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Reconsidering "Don't Ask, Don't Tell"; Twist in Murder of A- List Publicist; Lebron Returns to Cleveland
Aired December 02, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you. Good morning to both of you. It is 9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. in the West. I'm Don Lemon. Kyra is off today.
Here's some of the stories that have us talking this morning.
Another day, another round of embarrassing revelations from WikiLeaks. The whistle-blowing Web site is now exposing U.S. diplomatic concerns that Russia's government is tainted by corruption at almost every level.
Former Russian President Vladimir Putin appeared on CNN's "LARRY KING LIVE" last night and urged the U.S. to not interfere with his country's affairs.
You can expect a royal circus for the return of King James to Cleveland. This is going to be a big story tonight. You may remember the NBA superstar igniting fan fury when he publicly shunned a new contract with his hometown Cavaliers and instead took his talents to Miami.
Watch for that.
OK. Queue the "X-Files" theme music. NASA has scheduled a news conference today and the Web buzz is that there's speculation that it's life beyond earth.
ANNOUNCER: You're watching CNN, your severe weather headquarters.
LEMON: Our big story right now. Rivers rising in Pennsylvania. Cars and homes swamped. Roads and schools are closed today.
Right now there's a state of emergency in Butler County just north of Pittsburgh. People are keeping an eye on the water levels there. Bracing for the worse of it. The "Pittsburgh Post Gazette" says the Monongahela and Ohio Rivers is supposed to crest today.
Wow, let's go 300 miles east now to Indianapolis. Look at that. Snow and ice slick roads and cars sliding. That SUV skidded into a retention pond, that one right there, with a 23-year-old driver inside. There were some good news, though. The officers responded very quickly. Yanking the single mom to safety.
Listen. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When she got into the water, she called 911 and after that, the cops got real quick.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Call it good timing but the officers were already in the area responding to another weather problem. Once they got to the pond, took them less than five minutes to get the woman to safety.
Snow, snow, snow causing a lot of problems, Reynolds Wolf is here. Would you say it's all snow business? They were lucky, that person.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They were very fortunate. I mean we've seen that play out and unfortunately the result has not been so great. That's a happy ending. We're -- ecstatic with that.
We were talking about some of the issues we've had in parts of Pennsylvania in terms of the flooding. Some of the good news, the rivers are expected to crest very quickly and then drop.
We're also talking about snow -- Don was talking about that. It is going to be very heavy in places. In fact, Buffalo, my gosh. There's a winter weather showing up and it's been hitting that area like a sledge hammer.
(WEATHER REPORT)
WOLF: That is a quick look in your forecast. We've got a lot more to share with you coast to coast. That's all moments away.
Don, back to you.
LEMON: Reynolds Wolf, thank you. Monongahela, Monongahela.
WOLF: Monongahela. Yes.
LEMON: Thank you very much for that.
You know today could be a pivotal day in the battle over the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell' policy. This hour, the Senate Armed Services Committee is taking up the issue and is hearing from two of the military's top leaders. Defense Secretary Gates and Joint Chiefs chairman Mike Mullen back a repeal on the law which bans gays from serving openly.
Our senior congressional Dana Bash on Capitol Hill right now.
Dana, good morning to you.
DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning.
LEMON: Do we have a sense of what could happen right now? BASH: Well, this is a very important hearing. The first of two very important hearings actually because the Pentagon obviously came up with this very important report this week.
This is the first time we're going to hear members of the United States Senate ask questions of the military leaders about what it's about, what it means, a whole host of issues, and we're going to hear from the chairman who you see there beginning right now, Carl Levin.
Obviously he is somebody who supports a repeal. He's very complimentary of this report but we're going to hear from people like John McCain, an ardent opponent of doing this right now, who is going to -- really trying to poke holes in the methodology of the questionnaire, that they put forward to troops.
But it's going to be interesting to hear those he two sides. But I think the thing that I'm looking for is to hear what people like Scott Brown of Massachusetts say, Don, because he is one of those people -- many senators who are on the fence and they really want to hear from the military leaders about their thoughts on this report.
LEMON: Dana, today is a big day but tomorrow is actually going to be more telling as to how this is all going to go down. What's going to be decided?
BASH: I think it will be because tomorrow we're going to hear from the service chiefs and I've talked to several senators just in the hallways about, you know, what this means and what is -- on what is going to perhaps persuade them that going forward and voting for repeal is the right thing to do, and several of them like Olympia Snowe of Maine, for example.
