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Turnaround in Job Market?; Violence Set to Music
Aired April 01, 2010 - 12:02 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: You know, the jobless rate is still painfully high. If you're one of the millions of Americans out of work, we don't have to tell you that, right? But a report due out tomorrow is expected to show the economy adding jobs for only the second time since the recession started.
So let's take a look at the big picture here, if we could. Stephanie Elam of our Money team joining us now from New York.
And Stephanie, if we see job growth tomorrow, will it signify a turning point for the labor market?
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Tony, it could be a turning point, but you do have to remember that tomorrow's report comes with a grain of salt.
It's expected to include several one-time boosts like government hiring for the Census. So there is some optimism out there.
Today, we have the weekly jobless claim report. The good news there, new claims continued to drop last week. The bad news, there is still a ton of people getting unemployment benefits. We're talking about 11 million Americans.
And Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner is cautiously optimistic. In fact, take a listen to what he said on "The Today Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TIMOTHY GEITHNER, TREASURY SECRETARY: I think the key thing that's going to happen is the economy is going to start key creating jobs again. You're going to start to see businesses across the country start add to payroll again. That's going to come.
The economy is growing now. That's the first step. But with growth, more jobs will come. But the unemployment rate is still terribly high, and it's going to stay unacceptably high for a long period of time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ELAM: All right. So we have some ground to make back. That's for sure. It's going to stay high because we have a lot of ground to make up. That's what he said.
More than eight million people have lost their jobs in this recession. And most analysts say we need to add 150,000 to 200,000 jobs every month just to keep up with the population and the number of discouraged workers who are getting back into the market. So it will be years, really, Tony, before we see unemployment probably back to what we would like to see as normal.
HARRIS: All right. Let's drill down a little bit here.
If the economic growth is the first step, as the treasury secretary suggested there, it sounds like we may be on the right track here. We've seen a couple of quarters of growth in the GDP.
But is the economy going to continue growing, Stephanie?
ELAM: Yes. Well, obviously that's the thing that we all want to see. And as the treasury secretary points out, a growing economy is the first thing that we have to see, because it means higher demand and higher production.
The economy grew at the end of last year at a strong pace. And growth is expected to be slower this year, but all economists say it will continue to grow. So that means the labor market is likely to improve. Just the pace of improvement is probably going to be painfully slow, much slower than people would like it to be. No doubt about that -- Tony.
HARRIS: OK.
Stephanie Elam for us out of New York.
Stephanie, appreciate it. Thank you.
President Obama is going to be talking about the economy tomorrow during a visit to a business in Charlotte, North Carolina. We will carry his remarks live for you in this hour, in the noon hour, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Last one out, please turn out the lights. Toyota is closing its only auto assembly plant in California. The last car, a Corolla, being rolled out today.
The plant was a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota. GM announced last year that it is withdrawing from the partnership. The closure leaves 4,700 workers out of work.
Toyota's California plant relied on a statewide network of suppliers. Many of their workers also facing a new existence today. One of those suppliers is Injex, an award-winning plastics company.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIRSTIN STAPP, INJEX HUMAN RESOURCES: Right now I am putting together the termination packets for non-union employees. I put my label on my own termination packet.
I think about the employees that have been here for years and years, and this has been the only job some of them have ever had. So them not working now, how are they going to support their families?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes.
General Motors has just released its sales figures for March, and they're up by 21 percent over the same month a year ago. The carmaker credits a strong demand for redesigned vehicles. It is also likely attractive incentives lured buyers back to the showrooms.
We know Scott Roeder is going to prison for killing an abortion provider, but for how long? That's the question.
His sentencing hearing is under way and he's looking at 25 to 50 years before he is eligible for parole. Roeder admits gunning down Dr. George Tiller. He says he killed to save lives.
Listen to what a Tiller family friend said on behalf of the family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE THOMPSON, FRIEND OF TILLER FAMILY: And if this person is set free, he will do it again and again, and boast about it while stop for pizza on the way home. We urge the court to see that the prison doors are irrevocably and forever shut on this coward. His conduct is especially heinous because it's an act of anarchism designed for no reason other than to intimidate, deter and execute those exercising their constitutional rights to an abortion.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: OK. We are waiting for Roeder to speak before he is sentenced.
