALVEAUX: All right. We'll take a look at those pictures too. Really fascinating stuff. Thank you, Lizzie.

Here is what we're working on for this hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX (voice-over): The votes are being counted, but will Egypt's new president be able to fulfill the promise of the people's bloody revolution? We'll look at the tough choices.

A high school football star went to prison for five years for rape. Now, he's proven innocent after his accuser reached out to him on Facebook and admitted she lied.

And millions more Americans are choosing to drive this memorial day weekend instead of flying, but they're not going very far. See how summer gas prices are affecting their decisions.

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In Egypt, it is all over but the counting now. We're talking about the most historic election in Egypt's history, something that many people said they would never see in their lifetimes. Voters lining up to make their voices heard in a free and open democratic process.

Here's how it works: it was a first round where the field of 13 candidates cut down to two. Then, it's a runoff, a two-man race to be president of Egypt. The first one picked by the people.

I want to talk about these two guys and who got the most votes this week.

Michael Holmes from CNN International.

So, Michael, this is interesting because on the one hand, you've got one guy who basically an Islamist, believes in Sharia law, covering women head to toe, death penalty for adultery and homosexuality. The other guy is almost like he's so close to Mubarak, he's like a twin.

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR & CORRESPONDENT: He's part of the regime. Yes.

MALVEAUX: Right. Like the old guard.

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Is this a kind of revolution that the Egyptians were talking about?

HOLMES: Well, it's certainly not the revolution that those we saw in Tahrir Square would have liked, but what it is -- it's democracy in action. These are two guys that the voters have picked. And so, there you go.

Well, they haven't picked. I want to make it clear, too.

The two guys that we're talking about, and you see them on the screen, Mohammed Morsi, he's with the Islamist Brotherhood, quite a hardline Islamist. He says very nasty things about Israel, and as you say, wants Sharia law. He wants something more on the Saudi model of government.

Now, the other guy we're talking about is Ahmed Shafik. He's a former prime minister under Mubarak. He was a minister in the government for many, many years. And, yes, he's part of the old guard. Hardliner.

And so, you know, nobody from the middle. You've got these two guys who are both on the extremes, if you like.

MALVEAUX: How did that happen though?

HOLMES: Yes.

MALVEAUX: I'm a little confused, because you've got the protesters in Tahrir Square. They say they want democracy. About half of Egypt's 50 million came out to vote over the course of two days. How did the two extreme guys get the most votes?

HOLMES: Well, pretty simply -- and I want to make it clear the two guys we're talking about, the Muslim Brotherhood, who are all over the counting, they are the ones saying these are the two leaders at the moment. There's nothing official yet, but they have a pretty good political machine, and so everybody is quoting what they're saying.

How did we end up this way? Essentially the easiest way to describe it is they were the moderates or let's say more moderate among the candidates, they split the vote. There were too many of them. People wanted Moussa, some other people wanted a couple other guys that were more in the centrist line, and so, they split that moderate vote.

MALVEAUX: So, Amr Moussa, he was the guy that the U.S. and a lot of Western countries wanted. He was the former head of the Arab League, a moderate.

HOLMES: More moderate. Yes.

MALVEAUX: More moderate.

What does it mean for the United States and their relationship with Egypt?

HOLMES: Well, that's a great concern, for the U.S.

I should point out, too, that there's another guy, Hamden Sabahi, who is a very moderate guy. He's coming in third at the moment. So when the official results come out, it's not over yet.

But as far as the U.S. is concerned, there is not much the U.S. can do. This is democracy. The people have spoken, and as we saw with the election in Gaza, Hamas won. You can't pick the winner.

So they're going to have to do business with these guys, but it will be a very different kind of business. The U.S. probably is going to be preferring Shafik to win this election, because at least he's kind of a security blanket in the way, they know what they're going to get with him.

MALVEAUX: Of what we've seen over the last two days, how confident are you that the military is actually going to allow either one of these leaders to take the reins and actually become the president?

