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Deadly Baghdad Blasts; Lockerbie Bomber Probe Continues; Sight for Sore Eyes; Madoff Investor Dead; Return of the TEA Parties
Aired October 25, 2009 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The next hour of the NEWSROOM begins right now.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
We want to tell you some good news out of Puerto Rico. Firefighters just extinguished that massive fuel depot fire that raged for three days. Now the next step, determining how that inferno ignited.
CNN's Rafael Romo is there with the very latest.
Rafael, right during our report just a few minutes ago, we heard it had been extinguished. What are you hearing?
ROMO: (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: Yeah.
ROMO: (INAUDIBLE).
LEMON: Ok, Rafael Romo joining us from San Juan, Puerto Rico, having a little bit of audio problems there from that spot. We'll check it for you and get back to him.
Meantime, let's move on and talk about the H1N1 virus and the vaccine. The CDC says more than 16 million doses of H1N1 vaccine are now available nationwide. That's two million more than were in stock just two days earlier.
But it's still short of what public health officials had expected at this point. They are optimistic enough that the vaccine will be made in time for everyone to get a shot; everyone who wants one.
Public health officials say H1N1 is spreading at an alarming rate. Since the virus, also known as swine flu, was first identified in April, millions of people in the U.S. have been infected; about 1,000 have died. The threat of a global pandemic prompted President Obama on Friday to declare a virus -- the virus a national emergency.
Now, the president's action effectively removes bureaucratic obstacles so health care facilities can react quickly to emergency outbreaks of the disease. Senate leaders on both sides today pledge additional resources to fight H1N1 if the president asks for it.
Hundreds of people died in an instant today in Iraq in the kind of massive attack that could cripple an entire nation's political future. At least 132 people were killed when twin car bombs exploded near three government buildings. Here's what it sounded like.
More than 500 people were injured in the blast, which struck at the busy start of the workweek. CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom is in Baghdad with the very latest.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The start of the workweek. Offices packed with employees. Streets crammed with cars. Then a pair of suicide truck bombings ripped through central Baghdad. Striking at the heart of the government district, one bomb explodes outside the Ministry of Justice, also damaging the Ministry of Municipalities; about one minute later another outside the offices of the Baghdad governor.
Utter chaos and destruction as Iraqi Security Forces and American troops try to assess the damage and investigate the scene.
(on camera): Behind me is one of Baghdad's main bridges. And you'll see dozens of people walking out. This area has been closed off since the blast that happened this morning for two reasons.
One was because there was concern there might be more explosions. They wanted to protect the civilians in this area. The other reason for that was because they have to clean up the area, continue the forensic investigation that's been going on.
(voice-over): The attacks come just one day after the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, completed a visit to Iraq that included a condolence stop at the Foreign Ministry, the site of one of the bombings that took place on August 19th, killing more than 100 people.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki surveyed the carnage shortly after the explosions and called the attacks cowardly. The bombings also come at a time of increased political tensions as Iraqi's parliament has failed to pass a revised election law. This must be done before national elections can take place in mid-January.
This was an attack directed at Iraq's institutions, but it's Iraqi civilians who's are the victims.
"My life is miserable. It's like hell," says Abu Mohammed. "If I have a chance, I will leave immediately. I thought about this a long time ago, but now it's getting worse."
With the nation's security so compromised, many Iraqis are left wondering once more about their future.
Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Baghdad.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: President Obama is condemning the Baghdad attacks and promising U.S. government support for Iraq and its people.
Our Elaine Quijano is in Washington with more -- Elaine.
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don. This afternoon President Obama spoke by phone with both Iraq's President as well as Iraq's Prime Minister. Mr. Obama expressed his condolences and reiterated that the United States is committed to standing with the Iraqi people.
Now, in a written statement, President Obama said that, "These attempts to derail Iraq's progress are no match for the courage and resilience of the Iraqi people and their determination to build strong institutions. The United States will stand with Iraq's people and government as a close friend and partner as Iraqis prepare for elections early next year."
Now, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton also issued a similar statement. She called the bombings despicable terrorist attacks and said they would not undermine the progress that Iraq has made toward stability. She also said that those responsible for these bombings must be brought to justice in accordance with Iraqi law -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Elaine Quijano at the White House; thank you very much, Elaine.
In Iran U.N. inspectors have begun their mission to try to uncover any secret at a long hidden nuclear fuels lab in -- near Qom. Now, they entered the bunker-like factory today taking environmental samples to check for the presence of nuclear materials. The existence of the uranium enrichment plant stunned the international community last month, but Iran says it's just trying to produce energy for the public.
