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Israeli Airstrikes Continue; Song Parody Controversy; Hostage Drama

Aired December 28, 2008 - 18:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: The death toll rises. Air assaults ramp up. Meantime, Israeli tanks and troops are massing on the border of Gaza. Will it turn into a ground war?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing):

LEMON: That's supposed to be Al Sharpton singing "Obama, the Magic Negro." It's a parody distributed by a member of the RNC. But many are not finding it funny. We're taking your comments.

And a family is taken hostage for hours by armed bank robbers. But a brave and quick thinking dad outsmarts the bad guys. The news starts now.

We begin with breaking news in Gaza, a narrow strip of Palestinian land on the Mediterranean Sea that has been in the crosshairs of Israeli war planes for a second straight day. Air strikes have been hammering Hamas positions in Gaza all day with strike after deadly strike. Palestinian sources put the death toll in Gaza at near 300 people. On the Gaza border Israeli troops are massing for what many fear will be a ground assault in Gaza. Seven thousand Israeli reservists have been activated and told to be prepare for battle.

At Gaza's southern border, hundreds of Palestinians tried to flee into Egypt. The border is porous with tunnels that Israelis say are used to smuggle weapons and fuel into Gaza. An Israeli Army official says 40 of those tunnels were targeted in today's air strikes.

No part of Gaza has been spared by the Israeli assaults and CNN's Cal Perry is in Jerusalem with the latest.

CAL PERRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, global leaders calling for a cessation of violence. But till now they're being completely ignored.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PERRY (voice-over): Fear turns to a foot race for safety. Some of the wounded are rushed to hospitals by civilian cars, others by ambulance, CPR in progress.

There were at least 40 air strikes in Gaza on Sunday alone, according to the Israeli Army and a major lifeline for Hamas has also been destroyed. Forty tunnels that run between Egypt and Gaza. But even after all the air strikes, a simple gunshot still makes people jump. Gaza is burning. "What is happening now is destruction," the man says, "An Israeli massacre and everyone is watching this in silence and they are just sitting there watching us. We demand Israel to end these massacres and open all the crossings."

They're scrambling in Israel, too. In the city of Ashdod, 30 kilometers to the north of Gaza, sirens wail. More than 110 Hamas rockets have been fired from Gaza since Saturday morning according to the Israeli military, many raining further down into Israel than ever before, police say, killing at least one Israeli since the cease-fire ended. Which is partly why Israel is being so steadfast and its leaders in the south are urging calm in the face of stark realities. "Be patient," the mayor says. "The Army is doing its work and doing it well. It's possible there are more difficult days to come. We will be calm and we will wait for better days."

As Israeli tanks mass along Gaza's border, poised for a possible ground invasion, old faces and familiar scenes of Palestinian frustration are also playing out across the West Bank and East Jerusalem. The people of Gaza have begun to bury their dead, while just a few kilometers away, Israel, too, begins to mourn its losses.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

PERRY (on camera): And with every air strike from Israel, and each rocket fired from Gaza, there's no misconception on the ground that the funerals are likely to continue in the coming days. Don?

LEMON: All right, Cal, thank you very much.

Earlier today the UN Security Council urged all sides to stop fighting and it also called for humanitarian aid in to Gaza. Israel closed all border crossings in to Gaza but it opened one to let in trucks loaded with fuel, food and medical supplies as well as some ambulances.

President Bush is standing firm with Israel and its offensive against Hamas. CNN's Elaine Quijano is with him live in Crawford, Texas, where the president is spending his holidays and CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry is in Hawaii where President-Elect Barack Obama is monitoring the crisis while on vacation. Elaine, we haven't seen much of President Bush.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right we haven't seen him at all actually this weekend. The last time we saw President Bush is when he arrived here in Texas aboard Air Force One back on Friday. He is leaving the commenting to a spokesman, making very clear though that the United States views this is action by the part of Israel as justifiable self-defense.

Right now, the next 24, 48 hours or so certainly a critical period, as aides say the White House is watching and waiting to see what happens on the ground in Gaza, whether or not we'll see President Bush an open question. He has no events on his public schedule, Don, but certainly that could change if things escalate. The president might feel compelled to come out and make an on camera statement. Don?

LEMON: All right. Elaine Quijano in Crawford, thank you very much.

Meantime we turn to Ed Henry who joins us now from Haswaii. Ed yesterday the president-elect had spoke on it Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. What is the latest today?

