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"Cult Suicide" A False Alarm; Hurricane Igor Pounds Bermuda; Infighting within the Republican Party; Signs of Cult Behavior; Some States Help Ex-Cons Find Jobs

Aired September 19, 2010 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, everything you need to know for your week ahead including the man you just saw, Bill Maher, exposing the controversial past of a Tea Party darling and possibly forcing Delaware's newest GOP primary winner to cancel media appearances. How will Washington react -- tomorrow.

Social conservatives and gay Republicans in a standoff in their own party. It will play out in a dinner this week in DC, just a day after a key Senate vote on "don't ask, don't tell." The head of the gay Republicans here this hour.

Hurricane Igor bearing down, thousands either fleeing or bracing for the worst. It's a giant storm, and we're live in the middle of it in just moments.

We begin in southern California, where an overnight scare about a possible cult suicide turned out to be a false alarm. Thirteen Salvadoran women and children, who had been the subject of an intense manhunt, were found today safe and unharmed. In fact, they were praying in a public park in Palmdale unaware police were even looking for them. CNN's Thelma Gutierrez has been sorting out the facts.

Thelma?

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, the group of 13 including eight children and five adults were found right here at this park. They were sitting on the grass in the midst of a prayer session. In fact, you can see their bibles just right over there. They were in the midst of praying, say authorities, completely unaware that there was a statewide manhunt out for them.

It was initiated yesterday when two of the spouses went into the sheriff's station and said that they were concerned about their wives, their children, who had gone off with a charismatic person from their church and were going to the desert for a prayer session. They were concerned about their safety.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEVE WHITMORE, SPOKESMAN, L.A. CO. SHERIFF'S DEPT.: I don't know if they were letters. They were written exclamations, if you will, proclamations, and the letters themselves could be interpreted in many ways.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: So they weren't addressed to anyone.

WHITMORE: No, as far as I know. Now, some of the language in it could be interpreted of saying goodbye to relatives but that's an interpretation. When you couple that with a missing person report and the concern and the fact that we can't find it, the fact that you can't call them, the fact that they are unaccounted for, so we -- and I said this earlier, and the sheriff's department believes, as all law enforcement does, it is better to overreact than to under react.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GUITIERREZ: Authorities took 32-year-old Reyna Marisol Chicas in for questioning. They say that she is the leader of the prayer group. They say she appeared dazed and confused and will undergo psychological evaluation, but they emphasize that she's not charged with a crime. No one is, because they say no crime has been committed. They found no drugs or weapons to suggest that anyone was in harm's way -- Don.

LEMON: We appreciate that. Stories like this immediately trigger memories of Jonestown, Heaven's Gate, the Branch Davidians, the Manson family and other notorious cults. My conversation with cult expert Marc Galanter is coming up in just a bit just here on this show.

Back on American soil, after more than a year in an Iranian prison. Sarah Shourd tonight is back in the U.S. following her release last week. Shourd was let go after she reportedly found a lump in her breast, but now she says that doctors in Oman told her she is physically well. Shourd is one of three American hikers detained by Iran after they allegedly crossed over the border from Iraq in July of 2009.

Well, today, she thanked Iran for letting her go, but called on the country to release her fiance Shane Bauer and their friend Josh Fattal. You know, Shourd's arrival comes as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is visiting New York. He's in town for the United Nations General Assembly session that begins tomorrow. In an interview with ABC, Ahmadinejad talked about the release of Sarah Shourd and said he'd like to see some reciprocation from the U.S.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): It's true that the Islamic Republic of Iran took a humanitarian measure and released one of the three individuals who entered our borders, Miss Sarah Shroud. This was a huge humanitarian gesture. Now you may be aware that eight Iranians are illegally being detained in the United States. So I believe that it would not be misplaced to ask that the U.S. government should make a humanitarian gesture to release the Iranians who were illegally arrested and detained here in the United States.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The hikers' families have asked for a meeting with Ahmadinejad while he's in New York, but no word on whether it will happen. Hear more from Ahmadinejad this Wednesday on "LARRY KING LIVE." The Iranian president will be Larry's guest at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

We want to go now to the Gulf of Mexico. The all clear has been given on that busted BP well pipeline that caused so much drama, heartbreak and the death of 11 men, becoming the worst oil disaster in U.S. history. National Incident Commander Thad Allen declared the Macondo oil well officially dead early this morning. The so-called "bottom kill" operation, pumping mud and cement into the line, passed all pressure tests. The line may be plugged but no doubt it will be years before the people along the Gulf fully recover.

