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Earthquake Hits Southern Illinois; Judge to End Polygamist Custody Hearing Today; Military Warns of Terrorist Strikes in Baghdad
Aired April 18, 2008 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: Pope Benedict XVI, only the third pope to address the U.N. General Assembly, but also a much more private meeting with sex abuse victims is drawing both praise and criticism.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And an attorney working with the monster polygamy ordeal in Texas cuts through the legalese and tells us what the case is really about. As a matter of fact, we have some developing news where it concerns that.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
LONG: And good morning. Good afternoon, depending on where you are in the U.S. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips.
LEMON: We want to get now to our developing news in San Angelo, Texas. One judge for a second day is hearing arguments for and against returning hundreds of kids, specifically about 416 of them, to a polygamous ranch where state officials believe the kids were being forced to grow up way too fast.
Now, just last hour, we had an attorney here who is helping the children in their court battle there, and he says the judge in the case has said, "Wrap it up today," to the attorneys, by 2:00 p.m., their time, which is Central Time, and also saying that she will be done by 4:00 p.m. Not sure if she'll have a decision then. The attorney we spoke to said it's definitely possible, but we're going to find out.
Our Susan Roesgen is following this story. She is in San Angelo, Texas. She'll join us in just a little bit with an update. She's following the hearings.
LONG: What a wakeup call they had this morning: an earthquake in the Midwest. And as skyscrapers swayed in Chicago and Indianapolis, bricks fell from buildings -- you can see right here -- and a lot of people were just jostled out of bed early this morning, 4:30 local.
So far, injuries and damage, thank goodness, have been minor. The quake, 5.2 in magnitude. It was centered about 38 miles north,- northwest of Evansville, Indiana. People say they felt it all the way to Iowa and into the south. And it really shook-up the morning news team of CNN affiliate WAVE, which is in Louisville, Kentucky.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. We are experiencing shaking here right now in the studio, perhaps a tremor of sorts. We have -- not sure. The whole studio is shaking -- Kendra (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't know if you can hear our lights right now, but there's shaking overhead.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And perhaps you can see our set and our computers shaking just a little bit.
Kevin, what do you -- what do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have to think that this is an earthquake of some sort that's going on. Let's...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Look at our lights right there. They are shaking. We can feel it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The whole studio is shaking. It started as a small thing, and then right after we came back from that story, you can really feel the whole studio here shaking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Little bit noisy, just about 30 seconds.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: They're up early in the morning, aren't they?
LEMON: Yes.
LONG: It's early. A local morning news broadcast, about 4:30 in the morning. And we've had aftershocks, as well, one measuring 4.5. And that morning quake considered moderate. And it was the strongest to hit that region in some 40 years.
Let's bring in Chad Myers, talking about something that really, that area clearly doesn't see every day. You can see just in the news report alone.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It's not every day, but when they get one, it really does shake. And I don't know if you remember back in the early, early '90s there was this warning about a potential New Madrid earthquake that could really be -- be devastating to the United States. All kind of people, helicopters were flown in, and nothing happened.
But now this fault, a little bit farther to the north of the New Madrid Fault, was right along what we call the Wabash Valley system or the Wabash Island Fault.
I have Dave Applegate from the U.S. Geological Survey on the line right now.
Dave, what have you learned in the past few hours about this? Because I know you guys look at this over and over and over. What do you know now that you didn't know a few hours ago?
DAVE APPLEGATE, U.S. GEOLOGICAL SURVEY: Well, that's -- that's a great question. We're certainly, as are you, are trying to -- to get a sense of how broadly this earthquake was felt.
We now have felt reports that have come into our Web site, over 28,000, from 21 states, and as well as Ontario, Canada. So ,in a sense, we already know that earthquakes in the Eastern U.S. and central U.S. do tend to be felt over a much broader area than in the West, but still, 21 states is pretty impressive for a magnitude 5.2.
MYERS: Dave, explain to me about the earthquakes in California. When you get a shake, and then they hit another fault line. The shake kind of attenuates; it kind of goes away a little bit. There aren't as many faults in the Eastern U.N., so this thing is like ringing the Liberty Bell; it just keeps going.
APPLEGATE: Absolutely. And the other factor that plays a big part here is that you have, first, the mountains in the east have been eroding away for many millions of years. They've generated deep basins of sediments. And those sediments greatly amplify the shaking.
And these are big broad basins, where out in the west the basins do amplify the shaking, but they're much narrower in between blocks of mountains. Here you get them spread out.
MYERS: Dave, I also noticed it was a fairly shallow shake. I mean, we're only talking six or seven miles. That probably added to what they felt at the surface right above them, too?
