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One Month Since Sandy Hook Tragedy; Gun Control Debate Continues; No New Inductees to Baseball Hall of Fame; Python-Hunting Contest; NFL Playoffs Down to Final Four; Teachers Rebel in Seattle
Aired January 13, 2013 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN ANCHOR: You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Drew Griffin in for Don Lemon tonight. Let's get you up to speed on the stories making news this hour.
This will be a pivotal week in the political battle between those who want stricter gun control laws and those fighting to protect the right to own guns in the United States.
On Tuesday, the vice president and his task force will send gun violence recommendations to the oval office. Both sides bracing for a fight. We have more on this story in a moment.
But first, police in San Diego were forced to shoot a man with a gun who ran inside a movie theater. The officers responding to a domestic disturbance call yesterday when they chased the armed suspect into a crowded theater. Moviegoers poured out as police raced inside and officers shot the suspect who survived, but is in critical condition tonight.
American troops help France in an attempt to rescue a French intelligence agent held by hostages by militants in Somalia. President Obama today detailed the U.S. involvement in the mission, which was Friday night. He said, U.S. troops led to what he called limited technical support and made American aircraft available if needed. The mission failed. The captured agent was not rescued and the French government believes he is now dead.
Hundreds of thousands of people opposing same sex marriage rallied on the streets of Paris today. France's president is pushing a plan to legalize same sex marriage and adoptions. It faces strong opposition from the Roman Catholic Church and social conservative. The plan is expected to be voted on by the national assembly in March or February.
A break for Americans hoping to adopt Russian kids, a ban on American adoptions will not go into effect until next year, according to a Russian news agency. Hundreds of Russians in Moscow protest the Russian government's ban, believing that freeze on adoptions was passed as backlash for the passage of a new U.S. law, which targets human rights violations in Russia about. The decision to delay the ban means 46 adoptions underway should go through.
Former president George H. W. Bush may finally get to leave the hospital this week. The 41st president shown on his birthday in June has been in the hospital since November 23rd for bronchitis and then what was described as a stubborn fever, his son, former Florida governor Jeb Bush says his dad is expected to be released tomorrow. A family spokesman says they are hopeful he will be discharged but still taking things day to day.
The NFL playoffs are down to four. The Atlanta Falcons kick a game winning field goal in the final seconds, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 30-28. Atlanta advancing to the conference championship game next Sunday against San Francisco.
Meanwhile, Tom Brady led New England to a 41-28 win over the Houston, Texans. The Patriots play Baltimore in the AFC championship game.
Well, it's 30 days since the massacre at that elementary school in Connecticut, and just two days until the vice president and his task force, make public their ideas to put the brakes on gun violence. Listen to some of the voices today from both lawmakers and gun rights lobbyists.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. CHUCK SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: I'm urging our country's major gun retailers like Walmart and sports authority to suspend sales of modern assault style weapons until Congress is able to fully consider and vote on legislation to curb gun violence.
DAVID KEENE, NRA PRESIDENT: When a president takes all the power of his office, if he's willing to expend political capital, you don't want to bet your house on the outcome, but I would say that the likelihood is, they're not going to be able to get an assault weapons ban through this Congress.
SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: Let's be honest. We're not always going to be able to find these individuals who on a dime turn into mad men. And what could have helped here in Newtown is a ban on assault weapons. I have to tell you, I fundamentally believe that if we had a ban on assault weapons and a bail on high capacity magazine clips, this guy might have never ever taken up arms to begin with because what happens is these guys start to get courageous when they believe that they can walk in to a school or to a movie theater with the kind of weapons that they see in these video games. There would still be little boys and girls alive in Newtown today, I believe, if you had banned assault weapons and these high capacity magazine clips. And that's something question can do now and do now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: CNN's Susan Candiotti is in Newtown Connecticut.
The people of that town today marked one month since the massacre at Sandy Hook Eelementary School. And there's the delicate subject of what to do about the school itself. Do they make it a memorial or tear it down? Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Drew, tonight in Newtown, there was a public forum with many people trying to decide what to do about the future of Sandy Hook Elementary school, where the shooting occurred. And there were so many different opinions. Do they tear it down forever? Do they rebuild the school? Do they put a memorial there? Hard to get a consensus, but not surprising in this town since it's only been a month since the shooting.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): St. Rose of Lima church lost nine of its youngest members at Sandy Hook. A vigil drew thousands that first night, and then there were the funerals.
