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Ahmadinejad Re-Election Sparks Unrest; Former Gitmo Detainee Speaks Out; Rising Tide of Hate in America

Aired June 13, 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: Tonight, a CNN exclusive. We speak face- to-face with former Gitmo detainees now free men. And not everyone is happy that they're out.

Iran in chaos at this hour. With protestors not backing down from a presidential election they claim was stolen.

The rising tide of hate in America. Some called them domestic terrorists using the Internet to build their own terror network. How dangerous are they? We explore right now in the news.

Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.

We begin tonight on the streets of Iran, and they are swarming with protesters and riot police. The chaos sparked by the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. The opposition said the election was plainly just stolen. Let's get right to our chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour in Tehran.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Frustration boiled over and ran through the streets of this Tehran neighborhood, after official election results delivered reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi a crushing defeat in Friday's elections.

UNIDENTIFIED PROTESTORS: Mousavi! Mousavi!

AMANPOUR: "Mousavi! Mousavi! Get my vote back for me," they shout. "Death to the dictator," they shout.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People in Tehran hate Ahmadinejad. People in Tehran hate Ahmadinejad.

AMANPOUR: Hundreds of riot police were deployed and thrown out there. They were running battles with angry street protestors. As each side charged the other. The protesters threw rocks and set garbage cans on fire and many were beaten with batons.

After a while, the growing crowd surged towards the main square. There were more security forces and police but here they did not intervene. And then the protesters set off down Tehran's main north- south avenue.

"We're here to protect our votes," says this man, "because we feel we have been insulted. Our vote has been insulted.

(on camera): Chanting god is great. The people have now joined thousands and thousands of supporters marching down this main artery that links north with south Tehran.

(voice-over): Hundreds more wave them on from the side street, from rooftops, from the overpass.

"Come over and support us" shouted the marchers. As this was happening, the final election results were being broadcast by the interior ministry. Of 39 million votes cast, 24.5 million were counted for President Ahmadinejad, and just over 13 million for Mir Hossein Mousavi. And with that came the official seal of approval. Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Khomeini delivered a message, congratulating the people on their epic Friday election, on the record turnout and the result, saying the president was everyone's president.

But Mousavi, who had last night declared himself the winner based on his campaign's exit polls, also wrote an open letter to the people calling the results shocking and vowing not to surrender, quote, "to such stage craft where the system cheats the people out of their vote."

By late evening, President Ahmadinejad appeared on state television to thank his supporters.

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Well, I thank all, all who have created this great epic, all those who voted for me or those who voted for other candidates. All contributed to creation of this great event. And I sincerely thank all of them.

AMANPOUR: There are plans for a victory celebration Sunday as officials say that Ahmadinejad's surprising landslide and the record voter turnout proved that people can't trust the process.

Christiane Amanpour, CNN, Tehran.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, Internet communications in Iran have been disrupted but somehow our iReporters managed to get some photos from their friends' Facebook pages.

Now, they were taken today as protesters filled the streets of Tehran and then unloaded to Facebook. Now you can see there was a major police presence on the ground there, and a lot of raw emotion as young Iranians expressed their shock over the election rules.

Iranians around the world have also been reacting to the election.

(VIDEO CLIP)

This is a fiery scene today in London outside the Iranian embassy. Many Iranians there had expected the challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi to win, and his campaign had been highly optimistic that it would. So the re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has provoked a highly vocal backlash.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's a long, long time I have been this angry about anything. And I really cannot understand how could they do this? We put for their revolution. We wanted a change. We wanted fair for everyone. We thought we will have freedom, not this. I don't want this.

We should have another one, a fair one -- that there are representatives of all of the candidates in there. They are casting the votes (INAUDIBLE), so we know our true vote is counted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the White House is turning a skeptical but cautious eye towards the Iranian election. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs released a statement saying, "Like the rest of the world, we were impressed by the vigorous debate and enthusiasm that this election generated, particularly among young Iranians. We continue to monitor the entire situation closely, including reports of irregularities."

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton echoed the same cautious sentiments today during a trip to Canada.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: We watched closely the enthusiasm and the very vigorous debate and dialogue that occurred in the lead up to the Iranian elections. We are monitoring the situation as it unfolds in Iran. But, we, like the rest of the world are waiting and watching to see what the Iranian people decide.

