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Justice Stevens to Retire Soon?
Aired April 04, 2010 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Easter Sunday services around the world, but many Christians were not satisfied with the Pope's message today.
A Supreme Court justice is stepping down. At first glance, good news for the Obama administration? It turns out it's not necessarily so.
Tiger Woods back on a course that helped define his career. He's already practicing in the Augusta for the Masters. He's never been an early bird ever. Is this the new Tiger?
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Happy Easter Sunday to you.
This is, of course, the holiest day of the Christian calendar and Christians around the world are marking the resurrection of Christ.
Our coverage begins in Washington tonight where President Barack Obama attended Easter services at the Allen Chapel AME Church. First Lady Michelle Obama and daughters Sasha and Malia were also there.
American troops in Afghanistan attended Easter services in a tent at Camp Leatherneck.
And just across the Potomac from the nation's capital, the faithful were greeted this morning with inspirational songs and a sermon at Arlington National Cemetery.
Many Catholics in particular were waiting to see if Pope Benedict XVI would address the child sex abuse scandal on this Easter Sunday. But the Pontiff remained silent on the subject during his Easter mass in St. Peter Square. Cardinal Angelo Sodano defended Pope Benedict XVI from what he described as gossip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CARDINAL ANGELO SODANO DEAN OF THE COLLEGE OF CARDINALS (through translator): Holy Father, on your side are the people of God who do not let themselves be influenced by the petty gossip of the moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Cardinal Sodano's tribute to the Pope was a rare departure from the Catholic Church's traditional Easter Sunday rituals.
Easter provided no break from deadly violence in Iraq. At least 30 were killed today by a series of suicide bombers and cars. About 200 more were wounded. Adults frantically rushed wounded children to the area -- from the area to hospitals. All three blasts happened within minutes of each other, all of them near foreign embassies. It was the first major attack of this kind since January.
Today's carnage could have been much worse though. At least one other vehicle loaded with explosives was stopped and diffused before it could blow up. We'll have a report from the scene on our next hour here on CNN.
We want to go now to a story that is developing in Washington. President Barack Obama may soon get another chance to put his stamp on the Supreme Court. The speculation took center stage on the Sunday morning shows -- and as Kate Bolduan reports, the high court's longest-serving justice may be leaving the bench -- Kate.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's one of any president's longest lasting legacies: filling a Supreme Court vacancy and for President Obama, that opportunity is likely drawing near. Speaking to "The New York Times" Friday, Justice John Paul Stevens said, quote, "I do have to fish or cut bait, just for my own personal peace of mind and also in fairness to the process." Then to "The Washington Post" he said, "I will surely do it while he," meaning President Obama, "is still president."
THOMAS GOLDSTEIN, SUPREME COURT LEGAL ANALYST: If there's going to be a retirement, it's almost certainly the liberal Justice Stevens. So, President Obama can't move the Supreme Court to the left in any way. Rather, he can cement his impact in the court with his nominee serving for decades in the future.
BOLDUAN: Stevens is expected to make an announcement about his future this month, less than one year after the history-making nomination of the first Latina justice, Sonia Sotomayor.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Justice Sotomayor brings to the court both a mastery of the letter of the law and an understanding of how the law actually unfolds in our daily lives.
BOLDUAN: Sources close to the process tell CNN the White House is quietly but actively preparing to fill the spot. Among those talked about for the job, Solicitor General Elena Kagan, Judge Merrick Garland, an appeals court judge in Washington, and Judge Diane Wood, an appeals court judge in Chicago -- all left-leaning choices which could mean a tough confirmation fight ahead.
SEN. JON KYL (R-ARIZONA), MINORITY WHIP: I think the president will nominate a qualified person. I hope, however, he does not nominate an overly ideological person. That would be the test, and if he doesn't nominate someone who's overly ideological, I don't think you may see Republicans voting against the nominee. But I don't think you'll see them engage in a filibuster.
GOLDSTEIN: We are talking about determining the constitutionality of laws that relate to abortion, to affirmative action, to gay rights, to the separation of church and state. So the stakes are incredibly high.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Kate joins us now from the White House.
Hello, Kate. Talk to me about the timing of this possible announcement and how it could complicate Congress' schedule.
BOLDUAN: Hey, there, Don.
Well, if Justice Stevens would announce he is retiring this year, the White House's goal would be to get a nominee confirmed and in place in time to join the high court before the next term begins in October. And meeting that timeline would likely require a nomination -- a nomination by late May or June. And that would follow a similar timeline of the nomination of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. So, it is possible, but, you know, they're coming up on it.
LEMON: Yes. This likely or possibility about a new -- another Supreme Court justice or this justice stepping down, the president will be thinking about that I'm sure. But what else is on his agenda next week, Kate?
BOLDUAN: It's quite a mishmash of a schedule actually, Don, this week. It starts with a little bit of fun. The president will be enjoying the annual Easter egg roll here at the White House on the South Lawn. That brings about 30,000 people who will be here to enjoy that.
