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Abortion Doctor Murdered in Church; Obama Wants Sotomayor Confirmation Fast-Tracked; Hurricane Season Starts Tomorrow, Preparedness is Essential; The Harlem Children's Zone Helps Children Learn
Aired May 31, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
New details on our breaking news here on CNN: The slaying of a controversial abortion provider, George Tiller, in Kansas, in broad daylight inside his own church. We are hearing from police at this hour, wrapping up a news conference just a short time ago. And at the scene, a church of all places, investigators are combing the lobby and talking to witnesses for clues.
All we've seen of the accused murderer at this point is his getaway car as police track him on a Wichita Interstate. That is the car right there in the center of your screen. The suspect is in custody. And right now, the police of Kansas are wondering -- who is the brazen man that gunned down another man at a church service?
It is hard to imagine sitting in church and being a witness to a fatal shooting. But that's what happened to the worshippers at Wichita's Reformation Lutheran Church. We're told George Tiller was an usher and his wife was in the choir at the time of the shooting. The rest of the church members sprung from the pews.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICKEY COHLMIA, CHURCHGOER: It's heart-wrenching that something in our community could happen as evil as this in his church, you know? I mean, how does all that scar everybody in his church? Plus, our church. Plus, everybody in this community. You know, I just, I don't -- somebody's got -- I just hope they catch him.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Wichita police wrapped up a news conference, as I said, just a short time ago. We're just getting that into CNN. They aren't offering much detail because they just don't know. It is still unfolding. But they believe the man in custody is the man who shot George Tiller.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DET. TOM STOLTZ, WICHITA, KANSAS POLICE: We investigate this suspect to the nth degree: his history, his family, his associates -- and we're just in the beginning stages of that. We never say that we're completely finished with that. So that will go into tonight.
An ancillary thing that we'll be doing is -- there's a lot of information flowing on the Internet right now between pro-life and pro-choice groups. And unfortunately, we don't have the luxury, as law enforcement, to focus only on this case. We have to focus on a bigger picture. So, we have a whole other facet going and we'll be investigating anything that can come from that.
We're just asking people to let us run our course on this. We think we have the right person arrested. We're going to be in charge and, hopefully, handle this case in a professional manner.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: There's much more to this news conference. We're still getting a lot of information and a lot of the pieces from that news conference in. We're going to have a little bit later on for you, just as soon as we get more from police. So, stay tuned.
You know, you may not recognize the name George Tiller. But he has been a central figure in one of the country's most emotional and long-running debates. And this morning's fatal shooting wasn't the first time -- the first time that he was targeted or even shot, because Tiller survived an attempt on his life back in the 1990s.
CNN's Josh Levs has more on Tiller and his controversial practice.
What did you learn, Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I'll tell you, he's a man who became known as a source of controversy because of his work. But he was also a family man. And tonight, both sides of the abortion divide are mourning his killing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): He was a major target of anti-abortion groups, a man who never wavered in the face of protests, trials and violence. In 1993, Dr. George Tiller was shot and wounded in both arms. In 1986, his clinic was bombed. He continued to be one of the few doctors who performed late-term abortions.
In 1999, he described the philosophy of his Wichita, Kansas, clinic.
DR. GEORGE TILLER, ABORTION PROVIDER: Third trimester abortion is simply a part of abortion. We have constructed our clinic and our philosophy along the lines that until you have natural survival-hood, the woman is the patient, not the fetus. Now, when is natural survival-hood come on? Good question. Some time after the end of the second trimester.
LEVS: Tiller faced repeated legal challenges. In March, he was acquitted on 19 counts of performing procedures unlawfully at his clinic. He also faced many peaceful demonstrations ...
(CROWD SINGING)
LEVS: ... by people who found his work unconscionable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess just devotion to God and what I believe in that gets me out here.
LEVS: Groups on both sides of the abortion debate condemned his killing. Operation Rescue, which opposes abortion rights, said, "We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act." NARAL Pro-choice America said, "The murder will send a chill down the spines of the brave and courageous providers that serve women across this country."
George Tiller, 67 years old, was known for his work, but was also a family man. In a statement, his family called the killing an unspeakable tragedy, and said, "We ask he be remembered as a good husband, father and grandfather and a dedicated servant on behalf of the rights of women everywhere."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And, Don, you know, you saw him speaking in there. And there was something in there that really struck me earlier when he was talking about this idea of a fetus and viability and where he weighed in. And I think there's a good explanation of what his position was, where he stood on his Web site, DrTiller.com. You cannot access it right now, but a couple of hours ago, you still could and I saved the screen capture right here.
Let's zoom in for just a second. It's small print. You're not going to be able to see all of it. But the basic idea, what he laid out on his Web site is this -- he said that his clinic would perform elective abortions until the doctor at that particular place determines viability.
