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Companies Suing over Drilling Moratorium; Big Win, Mystery Candidate; BP's Culture: Profit vs. Safety; Oprah Surprises Students
Aired June 19, 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: Tonight, a CNN exclusive on the real culture at BP. The paper trail leads to a disaster years before the one in the Gulf. It's a CNN special investigation you don't want to miss.
We're live in South Carolina tonight where the heat is turning up on their newly-famous and mysterious Senate candidate, and the process that thrust him in the spotlight.
And Oprah's kids, the ones that made her jump on a plane and brought her to tears this week, marking a milestone and our cameras were rolling when she had, yet, one more surprise for them.
(MUSIC)
LEMON: On day 61 of the Gulf oil disaster, one of BP's investors is now accusing the oil giant of reckless operation of the Deepwater Horizon rig. Anadarko Petroleum owns 25 percent of the broken well. Anadarko CEO says BP was guilty of gross negligence and willful misconduct leading to the explosion, 11 deaths and the entire catastrophic spill.
Meantime, BP CEO, Tony Hayward, has gone straight from his grilling on Capitol Hill to yacht races off the English coast.
The Obama administration says it's just one more misstep in a long line of P.R. gaffes by BP's top exec.
Our Chris Lawrence is live in New Orleans with the very latest for us.
Chris, what's been the reaction there to Hayward going back to England to attend a yacht race?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Mixed, Don. You know, he's got -- he's got a boat that's worth about three quarters of a million dollars and it was involved in a race this weekend. So, he went back to spend the day at this race, spend the time with his family.
I've been talking to a lot of people out here about what they think about that. Some were outraged. They say, you know, he doesn't deserve a day off. They were also equally mad. You know, we got to admit, President Obama went golfing today. So, neither one of them should be taking time off.
But other people said, you know, told me, what do you expect the guy to do? Nobody can work 24 hours a day. He does deserve to see his family and what they do is their own time. So, really, a mix on both sides on that issue.
LEMON: What about the -- they shut down -- part of the collection was shut down last night for a time. What's up with that?
LAWRENCE: Yes, 10 hours shut down because it simply malfunctioned. And that's part of the problem that the government brought up to BP, is there's no redundancy in the system. There's no -- there's no backup plan. If something happens, it just all shuts down until it gets fixed. BP says it's still probably a few weeks away from getting those backup systems in place.
LEMON: And, Chris, I know that we were working on -- you were working on something interesting down in the Gulf of Mexico -- something that we will be seeing later from your reporting. What is that?
LAWRENCE: Yes, Don. We've been trying to drill down on this issue of claims. People whose businesses have been driven into the ground by this oil spill -- how and when are they going to get money that they want? We spoke with a charter boat campaign who's built his business up from nothing over the last 30 years. Now, he's in danger of watching it slip away.
Here's what he -- part of what he said:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STU SCHAER, CHARTER BOAT CAPTAIN: You wonder how a guy my age, 260 pounds, can be emotional. Sorry. But, you know, like I told you, salt water runs through my veins. I mean, it's all I've done. That's all I ever wanted to do is fish.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LAWRENCE: Now that BP has set up this $20 billion fund, now that the Obama administration has put a new man in charge of handling the claims, will things change? That's what we're going to be drilling down and looking at tomorrow on your show, Don.
LEMON: All right. Chris, thank you very much. Nice reporting from down in the Gulf of Mexico. We appreciate it.
You know, with so many people filing claims against BP, scam artists see a golden opportunity. I'll speak with an expert tomorrow night at 6:00 p.m. Eastern on the latest scams you need to watch out for related to the BP oil disaster -- and there are many.
President Barack Obama's push for a six-month ban on deep-water drilling appears headed for court -- a court fight -- on Monday. A group of oil-drilling companies is suing to have the moratorium lifted, arguing it would hurt the Gulf area's economy.
Charlotte Randolph, of the president -- the president of Lafourche Parish in Louisiana was on CNN's "A.C. 360" last night. She says companies are already planning to move and workers are being laid off because of the drilling ban.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So, how has it affected your parish already? I understand companies are already losing business or moving their business, and people are being laid off?