And then the president's going to be throwing out the first pitch at the Washington Nationals season-opener. But then very quickly, the president moves on to much more serious matters. Later in the week, traveling to Prague to sign a new arms reduction treaty with Russian President Medvedev. And the president is scheduled to then travel back to Washington on Friday.
LEMON: All right. Thank you. Happy Easter to you, OK?
BOLDUAN: Happy Easter.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. We'll see you soon.
Besides being Easter, today is also the anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. Forty-two years ago today, Dr. King was shot as he stood on a balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee.
And just a short time ago, I spoke with Dr. King's youngest child, Bernice King. She is the founder of the Be A King Foundation and the only one of the king children to become an ordained minister. I asked her if about her (AUDIO BREAK) hostility we have witnessed recently during the health care debate, Congressman John Lewis being called the N-word, for example, and what her father would say about that if he were alive today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BERNICE KING, MLK'S DAUGHTER: I think he would say two things. I certainly think he would be saddened by it and will continue to challenge us towards love as he often did. But I think he, you know, also, would say, these kind of things are understandable because we were dealing with a movement that dealt with laws but you got to deal with the heart now. I mean, his movement didn't necessarily change hearts. It just -- it created an atmosphere where you couldn't necessarily lynch me but you could still hate me. And so, the work really now is to move on people's hearts in a different kind of way and to create an atmosphere of agape love.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Bernice King also told me that being in Memphis yesterday, the city where her father was killed, was actually emotionally more difficult than visiting his crypt today here in Atlanta.
The Easter celebration was tempered at one Baptist church in Atlanta today. It's on the verge of being kicked out of its state Baptist convention because of this woman. She is a co-pastor. Why? We'll talk about that with her next.
Also -- look who is back. Tiger Woods on the course today in Augusta ahead of this week's Masters. Why is he early? We're going to be talking about Tiger's return and what we can expect, what he can expect when he is back on the course. Our Rick Horrow will join us in a just little bit to talk about that.
Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The term has always been used, you know, be the example that you want to see in other people. And I wanted to be an example by showing and not telling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A radio host on a cross-country mission to help America's black youth and in the process, he may be positioning himself as a civil rights leader for a new era. Who are the African-American leaders today? We're going in depth to find out.
Also, we want you to weigh in. Make sure you send us your comments on the social networking sites. We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, today's Easter -- time of great celebration in Christian churches around the world. But Easter at one Baptist church right here in Atlanta tempered with sadness, unfortunately. The Druid Hills Baptist Church is facing expulsion from the Georgia Baptism Convention because one of its pastors is a woman. GBC is the umbrella organization for Baptist churches in the state and expulsion from the group can have serious implications. Reverend Mimi Walker shares pastoring duties at Druid Hills with her husband, the Reverend Graham Walker. She joins us now to talk about the controversy.
Reverend Walker, thank you. It's good to see you.
The Baptist Convention always -- has always been opposed to women pastors -- not always opposed to women pastors. So, why Druid Hills? Why was Druid Hills singled out?
REV. MIMI WALKER, DRUID HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH: Well, I think they've just begun to enforce something they put in place in the year 2000. Prior to the year 2000, women were ordained to the ministry. They could be in the pastorate. They could be in the chaplaincy.
They've been a gradual move towards more literal readings of scripture, more conservative points of view and then at that point, they put it into their statement of faith that women could not be pastors. But we've been pastoring in churches for a number of years and we're not really sure why they chose this year to enforce this.
LEMON: I was just going to say, I asked you if you've felt singled out. Was there something behind it or some motivation that we don't know about? Or --
WALKER: I'm not sure what their motivation is to begin at this point. I've been pastoring, I think, for seven years in different churches in the area. Last year, they dis-fellowshiped Decatur Baptist Church. And so, that was one of the larger churches that had hired a woman as their senior pastor. So, we knew that they were beginning to enforce this.
LEMON: But you want to be part of it. Is there -- but is there -- I don't know -- some sort of opportunity for you to become an independent? Is there -- is there a plus side to that or no?
WALKER: Well, yes. We've been working also with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and when they did this in 2000, a number of churches sort of got together and started an organization that did support women and more moderate reading of scripture. So, we've been working with both of those organizations. We've had this historic connection with the Southern Baptist for so many several years.
LEMON: I was going to ask you. I was in a relationship, a personal relationship of friendship with someone or if someone doesn't want you or doesn't want you or want -- don't just want you to be a part of the organization, then why keep trying? Maybe your power is being an independent. I'm just asking.
WALKER: I don't know that our coming and speaking to them to the subject would help anything except that I want to help the women who are in the churches. There, I teach at Mercer University, McAfee School of Theology. And almost half of our student population are women and many of them come from Southern Baptist churches.
LEMON: Yes. WALKER: And they've not been supported through the years. They've been told they can't be pastors. And those are the people I'm concerned about.
LEMON: Listen, I'm going to move on because we have some developing news, but I want to -- isn't that what religion is, sort of faith is supposed to be about expansion, inclusion, so --
(CROSSTALK)
WALKER: Certainly. The Baptist faith is about freedom to read the scriptures and understand for yourself and the autonomy of the churches. So, yes, we hope that more churches will be open to women in ministry and that the progression will go forward.
