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Extremist Group Wants to Abolish Federal Government; Steele Facing Criticisms from Conservatives; No Murders in One Month in Newark; Screenwriter Discusses Worst Movie Ever; Artist Gives Free Portraits to Families of Fallen Soldiers

Aired April 03, 2010 - 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: Tonight, al-Qaeda could be responsible for a massive shooting in Iraq. Excuse me, witnesses say, the gunmen dress in military uniforms hand capped women and executed them.

Killer apps, the iPod not just a civilian sensation, it could shown up on the battlefield becoming military's weapon yet.

Rising from the shadows, leaders around the country who once looked down on the city with one of the worst murder rates in the country are now paying close attention to their dramatic turn around and box office bomb. Most people who saw it, well, they say, it wasn't that bad. Well, we'll talk to the man who said that one movie is being called the worst movie of the decade. We'll tell you why.

Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon live here at the CNN Headquarters at Atlanta. It is the latest reminder that while many Americans had turned their focus to Afghanistan, Iraq remains a very dangerous place for Iraqi citizens and also for U.S. troops. There's word today on a deadly assault in a region once notorious for random blood shed, gunmen, Iraqi military uniform have killed more than two dozen people in the Sunni village south of Baghdad.

Mohammed Jamjoom joins us now from Baghdad. Mohammed, that sounds like something we might have been describing two or three years ago. Not now.

Mohammed Jamjoom, international correspondent: Absolutely, Don. This type of horrifying attack is very reminiscent of what was going on when sectarian tensions in this country were at their highest during the insurgency of 2006, 2007 and 2008. In those years, you saw these types of attacks where gunmen were dressed up in military uniforms or security officials and go into villages or compounds and kill people. They would kill Sunnis, they would kill Shiites, it happen with greater frequency. It hasn't happened in a while. And it's particularly worrisome now at a time when Iraq is trying to show, it is more stable that the violence is down and especially at a time that they're trying to form a new government and trying to make sure that they handover it goes as smoothly as possible -- Don.

LEMON: So, listen. We are hearing now that possibly and especially from the U.S. military and authorities that al-Qaeda may be responsible. What are you hearing about that? Jamjoom: Well, Iraqi officials are telling us that this attack does bear the hallmarks of an al-Qaeda style attack. It looks like al-Qaeda has been fingerprints are all over it. But it's too early to tell. And typically, when al-Qaeda is behind something like that, there is a claim of responsibility. There's been no claim of responsibility so far. But officials are really worried that this could be al-Qaeda. They're going to be monitoring the websites, they are going to be kind of finding out who is behind this. And they did arrest about 25 suspects, but we learned a short while ago that most have been left go because of lack of evidence -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting.

Imagine being a state governor and getting a letter that says this, "You have three days to leave office." More than two dozen governors around the country have received that ominous message. Governors who have not yet received the letter can probably expect one soon.

Our CNN Susan Candiotti is covering this really, we can only describe as a bizarre story from New York tonight. She's from New York tonight. Susan, these letters are signed and we seem to know who is behind them. It was release yesterday. So, who are these people, and what do they want?

Susan Candiotti, CNN correspondent: Yes, the FBI put out a bulletin about this yesterday. We've learned that the group is called "The Guardians of the Free Republics" or for the free republics. And they don't think the government is representing them well enough anymore, and so they want these governors to pay more attention to them, possibly retake their oath of office. They told me that they don't expect the governors to step down. Again, they just want to be reminded that the people are what count. That they take precedence over the government. And I asked an expert who studies these groups and these kinds of so-called sovereign citizen movements to kind to give me a better sense of more about what they're about.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEONARD ZESKIND, AUTHOR, "BLOOD AND POLITICS": These people claim they are some sort of super citizen, somebody that has rights and responsibilities that they don't need a driver's license, they don't need a license plate, they don't need to obey the laws, they don't need to pay income tax. You sucker, you pay your income tax, you get a driver's license, but we don't. Now, that kind of business is wrong.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

Candiotti: And Don, it's really unclear just exactly how big this movement is.

