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Madoff's Son Hangs Self; President Power Play; Remembering Elizabeth Edwards; Principals and Teachers Caught Cheating; Annie Lennox Prepares for 'Christmas in Washington' Show
Aired December 11, 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: And right now on CNN -- it is your Saturday night and there is a lot going on.
In New York City tonight, live pictures of the apartment building where another victim fell in the Bernie Madoff scandal, it is his own son. And all signs point to suicide on today the second anniversary of his father's arrest.
Also happening right now, a blizzard is blasting the Midwest, shutting down air travel. Some 600 flights are canceled. It is moving east fast. And the sub zero temps are making it a whole lot worse.
North Carolina remembers one of its most beloved citizens. We're talking about Elizabeth Edwards, laid to rest today in Raleigh. We'll talk to someone who knew the family well, about her illness, her husband, the scandal, and the run for the White House.
And at the White House, the president is dealing with the backlash from his own party over taxes and facing questions about why he let the former president steal the spotlight yesterday in a live press conference.
And the first family is also preparing for a big show tomorrow with some pretty big stars and entertainers. One of them drops by to sing to us. Annie Lennox tonight on Christmas in Washington.
But we begin with new developments in the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. His $50 billion swindle has claimed yet another victim, his grown son, Mark. Mark Madoff was found dead this morning in his New York apartment, an apparent suicide.
Let's go right now to CNN's Susan Candiotti. She's joining us live from the apartment building.
So, Susan, Mark Madoff appears to have killed himself on the second anniversary of his father's arrest. Explain the chain of events for us, like who found the body?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: One of -- yes, Don. One of the saddest parts about all of this is this apparent suicide happened while Mark Madoff's 2-year-old son was sleeping in the next room. Here is what police say happened: At about 4:00 this morning, they say that Mark Madoff sent out some e-mails, including one to his wife who was not home. She was in Florida. And in the e-mail, he told her, "Someone better check on our son." And so, she in turn called her father who lives right here in New York. He came over to the parent and in fact, found the body of Mark Madoff hanging from a pipe in the ceiling with a dog leash around his neck. That is when he called the police.
LEMON: And the son, of course, the little boy, is OK. This is interesting, because Mark was never implicated in this Ponzi scheme, was he?
CANDIOTTI: He's never been criminally charged. He is the subject of some civil lawsuits, including one that was filed just this week by the trustee who has been trying to recover some of the billions of dollars that were bilked from investors. Did this have something to do with it? Was the pressure to much? We may never know, Don.
LEMON: Do we know what was in this apparent e-mail or suicide note?
CANDIOTTI: Well, in the e-mail, he was telling his wife that she should go and see if his little boy was all right. That's as much as we know about it.
But perhaps we have some other indication about what happened here from the lawyer representing Mark Madoff. He issued a statement today and he called the death a senseless strategy but then added this -- he said that Mark Madoff was the victim of false innuendos and accusations.
And so, the question is, among many people here, not only him, but people on the street who know the Madoff name -- did he succumb to guilt? Remorse because of his father's grief? Or possibly intense media scrutiny?
LEMON: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Don?
LEMON: Do we know if his father, Bernie, has been notified?
CANDIOTTI: I'm sorry, Don?
LEMON: Do we know if the father has been notified?
CANDIOTTI: Yes. The Bureau of Prisons told us that -- while not specifically mentioning Bernie Madoff by name -- that the policy is, if someone loses a member -- loses a member of their family, that prisoner is notified.
LEMON: Susan Candiotti, live in New York City for us tonight -- thank you, Susan. The apparent suicide today of Bernie Madoff's oldest son highlights a tangled financial empire the father left behind. More than 16,000 claims have been filed by Madoff's victims. But 80 percent of them have been denied.
I spoke earlier with Diana Henriques. She's a financial -- a senior financial writer at "The New York Times" who is currently writing a book about the Madoff scandal. And I asked her if there had been any indication that Mark Madoff or his brother Andrew were suspects in this criminal investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA HENRIQUES, N.Y. TIMES SR. FINANCIAL WRITER: Neither he or his brother Andrew had ever been notified that they were the subjects of a criminal investigation by the federal prosecutors. Of course, they had been defendants in a large number of civil lawsuits, but there had never been any indication that they were criminal suspects at all.
LEMON: Yes. And they have never been charged. And Mark and Andrew actually turned their father in.
HENRIQUES: They did. Their father confessed to their sons after they pressured him about a plan, he had to deliver some bonuses to members in the firm about two months ahead of schedule. This was in the aftermath of the great financial crisis of 2008. They thought it was unwise and they challenged him about it.