A young Jane Doe found wandering two weeks ago in Times Square now has an identity. Police say they have put the name to this face. She is an 18-year-old from Washington State who apparently can't remember who she is or where she's from, but officers say a CNN Bureau in Maryland identify the young woman whose name has not been released and now her parents now heading from Washington state to Manhattan to be reunited with their daughter.
Parishioners at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in New Jersey are praying for their slain pastor and the church's custodian now charged with the priest's murder. Police say they discovered the body of 61- year-old Reverend Ed Hines in the rectory of the parish church on Friday.
Investigators say Hines suffered more than 30 stab wounds. Police arrested this man, 64-year-old Jose Feliciano who has worked at the church for 17 years. Police says Feliciano confessed to the crime saying he and the pastor had gotten into an argument.
More than two decades after the Lockerbie plane crash prosecutors are reviewing the case. We'll tell you why.
Plus, doctors answering the call: free eye surgeries to those in need. And we want to hear from you. Here's how you do it; Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, or iReport.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to update you on our top story here on CNN. We have been following that huge fire, the blast -- really multiple blast explosions last week that caused this fire. Then this plume of smoke over San Juan and it is a toxic plume of smoke.
We have just been told by officials there that they have extinguished that massive fire from a fuel depot -- the fuel depot fire that they are calling it.
They're trying to determine how it was exactly started. Some say it may have been started by someone. So as soon as it can cool it down a little bit inside of that fuel plant, they're going to go in and investigators are going to try to figure out the source of the ignition and exactly how it happened.
Our Rafael Romo from our international division is on the scene and he's going to update us in this broadcast as he gets any information or if he gets any during the broadcast.
Meantime, students in Afghanistan are fighting fire with fire. An effigy of President Obama went up in flames today during a rally in Kabul after rumors of U.S. troops burning a copy of the Koran. U.S. and Afghan authorities both deny any desecration of the Muslim holy book.
Still, riot police had to fire shots into the air to break up the hundreds of rallying college kids allegedly shouting slogans such as down with America. So far, no reports of any injuries.
A renewed search for the Lockerbie bomber's accomplices, more than two decades after the airplane -- that blast that killed 270 people. The victim's family members now have been told that the case is far from being closed.
Gillian Kelli from CNN affiliate ITV News has the very latest for us.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
GILLIAN KELLI, REPORTER, CNN AFFILIATE ITV NEWS: 21 years on from Britain's worst terrorist atrocity. Prosecutors in Scotland still believe the bombing was the work of more than one person. Yet, only one man has ever been convicted, Abdul Baset ali Al-Megrahi.
Now families of the 270 victims of PAN AM Flight 103 have been e- mailed to say several new lines of inquiry are being pursued, including a re-examination of forensic evidence. The relatives also want an independent public inquiry.
PAM DIX, VICTIM'S SISTER: the problem with the criminal investigation, the prosecution of one man, it's that they seek to either prove his guilt and he seeks to prove his innocence, but that doesn't necessarily lead us in the direction of the big picture.
KELLI: The Foreign Secretary David Miliband says that decision is up to the Scottish authorities. This case's review became possible after Megrahi brought the appeal against his conviction so that he can return home to Libya to die from cancer. But the Crown office in Scotland has stressed there is no question of reopening the case against him.
Gillian Kelli, ITV News.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEMON: Well, it's not really a solution to health care crisis, but don't tell that to some New Yorkers getting free eye surgery.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, back to work tomorrow and back to flooding rains. We'll talk about the threat of that in the Lone Star State, plus your fall foliage iReport coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We just reported here on CNN some good news in Puerto Rico. Firefighters extinguished that massive fuel -- that fuel depot fire that raged for three days now.
I want to get back now to our Rafael Romo who is on the ground. Rafael, what are you hearing from there now?
Ok. Third time we thought would be a charm. We're done. It's over there. They're going to go in; they're going to investigate to see how it started.
All right. And it is updated now.
An overtime rock slide shuts down a North Carolina interstate in a big way. The state department of transportation says it expects a section of interstate 40 near the Tennessee state line will be closed for the next several weeks. Troopers say some of the fallen rocks are the size of a house. One motorist was slightly hurt in the 2:00 a.m. slide. The mountain high highway is vulnerable to rock slides, especially after the wet weather.