So, if the doctor at the clinic decided that particular fetus was viable, then that clinic would not perform that abortion. But he did believe that it was possible to have a fetus that's not viable in the third trimester. I know that sounds ultra-specific, but these are the kinds of things that became the touch stones of the debate especially around him.
But also, Don, as we pointed out there, talking about a man who is killed and has four kids and 10 grandchildren. It's obviously a tragedy for the family tonight as well. And we all (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: And for a lot of the folks who are not only in the community but in the church at the time that it happened. Josh Levs, we appreciate that. Thank you very much.
LEVS: Thank you. You bet.
LEMON: A spokesman from George Tiller's family issued a statement just a short time ago. "Today, we mourn the loss of our husband, father, and grandfather," they say. "Today's event is an unspeakable tragedy for all of us and for George's friends and patients. This is particularly heart-wrenching because George was shot down in his house of worship, a place of peace."
And, you know, the anti-abortion group Operation Rescue had many confrontations with George Tiller through the years. Today, the group issued this statement. "We are shocked at this morning's disturbing news that Mr. Tiller was gunned down. Operation Rescue has worked fro years through peaceful and legal means and through the proper channels to see him brought to justice. We denounce vigilantism and the cowardly act that took place this morning."
We know that George Tiller's slaying could have far reaching implications, specifically the nation's high court. Supreme Court Justice-nominee Sonya Sotomayor is set to meet with Senate Judiciary Committee members on Tuesday with the topic of abortion and landmark Roe versus Wade case being front and center. But some suggests today's killing in Wichita could create a pro-choice backlash.
Anti-abortion activist, Randall Terry, a former member and founder of Operation Rescue who once picketed Tiller's clinic, calls Tiller a mass murderer. He also says, "I am more concerned that Obama administration will use Tiller's killing to intimidate pro-lifers into surrendering our most effective rhetoric and actions. Abortion is still murder and we must still call abortion by its proper name."
OK, let's bring in our senior political analyst, Mr. Bill Schneider to talk to us about that. He joins us now with more from Los Angeles.
How might this affect the Sotomayor nomination and also the hearings, Bill?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: I think it will cause people on both sides, particularly the abortion opponents, to tone down this debate, to not make it as fiery and as explosive as it has been in previous Supreme Court confirmations -- because we now see how explosive this issue is, how it can lead to acts of deranged violence as this shocking murder was today. So, I think that both sides will be under some pressure to chill.
And in particular, the anti-abortion forces have been -- seen a necessity of issuing statements where they denounce the murder in this case. But they say that they do not support any acts of vigilantism and they've been thrown really on the defensive here.
LEMON: I'm sure that people -- both sides here, Republicans, Democrats, and also the administration -- paying close attention to how this case unfolds in Kansas, Bill.
SCHNEIDER: That's right. In the past, whenever there's been a shocking issue like this, any kind of event that Americans think is a threat to abortion rights, people recoil in horror. And this could well be a backlash in which people say the abortion opponents are going too far. This is just shows the lengths to which some, only some of them, are willing to go. And that's why it's very important that those who protest abortion make it clear that they do not support these kinds of actions. But I think it will have some effect, serious effect on the debate.
But in any case, Judge Sotomayor has never made a statement about her feelings on abortion rights. And I don't think she's going to do so now, even under pressure from senators. It's very rare that a judge will give his or her position in confirmation hearings these days.
LEMON: Boy, oh, boy, Bill. The timing here is certainly interesting. Yes, that this is happening right when the confirmation hearings are about to go on.
SCHNEIDER: And that could have been a factor.
LEMON: Yes. Bill Schneider, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.
How might today's killings in Kansas play on Capitol Hill this week? A valid question as Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor meets with members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday on her possible confirmation. CNN's Kate Bolduan has more on what Sotomayor might be in for and she'll do that for us at the bottom of the hour.
Meantime, Wichita has found itself at the center of the nation's abortion debate before -- it has been there before. But tonight, the city is in shock. Dena Hertneky of our affiliate KSMW joins me now by phone from Wichita.
Dena, the only question is what is the latest on the suspect? Are we hearing about a possible motive here?
VOICE OF DENA HERTNEKY, KSMW REPORTER: Well, the police just briefed us here within the past hour. Of course, I think you reported that we do have a suspect in custody. He is said to be on his way to Wichita where he is being -- where he'll be booked into the jail. He will be charged with murder here and two counts of aggravated assault for walking into that church and apparently pointing the gun at two people before walking up to Dr. George Tiller and shooting him.
LEMON: Do we know who the suspect is? Have they given a name?
HERTNEKY: He has not been officially booked into jail. Now, we have been doing some research here. And we have a pretty good idea of who this guy is. But since police is -- nothing official yet, we're not releasing that.
LEMON: All right. Dena, if you know who he -- without saying his name -- do you know if there's anything in his background that may have led to this? Had he been in trouble before? Was he, you know, no stranger to police?