And in response, he asked them to go with him to the family apartment near the office and it was there that he told them that the business they thought was the family heritage was, in fact, a Ponzi scheme. He put the price tag himself at $50 billion. They were stunned and left immediately to consult with an attorney later that day. And it was on their attorney's device they immediately report it to law enforcement. That led to their father's arrest the following morning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: On now to Washington, D.C., where you're looking at now live pictures tonight from D.C. where one of the best known U.S. diplomats, Richard Holbrooke, is in critical condition in a D.C. hospital following surgery for a tear in his aorta. Holbrooke, who is 69 years old, is the Obama administration's special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. He left a meeting yesterday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and walked to the State Department's medical unit. And from there he was taken by ambulance to George Washington University Hospital.
Secretary Clinton visited Holbrooke at the hospital this morning and we are told that Holbrooke's family is also by his side monitoring his progress tonight.
More than 1,200 people gathered today in North Carolina to remember Elizabeth Edwards. (VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The estranged wife of former senator and Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards died on Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She was 61 years old. Her daughter Cate was among those who eulogized Mrs. Edwards.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CATE EDWARDS, ELIZABETH EDWARDS' DAUGHTER: As everyone's mentioned, she had an incredible sense of humor. I don't think anyone can doubt that who met her.
She was feisty and she was witty. She always had the ability to make fun of herself and laugh at herself. She was smart as a whip but tried to never hold that over anyone. Well, unless she was right and they were wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Elizabeth Edwards separated from her husband, John, earlier this year after he admitted to fathering a child out of wedlock during the couple's marriage. John Edwards entered today's service with daughter, Cate, and the couple's two younger children, Jack and Emma.
We're going to talk more about Elizabeth Edwards just ahead -- her life, her passions and her impact on others. That's coming up in about 20 minutes here on CNN.
So, it was a press conference like none other we have ever seen. And it's still the talk of the town this weekend in Washington.
President Barack Obama brought out former President Bill Clinton yesterday to defend his controversial compromise on the Bush tax cuts. And it didn't take Bill Clinton long to make himself at home. It happened with almost no advance notice, surprising reporters and even some White House staff.
What the two men said was both interesting and surprising and they're sometimes awkward body language said even more.
Here's how it started.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to let him speak briefly and then I've actually got to go over and do some just one more Christmas party. So, he may decide he wants to take some questions, but I want to make sure that you guys heard from him directly.
WILLIAM J. CLINTON, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: Thank you.
OBAMA: Thank you.
CLINTON: Thank you very much, Mr. President.
First of all, I feel awkward being here and now you're going to leave me all by myself?
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Here to talk more about the presidential power play is Warren Ballentine. He is the syndicated radio host. And Lenny McAllister -- again, as I said, Warren is the host of "The Warren Ballentine Show." Lenny is a Republican analyst and the host of "Launching Chicago with Lenny McAllister."
Again, thanks to both of you.
OK. So, how does this -- Lenny, what are Republicans saying about the president having to bring in a former president? Did it put him in an awkward position by having to do that?
LENNY MCALLISTER, HOST, "LAUNCHING CHICAGO WITH LENNY MCALLISTER": I don't think it puts him in an awkward position at all. I think it was a pretty shrewd political move because if you look at what the Democrats have done during the campaign trail just last month and just this last election cycle when they avoided President Obama, they went to President Clinton.
So, now, what President Obama has done, and this should make Republicans worry about what 2012 is going to look like, people that have spoken out against this tax compromise, Sherrod Brown in Ohio, they now cannot run to Clinton to avoid Obama. They are now united at least on this tax compromise.
If this plays well and this helps the economy, this will help candidate Obama in 2012 and it will unify this apparent rift between Obama and Clinton. And Republicans are going to be on the back end trying to respond to that. I think it's a good move for Democrats and probably a bad move for Republicans.
LEMON: I'm wondering if the situation -- I'm wondering though, Lenny and Warren, I wonder if the situation would be reversed. Let's just say it was on the other side and the president didn't have the Republicans on his side, the Republicans were opposed to it and then he brought in Bill Clinton. I wonder if the conversation would be different, Warren.
WARREN BALLENTINE, HOST, "THE WARREN BALLENTINE SHOW": You know, I don't know if the conversation would be different. I agree with Lenny, I think it was a brilliant move on part of the president. It shows that he has all hands on deck.
The initial reaction was, like, what is going on here? But I don't think the conversation would be different for one reason and one reason only. I think everybody in America, whether Republican or Democrat, agreed that our economy was booming under President Clinton. And I think it was smart for President Obama to let him come out and endorse this tax plan because, honestly, I think it was a victorious compromise for the White House.
