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Anderson Cooper 360 Degrees
Iran's Breaking Point?; Pilot Dies in Mid-Flight; Angelina Jolie's Plea; Caught in the Crossfire; America's High: The Case For and Against Pot
Aired June 18, 2009 - 23:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST: Breaking news and possibly a breaking point, a day of mourning in Iran. Hundreds of thousands taking to the streets as pressure mounts on the regime.
And on President Obama, under fire from Republicans for his stance toward the demonstrations.
Also tonight, my exclusive new interview with Angelina Jolie, talking about the worst humanitarian crisis in a decade. Her emotional plea as she remembers refugee kids she's helped and those she's lost.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELINA JOLIE, GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, UNHCR: And he passed away a few months after I was there. And so I always wondered, you know, it's those kind of young people that you meet and you just think, God, in any other situation if this person had been given a chance, what an extraordinary adult he would have been.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: And then "America's High: The Case For and Against Pot." Could your neighbor be growing pot in his garage or bedroom? You might be surprised what police are finding in some homes and neighborhoods. We'll have it for you ahead.
But we begin with the death in the cockpit. The veteran captain of a Continental Airlines flight died suddenly at the controls of the jet today. It happened over the Atlantic with 247 passengers aboard.
Randi Kaye has the latest on this very rare sudden tragedy -- Randi.
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, this story is just as bizarre as it is tragic. We're learning some new details tonight from the wife of pilot Craig Lenell. And I can tell you that those details are very heartbreaking. Here's what we know right now.
She said that the co-pilot looked over at her husband and thought he was sleeping. She said the co-piloted nudged him, tried to wake him, only to realize he wasn't sleeping but that he was dead. Immediately, the other pilots took control of the plane and called for a doctor on board but it was too late. The pilot was dead. They'd been married since 1973. She said at age 60 her husband was very healthy.
In fact, he missed his first day of work in 32 years with Continental Airlines about a year and a half ago when his appendix burst. But what makes the story even more painful is the reason this pilot was returning home in the first place. It is another tragic twist.
I'll tell you all about that in just a few minutes, Anderson. Also, we'll address how airlines prepare for this and whether or not these pilots are actually required to get these health checks and how often.
COOPER: Imagine being midair, international flight and finding out your pilot is dead. They didn't know that until they landed. We'll have details ahead. More on that shortly.
Now breaking news from Iran: the growing unrest, it is already Friday there, a new day dawning. A new demonstration planned.
On this Thursday, we saw another massive rally. The images the Iranian government doesn't want you to see. A sea of black through the streets of Tehran, a peaceful protest mourning the eight demonstrators that we know of who died, denouncing the outcome of the Presidential election as well.
The pictures sent to us in iReports, amateur video from Facebook, YouTube, across the Internet. Listen.
The sights, the sounds of peaceful protest, that's the reality. But these are the images that are being shown on Iranian television. The images you just saw are being censored in Iran itself. This is what Iranian state television has on their two channels right now. No mention of the silent protest, no mention of the growing unrest.
Most western reporters have been told to leave. CNN's Reza Sayah is one of the few western journalists still allowed to broadcast from within Iran. But he's only being allowed to file one report a day. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Even sequestered in our hotel by government order, the sounds of protests could just barely be heard from the night. Voices shouting "God is great" from rooftops, faces hidden in the dark.
On the streets during the day, throngs of protesters gather for a sixth day in support of Mir Hossein Mousavi, the disgruntled candidate demanding a new vote. This time, their trademark green replaced with the color of mourning in memory of at least seven protesters killed Monday. Amateur video showed thousands of Mousavi supporters in what has become another trademark. A silent march, cell phones silenced, too, apparently cut-off across this city during the rally. Riot police had little excuse for a crackdown.
So for the third consecutive day, no violence; but two hours into the rally, the silence was broken. Mousavi himself arrived but hardly anyone could hear him. For this crowd just seeing his defiance was enough. A defiance that may already be creating cracks within the regime.
Iran's powerful speaker of parliament, Ali Larijani, blamed the Interior Ministry for the vicious crackdown on civilians earlier in the week. Another lawmaker blasted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for calling Mousavi supporters hooligans, forcing the president to go on state television to defend himself.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): I was addressing those who started riots and set up fires and attacked people. I said, "They are nothing." They're not even part of the nation of Iran.
SAYAH: Never since the 1979 Islamic Revolution has Iran seen this much political turmoil. The pressure also building on Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. The nation eager to hear what he has to say when he speaks at Friday prayers.
If he endorses President Ahmadinejad, he could face the wrath of the massive movement behind Mousavi, call for a revote and he could undermine Iran's conservative regime, even his own leadership.