CHARLOTTE RANDOLPH, PRES., LAFOURCHE PARISH, LOUISIANA: That's correct. Some of the rigs have used the force majeure clause in their contract and they're looking -- and they're shopping their rigs elsewhere in the world. It's -- I passed near a helicopter facility just this afternoon and it's normally full of vehicles from all states and most of the states in the Union. And it was virtually empty today.
So, already, this moratorium has impacted us economically. It's a very, very grave concern for us. And it's difficult for America to understand that while we're fighting the oil that's approaching our shores and disturbing our wetlands, we're asking that this industry be allowed to continue. It is something we've attempted to educate America now for the past 20 years. And right now is the only attention we're getting because the oil is coming up to the shore.
KAYE: Right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And Randolph accompanied President Barack Obama when he visited a tar balled beach last month. She says she asked the president to reconsider the drilling ban because it would devastate the area. Randolph says the president told her a time-out was necessary.
You've seen the devastation from the oil disaster. Now, CNN is giving you a chance to help. Make sure you join us on Monday night for an all-star relief effort to help rebuild the Gulf Coast. A special two- hour "LARRY KING LIVE" event begins at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That's Monday night, right here on CNN.
A rough-weather night in the upper Midwest, strong storms blasted through the region overnight, knocking down trees, downing power lines and killing at least one person near Detroit. Lightning sparked several fires. About 150,000 people lost power in Michigan and severe weather also hit Chicago hard.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) I couldn't believe this stuff happening to Chicago.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The winds started whipping things around in -- out in the warehouse and the next thing you know, you hear a loud crash and the wall blew over.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, they're talking about a line of strong storms that struck Chicago with high winds and heavy rains. The storms blew out windows in the city's Willis Tower, the former Sears Tower. And they knocked out power to more than 400,000 people. More than 100,000 are still in the dark at this hour.
Severe flooding in China has left 88 people dead and is affecting more than 9 million people. That death toll could still rise. Forty-eight people are still missing tonight.
China has raised its emergency level in response to the crisis. The return of the rainy season was welcomed at first after months of brutal drought, but has led to floods and landslides there.
You know, he created a sensation when he joined the NBA and later became a humanitarian. Now, one of the league's tallest players ever has died. We'll have details on the passing of Manute Bol.
And this story has a lot of people talking all across the country: Alvin Greene's surprising win in the South Carolina Democratic Senate primary. Coming up: a closer look at his run for government, what's next.
And don't just sit there. Make sure you become part of the conversation here, part of our show. You can send me a message on Twitter and Facebook and check out my blog at CNN.com/Don.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There's no doubt the election that still has everyone talking -- Alvin Greene, the unemployed veteran who won 60 percent of the vote in last week's South Carolina Democratic Senate primary. Unknown to virtually everyone, he didn't even mount a campaign. Now, he's headed for the November ballot.
But is he up for the job of U.S. Senate nominee?
Here's part of my conversation with him:
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: "The New York Times" ran a story saying that you were a plant by the Republican Party. What do you say?
ALVIN GREENE (D), SOUTH CAROLINA SENATE CANDIDATE (via telephone): No. I've always been a Democrat. And I am the best candidate for the United States Senate in South Carolina.
LEMON: Who paid the $10,000 to your -- for your campaign to run?
GREENE: My personal money, from the Army.
LEMON: You told me about what your platform. You said jobs and education.
GREENE: And justice.
LEMON: And justice. OK.
GREENE: Yes.
LEMON: So, you're talking about the justice system.
GREENE: Yes.
LEMON: What about your own particular bout with the justice system. What do you say to that? Did you commit a crime?
GREENE: My lawyer is dealing with that.
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: Bakari Sellers and Todd Rutherford say that.
GREENE: Well, I say it back to them then.
LEMON: OK. If you were --
GREENE: They're 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. Just -- I'm OK.
LEMON: No. Just what?
GREENE: I'm OK.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Let's talk more about this with CNN political producer Peter Hamby. He joins me now from Columbia, South Carolina.
Peter, what is the latest on this very bizarre story? Have you been able to speak with Alvin Greene? Did you talk to him today?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL PRODUCER: Yes, I've talked to him a few times. And he'll talk to any reporter. He's probably the most accessible candidate in the history of political candidates. He lives at home with his dad in Manning. He has a landline. And he picks it up whenever anybody calls.