The Alaska senator, who lost her primary bid to keep her seat, is now claiming to be the victim of a smear campaign. Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski is launching a write-in campaign after losing to Joe Miller on Tuesday. Now she's accusing the Tea Party Express, which backed her opponent, of dirty tricks in an interview with CNN's Candy Crowley on today's "STATE OF THE UNION."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": Doesn't it look like sore loser to now launch this write-in campaign?

SEN. LISA MURKOWSKI (R), ALASKA: What happened in my particular race, you had the Tea Party Express, this California-based group, come in at the last minute in a campaign, run a mud-slinging, smear, just a terrible, terrible campaign with lies and fabrications, mischaracterization. They came in. They dumped $600,000 into -- into a small market here in Alaska and they absolutely clearly influenced the outcome of that election.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the man who beat Murkowski in the primary Joe Miller tells Fox News that she's just not getting the message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE MILLER (R), ALASKA SENATE CANDIDATE: She's not listening very well to the Alaskan voters because this primary, we had the largest turnout of Republican voters in the history of the state. And they said resoundingly -- well, 2,000 votes, I guess that is as resoundingly as it gets, that in fact the views we've expressed during this campaign are the views that the future of the state needs to embrace. So I think that really she's just got a real disconnection from reality in thinking that the voters of Alaska are extreme.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And more politics now. This time, a bizarre admission from the newly minted Republican nominee for Senate in Delaware. Here's Tea Party darling Christine O'Donnell in a 1990 clip from Bill Maher and ABC's "Politically Incorrect."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL (R), DELAWARE SENATE CANDIDATE: I dabbled into witchcraft. I never joined a coven. But I did, I did.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute. You were a witch?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she was a witch.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You were a witch?

O'DONNELL: I didn't join the coven. Let's get this straight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait a minute. I love this. You were a witch. And Halloween's been...

O'DONNELL: I was a witch.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How were you a witch?

O'DONNELL: Because I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this up. I know what they told me we would do. I mean, in one of my first dates...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait, wait, wait. I want to hear about this.

O'DONNELL: One of my first dates with a witch was on a satanic altar and I didn't know it. I mean, there's a little blood there and stuff like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your first date was on a satanic altar?

O'DONNELL: Yes, yes. We went to a movie and then like had a little midnight picnic on a satanic altar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Bill Maher showed that clip Friday on his new program HBO's "Real Time." He says he's got more and he's going to keep showing them until O'Donnell comes on his new program. O'Donnell called two appearances on -- called off two appearances on talk shows today because her campaign says she had obligations in Delaware.

More political news to come. We're learning of infighting within the GOP tonight over plans by one of its leaders to attend a fundraiser for gay and lesbian members of the party. We're talking live with the head of the Log Cabin Republicans in just a few minutes.

And Hurricane Igor bearing down at this hour on Bermuda. Reynolds Wolf joins us live from the center of the storm and Jacqui Jeras is in the hurricane headquarters to tell us where it is all going.

And it is time for you to be part of the show right now. Make sure you log on to the social networking sites, send us a message and check out our blog at cnn.com/don. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One tiny island. One giant hurricane. Hurricane Igor is pounding the tourist haven of Bermuda right now with fierce winds and rains. Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm at CNN's hurricane headquarters right here in Atlanta. And Reynolds Wolf braving Igor at Elbow Beach in Bermuda.

Let's start with you, Reynolds. What's going on?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, this is the worst that we've seen so far. I hope the mike will pick it up. Incredible wind gusts here just over the past I'd say 20 to 30 minutes. Center of circulation still pushing west of the island but there's still plenty of wind, some very heavy rains, at the same time some incredible surf. We're up on a bluff overlooking Elbow Beach. (INAUDIBLE) right to the coast itself before sundown. We'll show you the video to give you an idea of what we saw.

As you can imagine, the conditions there were just as bad. Very difficult trying to stand. It was just hard to believe, just out of the sheer force of the wind that's churning up the water. The wind and waves coming right up and just going right up against the beach bluff itself. This is a scene that's been playing up and down these islands.

