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Oil Spill Setback; GOP Senator Defeated; Tension After Times Square Attempted Bombing; Conservative Leader's Sex Scandal
Aired May 08, 2010 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: By this time, before night fell, workers hoped they would be announcing to the world that they had saved the Gulf of Mexico from an ecological disaster. Instead, they are admitting tonight, that they hit a glitch and the oil is still spewing.
One question for everyone in the sound of my voice, think about this -- the Times Square bomber, threats of revoking citizenship. What is it really like to be Muslim in America these days? A discussion you don't want to miss.
A new controversy for Oscar winner Sandra Bullock. Her adoption of an African-American baby is triggering some heated discussion. You'll hear it. And actor Will Ferrell has a new gig. How did he suddenly become a minor leaguer?
Good evening, everyone. Tonight in the Gulf of Mexico, oil keeps pouring out of a hole a mile below the surface of the water. An attempt to stop it failed today. That large steel box intended to cover a broken pipe fell victim to high pressure and frigid temperatures. BP said it wasn't giving up on that dome, but admitted the problem was bigger than they expected.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG SUTTLES, BP CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: But I wouldn't say it's failed yet. What I would say is what we attempted to do last night didn't work because these hydrates plugged up the top of the dome. What we are currently doing, and expect it will probably take almost 48 hours or so, is seeing is there a way to overcome this problem. We did anticipate hydrates being a problem, but not this significant.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And David Mattingly joins us live from Venice, Louisiana.
David, tell us, what is he talking about that there are hydrates -- what exactly are hydrates, and exactly what went wrong?
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These hydrates are crystals. They're sort of like ice crystals, or forming gas under pressure down there at the bottom of the ocean and the cold water mix together. They create sort of a slush. They were expecting this to be a problem when they connected that big tube to this containment vessel, which they haven't been able to do yet. But, instead, these things started accumulating on the inside of that dome and they clogged it up. And they are actually lighter than water so they were making the dome buoyant. And that is a very bad thing. Then they had to set it over to the side and now they have step back a little bit and figure out, OK, how do we unclog this thing? How do we take care of these crystals, and then how do we pump it out of there.
LEMON: So, David, listen, this was supposed to be the quickest option, the one that would help the fastest.
Is it back to the drawing board now, or does BP have any other options?
MATTINGLY: It is not completely back to the drawing board. They are looking at a couple of options that will help them pass the problem they have now. Using that containment dome is still their first, best and fastest way to try and stem the flow of some of this oil. They've got a couple of other ideas in the wings but that could take weeks. And every day, we're having 5,000 barrels of oil pour out into the Gulf of Mexico. This was their first best idea, and they are not ready to give up on it just yet.
LEMON: All right, David Mattingly. And obviously you are in an active harbor tonight. You can hear either workers going out or coming in. Thank you very much for that.
David Mattingly in Venice, Louisiana.
And one more thing we want to tell you about in this story tonight. Evidence of the oil spill appears to have arrived on Alabama's doorstep already. The Coast Guard says tar balls found today on Dolphin Island are most likely from that spill. Dolphin Island is at the mouth of Mobile Bay.
We want to turn now to the flood devastation in Tennessee. And a promise from the federal government to help out. Homeland security secretary Janet Napolitano toured Nashville today. She got a firsthand look at the damage from storms that left more than 30 people dead last weekend in Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky. Napolitano pledged assistance to victims, trying to rebuild their lives.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: We will begin working with them, and looking individually what their housing needs are going to be? Are they going to need rental housing for a while? Is their house reparable or not, that sort of thing. But there will be individuals who will be -- who will no doubt are going to suffer financial damage from this. And I'm not going to stand here and say, we're going to guarantee right now everybody is going to be made whole. We will do as much as we can in every possible way that we can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It is going to take months to clean up all that flood damage, but as our Martin Savidge tells us, victims are getting a helping hand.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, this is the Bellevue neighborhood located southwest of Nashville. It is one of the areas that was hardest hit over last weekend storm. And it was also one of the areas that was visited by the Homeland Security secretary today. Easy to see why, I mean, when you take a look at the devastation that's happened here.
The numbers continue to rise that's the concern for many people. The death toll now up to 22 for the state of Tennessee. The damage estimate for the city of Nashville, alone, $1.5 billion, and then you have the number of counties that have been declared major disaster areas that's now up to 30.