LEMON: Yes.
HAMBY: So, I talked to him. He's staying in the race. And Democrats decide this week, he's pretty much going to be on the ballot.
LEMON: Listen. You know, everyone is talking about, well, he is an accidental candidate. How did he win? How did he win?
The guy who ran, Rawl, who run, he didn't really run a big campaign. Was this more of a vote against Rawl than it was for Alvin Greene?
HAMBY: It was really a vote between two candidates that most voters didn't know about. Vick Rawl was backed by the party. He had backing of party insiders and activists and he did campaign. He drove around the state, meeting with people, going to rallies.
But the way you reach voters in the state was through TV ads and in the mail. And he didn't do either of those things. So, when voters went to the ballot box on primary day, they didn't really know either voter (ph). Alvin Greene's name was first on the ballot, and that appears to be the reason that he won.
LEMON: And his name is Al Greene? I mean, you know --
HAMBY: That's true.
LEMON: It is. OK. So, listen, the Rawl campaign tried Thursday to overturn the results and say that there were problems with the voting machines there. So, why couldn't they convince the party leaders to throw out the results? I think they did that on, what, on Thursday, right?
HAMBY: Right. On Thursday, they met for about four hours here in Columbia. It was a lengthy meeting. The Rawl campaign presented their argument. They suggested that voting machines could be tampered with, that there had been errors in elections in the past; that voting machines could be hacked.
But the members of the party executive committee asked them, do you have evidence of this? And they did not have evidence. So, the Democratic Party decided, it would set a huge precedent to throw out the results of an election where a candidate won by 20 -- almost 20 points and they decided that it was too risky and too bad of a precedent to set.
So, they are moving forward with Alvin Greene. And he -- unless something changes before the results are certified on August 16th, he's going to face Jim DeMint on a ballot in November.
And Jim DeMint has $3.5 million and is a pretty well-established senator, incumbent, popular in the state. That's a tough election for Democrats.
LEMON: Imagine the debate if there is one, Peter Hamby. I don't know if you picked this assignment or it picked you, but it's a good one. HAMBY: It is. It is. I'm having fun.
LEMON: Yes. Thank you, sir.
Police in Lexington, Kentucky, are apologizing for a serious mistake. Officers thought a woman was dead after they found her beaten body. They couldn't have been further from the truth.
Plus, Warren Buffett and Bill and Melinda Gates -- well, they're some of the richest people in the world. Now, they have a new challenge for billionaires across the country.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now to check some of your top stories.
Police in Lexington, Kentucky, apologize for assuming a woman at a crime scene was dead, only to learn she was alive three hours later. The woman died in the hospital the next day. The city's police chief admits, quote, "mistakes were made." No arrests have been made in the homicide investigation.
Former pro-basketball star Manute Bol died today in a Virginia hospital where he was being treated for kidney trouble and a rare skin disease. Bol, who was 47, was drafted by the Washington Bullets in 1985 and played for three other teams. At 7'7", he was one of the tallest players ever in the NBA.
In recent years, he devoted his time to helping the people in his native Sudan and reportedly contracted the skin disease from a medication he received in Africa.
The drug known as the "Female Viagra" has failed to clear an FDA committee. Flibanserin is touted as the pill to boost sexual desire in women. But an advisory committee says the evidence is lacking and the maker needs to go back to the drawing board to collect better data. This is not the final say, but the FDA usually goes with what its panel recommends.
You know, it's a project that Warren Buffett reportedly labeled "Great Givers." "Great" is an understatement here, especially when you're talking about giving away hundreds of millions of dollars. That's what Buffett and his friends, Bill and Melinda Gates, want to happen. They're asking their fellow billionaires to donate half, yes, 50 percent of their wealth to charity.
Those approached include Wall Street mogul, George Soros, media barons Ted Turner and Oprah Winfrey and New York mayor Michael Bloomberg. At least a dozen other billionaires have been asked. This has been a secret strategy involving gatherings of the uber rich starting in May of last year. That's according to the editor of "Fortune" magazine who broke the story this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CAROL LOOMIS, SENIOR EDITOR-AT-LARGE, FORTUNE: We'd like to change American behavior because right now, all of the evidence in the case that billionaires do not give that much to charity.
