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Preserving the "Gullah" Heritage; Christians Targeted in Pakistan; Karzai Upset with U.S.; TSA Relaxes "Pocketknife" Rule; North Korea: No More Cease-Fire; Frantic Goodbye; Big Government in your Business; Make-up Maven Shares Success; Quinn Runs for NY Mayor; Living With A Borrowed Brain

Aired March 10, 2013 - 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: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon. It is the top of the hour.

I want to get you up to speed on the day's headlines.

A tragic accident this morning near Warren, Ohio: six teenagers were killed and two injured when their SUV crashed into a pond. The SUV hit a guard rail and flipped over before landing in the water. The victims ranged in age from 14 to 19. Dive teams helped rescue the two survivors. Authorities say the SUV appeared to be overloaded and no one was wearing a seat belt.

Growing outrage in Pakistan where Christians say they have been targeted.

Christians took to the streets of Lahore today protesting a rash of violence in their neighborhoods. More than 100 homes were set fire yesterday after a Christian man allegedly made remarks against a Muslim prophet Mohammed. We're told many Christians have fled the area over fear of being killed.

The first vote for the next pope will happen Tuesday. Cardinals will gather for the papal conclave in Vatican City. The 115 Cardinals will keep voting until a winner emerges. When the next pope has been chosen, white smoke will emerge from the chimney on the Sistine Chapel.

Former South African Nelson Mandela is out of the hospital. The 94-year-old anti-apartheid leader and Nobel laureate returned home today following what was called a scheduled check-up and overnight stay. Mandela has grown frail over the years and rarely appears in public.

Newly appointed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is facing his first big test. During his visit in Afghanistan today, Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused the U.S. of colluding with the Taliban. Karzai charged the Taliban is working with foreigners in order to justify a continued American presence in the country. A joint news conference between Karzai and Hagel was then canceled. Later Hagel was asked about Karzai's accusations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHUCK HAGEL, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We did discuss those comments. I told the President it was not true, that the United States was unilaterally working with the Taliban in trying to negotiate anything. The fact is any prospect for peace or political settlements, that has to be led by the Afghans.

LEMON: Hagel and Karzai later met over dinner and an attempt to smooth over the dispute. Relations between the two countries have been strained in recent weeks over a number of security issues and plans to withdraw U.S. troops by next year.

The agency in charge of airline security, the TSA, surprised everyone a few days ago announcing we'll soon be able to take pocketknives and other banned items onto commercial airplanes. Knives, bats, sticks, thousands of them have been taken away from passengers at airports since shortly after the 9/11 attacks. Allowing them on board again is not sitting well with people who fly for a living and some lawmakers.

Lisa Desjardins is in Washington watching reaction to this change in security rules. So, Lisa, why the change now? And who has a problem with it?

LISA DESJARDINS, CNNRADIO CAPITOL HILL CORRESPONDENT: Right.

Ok, first, why the change now. The leader of the TSA says they have been studying this for years and that they decide -- they figured out through that assessment that knives actually no longer pose the risk of breaking into a cockpit, allowing a terrorist to take control of the plane or to blow up the plane.

So the TSA says knives like you see here are actually not a catastrophic threat, and these are the knives that TSA says will now be allowed. They are knives with blades that are no longer than 2.36 inches and they are also knives that do not lock in place. So, that's why the change now.

Who has a problem with it? Well, for one, Senator Chuck Schumer of New York. He had a news conference today urging the TSA to change its mind. And he said if it didn't, he might try to make them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: If the TSA refuses to go along we would very much consider legislation and my guess is it would have large bipartisan support. I don't know anybody who has defended the TSA on this on the merits because it just doesn't make any sense.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DESJARDINS: Now, there is more opposition, not just lawmakers. Look at this petition on WhiteHouse.gov. This was just put up the day that this policy was announced. It's being pushed by unions representing flight attendants. It's a petition opposing a new knife policy and so far, as you can see there, it has more than 18,000 signatures. Flight attendants, Don, are worried about their personal safety. But what TSA is saying is it's prioritizing on large-scale things like bombs, things that can bring down an entire plane.

