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Closer to the Cliff; Kansas City Chiefs Play after Murder- Suicide; Professor Murdered During Class; CNN Heroes, an All-Star Tribute; Egypt Divided over Draft Constitution
Aired December 02, 2012 - 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: I'm Don Lemon. It is the top of the hour. We're going to get you caught up on the day's headlines right now.
Egypt is divided over a new draft constitution.
Supporters of President Mohamed Morsi protested near Egypt's high court building today and blocked judges from entering. The high court reacted by indefinitely suspending all court sessions. That will postpone a ruling on the legitimacy of the group that wrote the constitution. President Morsi has declared that his decisions are now immune from judicial oversight.
Hungarians took to the streets protesting comments made by a member of the country's far-right opposition party. Last week a member of the parliament suggested it would be timely to tally up people of Jewish ancestry bringing back outrage and memories of the Nazi Party. The comments followed a debate over fighting in the Gaza strip and national security. The lawmaker later apologized and said his remarks were misunderstood.
Three suicide bombers all in cars today attacked a forward operating base in eastern Afghanistan. NATO says all the bombers were wearing coalition military uniforms. Three Afghan soldiers reported killed, also two civilians. It happened in a Jalalabad in the province where NATO handed over security control to Afghan forces just a few weeks ago. U.S. troops are still deployed at that airfield.
It is a frightening and deadly scene in Japan. Just look at it. At least two cars are still trapped inside a highway tunnel after a massive section of the concrete structure collapsed. Police say at least nine people died and they found several burned bodies inside the rubble. It is not clear yet what caused the tunnel to cave in about 50 miles west of Tokyo or exactly how many cars were inside at the time.
Chinese authorities have demolished a house sitting smack dab in the middle of a new highway. You may remember, the home was cause celebre for Chinese homeowners resisting what they call unfair compensation. Well, the duck farmers who lived there, a husband and wife, refused to sell for months while local authorities built the new highway around them. Well, the house was torn down yesterday. They were the lone holdouts. Hundreds of other homeowners sold a long time ago.
And talk about a traffic jam, thousands of cars and trucks are stuck on a major highway in Russia after a snowstorm caused a huge traffic backup just two days ago. A 34-mile stretch between Moscow and St. Petersburg is completely jammed with just one lane in each direction clear of snow. It's so bad roadside kitchens have been set up. Drivers are also running out of gas trying to keep their engines running in the subzero temperatures.
The fiscal cliff, less than a month away; if Democrats and Republicans don't reach an agreement, everybody's taxes will go up January 1st. And as Emily Schmidt reports, there's been a lot of talking on the Sunday talk shows but not at the negotiating table.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EMILY SCHMIDT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's been 16 days since President Obama and congressional leaders met to talk about how to avoid the fiscal cliff. The automatic spending cuts and tax increases that begin to kick in if there's no agreement by January 1st -- 16 days to get here.
TIM GEITHNER, U.S. TREASURY SECRETARY: I think we're far apart still, but I think we're moving closer together.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I would say we're nowhere, period. We're nowhere.
SCHMIDT: Thursday Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner proposed President Obama's plan that included $1.6 trillion in tax revenue coming largely from an expiration of Bush era tax cuts for families who make more than $250,000 a year. Geithner says that's a must.
GEITHNER: There's not going to be an agreement without rates going up.
SCHMIDT: The administration's plan also included $50 billion in new stimulus spending. Boehner says the entire proposal represented three weeks of wasted time.
BOEHNER: I was just flabbergasted. I looked at him and said you can't be serious.
SCHMIDT: The House Speaker says Republicans have put increased revenues, including efforts to close tax loopholes and reform the tax code, on the table instead of raising tax rates for anyone.
BOEHNER: The fact is if there's another way to get revenue from upper income Americans that doesn't hurt our economy, then why wouldn't we consider it?
SCHMIDT: Those are publicly unchanged position with a deadline that's set. Whether political theater or political reality, there's more mention going over the fiscal cliff could go beyond hypothetical.
BOEHNER: There's clearly a chance.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: I think we're going over the cliff. It's pretty clear to me they've made a political calculation. GEITHNER: If they are going to force higher rates on virtually all Americans because they're unwilling to let tax rates go up on 2 percent of Americans, then, you know, that's the choice they're going to have to make.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Emily Schmidt joins us now live from Washington. Emily, the zinger sound bites, they're all piling up. What is the actual strategy behind all this political theater? What are you hearing from the Republicans and from the Democrats?
