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Arrest Made in Florida Couple's Killings, Second Arrest Expected; Sotomayor Hearings to Start Tomorrow; Illinois Family Grieves Again; Jackson Tribute in Las Vegas; Breaking Barriers in Broadcasting
Aired July 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: Right now on the program, under arrest and more to come in the brutal double murder of a couple with 16 children. Police say this story is unfolding like a movie script. We are live.
Cemetery plot. The investigation grows, and so does the outrage. One family, dozens of loved ones buried in a Chicago area cemetery. Where are their bodies? We'll hear from the family this hour.
Here comes the judge and all of the controversy surrounding her. In just a few hours, Sonia Sotomayor faces the toughest jury of her life.
And running of the bulls, Cajun style, on wheels and on your fanny. This could get ugly. It all starts right now.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
The Sonia Sotomayor story will dominate the headlines starting tomorrow morning. We'll get to that story in just a moment.
But first, a story that is unfolding right now. Police have made an arrest in the double killing last week of a Florida couple with 16 children. Our David Mattingly, live on the scene for us, tells us what police have turned up.
David?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, one arrest, the promise of more to come, but at this point tonight, there's still no one actually accused in this double homicide. Investigators are saying they had no idea what they were getting into.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY (voice-over): Leonard Patrick Gonzalez is not accused of being a killer, but he is accused of tampering with evidence in the double murders of Byrd and Melanie Billings. The couple, known for their adoption of a dozen children, many with special needs, was shot to death in what authorities still call a home invasion, but now it appears to be much more.
SHERIFF DAVID MORGAN, ESCAMBIA COUNTY, FLORIDA: We are very anxious to share this story with the citizens of Escambia County and with the nation, if you will. It's going to be a humdinger.
MATTINGLY: From there, the details made public are few, but authorities are talking about a case now far more complex than it first appeared and involving more people than just the three men seen on surveillance video invading the Billings' home.
Investigators do say Gonzalez was one of their persons of interest and was arrested for allegedly attempting to conceal damage and paint this old red van, identified as the vehicle used in the Billings break-in. More suspects and arrests are promised in a case that has become filled with unexpected twists.
MORGAN: This is like a movie script, all right. And the more we delved into this and worked this case, the different avenues that it would go down, just when you thought, "All right, we're in a straight line at this point with this investigation," it would take a hard right or a hard left. And it was almost as though you had another investigation that you were initiating.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MATTINGLY: And you heard the sheriff calling this case a humdinger. When we tried to press him for details, he says he's talking about the scope of this case, the number of people involved, the complexities behind how this case is unfolding before them. Not providing any details, but clearly he's saying this is much, much bigger than they possibly anticipated.
LEMON: All right. CNN's David Mattingly. David, thank you very much.
Now very quickly to another story that is unfolding.
Two killers and a rapist are on the loose. Three inmates have escaped from a maximum security state prison in Michigan City, Indiana. They were discovered missing this morning. Police, sheriff's deputies and staff from nearby prisons are joining in that search. Authorities believe the three might have used tunnels and pipes under the prison ground.
They're identified as 45-year-old Lance Battreal, 48-year-old Charles Smith and 46-year-old Mark Booher.
If you see them, make sure you call police.
Now to Washington, where they're gearing up for tomorrow's start of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court confirmation hearings. We're told President Barack Obama gave Sotomayor a good-luck phone call this morning, and he complimented her on her courtesy calls to 89 of the senators who hold her fate.
The White House says the president expressed his confidence that Judge Sotomayor would be confirmed to serve as justice of the Supreme Court for many years to come.
Democrats have the votes to confirm Sonia Sotomayor, but she'll still face some tough questions during this week's hearings. Let's get a preview now from CNN's Kate Bolduan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SONIA SOTOMAYOR, SUPREME COURT NOMINEE: Thank you, Mr. President.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A journey that began at the White House now heads to Capitol Hill for Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor.
SOTOMAYOR: I hope that as the Senate and American people learn more about me, they will see that I am an ordinary person who has been blessed with extraordinary opportunities and experiences.
BOLDUAN: Senate Democrats, who have the votes to confirm Sotomayor, are expected to highlight her personal story to win favor. Growing up poor in Bronx public housing, then going on to an Ivy League education and now possibly the first Latina Supreme Court justice.
A smart approach for Sotomayor as well, says former Reagan chief of staff Ken Duberstein, who has advised several high court nominees.
KEN DUBERSTEIN, FORMER REAGAN CHIEF OF STAFF: Give an awful lot of your personal life and your values, but also your impartiality. We will judge them as we see them coming.