This debris pile here stretches for block after block after block. And when the people came home, the first thing they did was take out the furniture. That's what made it to the curb. Then they realized everything else had to come out. So that's why you will see here the dry wall that is there. And you'll also find flooring that is here, and then eventually you find just about everything any person ever had in their home is now sitting out on the curb.
A lot of this work couldn't have been done without the effort of volunteers. And there were thousands of them that fanned out today in the city of Nashville. Being a Saturday, people decided that this was the time to turn and help one another, and they did it in a major, major way.
Much to the relief of those who suffer, because they said, you know what? Without the volunteers, they wouldn't have known where to start. They made a pretty good start today.
Don?
LEMON: Martin, thank you for that.
Tonight, we turn to a political stunner. From Utah, state Republicans have basically fired three-term Republican Robert Bennett from the U.S. Senate. He was eliminated from seeking another term today at the State Party Convention. Bennett came in third in a three-man race in the second round of convention balloting. His two challengers will face off to see who carries the Republican banner in November.
Our political editor Mark Preston will join me in just a few minutes to talk about public anger towards Washington, and its potential impact on the November election. Stay tune for that.
The fallout from last week's failed bombing in Times Square through the eyes of the Muslim community.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After Oklahoma City, we didn't go out and racially profile every white guy with a buzz cut.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Dealing with racial profiling today, and worried about what tomorrow will bring.
Also, a leading opponent of gay rights finds himself right at the center of a gay sex scandal.
Plus, more drama surrounding Sandra Bullock. The racial uproar over her recent adoption.
And don't just sit there. Be a part of the conversation tonight. Send me a message on Facebook or Twitter, or follow us on Facebook and Twitter. And check out my blog at CNN.com/Don. We want to hear from you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, let's talk politics now, and the anti- Washington mood that's really percolating all across the country. Utah Republicans today told conservative, three-term Senator Robert Bennett, it was time to come home. He came in third in a three-man race at the state party convention for the right to enter the GOP primary.
Our political editor Mark Preston joins me now by phone.
So, Mark, here is a big question. This is a stunning defeat, and why is it significant?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR (via telephone): Well, Don, it certainly is stunning for Bob Bennett. It is something that we had seen coming and, in fact, Bob Bennett had seen coming. He was facing a lot of criticism, a lot of pressure for not being conservative enough, which is very interesting because, in fact, Bob Bennett is a very conservative senator. But yet it does go to this anti-incumbent mood. And what we saw out in Utah today of the different shades of anger that we've been seeing over the past year. There is the conservative anger, and there's the frustration at Washington, D.C., the frustration at the Republican establishment for not being fiscally strong enough, not having fiscal restraint. And that is what we saw today with Bob Bennett.
LEMON: That is very interesting, because there is talk, Mark, that a lot of people who are moderate, more moderate Republicans may be being moved out of office or being pushed out by, they believe, by some members of the GOP. They believe the GOP is moving really far to the right. Is Bob Bennett one of those people who have been affected by this?
PRESTON: He certainly has been drummed out of the party. You know, Don, we talk a lot about the tea party movement. And we are really still trying to understand how powerful the tea party movement is.
In this case in Utah, the tea party movement was actually very strong. What happened in Utah was not all the Republicans in the state deciding whether Bob Bennett should be or should not be on the ballot in November. It was the state convention. The real party activists. And that is what we see in the tea party movement.
But, you know, Don, it is not just in the Republican Party. We are also seeing it in the democratic side as well. And, in fact, two weeks from now, we will see whether Blanch Lincoln, another veteran senator, who is a Democrat, who is considered a little bit more centrist will survive a primary challenge. There is a challenge from the lieutenant governor, Bill Halter, on the left. And we are seeing another shade of anger right now in Washington, D.C. at the incumbents. At this point, we are seeing liberals angry at some of the conservative Democrats in Congress.
LEMON: So polarization.
Thank you very much for that. Mark Preston, we appreciate it. See you tomorrow night, Mark.
PRESTON: Tomorrow night, Don.
LEMON: All right. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi off the Hill and in Afghanistan tonight. We'll tell you what is behind her visit. And former president George Bush's battle with alcohol. His wife opens up about it in her new book.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Want to check some of your top stories right now. A frightening accident in New York City this morning. A Staten Island ferry boat crashed into the terminal. No one was killed, but at least 55 people were hurt, one of them seriously.
A passenger said there was almost no warning before that crash. Officials say a mechanical failure prevented the crew from slowing the ferry. That same boat was involved in an accident back in 2003 that killed 11 people.