She's somebody who's on the fence. She told me that what she hears from the service chiefs is going to be critical because what her question is, how is this really going to be implemented? And she believes that those people, the service chiefs, are sort of closer to the ground, if you will, and they are the people who are going to make this happen.
Those are the questions they're going to have for the service chiefs tomorrow and that's why I believe tomorrow is going to be equally important in terms of these hearings.
LEMON: Dana Bash, thank you. We will be watching.
Also on Capitol Hill today, House Democrats plan to vote on extending the Bush era tax cuts to the middle class. Now you may remember the tax cuts are due to expire at the end of the month. And the debate is split along party lines.
Democrats want the extension only for those making less than $250,000 a year. Republicans believe that wealthiest Americans should also keep the tax break.
Another vote is expected before the full House today is the punishment for Democrat Charlie Rangel. The House Ethics Committee had recommended the legendary congressman face censure for violating House rules. They were mostly tax and campaign violations.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANA MILBANK, WRITER, WASHINGTON POST: He does get the censure. He'll have to stand there in the well and the speaker of the House will say, Congressman Rangel, you've been a very naughty boy and then he'll apologize and go on about his business. Now he's not going to go to prison.
He did lose the big prize, and that was the chairmanship of the Ways and Means Committee. So if they're not going to expel the guy, and they're clearly not going to do that, the rest is just about levels of embarrassment.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, yesterday, Rangel reached out to his supporters in an e-mail. He called the censure excessive and asked them to call on other House members to vote against it.
A new twist in a high-profile Hollywood who-done-it. Police moved in on a person of interest in the killing of publicist Ronnie Chasen. But that man suddenly killed himself. He apparently pulled out a hand gun and shot himself at Hollywood apartment building last night as detectives were questioning him.
It has been just over two weeks since 64-year-old Ronnie Chasen died after someone fired into her Mercedes Benz in one of the swankiest neighborhoods in the world, Beverly Hills. The showbiz vet was on her way home from a party at the posh W. Hotel following an A- list premier of movie "Burlesque."
There have been no arrest in the case and police are considering several scenarios here. Maybe it was a case of road rage. Maybe it was a hit.
CNN producer Alan Duke retraced part of Chasen's last drive.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALAN DUKE, CNN PRODUCER: If someone was stalking Chasen as she left this after-party at the W. Hotel, it possibly would have been obvious. There's security cameras around here and plenty of people. And they would have had to have been lying in wait to see as she left, one would think.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, Chasen may not be a household name but she was well-known and very well respected in Hollywood. If you wanted to build an Oscar buzz for your movie, she was the go-to PR woman to do it. Working on campaigns for "The Hurt Locker," "On Golden Pond", and "Driving Miss Daisy," among others.
This is such a bizarre case, so many unanswered questions, so let's bring in our entertainment correspondent here Kareen Wynter. She's live in Hollywood for us this morning.
So what do we know, Kareen, about this person of interest?
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It is such a bizarre case, Don. Well, this person is the man who turned the gun on himself. He lived in the apartment complex right behind me. It's located right in Hollywood.
He was in his early 40s. He was a black man and we just checked in with the coroner's office a short time ago. They said, Don, that they're not releasing his identity right now. They're trying to notify family members first so we're still waiting on that, but we do have a name.
But of course not going to put it out there yet until we get that official confirmation. But neighbors in this residence, in this apartment complex say this man was no stranger to trouble. They described him as an ex-con, that he had since in and out of prison. That he was recently evicted from this apartment building about three months ago but came back periodically.
Apparently, you can live here on a month to month basis. And was really inquiring, asking strange things, according to some of the residents here, asking had the police been by? Were they looking for me? And also saying, you know what? Almost bragging that he was going to be receiving $10,000 for a job.
He didn't specify what. But some neighbors say he also gave a different story that he was involved in some sort of -- you know, case and he was going to be collecting money from a lawsuit.
Whatever the case is, they described him as someone who was very, very strange, and again, they're not surprised that this happened.
Again we are waiting on the official ruling from the coroner in terms of his identity but, again, so bizarre, so many people in this community rocked by what happened yesterday -- Don?
LEMON: This doesn't end their investigation, Kareen. And that's what police are saying. But my question is, we know about this suspect killing himself. What about what happened to Ronnie Chasen?
