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Navy Rescues Captain from Pirates; State of Emergency in Thailand; Sunday School Teacher Arrested in the Murder of an 8-year- old California Girl; Pilot Dies While Flying Plane; Breaking the NBA Color Barrier
Aired April 12, 2009 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you very much.
New information within the last few minutes coming in to CNN about the daring rescue of a hero captain. Here he is. A sight for sore eyes. Captain Richard Phillips, safe, sound and smiling onboard the "USS Boxer."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAPT. RICHARD PHILLIPS, MAERSK ALABAMA CAPTAIN: Thanks, guys. Thank you very much. You're real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Just hours before Phillips had been in the clutches of pirates off the Somali Coast, who took him off his cargo ship in a lifeboat on Wednesday. Military officials said the on scene commander of the "USS Bainbridge" decided Phillips life was in, quote, "imminent danger." A pirate was pointing an AK-47 at Phillip's back, three Navy sniper shots later, it was over. Three pirates killed. One now in custody.
We understand those Special Forces had parachuted into the sea. One or two days ago, and were poised on a fan tail of the "Bainbridge" watching that lifeboat and waiting for the order.
The Phillips family will no doubt rest easy tonight, finally. And our Stephanie Elam is at the captain's hometown in Underhill, Vermont. Today at least you might as well rename it Overjoyed Vermont. And Susan Candiotti live in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
But we begin at the Pentagon, where they have classified some details of this rescue operation. Vice Admiral William Gortney spoke by phone from the Navy Central Command in Bahrain tonight. He said the on-seen commander of the nearby warship "USS Bainbridge" decided the captain's life, again, was in eminent danger and that it was time to act immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICE ADM. WILLIAM GORTNEY, U.S. NAVY (via telephone): We're going through a deliberate hostage negotiation process, which takes a significant period of time. And at periods during that time, tensions will go up and tensions will deescalate. At this particular point, when the hostage -- when the first pirate got off, we were in a, I would say at de-escalatory lower point of the negotiations later this evening. It got heated and we -- the on-scene commander thought that interpreted hostile intent by the pirates, and took the appropriate action.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Captain Richard Phillips was held captive about five days. Each day generating its own headline. Here's how it played out from beginning to end.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Early Wednesday, the 508-foot Maersk Alabama was steaming south, about 300 miles off the Coast of Somalia when it was boarded by four armed Somali pirates. A scuffle broke out and the pirates escaped in the ship's 28-foot enclosed lifeboat with Captain Richard Phillips as a hostage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to clarify something right now. We never lost control of this ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never had it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never took it back from them. They never had this ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never fought to take it back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had Captain Phillips, but they never had this ship.
LEMON: The USS Bainbridge arrived on the scene the next day. Phillips jumped off the lifeboat in a bid to escape, but was quickly recaptured. The Alabama was given a security detail and sent on to Kenya.
SUSAN CRONAN, SISTER OF CREW MEMBER: I feel horrible about him, that he's stuck out there. I think that my brother and the crew, when they were told to leave and head to Kenya, I can only imagine that they felt horrible leaving the captain behind.
LEMON: On Good Friday, the guided missile frigate, the "USS Halliburton," also arrived on the scene. On Saturday, the Navy sent a small group of sailors in a boat to try to make contact with the pirates. But as the sailors approached the lifeboat, they were fired on by the pirates and retreated. The Alabama docked that night in Mombasa, Kenya. The FBI declared the ship a crime scene and quarantined the crew.
UNIDENTIFIED SEAMAN: This man is a hero, a national hero. Right here. Everybody on this ship owes their life to this man right here.
LEMON: Late Easter Sunday, the Navy launched a rescue operation that resulted in Phillips being freed. Three of the pirates were killed and one of the pirates was taken into custody.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Captain Phillips will no doubt have a lot of hugs and at least one chocolate Easter egg waiting for him when he gets back home to Vermont. Here's what Vice Adm. William Gortney of the U.S. Navy said from Central Command in Bahrain as he brief the press on this rescue.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORTNEY (via telephone): I hope Captain Phillips won't mind if I share a note from his wife that was delivered to him this morning by the sailors from the USS Bainbridge while he was still being held captive. The note said, "Richard, your family loves you. Your family is praying for you. Your family is saving a chocolate Easter egg for you, unless your son eats it first."
Well, Mrs. Phillips, keep your son away from those Easter eggs. His dad's headed home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: To New England now, where an elated family and a chocolate Easter egg are all waiting in Underhill, Vermont. CNN's Stephanie Elam was there when the outcome was uncertain and today when the good news finally came.
Hello, Stephanie.
