Firefighter Says Airline Profiled Him; Romney Blasts Biden Blunder
WHITFIELD: An airline is coming under fire for a controversial policy banning men from sitting next to unaccompanied children. The airline says it's about safety. Others say it's discrimination. Here is Sandra Endo with more.</s>SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On board a virgin Australia flight, Sydney firefighter Johnny McGirr says he was profiled simply because he is a man.</s>JOHNNY MCGIRR, PASSENGER: As soon as I boarded I was a potential pedophile.</s>ENDO: Since he was sitting next to two young boys who were unaccompanied by adults, he was asked by the airlines to switch seats with a female passenger. It is Virgin's policy to make sure there are no male passengers or empty seats next to children flying alone. McGirr complained to the airline and explained how he felt.</s>MCGIRR: It was interesting, really ashamed, like I had done something wrong and embarrassed.</s>ENDO: In a statement, Virgin says, "This has been a long- standing policy that was based on customer feedback, and in light of recent feedback, we are now reviewing the policy. Our intention is certainly not to discriminate in any way." It's a controversial policy. In 2010, a man sued British Airways for sex discrimination and won after being forced to move away from unaccompanied minors sitting next to him. Right now, there's no major U.S. carrier that specifically prohibits men from sitting next to unaccompanied children. And since there's no nationwide Department of Transportation policy for airlines, carriers are left to figure out what's best. Children safety advocates support what some international airlines are doing.</s>JOHN SHEHAN, NATL. CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED CHILDREN: We're trying to prevent child victimization. We know that these -- that the overwhelming majority of sex offenders are male, so by removing that situation, you're lowering the risk.</s>ENDO: Travelers we spoke with have mixed views about the policy.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would be fine as long as the airline has a watch on what he is doing and he's monitored. I don't -- I think that is discriminatory.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because my kids, you know, I feel you know unless I am not there with them or another parent, I would feel more comfortable if the policy was in effect.</s>ENDO (on camera): Many domestic travelers we spoke with also didn't even know this policy existed on some airlines. We also reached out to the American Civil Liberties Union. They did not want to comment on this story. Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Other stories right now in THE NEWSROOM. The opening bell rings in about one minute and expect stocks to be lower today. Investors are reacting to disappointing economic report. Gold medalists with the U.S. women's rowing team are ringing the opening bell this morning. And they have got their gold and bling with them right around their necks. And a deadly outbreak of the West Nile virus kills 28 people in the U.S. Sixteen deaths are in Texas. We'll take a look at this map of the lower 48. The states in red show West Nile activity. Mosquitoes carry the disease, which can be as mild as flu-like symptoms or can cause a fatal swelling of the brain. Well, the jackpot of $320 million has Powerball fever in the air and it's growing, 42 states plus D.C. participate in the lottery. The drawing is tonight. For his part, Vice President Joe Biden is probably hoping today's trip on the campaign trail will be a bit smoother after creating quite the firestorm with these comments.</s>JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: He said in the first 100 days, he's going to let the big banks once again write their own rules. Unchain Wall Street. They're going to put y'all back in chains.</s>WHITFIELD: Biden was speaking before an audience in Virginia that included African-Americans. And that prompted outrage from some conservatives who say the vice president's remarks were a reference to slavery. But Biden pushed back, saying he was merely echoing a line used by top Republicans, including newly announced vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan.</s>BIDEN: Here is what Congressman Ryan said. He said -- we believe a renewed commitment to limited government will unshackle our economy. The speaker of the House said -- used the word "unshackle" as well referring to their proposals. The last time these guys unshackled the economy, to use their term, they put the middle class in shackles. That's how we got where we are.</s>WHITFIELD: And this latest war of words may suggest the race for the White House is quickly becoming a race to the political bottom. Joining us right now, CNN political director Mark Preston. So, Mark, as I mentioned, Republicans are seizing on Biden's remarks, with Mitt Romney tying those remarks to these opponent's overall campaign.</s>MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. And, you know, Mitt Romney just did this just a short time ago in an interview on CBS. He was asked specifically about what was going on, Fredricka, here, and about this campaign, and he said that President Obama is running a campaign of division and hatred. I mean, those are very, very strong words. And it's not something we'd expect to see, Fred, now. Perhaps we would see this in the last couple of weeks leading into November. But to see it this early is certainly a red light that this is getting to become very nasty.</s>WHITFIELD: In fact, Romney's words, quote, "that it was angry and desperate -- an angry and desperate campaign." Let's listen to what Mitt Romney had to say.</s>MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Another outrageous charge just came a few hours ago in Virginia, and the White House sinks a little bit lower. His campaign and his surrogates have made wild and reckless allegations that disgrace the office of the presidency.</s>WHITFIELD: So when Paul Ryan came onboard this past weekend, everyone was saying this is now a campaign about issues. It seems like it will have clear focus. Instead, the Romney team accusing the Obama camp of hate, while the Obama team not only backs up what Biden had to say but calls Romney, quote, "unhinged". So is it starting to alienate voters on both sides? Are people, you know, who were already frustrated with the system feeling even much more so frustrated and turned off?</s>PRESTON: You know, Fred, I think a lot of people are still in the summer mode at this point, and they are focusing their time with their kids and at the beach or what-have-you. The ones that are zeroing in on it, though, I think are going to be disgusted. The fact of the matter is, the economy is in shambles at this point. And this campaign is supposed to be about big ideas, whether you agree with Mitt Romney or whether you agree with President Obama. But when it starts to get this nasty, and really this acidic this early, and they are not talking about how to fix America, how to fix the economy, I think you'll see a huge backlash from voters especially heading into the fall.</s>WHITFIELD: You have to wonder if they are testing the grounds. I mean, this is what President Obama had to say about Romney's dog. The dog keeps coming back on the rooftop, but in this way.</s>BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor Romney explained his energy policy this way. You can't drive a car with a windmill on it. That's what he said about wind power. Now I know he's tried some other things on top of a car. I didn't know he had tried windmills on top of the car.</s>WHITFIELD: So he talks about trying things on top of the car. You know, is this, you know, White House or is the Romney campaign kind of trying to see how far they can push the envelope?</s>PRESTON: You know, I think that's an interesting point to make right now, Fred, because we might be seeing some trial balloons being floated certainly by the Romney campaign to really take the attack directly at Obama by saying that his campaign is about hatred, a very explosive word to use. The question is, if they think it will stick right now, will they continue that theme heading into November? The fact is that while Obama's approval rating is below 50 percent for his job, he is still well liked. If the Romney campaign can chip away at him personally that can only help them in November. Same thing with President Obama right there, trying to chip away at Mitt Romney.</s>WHITFIELD: All right. Mark Preston, thank you so much from Washington. On this week's "NEXT LIST", meet a guy whose enthusiasm for ukulele is infectious. He has redesigned the instrument and made it more popular than ever.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ukulele, you don't feel like you need hours and hours of practice. You can just pick it up for the first time take your finger and do this. And just have fun with it. It just feels good. Everything feels right.