The United States has refrained from commenting on the election in Iran. We obviously hope that the outcome reflects the genuine will and desire of the Iranian people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Karim Sadjadpour is an associate at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and a leading expert on Iran. He joins us now, live tonight from Washington.

Thank you for joining us.

We know that you know a lot about this and in your comments about this election, you have chosen to call it a selection and not an election.

KARIM SADJADPOUR, ASSOCIATE, CARNEGIE ENDOWMENT FOR INTERNATIONAL PEACE: Don, simply put, this was a stolen election. This was a fraud. Let me give you one example of an egregious fault in this election. Mir Hossein Mousavi, the opposition candidate is an ethnic Azeri. And Azeri is composed about 24 percent of Iran's population. And he went to Iranian Azerbaijan, and he campaigned and he was very popular there. When these results were tabulated, it showed that President Ahmadinejad had overwhelmingly beaten Mousavi in the Iranian Azerbaijan. And to give you an analogy from U.S. politics, it's kind of the equivalent of Barack Obama losing the African-American votes to John McCain in 2008. There were just various signs of this type of fraudulence.

LEMON: We've heard the secretary of state. We've heard the White House spokesperson Robert Gibbs. And it seems to be somewhat they're watching, but it's a wait-and-see attitude to see when the moment is they should step in, if at all.

SADJADPOUR: That's right. I mean, the Obama administration is in a difficult position. At the end of the day, if this is the leadership that Iran's regime wants to put forward, and at some point, when and if the dust settles, it's going to be very difficult for the Obama administration to say that, no, we want to speak to different interlocutors in Tehran, given the influence which Iran has on major issues of critical importance to U.S. foreign policy from nuclear proliferation to Iraq and to Afghanistan.

If Iranian opposition themselves at some point concede, it's going to be difficult for the Obama administration not to pursue some type of dialogue with this Ahmadinejad government, no matter how unfavorable they are.

LEMON: I have to ask you this because it was at first reported that the opposition party had won, and then they came back and said, OK, it's Ahmadinejad. And everyone got riled up saying the election was simply stolen.

What is the accuracy over there? What can we expect from elections? Might the first round of voting and results have been correct, or they could have been incorrect? What can we expect as far as accuracy, because we have our own problems. We had Florida in 2000.

SADJADPOUR: Yes. But you know, historically in Iran, I've always described the Iranian elections as unfree, unfair and unpredictable. They're not free because only candidates who -- who kind of, you know, subscribe to revolutionary ideals are permitted to run. And even after candidates are carefully prescreened, there's a lot of improprieties which take place. But I don't think we have seen an election stolen with this type of brazenness before in the past.

And, you know, this is not just kind of Iranians and the opposition or Iranians in exile alleging this. You have senior elders of revolutionary lead that are making these types of accusations.

LEMON: All right. Karim Sadjadpour, we appreciate it. Thank you very much.

SADJADPOUR: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: And we have a reminder for you. It's a programming note, tomorrow on "GPS FAREED ZAKARIA" on the fight for the future of Iran. What is at stake? GPS, Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.

Held in Guantanamo Bay prison for seven years. Now they are free men. They are living in Bermuda. I met two former detainees face-to- face. An exclusive interview with men who lived in secrecy and isolation until now.

Plus, tracking the rising tide of hate in America. What makes domestic extremists tick? What fuels their rage? What makes them snap? We're going to dig much deeper for you.

Also, we want you to be part of our show. The way to do that -- Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And now a CNN exclusive. The president of the United States promised to shut down Guantanamo Bay within one year of taking office. He has received little support, even among Democrats.

But in a surprise move on Wednesday under the cover of darkness, the administration relocated four detainees from Guantanamo Bay to Hamilton, Bermuda. A move that outraged many in Bermuda and Britain, of which Bermuda is a territory.

Tonight for the first time, the former Guantanamo Bay detainees speak out. It is a rare and exclusive interview with men who lived under a cloud of secrecy and isolation for years. I asked them their thoughts on the Bush and the Obama administrations.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KHALIL ABDUL NASSER, FORMER GITMO DETAINEE (through translator): We were in a jail innocently for more than seven years during the President Bush administration. Now the new President Obama became elected. He tried really hard to bring justice, and he has been trying very hard to find other countries to resettle us, and finally, he freed us.

