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U.S., China Agree on North Korea; Plane Slams into Ocean; Kobe Out for a While; Interview with Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly

Aired April 13, 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: Happening right now on CNN, an incredible survival story, a plane crashes into the ocean, splits in two, and amazingly, everyone survivors.

One the NBA's best players hurt. And for Lakers fans, the news just got worse. Kobe is going to be out for quite a while.

She survived being shot in the head but Gabby Giffords still appreciates guns. We have an exclusive interview.

A cancer survivor in trouble for this license plate. What do you think it means?

You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Don Lemon.

We're going to begin tonight with United States and China, two countries in full agreement today that North Korea is a problem and promising to work together.

This is the face-to-face visit that produced this promise. This is the Secretary of State John Kerry on a full-court diplomatic press throughout Asia this weekend. It's his first time in China in his position and he says no more threats or threat back and forth. He wants a peaceful solution.

CNN's Kyung Lah is in Seoul for us live.

Kyung, what's the bigger headline here? That the U.S. and China are in rare agreement or that China is creating some distance from its ally North Korea?

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is absolutely that China is taking the slight step away from North Korea. China is the hand that feeds North Korea. It is the reason why North Korea can exist.

What the United States has focused on is if China can go ahead and use its powerful hand to slap North Korea, then there will be peace in the region. That was the goal for Secretary Kerry. This visit is critical to keeping peace in the region.

Listen to what Secretary Kerry said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KERRY, SECRETARY OF STATE: We both joined in stating that the United States and China remain fully committed to the September 2005 joint statement of the six-party talks and to its core goal. And that core goal is the verifiable denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAH: It is that return to the six-party talks. It is seen as the long term solution, the ultimate goal, the end game to try to keep North Korea from stopping the cycle of, you know, using this inflammatory language, threatening America, threatening South Korea and Japan, and trying to make sure that there is some end game to this. Of course, the place of the country with the biggest feet at that talk, it is certainly going to be China -- Don.

LEMON: Kyung, I want to ask you about this. Tell us if the South Korea people have showing any sign of tension or fear. I saw your pictures on Twitter, and it looks like people are more fired up about pop concerts than afraid of missiles from North Korea, quite frankly.

LAH: Well, that's absolutely right. And we actually are getting the sense from South Korea's government that they are feeling the tensions in this reason, which has risen to historic levels by some description as the highest since the end of the Korean War. It's now starting to deescalate. Part of that is Secretary Kerry coming to the region, trying to move toward peace talks.

And you also get the sense that Koreans, who are quite used to all of this hot air from North Korea, they've certainly moved on. The big news right now, it is Sunday morning here in South Korea, it was last night Psy, you may know him for "Gangnam Style", he had a concert. He debuted his new song, "Gentlemen," and that's really was getting some eyeballs here.

A lot of people talking about that, a lot of people excited about it. Certainly at the concert, you're not getting any sense that the DMZ is just an hour away. People are partying, having a good time, and trying to forget about this threat from the North.

LEMON: And they've been living with threats from the North for years. Thank you, Kyung. Appreciate your reporting.

I want to bring in Gordon Chang now. Gordon is here. He's a columnist with "Forbes" magazine and the author of the book, "Nuclear Showdown: North Korea Takes on the World."

Gordon, thank you for joining us. You know, it's Sunday morning already in the Korean peninsula.

You believe if the North Koreans are going to test-fire a missile, it's going to be today. Why are you so certain about that?

GORDON CHANG, FORBES MAGAZINE: Well, the North Koreans are unpredictable, but they unpredictability falls within certain patterns. They weren't going to test before Secretary Kerry left Beijing because that would be a real slap in the face of the Chinese. They've got to test before the 15th because they want to roll that out as a great achievement.

Well, that only leaves one day. By the way, when Secretary Kerry is in Tokyo, the North Korea's ark and missile over Japan, this is sort of like triple crown for the North Koreans. They -- first of all, they humiliate the United States, they intimidate the Japanese and they please the Chinese, who will just chortle over this.

LEMON: So, not going to do it when the secretary of the state is there, you believe, not going to happen.

CHANG: Well, I believe when he is in Tokyo, it will happen.

LEMON: When he's in Tokyo. OK.