So it's a bit like the whole versus the individual. I did speak with a TSA spokeswoman. She gave us this statement. She said that the "TSA looked at its threat assessment level and that their decision was driven by that threat assessment as part of their overall risk based security approach." The TSA statement went on to say that "They believed that removing small knives from prohibited items would not cause catastrophic damage."

Back to you -- Don.

LEMON: And Lisa, this is not the only thing to watch in regards to flying, right, this week?

DESJARDINS: Yes.

LEMON: There's a big deadline for some airports slated to close their control towers thanks to those forced budget cuts.

DESJARDINS: Yes. Small- and medium-sized airports -- there's about 200 of them that are very nervous right now because they are on a list for control tower shutdowns; again, forced by those forced budget cuts that you talk about. The FAA says it doesn't have enough money to man all these control towers.

So these airports and there's one right there, Hagerstown, Maryland, on the list, they have until Wednesday, Don, to make their case that they should stay open. Closures would start April 7th. And I want to point out that this doesn't necessarily mean the airports would have to close, just the tower. Pilots could fly in without talking to a control tower if you believe that or not and then they also could talk to a nearby tower instead.

Now, would this affect a lot of people? The FAA says these towers that are slated for closure handled about six percent of commercial flights last year, so not a huge number but Don we know people flying in and out of Columbus, Georgia and all these other small airports, it means a big deal to them.

LEMON: Lisa Desjardins, Lisa thank you so much.

DESJARDINS: You got it.

LEMON: A long plane ride with Osama bin Laden's son-in-law could provide an intelligence windfall for the U.S. The al Qaeda propagandist gave a 22-page long statement to investigators during his journey last week from Jordan to New York. The conversation is confirmed by a U.S. official are expected to be used in the government's case to prove he helped conspire to kill Americans and recruited al Qaeda members.

I'm about to take you live to Seoul, South Korea, right now. That's where more than a cautious eye is looking northward today. North Korea officials swore to take away the cease-fire agreement that ended the Korean War 60 years ago. Strong threats and strong language from North Korea are nothing new, but North Korea's top leadership is new.

CNN's Anna Coren is in Seoul right now for us. And Anna, it's Monday morning there; any indication that North Korea has done anything more than just threaten to remove the armistice?

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes Don, not at this stage. We don't have any word from North Korea to say that it has nullified the Armistice Agreement, which as you say ended the Korean War back in 1953, but certainly they have been the threats that we've been hearing all of last week. This was in the lead up to those U.N. sanctions that were passed unanimously by the Security Council.

We also had that threat of a pre-emptive nuclear strike on the United States and on South Korea and then yesterday, Don, we also heard from North Korea that it was ready for war. So all this rhetoric, we are used to it, but not at this capacity, not at this intensity, which is why people here in Seoul are a little bit concerned as to what this could mean.

Could this mean a military provocation from North Korea? A raid or an armed skirmish to make the rest of the world take notice of North Korea and to obviously get the attention of the United States -- Don.

LEMON: So Anna, the North Koreans really want this joint training exercise, U.S. and South Korean troops, to be canceled. Are they going ahead with -- with this training?

COREN: Most definitely. This is something that happens every year. So these joint military exercises between the United States and South Korea, they kick off today. These exercises happen all throughout the year, but these specific exercises they do kick off today and this is due to coincide with North Korea saying that it will scrap the armistice.

So North Korea is also planning its own set of military drills. It's important Don, to perhaps take a look at what the North Koreans have as far as a military. 1.2 million soldiers. It is a heavy militarized state, but what its downfall is its Navy and it's Air Force it just does not have an advanced Air Force or a Navy like the South Korea. You have to remember, too, that South Korea is protected by the United States. There's something like 28,000 U.S. troops who are stationed here on the Korean Peninsula.

So if there was to be any outbreak of war, the United States would be there to support South Korea.

LEMON: Anna Coren, thank you very much we appreciate it Anna.

And by the way we have all seen the emotion North Koreans often show toward their leader. We got another look at that when Kim Jong- Un visited with troops. It gets pretty bizarre.

So I'm not sure when this video was made -- the troops obviously overcome with emotion followed Kim as he boarded a boat and many of them running into the frigid water just to get closer to him. This is apparently near the border with South Korea.