You saw Alan Duke tracing her last moments there. Do we know anything new about Chasen and what happened in the moments leading up to her death?
WYNTER: Well, we are awaiting that autopsy to be released. We thought that it was going to be released earlier this week. Perhaps on Monday. Today could be the day. We don't have that but we do know a lot from a report that was leaked initially in the investigation that she was killed by a .9 millimeter handgun.
That the shots came from that. That there were three bullet that went through her body. Her chest, her shoulder. But what's really, really a mystery here, and that's why this is so shocking when this all developed yesterday, up until this point, Don, at least publicly, investigators had been telling us, you know what? We don't have a suspect.
We have no motive here. We don't know if this was random or if it was actually a targeted killing. So that's what's so strange here. And you can bet this new circumstance right now with that man who turned the gun on himself that creates a different scenario for police because it's an essence roadblock.
You know even though they're saying he wasn't a suspect, he was a person of interest. They did have a search warrant and by the way, this location is no where near the crime scene where Chasen was shot. That's on the other side of town in a posh Beverly Hills community.
So something led them here. But again, that man never -- like gave police a chance to question him. So, a big, big mystery here in terms of, you know, what the next step in this case could even be -- Don.
LEMON: It is a mystery. And we'll follow up. Kareen Wynter, thanks, as always.
You know, this isn't Hollywood but there is drama here, as well. Even if you're not an NBA fan, there's a game tonight and you need to check it out. Just for a few minutes.
Lebron James back in Cleveland for the first time. Fans had a reason to burn his jersey. Do you think there's going to be some drama tonight? I bet there will be. We'll go to Cleveland for today's "Talker."
And we'll show you how the White House decorates for the holidays. From a ginger bread house you could live in to a first dog made of pipe cleaners. That's right. Pipe cleaners.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Here at the White House we have 19 Christmas trees in every corner of the White House. We have a giant Bo made out of pipe cleaners. We have 350 pounds of gingerbread house that you'll get to see that took our wonderful pastry chef Bill Yosses and his team an entire month to create.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh, my gosh. Who gets to munch on that thing? Are they going to give that to the public? At any rate, I love the holidays, don't you? And when the White House decks the halls, look at it. They really deck the halls.
The first lady telling us a little bit about the decor there. Nearly 100 volunteers from all over the country helped with the decorating and made the ornaments that you see. Mrs. Obama says that spirit of kindness and generosity is what the holidays are all about. And lots of eating and enjoying yourself, as well.
Now let's talk a little NBA. And the game tonight. It's so much more than a game, people. Lebron James plays in Cleveland for the first time since his very public and, for Cavalier fans, very painful exit to Miami. Some Cavaliers fans. Not all of them.
Mary Boyer of "The Cleveland Plain Dealer" writes that tonight "has a potential to be New Year's Eve, the Super Bowl, and apocalypse all rolled into one." CNN's Carol Costello joins us live from Quicken Loans Arena. The Q. I hope your lips work better than mine today. Where all of this could happen. This could -- this is going to be some drama. Let's put it that way.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it has the potential to be ugly, but we're hoping it won't be ugly. There'll be extra security here tonight, Don. There will be undercover security people in the stands.
No plastic beer bottles will be sold. The beer will be served in plastic cups because they don't want people throwing the plastic beer bottles onto the floor. If you wear a t-shirt with profanity on it, you'll be asked to take it off and they'll replace it with a Cavaliers t-shirt, so all bases are covered that way.
Lebron James himself says he's very emotional at the thought of coming home. In fact, he arrived at 3:00 AM Eastern this morning. Went to a hotel at an undisclosed location for security reasons. Yes, he's emotional, but so is the entire city.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NBA ANNOUNCER: He's responsible for almost half of the Heat's points.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Lebron James, used to unconditional love of fans, will experience something different tonight.
Yes, he did see Cleveland fans burning his jersey after he ostentatiously announced on national television that he was leaving for Miami, but he hasn't yet experienced the anger live and in person. Keith Dambrot coached James at his Akron, Ohio high school.
KEITH DAMBROT, JAMES' HIGH SCHOOL COACH: He's never been booed in Cleveland, and he's never really been booed hardly anywhere or anyplace in his whole life. So, again, I think he understands the business side of this, and he understands that there's some animosity towards him.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Keith Robinson, a lifelong Cavs fan, will be sure James hears loud and clear. He'll be at tonight's game.
