Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Secret Service Agent Identified; Washington Goes Hollywood Tonight
Aired April 28, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: What caused a man to kill himself inside this underground bunker after a standoff with police? Perhaps the murders of his wife and child had something to do with it.
New census numbers on interracial marriage. How we really feel about people who don't look like us. And the President gets the last laugh over his political rivals tonight and a whole lot of live media coverage. How's that for campaigning?
Hello, everyone. Don Lemon here live at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. We're going to begin in Washington State where a tense standoff is finally over. A man is dead after allegedly killing his wife and teenage daughter. Police say 41-year-old Peter Keller was holed up in a bunker for two days. A SWAT team used explosives to blow a hole in the roof of the hideout. They discovered his body in a pool of blood and a gun nearby. Keller has no criminal record and his motive for the killings is unknown at the moment.
You know, it was coming. The Secret Service now has a new code of conduct following the prostitution scandal. While in other countries, they'll have to act like they're still in the United States. Having foreigners in the room is a no, no now and they'll also have restrictions on where they can go, and they won't be able to drink within ten hours of reporting for duty.
Meantime, we're getting more details about what may have happened in Colombia and as our Drew Griffin reports to us. We now know the name of the agent at the center of the Secret Service prostitution investigation. Drew.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Hotel security guard at the Hotel Caribe says, the commotion began in the seventh floor hallway where some of the agents were staying. And through hotel records, CNN can now confirm at least thirty-three agents assigned rooms on that floor apparently left Cartagena early. Sources with knowledge of the investigation had indicated to CNN that two agents have been cleared but that the agent who stayed in room 707 may already be gone from the service. According to hotel records, reviewed by CNN, agent Arthur Huntington was checked into this room. Two sources with knowledge of the investigation say it was Huntington who had the dispute with the escort named Dania Suarez. Suarez is now hired an attorney and through statements credited to the attorney, demands she was an escort, not a prostitute. Her attorney isn't talking. Earlier this week, a man who identified himself as Arthur Huntington, declined comment to a CNN producer. Yesterday, CNN returned to Arthur Huntington's home where the door was gently pushed shut without comment. The home was just listed for sale this week.
(on camera) Don, we can tell you that the agent is 41 years old. Arthur Huntington is married. According to his neighbors, he has two sons and they're home schooled. A former agent told me, yes, this is a crisis for the Secret Service, but it's a much deeper and personal crisis for the families of the men involved -- Don.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All Right. Drew, thank you very much. A chilling sight for supporters of the resistance in Syria. Syrian troops in this YouTube video march through an alley in Doma. Activists say, ten military defectors will killed near there today. A second group of United Nations monitors is due to arrive in Syria this weekend to keep watch on what is supposed to be a cease-fire.
The Taliban is claiming responsibility for a raid on the governor's compound in Kandahar. Two Afghan police officers were killed in the attack along with the government. The Afghan interior ministry says, the gunmen walked into the compound with pistols hidden in their boots.
The White House faces a diplomatic dilemma. A Chinese human rights activist is said to be taking refuge at the American embassy in Beijing. That's according to one of his close friends. Incredibly, the blind activists escaped from house arrest last Sunday night stealing a high wall and crossing a muddy creek. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is already scheduled to be in Beijing next week.
Here in the United States, students in Henryville, Indiana, never thought they would see their prom night not after a tornado devastated their town in March.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER CHAPMAN, HENRYVILLE, INDIANA STUDENT: It makes up for everything, even though the tornado destroyed everything, it doesn't destroy our determination to still have prom and come then come together as a community.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: With grit and gratitude, the students had their prom, and they put aside all of the stress and trauma left behind by the tornado just to have a little fun. The community donated nearly everything from the room and the decorations to the dresses and the tuxedos.
Anybody who lived through it will never forget the tornadoes that leveled parts of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Hard to believe, but that was a year ago. CNN's George Howell went back to catch up with a few survivors.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Oh, my God.
GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been one year since this EF-4 monster left its mark on Tuscaloosa. A year since we last spoke to the owner of these Krispy Kreme Doughnuts.
EVAN SMITH, OWNER, KRISPY KREME DOUGHNUTS: Is all this a total loss?
SMITH: A total loss.
HOWELL (voice-over): Today, Evan Smith is still working to rebuild.
(on camera) We're talking like a year after this tornado came through here and we're still waiting for the concrete to be poured here.
SMITH: That's amazing. You know, in one stance, you want to be upset and think, how could it take 12 months? But a lot went on in these 12 months.
HOWELL (voice-over): First came the massive effort to remove debris, according to city officials, 1.5 million cubic yards of it county wide. Overall, 12.6 percent of the city was destroyed.
