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President Obama's Historic Africa Trip; Parents Can't Find Children's Graves; Police Searching for Three Suspects in Murder of Florida Couple; Parent Believes Racism as Reason Kids Kicked Out of Swim Club
Aired July 13, 2009 - 17:00 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 in the CNN NEWSROOM: President Obama's emotional trip to Africa, his father's homeland.
Plus, new information about the cemetery plots scam in Chicago. It is an unbelievable story. Many parents can't find the remains of their own babies.
Plus, I got just off the weapon with the LAPD and I have new details about the Michael Jackson death investigation, the rumors, the truth -- all of the information you need right now.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us.
It was a day of emotional and personal moments for President Barack Obama. He has ended his seven-day international tour in Ghana, once the center of the transatlantic slave trade. Crowds of people clamored just to get a look at America's first African-American president.
And in a speech to the parliament, he chose Ghana as a beacon of freedom of sub-Saharan Africa.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We believe that democracy is not simply a gift from previous generations but a responsibility for each generation to preserve and to pass on. We believe that no one, whether through the influence of politics, the power of money or the fear of force is above the law. And we believe that we're all equal, all endowed with basic human dignity, all entitled to basic human rights.
It is up to each of us -- every one of us to uphold those ideals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: CNN's Ed Henry traveled with the president to Africa and joins us now from Accra, Ghana.
A very emotional trip, Ed.
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Very emotional, Don. A day full of symbolism but also substance. Barack Obama is essentially pushing his African brethren with what you might call tough love. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY (voice-over): A day of extraordinary moments, none more powerful than the first African-American president visiting a former slave fortress with his family.
OBAMA: I think it was particularly important for Malia and Sasha, who are growing up in such a blessed way, to be reminded that history can take very cruel turns.
HENRY: After touring Cape Coast castle, which the British used as a slave dungeon, President Obama compared its power to his recent stop at German concentration camp.
OBAMA: It is reminiscent of the trip I took to Buchenwald, because it reminds us of the capacity of the human beings to commit great evil.
HENRY: The president used his personal connection to deliver some tough love in a speech to the parliament of Ghana earlier in the day.
OBAMA: We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans. I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me and my family's...
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: ... my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
HENRY: He chastised African leaders over corruption, saying they can't blame the West for their economies winding up in shambles.
OBAMA: No business wants to invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the port authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. This -- that is not democracy, that is tyranny.
HENRY: Mr. Obama's father was from Kenya and he visited that country as a senator. But he chose Ghana as his first stop in sub-Saharan Africa as president because he wanted to highlight its stable democracy and growing economy.
So, he mixed the stern lectures with some inspiration the day having the feel of Mr. Obama taking last year's campaign to a whole new continent, in shirt sleeves playing with babies, working rope lines, even ending his parliament speech with a familiar slogan.
OBAMA: The world will be what you make of it. You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease and end conflicts, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes, you can.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HENRY: Now, this wraps a week-long trip for the president that took him to Russia for arms talks, on to Italy to deal with the world's largest economies on issues like climate change, but he said he also decided to stop here in Ghana because he believes the 21st century will be shaped not by what happens in capitals like Moscow and Rome, but also what happens in tiny capitals, places like right here in Africa, Don.
LEMON: Hey, Ed, I have to ask you. You've been traveling with the president and I've heard some moving moments not only from the president, from some of our correspondents. Do you have one that stands out to you?
HENRY: Gosh. Each step along the way, I've been posting pictures at Twitter under EdHenryCNN, and I've been getting a lot of feedback from people. I think that probably, the moment we're sitting in that parliament today and there were just people who were beaming to see an African-American president for the first time.
And I was especially struck, I met this young kid, couldn't have been more than 11 or 12 years old, and he came up and said, "Are you a journalist?" I said, "Yes," and he started telling me everything that Barack Obama had said. He said he was inspired by it. And then he said one more thing, he said, "Your president's very tall."
I thought that was kind of funny because he was a kid, and he was inspired but at the same time, kids just say the darnedest things. It was kind of cool.
LEMON: Yes, it's the little moments like that that are really nice. What's your Twitter account again so we can look at those pictures?
HENRY: It's EdHenryCNN, all one word. And a lot of people have been giving feedback because it's kind of fun, almost do a travel log along the way. Again, we went from Russia to Italy, now here in Ghana about an hour a half or so, we'll finally get back on that big plane and get back to Andrews Air Force base early, early Sunday morning.