DEACON RICK SCINTO, ST. ROSE OF LIMA CHURCH: I was this far away from the families. It was palpable what they were going through.
CANDIOTTI: How well are people healing?
SCINTO: There's a lot of pain, a lot of grief. When it's going to go away I don't know, it may not every go away.
CANDIOTTI: Arriving daily to ease that pain, something that astounds Deacon Rick Scinto and fellow parishioners.
It's a month later, what are all these boxes doing here?
SCINTO: These are the gifts, these are letters, these are prayer cards coming in from all over the country, all over the world.
CANDIOTTI: Thousands of pieces of mail carefully sorted for each victim, including the shooter's mother and the killer himself.
What is this all a sign of?
SCINTO: This is the world putting their arm around Newtown and saying, we're here for you in some way.
CANDIOTTI: Like a huge banner that reads, we are with you Newtown, filled with signatures hanging from an overpass. It's all the way from Tucson, Arizona. The sight of the Gabby Giffords mass shooting.
Down the street from the elementary school, a bouquet marks the spot where a makeshift memorial once stood, now dismantled, composted, preserved for a permanent memorial.
In this community people turned to each other for strength, many with the same question.
SCINTO: The main question is why. Why did this happen, how did this happen?
CANDIOTTI: Seeking answers no one may ever have.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: And at this point, no perfect answer about the future of Sandy Hook elementary - Drew.
GRIFFIN: Susan Candiotti tonight in Newtown Connecticut. So, could we see Congress take up legislation that would ban assault rifles? We're going to hear from the left and the right about the chances such a proposal might have.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Vice President Biden's proposals for reducing gun violence are expected to address movies and video games as well as meant to a health but it is the potential new effort to reinstate the assault weapons ban that has Washington talking.
The NRA president today told our Candy Crowley, her doesn't think it would get through congress. And some studies show, the last ban didn't work anyway.
So, when I talked about it with CNN contributors L.Z. Granderson and Ana Navarro, I asked L.Z. if the push for a ban would be worth the effort?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The thing about what Vice President Biden going to unveil on Tuesday, it's really interesting, because there are three different conversations in my opinion that's happening in regard to guns. The first conversation is about mass shootings, and what are we going to do about that.
The second conversation is about the shootings that happen every other day in our streets, particularly in Chicago. And then, it is the conversation about the culture of guns, and that's where the movie violence and the video games come in from. So, I'm really curious to see what president or Vice President Biden is going to unveil, because those are three different conversations, and you can't clean this all up with one fell swoop.
GRIFFIN: Yes, sure. Ana, I want to ask you about the strategy here, because the president, he goes for an assault weapons ban, will have to use a lot of political muscle to do that. And if you just look at the FBI statistics, although we have horrific events that occur with these guns sometimes mostly it is pistols and handguns that are involved statistically in the crimes. And if you're going to attack the murders in this country, you would attack those other guns.
I'm wondering why you think it is they would like to go after the assault weapons at this time.
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: I think L.Z. was exactly right. There are three different conversations going on, and I think they have to turn it into one big comprehensive approach. If it's only framed as an assault weapons ban, it will have a very difficult time going through congress.
But, yes, you know, the president is going to have to spend the capital, he has it and he's going to have to spend it. I'm sure Vice President Biden who is now pregnant with this, this is his baby. And in case we haven't noticed, he's already running for president, he's going to want something done.
And the problem, Drew, is the issue is not going away. As CNN was covering the meetings of the vice president on the issue, they had to breakaway, because there was yet another school shooting going on at the same time.
And so, every time there is a shooting and the sad reality is, that these things will continue happening in all likelihood, the American people are going to ask, what has been done since Newtown that will become the new question.
You see, this issue had been under the rug for the last four years, it had been awfully quiet, despite all the different episodes we've had of shootings. But now, the Pandora Box is open, and the expectation of the American people that something moves is much greater than it's been in the last four years. And I think his only way of doing it is a comprehensive approach.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Former Cincinnati Pete Rose weighs in on this past week's baseball hall of fame snub. But as you'll see, those remarks don't sit well with one of the hall of fame voters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: "USA Today" reports Lance Armstrong will admit doping in an interview with Oprah Winfrey. Armstrong's interview with Winfrey will air Thursday, his first television interview since he was stripped of his seven Tour de France titles. Some cycling observers' say it's about time Armstrong confessed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Better late than never. I mean, it's bad he did it to start with, but at least he'll come clean so to speak.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now that he's been dropped from the cycling world, I don't think it will hurt him. I believe that this will soften up his admission of -- if he does admit it, it will bring him back into the cycling world.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Thursday's interview will air at 9:00 p.m. on the Oprah Winfrey network.