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, new information for you this hour, which is a transition officials say that later this evening, the president-elect will be speaking with retired General Jim Jones, his incoming national security adviser as well as Senator Hillary Clinton, his incoming secretary of state, of course if she's confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The point there is that he wants to stay up to the minute on this situation, on the crisis in Gaza, as much as he can, but senior adviser David Axelrod was appearing on NBC's "Meet the Press." He noted once again as we heard over and over that the president-elect doesn't want to get too heavily involved yet until he's actually sworn in as president. He did note, however, during a trip to Israel earlier this summer, the president-elect did make clear that Israel has a right to defend itself in a situation like this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID AXELROD, SENIOR ADVISER TO OBAMA: He did, as you said, visit Sderot in July and he said then that he thought that when bombs were raining down on your citizens, it is obviously unacceptable, and there is an urge to act, and so but again, I don't want to go beyond that, because we only have one government, one president at a time, and he's going to continue to consult with Secretary Rice and the president, and the administration on this, and monitor these events, and he'll be prepared to take over on the 20th, and discharge his responsibilities then.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PERRY: A fresh reminder, clearly that the president-elect needs to be ready to hit the ground running come January 20th but for now he wants to make sure that the United States is speaking with one voice, Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that, Ed Henry reporting from Hawaii.

Israel's military action has provoked outrage across the globe. Thousands of protesters appeared at large demonstrations in London, Damascus and also in Chicago and there's also one here in Atlanta. Angry protests also held in Yemen, Jordan, Iraq, Turkey and Egypt, and CNN's senior editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr joins us now with some insights on the current crisis and why Israel may have decided to take this harsh action. We've been hearing protests in Sudan, Yemen, Egypt and on and on and on. You said Mauritania.

OCTAVIA NASR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mauritania, Morocco, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, everywhere.

LEMON: What's going on?

NASR: Very interesting what's going on. Usually Arabs are very hard to get any reaction out of, so within 24 hours, seeing massive demonstrations, look at this one in Yemen, tens of thousands of people showed up, basically carrying slogans in support of Palestinians in Gaza and also very critical of their own governments, very critical of all Arab governments, the entire Arab League saying they're not doing enough. Some people calling them useless, others calling on them to go home, because they can't do anything.

Important to say to our viewers that the Arab League decided they'll meet on Wednesday in order to have a unified statement. Regular Arabs, ordinary Arabs are taking to the streets saying this is not enough. More should be done at this point.

LEMON: So what happens if this does and we hope it doesn't but we hear that tanks are massing on the Gaza border, if this turns into a ground war, what does this mean for the Middle East and for that region?

NASR: Very difficult situation if that happens. You have to remember, you have to look at the big picture, in Lebanon, bordering Israel, you have Hezbollah, back in 2006, Israel had a war with Hezbollah, Israel was hoping to finish Hezbollah, but it didn't. So today we heard from the secretary general of Hezbollah, basically saying that he is going to get his men ready on the border.

There is a chance that Hezbollah will start throwing rockets at northern Israel. We heard comments today on Hezbollah station officials saying basically we will burn northern Israel just like Israel is burning Gaza. So there is a chance of that happening. There is a chance of Syria, we heard today also news that perhaps Syria is going to pull out of those unofficial talks with Israel, in Jordan, demonstrators are calling on the government to basically kick the Israeli ambassador out of Jordan, same in Egypt. So this has the potential to go really wide and nastier than what we've seen and people are very concerned about that.

LEMON: Way beyond just what's happening right there in Gaza, it can go beyond that into the entire region, that's why people need to pay attention here in the United States.

NASR: Also when you look at the demonstrations you're going to see the American flag being burned as well, so this is not just about Israel and burning the Israeli flag but also the American flag being burned as well, so this is not just about Israel and burning the Israeli flag but also the U.S. flag because people see a link between the U.S.'s position on the middle east and how things are developing on the ground.

Now important to say that these demonstrations are really outraged at their own governments so you're not hearing the same rhetoric is usually you hear especially when it comes to the Arab-Israeli conflict, there is an extra element here and look at the pictures, Don, you're seeing a lot of young people, a lot of students, university students basically feeling that there is a responsibility here, that there is a moral and historic responsibility for them to speak up and not to be silent so it's a very interesting time, unlike the times before, where the anger was directed at Israel only and the U.S. only. Now the anger is directed at their own governments, feeling that they're not doing enough.