SMITH: Most tornadoes hit a house, skip a house, hit a house. This thing was taking everything out, you know, half a mile, mile wide.
GARY LIMMROTH, TORNADO VICTIM: There were trees all through here.
HOWELL: Gary Limmroth survived by taking shelter in his basement. His home had to be demolished, so now he's starting over.
LIMMROTH: It does take a while to figure out how do you want to build back, how do you want to do it? Do you want to come back? I mean, there were a lot of people that are still across the lake that are trying to decide. Some have decided I just can't it, they couldn't be here in the constant reminder everyday of seeing it.
HOWELL: You can see the difference best from satellite imagery. This is the corner of 15th and McFarland Boulevard before a tornado hit. Here's an image of the corner just after the storm came through. There's debris everywhere.
(on camera) This is what that same neighborhood looks like today. We're left here with an empty field where these homes once stood. The tornado was on the ground for less than six minutes and overall, 53 people were killed here in Tuscaloosa alone.
LIMMROTH: This is going to be the safe room, this is poured in place concrete walls.
HOWELL (voice-over): Residents are rebuilding to be better prepared?
(on camera) You're worried it's going to happen again? LIMMROTH: Yes, I think it's obvious that the Tuscaloosa is on the path now.
HOWELL (voice-over): And though there are signs of progress.
SMITH: As far as me and being in this business, I'm not better off until I get the doors open again.
HOWELL: George Howell, CNN, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And interestingly enough, we want to talk about tornadoes now. Jacqui Jeras joins us, Jacqui, what's going on?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we've got a tornado warning on the east side of St. Louis at this hour. A radar indicated tornado but I think it's going to be wrapped in rain, so people aren't going to see it. And you need to be taking shelter now. This is the area that we're talking about, St. Clair County. So, Belleville, Shiloh, and Lebanon are all included. Just want to note, here's Interstate 70, this is I-64, and that's the direction where the storm is and where the rotation is going to be. So, a dangerous situation evolving. A possible tornado here. In addition to that, the hail has been incredible today, Don. We're talking tennis-ball sized hail possible within that storm. And this is an area that we're going to be watching the next few hours across parts of Illinois as well as Missouri and into southern Indiana. And this is mostly a hail day, but isolated tornadoes could develop, and it appears that's what's going on right now on the east side of St. Louis.
LEMON: All right. Just across the river from St. Louis, Missouri. Thank you very much. We appreciate it. There are more interracial couples in this country than ever. It seems attitudes are really changing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It's not as much of a problem as it was before. And everyone is now accepting it.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: People are evolving. People are being more tolerant, which is how it should be.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I don't have a problem with it at all. My grandparents were in an interracial marriage and you're talking 50 years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We're going to talk about why this is happening.
Plus, celebrities and politicians together on the red carpet? Well, not yet. You know, it depends on who you think a celebrity is. They're starting to arrive. It's definitely a red carpet though. You know, it's also the White House Correspondents Dinner. We're going to cover it because it is the Oscars when it comes to politics.
All right. We're going to talk to the deputy editor from Variety Magazine about everything that's going and lot of others. Lindsay Lohan, Kim Kardashian among the names, oh and guess what, you may know this name, too. The President of the United States is the headliner.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, for news people, it's like the Oscars for us. The ultimate intersection of journalism, politics, and celebrity. Tonight the annual White House Correspondents Dinner. It's always fun, isn't always an A-list crowd. This year, Jimmy Kimmel is hosting, and it's one of their toughest gigs in the business.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY KIMMEL, COMEDIAN: President kind of keeps to himself. Somebody throws him a basketball, he makes the shot. He really does everything. I've never been to the White House before. I'll probably never be asked back, either. But it's really very cool, actually.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We're all over this. On CNN, like I said, it's our Oscars. It's our Academy Awards. Starting at 7:00, we'll be catching the political and entertainment elite as they arrive on the red carpet. Some are arriving now I think. Live coverage of the dinner beginning 9:30 Eastern, 9:30 Eastern live with me, Don Lemon right here on CNN. You know, I want to go out to the red carpet at the correspondents dinner right now where we find Ted Johnson, he's a deputy editor for Variety Magazine, the source for all things showbiz. You're looking quite dashing in your tuxedo there and your after five, as they say. I want to say...
TED JOHNSON, DEPUTY EDITOR, VARIETY MAGAZINE: Thank you very much.
LEMON: It's kind of snarky, but people say this is like, you know, the Oscars or Hollywood for ugly people. I know that's terrible. I don't know if you think that's true or not.