COSTELLO (on camera): Do you feel it's necessary for the fans to show something toward Lebron?
KEITH ROBINSON, CAVALIERS SEASON TICKET HOLDER: No. Hatred.
COSTELLO: Really, hatred?
ROBINSON: You know, dislike. How about dislike? It's a little bit softer.
COSTELLO: "Hate" is a strong word.
ROBINSON: Yes, we'll say dislike. I don't hate him, but I don't like him.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Robinson plans to boo James, but he and others fear some fans, a few, could try to hurt James physically, especially if he incites the crowd with his signature puff of smoke as he enters the game. You could hear the concern as the Cavs practiced Wednesday.
MO WILLIAMS, CAVALIERS POINT GUARD: The heckling, you know, is part of the game. When we go on the road, we get it. Obviously, this is going to be a little bit worse. I get that, also. But once we get talking about harming people and their family and their well-being, I think that's kind of taking it a little too far.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for the return of Lebron James? The two-time NBA MVP will bring his talents back to the north coast --
COSTELLO (voice-over): On Cleveland's ESPN radio, they were urging fans not to embarrass the city.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hopefully we don't see, you know, stupidity on some of the fan's parts of throwing things or running out onto the floor.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Going to the ATM today and tomorrow to put enough bail money in the pocket in case you get incarcerated.
COSTELLO (voice-over): Most fans will not be that stupid, but they will vent. Robinson only wishes he could do it face-to-face.
ROBINSON: What I would say to him is, "You're not the guy I thought you were."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Oh, Don, a lot of people in Cleveland feel exactly that same way. The question is, is how will the fans vent tonight? Some fans say they're going to stand up and boo very loudly and maybe shout a few profanities. Other fans say they're going to turn their back as Lebron James walks out onto the floor.
Yet other fans say they'll just greet him with silence. In fact, "The Plain Dealer" wrote an editorial today urging fans to do that. If they greet Lebron James with silence, Don, that means the city of Cleveland has moved on.
LEMON: They're over it. And you have the best assignment at the network. I'm so jealous. Wish I was there.
COSTELLO: I know. I can't wait to go to the game tonight.
LEMON: Be careful.
COSTELLO: I'll take pictures for you.
LEMON: Yes, bring your camera.
COSTELLO: I will.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Carol Costello. Appreciate it.
Could there be life on another planet? We speculate about it all the time. Go ahead. Cue the music.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LEMON: But now, NASA says it may have found proof of life beyond.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LEMON: That scared me then, and it scares me now.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, yes.
LEMON: Everybody knows that tune. Who could forget that classic scene? Proof of life from another planet. Maybe.
Well, just the thought of it makes you conjure up images of science fiction movies, spaceships landing, UFOs, or little men with big eyes, big ears, little heads walking around. And I'm talking about myself here.
But NASA says it may have some proof of that. It's holding a news conference to talk about the discovery that will impact the search for extraterrestrial life. Let's bring in Reynolds Wolf to talk about it. Big news on this announcement. All right, listen.
WOLF: Bring it.
LEMON: This is weird. Someone said -- we talked to this guy. Someone in the know. They said that there's a possibility that they've discovered twin Earths, find Earth-like twins in outer space, and they could announce that there's scores of twin-like Earths. There are more of us out there?
WOLF: There is so much conjecture right now as to what this might be. The thing is, no one knows. No one has any idea of what it is. The experts at NASA are only saying right now, which the official announcement is going to come out at 2:00, is they're saying it is a very big find to -- in the world of astrobiology.
The question is, what in the world is astrobiology? Well, the answer is this. It's the study of life in the universe, including its origin and evolution, where it happens to be located, and how it might survive in the future.
So, what in the world does that mean? Where exactly could it be? Well, it could be a new revelation of, say, maybe a discovery on Mars. Could be something else. Could be, as we advance on through, could be something we found on Saturn's moons, Rhea or even Titan. Got two to choose from there. Or it might even be chemical evidence of bacteria, utilizing it for photosynthesis.
Now, I don't think that it's going to be a thing where we see little green men with the big ears and the big eyes. If you're looking for proof of extra terrestrial life, I have two college roommates that probably are --
LEMON: That were extraterrestrials?