Other sports news for just the eighth time in history, no one was elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame this year. The baseball writers association said no to Barry Bonds, to Roger Clemens, to Mark McGwire and to Sammy Sosa. Those are some of the biggest names in baseball history, but all allegedly cheated by using performance enhancing drugs.
Earlier, our Don Lemon asked former Cincinnati reds superstar Pete Rose, himself banned from the hall of fame for gambling. His thoughts on the hall of fame shutout, and the odds that one day he might be inducted.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETE ROSE, FORMER CINCINNATI REDS PLAYER, MANAGER: As far as the guys you mentioned, with the exception of Clemens, because he's a pitcher, wouldn't it be nice if you could interview Babe Ruth, Roger Maris, Hank Aaron? Because those are the guys who lost their records because of the suspension of steroids.
Now, you know, I don't know if I'll get in trouble for this, but I have to defend Roger Clemens in this. And the reason I have to defend him is because until this day, he says he didn't take steroids, and he's never flunked a drug test, and he went in front of two different courts and they both ruled in favor of him. So, who am I to sit here and say that Roger Clemens took steroids because he won some games after he's 40 years old.
Now, Bonds admitted he put the steroids on him, OK? Sosa flunked a test. Palmero flunked a test. So, let's talk about Biggio and Piazza and Jack Morris.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, that was my next question.
Let me ask the question, because there were others on the ballot, catcher Mike Piazza as you said, the Dodgers and the Mets, and there were Craig Biggio was on there, long time second baseman for the Houston Astros. And also, Curt Schilling, a pitcher who merely say helped the Boston Red Sox win the World Series 2004, 2007.
Do you think, the fact that they got shut out, does that surprise you?
ROSE: It does. At least one of them should go in there, because I just wonder if what happened. Did all the writers say, there's too many guys connected to steroids, just don't put anybody in. That's not fair to those guys.
Listen. Craig Biggio got 3,000 hits, 3061 actually, and he is the first player that was on the ballot for the first time that didn't make the hall of fame since 1945. That's how long that's been, OK? And there hasn't been anybody going into the hall of fame since 1996. So that's strange too. And I just -- we got friends in Cooperstown that own stores and they really rely on Cooperstown week to survive for the whole year. And we just wonder what's going to happen with those people with no induction.
LEMON: While I have you here, can we talk about Lance Armstrong speaking of his performance enhancing drugs? What do you make of his situation?
ROSE: Well, Lance is a little bit like me, and I'll tell you why, for anybody watching us talk, I would give them some advice. If you do something wrong, come clean quick. As quick as you possibly can. I waited too long. Lance waited too long. Because it's just going to build up and get worse and worse and worse.
So, you know, admit your problem, and attack your problem. I'm at peace with myself now. It took me some years to do what Bart Giamatti told me to do, because what he wanted me to do when he said re- configure my life is just take responsibility for what I did. And I've done that now. And my mind is clean. My body is clean. My fans understand that. My teammates understand it. And we'll go from there. That's what Lance needs to do.
LEMON: But, it was for you, let's us just talk the audience. It wasn't about drugs. It was about betting.
ROSE: Yes, yes.
LEMON: So, do you think someone who physically alters their body should be allowed in the hall of fame, I don't know, at all before you?
ROSE: The records of baseball are a sacred thing, that's why baseball cards are worth more than basketball cards or football cards, it started in 1869 and wouldn't it be nice if you could talk to Hank Aaron today or Roger Maris or Babe Ruth? Because those are the guys who lost the records.
If someone got 4257 and beat my record and he was linked to steroids, I have a lot of things to say about him. But, as of right now, up to now, that has not happened. So, when you alter the statistics of baseball, you're really cheating the fans of every era, and the fans of today's era, because it's just not right.
LEMON: So, you think that you should be eligible for the hall of fame and -- are you hoping? You think one day it will change?
ROSE: Well, here's what I think. I think this is America. And I think everybody at one time or another should be given a second chance.
LEMON: Right.
ROSE: And that's what I'm waiting for. And I'm not here to complain, because I'm the one that screwed up. I'm not complaining to anybody. I just hope that someone that runs baseball will feel in their heart to give me a second chance. I won't need a third. I'll guarantee you that.
