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Taliban Tied to Times Square; Race to Stop Oil Leak; Next Supreme Court Justice

Aired May 09, 2010 - 19:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Faisal Shahzad the man suspected of leaving a failed car bomb in Times Square last weekend might not have acted alone after all, after initial speculation that he was acting solo. The Obama administration now believes he got guidance and assistance from the Taliban in Pakistan.

I want you to listen to presidential assistant, John Brennan, earlier today right here on CNN's "State of the Union."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, WHITE HOUSE COUNTERTERRORISM ADVISER: It looks like he was working on behalf of the Tariqi Taliban Pakistan (ph), the TTP, as the Pakistan Taliban. This is the group that is closely allied with al Qaeda. He has traveled back and forth to Pakistan a number of times over the years and he returned to the United States in February. And it's again, looking like the TTP was responsible for this attempt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And CNN's Reza Sayah has been tracking the alleged Taliban connection for us from Islamabad.

REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, this is definitely news Pakistani officials did not want to hear. This is something they wanted to do without but obviously that's not on option anymore. Of course, last week, Faisal Shahzad had came out and told U.S. investigators that it was the Pakistani Taliban who trained him in Pakistan's Waziristan region.

Up until Sunday, U.S. officials had used a very cautious tone in talking about the possibility in the involvement of the Pakistani Taliban. But that changed on Sunday when U.S. officials came out and explicitly stated their position and their position is that the Pakistani Taliban was involved in this attempted bombing in New York on Sunday.

President Barack Obama's adviser for Homeland Security spoke to CNN. Here's what he had to say about the Pakistani Taliban link.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENNAN: The case is still evolving, ongoing investigation, as you know. Mr. Shahzad is in custody. He is being cooperative as far as responding to our questions. It looks like he was working on behalf of the Tariqi Taliban Pakistan, the TTP, that's the Pakistan Taliban. This is a group that is closely allied with al Qaeda.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAYAH: Also on Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, came out and said the Pakistani Taliban was involved in this attempted bombing in New York. She also had a very stern message for Pakistan. She said she expects more cooperation from the country against terrorism. And she also said there will be severe consequences if, indeed, a successful attack on U.S. soil was traced back to Pakistan.

Of course, Islamabad and Washington have had a very rocky relationship. Expect that relationship to be tested as pressure mounts on Pakistan to do more against militants -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Reza, thank you very much.

Pulling off an attempted attack like the one in Times Square took time, money and planning. And CNN's national correspondent, Susan Candiotti, is working that part of the story for us from New York.

Susan what have you learned about how much this kind of operation cost? Travel, training, bomb parts it all adds up?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It does Don, you know, we've been pulling a lot of that together over the past week. You know the homeland security adviser that you just heard from, John Brennan, is confirmed to us that he has received -- that Shahzad received training and money from the people that he visited within in Pakistan.

But in the big scheme of things, we discovered over the past week, when you pull it all together, that Shahzad really didn't spend all that much money when you think about it. So aside from the prepaid cell phone that he was using -- I don't know exactly how much he paid for that -- reportedly he spent about $3,600 in rent from the time he returned from Pakistan to Connecticut, back in February.

And that we have pulled together other information, for example, he bought a semiautomatic rifle back in March for about $400. He spent just about $100 for those M-88 fireworks that he used to put together this contraption that he put in the SUV. A couple of five- gallon gas cans; maybe those cost about $30 with gasoline in them for those. Two propane tanks that you use on a barbecue grill, that's about $150. And that used SUV that he bought on Craigslist, he paid $1,300 in cash.

And there was that last minute one way ticket to Dubai from JFK before he was caught; well, that cost him about $880. And that adds up to a total of just under $7,500. So as you can see it wasn't a ton of money, at least that's what we know of so far.

And you know, if our viewers, Don, are wondering why you haven't seen the suspect in court yet, well, it's because he's still talking. And in fact, Brennan confirmed that again today. He's still talking with investigators and so they're in no hurry to get him into court. He's been Mirandized but he's still giving them information so there's no need to move things along and get him before a judge at this time.

LEMON: I was wondering that myself. And it's going to be, you know the first pictures that we see of him, video, pictures or otherwise, is going to be really interesting. Thank you, Susan Candiotti.

Let's turn now to the Gulf of Mexico because crews haven't given up on that massive oil containment dome. So far, the massive four- story structure hasn't worked as planned and tens of thousands of gallons of oil are still leaking every single day.