Jacqui Jeras knows all about this. She'll tell us why -- it has to do with the rain and probably the temperature fluctuation and other things.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, you know, it makes everything kind of loose and certainly wears away at some of the material. You get the freeze and thaw temperatures, and that kind of changes and expands and contracts those rocks and you can get all kinds of problems as a result of that.
We did have a lot of wet weather in parts of the east to kick off the weekend. We have some video we want to show you out of Philadelphia.
This was from last night, probably between the hours of about 6:00 and 10:00. Very heavy rain fell here. About an inch and a half causing flooding of several roadways, and also some downed trees in the area. It was a very quick hit, however. That rain and flooding has moved on out. No rain is back in the forecast already for you on your Tuesday.
Beautiful weather in the east today; and check out these iReports that we have from Courtney McCrary from Greeneville, South Carolina. She said her husband took her for a drive along the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, and there was a lot of beautiful color. Look at some of the clouds there.
I have a little picture that I want to show you here if you are thinking about going out and trying to use some of the leaves this weekend or next, you can see we're already kind past peak across the upper Midwest. This lighter red is where we're seeing some of that peak, so across Maryland down through the Virginias and then we're seeing some slight color then already across parts of the deep south.
Man, it goes fast, doesn't it? You got to get out there. You got just a couple of weekends left before things are going to be pretty well done and pretty well spent.
Let's talk about what we can expect over the next 24 to 48 hours in terms of seeing some pretty heavy rainfall. We do have a storm system across the nation's midsection that's going to start pulling in some moisture across parts of Texas.
We've got a little bit starting to creep in right now, but late tonight throughout the day tomorrow we could see some torrential downpours. Flood watches have been issued, including you in Dallas, also into the Houston area; two to four inches, possibly locally heavier amounts. We'll be tracking that story as we kick off the workweek -- Don.
LEMON: Are you a golfer, Jacqui?
JERAS: Yes, I enjoy golf.
LEMON: You do?
JERAS: Yes.
LEMON: Really?
JERAS: Yes. I don't always have time for it, but I enjoy it when I do.
LEMON: All right. I want you to watch this next story then.
JERAS: Ok.
LEMON: It's cool because she may not be ready for the LPGA, but look at that. Melody Barnes, president Obama's chief domestic policy advisor may have made a bit of a golfing history today. She's hitting the links with the commander-in-chief this afternoon at Virginia's Fort Belvoir. She's believed to be the first woman to play a round with President Obama since the White House -- his White House arrival.
JERAS: Good for her.
LEMON: Yes. Why is that? I think that the reason that that is in the headlines -- I thought we would explain why -- is because of the basketball game last week with Congressional leaders, or whatever, people in Congress. They were saying there were no women there.
JERAS: Where are the girls?
(CROSS TALK)
LEMON: The girls are playing golf with the president. That's where they are. You next Jacqui, maybe.
JERAS: That would be great.
LEMON: All right. Thanks Jacqui.
Talk about seeing things in a totally different light. A surgeon in western New York is giving the gift of sight. Free of charge to those who desperately need it but can't afford it.
Reporter Mylous Hairston of CNN affiliate WIVB introduces us to a man who is truly a sight for sore eyes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going to go away in about ten seconds or so.
MYLOUS HAIRSTON, REPORTER, WIVB: It's Mission Cataract at Anthone Eye Center in Williamsville. The surgeries are free.
DR. KENNETH ANTHONE, EYE SURGEON: Today would be a day when we would operate on people who don't have any insurance, who are indigent, don't have any jobs because they can't see. We're going to restore their eyesight.
HAIRSTON: The timing couldn't have been better for Carol Stilson. No job, no insurance, and a very bad cataract.
CAROL STILSON, CATARACT PATIENT: I have had it in my eye for about five years, and if not for Dr. Anthone I probably would have lost my vision in the not too distant future.
HAIRSTON: Dr. Anthone and staff are helping 22 people who met the guidelines, people like Sharyn Morrell who can't wait to see clearly again.
SHARYN MORRELL, AWAITING CATARACT SURGERY: It's going to help me to work again, to drive better, to get out of the house more. To have a more productive life.
HAIRSTON: Cataracts are common. ANTHONE: The cataract is the lens of your eye that becomes cloudy.
HAIRSTON: Chris Meslinsky is a construction worker in his early 30s.
CHRIS MESLINSKY, HAD CATARACT SURGERY: It was blurry. Light seemed to really affect it.
HAIRSTON: He has needed the surgery for some time.
MESLINSKY: I had hopes to maybe get it done in the future if I could afford it, but it's a great opportunity for me.