LEMON: It is America's pastime. America, it's all about redemption. I mean, that's we love, a good redemption story.
ROSE: Yes. So well, we have Clinton, we have Nixon, we have a lot of other people that obviously got a second chance.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: By the way, Pete Rose has a six part TV series coming up, hits and misses, the misses would be the woman sitting next to him, premiering tomorrow at 10:00 eastern on TLC.
Earlier, I spoke with sports reporter and Baseball Hall of Fame voter, Terrence Moore. I asked about this week's announcement that hall of fame voters had chosen no one to join the hall from this year's ballot. And Terence took issue with Pete Rose's defense of Roger Clemens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TERRENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, two confessions, OK? I personally have known Pete Rose for 35 years. He was my all time favorite player growing up as a youth. And it pains me to say this but Pete is absolutely wrong about this, OK?
Roger Clemens, his best friend at the time, Andy Pettitte, even said that Roger Clemens told him that he used steroids. And Andy Pettitte backed out at the last minute when he was talking to the feds.
The other thing that Pete said in that same interview that numbers matter in baseball more so than any other sport. I mean, baseball's been around professionally since 1869. So, I mean, you have these steroid users going against say, Willie Mays and Hank Aaron in history books is not fair to those guys of the past when you lump these knuckle heads in with them.
GRIFFIN: You know, this steroid era lasted awhile.
MOORE: It did.
GRIFFIN: Is there a chance we could see a repeat next year and the year after? I mean, could it be a whole era of -- ?
MOORE: Well, the good thing is next year, for instance, you know, we are here Atlanta, Georgia. Two former Atlanta Braves heroes, (INAUDIBLE), they're going to right the ship, they will be first ballot hall of famers, no steroids there. So, this will become a moot point.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: It's an unusual hunting contest even for Florida. They're looking for pythons. Our John Zarrella tells us why the state is holding a month long contest to kill those snakes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: People are hunting pythons in Florida and they can win prizes to do it. It's part of a month-long contest called the python challenge, design to tackle the problem with an exploding python population.
Our own John Zarrella talked with the python hunter and a state officer about the contest.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN MATTHEWS, PYTHON HUNTER, NATIVE WILDLIFE REHAB FACILITY: You could go out there for days and days and days and not see one python. I don't care how much experience you have. It's going to take some luck. JORGE PINO, FLORIDA FISH AND WILDLIFE CONSERVATION COMMISSION: If we remove one snake from the ecosystem, we've done a good thing. So, imagine if 700 people are out there and they bring one snake, that's 700 less snakes that we have in the ecosystem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: John Zarrella is in the Florida everglades with the latest on the python hunting contest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm out here on the Miami trail and this is the road that goes east/west and bi-sexy the Florida Everglades between Miami and Nepal. We are closer to Nepal now than we are to Miami. Ad we have been out here for a couple hours looking for pythons. It's not that easy to find them, that's for sure.
But at night, the reason we are out here is because they like to come up by the road and take the warmth of that road, you know, off the pavement and that keeps their bodies warm. They're cold blooded creatures.
And I'm joined by Justin Matthews.
And Justin, we have been out here with you. You know, you're an expert, a wildlife expert trying to find these things. But the reality is, we didn't get any, didn't find any. But, that's to be expected.
MATTHEWS Yes, it is. A needle in a haystack. I would actually be surprised before we came out today and got a snake.
ZARRELLA: And that's because it's been so warm lately?
MATTHEWS Yes, been so warm. They've been curled up. They have been, you know, hiding in the shade in the thicket, where people can't go, and chances are we've walked right by one today.
ZARRELLA: You didn't see it?
MATTHEWS Didn't even see it.
ZARRELLA: Now, it's an invasive species. They're trying to get rid of them here. The real problem in Florida, South Florida especially, right?
MATTHEWS Yes, big problem, they're killing our native wildlife.
ZARRELLA: Not that many, though? And they're doing -- killing the native wildlife?
MATTHEWS Yes, they are, and that's why we're here. We've run a wildlife rescue and we want to save native wildlife.
Well, you know, good luck. There's a month of this hunt to go, so, you'll be back. And you're going to try to get some more.
MATTHEWS Yes.
ZARRELLA: But the reality is, as Justin was saying, it's like a needle in a hay stack out here, or anywhere. There's millions of acres of everglades, and maybe there's 100, 150,000 of these snakes out here, that's at the top end.
So, it's really going to be interesting to see how many people over the course of the month catch snakes and how many actually are brought in total.
