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Sensors Now Measuring Oil; President to Return to Gulf; "Support BP" Facebook Group; 19 Dead in Arkansas Flash Floods

Aired June 13, 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: All right. So, listen. Time now for news you missed.

Each weekend we bring you some interesting news you might have missed in recent days. Here is the first story. One of the most iconic brands in America is now a bad word. General Motors has ordered everyone in the company to stop using its term "Chevy from now on." Only allowed to say Chevrolet. G.M. says the Chevy nickname causes confusion outside of the U.S. The edict does not apply to the rest of us, which means you can still drive your Chevy to the levee.

All right, you can't fight city hall, can you? But you might be able to buy Web site or, in this case the domain name for the police department. Beginning February when Brian McCreary was caught by a speed camera while passing through Bluff City, Tennessee, when he saw the police Web site had expired, he bought it. He is now using the site to inform people about speed cameras, the law and their rights.

It is Day 55 of the Gulf oil disaster. BP has been ordered to come up with a better plan by tonight. High-tech sensors had been sent down to measure exactly how much oil is flowing. That containment cap is catching some but not all of the oil.

President Barack Obama returns to the Gulf tomorrow, he'll brief the nation on Tuesday night.

Let's go right now ground and CNN's Chris Lawrence in New Orleans, Louisiana. Chris, we should finally learn exactly how much oil is coming out of that well because of the sensors that were sent down there today.

Why did it take so long for this?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it took a request from the government to BP to get those sensors down there and I think it really came out of the fact that you had this radically revised estimate just a couple of days ago. More than twice the amount of oil that they initially thought and they now believe is now gushing out of that -- out of that ruptured well.

So what happened today was BP started to put these sensors, using these underwater remote-controlled submarines to get these sensors into the containment cap itself. Now, I just spoke with a spokesman from BP. He says it is a very complex maneuver. And he said it's not a matter of just plugging them in and getting readings immediately that any information is probably is still a couple days away -- Don.

LEMON: And so listen, BP's Chief Operating Officer, Doug Suttles, said that yesterday he would have a response tonight to the government's ultimatum, what are you hearing now, Chris, if anything?

LAWRENCE: Well, tonight he's got about six hours left. It's already 6:00 here in New Orleans. So this response is going to make that 48-hour deadline and it's going to have to do so in the next few hours. It remains to be seen just how much BP could come up with in terms of new ideas in just that short amount of time but clearly the government, the Coast Guard, is showing their frustration.

Earlier today, Admiral Thad Allen said we hope that BP would respond by today, and then he correcting himself and he said, no they will respond by today.

So a little bit of frustration showing there I think the government not only wants to see a speeded up plan, a way to collect more oil faster but they also want to see some more backup plans. There's been a lot of criticism that BP is kind of lurching from one last-ditch effort to another.

And from what we've heard from the Coast Guard officials is that they want to see some redundancy in those plans, so if something goes wrong, like it has with "top kill" that there are other plans in place that they can then try a sort of Plan B.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that Chris Lawrence down in New Orleans.

And as we just mentioned, President Barack Obama returns to the Gulf tomorrow. It will be his fourth visit in 55 days.

CNN's White House correspondent Dan Lothian joins us now live from Alabama with a preview of the President's agenda.

Dan, it looks like the White House is trying to step up the perception that the President is on top of this thing.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. As you know, Don, from the very beginning, the White House has been criticized for the President not being actively engaged in this crisis, although the White House will tell you that they were there from the very beginning.

But yes, you have seen this stepped up effort, the President making three trips prior to the Gulf to Louisiana. This will be the first time that he will come to these three states to Florida, Mississippi and Alabama.

And in this trip, the President obviously wants to show that he's on top of the situation, he's engaged. He will be meeting with the local officials here but also meeting with individuals who have been impacted by this oil spill to hear their concerns.

And also to reassure them that not only with this -- the government continue to be on top of this but will make sure that BP makes them whole (ph). That they are here and will provide the money needed to help them return their lives to normal.

But he will hear stories of people who have a lot of concerns about not being able to fish or crab or just use the waters here. It is interesting. When we flew in today at the car rental counter, people were walking up and the lady who was working there said, listen, if you are planning on going to the beach, don't go into the water.

There is just a lot of concern here about a lot of money, the livelihood being lost. And so that's something the President will hear.

