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Alleged Police Beating Caught on Tape; U.S. Hikers Go on Trial in Iran; Ronald Reagan Remembered; Super Bowl's Super Problems Noted; A Preview of CNN Exclusive: "Selling the Girl Next Door"; Palin Blasts Pres. on Egypt
Aired February 06, 2011 - 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: Right now, all the news for your week ahead including caught on camera -- police repeatedly kicking and punching an unarmed teenage suspect. The teen's attorney is claiming a history of systematic police brutality. He'll tell us live tonight while he wants a federal investigation.
And big problems for tonight's big game. Hundreds of fans, who forked over their hard-earned money for pricey tickets outraged when they didn't have seats. What happened? You'll hear from them and a live report from Dallas in just moments.
Sarah Palin goes on Christian TV and gives the president a jab over the crisis in Egypt. You'll hear it for yourself.
And President Obama says protesters in Egypt have options. You'll hear his latest strategy on the stalemate in the news right now.
Good evening, everyone. I'm Don Lemon.
Our top story tonight, it is now early Monday morning in Cairo. Pro- democracy demonstrators entrenched in Tahrir Square remain defiant against their government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SOUNDS OF GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Listen to that. You could hear it. Soldiers fired shots last night, warning shots, over the Square when demonstrators began surging toward army tanks. And elsewhere, modest signs that life is slowly returning to normal for many Egyptians. Banks opened Sunday for the first time in 10 days, allowing people and businesses to withdraw cash.
President Obama today talked about his efforts to support democratic reforms in Egypt. In a conversation on Fox, he says he was asked about the potential role of the Muslim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government. Take a listen to what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt. They don't have majority support in Egypt. They are -- but they are well organized and there are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S. There's no doubt about it. But here's the thing that we have to understand. There are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt. There are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that wants to come to the fore as well. And so it's important for us not to say that our only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed Egyptian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president also said his ultimate goal is a representative government in Egypt that will be a partner with the United States.
It is a day of celebration and remembrance in Simi Valley, California. That's where friends, family and admirers of former President Ronald Reagan gathered on what would have been Mr. Reagan's 100th birthday. His widow, Nancy Reagan, oversaw a wreath-laying ceremony at his gravesite, and former aides and advisers talked about his legacy to the country and to the world.
Police have arrested two men for a deadly shooting at a frat party in Ohio. It happened last night at an off-campus house near Youngstown State University. One student was killed, 11 other people were wounded. And police say the two suspects were kicked out of the party and they came back with guns blazing, firing indiscriminately into the house.
A train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of ethanol derailed earlier today in northwestern Ohio. Here's what officials are saying. They're saying 28 cars jumped the tracks near Arcadia, sparking a massive fire. Some 20 homes nearby, well, they had to be evacuated. No injuries have been reported.
A seating problem at tonight's Super Bowl left some fans standing and fuming mad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE RUSCH, PACKERS FAN: It's not the money. It's the whole issue. We came here for memories and it's not happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: NFL says the problem was some temporary seats that were not installed correctly. About 400 fans were given a refund of $2,400, three times the face value of their tickets. Now, they were invited to watch the game in a standing room area or on monitors inside the stadium.
Can you imagine?
Tonight's Super Bowl is bittersweet for devoted Green Bay Packers fans. Bob Cock -- Bob Cook, I should say. You see, this 79-year-old is one of four men who have been to all 44 previous Super Bowls and had been featured prominently in a recent piece of commercial. Well, Cook has been ill and he couldn't be at tonight's championship game. He gave his tickets to his daughter. They felt a little emotional heading to the big game without their dad, but they made masks of his face and put them on sticks so he could still be in his own seat.
Let's talk law and justice now. An incredible video has surfaced from Houston. It shows police capturing a teenage burglary suspect last spring. It's causing outrage, really, all over the country and online. Now, the corner -- they cornered him, the cops. Look at them there, kicking him on the ground. This is at a storage facility. And you can see what happens.
As a result of this incident, seven officers were fired, four of the seven have been indicted and five others were suspended or disciplined. We talked about this last night with our legal contributor, Sunny Hostin, and tonight we have the attorney for Chad Holley. He's the teenager you see on that videotape. His attorney is Wilvin Carter and he joins us tonight from Houston.
Good evening, Mr. Carter. Thanks for joining us.