But I can tell you is that for all 138 islands that consist of Bermuda altogether, about a third in size of Washington, D.C., the effect has been detrimental. There's been widespread power outages, as you might imagine. People without power, about 21,000, roughly two-thirds of the population without power as we speak. There have been reports that the causeway that connects part of the islands together closed. The airport closed. Shelters, the few that have actually gone to the shelter, anywhere from 40 to 50, which is actually much higher than the number of people who went to the shelters back during 2003 with Hurricane Fabian.

So again, the storm is going to pass to the west. That's the good news. The bad news is that once it continues to travel farther to the north, it will cause (INAUDIBLE). There's no doubt that the damage could be great before all is said and done.

Don, let's send it back to you.

LEMON: Reynolds, hold on there. We're going to get back to you in just a bit. You're going to see Reynolds in a few minutes here again to update us on this hurricane.

Meantime, we want to get to our Jacqui Jeras here at the CNN center -- CNN hurricane headquarters.

Jacqui, he's getting really battered there.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, and this has been going on for hours, like he mentioned and we have several hours to go. You know, I think that Igor has gotten as close as it's going to get to Bermuda, and it's starting to actually pull away from the islands now. It's a Category 1 storm. 75 mile per hour maximum sustained winds. But we've been seeing those frequent hurricane force gusts now, and when it's so persistent for so long, you can tend to have a little bit more damage because of that.

You know, the eye of this hurricane is west of Bermuda but the hurricane force winds extend so far out from the center of the storm. That's what continues to lash this island. It's moving to the north, and it's going to hook to the right, and it is impacting the U.S. with these large swells and rip currents. We've been seeing them all weekend long along the Atlantic coast, and those will continue into tomorrow.

Now, we've got a couple of other big weather headlines to tell you about. These pictures coming in out of Utah. This is outside of Salt Lake City. Mandatory evacuations have been ordered now for the Cove subdivision. This is in Herriman, about 100 to 150 homes. People who live in them have been told to evacuate because the smoke is so thick and this all got started through a military exercise. National guardsmen were using machine guns and, unfortunately, that sparked the fire. No structures have been burned so far.

And then last but not least, we want to tell you what's been going on in the state of Texas. You would have thought this is a tropical system but just an upper level disturbance bringing flooding, rains. We're talking about major flooding in Corpus Christi. Record rainfall. And within a 50-mile radius of this city, there are just dozens and dozens of roads which are closed and many of the area schools have been closed for tomorrow as well. More rain in the forecast, at least through Wednesday.

We've got an update coming in from the National Hurricane Center before the top of the hour, Don, on Igor. We'll tell you about it when that comes in.

LEMON: Jacqui, thank you very much.

The new darling of the Tea Party movement and her past comments about witchcraft. The fallout from Christine O'Donnell's decade-old remarks.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's time now for your "CNN Equals Politics Update." We're keeping an eye on the latest headlines on the cnn.com political ticker as we start the new week. So let's join our senior political editor Mark Preston from "THE BEST POLITICAL TEAM ON TELEVISION."

So, Mark, tell us what's crossing right now?

MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Well, Don, 44 days until Election Day and the White House is taking notice. In fact, this week, expect to see President Obama and Vice President Biden on the campaign trail. President Obama heads to Philadelphia as well as New York City to raise money for Democratic candidates and Democratic campaign committees. Meanwhile, Biden goes to Massachusetts. He goes to Ohio. He goes to Maryland, and he closes the week in Florida, raising money for these very crucial campaign dollars heading into the midterm elections.

Meanwhile, Christine O'Donnell, she seems to be the Republican, the politician that everyone is talking about right now. She is the come- from-behind kid, the come-out-of-nowhere kid. Christine O'Donnell beat the Republican establishment candidate to win the primary in Delaware, happens to be Joe Biden's seat.

However, a lot of questionable things that have come up about her past. Some of the statements that she has made, including the fact that she dabbled a little bit in witchcraft. A lot of fighting right now. A lot of confusion within the Republican Party. What did she mean? So, Christine O'Donnell making headlines throughout this weekend and continues throughout the week.