There is a lot of peer pressure here. There's no question about that. And I think that's been proved by other fundraising things.
I think that many of the billionaires out there will immediately sign up for this pledge that they'd like to have and there will be others who will come along more slowly and more reluctantly. I think, all of the principles, the Gates' and Warren think that it will take a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, so far, a handful of billionaires have promised to give, but there's no legal obligation to do so. And now, there's an official Web site, GivingPledge.org -- GivingPledge.org. That site announces the pledge to the world. So, go check it out.
Would you do this, though? Give away half of your money? Half of your fortune?
Peter Singer says you should. He's a bioethics professor at Princeton, and he joins me now via Skype. He's in Australia.
Peter, thanks for being here. You know, when you heard of this billionaire proposal, what was your reaction to this?
PETER SINGER, BIOETHICS PROFESSOR, PRINCETON UNIV.: Oh, I was delighted. I mean, this is the kind of thing that I've been pushing for for some years. In my book, "The Life You Can Save," I ask everyone to think about what they can give, the percentage that they can give. And, of course, billionaires do have more, so they can give a higher percentage than ordinary people.
But I think it's great that they are showing the way, that they're setting a lead, and, you know, doing something that's really ethical of their life. I think that's important.
LEMON: You said billionaires should give a lot more. What about the average person, though? What amount? Have you come up with the percentage for the average person to give?
SINGER: I do. I set up a Web site, too, TheLifeYouCanSsave.com where I got a scale, just like a tax scale, so it starts off with 1 percent. And for most Americans, it is just 1 percent.
But as you get wealthier, it jumps to 5 percent and then if you get wealthiest still, 10 percent. And I actually topped out at one-third.
I wasn't particularly thinking of billionaires. So, I think it's great that they're going up to half. And I don't see why they shouldn't really if you're that wealthy. Obviously, you can manage with just half a billion dollars. That's not too tough.
LEMON: So, listen, do you think for billionaires, is half enough for billionaires? I mean, when you have so much money, even if you take away half of a billionaire's fortune, that's still a lot of money. Is that even enough? SINGER: It is a lot of money. But, you know, I think we have to begin with something realistic, as Melinda Gates said, most billionaires are not giving nearly that much yet. And this would be a huge increase. So, I think half is something they can feel comfortable with that's realistic.
And if all of the billionaires on the Forbes 400 list were to give half of their wealth, that's $600 billion. That's going to go to charity and philanthropic causes. And, you know, that's a fantastic amount. I mean, if that were to go to help the world's poor, for example --
LEMON: Yes.
SINGER: -- it could really make a huge difference.
LEMON: I've got to ask you -- I've got to ask you this because you're talking about the world's poor and helping. But how do you respond to critics who say it is better if billionaires keep their money because in a sense that drives the economy, it can boost the economy not only of this country but the world, rather than just giving it to charity?
SINGER: Well, you have to think what the charities are doing, right? They're not just handing out money or handing out food. They're investing in development in developing countries. So, that's also driving the economy of those countries.
And often, you can get great returns by investing there and eventually you bring those economies of developing countries into the global economy, as, of course, has happened with Asian economies like China and Korea and Taiwan over the years. And that helps to make us wealthy, too, because it increases the global economy and gives us a larger pool to trade with to sell our goods to.
LEMON: All right.
SINGER: So, I think it is the best investment for the benefit of us, as well as the poor, too.
LEMON: Well, let's see if this catches on.
Peter Singer, thank you so much.
SINGER: Thank you, Don. It's been great chatting with you.
LEMON: Yes, appreciate it.
And coming up, a CNN exclusive investigation into another deadly BP disaster claims BP hoped this refinery blast would be ignored by America because of a holiday weekend. And another big story, we've got a new look at stunning documents, hundreds of them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. Day 61 of the Gulf oil disaster and BP is still trying to contain and clean up all the oil. Meantime, a Texas refinery explosion in 2005 is the focus of a CNN exclusive investigation, and we're finding a paper trail that speaks to what some claim is the real culture at BP: putting profit above all else, including safety.