(on camera): For the first time all week, Mousavi supporters have not called for a rally so all eyes will be on Ayatollah Khamenei and his speech. What he will say could be a turning point in this historic political drama.
Reza Sayah, CNN, Tehran.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: That will be happening over the next several hours. Now, at the center of today's peaceful demonstration, Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition leader, the man who many have believed may have won the election or at least did not do as badly as the official results indicate.
These pictures are from a CNN iReporter, he's name is Shervidn, he's 24, an amateur photographer. He says when Mousavi appeared everyone started cheering and shouting.
Today's Iran's government said it would meet with Mousavi and the other opposition candidates but at the same time the Islamic Republic appears to be cracking down on the throngs protesting the results.
As you saw in Reza's report, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again addressing the nation saying quote, "Everybody is victorious. And that the official results prove he was the overwhelming winner."
Abbas Milani is the director of Iranian Studies at Stanford University. He joins me again tonight.
Professor, what do you make of the fact that the protests are continuing and yet we seem to be seeing a decrease in violence?
ABBAS MILANI, DIRECTOR OF IRANIAN STUDIES, STANFORD UNIVERSITY: I think the regime have decided that at this time, violence is not serving their cause well. I think they have to wait tomorrow -- for tomorrow's speech will, I think, set the tone for the coming days.
If Mr. Khamenei decides to stay with Ahmadinejad, my guess is that they will then begin to be more violent towards the demonstrators in the days ahead. And you can expect tomorrow for the regime to also pull all the stops and try to bring as many people from around the country to Tehran as they can.
We already know that they are bussing people in; they want to show a force of their own. So it will be an interesting scene for them to show their forces. And for that reason, both camps, Mr. Mousavi and Mr. Karrubi who had invited their supporters to come to demonstrate. This Friday, have asked them to stay home and unless there will be violent confrontation.
COOPER: Let me play devil's advocate for a moment, because there are -- those supporters of Ahmadinejad in Iran who will say, these pictures that we're seeing, these demonstrations that we're seeing they look powerful but they are misleading.
Because Mousavi did win in fact in Tehran; he has a lot of support there. But elsewhere throughout the country of Iran, Ahmadinejad won. So they would say, well, of course, in Tehran you're going to see bigger demonstrations ,but there are millions of people elsewhere in Iran who support Ahmadinejad.
MILANI: Well, first of all, I think it is wrong to assume that these demonstrations are limited to Tehran. The media is in Tehran. That's why we get reports from there.
We have very credible reports from various Esfahan from Shiraz, from Mashhad, from Tabriz about similar, very large demonstrations. Moreover, if you look at some of the figures that are coming out, the fact that they have cheated is becoming every passing day more undeniable.
Mr. Rezaei who is the least radical of the three supposedly losing candidates in his recent letter today points to 140 different cities where the total number of votes for Mr. Ahmadinejad exceeds by 100 percent, sometimes 140 percent of the citizens of -- total citizens of that city.
COOPER: Let me ask you a very basic question. I know it may sound like a stupid question. But a lot of folks who don't understand the inner workings of the Iranian government; the Supreme Leader, this Ayatollah who is going to be making a speech at prayers Friday, how -- I mean, he is said to be the ruler of the country, the biggest power in the country. But Ahmadinejad is the president. So what is the relationship between the two? Who's really the power in Iran?
MILANI: The real power in Iran is no doubt the cleric, Mr. Khamenei, who is elected not directly by the people, who cannot be impeached by the people. And as Mr. Khatami, for example, who has served as the president twice said about 80 percent of real power rests in the hands of this un-elected, un-impeachable person.
The president is directly related -- elected by the people and he controls the governing bureaucracy. He controls the set of organizations that provide some services to the people. But the spiritual leader, Mr. Khamenei is the one who sets overall policy and he's the one who makes all the major decisions, both domestically and internationally; the kinds of decisions that set the pattern and the overall policy.
COOPER: Which is why the speech on Friday is going to be so important.
Professor Abbas Milani, we appreciate again, your expertise. Thank you, sir.
MILANI: Thank you, sir.
COOPER: Join our live chat happening now right now at AC360.com. Let us know what you think about all the goings on you're watching.
Next on 360, imagine your pilot on an international flight dying in midair. Randi Kaye is back with the latest on today's tragedy in the sky and what the pilot's wife said about their final conversation.
And then one-on-one, my exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie on the worst humanitarian refugee crisis we've seen this decade. It's happening right now. We'll tell you where.
And we'll tell you what drove her to tears and the children who changed her life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: My kids are -- some of my kids are from countries that have seen conflict. And I think -- I usually just explain to them that there are other families in the world that aren't as fortunate as ours and other kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Also tonight, are pot growers coming to a neighborhood near you? See how some regular homes are getting turned into secret marijuana farms. It's our 360 Special, "America's High" ahead.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) COOPER: More now in today's high drama aboard Flight 61. Thousands of feet above the Atlantic Ocean, the captain of the Continental Airlines jet suddenly died in the cockpit.