And then, he takes all of this back to Washington with him, where on Tuesday evening, the President will make an address to the nation, expected to last about 15 minutes. This is a prime time address.

I'm told by a senior White House official that the President obviously will talk about the crisis in general but will also have some specific themes. He'll talk about measures that need to be taken to have much stiffer regulations to make sure that the kind of accident that happened won't be repeated.

The president will talk about the economic claims and all of the other issues surrounding this oil spill, the president expected to bring up in this address on Tuesday evening.

And I asked an official why are they doing it now and they just felt with the President coming back from the Gulf it's a wonderful opportunity for him to tell -- to talk to the American people, and tell them, listen this is what I've seen this is the progress that's being made and this is what we need to do going forward -- Don.

LEMON: And Dan, you know the question is, he's going to be spending the night there and where is he going to be spending the night? Do we know?

LOTHIAN: Yes he will be -- he will be going to Pensacola, Florida. He'll be spending the night in Pensacola. In addition to everything else that he's doing here, he will be meeting with some military families as well.

LEMON: Ok.

LOTHIAN: So he is trying to pack a whole lot into this visit here to go to these different states because obviously everyone wants to feel like they are getting some attention from the President as well. We've heard in the past from people in Mississippi, who said, listen, you've been going to Louisiana, why not come here and take a look at what our situation is here -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, and that's -- and that's the reason I asked you the question -- that's the reason I asked you that, because people want to know where he is going to stay, and just to make -- to make sure we clarify that because people were concerned saying too much time in Louisiana, not time in other places.

Thank you, Dan Lothian, our White House correspondent on the ground there in Alabama for us.

And again, President Barack Obama addresses the nation on Tuesday night with the latest on the Gulf oil crisis. CNN, of course, will carry that live for you, scheduled to begin 8 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

A murder in a small town, now its residents there are rallying around the accused killer, even the victim's widow is rallying around the accused killer. That story is coming up.

Also, he is unemployed, facing felony charges and he is South Carolina's Democratic senate candidate; a political upset by a candidate who can't get the support of his own party.

And don't just sit there make sure you become part of our conversation, go to Twitter or Facebook, follow us there, also send us a message and check out my blog, CNN.com/don.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: More than 500,000 people are part of the Facebook group that wants to boycott every product under BP's brand. But get this there's also a Facebook group called support BP. Its numbers as you would expect, about 500 or so.

And yet, people against bashing BP are getting more vocal. They include New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and British Prime Minister David Cameron. They all say supporting BP is in all of our best interests. Do you agree with that?

So joining us now are Jeanine Buford, who grew up in Alabama and is the Chief Operating Officer at a nonprofit group. And then there's also Dan Zarelli, a member of the support BP Facebook group.

Dan, I'm going to start with you. You actually started a group that is supporting BP, why?

DAN ZARELLI, MEMBER, "SUPPORT BP" FACEBOOK GROUP: I just thought about it one day. I'm a free market capitalist. And I thought, you know, this is getting a little ridiculous. We are attacking -- there's people in this country that's attacking a company for not stepping up when it's evident that they are stepping up. You go to their Web site and you can see what they are doing.

And so I just searched to see if there was anything out there supporting the British Petroleum and sure enough, I found it. So I joined on June 2nd when they were about 40 people. Now, as you mentioned, there's just over 500; so our numbers are growing.

LEMON: So listen, you said -- you say that they are doing things -- that they are doing things and they are making progress but I think even more so than that, people are concerned about transparency, they don't believe that they are told everything or even the truth at all.

ZARELLI: And -- and that is a concern. And I -- I would caution BP on that as well. I think they need to make a more concerted effort. I think that they need to be down there in droves in green and yellow outfits like you see in a Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer run where they are all wearing pink, you know exactly what they are doing.

I think they need to be down there cleaning and helping and, you know, doing everything they can to be present and on every camera possible.

LEMON: Yes, so I think I hear what you're saying is that you do have some questions for them, they are not doing everything right but you feel they are the best option we have so we should get behind them?

ZARELLI: Yes.

LEMON: So hold -- hold that thought.

Jeanine, get this out of the way, first before we start, before I start with you. You don't work for BP. You're not part of its PR operation. So why are you saying that people should support BP?

JEANINE BUFORD, AGAINST BOYCOTTING BP: Well, I would characterize my position maybe a little bit differently. I'm not a member of a Facebook group supporting BP, but I am one of the Americans who wake with up in the middle of the night worrying about and thinking about the people in the Gulf whose livelihood is in danger, whose region is changing right before their eyes.