And let's talk a little bit about the Republican Party right now, Don. It's doing very well. Expected to pick up at least 30 seats in the House, maybe take back control of that chamber, pick up several seats in the Senate. But what about the direction of the party? We had social conservatives here this week for the Values Voter summit. They said that the Republican Party has to continue to talk about moral issues.

Meanwhile, the Tea Party Express has found all of its success talking about economic issues. So what is the direction of the party?

A very important fundraiser for the Log Cabin Republicans this week, Don, and they are going to have some big-name GOPers there, including the head of the Senate Republican arm, John Cornyn. In fact, Tony Perkins from the Family Research Council asked John Cornyn not to attend that fundraiser because the Log Cabin Republicans is a gay Republican advocacy organization. John Cornyn says, you know what, I am going to attend.

So, yes, a lot of questions for the Republican Party, Don, heading into the midterms and beyond.

LEMON: Hey, great reporting on that Log Cabin Republican dinner, Mark, and I'm going to talk with the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans in just a moment here on CNN.

But you know I want to talk a little bit more about Christine O'Donnell. Where does she go from here? Can she win and does she really threaten the Republicans' efforts to retake the Senate?

PRESTON: Well, Don, I think that the Republican Party would have had an uphill battle no matter what in gaining the 10 seats they need to wrest control of the Senate majority out of Democratic hands. The fact is Christine O'Donnell has helped to enliven the Tea Party Express even more.

However, there is a lot of questions about her past, about some of the statements she has made. I think her advisers have gotten to her and told Christine O'Donnell, do not go out there and talk anymore, do not continue to make statements, try to go out and talk to the base voters in Delaware. That is the best way that you can win in November.

So, it will be interesting to see, Don, if Christine O'Donnell tends to go underground and only talks to voters in Delaware over the next six weeks or so.

LEMON: And she cancelled all of her appearances on the Sunday talks and I hear she is canceling more of them and as you said they probably want her to talk to the people, not necessarily get on television and talk to the media.

Thank you very much, Mark.

PRESTON: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: And that's the "CNN Equals Politics Update." For the very latest political news, make sure you go to cnnpolitics.com.

And we have more political news. An update to Mark's report about a top GOP, a senator who plans to attend a fundraiser for gay and lesbian members of the party. We're talking live with the head of the Log Cabin Republicans.

And also tonight --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The city looked at Gene, saw that he had two felony convictions in his past and said, therefore, you can't work for the city. It didn't care about his rehabilitation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Transitioning from behind bars to behind a desk. Taking steps to help unemployed men with a criminal past get a fair shot at a job.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And as you heard our Mark Preston talk about just moments ago, a leading Senate Republican enters a new week at odds with social conservatives. Texas Senator John Cornyn, who is leading the GOP effort to take control of the Senate, plans to attend Wednesday's fundraiser for gay and lesbian Republicans. Clarke Cooper is executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans.

Clarke, thanks for joining us.

R. CLARKE COOPER, EXEC. DIR., LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Listen, conservative groups like Family Research Council, they are asking Cornyn to skip your dinner, and they are blasting your organization for leading the fight to repeal "don't ask, don't tell" in the military and opposing attempts to ban same-sex marriage. Are your views at odds with the Republican Party? COOPER: Not at all. Actually, being conservative and being gay are not mutually exclusive. And we try to remember and try to remind our fellow Republicans that the two basic core conservative tenets, or I would call them bookends for conservatives are individual liberty and individual responsibility.

We're filling those two bookends, and you have positions like strong economy, free market economy, tax reform, strong national defense, a confident foreign policy and the list could go on. But again, those basic two tenets of individual liberty and individual responsibility, and that is conservative, small "c", and that's what we're reminding our folks about.

LEMON: So that trumps gay marriage, and that also trumps "don't ask, don't tell. You said those tenets that you talked about.

COOPER: That actually falls within under that. And so part of "don't ask, don't tell" repeal is allowing for open service so that all Americans can serve their country the way I do and my fellow colleagues. Many members of Log Cabin Republicans, because we're strong and pro-national defense, are actually serving our country. They're in active, reserve or National Guard roles.

LEMON: You understand, though, if many conservatives had it their way, you would not be able to serve and many members of the military, gay members of the military, aren't able to serve because of the views of your party.