LEMON: You'll be glad to get home, I'm sure, and sleep in your own bed. Ed Henry, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting.
In the meantime, our Anderson Cooper is in Ghana and sat down with President Obama at the Cape Coast castle. You can see Anderson's entire conversation with President Obama, that will happen on Monday, "AC360" 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN.
And tonight, at 10:00 Eastern, we'll talk to Discovery Channel producer Regi Allen about his new documentary. There we go, right there. It's called "10 Days in Africa." Allen will take us deep inside the heart of Africa. He made the journey to dispel some myths about the continent and find out firsthand what it is really like.
Again, our conversation with filmmaker coming up tonight, 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only here on CNN. The U.S. is now seeking amnesty for two American journalists. They have been imprisoned in North Korea, accused of entering the country illegally. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked that Laura Ling and Euna Lee be released on humanitarian grounds.
Now, Clinton made the announcement at a State Department briefing yesterday, a plea for amnesty implies forgiveness for some offense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: The two journalists and their families have expressed great remorse for this incident. And I think everyone is very sorry that it happened. What we hope for now is that these two young women would be granted amnesty through the North Korean system and be allowed to return home to their families as soon as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Now, Ling and Lee are both serving 12-year sentences in a prison that requires hard labor.
Protestors marched on the nation's capital to protest the result of the president election in Iran. They walked from Capitol Hill to the White House. A rally and concert are also taking place. The march and rally coincide with the 10th anniversary of a student-led uprising in Iran, but of course they take on new significance in the wake of the hotly disputed presidential election. We'll be covering that for you all evening on CNN as well.
It is called "Baby Land." A space reserved inside the historic Burr Oak Cemetery in suburban Chicago for infants and children. And I cannot believe this story. Every time I read it or hear about it.
But now, many grieving parents are say they can't find their own baby's graves and it's just one of a long list of disturbing discoveries that prompted state investigators to declare 150-acre cemetery a crime scene and it all started with four people arrested for allegedly digging up hundreds of graves and reselling the plots.
Cheryl Jackson is live in Alsip, Illinois with new information on that.
Cheryl, it is unbelievable. Innocent until proven guilty, but, boy, oh, boy, we certainly hope that what's transpiring there doesn't turn out to be true. It looks like it is, though.
CHERYL JACKSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is really unbelievable. There are hundreds and hundreds of people who filed through here today looking for answer did not get them. The Cook County police say this may be the biggest crime scene in Cook County history. There are over 100,000 graves in there. It's split up, like you said, into several different crime scenes. And one of those is places is "Baby Land," that's where babies and toddlers were buried.
And you could just see the heartbreak on the parents' faces when they came in with pictures of their children. And they were hoping to be able to check to see if they could see the tomb stones but police came out here and told us there are very few tombstones in "Baby Land." We talked to one woman whose entire family -- excuse me -- is buried there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNIFER GYIMAH, CHICAGO RESIDENT: I know they're in there but are they a pile of bones. You know, they -- look, they were living people, and we grieved for them, and we loved them and we wanted them to have a peaceful restful life after they died. And I think that's the service that the cemetery should provide for the families. And when you dig them up again, it's like you're reliving them, you're bringing back -- the spirits are coming back, and it's just such a grieving process all over again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JACKSON: Now, today police did exhume a body because a family thought that there had been someone on top of their loved one or they were buried, their loved one was buried on top of someone else, because police are worried about that double stacking. But as it turned out today, that was not the case. They said they found nothing irregular in that grave, but the grave right next to it, there was a grave with no headstone.
So police say this is a huge investigation. It's going to take maybe months to sort through all of this stuff because they have piles of human remains and shards of bones and really nowhere to go with all of this.
LEMON: Hey, Cheryl, do they know how far does this go back? Is it just go back to recent years? How long has this possibly been happening?
JACKSON: Police believe for up to about four years. And they say there were several people on the grounds who knew something was going on and just didn't say anything about it.
LEMON: It must be -- I can't imagine covering it up, when people are coming in and can't find their children. It's hard to bury a child anyway, but then now, you can't find where their remains are.
Cheryl, OK, thank you. Cheryl is going to be on top of this story for us. We really appreciate your reporting. Nice job there, Cheryl. If you get anymore information, please get back to us.