CHANG: If by some chance, we get lucky and they don't, this would be fantastic. But I think they will because they've backed themselves into a corner by now.

LEMON: OK. So, let's say it does happen and North Korea does fire this missile, how will be U.S. then respond, Gordon?

CHANG: We're just going to watch it arc over Japan. We're going to be indignant afterward and we're not going to do anything. That's also a past pattern from us. So, I expect that there will be a lot of hot air from Washington but we won't see any real consequence.

LEMON: You saw our correspondent, I'm no not sure if you saw her before you, talking about China promising to work with the United States to mellow out Korea. She said that is a big headline here. Does China have enough influence with the new leadership to really make changes there?

CHANG: Well, they did if they wanted to exercise their influence. For various reasons they probably think they don't want to, because this is a very good dynamic for China. You know, the North Koreas act up, we send Secretary of Treasury Jack Lew.

We're sending, you know, Secretary Kerry, Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs goes to Beijing later. You know, we sort of feel beholden to China and the ruthlessly pragmatic Beijing just thinks that this is terrific.

And I don't actually think the Chinese have changed their position, because if you look at what their statements are, those are the statements we heard a decade ago. And indeed, if there is anything new, and Premier Li Keqiang did say something new, it was really to criticize Washington more than Pyongyang.

So, I don't think there's really been any progress here.

LEMON: All right. If there is a missile, Gordon Chang, we're going to need you. So, make sure you keep your cell phone on because we'll be calling you back. Thank you. Appreciate it.

CHANG: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: All righty.

Incredible video to show you, it shows a plane with a huge crack floating in the ocean. Amazingly, everyone on board survived. The Lion airplane carrying more than 100 people overshot a runway and slammed into the ocean near Bali, Indonesia. Passengers and rescue crews stood on a wing and everyone got out. No serious injuries have been reported so far.

Doug Sovern of San Francisco's KCBS Radio was at the airport when the crash happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DOUG SOVERN, WITNESSED PLANE CRASH (via telephone): What we're told at the airport is shortly after 3:30 p.m. local time, this incoming Lion Air domestic flight overshot the runway while I was landing, landed in the Indian Ocean, just off the coast here and split in half. Amazingly, they were able to get everyone out of the plane, sort of shade of miracle on the Hudson, people jumping out of the plane, somehow getting rescued from the inside of the aircraft. We saw a lot of fire engines, ambulances. We are told there were some minor injuries but everyone survived. About 100 passengers and crew, everyone got off safely, no one killed at least in the impact of the landing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Well, the plane, a Boeing 737, was about to land in Bali's airport when the crash happened. Lion Air says the plane is new and the pilot was fit to fly. Cause of the crash is being investigated.

Here in the U.S., a Senate aid tells CNN that a sweep immigration bill will include a cutoff date for undocumented immigrants who want to become citizens. Details are still being worked out, but the major points are expected to include a 13-year path for citizenship for undocumented immigrants and a provision that makes any undocumented immigrant who enters the United States after December 31st of 2011 ineligible for citizenship under the deal.

There's also a new system to assess border security. An applicant would have to pay a fine and back taxes and pass a background check. The deal is being put together by the Senate's so-called "gang of eight", four Democrats, four Republicans.

Senator Marco Rubio talks more about immigration reform with our Candy Crowley tomorrow morning on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION", beginning at 9:00 Eastern.

In the wake of Sandy Hook, controversy surrounds tonight's NASCAR race in Texas. Its sponsor, the NRA. We're talking with race fans about it, next.

And former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was nearly killed more than two years ago with a man with a gun. Today, she's trying to change gun laws but she still appreciates the weapon. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A demonstration for new gun restrictions. This was the scene today in Lansing, Michigan, an event organized by the group Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense America.

A couple hundred people gathered for the event, which was held on the grounds of the state capitol.

Tonight's big NASCAR race in Texas is generating unusual interest in the political world. That's because the race's primary sponsor is the National Rifle Association. A U.S. senator from Connecticut is upset by the choice of sponsor, but (INAUDIBLE) and a lot of race fans the talk of controversy overblown.

CNN's Susan Candiotti is at the Texas Motor Speedway -- Susan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is the NRA 500 at the Texas Motor Speedway all about politics or pure sports? For some, the answer is up for grabs.