LEMON: Yeah, everyone, everyone needs to take part and stopping all of this. Thank you. Our senior editor of Arab affairs, Octavia Nasr.

Always appreciate your input.

NASR: Anytime, Don.

LEMON: A massive mess and outraged community. A Tennessee town tries to recover from a billion gallons of coal ash, we're talking about sludge here.

Plus first it was heavy snow, now rising temperatures and now it's rain. The big melt leads to big floods.

Also tonight we want to know what's on your mind. Make sure you log on to twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. Tell us what you're thinking. We'll get it on the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: People across the Midwest are bracing for more flooding tonight. Check out the usually snowbound Chicagoland area, rising temperatures and heavy rain are melting snow banks and well they're bloating the river there.

Flood warnings are posted tonight over parts of Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri and Ohio. Sixty mile-an-hour winds in Michigan have knocked down tree limbs and power lines, blacking out more than 300,000 homes and businesses.

More typical winter weather in the Northeast, especially Upstate New York, check out this iReport from Lisa Page who is lucky enough to have this beautiful horse pasture across the road from her home.

Well, tonight winds blowing across the region are topping 75 miles an hour, toppling power poles and trees. People on the West Coast can relate, look at this picture from iReporter Marilyn Skolnik in the Seattle area. Heavy, wet snow is blamed for collapsed roofs in western Washington and it also collapsed four buildings at the county fairgrounds there. Keep those iReports coming and be sure to tune in tonight for a look back at some of the most memorable iReports of 2008. iReporters contributed to some of the biggest stories of the year from Barack Obama's election to the financial meltdown. Catch "Caught on Camera" 8:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. Plus you'll see lots of your favorite CNN personalities, plus our very famous iReporters, we hope to make them famous soon. They're certainly helping us out with the weather as well, Karen Maginnis.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: In the iReport special tonight at 8:00 p.m. Thank you Karen.

An update on a massive coal ash spill in an eastern Tennessee town. A billion gallons of sludge flooded a neighborhood and one of our iReporters, his name is Josh Singletary sent us this picture, Josh was visiting family that live along the river and he shot the picture of the sludge that filled water on his family's pier. Check that out. What a mess. Can't even imagine. People are meeting right now about how to get this mess cleaned up and of course, the residents are concerned about health risks. The huge spill happened in Kingston, which is close to Knoxville and that's where we find CNN's Brooke Baldwin. Brooke, what is the very latest? Are they getting any jump cleaning this up at all?

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Cleanup, Don, definitely under way. What are they cleaning up? You said it was a mess. Take a look. I'm holding in my right hand this is the actual sludge, more than a billion gallons of this stuff spilling over about 300 acres. Is an example of what the river water looks like let's say in the Emory River, the sediment is on the bottom. So when you shake it up, that is what the river water could potentially look like, so given the visuals here, Don, you can imagine the outrage factor with the story is tremendous.

This is the Kingston Community Center behind me. This is where the emergency meeting was supposed to take place. So many people showed up it created a fire hazard. These people had to head across the street to the local high school gym. As you mentioned, it's still under way. Who is in attendance, Kingston City Council, you have emergency management folks from Rome County, of course concerned citizens and the TVA, Tennessee Valley Authority, the CEO and president of TVA, Tom Kilgore is inside the gym and did speak trying to quell any concerns a lot of people have, said they plan to clean it up and clean it up right. But we did talk to one man whose back yard is essentially full of this stuff. And he told us that so many rumors have been flying around that he's really not sure what to believe.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM VEREB, HOMEOWNER: We're hearing all kinds of stories, we're hearing everything from everything this is perfectly fine to be around to get away, as far as we can from it. So we really don't know what the right answer is there. We're not going to get panicked about it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Some of the biggest concerns, Don, include is the drinking water, well water, is the drinking water safe to drink and then this is slurry and this is very wet right now. But the concern is this stuff, this is the coal dust. Once it starts to dry it becomes airborne. What kind of health ramifications would this create if it got on someone's skin or someone inhaled it?

So air quality tests, Don, are being done, also water quality tests not only from the TVA but independent agency that the counties hired and the EPA called in. So still, Don, lot of questions, not as many answers some of these folks would like.

LEMON: That's what I was going to ask you. I said they're meeting right now. We know that you went out and talked to these folks and also to take a look at yourself. We're hearing from officials don't panic. But what are the ideas colleague it up, how much progress have they gotten? How far have they gotten with that?