I want to tell you about Burr Oak Cemetery. It is the final resting place of Emmett Till. Emmett Till is an Illinois teenager who was lynched in Mississippi in 1955. The casket he was originally buried in until 2005 was found discarded in a garage. That casket, he was exhumed because of Justice Department investigation -- I don't know if you remember that.
Anyway, officials say there was wildlife living inside of that casket, which probably should be in a museum. Many people consider that a desecration of Emmett Till's memory.
We'll talk more about the significance of this casket with Alvin Sykes of the Emmett Till Justice Campaign. He is coming up in the 7:00 p.m. hour on the CNN NEWSROOM.
Plus, we want you to weigh in on this. Make sure you go to Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com and weigh on it. We'll give you -- I'll show you the sites right after this.
New leads in the brutal execution-style murder of parents of 16 children. We're headed live to Florida.
Plus, black and Hispanic children told to stay out of the pool. We hear from the president of the private club that turned the kids away.
And here are the addresses where you can be part of our show. Weigh in on that story, the pool story, also the burial story and the Emmett Till part of it, families who no longer know where their children are after they buried them. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com.
Plus, we have the latest on the Michael Jackson investigation -- coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, it's an almost unimaginable crime, really, it is an unimaginable crime. But tonight, police in Florida are piecing together a possible scenario about why a husband and wife with 16 children were brutally shot to death.
Investigators right now are searching for three males in a red van -- three males in a red van. Authorities say it is the first solid lead since the couple was found slain on Thursday night in their home in Beulah.
Our David Mattingly joins us now live with the latest on the investigation.
And, David, it looks like we might get some new information very soon on this. What are you hearing?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. The sheriff is going to hold a news conference in the next hour. We have not been notified of any arrests in this case, we have been told they will be discussing some significant details in their investigation. No one is using the word that there's been any arrest or any suspects at this point.
Last night, we were told they had some persons of interest that they were looking for and that they had some solid leads. Now, when it came to that red van, that was going to be a huge thing to involve the public with. They put the pictures of that red van out there.
It is a large, about a 15-seater, built in the late '70s, early '80s. Dodge made this van, bright red. It's going to stick out like a sore thumb. And there have been dozens, maybe even hundred of calls coming into the police department with tips. Some of those tips have been very helpful. What they have led to we don't know and perhaps we'll find out in the next hour.
But this couple was found shot to death in their home outside of Pensacola. And they have been known in the community for opening their hearts and their home to children with special needs, adopting a dozen over the years. There were numerous children at home at the time -- eight of them, six of those children have Down syndrome -- when this crime occurred.
Police and people who know the family telling us that they are the in care of family and that they are being looked after. But, at this point, the investigation is still going and this news conference we're having in the next hours, we're told probably won't be the last one we have this weekend -- Don?
LEMON: Yes. So, the children were in the house, some of them, none of them hurt, right?
MATTINGLY: Right. They were not hurt.
LEMON: OK.
MATTINGLY: And someone familiar with the family tells me that because they are Down syndrome children, they do not adjust to change very well. There's been a great deal of concern outside of the family...
LEMON: But all of them...
MATTINGLY: ... about what's going to happen to these children.
LEMON: All of them were -- all of them have Down syndrome? Not all of them, right?
MATTINGLY: No, not all of them.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Are they old enough then to be credible witnesses in this case if they were at home at the time?
MATTINGLY: One of the children -- we're told -- did help the investigators somewhat in describing the men who came into the house. But the police are relying mostly on this videotape.
LEMON: Yes.
MATTINGLY: There were surveillance cameras inside the home and outside. They were able to see these men and see the van that they were driving. These men, dressed in black, described as three young white males, and police say they did last night have some persons of interest. But at this point, they have not announced any arrests so far. LEMON: OK. And you said the news conference is next hour. If we have that van, we can get it up and the videotape, I'm not sure we have the videotape -- David, did they put the videotape of the men out there because I'm not sure if I've seen. But this van, I mean, the red van...
MATTINGLY: No.
LEMON: ... that looks like that. I mean, it doesn't -- it should be pretty easy to identify. So, in this press conference, if we look at these pictures...
MATTINGLY: This van...
LEMON: ... and we talk about the videotape. Go on. What are we expecting to hear? And tell me about this van.