WILVIN CARTER, DEFENSE ATTORNEY (via telephone): Good evening, Don. How are you doing?
LEMON: Yes. You are asking for a federal investigation. You said it's systematic brutality in the Houston Police Department. What's your evidence of that?
CARTER: I could barely hear you.
LEMON: I said you're asking for a federal investigation because of systematic police brutality, you believe, in the Houston Police Department. What's your evidence of that?
CARTER: Well, the number of complaints that I see that come into my office as well as my other colleagues that practice defense law down here. We have multiple individuals who are -- who have injuries, evidence of injuries and have witnesses to show that they were at some point in time during their detention or arrest that they were either assaulted or mishandled by the Houston police officers here.
LEMON: What's your reaction when you saw this videotape?
CARTER: I was shocked, appalled. It just reminds me of the '60s. When I grew up, it was lawlessness. It seems like these individuals were actually attacking him because of his race and they wanted to take the law into their own hands and administer punishment.
LEMON: How is your client doing, Chad Holley?
CARTER: As of right now, he's in school. He's tried to get on with his life. He has, you know, some problems coping with this incident and he continues to have to relive this incident as long as the legal process continues to unfold down here in Houston.
LEMON: We understand that there were some issues with the mother. What's going on with her?
CARTER: My understanding is that she has had some problems at her job. She's also had people speaking badly to her about her son as well as just saying that she's a bad parent.
LEMON: Is that because of this incident she's had problems?
CARTER: Say what?
LEMON: That's because of this incident she's had problems at her job?
CARTER: Absolutely, yes.
LEMON: He was -- he was convicted of misdemeanor burglary, I believe, right?
CARTER: well, he's a juvenile, so there was not a conviction. He was deemed to have engaged in delinquent conduct. So there's not a conviction on his record as of right now. And also there's an appeal that we have, that's pending right now, that we're working through the process and have it worked through the Court of Appeals right here in Houston.
LEMON: What would you like to see happen to the Houston police? What changes would you like to be made?
CARTER: Well, we need to first install some type of law. We need to go down to the legislature here in Texas. We need to have a law in place that when officers misbehave or use excessive conduct or excessive force down here, they are now going to receive some type of felony penalty instead of some misdemeanor penalty that they're under here in Houston now.
I also -- when officers have been deemed to have engaged in excessive force, they need to move their jobs without pay and possibly not even return back to the force.
LEMON: All right, Mr. Carter, I want to give our viewers the police reaction here. Houston Police Chief Charles McClelland Jr. says, quote, "I have already taken disciplinary action and will have no further comment until the last case is adjudicated and/or appealed."
And from the Houston Police Officers Union, this is a quote, "We have thousands of officers who do a great job every day and they're not involved in this. Police officers do the best job they can do. This is a case that has to be sorted out. It's serious and it's a reflection of the department."
And Houston's mayor said this week that she is, quote, "shocked and disgusted by what's on that videotape."
So, listen. What's next for Chad and for your client in this case?
CARTER: Criminally, we're waiting for the Court of Appeals to bring it back, the permission to go on here, and finalize and follow through with his criminal appeal regarding the juvenile case. And my understanding is that he is also going to -- pending on the outcome of the officers' cases, he may be pursuing some type of civil action.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, sir. Keep in touch. We'll continue to follow this story.
Also tonight on CNN, the Super Bowl just ended. We're going to show you what happened and get some reaction. That will happen right after the break.
Plus, Sarah Palin is calling Egypt the president's 3:00 a.m. call? Is she dissing him? We'll play the sound for you ahead. You decide.
And three Americans go on trial in Iran on charges of spying even though one is no longer in the country.
I'm online and I know you are too. Make sure you check out my social media accounts. We want to connect with you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Super Bowl viewers, welcome. We want to get you caught up on the day's news. It is now early Monday morning in Cairo. Pro-democracy demonstrator entrenched in Tahrir Square remain defiant against their government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SOUNDS OF GUNFIRE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sunday night, soldiers fired warning shots over the Square when demonstrators began surging toward army tanks. Elsewhere, modest signs that life is slowly returning to normal for many Egyptians. Banks opened Sunday for the first time in 10 days, allowing people and businesses to withdraw cash.