APPLEGATE: Absolutely. With deeper earthquakes, there's -- there's more distance. The strongest shaking, it takes just that much further to get to the surface. So here it was right below -- right below the surface, and so that means there's nothing to keep the shaking from the people.
MYERS: Well, 27,000 reports of shaking. As far as Ontario, Dave, that's new to me. I didn't hear that earlier in the day.
And if you did feel it, you can go on the USGS Survey Web site, tell them what you felt, tell them what happened to your house, as well. Dave, thank you for your time. We'll get back to you later in the day.
Hey, guys, it really was an amazing shake. I mean, you're talking about -- I'm sorry. You're talking about when the Louisville, that affiliate there, the TV station, 150 miles away. And you could see how much that affiliate was shaking. So this really did ring a bell in the east.
LONG: With those 27,000 reports...
MYERS: Yes.
LONG: ... I just want to remind people, so if you happen to have an I-Report, send -- send it our way. LEMON: Absolutely. CNN.com/I-Report. You can go right there. Or look for the i-Report icon.
But you know, the anchors were pretty shaken, as well. They were talking about their studio.
MYERS: Yes.
LEMON: They were, like, what is going on here?
MYERS: Then they immediately -- then they immediately went to the weather guy: "Hey, what's going on?" You know?
LEMON: Well, Chad, we rely on you for everything. You're the centerpiece of the newscast.
MYERS: Lots of hats.
LEMON: All right.
LONG: Thank you.
LEMON: Thank you, Chad.
Kindred spirits: U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his special guest, Pope Benedict XVI. The men of peace face the cameras, ahead of Benedict's address to the U.N. General Assembly.
The pontiff helped mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. And human rights were the heart of his speech to world leaders, along with such fundamental themes as good versus evil.
Well, that may have been the centerpiece of Benedict's first papal visit to America, but it can't overshadow a private, unannounced meeting yesterday in Washington. There the pope met with adult survivors of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of Catholic priests.
Now, some of those survivors, well, they spoke later with CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BERNIE MCDAID, CHURCH ABUSE SURVIVOR: I shook his hand, and I basically told him that I was an altar boy in the sacristy, a young boy praying to God, and -- at the time that I was abused. And it wasn't just sexual abuse, it was spiritual abuse. And I want you to know that.
And then I told him that he has a cancer growing in his ministry and needs to do something about it, and I hope he hears me right.
FAITH JOHNSTON, CHURCH ABUSE SURVIVOR: I was just sort of numb, and I had my mother's rosary beads, which she gave to me before -- before I left home. And I was just clutching those and just praying for the strength to say the right thing. OLAN HORNE, CHURCH ABUSE SURVIVOR: He first apologized. And I didn't think I needed an apology. I thought I had heard it and that they rang hollow. But I think we also had to do one thing. We had to allow the Holy Father to be the Holy Father. And I think there was a great balance between that and him hearing us and I'm hopeful.
JOHNSTSON: I hope that other survivors can -- can hear about this, see this, and -- and get the same hope that we've all gotten from it.
MCDAID: I also have to tell you today's mass did something. His sermon there and his apology about the sexual abuse blew me away, and I had tears in my eyes that I wasn't ready to have. I -- it was an incredible moment for me.
HORNE: I struggled in my spirituality, but hope has been my faith, and my hope was restored today.
MCDAID: We're at the beginning of a new start, and there's real hope this time. It's not just words. I think there's going to be action following this -- this moment now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, not all survivors or their advocates are as gratified by the pope's attention. The group called SNAP, well, they want action, not just words, including punishment for bishops who covered up sex crimes. SNAP plans a news conference any time now at New York St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we'll bring that to you, excerpts a little bit later on in our newscast.
More on our series now, with "Conversations with Black America." Today we're taking a look at the religious aspects of African-American life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The Bible is like a nourishment. If you -- it's like when you're hungry and you know when you're hungry, you need to eat. That means you need to eat. OK. That's the same for your soul. When your soul is hurting or it's aching or it's not, it needs to be refilled, crack that Bible open and get you a message out of that Word.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: During today's "Conversations with Black America," we'll be looking at faith and religion on urban radio: messages both in music and in words.
LONG: Some big developments today in the Texas polygamy ranch custody case. Again, more than 400 children and their futures unknown. Almost that many attorneys, one judge. A hearing that, well, presumably could take forever, right? Maybe not, according to some new developments today.
Let's get to CNN's Susan Roesgen. She's outside that courthouse in San Angelo, Texas -- Susan.
SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Melissa, they're in a recess right now. They should be coming back. We've seen some attorneys just starting to file in, so court should be resuming. This custody hearing should be resuming any minute.