MATTINGLY: Well, this van is huge. It's a 15-seater, according to the sheriff. This is something that's going to stand out at any area, but this was built back in the late '70s, early '80s. It is a very old van. It's red in color.
How could you not see something like this on the road?
LEMON: Yes.
MATTINGLY: So, they put those pictures out there yesterday. They got a flood -- what they described -- as a flood of calls about this. And they said that some of those got from the public were helpful.
Where it exactly led to at this point -- we're not sure. Maybe we'll hear a little bit more about that when we hear from the sheriff in the next hour.
LEMON: All right. Stand by, David.
David is going to join us with the latest on that investigation. Our David Mattingly investigating this story happening in Beulah.
We really appreciate it, David.
Now, as we said, David -- we're expecting this police conference. He is going to bring us. It's going to be at the top of the hour, we believe. These things could come earlier. So, you want to stay tuned because we're not exactly sure when it's going to happen. We'll monitor all the details for you. And again, our David Mattingly will be there.
OK. The outrage keeps growing -- as it should -- in this next story, if it's true about what one person said or was overheard saying. A private club turns away a group of minority children from a swimming pool. We're going to hear the club's side.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Space shuttle Endeavour is stuck on the launch pad yet again. This time, liftoff was scrubbed so crews can change for -- check, I should say, for storm damage. NASA counted nearly a dozen lightning strikes near the launch site at Florida's Kennedy Space Center last night. No problems have been found yet.
So, NASA -- well, they're going to try it again tomorrow. Two planned launches were scrubbed last month because of a liquid hydrogen leak.
Lightning strikes, Jacqui Jeras.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: Boy, oh, boy. In order -- I mean, the space shuttle is pretty sturdy, so it's got to be some big stuff going on.
JERAS: Yes. It was the on the pad, actually, the shuttle itself didn't get hit, from what I understand.
LEMON: Yes.
JERAS: There's some pretty cool video, too, by the way, of it...
LEMON: OK.
JERAS: ... from NASA TV. You can find it on YouTube. We're trying to get permission to use that.
LEMON: So, we don't have it yet.
JERAS: We don't have it yet.
LEMON: I hope we get it. I'd love to see it.
JERAS: I hope so, at 7:00.
LEMON: OK.
JERAS: Also, some good information on Space.com by the way as well, why lightning hits it so frequently.
We still have showers and thundershowers in the area again today. And we're expecting to see that once again tomorrow. So, there's about a 30 percent chance that weather could inhibit the launch tomorrow evening. And, yes, that would be due to showers and some thunderstorms which are in the vicinity and they're all over the place, especially at this time of the year.
We've got some stormy weather across the northeast and also throughout the Ohio Valley, real intense storm has been moving across southern parts of Ohio, there you can see it just north of Ashland right now. No warnings on it, however this storm had a history of possibly producing a tornado in Buchanan and it did damage some house trailers in this area and numerous trees down. So, still a wicked storm, but it has been diminishing, something we'll continue to monitor over the next couple of hours.
And strong storms moving through Upstate New York, making its way towards Albany, Schenectady, and we'll be seeing this in the megalopolis area we think probably in the late evening hours. If you have plans for dinner, you probably it's going to be OK on your way in, but maybe not on your way out.
Winds are really strong ahead of this, too, by the way. So, we are seeing wind delays across the northeastern corridor, at JFK, also Washington, D.C. looking at some delays because of those thunderstorms.
The heat continues to be a big problem out west. There's a live picture of Phoenix from KNXV-TV, 109, Don, right now. You know it's hot in Phoenix when they issue excessive heat warnings in the desert.
LEMON: When you say 109, you know it's just hot.
JERAS: It's hot.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Yes.
JERAS: Uncomfortable, dangerous really.
LEMON: Hey, real quick. Give us some tips, I want to know when it's that dry and hot -- stay and drink a lot of water, stay inside.
JERAS: Yes. Water, not other types of beverages, by the way. Water is always best or maybe a little Gatorade or something like that. Wear lightweight loose -fitting clothing. And even if you can get in some air conditioning for a couple of hours, you're a whole lot better off.
LEMON: OK. Jacqui, I need your Twitter and your Facebook page because everyone was asking me out to know. By the way, it's good to see you in person again.
JERAS: Well, thank you.