Music with a dark message.
(MUSIC)
HARRIS: You know, some people find it so offensive, it is banned. Others can't get enough of it. We will let you hear from musicians behind the lyrics.
First, though, our "Random Moment" in 75 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Oh boy. I love this.
Everybody in the back seat was happy. Then dad piped up and the tears came down, driving us to a "Random Moment of the Day."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES (singing): I'm a single lady. I'm a single lady. I'm a single lady. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're not a single lady, buddy. Yes, you are. Yes, you are. You're a single lady.
Oh!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Oh, dad. Baby boy boos over Beyonce when he finds out he is not one of the single ladies. Dad quickly retracted as you heard there. It didn't work. The kid just kept crying and crying.
You're a single lady. Did you hear him there?
Pop is the video act for a few more seconds, mouthing, "I am a horrible dad."
He is also our "Random Moment of the Day."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: OK. Better gas mileage is coming your way, fast. The Obama administration finalizing sweeping new fuel economy standards today.
Here's a quick fact check on how we will all be effected.
Automakers will have to improve fuel efficiency five percent a year starting in 2012. The target, 39 miles a gallon for cars, 30 for light trucks. By the year 2016, the president says that will save 1.8 billion barrels of oil.
Now, the administration estimates the new rules will raise the price of a new vehicle $1,300. The average driver, however, should recoup the cost in fuel savings over three years, assuming car prices remain reasonable. And the government says we will cut carbon dioxide emissions 21 percent by the year 2030, the equivalent of taking 42 million cars off the road.
The sweet 16 has been whittled down to just two winners. No, we're not talking about college basketball here. We are talking about the race to the top, where states compete for billions of dollars in education grants.
Josh Levs from the Stimulus Desk now -- I don't know what you were doing last hour -- is here to tell us which states won and why.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know. I'm tough to keep track of sometimes, aren't I?
You know what? This is actually a really big deal. I want to remind everyone, we're talking about the program that states were clamoring to get their hands on.
They all wanted this cash. This is the program that the government has said is being designed to revolutionize schools in America, to dramatically change them. Look here. All the states that are highlighted here, 40 states, plus D.C., all fought for this money. It's a $4.35 billion project. They all wanted some of these billions. Take a look on the next screen how many became finalists.
There were only 16 finalists. And after that process, basically these 16 needed to go and fight for some actual cash.
Do you have the second screen? There you go.
All the ones that are in yellow there are the ones that became finalists. They had to go to D.C. They had to say what they're doing to change their schools, how they're going to bring around major reform, how they've demonstrated commitment to it.
And look at it. After all that, Tony, we have the next screen for you, the two winners, only two for now that get their hands on some of these billions.
Out of a score of 500, the highest scoring states here, Delaware, and the winner, Tennessee, which by far came in ahead of everywhere else. So we have these two states that won, and we have some information for you on how they won.
We can show you here some criteria that the people doing this administering were basically looking for, what they wanted to see happen for any of these states to win. And a lot of it was about getting support to make it happen and getting buy-in.
You're seeing there on your screen, implementing reforms in every school statewide, pushing education reform legislation to back up these changes. Also, they're tying teacher evaluations to student performances.
And this is interesting. One thing that they wanted to see was that it has buy-in from teachers' unions, probably, as I understand it, for pragmatic reasons. They think if you have that, it's going to get a lot farther, the money will go farther faster, instead of being spent on a fight.
So that's why those two, Tony, are the winners of this big competition there.
HARRIS: Got you.
So, in terms of money, Josh, how much will they get? I mean, they're certainly not going to split the entire pot here of $4.35 billion between just two states, right?
LEVS: They're not. And that's good news for the other 48 states, plus D.C.