The other pilot safely landed the plane at Newark Airport. Captain Craig Lenell, 60 years old -- this is him with his daughter. He was with Continental for 32 years.
For more on the story once again, here's Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE (voice-over): Pilot Craig Lenell was behind the controls of Continental Flight 61, flying from Brussels to New Jersey when about halfway through the flight, the unthinkable happened.
His wife, still distraught, shared the awful details.
LYNDA LENELL, WIFE OF PILOT: He was in the cockpit and the co- pilot thought he was sleeping; that he'd nodded off. He couldn't wake him.
KAYE: Craig Lenell wasn't sleeping. He was dead, according to the airline, apparently of natural causes. His wife says he got regular physicals as required by Continental. And did not have any sort of heart condition. In his 32 years with the airline, she said, he never missed a day until a year and a half ago when his appendix burst.
With the pilot unresponsive, the crew immediately took control and called for a doctor on board. This man tried to help.
DR. JULIAN STRUYZEN, TRIED TO SAVE CRAIG LENELL: He was clinically dead when I came in.
KAYE: In the cockpit with him were two co-pilots and a relief pilot, standard for flights more than eight hours. The relief pilot safely landed the plane at Newark airport. On the ground, passengers first learned their pilot had died mid-flight.
CHRIS BALCHUAS, PASSENGER: That's horrifying. I mean, luckily enough, that no one knew about it so it didn't scare any of the passengers.
KAYE: Pilot Craig Lenell was based in Newark, but had a house in Houston with his family. A father of six, his wife calls him the kindest man she ever knew.
LENELL: He called me yesterday from Brussels to tell me he was bringing me home some chocolates.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Pilot Craig Lenell and his wife have been married since 1973. Your heart really goes out to her tonight because it turns out her husband was returning home from Brussels to attend her mother's funeral, which is tomorrow.
So now she is left, Anderson, to bury not only her mother but her husband in just a matter of days.
COOPER: It's just unbelievable. Amazing that she was able to speak on the phone like that even just at this time.
KAYE: I know.
COOPER: Were the passengers in danger at any point?
KAYE: We spoke with a very experienced commercial pilot. And he does not believe these passengers were ever in danger. He said the good news is that this happened while the plane was in cruising mode, it wasn't taking-off or landing, which would have been more dangerous.
He also said that contrary to what a lot of people believe that co-pilots really are assistants. He said that's not true, he said their just as qualified, they have just as much training, just as many takeoffs and landings.
And in fact, during a long trip like this, he said, a pilot and co-pilot would actually share the flying. So there were definitely qualified pilots, he says, behind the controls.
COOPER: I mean, I hate to ask this question almost. But it sort of begs answering -- what did they do with the captain -- I mean after he had died?
KAYE: Well, it is an interesting question. Because it's a confined space, as you know, in an airplane. So what we understand is that he was brought to a quiet corner of the airplane and covered. In this plane, this is a jumbo jet, a Boeing 777, there's an upper deck, a rest area for the crew. He said that he was likely brought up there.
But it's interesting, that in every manual for every airline they actually have a written procedure for something like this...
COOPER: Really?
KAYE: ... in case this happens, in case of an emergency like this where the pilot dies in flight. It's unclear at this point what exactly Continental's procedure is. But there are certain procedures.
COOPER: He was almost -- I mean, 60 years old, do they often get checkups, do we know?
KAYE: He did. The wife says, as you heard, he was very healthy. He got his required medical checkups every six months, which is required by the airline.
But just a while back, they changed the mandatory retirement age from 60 to 65. And he was 60 years old. But there is a rule that goes along with that which is interesting. It might play a role here. They don't let pilots who are 60 or over fly together. A pilot who is 60 or over has to fly with a younger pilot just in case something like this happens.
COOPER: Wow, that's such a tragedy for the family. Randi, I appreciate it. Thank you very much.
Quick program note, tomorrow, 360 M.D. Sanjay Gupta is going to take us into the controlled chaos of an emergency room in Chicago. As you know, if you've been watching this program, that city has seen as many as 700 shootings so far this year. And many of the victims of course are kids. And everyday, doctors work around the clock to save these gunshot victims.
Sanjay takes us to the front lines of the battle. Here's a quick preview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You're getting a look at a scene that takes place all too commonly here in Chicago. They are bringing in two patients just in the span of a few minutes since I've been here, that are both been shot.
What goes through your head right now?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's fairly routine at this point. We see so many gunshot wounds its business as usual.