President Obama promised that he would shut down Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within one year. And he signed the executive order. I would like the President Obama to honor that word and free my 13 brothers who were left behind and all the rest of the people who deserved to be free.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The men are called Uighurs. They're Muslims from western China. There are also many Uighurs here in the United States. These men were captured in Afghanistan, and some in Pakistan, after the U.S. bombings began in October of 2001.

Their country has called them terrorists. They say they were simply caught up in circumstances beyond their control.

Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NASSER (through translator): This is not true because I have never been in any kind of training camp. I have never been enlisting in any training. And the U.S. courts confirmed this, that I have never been a terrorist or trained for a terrorist. So this is just accusation against me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We want to bring in Fran Townsend, the homeland security adviser to former President Bush and a CNN national security contributor. She joins us tonight from Washington.

Thank you so much for joining us.

You heard the interviews. You heard the two men here who were Uighurs, who are Muslims from China or from western China. They're claiming their innocence, and that they were put into -- placed into Guantanamo Bay and told that they were believed to be innocent but -- yet spent seven years there.

FRANCES TOWNSEND, NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, Don, you know, the Uighurs represented a very difficult case. And I will tell you in fairness, the Bush administration of which I was a part, tried very hard to find a country that would take them. The British didn't offer us the Bermuda option when the Bush administration was in power.

It is -- it is a good thing that they've permitted these people to go there. But, obviously, people understand we couldn't simply -- their rightful home is in China. We couldn't return them there because we believed that they would be -- they could be either prosecuted or abused. And so the -- the challenge was to find another country or another place where they could be taken to under circumstances that would give us confidence that they wouldn't return to the United States.

LEMON: OK, Fran, this is very interesting that I'm hearing this, and I'm hearing it for the first time. And I don't know if this is new information, but this is the first time I'm hearing it.

You're saying that the Bush administration actually believed that the Uighurs had nothing to do with terrorism, were not terrorists and were innocent but were still left in that prison?

TOWNSEND: No. No, these were men that were taken into custody in training camps in Afghanistan that were used by al Qaeda. There was no -- no one thought they were innocent at the time. Innocent people don't find themselves in al Qaeda training camps in a foreign country of which you don't belong.

LEMON: OK. Now we're getting to the meat of it, because when I asked them why they were in Afghanistan, Ms. Townsend, they said they were there because it was easier to get to from their country, the paperwork was easier, getting visas or what have you and it was close.

And I said, you know, anyone -- you know, why pick this country? Why don't we listen to it and then we'll talk about it, Fran.

TOWNSEND: OK.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Should people be worried about you? Should Americans worry about you?

NASSER (through translator): No, they shouldn't be worrying about me because they know I'm innocent. They confirmed this. Their courts confirmed this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, Fran, you talked about that, about them in court not being, I guess it was enemy combatants, what they were deemed. That was Abdul Nasser. That was his Gitmo name.

But then coming out, I asked them if they received terrorist training in Afghanistan. They denied it. They denied being terrorists. And, again, they said that they were caught up in circumstances. You don't believe that is so. But you do believe that they should have been moved out of Gitmo?

TOWNSEND: First, Don, I can tell you I couldn't hear the interview. I can't, for whatever reasons, for technical reasons I wasn't able to hear --

LEMON: During the interview I asked him, I said, "Should people be afraid of you, should Americans be afraid of you?" And he said, "No, Americans or anyone around the world should not be afraid of me because I was found innocent by a court."

TOWNSEND: Well, I think -- look, I understand that they now are claiming that Afghanistan was convenient, that they weren't there for terrorist training purposes, but I think our viewers need to appreciate that they were found inside an al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan, and so, it was understandable that U.S. military and multinational forces took them into custody and over time then needed to find out what they were doing there.

Now, I think everyone came to agree over time. I think it's inaccurate to say they were innocent.

LEMON: OK.

TOWNSEND: I think people came to believe overtime that these people didn't represent the threat to United States, that we though they didn't when we found them in the al Qaeda training camp in Afghanistan. And so thought it was ultimately appropriate to transfer them to a third country, which not only did the Bush administration find difficult to find one but even the Obama administration had difficulty finding a place that was willing to take them.