(voice-over): It's race day and the action is heating up.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Party in the race.

CANDIOTTI: Along with a cookout grills -- as fans get revved up for the big event were the NRA 500. But the race and the National Rifle Association sponsorship of it have Connecticut Senator Chris Murphy worked up.

SEN. CHRIS MURPHY (D), CONNECTICUT: NASCAR and FOX should have been a little more sensitive to the families in the community of Newtown and stayed out of this debate.

CANDIOTTI: He's upset that NASCAR signed off on the NRA sponsorship negotiated by the Texas Motor Speedway, especially now when gun control legislation is about to be debated.

MURPHY: They could have found another sponsor for this race. They could have waited until after the debate to have them sponsor a race.

CANDIOTTI: NASCAR says the NRA began brokering the sponsorship before the Newtown shootings. After 26 children and teachers were killed, NASCAR donated money to Newtown. And at the Daytona 500 in February, race car driver Michael Winthrop won praise for painting his number 26 car in tribute to victims.

Last month, the NRA 500 airing on FOX was announced.

MURPHY: It gives the impression that FOX and NASCAR are endorsing the NRA's position.

CANDIOTTI: NASCAR flatly denies taking sides. But Senator Murphy says that's not how must will say it. FOX isn't commenting. A source says the network is obligated by contract to air the race. A track president isn't hiding his feelings about Senator Murphy.

EDDIE GOSSAGE, PRESIDENT, TEXAS MOTOR SPEEDWAY: The American public is not engaged in this, but the senator keeps trying to stir it up. I can appreciate that. He's in Connecticut and we're in Texas. His values don't fly here.

CANDIOTTI: Race officials point out the NRA isn't handing out flyers but a lot of people are posing for photos at its booth. Fans are mainly focused on the race, not politics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The NRA has a right to sponsor an event in any state that they see fit.

CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you think this race is about sports or politics? How would you describe this race?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's sports. I believe it's all about sports.

CANDIOTTI: The speedway may be downplaying the controversy, but with the NRA branding a race in this political climate, NASCAR says it is listening and will rethink its sponsorship approval process going forward -- Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Susan, thank you very much.

One of the NBA's best players seriously hurt. And for Lakers fans, the news well, it just got worse. Kobe is going to be out for quite a while. That, plus, we're live from the Masters, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Basketball fans won't see Kobe Bryant on the court for a long time. The L.A. Lakers star will be out for at least six months after tearing his Achilles tendon. Similar injuries have ended the careers of some other players. But the Lakers trainer says the plan is to have Kobe back by the start of the next season. OK? That's a big story.

Also this one, Tiger Woods took a beating today, at least on his scoreboard. Woods was penalized two strokes on the Masters for violation that was on Friday. And he's lucky it wasn't worse because he could have been disqualified.

CNN's Rachel Nichols joins me now from Augusta, Georgia, with more.

So, Rachel, is Tiger still a threat? Can he win tomorrow?

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, he certainly thinks so. I mean, it's guaranteed he's probably going to have an easier day tomorrow than he did today. He woke up this morning thinking he was actually in good shape going into his Masters Saturday. And then he got a text from his agent that said, call me -- probably not what you want in this position because the message, once he did pick up the phone and call was the rules officials want to see you. Came in, talked it over with you and was assessed that two-point penalty for an illegal drop that he took the day before. It put him behind for the whole round.

You know he played OK today. It wasn't enough to make up the difference. He is going to have his work cut out for him tomorrow. Although, as you point out, he is still here.

He was asked today after his round if he ever thought maybe he would just be disqualified. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TIGER WOODS, FOUR-TIME MASTERS CHAMPION: None, because under the rules of golf I can play. So, you know, that's -- I was able to play and they said go ahead.

I don't go on the Internet during tournaments like this. There's a lot of stuff said. So, I stay away from the media. I was surprised what had transpired. Evidently, I made a mistake and incurred a two- shot penalty.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Tiger is four back going into tomorrow's round. He has never won a major playing from behind. So, that will certainly be a challenge for him.

You know, Don, this whole infraction was originally called in by a television viewer and Bubba Watson, the defending champion, took issue with that after his round today saying, hey, viewers can't just call in and change the course of a football game or a basketball game. But I did speak to a Master's official who said this is the way that they do it. They do it at golf tournaments all over the world like this. The lines are open. They will remain open tomorrow, and not surprisingly, he said, they did get a rise in phone calls today.