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is leading a congressional delegation to Afghanistan this weekend. The group sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai following a meeting with U.S. troops and top U.S. commanding general Stanley McChrystal. According to a statement from Pelosi's office, the meeting with President Karzai focused on the political and security situation inside Afghanistan. President Karzai is scheduled to meet with President Obama at the White House on Wednesday.
And inspiring words today from the first lady of the United States. Michelle Obama gave the commencement speech today at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff. She told the graduating class at the historically black college not to shy away from adversity because it will make them stronger. Tomorrow her husband, the president, will give the commencement address at Hampton University in Virginia. Think about this, the Times Square bomber, threats of revoking citizenship. What is it really like to be Muslim in America? A discussion you don't want to miss with three Muslim leaders.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Could last weekend's Times Square car bomb be a sign of things to come? That is the fear of U.S. counterterrorism officials. They worry the Pakistani Taliban is preparing attacks like the Times Square car bomb at targets in Europe and here in the United States.
Now American military leaders are pushing Pakistan to attack the Taliban on their own turf or else. The "New York Times" reports General Stanley McChrystal delivered the message to Pakistan's military chief. But Pakistan has warned the White House not to pressure them into hurrying an offensive again the Taliban.
You know, it has been a week since the attempt to bomb Times Square. And the fact that the suspect, Faisal Shahzad, is a U.S. citizen has put the Muslim American community on guard. In fact, some worry this latest terror attack will increase law enforcement scrutiny and strain relationships with their non-Muslim neighbors.
Earlier, I spoke with three Muslim American leaders, and I asked them how the events of last weekend have affected them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HUSSEIN RASHID, ASSOCIATE EDITOR, RELIGION DISPATCHES & PROFESSOR OF RACE AND RELIGIOUS ISSUES: You know, Don, it is a great question. And I remember thinking here we go again, after it was revealed this guy was a Muslim. And I remember thinking I would rather -- if something like this is going to happen, I'm glad it is happening in New York because, A, we don't scare. You know, it makes me proud to be a New Yorker. But, B, I think we handle ourselves so well after September 11th that while everybody across other parts of the country are calling out for profiling of Muslims, as though you can tell a Muslim by sight, in New York, things have just gone back to normal.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: You sort of touched on a little bit what I was going to say, you know. Many times you hear -- and it's the honest truth -- if someone does something wrong or does a bad deed, and African-American will go, oh my gosh, I hope they're not black when the picture comes up on television. You've heard this before.
RASHID: Yes. Absolutely.
LEMON: What did you think? Did you go, I hope this guy isn't Muslim?
RASHID: You know, I really hoped -- I remember when the first stories were coming out, people were saying maybe it is a white guy, maybe it is a tea party guy. And you think, well, why is anybody attacking New York in the first place? It doesn't matter what the reasons are. But, of course, you sort of hope that it isn't somebody that will be identified with you.
And I think we have got to also think about the strong, very strong racial component to a lot of the discussion that is going on. You know, a third of all Muslims in America are African-American, as you said. How many people are going around saying here is a black man.
LEMON: Let me get to you. I want to get to Soumaya.
Did you have the same thought? Do you feel that way when you've heard about the bombing at all? When you hear about any incident that involves terrorists?
SOUMAYA KHALIFA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, THE ISLAMIC SPEAKERS BUREAU, ATLANTA, GA: Absolutely. Absolutely. It is the same mind set. Hope it is not a Muslim. You know, like hope it is not an African- American.
But at the same time, it really upset me in terms of the sense of insecurity that we have as a country right now. What is going to happen next? And whether it is a Muslim, it is a Christian, it is anybody, it is that sense of insecurity. And we all need to work together as a nation to work on bringing back the sense of security that we have been missing in this country for a while now.
LEMON: You know, I want to ask Arsalan this.
You know, we've had several things, and it was a Muslim Americans at the time, the Times Square, the alleged bomber, the suspect, the Army psychiatrist that we saw at Ft. Hood, and all that shooting, Nidal Hasan. There is also Adam Gadahn, born here, a known member of al Qaeda.
So what do you think of this, that -- you know, the terrorists coming from outside of the country, but now it seems that they may be coming from people who were either born here or were naturalized citizens. Does that have an effect on the Muslim American community?