LEMON: OK, Fran, you know, I really have to go. I've taken this on a little longer because you gave me some great information. But since you know, you're our national security contributor here, you know what that means.

What do you make of this move by the Obama administration to send these men to Bermuda, and possibly now to Palau, an archipelago island?

TOWNSEND: Sure. Look, I think it's a good first step. But I think the Uighurs represent the easiest -- one of among the easiest classes of cases to move out of Guantanamo. And I think the administration will find it has greater challenges with those that either can't be moved or tried, which is why the president has talked about having a regime of preventive detention. And that's yet to come. We really don't know the details of that.

LEMON: Fran Townsend, your information is always right on money. We appreciate it. Thank you very much.

TOWNSEND: Sure. Thank you.

LEMON: AIDS prevention. It's time to put the national spotlight back on it. And when you hear the numbers, you will understand why.

Also, tracking hate mongers across America. We found out that so-called lone gunman, they are not lone at all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Time now for your feedback.

Here is what Odeabowen64 says, "How did the Iranians pretend to count so quickly."

Nanakay13 said, "If there are no charges to be filed, someone must let them relocate. Should they be watched? Yes."

HumbleAfrican says, "Slavery, internment, Gitmo. It's a continuing story of detained first and asks questions later. The real culprit is greed and fear."

Webber933 says, "Bermuda should have accepted them. I don't think they are even terrorists. After 9/11, we locked up anyone we thought was one."

Logon to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. It's how we show our appreciation by getting your responses on the air.

After this week's Holocaust Museum shooting, we want to know what makes domestic extremism tick or extremists tick? What fuels their rage and what makes them snap?

Plus, HIV in the African-American community. You know we have been talking about this issue, but it is an epidemic. It is out of control, especially so in the nation's capital. We'll tell you what the president and the writers and actors are going to do about it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We have seen this next story really unfolding before our very eyes, especially so in the past couple of months. The FBI said James von Brunn is expected to survive after being critically wounded in a shootout Wednesday at the U.S. Holocaust Museum.

The museum reopened on Friday. Visitors waited in long lines next to a makeshift memorial outside for security officer Stephen Johns. Now, von Brunn, allegedly double parked outside the museum, went inside and shot Johns to death with a rifle. Von Brunn, who had a long history of racism and anti-Semitism, was wounded by other security officers.

So here's why we've been following this. The deeper tragedy is that von Brunn's alleged crime appears to be part of a rising tide of hate in America, especially we are told since the Obama administration took over.

Here's CNN's David Mattingly.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In less than two months, so-called lone wolf extremists killed six people in four states. Three Pittsburgh cops were murdered in April when they were called to a house on a domestic disturbance.

May 31st, a Kansas doctor who performed late-term abortions was gunned down in church. June 1st, a soldier fresh out of boot camp was killed outside a recruiting officer in Little Rock. And nine days later, a security officer was shot and killed at Washington's Holocaust Museum.

DAN LEVITAS, AUTHOR, "THE TERRORIST NEXT DOOR": There's a dual hatred at work. On the one hand there is really rabid hatred and fear of the United States government. On the other hand, let's not forget the tremendous, religious prejudice and religious motivations that fuel all of these actions.

MATTINGLY: There were warnings that violence like this was on the rise. In February, the Southern Poverty Law Center reported a jump in the number of hate groups from 888 in 2007 to 926 in 2008, a four percent leap attributed to racist extremists inflamed by the election of President Obama.

In April, a Department of Homeland Security report cited political and economic factors stating the threat posed by lone wolves and small terrorists cells is more pronounced than in past years.

THOMAS FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Normally, there are individuals that are basically dysfunctional in the fact that they're having difficulty coping with a political system or policies that are in effect and feel that they have no recourse in their mind but to lash out violently.

MATTINGLY: The man accused of killing Dr. George Tiller was described by his ex-wife as radically anti-government and anti- abortion. The man accused of murdering a soldier in Little Rock allegedly told police he was retaliating for the mistreatment of Muslim women and children by the U.S. military. And the accused killers at both the Holocaust Museum and the Pittsburgh ambush reportedly held anti-Semitic beliefs and fears the government would take their guns away.

All of the suspects have pled not guilty with the exception of the Holocaust Museum suspect. He remains in critical condition after he was shot by security officers.