HERTNEKY: Well, what our preliminary research is telling us that, yes, this is somebody that that has had some history with trouble with police. Like I said, we're still waiting to get official confirmation to make sure that we got the right name and everything. But everything we are hearing is, yes, this is somebody who has had trouble with police in the past.
LEMON: Do you know if he knew the suspect in this case?
HERTNEKY: We do not believe so. We don't have any idea there. No.
LEMON: Al right. Dena Hertneky of KSMW -- Dena, thank you very much. If you get more information and you find out who he is, we'll bring you back. We appreciate you joining us.
HERTNEKY: Sure.
LEMON: OK, we're going to move on now and talk about -- and then there was one. This is General Motors, expected to file bankruptcy tomorrow. Detroit could soon have only one viable automaker.
Plus, as if fighting cancer wasn't enough, a New Hampshire teacher gets fired while in her hospital bed.
Also, give us your feedback. We want you to be part of our show. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com is how you can do that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: With G.M.'s expected bankruptcy filling tomorrow, it will be the second time that President Obama has had to help two of Detroit's Big Three from going under, a foreboding thought for the industry as a whole.
And CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow -- she joins me now by phone gauging what folks are thinking and fearing.
Poppy, what you are hearing tonight?
VOICE OF POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: You know, Don, we've been expecting this for a while -- really since the middle of last week that General Motors will file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.
What we now know is that G.M. will do this. Sources are saying they will file officially about 8:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Of course, before the stock market opens so that everyone around the world can factor that in. President Obama is expected to address the nation about this bankruptcy filing at 11:30 a.m. tomorrow morning.
And, Don, this is something we've been expecting. The stock, G.M. stock, fell below $1 to 75 cents on Friday. We haven't seen that since the Great Depression. G.M. hasn't had this hard of a time since then.
What this is going to mean for folks out there, beyond just the stock price, this is going to mean major job cuts. General Motors now has 80,000 employees. It's expected that it will detail some 20,000 job cuts. It's expected that we're going to hear that about another dozen G.M. plants will be closed by 2010. They've already said they're going to cut their dealerships by 40 percent.
And, Don, we also know they're trying to sell off four of the brands: Hummer, Saab, Saturn and Pontiac. And also what's going to happen here, likely, is that we'll see a bigger cut for retiree health (INAUDIBLE) for people. Don, and also, the dealerships, we're talking about 300,000 employees at dealerships and auto parts suppliers that can be affected by this.
LEMON: It's just overwhelming when you hear all the information. But here's, you know, what taxpayers are wondering here, Poppy -- how much is this going to cost and if they're going to get their money back from investing in G.M.?
HARLOW: Right. Well, Don, in just less than a year, we, the taxpayer, have put nearly $19.5 billion of our money into General Motors. It's not expected at this point to be able to pay that back. And when you look at what a full bankruptcy proceeding will cost for General Motors, will cost the taxpayer, that's expected to exceed $50 billion. And in return for that, we, the taxpayer, through the government are going to get more than the 72 percent stake in the automaker.
But the question of being paid back solely rests on what this stock is worth when it re-emerges as a new publicly traded company. That could be anywhere from a year to 18 months out, Don. What we need to see is a dramatic increase in the amount that individuals out there value this company at for us to ever be able to get that money back. And that is a huge, huge question at this point.
What we do know is that of that $19.5 billion that we put in so far, we're not getting that back from General Motors. They have said they'll pay about $8 billion back when you look at the total picture of the bankruptcy cost, Don.
LEMON: All right. Poppy Harlow from CNNMoney.com -- Poppy, thank you very much.
And for more information on this, on G.M. and for any of the business news, go to CNNMoney.com for the latest.
Late tomorrow, as Poppy said, the president will hold a news conference on G.M.'s bankruptcy filing and what it will mean to the company and the country, and you, the taxpayer. Of course, we'll air it live for you at 11:30 Eastern, right here on CNN -- 11:30 in the morning, Eastern. CNN, of course, the most trusted name in news.
You know, talk about a bad day. You're fired while lying in a hospital bed suffering from leukemia. Find out why this teacher got the pink slip before she got her hospital bill.
And, we're on a high court filibuster watch this week. Will Republicans try to block the president's attempts to get Sonia Sotomayor confirmed?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Breaking news into the CNN NEWSROOM -- we've been telling you about the murder of Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas. Just got a statement in from the White House, in fact, it is from President Obama.
And here's what he's saying, just now released: "I am shocked and outrage by the murder of Dr. George Tiller, as he attended church services this morning. However profound our differences as Americans over a difficult issue such as abortion, they cannot be resolved by heinous acts of violence."
Again, the statement coming in now from the press secretary at the White House -- that is the official statement from the White House on the murder of Dr. George Tiller in a church this morning in Wichita, Kansas. We're going to update you. We're getting new police information in as a press conference just wrapped up a short time ago.