GUPTA: A race to save a patient's life -- that's business as usual. You could see they have an entire team waiting for him. They have mobilized all the trauma surgeons, they have neurosurgeons, orthopedic surgeons all standing by. They don't know exactly what the condition of the patient is going to be. So they get everything ready in a room like this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Well, don't miss Sanjay's full report tomorrow on 360.
Still ahead though. Tonight, a remarkable discovery in the Atlantic...
(AUDIO GAP)
COOPER: ... from Air France Flight 447. Look at that picture. That's the galley kitchen. It's almost completely intact. Some of its drawers apparently still contained meals for passengers.
The question is, what does that clue tell investigators about exactly what happened to the plane?
Also new threats from North Korea. This time, its leaders are talking about firing missiles in the direction of Hawaii.
Plus my exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie. And her plea about the worse refugee humanitarian crisis we have seen in a decade. It's happening right now.
We'll also find out how refugees have changed the way that Angelina Jolie thinks about her own kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Still ahead, my exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie. And why she and her partner, Brad Pitt, felt compelled to make a million-dollar donation this week to the worst refugee crisis in a decade. And why our interview today almost didn't happen.
First, Erica Hill joins us with a 360 Bulletin.
ERICA HILL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Anderson, we begin tonight with breaking news.
The Texas billionaire charged with fraud has turned himself in. The FBI says Allen Stanford surrendered to agents in Virginia just a short time ago. Stanford, you may recall, is accused of running an $8 billion Ponzi scheme.
Incredible new photos tonight of the wreckage of Air France Flight 447 that you see right there -- salvage crews have recovered the galley kitchen. As you can see, it's almost completely intact. Some of those drawers still had meals for passengers wedged inside. Now, based in part on these discoveries and now the autopsies, which were performed on the victims, investigators do believe the plane broke apart in midair.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the United States has positioned more missile defenses around Hawaii as precaution against a possible North Korean launch. A Japanese newspaper is reporting North Korea might fire its most advanced ballistic missile toward Hawaii around the Fourth of July.
In "Raw Politics," President Obama using his star power to boost his party's fundraising fortunes, giving the keynote speech tonight at a joint fund-raiser for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committees. The event is expected to raise about $3 million.
And DNA testing confirms a 54-year-old Michigan man is not a toddler kidnapped on Long Island in 1955. The FBI says tests show John Barnes is not Steven Damman, who had disappeared when he was two. Barnes contacted police after finding photos on the Internet which led him to believe that he was in fact that kidnapped boy -- Anderson.
COOPER: That's got to be so just horrible for the family of that little boy to get the hope growing.
HILL: A roller coaster of emotions.
COOPER: Wow.
Up next, my exclusive interview with Angelina Jolie. Her passion mission to help refugees, the generous donation she just made to the cause and of course, her busy home life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: We have so many kids, we just have year-round birthdays. And just have it rotating. It's just fun.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Then, million-dollar pot growing operations in suburban homes. Could it be happening next door to you?
Also tonight: John Edwards speaking out about his affair in the wake of his wife's book about his affair. Is he considering a return to politics? We'll tell you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: We want to say right off the bat the "360 Exclusive Interview" you're about to see doesn't begin to reflect all the drama that went into bringing it to you. We spent more than two months setting it up and had been really looking forward to it.
The plan was for me to interview Angelina Jolie and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton at the same time. Both scheduled to speak at today's World Refugee Commemoration in Washington; two great bookings on an important subject.
But in news, the best-laid plans, frankly, often fall apart. So if you missed my tweets on this today, here's how it went down.
Last night, Secretary Clinton had to pull out of the event and our interview after she broke her elbow. We hear she's resting and she's going to have surgery in a few weeks. We're sorry to hear about her fall and wish her the best, of course.
Angelina Jolie was still a solid go though this morning. So I get on a plane at, like, dawn to D.C. but then my plane is diverted back to New York -- that's not actually my plane but just a facsimile of my plane -- because of bad weather. How bad?
In midair, a lightning flash lit up the plane. The flight attendant explained, dear God, what was that? That was the same flight attendant who was later seen clutching a barf bag. It was not a fun flight, I can tell you.
The good news, our crack producers managed to set up a satellite interview with Jolie. No, I did not need the barf bag. And that's the back story.
Now, the main story, the important story: if you don't know already know, Angelina Jolie serves as Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. It's a cause she's deeply committed to. Just today, UNHCR announced that she and her partner Brad Pitt have donated $1 million to help Pakistanis displaced by fighting between troops and Taliban militants. Forty-two million people around the world right now are homeless because of war and other disasters -- 42 million. We had a lot to talk about. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Angelina, is there one refugee crisis right now that concerns you the most?