But you're right. Before the recess, the judge announced that today is it. This is going to be all the testimony she's going to hear. Any objections, anything that's going to be said in this custody hearing will have to be completed by 4 p.m. local time this afternoon. That's in about three hours. She says no more after that.
She will either e-mail her decision to the attorneys in this case or she could sit on it and make her decision on Monday. We'll just have to see what happens.
When they do start again with this hearing, we're likely to hear more from a child psychiatrist who's supposed to be an expert in cult behavior. He says that the children at that ranch have told them that disobedience leads to eternal damnation and that the only way to get to paradise, to Zion, is through marriage.
But a spokesman for the families says that what the investigators have been relying on here in this case is hearsay, and he says that no one has proven any allegations of abuse.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROD PARKER, FLDS SPOKESMAN: The evidence that was put in didn't really prove anything at this point. We need to wait and see what the rest of the evidence is. And you need to remember that the families haven't had their opportunity to put on any evidence yet.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROESGEN: Now in fact, Melissa, you know again, this is just a custody hearing. Many times the judge has reminded the lawyers for the families, "Look, you're going to have your shot at cross-examining witnesses during the actual trial."
This is just a custody hearing to determine whether or not the state will continue to hold more than 400 children or whether the state will return some or all of them to the ranch. An actual trial in this case is still to come -- Melissa.
LONG: Susan, the women and children at the heart of this case have lived such different lives than the women who are attorneys, the men who are attorneys or the judge herself. Do you see that difference in the courtroom? Is that clash really evident?
ROESGEN: Really, it is. This culture clash. You know, you see the lawyers walking in with their business suits and their briefcases, the media with their laptop computers and cameras. And then you've got these women in their prairie dresses looking like pioneer women who just stepped off of a stagecoach, circa 1887. They stick to themselves. They don't say much in court. They stay in little huddles, but they are listening very intently. And they've had to now, for the first time in their lives, deal with the media, deal with modern society, deal with interviews that are going out on television, on satellite, on the Internet, because they believe this is the only way they might have a shot at getting their children back.
LONG: CNN's Susan Roesgen outside the courthouse in San Angelo, Texas. Susan, thank you.
LEMON: Al Qaeda in Iraq. The group could have more violent plans for Baghdad. Some new intelligence has the U.S. military warning Iraqis to be extra vigilant.
LONG: Plus hip-hop gets holy? Faith finds a voice on urban radio. We're talking with black America, coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: U.S. troops, Iraqi troops are doing all they can today to warn people in Baghdad that a series of major al Qaeda attacks is well into the planning stages.
CNN's Barbara Starr joins me now from the Pentagon.
Barbara, how did they find this information?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, our military sources are telling us it's all come through gathering intelligence.
You know, in the last several days, we have seen several very large suicide attacks, both in Baghdad and across Iraq; many Iraqi civilians killed. But now the U.S. military really pulling out the stops to warn the people of Baghdad, in particular, that al Qaeda in Iraq -- they call them AQI operatives have entered the city and are planning more attacks right now.
The information is very specific. They tell us in a notice in a press release put out to the media and information put out to the people of Baghdad, the military said, quote, "Information collected by coalition forces states that numerous AQI terrorists have entered the Baghdad area with the purpose of carrying out vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices or suicide-vest attacks. Iraqi security and coalition forces are warning the Iraqi people."
In fact, military officials tell us they believe more than two dozen al Qaeda in Iraq operatives may have entered the city of Baghdad. And they are trying to warn the people there to be on the lookout for any suspicious behavior and even, so specifically, to be on the lookout for things like stolen ambulances or fuel cans in places that they don't expect them to be.
And, of course, it's really not just Baghdad that we've seen this violence. There have been a number of attacks across the country. Many Iraqi civilians killed. And right now, if it keeps going this way, April could be the deadliest month of the year for U.S. troops in Iraq, Don.
LEMON: All right. Barbara Starr from the Pentagon. Barbara, thank you.
LONG: Some new evidence to share with you that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan are taking a toll on U.S. troops. A Rand Corporation study is indicating that roughly one in every five troops is suffering from major depression or post-traumatic stress. It says an equal number suffer from brain juries. And now this study says only about half of them have sought treatment.
LEMON: Hip-hop radio. Sometimes it gets a bad rap, but we'll tell you about a hip-hop host who thinks it's just right for messages of faith.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Which stories are you finding most intriguing today? Let's find out. The most popular stories on our Web site, CNN.com.
And a Marine just back from Iraq goes snowmobiling on Mt. Saint Helen's and watches his dad free-fall into the crater. They share their major amazing stories of survival.
A party worthy for a hero for a Georgia second grader. He found a confused senior citizen in some woods and then led him to safety. Good for him.