LEMON: Everyone is asking me they follow you all the time that they wanted to make sure they have it. What are your social networking sites?
JERAS: We've got it's just Twitter.com/JacquiJeras, I think. All one word, the Js are capitalized.
LEMON: All right. Make sure you...
JERAS: You got to spell it right because they spell my name funky.
LEMON: Spell it for 'em.
JERAS: With C-Q-U-I. J-A-C-Q-U-I.
LEMON: Jacqui. Remember that?
JERAS: I remember that show way back when -- you betcha. (LAUGHTER)
LEMON: All right. They're telling us to go.
JERAS: OK.
LEMON: We haven't seen each other, we're going to go.
JERAS: It's been a while. We'll chat after the show.
LEMON: Good to see you. Thank you very much.
All right. Let's talk about some serious news now. The president of a suburban Philadelphia swim club says dozens of minority kids were kicked out because of safety concerns and not racism. John Duesler says there were too many children and too few life guards at the Valley Club pool in Huntington Valley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN DUESLER, PRESIDENT, THE VALLEY CLUB: I apologize deeply for any misunderstanding. It was never our intention to hurt anyone or for anyone to be offend here. And this is a terrible misunderstanding. And I would actually -- I would -- I would send my best wishes to the camp and all the camps really because they have gotten an outpouring of support from all over the country.
BERNICE DUESLER, WIFE OF JOHN DUESLER: And they deserve it. She's doing wonderful work, giving these children a safe place to be -- which is what we were trying to do also.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, well. Alethea Wright, you were there with your son Marcus when this happened. Thank you for joining us tonight. It's good to see you and being brave enough to be on national TV.
Do you buy the pool president's explanation that the children were kicked out for safety concerns and not because they're black?
ALETHEA WRIGHT, MOTHER OF MARCUS ALLEN: Absolutely not, I don't buy it.
LEMON: Why not?
WRIGHT: When we were there, it was a total of 55 children. My son's school Rider (ph) Elementary School was just there on June the 17th with his school, which is a predominantly Caucasian school and my son is three -- out of the three African-American, he is one. And he was not -- he's never been discriminated at Rider Elementary School.
So, when he came there just a little under two weeks, on June the 29th, with a predominantly African-American and Hispanic group, he was totally baffled. And when we arrived, there were eight staff members from Creative Steps and he had three to four lifeguards. And in his e-mail, he told me that his ratio is 25 swimmers to one lifeguard. So, there was more than enough safety provided. In addition, what he did not say on national television is that it's 110,000 gallon pool and he has a separate waddling pool that is one foot for non-swimmers.
LEMON: And you -- as you're talking, we're looking at the video of the pool and it is a pretty big pool. How many kids again?
WRIGHT: The children were divided up. There was 55 children there.
LEMON: Fifty-five children. (INAUDIBLE).
WRIGHT: Yes.
LEMON: For a pool that size, doesn't seem like that many children, unless there weren't that many lifeguards.
So Marcus, you were there.
MARCUS ALLEN, DENIED ENTRANCE TO POOL: Yes, I was there.
LEMON: Did you hear any stuff about someone saying, I forget what the exact quote was, but did you hear anyone make any sort of statement about the kids, about your color or anything?
ALLEN: Yes, I did hear making statements about our color.
LEMON: What did you hear?
ALLEN: I heard them saying like they don't want black people there and that we were afraid we might try to harm their children or try to steal some of their personal properties.
LEMON: You heard someone say that?
ALLEN: Yes.
LEMON: Do you remember who it was or what they looked like? Did they work for the pool? Or just someone who was -- I don't know if you would even know that?
ALLEN: It was just some couple of parents of...
LEMON: A couple parents. When you heard that, what did you -- what did you think?
ALLEN: I thought I was like amazed that they heard that. At first I thought I was hearing things because it was like I was so surprised that they were actually saying something like that.
LEMON: Yes. It is disturbing. You know, if this is indeed true, and I'm not denying what you heard and what you witnessed, it's just that they're saying that, you know, they have their side of the story.
One would wonder though and the question would be -- why would they not hire enough lifeguards and people to take care of these children if it was a planned event? Do you not -- do you disagree, ma'am? WRIGHT: It was a planned event. We and Dr. John Duesler had communicated via e-mail and he had board approval. He had not one, not two, but two board meetings prior to us even coming there. And as I stated, when we arrived, there was three to four lifeguards present that day and I had eight staff members.