HAIRSTON: Dr. Anthone says and he his staff are rewarded by the patients.
ANTHONE: They're so grateful, and they're just so emotional about it, and it made me feel so good.
HAIRSTON: The doctor plans to make Mission Cataract at the very least an annual event.
MESLINSKY: I'm very thankful to him and the whole staff here.
MORRELL: He's on a pedestal right now for me. Wonderful. I would never have been able to have this done for a long, long time.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was Mylous Hairston from WIVP TV reporting there. Dr. Anthone says he has done similar free clinics overseas with humanitarian groups and wanted to do the same here in the United States.
He was a trusted friend of Bernie Madoff who was convicted of defrauding billions in a Ponzi scheme. Now he has been found dead. We'll have the latest for you.
Plus, they are not giving up. The Tea Party Express is on the road again determined make their voices heard.
And getting a traffic ticket for not speaking English; a family calls a news conference to react. We'll hear what they had to say.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The man accused of being the biggest beneficiary of Bernie Madoff's investment scheme has been found dead in his Palm Beach, Florida swimming pool.
Philanthropist Jeffrey Picower was found today by his wife and rushed to a hospital where he was pronounced dead. Police say they are investigating, which is standard in any suspected drowning.
Jeffrey Picower claims to have lost money in Madoff's phony investments, but he has been accused of making billions in Madoff's Ponzi scheme. Let's talk about Jeffrey Picower and the Bernie Madoff scheme. Andrew Kirtzman joins me from New York. He is the author of the best selling book; it's called "Betrayal: The Life and Lies of Bernie Madoff" a New York Times best seller.
What is going on here? He is not the first who got caught up in the scheme to commit suicide, but there is a distinction with him, Andrew.
ANDREW KIRTZMAN, AUTHOR, "BETRAYAL": Well, there were two people who committed suicide after the Madoff scam broke last year, but those were investors who lost all their money. This is the first death attributed to someone who is possibly implicated in the actual scheme.
LEMON: And Jeffrey -- let me correct the record -- it should say suicide because there were people who committed suicide. We don't know if Andrew -- if Jeffrey Picower committed suicide.
KIRTZMAN: That's exactly right.
LEMON: He was found dead, and they're investigating, as they say it's standard procedure for a drowning because there were two other people that committed suicide for that. He is one of a number of people who have been found dead or committed suicide when it comes to Bernie Madoff.
KIRTZMAN: That's exactly right. There was an investor named Thierry Villehuchet who invested not only his money, but all of his friends' money into Madoff and couldn't stand the shame of it, and someone named William Foxton in England.
This is an interesting case. I mean, Jeffrey Picower made more money out of Bernie Madoff's scam than Bernie Madoff did. He invested billions of dollars and eventually took out up to $7 billion from his Madoff account.
So this is a man who did pretty well from Bernie Madoff's scam, whether or not he knew about it, but there were some inkling that Picower at least should have known that something was wrong. There were years in which Picower's funds in his Madoff account made 950 percent returns from Bernie Madoff. This is a guy who should have known something was wrong.
LEMON: And from everything I have read about him, they said -- people are saying that, yes, of course, he should have known about it, but he actually asked that the lawsuit be dropped he said for lack of -- it was unsupported facts.
KIRTZMAN: Right.
LEMON: His involvement in the case. I think you raise a very interesting point that he made more money than Bernie Madoff. How can you make more money than someone if you are not aware of what's going?
KIRTZMAN: Bernie Madoff had investors, and Picower was someone who invested his money and possibly other people's money, and he had a foundation, which was the second largest foundation in Florida. I mean, this was a very highly-regarded philanthropist. His philanthropy was the second largest in Florida. He gave $50 million to MIT. He gave money to the New York City Ballet.
I mean, when the Madoff scam first broke last year, Jeffrey Picower was seen as a very sympathetic figure, someone who had trusted Bernie Madoff for 20 years and had lost his shirt to a friend. It only emerged later that Picower had made so much money off of Bernie Madoff and, you know, there were phantom trades that are alleged by the court-appointed trustee. Things that indicated that Picower might have known more than at first suspected.
LEMON: Hey, listen. I'm up against the clock here. But I want to ask you. If he withdrew so much money, you said, what, $7 billion, $8 billion?
KIRTZMAN: That's right. About $7 billion.
LEMON: Could he have unwittingly may have caused the collapse of this at all or at least was part of the domino effect for all of this?