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. Yes. I'm also, sure, maybe he'll welcome the nice, chilly, brisk air that is here in Vermont as well. Quite different from where he has been. Captain Phillips' family obviously very happy about the news. Mrs. Phillips, at least, saying that she's not ready to go before cameras, but we did get a statement earlier today. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: Tell me what it's been like since Wednesday when the -- what does it been like here in this town?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been incredible. I've never seen so many people, so many media. It's been very interesting, actually, having the coverage and all the different -- different media folk here. And it's been, put us on the map, so to speak.
ELAM: That's true. Definitely, you can tell that to a lot of people who are not used to having this many people in their town. What do you know of the Phillips Family?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't know them directly. I've seen them around at the different mark and everything. But they have a large number of people who know them and are supporting them. And the yellow ribbons out here are just incredible. You know, the people put yellow ribbons all over -- up our road, down river road. It's been quite -- quite an outpouring of support by the town.
ELAM: What do you think about the little bit of information we're getting right now that we're still trying to -- what has gone on to free Captain Phillips? And obviously, this dragged on for a few days, but it sounds like they took some measures to make sure that he'd be safe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I'm glad they actually did that. You know, it was about time. If it drew on too much longer, you know, who knows what would have happened. And it's great that it didn't happen like the French thing happened. I'm very, very happy and elated.
ELAM: So what do you think? Captain Phillips gets back here?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe it won't be -- maybe it will be a ticker tape parade, but instead of ticker tape, it will be snow or something like that. But I think everybody is -- they're going just praise him for being hero, because he really is. He is a hero. He is an American hero.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: And so, Don, when you hear that, that's actually a neighbor here in Underhill. Steve Herrera (ph) that we spoke with earlier today, just showing how everyone here is really happy about that.
One thing to point out, in the first quarter of this year, we had Sullenberger who was a hero; second quarter, it's all about Captain Phillips - Don.
LEMON: Stephanie Elam, thank you very much.
The Maersk Alabama crew minus their rescued captain is now in Kenya. They wanted to get one thing straight. They never lost control of that ship. Here's what crewmen and a chief engineer said about that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to clarify something right now. We never lost control of this ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never had it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never took it back from them. They never had this ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We never fought to take it back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had Captain Phillips, but they never had this ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never had control. Never.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They never had this ship. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Never.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is our ship.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am the chief engineer and I guarantee you, they never had control. I took it from the bridge, just as they walked on to the bridge with guns and stuck guns in his face, the captain's faces.
The captain said the bridge had been compromised. I took control down in the engine room.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is one of the greatest man I've ever met right here. Right here. This man is a hero. A national hero, right here.
Everybody on this ship owes their life to this man right here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: CNN's Susan Candiotti has been at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy all day, where Captain Phillips trained.
An emotional day where you've been, Susan.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It has, Don. It started with Easter services in Buzzards Bay here on Cape Cod, where people were praying for the safe return of Captain Richard Phillips as well as the entire crew. Their prayers have been answered, and when word leaked out that Phillips had been released, here's what we heard on campus.
(VIDEO CLIP -- HORN BLOWING)
CANDIOTTI: That's right. They kept on sounding the ship's whistle throughout the afternoon. It was sounded by cadets, the skeleton crew aboard the training ship "Kennedy" to sound off their celebration that Phillips had been free.
And there is a connection here. Captain Phillips is a 1979 graduate of this maritime academy, as well as Shane Murphy. He also attended school here. And just a couple of weeks ago, he lectured a class on piracy, just before leaving on that fateful trip.
Also, wanted to tell you that we spoke with the admiral here at the Maritime Academy, and he said that he hopes what happened here adds the world's focus to this piracy problem. He said they have to break the business model. A business model that has been successful for the pirates, where they seize a ship, they demand a ransom and they make millions of dollars.
LEMON: CNN's Susan Candiotti. Susan, we appreciate your reporting.
The commander in chief was monitoring this standoff. President Barack Obama gave standing orders for the military to take decisive action if they felt Captain Phillips was in imminent danger.
After the rescue, the president issued this statement. He said, "I am very pleased that Captain Phillips has been rescued and is safely onboard the USS Boxer. His safety has been our principal concern, and I know this is a welcome relief to his family and his crew. I am also very proud of the efforts of the U.S. military and many other departments and agencies who worked tirelessly to secure Captain Phillips's safe recovery."
Still ahead here on CNN, breaking news. A terrible boating accident in Florida. Reports of numerous injuries and numerous fatalities.
And startling pictures out of Thailand tonight as civil unrest erupts on the street.
Also, be a part of our show tonight. Give us your response to all of our stories -- Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We'll get it on the air for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're following breaking news here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to replay the new video in to CNN tonight. It's definitely worth watching, again. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Thanks, guys. Thank you very much. You're real.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That is former pirate hostage Richard Phillips arriving aboard the USS Boxer. This video was shot shortly after the ship's captain's dramatic rescue after five days of captivity. The USS Boxer equipped with the medical facility so Phillips can get a thorough physical examination. But as you can see, he appears to be unharmed and in very good spirit. We wish him the best.