And I look around for what -- what I can do and what could possibly help. And you know, we -- we tried cutting our hair and sending that off to stuff into booms to absorb oil and that doesn't really seem to be helping much. And there are people who say we should boycott our local gas stations that are BP, but that just hurts our friends and neighbors, who are local business people, trying to make a living. And that doesn't help the people in the Gulf.

So what I think would help the people in the Gulf is a strong BP that's able to be there for the region in the long run. This is a long-term cleanup that we have ahead of us.

LEMON: Yes. And I think you tweeted, Jeanine, that a bankrupt BP --

BUFORD: And we need BP there for the next decade.

LEMON: -- you said a bankrupt BP can't help us.

BUFORD: A bankrupt BP serves no one's best interest. Not the interests I care about and the rest of America cares about.

LEMON: Ok. So Dan what are you noticing is the main reason people are joining the support BP Facebook page? There are a lot of British people among those who signed up, right?

ZARELLI: There are a lot of British people. And unfortunately, I think they see what's coming out of the administration as an attack to the UK and UK-based company as a whole.

And I think it's important that there are some Americans that are loud about the fact that we support corporations like this. We need oil. Oil's a necessity. That there's corporations out there like BP that take the risks that we need them to take to refine and extract oil that we need to run businesses all over the world, all over -- definitely all over our country.

And I'm grateful for a company like BP that takes those risks. There's also family members and workers of BP that are on there and supporting them. There's local -- your local BP gas station owners, those are all locally owned and without the subsidizing and the subsidiary of BP to help them, they would be out of business. It comes down to jobs. Jobs are crucial right now.

LEMON: Yes, so Dan, Jeanie -- Jeanine, we're going to have to leave it right there but you guys are well aware that you're in the minority and you're -- you're ready for the backlash, are you?

ZARELLI: I'm definitely ready for any backlash and I'll stand behind a private company from a free market capitalist point of view over the federal government any day.

LEMON: And Jeanine?

BUFORD: Well, we'll see. But I want to make it clear that I'm as angry at BP as anyone. So this is not about being less angry or being supportive of BP. I want BP around to continue to pay for the cleanup for the long term.

LEMON: All right. Thanks to both of you.

ZARELLI: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: A painstaking search through a flood-ravaged camp ground in Arkansas as the death toll continues to rise there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Checking some of your top stories right now. Colombia's president announcing today that two top-ranking police officers have been rescued from park guerrillas. They were held captive for nearly 12 years. Military forces carried out the rescue operation deep in the Amazon jungle.

Military tanks through the streets in southern Kyrgyzstan today and tens of thousands of people are fleeing the worst ethnic violence in decades. The government says at least 114 people have been killed and more than 1,400 wounded in clashes. Riders (ph) are targeting ethnic Uzbeks, setting homes, stores and cafes on fire. The International Red Cross warns a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding. Lightning struck a gasoline truck in North Carolina early today, igniting a huge fire that shut down sections of two interstate highways. Stretches of I-40 and I-73 in Greensboro were closed for several hours. Firefighters used special foam to extinguish the blaze at the Colonial Pipeline Company. Non injuries have been reported.

The death toll rose to 19 today from the flash floods in Arkansas. And authorities now say they know for sure that one person is still missing or there could be more out there. The flood waters hit a campground so fast, many had no time escape.

And our Casey Wian is standing by live for us at Langley, Arkansas. Casey, you've spoken with some of the people who are dealing with an unbelievable loss.

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's an incredible story. We spent the afternoon with Jules and Barbara Sullivan. They are the great grandparents of little 7-year-old Kylie Sullivan (ph), from Texarkana, Texas about two hours away from here. They lost little Kylie in the flood along with her grandmother and best friend.

Let's hear some of what they had to say about the little girl that they lost in the flood waters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARBARA SULLIVAN, FLOOD VICTIM'S GREAT GRANDMOTHER: The heart that Kylie had was just so full of life and she just loved things, but she was so kind. She was just a kind child.

JULES SULLIVAN, FLOOD VICTIM'S GREAT-GRANDMOTHER: She loved people. That was her main thing. She never met a stranger --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WIAN: Kylie had just finished the first grade. Her parents had been planning on picking her up and taking her to church today, instead planning for her funeral which is scheduled on Tuesday -- Don.