COOPER: Well, that's not exactly accurate. We're trying to -- we're working with other members of the Republican Party to get the party back to basics. Back in 2008, our party lost, and we lost big, and as we say in the military, there's a big AAR, or after action review, and one of those things that was realized by Republicans across the board regarding -- regardless of where they were on the political spectrum, was that part of how we lost was divisiveness and wedge issues. Mostly focused on social issues, not completely.

LEMON: OK.

COOPER: And so looking forward, where we're going to win is focusing on common points -- common points within the party, such as the economy.

LEMON: Yes.

Let's move on, let's move on. I want to move on and talk about your dinner. You have a dinner and a fundraiser that's scheduled for next week, which is one day after a key Senate vote on repealing military's "don't ask, don't tell" policy.

Now here's how Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council described your efforts to abolish "don't ask, don't tell." He says, "How can a group that professes allegiance to the GOP at the same time be committed to do judicial activism to advance its radical social policies even at the risk of undermining the U.S. military and, as a result, national security?" Are Log Cabin Republicans undermining the U.S. military, as Tony Perkins claims?

COOPER: Not at all. In fact, many have recognized, including on our side of the aisle, that the current statute, the "don't ask, don't tell" statute, 10 USC 654 actually is a threat to national security. Folks are being asked to redact their parts of their lives. DoD is the last national security agency not to have open service. The Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the NSA, that whole alphabet soup agencies for national security have open service right now. DoD is the last to have that.

So it is preposterous to claim -- for anyone to claim to say that open service is a threat. It's actually reversed. Having closed service or making it impossible for people to be honest about who they are is a risk for compromise of security and national intelligence.

LEMON: Hey, Clarke, I've got to ask you this, and I -- so I want to get your feelings on it, and if you think it advances the Log Cabin Republicans at all. The former Republican Party Chair Ken Mehlman recently acknowledged that he is gay.

So what are your thoughts on his past role in the Bush campaign and the policies that he promoted?

R. CLARKE COOPER, EXEC. DIR., LOG CABIN REPUBLICANS: Right. Well, Ken has already said on record that he regrets those policies having been under his purview during that time and you're referring to the '04 cycle. He was in a different time and place. He was not out to himself per se. He was going through the coming out process, and so he is looking forward, as far as helping advance more equitable party, a more inclusive party. Again, focusing back on the core conservative tenets that are bookended by individual liberty and individual responsibility.

And Ken is committed to making sure that Republicans are leaders in that, and we are. There are a number of Republican past and current leaders who are working toward marriage equality, toward open service in the military and toward employment non-discrimination as well. And I'm happy to say that...

LEMON: And Clarke.

COOPER: Yes?

LEMON: Yes. We're going to have to -- that's going to be your last thought. Hate to cut you off, but it's a very busy -- it's a very busy news evening here. Listen...

COOPER: Yes. Don't miss our dinner.

LEMON: Yes. I'm sorry?

COOPER: Don't miss our dinner. It's Wednesday. It's on the 22nd. Hope to see you all there.

LEMON: All eyes will be on that.

COOPER: Yes.

LEMON: And also what's coming up in the Senate next week with that key vote on "don't ask, don't tell."

Clarke Cooper is the executive director of the Log Cabin Republicans.

Have a good evening, sir.

COOPER: Thank you.

LEMON: You know, one day after referencing the sexual abuse scandal plaguing Catholic Church, Pope Benedict references another controversial topic -- Nazi Germany.

And first it was Pakistan. Now the monsoon season is proving deadly in another country.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Top stories right now on CNN. Pope Benedict XVI has wrapped up his historic visit to the UK. Before leaving for Rome today, the pontiff condemned the sexual abuse of children by Catholic priests. He said the abusers had brought shame and humiliation on the Church. The German-born pontiff also praised the British people for standing up to Nazi Germany during World War II.

In Iraq, violence across the country today killed at least 36 people. More than 100 others were hurt. Most of those casualties were from two massive car bombs in Baghdad. Another car bomb in Fallujah killed five.

In northern India, the annual monsoon season has proved deadly. Authorities say at least 63 people have died in widespread flooding and landslides over the past two days. About 5,000 people have been evacuated from the hardest hit areas. The worst may be yet to come though. More heavy rains have been forecast over the next 24 hours.

Housing prices, jobs and Starbucks. Signs in the economy. Well, maybe on the rebound or headed in reverse. CNN's Stephanie Elam is "Getting Down to Business."