A son is desperate to see his dying mom, but before he can be with her, he has to catch a connecting flight with only minutes to spare -- an impossibility. What happened next is something you'll never forget and neither will he.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well let's face it most airlines get a bad rap these days when it comes to customer service but one California passenger would disagree with that. In late January Kerry Drake was desperate to get from San Francisco to Lubbock, Texas, to see his mother who was dying. He was on a first leg of the United Airlines flight to Houston when he realized he would probably not make the connecting flight which was the last one of the night. Drake tells us what happened next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERRY DRAKE, UNITED AIRLINES PASSENGER: And so I asked the flight attendant if, you know, I told the flight attendant, Sofia, about, you know, the situation and so she said she would do everything she could. Well I guess she did.

You know, after the service and an hour or so later, another flight attendant came back and said the pilot was asking for the flight number for my flight from Houston to Lubbock. So I -- I'm guessing what happened next is that they radioed ahead and made sure that everyone along the way was aware of what was happening.

I got to spend the night with her and my dad in the hospital room that night and about 4:00 a.m. was her last moment of coherence where she woke up and then the following morning she was dead. And had I not made that flight from Houston to Lubbock, I would not have been able to say good-bye.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: When he returned, Drake wrote United a letter thanking them for going the extra mile.

If you live in the Big Apple, get ready for some big changes beginning this week. The city is taking Mayor Bloomberg's latest crusade to the public. You've heard about it, a ban on those large sugary drinks. Is it a good idea or a bad case of big brother is watching you? I posed this question to David Harsanyi editor of Human Events; talk show host, Jerry Doyle; and Wendy Walsh psychologist and expert on human behavior.

First though, some background from CNN's Mary Snow.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Along with that cup of coffee, a side order of new rules. Dunkin Donuts is handing out these fliers to its New York City customers on how new regulation spills over into its coffee business.

It's part of the ban on supersized sugary drinks that goes into effect Tuesday. It's part of the city effort to fight obesity. To comply, Dunkin Donuts will no longer put sugar in coffee over 16 ounces. You'll have to do it yourself.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So starting Tuesday in New York City, Dunkin Donuts will put the sugar in your coffee if it's a medium. But if your order large coffee, you have to put it in yourself.

OK, Jerry, I mean do you find this ridiculous?

JERRY DOYLE, SYNDICATED RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I find it ridiculous that Mayor Bloomberg -- if you remember back in 2010, they put out the healthy heroin brochure. I think they spent like $35,000 for 70,000 brochures and there were 16 steps that they told you, you needed to take in order to be healthy when you're doing heroin. And Bloomberg said, look, if you're going to do certain things, you might as well do them as healthy as possible.

I would have to think the same would apply to a sugary beverage as it would to heroin or in reverse, don't do sugary beverages, don't do heroin. So I find it a little odd that the mayor decided to take a firm stand on soda and not heroin.

LEMON: David, listen, we know sugar isn't bad, we know that it's not bad for you. After all, your book is called "the nanny state." I mean, is the mayor looking out for us or for people who can't look out for themselves?

DAVID HARSANYI, EDITOR, HUMAN EVENTS: You know, I'm sure his intentions are good. But you know, first of all, they're ineffective laws. What they do though, they reflect how government thinks they have a right to involve themselves in your life in every aspect. So, it reflects something larger, I think, that's corroding our government because they are busy trying to tell us what to drink rather than taking care of real problems almost everywhere across the country.

LEMON: OK. Wendy, you're the human behavior --

WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Can I get in there, Don?

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: Ok.

LEMON: Maybe people need to be saved. Go ahead, Wendy.

WALSH: OK. Here's what you should know. In our anthropological past, there were some trace nutrients -- they were sugar, salt and fat. And we have an unfettered desire and craving for these things that many of us actually can't control.

But modern capitalist America has capitalized on that and made sure that they put large dose of that in everything they give us. So how can we be making free choice when we're addicted? We are addicted to everything from sex and gambling to salt, sugar and fat.

Unless, you think this is a nanny state, what this is, is finally consumer protection. Remember, we don't have socialism here. We have neo-capital - sorry, neo-futilism. We are about 20 grams --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Who is that? I don't know if it was David or Jerry -- someone went -- who was that?