JOLIE: Pakistan. Pakistan, because it's relatively new and the numbers have jumped so quickly. I think in the last few weeks, there were about 100,000 displaced a day; there's over two million now. I think it's just -- there has been a giant appeal, many of the -- a lot of funds have been sent in, and a lot of aid has come to the people, just as much as it can, but the numbers are so extraordinary and they're growing.
COOPER: You visited Afghanistan just next door to Pakistan several months ago. The U.S. obviously, sending more troops there. Do you see the situation in Afghanistan getting worse at this point?
JOLIE: From what I understand, the people I spoke to that I was with just a few months ago, they've lost certain areas that they were able to bring aid, that have now become out of bounds for them. And it's more and more dangerous for them to work for the refugees and to aid them.
COOPER: On a personal level, when you go to a place like Afghanistan, do you worry, I mean, do your kids worry? How do you explain to them what you're doing?
JOLIE: I usually just explain to them that there are other families in the world that aren't as fortunate as ours and other kids and their mommies are somewhere in a country that's not as safe. And their kids are in a country that aren't as safe. And they're not as fortunate as we are.
And so I tell them that it's important for all of us to do what we can and go to these places and understand what's happening.
COOPER: You're meeting, I mean, hundreds of refugees at a time. And I guess there's a danger that everything starts to look the same, the stories, you probably hear the same stories over and over, and yet each person is an individual and each person has a story and a tale to tell.
Are there individuals that you keep thinking about? I mean, people who you remember who stay with you.
JOLIE: There was a young boy I met who was about 15 who had been shot in the back and paralyzed. And his whole family had been killed. He was completely on his own.
Yet he had this really remarkable, unbreakable spirit, a spirit beyond anything I can imagine having. The things we complain about on a daily basis. He had lost everything and was just so full of laughter and kindness. And he passed away a few months after I was there.
And so I always wondered, you know, it's those kind of young people that you meet. And you just think, "God, in any other situation if this person had been given a chance, what an extraordinary adult he would have been. How extraordinary for his country, for his family, if he ever had a chance to have one."
Instead, he had so many horrible things happen to him in his life. He taught me a lot about just the strength, the spirit. I think of him, and I can't complain about anything. I can't do anything but be grateful for what I have because he was grateful and he had nothing and had suffered everything.
So -- there are millions like him. So there are many, many stories.
COOPER: You mentioned an eight-year-old girl who you met who was taking care of her little brother. Where was that?
JOLIE: That was in Tanzania. She'd fled fighting and she saw her family killed in front of her. But somehow -- I think my son is almost eight. He's eight in August. I can't imagine if something happened to my family him grabbing his little brother and running by himself somewhere. That's what she did. She grabbed her little brother and she ran through the jungle. And managed to figure out that she should grab bananas and fruit and squashed things up I guess and fed her brother and carried him with her and ran for two weeks and figured out how to get to a camp and got to a camp and got him medical attention.
But when we found her, she was just -- she would stare out the window and was rocking. And just the poor little kid had seen the worst. And yet I went back to visit her a year after that and she started to speak. She was responsible for her brother. She was looking after his medical care.
She was very, very kind, very gracious, lovely little woman, really. But she was a baby herself. She was going to have that life. And live with all that -- all those memories, yet, again, like so many refugees I met, so resilient, so tough, so unbroken.
COOPER: Had they changed the way that you view yourself, the way you view your own family, your own kids?
JOLIE: Absolutely. I guess in more ways than I can probably understand. I just know that I want -- I think of my children's education and more than thinking I want to make sure they understand math or they're really good at this. I want to make sure they go out into the world as I've been fortunate to do in whatever way they can and really see the way other people live and meet these other children that are so strong, that are so grateful, with so little and are such strong survivors.
I think by witnessing them, by meeting them, by making friends with these type of people and these type of children, it will make my children better people. COOPER: Two American journalists, Laura Ling and Euna Lee, went to China to report on the plight of refugees from North Korea, many of whom actually become victims of trafficking. They were arrested; they were sentenced in North Korea to 12 years hard labor. Have you been following their case at all?
JOLIE: I have. I wouldn't know what -- how to comment on it except to just feel for their families and those women. I think to be a journalist is, especially in that situation, is such a noble thing to really try to get in there and learn what's really happening.
COOPER: And just one final question which I've got to ask. I know you have a bunch of birthdays coming up for your kids. How do you deal with multiple birthdays?
JOLIE: We have so many kids, we just have year-round birthdays. We have a rotating -- it's just fun. It's a lot of fun now because the older kids are old enough to help plan the birthdays for the younger kids. It's just -- it's one of the great pleasures of life, a birthday.
COOPER: And everyone in my office asked me to ask. Any plans for more kids?
JOLIE: We do love children. We want a big family. We never say no.
COOPER: I appreciate your time and appreciate all you're doing on behalf of refugees. Thanks very much for talking.