SCHMIDT: You know, less than a month out now from going over the fiscal cliff. Even talk about political strategy sounds an awful lot like posturing. We heard it from Secretary Geithner today who said Republicans seem to be in a hard place on this, not knowing what to do next. Speaker Boehner, he said, "Look, Democrats won the election but they seem to have forgotten that Republicans still control the house."
At this point if there is any middle ground that has been found, it's happening behind closed doors. Otherwise, publicly these lines in the sand do not appear to be any kind of shifting sand.
LEMON: All right. So publicly the lines in the sand, as you said; but what about face-to-face meeting? When is the next face-to-face meeting about the fiscal cliff? Has the White House or Congressional Republicans even attempted to schedule a meeting to talk about what could happen in the next few days?
SCHMIDT: You know, when we went into this weekend, there was an official who is very familiar with this situation who said that the White House and these congressional leaders whose have the power to get past this impasse did not have any kind of future meetings on the books. We certainly didn't hear about any of those meetings on the Sunday talk shows today, and no word that anything has been added to these calendars.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. We appreciate it, Emily.
Double tragedy strikes an NFL team and the fans and coaches rally in their grief and shock. I'm talking about Kansas City where a starting Chiefs linebacker and his girlfriend both died violently in what police are treating as a murder-suicide. While investigators look for answers, the team had a decision to make today. Do they play today's game or not?
Ed Lavandera is at Arrowhead Stadium.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the mood inside Arrowhead Football Stadium today here in Kansas City far different from what you would normally see on a Sunday afternoon here during the Kansas City Chiefs football season. Very subdued, even though the Kansas City Chiefs, despite facing this tragedy, went on to win today's game. Only the second game the team has won all year.
But after the game, the head coach of the team, the very man who witnessed Javon Belcher kill himself at the team's practice facility not too far from where we are here tonight, spoke about what this game meant and what it was like to play today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COACH ROMEO CRENNEL, KANSAS CITY CHIEFS: It's tough when circumstance happens, you can't undo them and so you have to rely on each other, rely on your family, your friends, and rely on your faith. And that's what the team tried to do today and we were able to do that and try to work our way through the tragedy, and knowing that it's not over today.
It still will go on tomorrow, the next day, and the next day. But life is going to go on as well and we have to work through it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAVANDERA: After the game few Kansas City Chiefs football players provided any kind of clues as to what Javon Belcher might have been struggling with in the days leading up to this tragedy when he killed his girlfriend at her home and then took his own life at the team's practice facility and with all of that, they left behind a 3-month-old baby who is now orphaned.
Before the game Kansas City Chiefs organization started off the game with a moment of silence honoring all victims of domestic violence; a clear sign that they wanted to make sure that Kasandra Perkins, Javon Belcher's girlfriend, is not forgotten in all of this -- Don.
LEMON: The child as well. Thank you very much, Ed Lavandera.
Coming up, we'll tell you about a courteous (ph) teacher who literally fought to save his students while his own life was slipping away. You're going to want to hear this story. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tonight a troubling story out of Casper, Wyoming. A professor and his girlfriend were both killed and police say it was the professor's son who did it. Nick Valencia joins me now.
Nick, police say the suspect shot his father with a bow and arrow in front of a room of college students? What? How did this go down?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Incredibly troubling day and one that you hope never happens in your community. We talked to Casper, Wyoming Police Department a little while ago and they told me that their investigation is ongoing but they still don't have a motive for exactly what happened.
What we do know about the suspect, 25-year-old Chris Krumm, who is the son of one of the professors killed in this incident, we do know that Chris Krumm drove at some point recently from Connecticut - Vernon, Connecticut -- to Wyoming, about 2,000 miles. So he had some time to think about this.
LEMON: Yes.
VALENCIA: At some point Friday something snapped. That's when police say he killed his father's live-in girlfriend and then traveled to a local Casper Community College and killed his father. Now, what the miraculous thing in this whole incident that happened was that his father was alive long enough despite being shot in the head with a bow and arrow -- a crossbow, Don -- despite being shot in the head was alive long enough to struggle with his son so that six students in the computer science class can get out. Local police touted him as a hero in a press conference yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF CHRIS WALSH, CASPER, WYOMING POLICE: Stepped into the classroom where Professor Krumm was getting ready to begin the day. Fired one arrow and struck the professor in the head. Professor Krumm got up after being knocked down from the blow from the arrow and even though mortally wounded, he fought the suspect off. The students in the room were all able to escape during this altercation because of the courage of the professor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VALENCIA: Now, earlier don we got a statement from Casper Community College. They told us "Jim Krumm and Heidi Arnold were important parts of the campus community and their loss will leave a big hole in our lives." Don.