OK. So, if battling leukemia isn't agonizing enough, it looks like a New Hampshire teacher is out of a job. She got the news while in her hospital bed.
Here's is Aaron Kellogg with CNN affiliate WMUR with the rest of the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AARON KELLOGG, WMUR REPORTER (voice-over): Sarah Robator says the Manchester school district knows about her leukemia because the human resources department called her at her hospital bed to tell her that she's getting a pink slip.
SARAH ROBATOR, FIRST GRADE TEACHER (via telephone): The positive focus was to get back to my students, to get back to the semester at school. And when I found out I got pink slipped, it's just devastating.
KELLOGG: Sarah started teaching at the Smyth Road Elementary School two years ago, an energetic 27-year-old who played two sports in college, had no idea life would take a dramatic turn.
ROBATOR: I had been waking up one day, on the way to school and having pain in my chest and being diagnosed with leukemia was a huge shock.
KELLOGG: Her coworkers and her students and their parents rushed to support her. The sign advertising a blood drive in her name is hanging on the front door at the school. Lisa Bliven helped organize the drive and has a son in Sarah's class.
LISA BLIVEN, PARENT/ORGANIZED BLOOD: She said do you think that they can pink slip me while I'm out on medical leave? I was talking with her and her parents. And I said, "I have no idea."
KELLOGG: The district plans to let teachers like Sarah go because they're recently hired.
ROBATOR: I do understand. I mean, it's a budget thing, you know? It's numbers. It's nothing personal.
KELLOGG: But laying Sarah off puts additional financial pressure on her health care coverage and finding a job somewhere else is not an option.
ROBATOR: That's my problem right now is that I -- I'm not very marketable.
KELLOGG: Lisa hopes the district reconsiders.
BLIVEN: It just seems like a little humanity should have been given in this particular incident.
KELLOGG: Sarah hopes she can battle her leukemia now that it looks like her job, the one thing she hoped would carry her through, won't be there.
ROBATOR: I think they felt horrible. I mean, it's a horrible situation for anyone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Wow. Sarah Robator is on the phone now. She joins us from Newbury, New Hampshire.
Hello and thank you.
ROBATOR (via telephone): Hello.
LEMON: How are you doing?
ROBATOR: I am doing wonderful. Thank you.
LEMON: You sound very upbeat and in high spirits despite all that is happening. I have to ask you real quickly, are these -- I see these pictures before we get into it -- are these your kids?
ROBATOR: No, they're my niece and nephew.
LEMON: They're adorable.
ROBATOR: Thank you.
LEMON: So, at least you got some family by your side. That is one good thing.
OK. So, the school knew that you were sick, right?
ROBATOR: Yes.
LEMON: OK. And it is acute lymphatic leukemia that you have.
ROBATOR: Yes.
LEMON: OK. So, they knew you were sick and you went away. And you're laying in your hospital bed and they give you a call?
ROBATOR: Yes. Well, it wasn't anything personal. It was a situation where I was in the hospital and my family was there every day. And they need to let me know I was pink slipped. So they told me to look for it in the mail.
LEMON: Were you concerned before you left? Did you know it was a possibility at least?
ROBATOR: Yes, I did know it was a possibility. And like every year, you worry about the budget. But it was really hard to hear it while I was so sick.
LEMON: All right. Tell me about the medical bills? Be honest.
ROBATOR: They're horrible. So expensive, over $1,000 a night just to stay there.
LEMON: And, are you able to pay now with the pink slip -- will your insurance help you, or it is going to be difficult for you to pay these bills?
ROBATOR: They will definitely help me. I have COBRA once the year is over. But it's definitely -- it's hard for anyone who loses a job, especially when they have medical problems.
LEMON: I can't believe you're in such good spirits. I mean, it's good to know -- it's really good that you are. But this says a lot, really, about the economic situation of this country and exactly what Americans -- many Americans are dealing with similar situations as you, right?
ROBATOR: Definitely. It's not just Manchester. It's districts all around the country. And these new teachers are the ones that are suffering. You know, it's all about when you were hired and not what you're doing in the classroom.
LEMON: What's your treatment? What are you doing?
ROBATOR: I have chemotherapy. I'm about to start my second round. So, I'm home. I've been home for about a week and a half. And my family, friends, my school family have been so supportive. And that's why I'm such in good spirit.
LEMON: So, you're starting the second round. How many rounds will you get?
ROBATOR: They say about six.
LEMON: Six rounds. And so far, you're strong and you're holding up?
ROBATOR: I am. I'm trying. And it's all because of the support of my church, my friends, my school -- everyone.
LEMON: Yes. Anything you want to say to folks that are out there? You said you got a lot of people who are supporting you. I'm sure you want to thank them. Those kids, by the way, your family is just adorable.