What they're getting together is $600 million total for these two states. And that's being divvied up pretty much based on student age, population. So, about $500 million going over to Tennessee, about $100 million going to Delaware. And what we're seeing is that they are going to get this money pretty fast, they're going to try to use it to make some major changes in their schools. And, Tony, everybody else now is clamoring for the next phase, which begins June 1. So now you have all these other states that want to do all this work, right, to try to win next time around, get their hands on the remaining $4-something billion.
HARRIS: I've got to ask -- I'm getting the wrap here, but I've got to know, which states came in last?
LEVS: We do have to say. Let's go to that last screen. I'm going to show you which states came in last because it's not a happy moment for those states.
HARRIS: No. No.
LEVS: OK. Then I'll just tell you right here. South Dakota came in last, unfortunately.
HARRIS: South Dakota?
LEVS: Yes. And just above them, Arizona and Nebraska. So they're at the bottom. They have a lot of work to do. If they want to raise that score, get their hands on some of that stimulus money, then race to the top and make some changes.
HARRIS: Oh yes.
Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks, Tony.
HARRIS: Telling a story with music. A reality of murder and mayhem in Mexico with a catchy beat. Is it a story worth telling?
It can be pretty tough to take, like gangster rap on steroids.
CNN's Thelma Gutierrez tracks down the musicians.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's Friday night, and this club is packing them in.
This isn't Mexico. We're in a suburb of Los Angeles. All these fans are here to listen to traditional Mexican music called corridos, ballads that date back to the 1800s and sound a little like a polka.
(on camera): Fans say they are fanatics about the corrido because it's music that makes them want to get up and dance.
(voice-over): But the kind of spirit (ph) here to listen to, if you listen closely to the lyrics and translate them, it actually has a very dark and disturbing message.
It's the illicit world of drug running, the narco world reported in the media and posted on YouTube. It inspired the lyrics of the narcocorrido.
We went to Inglewood, California, to meet some musicians.
(INAUDIBLE) and the group Los Trabajados (ph) 24/7, they play the music that some find so offensive, it's banned from the airwaves in Mexico.
(on camera): For people who have never heard of narcocorridos, what exactly is that kind of music? How would you explain it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's drug dealers.
GUTIERREZ: Drug dealers. So you sing about drug dealers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uh-huh.
GUTIERREZ: And what else? Love?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Love? Not really. I don't think so.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Sabias (ph) took me to a garage that he turned into a recording studio. This is where he produces the underground music.
They play for us.
(MUSIC)
GUTIERREZ (on camera): I listened to some of the lyrics. You're talking about (SPEAKING SPANISH).
I mean, killing their mother? What is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I mean, no. There was, like, somebody gets --
GUTIERREZ: Did I hear that right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GUTIERREZ: All three of you are United States citizens, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
GUTIERREZ: But you have family members in Mexico. So it's got to bug you that this has taken hold.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, definitely.
GUTIERREZ: Would you go play there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
GUTIERREZ: Who are your influences in American music?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tupac, Dr. Dre. I grew up with those guys. GUTIERREZ (voice-over): They say the narcocorrido is a little like gangster rap. It's controversial, raw commentary about what's going on.
(on camera): Do you feel just a little bit responsible?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I do. I do. I do. I do. But if I don't do this kind of music, I mean, I'm out of business.
(MUSIC)
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Right now narcocorridos are big business, and the hottest phenomenon on the Internet is Larry Hernandez. His videos on YouTube and MySpace get hundreds of thousands of views. His concerts sell out, and he's top of the Latin billboard charts with no major label, no radio play or media exposure.
Critics argue that singers are profiting from violence and tragedy. But USC professor and narcocorrido expert Josh Kun says while that may be partly new, this isn't new.
PROF. JOSH KUN, USC: These kinds of songs exist in all other kinds of other cultural areas. I mean, there's Italian Mafia songs. Obviously, hip-hop has been all about the criminal lifestyle in some ways. And songs that document and make very powerful observations about the criminal underworld.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Does that ever worry you from a security perspective about who is in the crowd, who is in your audience watching you, who might like your music, who might not like your music? Does that worry you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, we try to be as careful and as cautious as possible.