President Barack Obama today talked about his efforts to support democratic reforms in Egypt. In a conversation on Fox, he was asked about the potential role of the Muslim Brotherhood in a new Egyptian government.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I think that the Muslim Brotherhood is one faction in Egypt. They don't have majority support in Egypt. They are -- but they are well organized and there are strains of their ideology that are anti-U.S. There's no doubt about it. But here's the thing that we have to understand. There are a whole bunch of secular folks in Egypt. There are a whole bunch of educators and civil society in Egypt that wants to come to the fore as well. And so it's important for us not to say that our only two options are either the Muslim Brotherhood or a suppressed Egyptian people.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: President Obama also said his ultimate goal is a representative government in Egypt that will be a partner with the United States.
It is a day of celebration and remembrance in Simi Valley, California. That's where friends, family and admirers of former President Ronald Reagan gathered on what would have been Mr. Reagan's 100th birthday. His widow, Nancy, oversaw a wreath-laying ceremony at his gravesite, and former aides and advisers talked about his legacy to the country and to the world.
CNN's John King has a report coming up on CNN in just a few minutes.
Police have arrested two men for a deadly shooting at a frat party in Ohio. It happened last night at an off-campus house near Youngstown State University. One student was killed, 11 others were wounded. Police say the two suspects were kicked out of the party and came back with guns blazing, firing indiscriminately into the house.
A train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of ethanol derailed early today in northwestern Ohio. Officials say 28 cars jumped the tracks near Arcadia, sparking a massive fire. You can see it there. Some 20 homes nearby were evacuated. No injuries have been reported, though.
A seating problem at tonight's Super Bowl left some fans standing and fighting mad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WAYNE RUSCH, PACKERS FAN: Very disappointed. It's not the money. It's the whole issue. We came here for memories and it's not happening.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The NFL says the problem was some temporary seats that were not installed correctly. About 400 fans were given a refund of $2,400, three times the face value of their ticket. They were invited to watch the game in a standing room area or on monitors inside the stadium.
In Iran, a trial began today for three American hikers accused of spying. Iranian state media says not guilty pleas were entered for all of them. But one of them was not there to face the court.
Our Susan Candiotti has been following all of the ins and outs of this case for us. Here she is.
Susan?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): A year and a half after repeated denials that they are spies, American hikers Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal on Sunday faced Iran's revolutionary court. The Swiss ambassador to Iran, representing U.S. interests, also was denied entry. The two hikers are being held in Tehran's Evin Prison, allowed only one visit from their mothers last year.
Bauer's fiancee, Sarah Shourd, was released last fall on humanitarian grounds.
SARAH SHOURD, HIKER FORMERLY HELD IN IRAN: We committed no crime and we're not spies. We in no way intended any harm to the Iranian government or its people.
CANDIOTTI: Shourd has been lobbying for their freedom, appearing in a documentary posted online by supporters.
SHOURD: They don't know when they're going to get out and they're two beautiful people, two innocent people, that don't deserve to be there. Should have never been there in the first place.
CANDIOTTI: Shourd said she and her friends were beckoned off a hiking trail by a soldier and, without realizing it, stepped across an unmarked border into Iran.
SHOURD: And when he started speaking Farsi, he said Iran and pointed to the ground where we were standing and then he pointed to the trail that we had been on and said Iraq. So, according to that soldier, we did not enter Iran until he gestured for us to come off the trail.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): The hikers' family have decided against appearing on camera now that court's under way. Shourd is being tried in absentia. After filing $500 million in bail, she has no plans to return.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Susan, thank you.
Listen to this now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Seattle and I started hoing when I was 16.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got started in the sex industry when I was 15.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I've been in the game since I was 13.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Legal prostitutes talk about their profitable trade but their disturbing pasts still haunt them. You'll hear it for yourself. It's part of a CNN special investigation.
Plus, a burglar traps himself in a storeroom during a robbery and it's caught on tape. Your viral videos, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time right now for your viral videos, and in tonight's most popular viral videos, we take you to Victoria, Australia. A young man dropping into the picture is an alleged thief who was hoping to burglarize a bakery by coming through a skylight. Unfortunately for him, though, he ended up stuck inside a locked storeroom with no way out but up. So, standing on stacked buckets, he tried many times and failed over 30 minutes before finally getting out. At last report, police are still looking for him.