And it's not just the grass; it's the new home of Washington Nationals baseball stadium is getting a lot of attention today for being green. You have recycled building materials, filters for water runoff and a lot of other features that make it the most earth- friendly stadium in the big leagues.
These stories and much more. You want to find out more, go to the "Popular Video" section at CNN.com.
LEMON: Crude oil and gasoline are making headlines with their record-setting price jumps. Now Americans may be in for a new shock.
Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange.
Tell us where consumers may hit -- may be hit next. Where is it? Obviously, it's all going to be in the pocketbook.
SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. And it's natural gas, Don. "The Wall Street Journal" reports prices are up an astounding 93 percent since August. And this affects a lot of people. Natural gas is used to heat half the homes in the U.S., and it provides 20 percent of the nation's electricity.
Why the surge? Well, natural gas used to be transported locally by pipelines because of the difficulty in moving it. But new methods of super cooling and condensing it into a liquefied form have allowed for easier travel. That has nations like South Korea and Japan bidding for prices up. So it's a matter of supply and demand, once again. And the experts say prices here could spike a lot higher.
Kind of felt like we were in physics class again in the laboratory. Right, Don?
LEMON: You did a good job at teaching. And I'm going to bring you an apple tomorrow.
LISOVICZ: Thank you.
LEMON: But you won't be here. OK.
LISOVICZ: That's right. I won't.
LEMON: If I'm not mistaken, I remember doing stories about some big natural gas discoveries right here in North America.
LISOVICZ: That's right. In the last few months, natural gas fields have been found in Louisiana, Pennsylvania and British Columbia. They've been called unconventional, because they're in shale, which has the consistency of brick, rather than the softer sandstone where most natural gas comes from.
If these fields become viable, that would mean fewer imports and less pollution for an increasingly eco-friendly U.S. And next week, I believe, is Earth Day, so timely as well.
(STOCK REPORT)
LISOVICZ: Coming up, we're going to be talking about attitudes and the economy. And that has a big affect. How you feel as a consumer really affects the economy. We'll be talking about that next hour, Don.
LEMON: You talked about Earth Day, which is next week. Melissa says April 22. Do you remember earth shoes?
LISOVICZ: Yes, they're -- yes. They're kind of -- we don't wear them on Wall Street. You don't wear them with your power suits.
LEMON: Do you remember those? They were like these weird, oddly shaped shoes? I don't know if you remember that.
LISOVICZ: They're not very flattering.
LEMON: They were called earth shoes. They kind of look like those -- what do you call them, Crocs? But they're made of, like, leather and whatever. Anyway, yes. We'll look them up for later.
LONG: Natalie Portman has a new line of shoes that...
LISOVICZ: That's right. Non-leather.
LONG: ... are supposed to be environmentally friendly. Exactly. Exactly. LISOVICZ: Non-leather.
LEMON: Thank you.
LONG: Thank you.
LISOVICZ: All over the place.
LONG: Well, we're going to talk about a different topic right now, and that is the Olympic flame touching down in Thailand from New Delhi, India. And we're going to talk about the story of defending the Olympic torch and this young lady becoming a hero in the process.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Happy Friday, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, live at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
LONG: And hello. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Kyra Phillips. And again, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LEMON: We want to tell you now about several developing stories we're working on for you, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
President Bush meets with South Korea's new leader today. President Lee -- Lee Myung-bak is scheduled to arrive at Camp David in about 90 minutes to begin two days of talks.
The Midwest is feeling aftershocks following a 5.2-magnitude earthquake centered in Southern Illinois. It was felt as far away as Milwaukee and Atlanta. There are no reports of major damage or serious injuries.
They've managed to contain a wildfire in Odessa, Texas, that destroyed six homes and forced 150 people to evacuate. One person was treated for breathing problems. The fire may have been sparked by an electrical problem.
LONG: Barack Obama picking up two more big-name endorsements, including former Clinton administration labor secretary, Robert Reich. He's praising Hillary Clinton's policy proposals, but he says he likes Obama's policy views even more. He also says Obama offers the change to "transcend the barriers of class, race and nationality that have divided us."
Now, Bill Richardson, another former Clinton cabinet member has also endorsed Senator Obama. The Obama campaign also has announced that two former Democratic senators known for their centrist (ph) views are endorsing the senator. Georgia's Sam Nunn and Oklahoma's David Boren will advise Obama on national security issues.