BOLDUAN: Conservatives have a difficult task ahead -- challenging Sotomayor's record without coming across as attacking her. Republicans are expected to ask tough questions about Sotomayor's views on gun rights, abortion and affirmative action. But Republicans think they have a better chance taking on her off-the-bench statements, like this 2005 comment at Duke University.
SOTOMAYOR: Court of Appeals is where policy is made, and I know -- and I know this is on tape and I should never say that, because we don't make law. I know.
BOLDUAN: Republicans are also sure to press Sotomayor on her past statement that a wise Latina woman would reach a better conclusion than a white male.
Senator Jeff Sessions is the senior Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.
SEN. JEFF SESSIONS (R), JUDICIARY COMMITTEE: She has advocated a view that suggests that your personal experiences, even prejudices -- she uses that word -- it's expected that they would influence a decision you make, which is a blow, I think, at the very ideal of American justice.
BOLDUAN: Democrats, including the committee's chair, will no doubt come quickly to Sotomayor's defense.
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), JUDICIARY CHAIRMAN: She has the experience and the cases that show her to be a mainstream judge. Anything else is nitpicking.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Sources working closely with Judge Sotomayor tell CNN they've intensified Sotomayor's prep sessions in the past week, trying to make sure she's ready. President Obama has said he wants her confirmed before Congress leaves for its August recess.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Let's get some insight now into what we can expect starting tomorrow. Our senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, joins me now from Washington. He's also the author of the book "The Nine," which is about the Supreme Court.
Are we looking for a showdown -- looking at a possible showdown starting tomorrow, Jeffrey?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: Well, you'll certainly see some hard questioning from the Republicans. Not so much about Sotomayor's qualifications because those are really out -- without -- there's no way you can call it. You know, she's been a federal judge for 17 years. There's no doubt she's qualified.
The issue will be her ideology. Some Republicans will raise the issue of, does she identify too much with ethnic groups? Will she be a special pleader for Hispanics, for other minorities? That's a very tough sell, given her very mainstream record, but I think that's the main argument you're going to see against her.
LEMON: OK. You know what? A recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll said, "Should the Senate confirm Sotomayor to the Supreme Court?". Sixty-eight percent, Jeffrey, of Democrats said yes, while 26 percent of Democrats said yes. So, there is a definite division here.
Forty-two independents -- forty-two percent -- say yes and then on and on. But there's a definite division here.
Do you think, though, at the end of the day or end of the week, however long this takes, that she will be confirmed?
TOOBIN: There are 60 Democrats, as you know, in the Senate, Don, and the last time a president lost a Supreme Court nominee when his party controlled the Senate was 1968 with Lyndon Johnson and Abe Fortas. That's a long time ago.
The fact that there are 60 Democratic senators virtually guarantees her confirmation. There is not one Democratic senator who's so much uttered a peep against her. Some Republicans seem inclined to vote for her.
Yes, there will be some hard questioning, and there should be some hard questioning. This is a big deal. This is a lifetime appointment. LEMON: But I got to ask you this. So -- I mean, you know, sometimes on these occasions, some people find it necessary to do a little bit of grandstanding for their constituents who may be watching. Do you think we'll see that?
TOOBIN: You know -- you mean -- you might think United States senators might grandstand? Don, you're so cynical.
You know, my favorite example of grandstanding is when Joe Biden was on the Judiciary Committee, the now vice president Biden, and John Roberts was testifying. Biden had a half an hour to ask questions. Biden talked for 24 of the 30 minutes available.
You know, that's what a lot of the questioning is like. And you know what? That's great for Sotomayor. She wants to sit there. She can't lose if the senators are talking. So, that will be fine with her.
LEMON: All right. Our senior legal analyst, Mr. Jeffrey Toobin and, again, author of "The Nine," which is about the Supreme Court.
We appreciate you joining us on a Sunday night, Jeffrey. Always good to see you.
TOOBIN: It's the nerd Super Bowl tomorrow. I can't wait.
LEMON: Thank you, Jeffrey.
And remember, you can see Judge Sotomayor's confirmation hearings live right here on CNN. The pointed questions about her background, her rulings from the bench and much, much more, all this week, live, right here on CNN.
It is a tough thing to hear. Families finding out bodies of their loved ones were stacked in piles in a Chicago area cemetery. We'll hear their stories for yourselves.
Also, former Vice President Cheney out of office and under fire, accused of telling the CIA to hide things from Congress. Political analyst Lynn Sweet and April Ryan, they can't wait to weigh in on this one.
Also, we want you to weigh in as well. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. You, too, can be a part of our show.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. We have some breaking news in to CNN. This is what we led our newscast with. An arrest in connection with the murder of a Florida couple. We're hearing now from the sheriff's department in Pensacola, Florida -- near Pensacola, Florida that there is going to be a second news conference just moments from now, where they're expected to announce a second arrest, a second arrest of a person, and this person is possibly going to be charged with murder.