JOHNSON: I don't think it's true anymore. People were calling this the nerd prom, but I'll tell you, there's a certain dignity to this that you may not get in some awards ceremonies in Hollywood.
LEMON: OK. So there's a certain dignity to this, I'm just going to say what everyone has asked me including myself, I have been asking for years. Well, then, why the heck is Kim Kardashian there, why is Lindsay Lohan there? Why do we have -- don't you think that cheapens -- I have to be honest with you. I'm not being a snob. I don't get it, I don't understand why they're invited, I don't understand why they show up. Why?
JOHNSON: Well, I should explain. This started as a scholarship dinner. And it was a way for White House Correspondents to mingle with White House staff. It has grown. About 20 years ago, some of the media began inviting celebrities to actually sit at their table, and I think Fawn Hall may have been the first one. And it just kind of took on a life of its own. And I have to say, it's really accelerated.
LEMON: Fawn Hall is a celebrity?
JOHNSON: Back then, she was. Don't forget.
LEMON: Yes. I still don't understand it. I'm not, listen, I'm not being a jerk to you or anybody else. I just don't get it. I don't see a place for it. It doesn't make me any more interested in the White House -- in fact, it makes me less interested that those folks were there. Has anybody thought of that?
JOHNSON: Well, maybe dignity isn't the right word. Maybe stature, or now it's become kind of a place to see or be seen. It's almost -- you said it was like the Oscars. I think it's more like Sundance because it's not just Hollywood anymore. What we're seeing this year is a lot of people from the tech community, the CEO of twitter was around, the CEO of Google. We're seeing a lot of sponsors get in. W. Bush is sponsoring an event. And then I started seeing supermodels last night.
LEMON: Oh, geez. Really, Ted? OK, someone said you're just jealous because you weren't invited. No, I'm not. Not at all. I would rather sit here in that cozy air conditioned studio and make fun of everybody. Listen, the critics went after the President for appearing on Jimmy Fallon the other night. And then now he's going to be making jokes. So, what do you think he's going to -- how do you think that's going to go over? What do you think he's going to joke about?
JOHNSON: Well, the President really has a tough task. Because he has a reputation for delivering pretty biting humor. Remember last year, he had those zingers at Donald Trump, but he also doesn't want to come across as cruel. And I think we'll probably see him comment a little bit about the republican attacks on him for actually doing that Jimmy Fallon appearance. And, you know, I would be surprised if we don't see some jokes because they're really trying to take on Obama as the cool president, and they're really trying to turn that on his head and turn it against him. So, I think we might see the President try to seize the initiative with humor and get right back at them.
LEMON: All right, Ted. This is jour job. You report for Variety. Anybody you have seen there yet or is it just kind of early? This is like the pre-preparty?
JOHNSON: Well, this is kind of the pre-preparty. A bunch of the media has three receptions. But I have to say, there have been parties for the past two nights. It's not just this dinner. That's why I say it's like Sundance. You come here, and the parties really start on Thursday. And actually, I'm already starting to see people over and over again, which is another kind of awkward moment, awkward social moment that you see over at this event.
LEMON: All right. Ted, listen, here is your headline. If people are going to say, this is a celebrity president and try to turn that on its end, don't invite celebrities then. Because I think that's kind of hypocritical when you do that, don't you think? No more celebrities. No more celebrities.
JOHNSON: Yes. Well, no more celebrities. Well, I'll believe it when I see it. I mean, that's going to be a very difficult thing to stop, so.
LEMON: You're a good sport. I'm doing this a little tongue in cheek. But thank you. We're going to see you later. Thank you, I appreciate you joining us on CNN.
JOHNSON: I love it. Thank you, Don.
LEMON: All right, listen, there are more interracial couples in the U.S. now than ever before. A lot more, but are old biases really changing?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm 65-years-old. I was brought up and it wasn't right. And I was against it 100 percent.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Next, we'll tell you about the changes and we're going to listen to what real people have to say about interracial marriage. But first, we have this for you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): The ball and chain of the middle class, student loan debt. An off chute of occupy Wall Street wants to forgive all student loan debt, $1 trillion of it. More than car loans or credit cards.
ANDREW ROSS, LEADER, OCCUPY STUDENT DEBT CAMPAIGN: It's a crisis and it's not going away, and the current reforms that President Obama is proposing out there in his campaign trail, are like putting a band-aid on a tumor.
ROMANS: The theory goes this is a bailout for students that would also be an economic stimulus because money meant for loan payments would be spent in other ways. It's a far less battle cry, to be sure, but student loan experts say it's unrealistic.
MARK KANTROWITZ, PUBLISHER, FINAID.ORG: I don't think all loans are going to be forgiven because it's just too expensive. There are much more effective ways of stimulating the economy if that's the goal.