DOYLE: Both of us, I think.

HARSANYI: I think it was both of us.

LEMON: Go ahead, David, why?

HARSANYI: So, essentially what she's arguing is that you can coerce people now on any level because essentially we're addicted to everything, including sex. Well, if we are addicted to sex, as you just said, why don't we dictate promiscuity? Why are we allowed to do whatever we want in the bedroom? I mean, you know, there is no end to this. It's a slippery slope that has no end if we buy the idea that we can't control our choices and our behavior.

LEMON: Jerry --

WALSH: So, why not start somewhere?

LEMON: Before I let Jerry respond, I want to play devil's advocate here.

And Wendy, I'm going to be on your side here. A guy like Bloomberg, I mean maybe he's raising awareness. Remember Giuliani ten years ago, a lot of people thought the smoking ban went too far. Nowadays, a lot of New Yorkers seem to like it. So, maybe the soft drink thing, they'll like it and maybe will like the sugary -- maybe, they will like it and they'll realize this is good for me. I'm healthier now. Maybe their weight will go down and their health will get better.

Go ahead, Jerry.

DOYLE: It's I call the creeping incrementalism. It's easy to go after cigarettes, tobacco, gambling and drinking because that's the low-hanging fruit. But eventually they want to worm their way into every nook and cranny of your English muffin light.

Look. I smoke cigarette. It is really stupid. When you light something on fire and you breathe it in and your first reaction is to cough and shoot your eyeballs across the room it's probably not good for you. I pay a premium on my health insurance for that. I'm going to die sooner than I should. My life expectancy tables -- I actually cull myself from the herd and save the system money. It's my right to smoke a legal FDA-approved product. It's my right to drink soda. It's my right to eat fatty foods. It's my right to gamble. It's my right. It's my life. And if we start to take away the individual's ownership of their own lives, what, down the line, in creeping incrementalism does the government then say, they have the right to regulate?

LEMON: But, doesn't that affect other people? I mean.

WALSH: You guys are paranoid.

LEMON: Go ahead.

WALSH: Paranoid. OK. You are absolutely scared and paranoid. This is consumer protectionism. That's all this is.

DOYLE: Oh, come on.

WALSH: Let's protect children. Let's make sure that if you give a McDonald's toy, that there's enough vegetables and fruit in there. Let's figure out what are the reward systems that are biology craves and let's be careful that it's not exploited by corporations. That's all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was just a small part of it. So if you want to see more conversations like that, make sure you tune into our show at 10:00 Eastern on Saturday nights. It's off the chain. It's a great show.

Ok. Moving on now. Having it all: sure it's a great slogan, but makeup maven Bobbi Brown seems to have achieved that goal. How she gets it all done and why she thinks there is no glass ceiling.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Have you ever heard of a Type A minus personality? That's just what makeup guru Bobbi Brown says she is. The wildly successful woman also says she's never even seen the glass ceiling.

CNN's Alina Cho talked to Brown in a special series airing this week, "What Women Want".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALINA CHO, CNN HOST (voice-over): Makeup maven Bobbi Brown is not shy.

CHO: Fifty-five?

BOBBI BROWN, MAKEUP MAVEN: Fifty-five.

CHO: You're not shy about it.

BROWN: No, I'm not shy about it. CHO (voice-over): About her age or about her success.

BROWN: I never think about not being successful in what I do. And I'm -- I think it's a combination of courage and being naive. I just think, why not?

CHO: Oh, I love it.

BROWN: And you can use it on your lips, too.

CHO (voice-over): Brown started her company with in 1991 with 10 lipsticks.

BROWN: I was doing a shoot and I met a chemist. And I explained to him my dream is to find a lipstick that looked like lips.

CHO (voice-over): The idea took off. She sold 100 in the first day. Four years later, Estee Lauder's son, Leonard, came calling.

BROWN: He said you've done such an amazing job with your company. We can't beat you in the stores and I'd love to buy you. And I knew it was the right move. What mattered to me most was the integrity of the products, and new creative ideas. But I also wanted to be available to be the best mom that I could be and the best wife I could be.