That is coming from our folks on the ground there, not exactly sure of the specifics of that news conference. But we're hearing, again, news conference coming up very shortly. A second person to be charged with murder in this case, waiting on the sheriff to show up. That's what we're hearing. We're waiting to confirm all of that information. We'll bring it to you just as soon as we get it.
Meantime, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, it can be a dangerous job. The U.S. Embassy says a roadside bomb targeted Ambassador Christopher Hill's convoy in a southern province today. Hill was unharmed, and there are no reports of other injuries. The bomb went off as the convoy was driving by.
Also in Iraq, bombing at six Baghdad area churches over 24-hour period. Four people are dead and more than 30 others wounded. A government source tells CNN a car bomb dealt the deadly blow when it exploded outside a church in eastern Baghdad. Two bombs were actually placed inside one church. The others exploded outside. Many of Iraq's estimated 1 million Christians have fled the country after targeted attacks by extremists.
Two U.S. Marines were killed in Afghanistan yesterday, both victims of improvised explosive devices. The Marines were apparently part of a massive anti-Taliban offensive in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province. A third U.S. service member died at home Friday when wounds -- from wounds he received in June. A total of 647 American troops have died since military operations began in Afghanistan in 2001.
Serious allegations against former Vice President Cheney today from the chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. Senator Dianne Feinstein says current CIA Director Leon Panetta told this to Congress, that Cheney once ordered the CIA to withhold information from lawmakers about a secret counterterrorism program. Feinstein suggested laws may have been broken, and a Democratic colleague says the report is troubling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. PATRICK LEAHY (D), VERMONT: If, as "The New York Times" says, we have the vice president of the United States telling people to break the law, that's a pretty serious matter. Either he did or he didn't. If he did, that's something we ought to know, because I've been here for six administrations. Usually if something is done wrong by one and it's exposed, the next one tends to behave themselves.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: But a Republican senator cast doubts on the claims about Cheney. He pointed to a recent Washington dustup involving the Democratic speaker of the house.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN CORNYN (R), TEXAS: This, of course, comes on the heels of a statement -- unproven, by the way, of Speaker Pelosi that the CIA had lied to her about enhanced interrogation techniques. And this looks to me suspiciously like an attempt to provide political cover to her and others.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the report about former Vice President Cheney first appeared in "The New York Times." CNN has been unable to reach Cheney for a comment.
Here to discuss some of the hot topics on Capitol Hill are Lynn Sweet, "Chicago Sun-Times" Washington bureau chief and columnist for PoliticsDaily.com. Also April Ryan, Washington bureau chief and White House correspondent for the American Urban Radio Networks.
Thank you very much. Good to see both of you.
Lynn, what sort of legs could this CIA surveillance story have? It is getting interesting.
LYNN SWEET, WASHINGTON BUREAU CHIEF, "CHICAGO SUN-TIMES": Well, it could have legs because the Democratic-controlled Congress wants to know if there is any abuse of executive privilege. They want to know what else there is to know.
And if I could quickly quote Donald Rumsfeld from his famous news briefing in 2002, "There are unknown unknowns, the ones we don't know." The ones we don't know, and that's what the situation is right now. Is there more? What else is there to be told to Congress? Can Leon Panetta figure it out?
LEMON: And I understand, April, that the White House is looking at this very closely. What do they want to know?
APRIL RYAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN URBAN RADIO NETWORKS: Well, the president, indeed, wants to find out more. But you have to remember, Don, you know, right after 9/11, the Bush White House was trying to gain more information.
And this Obama administration found that the information that they pulled for this data mining was not productive. And my sources inside the White House and inside the administration say it's no surprise that they had this secret, this secret program.
LEMON: And, April, Sonia Sotomayor, her confirmation hearings begin tomorrow.
RYAN: Yes.
LEMON: It has been a very controversial couple months leading up to them.
RYAN: Yes.
LEMON: What are you looking at tomorrow? What are you hearing about the start of those hearings?
RYAN: Well, I have been talking to a lot of people, to include my sources within the civil rights community. They're looking for something respectful and civil for her confirmation hearings. But at the same time, they're very strong with Sonia Sotomayor, because they're saying she is a friend to civil rights. She's very strong on affirmative action.
I talked to Marc Morial just moments before we went on the air, the head of the National Urban League Association, and he said, look, she is -- she's strong on civil rights, on individual rights. The NAACP, who is having their 100th anniversary celebration...
LEMON: The president is going to speak there.