LEMON: OK. I want you guys to listen to this because President Obama stuck around for just a few minutes, but then he finally had to leave. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Here's what I'll say, I've been keeping the first lady waiting for about half an hour. So, I'm going to take off. But --
CLINTON: I don't want to make her mad. Please go.
OBAMA: You're in good hands. And Gibbs will call the last question.
CLINTON: Help me.
OBAMA: Thank you, Bill.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Warren, so, this was -- watching and I was here anchoring live and it was a bit bizarre. And everyone I spoke to after that and every pundit I heard said it was a little bizarre that the president said that he had to go because he was keeping his wife waiting on such an -- having his wife to wait on such an important issue. Was it really like who was in charge, Warren?
BALLENTINE: Well, again, when you initially saw it -- when I initially saw it, I was, like, whoa, what is going on here? But after I got to look at it and read the transcripts and really think about this, this was actually brilliant on both presidents actually because it showed three things about President Obama.
It showed -- one, he's secured in his presidency you. He's not worried about President Clinton being out there.
Two, he understands that, look, I need the Democratic support and the Democrats understands that this president, this former president, understands economics. So, if he's going to endorse it, that's great.
And third thing, and I think this is most important, Don, is that President Clinton resonates with everybody, the very rich and the very poor, just like this tax cut. You know, I keep hearing things about this tax cut.
LEMON: Yes.
BALLENTINE: But one thing nobody is talking about -- we keep hearing rich and middle class. The poor will benefit more than anybody else because on a percentage base, right now, they're at 10 percent --
LEMON: Warren, hold that thought. Hold that.
(CROSSTALK) LEMON: I've got to get a break in and I'm going to let you continue this conversation after break. Warren Ballentine, Lenny McAllister, we're going to talk much more after the break about this, about Bill Clinton.
And also, did you see Senator Bernie Sanders on the floor of the Senate yesterday talking for more than eight hours? We're going to discuss that, too. What was he talking about for so long?
Plus, Annie Lenox has a new Christmas song out and she is going to be here to sing it for us. You don't want to miss that one with.
And I know you're connected. So am I. I want you to check out our social media accounts and I want to hear from you. Let's connect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're talking tonight about presidential power play, the one that happened at the White House yesterday. President Barack Obama brought out former President Bill Clinton yesterday to defend his controversial compromise on the Bush tax cuts.
The president said Mr. Clinton would be brief. He wasn't. Mr. Obama said he would leave, but he stayed for a while, and then made a somewhat awkward exit.
Joining me tonight is Warren Ballentine and Lenny McAllister. Warren is the host of "Warren Ballentine Show"; Lenny is a Republican analyst and the host of "Launching Chicago with Lenny McAllister."
So, let's hear more from Bill Clinton. He said repeatedly that he liked the president's deal on tax cuts but he found the time to trumpet his own accomplishments as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CLINTON: So, look, I'm a Depression-era kid. I don't like deficits ever, really. You know, we had four surpluses when I was president. That's what I like. I like balanced budgets and surpluses.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So, when it comes to dealing with reporters, there's no one better than Bill Clinton, is there, Lenny?
And he said he's a Depression-era kid. I mean, maybe his mom or his parents came out of the depression. He's a baby boomer. So, there's a poetic license there.
MCALLISTER: Yes, he did. He took a little bit of that. And I want to go to something that Warren said. The president, President Obama that is, took a chance because those that are calling him weak right now are going to say, look at this. He couldn't take the heat. He took the heat on Tuesday, he went -- got Clinton and then he left. He didn't even stay and take the bullets with President Clinton there. So, he's running that risk there, but at the same time, on the other side of it, if it works, this is why it's going to be because who was the last Democratic president that had to face a huge overturn in the House of Representatives with a Republican wave coming in? It was President Clinton.
And, basically, the message he's sending to Democrats and to his base is, if you want us to get the rest of this done and get the prosperity that we had under President Clinton with another Democratic president, you're going to have to follow the pattern that we followed in '95 --
LEMON: And, Warren --
MCALLISTER: -- give me that shot moving forward for the second term.
LEMON: Warren, you laugh. Why are you laughing?
BALLENTINE: Well, I'm laughing because we keep hearing about what the president has or has not done. Let's talk about this Congress and the Senate. They had control of the House and Senate. They knew these tax cuts we're going to expire. They could have dealt with this months ago.
But these guys to be standing up and berating president saying he needs to be tougher and taken his stand and he's looking weak, that's hypocrisy at its best.
LEMON: But listen --
(CROSSTALK)
BALLENTINE: This president has not only showed he is strong, he showed that he's smart. And that's the difference --
LEMON: In one fell swoop, they said, Warren -- hang on, let me jump in here -- one fell swoop they said that he basically removed Nancy Pelosi as the person in charge, Harry Reid as a person in charge, and now that maybe there is a new day and a new way in Washington just by having that one press conference with Bill Clinton. Warren, I'll let you talk.