You know, despite international efforts, piracy remains a multimillion dollar business and lucrative for those pirates. In the Gulf of Aden, one of the most notoriously lawless stretches of water.
Joining me now is a former U.S. Navy captain, Alec Fraser. He is now head of Turner Properties. Chris Voss, a former FBI international kidnapping negotiator. And on the phone with me, Ken Robinson, military analyst and former military intelligence officer.
Thank you all for joining us. I want to get to Ken real quickly.
Ken, I have not heard from you at all today, but I want to talk you having your experience as a former military intelligence officer, where do we take this story to now? Because we have an American life that has been save, and a number of American lives and men on the boat, but there are still 250 other humans, who are not Americans, who are still being held captive. So what do we do now?
KEN ROBINSON, FORMER MILITARY INTELLIGENCE OFFICER (via telephone): Well, you know, it's going to be an international effort. Your guest that you have on that I'm with right now, I was able to watch their commentary all day. And they've been pretty much spot on.
The challenges that the president has, as we move forward in this, is the policy issue. A put land. This ungoverned space from which these guys plant and recruit and launch missions.
There's going to have to be a decision made as to what our new policies going to be in policing this million mile space that they've got to cover. It's going to be very hard for the United States Navy to find something at sea, but it's very easy for them to find the source of it all. And the source of it all is this geographic area that they're going to have to decide whether they're going to start interdiction operations, bombing operations.
They've been doing that off and on for the last year, and was never made it into the reporting. But now it's going to be a new commitment, because we've had for the first time in 200 years, a U.S.- flagged ship seized. And it's a game changer.
LEMON: Yes. Absolutely.
And former U.S. Navy Captain Alec Fraser joins us now.
Aleck, you can talk to us about the dangers of going through these waters, of -- that the folks faced there. And we can see, obviously, the way the story played out. Moves us forward for us as someone who has been there. Not necessarily in this situation, but has been out on open waters like that.
ALEC FRASER, FORMER U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN: Well, this is a textbook example. But as Ken was just talking, there's going to be a very tough way of trying to solve the issues.
The Somalia coast is as long as the East Coast of the United States. We're not doing convoys of ships through this area because it's not economically feasible. And we are just starting now to sort of arm the merchant crews and do some things like putting barbed wire around the other parts of the ship. That has thwarted some of the events that pirates have tried to take other ships. All of those things are -- they're just all difficult and the resources of the globe, much less the United States, they're not there to do that.
LEMON: Yes. Chris Voss, let's talk to you, because you're a negotiator. A former negotiator. Before it even gets to the point where there needs to be negotiation, I'm sure that there are things that we need to do in order to stop it. But the way this played out, does this help our intelligence folks at all in negotiating with these folks and to coming to some sort of, I don't know, at least getting a handle on these pirates?
CHRIS VOSS, FORMER FBI LEAD INTERNATIONAL KIDNAPPING NEGOTIATOR: Well, this negotiation does help in the sense it does help. And I'd also like to answer the question that you raised a moment ago about -- a little bit about where do we go from here in terms of international cooperation.
Because the FBI has been deploying hostage negotiators as a weapon against terrorists and kidnappers and hostage-takers to deter and disrupt these events as part of the tactical component for 10 or 15 years now. I mean, this has become part of the course of business for the FBI crisis negotiation unit.
About three years ago, the United States started through the G-8 to try to talk to other nations about using the same tactic against hostage-takers, and that effort sort of fell away, because the hostage taking in Iraq and the kidnapping in Iraq diminished some. But this same effort can be made internationally if other nations begin to use their negotiators the same way the United States does. And you can see from this instance how much the negotiators helped set up this tactical resolution.
Negotiation -- in hostage negotiation, it's not about compromise. It's about accomplishing objectives. And hostage negotiators can help tactical resolution in almost every case.
LEMON: Let's talk about this particular rescue and the role that our military played in the Navy SEALs and those snipers.
Ken Robinson, apparently this boat -- both boats were moving in the water. The USS Bainbridge was apparently pulling the rescue boat into calmer waters. Explain to us the type of training and the situation that these guys were facing in order to take three shots -- three shots only. One shot each guy apiece, and then hit their targets. It's amazing.
ROBINSON: Well, it is amazing, because we're able to recruit the best and the brightest into the special mission units of which the Navy SEALs are a part of it. This type of mission is known as a direct action mission. There was a secured video teleconference a few nights ago determining what the policy was going to be on this issue.