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: We may be seeing signs of stability in the housing market. National home prices rose 3.6 percent over the past year. But some experts say that number was helped by the home buyer tax credit and could fall again soon. Look for the latest housing numbers out on Tuesday.

While lawmakers in Washington work on fixing the economy, new numbers suggest the healing could start right away in the nation's capital. The District of Columbia gained almost 18,000 jobs last month, and employment is up 3 percent this year, outpacing every state in the nation. We'll find out more on unemployment this week. While looking out for signs of economic recovery, a different kind of sign is causing a caffeinated controversy. Starbucks' newly designed drive-thru menu offers their 16-ounce "grande" and 20-ounce "venti" cups of coffee with no mention of the cheaper 12-ounce tall size for sale. Logs are heating up, saying the coffee giant is trying to trick customers into paying more. But Starbucks says they are just trying out a simplified menu.

That's this week's "Getting Down to Business."

Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.

LEMON: All right, Stephanie.

Police feared a mass suicide might be in the works. That turned out not to be the case. But it praises -- it raises questions, I should say, about what exactly is cult-like behavior and when should we be alarmed about it. A cult expert joins me next.

Plus, Hurricane Igor is bearing down on Bermuda, but the U.S. coast isn't off the hook yet.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A group of Salvadoran women and children were found safe and sound today in southern California after an overnight manhunt by police. Authorities had feared that they were part of a cult and had planned to kill themselves. Neither of those assumptions was correct. Cult expert Marc Galanter is author of "Cults, Faith Healing and Coercion," and earlier I asked him whether authorities were right to be worried.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARC GALANTER, CULT EXPERT: Yes, I think there was. And I think we can underestimate how certain behaviors can evolve into very problematic actual outcomes. So, although these women apparently were not doing anything harmful, the very fact that evidence was found in these pocketbooks that they were going to rejoin their dead relatives may well have meant that something more problematic was in the back minds of their leader, at least.

LEMON: So you think -- do you think we're going to see something more coming out of this story? Might investigators or authorities there in the California area be looking into this particular group more?

GALANTER: Well, I think now that they have gotten this much publicity, much to their surprise, they may be very cautious. But I think there are groups like this all around in many respects. They come to different conclusions. Most of them are relatively benign, but it's very hard to predict how a given group will unfold and what will transpire with them.

LEMON: Mr. Galanter, how do we know that, you know, something is in fact a cult or not? Some people would say that there are religious groups and very popular religious groups, which we don't have to name, that they have cult -- they have cult-like parts to their organizations as well. So how do we know exactly what a cult is?

GALANTER: Well, I labeled my book "Cults" because I thought it was something that is understandable to most people. But actually the more appropriate term that's used in the book is a charismatic group, which is a group that sees itself as transcendent in some way, that's highly cohesive, everybody supports each other, that has shared beliefs that can be either positive or can be problematic. And they vary so much that there are some that historically have been actually and clearly very dangerous.

LEMON: You want to talk -- well, I mean, we've talked about -- we know some of the ones, the Heaven's Gate, Jim Jones, all those sorts of cults. But one -- you wonder what makes people become susceptible to these sorts of cults when there are other groups or religious groups that aren't considered cults where they can join and that have transcendent qualities but don't quite live up to being a cult.

GALANTER: They usually get involved with some charismatic person, some person that maintains that they have some contact with the -- with the divine, some special message. And then it plays into the psychological needs of people who may be depressed, who may be displaced, troubled over some personal matters. And then as they support each other, they become involved in the beliefs of the group, and once they do, they will comply with whatever the group leader feels is most important, and that could be positive, but it could also be negative.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Marc Galanter.

What if a criminal past could become a thing of the past?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's giving people a fair shot to compete for jobs where they are qualified.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Some states are taking steps to remove criminal history questions from job applications, and not everyone is happy about it. That story is next.