Our David Mattingly is standing by now for us in Venice, Louisiana. What are they doing to make this dome work?

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, they're stepping back and they're going to see what they can do to correct this problem that they ran into. It's a problem called hydrates. That's what happens when gas combines with water down at the bottom where there's a lot of pressure and a lot of cold temperatures, it creates crystals sort of like ice. And it's creating almost like a slush inside the dome, making it buoyant because these crystals are lighter than water.

It was also clogging the dome up. So they wouldn't have been able to use it if it was clogged. So they set it aside and now they're trying to figure out how to attack these hydrates. They're going to either try to find a way to put a heat source down there at the bottom to heat up the environment and get rid of those crystals or perhaps inject some kind of chemical into the water down there to make these crystals dissolve.

But their choice right now is to try and fix this problem and make the dome work before they seek out any other alternatives.

LEMON: Let's talk now David, about the impact on wildlife there because that -- that area really depends on the ocean and many people for their livelihoods.

MATTINGLY: Several birds have been brought in that have been affected by this oil spill; a couple had been killed but several have been rescued. In fact, last night we saw a brown pelican that was brought in by a ship's crew here at the docks. And this thing was absolutely covered with oil. It was dripping when they took it out of the container and took it away to be cleaned.

But fortunately, there is a very good ending to this story; a small happy ending to this big disaster here. That pelican was actually cleaned and is now being rehabilitated and will eventually be released back into the wild.

LEMON: And that's a Louisiana pelican, the state bird. So they want to make sure that they keep all the wildlife safe. But it just shows you how apropos that it's a pelican.

Thank you very much, David Mattingly. We appreciate your reporting all week for this story -- on this story.

Meantime, different views on the risk of cancer from our food and water: the American Cancer Society accuses a government panel of making too much of its findings.

Also, who will it be? Waiting for word on the President's choice to replace Supreme Court Justice Stevens. And Wall Street jitters after last week's freefall, remember that, everyone was nervous. What's being done to prevent it from happening again? And we're going to look forward to next week.

And don't just sit there. Really, we want you to be part of the conversation. I've been talking to people on Twitter and Facebook during the break. Make sure you follow us and then make sure you check out our blog as well at CNN.com/Don. We want to hear from you, we like it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Washington is on political alert tonight ready and waiting for any sign that President Obama is going to announce his nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. The president's spokesman said Friday, "we can expect to hear about the president's pick at any moment," that's quoted, "Any moment."

So CNN's Kate Bolduan is standing by for us in Washington D.C. Hi, Kate, where do things stand at this hour?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Don. Well, right now it is as it always is really a bit of a waiting game but we are getting indications from people close to the selection process that a decision from the White House from the President is expected this week as early as Monday, as early as tomorrow.

And we know that President Obama has really gotten near the end of this decision-making process. He has personally met with and interviewed the four people that are really talked about as the leading candidates for the spot. Vice President Biden has also separately met with these same candidates.

But this is an announcement that is always traditionally and always kept very quiet. And this time is no different.

Listen here to Attorney General Eric Holder this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID GREGORY, NBC NEWS HOST, "MEET THE PRESS": The president will make this decision, will announce this decision as soon as when?

ERIC HOLDER, U.S. ATTORNEY GENERAL: I think the decision will be announced very shortly. The President has had a wealth of good candidates to consider and I think he's looking for a person who will understand that we have to have a Supreme Court that understands its decisions and the impact those decisions have on the American -- the average American person. GREGORY: An announcement tomorrow?

HOLDER: I think we'll going to have an announcement very soon.

GREGORY: Very soon, as early as tomorrow, is that fair?

HOLDER: I'd say we're going to have one very soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BOLDUAN: Now, this is no doubt, one of the biggest decisions or at least one of the longest-lasting decisions that any President can make. They call it his longest-lasting legacy. And why is that? Well, the person that is picked to fill this Supreme Court seat will touch American lives and affect American lives for years, possibly decades, after President Obama leaves office, Don. And that's why there's so much at stake and so many people are waiting to find out who that person is.

LEMON: Tell us a little bit about the top candidates. Because I know you know something about them.

BOLDUAN: Yes, absolutely, well, the leading candidates, they really represent a diverse group of people with diverse backgrounds they include two women and two men.

The current Solicitor General, Elena Kagan as well as Federal Appellate Court Judges, Diane Wood out of Chicago, Merrick Garland out of D.C. and Sidney Thomas from Montana.