And then special teams were forward deployed. And those teams were inserted into the area covertly, and were able to come in from a high altitude, high opening, land as a group of people near one of the ships, be taken onboard the ship and then moved stealthfully to a place where they could have overwatch and be able to place their sniper weapons and provide overwatch against the hostage, Mr. Phillips, in case that they tried to make an aggressive act against him.
This is the core thing that they do, that delta does, that the rangers do day in and day out. It's their core competency. The ability to protect power around the world. The issue is always not could week, but should we?
LEMON: Yes.
ROBINSON: The policy issue of when do we decide to get decisively engage and how deeply do we do it, because the issue that we have right now is -- the center of gravity of this means that we have to get on the ground or start a bombing campaign.
LEMON: And Ken, Alec wants to jump in. What do you want to say, Alec?
FRASER: Well, you always say this is a textbook example of how it was done, but in addition to putting all the resources that we had, forward projected so close to Somalian coast from all around the globe, things were set on place to make it all happen.
And the food and clothing and medical supplies that were given to the pirates in the lifeboat. The fact that they got those -- that they got the guys to agree to be towed behind the Bainbridge, the most calm part of the ocean is behind the ship, particularly what course you may be steering. But if you can get the lifeboat steady, and if you can get the ship itself steady, an Arleigh Burke destroyer has about a 50-, 60-foot beam. It's a very stable ship in that type of sea conditions. That makes the lifeboat not rock so much. So when the snipers wanted to take a shot, they had a stable platform to do it from.
LEMON: They were doing that on purpose.
Hey, very quickly here, because I only have about 20 seconds left. I want to ask each of you. I know that you're not prosecutors. But Chris, what do you think is going to happen with this pirate? You think he'll be tried here in the U.S.?
VOSS: I would like to see him tried in the U.S. It's up to the Department of Justice. But it seems to be the most appropriate place for him to go to trial.
LEMON: Alec?
FRASER: I don't know, but we ought to do it in a way that sends a signal to the rest of the pirates in Somalia.
LEMON: Ken?
ROBINSON: The United Nation Security Council Resolution 1851 says we can. The issue is that the tactics that we used today won't work again because they are learning this institution as well. These guys are going to learn from what we just did and won't be caught in that same position again.
LEMON: Ken Robinson, Chris Voss and Alec Fraser, thanks to all of you.
An incredible story out of Florida to tell you about. It is breaking news. Passengers aboard a private plane are suddenly forced to land it themselves when the pilot dies at the controls. And we have the picture last night to show you.
Look at this. It is a woman who jumped into a polar bear pen during feeding time. And we'll show you how it all ended there. It doesn't look very good from that point. Does it?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We have some breaking news to tell you about near Jacksonville, Florida. The St. John's River, sight of a tragedy this Easter Sunday. Police say five people were killed when their boat crashed into a dock that was being built. The other seven people on the boat suffered serious injuries. The accident happened around 7:00 p.m. Eastern. We have no word right now on the cause.
We're also following breaking news out of Thailand tonight.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: New video in to CNN from Bangkok. The prime minister has declared a state of emergency as anti-government protests get more intense. Riot police are out in the streets clashing with an ever- growing number of protesters in the capital and the surrounding areas.
CNN's Dan Rivers joins me tonight by phone from Bangkok.
Dan, what is the latest?
DAN RIVERS, CNN BANGKOK CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, the latest is that the protesters and the army are sort of in a standoff, really. We're at a motorway intersection, a freeway intersection, where the protestors have commandeered two gas tankers that they are threatening to blow up, basically. The army and the fire brigade are here. They're trying to secure those two tankers. That's particularly difficult situation here.
Elsewhere, there are ratcheted protesters that have occupied the main intersections. They've surrounded the prime minister's official office. No sign there of any security. And at the moment the situation is pretty fluid. We understand from the prime minister's spokesman that the prime minister may make some sort of statement. I'm not sure if that's going to be televised or not within the next couple hours. They're waiting to see what he says.
LEMON: Hey, Dan, talk to us about possible injuries? And are any Americans in harm's way?
RIVERS: In terms of injuries, it's been reported about 49, 50 people have been injured in the clashes that happened about five hours ago. In terms of U.S. nationals, I don't think that any are involved. This is all happening well away from any tourist areas. So that tourist areas seem to be largely unaffected.
But, you know, clearly, it's a concern. And, you know, I think the advice from the British embassy here is for people to exercise caution and try and stay off the streets, if they can.
But at the moment, this is pretty localized, on a few main intersections around some government buildings. Bangkok is a huge, huge city. So, you know, 90 percent of it, it's life goes on as normal. But there are pockets where, you know, things are pretty volatile. LEMON: All right. Dan Rivers, reporting this breaking news from Bangkok. The pictures are just horrific there, Dan. We appreciate your reporting.
And still ahead here on CNN, the latest on the return of Captain Richard Phillips.