BALLENTINE: I agree with that. I think that that was the case. But I take homage when people say, well, he could be appearing to look weak.
No. See, we've got to understand something, America. We need civics 101 and we got to understand this president isn't playing connect four. He's playing chess. Most of us are playing connect four. We're just trying to connect the dots.
What he's trying to do is what's best for the American people. He didn't play political chicken, which he could have with the Republicans. What he said was, look, Democrats if you can't get something done, I'm going to have to compromise with them. And it was a victorious compromise --
LEMON: OK.
BALLENTINE: -- because they got way more than they asked for. They got 13 months of unemployment. They got income tax credit. They got $2,500 for kids. They got a lot.
LEMON: Warren, we've gone through all that. I want to turn to something. We have to move on. I want to turn to another interesting subject here in Washington.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders -- did you see that eight-hour -- his eight-hour marathon speech yesterday blasting really the very same tax deal that Bill Clinton was defending. Take a listen real quick.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: You can call what I'm doing today whatever you want. You can call it a filibuster. You can call it a very long speech.
Sounds like a good idea for working people. It is actually a very bad idea.
When is enough enough? How much do they need?
Again, it has to be put within the broad context of what's going on in America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So, that went on for eight hours and then -- you saw Mary Landrieu there from Louisiana helping him out, Lenny. Did this accomplish anything? Did Bernie Sanders win over anyone with this?
MCALLISTER: No. He just basically showed America that the Democrats in Congress are tone-deaf; at least, finally, President Obama is not. He should have done this and wrangled the Democrats in in early 2009. Perhaps America and his presidency wouldn't be in this mess, because -- let's face it, he did play political chicken for the last 18 months and the Republicans ran all Democrats over last month.
And at least President Obama said, listen, there was an election. The America people have spoken. And subsequently, we're going to take a new way. I shouldn't have given the keys to Pelosi and Reid. They talked about the Republicans running the economy into a ditch before, but they ran my presidency --
LEMON: OK.
MCALLISTER: -- and the super majority into a ditch when they were in control. And he -- it was about time for there to be a new day from the Democratic perspective.
LEMON: All right. Lenny -- MCALLISTER: One that's going to at least bring Republicans in.
LEMON: That's got to be the last word. We've got to get to break.
Warren Ballentine, Lenny McAllister, thank you very much. Appreciate all of you.
BALLENTINE: Don, he was an independent not a Democrat on the floor, by the way.
LEMON: Still ahead tonight, remembering Elizabeth Edward.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARDS: She was smart as a whip but tried to never hold that over anyone. Well, unless she was right and they were wrong.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: More from the funeral straight ahead here on CNN.
Plus, with tears in her eyes, Oprah talks about her best friend but insists she's not a lesbian. She said, "I'm not even kind of a lesbian." When we come back, we'll talk about psychologist Wendy Walsh about why people care so much anyway.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Elizabeth Edwards' multiple tragedies and scandals played out in public. But today, at her funeral, the story that overshadowed them all was the one about three children who loved their mother. Her oldest Cate spoke at the service in Raleigh.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDWARDS: Every lesson that she's taught us has become part of our ethic. All of the grace and strength that she showed during her own life will hold us up in the hard days we face in our own lives. Every smile and every hug she gave us we'll some day pass on to our own children.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: To get a more intimate portrait of the wife of a former senator, John Edwards, CNN producer Raelyn Johnson joins me now from Raleigh. Raelyn traveled with the Edwards campaign when John Edwards was running for president. Also with us tonight is psychologist Wendy Walsh.
Thanks to both of you.
So, Raelyn, talk about the final days of Elizabeth Edwards' life. Her kids went to school on the day she died, we're told so that there could be some degree of normalcy.
RAELYN JOHNSON, CNN PRODUCER: That's right. You have to imagine that these are two children who have been through so much, just 12 and 10 years old. And to know they woke up this morning and had to bury their mother in front of everyone.
They've been sharing their parents with us all of us for their whole lives. But they woke up Tuesday morning when their mother passed away. They went to school to sort of establish some sense of normalcy, to keep their lives moving forward. And, unfortunately, when Jack and Emma Claire came home, Mrs. Edwards had passed away.
It's been a very long and difficult week you can imagine for an adult. So, you can only imagine what it was like for two very young children.
LEMON: Yes.
JOHNSON: Lots of family members coming in from out of town and knowing for a whole week now that she was going to pass away. And a week ago today, they were all together, making phone calls, not knowing how long she would make it.