Now, they really represent -- really shorthanded Don, but some represents the insider's insider. The perfect pedigree, East Coast, you know, what we traditionally see of Supreme Court nominees. But they also have people like Diane Wood. She's from Houston; she did not attend an Ivy League law school, which is very unusual. No one on the -- no one she would be serving on bench with could say that. She chose the University of Texas.

So this represents a very diverse group but it also represents a group of people that some may have a tough confirmation process. But first, we have to find out who this person is. And that's the point of course.

LEMON: You're right on that. And you stand by, stand by there. Don't go far from the camera --

BOLDUAN: We will.

LEMON: Because you never know. They said at any moment, thank you, Kate.

BOLDUAN: Of course.

LEMON: We want to get some more perspective really on all of this talk about the President finding -- really finally having his choice. Jeffrey Rosen joins me now from the nation's capital. He is the legal affairs editor of the "The New Republic" and a professor at George Washington University.

Professor, Elena Kagan is getting all the attention. What do you think? Do you think she's the President's choice?

JEFFREY ROSEN, PROFESSOR, GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY: The word was that she was on Friday. Mike Allen from Politico reported it very confidently. The White House said that was premature. That's the buzz but of course, these things can change at any minute.

LEMON: Yes. Listen, here's the thing. Let's jump off of this for one quick thing and we'll talk more about that. My question is though, if you heard the secretary of state a couple of weeks ago when someone asked her, did you ever think about becoming a Supreme Court justice and she said, no, I don't want to do it. Well, who would you pick? What advice would you give the President?

She said, "I think he should shake it by picking someone who's young; someone who's young to bring some young ideas, some new, fresh ideas." These people -- not that they're old, don't get me wrong -- but they aren't necessarily what you would think 20, 30-somethings.

ROSEN: Well it's really true. And, of course, Elena Kagan is considered the youngster of the bunch about to turn 50. But Clarence Thomas was appointed when he was 43. You could imagine someone part of the generation that actually elected Obama and had a different sensibility. Now it's pretty hard to establish enough of a legal reputation at that point so Elena Kagan hadn't done too badly in a short time. But an even younger person could be interesting, too.

LEMON: Let's talk about the political pressure now facing the President. Republicans want, you know, a so-called moderate but the political left wants a solid liberal to replace Justice Stevens.

ROSEN: It's true and one of the most interesting political dynamics is that, say it is Elena Kagan, she's had some interesting serious opposition on the left. There have been some liberal law professors that said that she would move the court to the right of Justice Stevens. That she's too conservative on issues like enemy combatants and terrorism.

And basically, whether they'll support her or not isn't so clear. Now her supporters say this is very much unfair. She is so able. She's so basically progressive and she's so able to win over Justice Kennedy that in the end she would be a liberal leader.

And President Obama must have calculated that the Republicans he'll win over and indeed many of them have already said she's confirmable are more important than the kind progressives who are concerned about her. But this fission on the left is actually an interesting development.

LEMON: The safe bet everyone is saying is going to be Elena Kagan, but we shall see. Jeffrey Rosen, thank you very much. And again, I'm going to tell you, don't go far from the camera as well because we may be needing you in our hours here on CNN. Appreciate it, again.

ROSEN: Good to talk to you.

LEMON: Economic woes that have incited riots overseas and a freefall on Wall Street. Can we expect financial fallout this week? That is the question.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time now for top stories.

Defense Secretary Robert Gates says the Military must cut wasteful spending. Gates told a Kansas audience, in this era of economic strain, the Pentagon is going to have to tighten its belt like everyone else. He ordered the Military to find savings of 2 to 3 percent, at least $10 billion in the Pentagon's roughly $550 billion budget.

In Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai met today with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. She's leading a Congressional delegation on a visit to the country this weekend. Earlier they met with U.S. troops and top Military commanders in the country.

The death toll has risen from the floods that devastated Tennessee last week. Emergency management officials say 23 people were killed. The federal government has declared 42 counties disaster areas. And in Nashville alone, the damage has been tallied at more than $1.5 billion.

We turn now to our Jacqui Jeras to tell us about what's happening in that area. The storm -- it may be getting some more bad weather there tomorrow.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, it's been a week since those floodwaters began to rise, Don, and the best thing that we can tell you is that those waters have receded and you've had a full week of dry weather. Now we're expecting showers and thundershowers to return to the forecast for Nashville.