RYAN: Yes, he's going to speak there. They're saying, look, that this woman was -- she was communicating at least with civil rights stakeholders way before the nomination, this nomination process began. So the civil rights community is very much behind her.
LEMON: Yes, but, Lynn, does it -- I mean, does that even matter up on Capitol Hill?
SWEET: Well, as Jeff Toobin pointed out, there are 60 votes, presuming that Senators Kennedy and Byrd can get there. That makes this filibuster-proof. You'll note there is no threat of a filibuster here.
What matters is, is she going to have a rough time in her confirmation hearing? I don't think so. I think tomorrow the marquee moments will be from her own statements because she is going to be speaking tomorrow and in the next few days, and you'll have a series of witnesses come.
The administration has relied very heavily on her narrative, on her biography. And what I think she will try to do and the friendly senators on the Democratic side will try to do is say she is part of the mainstream. She's not outside of the mainstream. That's an important message to send to Republican senators who might hesitate in their vote. If they could argue that she's just a mainstream judge, not an activist, then it's easier to vote for her.
LEMON: Lynn, you traveled with then-Senator Obama to Africa. I'm not sure if this was 2006 or maybe 2007, I'm not exactly sure with the date.
SWEET: 2006.
LEMON: 2006. And then also watching this trip now, do you have anything you want to share with us?
SWEET: Well, I do. What's interesting is that he gave a message to many of the nations of Africa that you can't blame colonialism for your problems today and that some of the corrupt regimes have only to blame themselves for the poor situations that many of their constituents have.
LEMON: Yes.
SWEET: That's a message he gave in Kenya and Nairobi, where he stood there and talked about cleaning up corruption.
The other thing that's the same, the sense of adulation for him, because in Ghana it seems he was treated as a native son coming home, just as he was in Kenya, the place where his father was born.
LEMON: OK. Hey, listen, April, I hate to do this to you, because we're running up, we have some breaking news. But I want to ask you, you also want to share something about that trip. You think that it is being seen that President Obama is sort of the savior to all people of color around the world.
RYAN: Yes, very high expectations from Africans, who feel that, you know, the first African-American president who is a son of Africa should help them to cleanse their problems, to fix everything. And the high expectations are not going to always be met, especially if it's the first African-American president.
LEMON: April Ryan, Lynn Sweet, thank you very much. Have a good rest of the weekend, what little bit is left. Thank you.
RYAN: Thank you.
SWEET: Thank you.
LEMON: I want to tell you, you're looking at that little screen there, right there to the bottom right of your screen. We're watching for a press conference in Florida where they're going to make a new announcement, something new about the couple that was slain in their home last week, that couple with 16 children. We'll bring that to you live here on CNN.
I bet the private swim club that turned away a group of minority kids never thought the justice department might get involved.
Plus, the wife of a former boxing champion now a suspect in his death. We're hearing a purse may have been the weapon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're awaiting a press conference and new developments in the killing of a Florida couple with 16 children. Police should show up at any moment. As soon as we hear what's going on, when they get there, we'll bring it to you live right here on CNN. You won't miss a thing.
I wonder what's happening. Why they're holding another press conference. It's a brutal, brutal home invasion in Florida. Sixteen children, some of them with Down syndrome.
I want to go to suburban Philadelphia now where a group of minority children were booted from a private swim club last week. We're now learning that the Justice Department may get involved and the Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission is investigating.
Tonight, the Valley Club Pool says it is open to inviting, quote, "Creative Steps Day Care facility back to swim," but there was a major "if" here. The wife of the swim club president said, "As long as we can work out safety issues, we'd like to have them back."
An attorney for the day care center said they will make a decision when an offer is actually made, but the day care director was not so quick to forgive. She said, "They should have done that before these children are scarred. How can I take those children back there?"
We want to know what's on your mind tonight. A lot of you are weighing in on this story and other stories as well.
Jp6882 says, "If this is not racism at its worst, then I don't know what is."
Helenamargarita says, "Why, why may invite if it's safety issues?"
I don't understand that one.
"Get them fixed and bring back the kids."
It must be a typo in there. I am not quite getting that one.
Kesha212 says, "I don't think I'd want to there, seeing how they tried to cover it up with some lame excuse. Places like that still exist."
Atlsafa says, "I wouldn't want to send them if they were my kids. Wouldn't want to send them back there."
Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We'll get them on. Try to keep it grammatically correct. It will help me out here.
All right. If you can't help but get emotional, right, when you hear people talk their families, the cemetery plots desecrated. Listen.
All right. Apparently we don't have that, so don't listen.
Plus, she was homeless, living in her office at work. Today, she owns an empire. Kathy Hughes, up from a past. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Now to that story I was talking about before the break. Dozens of families are scrambling for information about the graves and remains of loved ones at a suburban Chicago cemetery.