LEMON: It's not -- it's not a done deal. It's coming up far vote, right?
WALKER: Yes.
LEMON: OK. We'll be watching in November.
WALKER: November.
LEMON: Thank you very much. Reverend Mimi Walker, appreciate it. Good luck to you. Let us know what happens.
WALKER: Thank you.
LEMON: All right.
We want to check some of your headlines at this hour.
South African leaders are appealing for calm after a notorious white supremacist was killed on an apparent dispute with two workers on his farm. Officials fear the killing could fuel racial tensions in the country. Already, members of the dead man's group have labeled the killing a declaration of war and they threat to avenge the death.
Pope Benedict XVI celebrated Easter mass at the Vatican this morning. But the Pontiff avoided any mention of the Catholic Church's widening sex abuse scandal. Abuse victims have accused church leaders of creating a climate of which cover-ups protect abusive priests for decades.
For folks in Rochester, New Hampshire, it was an Easter egg drop for the record books. Sixty thousand eggs were tossed from that helicopter that you see. Man, look at them running. They break -- I hope they weren't made of -- they're regular eggs. And 10,000 people ran around and into each other trying to scoop them up.
You can see in there. Part of the draw was the offer of prizes for the most eggs recovered. Things like plasma televisions and skate boards. All right.
Tornado watches at this hour in the Midwest. Potential is there for dangerous evening weather for many of you. Our meteorologist Bonnie Schneider will fill us in on where it could be come this evening and for your commute tomorrow.
And honoring the fallen in a very personal way. We'll meet an artist who makes sure that the military men and women lost in battle are never forgotten.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider -- hi, Bonnie.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hi.
LEMON: Happy Easter to you.
SCHNEIDER: Happy Easter to you, as well.
LEMON: Big problems on the Midwest, right?
SCHNEIDER: Yes. Unfortunately for the Midwest, this could be a treacherous night. We have a new tornado watch just issued within the past hour. And this goes until 11:00 Central Time. And it's important to note that Kansas City, Davenport, you're all part of this tornado watch.
Right now, we have some individual cells turning out to be severe in nature. This means that a tornado could break out at any time with these thunderstorms rolling through. You can see one just north of Kansas City working its way to the Northeast. This particular cell has a history of producing quarter to dime-sized hail.
So, if you're in the path of this storm on I-35, maybe you're heading to Easter Sunday dinner somewhere tonight, be careful and watch out for those sudden downpours. The rain is lighter in intensity as it heads towards Chicago. But there are some larger storms rolling on through.
I want to take you to Iowa now into where we've been watching for severe weather. In Des Moines, you can see the temperatures are really warm there. It's very hot. But there were some strong storms rolling through this region and especially south of the city later on tonight.
As we zoom into the map, you'll see the severe storm threat is right here in the heartland -- very warm air coming up from the south, some cooler air wrapping in behind it. This system is affecting a smaller area than maybe we would normally talk about. But it doesn't make it any less intense.
So, once again, watch for that if you're driving. And for those of you that are flying, you're going to see some delays big time on the west coast. It's happening right now.
A strong storm is not only bringing winds and rain but snow to areas of the Pacific Northwest, don. And this is a rain maker for San Francisco. I'll have more on that in just a bit. LEMON: It could be trouble tomorrow.
SCHNEIDER: Yes. Absolutely.
LEMON: Thank you, Bonnie.
Today, in "Building up America," a story of friends, neighbors, loyal customers are all pitching in to save a place close to their hearts and their stomachs. It is a real example of a community coming together to save a family farm. Dan Simon has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There you go. Look at that. Aren't those pretty?
DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Apparently, green eggs aren't just found in the Dr. Seuss Classic.
(on camera): You almost don't want to eat it because it's so pretty.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.
SIMON (voice-over): We're at the organic Soul Food Chicken Farm, an hour from San Francisco. It's a business that stirs such passion that loyal customers refused quite literally to let it go down in flames. After a fire killed 1,200 chicks and destroyed their coops last September, Alexis Koefed and her husband Eric thought the struggling farm they started just three years ago was finished.
(on camera): Did you think you were going to be out of business?
ALEXIS KOEFED, CHICKEN FARMER: Oh, I was convinced we were done. You know, we already were skating by. Eric had lost his job. We were just living off of this land.
That was a half month's income that went up in smoke and I thought I'll never recover from that. It's just too hard.
SIMON (voice-over): Starting the farm wasn't easy. Alexis and her husband had no farming experience. She was in marketing. He was a structural engineer.
Yet, as soon as they began selling their chicken eggs, many chefs from the finest local restaurants, including Alice Waters from the nationally renowned Chez Panisse said, they were among the best they ever tasted.
ALICE WATERS, CHEZ PANISSE RESTAURANT: I said, if you grow something that really is tasty, I'll buy it all.
SIMON: The farm was saved not just because of its high quality eggs and meat, but also because of its philosophy.