HOLMES: That's a good question.

MALVEAUX: That they're going to acknowledge this.

HOLMES: And it's a very good question because, you know, as we have discussed before, there's no constitution written yet. The presidential powers are not even written. it's a job without a job description. It depends.

I'm not saying these guys who are the ones who go to the runoff. If the Muslim Brotherhood candidate wins, the military will not be pleased. It will be interesting then. They say they're going to hand over power July 1st. How much power will they hand over? How much power will the president get?

You know, but if Shafik wins? He was in the army, I'm sure they'll work together just fine. That's not great for the people, necessarily, because if he wins, expect a crackdown on protesters because he's a law and order candidate. If the Muslim Brotherhood wins, you expect a different kind of crackdown.

I think, long-term, there could end up being some buyer's remorse among the voters when they end, if they end up with one of these two guys. But democracy is, as I say, is about the right to make the wrong decision.

At the end of the day, at least, it's democracy.

MALVEAUX: Yes. Messy business. When is the final runoff? Do we know?

HOLMES: OK. Yes, that's going to happen July 16th and 17th, two-day vote, and then the big date is the -- sorry, June 16th, 17th is the runoff. July 1st is the day when the military is meant to hand over power.

MALVEAUX: All right. Weeks away, just a couple of weeks ago.

HOLMES: It's fascinating to watch. But, as I said, you know, in a democracy, we don't get to pick the winner.

MALVEAUX: No, we just watch and see.

HOLMES: Watch and see.

MALVEAUX: All right. Michael, thank you. Have a good weekend.

HOLMES: You too.

MALVEAUX: Thirty-three years ago today, Etan Patz disappeared. Now police say a man has confessed to killing the 6-year-old, but my next guest is not sure that he actually did it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: It's a somber anniversary for the parents of Etan Patz. Exactly 33 years ago, their son disappeared on his way to school. After more than three decades of grief and unanswered questions, this year perhaps they're finally going to have some sense of closure. Today a suspect is expected to face charges of killing Etan.

Lisa Cohen, she is author of the book "After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive." She's joining us from New York.

First of all, thank you for being here. Your book considered to be one of the most definitive accounts of the case.

Initially, you said you were not convinced that the man they have in custody, Pedro Hernandez, is actually the man who killed Etan Patz. Do you believe that still? Do you believe that he is the one who did it?

LISA COHEN, AUTHOR, "AFTER ETAN": I haven't heard anything definitive that convinces me that he's the man that did it. He says he did it. I don't know what the motive is. I don't know details about why he's so convincing to authorities. I only know he's been arrested and that he said he did it.

A lot of people have said they did crimes that they didn't do.

MALVEAUX: Do you think they need hard, physical evidence to prove that he's the one who did it or do you think they can actually take him at his word?

COHEN: I think there's something in between. I don't know that you need hard, physical evidence in a case that's 33years old where, you know, the body may have been disposed of in a way that no one could ever find traces of it.

But, on the other hand, someone stepping forward to say that they did a crime, we don't know that much about him, we don't know that much about his history. We don't know that much about his mental condition. So for me, the jury is still out.

MALVEAUX: From your account and your book and your knowledge of the case, do you believe that -- at least the man behind bars, do you believe they have the right person, that they have Etan's killer or do we still just don't know?

COHEN: We just don't know. I think they arrested a man. They're charging him with second-degree murder. This is something that as far as I can tell has been on their radar no more than a month since the basement was being dug up down the street from the Patz's and apparently someone contacted police having seen that publicity.

I don't know -- I have only heard about him since two days ago. I had never heard his name before.

MALVEAUX: And have you spoken with Etan's parents? Have they responded at all, reacted at all about the arrest?

COHEN: They're just hearing the news, too, so this is all something that has to be thought about and figured out and, again, I have said many times they've heard these kinds of things before. They haven't actually seen anyone charged before. So, obviously, that's going to make them, you know, really take this seriously, but it's still so early in the game.