Four former Burr Oak Cemetery employees have been charged with digging up bodies so they could resell burial plots. Many of the families met detectives at a nearby high school today since the cemetery has been declared a crime scene.
Meantime, the Reverend Jesse Jackson organized a vigil today. Police suspect at least 300 of the 100,000 graves have been dug up at the historically African-American cemetery. You know, saying good-bye to a dying loved one is hard enough, but imagine having to relive it. CNN's Cheryl Jackson was at the cemetery today and spoke to families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just saying why.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't understand how people could do that.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They have no...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They're all piled up on top of each other in one area.
CHERYL JACKSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Sisters Rosie Lumsden and Ann Slay and their niece Janet Joseph say they have about 40 family members buried at Burr Oak Cemetery.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE). This is their oldest son, our brother, Lloyd. That's my sister, Ersyn Manning (ph).
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is my mom.
JACKSON: One funeral program after another shows where their loved ones were laid to rest. Now, they say there is no rest for anyone connected with Burr Oak.
ANN SLAY, VICTIM: When we finally buried them where they're at peace now. So we can't even say they're at peace now because they've dug up their remains and done who knows what. How heartless can people be?
JACKSON: Police say four Burr Oak employees are responsible for digging up the graves and reselling them. Piles and piles of human remains were found above the ground of the cemetery, some mingled and crumpled with the cement vaults they were buried in. Other remains scattered throughout the ground.
ROSIE LUMSDEN, VICTIM: As long as my relatives have been out there, they may have dug them up and put somebody on top of them.
JACKSON: Records do indicate that some graves may have more than one body in them. Janet Joseph's mother died about 20 years ago. Information from police leads her to believe that her mother's grave may have been targeted.
JANET JOSEPH, VICTIM: And they go so far as to dismember the bodies, the bones, and put it somewhere else. It's like a serial killer to me.
JACKSON (on camera): It's already hard enough to bury your mother once. What if you have to do it again?
JOSEPH: You know what? I haven't thought about that. If I have to bury her again, I haven't thought about that.
SLAY: We have so many questions. We have a lot of questions. So we're going to hold hands and pray whatever that needs to be done, we will do it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was CNN's Cheryl Jackson. Officials have received more than 7,000 written inquiries about loved ones buried at Burr Oak Cemetery, but they've only processed 400 because the cemetery's records are, in their words, disastrous.
A dead boxer, a bloody purse strap. Now his wife is a suspect. This case is far from over.
And Las Vegas will celebrate the King of Pop's birthday with style. We're in for a star-studded concert there.
Plus, we'll discuss the hot topics of the day with our talk show hosts. You're going to get both sides, right and left, coming up.
And Warren, I know you're paying particular attention to that cemetery story. You have 50 family members buried there.
WARREN BALLENTINE, HOST, "THE WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": Yes.
LEMON: All right. We'll talk about that on the other side of the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. We're hearing a news conference. You see the live pictures there. Our producers, reporters, getting ready for a news conference in Florida where they're expected to announce some new information about the double murder of a Florida couple. We're hearing it could happen by 11:00 p.m. Eastern. Maybe at the top of the hour, maybe a few minutes before. They're not exactly sure. They're trying to get their ducks in a row. We're going to carry it for you live here on CNN if it comes within this 10:00 hour, 10:00 Eastern hour here.
If we're not on the air when this comes, you can go to cnn.com/live. They will stream it live for you, but we're standing by and we are watching.
The death of U.S. lightweight boxing champion Arturo Gatti, well, it may have been a homicide. The boxer's 23-year-old wife is now being held by Brazilian authorities. The Gattis were on vacation in Brazil with their young child when the senior Gatti was found dead in their hotel room yesterday. Police confirmed to CNN that Gatti appeared to have been strangled. Brazilian news reports say a bloody purse strap was found at that scene.
Mark your calendars, everyone. Saturday, August 29, Las Vegas, a star-studded tribute and benefit concert honoring Michael Jackson. That's according to "The Las Vegas Review Journal." The newspaper says all the big names from the Vegas strip will appear in the show, which will be at the Palm Casino. August 29th is Michael Jackson's birthday. He would have been 51. The paper also says Jermaine Jackson is talking to casino executives about a possible Jackson brothers reunion show.
I'm joined by two of our regular radio hosts -- Martha Zoller hosted "The Martha Zoller Show" and Warren Ballentine, hosted "The Warren Ballentine Show."
I want to start with Michael Jackson, guys. A huge story on the radio. Everyone was talking about it last week. Especially how this story transcended race, borders and perception.
I want you to listen to someone who doesn't really speak on issues concerning entertain, and I want to get your take on it.