A quick reminder for you as well. Robert Reich will be talking about his decision to endorse Barack Obama today on "THE SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer. "THE SITUATION ROOM," in case you didn't know, gets started at 4:00 Eastern right here on CNN TV. And again, four days left until the Pennsylvania primary on the 22nd of April and this new CNN Poll of Polls is holding steady with Hillary Clinton in the lead over Barack Obama. Our latest survey of four different Pennsylvania polls gives Clinton 48 percent, Obama 43 percent. Senator Clinton has held a five-point edge among likely Democratic voters for most of this week.
LEMON: Let's check the CNN political ticker now. Republican John McCain has released his tax returns. He brought in at more than $258,000 last year, and he paid more than $84,000 in taxes. He gave $282,000 to charity, including $177,000 in book royalties. Senator John McCain and his wife file separate tax returns. Cindy McCain's net worth, thanks to her family's beer distribution company, is estimated at more than $100 million.
John McCain is heading into parts of the country next week normally not associated with the Republican party. "USA Today" reports that in an effort to show he's competing for every vote, McCain plans to campaign in Alabama's rural black belt, the struggling steel town of Youngstown, Ohio and in the Appalachian region of Kentucky.
LONG: Now, Tuesday's primary is really the next big test. Well, Hillary Clinton is also looking ahead to the next primary, May 6th, that's in North Carolina. She held a town hall forum this morning in Pennsylvania, then heading south, she has an event planned tonight at Wake Forest University which is in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
And join "Rick on the Road" this week and where is Rick going? Well, CNN's Rick Sanchez will be live in Philadelphia for a two-hour special on, of course, the Pennsylvania primary. He'll be talking about the state's top political movers and shakers, and, of course, regular people in the coffee shops about this make or break contest on the 22nd. That's "Rick on the Road" Saturday and Sunday night from 10:00 p.m. until midnight Eastern time.
LEMON: We need some "Rick on the Road" music.
LONG: Yes, we do need some snazzy "Rick on the Road" music.
LEMON: Yes, "Rick on the Road" music. We'll get that.
LONG: Revving of the engine or something.
LEMON: Well, let's hope he doesn't have to deal with any bad weather when he's there. Take a look at this golf ball size hail slamming into the Dallas/Ft. Worth area last night. The hail dented cars and broke some windows. Winds were also fierce there, about 60 miles an hour.
But perhaps the most frightening part of this storm was just west of Fort Worth. The National Weather Service says a tornado was reported on the ground for about seven minutes, but there were no reports of damage or any injuries at all. That's good to know.
It's Friday. And for sure, we could use a sunny weekend, no matter where you are in the country, Chad Myers.
MYERS: I can get you a plane ticket to a sunny place.
LEMON: OK, hey, I'm open.
LONG: You're paying for this?
MYERS: I don't know, I mean ...
LEMON: Yes.
MYERS: People ask me what's the weather, and I said, well, where? Because you know, it just depends on where you want to go.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LONG: Terror alert in the U.K. to tell you about. People and police in Bristol on alert, west of London, after an arrest of a man today and evacuating dozens of people from the neighborhood as well where he lived before setting off a controlled explosion at his house. Police are being tight-lipped as far as the 19-year-old man's name, his nationality or what led them to believe he was a terror threat in the first place.
A Dutch army officer was killed in Afghanistan today, notable since the 23-year-old lieutenant is the son of the general in charge of the entire Dutch military. Lieutenant Dennis van Uhm and another Dutch soldier died in a roadside bombing while on patrol with the NATO-led force in Afghanistan. And this -- his father shown right there on the left. General Peter van Uhm was installed as the commander of all Dutch forces just yesterday.
The presidential election in Zimbabwe still not settled. A judge today rejected a request to stop a planned recount of the votes cast back on March 29th. Parties opposed to President Robert Mugabe do not want the votes recounted believing he lost the election. A recount is set to begin tomorrow morning. Today also happens to be Independence Day in Zimbabwe. It's been 28 years since British rule there ended.
LEMON: All right, hip-hop radio. Some critics say it gives black teenagers the wrong message. But not so fast, there's one popular hip-hop show that specializes in messages of faith.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Spirit of Hip Hop, ladies and gentlemen. I need for you to be patient with me this morning.
LEMON (voice-over): The Spirit of Hip Hop is a nationally syndicated radio show working to bring the church to the street. It broadcasts in over a dozen markets and the show goes on the road for events like this one called "Exodus."
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus didn't primarily do his ministry in the synagogue, he did it in the street, on the mountainside, he did it where the people were. LEMON: The message of inclusion going out over the air waves is from founder Cory Condrey's Street Reach Ministry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's what Exodus in the book of the Bible is all about, it's all about freedom.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So, right now, that's the bridge. When this man right here grabs on to myself, he is now bridging the gap between one generation to another.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a way to be relevant and communicate the message with integrity without compromise.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's all about souls. That's what it's about.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I say you're alive.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, we're going to be speaking with the host and CEO of the Spirit of Hip Hop, Cory "Coco Brother" Condrey. We'll also talk with two other black radio personalities, Russ Par and Frank Ski (ph). Wait 'til you hear what they have to say coming up in just a few minutes right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
LONG: And we're following the Olympic Torch and China's "wheelchair angel" defending that torch and becoming a hero in the process.
