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Entering the Radiation Zone; Newark Airport Security Shock; Toni Braxton on Autism; Inside the Budget Deal
Aired April 09, 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: Radiation tour. Japan's damaged nuclear power plant like you've never seen it before. A Japanese journalist ventures into an evacuation zone, cameras and radiation detectors running. He's here live with his remarkable story and video.
Security breaches. An explosive memo leaked from inside Newark's airport reveals major security lapses. Tonight, the frightening list of items that made it through undetected.
Budget deal. The president celebrates with a surprise visit to the Lincoln Memorial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Congress was able to settle its differences. That's why this place is open today and everybody is able to enjoy their visit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And my interview with Grammy Award-winning singer Toni Braxton on the serious subject of her son's autism.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. The news starts right now.
And we start with a CNN exclusive, a television exclusive, video you haven't seen on any other news broadcast. An up close look at the radiation zone leading up to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, armed with radiation detectors. Japanese journalist Tetsuo Jimbo traveled deep into the evacuation to monitor radiation levels and see the damage for himself. And what he witnessed was almost surreal.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice over): With radiation detectors on the dash, they enter the evacuation zone just 30 kilometers, 18 1/2 miles from the highly radioactive nuclear plant.
The radiation levels are detectable, 21 kilometers from the reactors. Stray dogs roam freely.
As they get closer, 20 kilometers, no traffic lights and only two other cars on the road.
And at 17 kilometers, the radiation levels set off the detectors alarm. And they see truck drivers in radiation proof suits and heavy- duty gas masks.
And at 15 kilometers in, higher radiation levels and the road is out. They have to find another route via GPS. Along the way, more farm animals and, except for a few lone drivers, this town is abandoned.
At 3 kilometers, they have to get out and walk. The levels keep rising. The damage is unimaginable. More walking. More abandoned dogs. Somehow, they find a way around the damage by car. And finally, their mission to the infamous Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant, just under a mile away, mission terminated.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Tetsuo -- Tetsuo will join me in just moments to talk about his experience.
But let's get you caught up now on the day's top stories.
President Barack Obama is wasting no time in promoting the new budget deal. He made a quick trip to the Lincoln Memorial today, surprising tourists when he stopped to remind them that popular monuments and many other D.C. attractions are open because of Friday night's bipartisan agreement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I just want to say real quick that because Congress was able to settle its differences, that's why this place is open today and everybody is able to enjoy their visit. And that's the kind of future cooperation that I hope we have going forward because this is what America is all about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The budget deal marks a rare moment of agreement in Washington. Republicans, Democrats and President Obama are all calling it a success, but it wasn't easy. The agreement required days of marathon talks with plenty of back and forth of political posturing along the way. In the end, the deal cuts more than $38 billion in spending through September. The president calls the cuts painful but necessary.
A ferocious wildfire in West Texas scorched more than 71,000 acres and tonight, we're learning some 50 homes are being evacuated in Midland and part of Interstate 20 has now been closed. Firefighters haven't been able to gain control of the fast-moving fire, which has been burning since Wednesday. Air tankers have dropped at least 58,000 gallons of retardant on the fire.
The prep work is done. Now, all residents in North and South Dakota can do is wait and watch. For a third year in a row, the Red River is expected to crest above flood stage. Today, crews in Fargo piled up sandbags and added to dikes along the river. It's expected to crest sometime tonight or tomorrow.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's astonishing. It's just -- it's nothing I've ever seen before. And, you know, we're going to be dealing with a lot of the issues for, you know, a long time this year.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's going up an inch a day, you know. At some point, we got to reach -- I mean how full can this lake get, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Thousands of residents could be forced from their homes if the sandbags and dikes don't hold up.
Dutch police say they have identified the gunman in a deadly rampage in the Netherlands. Seven people were killed and 16 others wounded when the shooter opened fire at the mall outside of Amsterdam. He then killed himself. Police say the suspect was a 24-year-old Dutch national who left a farewell note behind claiming he had placed explosives around the town of Alphen. With the search still underway, some residents are not being allowed to return to their houses tonight.
A new glimpse at Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. State television aired these pictures of his visit to a school in Tripoli today. Meantime, the fighting raged today in Ajdabiya, the last stop on the road to the rebel stronghold of Benghazi. Fighting was also reported in several other cities including Misrata. ITN reporter Neil Cornery -- Connery, excuse me, got caught up in that crossfire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VOICE OF NEIL CONNERY, ITN REPORTER: Suddenly, we're told to take cover as Libyan troops fear a rebel sniper is targeting them.