ARSALAN IFTIKHAR, HUMAN RIGHTS ATTORNEY & FOUNDER, THEMUSLIMGUY.COM: Well, I think it does, Don. I think another important thing to keep in mind is that terrorism knows no race or religion. You know, we remember, a few months ago, when a white man named Joe Stack flew his single-engine airplane into the IRS building in Austin, Texas. Now we didn't hear anybody call it an act of domestic act of terrorism, but, I assure you, if it was a brown named Ali Muhammad, who had flowed his plane into an IRS building, we would have probably shut down every other IRS building in the country. And so there is a double standard here when it comes to acts of extremism committed by, you know, white men or committed by brown Muslim people.
Something else important to keep in mind, and I think your viewers --
LEMON: Before you go that -- I'll let you make your other point. But why do you think it is a double standard? IFTIKHAR: Well, again, you know, I think that the term "terrorism" sadly within our public discourse has been co-opted to apply only to brown Muslim people, you know. And I think that, like I said, if the IRS plane attacker had been a brown Muslim man, I think that we would have heard resounding calls, you know, for it to be called an act of terrorism. But since it was a white guy named Joe Stack, we never heard the term domestic terrorism being used to classify it.
LEMON: And, you know, I know we've done, Arsalan, and maybe in the broader context, in the broader media, that may happen, but here we talked about that subject at CNN. And we also have used that term domestic terrorism when it comes to Timothy McVeigh.
ARSALAN: Right. And the Oklahoma City bombing, from April 1995, is a perfect example, as you point out. You know, everybody talks about racial profiling in this post-9/11 world. After Oklahoma City, we didn't go out and racially profile every white guy with a buzz cut, you know, who may have been a former member of the Army.
And so, you know, this whole racial profiling debate, which is, you know, recently been exemplified by the whole Arizona immigration debacle, you know, really applies to people of color in America. And I think that double standard needs to be pointed out.
LEMON: And I cut you off a little bit earlier. I just want to make sure you make your point, because this is an important subject that we need to talk about here. Did you make your point with the question that I asked?
ARSALAN: I did. What I was trying to say, Don, is that, you know, people -- Americans, your viewers, need to understand that American-Muslims are as part and parcel of American society as anyone else. You know, people tend to forget that the greatest athlete ever, Muhammad Ali, and the funniest dude in America, Dave Chappelle, are both Muslims. And so, you know, American-Muslims have made as many contributions to the American society as any other demographic group.
LEMON: I'm going to let Soumaya jump in because she's nodding her head at what you're saying.
Do you agree with what he's saying?
KHALIFA: Absolutely. And, you know, the situation that we had not too long ago with the Michigan militia, I don't believe they were called terrorists at all. So it is a double standard that we see, maybe not across all news outlets, but definitely the majority of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Very interesting conversation. Thanks to all of my guests.
Is it a case of not practicing what you preach? A leading opponent of gay rights finds himself in the middle of a gay sex scandal.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, tonight, a leading opponent of gay marriage, of gays and lesbians adopting kids and gay rights in general is now entangled in a sex scandal.
George Rekers helped found the socially conservative Family Research Counsel. He is accused of hiring a male prostitute who advertises on an explicit Web site and taking him on a sexually charged European vacation. For the record, Rekers denies the sexual part. The allegations were first reported in Miami's "New Times." It's a local alternative paper. Decide for yourself whether to believe Rekers or whether to believe the young man in question, who spoke for the first time on camera to our Randi Kaye.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He calls himself Lucien. He's a paid male escort who says he only advertises his services on the Web site Rentboy.com, where visitors can select among hundreds of male escorts who advertise in suggestive and revealing poses. That Web site is where Lucien said he was first contacted by George Rekers, a professor and Baptist minister who has weighed in on almost every peace piece of anti-gay legislation around the country.
What's not in dispute is that Rekers and Lucien just returned from a two-week European vacation, and that Lucien was hired to help with the bags. This photo was snapped at Miami International Airport.
But Lucien also says, for the trip to Madrid and London, he was to give Rekers what Lucien called "sexual massages" every day.
"LUCIEN," MALE ESCORT: He basically got excited. That was the whole case.
KAYE (on camera): So, he wanted you to touch him?
"LUCIEN": Well, yes.
KAYE: Did you have sex with him on the trip?
"LUCIEN": No.
KAYE: Did he ask you to?
"LUCIEN": Not at all.
KAYE (voice-over): Lucien showed me the contract he signed with Rekers. For $75 a day, it says he must carry the bags, provide a massage for at least one hour every day of the trip in their shared room. Plus, spend at least eight hours a day with him, including two meals.