LEMON: OK. So, listen. Why haven't they're been in the arrests if they think that these people are dangerous, and can we expect any soon? Candiotti: Well, it's more about a potential of danger here. It's not clear whether members of this group, this organization have broken any laws. There's certainly a threat that's been identified, but there's been no direct threat of violence according to the FBI. So, clearly they're watching this. I'd spoke with one of the members as I said, and he told me that the FBI did pay him a visit on Wednesday. So, clearly, the FBI has been in touch. This member also said that the FBI told him that everything is just fine with them.

LEMON: CNN Susan Candiotti. Susan, thank you very much.

Let's go to Washington now and an intriguing question. Will this summer usher in a high stakes battle to fill a Supreme Court seat? There is growing speculation tonight that Justice John Paul Stevens may retire after nearly 25 years on the high court. He turns 90 this month. He tells "The New York Times" this, quote, "There are still pros and cons to be considered. The president and the senate need plenty of time to fill the vacancy." While Stevens has been lionize by the left. Well, he insists to remain as a conservative judge, saying the court's true job is to decide cases and resolve controversies, not to write broad rules.

Christmas came early this year for a whole lot of people including me when Apples iPad finally hit the stores today. Long line and bad weather and some cities kept no one really from lining up for a chance to snap up the tablet computers, iPads. With a starting price of about 500 bucks, Apple fan say, the iPad is a potential to change the industry. Critics unsure saying it is missing some really important apps that they'd like. Those critics did nothing to diminish enthusiasm. Now, take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: First impressions, I don't know. I think, it's a game changer.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: That's what it looks like, at least.

Unidentified Reporter: How does it feel to work it?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Well, it's completely good for anyone who has worked the iPhone or the iPod stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It's a lightweight, portable computer. You know, it's really simple to use. And, I'll use it for school and work and stuff.

Unidentified Reporter: Answer my next question, what's the first thing you're going to be using this iPad today?

Unidentified MAN: Right now when I get home, just sync it up with my amps, on my Mac and just go straight and on work and just go straight, reading books, do a power point for school on Monday. So, I'm going to go straight to do that. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Guess what, you can count me in among the believers? I wanted to try it out for myself. We've been telling people. There's been so much high about this story. So, I wanted to try it. It's a little having a little fun there. So, like you heard this man say, this is a game changer, a classic game changer, something that can change the way we do business, no matter what business we're in. So, you can decide for yourself. I want to tell you, go to CNN.com. I'll show you here a little bit. Look. I want to show this to you.

See, this is CNN.com, and you can go to it. There are 12 things that you need to know about the iPad if you go to the story on CNN. But here's the thing. A lot of people talking about being green about using less paper and all of that, about changing the game. Certainly, using the iPhone, that piece of video that you saw of me, that was shot on my iPhone. Where is it? And all I did, I didn't have to have it adjusted, downloaded or compressed or whatever. I just e-mailed it right to CNN, and we got to put it on the air. But here's the thing, see all this paper right here? We may not need this paper anymore. Because I can take this around the studio and look at all my scripts. So, iPad, game changer, I'm in touch with my producers in the control room. So, there you go. Make sure, you go to CNN.com and you'll find out 12 things you need to know about the iPad.

Well, it was once was a country's murder capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: This is not an aberration. This is not an anomaly. This is the result, the outgrowth of all of the things that we've been doing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: No murders last month in a major northeastern city. How was it done and what can other cities learn from them?

But first, the Republican National Committee criticize over spending including doling out cash for the strep club, beyond the juicy details, there could be a steep political price to pay. We are talking politics coming up. Once you logon to the social media. I'll be checking my tweets, Facebook, doing it right here from my iPad. I want to tell you, thanks for bearing with me at the top of the show. Dealing with some allergies here. Hope it's not too bad on you at home. And I'm sure a lot of you dealing on the same thing. We're back in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Republican National Committee and its Chairman Michael Steele taking heat. All week, we have been watching the RNC, Hollywood Nightclub controversy. A leading conservative is so angry, he's telling people, don't give any money to the RNC. So, what is this means for Steele and the party's future? So, let's go beyond these headlines now.

CNN Political Producer, Peter Hamby, he's been making calls, digging on the story. He's been talking to insiders and he joins us from Washington.