KIRTZMAN: Well, it's a good question, but his withdrawals were done a few years ago.
LEMON: Ok.
KIRTZMAN: It was really the cratering economy that did Bernie Madoff in.
LEMON: Got it. Andrew Kirtzman, it's very interesting. Thank you.
KIRTZMAN: Thank you.
LEMON: Again, the book -- what is it called again? "Betrayal: The Life and Lies of Bernie Madoff."
KIRTZMAN: That's right.
LEMON: Thank you.
We appreciate you joining us here on CNN this Sunday.
They're calling it the TEA Party Express 2, the rolling caravan of anti-big government activists back on the road for a second nationwide bus tour.
On the phone with us, CNN all-platform journalist Patrick Oppmann; he's on the road with the TEA party activists in California. Are you in Los Angeles yet?
PATRICK OPPMANN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: We are getting there, Don, but very, very slowly. The TEA Party Express has run up against the famous L.A. traffic, which we know all too well. And right now the L.A. traffic is winning. We should be there in about 45 minutes.
I hear from our crew on the ground that there is a heavy crowd -- actually a line of traffic going into the venue where they're going to hold this rally tonight, but the rally they had about two and a half hours ago in San Diego was also heavily attended.
I talked a number of protesters there who had some of the signs that have become infamous about President Obama being a socialist, about death panels. And when talking to these people, it was very clear to me that they believe that they are fighting for their country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's repeating itself right now, and that's why people sense that something is wrong. They may not understand why, because they don't know history all that well, but if they do, they would understand fully that this is a communist takeover.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
OPPMANN: And, Don, if you heard that protester say communist takeover. They -- that's the language they use. They're very strong in their terminology. They're not pulling any punches. And they believe that the country is on the precipice of losing its fundamental rights.
Now, people who criticize these kinds of protests, the conservative Tea Party movement, say that there's just no basis for any of these accusations, but this movement has hit a real nerve, and has actually come up with a second tour to the places they weren't able to go on that first tour.
(UNINTELLIGIBLE)
LEMON: Patrick, hey, we're losing your phone there.
Patrick is in California. They're going to be in California for a few days, and then it is across country, they're going to end up in Florida. Thanks to our all-platform journalist, Patrick Oppmann, on the phone with the Tea Party Express in California, as they make their way towards Los Angeles.
There's no law against driving a private vehicle if you don't speak English, but this woman was one of nearly 40 people in Dallas, Texas, issued traffic tickets on that charge over the past several years. We first told you this story last night. There is a federal law requiring drivers to speak and read English, but it only applies to drivers of commercial vehicles. The misapplication of the law, to drivers of private vehicles, has prompted Ernestina Mondragon to hire an attorney to sue the city. She and her daughter appeared at a news conference just a short time ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRENDA MONDRAGON, MOTHER GIVEN TICKET FOR NOT SPEAKING ENGLISH: She said she got pulled over for doing an illegal U-turn. Then I read the ticket, and I noticed that there were three offenses. And the first one was for the illegal U-turn. The second one was for not having her driver's license on her, and the third one was for being a non-English speaking driver.
So, I basically told my mom that she had gotten a ticket for not speaking English. She was worried that now every time she drivers and she gets pulled over she is going to get another ticket for not speaking English.
So, I called a number on the back of the ticket to find out the fees. And the guy who answered the phone -- I don't recall his name -- put me on -- when I told him -- he asked me for the offenses. I told him all of them, and for the non-English speaking, he said I'm not sure about that one. Let me check. Hold on.
He put on hold for about two minutes. He came back, and said, well, you could get a ticket for being a non-English speaking driver, and it's going to be $204. So, I told my mom that it was going to be $204, and she was stressing. She's unemployed, so she was stressing how she's going to pay that. I told her I would take care of it for her.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Boy, OK, that was the news conference just a short time ago. The Dallas police chief apologized for the error. All such tickets will be dropped. Those who have already paid the fine will be reimbursed. And speaking English, or not, that's the issue facing many Latinos in America. In case you missed it, the encore presentation of "Latino in America" is set tonight for 8:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN.
Teammates of slain University of Connecticut football player Jasper Howard will be flying to his funeral set for tomorrow in Howard's hometown of Miami, Florida. Meantime, police have been busy combing the UCON Campus, and surrounding areas there, for clues in the search for his killer. Howard was fatally stabbed last weekend following a school-sponsored dance. Police, dive teams are reportedly searching storm drains for a potential murder weapons. But neither state or campus police will confirm.