BALDWIN: It's a good question. I don't honestly think I have an accurate answer for you. We know that 300 acres is covered or has been covered in this stuff. There's a main Swan Pond Road, 4,000 feet was covered, in terms of how much they've cleaned up, they've cleaned up half of that. They just said a couple minutes ago, half of that road is uncovered but when you take a look at the damage, and it looks like moon craters, muddy moon caters, there is so much cleanup to be done. TVA, rather, yes the TVA CEO and president said the most common question, when will it be cleaned up? He does not have an answer.

LEMON: So how can I expect to you answer it when they don't have an answer.

BALDWIN: Sorry. I don't have an answer.

LEMON: We certainly wish them luck. Brooke, thank you so much for that.

Also we want to know what's on your mind tonight? Logon to twitter, to MySpace, the Facebook or ireport.com and tell me what you're thinking. We'll get it on the air.

And it sounds like a movie, an elaborate crime plot, a family held hostage, a father's quick action to save the day but this is no movie.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An unbelievable story of bravery in the face of danger. A family in Maryland just outside Washington is held at gunpoint by bank robbers but a quick-thinking dad manages to save the day. From CNN affiliate WJLA here's Richard Reid.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD REID, WJLA CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was a frightening chaotic day along Briarcliff Drive in Clinton.

EZZRA FARRELL, NEIGHBOR: It was guys with guns and rifles around the back yard and side of the house.

REID: Since 10:00 Saturday morning, heavily armed police barricaded this house, an armed suspect believed to be inside.

SHERRONE MARTIN, NEIGHBOR: They asked us to stay low, go down the basement, don't get up.

REID: What neighbors didn't know, this was a drama that had been unfolding since Friday evening, when two suspects, one with a gun, the other with a knife, followed a woman home driving this Mazda from her branch manager's officer's job at a SunTrust bank in Silver Spring. The two men forced their way into the Briarcliff house, the woman's husband and two boys, eight and 11 years old inside.

GREG SHIPLEY, MARYLAND STATE POLICE: They held this family hostage overnight. They actually used electrical cords from within the home to tie up the father and mother.

REID: Their plan sounded simple.

SHIPLEY: They are apparently going to use her to facilitate a robbery of that branch, prior to it opening at 9:00 this morning.

REID: But the plot was foiled when the father began driving erratically along the Beltway. A Maryland state trooper pulled the car over and arrested the suspect. The family still in the car. The family is safe, the house discovered empty.

MARTIN: It's scary and I'm glad it's all over with now and everybody's safe.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was WJLA's Richard Reid reporting. Two suspects are in custody and police are searching for a third. We'll take a closer look at this dramatic story tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

Police found a second rental car used by the Christmas Eve killer Bruce Pardo. They used a robot vehicle to examine the car which they feared was rigged with bombs. No explosives were farmed. Pardo was believed to have gunned down nine people at his former in-law's house outside Los Angeles dressed like Santa Claus. Another car which he drove to the house was rigged with explosives. It later blew up. Pardo later killed himself.

The downward slide police say ended with the Christmas Eve killings may have started years earlier. A 2001 swimming pool accident left his young son with severe brain damage that left him a paraplegic. An attorney who represented the child's mother says Pardo may have suffered lingering guilt. Then in February his wife asked for a divorce. In July, Pardo lost his engineering job and he found himself in such financial straits he wanted his ex-wife to pay him support. That didn't happen.

The couple appeared in court just days before the killings to finalize their divorce.

Tell us what's on your mind tonight about this story and others as well. Make sure you log on to any of those platforms right there and tell us what you're thinking. We'll get your responses on the air.

Also, desperate times, desperate people. Couples unable to have children offering healthy young women thousands of dollars for their eggs. Is that a good deal for everyone?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, 2008 has been a rough year for a lot of folks and there are more than ready to say sayonara, so long. Today they are celebrating good riddance day in New York's Times Square. Organizers set up shredders and invited people to get rid of their worthless stock certificates and their depressing bank statements. Symbolism, symbolism.

And then there's depressing sales for the whole year. It is good for you if you have money to spend, yes, because you can go out and get some bargains. Many people don't. Poppy Harlow, according to a new report, retailers are offering Black Friday prices for the last six months and still sales are down. What gives here, Poppy?

POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You know, Don, the long and short of it is really retailers six months ago they really over ordered for a season they came up short, very short. I talked to analysts. They said, hey, Black Friday has been going on for months now but the economy looked a lot different six months ago, even three months ago than it does right now.

Let's dig in to the numbers. We have some graphics we can pull up for you. The preliminary reading out of spending poll set (ph) showing us holiday sales across the board were down about three percent this year and let's break it down. Clothing purchases fell 21 percent from just a year ago. Electronics purchases, those were down 26 percent, luxury goods, you can guess this, down more than 34 percent the hardest hit of all the categories, Don. People really aren't buying and if they are buying they're not buying those luxury goods. Personal example I went into Saks Fifth Avenue before Christmas, after Christmas, I could not believe the prices, down 75, 80 percent from retail value just to get the inventory out of the store, Don, because they can't return it to the manufacturer.

They've got to get rid of it because they'll mark the clothes down because they're seasonal until they get out of the store and send them to the outlets. They have to get rid of the inventory. But it's really incredible the numbers this year. The preliminary reading is very bad.

LEMON: Yeah, I was shopping for Christmas lights a week or two before Christmas and it was 30, 40, 50 percent off even before Christmas. That usually happens after which made me wonder, obviously people can't be making profits. Are we going to see more bankruptcies from maybe even some big retailers?

HARLOW: It's a great question. Right? Just earlier this winter we saw Circuit City, the second largest electronics retailer in this country file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. I talked to an analyst, they said, listen, we can't speculate on what companies may or may not file for bankruptcy. But they said I'll tell you this, Poppy, if they do it is going to be in the next few months. Because they really do depend on November and December for 50 percent of their sales and profit. This season came up short.

If you do see those filings it is going to be pretty soon, Don, and the National Retail Federation is coming out and asking Obama in an economic stimulus package to include tax-free holidays, they say have some periods of time in March, in July and October when consumers don't have to pay taxes, hopefully that will stimulate spending. They say it would save about $20 billion, about $175 per family. They are asking for that. But the retailers really no luck this holiday season.

LEMON: Hey, Poppy, we have lots of news to get to. I just have a few seconds here. If you have gift cards and concerned because you don't know who is going to be in business and who is not. Can you tell us real quickly what to do.

HARLOW: Spend them now. Because you never know who is going to file for bankruptcy and if they're going to accept them if they do file for bankruptcy and also read the fine print on the back. You want to make sure you get that full $100 or $50 worth. Sometimes they start taking dollars off as the months pass.

Don?

LEMON: Common sense, use them now. Spend them if you got them. Thank you very much for that, Poppy Harlow.

It may be an odd sign of the hard times, more women selling their eggs to couples desperate for children. Each donation can mean thousands of dollars and sticky issues of morals and emotions. CNN's Randi Kaye takes a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The ads are everywhere, college newspapers and craigslist.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love to give somebody a chance to have a child. I'm also looking to pay part of my way through school.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Compensation for surrogacy would allow me to stay home full time, which otherwise would not be an option.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I am a medical student, musician, and am quite athletic. I am charging a significant fee.

KAYE (on camera): That is how thousands of women in today's tough economy earn extra cash and lots of it. They're donating their eggs. It pays as much as $10,000. Women willing to carry a baby as a surrogate mom can rake in even more, $30,000 in some cases.

(voice-over): At 26, Courtney Smith has lots of bills to pay. She's a wine steward at a high end Manhattan restaurant but says the economy is hurting business and as a result, her bank account. She's already cut back on eating out and cab rides. She'd get a second job but she doesn't have the energy or the time. So she plans to donate her eggs. She first did it two years ago when money got tight.

So how much were you paid when you donated your eggs?

COURTNEY SMITH, EGG DONOR: I was paid $7,000.

KAYE: And how did that feel?

SMITH: It felt good. I mean it feels good to have money, and I paid off student loans. KAYE: Courtney provided these baby pictures so recipients can see what their child might look like. Once matched, usually with a couple unable to have their own children, donors like Courtney take hormones for about two weeks to stimulate ovulation. A doctor then removes the eggs from the donor's ovaries. The recipient gets the eggs to fertilize them. The donor gets the money. Debora Spar, author of "The Baby Business" says she's never let her daughter donate.

DEBORA SPAR, "THE BABY BUSINESS": I worry women are deciding to sell their eggs too quickly, that they're being perhaps overly driven by the financial concerns here.

KAYE: Spar is concerned about the women's health, ovaries can be overstimulated which she says can be dangerous.