JOLIE: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Many of you are already weighing in on the crisis and my conversation with Angelina Jolie. Join the live chat happening now at AC360.com. I just logged in myself, a little bit late, admittedly.
Up next, why Jolie says the refugee crisis is everyone's problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOLIE: This moment right now, this situation, keeping it stable is in all of our best interests. It's unimaginable what could happen if in fact the extremists do gain ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: Talking about the situation in Pakistan.
Also ahead, a business that is growing in the middle of the housing crisis. Homes on streets like yours maybe, being turned into pot factories. A new side of "America's High."
And some incredible video of a huge tornado that even made seasoned storm chasers very nervous. We'll show it to you, ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: More now of my interview with Angelina Jolie. She serves, of course, as the goodwill ambassador for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Today she and Brad Pitt, it was announced, made a huge donation to a group of refugees literally caught in the middle of the war against the Taliban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COOPER: You have given $1 million to aid refugees in this place, people in Pakistan. I was amazed to learn that only the United States has given really large amounts of aid. They've given more than $300 million. Does it shock you or concern you that European countries, even Muslim Arab countries, according to the Pakistan government, have largely ignored the crisis?
JOLIE: Yes. I think they should pay attention to what's happening. It's a very -- I'm not a political person. But I think it doesn't take much to understand this is the front line of fighting against extremists where all that we hold dear and all that we value is really on the line.
This fight is a very personal fight for all of us. And these victims of this crisis, these regular people who are mostly agriculturalists that are fleeing, we should feel a real connection to them, identify with them.
This is a similar enemy we've been fighting for years. But this moment right now, this situation, in keeping it stable is in all of our best interests. It's unimaginable what could happen if in fact the extremists do gain ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COOPR: Unimaginable, indeed. What's happening in Pakistan right now hasn't gotten much attention from the outside world. But it is the biggest mass movement of people since the genocide in Rwanda -- 2 million to 3 million people are not in their homes and they face an uncertain future.
Nic Robertson has seen the crisis firsthand. Here's his "360 Dispatch" from Rustum, Pakistan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): I've seen many crises but nothing like this. Hundreds of tiny villages now teeming with refugees, 2.5 million people forced to run from their homes. Now they're here.
I'm looking at the largest human displacement in over a decade. Their homes in the Swat valley are now the epicenter of the war against the Taliban.
(on camera): The reason we're wearing these clothes today, the Shawar Chemise (ph), it's the local dress and the idea is to blend in, not draw too much attention to ourselves. Of course, not draw any attention from the Taliban who are fighting the army just over the hills over there.
(voice-over): Here where people have found safe haven, another problem.
CHRIS WEBSTER, WORLD VISION: Up until now, it's been a largely invisible crisis because most of the displaced, something around 90 percent of those 2.5 million, are staying with host families.
ROBERTSON: This is typical. An extended family; 16 adults and seven children. The Badar (ph) family, they ran here more than a month ago. Fear dominates this place. The Taliban is not far away.
(on camera) Would you like to be at home, in your own home?
"Of course," five-year-old Manuba tells me. She then asks if I'll take her somewhere safe. It's heartbreaking. So is their plight.
(voice-over): They are hungry, don't have enough food. All 23 live in two tiny rooms provided by a villager. They cook in the garden, have no running water.
Chris Webster from U.S. Charity World Vision has brought us here to see how bad the situation is.
WEBSTER: The scale of the millions is so vast; it's across such a wide area. Ten dollars, fifty dollars, whatever you can give will make a huge difference.
ROBERTSON: World Vision is struggling to keep pace with needs, handing out desperately needed food to 500 families a day.
This man is one of the oldest sons. Today is his lucky day. He's being allowed to claim a month's ration of food for the entire Badar family. He needs a motor cart to carry it home.
The poor little motorbike is struggling under the weight of all this food; 80 kilograms of wheat, 8 kilograms of (INAUDIBLE); 4 kilograms of sugar, 1 kilogram of salt, 300 grams of tea. That's going to last the family here for a whole month.
We drive deeper into the maze of tiny alleyways.
(on camera): I think we'll have to get up and push. There's too much wheat on for this thing to get up a hill. 80 kilograms of wheat; it's too much for this little bike.
(voice-over): Back at those two tiny rooms, the family carefully lays out the food. Instantly they all realize what was too much for the motor cart is too little to feed the family for a month.
One family of 2.5 million people on the run from the Taliban and on the run from war. And as I leave, I can't help feeling sad for the children. They don't understand. And they certainly don't know when they can go home.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Rustum, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: Coming up next, our special series, "America's High: The Case For and Against pot." What looks like a nice family home in the suburbs is actually housing a million-dollar pot operation.