What you see on the radar picture today, no big deal. It really won't be impacting you. But tomorrow we have a storm system which is developing in the southwest. It will make its way towards the Plain States and we'll see more widespread showers and thunderstorms.

We don't think it will be too big of a deal for you in Nashville, but west of there, a slight risk in the light red area. Moderate risk here and what that means is that we could see some significant severe weather breaking out large, violent tornados which stay on the ground for a long period of time from Oklahoma City stretching up to near Kansas City and then areas on off to the east. This is a very vigorous system. It has all of those elements that we look for when we're forecasting severe weather. Now ahead of the system we have a lot of cool air in place, so cold that we've got frost and freeze advisories in effect and this includes much of the Great Lakes and into the northeastern quarter. Temperatures in the mid 20s to mid 30s, so if you've planted your garden already, you might want to cover up anything that is growing. Now, that cold air is being ushered in by some very strong winds.

And take a look at these pictures from Troy, New York where winds blew down some power lines on top of a home and very quickly started a fire. Those winds then whipped the flames to the home next door; so a very sad situation, two families homeless tonight. But thankfully, nobody was injured in this.

Those winds have been gusting between 30 and 45 miles per hour. They've also been causing some problems at the airports. We've got delays more than three hours now at JFK. But you also have problems because of your runway issues going on there. Newark: over an hour, 40 minutes at New York LaGuardia airport.

We also have problems if you're flying over the trans-Atlantic because of that ash cloud out there still, don. We had some more flights that were cancelled on Sunday. Winds more northerly; we think they'll be lighter and variable over the next couple of days but say, come Tuesday into Wednesday, stronger winds again.

So we're going to have to watch this European airspace as that threat continues to loom out there -- Don.

LEMON: You're a pro. I know you're going to be watching Jacqui. Thank you very much for that.

LEMON: More troubles for Tiger Woods; this time, forcing him to withdraw today from a big tournament in Florida. We'll tell you what prompted him to drop out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Let's talk some politics now and the anti- Washington mood that is erupting in parts of this country. Utah Republicans basically fired their conservative three-term senator, Robert Bennett yesterday. He came in third in a three-man race at the state party convention for the right to enter the GOP primary.

And our political editor, Mr. Mark Preston joins me right now. Mark, tell me why this is a big deal here?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, as you said, a very anti-incumbent moment we saw yesterday in Utah. Bob Bennett, the consummate insider here on Capitol Hill. In fact, he was the council to the Republican leader Mitch McConnell. He gets drummed out of office because conservative activists back home, Don, didn't think he was conservative enough.

Bob Bennett, a very conservative senator but it just goes to show you that the conservative activists are energized and when they have an opportunity to take out an incumbent, they took him out. LEMON: All right. You know, we've been talking here a lot about President Obama's big decision about the Supreme Court nominee. But the Republicans are getting ready to make a big decision, too. What is it?

PRESONT: Big, big decision made on Wednesday, Don; a big economic decision, a big political decision. The Republican National Committee will decide or at least, they'll be one step closer to deciding what city will host their convention in 2012.

Now if you look back at the Minneapolis-St. Paul convention in 2008, the Republican National Committee says that $170 million was pumped into that local economy. And in fact, some other stats say 45,000 people actually went to that area during the six days of the convention.

Now a panel will decide on Wednesday what their recommendation is. It will have to be ratified later this summer but I can't imagine that whatever city they choose, whether it's Phoenix, Salt Lake City or Tampa Bay, won't be ratified later this summer.

LEMON: What do you mean by that?

PRESTON: Meaning that the full Republican National Committee will have to sign off on it. But basically what happens in a couple of days, on Wednesday when the special committee which has been touring all these cities makes its recommendation, I believe the recommendation will stick.

LEMON: Ok. What do you think -- and you know, Phoenix, obviously has the issue with some people are saying that you should boycott Phoenix or what have you. Would that be in some way, an incentive for conservatives because there are some conservatives, even though some have spoken out, who like this new law?

PRESTON: Sure. But it would also be a disincentive to actually go to a place that is considered very controversial. Remember during the five or six days of this, a political party doesn't want to show that there's division within its party. So I think that might be a knock against Phoenix.

f you look at Salt Lake City they're a western city. That's a plus for them as is Phoenix. And then of course, Florida is always a very important state.

LEMON: They want to show cohesion; one message coming out of the convention.

Thank you very much Mark Preston. See you at 10:00. Ok.

PRESTON: Thanks Don.