ROBATOR: Thank you so much. Yes, I just -- I want to thank everyone. The whole community has really come out. My family, first of all. My parents have been there every single day in the hospital bed. Thanks to their businesses who allow them to be away.
I want to thank my church family who has been so supportive. My school. I can't tell you how wonderful my entire school district has been. I've received so many letters that say, yes, they have done so much. And on top of that, they're doing a blood drive in honor of my name. They're doing a relay for life. My students have skipped class ...
LEMON: Oh, the first grader -- you're a first grade teacher, right?
ROBATOR: Yes.
LEMON: Yes. And I'm sure all the cards and things from them. It really helped you out as well. No hard feelings, right, against the people who gave you the pink slip, yes or no?
ROBATOR: No, no hard feelings. It's a tough situation. I am devastated. I have such a passion for teaching.
The first question that came to me when I was diagnosed from my doctor was: Will I be able to go back to school and would be my kids for the rest of the year? He looked at me like I was crazy, you know?
LEMON: Yes.
ROBATOR: That was before I even asked if I was going to survive or whether I was going to have kids one day. My focus was -- when will I be back in my classroom
LEMON: Well, thank you. And I know that you want to be back in the fall. You know what? I hope that you're back teaching somewhere in the fall. And before you said you were a little nervous about talking, you did great.
ROBATOR: Thank you so much.
LEMON: Thank you. Best of luck. Please keep in touch, OK?
ROBATOR: Thank you so much.
LEMON: All right. We appreciate it.
ROBATOR: Bye.
LEMON: Let's turn now to the weather situation happening in our country. And our Jacqui Jeras joins us now from the CNN severe weather center.
I'm hearing there are some threats of storms out there? And what a nice lady, right? We can't -- I mean I can't -- she's adorable.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: I really enjoyed that view.
LEMON: Great spirit, right?
JERAS: I know. Ray of sunshine, how about that?
LEMON: Yes, absolutely perfect segue. Yes.
JERAS: Putting that in there. You know, lots of sunshine across the United States today, Don. There are a couple areas, of course, that we've been watching. There is always somewhere, right, where the weather isn't fantastic. And that's what's been happening across parts of New England here. We've got some heavy showers and some thunderstorms across parts of Maine.
We had a couple warnings earlier. Those have expired and storms are weakening. We're starting to see a lot of this come off shore. But check out the Boston area. There you can see some showers are beginning to move into your neighborhood.
OK. As we head across parts of the Midwest, take a look at this across parts of South Dakota on into Minnesota. This will be our area of the country where we have the greatest potential of seeing some thunderstorms that are severe. Everybody else is pretty much seeing the sunshine.
Take a look at this. Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia, 88 degrees. Fair skies. Warming temperatures across the southeast for tomorrow. Air quality alert for Atlanta.
So, something to think about is that time of the year, you get high pressure in place for a period of time and the air quality starts going down hill. So, something to watch out for.
Hurricane season. June 1, that's tomorrow. It begins already -- believe it or not. Yes, it's upon us.
NOAA is expecting to see somewhere between nine and 14 storms, four to seven of those becoming hurricanes, and one of three of those becoming major hurricanes. And that's just kind of right in the range of what we would consider normal. But, of course, keep in mind that it only takes one storm to impact you and certainly the time to prepare is now. We've got our list of names -- as always -- starting out with Ana and ending with Wanda.
Hopefully, we will not get anywhere near the end of that list -- Don?
LEMON: Centennial Olympic Park, I drove by on my way in, and, you know, the big fountains there, there were so many kids there.
JERAS: Did you see all the people?
LEMON: Yes, can we -- there they are.
JERAS: There they go. Pull that back up. Oh, look at that.
LEMON: I just want to go jump in and hang out with the kids and say, Jacqui, you do the newscast.
JERAS: I love that. We should do the weather live shots from there.
LEMON: We should, why don't we?
JERAS: Yes, I don't know why we're not today. We should have.
LEMON: We should do the newscast from there.
JERAS: Maybe next weekend.
LEMON: Shorts and, you know, something that we can get wet in and hang out. Jacqui, we have so much bad news about weather and when there is good weather, we want to, you know, savor it.
JERAS: Absolutely.
LEMON: Thank you, Jacqui Jeras.
Jacqui talked about hurricanes, we're going to talk about that more a little bit.
You have heard that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? Well, in this case, balloons are in the eye of the beholder and they sure are a sight to behold. CNN's Gary Tuchman has tonight's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It starts with a single balloon -- then grows and grows and grows, until eventually, it looks like this. These balloon sculptures are described as surreal sea creatures, a whimsical toy, but their meaning is in the eye of the beholder and they all come from the creative mind of artist Jason Hackenwerth.
JASON HACKENWERTH, ARTIST: My job is to make interesting and fun things happen. And my life, is you know, about doing that. It's the most wonderful experience.
TUCHMAN: He started five years ago in the New York City subway.