LEMON: And, Raelyn, it is obvious that Cate is poised and handling this with a whole of grace. How are the younger kids doing, Jack, who's 10, and Emma Claire, who's 12?
JOHNSON: You know, I think they're doing as well as they can be. The fact is that they're spectacular children. I've spent a lot of time with them. And they're very normal in a sense that -- you know, Emma Claire just wants pink boots and Jack wants to eat Tater Tots for lunch. They're all-American children.
But they've been given two parents who have such you large lives. And you can't help for better or worse who you're born to, but I have to tell you, they were -- you'd be so proud of them today because they were very strong and well-behaved. And they just held their father and sister's hand.
LEMON: Yes.
Wendy, you know, what does the family do now, especially the kids? Because they have been through so much, a life of full of campaigning, parents, father who has a child with another woman, and then now, death, and also the scandal as well?
WENDY WALSH, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, Don, as you know, the foundation of my work is attachment theory. It's the way that human beings deal with trauma related to attachments in their life. And these children have suffered so many attachment injuries, the loss of a sibling when he was a teenager, the loss of parents to the American public during a big campaign, the loss of their father due to divorce and now, the death of their mother.
The answer is, we're all predisposed to respond to trauma in different ways, physiologically. So, how they will fare individually is how they are. But the good news is, Don, that we can all repair attachment injuries at different points on the life span by choosing secure relationships, choosing trusting partners, choosing to have intimate relationships with our friends, emotionally intimate relationships with friends and other family members. And I think that they have enough of a network around them of family and friends to help teach them that love can continue.
LEMON: And, Raelyn, I think it's interesting to note that John Edwards did not speak. Should we read anything into that except for the obvious?
JOHNSON: You know, I think the obvious was there, and the bottom line is that Elizabeth Edwards planned her service today. She did it by herself. I think that she had some help with from John Edwards in the end, sort of calling the right people.
But she made sure every Scripture, every word, and everyone who spoke -- which we now know did not include John Edwards. It was a very Elizabeth-type of event. She was the boss. She's always been the boss.
Whether people know that behind the scenes or in front of the camera, it's always been Elizabeth's show. It was her show today. It was sweet. It was full of grace. It was perfectly Elizabeth Edwards.
And, of course, John Edwards did not speak. And, you know, we have to know that in January --
LEMON: Yes.
JOHNSON: -- they've been separated. Have they been within co- parenting? Absolutely. But this was not John Edwards' show. There was nothing to be politicized today.
LEMON: All right. Raelyn Johnson, we want to thank you very much for appearing here with us tonight.
And, Dr. Wendy, I want you to stick around because I want to talk about a story that had a lot of people talking this week. That was Oprah Winfrey's interview with Barbara Walters, and specifically the part when she broke down talking about her best friend, but said, yet again, that she is not a lesbian. I want you to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM ABC)
OPRAH WINFREY, TALK SHOW HOST: Well, I have said we are not gay enough times. I'm not lesbian. I'm not even kind of lesbian. And the reason why it irritates me is because it means that somebody must think I'm lying. That's number one. Number two, why would you want to hide it? That is -- that is not the way I run my life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So, listen, Oprah Winfrey was very emotional about this, Dr. Wendy. We heard this before. But this time, she was even more adamant. Why won't people just let this go? WALSH: You know, I feel for Oprah. I think she's the victim of circumstantial evidence.
She's unmarried. She has no children. She has a powerful career. She's the victim, former victim, of child sexual abuse. And sometimes, that makes some victims more comfortable with female-to- female intimacy, but not everybody.
And also, some of her peers are openly gay. I'm thinking of Ellen DeGeneres and Rosie O'Donnell, of course. So, she's just -- it's circumstantial evidence is what it is.
And a lot of -- the other thing that's going on in our culture at the same time is, as we've become more progressive and more accepting of all the variances in human sexuality, there is a weird double standard, is that we're more accepting of female lesbian behavior than gay male behavior. And gay men are still discriminated against more and bisexuals probably most of all.
So, I think people, you know, want to be able to accept her if she were gay or bi, but she's probably not and she's a victim of circumstantial evidence.
LEMON: And she said, "this is not the way I lead my life." You know she's very open about everything you said, about molestation and all of that. Even about abortion. And so it would appear that she's a very transparent person and if she were she would probably say it.
WALSH: You know, and one other thing in our culture. At this time, we've confused gender, gender and sexual orientation. So she's a strong, powerful, maybe even people think masculine woman because she's a billionaire, but that doesn't have anything to do with sexual orientation. Gender and orientation are two different things.
LEMON: Dr. Wendy, thanks for putting in perspective. Appreciate it. Have a great rest of your Saturday night.
WALSH: You, too.