Take a listen, Louis Farrakhan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MINISTER LOUIS FARRAKHAN, NATION OF ISLAM: When he made that song, it doesn't matter if you're black or white because the outside lost its meaning. The real meaning is not the color of your skin, it's the spirit that energizes you and moves you to action. That's the real person. And that's why Jesus said, "as a man thinketh in his heart," so is he.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Was that the message behind all of this? Much has been made about the reporting of it. What Michael Jackson was? What kind of icon he was?
But is that the overall bottom line with that, Martha?
MARTHA ZOLLER, RADIO HOST, "THE MARTHA ZOLLER SHOW": Well, certainly what someone's character is is all they've got. Your character lives beyond you. I mean, that's what people remember about you. That's what people talk about. So, yes, I mean, that's what the making of a person is. I'm not quite sure what Minister Farrakhan meant. If he was black on the inside even though he lost color on the outside. I don't know exactly what he meant there.
LEMON: Warren, you want to weigh in on that?
WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO HOST, "THE WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": Well, I do. First, I want to say the coverage by CNN was outstanding especially by you, Don Lemon. The footwork that you did for this story, outstanding, outstanding.
LEMON: Well, thank you, Warren. Thank you. You don't have to say that, though, I appreciate it.
BALLENTINE: No, no. I'm being completely honest with you. I'm not saying it for any other reason. But I think Minister Farrakhan was saying this. It wasn't even about what was inside of Michael. What he was saying was this. Basically, we may have come here on different ships, but we're all on the same boat. It doesn't matter if you're black, white, Hispanic, Asian. It's who you are on the inside, which is how God is going to judge you, and that's what I think he was saying.
LEMON: All right. You guys, I know you're on the radio. Of course, Michael Jackson on the radio.
ZOLLER: Yes.
LEMON: It's appropriate to bring it up.
All right, let's move forward and talk about the president's agenda. A lot on his plate, Martha. Can he get all of this done? I mean, Sonya Sotomayor. He's got health care. He's got cap and trade. Can he get all of this done?
ZOLLER: Well, I think we found out this week. He had his first bad week legislatively, where he had Barbara Boxer come out and say, hey, we can't get cap and trade done before August, which the president wanted. And then 50, somewhere around 50 blue dog Democrats went to Nancy Pelosi and said health care is not going to happen the way you want it to. We've got to preserve what we have. This was in key point in a letter. Preserve what we have while we're trying to protect people that don't have insurance.
So it was a tough week for the president. You know, he's a very intelligent man. I'm sure he can do many things at one time, but from a legislative standpoint, this is probably the worst week he's had.
LEMON: Do you think -- real quick, Warren.
BALLENTINE: I don't think it was a rough week. I think this was anticipated, and I think that the president is going to make this work and the Congress is going to make this work.
LEMON: All right. So, Warren, the CIA saying the story about former Vice President Dick Cheney instructed the CIA to lie to Congress.
Are people talking about that? Are you hearing your listeners?
BALLENTINE: My listeners aren't surprised about this at all. In fact, I said that this was going to be the case three months ago. I said they're going to do some investigation and find out that this government, this White House administration had told Congress or told the CIA to lie to Congress. I predicted this three months ago.
LEMON: Well, Martha has a very different take. Martha, you don't think the sourcing is correct on it, do you?
ZOLLER: No, I really don't. They had two unnamed sources. If you're going to do a good journalistic story, you got to have three if they're not going to identify themselves.
But, also, you know, Joe Biden is admitting to having meetings right now that he's having with people that he's not keeping records on. We have to look at this in context, and I think that ultimately even Dianne Feinstein said, you know, when this happened, this was eight years ago, this was right after 9/11. He didn't think much is going to come from that.
LEMON: All right. That will have to be the last word on that. Hey, Warren, I want to get to you real quick because my condolences go to you.
When I heard about the story, when you heard about the story, you called me and you said you have 50 family members there. I know you're from the Chicago area, and you know at least what four of them, I think, that they can account for or have been moved?
BALLENTINE: Four of them have possibly been moved, maybe more than that. My mom, my aunt are so distraught. And it's such a sad story, Don, because Burr Oak was one of the few cemeteries that would allow African-Americans to be buried there, I believe, up until, like, 1955.
So, you know, most people on the south side of Chicago have ties to that cemetery, but I got to say this. My prayers are out to my family and every family who has a family member burred in Burr Oak. And even the family members of the accused because they're going to have to live with this shame that their family put on them.
LEMON: It is a sad story. Warren, Martha, thank you so much. I appreciate you guys coming in.
ZOLLER: Thanks, guys.
BALLENTINE: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: All right. And our hearts and prayers are with you as well and all of the other family members.