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: OK. That's very interesting. I was a lifeguard when I was a kid and when I was younger, and if -- this is what we did. If there were too many people, we would just move people to the shallow instead of the deep end. There could have been compromises made or we make some people get out and do it in shifts so I don't know why that couldn't have happened either. But we are going to get to do the bottom of this. This is outrageous if it did happen. It reminds me -- do you remember the 2007 movie "Pride" with Terrence Howard.
WRIGHT: Yes.
LEMON: It kind of reminds me of that movie. If you haven't seen it, go see it and you'll see what these people are talking about if they did experience that.
OK, Alethea Wright, Marcus Allen, best of luck, keep us updated, OK?
WRIGHT: Good afternoon, everybody.
LEMON: Marcus, hey, don't listen to those people, all right.
MARCUS ALLEN: All right.
LEMON: You're a cool guy. You can do whatever you want.
ALLEN: OK.
LEMON: You don't need their pool. You can come to my house and swim in my pool.
ALLEN: OK.
LEMON: All right, thank you, sir.
WRIGHT: Thank you.
LEMON: The turnout was massive. Some of the biggest names in sports came out to say good-bye to football great Steve McNair.
Plus, I just got off the phone with the LAPD and I have details about the Michael Jackson death investigation, the rumors, the truth, right now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Former NFL quarterback Steve McNair was remembered today as a legend in his home state of Mississippi. Thousands of mourners gathered for his funeral. And police in Nashville say McNair was killed Fourth of July by his mistress in a murder/suicide. CNN Sports' Larry Smith joins us from Hinesburg, Mississippi, with the latest.
I watched the memorial earlier in the week. It was very touching and moving. I imagine this one today as well, Larry?
LARRY SMITH, CNN NEWS CORRESOPONDENT: It was amazing. We had two funeral services in arenas, both in the same week. This was called a home-going ceremony. Everyone here, some laughter and tears, but overall, everyone in a state of shock as Steve McNair, 36 years old, no longer with us. As you mentioned, thousands in attendance for this, including Titans head coach Jeff Fisher and former three-time NFL MVP Brett Favre, who grew up just south of here.
An emotional two-hour ceremony in which the former NFL MVP was remembered for making to the biggest stage from humble beginnings in rural Mississippi.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDELL JONES, SEVE MCNAIR'S COLLEGE COACH: Mississippi has lost a tremendous legend. I truly feel that it would be a long, long time before there will be another player the caliber of Steve McNair.
VINCE YOUNG, TENNESSEE TITANS QUARTEBACK: Steve was like a hero, a hero to me. You know, heroes are not supposed to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SMITH: Well, McNair was shot four times a week ago by Sahel Kazemi, his 20-year-old mistress. She turned the gun on herself. Her burial was yesterday in Jacksonville, Florida. As for Steve McNair, he was buried later in the day in his hometown of Mount Olive, Mississippi, about 30 miles away.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: All right, thank you very much. We appreciate you reporting on that.
One more good-bye that we have to talk about for Michael Jackson. This time, in his boyhood hometown of Gary, Indiana. Take a look.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: Boy, that's some dancing, huh? Thousands of people gathered last night in the city's minor league ball park for a celebration featuring the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson. Jackson and his family left Gary when he was 11 years old, but he never forgot the place where he and his brothers got their start in a local talent contest. Boy, looks like it was a whole lot of fun happening there in Gary, Indiana.
I have a quick update for you now on the Michael Jackson death investigation. All right, I just got off the phone with LAPD sources and they told me just moments ago that it remains a death investigation, not a criminal investigation. They don't want to over blow the word "could" because it could turn into anything. Once the findings from Jackson's toxicology reports come in, that could change the whole game. They're also saying they're expediting those toxicology reports, the coroner's office, that is. So right now, it is still a death investigation. And if the tox reports come back and they find something different, then their investigation moves. That will be the next part of the investigation. But we don't know when those test results will be finished or released, usually six to eight weeks. It has been two weeks, so maybe we'll get them soon.