HACKENWERTH: When people come around the corner and see that, they would just light up. It was so obvious I was on to something really beautiful.
TUCHMAN: He's been doing it ever since. Even when it meant sacrifice. HACKENWERTH: Right after New Year's Eve, I was out in Times Square trying to earn $60 for grocery and laundry money, for sure. Times are tough.
TUCHMAN: That didn't stop him from taking simple balloons and turning them into something we've never seen before. Hackenwerth's art has been shown in galleries and museums all over the world.
HACKENWERTH: I would love to inspire young people to believe that anything is possible. I mean, ultimately, you have to attempt the absurd to achieve the impossible. And that's part of what is happening here.
TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: All right, thank you, Gary.
Listen, the story that we did on the teacher with leukemia really touched a nerve to our viewers. And they are responding with their thoughts here. These are from Twitter.
Here's what dereuter says, "I'm very impressed how you did the Sarah Robar interview. Good job."
Meede, "School board could have put her into deep depression. On medicinal leave are there not laws against this."
And suzyjax says, "Is she the only teacher fired in the district? Did she have more seniority than other elementary teachers that were retained?"
Thank you for your responses. Twitter, Facebook or myspace.com or iReport.com, we'll get them on the air.
Much more to come about the breaking news. A controversial abortion provider shot dead during his Sunday morning church service.
And President Obama wants her confirmed many two months, but will Republicans give Judge Sonia Sotomayor a pass or a fail?
Also, he's commanded troops, he responds to hurricanes and all kinds of battles that he was right in the middle of. Now retired General Russel Honoree has advice for you on how to survive a disaster. And we're going to talk about that. It's called "Survival." Hurricane season is coming up. You'll want to know this information.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We have an update now on our breaking news story. The president released -- the White House, at least, released a statement moments ago on the murder of Dr. George Tiller. The president denouncing that murder, saying no matter what our differences, they cannot be resolved," he says -- this is a quote -- "by heinous acts of violence."
Meantime, on this breaking story, a suspect is in custody this hour in the shooting death of that controversial abortion provider, George Tiller. He was one of the few doctors in the country who performed late-term abortion. Tiller was gunned down today inside a church in Wichita, Kansas. He was serving as an usher. His wife was in the choir. The suspect has not been identified. He was picked up several hours after the shooting about 170 miles away from the church.
A lot of people are weighing in on this shooting and on this murder, we should call it.
Madnews101 says, "You aren't really proving your point that abortion should be stopped by committing murder yourself."
Ronkriel says, "Shooters certainly knew Dr. Tiller. How else did he know Tiller would be in that church and what he looked like? No coincidence."
Easternstar25 says, "People are taking the law into their own hands. Just because you don't agree with someone's ideals or beliefs. This is crazy."
Loveangelc says, "It's not about mother's choice. When the mother has another person living inside of her, it is no longer her body but another's."
Appreciate your comments. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, of course.
The political standoff over Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor begins on Capitol Hill this week. And President Obama wants Sotomayor's confirmation fast tracked. Republican leaders are not ruling out a filibuster.
CNN's Kate Bolduan has the story.
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KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): President Obama's pick for Supreme Court justice is set for round one this week of one-on-one meetings with key lawmakers. Mr. Obama wants Judge Sonia Sotomayor confirmed before Congress goes on a month-long August recess.
But Sunday the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Senator Patrick Leahy, made clear he's working from his own schedule.
UNIDENTIFIED SHOW HOST: As you sit here now, do you meet the president's timetable?
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (R), CHAIRMAN, SENATE JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: I will meet my timetable.
UNIDENTIFIED SHOW HOST: And that could be different?
LEAHY: It could be different.
BOLDUAN: Top Senate Republicans are not ruling out a filibuster, a procedural move to slow or block the confirmation process. But they are signaling it's unlikely.
SEN. MITCH MCCONNELL, (R), KENTUCKY: So it can be done. The question is, will it be done? I think it's entirely too early to tell.
BOLDUAN: At the same time, Republicans are taking aim at some of Sotomayor's past comments. One potential flash point, a 2001 speech when she said, quote, "I would hope that a wise Latino woman with the richness of her experiences would more often than not reach a better conclusion than a white male who hasn't lived that life."
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: It is troubling. It's inappropriate. I hope she'll apologize. If I said something like that or someone with my background and profile, we wouldn't be talking about this nomination going forward.
BOLDUAN: Democrats defend Sotomayor and that remark saying she's been taken out of context.
LEAHY: It would be absolutely wrong to assume that people's individual experience doesn't at least influence their thinking. That doesn't mean they can't follow the law.
BOLDUAN (on camera): This issue will most certainly come up in the confirmation hearings. However, that schedule hasn't yet been announced. First thing's first. Sotomayor's is set to meet with Senate leaders and top members of the Judiciary Committee Tuesday.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, the White House.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thank you very much, Kate.