Well, electronic gadgets can be hazardous to your health. A couple of weeks ago, we saw a woman fall into a fountain in the mall while texting, right? Now watch this video. It's from Milan, Italy. A young boy apparently so engrossed in his portable gaming console that he stepped right off the platform and onto subway tracks. Luckily, no train was coming at the time. One was scheduled just moments away, though. A policeman jumped down and rescued the boy. The hard fall shook him up but the boy was otherwise OK.
Now for something totally different. You may have heard of the rock band Nine Inch Nails. Now try 20-inch nails. You guys have been tweeting me all this weekend about this. These are real. Jazz Ison Sinkfield of Atlanta has been growing them for more than 20 years. That's about one inch per year. To keep these nails in shape cost Sinkfield about $250 a month. There are some drawbacks. She can't type. She can't tie shoes. She can't remove jewelry. And they can get caught on a lot of snags. But Sinkfield was convinced her nails will make her famous and maybe one day earn her a guest appearance on Oprah.
OK. More viral videos coming up a little bit later on this hour.
Fans at tonight's Super Bowl find out they don't have seats. And that's just one of the debacles surrounding this year's big game. A live report from Texas is straight ahead.
And Sarah Palin goes on Christian television and disses the president. We'll play the video for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's get you caught up on politics now, what people are talking about and what you need to know in your week ahead.
Former vice presidential nominee and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin is weighing in on the uprising in Egypt. And in an interview to air on CBN, she's criticizing President Obama's handling of a situation.
In her words, this is what she says. "It's a difficult situation, this is that 3:00 a.m. White House phone call and it seems for many of us trying to get that information from our leader in the White House, it seems that the call went right to the answering machine."
And the White House has offered no response to Palin's comments, but earlier today, President Obama stood by his policies. He told Fox -- Fox News that he is hopeful democratic reforms will take hold in Egypt. He was also asked to pick a Super Bowl winner. He refused. And on a more personal level, he talked about what he considers the worst part of being president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The worst part of the job is, first of all, I've got a jacket on on Super Bowl Sunday. If I was not the president, that would not be happening.
BILL O'REILLY, HOST, FOX NEWS: You don't have a tie on.
OBAMA: The biggest problem for me is being in the bubble. It's very hard to escape. You know, you can't go to the corner.
O'REILLY: Everybody is watching every move you make.
OBAMA: Every move you make. And over time, you know, what happens is that you feel like that you're not able to just have a spontaneous conversation with folks, and that's a -- that's a loss, that's a big loss.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Former President George W. Bush was supposed to make a speech next weekend in Geneva, but it's been called off amid word that a human rights group plan to take legal action against him in Switzerland. A Bush spokesman says organizers of the speech called it off, but the Center for Constitutional Rights says the trip was cancelled to avoid its case. Well, the Center alleges Bush approved the torture of terror suspects.
It is a day of celebration and remembrance today in Simi Valley, California. That's where friends, family and admirers of former President Ronald Reagan have gathered to honor the nation's 40th president. Ronald Reagan would have been 100 years old today and our chief national correspondent John King is there.
John?
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, good evening.
This is the Air Force One Pavilion at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California. That Boeing 707 behind me carried Ronald Reagan all across the United States but also around the world as well.
A very special day here at the Library. This would have been the 100th birthday of the 40th president of the United States. And so on this Reagan centennial, Nancy Reagan participating in a wreath-laying ceremony for her husband, the man who she so fiercely protected not only during his days as governor, as president, but also in his post- presidency when, of course, Ronald Reagan's final days were clouded by Alzheimer's disease.
Many Republican luminaries on hand, Reagan family friends as well. A flyover at one point by four FA teams from the USS Ronald Reagan stationed just off the coast of California for today's celebrations.
The keynote speech delivered by an old Reagan hand. Jim Baker was Ronald Reagan's chief of staff, then his treasury secretary. In paying tribute to the Gipper today, he told some stories and made some jokes, but also delivered a pointed message to today's polarized politics. We have a Democratic president. We have a Republican House of Representatives. Jim Baker pointedly telling them Ronald Reagan would have found a way to get things done.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMES BAKER, FMR. WHITE HOUSE CHIEF OF STAFF: And perhaps most importantly, like Ronald Reagan, we must re-learn that as citizens of a democracy, it is OK to voice our disagreements, but at the end of the day, we have to come together to solve problems rather than cynically rely on them for partisan advantage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KING: Here's the official program for the event and inside it, Don, Nancy Reagan writes Ronnie loved to celebrate his birthday. Said he would probably be a bit embarrassed by all the attention here today. At the end of the ceremonies, happy birthday, the cake rolled out. They sang happy birthday to the former president. This is a celebration not only of his life and legacy but also of the re- dedication of this fabulous presidential library.