GUTIERREZ: What does that mean?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We try to be neutral.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): As (INAUDIBLE) says, he dreams of the day when he can go back to singing about love and romance. But for now, his fans only want the violent lyrics of narcocorridos.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Tiger Woods returns to public view one week from today in the Masters. He brings with him the baggage of a celebrity cheater. Like other rich and famous, he has been to rehab for sex addiction therapy.
Is it a illness, a habit, or just an excuse? The topic on CNN "LARRY KING LIVE."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Colin Cowherd on ESPN Radio this morning made a strong plea for the fact that there is no such thing as sexual addiction. And one of his examples was Derek Jeter is single. He dates many, many well-known, pretty models and women. No one has ever called him a sex addict because he ain't married.
Is there a -- are you a sex addict if you're married?
DREW PINSKY, HOST, MTV'S "CELEBRITY REHAB": You can be, of course. It's really -- a way to think of it is, addiction is defined by consequences. And there are many alcoholics out there that are controlling their drinking. It still works for them. They're able to kind of prevent it from spiraling out of control. And they think of their drinking as normative.
The reality is --
KING: Well, if it is, it's it an addiction if you live with it?
PINSKY: At the very least, we would call it addictive traits and the potential to go out of control. When things really spiral out of control is when people are trying to contain these behaviors, and then the consequences mount.
KING: When is -- Robert Weiss, when is sexual addiction sexual addiction?
ROBERT WEISS, FOUNDER, SEXUAL RECOVERY INSTITUTE: I think Drew had a really good point. You know, when you have to stop a behavior or change a behavior and you can't, or you don't know how to --
KING: Whether you're single, married, or whatever?
WEISS: It doesn't married.
KING: Man, woman?
WEISS: We work with men all the time who are unable to form relationships because they're so busy looking at porn and hooking up in anonymous sexual situations.
KING: But if they can have a job, have a successful life --
WEISS: Then they should enjoy themselves. You know, a really good way to understand sex addiction is to say there are people who enjoy alcohol and then there are alcoholics. You know, you don't want to be an alcoholic, but you might want to be someone who enjoys alcohol. It's the same thing with sex.
KING: A thin line?
PINSKY: It can be a thin line. But I'll tell you, Larry, when you deal with people that really have this, there's no debating it. I mean, Tiger is a great example to me of somebody who really has suffered a lot. He damaged his family, his career, his children, a woman he loves. These were people he built a life around and with, and he harmed them and he wanted to stop.
KING: But the question is, if he were single and the same golfer, would we even be talking about it?
PINSKY: We probably wouldn't. But, you know, the same thing is true of almost any addiction. When people come to see me in the hospital, ,they don't walk in the door and go, "You know what? I decided today I'm going to stop drinking." Maybe they've been thinking about it for three years, but they came in that day because they had a DUI, they nearly died, their wife put them in, or some other such consequence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: This is a tough one.
We want to hear what you think about all of this. Sex addiction, real disease or a copout?
Just go to CNN.com/Tony and have your say. We will share some of your comments on the air in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The controversy within the religion of Scientology. A history of violence, but at whose hands? Today we continue asking questions. Why were the police never called to investigate?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Hey, you know, we're getting some breaking news at CNNmoney.com. Just reading the headline there. We're getting sales figures from the automakers for March. And Ford up 40 percent. A 40 percent rise in sales year to year, right, March to March. And GM -- I think we reported the GM numbers just a short time ago, up 21 percent in sales for March year to year.
The Nasdaq, New York Stock Exchange now. The Nasdaq is up eight points and the Dow, bang, up 66. As we continue to follow these numbers for you throughout the day right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
This week, CNN has focused on the Church of Scientology. A secretive religion that boasts such Hollywood celebrities as Tom Cruise and John Travolta. We have also told you about allegations of physical abuse made by former high-ranking members of the church against the church's leader David Miscavige.
The church not only denies all those allegations, but says they come from people who are working together to destroy the church. And the church says one of the people making allegations was demoted, then removed from his senior position precisely because he was violent.