(on camera): One trait common among lone wolf extremists is their unpredictability. At least two of the recent suspects were known to authorities, but not believed to be an immediate threat. Experts say it's almost impossible to know when a lone wolf will be moved to violence, and just as tough to know who will be his targets.

David Mattingly, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Fran Townsend is back. She joins us. She is the former Homeland Security adviser to President Bush. And David Neiwert. He is a writer who has spent much of his career tracking right-wing extremists. His latest book is "The Eliminationalist."

Do I have that right?

DAVID NEIWERT, AUTHOR, "THE ELIMINATIONIST": Yes.

LEMON: "Eliminationist," there we go. I'm not sure if it's right on the prompter.

NEIWERT: Yes. That's all right.

LEMON: "How Hate Talk Radicalized the American Right."

There was one letter off it so it kind of threw me off there. So sorry about that.

NEIWERT: Quite all right.

LEMON: So let me start with you. You heard in the story there that since the Obama administration, not really since they took office but even when he was up for election, he was the first -- he got secret service earlier on than any other candidate in office. It's up four percent. You say that these kinds of attacks are getting worse.

NEIWERT: Yes, they're getting much worse, exponentially worse since he was elected. And, of course, we had -- I mean, we knew it was going to be a problem. I mean, as early as June 2007, shortly after he announced his candidacy, we were getting -- there was a public threat from the leader of the Indiana clan who promised that he would never take office.

And, of course, as the prospect of him actually taking office, got closer and closer, got worse and worse, and then once he actually won election, it's gone -- LEMON: But can you draw a clear connection between him and this rise, or is it just sort of the natural rise, something that has been occurring year after year after year?

NEIWERT: Well, the extremist right goes -- definitely goes in cycles. And what we are seeing now in terms of the lone wolf activity is certainly an expression long-term strategy on the part of the radical right. You know, this basically comes out of Louis Beam, the Aryan nation leaders plan back in the late 80s to form basically leaderless resistance which would allow people to commit acts of domestic terrorism without bringing down the entire organization that they were associated with.

LEMON: OK.

NEIWERT: And that's where a lot of this originates.

LEMON: I want to turn now to Fran Townsend to talk about the law here, because, you know, you've got your First Amendment right, freedom of speech. Does that inspire, though, in anyway, Frances, when you have the Internet now, which is just open for all sorts of things?

Does this inspire hate crime and even hate speeches -- speech?

FRANCES TOWNSEND, NATIONAL SECURITY CONTRIBUTOR: Well, there's no question, Don, that the access to the Internet and other like- minded people is much easier. And the Internet sort of sustains that and feeds that and makes it easier for folks to communicate.

I can't say that I think that that's what fueled it. These are people with a hateful sort of mindset and anti-Semitic, and they find -- and it's reinforcing to them to find others who feel the same way.

As you mentioned, the First Amendment protects your ability to say hateful, awful things and it's being able to discern when someone is going to move from saying hateful things to doing violent things, and that's very difficult.

You know, in the piece we just heard, he said, it's almost impossible. And I will tell you, law enforcement looks at these groups, watches their rhetoric, watches the group, they infiltrate the group, they try to identify people who may take that next violent step. But it's a very, very difficult task.

LEMON: Yes. How do you know -- I mean, if that's someone's belief, that's someone's belief, whether or not you choose to like someone of a different race or someone who is different. But then I guess, the turn comes as if you're going to harm someone in the process of doing that -- Fran.

TOWNSEND: That's right. And what you're looking for is, does this person have access -- does he have the means or the access, the ability to carry it out. Access to weapons? Access to targets? Have they surveilled targets? And so, those are the sorts of indicators that would cost you concern that someone was going to actually take the next step. But as I say, it's very difficult to know those things.

LEMON: David, the Department of Homeland Security recently released a report warning of a potential rise in domestic terrorism. It said that military vets, radical ideologies and a bad economy could be a volatile combination.

I mean, should we be afraid of the next terrorist that will be homegrown, maybe like Timothy McVeigh?

NEIWERT: Well, I don't think it's particularly useful to be fearful. The chance of being actually the victim of an act of terrorism is so infinitesimal that we probably shouldn't be talking about it in terms of our fearfulness. But, certainly, we want to prevent these acts as much as we can.