LEMON: Covering this story and then the Kansas City Chiefs story, you wonder what in the world is going on. What drives people to do that? When they do horrific things like that, you know they're disturbed -- somehow disturbed individuals with a whole lot going on that people don't know about. The college doing anything to help people who knew the victims here?
VALENCIA: Yes, I spoke to one of the counselors earlier, Don. They're having a vigil for the two professors on Tuesday at 4:30 local time. They're also giving counseling sessions to those students that took classes from these professors. One was a computer science teacher, the other a math teacher.
Just a sad situation there in Casper, Wyoming, but counseling sessions are being offered for students, faculty and staff. We'll keep you posted on that vigil on Tuesday.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you.
VALENCIA: Thanks.
LEMON: Nick Valencia.
We are just hours away from finding out who the next CNN Hero of the Year will be; a live update from the red carpet next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Get ready because you guys won't be looking at me at all in just about ten seconds here. We're counting down to "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" as a pre-show special starts in less than an hour. Very soon, we're going to find out who the hero of the year is.
This is why you won't care about me. Just take me off the screen because look at these two -- unbelievable. Nischelle Turner is in Los Angeles and she is with actress Holly Robinson Peete who is helping spread the word about CNN Heroes, on this important night.
Ladies, you all are looking good. I'm just being honest.
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: Well, thank you, Don. I will take that compliment and I'm going to run with it, you know. I'm going to appreciate that little comment.
You know what, Don, I'm actually with I think the number one fan for CNN Heroes. Forgive me but, Holly, you said yourself that you were a CNN groupie. You're a groupie
HOLLY ROBINSON-PEETE, ACTRESS: I am. And the first step is admitting it, ok? I am a CNN groupie. I love this show. I love this event. There's not an event in Hollywood since I have been around like this, and I mean the heroes just walk past and I'm just like star struck.
TURNER: I know you were upset -- she was upset, Don, because she had to stay here and talk to us because she wanted to get her picture taken with the heroes. She's like, come on, Don Lemon, hurry up and get me on TV so I can do this.
Now, every year that you come, you know, the stories get more inspiring, more heartfelt. It's every day people who have decided I'm going to do what I can to change the world and they're changing the world.
ROBINSON-PEETE: And not only that, but these are not people who are looking forward or doing this for a red carpet or any kind of award. They identify a need in their community, a hole in their society, and plug it. And they do it because it's need. It's absolutely phenomenal to see what they do, and I applaud CNN for celebrating them.
TURNER: Now, you have a platform because you're a celebrity and you do a lot of great work as well for Parkinson's for autism, lots of things with the Holly Rod foundation. So is that -- is that kind of how you identify with them because you also truly believe that life is about service?
ROBINSON-PEETE: Yes, service is the rent we pay for living. One of my personal heroes, Marion Ray Eddelman (ph) said that. And there is something so gratifying about service. There's something liberating to the soul when you can help other people. And this night is all about giving back. And I love watching the A-list celebrities that are going to come here, get star struck over this amazing group of individuals. And every year it never ceases -- and every year I forget to wear my waterproof mascara.
TURNER: I was going to say how many tissues do you go through. I went through four last year.
ROBINSON-PEETE: It's unbelievable.
TURNER: Yes, it really is. It's so great. And Holly was talking about some of the A-list celebrities. And yes, we are honoring those CNN heroes who do good work but the people honoring them are the names that we hear in Hollywood. People like Susan Sarandon. Jane Lynch will be here. Rapper 50 Cent will be here. Neo will be here.
Lots of people who decided I just want to come out and say "thank you" to those every day people who have decided I'm going to do what I can do to change the world. Actually, Hey, Chris, can you swing over here because we've got our CNN top ten heroes right here. Greg Cain (ph), is right here. We've got our CNN top ten heroes right here taking a group picture. Holly is like please don't leave, please don't leave, I want my picture taken, too.
ROBINSON-PEETE: When you study what they have done and you watch the deeds they do and you see them in person, it's really quite astounding. It just feels so good to be here with them. And especially right now around the holidays you see people that are doing things, good things.
We read about so many bad things and it uplifts you. There're 1.4 or 1.5 million nonprofits in the country. We have to support them and here's some more.
TURNER: Yes. And by supporting them, you know, each of the Top Ten Heroes, Don, gets a $50,000 grant for their organization and the Hero of the Year gets a $250,000 grant to help aid their good work.
LEMON: Amazing.