(SOUNDS OF GUNFIRE)
CONNERY: The army captain we've spoken to just moments earlier was injured and rushed away. A journalist nearby was struck by shrapnel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And NATO says in the last 24 hours, their aircraft have destroyed armored vehicles in several cities and government ammunition stockpiles east of Tripoli.
An inside memo at New Jersey's Newark airport reveals major lapses in security, and we'll talk to the reporter who broke the story and tell you about the breakdowns.
Plus, my interview with Grammy Award-winning singer Toni Braxton who speaks candidly about the serious issue of autism.
And remember, you have a voice on this show. It's as easy as logging on. You can find me at donlemoncnn on Twitter, at Facebook, at CNN.com/don and on Foursquare.com/donlemoncnn.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONI BRAXTON, SINGER: Hi, I'm Toni Braxton, inviting you to follow me on my Twitter at tonibraxton. Check out my "Sugar Lips" himself, Don Lemon, at donlemoncnn.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That's exclusive video from a brave Japanese journalist who traveled inside the evacuation zone to get up close to the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. What he saw was surreal, remarkable images. At some point, he had to get out and walk because the roads were impassable. Animals walked the streets. Dogs, cows and the towns were virtual ghost towns.
Tetsuo Jimbo joins me now live to talk more about his experience.
What made you do it, Tetsuo?
TETSUO JIMBO, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, VIDEONEWS.COM: Well, you know, no one had gone in there and, you know, we hear a lot of strange rumors about the place. So, I just -- you know, as a journalist, I just need to go in there and find out in person what actually was happening in there.
LEMON: Did you protect yourself at all with suits? At one point, you said you saw truck drivers in heavy suits and gas masks and they were among the few people who were on the road.
JIMBO: You know, I have been dealing with this issue for quite some time and I have some knowledge. You know, those protection suits doesn't really protect you from gamma rays, which are actually the main component of, you know, the radiation at the plant. So, we didn't wear those, you know, like a full-fledged protection suit. We did take precautions. We took iodine pills and we had our mouth and nose covered, stuff like that. But basically we went in in the plainclothes.
LEMON: Yes. So, as you started to get closer and closer to that plant, the radiation detector started beeping, the alarms started going up. What struck you most as you -- on your journey as you were venturing into this zone?
JIMBO: Well, you know, some of the things you probably saw on the video, those animals just wandering around freely, you know, because there's no policemen and no electricity, and basically it is a ghost town.
But at the same time, you know, those Geiger counters, you know, radioactivity meter is going up, but, you know, you don't feel a thing. And that's actually the most scary thing, you know. Radioactive particle is hitting your body but you don't, you know, doesn't smell anything, you don't feel heat, you just don't feel a thing. And that's actually the most scary part of the whole trip.
LEMON: Tetsuo Jimbo, thank you and stay safe, OK.
JIMBO: Thank you.
LEMON: Now to shocking news out tonight about a major U.S. airport. An airport with security lapses so bad even top TSA brass are worried about its ability to provided adequate security for passengers. That airport is Newark Liberty International. The same airport United Airlines Flight 93 departed from on 9/11, the plane that later crashed in a field near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.
A newly uncovered internal memo reveals stunning security breaches, breaches discussed at a secret meeting on Thursday. In one incident, a dead dog was loaded on to a Continental jet unchecked and cleared to fly. The memo also cites incidents of unchecked passengers boarding planes with knives. A reporter from New Jersey's "Star- Ledger" broke the story and, moments ago, I spoke with him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So, this memo cites several high-profile lapses at the airport that produced, quote, "a lack of faith in our ability to provide world-class security for passengers." Tell us about some of those more egregious lapses.
STEVE STRUNSKY, REPORTER, "THE STAR-LEDGER": Well, I guess the big one was when the Chinese graduate student at Rutgers snuck past a vacated checkpoint to get a last good-bye kiss from his girlfriend who was flying back to China. That was back in January of 2010.
There have been others since, particularly a spate of half a dozen starting early this year. One of those involved a dead dog that a passenger brought to the gate or to the security checkpoint with him, and the dog was sent down to cargo to be screened and loaded on to the plane and they found out after the plane had taken off that it hadn't been screened after all.
LEMON: So, Ann Davis, who is a spokesman for -- a supposed spokesperson for the TSA agency released a statement saying TSA managers have basically learned from this report and that lapses like this won't happen again.