And, frankly, I have spent a long time looking at that Department of Homeland Security report. It certainly confirmed everything that I have seen in terms of the intelligence data that I had been gathering for years. And I think that the folks that I talked at the Southern Poverty Law Center and ADL said exactly the same.

In fact, my understanding is that -- and maybe Fran can confirm this. I'm not sure. My understanding is that that report, that bulletin, which, of course, is intended for law enforcement was actually -- their work on it was begun some time last year, and this is actually commissioned by the Bush administration.

LEMON: Yes. That's going to have to be the last word.

NEIWERT: OK.

LEMON: If I can get a yes or no. And what we wanted to get from this was whether or not, these people are acting as lone gunman or lone terrorists, you guys say yes or no?

NEIWERT: Yes.

TOWNSEND: Yes. Fueled by a common ideology of hate that's shared by many.

LEMON: Got it. Thank you.

NEIWERT: Right.

LEMON: Thanks to both of you, David and Fran. And it's called "The Eliminationist."

I got it right. Thank you.

We appreciate you guys. Have a great evening.

Experts are sounding the alarm. HIV rates have hit alarming highs in the U.S. Time to put AIDS prevention back in the spotlight. We're going to talk about that next.

Also, a CNN hero who sold her home to help kids in our homeland. You will definitely be inspired.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're going to talk about "What Matters." It is our new segment in partnership with "Essence" magazine. And we start with alleged discrimination in the workplace. Some current and former employees at Eli Lilly have -- they have joined a 2006 federal lawsuit against the drug maker.

Now, the suit accuses Eli Lilly of paying black employees less money than their white counterparts, and denying promotions to better qualified black candidates. The drug company says it has investigated the allegations and the case has no merit.

A former Welsh Fargo lender told the "New York Times" that bank, well, it rode the stage coach from hell. And allegedly targeted blacks for subprime loans in the Baltimore area. Now city officials have filed a federal lawsuit claiming the company's loose lending practices in black neighborhoods drove hundreds of homes into foreclosure and cost the city millions in services and lost taxes. Wells Fargo spokesman says the case has no merit and the company's loans aren't to blame for the housing crisis.

"Essence" magazine is sounding the HIV alarm in its July issue. And according to the CDC, every 9-1/2 minutes, every 9-1/2 minutes, someone in the U.S. is infected with the AIDS virus.

Now in light of this staggering statistic, the Obama administration and the CDC have launched a $45 million campaign to get HIV prevention back into the national conversation, and we're doing that tonight as well because people are dying in the process.

Joining me now to take a closer look at this, I want to go to Gil Robertson. He is a writer whose work has been featured in "Essence" and "Billboard" magazines and "The Los Angeles Times" as well. He is also the editor of "Not in My Family: AIDS in the African-American Community." The book is the collection of personal essays, stories and memoirs that addressed head on the culture aspects of this disease.

Plus, award-winning actress, singer, producer and everything you can name in show business, Sheryl Lee Ralph. And she has been a trumpet really for HIV and AIDS awareness. She also wrote, "Sometimes I Cry." And Gil Robertson's "Not in My Family."

So thank you both very much for joining us.

I know Sheryl Lee that you have been talking about this for years. Gail, you as well. And I always have to -- to say to people when they come on to talk about this issue is that really it's about stigma in the African-American community that we don't address this. This doesn't happen to black people. It happens to gay people, Sheryl. Meantime, African-American women are dying or becoming infected more than anyone else.

SHERYL LEE RALPH, ACTOR, WRITER, ACTIVIST: Absolutely. Stigma, shame and silence, and until we break those things, we will not have too much movement. But just like you just said, these are things that we don't want to talk about with in our culture. It shouldn't be happening to us. Certainly, it must be somebody else.

But, you know, I think back to the beginning, and I say that part of what has gotten us to this place is the fact that everybody wanted to blame it on somebody else. So who? Those gay people. It must be them. That's what they get.

But what we should have relied back then is that if one of us suffers, we all suffer. And AIDS is not a "they," "them" and "those people" problem. It's a "we" problem. AIDS affects us all, especially human beings.

LEMON: Hey, Gail, you heard what Sheryl Lee Ralph said. She said, you know, back then, what we missed. Is it too late now?