MALVEAUX: You have studies this, gone through every single detail here. In your understanding of what happened, tell us what you believe happened to Etan Patz 33 years ago.

COHEN: I can only say what happened up to a point. You know, he went and he headed towards the bus stop, and he never made it to the bus. So whether or not he made it to the actual bus stop is a bit in contention.

I understand there are some reports from parents who were at the bus stop that said he never was there. So he walked to school for the first time on his own. He disappeared.

Over the years there have been -- there has been a lot of conjecture there were pedophiles in the neighborhood that had an interest in him. There's a prime suspect up until this time period who is now sitting in a prison in Pennsylvania who made admissions about having taken Etan back to his apartment the day that all of this happened. A boy that he was 90 percent sure was Etan and trying to have sex with him.

So if that is true, then this isn't true. They both can't be true.

MALVEAUX: Does it seem plausible or even feasible the story that we've heard from Hernandez now, the fact that investigators are now saying that he might have gone to this store seeking -- wanting to buy a soda, that he lured him into the basement promising him a soda and that he killed him there?

COHEN: It's possible. I mean, I think it's possible. I know he had a dollar when he left for school that day or at least that's the story I have always heard from his parents and that he had talked about buying a soda at the bodega before he got on the school bus.

So, in that sense there's nothing that I could rule out of his version of the story.

MALVEAUX: And, finally, do you think that this in any way provides some sense of closure or do you think it only provides more questions perhaps for the parents and for people like yourself who have been following this case for decades?

COHEN: Well, I think at this point it does raise more questions than anything. But if he did it, if there's a satisfactory way to ascertain that he did it, I don't think -- I think closure is not really a great word. I think there will be some sense of we've done everything we can and we have some answers, and I don't think that will ever take away the grief and the loss. But Sam Patz (ph) is fond of saying that something is better than nothing.

MALVEAUX: All right. Lisa Cohen, thank you very much for your perspective. Appreciate it.

COHEN: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: President Obama calls the claim Mitt Romney made about the nation's debt is cow pie of distortion, that's his words. We're going to look at the claim.

And don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Historic election in Egypt really got some folks fired up not just in Cairo. You want to watch this.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

MALVEAUX: All right. So this actually isn't in Egypt. It is New York, at the Egyptian consulate. A reporter was interviewing people voting absentee when a consulate staffer told him to stop. The two argued, got physical and they did some pushing and shoving.

The reporter says he was kept from doing his job. The consulate apologized and said tensions were running high because of this important election.

We are remembering our fallen veterans this Memorial Day weekend. It's an annual tradition that dates back to just after the Civil War. And, of course, Memorial Day weekend also the unofficial start of the summer travel season.

AAA says the number of people hitting the road is going to be up. Almost 35 million Americans expected to travel more than 50 miles from home. That's up more than 1 percent from last year. AAA also reports a majority of travelers say gas prices are not going to affect their plans.

President Obama slams Mitt Romney over claims about the country's debt, and he puts it in language that maybe farmers can appreciate. It's one of the stories our political radar this hour.

CNN political editor Paul Steinhauser joining us.

Paul, the president, he was campaigning in Iowa. So I don't know, maybe he thought comparing Romney's claims to what he says is a cow pie might work in Iowa. Why should we take a listen?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I know Governor Romney came to Des Moines last week, warned about a prairie fire of death. That's what he said. Prairie fire!

But, you know, he left out some facts. You know, his speech was more like a cow pie of distortion.

I don't -- I don't know whose record he twisted the most, mine or his.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: All right, Paul. I don't know. I don't know what cow pie really is, a cow pie. Kind of reminds me of 2008 when he said lipstick on a pig, but sometimes those things work, sometimes they backfire.

Clearly, he is trying to go after Mitt Romney and keeping up the attacks. Is it a strategy that they feel is working?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: You know, I think in this day and age, he really doesn't have a choice, Suzanne. You know, back in the day, back in the olden days, presidents running for re- election employed what was called the oval office strategy.