LEMON: Up next here on CNN, the latest on the apparent suicide of Bernie Madoff's son and also our education contributor Steve Perry examines a cheating scandal in a major U.S. school system. And who did the cheating as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE APPLEGATE, ACTRESS: Hi. I'm Christina Applegate and we can make an impact for women who are at high risk for breast cancer. It's time that we stop making this disease about women who are over 45 and realize that women in their 20s and 30s are getting breast cancer. And we can stop this.
We can stop it when it's early and we can make sure that they live long, healthy, incredible, joyful lives. Join the movement "Impact your World" at CNN.com/impact. (END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's check your top stories right now on CNN.
U.S. diplomat Richard Holbrooke is in critical condition tonight in a Washington hospital following surgery for a tear in his aorta. Holbrooke is the Obama administration's special representative for Pakistan and Afghanistan. He was hospitalized yesterday after becoming ill during a meeting with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Secretary Clinton visited Holbrooke earlier today. His family is also by his side tonight.
The eldest son of Bernie Madoff apparently killed himself this morning in his New York apartment. Mark Madoff's father-in-law found his body after the family received e-mails from him. Madoff's wife was in Florida but their two-year-old son was asleep in a bedroom. The boy was not harmed. Mark Madoff and his brother, Andrew, worked in their father's firm. They were with the ones who called authorities when Bernie Madoff told them of the ponzi scheme.
Sarah Palin is in Haiti tonight as part of a humanitarian delegation led by evangelist Franklin Graham. The former Alaska governor and vice presidential candidate has not commented on the trip. Her visit comes as Haiti fights a massive cholera outbreak that has killed more than 2,000 people. The delegation is expected to stop at a cholera clinic to deliver holiday gifts to children.
Cheating in public schools. No, not by students, by teachers and principals. CNN's education contributor Steve Perry has more on a story that has rocked the Atlanta school system in today's "Perry's Principles."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): It's been one stunning headline after another in Atlanta. Evidence of cheating on standardized tests in at least 12 public schools. Not by students but by at least 100 educators, including teachers, assistant principals and even principals.
GOV. SONNY PURDUE, GEORGIA: There has been evidence of test alterations that are unacceptable.
PERRY: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation began questioning educators in mid October after the governor widened the probe.
KRISTINA TORRES, "ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION": Federal authorities are also looking at Atlanta public schools. They are concerned about federal monies any of these schools may have won, which is potentially fraud if they used in this case falsified scores to earn those dollars.
PERRY: In Atlanta and some other public school systems around the country, improved test scores can also trigger bonuses. In 2008, the "Atlanta Journal-Constitution" analyzed state exam results for students who needed to retake the test and noticed something didn't add up.
TORRES: Lo and behold, they all not only passed but they were with at the top.
PERRY: That prompted the state to take a closer look at the test forms. Eraser marks raised red flags.
TORRES: The state sanctioned 13 educators in all. There were suspensions from 90 days to two years.
PERRY: Among those suspended were the principal and assistant principal at Atherton Elementary School in suburban Atlanta who admitted to wrongdoing.
TORRES: They have admitted physically taking these three tests, going into a room and locking themselves in and someone erase and someone called out the answers. In October 2009 we published our second analysis. That analysis found 19 elementary schools statewide, including a dozen in Atlanta, that had unusual gains or drops. And that included schools that had such a gain that our odds put that at worst than one in a billion.
PERRY (on camera): One in a billion.
TORRES: One in a billion with a "b."
PERRY (voice-over): Improbable odds that did nothing to erase doubt. It only raised more questions, questions that should be settled once Georgia's investigation wraps up expected early next year.
Steve Perry, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Steve, thank you very much.
Still ahead here tonight on CNN - blizzard warnings and lots of canceled flights in the Midwest. Even the New York Giants football team stranded. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras will be here with the very latest on the weather conditions.
Plus Annie Lennox has a new CD of Christmas music out. She will perform in this year's "Christmas in Washington" show. Next, she'll preview what she'll be singing and she belt out a few tunes of her own.
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LEMON: Rehearsals are under way right now for the annual "Christmas in Washington" show. It airs December 17th, 8:00 p.m. on our sister network, TNT. Among the headliners, international performer Annie Lennox. And I spoke with her tonight.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (on camera): Annie Lennox, thank you for joining us. Christmas is my favorite time of year. You have to be excited about "Christmas in Washington.
ANNIE LENNOX, SINGER: I certainly am. This is absolutely amazing. I only just flew in last night and I'm here at the building museum in the center of Washington, and it's so beautiful and it's totally exciting. It's going to be an amazing concert. I know that. And we've done rehearsals all day, and it's sounding wonderful. So I'm thrilled to bits.