Baseball was his first love, but that was not the path that he took to become famous. My conversation with New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You may know, on this program we are profiling Latinos who overcame obstacles and shattered stereotypes to make history. It's part of our series "Pioneros: Latinos Firsts."
In the political world Bill Richardson life has been full of firsts, including becoming the first major Hispanic presidential candidate. Throw in two terms as governor of New Mexico, U.N. ambassador, Energy secretary, seven terms in the House, and, well, you pretty much get the idea. It goes on and on. I recently sat down with him at the governor's office in Santa Fe.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LEMON (On camera): Speaking Spanish and plain English.
GOV. BILL RICHARDSON, (D) NEW MEXICO: I'm formally announcing my candidacy for president of the United States.
LEMON: On January 21st, 2007, Democrat, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson announced on his website his candidacy for president of the United States. Admittedly, by his own mother, it didn't last long.
RICHARDSON: She jokes about my presidential race, about how short it was. You know, she has given me so much.
LEMON: Did you say, Mom, at least I did it. Come on, give me some credit.
RICHARDSON: I did. You know, at one point we were on the phone, and we were speaking Spanish. And she said to me, "Son, are you still governor?" I said, "Yeah. No one has thrown me out yet. In fact, Mom, you know, I announced for president."
She said, "President of what?"
LEMON (voice over): What got Richardson more attention than his one- year anemic run and perhaps in his entire political career was his endorsement of then-Democratic upstart, and likely presidential nominee, Barack Obama, over long-time friend and political ally, Hillary Clinton.
RICHARDSON: Barack Obama will be a great and historic president.
LEMON: Richardson's friend and former boss, Hillary Clinton's husband, Bill, has yet to forget him.
LEMON (On camera): Did you repair that relationship? Is it patched up?
RICHARDSON: With President Clinton? No, no. He is still mad at me. With Secretary of State Clinton, we kind of repaired it, but no, with president Clinton, he is not happy with me. But that's all right.
LEMON: Did you reach out to him?
RICHARDSON: Well, you know, we both need to reach out to each other, and it hasn't happened. I'm fine with it.
LEMON (voice over): Even before serving as President Clinton's U.N. ambassador and Energy secretary, Richardson was a staffer to Henry Kissinger and a congressman from New Mexico. He says he owes all of it, especially his standing at the first viable presidential candidate, to his father.
RICHARDSON: Well, my father wasn't born in America. He was born in Nicaragua, and he always felt a complex that he wasn't born in America. So, as his first-born, he wanted me to be born in the United States, so he made a special trip to see his sister in California, so that I would be born in America, and we returned to Mexico where he was posted there.
LEMON: His Mexican-born mother is still inspiring him.
RICHARDSON: My mother, who would only speak to me in Spanish, always said to me, (speaking Spanish ) Basically, she said, be strong, have strong opinions, don't shy away.
LEMON: He was a great baseball player in high school and later at Boston's Tufts University. But unlike some minorities of his generation, his edge didn't come from sports.
(On camera): Why did you choose public service?
RICHARDSON: I felt I had an advantage because I was international. I spoke two languages. I loved international affairs, foreign policy. I was a late bloomer in politics. I ran for president of my fraternity house in college, and I liked the power that that gave me to do good things.
LEMON: Now nearly four decades after earning a degree in law and diplomacy from Tufts, he is still at it. Recently an early contender as the new Obama administration's commerce secretary, but he bowed out because of a federal investigation alleging pay to play dealing as governor. He was cleared of any wrong doing just days before I sat down with him.
LEMON (On camera): How do you feel about it?
RICHARDSON: Well, I feel good because it's behind me. This investigation kept me from being secretary of Commerce. I feel vindicated. We did nothing wrong. It's like a cloud is lifted over you.
LEMON (voice over): But don't look just yet for this avid horseman to ride off into the sunset. He is governor until 2011.
(On camera): Would you take a position in the administration?
RICHARDSON: Probably not. I mean, I -- you never say never, but right now I'm content with my life. I've got a year and a half to go as governor. I've said to my wife, who has always followed me in every job, this next job I have you decide. And she doesn't want to go back to Washington.
I've also said that what I want to do, something that I've aspired to all my life, I want to visit every single Major League baseball stadium and decide which is the best. I want to drive myself. I haven't driven in a while.