You know, hurricane, season right upon us. You never know what will happen. It starts tomorrow. You know what? They call him the Ragin' Cajun. Retired General Russel Honore commanded military relief efforts for the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Tonight he joins us live to tell you how to survive your own personal disaster just in time for hurricane season.
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LEMON: Willvina Dean, believed to be the last known survivor of the Titanic, has died. Dean passed away this morning, according to a friend. She was 97. On the night of April 14th, 1912, Dean was just a baby aboard the Titanic. The ship sank less than three hours after hitting an iceberg killing more than 1,500 people.
We're on the cusp of hurricane season. It begins tomorrow. My guest tonight is right on time with a new book that he has. Of course, I'm talking about Russel Honore. He wrote "Survivor: How a Culture of Preparedness Can Save You and Your Family from Disasters." Of, course, he would know.
You arrived in the flood-devastated New Orleans back in 2005 as a commander of a joint task force back then and have been in the public eye ever since. But really trying to get people to understand what they need to do. So what do people need to do in a worst case scenario? And this is serious. We don't know what is going to happen.
GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, CNN MILITARY ANALSYT: Right. In disasters, they can come any time of the year, industrial accident or tornado or flooding. The basics, follow the Red Cross doctrine. Get a plan to evacuate. Have a supply of food and water. Have a couple extra days of medicine on hand. Have cash on hand. And by all means, have a weather radio so you can stay informed if you lose power.
LEMON: Yeah. You know, look, if you can come back to this. We tell people about this and we say we hear the same thing, do this or that. Listen, if you've ever been in the middle of a hurricane or anything like that, you know that what you have here, what you're going to show, it actually saves lives. You told me, Chad Meyers said, get a NOAA weather radio.
HONORE: Yes.
LEMON: Three days after, I got the radio, we had a tornado here in Atlanta. And that's how I knew about it and got to work and was able to report on it. If I had to get to safety, I would have. So tell us what you have here and what people -- are things people should have?
HONORE: Yes, that's a weather radio. That's a first aid kit. It is a part of the evacuation pack. This particular pack is one can you order from the Red Cross at www.red cross.org. Glow sticks, survival food. People put together a lot of their own pack. Stuff you might pull out on a Saturday night and snack on, this is survival food. This will you not pull out on Saturday night. It will keep you alive for three days.
LEMON: I have some in my cabinet. My mom is in a hurricane zone in Louisiana.
HONORE: If you have pets, a little book provided by the Red Cross can you pick up at your local Red Cross chapter stores. It has a guide for how you take care of your pet. It emerges the situation. It your pet gets hurt during a disaster and you have to treat your pet without the assistance of a veterinarian.
LEMON: I'm glad you said that because I was down there and some people were saying, why are you talking about dogs and birds? People are crying when they had to leave their animals. This was just last year when they were evacuated from New Orleans, when the entire city had to be evacuated. Here's the thing though, General, do you think people rely on the government too much like after these emergency situations because there are things they could have done beforehand and they wouldn't have to? HONORE: You know, Don, I just spent five days in Louisiana, between New Orleans, Baton Rouge and Texas in Houston. And what I'm finding is that people talk about the economy. It's hard to prepare. You know, 90 percent of us have jobs. 90 percent of us have jobs, if you take the national average. That being said, there's a part of the population that will always be needing help. There are the elderly, disabled and people that are poor.
LEMON: Disadvantaged.
HONORE: They'll always need help. So those of us that have jobs, like you, you bought a weather radio. What do you do this Father's Day? Find a father out there that doesn't have a radio and give him one. You help others get ready. I think when we start doing that, by our actions and demonstrating our concern for relatives and friends who may not be able to afford to buy a weather radio, we'll have more of our country prepared. We need to reinforce the concept of preparedness.
LEMON: I was going to ask you in the last question. I think I know the answer. What do you hope people will get from this book? I think what you hope people will get is how to survive.
HONORE: Right. It will tell you why you need to prepare and it will also tell you how, which is the hardest part, the how.
LEMON: OK. We say this all the time. You have to be prepared for. This right?
HONORE: Yes, sir.
LEMON: "Survival." If you want to survive, get this book.
General, we appreciate you trying to save people heartache and lives as well.
HONORE: Thank you. Hurricane season starts tomorrow.
LEMON: All right.
HONORE: Get ready.
LEMON: Thank you, General Russel Honore. My mom is going to really like this book.
HONORE: Thanks.
LEMON: Thank you so much.
Improving inner city schools.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIEDMALE: Poor children gain language about half the rate of middle class kids. By the time they're into kindergarten, they're already thousands of words behind their peers. It gets worse year after year after year.
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LEMON: It is time to make them better. It is long overdue. What's working for children? We'll find solutions for you.
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LEMON: I love of people and programs give lip service to helping children, but few ever do something about it? The Harlem Children's Zone is one of those few, and it's getting a lot of attention. Even the president is inspired. My colleague Soledad O'Brien went inside -- Soledad?