LEMON: Children in crisis in Haiti, orphaned by the devastating earthquake many are now being sold into slavery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Someone bought you for $12? Do you ever think about that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Our Soledad O'Brien's investigation on the effort to save them, when we come back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It has been almost four months since Haiti's catastrophic earthquake. While the story is gone from the headlines, it's a story that we never stop covering here on CNN especially it's impact on Haiti's children. The quake left 380,000 of them without parents, a growing number are now being sold into slavery. A frightening prospect which spurs someone who lived through that horror years before the earthquake to come to their rescue.

And CNN's Soledad O'Brien has his story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Marc Kenson Olibris works in the guest house here in the Maison des Enfants, an orphanage in Haiti. He is helping raise abandoned children just like himself.

Marc Kenson was born in a rural Haitian village called Cap Haitian a place with wrenching poverty. Life was so desperate that his father sold him and his sister to a stranger. They became child slaves. Restovic, literally, the Creole words for "stay with."

(on camera): Were you a restovic, a child slave?

MARC KENSON OLIBRIS, SOLD INTO SLAVERY: OK.

(through translator): Yes.

O'BRIEN: And your sister?

OLIBRIS: The same.

O'BRIEN (voice-over): Marc Kenson was nine and his sister was six. How much money did the woman who paid your parents, how much did she pay for you?

OLIBRIS: Me and my sister?

O'BRIEN: Yes. You and Mona (ph).

OLIBRIS: $120.

O'BRIEN: $120 Haitian dollars?

OLIBRIS: Right. O'BRIEN: Which is like $10 or $12 U.S.?

OLIBRIS: Yes.

O'BRIEN: Someone bought you for $12? Do you ever think about that?

OLIBRIS: I'm just -

O'BRIEN: It doesn't make you mad or angry?

(voice-over): Marc Kenson's not angry because he says he understands his parents desperation. Haiti had an 85 percent unemployment rate even before the earthquake. Marc Kenson's path to the lighthouse began in one of Haiti's worst slums.

OLIBRIS (through translator): This is where I used to live.

O'BRIEN: We are looking for the woman who kept him as a slave.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Marc Kenson survived his ordeal as an orphan but hundreds of thousands of children are still in desperate need of rescue. So see for yourself in Soledad O'Brien's documentary coming up immediately after this newscast, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

We want to check your top stories right now. The Taliban is now believed to be behind last weekend's failed car bombing in Times Square. The Obama administration says Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen from Pakistan received training and support from the Taliban in Pakistan. Taliban spokesman in Pakistan deny the connection with Shahzad. But say they support what he did and vow similar attacks in the future. U.S. officials confirm Shahzad is still talking to investigators.

Words of wisdom for the class of 2010 from the commander-in-chief himself today. President Barack Obama gave a commencement speech at Virginia's Hampton University. Hampton is a historically black university and the president used his speech to call for higher achievements among all minority students.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You're in a strong position to outcompete workers around the world. But I don't have to tell you that too many folks back home aren't as well prepared. Too many young people just like you, are not as well prepared by any number of different yardsticks.

African-Americans are being outperformed by their white classmates as are Hispanic Americans. Student in well-off areas are outperforming students in poor, rural or urban communities no matter what skin color.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: The president also said that all Americans must make sure every child gets the education needed to compete in today's global economy.

New trouble for Tiger Woods. This time, it's on the golf course though. He withdrew from a tournament in Florida complaining of a sore neck. Woods says he may have a bulging disc and he plans to have an MRI next week. The only time Woods mentioned his neck before today was at his master's tournament, that news conference when he described it as pretty sore after his now infamous car accident.

A Georgia eighth grader accidentally takes a knife to school in a bag he had taken on a fishing trip. The knife falls out. The boy turns it into the principal's office and then finds himself handcuffed in a police car.

CNN education contributor Steve Perry examines the case and what's being done to prevent this in the future in this edition of "Perry's Principles."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELI MOHONE, ARRESTED UNDER ZERO-TOLERANCE POLICY: I get to school and it was like a regular day. I went to read and one of my friends told me, is that yours? And when I looked down, there was a knife on the ground and it was mine.

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): Following school policy, Eli said he voluntarily turned his own knife into school administration.

AIMEE HENSLER, ELI MOHONE'S MOTHER: 8:34 I received a call saying mama, the bag you gave me had a knife in it. It was the bag that he had taken fishing two weeks prior and I didn't look in it because we were so rushed. And it had fallen out in school.