SPAR: It is one woman giving birth to a child who is genetically the child of another woman. It is sale of our most intimate products.

KAYE: Courtney says sharing her DNA doesn't bother her. She has no emotional connection to her eggs, she says, and doesn't think she'll have any regrets knowing a child that's a part of her, whom she'll never meet, is out there.

Kathy Bernardo started a donor agency in Manhattan.

KATHY BERNARDO, NORTHEAST ASSISTAED FERTILITY GROUP, INC: I don't want people to lose sight that this is a treatment for infertility. Infertility is a disease and this is one of the most effective treatments there are.

KAYE: Courtney was recently anonymously matched with a recipient who will pay her $8,000, the maximum recommended by the American Society for Reproductive Medicine is $10,000. Though some recipients place private ads like this one offering much more. Bernardo says the number of donor applicants at her agency has doubled in recent months.

BERNARDO: And the news has gotten worse and worse. The interest in egg donation has increased.

KAYE: What gets somebody picked?

BERNARDO: Attractiveness is number one. That you have to be attractive and it's a beauty contest to a certain degree but also education, high test scores, ability in music and sports and things like that.

KAYE: Most women say the money is secondary that it's really about helping others. Courtney says those women are kidding themselves.

Would you donate your eggs if you weren't getting paid for them?

SMITH: Personally, I don't think that I would if it was for a stranger.

KAYE: Most women who donate are under 30, when their eggs are healthiest. They can donate every three months, but no more than six times all together. Courtney will keep doing it as long as she needs the money. But she does plan to save some eggs to have her own child one day. Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We want to know what's on your mind tonight, what do you think of this story or any of the stories we told you tonight or even what we haven't told you, something you'd like to see on the air. Send us your responses or your comments to any of the platforms you see there and we'll get your responses on the air.

Well, it was supposedly meant to be supposed to be a parody, but this music CD is no laughing matter for a lot of people. We will let you judge for yourself.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what? CNN iReporters are feeling the Christmas spirit. Mikala Forrest posted an ad on craigslist asking for volunteers to help her feed the homeless in downtown Austin, Texas. Well, she says people showed up with food in hand and they served lasagna, hotdogs, tacos, cake and drinks to dozens of homeless people. It sounds yummy and I'm sure they appreciated it.

And Lenore Wilson's house is overflowing with love this Christmas. Her house on an air force base in Columbus, Mississippi is now filled with 13 kids and three adults, last year her husband's brother and wife, they lost their kids to the Georgia Social Services Department but Lenore says she and her husband stepped in and adopted the entire brood, all eight of them, and neighbors donated money for the kids' Christmas presents. Lenore says they showed the kids there really is a Santa Claus. Yes, there is. Yes there is.

Make sure you keep your iReports coming and be sure to tune in tonight for a look back at some of the most memorable iReports of 2008 and if you get on the job you can be part of the most memorable iReports of 2009. iReporter has contributed to some of so the biggest stories of the year from Barack Obama's election to the financial meltdown. It is at 8:00 p.m. only here on CNN.

It's that time of year hearts are open to helping other people. And so CNN's pulled together a series called focus on giving. Tonight the photojournalist John Toriogo profiles 89-year-old Stanley Cornell, he was part of the program that took some 200,000 parentless children from the streets of New York from 1854 to -- 1929 excuse me and put them on trains with the hope of finding them a loving family out west. Here's Stanley remembering the orphan trains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STANLEY CORNELL, ORPHAN TRAIN RIDER: They called it the orphan train riders that rode the trains looking for mom and dad like I did, my mother and I. Now he's passed away and she's passed away. These are the ones in Colorado, orphan train riders. I can account for 15. My first feelings, I remember standing by my mother's bedside when she was dying and she died from tuberculosis. She knew he was dying and she said be good to your daddy and all of that. That was the last I saw of her.

The state set out someone to check on us to see if he had made enough money to take care of us. He wasn't so they told him he had to give up the boys. So this is a picture of Vic and I just about the time we was in the orphans' home.

It was rough. The Children's Aid Society was a wonderful thing for taking street orphans. This is the type of engine train that took us out of New York City, out to Wellington, Texas, that's where dad happened to be in town that way. He just bought a new Model T Ford, farmer friend that was with him, you've been wanting two boys, you've got two girls, Mr. Dietzer (ph) you ought to go down and look the boys over. We were holding hands together in the circle in the motel lobby of that motel, because there was a blizzard outside, December the 10th, 1926.