Abbie Boudreau has our special investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Seeing one, two or three flames, and they are still being fueled by whatever is running through those lines.
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT (voice-over): These are images from a different BP explosion from five years ago at a BP refinery in Texas City, Texas --15 workers were killed, 180 injured.
(on camera): This is something you're never going to get over.
MIGUEL ARENAZAS, SURVIVED TEXAS CITY EXPLOSION: Never. As long as I'm alive, as long as I have this back pain, as long as I have neck pain, every time that I try to get out of bed or every time that I try to bend over -- you know, thank you, BP, this is what you've done to me.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Miguel Arenazas survived the Texas City explosion in 2005 and he says he knows what Deepwater Horizon rig workers and their families are going through.
ARENAZAS: It's going to be something that you're going to live with for the rest of your life.
BOUDREAU: Brent Coon was the lead plaintiff attorney who represented many of the victims in negligence lawsuits after the Texas City explosion. All but one of his cases reached a settlement with BP. Coon uncovered more than seven million internal BP documents during his investigation.
BOURDREAU (on camera): Sometimes people find one smoking gun document but we've seen a lot of these documents. There's one after another after another.
BRENT COON, PLAINTIFF ATTORNEY: If you look for that the one smoking gun where somebody internally says, if we don't fix this we're going to have a problem. And in this case what was shocking was that we didn't just find that smoking gun. We found an entire arsenal.
BOUDREAU: BP would have never wanted these documents out?
COON: Oh, no. I don't think anybody that had documents like that would ever want them to see the light of day.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): He says these documents now have a whole new meaning and give a rare insight into the culture of BP.
(on camera): Do you remember this e-mail? COON: I remember that. It made my sick to my stomach.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): This e-mail was written only hours after the Texas City explosion. BP's public relation's machine, hard at work. The subject line says - "media coverage and loss of life." It goes on to say, "expect a lot of follow-up coverage tomorrow. Then I believe it will essentially go away due to the holiday weekend."
COON: This is a public relation's director. That is telling the president and the other people at that plant that we got good news. We just killed a bunch of people but it's coming up on a weekend. That's the best time in the world to kill a bunch of people just before a weekend, an Easter weekend or a long weekend or a holiday because everybody gets distracted and forgets about it.
BOUDREAU (on camera): And also distracted by another big story.
(voice-over): At that time, all eyes were on a 41-year-old brain damaged Florida woman named Terry Schaivo. The debate was whether her feeding tube would be removed had captivated the country. But apparently the timing of that story was a good thing for BP.
The last line of the e-mail says - "this is a very big story in the U.S. right now. But the Terry Schaivo story is huge, as well."
(on camera): CNN has learned that many of those people on that e-mail are still working at BP. Coon says that makes sense since the company seems to be handling and the lawyer says, that makes sense since the company seems to be handling today's crisis much like the one from years ago.
This time it's been accused of controlling the images of the spill and downplaying just how much oil is being leaked. He also showed us a document he obtained from the 2005 case that he likes to call "the dirty words document." A slide from a presentation created by lawyers hired by BP that spelled out language workers should avoid using in incident reports like criminal, reckless and dangerous.
(On camera): What did you think when you read this?
COON: I can't (bleep) this. This is as good of a smoking gun as you can get. I cannot believe that I would get a document that was generated by BP's attorneys that told BP employees how to sanitize their records.
BOUDREAU: And why would they want them to do that?
COON: Because they don't want to have anything in any of the reports or anything in writing that indicates that they did anything wrong.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Coon says this internal BP document gives a cost-benefit analysis of the safety risk for the company's employees by using the story "The Three Little Pigs." The pigs represented BP employees.
Court documents show BP says the chart was only a simple way of explaining a concept. And that business decisions were not made by following the chart.
COON: They actually looked at the numbers, what's it going to cost to fix the problem that we know is there versus how many people are going to die if we don't fix the problem? Which one is cheaper?
BOUDREAU: Arenazas has settled with BP but five years later he's still in pain and is still angry.