They really wouldn't go on the attack and even name their opponents until much closer to the conventions, in October and September near the general election. But times have changed, don't you think?

Used to be the running mates would be ones who were the attack dogs. But now with the internet and especially nowadays in just in the last couple of years with social media like Twitter, like Facebook, presidents really don't have a choice.

That's why you're seeing President Barack Obama, Suzanne, not just the clip you played in Iowa, but earlier in the week as well going after Mitt Romney, naming him by name, attacking him.

I think they really don't have a choice anymore. You know, his opponent is attacking him. Mitt Romney and his campaign is attacking the president. They don't really have a choice. They don't have a luxury of sitting back and letting the vice president do all the work.

MALVEAUX: Yes, and Romney, of course, fighting back here. He's saying the president really hasn't come close to keeping his financial promises.

He says in a statement here, a president who broke his promise to cut the deficit in half by the end of his first term has no standing when it comes to fiscal responsibility.

So I am assuming that this really is going to turn into a including fest over the economy.

STEINHAUSER: Yes. It already has. We've got a little over five months to go so stay tuned. If you like what you're seeing so far, Suzanne, you're going to see a heck of a lot more of it between now and November 6th.

Why, because this election is all about the economy, the economy, the economy. We talked about it yesterday. What's the number one issue on the minds of Americans, the economy. That's why you're hearing them battle over jobs, battle over the federal government deficit, battling over taxes.

You are going to hear more of that between now and November 6th. Mitt Romney's main theme in running for the White House is I can do a better job on the economy, I'm the pro. I'm the guy from the business world. I can create more jobs. You're going to hear this over and over and over.

MALVEAUX: And break it down for us, Paul, when it comes to the new poll numbers. Because I know there are certain job categories in which both of these two are rated.

STEINHAUSER: Yes and this is really interesting. You know, most polls you break it down by party, are you a Democrat, Republican or independent, gender, age, you name it. This is really fascinating.

Look at these new numbers from Gallup. They break it down basically by the kind of worker you are, the kind of employment you have. Among professional workers, and that would include lawyers, doctors, scientists, teachers, engineers, nurses, accountants, those type of people.

You can see the president according to this Gallup poll, this new poll from Gallup has an eight-point advantage. Among service workers, those could be police officers, firefighters, people in the fast food industry, other waiters and waitresses, look at that, also a 13-point advantage for the president.

But look at it switch among managers and executives, Romney on top by 7 points. They're tied among clerical workers, office workers. Go to the next screen. You can see a big lead for Romney among construction workers and people working in mines.

And among business owners and a smaller lead among people who work in the transportation field. First time, I've really seen numbers like these, Suzanne, broken down by --

MALVEAUX: Fascinating.

STEINHAUSER: Yes, it really is an interesting look at how people feel about this race for the White House.

MALVEAUX: Yes, very informative. You can actually use that to figure out which groups you have to target there. Paul, stick around for this one.

He went from governor to ambassador, presidential candidate. Well, now Jon Huntsman, new title here, one of the sexiest men alive. He made the AARP list of top hotties over 50.

He was singled out, they say, for being the hippest dude in the conservative crowd. Others included George Clooney and Denzel Washington. Do you think it's going to give him a little extra something there, Paul, a little street credit? I don't know.

STEINHAUSER: Maybe a little late for Huntsman. His bid for the nomination kind of fizzled. Remember he dropped out back in January.

Well, Suzanne, I want to ask you something though. Huntsman, I guess, you could say good looking man. Mitt Romney also over 50, a good looking man, who do you think among those two if you had a choice there?

MALVEAUX: Well, you know, I think Huntsman kind of edged him out a little bit, but they're pretty close. And then there's always Obama, so, you know, you could widen the field a little bit there.

STEINHAUSER: There you go.

MALVEAUX: And you're not old enough, so, Paul, you wouldn't make the list -- STEINHAUSER: Maybe next year.