John Zarrella, CNN, reporting from the Florida everglades.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Half past the hour now, let's take a look at the headlines right now.
On Tuesday, a task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden, expected to recommend a ban on assault style weapons. That's just one option the task force may put in the president's desk in the wake of the Connecticut shooting one month ago. President Obama made clear this weekend that he is ready for a fight over how he responds to the recommendations.
American troops helped France in an attempt to rescue a French intelligence agent held hostage by militants in Somalia. President Obama today detailed the U.S. involvement which happened Friday night. He said U.S. troops landed limited technical support and made American aircraft available if needed. The mission failed. The captured agent was not rescued, and the French government believes he is now dead.
Former president George H. W. Bush may get to leave the hospital this week. The 41st president shown here on his birthday last June has been in the hospital since November 23rd for bronchitis and then what was described as a stubborn fever. His son, former Florida governor Jeb Bush says his dad is expected to be released tomorrow. The family spokesman says they are hopeful, but still taking it a day at a time.
A political wound may be reopened in Egypt. Former president Hosni Mubarak has won his appeal and he is going to get a new trial. An Egyptian court overturned Mubarak's life sentence for his role in the killing of protesters during Egypt's revolution. Mubarak supporters cheered in court when that decision came down. Mubarak will remain in custody until his new trial starts. The next court date is likely in April.
A somber day for families marking the one-year anniversary of the Costa Concordia cruise liner tragedy. Thirty two passengers and crew who died aboard the massive ship were remembered during a mass today on the small Italian island where the liner ran aground. The ship is partially submerged still in the harbor. It's captain could face charges denying he did anything wrong.
The NFL playoffs are down to the final four. The Atlanta falcons kicked that game winning field goal in the final seconds defeating Seattle 30-28. Atlanta advancing to the conference championship game next week against San Francisco.
In the meantime, Tom Brady led New England to a 41-28 win over the Houston Texans. The patriots are set to play Baltimore in the AFC championship game.
As I mentioned a moment ago, the nation should know Tuesday whether the vice president's gun task force will recommend trying to curb gun violence. That's in response to the mass killing at a Connecticut elementary school a month ago. Well, some schools are not waiting for the government to act. A school board in Montpelier, Ohio which is near the Indiana border, just to prove letting certain school staffers carry concealed guns, a move that was in the works before the 20 children and six adults were murdered inside Connecticut's Sandy Hook Elementary School.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEGHAN KREISHER, MONTPELIER, OHIO RESIDENT: It's kind of scary to think about having gun in a school full of children.
JAMSON GRIME, SUPERINTENDENT, MONTPELIER SCHOOL: Although we felt we were doing a good job with keeping the doors locked, and making visitors sign in and all that, we felt as though it was time to take another step.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: No doubt, Montpelier officials hope they can keep gunmen out of their buildings, but what if a gunman gets in? Some colleges in California are actually putting students and staffs to the test using what's called active shooter training.
Here's Miguel Marquez.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lockdown, lockdown, lockdown.
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's called active shooter training.
These scenarios horrified.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, don't run from me.
MARQUEZ: A heavily armed mass killer all too possible. Though the scenario has just ended the use masks in this scenario to make this as real as possible. They use air guns of the master necessary, and this one, the gunman tried to get in to this door, the people in this room barricaded themselves in. Is it helpful, I mean, the scenarios, how realistic are they?
DOMINOE FRANCO, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: They're absolutely realistic even though you know they're not real bullets. Immediately, OK, I don't want to get shot at even if it's with a soft pellet gun.
MARQUEZ: Southern California's San Diego state university pout 30,000 students, has opened its doors to response options, a Texas company teaching civilians survival skills for mass shootings.
The lessons you're teaching are important?
KERRY MARRIS, RESPONSE OPTIONS: Yes.
MARQUEZ: Why is that so important?
MARRIS: First off, what has been taught to them before has been shown not to work.
MARQUEZ: What doesn't work he says, he is only trying to hide from a gunman. The company teaches other options like providing good information, barricading, escaping and in extreme situations, countering a gunman.
Students at Alabama's Auburn University also underwent the training here at San Diego state, all incoming freshmen will undergo active shooter training starting this fall.
LAMINE SECKA, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY POLICE CAPTAIN: We want people to know what their options are before they happen, so they don't waste time trying to figuring out what they're going to do next.