Are people buying it? Do you buy it?
STRUNSKY: I won't say whether I buy it or not. I don't know exactly how they can be sure that there will never be security lapses again. There was some skepticism among some of the supervisors who were at these meetings about whether or not the recommendations that are set down by managers in this document we got a hold of, whether they would actually be implemented.
Let's talk now more about accountability here. Take for example Newark's Federal Security Director Barbara Powell. She's the one who allowed that dead dog on a flight but the TSA is backing her, saying she'll stay in charge in Newark.
Why? Will anyone be fired here?
STRUNSKY: I don't know if anyone will be fired. Some of the rank-and-file TSA employees running up to these two meetings suspected that they might -- the purpose of that might be to inform folks at Newark that Miss Powell would be out. But that is not the case. And they -- as Ann Davis said, they are backing her, they are staying with her. As for whether anyone else will be let go, I don't know that.
LEMON: Listen, the memo proposes a long list of recommendations for the airport. Tell us about that.
STRUNSKY: The recommendations by the managers, they focused on training and staffing, basically. They say they are understaffed by a couple of hundred people. The TSA acknowledges that they have not done a lot of hiring at Newark after having brought in the full body scanners, which are fairly labor intensive. So, if you're using those, you need a bunch more people. Managers want more hires for that reason and also to pick up the slack on shifts when people are on breaks or any other reason. They also emphasize that there needs to be a revamping of the whole training system.
LEMON: Thank you.
New Jersey Senator Frank Lautenberg issued a statement saying this. "Frequent breaches at Newark Liberty Airport are unacceptable and demand immediate attention. The federal government is doing an investigation at my request and I am hopeful that now we might finally be moving forward to crack down on Newark Liberty's security problems."
Coming up, Toni Braxton, my interview with her on the serious issue of autism.
But first, 140 public school students have been shot this year in the Chicago school district. When one mom worried her own daughter might fall into trouble, she opened her front door and invited area kids and gang members inside. Now they call her Miss Diane, and we call Diane Latiker this week's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANE LATIKER, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: Guns, guns and more guns. These are our young people. These stones represent them. We're losing a generation to violence.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody's scared to come out, they get shot at.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When they start shooting, you got to grab the kids and run in the house.
LATIKER: People run in the house and close their doors. They don't even talk about it. But there's some people who are not scared to go outside, and I'm one of them. My name is Diane Latiker. We opened the community center called Kids Off the Block. We're known as K.O.B.
They're kids that are in gangs. They're homeless. Some of them are drug dealers. So they got a lot of issues.
Who signed up for Youth Ready Chicago
I tell kids this is a peace place. This is a safe place.
We have leadership workshop, (INAUDIBLE) preparation, music. It's a range of things that goes on in here.
We started out with 10 young people, and the next thing I knew I had 15, then I had 25. At one point, I had 75 young people in three rooms of my house. And that's how Kids Off the Block started, in my living room.
We open the doors for the new K.O.B. center in July. Last year, we served 301 young people. When they knock on that door, they can come in.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was 12 when I got in a gang. Robbing people, stealing. Miss Diane, she done changed my life. I love her for that.
LATIKER: I'm no different from nobody else. I just opened up my door. Why can't we all come outside and see what's going on in our neighborhood?
There are people here who care, and I'm one of them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And remember, all of these, your CNN heroes, they'll chosen from people you tell us about. So, to nominate someone you know who's making a big difference in your community, go to CNNheroes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TONI BRAXTON, MOTHER OF AUTISTIC SON: I call him Sugar Lips, but you know him as Don Lemon. I'm Toni Braxton and you're watching CNN's weekend prime.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Thank you, Toni.
Let's talk about "What Matters Tonight." Singer Toni Braxton talks about autism on her new reality TV show "Braxton Family Values." The voice behind the hit "Unbreak My Heart" looks like she lives the glam life, really, but she gets real, she says, showing viewers the family struggles and that includes raising a child with autism. Braxton's son, Diezel, has autism, leading her to a role as a spokeswoman for the group Autism Speaks. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: What will parents gain from your new show and what do you want to say to families who are dealing with autism?
BRAXTON: It was very important to me to portray a side of me other than a singer. I'm a mother with a special needs son. Diezel suffers from autism but I'm one of the lucky parents, I found out when he was younger. So, he was about 2 years old, he's 8 now.
Early diagnosis completely changed his life. He's in public school now. We're mainstreaming him. Very lucky. He's in a special education program, with his therapist, his occupational therapy and ABA. But we're mainstreaming him and that's very important.