WOLF: Rumors still out there. You never really know. But no one's going to know. And the big announcement is going to be at 2:00 Eastern Time, and I think we're all going to be listening very carefully to what they have to say.
LEMON: I think it would be very myopic and small-minded to think that we're the only form of life out there. It's sort of -- people who can --
WOLF: It's a huge universe. The universe is infinite. An it'd be a big waste of space, no question.
LEMON: Yes. And we're going to carry it live here live on CNN. The announcement.
WOLF: Good. All right, good deal.
LEMON: Are you going to be watching?
WOLF: Oh, absolutely.
LEMON: Are you glued to your TV set?
WOLF: I will be. Eyes open wide.
LEMON: It'll be great if they had a special guest, like from Earth 2 or something.
WOLF: The day is young. Who knows?
LEMON: What's that crazy bar in "Star Trek"?
WOLF: Oh, yes. "Star Wars," in Tatooine?
LEMON: Yes, there's like a -- yes. That weird bar.
WOLF: You never know. Maybe one of the band members --
LEMON: Yes. Enough already. Thank you, Reynolds. Serious story now. Interpol is on the hunt for the man behind WikiLeaks. There are reports that he is in Britain. So why aren't police moving in? We're getting a live update from London.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Yesterday, applause. Quite a day on Wall Street. That was just for us, by the way. The Dow, NASDAQ, the S&P 500 all surged more than 2 percent. The rally came on the back of multiple reports that showed the U.S. economy is improving. Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange with a look at when's in store today.
Will there be applause today, Alison? We hope.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, we saw some applause, Don. But definitely not the bulls charging out of the gate like we did yesterday. Kind of a flat open right now.
The big worry today, it is back on jobs. That's after we had a really nice breather yesterday when we got a strong reading on private sector hiring, making the market surge. But the problem with that reading was it was backward looking. It measured last month, November.
So, today it is back to reality. We have a more recent report on weekly jobless claims, and this one's more of a disappointment. We found out that the number of claims jumped by 26,000, hitting 436,000 last week. What it means is a lot of people are still filing for unemployment benefits, and analysts are saying we have to drop below the 400,000 mark to show that we've got significant hiring. That number hasn't gone below the 400,000-point in more than two years.
Also on Wall Street, still big concerns about debt problems in Europe. Big concern, of course, whether the central bank there is going to do enough to keep those debt problems from spreading.
All right. Let's see how this is impacting the market right now. The Dow up right now about 12 points. The NASDAQ higher by 4.
So, Don, I got to tell you this. I love this story. Yahoo! puts out a list of top searched questions of 2010 of this year. Number one is how to tie a tie. The second one, how to lose weight, and the third, how to kiss. Isn't that nice?
But we can't forget how to write a resume. Got to make a financial angle. How to write a resume makes number four. You kind of see what people are looking for. The number ten one is how to boil an egg. You ever have a problem cooking, I guess do a search on the internet.
LEMON: One, you need an egg --
KOSIK: I love those.
LEMON: Egg, some water. I mean, come on. You ladies know. There's an art to kissing.
KOSIK: How to kiss?
LEMON: Yes. Listen. (KISSING SOUND) There a -- did you hear that? Was that on the air or just in my ear?
KOSIK: I think that was in your ear. I thought you did it.
LEMON: No, no, no. That wasn't me.
KOSIK: I'm not kissing you, Don.
LEMON: So, there's an art to kissing. Not all guys are good at it, right? So, maybe they need to study up. Come on.
KOSIK: All right. Give them credit. Give them credit.
LEMON: All right. Someone's telling me to kiss you off right now because we have to go. Alison Kosik --
KOSIK: Okay. Bye, Don.
LEMON: We appreciate it. Check in with you later.
Hello, everyone. It is the bottom of the hour and time to check on the headlines right here on CNN.
Hollywood murder mystery another bizarre twist. The person of interest in the shooting death of celebrity publicist Ronni Chasen killed himself last night just as police tried to question him. Investigators won't reveal what role he may have played in Chasen's death. She was gunned down in her Mercedes Benz after leaving a red carpet event.
Right now on Capitol Hill, two of the nation's top military leaders calling for the repeal of "don't ask, don't tell." Policy bans gays from serving openly in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs Chairman Mike Mullen are testifying before the Senate Armed Services committee. You are looking at live pictures right now.