LEMON: All right, John King, thank you. The Reagan Presidential Foundation announced today it has passed its $100 million fundraising goal money that will be used to maintain and expand the Reagan Presidential Library.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(PEOPLE CHANTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: People right here in the U.S. supporting the protesters in Egypt. I'll take you to a rally I attended here in Atlanta.
And the debacle at the Super Bowl over fan seating. Our Mark McKay live from the stadium. What happened?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. A busy news weekend here. I want to give you some of your top stories.
A train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of ethanol derailed earlier today in northwestern Ohio. Look at the flames. Officials say 28 cars jumped the tracks near Arcadia, sparking that massive fire. Some 20 nearby homes were evacuated. No injuries, though, to report to you.
Police have arrested two men for a deadly shooting at a frat party in Ohio. This news just came out today. It happened last night at an off campus house near Youngstown State University. One student was killed, 11 other people were wounded. Police say two suspects were kicked out of the party and then came back with guns blazing and then they just started firing indiscriminately into the house. One person killed. Many others injured.
A newly released surveillance video is causing a huge furor in Texas and around the country. You see a 15-year-old, a burglary suspect, running. He is clipped by a police car, and then he goes down. Officers surround him. They kick and punch him repeatedly even though he is not resisting. He is unarmed as well.
This all happened last March but the video, which was sealed by the court, was released to the media by a community activist. Seven officers were fired. Four had been indicted and five were suspended or disciplined. Houston's police chief has issued a statement.
Charles McClelland Jr. says "I have already taken disciplinary action and will have no further comment until the last case is adjudicated and/or appealed."
Tonight's Super Bowl may go down in the record books for all of its problems. First, there was all that ice, remember? Then hundreds of fans, who arrived tonight with a ticket, found out they didn't have seats. Mark McKay is live in Texas with the details.
Can you imagine, Mark? Seems like it's in a bad week for the Super Bowl. First, the storm, the ice, and the stadium falling and hurting people. Then, there was this seating foul-up today. It seems like there's been -- there's a lot of angry fans there. What have you been able to learn?
MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, a bit surreal, Don, to be honest with you. At least the NFL got a Super Bowl that was exciting, coming down to the last two minutes of the game, 31-25, in favor of Green Bay. That's why you see the green behind me at Cowboy Stadium.
But I want to point to the billion-dollar facility. Yes, it seemed like it was snake-bitten all week long. Remember the pictures of the snow and the ice cascading down after the sun finally emerged late in the week, injuring six people, seriously injuring two people. The rest of the ice was removed. We thawed out.
And then 105,000 folks converged on the stadium today for the Super Bowl with tickets in hand. As up to 1,250 filed in, they found out that their tickets were not going to be able to be used. Temporary seating was deemed unsafe inside Cowboy Stadium. Eight hundred-fifty of the displaced fans were able to find seating that the NFL said was better or similar to where they were. Four hundred were brought into basically an underground stadium facility, where they could watch the game adjacent to the field, but they did not have access to their seats. We talked to many. They were not happy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No seats. They don't even have my row, let alone the section we're supposed to be in.
LORI, ANGRY FAN: It was terribly mismanaged and we're just beside ourselves. I don't know how this is going to come out. We can't see the game. They've shuttled us into this area. I can't see a positive outcome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I had security almost kicked me out because I don't know where I'm going, so. I don't know who's all in charge of this, but never again will I come back to Dallas Stadium.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MCKAY: The National Football League says it will refund those 400 fans, triple the face value of their ticket. But as many fans told me, Don, for both sides, the Packers and the Steelers affected by this, it's not the money issue, it's the experience. And their experience was ruined by what happened at Cowboy Stadium tonight.
LEMON: That's right. How do you replace that memory in history? So, listen. We got a response from the NFL. They apologized. They said they're giving them three times the face value. But, Mark, many people don't pay the face value. Sometimes they pay a lot more, especially when you buy them online.
MCKAY: I know. And the NFL were giving these fans that came in and had this problem letters but there was really no answers at the time. Security was overwhelmed by the amount of people that were having to be displaced and found accommodations elsewhere in the stadium.