We also have to wait a little longer to find out who gets custody of Michael Jackson's three children. A court hearing scheduled for Monday has been pushed back at the request of Michael Jackson's mother, Mrs. Katherine Jackson, and his ex-wife, Debbie Rowe. Katherine Jackson has temporary guardianship of the children. It not clear if Debbie Rowe is going to challenge her for custody. Rowe is the biological mother of the Jackson's two older children. You know that. The younger one, blanket, not sure who the biological mom is.
Until this week, we never heard of Jackson's children. We have never heard them talk before, I should say. But his daughter, Paris, touched inch with her comments at the end of Tuesday's memorial service.
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PARIS JACKSON, DAUGHTER OF MICHAEL JACKSON: Every since I was born, daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine. And I just want to say I love him so much. (APPLAUSE).
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I hate to see that. I don't want to play that anymore. It's too hurtful. It's too painful, so if we can avoid laying that sound bite. It's been on every single TV show. Poor little girl. Enough already.
In the last week or so, we've seen other painful stories of young children who have lost their parents. Steve McNair left behind four children. And we just report his funeral was today in Mississippi. A moving service there.
And there's the tragic story from Florida that we have been telling you about. Eight children found inside their home, both of their parents shot to death. The couple had 16 children in all. Many of them had Down's syndrome.
Well, for more on this topic of grieving children, I want to bring in Kate Atwood, founder of Kate's Club, an organization that helps grieving children deal with the loss of parents. Also joining us is the author of "When Children Grieve" and the executive director of the Grieving Institute, Russell Freidman.
Thank you very much. It's good to see both of you.
I played that because we were doing the story and I wanted to bring the point home. But after a while, doesn't feel gratuitous? I just don't want to play that little girl's grief over and over again.
KATE ATWOOD, FOUNDER, KATE'S CLUB: Yeah. I have mixed feelings on it. It's certainly hard to watch, but that was a moment for Paris Jackson. It wasn't a moment really for anybody else.
LEMON: And it's a moment to move things along and start the conversation about dealing with grief. What do you say to that end?
ATWOOD: As you mentioned, I'm the founder of Kate's Club, an organization here in Atlanta that works with children and teens who are facing the loss of a parent. Through the work with our children, we have really seen that communication is key. As uncomfortable as we may get around death and dying, and our culture tends to sway us that way, a child's voice is their most important tool. We saw that with Paris Jackson.
LEMON: OK. Let's bring in Mr. Friedman.
Russell Friedman, when I was seven years old, my dad died and I didn't know what was going on but I wanted to talk at the funeral. Some people say maybe she was put up there because she was forced, but I'm going to say probably not because I weren't to do the same thing. Children are pretty strong at that age, once you get to be that age. Children are more resilient than we think they are.
RUSSELL FRIEDMAN, AUTHOR & EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, GRIEVING INSTITUTE: Yes, we don't give them anywhere enough credit. And the one thing they have over us tremendously is emotional honesty. At the age of 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, they haven't learned to hide their feelings and mask them as we often do. So it's critical, as Kate said, for them to have a voice, to have no one tell them not to feel the way they feel, to have someone encourage them by demonstration to be overt with their feelings to the degree they feel safe and comfortable with others.
LEMON: Then, Mr. Friedman though, here's the thing, what happens after that? That moment is really a sort of a cathartic moment and therapeutic and get your grief out, but what happens in the months and the days, months and years after that? That's what's really important with shaping a child, making sure they get over the grief, making sure they have guidance and so on and so forth.
FRIEDMAN: Absolutely. Let's divide it real quickly into two elements. There's grief, which is the raw reaction to the loss itself. And then there's unresolved grief, which has to do with all the things we wish would have happen different, better or more. And in the case of the children, all the hopes, dreams and expectation of their future with their parents, siblings and others. So it's critical that whoever are going to be the guardian, parents or care takers demonstrate how the children should effectively deal with their unresolved grief, the undelivered communications that have happened and continue to occur. As the kids get older, they'll think of more things they didn't get a chance to do or say.
LEMON: OK.
We have so much breaking news. Kate, I want it ask you this. What is next? What is the next best thing for these children? What should they be doing now? Show them love? What?
ATWOOD: Absolutely. At the core of this is love and support. I think, as we're talked about, I mean the role models as the adults, we have to be able to open up to them and to start to explain and talk to them about what has happened.
LEMON: Keep them out of the public eye?
ATWOOD: You know, I think...
LEMON: Off the stage.