ROBINSON-PEETE: And I'm doing -- one thing real quick -- I'm going to be doing the "Social Media Suite".
TURNER: Oh, yes, you.
ROBINSON-PEETE: And so catch me on Twitter.
TURNER: Tweet her and she will tweet you back -- yes, indeed. @CNNHeroes or #CNNHeroes.
LEMON: I was going to say Holly is a hero as well. Hollyrod.org, what she does for autism I think it's amazing and commendable. You're a hero as well.
TURNER: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you, Holly. Thank you Nischelle. And congratulations to all of our heroes.
ROBINSON-PEETE: Thanks guys. Thanks guys.
LEMON: CNN is honored to recognize the real heroes of this world. Our coverage begins tonight at 8:00 Eastern with our pre-show special, "SHARING THE SPOTLIGHT". That's followed immediately by "CNN HEROES, AN ALL-STAR TRIBUTE" live from Los Angeles, hosted by our very own Anderson Cooper.
Egypt is facing a crucial test. Some people are questioning the legitimacy of a new draft constitution. Today Egypt's judges walked off the job. What happens next will test President Morsi's leadership skills.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Egypt is divided over a new draft constitution. Supporters of President Mohamed Morsi protested near Egypt's high court building today and blocked judges from entering. The high court canceled all work and postponed a ruling on the legitimacy of the group that wrote the constitution. As CNN's Reza Sayah reports now, the next two weeks will be critical for Egypt's new government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're back here in Tahrir Square where the crowds seem to be dwindling -- lots of empty chairs, lots of empty tents. The noise and the energy seem to be tailing off a little bit. And at least some people look a little dejected and demoralized.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I feel very bad actually.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egyptians sad.
SAYAH: They're sad?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Egyptians sad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm nervous. I'm very nervous. I'm very upset.
SAYAH: Over the past 48 hours there seems to have been a shift in momentum away from the opposition factions and in favor of the president and his supporters.
On Saturday there were big demonstrations in favor of Morsi. More than 100,000 people showed up in Cairo. Other big demonstrations elsewhere in Egypt and then on Sunday Egypt's top court canceled a hearing where they were set to vote on the constitutionality of President Morsi's decrees and the special panel that drafted the constitution. The judges said when they tried to enter the courthouse pro-Morsi demonstrators had blocked the entrances chanting slogans against them. The judges said they feared for their safety and they suspended the hearings.
No word on if or when they will be rescheduled. If they would have ruled against Morsi, it would have been a direct challenge against the president, something these opposition factions wanted to see.
ALADEEN ABDEL FATTAH, PROTESTING AGAINST MORSI: I feel like forced to accept something that I refuse since the first day.
SAYAH: and now the path seems to be a little clearer for the president and his supporters to get their way for a national vote to take place on December 15th for Egypt's new constitution. What's in the constitution that worries you?
FATTAH: General words, not specifics.
HANNAN WALI, PROTESTING AGAINST MORSI: Of course, I'm concerned about my personal freedom, my personal rights as a woman. I'm also concerned about the rights of the Egyptian Christians.
SAYAH: President Morsi says the vote on this constitution is going to be fair and it's the best way to move this country forward. But the groups here, the moderates, the liberals, the secularists, the women's rights groups say they have been squeezed out of the process by which this constitution was drafted. They're concerned that down the road an Islamist-led government could use this constitution to deny them their rights.
For now they seem to be down, but, remember, this is Egypt. People have learned to protest. They have learned to be defiant. They say don't expect them to go anywhere just yet.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never give up. We never give up.
WALI: People have paid their lives for this revolution. We will not give up.
SAYAH: Reza Sayah, CNN, Cairo.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Thank you Reza.
A young actor gets religion and then speaks out against his own television show calling it filth and telling people don't watch. Can the entertainment industry and faith co-exist?
I asked actor/singer/legend Pat Boone -- yes, Pat Boone -- about that. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You can call it the perfect example about thinking twice before wearing your religion on your sleeve or bringing it into the workplace. Teen actor Angus T. Jones of "Two and a Half Men" found that out the hard way when an Internet video surfaced of him urging viewers to stop watching his hit show because it lacked Christian values.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANGUS T JONES, ACTOR: Jake from "Two and a Half Men" means nothing. He's a nonexistent character. If you watch "Two and a Half Men," please stop watching "Two and a Half Men". I'm on "Two and a Half Men" and I don't want to be on it. Please stop watching it. Please stop filling your head with filth. Please.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: He later apologized to his co-workers and fellow castmates, saying he meant no disrespect. So we decided to talk about this with the one and only Pat Boone, a long-time Hollywood star, who has always been up front about his own Christian faith.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAT BOONE, ACTOR: But I empathize with him because he finds himself in a situation now that he particularly has gotten serious about his faith, where he's having to try to make a choice between what his faith calls him to and what his job -- what he's being paid to do. And it's a mess. I understand.