LEMON: Bill Richardson, always the pioneer. That's why he's a Latino first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And just in case you missed it, I'm going to tell you again, the encore presentation of "Latino in America" set to air tonight, right after this program, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
The rain-out last night, at least delayed the New York Yankees from clinching a World Series spot. Up next, sports business analyst Rick Harrow tells us that the money can buy a World Series berth. We shall see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for our weekly look into the business of sports. Our resident expert sports business analyst, Rick Horrow, joins me now.
You're in Miami Gardens, right? Standing in front of -is there a land shark behind you?
RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Well, there's a land shark replica behind me, and about 60,000 fairly upset Miami Dolphins fans. I think the final score is 47-34. But the more important issue, by the way, the Saints are now 7-0, undefeated. Biggest, best start certainly since post-Katrina, very important for recovery.
As a Dolphins fan, I don't really care about their recovery, but it's a good thing anyway tonight.
LEMON: It's good for the city. It's probably good for people going to the games.
Don't worry about those guys. We're very used to it, Rick, those guys that are around you. Just ignore them. We'll take care of it.
HORROW: Yes, well, they're all my fans. You know, the teeming millions around me. They're looking to get to you. They want to know where Don Lemon is.
LEMON: Seriously, that's good news. We're glad the Saints are undefeated because the city of New Orleans really needs it.
So, let's move on and talk about the highest paid teams, the highest paid teams could be in the World Series. You know, there's a rain delay yesterday?
HORROW: Well, yeah, and tonight I think the weather is going to be c- c-clear and c-c-cold up there, but assuming the Yankees win one of those two, then they're in the World Series against the Phillies. Here's the issue. The Yankees out-spend every other team in the league by at least $70 million. Their payroll is well over $200 million, so they can afford the best pitchers, the best players, and the average of their players is $2 million or $3 million more than everyone else. So the bottom line of all of that is you can spend the money -- money doesn't guarantee you happiness, but it sure beats not having it.
LEMON: OK, from baseball, let's go to basketball, to the NBA season. It opens on Tuesday. $4 billion-business that's facing labor talks here?
HORROW: Well, yeah. And the business is a global business. They've had preseason games in Madrid and Monterey and everywhere else, but now they take the NBA home. All of those 30 cities will have their openers in the next week and a half. Again, $4 billion, but remember, every league has a labor issue that may still be going on and expiring in 2011, so they better get their act together. And the NBA is the next one in line.
LEMON: Wow. So, Rick, say again, the Saints won?
(LAUGHTER)
You know why I'm saying that, right? Louisiana boy. I'm very happy and very proud.
HORROW: I'm hearing it back here. Thank you for New Orleans, but as a Dolphin fan, maybe next year.
LEMON: You remember "Saturday Night Live?" land shark, watch out.
HORROW: Land shark. That land shark played better defense than this bunch of land sharks did today, 47 points.
LEMON: All right, Rick. Thank you. You're a good sport, man.
HORROW: See you next week.
LEMON: A world record attempt taking place today, around the globe. Check this out.
Well, this is the scene today in Perth, Australia, where a field full of people were dancing to "Thriller". Similar events were taking place around the world with the goal setting a "Guinness World Record". It's all part of the excitement building up to the movie "This Is It." It opens Wednesday, October 28th. The film shows Michael Jackson and his supporting cast rehearsing for what was supposed to be his upcoming concert tour.
Wow. Jacqui, looks like the weather was got a there in Perth for all of those "Thriller" guys. Remember that? Do you remember we were kids and the whole "Thriller" video? You waited for it.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes. You are getting ready to groove. Can I see it right now.
LEMON: It did doesn't happen with videos anymore. They used to be events, and now you can just, there's such easy access. Clicking onto, they leak on to the Internet. We would sit around and wait for the next video to come out. Michael Jackson, whomever, who has the next video?
JERAS: They don't even play videos on MTV anymore, do they?
LEMON: Not so much.
JERAS: I think a lot of people have tried to break that record, haven't they?
LEMON: They have. You remember the jail? There was someone in prison that's done it, and all kinds of people.
JERAS: We just had one here in Atlanta, the big, what was it, Dragon Con thing. They didn't make it, though.
LEMON: We digress. What's in the weather, Jacqui?
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: An historic race, in an historic place. One of the world's seven wonders goes pink to help beat breast cancer. Survivors share why this race means so much for women in the Middle East.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Rock singer Morrissey is recovering after collapsing during a show last night new London. Morrissey, who goes by his last name, had just taken the stage and sang one song when he collapsed. A statement on his web site says he is in stable condition and is resting. No further details have been made public about why he collapsed. The 50- year-old singer came to prominence in the 1980s as the front man for the hugely influential new wave band The Smiths.