Also, President Barack Obama prepares to travel to South America this week. What is atop his agenda?
And the much-anticipated arrival of the first puppy. Has the media made too much of this pouch?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Our breaking news tonight. U.S. Navy SEAL shot and killed a trio of well-armed Somali pirates and rescued American cargo ship Captain Richard Phillips, who was held hostage by the pirates in a lifeboat since Wednesday.
You can see from this new video the captain is in good shape. One of pirates is in custody tonight. No word yet if his prosecution will become a matter for America. The Justice Department says it will be reviewing the evidence and other issues to determine whether to seek prosecution in the United States.
Lynn Sweet, "Chicago Sun Times" Washington Bureau chief, and CNN political editor Mark Preston join us tonight.
Thank you, guys.
Lynn, does the way the administration handled this crisis, does it help the president, internationally?
LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Well, absolutely. Apparently, it went out flawlessly. You know, the snipers had three bullets, and hit their mark three times. And it just bolsters the Obama standing that it was executed. Piracy is a problem. He put out a plea tonight in a statement that this is a case where the world should work together to stop this, Don.
LEMON: And, Mark Preston, the Obama administration was low key at the start of all of this. Did he take the lead or did he follow expert advice on this?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, what I found striking is that the White House was very careful what they said over the past few days ever since this captain was captured. And, you know, oftentimes, a very strong leader is one who can delegate to somebody who knows much more than that person does. And I think that's what we saw today.
President Obama gave that authority to the commander in the region. The commander made the call and, you know, thank God, all turned out well. LEMON: And, Mark, let's talk about next week. The president heads off to South America for the Summit of the Americas. Polls show that Americans want stronger military presence on the U.S.-Mexico border, yet, they want to loosen travel restrictions to Cuba. All these part of the discussions in the coming week for the president.
PRESTON: Yes, you know, two very important issues when President Obama heads south to the Summit of the Americas, Don. Three quarters of Americans right now think that we should send U.S. troops to the Mexico border. Of course, there's a lot of violence going on down there with the drug lords who seem to have overrun certainly that part of Mexico.
Now dealing with Cuba, we saw -- we had congressional leaders head to Cuba just last week and meet with Raul Castro as well as Fidel Castro. Here in America, Americans wants to see diplomatic channels open. We'll see a lot of talk this coming week.
LEMON: Hey, Lynn, let's talk about the ASU controversy, Arizona State University denying him an honorary -- the president an honorary degree because the body of his work, they said and I think it was, is still to be determined. But then they named one of their biggest scholarship funds after him. What gives here?
SWEET: Well, naming the scholarship fund was just a fallback position to try and stop the controversy. I don't think this will do it. Usually, people think that when you go to a university to give a commencement address, you get an honorary degree. ASU has some procedures that now are very controversial. So who knows? As far as we know, he's still going to go get the speech.
This means there's controversy surrounding not only his speech at ASU over this degree thing, that maybe passing, but the White House says they don't care that much. And, of course, there's bigger speech, more watched speech, at Notre Dame. So, that's two for two on that front.
LEMON: OK. Listen. Let's talk about this, you guys. They're getting a dog. Everyone is excited.
Mark, I mean, are we really making too much of this?
PRESTON: Yes, I think so, Don. I mean, look, I have a dog. I have two young children. They love our dog. But the fact of the matter is, it's just a dog.
LEMON: A cute dog, if you look at picture.
PRESTON: Look, it's cute. But you know something? A lot of people are losing their jobs, the economy is in the tank, and we're all worried about when this dog's going to show up at the White House.
SWEET: Yes, but it's...
LEMON: Go ahead, Lynn. SWEET: Gentlemen, gentleman, it's more -- you know, like we could do three or four things at once. And one of them is to have a national fascination on a dog. The dog is Bo. And I have to tell you that like a lot of high-level Obama appointments, he had clout behind him, Senator Ted Kennedy.
But he did have to pass living in the White House to prove that he could stand on his own four feet. So, you know, the girls have a dog. I think everyone's going to have all eyes on him when he arrives Tuesday, and we will be talking about this dog for a long time to come.
LEMON: Guess who is the big dog lover -- the person right in the middle of the mechanical (ph) I'm sure is Lynn Sweet here.
SWEET: Who's that?
LEMON: That's you. You're in the middle, Lynn. You're in the middle.
SWEET: No, no. I don't even have a pet. So, I don't even want to take care of anything, believe me. But I understand. People are crazy about this dog.
LEMON: I do get it. I do get it.
SWEET: I get stuff on my blog all the time about this. There's a second debate going on about whether or not Obama should have followed through his promise and gotten a shelter dog, Don.
LEMON: Yes, yes.
SWEET: This is not the last of it. Believe me.