ARENAZAS: What really matters for BP. Their money is what really matters for them. Their money. We can be replaced.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: And stay tuned. You're going to learn more about why those BP workers genuinely feared for their lives before the deadly explosion. You also see how the government responded and what BP is telling us now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, before the current crisis in the Gulf of Mexico, some BP employees were charging the oil company foster a culture of profit over safety. Culture that left many BP field workers in fear for their lives. The situation came into sharp focus during BP's handling of another deadly disaster five years ago. A refinery explosion in Texas that killed 15 people and injured 180 more. Here's part two of Abbie Boudreau's exclusive investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Brent Coon represented many of the victims from the 2005 Texas City refinery explosion. He says BP has a history of covering up its problems. He showed CNN employee surveys from the Texas City site from 2004 and 2005.
Complaints to management about corners being cut. And dangerous conditions being ignored.
(on camera): What stood out to you?
COON: The rank and file, the people that worked these plants have been begging for safety at so many different levels for so long and it was all on deaf ears.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): In one survey, a worker said, "quit waiting for a known possible unit disaster to happen before correcting the problem." Another stated, "this company deliberately put my life in danger to try and save a buck."
A different employee said, "pipe thinning worries me the most. It's failure could be catastrophic with little warning." And this worker said - "if this facility was an aircraft carrier we would be at the bottom of the ocean."
COON: So many people were afraid of dying. They're not afraid of their jobs. They're not afraid of something that they didn't like. Not afraid of not getting a pay raise or losing their medical. Afraid of dying!
BOUDREAU: In fact, an independent survey of BP workers in Texas City backed his claim. It stated "we have never seen a site where the notion 'I could die today' was so real for so many hourly people."
COON: I don't think there's a shred of evidence in BP's favor that shows they've done anything to change their corporate safety culture.
BOUDREAU (on camera): BP says they've changed. That their culture has changed.
COON: BP is a pathological liar.
BOUDREAU: After Texas City, OSHA, the federal agency in charge of enforcing safety regulations fined BP $21 million. And told the company that it needed to fix the problems that led to the explosion. But that didn't happen. So just last October, OSHA fined BP yet again. This time, a proposed $87 million penalty. The largest penalty in the agency's history. BP is contesting the citations and penalties.
(voice-over): In response to this story, BP turned down our request for an on-camera interview and provided a statement to CNN. This is part of that response.
"BP has worked diligently since the accident in March of 2005, to address safety concerns at the Texas City site. BP has spent more than $1 billion at Texas City to address safety concerns since 2005. We continue to work cooperatively with OSHA to resolve these matters. We are determined to learn from this event and get better as a company."
Brent Coon says that's just not enough. He feels the Deep water tragedy could have been prevented.
COON: We forewarned this, the Department of Justice was involved. We did everything that we could to draw attention to our legislators both at the state and federal level, and to the media and every one else that BP has a lot of systemic problems that they are never going to change unless somebody makes them change and if they don't make them change something worse is going to happen and it won't be that long, and it did happen.
BOUDREAU (on camera): You think someone should go to jail.
COON: I think a lot of people should go to jail.
BOUDREAU: The Justice Department investigated the Texas City explosion and no one from BP was held criminally accountable but the company did pay a $50 million criminal fine. Abbie Boudreau, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I want to check our top stories right now. Monday, a Peruvian judge will begin questioning talk to Joran Van der Sloot in private. Authorities say the Dutch citizen has already confessed to the murder of 21-year-old Stephany Flores in Peru. If convicted, Van der Sloot could serve as much as 35 years in prison. He's also been linked to the 2005 disappearance of Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway.
There will be a familiar presence in Afghanistan and not everyone is happy about it. An affiliate of the former Blackwater Security Company has won a $120 million contract to protect U.S. consulates and diplomats. Blackwater contractors were involved in the deadly shoot information Iraq in 2007. Critics say it should not get any more government contracts.
President Obama today issued a statement on the observance of Juneteenth. It marks the day that 145 years ago when union troops arrived in Dallas and Texas with word that enslaved Americans were now free. It came more than two years after President Lincoln's emancipation proclamation. President Obama calls today's observance "one step in our continuing effort to perfect our union and live out the ideals of our founders."
Students at an Atlanta middle school just graduated in a star-studded ceremony. We'll meet some of these new graduates. You'll meet them again. Because they are famous now and you're going to hear why Oprah says she envies them.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Yes. This is going to be a real treat, I promise you. You know, when kids at the Ron Clark Academy go to a Broadway show they learn the songs, read the story and find out how the theater was built. And that's what makes learning at this Georgia school so exceptional.