So, you know, we talked about the juicy headlines and it makes for great television. But beyond that, what is the impact of this gossip? Does it have a real impact of this gossip? What is the real impact here to the party, to the country, and to the elections, up coming elections?

Peter Hamby, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Right. This story this week, I mean, there's been a lot of focus on the sort of public relations headache for the Republican National Committee, but there is a real financial impact. And this week's story, really underscores problems, financial problems that the committee has had this year. Look at last -- I'm sorry. Look at February, for example. Republican National Committee raised about $7.6 million, and they spent 7.7 of it. So, that's what we call a really, really high burn rate. So, the Republican National Committee has about $10 million in the bank. If you look at the last mid-term cycle, 2006, the Republican National Committee gave $25 million to House republicans to, you know, elect GOP candidates to the House. This year, they only have right now $10 million in the bank. So, there's some real questions among donors about whether the RNC has their act together when it comes to money.

LEMON: In 2006 wasn't a particularly good year for republicans and that was under Kim Nelman (ph).

HAMBY: Right.

LEMON: So, now, even without -- they're having a good time, and they're having trouble raising money, that could spell out what the future holds for Michael Steele. But let's move on and talk about -- I'll put that question in and this question as well. The big Southern Republican Leadership Conference coming up soon. Michael Steele is going to be there, Sarah Palin is going to be there, Rick Santorum and other people, other high ranking republicans are going to be there. Not only does this spell out sort of, it's an indicator of what can happen in 2012, but Michael Steele's reception there, Peter, will tell about how long he is going to be the chair or if he's going re-upped as a chair.

HAMBY: Right. It will be a good indicator of his strength among sort of establishment, republicans, operatives, strategists, the real party insiders. He spends a lot of time with the grassroots going out across the country's state parties, you know, raising money with those folks. But he's had a pretty frosty relationship with elected officials on Capitol Hill and private, you know, top party strategists on Capitol Hill aren't exactly thrilled with his leadership of the RNC. So, you know, Sarah Palin is probably expected to get a rock star reception pretty usual among these republican insiders, but, you know, let me say what they say about Michael Steele after yet another tough week for the RNC.

LEMON: And the as well as the money, I'm sure is going to come up at this convention. I think, there's a lot of people that are coming up Peter and saying, don't give your money to the RNC, give it elsewhere and among those groups, what's the main group saying that?

HAMBY: Well, the Republican Governors Association is a great example of this. You talked about Tony Perkins telling Christian conservative supporters, don't give to the RNC. The Republican Governor Association, which has always been a successful fund-raising operation within the Republican Party, just announced this week, they raised $9 million in the first three months of this year.

LEMON: And they have $30 million in the bank right now.

HAMBY: Thirty million in the bank. You know, that's an impressive figure.

LEMON: Yes. You know, I have to move on. Because, I'm up to break here but the DNC also raising money. I think, they've raised about as much money as the republicans, democrats have, with the help of President Obama and also that t-shirt that they got criticized for, this is a big blanking deal t-shirt. There is a lot of cash with that.

HAMBY: Right. The so-called Biden f-bomb t-shirt. I just talked to the DNC right before I came here, they've sold out of that t-shirt and they're getting a new shipment in this week. So, they'll probably pull on a nice chunk of change of these t-shirts sails online.

LEMON: Wow! All right. Well, if there's a will there's a way. Thank you Peter, we appreciate it.

HAMBY: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: All right. Major storms hit Middle American today. We'll tally the damage and take a look at the weather across the rest of the country.

Plus, you've already hear about the iPad, right? Some military experts, worry the technology could go beyond games and might even become a tool for America's enemies.

And a visit with an artist who honors America's fallen heroes with his pencil.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to check the stop stories right now. Horrifying story out of Trenton, New Jersey. Two adults and three juveniles face charges, they gang raped a 7-year-old girl. And the story gets even more shocking. Police say, the little girl's 15-year-old stepsister sold the child for sex during a party. The teen is among those facing charges. The investigation is continuing.

And a few -- a new ordeal, I should say, for ESPN Reporter Erin Andrews. Remember her? Well, two years ago she was secretly videotaped nude by stalker. Now, there are death threats. Her lawyer says, somebody has been sending e-mail messages to Sportscaster Daniel Patrick describing plans to murder Andrews. He says, the FBI began investigating those threats Thursday and has already identified a suspect there. We turn now to the weather.