KOEFED: This egg comes from chickens that are probably crammed in cages, maybe eight, 10 birds in a cage. SIMON: She explains by showing us two different eggs: one from a chain grocery store and one of hers.
KOEFED: And this is a chicken egg that she got to lay her egg how she felt like after being outside eating grass and bugs.
SIMON (on camera): This is what those chefs like so much, what you are seeing right here. The chickens roam the fields freely and eat the natural grass. And that they believe makes for a higher quality egg -- eggs they apparently could not live without because when the fire seemingly destroyed the business, her customers got together and said, we're not going to let that happen.
BONNIE POWELL, FRIEND: We had a fancy auction. We had a raffle. We had several fund raising dinners.
SIMON (voice-over): Bonnie Powell led the effort to raise $30,000 to keep the farm in business.
POWELL: It was kind of amazing how many people just felt touched by this, like no, we can't let Soul Food Farm die.
SIMON: The farm still struggles to make money but Alexis loves her land, loves her way of life.
KOEFED: Thank you very much. My husband will be excited.
SIMON: You could say she's just fine putting all her eggs in one basket.
KOEFED: Thank you.
SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Vacaville, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Dan, eggs in one basket. All right. Thanks a lot.
Tiger's tale. Can the world's most famous golfer write a new chapter at the Masters and put scandal behind him? He's already taking a swing at it. We'll talk about Tiger Wood's much-anticipated return to the links. That's going to be an interesting conversation.
And it's the economy. President Barack Obama says the nation's financial future is on sounder footing. Is it? Some say, long employment, unemployment, the lines could put Democrats out of a job come November.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Everybody can relax now. At least come tomorrow, the wait is nearly over. Tiger Woods makes a much-anticipated return to the Masters tomorrow. He's already been spotted on the links at Augusta National today.
And who better to break this all down for us than this man. Can we show him? There he is.
Rick Horrow, our sports business analyst. Good to see you. Oh, I have that same hat. You brought me one last year, didn't you?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Yes. But this is different. This is one from 1997, where Tiger won by 12 strokes. So figured that he needs all the help he can get. That's all the help I'm giving him. The hat goes off for the rest of the interview, sorry.
LEMON: You know, I have -- I have Masters tickets. I'm going to go for the first time. We'll talk about that.
HORROW: Yes, we are.
LEMON: Let's get back on the tracks and about Tiger.
So, what do you think his plan is for tomorrow and the upcoming week?
HORROW: Well, his plan is to try to script his environment as best he can. Kind of a little take off on the old saying, you only have one chance to rewrite your first impression and he wants to make sure he scripts it as tight as possible and the club at Augusta National is just insular enough --
LEMON: This actually helps him, right? This helps him because --
HORROW: Oh, yes, yes. Absolutely, not only that --
LEMON: They do all the work for him. It's kind of -- it's kind of -- it's his first public appearance, but it kind of -- people were concerned or maybe asking if this is going to force him to be more forthcoming. But with Augusta, they're so tight-lipped that they're going to do all the work for him.
HORROW: Well, let's remember, he has a press conference at 2:00. It will be tightly controlled. A lot more people want to get in than will get in. The other issue, too, is the Final Four -- we'll talk about that in an hour -- is five hours later, opening of Major League Baseball. They picked a very cluttered time which is probably good for Tiger in this case.
LEMON: You think that was on purpose, right?
HORROW: Well, of course, it's on purpose.
LEMON: All right. What about his performance? What are you hearing?
HORROW: Well, I'm hearing from a couple of people who actually watched in a position to know that the swing looks pretty good.
But, look, you cannot duplicate major pressure on a living room carpet and, frankly, he's been away from the game for a record time, 144 days. He was number one in the world for 580 straight weeks. But you got to be able to practice. So, I'm not questioning, but everybody is hanging on every shot between now and Sunday. LEMON: Here's a question then. People have been saying maybe it's a new Tiger. These pictures again are from Augusta. Tiger Woods is already there. This is unusual for him. He guards his privacy. He'll got and practice maybe the day of a tournament. Or when the official practices start, he'll go out really early or really late when no one's out there. So is this a new side of him or is it he needs as much practice as he can get?
HARROW: First of all, he needs as much practice as he can get. Let's remember, there's a tournament going on. Anthony Kim won the Houston tournament about 15 minutes ago. And a lot of the pros are out in Houston playing in a regular tournament. I guess it's a luxury for him to sit there on Sunday and practice at the place where everybody is coming to.
He says that he had to be at Augusta. He is very comfortable there. The last four years he's finished no worst than six. He's won four times. This is a great venue for him. We'll have to see what happens by Sunday.
LEMON: OK. Great. Hey, listen. That's all the time we have. We'll be talking baseball, going to be talking the David-and-Goliath final that they're going to have for the NCA. Very interesting.
Rick. We'll see you in a bit. Thank you.
HARROW: All right.
LEMON: You can check out Rick Harrow's sports business blog. Go to my blog at CNN.com/don.
We'll check your headlines right now and update the stories first reported to you last week. This one, workers in northern China pulled at least nine more people from a flooded mine. The rescue comes two days after tapping was heard from within the mine. Rescuers have already been able to reach 108 mine workers but 144 remain trapped.