MALVEAUX: You're just not old enough. You and I, not AARP material just quite yet. Thanks, Paul, have a good weekend. We'll have more after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A California man is rebuilding his life after being wrongly convicted of rape. Brian Banks was a promising high school football star when a classmate falsely accused him of attacking her.

After he spent more than five years behind bars, the woman contacted Banks on Facebook and ended up confessing her lie. We get more now from Sarah Welch at our affiliate KTLA.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The people's motion to dismiss this case pursuant to Section 13 will be granted.

SARAH WELCH, KTLA REPORTER (voice-over): Brian Banks choked back the tears. The 26-year-old waited 10 years for a court proceeding that lasted only 30 seconds. His rape conviction overturned as if it never happened. Outside the court, family cheered the truth.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I have ever wanted was just my freedom and I got that today.

WELCH: Banks was wrongly convicted of a rape and kidnapping of high school Juanita Gibson at Pauley High in 2002. Banks who was a top football recruit with hopes of the NFL, spent five years in prison, another five as a registered sex offender. Last year, Gibson admitted to banks she lied.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's one of the hardest days of my life, to keep cool and to keep calm.

WELCH: It was that new evidence that led the California Innocence Project to step in and push for Banks' exoneration.

JUSTIN BROOKS, CALIFORNIA INNOCENCE PROJECT: Considering that statement in the context of the full case, there's only one thing that made sense here and that was Brian was totally innocent 10 years ago just as he is innocent today.

BRENTFORD FERREIRA, DEPUTY D.A.: We do not believe Mr. Banks did the crime that he pled guilty to and, therefore, justice has been served.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, thank you, thank you.

WELCH: With his parents by his side, Banks can't wait to get his ankle monitor removed and with football still a passion, he's making a play for a possible NFL career.

BROOKS: I have a message to any NFL executives out there, give this guy a shot.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel like anything is possible and it's proven today for me by me getting my freedom back.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: And now Banks will have the freedom to pursue those NFL dreams.

Even though home prices are on the rise, about 1 in 3 homeowners still underwater on their mortgage. We're going to take a look at why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Owing more than your home is worth, that's the gut wrenching reality facing a startling number of homeowners. Our Alison Kosik, she is with us for the latest figures.

Alison, I mean, that's a really tough thing for a lot of folks to realize they owe that much. They owe more than their home is worth.

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly. What's interesting is that right now you're seeing home prices actually slowly going up, but this really is more evidence that we've got a long way to go.

Because about 31 percent of homeowners are under water in the first three months of this year, and that number has actually gone up. Here's the thing though, 90 percent of those underwater borrowers are current on their mortgage payments.

So what that essentially means is that they are overpaying, basically throwing their money into a hole instead of building equity in their homes. Still a huge problem here and one that's holding back a stronger recovery in the housing market -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: What needs to happen to turn this around to get more people actually on the other side of this?

KOSIK: You know what? It's kind of that chicken and the egg theory at this point. You have to get one thing to get another. And the housing recovery is not going to take hold until the number of these underwater borrowers goes down.

But the number of these borrowers isn't going to go down until we see the housing market recover in a stronger way. We have seen prices start to rise. Sales are beginning to go up. That should help.

There are also some programs in place to let underwater borrowers who are current on their mortgages to refinance. That will help as well. What will ultimately help is if we see those prices for home across the country start to go up even more -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Alison, thank you. Have a great weekend.

KOSIK: You, too.

MALVEAUX: He may be only 15 years old, but he's already taken science world by storm. Check it out.

I love this guy. This is Jack Andraka. I love him. Look at the passion in this guy. He's the winner of Intel's International Science and Engineering Fair. The Maryland teen developed a test for pancreatic cancer that's cheaper and 20 times faster than current tests.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK THOMAS ANDRAKA, CREATED CANCER TEST: I got really interested in early detection of pancreatic cancer because that's one of the main problems behind a huge death rate. And so then I was looking at blood tests because those are really the only way to detect it in its early stages.