Andrew Lloyd Webber has been diagnosed in the early stages of prostate cancer. A spokeswoman says the award-winning composer and producer of more than a dozen musicals hopes to be back at work before the end of the year. He has been working on a sequel to his "Phantom of the Opera" entitled, "Love Never Dies." It is due out, to open, in January.
A monumental push to find a cure for breasted cancer. The pyramids are going pink this weekend. Survivors and their supporters, thousands of them, walking, running and cheering. It is an historic race in that region. Our CNN International Correspondent Ben Wedeman takes us there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEN WEDEMAN, CNN INT'L. CORRESPONDENT: They're off and running around the pyramid in a race for a cure for breast cancer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are survivors and we're strong! Together we are always strong!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We won! We won!
WEDEMAN: The women in pink are cancer survivors. For them, the race is already over.
SAHER SARWAT, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: My name is Saher Sarwat. I am 50 years old. I'm a survivor for six years, and everything is fine.
MARY RIZO, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: I'm Mary Rizo. I'm a pediatrician. I had my cancer in 2002. I fought it. And now I'm fine.
WEDEMAN: More than 7,000 people showed up for the event, including the U.S. ambassador to Egypt.
MARGARET SCOBEY, U.S. AMBASSADOR TO EGYPT: This is a great turn out today. We're all thrilled. Just sorry we didn't think about having ribbons for the camels to wear.
WEDEMAN: The camels were unmoved by it all despite the enthusiasm of the participants.
(On camera): Traditionally breast cancer was something of a taboo topic in Egypt. But after this kind of high profile, very public event, that could change.
(voice over): The race was proof attitudes are beginning to change, but there is still a very long way to go. Maha Qasim is undergoing treatment and has had to grapple not only with cancer, but also with old prejudices.
MAHA QASIM, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: My husband is a professor. He was a professor in university. He doesn't accept this situation. I am now alone. I fight the disease by myself. I hope to be a survivor. I have three children you now.
At first I feel very sad. But I live. I am still alive.
WEDEMAN: The race is the brain child of Nancy Brinker, whose sister died of breast cancer. Nancy, herself is a survivor founded the Susan G. Komen For the Cure organization in memory of her sister.
NANCY BRINKER, SUSAN G. KOMEN FOR THE CURE: This disease, which may have been whispered about by many people, will now be discussed more openly.
WEDEMAN: The race was noisy and some of the participants, rowdy at times, but it is a subject breast cancer survivors say screams out for more attention. Ben Wedeman, CNN, at the great pyramids in Giza, Egypt.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Also another man took the #beat cancer, awareness Twitter theme that we came up with, to a whole new level. He jumped out of an airplane. His name is Jeff Lang, known as DigiJeff. He lost a bet, put the # beat cancer logo on a pink shirt, jumped out of a plane to raise awareness. Amazing what happens.
Hey, let's talk to you guys about what's going to here in the social networking world. We put a couple minutes aside because you guys were sending me things. You guys are very interested in the Spanish -the people getting tickets for not speaking English. Here's BubbleFreeze: "It is interesting issue on traffic citations. I know we have to make allowances, but it is also traffic safety for everyone."
Milvian says: Latinos in America should know some type of basic English, but getting a ticket for not knowing the language is insane!"
Swankness says: We lock people up for billions of dollars @donlemon, why we can't spend a few billion for healthcare?"
And Ohthesweet says: "I guess the Tea Party will be more mindful of their signs and take offense to those pushing racist agendas."
NCite45: "Gift of sight, how honorable for this doc."
Talking about the doctor who gives free eye surgery and eye check-ups. I agree. Free eye surgery. Good stuff.
And let's see, DrCMG says: "As a little girl I was happy for tea parties. We put on pretty dresses and white gloves. Those people have destroyed the vision forever."
So we appreciate you guys getting back to us on our social networking site. You have been doing it a lot lately and we appreciate it.
Also getting a lot of feedback on the story we did yesterday, our focus on drugs, the illegal drug trade. One person said that the reporter who went to Colombia for the story deserves a medal of honor. And that is Karl Penhaul. Excellent reporting. You can check it out on cnn.com. By the way, the new CNN.com, the relaunch.
So, that's it for me here. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, with a whole lot of other interesting stories. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.
Up next, check out my colleague's revealing look at you how Latinos are reshaping our communities. I'm talking about Soledad O'Brien, and it's called "Latino in America" and it starts right now.