LEMON: That's sad. Casey thank you very much for your report.

South Carolina's mystery man, the candidate who came from nowhere with no credentials, no job and no support from his party, it has both Democrats and the Republicans crying dirty politics and it's one of the most unusual interviews I have conducted in a while with.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Ok, so last night, I did one of the strangest interviews of my career. Alvin Greene is the mystery candidate in South Carolina in the senate race. He came out of nowhere to win with the Democratic nomination to take on incumbent Republican Senator Jim DeMint. He is unemployed. He is charged with a felony for supposedly showing pornographic images and it seemed like he barely campaigned in this race. Some allege that he is mentally impaired and accusations are flying that he was planted to throw a wrench into the election.

We spoke last night. Take a listen and judge for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Who paid the $10,000 for your campaign to run?

ALVIN GREENE, DEMOCRATIC SENATORIAL CANDIDATE, SOUTH CAROLINA: My personal money from the Army.

LEMON: You're facing a felony charge. Can you explain to your -- to the voters, to the viewers, what that's all about?

GREENE: I have no comment.

LEMON: No comment? Did you commit a crime?

GREENE: Nothing. No comment.

LEMON: Two lawmakers from your state have concerns that you may have some sort of mental impairment, what's your response to that?

GREENE: Who are those lawmakers?

LEMON: There are two in your state.

GREENE: Name them.

LEMON: Cary Sellers --

GREENE: And who else.

LEMON: -- and Todd Rutherford say that.

GREENE: Well, I say that back to them then.

LEMON: Ok. If you were a --

GREENE: They are the knuckleheads.

LEMON: Are you always this soft spoken? Are you ok right now?

GREENE: I'm fine.

LEMON: You're fine. And you're --

GREENE: I'm ok.

LEMON: You're mentally sound, physically sound? You're not impaired by anything at this moment?

GREENE: No.

LEMON: You don't sound ok. I mean, quite honestly, you don't sound ok and if you're not, then you should let us know if you are not ok. Are you impaired by anything right now?

GREENE: No.

You know, you have got all kinds of calls all over the place. You have had TV crews here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, South Carolina Democrats are at a loss to explain Greene's primary win. Many of them definitely believe something is up here.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Your nominee for the U.S. Senate, Alvin Greene, came out of nowhere. You think he is a Republican plant. He is calling now for the Democratic establishment to get behind him. That he, in fact, has been elected to be the nominee. Do you foresee yourself getting behind Mr. Greene?

REP. JAMES CLYBURN, (D) SOUTH CAROLINA: No, I don't see myself getting behind Mr. Greene. The fact of the matter is, of course, Candy I never said he was a Republican plant. I said he was someone's plant.

And it turned up, after the elections, we found out, as I said earlier, something untoward was going on. Now, all of a sudden, we see that Congressman Joy Wilson's campaign manager was, in fact, managing the campaign of my primary opponent.

I saw the patterns in this. I know a Democratic pattern. I know a Republican pattern. And I saw in the Democratic primary, elephant dung all over the place.

So, I knew that something was wrong in that primary. And this result tells us that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Elephant dung. Wow. CNN's senior political editor, Mark Preston, joins us now from Washington.

Mark? So you know, we talked -- South Carolina, I mean, it never ends. It never ends there. I mean you can do an entire comedy show from -- when you consider the politics show there.

Ok, so listen, the Democrats can't yank Greene off the ballot but how much longer can this go on?

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, you know, his 15 minutes of fame is certainly going to go on for at least a couple more weeks, Don.

I was just on the phone with Richard Harpootlian, he's the former South Carolina Democratic chairman; he's a big lawyer down there, very well respected. He told me that expect to see some recourse in the next couple of days.

First of all, what we might see from him -- what we might is some kind of judicial action taken against this gentleman because he is being represented by a public defender regarding those charges from November about showing pornography to a University of South Carolina student.

Also, Don, you might see a private citizen do some kind of recourse through some kind of lawsuit to find out where that money came from.

I will tell you, I did just speak to Karen Fowler who's the South -- current South Carolina Democratic Party chairwoman. She is hoping that he can be persuaded to leave the race.

But I will tell you, it's absolutely embarrassing right now for the South Carolina Democratic Party and embarrassing for the state, you know, for a state that has certainly gone through a lot in the past year or so.