So then I developed this sensor. What's so cooing is it can detect pancreatic cancer before it becomes invasive. Your survival rate is close to 100 percent. It's just amazing how this will be applicable. Also can look at other forms of cancer, cancer drug resistance, how effective a cancer treatment is, and basically any disease.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: You have to love his passion. Andraka received $75,000 award. He's applied for a patent on the test as well. Good for him.

So if you're packing up the car for some Memorial Day travel this weekend, you're not alone. Of course, many people heading out, but they're not going too far.

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there. On the "Help Desk" today, we're going to talk about credit cards because this affects every American in some way or another. With me, Ryan Mack is the president of Optimum Capital Management; Stacy Francis is a financial adviser and president of Francis Financial.

All right. Ryan, a question came into us from Shakib in California. Shakib wrote in: "I have just finished paying off my credit cards. When will this all be reflected in my credit report?"

RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: It's a big myth. A lot of people that think if you carry balances on your credit it actually helps your FICO score. That is a myth and it's a misconception. Paying down your debt, 30 percent of your FICO score is your balance to your total line of credit that you actually owe.

So the faster you pay down your debt, the faster a corporation takes a snapshot from month to month. So the next month he should see a dramatic increase in terms of his credit card, so. HARLOW: The next month.

MACK: Exactly.

HARLOW: What about closing out those credit cards? (INAUDIBLE) for a lot of folks that have a number of different credit cards, they want to get rid of them. Also closing them can affect their score negatively.

STACY FRANCIS, PRESIDENT, FRANCIS FINANCIAL: Yes. And when we say close a credit card, go ahead and cut it up, but don't close it because it will hurt your credit score. If you have two cards and each has a $5,000 credit limit, and you have $10,000 in total, you close one and maybe $5,000 is left on this one, you're using $5,000 of your total credit limit of $5,000. Before you were only using $5,000 of your credit limit of $10,000. So don't close your credit cards.

HARLOW: Just cut them up.

FRANCIS: Cut them up and have a ceremony and feel great about it, but don't let them get you and hurt your credit.

HARLOW: All right. Great advice, guys. Thank you.

If you're watching and you have a question you want our experts to answer, just send us an email at cnnhelpdesk@cnn.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: All right. Let the travel begin. Memorial Day weekend, it's here. Start of the summer vacation season. AAA says more people are going to travel this year than last year, but they say they're staying closer to home. Rene Marsh is reporting from D.C.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RENE MARSH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Expect busy roads this Memorial Day weekend. AAA says more people will opt to drive rather than fly. Bill Kelly (ph) is mentally prepared for gridlock from D.C. to Virginia.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to take me hours to get down there.

MARSH: Travel experts say a drop in gas prices is likely the reason for a busier travel weekend over last year. Of those 35 million travelers, the AAA says roughly 31 million of them are expected to drive to their holiday destination. But they won't be going far, only 50 miles on average.

ANDREW STAVISKY, NOT TRAVELING THIS WEEKEND: So I'm not one of the millions of people who are going to be taking my car and driving more than 50 miles away somewhere.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Folks are economizing while choosing to travel. And one of the ways that they're doing that is taking shorter trips.

MARSH: Travel experts say those shorter trips, dubbed "staycations" or "nearcations," will likely remain popular this year. And AAA says it has seen a surge in family bookings for shorter vacations, exploring hometown tourist destinations or areas close by.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Rene is live at National Airport. Renee has spent many years at that airport traveling there. How does it look today?

MARSH: It looks pretty good, Suzanne. A lot of people do plan on using the roads. AAA estimating some 31 million and a lot less people will be here at the airport, and we've seen that here. I mean, the lines are pretty quick to get through. Lots of passengers that we spoke to said, you know what? It is really easy to get in and out today. And they're kind of happy that they chose to take the air rather than the ground.

MALVEAUX: Yes, it looks pretty empty behind you. It looks like things are going pretty well there. What are some ways that folks are looking to save some money, especially when you take a look at those gas prices?