LEMON: Lynn, we want to move on because we also want to talk about -- this is very important. You know, the White House Easter egg hunt. You know, they offered the tickets to try to get more people and make it more diverse.
But, Lynn, let's talk about the Obama family attending Easter services at St. John Episcopal Church. A number of churches in the area vying for the First Family to become members of their church, and it seems in this Easter Sunday service at St. John's won out?
SWEET: It did for now. The White House cautioned us that this doesn't mean this is the church they're going to pick. The Obamas' stand -- they have not had a church since the end of May in '08. So, the quest goes on. But they did take communion at this Episcopal Church on Sunday.
LEMON: Yes. Every time I go to Washington, I talk to Mark Preston. I say, Mark, do you want to go out and have some dinner. And he goes, oh, Don, I would love -- once you did, I would love to but I got to get home to my kids. Do you have a dog?
PRESTON: I have a dog. LEMON: OK.
PRESTON: Got to put the dog out. Got to feed the dog. Look, I love dogs, but you know something? Let the Obamas enjoy their dog in peace and private.
LEMON: Mark Preston and Lynn Sweet, thank you very much. Happy Easter, Happy Passover to you guys. We appreciate you joining us.
SWEET: Thank you.
LEMON: Here's what you guys are saying about the stories that we put on the air here tonight.
Currentevents2 says, "Very happy for the family. Proud of our president and military. All brave people."
Bossyleo22 says, "I'm very excited they were able to rescue the captain. Need to determine how they will handle further American cargo ships."
AnnaJeter says, "I think it has the makings of a great movie. Don't mess with the U.S."
And UBlooper says, "I called this one five days ago. You can't mess with the U.S.A. and think you will get a ransom and live to tell about it."
Send us your responses and we will get them on the air. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We appreciate it, and we want you to become part of our community.
We had the picture last night. Now we have the video. A woman jumps into a polar bear habitat during feeding time. Not a good move. We will show you more.
And an incredible story happening out of Florida. Passengers aboard a private plane, suddenly the pilot dies at the controls. You won't believe this story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK, guys. You know what? They were -- they've been separated. Last week, Martha wasn't here with us and now she's back. Martha Zoller, Warren Ballentine, two of our radio hosts. You two will be quite busy next week talking about all of these issues.
Happy Easter to you, first of all.
MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO HOST, "THE MARTHA ZOLLER SHOW": Thank you.
WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO HOST, "THE WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": Happy Easter, guys.
LEMON: Let's talk about the pirates. Martha, since you're away next week, I'm going to talk about -- I'm going to talk with you. ZOLLER: OK.
LEMON: It was seen that the Obama administration made a good move, made a good call. The president said, you know, had the final signoff. How does this make him look overseas? Any difference or is there work really just ahead about how we're going to deal with this situation?
ZOLLER: Well, I mean, I can't say anything negative about what happened. I think it was a positive thing that he let the military do their thing and he doesn't seem to be an LBJ kind of micromanager kind of guy. I think he gets an A-plus for this particular situation.
LEMON: Warren?
BALLENTINE: I think this was huge for President Obama, and I'm going to tell you why. It showed that he's diplomatic, but at the same time, if you do not want to negotiate with us, he's not afraid to use force. I think this is going to play well with overseas people and I think it's going to play well with the military and us on the home front, because now we have a president who's not just going to talk the talk, but he's going to walk the walk as well.
LEMON: But we do have to figure how not have this happen again -- how to not have this happen again, which, I think is, it's great that we have the captain, and that was good work, tough work, but I think that...
ZOLLER: And this has been going on for a very long time.
LEMON: Yes.
ZOLLER: I mean, the first war that we ever fought was against the Barbary pirates. So this is an issue -- free trade at the sea lanes -- continues to be big an issue.
LEMON: I think it's going to be a challenge ahead, especially. We hope that this situation doesn't fire them up and -- so that they try to retaliate.
Let's talk about taxes now. Because I know one young lady next week who is attending one of these parties. These tea parties that are taking place all over America.
Martha, they're really catching on like fire. What's going on here?
ZOLLER: Well, I think because, first of all, it's not -- it's not a right-wing thing. It is something that people are concerned about. And I know that taxes are relatively low in the United States, but the concern is the direction we're going with the level of spending.
Before the first TARP package, the Bush administration last budget warned of 70 percent tax rate because of the level of entitlement. And I think what the people are saying around the country is, look, we have got to go in a different direction and we've got to start with taxation, but also with spending and the size of government.
LEMON: When you look at the stats of those, it says that the truth is that the U.S. is a relatively low-tax country.
ZOLLER: It is.
LEMON: No matter how you slice the data. So then, what's the protest about?
ZOLLER: It is. But if you look at the Bush budget before the TARP spending, before all of that, they estimated that the rate of taxation could go up as high as 70 percent to maintain what we're doing. And so it's the level of fast and furious spending with the ending of the Bush tax cuts that have gotten people concerned.