LEMON: Interesting. Let's move on now and talk about Kobe Bryant, OK, Rachel?

The Lakers say that he could be back at the start of the season. Is it likely? I understand you have some new information, of course, don't you?

NICHOLS: Well, the healing period is six to nine months but that would be very optimistic. But then, again, Kobe, as we know, is a very aggressive worker. New information is that he is now out of surgery and we had gotten a very unusual glimpse into a superstar's injury recovery process, at least the beginning of it.

Kobe has been tweeting and Instagraming all day. He actually called himself Mrs. Doubtfire in a jerri curl cap. He has had good humor about that which is certainly better than he had right after the injury. We saw in tears in the locker room afterward.

And then I also want you take a look at what he posted on Facebook in the middle of the night last night. Now, he acknowledged in his post this is probably fueled a little bit by Vicodin but it was very insightful into what his thinking was.

He was talking about how upset he was. He said, "The frustration is unbearable, the anger is raged. I'm supposed to come back from this and be the same player, or better, at age 35? How in the world am I supposed to do that? I have no clue. Maybe father time has defeated me. Then again maybe not.

It's 3:30 a.m., my foot feels like dead weight, my head is spinning from the pain meds. Stop feeling sorry for yourself," he wrote. "We don't quick, we don't cower, we don't run. We endure and conquer."

So, that gives you a little bit of his mind state, Don, because this is an injury where at 34 years old, certainly there are a lot of athletes who could just say, you know what, I'm calling it a career, I'm walking away. Kobe Bryant has made it clear, as much as he was upset by this injury, he's not going anywhere.

LEMON: All right. Rachel Nichols at Augusta -- thank you, Rachel.

Gabby Giffords survived being shot in the head but she still has a deep appreciation for guns.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's aiming for my pot. Whoa!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We're going to take you to target practice as the former congresswoman cheers on her husband.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords plans to go to Washington next week just as the Senate will be immersed in debate over new gun legislation.

CNN's chief congressional Dana Bash met with Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, over two days for an inclusive interview. They talk about why they still own guns, their campaign for universal background checks and Gifford's remarkable recovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Don, more than two years ago, former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head at point blank range while she was meeting with her constituents in Arizona. She is still on a journey of recovery. She has come a long way for sure, but still has to face some new realities.

We spent two days with Giffords and her husband at home and got an intimate look at their new life.

(voice-over): What's most shocking about Gabby Giffords now is how much she looks like her old self, her golden locks are back, the sparkle in her eye. Gone is the short hair and thin frame we saw at the beginning of her recovery.

But she knows he will never be the same.

(on camera): In your recovery process, do you want to find and discover the old Gabby Giffords, or do you want to sort of rediscover another new Gabby Giffords?

GABRIELLE GIFFORDS, GUNSHOT VICTIM: Stronger, stronger, better, tougher -- stronger, better, tougher.

BASH (voice-over): Being with Giffords, it's immediately clear she understands virtually everything going on around her. She follows conversation, reacts, offers unsolicited ideas but it is still a huge struggle to turn her ideas and thoughts into words -- like when trying to explain how she spend her days.

GIFFORDS: Occupation therapy, yogurt.

MARK KELLY, GABBY GIFFORDS' HUSBAND: Yoga.

GIFFORDS: Yoga, yoga.

BASH: The right-handed Giffords still has no use of her right hand. That arm is paralyzed. So is her right leg. She wears a brace and literally drags it with her good left leg to walk. She also doesn't see very well.

(on camera): How is your vision?

GIFFORDS: Not really.

BASH: Not great.

GIFFORDS: Not great at all.

KELLY: So Gabby is blind to the right side, right, in both eyes.

GIFFORDS: Both eyes.

KELLY: So she has no peripheral vision to the right at all. So, she's looking at you, she can't see anything to the right of center.

BASH: Nothing over there?

KELLY: Yes.

BASH (voice-over): But you can easily see how she and her husband Mark Kelly keep her spirit, humor.

KELLY: Which is good for me to like, I want to sneak up on her --

BASH: You wouldn't do that, would you?