LEMON: Listen, I had read a little bit about Alvin Greene and I think I had seen one interview that he did and he didn't seem as sort of out of it in the other interviews that I had done.

And there were -- there are accusations from people that, you know, he may have some -- he may be mentally-challenged in some way, which if he is, you know, he can run for office. That is not the issue we were talking about but he seemed to be very odd during that interview. So, there was some concerns there.

I heard Donna Brazile this morning on ABC "This Week" saying that, you know, she believes, you know, she has seen all kinds of conspiracy theories, and you know, she might believe there is one with as well. And you heard James Clyburn there saying elephant dung everywhere, some people believe that he is a plant. What's going on?

PRESTON: Well, you know, if he has plant, I think it is probably somebody who is just really trying to play with the South Carolina Democrats. The fact of the matter is, Senator Jim Demint was probably going to win and is probably going to win re-election in a landslide. So whether it was going to be Alvin Greene who is the nominee now or whether it was going to be Vick Raul who many people in South Carolina thought it was going to be, Jim Demint was probably going to win the race anyway. If there is dirty politics going on, it certainly was for some other reason.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes, but how did he win? She is in unemployed. He has no money. Walks in, I think it's a cashier's check, $10,000, has no political -- doesn't have anything in politics on his resume. How does he win?

PRESTON: Well, because the fact is this wasn't a very big race, we didn't see his opponent, Vick Raul, do any campaigning. Democrats basically have ceded that race to Senator Jim Demint who knows why people go in and you know, pull the ballot for one person or the another. But my gosh, it is an amazing story, no question.

LEMON: It's odd. All right. So let's switch gears here now. Some key moments coming up for the president this week regarding the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. He is going to speak to the nation. He has asked for 15 minutes on Tuesday night.

PRESTON: Yes. And he's going to do it from the Oval Office after spending a couple of days down in Alabama, down in Florida, down in Mississippi, three states that he hasn't been through so far regarding the gulf oil spill. The next day as well, Don, he will be meeting with BP's CEO. The fact is the White House really needs to portray to the nation and to the world that they are in charge and that's why I think we will see the president deliver this 15-minute address Tuesday night from the Oval Office.

LEMON: Yes, we'll see what he has to say new, they said that they weren't going to do this early on and now they are doing it. So it is a change here. We will see.

PRESTON: Yes, no question.

LEMON: Mark, thank you. See you at 10 p.m., OK?

PRESTON: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: All right. If ever there were an extreme in stopping the disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, this would be it, using the nuclear option? It's worked before.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Some call it crazy, others say nothing else has worked to stop the oil gushing into the Gulf of Mexico. So why not try the nuclear option? That is sealing the busted well shut with a nuclear blast? The Russians have tried it before. So why not the U.S.? CNN's Deb Feyerick takes a closer look at whether going nuclear really is our best option.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one!

FEYERICK (voice-over): It's a crazy last resort kind of idea. But what if it works? What if nuking the well finally stops the oil from surging into the gulf?

(on camera): Do you remember where you were standing when this nuclear device was detonated?

MILO NORDYKE, FORMER PROJECT DIRECTOR, PROJECT PLOWSHARE: Oh, yes, I was standing at the control point. It was exciting to know that it went well. That everything worked about as we expected.

FEYERICK (voice-over): 80-year-old Milo Nordyke is one of the few people you'll likely meet who saw not one but nine nuclear explosions. He helped run project Plow Share, a program in the 1950s and 60s and 70s, to find peaceful practical uses for low-radiation nuclear devices.

(on camera): When you see what's going on in the gulf, did it sort of come into your mind, this is a perfect use for some sort of small nuclear device?

NORDYKE: It certainly did. And of course, knowing that the Russians had done it a number of times brought it to the top of my attention.

FEYERICK (voice-over): That's right. The Russians who successfully shut down four out of five runaway gas wells by nuking them.

(on camera): The red and white is the device.

(voice-over): As seen on youtube, this Russian well had been burning nonstop for three years.

NORDYKE: They said that the gas flame was so high that it could be seen 50 miles away.

FEYERICK (voice-over): Watch as the nuclear device detonates. A shock wave rattles the earth. Moments later, the flame extinguishes and the well is finally sealed.

NORDYKE: The shock wave would initially melt the rock and then it would crush the rock and then it would compress the rock. So that it would be crushed completely shut.