CHO (voice-over): Brown sold but retains creative control. Today Bobbi Brown Cosmetics sells 21 million individual products a year.

Bobbi Brown the woman is a self-described type A-minus wife and mother of three.

CHO: I hate to say juggling it all but, I mean --

BROWN: Right. It's a lot. And people always say, "How do you do this?" Well, you know, some days work better than others.

Come in.

And maybe you will not have that top job because you do have three kids and a husband and you want your friends, so there are certain choices women make.

The pictures are great.

Even though I still do a lot of the little detail things myself.

CHO (voice-over): Like take out the trash the same week she lunches at the White House or uses what could be wasted time in the back of a car writing her books.

CHO: What about this whole notion of the glass ceiling for women?

BROWN: I've never seen the ceiling. Never. I don't see it. CHO (voice-over): Bobbi Brown's world is one that includes an in-office manicurist.

CHO: Why do you offer this?

BROWN: Because there's a lot -- we're in a beauty company and also look at how much time it saves. A lot of the working moms would love to get a manicure.

CHO: No kidding.

BROWN: No one ever has to say to me I can't make a meeting because of my kid's first day of kindergarten or the school play, or my kid's check-up. I get that.

CHO (voice-over): Another of Brown's priorities is giving back.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brand new today.

CHO (voice-over): With every appearance on QVC, she donates $25,000 to Dress for Success, a non-profit that gives career advice and professional clothing to underprivileged women; 100 percent of U.S. sales of this rouge pot also goes to the charity.

BROWN: Look how pretty it is.

CHO (voice-over): Empowering women by making them feel their best.

BROWN: Be who you are. That's my tag line.

CHO (voice-over): Brown's secret to beauty and success -- Alina Cho, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Be who you are. Amen, Bobbi, amen.

All right. After Yahoo! CEO caused a national outcry for banning work from home, the conversation about women's career and home life balance has grown even louder. Beginning tomorrow CNN will focus on various aspects of this conversation throughout the day. Make sure you watch "WHAT WOMEN WANT: WORK AND FAMILY", beginning tomorrow on CNN. It's going to be fascinating.

Coming up tomorrow, Queen Elizabeth is expected to make a historic move, one that many believe will promote gay rights and gender equality in all British nations.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Bottom of the hour now. It means it's time for your headlines on CNN.

A fire claimed seven lives at a home in rural southeastern Kentucky. Firefighters rushed to the scene yesterday and discovered the bodies of two adults and five children. Family members say the couple was expecting another child. The woman was the mother of three of the children. The other two were sleeping over.

New York City Council speaker Christine Quinn has officially tossed her hat into the race for mayor. The democrat is vowing to be an advocate for the middle class. If elected, Quinn would become New York City's first female and first openly gay mayor. Current mayor Michael Bloomberg is expected to endorse her when he leaves office next year.

And a member of Sweden's royal family died today. They called her Her Royal Highness Princess Lilian. Born in the United Kingdom, she was best known in Sweden for the storybook romance with the prince who would eventually become her husband. They weren't allowed to marry until they were in their 60s because she was a commoner. Princess Lilian died today. She was 97 years old.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth will go on live television tomorrow and do something many people say is which overdue. She will sign a charter that demands equal rights for people in 54 countries of the Commonwealth. And if you read between the lines it means the British crown is going on record in support of equal rights for gays and lesbians. This is a first. Our royal correspondent Max Foster has details from London.

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, this is the first time that the 54 countries in the Commonwealth (INAUDIBLE) document that really defines what that grouping is about. It's a very powerful grouping representing billions of people around the world. The interesting bit about this document which people are picking up on is this line that talks about those 54 countries opposing all forms of discrimination whether rooted in gender, race, color, creed, political, or other grounds.

Now, we're reading those other grounds as meaning sexuality, gay rights. The problem is many of the countries involved her have laws against homosexuality in those countries. So the wording wouldn't have worked in the charter, but nevertheless, it is seen as covered by this other grounds caveat. The Queen has never talked about gay rights in the past before, which is why so many people are interested in this, but I have to say, she's there in a ceremonial role. She only represents the Commonwealth. She wouldn't have been part of the writing of this document or in any decisions really amongst those Commonwealth countries.