Now how even the competing versions of what happened ultimately raise questions that the public is entitled to know what was going on in the church and why were the police never called to investigate. Here's CNN's Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTY RATHBUN, FORMER SCIENTOLOGIST: In late '03 there was a beating every day. And if it wasn't him doing it, it was from him inciting others to do it to others.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: In front of other people?
RATHBUN: In front of other people.
COOPER: Since first come forward last year in the "St. Petersburg Times" with allegations of abuse against church leader David Miscavige, Marty Rathbun and five other former high-ranking scientologists have found themselves under vigorous attack by the church they once dedicated their lives to. The former scientologists are accused of working together to destroy the church. Tommy Davis is the church spokesman.
TOMMY DAVIS, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY SPOKESMAN: And the church is going to defend itself. It's going to defend itself for its own sake and it's going to defend itself for the sake of its parishioners. And the fact of the matter is, is these individuals are out there and they're lying.
COOPER (voice-over): Current and former senior scientologists sent CNN dozens of declarations, e-mails and affidavits defending the church and its leader and attacking the credibility of those who have spoken out. The church says former construction manager Tom De Vocht was violent and wasted millions of church dollars during his time in the Sea Organization, the church's religious order. They allege former spokesman Mike Rinder physically attacked his subordinates and say former marketing manager Jeff Hawkins has attended rallies with an anti-scientology movement called Anonymous, which protests against the church. Most of the church's affidavits specifically name Marty Rathbun, whom they say assaulted members of the Sea Organization on numerous occasions.
(on camera): The affidavits are from people who said -- within the church who said that the beatings and the physical abuse was not perpetrated by David Miscavige but was perpetrated by you.
RATHBUN: Right. Outright lies. I did some and I didn't come in here ever telling you I was (INAUDIBLE) and never did anything wrong. I'm no angel. I'm going to tell you, I was involved in this. But for God's sake, to try to make it sound like I perpetuated the whole thing is just a complete and utter fabrication.
COOPER (voice-over): In sworn affidavits, a number of church members make specific allegations against Marty Rathbun, including more than a dozen instances of physical violence. One person writes, she witnessed Rathbun hitting a colleague, quote, "about the head and face while yelling at him." Another one writes Rathbun, quote, "walked into the office and appeared upset with me," adding, he "suddenly punched me in the stomach."
And his own ex-wife says Marty Rathbun "lives for war."
COOPER (on camera): People, many of them who you know very well, they all say David Miscavige is kind, they say he's hardworking, that he's a passionate man who has done really nothing but good for the church.
RATHBUN: They will say anything they need to say, Anderson.
COOPER (voice-over): Current senior members of the Sea Organization say that while their farmer colleague, Marty Rathbun, was repeatedly violent, for many years none of them informed the church's leader, David Miscavige.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That guy had the streak of violence, you know.
COOPER (on camera): Four occasions between 2000 and 2002 to you, Mr. Starky, as well as at least five incidents in 2001. So that's nine incidents between 2000 and 2002.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. But that's not (INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But the bottom line is, Marty Rathbun is gone. When it was found out, he's out of the church. There is no culture of violence
COOPER So no one can answer me why David Miscavige was not informed for several years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just let me -- let me just finish.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I absolutely can answer you. Mr. Miscavige was not there.
COOPER: He was not there. But there are telephones. You have fax machines. You have e-mails. Why was he not inform?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Well, when someone blows up, like a Marty Rathbun or (INAUDIBLE), you don't immediately pick up the phone and call the leader of a worldwide religion.
COOPER: Well, you have four years to do it here. So no one over the course of four years informed David Miscavige that there were that a high-ranking member of the church is physically abusing people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For a (INAUDIBLE) like this. No, we have a -- we -- plus, you have -- there's something you don't understand. Marty Rathbun
COOPER: You can say yes or no. I'm just asking a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, Marty Rathbun was not in a top position when that happened at all. He was -- and, you know, we --
COOPER: Well, he was -- he was in -- he was a member of the Sea Organization. He was important enough to have an office next to you. Nobody informed David Miscavige this was going on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And here's the point, is that when -- is that when -- the point is, is that when Mr. Miscavige was informed, Marty was removed. That's what matters.