KELLY: Oh, yes, all the time. I'll come from that direction. You wouldn't want to come from this direction.

BASH: For Giffords and Kelly, a retired astronaut and space shuttle commander, this is the new normal.

KELLY: It's different in good ways too, in a lot of good ways.

BASH: Like living and working together now.

GIFFORDS: I'm just looking forward to making a change in the fall.

BASH: Before she was shot, they had a commuter marriage. She jetted between her congressional district in Tucson, Arizona, and worked in Washington, D.C. He lived in Houston, Texas, where he worked at the space center.

This is the first home they bought and lived in together.

Another plus, before Giffords was shot she has had a rocky relationship with Kelly's two teenage daughters from a previous marriage.

(on camera): But the sort of tense relationship you've had with your daughters, it's changed.

GIFFORDS: Yes, it's changed.

BASH: So, that's a positive that has come out of this tragedy.

KELLY: A lot better.

BASH: A lot better.

KELLY: They've also grown up a little bit too. And, you know, as a family, we've evolved because of certainly, you know because of what happened. So it's brought us all closer together.

BASH (voice-over): Giffords now fully understands that six people died and 13 were injured because a deranged young man, Jared Loughner, set out to assassinate her. In fact, she brought him up unsolicited.

GIFFORDS: Loughner --

BASH: Kelly spoke at his sentencing as Giffords sat stoically staring Loughner down.

(on camera): To sit in the courtroom and look at the man who shot you through the head, what was that like.

GIFFORDS: Beady eyes.

KELLY: Well, yes, he had some interesting expressions on his face and she did not look away. She stared him --

GIFFORDS: Beady eyes.

BASH: Did he look back at you?

GIFFORDS: Yes.

BASH: Did you get a sense that there was any kind of remorse, any kind of understanding of what he put you through and what he did to the six people who didn't survive?

GIFFORDS: I'm so sad, mentally ill.

BASH (voice-over): Newly released court documents reveal that Loughner's parents knew something was wrong and he heard voices and exhibited other alarming behavior and they did not get him help.

(on camera): I'm curious, have you ever heard from his parents.

GIFFORDS: No.

KELLY: No.

BASH: Would you want to?

GIFFORDS: Not really.

KELLY: You know, as a parent, you know you certainly on one level you can empathize with someone who went through that, where a kid just does a horrific thing. At the same time, you know, there were indications of his mental illness. The school knew about it, his parents knew about it and he didn't seem to have a lot of options for good treatment.

BASH (voice-over): Giffords suffered yet another tragedy a few months ago. Her fathers Spencer with whom she had a special bond died suddenly. He taught her a lot about humor, strength and responsibility handing her to the keys to his tire business when she was just 26 years old.

Giffords' grit and determination also comes from her mother, Gloria, a force of nature, an artist whose home is in the middle of the desert, miles from civilization. You have to go off road to get there. So many desert rocks that on the way home Kelly got a flat tire.

KELLY: You should lower the tire.

BASH: He took this cell phone video of Giffords, daughter of a tire salesman and expert tire changer in her own right out in the dark helping.

GIFFORDS: I'm kind of concerned about the -

BASH: Her bond with her mother is tighter than ever. Gloria Giffords sat by her daughter's hospital bed for countless hours and plays a central role in Giffords' recovery and there may be a sliver of hope for Giffords, now age 42, to have a child of her own. When she was shot, she was trying to get pregnant with fertility treatment. (on camera): You were in the middle of IVF, hoping to have a baby.

KELLY: Yes.

BASH: Obviously the challenges are quite different now.

KELLY: Yes.

BASH: They still have two frozen embryos but given Giffords' injuries, they would likely have to use a surrogate.

GIFFORDS: I don't know.

KELLY: You know, we talked about it. We talked about it. Haven't made a decision.

BASH (voice-over): Sure, Giffords has her moments of frustration and anger but that does not define her.

(on camera): Not resentful?

GIFFORDS: No.

BASH: How is that possible?

GIFFORDS: Move ahead. Move ahead. I'm happy.

BASH: You are happy. Where does it come from? How do you keep this kind of optimism given what you've been through and what you're still going through.

GIFFORDS: I want to make the world a better place. I want to make the world a better place.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: CNN's Dana Bash reporting.