LEMON: Rehearsals are going well. Who is - I know Ellen DeGeneres is performing, Maxwell is performing. Who else?
LENNOX: Mariah Carey is going to be here tomorrow, and Andrea Bocelli. So I mean, it's a very, very nice lineup. And we have some gorgeous choirs, beautiful voices, a fantastic orchestra. It will be a big treat for everyone.
LEMON: It must be an honor to be included, I mean, Andrea Bocelli, that's amazing and to perform along Annie Lennox. What are you singing?
LENNOX: Well, I'm going to be singing one of my own songs that is on my album. It's a song called "Universal Child." It's just thrilling for me because when I wrote the song back in April of this year, I had no idea that I would actually be performing it in front of so many, you know, influential people here. In fact, the president and his family. So that's very moving, to think that the song is actually going to be presented in that way and lots of people in America will be able to see that. It's thrilling for me. And then I'll be singing - go ahead.
LEMON: Go ahead. We can talk about what else you're going to be singing, but your Christmas CD is called "A Christmas Cornucopia." And I found it very interesting that it includes the African children's choir on that CD. Why did you include them?
LENNOX: That's right.
LEMON: What gave you the thought to do that that?
LENNOX: I first met the African children's choir back in 2004 when I was in South Africa performing for the 4664 campaign which is Nelson Mandela's HIV and AIDS campaign. I was very, very touched by these kids and I love the fact that the choir creates a template of transformation for them in their lives through music.
And I told myself one day I want to really record with them. And I knew that one day I would like to put down for posterity the kind of Christmas carols that I sang when I was a child that I just adore. And do them in my own way. And I knew that if I were to use children's voices it had to be the African children's choir.
It has a connection to my campaigning work with HIV and AIDS and the things that I've seen in Africa. So I thought it would be very nice to give them a platform and for people to hear their voices and to find out a little bit more about them as well.
LEMON: While we have you here, can you do us a big favor and give us a little bit of a preview of what we're going to hear from you?
LENNOX: Oh, well, we're going to sing - I'm going to sing - Angels from the realms of glory, you know that one? Wing your flight through all... I'm going to do that. I would have done "God rest ye, merry gentlemen," but I'm not going to do that.
LEMON: Why not?
LENNOX: What else I'm going to sing tonight? They're asking me to sing.
I can sing lots of songs.
LEMON: Why didn't you want to do "Got Rest You --"
LENNOX: I'm not going to do the "holly and ivy..." and I'm not doing that. And I'm not doing "god rest ye merry gentlemen," I'm not doing that. So, shall I keep singing?
LEMON: What's your favorite Christmas song if you want to end this interview by singing us your favorite Christmas song, we would really appreciate it.
LENNOX: OK. It's - well, I have so many of them, but my favorite Christmas song is this one.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
LENNOX: In the bleak mid-winter frosty wind made mourn.
Do you know that one?
LEMON: I do not know that one.
LENNOX: You see, you've got to get my album. You've got to get some education. You've got to get the "Christmas Cornucopia" and learn.
LEMON: That is a promise. I will get it and I will play it this Christmas season. You are such a good sport and you have such an amazing voice. Annie Lennox, thank you.
LENNOX: Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Atlanta.
LEMON: She is a really good sport. Thanks again to Annie Lenox.
Also appearing in the show is actor Matthew Morrison, who plays teacher Will Schuster. You may know him from the hit TV show "Glee." My interview with him coming up tonight at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, 10:30 as a matter of fact, right here on CNN. And up next, extreme weather. It strands the New York Giants football team as they try to make their way to Minneapolis for tomorrow's game. We'll tell you where they are and what their hopes are in getting out of that place.
And Jacqui Jeras will be here to tell us just how bad the weather is.
Plus, a rare look behind enemy lines. We'll hear from a filmmaker who was imbedded with the Taliban.
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LEMON: We've been telling you about the bad weather in the Midwest. Yes, that is New York Giants' quarterback Eli Manning stranded with his teammates at the airport in Kansas City, Missouri tonight. The Giants are trying to get to Minneapolis to play the Vikings tomorrow, but a major winter storm has interfered with that.
A team spokesman said they'll head out again first thing in the morning. We're assuming they won't be spending the night in the airport. At least we're assuming that.
So let's check in now with CNN's Jacqui Jeras, our meteorologist. Jacqui, should we assume - are they going to make it?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it's questionable, I think. This will show you why they didn't make it today.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh.
JERAS: Yes, we're talking blizzard conditions across a lot of southern Minnesota and into northern Iowa. The snow is starting to taper off now so they're not going to see a lot more accumulation, but the winds are going to stay really, really strong. We had more than 600 flights that were canceled today.