GIL ROBERTSON, AUTHOR, "NOT IN MY FAMILY": Absolutely not. I mean, as we've seen with the renewed interests in this disease from both the Obama administration and CDC that public policy is certainly coming around to recognizing the scourge that is HIV and AIDS.

Within the black communities, specifically, you're starting to see a renewed commitment to fighting the diseases from churches and from other community organizations. So I'm very positive that we're going to see a breakthrough in terms of slowing the number infections in America.

LEMON: You know, I'm not putting you in the spot. And I'm just every time I get someone on, they say, I'm positive that we're going to change. It's going to happen. It's going to happen. And yet, I don't see it happen. So, you know, I want to be -- I want to be encouraged. I want to think that people are going to get it. But, you know, to be frank, if we have this conversation, people may click the station and say, I don't want to hear about this. Yet and still as I said --

ROBERTSON: Well, you know, Don, 20 years ago, you wouldn't have seen a book like "Not in My Family," which is a collection of over 50 essays from African-American from all walks of life that are speaking to the themes and issue that have come to define the black community being so disproportionately infected and impacted by this disease.

So just the very fact that so many folks are willing to come forward and being so candid and sharing the experiences of their loved ones and their own personal struggles signals that we're ready to make a shift in our attitudes and behaviors as it pertains to HIV and AIDS.

LEMON: Well, Sheryl, and also the one central place where African-Americans used to get information, I guess, it was sort of a political hub was in the church.

RALPH: Absolutely.

LEMON: And in the beginning the church was like, "Yes, I don't want to talk about this." This isn't something we talk about in church. And now if you look at the numbers of people, African- Americans who backed President Barack Obama, you see that there may be some sort of consensus around a message that he might present. Do you think that this will help?

RALPH: You know what, we have to have some sort of a message. And I think, you know, when it comes to the church, I always think back to my -- my younger days in church when they would teach you, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

There, but for the grace of God go I. And I'll never forget the story of the lepers. When nobody wanted to go in to treat the lepers, it was Jesus who said, "these are my people, too. And if you won't go, then I must."

And very often I think sometimes we, Christians, in the church, we have to go back to that real word and be the Christians, be the better people that we're supposed to and let that -- let that light of hope and compassion shine because we have put a lid on it and we need it to shine now, especially around HIV and AIDS.

LEMON: To be a holy and not a holy roller, as some would say. I appreciate the T-shirt, thank you. We see that you're wearing your AIDS awareness T-shirt.

Gil and Sheryl, have a great evening.

ROBERTSON: Thank you so much.

RALPH: Love that book, Gil.

ROBERTSON: Thank you, doll.

LEMON: All right. New tonight -- part of a major, major highway in California shut down. State troopers on the scene.

What happened?

Plus, working for years to achieve the American dream only to trade it all to help children in her homeland. She is our hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A developing story that's really causing some major issues out in southern California, because we are hearing tonight that a tractor-trailer has crashed on a major southern California freeway. This is just outside of Los Angeles, in the Long Beach area on the interchanges between the 91 and the 710 freeways.

Witnesses say the rig crashed, it hit a car and took out an overpass bridge. CNN has talked with state troopers who say traffic is being diverted to surface streets and alternate routes. As you can imagine, there are some major jams. There are crews on the way, our affiliates there. As soon as we get some video of it, we will bring it to you.

A car, a home of their own. Many, many immigrants offer them in the United States. These are the symbols of the American dream. Signs of accomplishment after years of hard work. So why would anyone choose to give it all up? The answer is what makes Lydia Schaffer tonight's CNN's hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CNN ANNOUNCER: This is CNN Heroes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: See you next week.

LYDIA SCHAEFER, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: I like my job. I get to talk to different people. I work in Washington, D.C. But I'm from Ethiopia.

When I go home to visit, it is so different. These children, they are really hungry to learn. They have to walk three hours to go to school. One of the little girls, she was walking the last child. She got killed by a hyena. I know I have to do something.

My name is Lydia Schaefer. I built a school for my village in Ethiopia. I was working two days for the school, four days for me. I saved my tips.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She made huge sacrifices. She sold her home. All those kids are important.

SCHAEFER: In 2006, the school is finished. We have eight buildings, 16 classrooms, a library, laboratory. It's not beautiful, but it's good.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because of Lydia, now, I am continuing my education, which is a good chance for me. I am grateful to Lydia.