ROMANS: And you the taxpayer would pay for it because 85 percent of student loan debt is backed by the federal government. Experts say the focus should be on limiting how much money we're borrowing in the first place. Some experts abide planning for college like this. If possible, parents pay for a third, students pay for a third, and the students borrow a third. Too much student debt limits your choices later.
KANTROWITZ: You're still going to be paying back your own student loans when your children are enrolling in college. You won't have saved for their college education. You'll be less willing to borrow for their education because you'll still be up to your eyebrows in debt.
ROMANS: He advices these rules. Number one, don't barrow more than you expect to earn your first year out. That means a liberal arts major shouldn't borrow as much as an engineer does. Rule number two, $10,000 a year should be the most you borrow. And rule number three, in almost all cases, bankruptcy will not get rid of your student debt. Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The number of interracial marriages is skyrocketing. Those numbers in a moment. But first, we ask people about their attitudes, about an experience with interracial couples.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: It's not as much of a problem as it was before. Everyone is now accepting it.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: People are evolving. People are being more tolerant, which is how it should be.
But it's still some people like look down on it, you know what I'm saying? So me personally, my family, some of my family members look at it like, hmm, I don't know. And some of them are like, yes, whatever. It's cool.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: There are a lot of my classmates who date interracially. And I don't have comments on that at all. I think it's good for them to finally meet someone.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I'm Hispanic and my boyfriend is African- American. I have do have, sometime in my family is saying, are you sure this is what you want, are you sure he's the right person for you? That and that and regardless.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Guys say, it doesn't matter what color you are as long as you truly love each other.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: When I was in an interracial relationship, my friends, they asked question like, how is a white guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: But I'm all for interracial marriage and true love.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: How does he kiss? Is it true what they say?
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I don't have a problem with it at all. My grandparents were in an interracial marriage and you're talking 50 years ago.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Did he really just say that? I guess. So, today, one in ten couples in the U.S. interracial. The decades, that's an incredible jump of 28 percent, right?
Human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh joins us from Los Angeles. Big jump. You know what, I guess, it is a big jump. I'm surprised we've been having this conversation. We talked about this, and I was like, do people really talk about this anymore? For my family, it's like, are you happy? OK, great, enjoy.
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Right. You know, it depends where you live and how much diversity or how much -- you neighborhoods is of course, Don. But, you know, I want you to consider four factors when you think about interracial relationship. I think one of the biggest factors is that we're seeing a wider variants of social classes with in the races. Now, what that means is, at a certain level, you know, there's only one color, it's green. And people always like to marry up. And it used to be that race was often associated with a different social class, and social class of course can mean money, education, decorating, food taste, clothing, et cetera.
So, what we're seeing is, within each race now, there's this wide variance of social classes so that two doctors in medical school can meet each other, one might be Indian, one might be white. Two lawyers can meet in law school, one might be black, one might be Hispanic. So, this is creating some barriers going away. The other problem, we talked about this last week, Don. We're seeing this unprecedented rise of women which makes marriageable men in their own peer group less available. So these women are having to look outside of their own race to find a mate, a peer man who makes around the same amount of money, and then of course, there's the internet. It used to be that you married someone who lived within five miles of where you were raised. But the internet is bringing people together with similar tastes.
LEMON: From anywhere, all over the world.
WALSH: All over the world, and the last factor of course is that now, we're getting just greater cultural acceptance. We're getting more educated and as you know, my children are multiracial, and I only had them for one reason. They're cuter, look baby, they're cuter. What can I say?
LEMON: That's a bias right there. All babies are cute.
WALSH: It is.
LEMON: Yes, listen, you know, it's funny, and I think you know as someone, people are people when you date people from different ethnicity or races, it's all the same. They're all the same. People have their...
WALSH: It is.
LEMON: It is you can see is all the same thing. So, listen, those old ways. Those biases must be hard to change, I want you to listen to what people told our producers about how attitudes have changed over the years. Take a listen.
WALSH: Sure.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm 65-years-old, I was brought up and it wasn't right, and I was against it 100 percent, I was against it for quite some time.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I was in a relationship with a white girl. We were young. People use to criticize it, but we didn't understand because we were young. But we just moved on. Because we were liking each other.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: In the beginning, I didn't like it at first.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Brought up that way to think it was wrong. My parents brought me up that way. Relatives talked about it.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Now, I think you should know the person.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And as time went on, you see it more and more and accept it, and I'm not against it in the least bit now.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Maybe they can start changing it for other people. Other people might look at it and say, well, it must be OK, you know what I'm saying? Or we should try, we should not go about what everybody else thinks.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I really don't think race is an issue as it was ten --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, how hard is it to change those hard-set biases or attitudes that we're taught from birth?