Mother Nature has her way at the Kennedy Space Center. NASA was forced to scrub the shuttle launch today. Well, we're going to look ahead with our Jacqui Jeras.
Hey, Jacqui, it was all about the weather.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Lots of thunderstorms out there. Not just in Florida, but also across parts of the Deep South and the nation's midsection. Find out if storms will delay your flight plans tomorrow. That's coming up yet tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Live again to Florida near Pensacola. The double murder of a Florida couple. We're expecting a news conference to happen within this hour. It could come right at the top of the hour just as we're going off the air. If it does, you can go to cnn.com/live. Otherwise, we'll have it right here for you live on CNN. Take a look now at the space shuttle. Live on the launch pad. This is also out of Florida. It is not going anywhere tonight. For the second time in as many days, NASA has scrubbed the scheduled launch of "Endeavour." The shuttle was supposed to have lifted off in the 7:00 p.m. hour, but just minutes before NASA backed off because storms around the 20-mile radius of the Florida's Kennedy Space Center. There were storms there. The new launch time is tomorrow evening just before 7:00 p.m. Eastern. And whenever it happens, of course, you can watch it live right here on CNN.
Jacqui Jeras will tell us about that plus a look ahead at our workweek forecast.
What do you have, Jacqui?
JERAS: Yes. Hey, Don.
Well, first of all, I just want to show you a radar image because it's kind of cool and helps put it in perspective what happened with the scrub of the launch today. You can see the launch pad and this is a radar image from 7:00, just after tonight where these thunderstorms were. So they were right along that I-95 Interstate here and west of there, and they were just too close. Lightning strikes were in the vicinity as well. So we'll watch for that chance of sea breeze thunderstorms to redevelop again in that area for tomorrow afternoon. So maybe a 30 percent or so chance that the launch will have to be scrubbed once again due to the thunderstorms.
(WEATHER REPORT)
LEMON: Texas and further west, just get in the pool and hang out all day with a bunch of sunscreen and lots of water.
JERAS: Watch lots of movies inside in air conditioning maybe.
LEMON: There you go. Jacqui, thank you. Appreciate it.
She's a broadcasting pioneer giving a voice to the voiceless.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATHY HUGHES: It is the African-American community of Washington, D.C., that has kept this country functioning, running, and no one allowed them a voice. No one covered the greatness of their community. The only thing that we ever got from the media in Washington, D.C., was a crack house being raided or someone being shot, stabbed, or robbed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Cathy Hughes. She never lost her voice, and she founded a radio empire. She's up from a past, and tonight, she let's loose. You'll hear her.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: She built a radio empire, gained a massive following, and broke all kinds of barriers in broadcasting, and believe me, it wasn't easy. She even ended up homeless at one point. She is Cathy Hughes. She is the center of our "Up From a Past: African-American First" series tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUGHES: Our responsibility is dictated and mandated by the Federal Communications Commission is to serve the public interest.
LEMON (voice-over): Cathy Hughes is living the dream, once she's had since growing up in Omaha, Nebraska.
HUGHES: I knew it when my mother bought me the transistor radio. I knew it with the toothbrush that was my microphone. When God puts something on you, I mean, you know, if I were probably in the clergy, they will call it a calling.
LEMON: A calling that inspired her to work her way through the hard-scrabble, male-dominated radio business.
Her first gig was at a Nebraska radio station. But a job offer as a lecturer in Howard University's communications department would help shape her destiny by moving her to Washington, D.C. Hughes had even bigger plans.
HUGHES: I didn't want to be on the other side of the radio running things. I wanted to be on that microphone, and I wanted to be the first black woman with a nationally syndicated radio show.
LEMON: In 1973, Hughes became sales director of the university's struggling radio station WHUR-FM. By the time she left in 1979, she was general manager and says she boosted WHUR's revenue from $300,000 to $3.5 million.
HUGHES: This was the greatest opportunity of my life. It was a defining moment in my career.
LEMON: It gave her the confidence to buy a small D.C. radio station, WOL, and start her own company called Radio One. It wasn't easy.
HUGHES: Black folks weren't borrowing millions of dollars. And women were not able to get a million-dollar loan. And I was under 30. So I had all of these things going against me.
LEMON: Against her professionally and personally. Her marriage ended in divorce. But her newly found single mother status would end up helping her career.
(on camera): Because of the Quiet Storm.
HUGHES: The Quiet Storm. I had all these girlfriends who on Friday night would be calling up each other saying, "Let's get together. Let's go out." Well, that's not my idea of an exciting Friday evening. My idea of an exciting Friday evening was a good looking brother like you going out to dinner, going to a movie or something, doing something, having some, you know, intellectual exchange. And so I created the Quiet Storm for my girlfriends, quite frankly, so that they would have companionship.