Could one be moving into a neighborhood near you? We'll take you inside this home.
Also, controversial reality couple, Jon and Kate have big news, apparently. And Erica and I learned that we may share a scary link with Kate. I'm not sure what that means, but we'll find out.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: Our week-long series, "America's High: The Case For and Against Pot," continues tonight with big news from Washington. Representative Barney Frank has introduced a bill calling for a sweeping change in the federal laws on marijuana. He says it should be legal for someone to possess small amounts of pot.
While the debate over legalizing the drug rages, we're learning how pot farms may be coming to a home near you. Right now, marijuana gardens may be growing in your neighbor's house, for instance, in a garage, really anywhere. You won't believe what's behind it.
Drew Griffin has more in tonight's "Uncovering America" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's 7:15 Tuesday morning. This is a convoy of DEA agents about to hit a drug house. Think you can spot marijuana trafficking? Watch this.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seven-footers. I'm guessing off the bat right now, 60, 65 plants.
GRIFFIN: A three-bedroom ranch, a cut lawn, a family of three and a $500,000 a year illegal business in just one room.
(on camera): This is what could only be described as a pot factory in a garage on a suburban street in Miami. Look at just the water system. That brings the water to every individual plant that's in one of these pots. These plants, seven-feet tall, just all in a garage you would not notice from the street.
(voice-over): The growers, Cubans, here illegally. Agents say most likely just minor players in a criminal network connected sometimes to as many as two dozen other homes, all growing pot just like this. TONY ANGELI, DEA SUPERVISORY SPECIAL AGENT: This is not mom and pop. With the amount of lights that are in here, the air conditioning setup, the plumbing setup down here, yes, they're not doing this on their own.
GRIFFIN: DEA Special Agent Tony Angeli, a former prosecutor, has watched Florida's casual indoor grower turn into sophisticated networks of organized criminals. In just two days, we watch as agents acting on tips and leads raid home after home.
Arresting this man suspected of setting up drug houses. Inside his house, they find growing equipment, building plans, plenty of guns, $9,000 cash in a bag and several bags of dope.
(on camera): Seems endless.
ANGELI: You could spend all day. There's so many grow houses down here, there's so many leads bringing us to grow houses. This could be a task force just doing grow houses all day, seven days a week.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): It still arrives smuggled in by the ton on boats and trucks. The DEA says more and more marijuana is coming from just down the street. If your street has foreclosed houses, all the better.
(on camera): Sophisticated?
ANGELI: Yes.
GRIFFIN: The pot grows year round?
ANGELI: Correct.
GRIFFIN: Potentially four crops a year from one house?
ANGELI: That's right.
GRIFFIN: And the availability of houses?
ANGELI: Today with the depressed real estate market around the country, particularly in Florida, it's a trafficker's paradise to come here to buy multiple houses at depressed rates, pay cash, use the house for a grow and then abandon it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Consent to search these premises and it is a marijuana grow house.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Case in point, this house in west Florida. Take a look at this evidence tape inside a million dollar operation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Second room. Hydroponics (ph).
GRIFFIN: Florida law enforcement is trying to stay ahead of the game. But the more law enforcement pressure here, the further north the grow houses spread. ANGELI: The whole house reeks of marijuana.
GRIFFIN: This house raided in suburban Atlanta just this month. Neighbors didn't have a clue.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're just really mad. I always thought it was a safe neighborhood.
GRIFFIN: Back in Miami, agents will spend the next few hours breaking down this indoor farm, processing paperwork to make arrests. In the end, these DEA agents say the mom, dad and son will most likely be sentenced to probation. The task force will move on, and the problem of homegrown marijuana keeps growing.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COOPER: It's amazing.
Up next, will he or won't he? Former presidential candidate John Edwards talks about his political future.
Plus, dramatic moments caught on tape: a storm chaser face to face with a -- look at that -- a giant twister.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: All right, let's check some of the other stories we're following. Erica Hill's back with the "360 Bulletin" -- Erica.
HILL: Anderson, former presidential candidate John Edwards is not ruling out a return to politics despite the sex scandal he admitted to last year. In his first major interview since that admission, Edwards tells "The Washington Post," though, it's too soon to tell just what the future holds but imagines his role would be more of an advocate, like Al Gore, rather than an elected office. Although in his case, his focus would likely be poverty. Interestingly, his affair, those involved in it and his wife's recent book, all off- limits during that 90-minute interview.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It now half a mile wide. It is huge. We've got some breaking up. We've got structural damage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HILL: The voice there of a storm chaser heading straight for a tornado that ripped through Aurora, Nebraska last night. One man, whose home was all but leveled, says he could feel it blowing apart as his family hunkered down in the basement.
And some breaking Jon and Kate news: TLC is preempting Monday night's episode of the reality series.