MARQUEZ: Rampage shootings aren't new to STSU. In 1996, graduate student Frederick Martin Davidson stressed about defending his masters' thesis killed three faculty members. Today, it seems just about everyone has a connection to public shootings.
Gale Etschmaier's son now attends Virginia tech where 49 people were killed or injured in a 2007 massacre.
GALE ETSCHMAIER, SAN DIEGO STATE UNIVERSITY: I think you have concerns about your student going to any college given the tragedy of Virginia tech, there was a little bit more concern.
MARQUEZ: The hard fact of horror reality, getting students and staff to think about the unthinkable.
Miguel Marquez. CNN, San Diego.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: Well, it amounts to a sort of academic mutiny, some teachers in Seattle refusing to give their students a required test. We'll tell you why and get a school administrator to weigh-in on that move by those educators.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: Teachers are boycotting a standardized test at a Seattle high school. Nineteen teachers at Garfield high school refused to give the measures of academic progress test after Seattle's school district decided to factor the exam into teacher's evaluations. Teachers say the test is flawed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm happy to have anyone come in and look at my work. It's just that I don't think they should be tested by this test.
JESSE HAGOPIAN, TEACHER: They adopted it for $4 million. Why would they adopt a test they haven't vetted? They haven't made sure is a line to our curriculum? I think there's a clear conflict of interest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: The test is not required in Washington State. Seattle public schools representatives have not commented on the uproar. Well, you know, noted school principal author and TV host Steve Perry is joining us live via Skype from Hartford, Connecticut.
Steve, do the teachers have a point?
STEVE PERRY, PRINCIPAL, FOUNDER, CAPITAL PREPARATORY MAGNET SCHOOL: No, they don't have a point. What they are trying to do is trying to skirt the responsibility of accountability. This examination like so many others probably has some flaws, as most examinations do. As the examinations that they give in their own classrooms do.
In fact, if we look at some of the real data, we find that American students are at the bottom third in virtually every international comparison. Why? Because all we do is depend upon the opinion of one teacher as opposed to a standardized examination which tells us what children can do.
This particular test, we actually offer it in our school. And yes as the teachers say, sometimes kids don't take this test seriously. But, that's teachable moment. One of which we, is fact, you sit down with the children explains how important the examination is, and work through them so they can begin to move forward.
GRIFFIN: The teachers say they weren't given any sample test or test questions to get prepared for this test. Should that be done?
PERRY: It's a standardized examination. They're being tested on basic skills. This math test in particular, what it does is it actually gets harder as you answer more questions and its get easier as you answer less questions. And the purpose of it is to provide a diagnostic - it's really diagnostic examination. One in which at the end of the test, literally, at the end of the examination, we as faculty and staff can look at children's strengthens and weaknesses and begin to cord in our curriculum into that direction.
GRIFFIN: It seem that the teachers weren't opposed to the test until they found out it was going to evaluate them and their teaching ability. Is that fair?
PERRY: Shocker. I mean, here we go again, right? Anything that's going to prove that they might need to do things differently, somehow is evil. Every single time they have an issue with a standardized examination, my question is this, where is yours, why don't you put forward an examination that you think is fair?
Here's the point. What we know is there is more variation within a school meaning between one English teacher and another English teacher than there is between these standardized examinations and that is the problem. One kid in one school can go and take an English class and get and A, and take an English class with one teacher and get a B. Has the child got worse? We don't know.
With this standardized examination, we have a sense of what the children can do across the curriculum.
GRIFFIN: Steve, what, as an administrator, what do you do in a case like this? You have an elected school board, you have administration in the school, and you have basically what amounts to a revolt by the teachers or 19 teachers at this high school. What should be done?
PERRY: Well, to me, this is insubordination, quite frankly. I don't see why people aren't getting fired?
GRIFFIN: That's a quick answer.
We'll see what happens in Seattle.
Steve Perry. Thanks for joining us tonight from Hartford, Connecticut. Appreciate it.
PERRY: My pleasure.
GRIFFIN: Well, it sat in a New York park for years, kids probably played around that. People sat on it to take pictures. But, who knew the whole time it was loaded. Details next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: This thing could have caused a major blast from the past literally. Some preservation workers cleaning that revolutionary war era cannon the other day were shocked to see it was loaded with the cannonball and live gun powder. That's not all. The cannon was mounted on public display in Central Park for more than 100 years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's an amazing surprise that it was there so many years, and people there were sitting on it when it was loaded cannon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: No joke. The cleaning crew called the bomb squad and carefully disarmed the cannon. And a police spokesperson said yes, in theory, it could have been fired all those years it was on public display.