COOPER (voice-over): There's no physical evidence proving the former scientologist charges, just as the affidavits supporting Miscavige and attacking his critics also cannot be verified. But surprisingly, though they disagree on who was perpetrating it, both sides describe a work environment inside the church where punching, choking, kicking as a means of discipline and intimidation occurred on numerous occasions and no one ever filed criminal charges or even called the police.
Tommy Davis is the church spokesman and Monique Yingling is an attorney for the church.
(on camera): How is it possible that a member of the church could assault about a dozen people and nobody come forward about it and nobody filed any charges?
MONIQUE YINGLING, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY ATTORNEY: People did. People --
COOPER: How come the church didn't file any charges if, in fact, Marty Rathbun was really beating people up?
YINGLING: People did come forward about it and there were reports written, as Mr. Davis pointed out. And the reason that there were reports written was because it was very untoward. There may have been some people who decided they didn't want to report it and they suffered it in silence. But there were, indeed, reports written.
COOPER: So why didn't the church then decide to proceed with charges? I mean aggravated assault is a felony. It's against the law.
YINGLING: The church treated it as an internal matter and he was disciplined internally.
COOPER: I'm trying to understand, you've said that Marty Rathbun beat people more than a dozen times or so. You said Mike Rinder has beat people. And that was known apparently at the time, at least some of it was known at the time, and yet that seemed to be acceptable behavior in the church. I mean that no charges were ever filed against any of these people.
DAVIS: Well, they were removed.
COOPER: It seems remarkable to me if, in fact, that is really the truth. Unless, the opposite is true and their charges are true and it was the head of the church who was doing these beatings, in which case it would make sense that no charges would be filed or no one would come forward. DAVIS: Well, they were remove. The point is, is that they were removed. The choice of the individuals who were attacked on whether to file charges or not was completely their choice. And they
COOPER: But if this is so important to scientology's belief, beatings, why then -- it doesn't seem that it was taken all that seriously.
DAVIS: Oh, it absolutely was.
YINGLING: Oh, I think it was taken very, very serious.
DAVIS: I just -- I just -- I mean I --
COOPER: If my boss is beating -- starting to beat me up here, and the head of Time Warner said, oh, well, you know, we're going to deal with it as an internal matter, I mean, I think that would be pretty shocking.
DAVIS: Here's the thing. The point is, is that when it was discovered he was disciplined and he was removed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: David Miscavige, the chairman of the board of scientology, rarely meets the media. He's not done a news interview since 1998. We've offered many times for Mr. Miscavige to appear on "AC 360" for this series, but his spokesman, Tommy Davis, has declined for Mr. Miscavige. The invitation remains open.
Tonight, what happens to those who leave the church and speak out? That's on "AC 360" tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, that's 7:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Checking top stories right now.
Scott Roeder has yet to speak at his sentencing hearing. He admits killing Dr. George Tiller, an abortion provider. Last hour, a friend of the Tiller family called the murder, quoting now, "a gutless act of terror." Roeder faces 25 to 50 years in prison before being eligible for parole.
Authorities in south western Illinois are investigating the shooting death of the mayor of Washington Park. A town just east of St. Louis. Police say 52-year-old John Thornton was shot twice in the chest at close range early today and died at a hospital.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.
From young Army recruits to soldiers. It is a major transformation in today's soldier story. CNN's Jason Carroll was on hand for graduation day in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Next. Come on over.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): When Will McLain looks in the mirror these days, he sees a different person.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Put your watch back on.
CARROLL: In his 15 weeks of training at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, he's dropped 54 pounds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get off the ground!
CARROLL: He tackled the physical challenges, the mental, the psychological, (AUDIO GAP) completed weapons qualification.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate this.
CARROLL: Now, the day has come for Will and the other members of his company to graduate and move on to their next assignments. Will is ready.