Bonnie Schneider is dealing with some weather in Oklahoma, storm damage, and a whole lot. You got some good news at the back end, but let's deal with these tough stuff first.

Bonnie Schneider: Absolutely. We've been watching a lot of storm damage kind of accumulating across Oklahoma and Kansas. And I want to show you how fierce the wind was yesterday. It's a powerful cold front reaps across the country and behind it, it really, we're seeing now the wake of the storm. Look at the roofs completely collapsed. This is courtesy of our affiliate KWTV and overturned tractor trailers completely demolished homes from downbursts of winds. We're still tracking on whether enough there was a tornado in Rush Springs, Oklahoma. But look at that, spear going through the windshield. That's a wood plank and that's with the force of winds can due in severe weather.

Now luckily, for those of you there today traveling maybe heading to your Easter destination for Sunday, this front is a little bit less intense today. You can see on the map, we're still looking at some cooler conditions coming in behind it. Possibility of some thunderstorms firing up into the Ohio valley, for example but I haven't really seen too much in the way of a very severe weather. More of a steady rain that's been hitting cities like Chicago, into Detroit. Lighter rain falling across the northwest. But at the higher elevations, we are seeing snow. So, even though it's April, still very wintry in the cascades. And that's what we're seeing with some of that snow in eastward all away across Idaho and Montana.

Now, in the south, we're also tracking some light to moderate rain. I think, this will pick up little more intensely for tomorrow. Just scattered showers through much of the Gulf Coast region with very mild temperatures as well. The steady rain continues to work its way through Detroit at this hour, and overall you will be seeing some wet and not so pretty conditions up in Michigan. By contrast, check this out. Washington, D.C., gorgeous weather and the cherry blossom festival in full force right now. And it's a beautiful picture, there's a monument, the beautiful trees, you couldn't ask for better weather, Don. Temperatures in the 70s today and tomorrow. A nice breeze and just gorgeous. This will run through April 11th. We're going to see some really nice weather this upcoming weekend. Perfect timing really.

LEMON: I had to tell you. It's beautiful. The trees are blooming in my neighborhood, right, and all over, but last night I said, oh, my gosh, I feel like I'm coming down with the flu, and I got it. And you know that green stuff that falls in Atlanta every year?

Schneider: Yes, with the wind blowing it around, sure.

LEMON: Yes. So, I feel like I'm inside an aquarium. I was coughing at the top of show. I didn't know I was going to make it. You don't deal with it, do you? Schneider: I do but it's only when I'm outside walking. I got the same thing this morning and I was wondering, am I getting a cold? And then, I look around and was like, allergy season.

LEMON: I think the line was longer at the pharmacy than line at the Apple store this morning when I got there. Thank you, Bonnie.

Schneider: All right. Talk to you later.

LEMON: See you in a bit.

You know, you've got the iPod, the iPhone, but do you have the iPad? Thousands of people lined up at stores all across the country today to get their hand on Apple's newest sensation. Prices little lightly table, tablet, I should say, size computer range from 499 to 829 depending on how many gadgets it has and the memory and all of that.

Well, one man flew all the way to Miami from Israel to become an iPad owner. Now, here's an app you probably haven't thought about, though. Take closer look at this one. This is a way that we're going to engage the military here and how it really affects you and the world. Look for the iPad, that same type of technology, if not the same device, to show up on the battlefields of Iraq and Afghanistan. It's warfare for the digital age. We're talking about the magazine. Foreign Policy has devoted an entire issue to the subject.

The writer of the story is John Arquilla. He's an Associate Professor of Defense Analysis at the Naval Postgraduate School of Monterey in California. Thanks for joining us. So, good to be with you. Good to have you. So, the cover shows an iPhone with the title, "Killer Apps," right?

John Arquilla, Naval Postgraduate School: Yes.

LEMON: So, exactly what does that mean?