(END VIDEOTAPE) * (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Lucien showed me the contract he signed with Rekers. For $75 a day, it says he must carry the bags, provide a massage for at least one hour every day of the trip in their shared room. Plus, spend at least eight hours a day with him, including two meals.
On Rekers' Web site, a very different account of how he met Lucien. "By interviewing different people who might be able to help, and did not even find out about his travel assistant's Internet advertisements offering prostitution activity until after the trip was in progress. There was nothing inappropriate with this relationship." And he emphasized he "was not involved in any illegal or sexual behavior with his travel assistant."
(on camera): Rekers is a board member for the NARTH, the National Association for Research and Therapy of Homosexuality, a group that says it helps people with, quote, "unwanted homosexual attractions." He's also the co-founder of the Family Research Council, which promotes the traditional family unit.
(voice-over) And in 2008, here in Florida, George Rekers served as an expert witness in a case to uphold the law banning gays and lesbians from adopting.
(on camera) In his writings, he called gays a, quote, "deviant segment of society." The state of Florida paid him about $120,000 for his testimony. Attorney General Bill McCollum's office told us Rekers was recommended after an exhaustive search, and because he had, quote, "exceptional credentials."
(voice-over) Wayne Besen is with Truth Wins Out, a group that exposes what it sees as hypocrisy in the anti-gay movement.
WAYNE BESEN, EXEC. DIRECTOR, TRUTH WINS OUT: He has helped create anti-gay attitudes and justified discrimination across the country. It seems Rekers doesn't think gay people should raise boys. He thinks he should rent boys. So, I think he's quite the hypocrite there.
KAYE: Lucien says Rekers knew he was gay before the trip because he had told him about his boyfriends.
(on camera) Does he still deny to you that he's gay?
"LUCIEN": Yes, yes. You know, I actually asked him over the phone, you know, "Do you think you're gay?" And he just said, "No."
KAYE (voice-over): Lucien told me Rekers had asked him not to share his story with the media.
"LUCIEN": He just didn't want me to mention the massage aspect, you know? That's what it really was.
KAYE (on camera): And he asked you not to.
"LUCIEN": Yes, he had asked me not to.
KAYE (voice-over): In response to the publicity, NARTH, where Rekers is a board member, released this statement saying it "takes seriously the accusations that have been made." In response to an e- mail from CNN, Rekers wrote, "I am retaining the services of a defamation attorney in this matter, because the fact is I am not gay and never have been."
Lucien, meanwhile, says he feels sorry for Rekers. He enjoyed their European vacation together and would like to be his friend. He wants him to stop making anti-gay statements.
Randi Kaye, CNN, Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We have one final note for you on this subject. The Family Research Counsel, which George Rekers helped found, released a statement distancing themselves from Rekers. In fact, they said they had to check their historical records to verify that he was a member of the original board. They go on to say, "FRC has had no contact with Dr. Rekers or knowledge of his activities in over a decade. So FRC can provide no further insight into these allegations."
They did add this, "While we are extremely disappointed when any Christian leader engages in the very activities they preach against, it is not surprising. The scriptures clearly teach the fallen nature of all people. We each have a choice to act upon that nature or accept the forgiveness offered by grace through faith in Jesus Christ."
We'll move on now.
Sandra Bullock's recent adoption spurs accusations of racism.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Adoptions are color blind. You get what you get.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Race really does matter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Conflicting views over the actress' adoption of an African-American boy. Coming up here tonight on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know what, it's been a week and a half since "People" magazine broke the story that Oscar-winner Sandra Bullock had adopted an African-American baby.
Since then, the Web has been on fire. Most people applaud her. But some are against her. Like this comment. Check it out. It says, quote, "I do not approve of white folks adopting black kids. What is the ulterior behind it? Are they trying to create a new class of confused little Oreo cookies, black kids with white values who will value whiteness above all else and be ashamed or against blacks and blackness?"
So what is wrong with mixed race or transracial adoption. What's wrong with it?
We spoke with Wendy Walsh, a former TV journalist and a psychologist. And Lisa Marie Rollins, a transracial adoption expert. I started by asking them to explain the case against mixed race adoption.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA MARIE ROLLINS, TRANSRACIAL ADOPTION EXPERT/ADOPTEE: One of them is definitely whether or not white families have the education and are capable of assisting black children in coping with racism.