Deadly violence in Baghdad today. Suicide car bombers set off three blasts within five minutes of each other, killing at least 30 people. Hundreds of others were wounded in that incident as well. There are new concerns that insurgents are trying to capitalize on political uncertainty in the wake of recent elections.
A top White House economist is predicting more slow but steady growth in the labor market. Economic adviser, Summers, had a word of caution today on CNN's "State of the Union." Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY SUMMERS, WHITE HOUSE ECONOMIC ADVISOR: We have a long way to go. We have inherited a terrible situation, the most pressing economic problems since the Great Depression in our country. It is the president's preoccupation to put people back to work. That's what the Recovery Act was all about. That's what the legislation he signed into law to give incentives to businesses to hire people who have been out of work was all about. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Summers' remarks come two days after announcement that 162,000 jobs were added in March, the biggest job gains in three years.
President Obama, all smiles today over that new jobs report. So he says it shows the economy has turned a corner. So we want to check about this.
Let's check more now with this week in politics with CNN's deputy political director, Mr. Paul Steinhauser.
Hey, Paul.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Hi, how are you?
LEMON: Listen, the economy is always number one, the number one issue for voters. We've talking about health care, but I think really most people are concerned about the economy. How's the tough economy affecting Democrats?
STEINHAUSER: It is making it much rougher. You heard Larry Summers telling our Candy Crowley that we have a long way to go. And Christine Roma, who heads the economic council for advisors at the White House, she also on the Sunday talk shows today pretty much said that the unemployment rate won't drop that much from where it is currently, 9.7 percent. When the unemployment level is that high, it's right near 10 percent, near double digits, that means a rough political climate for incumbents running for re-election.
Don, we both know there are more Democrats than Republicans running for reelection this year. As you said, the economy, still, by far, the number-one issue with Americans in our poll and just about everybody's polls.
So take a look at this number. This is interesting as well, from our survey the other day. We asked, which party would do a better job dealing with the economy? Last August, the Democrats had a 13-point advantage. Now, the Republicans slightly edge them out. That is a troubling figure for Democrats, for Democrats running for reelection this year, Don.
LEMON: Listen, let's move on and talk about the Supreme Court. We heard the news that a possible retirement is imminent for 89-year-old Justice John Paul Stevens, soon to be 90. How hard will it be for the president to get his nominee approved? This may take him off of his agenda a little bit because he'll have to focus on this rather than jobs and the economy. He's going to have to deal with all of this going on.
STEINHAUSER: It is going to be -- if, if there is a vacancy, and we'll probably find out in the next few weeks. If there is a vacancy on the high court, it will mean a very busy summer for the White House, no doubt about it, and for Congress. They went through this last year. Remember, right around the time the president starting to push health care through Congress, is when we had the opening and eventually Sonia Sotomayor was confirmed by the Senate in late August. But one thing has changed between then and now. The Democrats have lost their 60-super majority in the Senate. That means they can't as easily stop a filibuster, which could happen if the Republicans want to do that to any nominee of the president, Don.
LEMON: That's all because of Scott Brown's election.
Hey, Paul, Happy Easter to you. Thank you, OK?
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
LEMON: Dr. Martin (ph) Luther King Jr. was assassinated 42 years ago today. We'll explore the question a lot of people are asking, who will take up the mantle of leadership in the black community?
Plus, join me on a cross-country tour with a radio host who is sharing Dr. King's message and encouraging people to be the leaders of the future.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, today marks the anniversary of Dr. Martin (ph) Luther King Jr's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee. 42 years later, Dr. King's legacy has taken root in a new generation of black leaders. Many of them, including radio host, Michael Baisden, they use air waves to push Dr. King's message forward on the radio.
Right now, Baisden is on a cross-country bus tour to spread his message of hope and responsibility aimed at raising up today's African-American youth to become tomorrow's leaders.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: More of the baddest man in radio.
LEMON: Michael is on the air.
MICHAEL BAISDEN, RADIO SHOW HOST: Welcome back to the Michael Baisden show.
LEMON: And spreading the word.
BAISDEN: This is how you change lives. Come on.
LEMON: He is not a preacher, but the secular sermons fill the air waves all across America, leaving some to suggest black radio hosts are replacing the iconic civil rights leaders of the past.
(CHANTING)
LEMON: If 2007, instead of Washington or Selma, they marched on Jena, an obscure Louisiana town, until six African-American students were charged with beating a white student after nooses were hung in a school yard tree.
BAISDEN: This is my home away from home. LEMON: Today, Baisden and his co-host, George Wilburn, have taken their Power to the People message on the road on a tour bus that will take them to 73 cities, encouraging adults, especially African- American men, to get involved in young people's lives as mentors.
(on camera): This is your life, man. For how long?
BAISDEN: For five months, until mid-June. We end the campaign in New York City.
LEMON (voice-over): But before the Big Apple finish, Baisden says he will match contributions to local mentoring programs with up to $350,000 of his own money.