MARSH: That's right. You know, the big thing is a lot of people, they are saying they want to do something, but let's face it, they are on a very tight budget. So we have put together a couple of tips. AAA saying that one of the things you can do is think about where you're going to stay.

Look for value-added options, meaning hotels that may offer a free breakfast or it may offer free activities or maybe an all- inclusive hotel where you can get all-you-can-eat food and beverage.

They also say for people within the military, you have an option of possibly getting into those national parks for free. The National Park Service, they are giving away free passes to those who are active duty and their family members.

And then if you're interested in driving, which a lot of people are doing to their destination, they're saying, slow down. Take your time. You waste a lot more gas if you're speeding and keep those tires inflated.

And our last tip that we have for you is the "staycation." I like that idea. I mean, I'm from New York City, and I have to say I'm guilty of this. You live in a great area and you don't go out to see all those tourist-y sites, and I'm guilty of that. So take advantage of what's in your hometown. They call it the "staycation." It doesn't cost a lot of money and you don't have to worry about a hotel -- Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: Rene, I like the idea of the "staycation." I'm doing it myself. I'm just going to be by the pool this weekend, enjoying Atlanta's Jazz Festival. So it's a good idea. I think a lot of folks should do it if they can. So, Rene, thank you. MARSH: Sounds good. I will be hanging out here in D.C.

MALVEAUX: Good deal.

(WEATHER REPORT)

MALVEAUX: A 6-year-old boy is stuck in the middle of an international tug of war. It's a custody battle that has even gained the attention of Angelina Jolie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Abductor or protector? Two years ago a Los Angeles woman fled the U.S. with her Italian-born son, sparking a bitter international child custody case. Now she has got to go back to Italy and an Italian court will decide who the boy belongs with.

Miguel Marquez, he shows us both sides of this rather complicated story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LURA CALDER, LEO'S MOM: This is my worst nightmare coming true.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lura Calder, an American fighting for her 6-year-old son, Leo. Two years ago she fled Parma, Italy, and an Italian husband she grew to fear.

(on camera): You feared for your life?

CALDER: I feared for my life and I feared for my son's life.

MARQUEZ (voice-over): Neither parent wanted us to show Leo's face. When Calder left Italy with Leo, who was born there, then filed for a legal separation here in California, her Italian husband filed charges of his own, kidnapping.

CALDER: I'm not a bad mom. I didn't damage my child. I was protecting him. I was protecting him, and all I did was come to my family, you know. I don't have a right to come to my own family for help?

MARQUEZ: Calder claims her husband physically and emotionally abused her, sexually abused their son, and may have hired a hit man. She won her first case, but a California appeals court in December found only the claim of emotional abuse credible and ordered that she return Leo to Italy and let the courts there sort it out.

CALDER: I don't see myself as a child abductor. I see myself as a person who saved her child.

MARQUEZ: Calder's husband, Maurizio Rigamonti, used international law, The Hague Convention, to compel his son's return. He claims the abuse came from her, and in taking their son to California, she went too far.

MAURIZIO RIGAMONTI, LEO'S DAD: Lura broke the law. She did bad things. She claimed a lot of stuff that they weren't true, you know.

MARQUEZ: But Calder has support from high-powered celebrities like Angelina Jolie, whose Children's Foundation believes Hague Convention rules are being abused by vindictive spouses.

CALDER: All of it has been taken away from him for what, to go back to an abusive man?

RIGAMONTI: I'm ready to care about his needs, you know, and I will -- with all my patience, all my love, I want the best for Leo, you know?

MARQUEZ: Calder and Leo will return to Italy June 1st. Upon landing in Rome, Leo will go home with his father until a full custody hearing two days later. Calder fears that separation could be devastating.

CALDER: My son, he has never spent a single night ever alone with his father in his entire life.

MARQUEZ: A bitter custody fight, a 6-year-old boy at its heart, Leo's fate soon in the hands of an Italian court.

Miguel Marquez, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)