I do expect her to talk about the Commonwealth charter, including everyone. So she's certainly putting it out there. Perhaps a first step towards speaking more about gay rights but some gay rights campaigners certainly feeling that she should be able to say those words in this modern age. Don?

LEMON: Thank you, Max.

So I want you to imagine this. "Living with a Borrowed Brain." That's exactly what one of my co-workers says she is doing. I heard her story, and I told her she needed to share it, and she's doing it. She's going to join me next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So look at this face right here. How could you not love this face? I don't mean me. I mean her. Well, all right, there's a picture of her. But I mean her on camera. That is a friend of mine, and she says she is living with a borrowed brain. It's still her brain but she says some days her brain feels pretty foggy. She can't read an entire book and sometimes she struggles to remembers people's names. She's only 28 years old.

Lindsay Corley is a fighter, an amazing woman who is brave enough to share her struggle to recover from a concussion. Her car skidded on black ice just over a year ago. The accident turned her world upside down. I'm very proud to say I know Lindsay Corley and she's here right now. Not only is she a friend, she works on my team. She works in the "Newsroom" and she works on my team sometimes. You went away for a while and I was like "Lindsay, what happened? Where did you go?" You said "Hey, I had a car accident." And you told me your story and I said "You should write about that. You should write about it." You came back and forth and you actually did write about it.

LINDSAY CORLEY, CNN ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: I did write about it.

LEMON: You did write about it and it's on cnn.com now. And it was number one on cnn.com for a while and it's called "Living with a Borrowed Brain." Right?

CORLEY: Yes, it is.

LEMON: So how did you get through this concussion? First, you thought you were going to die when your car skidded.

CORLEY: Yes, I thought I was going to die when the car skidded. I thought I'm going to be hit by traffic and this is it.

LEMON: Yes.

CORLEY: It's over.

LEMON: Yes. So how did you get through this?

CORLEY: Day by day, minute by minute. At first it seemed like I was fine. I walked away with no pain, no problem, and it wasn't until about a week later that I started to have symptoms and was diagnosed, and then it was like a downward spiral from then.

LEMON: You would - it would pain you to look at certain things like light. Tell us about like flashes of light would hurt.

CORLEY: It would pain me to look at light, every sound hurts, every time I would talk to people it was like I was struggling to even understand what they were saying. I was someone who would just read all the time and I couldn't even look at a sentence and really understand what was being said.

LEMON: Yes. It was only declarative sentences that you could understand. Like complex sentences you could not get.

CORLEY: I couldn't get it and I could not look at screens and understand what was going on.

LEMON: Yes. From someone as smart - I mean, Lindsay is one of the brightest people I know and for you, that's just - I mean that just must have floored you. Were you wondering what the heck is going on?

CORLEY: It was like my whole identity crashed in front of me.

LEMON: Yes.

CORLEY: I went from this person who could do so much to a person who couldn't do anything in a matter of moments and it was crazy.

LEMON: So you go to be checked out, and they said they didn't really understand because brain injuries are something that is trying to get a grasp on what's happening and the research. It's still evolving.

CORLEY: It is still evolving. For me they said you know, you have a concussion, and you should be better in a couple of weeks, and then in a couple weeks went by and I didn't get better. And then they said, well, you need to rest. And I thought, OK, well "I'll just try to push through it. I'll push through the pain" and I didn't get better. And then I finally did listen to the doctors and I rested and I didn't get better and I didn't get better. And months went by and I have been on a very, very long path now of trying to get better. But I do live in pain every day and I am affected by it.

LEMON: But you're 85 percent - you're at 85 percent now you think.

CORLEY: I am at 85 percent right now. But I do live and I hope every day that I go to 100 percent but I'm also at peace. Today I'm at peace with the fact that if I never get better or I never hit 100 percent, that's OK, too.

LEMON: Yes. But you will. You said this has changed you though in positive ways that you have more empathy for people, that you're more caring. You were a caring person before. You were snarky and you still are, but how has it changed you?