LEMON: Kirk Cameron is another former child actor who is outspoken about faith. Here is what he told our Kareen Wynter.
KIRK CAMERON, ACTOR: God gave me a very strong faith in something that would promise to lead me in positive directions.
LEMON: So, Pat, Cameron gets criticized. Some actors have mocked Angus Jones.
What if he joined or what if they joined a different faith, say Islam? Would other actors be making fun of them?
BOONE: That would be a very sensitive issue now, because Christians don't generally threaten your life, but in some cases there are those who, if you -- as we know, make any kind of fun or say anything that seems disparaging about Islam, there will be those who may threaten your life.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: But, Pat, let me jump in and play devil's advocate here, because people would say it may not be a direct threat where you're threatening someone, saying, I'm going to harm you or I'm going to kill you, but certainly things like reparative therapy or telling people that something is wrong with them because they're homosexual or they're not the -- what is called the normal in society or what is expected, that can kill people just as threatening them can do as well.
BOONE: Well, we've gotten off the subject. I wanted to tell you about a decision I had to make as an actor some time ago.
I was under contract to 20th Century-Fox, and they wanted me to make a movie with Marilyn Monroe, and we were both doing very well at the box office and I had to turn the script down and say I can't do this. I risked suspension because it was a very immoral story. And it was somewhat like "Bus Stop," written by William Inge. They went ahead and made the movie eventually with Joanne Woodward, I think, and Richard Beymer.
But it was about a kid with an affair with an older woman -- a beautiful woman, but older; couldn't go anywhere. It was immoral. And I had young fans and I just said, hey, I can't do this.
And the head of the studio said, you know, we can suspend you and you won't work again. And I said I understand. You have to make your decisions based on your priorities. But I -- and I was only like 24. And I said, I'm sorry; I just cannot make this film.
So -- but I was -- see, I was known as a Christian from the beginning. I'm not in Angus' kind of a situation where he's recently become a serious Christian.
LEMON: There were people --and I did as well when you said it -- who took offense at what you said about Islam, when you said about Muslims being threatening. But you said you know, we've got --
(CROSSTALK)
BOONE: Well, I was asked the question -- you asked me the question --
LEMON: Go ahead. I want you to explain yourself here. Go ahead.
BOONE: Yes. You asked that -- you asked is there any difference between Christians being criticized or, say, for taking a stand religiously or if Islam -- somebody in Islam made the same kind of a stand.
And I said the difference might be that if you criticize -- right now it's very sensitive, criticizing Islam, and if you do, it is possible that you could, you know, you could be threatened with harm in some way.
And actually I'm not defending criticizing anybody's religion, because I think that's wrong and we -- the whole idea of the Constitution is to let everybody have a free say about what they believe, and we should, if -- whether we agree or not, at least respect their opinion and their desire to serve God as they see Him --- or in some cases Her -- and have the freedom to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Want to check your headlines right now. The Kansas City Chiefs won their second game of the season today. It was a game that the coaches and owners decided to play even though yesterday the team was rocked when one of their own committed suicide shortly after allegedly killing his girlfriend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEXTER MCCLUSTER, KC CHIEFS RUNNING BACK: It was very emotional, but you saw brothers stick together, coaches stick together and everybody stayed strong and this is a great team.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you think the tragedy had something to do with your team playing better today?
MCCLUSTER: I mean, honestly, if we could erase yesterday, that would be a great blessing, but I think that the team, if that wouldn't have happened, we would have came out here and fought hard, but you know what? That gave us the extra oomph to, you know what, let's go out here and let's get the job done and not take no for an answer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Fiscal cliff talks are turning into a high stakes game of chicken. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said today there's no deal unless Republicans agree to raise taxes on the wealthy.
Republicans are furious. They don't like Democrats drawing a red line in the sand. President Obama and the GOP leaders have only held one face-to-face meeting on the fiscal cliff since the election. That meeting took place more than two weeks ago.
The military trial of Private Bradley Manning will stop for now and resume in about a month. That's what a military judge at Fort Meade, Maryland, decided today. The delay is to give time for more of what the court calls pretrial proceedings. Manning is accused of releasing U.S. military secrets through the website WikiLeaks. If convicted in a court-martial, he could get life in prison.