LEMON: Dick Cheney, a laugh riot. Is that possible?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You in the press need to go easy on Senator Clinton on the whole business about running and ducking from gunfire in Bosnia. She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, apparently he is a laugh riot. We'll have more on his best one-liners coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: The Olympic flame is burning in Bangkok today. It arrived early Friday morning from India under extraordinary security measures. The torch relay winds through Bangkok on Saturday.
Now officials say they have mapped out an alternate route to bypass the anti-China demonstrations and warned that they might deport foreigners who disrupt this relay. Meantime, protests are already starting in Japan. The torch is not welcomed at this Buddhist temple, which was supposed to be the starting site for next week's run. Three relay sponsors, Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo, are taking their names off the torch escort vehicles.
LEMON: A disabled Chinese athlete is rallying her nation in the face of protests over the Olympic torch relay.
CNN's John Vause on China's "Wheelchair Angel." Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Jin Jing is China's newest national hero, an iconic symbol of how many Chinese now view the global protests which have doggedly followed the Olympic relay around the world. In Paris, Jin, a disabled athlete, used her body to protect the torch as a pro-Tibetan demonstrator tried to grab it.
"The Olympic flame is divine not only to Chinese, but to the world," she says. "So maybe my actions to protect the torch for them is a righteous one, so they gave me this halo."
Her story has been featured at length on state-run television, has made front-page news. She has been lauded by thousands of bloggers calling her the, "Wheelchair Angel" and the savior of national honor.
Elsewhere, under a photo of the protester who tried to grab the torch, there are calls for him to be found; some want him killed. And when asked about the online man hunt, Jin replied...
"I feel that this can educate him."
Across China, the Olympics are fast becoming an us versus them narrative, which goes like this: The West wants to undermine the summer games to humiliate China.
WU JIAMMIN, PRESIDENT, FOREIGN AFFAIRS UNIV.: Today China's rising. So some Westerners keep lecturing us about that. Are they really serious? I think maybe young people say they don't want China to rise. They hate us.
VAUSE: Because Jin was attacked in France, bloggers are calling for a boycott of French goods, in particular, the French supermarket chain, Carrefour.
(on-camera): In a country where government censors work over time trying to strictly control everything that's reported and written on the Web, there's patriotic frenzy has been allowed to flourish. Because, right now it seems, public opinion is firmly with the Communist Party.
John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, John, thanks. If you'd like to see the complete Olympic torch relay route, check out CNN.com special report, it's called "Countdown Olympics 2008." You can find an interactive guide there. It's all at CNN.com/Olympics.
LONG: Black radio is more than just politics, it's also about faith and religion. We're going to talk about that as our conversations with black America continue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. In our conversations with black America, we've been talking with some folks who have daily conversations with black Americans -- African-American radio personalities. Today is no exception.
Right here in Atlanta, our guests are Frank Ski ...
FRANK SKI, HOST, "FRANK SKI MORNING SHOW": Hey, buddy.
LEMON: ...host of the "Frank Ski Morning Show"
SKI: How are you doing? Good to see you.
LEMON: And Cory "Coco Brother" Condrey.
CORY "COCO BROTHER" CONDREY, HOST & CEO, "THE SPIRIT OF HIP HOP": How are you doing?
LEMON: Coco brother -- because he's smooth, right?
CONDREY: Right.
LEMON: Your program is called the "Spirit of Hip-Hop."
And then also, joining us now from Washington, Russ Parr, the host of the "Russ Parr Morning Show."
Russ, thank you very much.
RUSS PARR, HOST, "RUSS PARR MORNING SHOW": No doubt. Is my shirt as tight as Franks?
LEMON: You guys are starting already.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I was going to say, Russ, don't be afraid to jump in because you're not here. But I think that will not be a problem.
SKI: All right.
LEMON: OK. You guys, all of you, you're addressing African- Americans every day and they're calling into you and I've been on several of your shows and it's like, it is rapid fire and these people are honest. I would imagine now, tell me right or wrong, Frank, are they talking about -- are they equating politics with faith now because of the election? Is that the bulk of the conversation?
SKI: Actually, they're not equating it. Actually, the black church has always been the information source and the conscience source. And the black ministers have always made it a point to let the congregations know it is our right and our obligation to vote.