This one is for the trophy. This is the trophy for soccer cup. There we go. But another prize comes next hour. Look at that. Beautiful. Soccer's governing body will announce the sites for the 2018 and 2022 finals. Eighteen U.S. cities are among the contenders. We're going to have a live report on that.
Interpol is hunting for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange in 188 countries right now. They've issued a red notice against him. He's wanted on sex crime charges in Sweden, and he's been called traitor and a terrorist by critics in the U.S. for releasing diplomatic secrets for the world to see.
There are reports that he's hiding out in Britain. So we ought to go to our Atika Shubert live in London with the very latest. Atika, good morning.
ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Don.
Well, British media reports are quoting police sources as saying that Julian Assange is in the country in the southeast of Britain. And that they know where he is at, but they haven't arrested him because of a technical issue with the arrest warrant.
So, we actually gave a call to Swedish prosecutors office and to the Swedish police. They said it was complete news to them that there was a problem with the arrest warrant, and the prosecutor's office says that everything about Assange's case has been conducted according to Swedish law.
We have also just had an update from the Swedish police who told us that basically British police said they needed a -- more information about the maximum penalty he could be facing for possible charges in Sweden and that Swedish police are now providing that information to British police. So, the next question is will Julian Assange be arrested? That's what everyone's waiting to find out, Don.
LEMON: Okay. Atika, he has to be in communication with his lawyers, Julian Assange. So, are his lawyers saying anything about this?
SHUBERT: Well, his lawyers are saying, first of all that he's denying all of the charges against him in this case, and it's important to remember that he's not -- this arrest warrant has been issued and Sweden, but he's wanted simply for questioning. There are no charges that have actually been filed against him.
So, his lawyers are basically saying he's denying the allegations and he has already offered himself up for questioning to Swedish police and prosecutors, both in Sweden and when he was here in London before. And that he has repeatedly offered to be available for interviews, and that offer still stands. They're now waiting to hear back from Swedish police and prosecutors.
LEMON: Atika -- I don't know. You're not an attorney. I'm not. But maybe it's attorney-client privelege? But aren't they compelled to tell prosecutors, especially law enforcement, where he is if there's, indeed, looking for him?
SHUBERT: Well, apparently when he entered the country, he gave his contacts to the British authorities. so it doesn't seem to be a question of where he is at but a question of whether or not he's available for the questioning. Sweden says -- Sweden prosecutors say he has to be in Sweden in order for the questioning to continue.
LEMON: Got you. It's a question of where he is in London and if they can get him back there to face questioning. Thank you, Atika Shubert. We appreciate that.
You know, a lot of people want to know why we didn't stop the leak. Republican Congressman Peter Hoekstra from Michigan is the ranking member of the House Intelligence committee. He was briefed on the WikiLeaks situation just yesterday, and he says that the White House should have done something months ago. That brings us to our "A.M. Extra.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR, "AMERICAN MORNING": Congressman Hoekstra, what was the take-away from that briefing?
REP. PETER HOEKSTRA (R), MICHIGAN: Well, my take-away was I'm not sure that we are moving fast enough to address the problems. I mean, I think we were aware that we've lost all of this data and this information, perhaps as far back as May of this year. And some of the steps are just now being implemented that would make sure that wouldn't happen again.
I think the other thing that I didn't see yesterday, I didn't see a passion from the people at the Department of State who were -- who should have been furious that this database at the Department of Defense has been compromised and that, therefore, they've lost -- potentially lost all of these documents to this private first class and then to WikiLeaks and then to "The New York Times" and other places.
I didn't walk way from there feeling really confident that there was a sense of urgency to fix the problem and to make sure that it would never happen again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Here's what we should tell you. The White House has appointed a czar to oversee the government's efforts to fix security gaps.
An intruder interrupts the White House briefing. A small intruder, but one that has a big bite.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tax cuts on the tax --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is Senator McConnell --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What did you do?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Killer spider.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Killer spider. Itsy-bitsy spider, remember that? Robert Gibbs not only brushes off a spider, but also brushes off concerns of a GOP filibuster.
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(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
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LEMON: Nice. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs had to briefly interrupt his daily briefing when a spider started crawling on him. Look at this. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Tax cuts. On this tax --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How is senator --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A spider.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wow.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A spider-man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Had a lot of problems.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have they?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One of the glitches.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Works here -- I want the follow up on --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Julian Assange.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me know if there's a bigger one behind me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Julian Assange spider. Weird. At least he didn't kill it. Some people say he's not a bad guy. He didn't kill the spider. Very friendly and green of him.