Pope Benedict is joining Twitter officially. He launches his own Internet account tomorrow. That's according to the Vatican. A church official tells CNN the pope will compose all of his tweets himself. No word yet on what he's chosen for his Twitter account name.
It is a sight no one has ever seen before, an image few ever expected that they ever would see, a same-sex couple getting married inside the Cadet Chapel at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point.
Sue Fulton married her long-time partner, Penny Gnesin on yesterday. Sue was a graduate of West Point in the first class that included women. They join us now from New York.
Great to see both of you. Congratulations.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much, Don.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
LEMON: So how are you feeling? Tell us about yesterday. What was it like after all this time together?
SUE FULTON, WEST POINT GRADUATE: It was -- it was such a sacred, joyous day. I mean, being in the Cadet Chapel that, you know, I remember being a plebe in the Cadet Chapel back in 1976 and first hearing the words of the Cadet Prayer, always to choose the harder right instead of the easier wrong, never to settle for a half-truth when the whole can be won. Those were our guiding principles when we worked against "Don't Ask/Don't Tell," when as both Penny and I worked to support LGBT military people, those principles were always in front of us. And to be able to have this time, to be able to celebrate this with so many of our straight and gay military folks, bi and trans, was really overwhelming.
LEMON: How did this come about? Was West Point receptive to your wedding plans?
FULTON: West Point was great. West Point was very supportive.
You asked how this came about. We had long agreed that we were going to wait for New Jersey to pass marriage. We've been together for 17 years, but at the beginning of this year when Governor Christie vetoed marriage equality, we started thinking about other options.
And the more we thought about the possibility of marrying at West Point with all of the connections and the meaning that West Point holds for us, it just really seemed fitting. So this past summer I asked Penny to marry me at West Point.
LEMON: Aww. Did you get down on one knee?
FULTON: I did get down within one knee and after these years of running, I needed three people to help me get back up.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: I love it. Listen, a sense of humor is very important in all situations and I'm glad that you have one.
I have got to ask you though, Sue, how meaningful was it for you as a West Point graduate?
FULTON: It's hard to even put it into words. I don't know. I think that having so many cadets there, cadets that we've worked with and helped out and gotten to know, having so many recent graduates -- we did a saber arch at the end of the service with four Army officers and four cadets, and that, to me, I think, you know, I don't know what was the most meaningful for Penny, because we're still recovering.
But that was really meaningful for me, seeing the future and seeing the joy on their faces and knowing that they can serve their country, they can have a career and still have the family and that they want, marry the person that they love and have that integrity, just blows my mind.
My former roommate from West Point came to the wedding, and at one point Reggie (ph) put her arm around my shoulder and said, "Did you ever think you would see this day?" And honestly, I did. I don't know that I thought it would come this soon, but I knew it would come.
LEMON: Ain't love grand?
FULTON: Yes, it is. LEMON: Another same-sex couple got married last week at a different chapel at West Point. Have you been in touch?
FULTON: We were at the wedding with Lieutenant Ellen Schick and Shannon Simpson. They got married at the old Cadet Chapel, which is on the other end of the post. So it was a very small wedding party, but we had been in touch with them for months.
And we felt it was really -- we were the first same-sex couple to marry at the Cadet Chapel which is West Point's cathedral, really, but it felt -- it also felt right to us that it was a young lieutenant and her wife who were the first to marry at West Point, because it's the newly graduating cadets and the young lieutenants, the young officers, who are the ones who are most likely to get married at West Point, and I think that was really great.
LEMON: Yes. Clearly, clearly Sue does most of the talking in this relationship.
(LAUGHTER)
FULTON: All of my friends watching this show now are nodding their heads going, I knew she wouldn't let Penny get a word in.
LEMON: So, I mean, this is for you, Penny, and, you know, I have to say this and so people at home, whatever, don't be shocked by what I'm saying.
I believe it's rights for everyone, this is a civil right for me. I went to two weddings this summer, a same-sex couple and a heterosexual couple and they were equally as loving and as beautiful and all I kept saying at both weddings, why would anyone deny this or want to deny this to any human being?
PENNY GNESIN, NEWLYWED: I agree. I agree. Why? What could we -- how could we possibly be threatening other people who want to marry other people? It's just -- it's just not right.
LEMON: Well, you guys, as I said, ain't love grand. Congratulate and I hope you're together for a million years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, Don.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
LEMON: All right. Thank you.