The National Football League says it regrets the situation. It apologizes and will review the matter. A little solace to, certainly, the Steelers fans who were going home with a Super Bowl loss, the Green Bay fans who didn't get to see their team win their fourth Super Bowl. We're going to have to see what happens.
And as you mentioned, Don, let's not forget about the accommodation and the airline tickets just to get here, let alone the ticket prices.
LEMON: And those monitors in the room that they were invited to go to, they said the same size as a sports bar. Oh, my gosh, I'd be so upset.
Thank you. Appreciate it, Mark.
U.S. passion for the protesters in Egypt. My report on a rally in Atlanta is coming up here on CNN. But first, unrest in Egypt is causing some economic unrest and Americans are tired of pinching pennies. CNN's Stephanie Elam has it all in this week's "Getting Down to Business."
STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Protests in Cairo are having some economic repercussions. The Egyptian stock exchange has been closed since the upheaval began. It's lost more than 20 percent of its value so far this year. Egypt's Suez Canal is a key worldwide shipping route for oil and other products, and there's concern that shipments could be disrupted. Back home, Americans are tired of pinching pennies. A poll from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found two-thirds of people surveyed were weary of being tight with their money, but they don't plan on changing their lifestyle until the economy improves. Experts say this frugal fatigue may actually give the economy a boost in the long term when spending does pick up.
But if cash is burning a hole in your pocket, a new TV may be just the deal for you. Many packers are slashing prices to make room for new models coming out later this month. Between now and the early part of March could be the best time yet to buy a new flat screen.
That's this week's "Getting Down to Business." Stephanie Elam, CNN, New York.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: People in the U.S. and abroad are showing their solidarity this weekend with the protesters in Egypt. This picture shows Christians forming human chains to protect Muslims during prayers in Tahrir Square. It speaks volumes about a country where Christians and Muslims are often divided. I get a chance to meet some demonstrators here in downtown Atlanta who talk about the show of unity between people of different faiths and why they are supporting the people of Egypt.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Down, down with Mubarak!
LEMON: While most of the protests last week were focused on Mubarak, this week they're focusing on this -- Egypt means Muslims and Christians, meaning unity among people who had once been separated.
Why are you so passionate about this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they protected us in Tahrir Square. The Christians, they protected us in the Tahrir Square. The Christians protected us in the Tahrir Square. The Christians protected us in Tahrir Square. Right now, Christians and Muslims in Egypt is one bar, not two. It's one bar, not two, and will never be two, and never will be two. It will always be one.
LEMON: People would say why is a 10-year-old out here?
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: I'm here to support every age that's in Egypt. Every age should have equal rights no matter how small or old you are.
(PEOPLE CHANTING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to tell all Americans that if you're for freedom, if you're for democracy, get out here, protest for Egyptians. They deserve freedom just as much as anyone else and please, please President Obama, I know you have the power to get him down. So just tell him that he needs to go. One phone call isn't enough.
LEMON: What's at stake for Syrians like you and other people of Arabic --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, it's really going to set the tone for the whole Middle East, and hopefully leaders around the region will start paying more attention to the voices of their people. The Egyptian people are our brothers. What happens to them is vitally important to them and all of us in the region, and we support them a hundred percent.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thirty years is too much. And unplugging Egypt from the rest of the world won't help. He can't unplug our voices.
(PEOPLE CHANTING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Also tonight here on CNN, here's a quiz for you. Does this man look black or white to you? Wait until you hear his answer. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: As we promised, more viral videos. First up, down under. If you've never heard of bottled octopus, check this out. An amazing illustration of the advantages of not having a skeleton. A beer bottle at the bottom of the ocean turned out to be the temporary home of a small octopus.
If only this little guy could have predicted the Super Bowl? And you may recall another octopus named Paul, since deceased, was famous for his predictions during the World Cup soccer match.
And speaking of wild creatures. You've heard of the tortoise and the hare, right? How about a pet fox and a box turtle? The fox was raised since a kid and is named Ron. The man who owns Ron says that funny sound he's making right there is his way of saying it's mine, it's mine.
All right. That's weird.
Although Ron looks cute, the owner warns having a pet fox is a huge challenge and not recommended for everybody. He says they will rip up and destroy all of your stuff.