This week the academy in Atlanta celebrated its first graduation ever and the exceptional experiences kept coming as the superstar offered her congratulations. A big superstar, none other than Oprah Winfrey, surprised the students, praising them before the eighth graders, well, before they head off to high school.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: I envy these kids. These kids have been all over the world. To be in the eighth grade and to have been to six continents. To have been everywhere other than Antarctica if they could have found a way, I'm sure they would have gone there, too. And I think they represent the best of what education can be in this country. I think they're a model for the whole country. So that's why I would do whatever was possible to be here to support them.
LEMON: It's amazing at the inauguration. I said, you don't have to call me "sir." And then he goes, sir, it's amazing -
WINFREY: It's the level of respect. I was at my school in South Africa and they came to visit my school this summer or last winter or whenever it was, and on their way to Australia, I go, I've never seen kids who were so articulate, poise, gracious, kind, loving, giving, intelligent. And going to shake up the world. (END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ron Clark credits Oprah's support for helping him fund his academy and tonight, some of those who benefited from Ron's work join us now. Congratulations to you all. We should say Ron is here as well.
Willie Thornton. Willie, you had braids back when I first met you. I saw you the other day and I didn't recognize you without the braids. So Willy Thornton's here, Chi Chi Ugwuh here and also Osei Avril is here and Ron Clark here. We know you just got off a plane. You were in Puerto Rico speaking about - are you carrying this other places?
RON CLARK, FOUNDER, RON CLARK ACADEMY: Yes, during the summer I go out and I talk to teachers all over the country and around the world and encourage them to come here to Atlanta to visit our school and to see what methods we use and so they can take our methods back around the world.
LEMON: OK. So you guys are at graduation. You're the first graduating class of the Ron Clark Academy and then you see Oprah walk in. You guys screamed. What did you think?
WILLIE THORNTON, RON CLARK ACADEMY GRADUATE: Well, the first thing I thought was "wow." I mean, seeing this woman with so much power walk in before us at our graduation, is something that I will always remember. I mean, it shows the level of love and respect that she has for education nowadays.
LEMON: So you guys said, most of the kids said, I don't want to leave. You guys were crying because you don't want to leave the academy. Why?
CHI CHI UGWUH, RON CLARK ACADEMY GRADUATE: Well, we just had so many wonderful experiences here and we're all so close and so - we're such a family, it's going to be hard to let that go so we're all really reluctant to move on but we know we have to and we're ready for it. So -
LEMON: So, do you remember coming to the inauguration?
OSEI AVRIL, RON CLARK ACADEMY GRADUATE: Yes, sir.
LEMON: Yes. OK. So in the inauguration, you performed for the first lady and you went to Oprah's school in Africa. You went to six continents, right?
AVRIL: Yes, sir.
LEMON: What is that? What was the last two or three years of your life? What's it been like for you?
AVRIL: The last two or three years of my life have been extraordinary. I've gained memories in this last year that will stay with me for the rest of my life and I'll look back and tell little children about experiences that molded me into the person that I am and that really made me a better person in life and I know I'll never forget.
LEMON: Osei, do you wish this would - because you know, you realized your fortune what going to the Ron Clark Academy has done for you. Having fans like Oprah has done for you but a lot of kids around the country don't have a school like the Ron Clark Academy. What do you say to them?
AVRIL: I say though you're at whatever school you're at, it's not about what you have but it's about what's inside of you. And I think anyone can be whatever they want to be as long as they try their best and put forth nothing less than their best. At the end, it's all about you as a person and what you have in your heart.
LEMON: Yes, you know, it's funny because Ron and I talked. Afterwards, I said, after the graduation, I saw Oprah and we were so excited and it was a surprise. Ron said, "you may want to come to the graduation tonight, Don." I said, "why?" "I can't tell you, I can't tell you but it may be worth your while." So thank you for inviting me there and got that little exclusive.
But, you know, Ron, were talking. You were afraid you may not make it back in time and I said, well, do you think the kids will be OK? And he said, oh, they got it. It's on lockdown.