What does your smartphone say about you, according to a new study? Well, the phone you use could say a lot about your maturity and your dating life. I'll explain next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Apparently a smartphone just isn't big enough for two people to view and maybe single folks need to travel light when they're on the prowl. Whatever the reasons, a new survey suggests married couples are more likely to own a tablet while smartphones are more popular among singles.
Alejandra -- did I do that right?
ALEJANDRA ORAA, TECHNOLOGY AND POP CULTURE ANCHOR, CNNE: Perfect.
LEMON: It's technology, pop culture anchor on CNN en Espanol. What's the logic behind this study?
First of all, how are you? Did you have a good Thanksgiving?
ORAA: Yes. How about yourself?
LEMON: I had a great Thanksgiving. Thank you
ORAA: Thank you for asking.
LEMON: So what's the logic behind this?
ORAA: Well, honestly, it -- the truth is, is that it's not that single people like more smartphones and people who are married like more tablets. Each plays a bigger role in all of this.
LEMON: OK.
ORAA: Usually married people are often older, which means they have more disposable income, they have a stable career, they have money to splurge, which means you're able to actually have technology toys, in comparison to a single person that doesn't have the same amount of money than when you are in a couple.
So you are able to divide that pleasure. Another thing, when you have a couple, what is one of the things that you like to do? Watch movies.
LEMON: Together.
ORAA: Yes.
LEMON: So you need a bigger device. Is that what you're saying?
ORAA: No, but it's an easier way for you to share when you're in bed, at least according to the study. So let's say how many times have you gone in bed and watched a movie on Netflix or maybe online on YouTube, et cetera? Probably you do it quite often. So if you're in a relationship you're probably going to be able to share the tablet but it's not the same with a smartphone.
LEMON: And you could just put it up on the TV if you have a smart TV, but then that's a whole 'nother -- that's a whole 'nother show.
So I have a smartphone and a tablet. I have got them here. Actually, I have two smartphones and a tablet. I had a BlackBerry and a smartphone -- well, is a BlackBerry considered a smartphone?
ORAA: (Inaudible). LEMON: It is? OK. I had a BlackBerry and an iPhone, but my BlackBerry fell into the ocean so my company bought me an iPhone. Now I have two iPhones. What does that mean?
ORAA: Well --
LEMON: I'm crazy?
ORAA: No, it means that you make a lot of -- a lot of money.
LEMON: No.
ORAA: Yes.
It means you make good money, at least according to the study. It shows that you should be making between $55,000 to $65,000 a year. Anybody that makes over $50,000 probably has a smartphone and a tablet, a tablet probably for work and for business travels and a smartphone because you need to use a smartphone nowadays for any career.
You need to check your e-mail. You need to do work related things or probably for pleasure. But if you have a smartphone or two phones, you have a tablet, you have a smart TV, and you have a desktop, you're over $100k according to the study.
LEMON: Yes, if you guys have all that out there.
ORAA: And a Mercedes, imagine how much you make.
LEMON: Oh, my goodness. Who has all that?
Let's switch gears here. If you are heading out of the country for the holidays, there are some new apps that can keep you from getting lost in translation. You have a few to show us right now?
ORAA: Now you're going to speak Spanish with me.
LEMON: OK.
ORAA: The first one is called Google Translate. It's free.
LEMON: You can show that right there.
ORAA: I'm going to show it this way. Basically what you have -- you can do, you pick between 60 languages, but -- and right now I pick from English to Spanish. So I typed, "Where is the airport?" Let's hit enter. It says -- (speaking Spanish).
And obviously we're in another country and we don't understand the language somewhere. Using this tool, somebody else has to say it for us, right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
LEMON: Wow. That's -- did you guys hear that? You could hear that, right?
ORAA: And if you're too lazy to actually type something, you can say it.
LEMON: Oh, where is the airport?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (Speaking Spanish).
ORAA: Exactly the same thing.
LEMON: Very nice.
ORAA: This is perfect for phrases. However for paragraphs, it's not going to work. I have tried it a lot of times and it's not going to work.
LEMON: What is the app?
ORAA: It's called Google Translate.
LEMON: I love that.
ORAA: There's another one that's 99 cents. It's perfect for paragraphs. It's called "Say Hi Translate," which is this one.
LEMON: And it can do paragraphs.
ORAA: Say something.
LEMON: Say something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking Spanish).
LEMON: Ah, very nice.
ORAA: There you go.
LEMON: Very nice.
You are so cool. You have the coolest stuff. Thank you very much, Alejandra Oraa.
ORAA: You (inaudible).
LEMON: CNN en Espanol and all-around great person. Thank you.
All right. See you soon.