LEMON (voice-over): People started listening. And Hughes got bolder by targeting D.C.'s black community with an all-talk format.
HUGHES: It is the African-American community of Washington, D.C., that has kept this country functioning, running, and no one allowed them a voice. No one covered the greatness of their community. The only thing that we ever got from the media in Washington, D.C. was a crack house being raided or someone being shot, stabbed, or robbed.
LEMON: A risky move for which she took a lot of flack.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HUGHES: WOL, we are in the business of keeping our doors open. Our bottom line is our number one consideration. We are not here to bring you something that is of displeasure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HUGHES: I'm fighting white advertisers who are telling me that black folks don't want news and information. And I'm fighting black folks who are afraid that they're going to be embarrassed if they start expressing themselves.
LEMON: Hughes had the willpower and the drive, but she didn't know how to manage money. The fledgling radio mogul almost lost it all, ending up homeless, living in her office with a sleeping bag for a bed.
HUGHES: I'm washing up in the public bathroom and going to a girlfriend's house I'd grown up with in Omaha, Nebraska, taking my showers in the evening and washing up in the morning in the public bathroom that my staff and guests would be in.
LEMON: Did your staff know?
HUGHES: Oh, yes. Absolutely they knew. I was cooking on a hot plate.
LEMON: As the bank threatened foreclosure, at the final meeting, Hughes clung to her faith.
HUGHES: I prayed this prayer that God would just use me to say the right thing. I stood up and said to them that they did not have the power to foreclose on me. That I felt that God had me on a mission to provide a voice for black people.
LEMON: Her prayers were answered. She says the government-run small business administration came up with a payment plan that included a finance lesson in exchange for her teaching it to others. Soon WOL began turning a profit, enough to buy other radio stations in D.C. and eventually around the country.
In 2004, she launched TV One, also targeting a black audience, and Hughes is the first African-American woman to head a company publicly traded on a U.S. Stock Exchange.
(on camera): Is it more about fate or is it more about passion and drive?
HUGHES: I think it's a combination. I think that you have to have the passion and drive. When you are able to earn a living in something that turns you on, that excites you, that stimulates you, that inspires you, it's not work.
LEMON: The little girl who fell asleep listening to her transistor radio now owns the airwaves. Cathy Hughes is an African- American first.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: "Up From a Past: African-American First" airs every Sunday night, 7:00 and 10:00 p.m. right here on CNN.
And also I want to tell you this. Our Soledad O'Brien has been working on some very special stories you will see only on July 22 and 23 when CNN presents "BLACK IN AMERICA 2." Two nights. Two primetime documentaries. All new stories only here on CNN.
Don't go away. We have some new information on the developing situation in Florida. Breaking news after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Back now to our breaking news. Escambia County, Florida, specifically Pensacola, our David Mattingly following every development there.
David, we're hearing a second arrest. Not exactly sure what this press conference is going to be about, specifically about that, but who it is, we don't know.
MCKENZIE: That's right, Don. We are back here in this conference room waiting to hear from the sheriff again. This time we're told about another arrest in this double homicide case. What exactly the charges will be. We'll have to wait and hear from him directly. And who would this might be. We're not sure.
We know that they had two persons of interest that they had been talking to in this case since yesterday. One of those persons was arrested today and he was charged with tampering with evidence, not with anything with the double murder that started this case, but with tampering with evidence. This particular person has been arrested, and now we're hearing that we might have a second arrest coming up. Could this be the one that is finally a murder charge? We'll find out shortly. LEMON: All right. We're awaiting that press conference. Our David Mattingly standing by. We're getting very closer to the top of the hour. We're going to try to bring it to you live. If it doesn't make it within this 10:00 hour, if it does at 11:00 -- cnn.com/live, cnn.com/live. They will carry it for you, but it could come after the break so don't go away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So the big question in this case, this is really a "who done it," and why would they target or kill two people with 16 children? Many of them adopted. Some of them with Downs Syndrome. Some of the children at home at the time of this murder.
We're talking about the murder of a Florida couple inside their Escambia County home right here Pensacola, Florida. We are waiting a news conference with the sheriff's department there. They're expected to announce a new arrest in the case. They're not saying if this person will be charged with murder.
There was an arrest earlier in the case. His name is Leonard Patrick Gonzalez. He was arrested but charged with tampering with evidence and could spend up to five years in prison for trying to paint the van so no one would recognize it. Again, they're expected to announce a new arrest in this case on who murdered a Florida couple. Details on AMERICAN MORNING.
I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you back here tomorrow. Catch all of it streaming live on cnn.com. See you next weekend.