After brushing off the spider, Gibbs brushed off concerns of a GOP filibuster in the lame duck session.
All right. Let's stay with politics right now and bring in our deputy political director Paul Steinhauser. Paul, no spiders I hope or bugs crawling anywhere near you?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: No. I think we are good.
LEMON: CNN politics desk.com -- CNN.com Political Desk. with the Sarah Palin sighting.
STEINHAUSER: You got it, Don.
LEMON: There you go.
STEINHAUSER: And where's the signing going to be? It's going to be in Iowa. And this is interesting. You know, she is out there with the new book. It's called "America By Heart" and she's a book tour ongoing.
This will be her second stop in Iowa, Don. Just in the last week, she was in Des Moines on Saturday. Today she's going to be at a place called Spirit Lake, Iowa. She's going to be signing books.
And we sent our own Jim Acosta. You know him from "AMERICAN MORNING". He's going to be out there a little later today live covering that event.
And it's -- it's interesting, of course, why? Because Sarah Palin has said she may -- may want to run for the White House. And of course Iowa's caucuses as we all know kick off the presidential primary season. So anytime one of these people who is flirting with running for the White House goes to Iowa, Don, we get interested.
LEMON: Yes. So there's this warning by a top Republican in Iowa to those who may run for the GOP presidential nomination.
STEINHAUSER: Yes it comes from Terry Branstead, he was a four- term Iowa governor in the 80's and 90's and he just won the old -- his old seat back, his old -- his old office back in the elections last month. So he'll be taking over again as Iowa governor and he said to any potential Republicans who may want to run for -- for the presidency, come to Iowa. Take part in the Iowa straw polls as well.
Remember they are going to be held this upcoming August.
But just one note, while it's important, Iowa isn't the end all. McCain didn't really campaign in Iowa and he -- ending up winning the nomination last time around -- Don.
LEMON: So now I want to ask you this, do you think everyone keeps asking him and he keep's sort of avoiding the question, Mike Pence says that he's going to get in the race. Do you think he's a sleeper in this -- do you think he might, I think he's going to do it.
STEINHAUSER: He might. And remember, Don, Mike Pence won the Values Voters Summit, the presidential straw poll there back in September. So conservatives like him a lot -- Don.
LEMON: Ok, thank you. Paul Steinhauser, see you in a bit here on CNN.
A grieving widow's car is broken into just hours after her husband's funeral. The thieves not only steal the legendary coach's personal possessions but items meant for a fundraiser.
And flashing back to this day in 1990, composer Aaron Copland died at the age of 90. He was known as the dean of American composers. If you don't know the name, you probably know his works. You can hear his song "Fan Fare for the Common Man" in movies as diverse as "Saving Private Ryan" and "Drop Dead Gorgeous."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We are following lots of developments in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's check in first with CNN's Kareen Wynter.
KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: The case involving the murder of a well-known Hollywood publicist takes a bizarre turn. I'm Kareen Wynter. I'll have those details at the top of the hour.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And we're going from Kareen Wynter to winter weather. Some of very heavy (AUDIO GAP)
LEMON: All right, Reynolds Wolf, thank you very much. Thanks to both of you.
Also coming up, we're just minutes away from finding out if the U.S. has won the bid to host the 2022, 2022 World Cup. We'll have the announcement live. Plus the reaction.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Noah's Ark coming to Kentucky and a California town finally arrives in the 19th century. Those are two of the stories from across the country that we happen to like. But let's see start with this one. It's in Spokane. The message here seems to be more than just stop. We thought maybe this was a -- a way to blur out a prank, but the city says snow got into the crossroad sign and covered everything but the palm, thumb and middle finger.
So it was kind of telling people go do something else.
In Iowa Hill, California -- in Iowa Hill, California, the old mining town finally has land line phone service. The land phones are going away that's right, 130 years after the phone was invented Iowa Hill is now hooked up. Right now, there is just one working phone, it's at a store.
The town doesn't have electricity either. Maybe they'll do that in a couple hundred years. It may be kind of nice of to get away, a good vacation spot.
And Williams Town, Kentucky is hoping for a flood of tourists -- get that? You won't.
Once these drawings become reality, the town's getting a Noah's Ark theme park including a giant replica of the ark, petting zoo and a theater. I think there are two of them. Get it.