ORAA: All right.
LEMON: There is a lot of embellished stories -- there's a lot of embellished stories coming out of North Korea, but this one might just top them all. Korean media are now saying they found -- wait for it -- a secret unicorn lair. I will tell you about it next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: I'm pretty sure this is real -- a town is worried about a vampire on the loose and a country has announced finding a unicorn lair. Yes, these are real government issues. Josh Levs, so Josh, you're going to -- this is not April Fool's. This is December -- what is today, December 2nd?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. December 2nd.
LEMON: Oh, yesterday was December Fool's.
LEVS: Yes. No, this is actually --
LEMON: Are you serious?
LEVS: I'm serious. These are two things that are going on in the world right now, a chance to look at some of the quirkier things happening worldwide.
Let's start off with this one right here, this is out of Serbia.
There's a small town, a small village in Serbia, and we confirmed this, folks, we have talked to the mayor today, let's show everybody where this town is. And they are saying that they are concerned about an actual vampire being on the loose.
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LEVS (voice-over): And the mayor told us today when we spoke with him, that, in fact, people are now putting garlic outside their front doors and holy crosses inside their bedrooms -- Zarozje; that's the name of the town there, the village there in Serbia.
Now I will tell that you some people there think it's silly and funny and they just take part in it for fun, but there are some who take it seriously and think there is an actual vampire there.
Now you were talking about the unicorns, North Korea. North Korean state media (inaudible) all different things.
LEMON: I'm sorry.
LEVS: No, don't apologize. There's actually a good chance --
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: North Korea, as you know, North Korea puts out all sorts of statements all the time. So now North Korea is saying that in that area, called Moran Park, they found a unicorn lair which they also say in their official report on Korean state media, (inaudible) pull out of that map now -- we're going back to Serbia -- but help show a sign that Pyongyang has been the capital, even in ancient times. So they're even using that for a political statement. But keep in mind, North Korea says all sorts of things. North Korea liked to say at one point that Kim Jong-il, when he was alive, they said that there was a giant halo that appeared on his birthday and hung in the sky for an entire hour. They said the first time he ever went golfing, he got a hole- in-one. So the idea here is that there are still people who are being fed this kind of interesting reporting, you might want to say, fantastical reporting in North Korea, even now under Kim Jong-un.
LEMON: Are you angling for a job with "The Onion" or something? I mean --
LEVS: Well, you know what happened with "The Onion" the other danger. We all know about this, right, when the Chinese people daily carried that "Onion" story, saying that --
LEMON: We got to go.
LEVS: -- sexiest man alive.
LEMON: We got to go. Unicorns and vampires, only Josh Levs.
LEVS: I got all the details on Twitter.
LEMON: Do not associate me with that.
LEVS: Oh, Lord, no don't associate -- all reporting.
LEMON: Shh.
An 8-year-old girl bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld and it's all caught on tape. We will show you. This one is true, next.
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LEMON: An 8-year-old girl bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld. Evan Lambert from our affiliate, WKMG, now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVAN LAMBERT, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Eight-year-old Jillian Thomas was living her dream, getting up close and personal with dolphins, her favorite animal, the day before Thanksgiving at SeaWorld.
Mom and Dad had their camera rolling as Jillian and her brother were feeding dolphins at the popular Dolphin Cove attraction. But Jillian ran out of fish. In a split second, her treat to feed the dolphins became a terror.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Out of fish.
LAMBERT (voice-over): One more time, the dolphin lunges out of the pool and goes straight for the tray of fish, taking with it Jillian's arm and dragging her toward the pool.
JAMIE THOMAS, JILLIAN'S FATHER: We think that that attraction at SeaWorld is dangerous. And it was traumatic for us to go through that event.
LAMBERT (voice-over): The Thomases say the dolphin's bite punctured Jillian's skin in three places and caused minor bleeding but now she is doing OK.
We asked SeaWorld about the incident and they told us in a statement, "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of our guests, employees and animals. Educators and animal care staff are always onsite at this area, monitoring all interactions and are committed to guest safety."
And the Thomases say they were told repeatedly not to pick up the trays, but the 8-year-old just made a mistake.
AMY THOMAS, JILLIAN'S MOTHER: She said she just forgot and, as you see in the video, moved the plate to say she was done.
LAMBERT (voice-over): Of course we know the dolphin wasn't. The Thomases say they won't be back at SeaWorld and they hope others will heed their warning.
A. THOMAS: We are not banking on SeaWorld changing that attraction. You know, I'm sure that's not going to happen, but perhaps --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching.