Arquilla: What it means is that the more connected you are, the more deadly you can be on the battlefield. We can have soldiers riding horses in Afghanistan. They can call in missiles, aircraft, they can communicate with other units, they can tell where the enemy is moving in real time. This is something that enables us to wage war by minutes and makes us far more effective in the field.

LEMON: OK. You said that terrorists, you already said that terrorists are already using digital technology to achieve their objectives. Are they ahead of us on this or ahead of the U.S. military on this?

Arquilla: I think they've adapted to the information revolution a little more quickly than we have. Remember, we started a lot of our military operations this past decade with the notion of shock and awe in mind. Our enemies have had networks in mind, right? The biggest world in our vocabulary the last eight and nine years has been network. Also, terrorist have been the most network. Well, we're catching up. It's kind of an organizational race to build networks. LEMON: So, listen, you said it's going to be the same type of technology as this, this little devices, but maybe a little bit more rugged. But you said, we're already using this. So, how does this help you -- by this being released to the public, does it help in the advancement of technology? Does it move it forward that more quickly when people get their hands on it in order to help the military?

Arquilla: I think commercial off the shelf technologies had been a great boon to the military. It makes things available at lower costs but it's also drives the applications faster to greater levels of efficiency. And so, in the military, while we have something like what we call a tactical web page. We try to use some of this things that are already out in the civilian sector and use them as effectively as we can connecting all of our A teams together for example so that they can post what they know and anybody in the theater of operations can pull up that information and act on it. And so, we've been able to catch targets that are very difficult to find. One of my second rules of warfare is about finding, becoming very important. And that's the key. It was the key to improving things in Iraq and it's going to be the key to victory in Afghanistan.

LEMON: This is very interesting. I learned a lot. I want to thank you very much. John Arquilla, he's a writer of the cover story in Foreign Policy Magazine, it's called "Killer Apps." He's also an Associate Professor, Defense Analysis in Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. Thank you, sir.

Arquilla: Thanks so much for having me on, Don.

LEMON: All right.

You know what, this could be the start of something big, it could be. One city has been murder free for a month now, and maybe their strategy can help other cities stop the bloodshed.

And he's a psychic but didn't predict this. Scheduled to be beheaded because of his profession. It's a story that's causing outrage all across the globe. And we have it right here on CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A multiple shooting on the Chicago south side exploded into pandemonium after the police and paramedics arrived.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Run! Shoot! Shoot!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get down, get down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Gunfire suddenly erupted while authorities were on the scene to treat four people being shot. Two others were wounded in the second incident. Police did not return fire. That's according to a spokesman. All of the victims in the incident, the first incident, young men in their teens and 20s. They're in serious or critical condition right now. One of the victims had been shot multiple times.

One city, celebrating the exact opposite of that, one month and no murders. That is the case in Newark, New Jersey, for the month of March. That may not sound like a big deal to you, but for the mayor, the police director and residents terrorized by criminals, it's a reason for the entire nation to stop and take notice.

Newark hasn't seen a murder-free calendar month since 1966. That was 44 years ago. The city hopes to beat a 43-day stretch in 2008 when Newark didn't have one homicide on the books, but it was spread over two months.

Newark Mayor Cory Booker and the police director, Garry McCarthy, say the murder-free month was not a fluke. It took a lot of work, and it will hopefully be the new norm there.

I spoke with both of them and I want you to listen to this conversation.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Director, Mayor, it's good to see you. Thank you so much for joining us here.

Mayor, you credit the man sitting next to you, the police, but I think the citizens of Newark had something to do with this as well.

CORY BOOKER, MAYOR OF NEWARK: A lot to do with it. We have police officers that are putting their heart and soul out there every day. It's matched by a commitment from our city that just is getting better and better. I see residents now forming block associations, neighborhood watches, going out on night patrols, participating in gun buy-back programs, really flooding the tips lines. We had to pay out tens of thousands of dollars last year alone, so many people are calling our tip lines with real information that's leading to big busts, so --

LEMON: You talked about an area that was a blighted area. The people of the neighborhood got together and cleaned up the area and it looked so good that the drug dealers and the people who were committing crimes went away because it looked too nice.