ATWOOD: Well, I think to the extent that they had to. We went through with Bindi Irwin when Steve Irwin passed away. And a she was on TV with a show and her mom got a lot critical backlash for that. But that was a bonding moment for her and her father. It's our responsibility to honor the child in the journey that lies ahead of them.
LEMON: I think what I'm trying to say is give them time to grieve. I mean us in the media -- and this family as well -- give them time to grieve.
ATWOOD: Absolutely.
LEMON: Privately, because that's where it counts.
ATWOOD: Right. Right.
LEMON: Thank you, Kate Atwood and Russell Friedman. I really appreciate all of your input. Thank you so much.
I wish we could have had a longer conversation because I think this is an important topic so we may do it again. Thank you.
ATWOOD: Thank you so much.
LEMON: For 100 years, the NAACP has fought the good fight. A centennial celebration under way right now.
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LEMON: The NAACP, celebrating its 100th anniversary this weekend in New York. The civil rights group's centennial convention starts today. The group's president says his organization plans to keep a close eye on the challenges ahead, even as it celebrates its historic accomplishments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN TODD JEALOUS, NAACP PRESIDENT: Our job for 100 years is to make the American dream real for all families, to get the situation to catch up with the aspiration. And while we have succeeded in many ways and we will celebrate incredible accomplishments here, including some I've mentioned, Ursula Barnes, we will also be very much focused on the work ahead. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ben Jealous is the youngest man to lead the NAACP and he has a lot to say about the group's past, present and future. Make sure you join us tonight at 10:00 p.m. We go one on one with Ben jealous right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM." It is a very lengthy interview. I interviewed him at his office and at home with his family. You'll meet him and hear about what he says the future of the NAACP is.
The big business of baseball's all-star game, you know our Rick Harrow.
Rick, are you on the phone?
RICK HARROW, CNN SPORTS ANALYST: I'm on the phone. I'm just waiting for you, sorry about that. I'll get back to you in a minute.
LEMON: OK, Rick, I'm telling you, we've got to keep going. You got to get a Blue Tooth. We'll see you in the next block.
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LEMON: You can find out more about Pamela's work and nominate a "CNN Hero" on your own on CNN.com/heroes. Go to CNN.com/heroes right now.
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LEMON: St. Louis has a rich history when it comes to Major League Baseball. Now the all-star game returns after four decades.
Sports Business Analyst Rick Harrow joints us now from West Palm Beach to talk about it.
West Palm Beach, oh, boy, oh, boy. Tell me the impact of the game. It would benefit, I guess, any city right now. I used to live in St. Louis. I know they can use it, especially downtown.
HARROW: You know that St. Louis hasn't had an all-star game in 40 years. And the downtown does need it. 2,500 of the best journalists want credentials. 250 countries, 12 languages will watch the all-star games. The important thing is that 250,000 people, Don, come in from out of town this week, spending $60 million for 40,000 seats. That's why the seats go for $6,000 a piece. Supply and demand.
LEMON: Money from hotels, restaurants, all that stuff, vendors, not the only dollars that will go to St. Louis banks. The city is going after player bonuses, right?
HARROW: Yeah. An earnings tax of 1 percent for the days they play. Are they there to play all star game, a home run derby, or are they there because it's a performance bonus they earn for recognition? Pittsburgh during their all-star game said we won't tax them. St. Louis, they're going after the money.
LEMON: Speaking of players salaries, let's switch gears. The new list of the highest played athletes, any surprises? Are you on there?
HARROW: No. I'm not and you're not either. But Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson, Shaq, A-Rod and Lebron James are. You have to be a team sport athlete, 45 to 50. By the way, $1.5 million this year less this year than last year. So that's bad news. The good news is the average, $24 million. That's why they call them the Fortunate 50, Don. You're not there, nor am I. Better luck next time.
LEMON: I'm really up against a break. Will Roger Federer be there next year?
HARROW: This is an international list. Andy Roddick may be there. Roger Federer is on the international list, clearly. In the U.S., those are the top guys. Tiger will be number one, maybe forever.
LEMON: Thank you, Rick. Always good to see you. Enjoy West Palm.
HARROW: See you next week. Bye.
LEMON: Get fit now. I'm not asking you to get off the couch. I'm just asking to you get in line.
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LEMON: Getting in shape can be as easy as going online. Here's Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(CNN FIT NATION)