But the other thing really is also, something larger that has to do with the preservation of black families. And the circumstances that actually allow children to be put up for adoption. And I think that a lot of people are angry. The reason why you're seeing some of this anger around it is because I think that there are actually African-American families that are available, but the social welfare system isn't really set up for them to adopt black children, or kinship, if there are aunts or uncles or extended family members who are available.
There is not financial resources for them. So I think that's also part of what people are upset about.
LEMON: Miss Walsh, what do you make of this? What is the case against it?
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I think, you know, right away, people will see, oh, is this another Hollywood celebrity carrying a black baby instead of a white purse dog? So they're worried that it may be a fashionable trend. The truth is, you know, adoptions are color blind. You get what you get. If you say that you will take whatever, and thank goodness these liberal progressive wealthy people are able to take any child in need and shower them with love.
And I think race should really be only examined if you're over 40, you need to think about how you think about race. Because the younger generation doesn't see race the way perhaps my generation or older generation did. We live in a global world where we have a bi- racial president, where some of the most famous and wealthy celebrities in the world are people of color. You know, I happen to have bi-racial children. They don't self-identify black or white.
LEMON: That's what I was going to ask you. I was going to ask you this. Because children -- you know, children can be cruel. So when you're a child, you know, when you're in school, people make fun of you. Oh, you don't look like your mom or dad or they may call you names. They call you an Oreo cookie or whatever it is. Once you become an adult, you go thank goodness someone saved me. So my question is, then what is wrong -- and I see you sort of cringing there, squinting a little bit, Miss Marie. You don't -- do you not believe that's so?
ROLLINS: Yes. It's Miss Rollins but yes, I guess what I am responding to is the notion that adoption is color blind. And I think that's one of the things that they talk back to and actually really tries to support families in really thinking about, when they're adopting is that race really does matter. And it really does matter with the youth that I'm working with now even. I hear constant stories of when they're living in situations where they're isolated from the black community.
And they're, you know, adopted to places like Kansas or Iowa or a lot of the places where the Haitian adoptees are going. That they are called names in school. They are spit on.
LEMON: Would you rather them be in foster care instead of a loving home?
ROLLINS: Well, you know, what I think the issue with that is that there is an assumption that that is the only option. And I think that there are multiple options other than just a child living in foster care.
LEMON: I think there are probably multiple options but I mean, I've seen a number of children who are up for adoption and who end up in foster homes. Some of them and then others don't. And then you become adults and a lot of them become adults, and they don't have any parents. They have no rearing and no upbringing.
Go ahead, Dr. Walsh.
WALSH: Well, yes. I've heard that there are 31 percent of children in foster home are African-American and yet that represents only 15 percent of the general population. So yes, they're definitely proportionately more children of color in foster care. Now, you know what, you have to think -- I understand what you're saying, Miss Rollins about zip code being important.
If you live in a homogeneous place, you're going to have to make some life changes to make sure that your child is exposed in some kind of diversity. I've move around the world with my children actually. And we lived in two homogeneous places. One happened to be Boca Raton, Florida, where we went to a small little Lutheran school and I felt that my family was more of a welcome curiosity. Everyone was very kind to us and I loved it.
The other place was Florence, Italy, by the way, a very homogeneous place where only the African street merchants had not problems, but a lot of great curiosity. Where did you get that black baby, they would say to me.
ROLLINS: Right. Right.
WALSH: Thinking I had adopted it. But I really think that you know, if you live in a zip code that's very diverse, I live in Venice Beach, California, which we call Berkeley on the beach.
ROLLINS: Actually -- I actually disagree. I think that I live in San Francisco.
LEMON: You get the last word. Go ahead.
ROLLINS: I live in San Francisco and I live in Oakland where it is extraordinarily diverse. It's one of the most diverse cities in the nation, and I am constantly bombarded with white families who have adopted black children who lived completely culturally isolated lives. It's not just about geography. It's about whether or not you're connecting your child to the black community.
LEMON: Here's the thing. I understand what you're saying. And we got to move on. When you say culturally, you know, what does that mean? There are things that were cultural back in the 1940s and the 1950s and the 1960s that aren't necessarily cultural now. Maybe a new culture is a culture of people who are Americans, who are of all races instead of just black, white. We had this whole issue when we talk about census.
ROLLINS: Right.
LEMON: There are so many things, so many differences in people these days that it doesn't -- I mean, I don't think that there are very few people here in this country who are truly African-American, because most of us are mixed. And there are very few people in this country who are truly European or truly white because most people are mixed again. And I think that's, we're heading towards that. I understand what you're saying but I think you have to sort of --
ROLLINS: And I don't disagree.