BOOKER: This is an incredibly heroic guy in the southward of the city who was a retired state worker, got a stimulus check in the mail. Was so tired of seeing drug users use this abandoned lot. The weeds had overgrown. He said, I'm not going to confront the drug dealers. I'm going to go out there and make that lot look so good. And he started mowing it, manicuring it and weed whacking it. The residents pitched it. Before you knew it, the drug dealers just left their community.

LEMON: Wow.

BOOKER: These are the kinds of heroic actions that, in conjunction with a police department that is doing incredible things under the leadership of a guy that's a genius, that's helping our crime levels come down in a dramatic way over the last three years, culminating in this achievement.

LEMON: You said come down in the last three year, because, Director, people would say one month, what's the big deal of one month. This has happened over time. This isn't something that just happened.

GARRY MCCARTHY, DIRECTOR, NEWARK POLICE DEPARTMENT: Yes, that's really the point. This is not an aberration or anomaly. This is the result, the outgrowth of all of the things we've been doing. And quite steadily the shooting rate has been coming down in Newark over the last four years. We're down almost 70 percent in shooting over the last three years. It's been step by step by step. We didn't throw a light switch and it happened overnight. This is a natural progression right now. We had 43 days back in '08, and the goal is 143 days or 243 days. The goal is zero.

LEMON: You know, other cities are dealing with problems, Philadelphia, Chicago, on and on, New York City. A lot of cities are dealing with problems. You have surveillance cameras you put in, community policing. What else, Director, can be attributed to the success of this?

MCCARTHY: The thing that we're doing probably better than anything else is a step-by-step progression of eliminating narcotics markets. We have a little bit different strategy in Newark. We're concentrating on eliminating markets and not just making arrests, but tying those enforcement actions into real gains in the community. If you just seize kilos and make arrests, you don't affect the crime rate.

LEMON: Yes.

MCCARTHY: But if you tie those narcotics markets into the violent drug gangs and take them right down to the ground level where you can improve quality of life and reduce crime. It's a coordinated effort. There's a lot of law enforcement agencies that are doing incredible work right now, the Essex County prosecutor's office, the DEA, the FBI, the New Jersey State Police and so on.

LEMON: For years people have looked at Newark as like the place no one wanted to be. Oh, my gosh, the crime there. It's a bad city. Now you're an example to other cities. What advice do you have to other cities dealing with crime problems?

MCCARTHY: Like I said, the biggest thing we're doing is intelligent narcotics enforcement. Law enforcement has made what I believe is an error in that we think that just arresting drug dealers, seizing narcotics makes a difference. It doesn't. What makes a difference is applying those enforcement strategies and tactics to the crime issue, because drugs are not the crime. Drugs is the vehicle that drives the crime. That's the way we're approaching it. We're using narcotics enforcement to reduce crime, and it sounds like a nuance, but it's a big difference.

BOOKER: I witnessed it. By just going from just doing buying busts on the street level, turning more young men into the system was not solving the problem. Doing much more in-depth narcotics operations, undercover surveillance technology, and not just getting the low-level drug dealers but really going in and pulling out the entire market. This week, we seized a quarter of a million dollars worth of drugs, not from the kids on the streets, but by doing the extra work to pull out the entire market and stop it. and then fill that market with community activities, opportunities, jobs, activities for the young people and making sure we never give that ground back.

LEMON: You know there are going to be people who say it's a fluke. Maybe they were just lucky. I'm sure you'll take that luck, too, right?

BOOKER: You know, look, we've had three back-to-back years of reducing shootings, as Garry said, 75 percent. So every year, we've been moving the chart down. And we will continue to push over the next two or three years.

The last thing I'll say, if you ask me what the advice for other communities is, you know, Martin Luther King said it so eloquently, the problem today is not the violent actions and vitriolic words of bad people, but the appalling silence and inaction of the good people. If our residents and communities and neighborhood wait for the police to solve the problem, it's not going to be enough. If you want dramatic change, we all have to be involved. Do the same things you did last year, you'll get the same results this year. A great example of this is there's 2.5 million young people on the waiting list for Big Brothers and Big Sisters this year alone. Being a mentor drives down juvenile crime in a dramatic way. And it only takes four hours a month. the amount of time people use to watch "Jersey Shore," for crying out loud, they could be engaging with young people and making a big difference in the community and --

LEMON: Careful. That's your state, man, so --

BOOKER: I wish it was. It's not the best postcard from New Jersey. We have a lot more Jersey pride. I'd rather Bruce or Bon Jovi than that. But the reality is, Newarkers -- and I've got to give it to them -- from our police officers doing heroic and more intelligence policing and to our residents stepping up, volunteering more, becoming more active, becoming more engaged, that's really helping our city transform its reputation from what was one of America's most violent cities to what is one of our cities of promise, one of our places of hope.