MOHONE: Usually when they find something like this, they send them to jail and the parents don't know about it.

PERRY: Eli Mohone, a middle schooler, a good kid from a small town who had never been in trouble with the law, became a victim of Georgia's zero policy weapons policy.

HENSLER: It as basically like standing outside your body watching as this was going on. I mean, I never imagined seeing him in handcuffs and put at the back of a police car.

PERRY: Aimee Hensler was told that her son would stay in prison from Thursday through the weekend. With no money to hire a lawyer, Aimee contacted state senator, Emanuel Jones.

EMANUEL JONES, GEORGIA STATE SENATOR: I spoke to the principal at the school who said this shouldn't have happened. Immediately I started getting the sheriff's department and I called, eventually wound up calling the DA. PERRY: Originally created to protect students from violence inside schools. The zero tolerance policy doesn't allow schools to make individual decisions based on context or intent. Jones pre- filed legislation in November of 2009 to remove the "zero" from zero tolerance. The Georgia Senate House's approved the bill was passed and it awaits the governor's signature.

The new law gives more latitude to schools and the legal system.

Steve Perry, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Steve, thank you very much.

A second opinion over a new study warning about the cancer risks from chemicals in our food and water. We'll tell you why the American Cancer Society is questioning the impetus the study is getting.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tomorrow will hopefully bring a fresh start to the financial markets of a volatile week, both here and abroad. In the past few days, we have seen riots over Greece's plan to slash spending, to pull out of a financial tailspin and ripples from Greece are being felt in the U.S. markets which is enough problems of its own.

On Thursday, the Dow fell nearly 1,000 points after what was perceived to be a technical glitch. Joining us via Skype to help make sense of all of this is Rick Newman. He is the chief business correspondent for "U.S. News and World Report." So how concerned should investors be as they wait for the opening bell tomorrow morning?

RICK NEWMAN, CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, "U.S. NEWS AND WORLD REPORT": I don't think we'll see this pandemonium we saw last Thursday and Friday. But I think this is a gut-check moment for investors, Don. You know, even before these problems in Europe really started to affect our stock markets, you know, a lot of analysts thought that the stock market had this really great run since last March.

I mean, a historic run, up something like 75 percent. A lot of analysts have been saying that the stock market is just a little far ahead of the broader economy and you know, there's a good chance that it's going to flatten out just on its own. And then we had these problems with Greece. We've had some action this weekend to secure that bailout for Greece but at this point it seems that investors are not so much worried about Greece anymore, but they're worried about other nations we've been hearing about like Spain, Portugal and Ireland and so on. And -

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Can we talk a little bit more about that. You know, Rick, pardon me. But can we talk a little bit more about that? Because we've been reporting here that President Obama called the German and the French leaders who are working with the EU to develop that stability mechanism. That's what they call it, for the euro in the wake of that Greek crisis. So what is the main concern for American investors in this particular situation?

NEWMAN: This is interesting, Don. I mean, American investors mainly want stability at this point and I think they want to make sure that there is not something that starts to look like a run over in Europe. That's very hard to predict. You know, if these other countries, you know, the Greece situation is under control for now.

But the real concern is whether it goes to these other countries. You know, I think it's going to be kind of a slow-motion evolution until all of a sudden something can happen. But you know, the interesting thing is that this has actually driven down long term interest rates here. And you know, people thought mortgage rates, for instance, were about to go on their way up and all of a sudden, they've started to go down.

So if - for anybody who is looking to lock in a mortgage or anything like that, money is cheap right now. So that's actually a way to take advantage of all this chaos.

LEMON: Rick Newman, chief business correspondent for "U.S. News and World Report." Thank you, sir. We're all going to be watching the markets tomorrow morning.

NEWMAN: Sure. Thanks, Don.

LEMON: All right. Does a new warning about cancer go too far? That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So listen. So this is a bit controversial. A new report on cancer in America is drawing fire from an unexpected place and that's the American Cancer Society. The report by the President's Cancer Panel focuses on suspected carcinogens in the environment such as pesticides and x-rays.

The American Cancer Society says those risks are minimal compared to smoking and obesity. And the chairman of the President's Cancer Panel stands by the report saying "This is an even-handed approach and an even-handed report. We didn't make statements that should not be made." Dr. Otis Brawley is the chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society and we reached out to him. And I should add that we reached out to the President's Cancer Panel as well but no one got back to us.

So here's the question, Dr. Brawley, tell us why you think this report - I don't know, would you say it misses the mark? You don't want to say it's completely wrong?