SCHAEFER: It feels really good to learn. I don't feel like I give up a lot. I really work with my heart.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So if you like to help Lydia Schaefer or if you know someone who deserves to be a CNN hero, make sure you go to cnn.com/hero and help out.

Held at Guantanamo Bay for seven years, now they're free in Bermuda. I met with two former Gitmo detainees face-to-face. It is a rare and exclusive conversation.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Earlier tonight, we brought you part of my exclusive interview with two former Gitmo detainees who have been relocated to Bermuda by the Obama administration. They spent seven years at the Guantanamo Bay detention center before their release this week. And I asked them what it felt like to finally talk with their families again.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) KHALIL ABDUL NASSER, FORMER GITMO DETAINEE (through translator): Yes, I talked to them this morning. Yesterday, I tried several times, but they -- the phone was -- the telephone, which was off yesterday, and I couldn't get a hold of anybody.

I spoke to them this morning. They are extremely happy, and very pleased. They congratulated me and my brothers here.

SALAHUDDIN, FORMER GITMO DETAINEE (through translator): They were very happy. They congratulated me. And they wished me the best of luck for the future.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The men are part of a Muslim minority from western China who were taken into custody in Pakistan and Afghanistan. They were alleged to be part of a group of U.S. -- the U.S. considers a terrorist organization. I asked them how it felt to be called or considered terrorists.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SALAHUDDIN, FORMER GITMO DETAINEE (through translator): It really hurts me because no one ever has said that to me. I was never accused of being a terrorist. When they brought me to the detention center, they told me that I am innocent. They told me that I will be released very soon. And only the reason I was there is because they couldn't find a country to accept me.

NASSER (through translator): It is a very heavy term because we were never terrorists. And we will never be a terrorist. We actually, we are really peace loving, peaceful people, very kind.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Over in the pacific, the Island Nation of Palau has offered to take in 13 remaining Uighurs detainees from Gitmo, but it is not a done deal. Palau's president said the likelihood that the Muslim separatists will arrive on the tiny island nation is about 50/50.

And even if they do, it wouldn't happen for two to three months. It's a long process here. Again, the Uighurs say they cannot return to China because they are considered violent separatists there and would likely be arrested.

It is an important tool for contractors, but with construction down across the board, the port-a-potty business, well, it can make some money. Your "Money and Main Street" coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: With the recession putting profits in the toilet, one port-a-potty company is feeling the ripple effect. CNN's John Zarrella has tonight's "Money & Main Street."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Swinging high in the air, a fleeing port-a-potty is a construction worker's best friend, especially when you work up in the nose bleed section.

This is Orlando's New Event Center. It will seat close to 20,000 when it opens next year. But, right now, the only seats that John Sharp Jr. is concerned about are the ones in the 42 portable toilets he's placed on this job site for its 400 workers.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How's that chemical work? Did you like it?

ZARRELLA: With construction bottoming out, Sharp's company, Comfort House, is part of the ripple effect. Ninety-five percent of his port-o-potties were on construction sites, and business isn't flowing like it used to. Profit margins are thinner, so he's had to lay off about a third of his workers. A sea of toilets in his storage area sit un-rented, but he says it's not a sign of desperation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're not in a position where we feel the need that we have to liquidate anything because we own what we have.

ZARRELLA: And that's part of the business plan, he says, that's helped his family survive and ward off the recession and the bottom feeders who see their port-o-potties sitting and thinking he's desperate to be bought out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had we spent outside our means? Had we grown and leveraged everything, financed everything, we would be in a really tough position. Good business model, storing money, saving money when you make money, keeping things simple.

ZARRELLA: This is the fourth recession for Comfort House. John Sharp Sr. has learned plenty from the first three.

JOHN SHARP SR., COMFORT HOUSE: My boat is a 12-foot for John boat I use for duck hunting. And that's my yacht. And that's pretty much the extent of my extravagance, so we kind of live by that motto. The money that's made in the company kind of stays in the company.

ZARRELLA: And as long as these toilets stay rented, Sharp says, they all smell like money.

John Zarrella, CNN, Orlando.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. I will see you back here tomorrow night, 6:00, 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. Eastern.