LEMON: Hey, Warren, real quickly, because I want to move on to another subject. Do you think that this will have an impact or it's much ado?
BALLENTINE: Much ado. I mean, it's kind of hilarious to me that now they want to start having tea parties even with this possibility of this tax rate. We don't know what's going to happen yet, and they're trying to, I guess, be proactive and they have no idea what's going to happen.
ZOLLER: Hey, the right to protest is in the constitution.
BALLENTINE: It is and it's coming from the right wing. More policy, you guys.
ZOLLER: It's not the right wing. It is across the board. You're going to see that on Wednesday.
LEMON: All right. Let's talk about what happened just last week in Vermont and Rhode Island. You know what we're talking about. We're talking about gay marriage and it is a heated subject. Every time we talk about that, about guns and also about the decriminalization of marijuana, we get a lot of response. Also on the pirates as well.
The last poll that we had, the CNN poll, this is from June of '08, and the question was, should gay marriage be recognized by law as valid? 44 percent of people said yes, 53 percent said no.
Martha, I know that you said that you were re-examining your stance on decriminalizing marijuana. Where are you standing now on the issue of same-sex marriage?
ZOLLER: Well, you know, I think what's going to happen eventually, DOMA is going to be challenged, that Defense of Marriage Act is going to be challenged in the Supreme Court. And I don't think it's going to hold up, if you want now the truth. And then we're going to have to go back to the drawing board. I don't advocate same-sex marriage. I have not changed my view on that. I do support civil unions, though. I think it's a legal issue. And, again, all roads lead back to tax reform. We have these very heavy taxes on people that are single and it creates a lot of problems, so...
LEMON: But, Martha, I think you have a point there, because I'm reading in the "New York Times" this morning as well, saying that this is going to be an issue because of the number of states and provinces that are passing it. This is going to end up in the supreme, in front of the Supreme Court.
Warren?
ZOLLER: I think it will because of the full faith and credit clause.
LEMON: Yes.
BALLENTINE: Let me tell you what happens with the law, talking as a lawyer. You have something that's called precedence. And when you see these other states coming in and making this law, most other states will follow into that trend, because they want to have a unified code across this country. So it won't surprise me if this gets to the Supreme Court.
And what will be surprising me, though, is if it gets to the Supreme Court and is denied. I think that this country is moving towards the direction of making same-sex marriage legal in this country.
ZOLLER: And it will be a constitutional amendment movement, though.
BALLENTINE: And I think that the reason that this is happening is because of tax reformation and because of the growing need of other concerns in this country that this is not becoming the main issue in America any more.
LEMON: That's going to have to be the last word. Warren Ballentine, Martha Zoller, I'm so glad we had this time together. Everybody (INAUDIBLE) here at once.
BALLENTINE: Happy Easter, guys.
LEMON: Thank you. Happy Easter. We appreciate it.
And a story that is shocking out in the town of Tracy, California. A Sunday school teacher accused in the murder of an 8- year-old girl. We have full details for you.
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LEMON: New video tonight showing Captain Richard Phillips after U.S. Navy SEALs rescued him from the clutches of armed Somali pirates. Captain Phillips looked happy and healthy in the first video of him since he was taken captive five days ago. He thanked the crew members and shook their hands as he boarded the "USS Boxer" warship.
This video was taken shortly after Navy snipers killed three of the four pirates who held Phillips hostage. The fourth pirate is in custody tonight and investigators are interviewing him.
Dr. Bob Arnot is a former network news correspondent. He has been up close and personal with Somali pirates. He's actually been to their headquarters and I spoke with him not long ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. BOB ARNOT, FMR. MEDICAL REPORTER FOR NBC & CBS: These guys are really bad. They're real gangsters. They're ex-Somali marines and navy. You know, remember when Somalia was a country, they were merciless. If you were in Somali waters, you were dead. They're not afraid of killing anybody. The difficulty with these particular pirates, these fishermen, is there are hundreds of thousands of these guys and they don't care if they get killed, the mainstream pirates. So they go out. They freelance. Then the big guys take over.
LEMON: It's very interesting because, Dr. Bob, you've covered Somalia since 1991. And according to our Pentagon correspondent, the pirate that's captured maybe as young as 16 years old. Tell us about these young guys and how they come to this, Dr. Bob?
ARNOT: Well, you can go to these pirate bases. I was up on Bosaso, which is the capital of Puntland, and Puntland is sort of, you know, the main pirate nation, if you would. You know, waters have been over fished. You know, the Russians, the Poles, the Japanese have been in there. There are no fish left. There's no country left. There's no place to get a job. So what do they do? They take their fishing boats. They go offshore and they try to get a vessel.