WILL MCLAIN, U.S. ARMY: I want nothing to do with Missouri. I want out of here.
CARROLL: This is the last time members of Alpha Company 35th engineer battalion will stand together.
CARROLL (on camera): So right now we're backstage as Will is about to go through his ceremonies. We're just a few minutes away.
Will, how are you feeling?
W. MCLAIN: I'm feeling good. It's good to finally be here, you know. Like after starting out, like you wait so long for it and now it's finally here, where we're graduating, ready to move on.
CARROLL: Any butterflies for any of you guy?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't wait to get this over with.
CARROLL (voice-over): Will knows his family won't be there to share in his accomplishment. The cost of travel from California, too much.
LORI MCLAIN, MOTHER: We should have been there.
CARROLL: So we showed Will's mother the tape.
L. MCLAIN: Will looked great in that video. Looked very proud. Like he achieved something that was all him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Private William McLain, Rosemont, California.
CARROLL: But it was another soldier Will missed on this day. As he received his combat engineer crest, his battle buddy, Demetrius Daniels, the recruit assigned to him for every step of training, back in the barracks.
DEMETRIUS DANIELS, BATTLE BUDDY: I'm disappointed I wasn't able to participate, but hopefully everything will pull through in my favor.
CARROLL: His graduation hanging in the balance. Daniels was disciplined for disarming an alarm to sneak off base to play pool. His future plans, continuing on with Will to Fort Stewart, now uncertain.
DANIELS: It was a very immature decision. Definitely, if I could turn back the hands of time, I wouldn't have actually did it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good job, McLain. Congratulations.
W. MCLAIN: Thank you, sir.
CARROLL (on camera): Does it hurt when you -- when you think about Will, your battle buddy, and some of the other guys going through what they went through today?
DANIELS: Yes, definitely. The hardest part is disappointing myself, drill sergeants and people who had faith in me.
W. MCLAIN: We all make mistakes. Hopefully he'll -- he'll be around for me. You know, he's a smart kid. He just made a bad choice.
Take care, man.
CARROLL (voice-over): As Will says his good-byes.
DRILL SGT. JOSEPH RIX, U.S. ARMY: All right, McLain, congratulations.
W. MCLAIN: Thank you, drill sergeant.
RIX: All right.
W. MCLAIN: I appreciate the training.
CARROLL: He can't leave without thanking Drill Sergeant Rix.
RIX: Get outside and get in here. Move!
CARROLL: Who pushed him and the others every step of the way.
W. MCLAIN: He ain't screaming at me for one, but, no --
CARROLL (on camera): No screams today.
W. MCLAIN: They're just doing their job.
RIX: You know, you really get to see people transform and become soldiers. And it does give you a lot of pride in what you do.
Dismissed.
MEN: Yes, drill sergeant. Move (ph), drill sergeant.
CARROLL (voice-over): After 15 weeks, Will McLain and the others leave as soldiers. Will's new life as a combat engineer is about to begin.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: Now, that's good stuff.
It is April Fools' Day and online search giant Google is trying really hard to trick you. We are back with what's hot in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, time to take a look at what everyone's talking about on the World Wide Web. Josh Levs is here with what's hot.
And I understand April Fools a big topic today, huh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, they're going -- they're going crank wild online. Not a shocker, right?
HARRIS: Right. Right.
LEVS: You know, of course they're going to have some fun with it. And they always come up with interesting ways to have fun. This is one of the first things that I saw this morning. YouTube has a big announcement on its main page saying that they've come up with a way for you to be able to watch any video on your text while (ph) they translate it into moving letters and --
HARRIS: Oh, my.
LEVS: And so if you go to anything on YouTube today, they're actually trying to convince you that you can see any video via text. You don't actually need the web for it. That's something.
Plus, you may have heard -- this is our number two story on all of CNN.com right now, that Google changed its name to Topeka.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
LEVS: And that's, you know, a play on the fact that Topeka actually technically sort of did that for a mom (ph), they're trying to woo business. So Google's playing back.