All right. If raising a pet fox isn't extreme enough for you, perhaps you might try surfing giant waves at night. This is world renowned big wave surfer Mark Visser at Maui's legendary "Jaws". Look at that. Despite years of experience, he says these huge wave was unlike any he's ever tried because he could not see where he was going. Instead, he had to trust his instincts and feel the 30-foot wall of water as it rolled beneath him. Made him video. Visser says he did it for a documentary.
OK. Prostitution is illegal in America with the exception of a few rural counties in Nevada. CNN's Amber Lyon has spent a year investigating the illegal trafficking of underage girls, a brutal trade, affecting up to 300,000 American children. She went to America's most famous legal brothel, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. The women who work there do so freely and they make good money, but, as Amber discovered, many are still haunted by their pasts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DENNIS HOF, OWNER, MOONLITE BUNNY RANCH: Hi, honey, how are you? There's a lot of sexual trafficking going on in Las Vegas.
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Dennis Hof, he's been called America's pimp master general but he considers himself a business man.
HOF: Hey, I love it.
LYON: And what he does is legal.
HOF: I have a show on HBO called "Cathouse."
LYON: Hof is the owner of the most famous legal brothel in America, the Moonlite Bunny Ranch. It's the setting for HBO's long-running reality series "Cathouse."
HOF: People love the sex business and I love being a part of it.
LYON: What he doesn't love are pimps.
(on camera): You think pimps just suck?
HOF: I think -- pimps are the worst leeches in the world. It's in Birmingham. It's in Charleston. It's everywhere. It's everywhere in America. There are pimp pimps that are trying to grab the lives of young girls and take them away from their families.
LYON: What types of money are pimps pulling in?
HOF: Well, tens of thousands of dollars a week.
LYON: A week?
HOF: Oh, yes, absolutely.
LYON: What is it with underage girls? Why do pimps make more money off them? Why are there so many underage girls?
HOF: They're easily manipulated. They're young. They're naive. But the price they pay is horrendous.
LYON (voice-over): Hof says that he wants to set the record straight, let the public know that life in his legal brothel is a far cry from the lives of most American prostitutes.
HOF: Ladies, this is Amber. She's here to visit you, to spend some time with you girls. She wants to meet you all.
(INAUDIBLE) every buck or two, come in and make their money, and go back home and live their life. Want me to walk you around and show you everything?
LYON (on camera): Yes, yes.
HOF: There are just rooms down here and the girls decorate them like they want. We want people to be comfortable. LED plasma TVs.
LYON: Yes, and it looks just like a regular bedroom. What is this?
HOF: This is a swing.
LYON: I don't quite know how this works.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's really easy. It's great.
LYON: Let's move on to the next room. There's boobs in the hallway. It's just boobs.
(voice-over): The women are in the safest and most profitable environment possible for a sex worker.
HOF: This is used one day a week for a couple of hours.
LYON: They're tested weekly for STDs. They have panic buttons in their room that they can hit if a client gets out of line, and they also keep half of their cash.
Some make six figure incomes.
(on camera): So, I know you guys are all of age now and you're in the business now legally. But how many of you were sex trafficked underage when you started in the business? Can you raise your hand real high?
So, we have one, two, three.
(voice-over): We counted hands and asked the women to tell us their stories.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm from Seattle, and I started hoing when I was 16.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I got started in the sex industry when I was 15.
JAZZY, BUNNY RANCH GIRL: I've been in the game since I was 13.
LYON: All were effectively sex slaves controlled by pimps, and all were sold online.
JAZZY: Virginity wasn't an option where I came from. You know, it was taken from you. And so, when you -- when you get into the game or when you like have somebody tell you, you know, you can sleep with me for money and you've already lost your virginity, you're just like, why not? Like, you know, it's like, why not? You know, sex is not as sacred as it once was.
LYON: Amber Lyon, CNN, Carson City, Nevada.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It is an amazing investigation by Amber. "Selling the Girl Next Door" airs tonight, 11:00 p.m. Eastern, immediately following this show on CNN.
This actor has an amazing story to share about his ethic identity. You're going to hear it, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: More top stories here on CNN. It is now early Monday morning in Cairo. Pro-democracy demonstrators entrenched in Tahrir Square remain defiant against their government.
On Sunday night, soldiers fired warning shots over the Square when demonstrators began surging toward army tanks. Elsewhere, modest signs that life is slowly returning to normal for many Egyptians. Banks open Sunday for the first time in 10 days, allowing people and businesses to withdraw cash.