NATHAN HULTMAN, ASST. PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC POLICY, UNIV. OF MARYLAND: There really isn't any certainty that doing this kind of detonation under the water and in this particular geologic situation would work.

FEYERICK: A nuclear option to plug the well is down right laughable says Nathan Hultman, who has studied civilian nuclear power.

HULTMAN: There are certainly questions about radiation leakage. There are questions about damaged ecosystems. There are questions about the impact of a shockwave.

FEYERICK: But because of where the nuclear device would be placed Nordyke disputes concerns about radiation released or damage to wildlife. The blast would take place more than a mile below the ocean floor near the ruptured well. The nuclear device would be lowered down a secondary tunnel similar to the relief well now being built.

NORDYKE: The explosion tends to seal all the rock around it so that radiation doesn't escape.

FEYERICK: The force of the shockwave is the great unknown. Could it destabilize more oil wells miles away? Even Milo Nordyke admits that threat remain unclear but says in a worst case scenario, it's a last resort worth considering.

(on camera): The public debate on this would be huge especially with so many countries moving towards nuclear disarmament. The agency in charge of nuclear security for the United States says exploding a nuclear device in the Gulf of Mexico is not an option. However, the scope of the ecological disaster is so great, some people say it's time to consider this seriously.

Deborah Feyerick, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very interesting. Thanks, Deb.

A killing in a small town unlocks deep-rooted secrets. The uncovered truth that has a victim's family rallying behind the accused.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's check your top stories right now.

Explosions and gunfire killed at least 15 people in Baghdad today. Dozens more are wounded. Iraq's interior ministry says gunmen tried to storm the country's central bank after at least one bomb went off outside the building. The gunmen traded shots with security forces. The violence comes just one day before Iraq's Parliament convenes for the first time since the March elections.

People in Utah are getting a sense of what those in the gulf are experiencing. Our affiliate, KSL, reports some residents in Salt Lake City are seeing oil in their ponds and coating fish. They say it is from a leaking Chevron pipeline near the University of Utah. Crews capped it yesterday and they say the leak did not reach the environmentally sensitive great Salt Lake.

The labor stalemate continues at Spirit Airlines, forcing the low-cost carrier to cancel all of its flights through Tuesday. The airline based in Florida says it will refund or credit affected passengers. Pilots say they are striking because of low pay and they had been in contract negotiations for more than three years.

A desperate plea tonight from the family and supporters of Aaron Vargas. He is the man who is going to be sentenced as early tomorrow for killing a man who Vargas says molested him. Now, dozens of other people say they, too, were violated by the victim, Darren McNeil. And among those asking that Vargas receive no jail time is the wife of the man he killed.

Mindy Galliani is Aaron Vargas's sister. She is spearheading the effort to save Vargas from a prison cell. Mindy, you understand some would say that what your brother is did is vigilante justice and he should be punished for that. What's your response?

MINDY GALLIANI, AARON VARGAS' SISTER: I don't think it's vigilante justice at all. I think it's really a case of somebody defending himself and his family when the system failed to protect them.

LEMON: Who else is asking that the judge not sentence your brother to prison time?

GALLIANI: There are thousands of people from around the world asking that Aaron be released, be allowed to be given treatment.

LEMON: We have a photo of Darren McNeil. And Mindy, what did he do to your brother and why was he never arrested?

GALLIANI: Well, he started raping Aaron at the age of 11 and he was reported to the police at least three times that we know of. And I'm not sure why law enforcement failed to bring charges against him or even investigate him. They never even questioned him. And Aaron's case just shows that the system all too often fails to protect our children.

LEMON: How is your brother feeling this week?

GALLIANI: I think he is really nervous. We all are. I can't imagine him surviving years in prison. It's just -- it's not going to heal him, that's for sure, and healing is really what he needs at this point.

LEMON: Why did -- all of a sudden, why exactly did Aaron kill him? Did he ever explain that to you? Did something specific spur him on?

GALLIANI: Well, he was abused for 20 years. He was stalked and harassed even after the sexual abuse ended. Darryl McNeil was coming around and offering to baby-sit Aaron's new daughter, bringing diapers, asking to see her. So, Aaron felt that his child was in danger. Aaron knew that Darryl was still raping other kids in the community. And he had learned about that in the days prior to the shooting.