LEMON: Mayor Booker and Director McCarthy, thank you both.

Good luck to Newark, New Jersey.

Death at spring break. A tragic fall ends of life of a promising football recruit. We have all the details for you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A spring break tragedy in Panama City, Florida. Police say a 17-year-old Notre Dame football recruit died when he fell from a fifth-floor hotel balcony. They say all-state lineman, Matt James, of Cincinnati, was drunk and belligerent, and was apparently leaning over the balcony when he accidentally fell.

The IRS is hitting the hitman where it hurts. Former boxing champ, Tommy Hearns, auctioned cars and boats and other memorabilia today to pay down a $450,000 tax bill. Hearns made $40 million during an impressive career.

A different kind of pummeling went on today in cities around the world. This one is a little bit lighter. International Pillow Fight Day was exactly what you'd expect, fluffy pillows, furious fighting. Feathers in the air didn't distract brawlers as they did battle. Maybe not to death, but at least until their ears were ringing. Pajamas were optional in this one. It was a lot of fun.

He was a five-star chef in India. But he gave up that successful career to serves people in the streets of his hometown. We want you to meet our "CNN Hero" of the week. His name is Nadanen (ph) Krishman.

(CNN HEROES)

LEMON: OK. If you want to nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to CNN.com/heroes.

You probably have your own pick for the worst movie ever. Now one film is official. It hit theaters ten years ago and it's now earned a distinction no moviemaker would want. We'll talk with the screen writer who gets the credit, or is it the blame, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We were talking about the Oscars a couple weeks ago, the fashions, the movies that had won, Monique winning. In this one, "Battlefield Earth" has won. It's officially the worst film of the decade. That's no small achievement. You may recall, it came out back in 2000 with a big star, a huge budget and major special effects. Yet, not even John Travolta's star power could save it from becoming a monumental movie mistake.

The critics were merciless.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROGER EBERT, FILM CRITIC: Our first movie is an unholy mess named "Battlefield Earth." Let's not beat around the bush, this is one of the ugliest and most incomprehensible movies I've ever seen. It's like spending two hours in the intergalactic town dump with a lot of people who need a bath and a trip to the dentist. The movie stars John Travolta in a role that obscures and wastes his talent as a creature named Tural (ph), security chief of the alien chief cyclones. Forest Whitaker is second in command, meets Tural's (ph) new secretary, played here by Kelly Preston.

JOHN TRAVOLTA, ACTOR: Not to be nice, she's good-looking enough to be decorative. She gets drunk with economical speed --

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: And has other advantages. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: You had to take a sip of water after that one.

(LAUGHTER)

Did Roger Ebert beat up on you? That's why I miss Roger Ebert. He didn't hold his tongue. That's the screen writer right there. His name is J.D. Shapiro. He received a Razzie, the worst of the decade award, earlier this month.

Thanks for joining us. Sorry you got beat up like this.

J.D. SHAPIRO, SCREENWRITER: Thanks. It happens. It's great to be on the show. I'm a big fan of your work. I don't see you winning a Razzie anytime in the future.

LEMON: Sometimes I do. Listen, what's been the reaction? Have you been able to get any work as a screen writer since then? What's this bottom-of-the-barrel reaction here?

SHAPIRO: I have gotten a lot of work, but my agent had me -- I used to use my initials. He had to actually go back to using my real name on my scripts so people wouldn't quite associate me with the movie.

(LAUGHTER)

Because what happens is, the way moves are made is people go to cocktail parties and say, hey, guess who we got in the movie. And they don't want to go, hey, guess what, we got the writer of "Battlefield Earth" writing our next movie.