DR. OTIS BRAWLEY, CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER, AMERICAN CANCER SOCIETY: No. It's not completely wrong. And first off, I have tremendous respect for both members of the President's Cancer Panel and indeed I idolize both of them. I think though that they said some things that sort of exaggerate, perhaps, the point. They make good points.

I don't want to trivialize it. Yes, environmental causes of cancer do exist. We need to get that message out. But we need to get that message out and not de-emphasize the fact that there are a number of other things that cause cancer that we can change. Environmental causes such as diet. You know, we have an obesity epidemic that is causing a cancer epidemic right now. We need to get that message out as well.

LEMON: And you know, you're very passionate about this. You're here in Atlanta and I love speaking to you every time there's a story involving cancer. You're very knowledgeable here. You said there are - you know, the old saying, there are bigger problems. Is that sort of what you're saying here with this?

BRAWLEY: Absolutely. You know, when I took my kids to school on Friday morning, a woman talked to me about her kids. She puts their lunch in a plastic container. She's worried -

LEMON: Now she's worried about it?

BRAWLEY: Right. She's worried about the theoretical possibility that an unknown chemical in that plastic can cause cancer.

LEMON: I know where you're going with this.

BRAWLEY: I'm looking at what's in the container and I'm worried about that (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: What kind of food she's eating?

BRAWLEY: Yes.

LEMON: That's -

BRAWLEY: Exactly.

LEMON: You think that's more important? Not that you should blow off the whole - what the canister in the plastic. But what's more important, you said, is what's in the box and they put in their body?

BRAWLEY: Exactly. I'm not at all discounting environmental causes of cancer. We need to pay attention to them. We need to do more research in them. The study actually noted that research for this sort of thing has gone down over the last decade and I agree. We need to get back into that.

LEMON: How would you have worded this particular study? And what would you have said about it?

BRAWLEY: I would have said many of the exact same things, however, I would have not said that it was an overwhelming cause of cancer. It probably causes at least five percent of the cancers that we have out there. I would have noted a little bit more that there's tremendous uncertainty.

There are a lot of things that are not known about environmental causes of cancer. And we need to do research to find those answers.

LEMON: OK. Let's talk about this. And I want to go through them quickly here because you said, there's precautionary principle, explain that. What does that mean?

BRAWLEY: Well, the precautionary principle is you should warn people that there are things out there that may cause cancer. You know, I actually agree, that we should warn people that there are things that may cause cancer, especially when we have high evidence that they do.

LEMON: How big a risk for carcinogens? How big a risk do they pose? Environmental.

BRAWLEY: Well, the carcinogens are everywhere. It's impossible to live a carcinogen free-life.

LEMON: All right. And you - this is very interesting. Can you say, you don't have to buy organic and all that, just make sure what you buy is clean and washed.

BRAWLEY: I am much more concerned that kids and adults eat five to nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day that have been washed off with tap water than they spend extra money to get organic fruits and vegetables, which they actually not have less pesticides than the normal fruits and vegetables.

LEMON: Dr. Otis Brawley, thank you very much and happy mother's day to all the mothers in your family.

BRAWLEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you very much.

And you know, for all of those who really complain about the government has run out of touch, is out of touch, as you say with politicians, I give you Rachel Lester. You're going to love this little girl. She's amazing. Just 15 years old. Rachel has just been elected as the youngest member of the South Robertson Neighborhood Council in Los Angeles. She beat out a college-educated family man with her unique campaign on Facebook, the type of fresh perspective she hopes will change politicians' old way of thinking. And I talked with her on a recent assignment in Los Angeles. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON (on camera): Why did you want to do this?

RACHEL LESTER, 15-YEAR-OLD ELECTED TO COUNCIL: I just - we saw a flier on our door for South Robertson Neighborhood Council and at the bottom, it said, you can be 15 to run. And I thought, if any 15-year- old can do it, why can't it be me. LEMON: A lot of people get flyers under their door, not many 15- year-olds would say I want to run for council. That was it, just why can't it be you?

LESTER: I always love to be involved with things that I care about and what better place to start than the community that I live in.

LEMON: No one said, "oh, you're too young. You're a kid. You don't know what's going on?"

LESTER: I got a little of that from some adults that have watched politics for a while. But for the most part, everyone just thought - everyone thought it was a really cool thing.

LEMON: So they've been accepting?

LESTER: Yes.