LEMON: Hang on one second, let me finish.
ROLLINS: Sure, sure.
LEMON: I think we have to define what is cultural. I think we need a new definition of that. Go ahead. I'll let you finish.
ROLLINS: Yes. And actually I don't disagree with what you're saying. I absolutely believe that there are new ways to redefine race. There are new ways to define culture that are happening now and that communities are much more multi-cultural now than they were. But I also argue that if you are a white parent and have a child of color and you are living a life that doesn't include people of color, either as an adult or if your community is only children of color with other trans-racial adoptive families.
There is a message that that sends to your children about your comfort level with people of color.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thanks to my guests.
One man lighting up the night across Kenya. We'll introduce you to this week's CNN hero.
And what prompted former President George W. Bush to give up drinking? We'll tell you what his wife has to say in her new book.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Want to update your top stories right now. No quick fix to the gulf oil spill. Officials revealed today that cold water and high pressure combined to cause major technical problems as a large steel dome was lowered over the leak. BP said it could take several days to work out a possible solution. An estimated 5,000 barrels of oil have been escaping every day fouling thousands of square miles of the gulf.
A final farewell to a murdered University of Virginia lacrosse player today. Funeral services were held in Baltimore for Yeardley Love, who was found beaten to death in her off campus apartment on Monday. A player on the Virginia men's lacrosse team is charge with killing her. Both the men's and women's teams will play in the NCAA tournament set to begin next weekend.
Europe's travel headaches may not be over. At least 19 airports shut down in Spain today, because of ash spewing from that volcano in Iceland. Those closures include the country's second biggest hub in Barcelona. The ash plume extends up to 35,000 feet. Unfortunately, disruptions are expected to continue on Sunday.
When the night falls across rural Kenya, more than 27 million people who live without electricity are plunged right into darkness. Children trying to escape generations of poverty strain to see their school books. But our new CNN hero of the week, Evans Wadongo, is providing lights for thousands for free.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
EVANS WADONGO, CNN HERO OF THE WEEK: I have problems with my eyesight due to prolonged exposure to smoke. We bend that around. I had to use firewood to study as a child. I grew up in a small village in western part of Kenya. These families are so poor, they don't have electricity. It is only kerosene and firewood, they use for lighting, cooking. It is very, very frustrating. I couldn't compete effectively with other kids who have access to lighting. A lot of kids just drop out of school. They remain poor for the rest of their life.
My name is Evans Wadongo. And when I made the first lantern, I thought I must find a way of using solar to light up rural homes. I was so overwhelmed. I knew the impact that the lantern would have on rural communities.
(SINGING)
The amount of money that every household uses to buy kerosene every day, if they can just save that money, they can be able to buy food. Come on. All along I've been skipping at least two meals a day so that I can construct the lamps. But I want to do more. It gives me satisfaction knowing that I'm lifting people out of poverty. I just feel like it is right.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And Evans Wadongo's work has brought light into more than 10,000 rural Kenyan homes for free.
To nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to CNN.com/Heroes.
His battle with the bottle has long been reported. So what made former President George W. Bush finally give up drinking for good? The former First Lady Laura Bush tells the story.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know, he was the kind of president that many Americans said they wanted to just have a beer with, except George W. Bush quit hitting the sauce for good, really, back in 1986. Now his wife is telling exactly what led him to stop drinking. And CNN's Jeanne Moos looks at the revelations in Laura Bush's new book.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (voice-over): Remember how everyone used to watch George Bush with an eagle eye whenever he had a glass in his hand to see if this former drinker would let the champagne glass touch his lips, wondering what exactly was in the bottle.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "JOURNEYS WITH GEORGE," COURTESY HBO)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nonalcoholic beer.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let's check it out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Well, now Laura Bush has spilled the Beam -- the Jim beam. She was promoting her book, telling Oprah --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE OPRAH WINFREY SHOW," COURTESY HARPO PRODUCTIONS)
LAURA BUSH, FORMER FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Drinking was a very accepted part of our social life in Midland.
OPRAH WINFREY, HOST: You said the three Bs, he did the three Bs.
BUSH: And he liked to drink beer, bourbon and B&B.
(END VIDEO CLIP) MOOS (on camera): Can I get a B&B?
What's in a B&B?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Brandy and Benedictine.
MOOS (voice-over): Actually, that makes four Bs -- beer, bourbon, brandy and Benedictine.