WALSH: Well, the thing you should know about social change is that when a large paradigm changes in general, I think changes in the culture, it happens not because individuals change their belief. It's because individuals die off and become extinct. So, if you can see the age relation there that we're seeing, older generations, some of them changing and becoming a little more open, but eventually, they'll just phase out and the new generation, hey, if you hang out in a college campus right now, you know, it's not -- it does not look like the 1950s or '60s by any means. It's Martin Luther's dream right there.
LEMON: Ah. That was a good way to end it, Dr. Wendy. Thank you. You're not joining us tomorrow right? No?
WALSH: No, I'm not. I'm getting ready for my birthday.
LEMON: I know. I'm going to see you on Monday and I'm going to roast. You better be ready.
WALSH: I'm so scared.
LEMON: Dr. Wendy's 25th on Monday and I'm going to be in L.A. to celebrate with her. Doctor, see you. Happy Birthday, see you on Monday.
WALSH: All right. Take care.
LEMON: Your headlines are next here on CNN, and celebrities and politicians together on the red carpet. You only get that scene at the White House Correspondents Dinner. Look at that, all dressed up with somewhere to go. We're going to take you there live, four minutes away. Four minutes. Four minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Half past the hour. Hope you're enjoying your Saturday evening. Let's get a look at the headlines right now.
A man is dead allegedly killing his wife and teenage daughter. Police say 41 year old Peter Keller was holed up in a bunker for two days. A SWAT team used explosives to blow a hole in the roof of the hideout. They discovered his body in a pool of blood, and gun nearby. An apparent suicide they believe. Keller had no criminal record, and his motive for the killings unknown.
We now know the name of a Secret Service Agent who allegedly triggered the scandal in Cartagena, Columbia. Sources tell CNN his name is Arthur Huntington, and he is no longer with the Secret Service. Prior to the president's trip Huntington allegedly got into a dispute with an escort over paying her.
Syria's opposition says at least 31 people were killed today across the country despite a cease fire that seems shakier by the hour. This video is from Douma where Syrian soldiers march through the streets.
An assault on the governor's compound in Kandahar has killed two Afghan police officers. Eventually soldiers were able to kill the pair of militants. The Taliban is claiming responsibility for the attack.
We're going to back out now to the red carpet where the Hollywood (inaudible) where we'll see a parade of famous faces including this one right there at the White House Correspondents' Dinner. Athena Jones, well listen. Let me tell you, the - our Hollywood entertainment correspondents have nothing on you. You look fantastic. I'm sure the crowd is going to be electric. And you're anticipating a very funny president and Jimmy Kimmel.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Don. This is really the big night. This is the 98 annual White House Correspondents' Dinner. And it's like - we call it nerd prom around here. It's a really quirky night. A big eclectic mix of people. You've got your stars and your starlets. You've got the president and his wife. You've got almost all of the cabinet is expected here. Lots of other government big wigs and officials. And so you really get to see everyone dressed up having a good time drinking of course, and laughing at the jokes.
Last year the president was pretty funny. So was Seth Meyers. You know, president Obama was joking about this so-called birth certificate issue. He - he played his birth video which showed the "Lion King." It was a clip of "Lion King" with Mustafa - King Mustafa holding up a newborn Simba. And then you had Seth Meyers making jokes about Donald Trump, and also Osama bin Laden. Let's not forget that at this dinner last year while the president was joking around, while we were all laughing at Seth Meyers' jokes, the order for this Navy - U.S. Navy Seal team to go in and - and strike on the Obama - Osama compound in Pakistan already been given.
So a lot could be going on behind the scenes. We did get a chance, some of us, to talk to Jimmy Kimmel who stopped by the White House briefing room on Friday. He talked a little bit about what we might be able to expect from him tonight. Let's listen to that.
(PLAYING CLIP)
KIMMEL: So obviously the Secret Service thing is something that I would talk about. But I'm not - not necessarily going to do 30 jokes about it. Probably (inaudible).
(END CLIP)
JONES: So it's any guess, of course, what we're going to hear tonight. Kimmel admitted to being a little bit nervous. Really more nervous than excited, because it really is a tough crowd. You got to be careful with - you're giving a delicate dance to make sure that your - your humor doesn't go too far, Don.
LEMON: Oh, a delicate - come on. I think it's - if - listen. This is license to make - take a jab at the president, or several jabs. Do it, right?