All right. Now we're going to get to some videos. Google UK has a video out there that's telling everyone about this great new app that lets you translate animal language into English. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: See here, it transcribes it. But if I push the speaker button, we can actually hear what Bella said.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The (ph) person smells good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's amazing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: What the --
LEVS: Oh, my.
HARRIS: Josh.
LEVS: I know. That's just one of them. And, you know, we have so little time and so much to show you.
HARRIS: Right.
LEVS: Let me just -- before we go, I got something here I think you're going to like a lot. This one comes from a place called sofos (ph) I believe -- it's sloshbot (ph) sloshbot.com (ph). They're pretending that they have this big survey. What is the manliest sport in the world? And that 34 percent have chose roller blading. Another saying I have pictures like this all over the place. This, Tony, is listed by Mashable (ph) two other places.
HARRIS: That looked like Van Diesel guy, didn't it? Didn't it look like that Van Diesel didn't it?
LEVS: You know what I need to do is like a split screen for that guy and Van Diesel see if they look alike. Mashable is going crazy. Lots of people going crazy online with your favorite pranks and stuff. Keep sending them. And, of course, Tony, we'll keep watching.
HARRIS: Oh, you are the man. Josh, appreciate it.
LEVS: We love it. See you.
HARRIS: Time to check the NEWSROOM blog quickly here. We asked, is sex addiction a real disease or a cop-out? Here's what some of you are saying.
From Patrick, "I believe it's an attempt to redeem themselves in the eyes of others. Just because a person cheats on someone does not make them an addict. Face your issues and deal with them."
Wade wants us to know, "marriage wasn't made for rich, good- looking men with terribly vulnerable senses of self. But in the general population, where we're all of rather middling success, it is a legitimate disease."
And Jane gets right to the point here. "Sexual addiction is a cop-out. Cheating is a weakness and lack of good character."
Let's keep the conversation going. You can leave a comment at my blog, CNN.com/tony.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: One more story before we turn things over to our chief business correspondent Ali Velshi. You know, some troops in Afghanistan spend their deployment inside the wire, the huge forward operating base. Few women serve outside the wire on foot patrols dodging insurgents and explosives. But Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence follows two real G.I. Janes who go where male troops can't.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT, (voice over): Just about everyone told these two Marines, sure you deploy to Afghanistan, but you'll never leave the base.
LANCE CPL. GIADA WITT, U.S. MARINE CORPS.: They were like, yes there's zero percent chance that you'll be leaving the wire ever.
LAWRENCE: But here they are in a remote heavily IED part of Helmand province on foot in Afghan villages. Lance Corporal Giada Witt and Corporal Christina Arana (ph) are part of FET, or Female Engagement Teams. The Marines realized they were only reaching half the Afghan people, but Witt and Arana can go where male Marines can't, into the homes of Afghan women.
WITT: So that this culture believes that the women can't meet with the men, they have to keep themselves covered.
LAWRENCE: Even our crew has to stop at the gate to avoid offending the man who owns this home.
LAWRENCE (on camera): I know they seem to be marginalized, but do you think that Afghan women have a good deal of influence within their family?
WITT: Absolutely. And they're definitely a key player in getting information.
LAWRENCE (voice-over): In a counter insurgency fight, if a woman tells the team they need a new wall, and the Marines get it built, it improves their acceptance in the village. And the women may know from their husbands who the bad guys are.
Women only make up 6 percent of the U.S. Marine Corps and they're not allowed to join infantry or reckon.
WITT: (INAUDIBLE) can only do one connecticutly (ph). You have to meet with the people. You have to understand them.
LAWRENCE (on camera): Right now the FET teams are thrown together with female Marines who have other jobs. Meaning, they work it for a couple months and then have to go back to their unit. Some critics say if the program's paying that many dividends, the military should invest in staffing it and having people train for it full time.
Chris Lawrence, CNN, Camp Caparetta (ph), Afghanistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: All right, let's do this. Let's take it to the next level. CNN NEWSROOM continues right now with Ali Velshi.