COOPER: What? What? What?
HILL: I know. I know, wait for it. Preempting Monday night's "Jon & Kate plus 8" for a special about the couple. They're, of course, the parents of sextuplets and twins.
COOPER: What? What?
HILL: You're going to throw another "what" there.
COOPER: What?
HILL: OK. The new promotional spot touts the couple's life- changing decision will be revealed. Jon Gosselin, though, has denied, of course, because there's a lot of talk out there about whether or not he cheated. He has denied that. But one thing that's undeniable is the attention that is paid to Kate Gosselin's hair.
COOPER: What?
HILL: And now we know a little bit more about it -- I'm going to stop you now, it's getting annoying -- TMZ following her to the salon where she gets it cut. And the gossip site is now the first to suggest that maybe she took a little inspiration from you.
COOPER: From me?
HILL: You, Cooper. Describing her style as a quote, "bi-level flock of seagulls humped porcupine-reverse mullet weave."
COOPER: Wait a minute.
HILL: It's a fine showing. It's a little bit Anderson and I guess, it's a little bit Erica, too. It's like she meshed the two.
COOPER: You're right. She's been watching the program. She wanted a little you and a little me.
HILL: We would just like to say I hope everything works out in your personal life, especially for the children, and you're welcome for the hair.
COOPER: I guess.
Up next, "The Shot," and a surprise guest, even I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm very happy that our guest is here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COOPER: So Erica, as you know, we like to have surprise guests sometimes for "The Shot." And tonight we have a great surprise guest. You know him, you love him -- Richard Simmons is in the studio.
RICHARD SIMMONS, FITNESS EXPERT: Anderson and Erica, I'm here in the studio.
HILL: It's about time, I can say. COOPER: How are you? How's it going? Wow.
HILL: It's about time. We've been waiting.
SIMMONS: Wow, this is so exciting.
COOPER: Have you -- did you bedazzle that?
SIMMONS: These are Swarovski crystals. These are not bedazzlers. These are 60 cents apiece, Anderson.
COOPER: How are you?
SIMMONS: I'm great. I'm here in the city to go to the steps...
COOPER: You're here for an important cause.
SIMMONS: For three years I've been trying to get PE back in our school system.
COOPER: Physical Education.
SIMMONS: And there's 25 million obese children. So for three years I've been working to get PE back in the school system in a very strong way.
COOPER: And you're at city hall tomorrow...
SIMMONS: I'm at city hall tomorrow here in New York for a big pep rally to get people going, and then I hope that I'm going to have a meeting with President Obama and Michelle...
COOPER: Are you really?
SIMMONS: ... and lay out a plan...
COOPER: Are you going to wear that?
SIMMONS: No, I'm going to wear that. No, whatever I have to wear.
COOPER: Because I've seen you in this outfit a lot.
SIMMONS: And I will bury -- be buried in this outfit. I'm a clown, a court jester. I've been doing...
COOPER: You're doing great work.
SIMMONS: ... for 35 years, but now I'm really worried about our kids. And all day long, I get e-mails from parents who are very concerned about their obese kids. They're not moving. The school has taken PE and recess out in many United States countries, and it's sad. We have to get that back in.
ERICA: And it makes it harder on some of the kids, too, to focus and concentrate. SIMMONS: You know, the kid who moves is the kid that learns. I've been at 26 schools this year. I've taught classes. They are so excited when the music goes on. They know all these songs. They feel good. And we have to do this for our kids, or they will become overweight teenagers and they'll become overweight adults, and what's going to happen with our health care system?
COOPER: That's great, good luck with the thing tomorrow. I was going to show this great video that we had. But we're out of time on it.
SIMMONS: Well, thank you so much.
Thank you for watching, Erica and Anderson. And we hope you'll come back tomorrow.
COOPER: Thank you very much.
HILL: Anderson, you could dance to set a good example for the kids. I'm just saying "Mr. I-won't-dance-on-Ellen."
COOPER: I can't dance, no.
HILL: Maybe it would help the kids.
COOPER: I can't dance, probably.
SIMMONS: Oh, yes, you dance with Ellen and Kelly.
HILL: No, he won't dance. Richard will dance. See?
SIMMONS: Come on, Lady Gaga. Come on, Anderson. Give it up. You did it with Kelly Ripa.
COOPER: No, I didn't.
SIMMONS: What about me? What about Richard? She wasn't in a cute outfit like this.
COOPER: Yes, no, I can't. I like the Lady Gaga, though.
HILL: Excellent song choice, I will say. He does love the Lady Gaga.
COOPER: Richard, thank you very much. And thanks for all the good work you're doing.
SIMMONS: Bye.
COOPER: That does it for 360. Thanks for watching.
"LARRY KING" starts now. See you later on.