These days for Giffords trying to make the world a better place means lobbying for her former colleagues to pass new gun laws aimed at curbing gun violence. When we come back, Giffords and Kelly talk about their efforts and they invited Dana Bash to watch Kelly do something that may surprise you. Target practice with the practice, looking on.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was nearly killed more than two years ago by a man with a gun. Today her brain injuries makes speaking difficult. But she has become an active spokeswoman for new restrictions on guns.

CNN's chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash visited Giffords and her husband, Mark Kelly, for an exclusive interview at their home in Arizona. She saw firsthand that Giffords and Kelly are still deeply immerse in the gun culture. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BASH (voice-over): Gabby Giffords will never be the same after being shot through the head. Yet one thing hasn't changed, ironically her appreciation for guns. In fact target practice is still a form of entertainment at her mother's house deep in the Arizona desert.

GIFFORDS: Watch this, he's aiming for my pot.

BASH: Husband Mark Kelly using planting pots and water bottles as targets while Giffords watches from the patio with her mother, cheering him on.

GIFFORDS: Excellent. Excellent.

BASH: Kelly isn't shooting with just any kind of gun.

KELLY: This is the same kind of gun Gabby was shot with, a glock, a 9-millmeter Glock. But in that case, it had a magazine that held 33 rounds. This when it's full holds 17. He shot 33 rounds. Every round hit somebody, we think.

BASH (on camera): How long have you had this gun?

KELLY: Well, I gave this to Gabby as a gift.

BASH: When?

KELLY: A number of years ago. She's a gun owner. You know, she's from the west.

BASH (voice-over): Still, we asked the question a lot of incredulous people seem to seem would ask.

(on camera): Really this guy sort of gets his kicks or recreation for him is shooting a gun after his wife was shot through the head?

KELLY: Well Gabby used to like shooting a gun too occasionally.

GIFFORDS: Yes.

KELLY: Not all the time.

And you know, Gabby owns the same type of gun she was shot with. She didn't want to get rid of it.

So now there's a round in the chamber.

BASH: To be sure, this is meant to serve a very political purpose to show Giffords and Kelly are legitimate gun owners and credible messengers for their new cause, tightening gun restrictions. In fact Kelly also showed us a gun he recently bought and videotaped for the sole purpose of demonstrating how easy it is to get a background check and why he and Giffords want it expanded to private sales, like gun shows. KELLY: And when we timed it took five minutes and 36 seconds. Not a lot of time. You could do the same thing at the gun show where people are currently not subject to a background check in most states.

BASH: Giffords and Kelly formed their organization, Americans for Responsible Solutions, in January, the second anniversary of the tragic shooting that left Giffords partially paralyzed and robbed the once articulate politician of her gift of speech.

GIFFORDS: Optimistic.

KELLY: You're optimistic.

GIFFORDS: Optimistic.

KELLY: And I am, too, I'm especially when we're talking about a universal background check.

BASH: The Sandy Hook shooting spurred them to take a stand.

GIFFORDS: Sandy Brook.

KELLY: Sandy Hook.

BASH: Brain damage from Giffords' own gun shot wound makes it difficult for her to find words, even Sandy Hook.

GIFFORDS: Sandy Brook.

KELLY: Sandy Hook.

GIFFORDS: Sandy Brook.

KELLY: Sandy Hook Elementary. You know, it's something we just can't, you know - 20 first graders died.

GIFFORDS: It's awful.

BASH: The couple originally called for a ban on assault weapons and limits to high capacity magazines. Giffords made a dramatic plea to senators.

GIFFORDS: Be bold, be courageous, Americans are counting on you.

BASH: But they now admit there are limits on what is politically realistic.

(on camera): If you were to make the number one thing that Congress could do to prevent the kind of violence that you were the victim of, what would it be?

GIFFORDS: Background checks.

KELLY: Yes, certainly. Without a doubt.

BASH (voice-over): Giffords has learned to navigate an iPad for e- mail with her left hand because her right hand is paralyzed. But most of her communicating with former colleagues pressing them for new gun laws goes through Kelly mostly on the phone though she doesn't have to say much to make her point, especially in person.

KELLY: When Gabby sits in their office and tells them how important a universal background check bill is, they hear that. She's a former colleague. She was doing her job like they do every single day when she was nearly killed.