JONES: Well, absolutely. I mean, some say that, you know, if - if you look back over at that table, you know, the president and his wife and a bunch of others are up there on the (inaudible) on the stage. Everyone can see them. If you look over and you see that they are joking and they are chuckling, maybe that gives the comedian a little bit more license, and makes them a little more comfortable. And they can sort of go from there. And certainly in - in years past that I have been - this is my fourth year now - there has been a lot of humor.
And you know, there - there have been some times when comics seemed to have crossed the line, but most - for the most part people are laughing, people are chuckling. So hopefully Kimmel isn't - isn't too, too, too nervous tonight.
LEMON: Oh, all right. We'll be watching. Thank you, Athena. We'll see you soon, okay? Good job.
JONES: Thanks.
LEMON: Listen you can get your red carpet fix at CNN.COM. You'll be able to see all the arrivals and interviews there starting 6:00 p.m. Eastern. We're going to have a lot to cover starting for you at 9:30 here on CNN - 9:30 tonight. It's going to be fun. Tune in. Be fun.
All right a family desperate for answers. Their teen daughter missing for months, then found dead. Well, this week an arrest, and another twist. That's straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(PLAYING CLIP)
MUSTAFA: I'm going to plead with (inaudible) who knows about it. The perpetrators who have been involved in her disappearance. I'm going to ask you to please let my baby go.
(END CLIP)
LEMON: That happened right here live on this newscast. This mother may finally be getting some of the answers she wanted. An arrest has been made in the murder of her 16 year old daughter.
Felicia Barnes went missing in Baltimore in December of 2010. But despite an intense search and national media coverage, no answers - no answers. For months - four months later I should say, her body was found in the Susquehanna River. Criminal Defense Attorney, Holly Hughes joins me now.
Holly, you know they arrested Michael Johnson. He's Felicia's sister's ex-boyfriend.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: What is he being charged with now?
HUGHES: He's being charged with murder. And they sought an indictment.
The prosecutors went directly - took it in front of a grand jury, put up the evidence they had, and the grand jury returned a murder indictment on him. So...
LEMON: Felicia's brother spoke out this week. Take a listen, Holly.
(PLAYING CLIP)
BARNES: The very first night when I first got the call it was just there. Like it was just lingering. I was just like it has to be him. I'm like - cause everything pointed to us. I mean, we're not investigators or police officers or anything like that. But to us as a family just sitting around and collected the evidence ourselves - I guess you can call it evidence. But just looking around, kind of everything pointed back to him.
(END CLIP)
LEMON: Holly, what took so long? HUGHES: You know the thing we have to remember about a murder case is there is no statute of limitations. So the police want to be sure they've got enough evidence to give to the prosecution. Because if you take that swing and miss, it's a done deal. You can't go and get, you know, a hung - well, you can get a hung jury and get it retried.
But if you don't have enough evidence when you put it up, and a very smart defense attorney will file what we call a speedy trial demand. And say, "Okay, great. You've got to be in trial and to verdict - all the way to the conclusion of the case - within a certain amount of terms." Two terms of court in a capital case.
And if that doesn't happen, they automatically walk away.
LEMON: All right. So the case against Johnson - what are prosecutors going to have to do to make their case?
HUGHES: What they're going to have to do is prove that he's the one that did it. Now they can do it circumstantially, Don. They can say, "Okay, he's the last person seen with her." What they'll do is they'll add up all of those things. And they'll say, "There is no other conclusion but the fact that he's the one responsible." But I'm guessing that they've probably got some forensics tying him. And that's another reason we saw such a delay.
They probably sent things out for testing. We could have hairs, fibers. There may be some DNA that was recovered under the finger nails that wasn't washed away. There may be some of her clothing that was found in another location, maybe on the banks of the river. You can get touch DNA off of quite a bit, and it survives quite a bit.
LEMON: Yes. Remember covering the source. So sad in meeting the mom, and...
HUGHES: Horrible. Oh.
LEMON: -- the mom making that plea right into the camera.
HUGHES: Yes. Yes.
LEMON: Yes. We were doing the interview. And she stops. She just said - I said, "Thank you, very much." And she goes, "Wait. Before I go, can I say something?" And I said, "Absolutely."
HUGHES: Right. Yes.
LEMON: Go for it. And she made that plea. So I hope they are doing better now.
HUGHES: I hope so too.
LEMON: Yes.
HUGHES: Well, I think this will help. You know, you never - you never get over the death of a child. And I used to tell, you know, my victims families that. When I prosecuted murders I said, "Look, I can't, you know, solve it for you. But I'm going to do my best to see that you get justice in a court of law."
LEMON: Right.
HUGHES: And that's one part of the process that they don't have to deal with. When you don't know, and no one's been arrested, and there's that horrible feeling hanging...