So, I think it was just a lot of events that just transpired and it just -- he hit his breaking point is what happened. He had just -- he said enough is enough.

LEMON: So, it wasn't just -- it wasn't years that had passed that this happened and Aaron felt he had to do something --

GALLIANI: No.

LEMON: -- that other people would fall victim to this man?

GALLIANI: No. No. It is not a case at all where years had passed and he decided, well, I want to go and get revenge on this guy for molesting me. That's not the case at all. The abuse, it never ended and the police weren't stopping this man. And Aaron just felt like he needs to be stopped, but Aaron didn't go there with the intention of firing the gun that night though, he just wanted to warn him and he brought the gun to tell him, you know, listen, I'm serious, you're going to stop raping children.

LEMON: So Mindy, here is the concern. People are afraid that other victims may do the same to their molesters if Aaron gets a light sentence or if he gets off in anyway. GALLIANI: Well, I talked to victims from all over the world and none of them conveyed to me that they want to go out and kill their abuser. They want to be left alone. They want their abusers to be prosecuted and they just want to live a life and try and heal. And people who say that if Aaron gets off easy, that that will just, you know, send a message that it's OK for victims to go out and kill their abuser.

They're just completely missing the whole point in this case because that's not how the victims heal.

LEMON: So legally, are you speaking to attorneys there? Can you give us some idea of your brother's chances?

GALLIANI: Well, Aaron -- we did hire an attorney to defend Aaron and he could get anywhere from probation to 10 years in prison. And I'm just hoping that the judge will do the right thing and that he will see the truth in this. And also, that the judge will ignore the sheriff's department and the probation department, who have made outrageous accusations by saying that the abuse was a consensual relationship and that the shooting was some kind of a lover's quarrel. It's just -- it's outrageous to me.

LEMON: How much has it played into the wife of the man that he killed is saying -- is asking for leniency?

GALLIANI: I think that has a big effect, you know? That the wife is stepping forward and saying that she knows Aaron and she loves him and she knows him to be a kind and gentle person and that she wants him to get help. That says a lot.

LEMON: Mindy Galliani, thank you so much for that. Aaron Vargas' sister and he is a man accused of killing another man who molested him as a child because he didn't want him to go on and molest other children. It's going to be interesting to watch this case. Best of luck to you, OK?

GALLIANI: Thank you.

LEMON: All right.

It is one of those tough lessons that you learn only after you have been caught, the dangers of an open microphone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. You probably didn't know this. Maybe you did. Tomorrow is Flag Day. It commemorates the adoption of the stars and stripes as the national symbol of the United States. It is also a time to reflect on what the flag means. And perhaps that's best illustrated by Maryland Boy Scout Troop 1688 as they lay faded old glory to rest.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll now begin the flag retirement ceremony --

MARK ZELENKA, LEADER, BOY SCOUT TROOP 1688: It is not a national holiday so it doesn't get a whole lot of attention. But what it stands for is so much.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You've heard the term old glory? This is old glory.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Raise the colors. Troops salute.

MATTHEW MACFARLAND, BOY SCOUT, 11: It's really important to treat the flag with a lot of respect. Because it is honoring your country.

MICHAEL "CHIP" SLONACKER, BOY SCOUT, 17: There's no actual set way to dispose of it. The flag code calls for a respectful manner to destroy the flag completely. It says preferably by burning so that's usually the method that's taken.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bury each of my 13 stripes and lay it on the fire, one at a time. As you do this, think about the 13 original colonies and the pioneers who carved a nation out of a wilderness. They risked everything to fight for the independence which we enjoy today.

RUSSEL VANBUSKIRK, BOY SCOUT, 17: In Iraq, Afghanistan and other countries overseas, you have men and women dying. Even back in the States, you have men and women dying for the American flag.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My first state was Virginia, then Massachusetts, New York --

BRYANT MCFARLAND, BOY SCOUT, 17: This flag represents more than just a symbol of our country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am more than just red, white and blue cloth shaped into a design. I'm a silent sentinel of freedom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I get out of it as their leader is a great sense of hopeful accomplishment that at some point, these boys will be the leaders of tomorrow.

Now I am just a memory but if there is a tear in your eye or a lump in your throat, if you felt a shiver in your spine as you watched me burn, then I will be back next time you need me and my colors will be fresh and bright and my edges won't be ragged anymore.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: On the weekends we like to catch you up on some of the stories that you might have missed during the week. And you might have missed this one.