BASH: When Giffords was in Congress, she represented red Arizona district on the Mexican border filled with voters who expected her to defend her gun rights. She pushed to over turn a gun ban in the District of Columbia and voted to allow guns in national parks. A conservative democrat herself, she knows firsthand how politically hard it is for her former colleagues to support gun restrictions.

GIFFORDS: It's tough.

KELLY: It can be a tough and that's because of the influence of the NRA, you know, and the gun lobby.

BASH (on camera): And what do you think about the NRA's argument that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.

GIFFORDS: It doesn't work.

BASH (voice-over): But realistically had she not been shot would the pro-gun congresswoman been open to voting for stricter gun laws?

(on camera): Candidly would you have said yes.

GIFFORDS: Yes.

KELLY: I think it depends on what those measures were.

GIFFORDS: Yes.

KELLY: Gabby was middle of the road.

GIFFORDS: Middle of the road. Straight in the middle.

BASH (voice-over): There is no question the gun culture is deeply ingrained in Giffords, it has to be to still expose herself to guns even after her near fatal shooting.

(on camera): What's it like to sit and hear the gunshot go off. Does it startle you?

GIFFORDS: No.

KELLY: Well I think that's because she doesn't remember the gunshot going off the day she was injured. You don't remember that.

GIFFORDS: No.

BASH: If you could, would you shot a gun today? GIFFORDS: Yes.

KELLY: We've talked about it. Gabby has actually held it, hasn't shot one since she's been injured, but a few days ago she was actually trying to aim with it with her left hand.

BASH: Is it your hope to be able to shoot a gun again?

GIFFORDS: No. I don't know.

BASH: Not a big priority in your life.

GIFFORDS: Not really.

KELLY: It's not a the top of her list.

BASH (voice-over): Still what devastatingly altered her life now infuses her life with purpose.

(on camera): I've seen it written It's iron any that you are such a good spokesperson for new laws to curb gun violence because you can't speak very well.

KELLY: Yes, I guess that's kind of maybe, maybe it's bad irony. I don't know. It's something that -

GIFFORDS: Stinks.

KELLY: It stinks. It stinks.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: Giffords and Kelly said they're heartened by a new bipartisan compromise deal to expand background checks. But note that's just the first step. They plan to be in Washington next week just as the senate begins the debate on the gun issue in earnest. Don.

LEMON: Thank you very much. Dana Bash, interesting report.

We'll be right back with more news here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. I have a question for you. Is the most watched cable network Netflix? Well Reed Hastings, the Netflix CEO recently posted this on Facebook. He said subscribers watched four billion hours of Netflix shows in the last three months. One big shot media analyst said this might make the video on demand service the most cable network. Now obviously Netflix isn't on cable and it's in just 28 million, not 100 million homes like big cable networks. But it is providing or proving to be a big player in our living room.

Tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, we're going to take a look at "Sex in the Silicon Valley." And our Laurie Segall joins us now.

So you recently went to California. Give us a little taste of what we're going to see tonight at 10. You talked with some sex workers that have tailored their skill sets to the geeks in the Silicon Valley.

LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY, TECH CORRESPONDENT: I did. Sure, Don, you think the sex workers, obviously the oldest profession. They go with where the money is. Look at tech in the last four or five years, doing well, a lot of venture capital pouring in and these women are really catering to that. But what's interesting about how these women are catering to it is really how they're marketing to that geek guy and they say they're making a lot of money. Listen to this. Don.

LEMON: All right.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL (on camera): How much money have you made?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've made close to a million dollars.

SEGALL: A million dollars.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Close to a million dollars.

SEGALL: (INAUDIBLE) new technology, why did you decide to start using it for your sex work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I thought that it was easy and it was something that I could - it was very portable. The way it would typically work is I would bill before the session.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a Tumblr Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, I have two web sites and I have Google Voice.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SEGALL: So what's interesting is they're using the technology when they're catering to these people, they're using the technology of the people they're catering to kind of get ahead, if you will, Don.

LEMON: Whatever works. So what do they - are they dressing up as, I don't know - are there lots of glasses and updos like librarians or -

SEGALL: The women we spoke to are wearing shirts that say geeks make better lovers. They talk about coding. I mean, they love comic books. I mean, these women, they're going all out. They're really interested in this kind of stuff.