LEMON: Yes.
HUGHES: -- out there, that's awful.
So this will go a long way to helping them take the steps to heal.
LEMON: Let's hope so. Thank you...
HUGHES: Yes. Absolutely.
LEMON: Holly Hughs. We appreciate it. Okay, meantime, we're going to take you live to Washington tonight for the White House Correspondents Dinner. Everyone is going to be making fun of the president. The president is going to be making fun of a whole lot of people.
And I asked one of my favorite comedians - my favorite, Lonnie Love - about the perils of joking about the president.
(PLAYING CLIP)
LEMON: Lonnie Love, I'm sitting here. You're sitting there. What happened to your invitation?
LOVE: You know what? They knew that I was going to eat a whole lot, so I think they lost it in the mail, Don. I'm really upset about this. Cause I want to get invited every year. And every year they miss my invite.
(END CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL CLIP)
LEMON: All right. There it is. You see it? What side? Right there. Red carpet - White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's like the Oscars for the political world. We're going to take you there live. You see people are starting to arrive. This year it's going to be Jimmy Kimmel - Jimmy Kimmel.
Okay, you know, it's like being a kid in the candy store. A comedian with an invitation to the White House Correspondents' Dinner. So here's a question. How do you know which topics to bring up? I talked with comedienne Lonnie Love about the art of cracking jokes at the expense of the president.
(PLAYING CLIP)
LEMON: How would you start out? Give me - how would you come out and say, "Hello, Mr. President, First Lady"? Would you talk about her arms? Her doing push ups? Cause I know you don't want to eat that healthy stuff she makes in the garden.
LOVE: Yes. You - okay. You wonder how it would start off? I would be like, "What's up Michelle and Barack. Hey. How you all doing? Yes, Michelle, the let's moves. You do the let's move. I'm let's eat right now." So that's how I would probably start off.
You know, you just want to start off really light. Not to heavy. And you know then you want to go through what's been happening in the world. Like I said, I can guarantee you Jimmy Kimmel will start off with a Secret Service joke. That will be the first thing to get everybody into the mood. And then he'll start going into the president and what has happened. And also probably Michelle and her let's move program.
And it will be - it's going to be really fun and jovial, you know? It won't be anything too deep. Cause Jimmy is like a fun guy. Now when we had like Stephen Colbert, Stephen was a little more serious. But I think with Jimmy it will be a lot more - it will be, you know, a lot - a freer type of program.
LEMON: You think he's going to go there? And I'm just saying this. You think he's going to go there with the Muslim stuff, or the Mormon stuff? Or do you think it's going to get really, really politically edgy? Or Jimmy's not that kind of comedian?
LOVE: I don't see Jimmy as that. I see Jimmy as, you know, probably having some video presentations. I see him as, you know, keeping it really light. And to the point where it's - it's a little bit edgy, but not - he's not going to go Jon Stewart edgy. I don't...
LEMON: Right.
LOVE: I don't think that.
(END CLIP)
LEMON: Lonnie Love, I love you. More from Lonnie Love at 7:00 Eastern tonight here on CNN. And during our special coverage of the White House Correspondents' Dinner. It's going to begin at 9:30 Eastern. And our special guest is going to help us out tonight. Comedian Darryl Hammon, make sure you watch. It's going to be fun.
Okay. A doctor with cancer risks getting a transplant with a less than perfect match. Dr. Songe Gupta (sp?) has that story straight ahead. But first this.
(PLAYING CLIP)
(UNKNOWN FEMALE): Two years after the earthquake the situation is still the same. The people are still under the tents. They don't have electricity. There is no security where they sleep. They are getting raped.
In Haiti things are very difficult. Before the earthquake there were rapes happening. Now I can say it is total disorder.
(UNKNOWN FEMALE): (SPEAKING HAITIAN)
(UNKNOWN FAMALE): Adults are not spared. Mothers are not spared. Even babies are not spared. My name is Maria Villard-Appolon. I am a victim of sexual violence. I am on a mission to eradicate this issue so that other Haitian women do not fall victims.
We do awareness in the camps. We were working in 22 camps after the earthquake. Now we are trying to work in others. We tell people to come out of silence. Do not be afraid to say that you have been victimized. We offer psychological and legal support. We have a call center. We accompany the victim to the hospital. And we have a safe house program.
For me the first thing is justice that I want. I was a victim, and I did not find justice. But I know I will get it for other women that are victims. We have to fight so we can save what was saved in the past. Beloved Haiti - this is a great nation. There will be a change.
(END CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We have some severe weather to tell you about. Our Jacqui Jarris is covering it. Jackie, it's in the Saint Louis area. What's going on?