LEMON: All right. Well, at least you're working. I don't remember who "Ishtar" was. That tanked too and there were other things. And there was another movie about water, "Waterworld," was it?

SHAPIRO: "Waterworld." Yes. Kevin Costner swam out of that one OK.

LEMON: J.D., I love your honesty. In the "New York Post," you wrote, you're proud, because, quote, they wrote, "Of all the sucky movies, mine is the suckiest." And so you're proud of that.

SHAPIRO: Right. You can do something --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So how did that happen?

SHAPIRO: Well, I can't take all the credit for the Razzie Award because actually what was on the screen, a lot of it, I didn't write.

(LAUGHTER)

And that's what happens a lot. As the writer, I don't have full control over everything. And in this case, there was a script that was -- my script was rewritten by Corey Mandel.

LEMON: Are you saying the studio ruined your script?

SHAPIRO: I'm saying it started with the other writer that was brought on board that ruined it. And then it went from there. You can't take a bad script and turn it into a good movie. Never going to happen. That's where it all started. That was the train wreck, or as I like to say, it's not fair to call it a train a wreck, because people want to watch a train wreck.

LEMON: Well, you could just call it -- that was, instead of a train wreck, the new thing is that was the "Battlefield Earth."

(LAUGHTER)

SHAPIRO: Good. We'll make it part of the vernacular. I like that. that would be excellent. When people see something really bad, they'll just go "Battlefield Earth," and everyone would know.

LEMON: What was up with that "Battlefield Earth"? That was terrible.

SHAPIRO: Exactly.

LEMON: So do you think you deserved this honor? Because let me tell you, with the -- "Freddie, Got Fingered" (ph) swept away and "Jeely" (ph) you were up against. Do you think you deserved it?

SHAPIRO: Absolutely. See, when you're up for an Oscar, you're trying to win an Oscar. There's no agenda here. No one is trying to win a Razzie. So getting it, yes, the movie definitely deserved it.

(LAUGHTER)

In fact, my feeling is, if we ever do torture again, which I hope we never do, but if we do, instead of waterboarding, we should make them watch "Battlefield Earth" over and over and over. And I think, by about the third one, they'll give up their own mother to make it stop.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: You said it.

J.D. Shapiro --

(LAUGHTER)

-- thank you, sir. Thank you very much.

SHAPIRO: Thanks for having me. LEMON: All right. Let's talk about war now, the fallen heroes of war to be specific. We'll tell you what one artist is doing to make sure they are not forgotten.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(FIT NATION)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Artist Michael Reagan has drawn portraits for everyone from presidents to pop stars. He made a good living from those sketches, too. So why would he give that lucrative career up to do portraits for free?

CNN All-platform Journalist Patrick Ottman finds out for us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL REAGAN, ARTIST, CNN ALL-PLATFORM JOURNALIST: Last week, I was here two straight days without sleeping. You know, it hurts. There's days I'm down in this room that's incredibly painful looking into a beautiful young woman's eyes who I know didn't come home.

I'm drawing free portraits of every soldier that dies in the war against terrorism. I work with dead people every day, a different two every day, who have stories and whose families love them and whose stories are not going to end. And whose families are going to miss them forever.

This isn't something I'm doing. This is something I've become.

So I what I receive on a daily basis is envelopes like this. This is from Corona, California. And what will be inside of this will be photographs and a story and other pieces of information about the soldier that I'm going to draw.

There he is right there.

Incredible love, compassion, sadness. There were tears when I started this morning. I've done pictures with daughters and sons, husbands and wives, and just trying to talk to them about everything I know about. Trying to assure them I'm going do the best I can do get this picture home.

The daughter, when they get this picture, is going to always now have this image of she and her dad, way after she grows up.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: (INAUDIBLE), Mommy.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This picture is for you. This is for you.

It's just that it looks so perfect. It looks so -- the same. Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED CHILD: And beautiful. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

He changed my day today. Because when I saw that picture, I thought he was alive.

REGEAN: Can you imagine that? I'm helping people who have suffered the greatest loss anybody can ever realize. And I'm going it just by drawing a picture. It's worth every minute I spend.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: I'm Don Lemon. Time now for "THE SITUATION ROOM."