CORLEY: I think it's changed who I am in that I understand that who I am is not based on what I do. It is based on how I treat people and how people treat me and who is in my life. Because when I was in those moments when I couldn't do a lot, it was the people around me who kept me going. It was the people around me who take care of me, who fought for me, who continue to fight for me and continue to push me along in this journey and say, "You're not allowed to give up. We're going to stay with you."

LEMON: You don't need a lot of people in your life, like some people think they need a lot of people in their life especially young people in their 20s. They think they need a bunch of friends. You realized but if something traumatic happens, you just realize you just need good people around you. And usually it's old friends.

And then we have a mutual friend who we won't say, we say who are you? Who is that person now? You know, and so you don't necessarily need all those people. You have a book that you keep on your night stand that you can't read right now. But why do you keep it there?

CORLEY: I keep I there to remind myself to keep going. That is my goal is to read this book, and it's been there for about six months, and I'm never going to take it off because to me I want to be able to read this book again. Right now I can't. Right now I can read about a couple paragraphs and then I can't usually remember what I just read. But one day I'm going to read that book again.

LEMON: Yes, and listen, we're telling Lindsay's story not only because it's close to our heart but because brain injuries happen to a lot of folks. We usually hear about it with athletes. Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta has been doing a lot of stories on this and research as well, neurosurgeon, of course, has been doing this. And so, you're not alone. There are many people who suffer from the same injury, same concussion, same symptoms, same thing you're suffering from.

CORLEY: Yes, I mean, through this article -

LEMON: And so what advice would you give to them.

CORLEY: I would say number one to people is do take it day by day, and to find people around you to help you get through. You're not going to be able to do it on your own. It's OK to be weak. It's OK to be vulnerable. It's OK not to be perfect and it's OK to make mistakes.

LEMON: Yes, yes. Thank you. What's two plus two.

CORLEY: It's four!

LEMON: I said I was going to ask. Thank you, Lindsay. It's still on on CNN on the main page. "Living with a Borrowed Brain." Thank you.

CORLEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Good luck. I'll see you. Don't go anywhere.

OK. We'll be right back, right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, we know there are a lot of problems with the U.S. healthcare system. Tonight at 8:00 Eastern, CNN examines it in a special from CNN films "Escape Fire, the Fight to Rescue American Healthcare." Here is an excerpt.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hippocrates said "Let food be your medicine and medicine be your food." And I think that's a good place to start. As a society we have to make it easier and more affordable for people to make better lifestyle choices than worse ones.

There's the bright blue slush.

This is responsible for insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome and obesity and the artificial colors are not good for you. This is a major reason why we see kids getting fat in this country. Let's see what we got here, one of the great contributions in America to world cuisine, fake bread. We take grains and we have turned them into products like this, which rapidly raise blood sugar, provoke insulin responses, cause insulin resistance and promote weight gain in genetically susceptible people, which is most of us.

Some people this is all they eat is food of this sort it's not whole food as nature produces it, it has completely changed food. And, you know, our grandparents did not eat stuff like this. We have made all of this unhealthy food the cheapest and most available food.

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LEMON: Stay tuned for our CNN film special "Escape Fire: the Fight to Rescue American Healthcare." That's coming up at the top of the hour, 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

LEMON: Let me run a name by you. Chris Tomlin. Have you heard of him? Probably not, but he's one of the most successful song writers of all time. We'll hear from him when we come back.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

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LEMON: He has made it to the top of the Billboard charts with the best-selling album in America, but it's a good bet you haven't heard his name yet. Chris Tomlin has sold and made millions, and as CNN's Tom Foreman tells us, the source of Tomlin's mega success may surprise you.

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TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You may not know him by sight. You may not recognize his songs. But you are looking at a musical superstar. More people have heard Chris Tomlin's tunes than Katy Perry's, Adele's, and Kelly Clarkson's combined. Not bad for a humble kid who grew up in Texas just wanting to play guitar.

(on camera): At this moment, you are one of the most successful songwriters on the planet. Is that even comprehensible to you?

CHRIS TOMLIN, MUSICIAN: No one's ever said that to me. Especially with a camera in my face.

FOREMAN: What do you think about that?

TOMLIN: I don't think about that. That's not a motivator to me. Nothing compares to when I hear people say, I'm at church, this is a song we sing in our church. You know why, because I feel like at that point it's not attached to me anymore.