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SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Don, educators and social scientists have been trying for years to close the racial achievement gap without a whole lot of success. But we take a visit to a program in Harlem, New York, that's making some real progress all because of a man who absolutely refuses to give up.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
O'BRIEN (voice-over): The children in this Harlem preschool learn French and math. And some, like 4-year-old Darrel, learn really big words.
GEOFFREY CANADA, FOUNDER & CEO, HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE: What is the person that looks for dinosaurs?
DARRYL, STUDENT: Paleontologist.
CANADA: Yes.
DARRYL REEVES, FATHER: My son has gained so much, he comes home speaking French, Spanish, asking me why, the why questions. His why questions are a little bit different. He's more some depth.
O'BRIEN: Like every child in this school, Darryl will go on to kindergarten with all the skills he'll need to succeed, reversing trends so common in poor communities like Harlem.
CANADA: Poor children gain language about half the rate of middle class kids. By the time they're in kindergarten, they're thousands of words behind their peers and it gets worse after year after year.
O'BRIEN: Geoffrey Canada grew up one of those poor kids in the south Bronx. Now he's on a mission to level the academic playing field for children in Harlem. He's doing it for those lucky enough to live within the 100 block area known as the Harlem Children's Zone.
CANADA: We think part of the problem is we come up with a great program and it works for two years. That's not sufficient. O'BRIEN: In the Harlem Children's Zone, kids are surrounded with what he calls a conveyor belt of high-quality programs and services, including parenting classes, preschool, charter schools, after-school programs and tutoring for college students.
CANADA: That's the pipeline. Get these kids in great programs and keep them there and don't let them fall out. Don't let them fall behind. Don't let them fall through the cracks.
What are you learning about?
O'BRIEN: It was hands-on learning when we visited Promise Academy, one of three charter schools in the Harlem Children's Zone.
(on camera): These are our fourth graders?
(voice-over): These fourth graders have been in the zone's pipeline since birth.
CANADA: This particular class is the smartest class not only at Promise Academy, but probably in all of New York State.
O'BRIEN: And he's got the numbers to prove. Math and English scores that beat the city and state averages and a Harvard study that concludes 2450es children are closed the black-white achievement gap.
The ongoing success caught the attention of then candidate Barack Obama.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: When I'm president of the united states of America, the first part of my plan to combat urban poverty will to be reply cat the Harlem Children's Zone in 20 cities across the country.
O'BRIEN: His administration has requested $10 billion from the 2010 budget for planning grants to community organizations that want to develop what he calls promise neighborhoods.
But Canada says, creating just one promise neighborhood on the same scale as the Harlem Children's Zone will take at least $35 billion, a tall order during a tough economy.
CANADA: We think if you look at what the cost is not to do this well, these same communities, it's emergency room, Special Ed, it's jails and incarceration, it's all of the food stamps, the welfare, it's all of that that we end up paying for these same children ten years later. It just doesn't make any sense.
O'BRIEN (on camera): the front end of it or back end of it.
CANADA: That's exactly right. You're going it pay one way or the other. At least you end up with people who give you back more money than you ever paid in. This is a plus-plus society if we get this right.
(END VIDEOTAPE) O'BRIEN: The Harlem Children's Zone serves about 10,000 children, 1,000 of them in the charter schools. He gets about 60 percent of his funds from private sources, many from Wall Street. So if you can imagine as the economy hits hard times, so does his funding. In any case, he says he's had to cut some staff, but so far, no programs for the kids have suffered -- Don?
LEMON: All right, Soledad, thank you very much.
And while our reporters cover the stories developing every day all over the world, and in the black community here if the U.S., Soledad O'Brien has been working on stories you will see only on July 2nd and 23rd when CNN presents "Black in America 2." It is two nights, two prime time documentaries, all new stories, right here on CNN.
She served in one of the most unique battalions during World War II and we'll chat with her. She's an African-American first. Her story is so interesting, you'll love her.
Plus, a teen is dead after police in suburban Detroit used a taser on him. CNN investigates.
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LEMON: At 101 years old, Alice Dixon is the oldest surviving member of the first African-American female battalion to serve in World War II.
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LEMON: People didn't want blacks in the Army.
ALICE DIXON, WORLD WAR II FEMALE BATTALION: I know.
LEMON: What were the conditions like overseas going -- the warehouses and the mail, what was that like?
DIXON: We went into a building that was built for that post office, the 688. There were 90 billion pieces of mail stacked up. And there were 980 of us in there, Negroes, to take care of that mail. And the general said, oh, all that mail, it will take them six months to do it. We finished it in three months.
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LEMON: She is a wealth of knowledge and history. Living history there. Alice Dixon, part of our continuing series called "Up from a Past, African-American Firsts." We'll have that for you moments away.
Meantime, the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