This is a picture of my mom and dad, now that gave us a home, and they treated us just like we was new gold, you might say, just like there's no one quite like us. We was really accepted in full faith. We lived on a farm, we had our own ponies to ride to school.

DANA CORNELL, STANLEY'S ADOPTED SON: The orphan train was actually amazing, how many children were actually on all of the orphan trains. The areas that they went to, which was all over the United States.

S. CORNELL (on camera): They pick that up? Sounds like old times.

D. CORNELL: I don't think Vic could stand to have better parents.

S. CORNELL: This new home really hits the spot.

D. CORNELL: I kind of can relate to that because dad adopted Dennis and me.

S. CORNELL: I knew what it was like to grow up without a parent. We had a good, good home. Oh, very grateful, always have been and always will be.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (singing): We have grown the orphan train, take us in we need a home we need a name

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You know what? Talking about this past year, Michael Phelps was one top sportsman this past year but his golden Olympics wasn't the number one sports story. What was? We'll tell you in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, so out with the old, in with the new, as we head to 2009, let's take a look back at 2008. Tonight the top sports business stories of the past 12 months, and we talked about that because of the economy, it's affecting something that's usually not affected by the economy, it's affecting sports. Let's check in now with sports business analyst Rick Horrow. Rick, first of all, where are you? What's going on there? RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, Mt. Washington Resort, Dolphins are on the TV.

LEMON: You're watching football, let me guess.

HORROW: Kids are here. Of course I'm watching football. Listen, you have the show in the middle of football season. There are eight teams and cities so if your ratings are a little lower than usual you know why, my friend.

LEMON: You're watching Miami versus the Jets.

HORROW: The Jets, Dallas, Philadelphia is on, San Diego plays tonight against Denver.

LEMON: Your mind is on the game, clearly.

HORROW: We have a whole bunch of games going on, my friends. But parity in the NFL is a big deal is the fourth story I would say.

LEMON: We talked about that.

HORROW: Because it's a big deal. $7 billion business, my friend and because you can have games going down to the last minute, the last week people are focusing on this right now. My Miami Dolphins they're 1-15 last year, they're a touchdown ahead and could beat the Jets in the Division, it would be huge. I'm so excited I'm knocking the microphone all over the place. That's number four.

LEMON: Let's talk about something you and I had talked about before, we talked about diversity especially in the front office and among coaches on not only in the NFL but also college sports as well. Tell us about that this year. That was part of the big stories of 2008.

HORROW: Obviously the president-elect African American will improve our image abroad, may even have an increased chance of getting the Olympics in Chicago for 2016 his hometown but there are over 50 percent of the college football players that are African American, only 4.5 percent head coaches are African-American. A lot more needs to be done. I think the president-elect will be an inspiration to maximize diversity in all of sports, not to mention life.

LEMON: Let's talk about this a little bit more, because we kind of discussed this some. I was talking to Myron Rohl, who is the Rhodes Scholar from Florida State. And the idea that maybe some of these players should start saying, you know what? I'm not going to go to a school, I'm not going to go to a team where the front office doesn't reflect my particular interests or what I look like. How is that -- is that viable? Is that realistic for players to do?

HORROW: Well, you and I both know it's all about leverage. And it's all about business. So whatever you can do to get somebody's attention, you ought to try to do it. The problem is, these college athletes are two years, three years and out. They make the money at the pro level. That's where they have their imprint. Occasionally some icon like Iman Irol (ph), Rhodes Scholar comes along and he could make a difference.

LEMON: Someone who has tons of money now and won't have to probably ever work again. Michael Phelps, very good year for him.

HORROW: Hah!

I would say so. You know, the Olympics, $100 million, nearly $1 billion in advertising all told. Seventy percent of us watched and were enraptured by the Olympics. Thirty billion in infrastructure. The biggest story is we have Rio and Madrid and Chicago and everybody bidding for these games in the tight economy. Why? Because it's good for the cities and the countries, not to mention good for Michael Phelps.

LEMON: So he advertises -- he was very good for them.

HORROW: Very good for them. Very good for himself. Very good for the entire Olympic cause. Very important in this economy, obviously.

LEMON: Sports, usually recession proof. Not anymore. That's a bad sign, isn't it, Rick?