Look, whether it's Hillary Clinton, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, anybody else, they know if they're going to get the black vote they need to go speak at the black churches.
LEMON: OK.
PARR: That's the problem. That is what the problem is.
LEMON: Russ, go ahead, go ahead.
PARR: You got me started already.
There should be a separation between church and state. We've got a lot of pastors -- not all of them, because I don't want to make a sweeping statement of all of them. But I believe that politics should be out of the church. I think people go to church to get a sermon, to talk about scripture, to pray with their fellow -- neighborhood, people that are in their neighborhood, whatever.
LEMON: Why do you say that? Obviously, you're passionate about this. Why are you so passionate about this, Russ?
PARR: Because I think -- back in 2004, it's been documented, I'll keep my sources to myself, that a lot of people were hit off, kind of paid underneath the table, to talk up Republican talking points and they manipulated people that follow every word that they say. And that is a problem.
Now, if they want to encourage people to vote, that's one thing. But to tell people who to vote for, that's another thing.
LEMON: OK. Well, I just want to say, that's Russ Parr's opinion, not the opinion of CNN here.
I'm going to get to Cory because we -- your show is devoted to hip-hop but hip-hop in a way that it's inspirational and not traditionally in the way that we think about it.
CONDREY: Correct. And we focus on Jesus Christ.
I think one of the things that Russ said that is so key is that the church is designed to actually designed to talk about the coming of Jesus. If you look at the Bible, and you go to it, there's only one prophecy that has not come to pass, which is the book of Revelation. In the book of Revelation, it talks about the coming of our king, which is Jesus. LEMON: So is it young people, mostly young people, I would imagine, ages, probably 30 under, 25 and under, who you're targeting and who listen to you?
CONDREY: I think it's a little broader than that. It's 18-49 give our take.
LEMON: OK. I want to talk about that. because we went out and interviewed some university students about faith, about their struggles once they go to college.
We went to Spelman College to talk to them about it. And some of them -- let's just listen to their opinions, what they had to say, and then we'll talk about it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENTON WANWRIGHT, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE SOPHOMORE: I've been a Christian now for about a year. And it's been a new experience and it's enhanced my Morehouse experience now; to not just have faith in my school, but to have faith in a superior being.
EBONY CHANNEY, SPELMAN COLLEGE SENIOR: I struggle with the same things that everybody else struggles with -- being a college student, being 21, being young. Struggling with peer pressure, struggling with whether or not I'm doing the right thing, relationships, everything.
AMANDA MOSBY, SPELMAN COLLEGE SENIOR: Even though I do go to a private Christian school, it does feel like I'm an outcast sometimes, as far as maybe the extracurricular things that people like to do sometimes involve going to the club or going to drink or having sex.
ANTIONE LACKLAND, MOREHOUSE COLLEGE SENIOR: I'm probably a moderate Christian. I'm not as strong as I should be, but we all fall short.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right.
So those are young people, probably the same people who would be tuning in and listening to you. And usually you know we've talked about this, when you hear about hip-hop, you hear about the language and the pictures and oh, my gosh, there's all this uproar. You're doing it differently.
When you listen to these young people, what goes through your head? What do you think about what they're saying? We all come short they say.
CONDREY: Well, we all do. We all do fall short of the glory of God.
I believe that there's a certain freedom. Dr. King spoke on a certain freedom. But I believe that there's another freedom, and it's freedom in Christ Jesus. Through that, our sins are forgiven. LEMON: It seems like some of these people know that. But you're trying -- what I want you to talk about is bridging hip-hop, the old school and the new school. Because there seems to be some sort of disconnect there. And correct me if I'm wrong, that seems to be the focus of your mission.
CONDREY: Yes. It's really meeting people right where they are. It's not just hip-hop.
SKI: Right, exactly.
CONDREY: It's in general. It's meeting that person. The young lady said that she falls short all the time. The young gentleman said that, right?
Well, the church is designed to actually lift that person up and build that person up and not condemn that.
PARR: And Don ...
LEMON: Hang on one second, Russ.
So the question is how do you get these young people, which is really the future, interested?
CONDREY: You love on them. You love on them and you meet them there. That is what the church is designed for.
LEMON: OK. All right.
Russ, what were you going to say, sir?
PARR: Well, that's what Coco Brother -- I love Coco Brother because he's brilliant at what he does. It's one of the best shows that is out ...
CONDREY: Thank you, Russ. Thank you, Russ.
PARR: ... to reach young people.
But these are the wedge issues that I don't think are necessary. We don't need to have them in the church. When you've got people that are sitting in the pulpit and distracting people from the word of God, that's a problem.
LEMON: You don't think we should have hip-hop in the church?
PARR: No, no, no. That's not what I'm saying.