President John F. Kennedy was not assassinated by a lone gunman, at least, that was the belief of his brother, Robert F. Kennedy, according to Robert Kennedy, Jr. Speaking at a roundtable in Dallas, Kennedy said his father publicly supported the Warren commission which said it was a lone gunman. But privately, he said his father was much more critical of the conclusion.
Robert F Kennedy Junior said his father thought there was strong evidence that he asked the justice department to look into the connection between the assassination, the mafia, the CIA and other organizations. But the younger Kennedy says his dad never publicly voiced those concerns, because he thought it would take away from the civil rights fight that was gripping the country.
The man practiced hail to the chief today for President Obama's inauguration a week from tomorrow.
There's the president now. It was rehearsal with hundreds of band members, military personnel, media and law enforcement taking part. They used stand-ins right there for the president and First Lady. Meanwhile, the military is getting ready to make sure everyone stays safe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On the morning of the inauguration, the biggest move you'll see is in the Pentagon south parking lot, where they will screen all of the buses and parade participants about 10,000 total ground officers.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: Washington, D.C., expecting more than 500,000 people to attend the inauguration.
CNN is your home, by the way, for complete coverage of the inauguration. It starts next Sunday morning. And lead up to the official swearing in of the president for his second term on Monday all the way through the official inaugural balls Monday night.
Now to the big stories in the week ahead. From the White House to Wall Street. We begin with the president's plans for the week.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Brianna Keiler at the White House.
On Monday, President Obama will participate in an ambassador credentialing a ceremony here at the White House.
Then, on Tuesday, Vice President Joe Biden will deliver his much awaited recommendations on how to deal with gun violence.
President Obama will spend the rest of the week in Washington attending meetings at the White House.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
Coming up this week on Wall Street, earnings season is well underway. We're going to get quarterly results from a lot of the big banks including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Citigroup, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley.
We are also going to hear from American express, General Electric and e-bay.
And in terms of economic report on the docket, we'll get the December retail sales numbers, including the holiday shopping season. That's important.
And we'll also get key housing and inflation figures. We'll keep you posted on all of it on CNN Money.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's A.J. Hammer. Here's what we're watching this week.
Of course, the Golden Globes are tonight. We're going to have special live coverage tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m., with all of the surprises and snubs for you.
And tomorrow night on the show, I'm going one on one with the great Rob Lowe. I'll see you at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on HLN.
GRIFFIN: Coming up --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's your name.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Django.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Then you're exactly the one I'm looking for.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
GRIFFIN: It's earned millions at the box office, honored at the Golden Globe awards tonight. The movie "Django Unchained" maybe drawing crowds, but it is also drawing controversy. We are going to tell you why, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
GRIFFIN: It is one of the hottest films out right now, "Django Unchained." The so-called spaghetti western said during slavery days won a couple Golden Globe awards tonight, it's nominated for academy awards.
But, while the film is making big bucks at the box office, it's the source of big controversy. Critics say director, Quentin Tarantino, who is no stranger to violence and shock value may have gone too far.
Our Nischelle Turner takes a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's not your average spaghetti western. "Django Unchained' special mix of slavery, comedy and violence has made a killing at the box office and blown away many in Hollywood.
50 CENT, RAPPER: Nobody better. I'm a big fan.
TURNER: Not everyone's a fan.
SPIKE LEE, DIRECTOR: It would be respectful to my ancestors.
TURNER: Director Spike Lee told Vibe TV, he refused to see the film. Adding on twitter, American slavery was not a Sergeo Leone spaghetti western. It was a holocaust.
LOUIS GOSSETT JUNIOR, ACTOR: Well, he's absolutely right.
TURNER: Root (ph) star and Oscar-winning Louis Gossett Jr. imagines Lee's version of the film.
GOSSETT: It would be a little bit more informative, more sensitive to its audience.
TURNER: Speaking of sensitive, it was only 15 minutes into" Django" that Gossett had enough. Enough, he say, of feeling uncomfortable being the only black person in the theater.
GOSSETT: (INAUDIBLE) by and they looks at me. And it was like - So, I had to go to another place so I could see it from beginning to end.
TURNER: And by the end, this veteran actor had heard the n word more than 100 times in about three hours.
GOSSETT: They did use the n word too much. So, I'm close to the generation that was really touched by slavery and its mentality. So, I can give it credit for being brilliant.