Actually news you would have missed in Britain if you were watching the World Cup soccer yesterday. That's because Britain's ITV broke for a commercial. Can you believe it? Less than four minutes into the match between the U.S. and England, the commercial was just 22 seconds long but long enough to miss England's only goal of its 1-1 draw against the U.S. Boy, that's just bad timing.

So what does a guy do after he's been expelled from Harvard for lying on his application? He uses those same fake credentials to apply to Yale and Brown and then Stanford where he gets accepted.

Prosecutors say Adam Wheeler got into Harvard by claiming he got a perfect score on his S.A.T.s and straight A's at two prestigious schools. He only got caught when he faked applications for Full bright and Rhodes scholarships. Wheeler is now facing charges he stole $45,000 in financial aid, scholarship money and academic awards from Harvard. Stanford has since rescinded its offer and it turns out the one school Wheeler actually did attend expelled him for academic dishonesty.

You know, we have all said things we shouldn't have. I've done it a lot. But imagine getting caught on an open microphone going verbally viral. As Jeanne Moos reports, another political hopeful is feeling the sting of a hot mike.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A stifled yawn, a make-up touch-up, the usual small talk.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bla bla bla.

MOSS: Waiting for the real talk to begin. A TV interview. When Republican Senate candidate Carly Fiorina mentioned her opponent. That's when things got hairy.

CARLY FIORINA, REPUBLICAN SENATE CANDIDATE: Lauder saw Barbara Boxer briefly on television this morning and said what everyone says. God, what is that hair? So yesterday.

MOOS: So busted. Carly's comment was played and replayed.

FIORINA: God, what is that hair?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is that dress?

MOOS (on camera): Barbara Boxer's hair may be --

FIORINA: So yesterday.

MOOS: But later the same day, Carly Fiorina was having to explain her comments to Greta Van Susteren.

FIORINA: I was quoting a friend of mine. My goodness. My hair has been talked about by a million people. You know? It sort of goes with the territory.

MOOS (voice-over): She lost --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's with the hair? MOOS: Then regrew her hair.

FIORINA: And see how long my hair is?

MOOS: After a successful fight against breast cancer. Now Fiorina joins the cast of characters caught on camera waiting to go on, caught dancing. Caught eating pastry. Caught debating which way to wear the trench coat collar.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you put it down --

MOOS: Even Richard Nixon had his small talk captured moments before his resignation speech.

RICHARD NIXON, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: All Secret Service, any Secret Service in the room? Out. I'm just kidding you.

MOOS (on camera): And who could forget John Edwards who got caught primping before an interview? Something we all do. Someone put to it music. I feel pretty. Oh, so pretty.

(voice-over): Look out, Carly.

I feel pity. Oh, so pity.

(on camera): We're just joshing you, Carly. We're petty all the time, before and after the camera turns on.

(voice-over): If people heard what we say --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: ... in the commercials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just during commercials.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We would be fired.

MOOS: It's like seeing public figures without their game face.

HARRY SHEARER, COMEDIAN/ACTOR: In those moments before they put on their TV personality on.

MOOS: And sometimes the TV personality disappears during the interview.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.

MOOS: Like when Selma Hayek and her co-stars freaked out -- at the sight of a snake during an interview with "Extra."

SELMA HAYEK, ACTRESS: Somebody, do something!

MOOS: Yes, do something. Stop rolling tape!

Jeanne MoSs --

FIORINA: So yesterday. MOOS: CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Such a petty face such a petty smile --

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Are we on? We're on now. I would have ended up there with the ladies with that snake. I am deathly afraid of them. And finally tonight, comedian Maz Jobrani. If you haven't seen his act, you've probably caught him on some of the biggest shows on prime time. Tonight at 10:00, he is offering a funny look at the political turmoil in his native Iran as well as other serious events in the world today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAZ JOBRANI, COMEDIAN: In Times Square, the guy who tried blow up the car bomb, the Pakistani dude, and then the Pakistani Taliban took credit for the failed bombing. And my question was why would you take credit for a failed bombing? Right? I mean, we just want to say, we tried. You know? It's the thought that counts. Win some, lose some.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: More of my conversation with comedian Maz Jobrani at 10:00 p.m. tonight. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m.. In the meantime, Soledad O'Brien's special report "THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS" starts right now.