FOREMAN (voice-over): That is the secret to Tomlin's success. He writes worship music. Wildly popular compositions sung in tens of thousands of churches each Sunday by up to 60 million people, according to the company that measures music usage in churches. His following, which has slowly built over two decades, has brought everything any pop star might seek, top-quality videos, a fancy tour bus.

(on camera): How many miles do you think you've covered with your music?

TOMLIN: Oh, gosh, couple million for sure.

FOREMAN (voice-over): Clearly, millions of dollars, though he won't say how many, and earlier this year, his latest release "Burning Lights," emerged on Billboard as the best selling album in America.

TOMLIN: I remember seeing when Garth Brooks was Billboard number one, that must be the coolest thing in the history of the world.

FOREMAN (on camera): You really didn't think that could happen with your music.

TOMLIN: No, no, never.

FOREMAN (voice-over): His tunes are successful by most accounts because they are simple, straight forward, and they speak to religious listeners.

TOMLIN: How can I form this song that they can sing it, it's singable.

FOREMAN (on camera): That's what you strive for?

TOMLIN: I strive for trying to write something that people can sing, that people want to sing, and that people need to sing.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And it's a formula that could keep Chris Tomlin's music around long after he has left the stage.

Tom Foreman, CNN, Baltimore.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: It is the ultimate cliff hanger, a woman too terrified to jump gets a shove from her boyfriend.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JESSICA PALL: I'm breaking up with you!

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Did their relationship take a plunge? Jeanne Moos has the story next.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CREIGHTON BAIRD: I love you, right?

PALL: Please, don't push me off. Please don't.

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LEMON: It is a video millions of people have watched online. A woman afraid to go through with an extreme cliff jump gets shoved off the edge by her boyfriend. So, did their relationship survive the plunge?

Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with the cliff hanger ending.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When push came to shove, was it just a love nudge?

BAIRD: You know I love you, right?

PALL: Please don't push me off. Please don't.

BAIRD: I am not!

MOOS: Or did her then-boyfriend not take no for an answer?

BAIRD: I'm not going to push you. I'm not going to push you.

PALL: I felt like all my insides like moved up to my chest.

MOOS: By now millions have seen the infamous push, but this is the first time you'll hear her side of it, Jessica Pall and Creighton Baird, part of an extreme rope swing video being put together by Devin Graham, but when it was Jessica's turn to jump -

BAIRD: Three, two, one, zero!

MOOS: Even a countdown couldn't jump start her.

BAIRD: One, zero!

PALL: I don't want to do it.

MOOS: For 45 minutes she tried and then kiss turned to shove.

PALL: I'm breaking up with you!

BAIRD: I just got dumped.

MOOS: But before you say "You jerk," consider what Jessica told Creighton 45 minutes earlier.

PALL: You know, I'm really nervous about this. I don't know if I'll be able to jump. If I can't jump, you need to push me.

MOOS: When he did, his reputation took a dive as he told "Inside Edition."

BAIRD: I feel I have taken Chris Brown's spot as the worst boyfriend in America.

MOOS: Make that worst ex-boyfriend. Her, at the end of her rope line -

PALL: I'm breaking up with you!

MOOS: Had them in stitches on "Kimmel," but it turns out -

PALL: We've since broken up. Not anything to do with the video. I have zero hard feelings toward Creighton.

MOOS (on camera): The breakup happened about a month after the shove for reasons Jessica prefers to keep private. But when she climbed a rope back up the cliff to Creighton right after he pushed her -

PALL: I think I punched him first, but then I gave him a big hug and told him thanks for making it easy for me.

MOOS (voice-over): She says the reason she gave this interview, her first, was to clear his name. And though her one liner is already being parodied by boy scouts --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm breaking up with you!

MOOS: Creighton is no cretin.

PALL: He's not a monster. He's not mean. Nothing like Chris Brown, no offense Chris Brown.

MOOS (on camera): At least it was the relationship that ended up on the rocks and not Jessica.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Honey, honey!

MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN -

PALL: I'm breaking up with you.

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: See you back at 10:30. Thanks for watching.