TURNER: Music mogul L.A. Reid echoes that thought. He liked the film, but felt Tarantino should have toned it down, telling CNN, it's a painful part of America's history and still an open wound. But a wound that some say has a scab that is healing.
T.I., RAPPER: I thought it was dope. I thought it was nice. I mean, you've never seen a film like that in that era of time portrayed that way. When you are a trailblazer, you can expect some extra criticism.
JAMIE FOXX, ACTOR, DJANGO UNCHAINED: That's what you want. You want it to be criticized, critiqued, people that are really talking about it.
TURNER: Now, even more people are talking about it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a slap in the face to our ancestors.
TURNER: Community organizers in Los Angeles called for a boycott against the film's action figures.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is highly offensive and we demand these dolls be pulled immediately.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Calm down butch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No offense kiddo.
TURNER: And no offense intended by the film studio, the Weinstein company which tells CNN in light of the reaction to the "Django Unchained' action figures, we are removing them from distribution. It was never our intent to offend anyone. They were meant to be collectibles for people 17 years and older which is the audience for the film.
And as the film's audience grows, so likely will the debate. In a country where most agree, it's good to be free to disagree.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: "Django Unchained" director Quentin Tarantino says he was surprised to win Best Screenplay at the Golden Globe awards tonight. Django got another Golden Globe when Christoph Waltz win Best Supporting Actor in a movie for his role as bounty hunter.
The Hollywood Foreign Press Association selects those winners. Hugh Jackman won for Best Actor in Musical-Comedy for his performance in "Les Mis." Jackman revealed that he almost called the director and gave up on the role, because he got so nervous during the rehearsals. Jackman says his wife convinced him to stick with it.
Ben Affleck won Best Director for "Argo". That's a movie based on the true story about a daring rescue during the Iran hostage crisis.
Best Original Song went to British pop star Adele for "Skyfall", the theme song she wrote and sang for the latest James Bond movie.
Anne Hathaway also sang her way to a Golden Globe. She won Best Supporting Actress in a movie for her tragic role in "Les Mis."
And Julianne Moore won Best Lead Actress in a TV or miniseries for her role as 2008 vice presidential president candidate Sarah Palin in "Game Change".
In southern California, they're fishing for squid. Not this squid, but we have both of those fish tales, or maybe squid tales, just ahead for you.
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GRIFFIN: Here's a fish tale that starts a half mile under the ocean. The first ever pictures of a giant squid in its natural habitat. The 10-foot find was touted as one of the most important discoveries in decades.
But you know, in California, they don't have time to talk about giant squids. They have their own fishing frenzy underway.
Here's Miguel Marquez. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARQUEZ (voice-over): It's a southern California squid frenzy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get him up and over.
MARQUEZ: Every night, fishing boats packed to the gills set off to hunt for two to three-foot long, sometimes bigger squid. The sea here off Dana Point thick with krill, squid food, the elusive creature, good sport fishing. They make a fine squid steak. They are bizarre shooting ink and water as they fight to stay in the sea. Went out of the water they change colors, sometimes like a traffic light.
This is what the squid hunters have come after. There's the eye there. Their teeth are right in here. If I stuck my hand in there it would try to grab me. They change colors. Amazingly, someone grabbed a-hold of this one, you can see a perfect handprint on that squid right there.
The humble (INAUDIBLE) squid makes its home from Alaska to South America. It's rare, very rare, to have so many squid off the coast here for so long, offering such great fishing before squid.
Todd Mansur, captain of the some fun, knows these waters well. Tonight, the only guy who knows precisely where the squid are, boats for miles around hover hoping for a squid bonanza.
It's a traffic jam in a middle of nowhere.
TODD MANSUR, DANA WHARF SPORTFISHING: Exactly. I tried to move the boat forward to give room and I couldn't. There is too many boats in front of us. It's just awesome.
(LAUGHTER)
MARQUEZ: 2013 is shaping up to be the year of the squid. A giant squid, a very distant cousin of the humble was seen for the first time in its natural habitat, 2,000 feet down off the coast of Japan.
Squid isn't just for breading and deep frying any more. In popular culture, the squid agenda is alive and well and bent on world domination.
Did you see Galaxar in "monsters versus aliens"?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Galaxar out.
MARQUEZ: All hail Galaxar, viva la squid.
Miguel Marquez. CNN, Dana point, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
GRIFFIN: I'm Drew Griffin at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you for joining me tonight. Don Lemon will return next weekend.
Have a great night and a great week.
END