BAISDEN: I didn't see it as giving away money. I saw it as investing in our kids. And the term has always been used, you know, be the example you want to see in other people. I wanted to be an example by showing and not telling.
Big hugs only. Hugs only.
LEMON: At each stop he is greeted like a rock star. In Augusta, Georgia, so many people showed up, there wasn't enough room. But local mentoring group Dads in Action got in. For them, mentoring starts at home.
(on camera): Do you feel lucky and sort of privileged that you have -- you're here and able to be your own son's mentor?
UNIDENTIFIED FATHER: Yes, yes. I'm very privileged. and I take this honor very highly. To just to have a son or even have a child to just to be a part of his life, you know. And I take off from work and don't work as much just to be with my son. I mean, it means more to me than -- just being with him every day. And anyone here in this town that knows me, I've been carrying him in one arm and doing my work with the other. My whole life is this young man here.
LEMON: That should be the message to all dads. Don't you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Outstanding.
LEMON: Yes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right. That's great.
BAISDEN: That's right. I said it.
LEMON: Inside the chapel, he is preaching, firing up the crowd. Hoping his passionate pitch resonates long after he gets back on the bus.
(on camera): So it's not just your voice all over the country. It's you.
BAISDEN: Sometimes you got to show up, right? You can't just let them hear you. They have to feel you. (END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And three prominent African-American radio personalities join me to talk more about how Dr. King's message is advanced today, White House correspondent, April Ryan, of American Urban Networks; and radio talk show hosts, Bev Smith and Warren Ballentine.
I asked Bev about the significance of empowerment as more black voices are heard over the air waves.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BEV SMITH, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I think actually, where African- Americans are concerned in terms of media and radio, it has always been about self empowerment. We have been the greots (ph). And so we're just following the tradition. But we have an even greater tradition now and that is to raise up an army of young people who will be able to continue the legacy of Dr. King. And I'm not so sure that we've done a good job of including young people. That's what my friend, Michael Baisden, is doing is so important.
LEMON: Warren, let's talk to you about this. I think the power of urban radio was seen in the election of President Barack Obama. Your show and a number of other shows -- I think there was a "New York Times" article, talked about how you guys introduced to the country, to an audience that he may have not been familiar with him.
But you know, going off of what Bev said, about the job here, doing a good job and what radio hosts are doing, what do you think your role is? Do you see yourself as a civil rights leader, the new civil rights leader of sorts?
WARREN BALLENTINE, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I would happily take that title, let me say that. I'm a lawyer by trade. And, in law, it's two types of laws. There's a Gijuro (ph) law and de facto law. Gijuro (ph) law is something that is specifically made for it. And defacto is by happenstance. Well, when you talk about civil rights, Gijuro (ph), I think of National Action Network, NAACP, other things. De facto is what I think about myself and radio hosts. Most of us who got into radio didn't go into radio to become civil rights leaders. but what happened was this. We don't have an outlet. And because radio is the only outlet, especially when you have a situation like I have or Bev or Reverend Sharpton or Michael Baisden or Tom Joyner and Steve Harvey, where we actually to talk and it's not just all music. We can talk about our issues and develop a plan to make it happen.
When you talk about Jena and the White House, perfect examples. You know, MSNBC, CNN, no other network told us to march on Jena. It was black radio. We came in droves.
We have a power and position that is unique, because we have more educated African-Americans than we have ever had at this time in the world. And we have more people politically involved than we have had before. And we not only have African-Americans tuning in, we have other races tuning in because they want to hear what we think about what's going on. LEMON: That's interesting because I was on -- when I'm on your show or Michael Baisden's show or any of the other urban shows, you would think it would be a certain demographic. People call me saying, you were on the radio. Are you surprised I listen to Warren or I listen to Michael Baisden?
Hey, April, I'll talk more with you about this on the other side of the break. But I want you get you in here real quickly because you have a unique perspective to be able to look at all of this playing out at the White House with the first African-American president. How do you see it playing out as far as civil rights leader, beyond the White House, we're talking?
APRIL RYAN, WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT, AMERICAN URBAN NETWORKS: One thing, and I'm going to bring it back a little bit to the White House. With Bev, Warren, Michael, Tom, all the other talk show hosts too, they bring up a consciousness. They have a platform. And in past administrations and in this administration, they are hearing the groundswell. and they take that and what's being done in black radio and also what I do at the White House daily helps to shape policy, believe it or not.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Our conversation will continue on this in just a moment.
But I'm hearing we are having breaking news from producers. We have some quake activity on the West Coast.
CNN's Casey Wian joins us now on the phone.
Casey, what are you hearing? and I'm just getting this in my ear as we're about to go to break here. What are you hearing?
CASEY WIAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Actually, I'm out in Palm Desert which s near Palm Springs, about two and a half hours east of Los Angeles. Actually, out here on a mini vacation with my family, and we're poolside. And we felt pretty darn strong shaking that lasted about 30 seconds. I have no more information other than that. But there was quite a bit of motion in the pool. And everybody who's around the pool at this resort complex is up moving around, a little bit nervous. No signs of any damage where we are.