So, the best advice I can give parents, no matter what the outcome may look like, there's always hope. My child had no eye contact. He wasn't social. He wasn't speaking. They thought he was hearing-impaired. But look at us today. So, there's always hope.
LEMON: Tell us -- tell our viewers what mainstreaming means.
BRAXTON: Mainstreaming means he's no longer in an autism -- autistic school. He's in a regular public school in the state of Georgia. He's in a kids -- in a school in a class with typical peers. And from your typical peers, they mainstream better. They learn different behaviors and it makes them more social and those things are very, very important when you have a special needs or an autistic kid.
LEMON: OK.
BRAXTON: Oh, and I have to say this is National Autism Awareness Month.
LEMON: Yes.
BRAXTON: Yes. So, make sure you light the sky blue. But Lindt as well as Autism Speaks are teaming up. So, when you do your Easter baskets this year, make sure you buy the Lindt little gold bunny and ten cents from all those little chocolate delicious bunny goes towards Autism Speaks.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. "Braxton Family Values", it premieres next week on the WE Network.
President Barack Obama makes a surprise visit to the Lincoln Memorial in celebration of the new budget deal, and we'll talk with former Republican Congressman Robert Walker about what happens behind the scenes in those high-stakes negotiations.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Congress was able to settle its differences, that's why this place is open today and everybody is able to enjoy their visit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president out celebrating at the Lincoln Memorial what he's calling a budget victory. Both parties are calling it a victory. So, what is it like when the leaders of the two parties are in a room, the clock is ticking and a government shutdown is looming. Bob Walker certainly knows. He's served in the House Republican leadership during the last government shutdown back in 1995, and he's now with the lobbying firm of Wexler and Walker.
First of all, I want to get your reaction to the comments today by your one-time colleague Newt Gingrich. Here's what he said. He told CNN, "It is the first big step in the right direction." He says House Speaker John Boehner got the largest spending cut in history.
Do you agree with this? Is this good for the country, good for Republicans or what?
BOB WALKER (R), FMR. PENNSYLVANIA CONGRESSMAN: Well, I certainly agree with Newt that this is the first step in what's going to be a major battle. I mean, this is -- this was a fairly small down payment on the real battle that's going to come over the 2012 budget. And the Republicans under the leadership of Paul Ryan, the chairman of the Budget Committee, have already laid down literally a $6 trillion-cut over a period of a decade, and that's where the real battle is going to be and this is the first step.
But I think what they found out about Speaker Boehner is he's a pretty good negotiator and he has some bottom lines that he's going insist on keeping.
LEMON: For his first test, he did pretty well.
WALKER: I think he did very well because if you add up all of the things that were in the cuts that took place as they moved towards a solution here, and then you add the $38.5 billion to that, you're up almost $50 billion worth of cuts that he got for basically what is a half of year of the 2011 budget.
LEMON: OK, Mr. Walker, the president says that he's happy with the deal. We saw him out celebrity accelerating and some tea partiers are saying that they are a little disappointed. But should they be? I mean, shouldn't Republicans and tea partiers be thrilled that the president is bragging about the spending cuts?
WALKER: Well, I think the question is whether or not the president recognizes that this is simply the down payment. The president is also saying that he thinks that some of these cuts went pretty deep. Well, they are going to have to go a lot deeper if you're going to solve a deficit problem that's close to $1.5 trillion of annual spending. And so, it's good that the president is willing to take credit for what was done here, but there's a lot more that has to be done. And I think that's what the tea party people recognize is that this is one little step down the road toward some major steps that have to be taken if we're going to solve the debt and deficit crisis.
LEMON: Real quickly in the short time that we have. Take us behind the scenes in what was happening last night. Posturing. Was it yelling? Was it cordial? Was happened?
WALKER: Well, from everything I hear, it was a very cordial negotiation, and most of the time, these are. But everybody kind of has bottom lines, and everybody knows what they have to come out being able to say about the deal in the end.
And so, you give a little bit to everybody, so that they have something to take back to their troops in the end, but the question is, who gets what as a bottom line, and I think John Boehner turned out to have a very, very good night.
LEMON: Bob Walker served in the House Republican leadership during the last government shutdown back in 1995. He knows what happens.
Thank you, sir. Have a great evening.
WALKER: Thank you.
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here tomorrow night, 6, 7 and 10 p.m. Eastern. Good night.