What I'm saying is is that you have some people of the cloth, not all, that are distracting the word, the word that needs to be out there. You know -- like I was referring to you before in 2004, we're talking about, hey, Democrats are for gay marriages and, you know, abortions.
LEMON: Those are the issues that you think sort of ... PARR: Yes. These are the wedge issues to distract us. That's not something we need to discuss in the church. We need to talk about the -- word.
SKI: Here's the thing I think ...
LEMON: We're going to give you the last word because we're out of time.
Go ahead, Frank.
SKI: Here's the thing I think we're missing when we talk about the church. The church is a living, breathing creature and it grows and it progresses and it changes. The church of today is not the same church it was in the '60s. And because of that ...
LEMON: But is it still the cornerstone of African ...
SKI: It is, it is.
And here's the interesting thing. The church's movement right now, believe it or not, there was such a distraction before, is getting people tested for HIV and AIDS. The church must change for the future.
So just because the church didn't do something 10, 20, 30 years ago, the world is changing and the church must change right along with that.
LEMON: OK. Guys, I have to go.
But can you imagine this whole conversation and not one mention of Reverend Wright when we talked about the church. So there you go.
PARR: It's old news. Old news, Don.
LEMON: We're talking about the issues. We're talking about the issues here.
CONDREY: The job is to talk about Jesus. That's it. The job is to talk about -- Reverend Wright talked about Jesus.
PARR: Hey, Frank, where did you get that shirt man?
CONDREY: It's good eating in Atlanta, Georgia. You took me to crab legs in Washington, D.C., Russ.
LEMON: Frank Ski, Cory "Coco Brother" Condrey and Mr. Parr there in Washington.
PARR: Thank you very much.
LEMON: Thank you very much for joining us all of you.
SKI: All right. Thank you, man.
LEMON: Have a great weekend. See you in church on Sunday.
CONDREY: Yes, indeed.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Melissa?
LONG: Interesting conversation, certainly spirited.
Now, Dick Cheney, a laugh riot? Is that possible?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You in the press need to go easy on Senator Clinton on the whole business about running and ducking from gunfire in Bosnia. She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Apparently he is. We're going to have more of some of his best one-liners coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: No one has ever publicly accused Vice President Dick Cheney of being a laugh riot. But after this week, they just might.
CNN's Jeanne Moos reports on the V.P.'s funny side.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Dick Cheney, not a guy you associate with causing tears of laughter. But without even opening his mouth, he had folks cracking up. The vice president dressed to go hunting for laughs.
Returning fire...
CHENEY: To the right!
MOOS: ... after being the butt of so many hunting jokes.
Even non-comedians were making wisecracks.
(on-camera): Would you go hunting with Dick Cheney?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm hunting for Dick Cheney.
MOOS (voice-over): The hunt is over.
We've found funny Dick Cheney. OK, so add more than a little help from two speech writers poking fun at his environmentalism.
CHENEY: Every time I'm rushed to the hospital, I insist on a hybrid ambulance.
MOOS: Poking fun at Hillary's sniper fire story.
CHENEY: She made an honest mistake. She confused the Bosnia trip with the time I took her hunting.
MOOS: Cheney was substituting for President Bush at this week's radio and TV correspondence dinner.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I told the vice president that if he didn't fill in, you all would be very disappointed. And he said, so?
MOOS: A flashback to the Dick Cheney we all know, being questioned by ABC about the Iraq War.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two-thirds of Americans say it's not worth fighting.
CHENEY: So?
MOOS: So, here he is clowning around in the very same sunglasses that had bloggers atwitter the other day imagining they saw a naked woman reflected Cheney's shades. Turns out, it was his hand holding a fishing rod.
And you know how Barack Obama is always mocking the discovery that he and Dick Cheney are very distant relatives ...
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My cousin, Dick Cheney...
CHENEY: He's Senator Obama to you, but he's Cousin Barack to me.
MOOS: The V.P. even had to take a joke or two from the featured comedian, Mo Rocca.
MO ROCCA, COMEDIAN: I'm sorry, this is sheer torture for you, I mean, sheer enhanced interrogation. OK ...
MOOS: Remember how Hillary once referred to the vice president ...
SEN. HILLARY CLINTON (D-NY), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Darth Vader emerges ...
MOOS: Well, Cheney told the crowd he asked his wife if it it bugs her hearing people call him Darth Vader...
CHENEY: She said, not at all. It humanizes you.
MOOS: After being endlessly mocked...
JON STEWART, HOST, "THE DAILY SHOW": How dare you...
MOOS: ... whoever thought they would see laughter reflected in Dick Cheney's glasses?
CHENEY: You'd be amazed ...
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