Did he teach you that or are you comfortable - are you different people because of the experience that you had at his school and more confident now?
THORNTON: Yes, sir. I feel I have changed a lot. I'm able to get in front of crowds and speak my mind and speak how I feel and not be afraid because our number one motto at the school is there's no room for fear. You always have to give it your best and no matter what you always have to go for it.
LEMON: Yes, it's funny because as he's talking, Ron is kind of looking at you, kind of parroting you. Do you feel that these kids are your kids.
CLARK: Yes. We love them so much. We think when you're a teacher, when you have a school, it's a family. And so we've learned to love these kids, to support them, to lift them up and so yes, I'm very connected to them and just so proud of the individuals they've become.
LEMON: Yes. Congratulations to you guys. And I have to say, and it's real genuine, if you guys are watching at home, because all of the people who have supported, you had some investment of people who have helped you out, all of the teachers, everyone, it was tears all around and they said I'm going to miss you. I don't want to leave this school. It is a great model for a school and we applaud you. And will you come back and let us know your progress when you become president, you become the president or whatever it is you're going to do, titans in business and all that, come back.
Don't forget about the little people, will you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sir. LEMON: Thanks, guys.
CLARK: Thank you.
LEMON: Good seeing you.
Are you going to let that hair grow back?
THORNTON: Yes.
LEMON: All right. On to more serious business here, politicians need to be careful when cameras are rolling. Take a look at this confrontation with Democratic congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you fully support the Obama agenda?
REP. BOB ETHERIDGE, NORTH CAROLINA: Who are you? Who are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Hear what Etheridge is saying about that situation now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Over the weekend we always try to catch you up on some of the stories that you may have missed during the week. Sometimes it's risky to stick a camera in a politician's face.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, congressman. How are you? Do you fully support the Obama agenda?
ETHERIDGE: Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Who are you? Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project.
ETHERIDGE: I don't know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just here for a project.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Would you please let go of my hand.
ETHERIDGE: Tell me who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm just a student, sir. ETHERIDGE: From?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're just students. That's all we are.
ETHERIDGE: I have a right to know who you are.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All we are are students.
ETHERIDGE: So am I, who are you? Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Please let go of my arm, sir.
ETHERIDGE: Who are you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sir, sir, please.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressman -
ETHERIDGE: Who are you? Who are you?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, clearly Democratic Congressman Bob Etheridge of North Carolina did not a appreciate having a camera shoved in his face by two strangers and you can see they never identified themselves. Still, Etheridge was compelled to say he was sorry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ETHERIDGE: I came here today, to do one thing, and that was to apologize for my actions. As I said, no matter how intrusive or partisan politics has become, there's no excuse. I know better.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the video of Etheridge lashing out was posted anonymously on the web and it has been everywhere.
The war in Afghanistan just got a bit more complicated. Up until now the country was believed to have almost no valuable natural resources, certainly none worth fighting for. But now the U.S. says parts of the country hold large deposits of gold, copper and other minerals worth at least $1 trillion.
Well, you've heard of the bridge to nowhere in Alaska, I'm sure. Well, a lot of people think the bridge is an idea and Arizona is nuts. If built, it will basically be a bunch of ropes strung across a remote highway so endangered red squirrels don't become road kill. Nobody objects to that. It's the cost they object to. $400,000 in federal dollars.
"A day in the Life" is now worth $1.2 million. John Lennon's handwritten lyrics to the Beatles classic sold Friday at auction to a private collector in the U.S.. That's nearly 13 times what the single sheet of paper sold for when it last came to auction back in 1992. Lennon is believed to have been written the lyrics on January 17th, 1967. The Beatles began recording the song a few days later and eventually it turned into a 5 1/2-minute tour de force that changed rock music forever.
Ray Charles made his mark with his soulful sound and remarkable life and his death was a tremendous blow to his son.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was in deep despair after my father passed away and just simply out of control.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Coming up at 10:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN, Ray Charles Jr. talks about his new book, his own struggles, his relationship with his famous father as well.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern tonight. Make sure you join us. "DADS FOR MY DAUGHTERS," a special Dr. Sanjay Gupta documentary is next. Hear from a man who thought only of his daughters when he found out he was going to die.