Former Republican vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin is weighing in on the uprising in Egypt. In an interview to air on CBN, she is criticizing President Obama's handling of the situation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. VICE PRES. CANDIDATE: It's a difficult situation, this is that 3:00 a.m. White House phone call and it seems for many of us trying to get that information from our leader in the White House, it seems that the call went right to the answering machine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Again, that's on the CBN, the Christian Broadcasting Network. The White House has offered no response to Palin's comments. But earlier today, President Obama stood by his policies. He told Fox News that he is confident that Egypt can have an orderly transition process that leads to a representative government.
It is a day of celebration and remembrance in Simi Valley, California. That's where friends, family and admirers of former President Ronald Reagan, well, they gathered on what would have been Mr. Reagan's 100th birthday. His widow Nancy oversaw a wreath-laying ceremony at his gravesite, and former aides and advisers talked about his legacy to the country and to the world.
A train carrying hundreds of thousands of gallons of ethanol derailed early today. It's in northwestern Ohio. Officials say 28 cars jumped the tracks near Arcadia, sparking a massive fire. Some 20 homes nearby had to be evacuated. Nobody was injured.
A newly released surveillance video is causing a huge furor in Texas. You have to look at this. You see a 15-year-old, he's a burglary suspect, he's running. He's clipped by a police car. Then he goes down. Officers surround him. They kick and punch him repeatedly, even though he is not resisting and he's unarmed.
This all happened last March, but the video, which was sealed by the court, was released to the media but a community activist. The young man's attorney says he wants a federal investigation. Several officers were fired. Four have been indicted and five were suspended or disciplined.
Here's what Houston police chief is saying, Charles McClelland Jr. "I have already taken disciplinary action and will have no further comment until the last case is adjudicated and/or appealed."
Tonight, a strange case of mistaken identity. Michael Fosberg is an actor and is an author who until about a decade ago believed he was white. He grew up in a white middle class family in Chicago and he spent most of his adult life as a white man. Then his mother divorced Michael's stepfather, the man who had raised him, and she revealed a secret. Michael's birth father was African-American.
And as you can imagine, it was a major jolt to his psyche. Well, Fosberg eventually wrote about discovering his true identity in the book, it's called "Incognito: An American Odyssey of Race and Self- Discovery." He also turned his story into a one-man play. I talked with him about his experience.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Looking at you, I'm from Louisiana. I have lots of relatives who look like you. I have lots of -- and I would -- I would not have known. I would have thought one way or another had I met you, I probably would have asked or maybe it would have come up in conversation. But the whole time you had no idea that you were black?
MICHAEL FOSBERG, AUTHOR, "INCOGNITO": Yes. Well, I don't think the afro when I had -- that I sported during high school really was a big clue for me. But now, I really didn't. I mean, you know, I grew up in a white family, a white working class family. So, there wasn't anything there that really gave me any indication that I would be any different than what they were. So, it was -- it was quite a shock, yes.
LEMON: Take me through that phone call. So what happened after that?
FOSBERG: Well, after I sort of braced myself against my dresser and then I kind of caught myself in a mirror across my room and looked at myself quickly like, did I really just changed or what just happened. And then we exchanged information. We exchanged phone numbers and we swore that we'd stay in touch.
And about a week later, I woke up at about 6:00 in the morning to a phone call from my grandmother. For the first time, my grandmother had called me to find out how I was and as she said, where the hell you've been, we've been expecting you 10 years ago. They had hoped that I would come back to find them a long time prior to this. LEMON: OK. Were you upset by this? To find out like, oh, man, I'm black or did it not really matter?
FOSBERG: (INAUDIBLE) No. Actually, you know, my whole life, I felt connected to African-American people, to African-American culture.
LEMON: Hello?
FOSBERG: So when I found out, it was like this piece really fits.
LEMON: Yes. Exactly.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Interesting interview.
OK. So the players weren't the only ones dealing with nerves at the Super Bowl. How about Christina Aguilera. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(CHRISTINA AGUILERA SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That line was supposed to be "or the ramparts we watch." So, she had a little mess-up there, but she sounded great. Christina Aguilera at the Super Bowl.
Thanks for watching, everyone. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. I'll see back here next week. Have a great week, everyone.