Plus, fall is here, one of my favorite times of the year. The leaves are changing. The weather is cooling -- oh, and Oktoberfest starting early.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's time now for what we call our "Week Ahead Whip," from Washington to Hollywood. These are big stories coming up to mark on your calendar. Let's begin with the White House. ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Ed Henry at the White House where the president will be working on politics and foreign policy this week. Monday, he's in Philadelphia raising money for Senate Democratic candidate Joe Sestak, whom the White House originally opposed. Then it's on to New York for the UN General Assembly meetings, where he will be working to contain Iran's nuclear program and trying to make progress on Israeli-Palestinian peace.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dana Bash in Washington where Congress returns this week for more of their brief session during this campaign season. And in the Senate, look for a big vote on Tuesday. Democratic leaders will try to start debate on a defense bill, which, among other things, authorizes the Pentagon to repeal its controversial "don't ask, don't tell" policy on gays. Republicans are trying to block the legislation for several reasons. They are accusing Democrats of holding purely political votes to appease key constituencies that have been frustrated with Democrats in action.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. Coming up this week on Wall Street, critical news for the housing market, but first all eyes will be on the Federal Reserve when central bankers announce their decision on interest rates on Tuesday afternoon. It's expected the Fed will keep those rates near zero, but the language in the report will be dissected on Wall Street.

And then we'll get the latest new and existing home sales reports this week. Investors hoping for any upbeat news from the battered housing sector. And finally, there's a hearing slated on Friday on Citigroup's proposed $75 million settlement with the SEC over its subprime mortgage holdings. We'll follow it all for you on CNNMoney.

A.J. HAMMER, HOST, "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer. We are expecting big reality news breaking this week. Now, Monday, we're going to find out whether Sarah Palin's daughter Bristol has got what it takes on "Dancing with the Stars" when the show's new season premiers. And this week, we expect to learn officially, once and for all, who is going to be replacing Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres on "American Idol."

"Showbiz Tonight" is live at 5:00 p.m. Eastern on HLN, and we are still TV's most provocative entertainment news show at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and Pacific.

LEMON: Azadeh Ansari is here to make us smart about what's happening internationally.

Azadeh, let's go - let's talk about what's happening here in the U.S. -- the UN General Assembly and, of course, Ahmadinejad causing some controversy there.

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: As always.

LEMON: Yes.

ANSARI: The UN General Assembly is going to meet this week and flocks of world leaders will be there. And the focus of this meeting is going to be on poverty, health and education of developing countries. Now, world leaders will take the podium Thursday, and we can expect Ahmadinejad to be making some comments that we will be watching closely.

LEMON: OK, Azadeh, we'll get you to hold that because we're having a little bit of trouble hearing you here.

ANSARI: Sure.

LEMON: Let's go now to -- let's go to Munich and talk about Oktoberfest coming up.

ANSARI: Oktoberfest. The legendary beer festival kicks off its 200-year anniversary. And what we're going to expect is the mayor of Munich, this is on Tuesday, at noon, he's going to tap the first keg of beer. And then for almost a little over two weeks, people are going to be out in the streets drinking, and we can expect over 6 million people to attend this event globally.

Is my mike OK?

LEMON: Yes. Thank you very much for that, Azadeh Ansari. That is going to be the last one, but we also want to tell our viewers to pay close attention because on Sunday, Venezuela, the election.

Azadeh Ansari, we appreciate you joining us every Sunday. Have a great week, OK?

ANSARI: You, too.

LEMON: Listen. You know, black men make up 44 percent of the nation's prison population. They also struggle with a 16.7 percent unemployment rate. Now, some cities and states are trying to decrease those percentages by helping unemployed ex-cons get a fair shot at a job. CNN's Stephanie Elam explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GENE MAYS, JOB APPLICANT WITH CRIMINAL RECORD: Here's a basketball.

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Gene Mays knows all too well what a criminal record can do to a job search. Once the top of his class in high school, Mayes dropped out of college and began selling coke to support his habit.

MAYS: Once I started doing cocaine, it just shot straight to the top as far as my priority list.

ELAM: In 1989, he went to jail for drug trafficking. He served his time, paid his dues.

MAYS: It's October 7th, 1997. And that's the day that I got clean.

ELAM: Flash forward a decade, Mays, now married and a father, was studying to become an electrician to better provide for his family.

MAYS: I did something that they said had never been done, and that was got 100 on each one of the 12 tests during my first year.

ELAM: Despite this, the city of Cincinnati revoked its electrician job offer. David Singleton is Mays' lawyer.