LEMON: Some of these women could actually be labeled as sex therapists. What is that all about? They said, you know, no me, you think about catering to the geeks, geeks have no game, this is what they say, and so they want to capitalize on this. They consider themselves entrepreneurial in a sense. And you know, they said they're getting paid to be coaches. Listen to what these women. Listen to what they told me.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A lot of them are guys that probably didn't get a lot of women in high school and they want to tips on how to get the hot girls that they didn't get prior to having the millions that they have now.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you explain it to them in a way that's like it's a formula, and if you know the secret to the formula, then you can fulfill that formula. Then they say oh. Math. It's math.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I speak geek.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I speak geek.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're bringing a little tongue in cheek. This is serious business. They make a lot of money. What do you have for us coming up tonight at 10:00?

SEGALL: We have a high-tech dungeon. You would have no idea where this thing is. It's right outside San Francisco. We've got more on this story coming up at the 10:00 p.m. hour. So you've got to tune in.

LEMON: We will. It's going to be very interesting. A lot of money to be made. There's a lot of money in the Silicon Valley. Thank you very much. We'll see you at 10:00, Laurie.

Next, a cancer survivor in trouble for this license plate. What do you think it means? The owner says it's not what many people believe.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In Oklahoma a cancer survivor is in trouble with the state for putting this vanity license plate on his car. The tax commissioner said it's offensive and wants it changed but the driver says his plate is being misunderstood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WILLIAMS, BRAIN CANCER SURVIVOR: My F stands for fight. Some people look at it as a different word. But I'm fighting brain cancer. I've had it for about 2 1/2 years now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Nick Williams plans to appeal directly to the Oklahoma Tax Commission tomorrow.

He dished up inside information about restaurant business in his book "Kitchen Confidential." Then he served up wanderlust in the TV show "No Reservations." Now the table is set for Anthony Bourdain's next adventure, "Parts Unknown." It's debuting tomorrow right here on CNN. I want you to take a listen to my conversation with Bourdain as he offers a sneak peek of his new show.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So tell us what we can expect. I mean, we know what to get from Anthony Bourdain, but what are we going to get on CNN? Are we going to get exotic locations? What else?

ANTHONY BOURDAIN, HOST "PARTS UNKNOWN": I think, I hope, entertainingly schizophrenic. Meaning there will be lighthearted shows of me shoving delicious food into my face in European capitals and there will be dark, hard to make shows in places like Libya and the Congo. There will be, you know, small, tight focus stories told through the - from the point of view of maybe a few characters and bigger picture stories. I'll continue to look at the world as somebody - from the point of view of an eater and a former chef. But I guess on a bigger scale, coming to CNN has allowed me to tell a lot of stories and go a lot of places that would have been impossible anywhere else.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, CNN brings you the world as Bourdain and his crew travel to Myanmar, to Colombia, Libya, Peru, and much, much more. "Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown" starts tomorrow 9:00 Eastern, 6:00 Pacific only on CNN.

A disturbing video from Lincoln, Nebraska. A bus driver attacks a passenger. We'll tell you what sparked this violence and what happened next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Shocking video out of Lincoln, Nebraska has landed a bus driver in legal trouble. Security video shows an unidentified passenger suddenly attacked by the driver after asking a question about the bus route. The driver pummels the man with more than a dozen blows, then drags the man off the bus and leaves. Afterward the 43-year-old driver, Troy Fisher, informs his supervisors that he threw an unruly passenger off the bus, adding it wasn't pretty. Then he asks his supervisor not to watch the video and asks whether it can be erased. Fisher was cited for misdemeanor assault, and he was fired from his job.

A 63-year-old man was set on fire inside his SUV in Long Beach, California. Police say a man walked up and tossed flammable liquid through the SUV's window. It happened last night. This happened outside a convenience store. A good samaritan helped get the man out of the vehicle. He's in critical condition with burns on most of his body. Police captured a suspect and booked him on attempted murder charges. Residents say the suspect is a transient who frequently hangs out near the convenience store.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. Thank you for joining us. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern with more of my conversation with Anthony Bourdain. "CNN PRESENTS: DAY OF TERROR: REMEMBERING THE OKLAHOMA CITY BOMBING." It begins right now.