Now, it's interesting in terms of the investment part of it. Let's say you want to invest in pirate futures. Roughly 20 percent is going to go back to the sort of chief pirates. 30 percent goes to equipment, like the grenades and the RPGs and the GPSs. Another 20 percent goes to the town elders. You got 30 percent when it's all over. But it's a very simple investment for the businessmen onshore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Dr. Bob Arnot.
Still to come -- a shocking story, a Sunday school teacher arrested in the murder of an 8-year-old California girl. Tonight, we hear from the teacher's family, who say they still cannot believe this.
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LEMON: A California Sunday school teacher is suspected of killing her daughter's 8-year-old playmate. Now the teacher's relatives are speaking out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JONI HUGHES, MELISSA HUCKABY'S AUNT: We're very, very shocked. It's very out of character for Melissa. We love her dearly.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: Do you believe the accusations?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have no idea. We know what you know with regard to the accusations and the evidence that's been presented.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Police arrested 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby Friday in the death of Sandra Cantu. The little girl's body was found Monday stuffed inside a suitcase in a pond. She's been missing since late March. Huckaby is facing kidnapping and murder charges. She's expected to be arraigned on Tuesday.
Some terrifying moments onboard a flight in Fort Myers, Florida today when the pilot died at the controls. Can you imagine? Our affiliate WINK reports the pilot passed out of shortly after takeoff. One of the six passengers onboard managed to bring the plane to a safe landing at Southwest Florida International Airport. We're told the passenger had some flight experience there -- one passenger and no word yet on the pilot's cause of death.
Now to the tape everyone has been talking about -- pictures of a woman jumping into a polar bear enclosure at the Berlin Zoo. It happened Friday during the animals' feeding time. One of the bears bit her and bit her several times. This is a still shot of the bear. I want to see that video. Roll that back. We're going to play it.
I'm going to show you the still shot first of the bear grabbing her at the start of the attack. Hundreds of visitors watched in horror. There it is. The attack continued and you can see the animal going after her under the water. Zoo workers hoisted her out of the moat with rescue rings. She suffered serious injuries.
It is unclear why she jumped into the enclosure. Guess what? Probably won't do it again, for sure.
All right. Well, he was the first black NBA player. Do you know his name? You're going to meet him straight ahead.
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LEMON: Wilt Chamberlain, Magic Johnson, Kobe Bryant, Earl Lloyd. Earl Lloyd? If that name doesn't ring a bell, then you need to listen up. Earl Lloyd had a lot to do with helping others become NBA superstars. I spoke to him in our continuing series "African-American Firsts: Up from a Past." Here's his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): 6'5", Earl Lloyd has a good idea of your first thought about him.
EARL LLOYD, FIRST BLACK NBA PLAYER: They don't know who you are. I mean, they see you. You're a tall black guy. You know, even though you're older, somehow they think you've been associated with basketball.
LEMON: Though he's not a household name nor face, the faces of today's NBA credit him for paving the way. Lloyd was the first African-American to play in the league.
LLYOD: In any situation where there is none, sooner or later there's going to be one. I feel good that I was some place early, and now allows these guys to enjoy the career they enjoy.
LEMON: An all-white NBA is hard to imagine today. About 75 percent of the players are African-Americans. But in the early '50s, black players like Earl Lloyd were tearing up college basketball courts. From 1947 through 1948, Earl led his team, West Virginia State, to a phenomenal season as the only undefeated team in the nation.
Envious of baseball booms sparked by diversity, putting more butts in the seats, the NBA and the Washington capitals drafted Lloyd in 1950. He credits much of his success and ease to Jackie Robinson.
LLOYD: Jackie Robinson was a renaissance man. I come three years later, and all the barriers that I might have experienced, if he had not been there, they were gone.
LEMON: The college forward was a ninth round NBA pick in 1950, played for two seasons, but left to serve his country. After the army, the Syracuse Nationals picked him up where re played for six seasons. Then on to two seasons with the Detroit Pistons, retiring in 1960. Back then, this first had no way of knowing that 50 years later he'd witness another historic first, a black president.
LLYOD: For years and years and years, we always tell our kids, you could be anything you wanted to be. And you weren't lying to them, but it was kind of sugar coated, but now, that's one less concern we have.
LEMON: Today, Lloyd is a man of few words, enjoying every moment with his wife of more than 40 years. Wisdom is his gift to the young.
LLOYD: The ball knows no prejudice. They don't know what kind of hand it's in.
LEMON: Earl Lloyd, an African-American first and an inspiration far beyond basketball.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We salute you, Earl Lloyd. And make sure you join me every Sunday night here on CNN when I profile another African-American trailblazer in my series "Up from a Past: African-American Firsts."
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LEMON: I'm Don Lemon in Atlanta. Good night.