Now, obviously, I have no idea, at this point, where the epicenter was. But from where we are, again, in Palm Desert, California, it was a pretty strong shaking for about 20 to 30 seconds -- Don?
LEMON: Are you at all able to tune into a local new there is or radio to see what they're reporting, Casey?
WIAN: You know, I'm in no position to do that right now. Like I say, we are out at a pool. And the room where we're staying is a little bit away from here. And there are no TVs or radios anywhere near me. But I can certainly do that and get back with you later.
LEMON: listen, we thank you for calling in.
Casey Wian is in Palm Desert, Palm Springs, and he's feeling quake activity out there.
And, again, we are getting some information from our desks here, our national desk. We'll check on it. We are hearing it's possibly minor. And again, we'll keep checking on that and we'll get back to Casey if it's warranted in this broadcast.
Meantime, we'll talk about civil rights leaders again. Our conversation you heard will continue on the other side of the break. We're doing this as we remember Dr. Martin (ph) Luther King Jr, 42nd anniversary of his assassination. And we'll introduce you to some of the leaders of tomorrow. We'll explore who is carrying Dr. King's message into the new century.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: OK. Listen, we have some breaking news here on CNN. It involves earthquake activity on the West Coast. CNN West Coast bureau chief, Pete Janos, is reporting that this quake could be felt as far away as San Diego. We're being told by the USGS this was a 6.9 quake. That was happened near Baja California in Mexico. The Associated Press is reporting downtown L.A. felt it, as well.
Let's go to North Park, San Diego, and Ryan Valencia. Ryan is on the phone right now.
Ryan, what did you feel?
RYAN VALENCIA: Well, we were sitting down, eating our Easter meal, and felt a little bit of a shaking, actually. Didn't feel like anything too bad, like a garbage truck driving by at first. And then it kept going and it kind of rolled and shook for about --I'd say between 30 and 45 seconds. And it got progressively stronger and then weakened off a little bit. Didn't feel too bad and did shake for a while.
LEMON: How far are you from Baja?
VALENCIA: It can't be too far. North Park is pretty close to the Mexico border so, you know, it was maybe 15 minutes drive at the most to the Mexico border from here.
LEMON: It was only that one. And how long did it last, Ryan?
VALENCIA: I would say we felt the shaking for a good 30, 45 seconds.
LEMON: Thank you.
Ryan Valencia joining us on the phone. He's in North Park, near San Diego. And he is feeling some of the earthquake activity there.
And, again, according to our West Coast bureau chief, Pete Janos, he's saying it lasted 35 to 40 seconds, the same as Ryan is saying. He is in Los Angeles. They're saying that they felt -- also felt in it Los Angeles.
Again, I want to say according to the USGS, a 6.9 quake felt out in California; Baja, California. Baja, Mexico, right there on the border.
Bonnie Schneider, this is your bailiwick. Take us through this. What are you hearing?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now, I'm looking at our Google Earth and I've imposed all the quakes that have occurred in addition to aftershocks. And in the past 24 hours, it's not unusual to see a lot of quake activity in Southern California, in the Baja area of Mexico. But this is a large one. I'm putting the cursor over it right now where we the main quake and more recently some aftershocks occurring just to the north of it. And certainly, some aftershocks recently, as well, into California.
Now, some of these are so slight that they may cause a tremor and you might feel it. But as you see here, we are getting strong activity right now with an aftershock of 3.2. Very close to the original 6.9 that occurred really within moments of the larger one in the Baja area. That is seismically active area in southern California and Mexico so it's not unusual to see the quake activity.
We can show you a live picture of LAX, the airport in California. The weather, as you can see, looks clear. It is quite nice, getting ready for rain tomorrow morning.
But the main thing to note, the center of the quake was well beneath the land. We are still getting details in terms of how shallow it was, how deep it ran, and whether or not -- how much the shake map will show us shortly -- we'll have that soon -- of where it was actually felt and by how many people. I'll have more on that. We're just gathering the information now, Don.
LEMON: Bonnie, listen, getting more information here. I want to tell you that some of the viewers -- don't go anywhere, Bonnie.
Some of the viewers are writing in and telling us, in the past couple of seconds -- show this here. I have gotten seven in the past 30 seconds.
"Felt it in Tuscan (ph), about 90 miles north of San Diego."
We're talking about an earthquake out on the West Coast.
Taxinomi (ph) Warning Center, this say, Up to 7.3 magnitude. We haven't confirmed that. We'll check that.
"Felt it pretty good here in Covina, California. Was a long, roller quake. Lasted about 45 seconds or more."
Someone said, "I'm in Phoenix and we can feel it here."
"Here in Marina Del Rey, felt a big one. No damage, but quite a ride for about 30 seconds."
And on and on. Some people are saying some of the celebrities were tweeting as well. It was felt in Los Angeles County.
We'll go to CNN's desk editor, Divina Mims. She is on the phone for us from LAX.
What's going on?