JARRIS: yes. We've been tracking a very strong storm that moved through there about 15 - 20 minutes ago. There was a tornado warning on it. Some funnel sitings, and a lot of hail being reported with this storm. This is a live picture that you're looking at from our affiliate KMOV TV in Saint Louis. And there you can see a tent it appears as been damaged.
A lot of emergency personnel is on the scene. It's a live working situation. We're not sure at this point if anyone was in the tent, or if there are any injuries. But we do know that winds were estimated to be clocking through there around 60 miles per hour.
So we'll continue to track this story and keep you up to date on the situation in Saint Louis. This is where that storm is right now. It's off to the east, and it is still producing severe weather. We've had multiple reports between baseball sized hail, and tennis ball sized hail. So you know, take - that's huge. That's really large. And a lot of damage to cars in this area as well.
So that storm continues to track on off to the east. Here we have watches which are in affect. Severe thunderstorm watches, and this is from eastern Missouri through central Illinois, through Indiana. And also including just a small part of Kentucky including the Louisville area. But it does concern me a little bit that more storms are developing to the west of Saint Louis. So hopefully they're not going to get hit in the same area that's already received some damage.
These watches are in affect until 11:00 o'clock tonight. So kind of a rough day. And keep in mind, sometimes tornadoes pop up in severe thunderstorm watches. We don't expect a lot of rotation with these storms today. But we've already seen one instance of that with funnel clouds being reported. So you do need to be on high alert.
So again a bit of damage, severe thunderstorms. Now to the east of Saint Louis, but apparently causing some damage. There is that picture again of this tent, and all of the emergency crews which are around the area. Again we're in touch with our affiliate KMOV TV trying to get some more details on that.
LEMON: And that happened - it was a Cards came - Cardinals game going on. Right after a Cardinals game. And so...
JARRIS: Okay.
LEMON: -- we don't know about injuries. And here's what our KSDK tells us. That people were injured. That's what they are reporting. We haven't confirmed it yet in the storm system in Saint Louis area.
JARRIS: Okay.
LEMON: It - supposedly Jacqui, it hit a sports bar called "Kilroy's." Again this is coming in from our affiliate. Another affiliate, KPLR, is en route to the scene. And again I can - I know exactly where this is. I worked in Saint Louis. This is right near Highway 40-44 where they go across from Bush Stadium. And that was a Cards game. Obviously the Cardinals - very popular there. And those storm systems come through.
We saw it two weeks ago, Jacqui. Our newscaster...
(CROSSTALK)
JARRIS: Yes. You get those winds under - yes. You get those winds underneath...
(CROSSTALK)
JARRIS: -- the tent. It doesn't take 60 mile an hour winds to cause damage like that.
LEMON: All right. We'll continue to follow. Thank you, Jacqui. We'll be back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Dr. Carlos Zyos nearly died from cancer. Now he helping other Hispanics find bone marrow transplants so they too can have a second chance at life. Dr. Sanjay Gupta shares his story in today's "Human Factor."
ZYOS: We just came back from Paris. We celebrated 15 years of wonderful marriage at the Eiffel Tower.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: For Dr. Carols Zyos this wedding anniversary celebration almost didn't happen. You see three years ago this transplant surgeon made a shocking discovery. His lymph nodes were swollen, and he suspected he had cancer. His fears were confirmed, and the diagnosis - a rare form of blood cancer called, "Peripheral T-Cell Lymphoma."
ZYOS: Is difficult to treat, and has a poor prognosis.
GUPTA: When grueling chemotherapy failed, the transplant doctor needed a transplant himself - a bone marrow transplant. Now with bone marrow a near perfect match is necessary for the treatment to be effective, and that's more likely from a donor of the same ethnicity. But the pool of potential donors for Hispanics in the United States is very small.
They only represent about 10 percent of a national bone marrow registry. In Dr. Zyos' case a very close match was found. But then the donor backed out.
ZYOS: People join this registry for people that they love or they know. But when they get a call about a complete stranger, their answer is "I'm afraid. I can't do this."
GUPTA: So doctors took another look at his siblings. And while his brother, Hector, wasn't a perfect match, Zyos got the transplant anyway. Hector's bone marrow started killing the cancer cells, and today he's in complete remission back helping patients find organs. Zyos says it was his faith that helped him through the difficult times. And the experience has overall made him a better doctor.
Doctor Songe Gupta, CNN, reporting.
LEMON: All right, Dr. Gupta. Thank you. I'm Don Lemon of the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here one hour from now. In the meantime, THE SITUATION ROOM with Wolf Blitzer begins right now.