In the movie "W." George Bush was portrayed drinking bottles, cans, shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "W," COURTESY EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Two more shots.
I'd love to celebrate.
Come on, honey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Dancing on the bar, crashing the car, fighting with George Bush, Sr.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "W," COURTESY EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My advice to you, Junior, get yourself to an A.A. meeting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: The movie may or may not have exaggerated, but it got one part right, about how George Bush stopped drinking. Laura Bush told Oprah they'd gone with friends to celebrate their 40th birthdays in Colorado Springs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "OPRAH WINFREY," COURTESY HARPO PRODUCTIONS)
L. BUSH: And we had the, you know, wild drunken weekend. And it was no different than from any other weekend.
WINFREY: Where you say you heard the same toast.
L. BUSH: The same toast over and over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "W," COURTESY EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED PEOPLE: Happy birthday, dear George.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "OPRAH WINFREY," COURTESY HARPO PRODUCTIONS)
L. BUSH: Then George just woke up and -- and knew he wanted to quit. And he stopped. And he was able to stop.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "W," COURTESY EMPEROR MOTION PICTURES)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you all right there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, I can't go on like this. I'm through.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Through what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drinking.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, COURTESY WTVD)
GEORGE W. BUSH, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I quit drinking in '86.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS (on camera): George Bush goes cold turkey on Wild Turkey.
(voice-over) Laura Bush says she never delivered an ultimatum, that she never said the line sometimes attributed to her: "It's either Jim Beam or me."
(on camera) I've joked that George quit the next day because he got the bar bill.
(voice-over) George Bush may have stopped, but the jokes didn't.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON," COURTESY CBS)
CRAIG FERGUSON, HOST: There are rumors in this country that President Bush is drinking again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I thanked the leaders. Listen, I called them on the phone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Taking shots at a guy no longer drinking shots.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM "THE LATE LATE SHOW WITH CRAIG FERGUSON," COURTESY CBS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Strategizing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: NASCAR racer, figure skater, basketball player, comedian Will Ferrell is now sporting a new look. Minor league baseball player.
What is with the stash, Will?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You know the saying, "Spare the rod, spoil a child." In Dallas, there is a push to return the rod, well, the paddle anyway. Five years ago, the Dallas Independent School District banned paddling. But now one tutor wants to bring back what's called licks. That's what lick is.
He says just the threat of it keeps kids in line, and teachers agree. Let's ask one who just recovered from a knee injury courtesy of a second grader's shoe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIMBERLY LINDSEY, DALLAS TEACHER: We have students that don't take teachers seriously. They are send on referrals to the office and sent back, and it's like a joke to them.
GILBERT LEAL, CREATOR, BRINGBACKLICKS.COM: The psychology of it, that the threat of licks, I think that is what so is so effective.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Worked for me. The "Dallas Morning News," reports suspensions in Dallas schools have surge since the district ended paddling.
Movie makers strive for realism, right? But here is a case of a movie scene may be being a bit too realistic. It's in New York. It's in Nasser County. Police race to a convenience store, where people were waving guns as part of a scene in a movie being filmed. Someone should have told the cops who made an unexpected cameo not realizing that the situation wasn't real. The filmmaker wasn't charge with any crimes, but they could be bill for the police manpower wasted on the false alarm.
Remember "Talladega Nights." After "Talladega Nights," "Semi- Pro," and "Blades of Glory." Actor Will Ferrell is no stranger to sports comedies, right? But this one played out before a live audience at a minor league baseball game in Texas. Look, he's got a beard, wearing mustache. Ferrell or his alter ego, rather, his name is Billy Ray Rojo Johnson, made his professional debut with the Round Rock Express in the sixth inning, but it didn't last long. He was ejected out of here, after throwing a wild pitch and fighting with the ump. He even gave a post game press conference.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILL FERRELL, AKA BILLY RAY "ROJO" JOHNSON: Mentally, I feel like I have the strength of ten men after that. Anyway, I thought Nashville showed a lot of stuff tonight. They've got a lot of moxie. Especially number -- who is the one guy? War?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thor.
FERRELL: Four, not a lot of physical talent but he sees the whole field. If I do retire it will be near my family's ranch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is that?
FERRELL: Waco. You know, it is funny. I have only been here about seven minutes, and already you guys feel like a family.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Billy Ray Rojo, everybody.
I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you back here tomorrow night. Have a great evening, everyone.