DIVINA MIMS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Hey. Hi, Don. We are trying to catch a flight back to Atlanta, coming off Easter weekend. Everyone's just sitting as usual. Some people on computers. Some people with iPods. And then all of a sudden, you feel a big jump. And than couple of people looked up. And then we felt another one, another big jump. And then everybody started turning around, was that an earthquake, what that an earthquake. It was not really major. It was a minor, little jolt there. But it did perk up a few people and got some people interested in what was going on.
LEMON: Divina, what are you hearing? You're in the airport? Is it affecting flights? Airport shut down? Delays?
MIMS: I have confirmed from some employees here, off the record, that it is not affecting any flights. There was no damage to any runways. And flights are taking off as scheduled.
LEMON: Stand by. Don't go anywhere. We're going to need all the help we can get since you were out there when it happened.
Divina Mims, is with one of our desk editors here at CNN. She is in the airport at LAX and she felt it with other people. She said they all looked up and it brought them to a stop. 6.9 magnitude quake, that's according to the USGS. She is also saying that it is affecting flights minorly. It may affect minor flights there.
And keep in mind, please, we are getting information, getting it in my ear as we go along. We are just hearing about this. I'm also getting some information from the social media. If you felt it, if you were anywhere in the area, send me a tweet or go to Facebook, or if you have my e-mail address, send it to me. We'll get your information on the air if I feel like it is warranted.
I want to go now to Susan Martin (ph). She lives in Bakersfield. She is on the phone.
Susan, what happened?
SUSAN MARTIN (ph), BAKERSFIELD RESIDENT: Well, my son was watching TV and I was putting things away. and he said, mom, we're having earthquake. All the lamps in the house that were hanging started swinging. Potted plants started swinging. It lasted a long time, actually.
LEMON: We're hearing a good 35, 40 seconds.
MARTIN (ph): At least that. Everything kept swinging. And then it stopped and then kind of started again, just a tiny tremor of everything moving.
LEMON: How much damage did you get, Ms. Martin (ph)?
MARTIN (ph): We didn't get any damage. Just things swinging.
LEMON: I would imagine all that's going on in the world hearing about Chile and Haiti. It must -- that must cross your mind when something like this happens.
MARTIN (ph): Yes. But I took out earthquake a year ago because Bakersfield's due for a big one.
(LAUGHTER)
It's been almost 60 years.
LEMON: Yes. Have you been able to talk to your neighbors at all?
MARTIN (ph): No.
LEMON: OK. If you run outside and talk to them, let us know. Get back to us. But thank you so much.
MARTIN (ph): OK.
LEMON: Susan Martin (ph). She lives in Bakersfield, California. She felt the quake, 35, 40 seconds, maybe a bit longer. Stopped for a while and then picked back up.
Bonnie Schneider, what are you hearing? Let's go back to you.
SCHNEIDER: I've been monitoring Google Earth to see where the aftershocks are occurring in real time. And we can see here, that we've had, since the original quake of 6.9 magnitude, there have been two aftershocks. And you can see them with the orange dottings. One a 3.2. Both are in Mexico, by the way. One slightly stronger at 3.3 magnitude. This is not surprising. We are likely going to see more aftershocks. Right now, I don't see any that have occurred immediately in southern California. If they did, they were weaker. Some of these you can see actually occurred earlier in the week. We even had a quake that was about 4.2 or 4.3 that occurred over the past couple of days in the Mexicali area. So this area has been seismically active just in the past days.
Yes?
LEMON: Bonnie, listen, we're talking about this again. Remind our viewers, 6.9 quake, thought out on the West Coast of California. Some people in Arizona felt it as well.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
LEMON: Bonnie, talk to me about the viewer feedback that I'm getting here.
It says, "We felt it in the Phoenix area. I thought I was having a low blood sugar episode." Or whatever.
Somebody thought they were kind of out of it.
"I live in San Diego. It's definitely the biggest quake I ever felt. Few things fell from the house, but no major damage."
"I felt the earthquake all the way in central Arizona. Very short and still crazy."
The last one I'll read for you, Bonnie. "Biggest shaker in the eight years I've been in San Diego, but nothing compared to being in Northridge in '94."
So people are saying that this was pretty sizable, even though they may not have gotten much damage. and these are just initial reports here.
SCHNEIDER: Right.
LEMON: But 6.9 is sizable.
SCHNEIDER: It is. It's an intense quake. And depending on the depth of the quake, it can travel very quickly beneath the earth and cause that shaking or even a shuddering many miles away. so it's not at all surprising that we're see that feeling as far off to the east, for example, as Phoenix, Arizona or Los Angeles or San Diego.
Right now, the risk still remains for aftershocks. Typically speaking, with an aftershock after an earthquake, the aftershock is weaker than the initial quake. That's what we have been seeing right now in Mexicali. I've been reporting that there's at least two aftershock that have occurred after the original quake. Both less than 3.3 magnitude, but occurring really within the hour of the more recently one of 6.9 in the Baja area of Mexico.
We are monitoring the aftershocks and I'll keep you posted if we get more and certainly if we see them sliding a little bit further north towards southern California -- Don?
LEMON: Bonnie Schneider, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
We'll get back to our meteorologist, Bonnie Schneider, in a little bit.