LEMON: You're the youngest. Who's next, do you know?

LESTER: Early 30s.

LEMON: And then do you know the oldest? No.

LESTER: I don't know. 60s?

LEMON: 60s. All right. You'll help advise a little bit, right?

SHERRI LESTER, RACHEL'S MOM: You know, I trust Rachel. You know, I think that she's really insightful and bright and I think that she doesn't need a lot of input from me.

LEMON: Is it overwhelming to think, like here I am 15 years old, I got to study this, I'm on the school newspaper, whatever but you're going to have to deal with some pretty serious things.

LESTER: It is a little overwhelming to think about it, first. But this isn't a legislative council. It's more of helping the community council. And that's just - my main passion is the green team. And so you don't have to be any age to be help to make the neighborhood greener. It's just a thing you can do because you want to.

LEMON: So you don't feel like a politician. You don't feel like -

LESTER: No.

LEMON: This leads to other political aspirations?

LESTER: No, this isn't really not a political adventure. This is more of just helping people.

LEMON: What's the lesson in this, you think, for other kids, other parents, people who are on either, you know, commissions or boards, trying to help the community?

SHERRI LESTER: Well, there's kind of a couple pieces here. One, there's a Jewish concept called (INAUDIBLE) and her school (INAUDIBLE) high school is really all of that about teaching that, it means to heal the world. It means that every person has a responsibility and an opportunity to bring their special gift to making the world a better place.

And so this really fit right into what she was already doing and what she was already committing to in her life. So, it was just - it was just a great thing. Rachel is very modest. If it were up to her, you know, nobody would know. But we thought this was a great opportunity to inspire other kids and also other parents.

LESTER: And just let people know so that they know they can do something for the community. Because when I had told people I was running, I don't think even one person knew what (INAUDIBLE) was before.

LEMON: What are you going to do differently a young person who may have a fresher perspective, a younger perspective to sort of help? Because you know, these people maybe like, you know, have been doing this for years and they may think there's one way to do it.

LESTER: Yes, you know, I'm not going to try to change the way they do it. But I just want to get more teenagers involved and people that are usually wouldn't even know about this and people that wouldn't think it's that important, I want to tell them it is important and get them to be involved.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Really enjoyed meeting them. Rachel begins her term on the council next month. Good luck, Rachel.

Live from New York, it's Betty White. The big payoff from the Facebook frenzy that started it all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Did you see Betty White last night? Did you see Betty White? Oh, man. She was so funny. It is a good Sunday for "Saturday Night Live" and it's because of Betty White. Last night, the 88-year- old actress guest hosted and the show posted its best ratings in more than a year. The most watched television program of the night, including prime time.

It's very apparent this Facebook page worked for her, worked in her favor, more than a half million fans campaigned for her to host "SNL." How did Betty repay them? As any comedian would, by making fun of them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY WHITE, ACTRESS: I have so many people to thank for being here. But I really have to think thank Facebook. When I first heard about the campaign to get me to host "Saturday Night Live," I didn't know what Facebook was. And now that I do know what it is, I have to say, it sounds like a huge waste of time.

90 years old.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 90. Well, that is quite an accomplishment.

WHITE: You know what's an accomplishment, staying awake on the toilet. 90.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: She was hilarious last night. Every single skit. And you know what, that just shows you the power of just having a youthful mind and not taking anything too seriously. Funny stuff. And while we're laughing, we can cheer on the man who kicked off this Facebook campaign that you're looking at right now.

His name is David Matthews and later tonight we're talking with him about his resounding social media success. So make sure you tune in tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN. And we're going to tell you about that. But again, that was so funny last night.

I couldn't sleep, I had insomnia. So I watched it and watched it again on DVR and just really laughed. Thank you, Betty White. Appreciate your spirit.

And Thank you to this woman. Put it out. I know she's been waiting the whole time. Hi, mom, momma. That's what I call her. Momma. She's a hot momma, too. Anyway, that's my mom right there. It's at my house during Christmas. Mom, happy mother's day. I love you so much. You know that. And I know you're watching there with my sisters, down in Louisiana. You guys got together for mother's day. And happy mother's day to my sister, Lisa, as well. Appreciate you guys. I love you.

I'll come see you soon. And you guys can come visit me. Anyway, bring some seafood from down there if you come visit.

Thank you, guys, so much for joining us here tonight no CNN. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

Starting right now, Soledad O'Brien's investigation "Rescued: The Children of Haiti." See you at 10.