HORROW: Yeah. We've got to move our money from the left side of the mattress to the right side of the mattress. It's not recession proof. It's a $750 billion business. The NFL laid off 150 people, IMG cut many people in their organization. A lot of the teams, a lot of the leagues are even suspending some operations. Arena football, for example. And so we're hoping it's the beginning of the end, not the end of the beginning for the sake of sports and everybody else.

LEMON: OK. Rick, who's watching your kids?

HORROW: They're right back there. They're fine. They're fine. Listen, they're very well behaved. We got them presents. Listen, they understand they better be good.

LEMON: OK. Well, they know dad's on TV. So go, take care of your kids, please, have a beer or something. Enjoy yourself, it's the holidays.

HORROW: Thank you, man. We'll talk about '09 next week. Good to talk to you.

LEMON: Rick Horrow. We appreciate it.

We usually don't do a lot of sports on CNN but we've been doing it because we've been saying it's recession proof. It's not recession proof. When it starts to trickle down to sports we know we are in trouble. Our thanks again to Rick Horrow for that.

Well, this is supposed to be a parody. But this music CD is no laughing matter for a whole lot of folk. And we will tell you who's upset and we will let you be the judge of it as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right. It is no laughing matter. It is a parody CD given out by chip Saltsman, a Republican in the race to be the head of the GOP. And it is generating quite some controversy. Take a listen at just a few seconds of it.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

UNIDNETIFIED MALE (singing): Barack the Magic Negro lived in DC. The "L.A. Times" they called him that because he's not authentic like me.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: That was just a small -- that was just a small part of it. Not all. There are lots of other diddies on the CD like John Edwards' poverty tour. Right place, wrong pastor. W-R-I-G-H-T, wrong pastor, and the "Star Spanglish Banner". And this has been played on conservative radio for quite some time, I think since 2007. But the idea someone from the RNC that is distributing it is what many people are finding disturbing. A lot of our viewers are as well.

There are some people who are not outraged about it. Even some members of the RNC said, hey, learn to take a joke. Here's what one person said. The first person, let's see what I have here in my favorites. From Twitter. From Twitter, Obama parody from Red Cat 41 says, "It's not a parody at all. It is incredibly insulting. Hatemongering at its worst. I am appalled."

And President Jack Ford said, "I thought that the RNC and McCain/Palin went low enough during the campaign but this is a whole new level of RNC disrespect."

Also, let's see. Abey Kamu (ph) -- I'm not going to read your names anymore because I can't read them. "To say this is despicable is a serious understatement. It's an abuse of free speech. We all enjoy."

Abuse of free speech we all enjoy.

And the next person says, "Is the RNC trying to push Gen Y away? We are not bigots. Evolve or be forgotten."

A number of other responses. Keep them coming because we want to get them on the air. What do you think of this controversy? What it you think of the stories we put on the air? Log on to Twitter, to Facebook, to MySpace, o ireport.com and we will certainly get the good ones on the air. Back in a moment.

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LEMON: OK. We were reading responses before the break we were talking about the Obama parody. We're talking about now, people responding about those donor eggs. The young women who are being paid for their eggs. Here's what one person says.

Is there a demand for eggs for minority women? Need a balance to this story. Hey, we'll check that out, what is it, CRTCONSU (ph)? We'll check that out for you. "Regular guy 68" (ph) says, "I think donating eggs is a bad idea because the donator might get curious later and might want to have the baby or become involved."

And the next one, scb4vp (ph) says, "Whoa, DNA, human eggs for sale? Is it the desire to help a couple have the child or the dollars that's the motivating factor?"

Don't know. Could be all of it.

OK. We want to know what's on your mind. Make sure you send us your responses and what you want to know about. We're back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight.

We're going to end on a story that's going to make you smile. A little Chicago boy gave his grandmother a scare on Christmas morning. She couldn't calm him down. So what did she do? The only thing she could do was call 911, 9-1-1. Operator, Pamela Jenkins took the call. There she is. She and her colleague. When Jutkins (ph) got the boy on the phone he calmed down a bit and said he was grateful for his grandmother, grateful for his home, but was upset because Santa couldn't come to his house.

Well, the 911 operator sent the police over to check it out, the house was clean, a good family lived there, but no presents. So the operator enlisted help of co-workers to raise money and the little boy and siblings all got presents. True story - very nice.

Merry Belated Christmas, everyone.

I'm Don Lemon. I'll see yopu back here at 10:00 pm Eastern.

"LOU DOBBS THIS WEEKEND" begins right now.