LEMON: Delta, right?
JERAS: Yes, Delta, the Northwest merger, and so no more flights tonight out of the twin cities. So hopefully tomorrow. These are some of the snowfall totals. Check them out, really crazy. 20 inches in Oakdale, Minneapolis itself, 14.9, in northwestern Wisconsin coming in 14 to 18 inches as well. So really a powerful storm.
A couple of other things I want to show you, Don. This is from our affiliate. This is out of Iowa. This is from KCCI-TV. This will show you some of the blizzard-type conditions in northwestern Iowa. I-29 which runs from about Sioux Falls down towards Missouri Valley area is closed down. So they're looking at 50-mile-per-hour wind gusts right now and really, really -
LEMON: We really love our iReporters.
JERAS: Don't we? Yes, we love them. Thank you, I-reporters. This is from Allen Scott, and he is in St. Claire, Minnesota. He said he had a good layer of freezing rain first, and so that's what you're seeing, some of that ice down there and then about six to eight inches of snow. He says it was treacherous out there that it was really hazardous to even walk around. So that really shows you what those folks are dealing with there.
We got lot of I-reports, by the way. Thank you so much to all you guys for that.
This kind of shows where the worst of it is, Don. You know, this is moving on over towards the east now, Chicago. I know you're from there, a lot of people interested in what the weather's going to do there. Mostly rain now, but it's going to change over to snow. This is more of a wind event really, more than anything else for those folks in Chicago. And then, of course, we want to know what's going to happen with this storm as it advances into the northeast, mostly rain along the coast again before it changes to a little bit of snow and then the brutal cold wind chills are going to come in, upper Midwest.
Look at this -
LEMON: It's going to freeze all that stuff.
JERAS: 30s and 20s below zero. Yes.
LEMON: Not good.
JERAS: That's what it's going to feel like tomorrow, and that's going to go all the way to the east and to the south, even Florida getting in the freezing temperatures. Again, probably by Monday morning.
LEMON: You're the bearer of bad news, Jacqui. I'm sorry.
JERAS: Yes, but some people love snow.
LEMON: But I still like you.
JERAS: (INAUDIBLE) will still get to play tomorrow.
LEMON: I hope they get out of there. We'll see. 600 flights cancelled. I'm sure. I don't know. I guess they'll be flying commercial. So we'll see. Thank you, very much. Jacqui Jeras.
When we come right back here, a filmmaker who put his life at risk, he shows us what it's like to go behind the scenes at the Taliban. We're going to hear from him, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: At the top of the hour, a CNN documentary, "TALIBAN." It reveals a shadowy Afghan fighting force at war and at rest, preparing weapons and coordinating ambushes, praying, playing at home with their families. In this clip with CNN's Anderson Cooper, we see some of the extraordinary images captured by Norwegian filmmaker Paul Refsdal and we hear why he chose to tackle a subject that put his life in danger.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): Taliban fighters prepare for battle.
A convoy approaches.
This is the Taliban as you've never seen them before. In battle, in their homes, in their hideouts. Rare, exclusive images. Behind enemy lines.
Norwegian film maker Paul Refsdal first came to Afghanistan in the '80s to report on the Mujahideen. Now he returns on a dangerous assignment. One that will take him to the country's deadliest regions. It's an assignment that could get him kidnapped and killed.
(on camera): Why did you want to do this?
PAUL REFSDAL, NORWEGIAN JOURNALIST: Because we've been fighting the Taliban for nine years. I thought it was time that someone met them and actually tried to show who these people are.
COOPER: Why risk your life to tell the story of these people who are fighting the U.S. government and fighting the Norwegians, as well?
REFSDAL: It's very important that people know who we're fighting, because at present, people don't have a clue, really.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You don't want to miss "Taliban," a CNN documentary, it's coming up next, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right.
So every weekend we like to bring you interesting news items you might have missed during the week. Here is one. She is two-year-olds old, she bought a stuffed animal and she just went for it. I understand. She wanted it. In a matter of seconds, this little girl in Pennsylvania was inside. That's right, inside this toy machine. It took about 15 minutes for firefighters to rescue the little girl.
Luckily, she was not injured. Here's what the fire chief was saying, he's saying the opening to the machine was big enough for not one, but two toddlers to climb through that machine. So we're lucky she's OK.
Been in that position before, you want something, right Britney? You want something and you just go for it. The consequences don't really matter. Right? But at least she knows, she's got an early lesson. It's good that she's OK.
Listen, we are so glad that you joined us here at 7:00 p.m. Eastern at CNN. I'm Don Lemon, at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see you back here at 10:30 p.m. Eastern.
In the meantime, a CNN documentary, it's called "TALIBAN." It starts right now.