DAVID SINGLETON, EXEC. DIR., OHIO JUSTICE AND POLICY CENTER: The city looked at Gene, saw that he had two felony convictions in his past and said, therefore, you can't work for the city. It didn't care about his rehabilitation. It didn't care that he was ranked number one in his class each of the five years of the electricians' training program.

ELAM: Singleton successfully fought to get Cincinnati to ban the box, removing the criminal history question from its job applications. Employers are still free to ask the question later in the hiring process. The point is to give ex-offenders a chance at an interview.

SINGLETON: It's not felon first employment program. What it is, is it's giving people a fair shot to compete for jobs where they are qualified.

ELAM (on camera): So this box issue, is it more of an issue for people of color, for black men?

SINGLETON: Statistics bear out that if you're a person of color, you're more likely to be the focus of the police, you're more likely to wind up in the criminal justice system.

ELAM (voice over): This summer, Connecticut joined Minnesota and New Mexico in banning the box on state job applications. While Massachusetts and Hawaii ban all employers from using the box. Massachusetts State Representative James Miceli is against softening these laws.

JAMES MICELI, MASS. STATE REPRESENTATIVE: I want to give everyone access to all of the information regarding someone's criminal record that they can get. Why not disclose everything up front?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Fighting a financial crisis from the pulpit. The black church has fought for civil and human rights and now it's waging a war on debt. "Almighty Debt", a "BLACK IN AMERICA" special coming Thursday, October 21st, 9:00 p.m. Eastern only here on CNN.

Hurricane Igor taking aim at Bermuda. Right now, a new advisory on its strength and where it's going just issued by the National Hurricane Center. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras updates us after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: As promised, we want to get you caught up right now on Hurricane Igor. The huge storm is battering Bermuda. Much of the island has no power, and the capital looks like a ghost town right now. Jacqui Jeras tracking Igor at the CNN hurricane headquarters, and Reynolds Wolf getting drenched at Elbow Beach in Bermuda. Let's go to Reynolds first for an update.

Reynolds?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, Don, the latest we've got is basically more of the same. We've had some gusts that are coming in that have been very strong. But I've got to tell you that when it comes to this storm, although it is a Category 1, although it's going to be in a dying state especially over the next 12 to 24 hours, the biggest danger for this region has not been just that the strength of the winds but rather the direction of the storm, how long it's been coming, how long is the island been subjected to hurricane gusts and tropical storm force winds.

And the problem is it's not going to just fade as the storm passes north, but rather it's going to continue. Some of the tropical storm force winds, so we could see further power outages as we make our way into Monday, perhaps even into Tuesday.

And I will tell you, last time when this -- when an event like this occurred back in 2003 with that hurricane -- I've got to tell you -- with Fabian, it took some parts of the islands three weeks before power was fully restored. So, it's going to take a long time before we see the full-term applications of what this storm means for the people of Bermuda.

Let's send it back to you, Don.

LEMON: All right, Reynolds, thanks very much.

You know, a new advisory on Igor is just in from the National Hurricane Center. I want to get now to meteorologist Jacqui Jeras headquarters -- Jacqui Jeras at the CNN hurricane headquarters.

Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Just combine it all, right?

You know, we do have a new update from the National Hurricane Center. We told you that we thought that Igor was probably as close as it's going to get to Bermuda, and now the NHC is confirming that. It's about 40 miles to the west of the main island there. It's still packing winds at 75 miles per hour, maximum sustained, so that's a Category 1 storm.

And we just got an observation off the island as well that the winds are gusting at 93 miles per hour, so that certainly can cause some damage. The forecast track is really unchanged. It started now that little northeasterly turn, so we're going to watch it start to pull northeast away and eventually becoming extra tropical.

Hurricane force conditions expected here into early tomorrow morning for several hours, and then we'll start to watch that diminish and move on out of there. Some of the worst of the rain bands have moved through. It looks like one more and then a break, but those winds will continue, and that's a big problem for a lot of hours to come.

LEMON: Yes, it's going to be a big problem. Jacqui Jeras, thank you, and Reynolds, of course, getting the brunt of the storm down in Bermuda. It's not over yet. Make sure you tune in to "AMERICAN MORNING" at 6:00 a.m. tomorrow morning right here on CNN.

In the meantime, I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks for watching. I'll see you back here next weekend. Have a great week. Good night.