The town is looking forward to the jobs; the park should create about 900 of them. Good for them. The park will be about 40 miles from the Creation Museum.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The heat is on. Is that what we're going with now?
LEMON: Tony Harris. I want to change that music.
HARRIS: You want to? You don't want to go with "The Heat is On".
LEMON: I think the music for you should be -- Tony Harris is a bad mother --
HARRIS: Shut your mouth. We're talking -- right, shut your mouth. Not about tonight. A lot of people are going to be talking. That last story was about flooding conditions, right?
LEMON: Yes.
HARRIS: A flood of emotions tonight in Cleveland, Ohio. How about that little segue? Let's work it, work it, rock it.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I'm just looking for some tweets because people have been telling me about tonight. Carry on. Carry on.
HARRIS: Here's the thing. This is the first game back in Cleveland for Lebron James since he joined -- since he made that announcement in July that he was taking his talents to South Beach.
LEMON: Got you.
HARRIS: So let's talk about the emotions. And I think the fans should be allowed to express their emotions pretty openly here. And it is going to be loud in the Quicken Loans Arena the used to be the Gund Arena but you know, naming right and they paid a whole bunch of money and now it's Quicken Loans Arena.
And so, there will be a lot of emotions and the fans should be allowed to express that. What the team has done which I think is smart is to say, look, nothing over the top.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: If you come in with something over the top, that we deem over the top, we will switch it out with something with a Cleveland Cavaliers Jersey.
But here's the other side. So the fans have their emotions that will be on full display. This is what we saw in July, all right. Burning the Lebron jersey, the Cavaliers jersey.
So here's the thing. Lebron played with a lot of these guys last year. So when you talk about the emotions, there are a couple of sides here. All right. The fans will get an opportunity to express their emotions and what they feel about Lebron leaving, but the guys understand, the Cavaliers understand. They played with Lebron last year. Lebron understands that this is about business.
This is a game. But it's played by guys who get a pay check and this is about business. They may not agree with the way Lebron handled the decision. He even says he will rethink. But it's a business decision.
LEMON: Listen I know --
HARRIS: That they will all have to make at some point in their career.
LEMON: There are a lot of Lebron haters out there. Most of them are in Cleveland. HARRIS: It's a free country, though. I mean maybe he handled it poorly but I mean he even says if he had to do it again he would do it differently. Right? The big spectacle on ESPN. But you're right. He has on make a business decisions. Owners make business decision, sticker prices, whatever; who will they pay, who they don't pay all the time. He made a business decision. He is friendly with a lot of the players on the Cavaliers. So it's that side of the emotional equation, as well.
All right. The fans get to express. The players get to express. It's 82 games in this Season. This is one game -- it's a big game -- a big game. The players will be amped for it but the reality is, now we get you, all of this.
LEMON: Look at that. Can we listen to --
HARRIS: There's bosh going crazy. Yes. But I understand the excitement. I absolutely understand the excitement. These three players with their reputations, and what they've done; the two-time MVP, reigning MVP is Lebron James. I understand the excitement. It's out being candid.
If you're a business person again, you want to sell every ticket you can.
LEMON: Someone here says -- by the way, I have a friend Lebron. He launched this Web site. He sent me some shoes, they didn't fit me. I gave it to a pretty (INAUDIBLE), I'm wearing Lebron shoes because it's raining outside.
Harris: Ok. Wow.
LEMON: one of this is going to be richer (ph) and see if he does his powder bit?
HARRIS: Yes, yes, yes. When he's announced, he goes to the scores.
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: Yes, he goes to the course, (INAUDIBLE) and the talcum powder and it's really -- it's really (INAUDIBLE). And then he throws it up in the air. It's what Michael Jordan did for years. So, yes. My guess is that he probably will do it.
Here's the other piece. When you cut through all the emotions, you have a basketball game to play. And the Heat are a better team. Now, the Heat will an better team going forward and the Cavs will continue to struggle.
LEMON: Do you want to -- do you want to do some sports?
HARRIS: Whatever.
LEMON: You should be a spokesman.
HARRIS: Can I do it all? I love it. Do the walk? Can I do it all?
LEMON: Yes. Go for it.
HARRIS: See you in an hour? I'm done here.
"The Theme from Shaft." You like that?
LEMON: I like it. Let's move it now, baby. Thank you, sir. Really appreciate it.
