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Gays Celebrate New Law; Woman Sterilized by North Carolina When a Teen; Modern-Day Technology Reveals Mayan Secrets & Primitive Tribe Found in Rain Forest; Police Standoff With Fugitive Barricaded in Utah Motel

Aired June 26, 2011 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.

We're going to begin with a developing story. Police out in force descending on sites in Oklahoma, guns drawn, hunting down an escaped murder suspect.

Look at that video. Cameras were rolling when officers stormed into a dollar store. Customers were taken completely by surprise.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They just come in, with shotguns, looking for somebody. I guess a guy escaped from county. Twenty guys came in. And about five of them went through with shotguns and had their rifles and vest.

Kind of nervous. A woman had her kids, and she was freaking out.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. This is the man that they're looking for. If you're in that area, take a good look. His name is Shaun Bosse. He's accused of committing a horrific triple murder in 2010.

Michael Seiden is with us. He's from our affiliate KOCO, or KOCO.

So, Michael, listen, set the scene for us. I know there are some SWAT teams on the scene. Tell us what's going on now.

MICHAEL SEIDEN, KOCO REPORTER: Good evening, Don.

Right behind me, there is the local elementary school. You can see SWAT team members right now. They're gearing up. They're getting ready to go house to house here in Blanchard, that's because this murder suspect, Shaun Bosse, is believed to have lots of family and friends here, and they believed he may be hiding out in a house, possibly an apartment.

But as you saw that dollar general video store, people are calling in and we're even getting comments on our Facebook of people saying, hey, you know, we think we see this guy. So, that SWAT team is getting ready. They're going to go door to door, but a lot of people here are on edge.

LEMON: I saw you -- you're interviewing the people at that dollar store. I imagine people are frightened to death there, especially the people in the store. But what about people in the community as well?

SEIDEN: Absolutely. I talked to the management coordinator out here who told me he's urging people to stay inside, lock your cars, lock your door.

And I want to show you right here, Don, that is -- this is the command post right here. They've been fielding those phone calls. But everybody here is on edge. And, you know, as you mentioned before, he actually -- you know, police tell us that he overpowered two deputies and stole a dispatcher's car. Well, police have recovered that car about a half while from here. They've also found one of his sandals.

So, they believe he is somewhere in this neighborhood, the northern part of Blanchard.

LEMON: And he's been spotting. He has been spotted. I think one of the sheriffs actually saw the car this morning.

SEIDNER: I'm sorry, Don?

LEMON: And he has been spotted. According to what I have been reading here, someone -- one of the sheriffs saw a car this morning but didn't know it was the car that they were looking for. But has he been spotted anywhere besides that one sheriff who saw him?

SEIDNER: No. You know, sheriffs deputies tell us they're getting lots of phone calls about people seeing him maybe running from an apartment complex or different houses. But, no, there hasn't been a definitive spotting of him since that report that a sheriff's deputy may have seen him on the way to church.

LEMON: All right. Michael Seiden, thank you very much, from our affiliate KOCO, doing a great job there on the scene.

Here is the interesting part of it. Six deputies were searching for Bosse. There's an aircraft in the air. There he is right there.

The bodies, we told you about the woman and her two children. The bodies of Griffin, that's the name of the woman, her two children, found in a mobile home that had caught fire. Authorities said that she died from eight stab wounds and, Christian, which is one of the kids, had been stabbed five times. While the other child, Chastity, died in the fire.

We're now joined by the McClain County sheriff. His name is Don Hewett.

Sheriff, give us some details about the escape. Who did he get past?

SHERIFF DON HEWETT, MCCLAIN COUNTY, OKLAHOMA: Approximately 10:20 this morning, Bosse overpowered two of our jailers. He escaped by taking one of the jailer's vehicles. He is from the Blanchard area, where we are right here. We know he has numerous friends and acquaintances up here. That's where he was seen.

And we did spot his vehicle. We did have his vehicle approximately a quarter mile south of our command post. We also found one of the jail slippers that he was wearing just north of this location.

At the present time, the Oklahoma Highway Patrol is in the process of going door to door and searching houses just to our west. We are getting numerous calls of him being spotted. But as they are coming in, we are sending deputies and troopers to these locations to check them out, just to make sure.

LEMON: OK. Let's -- sheriff, let's talk about the car here in case anyone seen him. He stole a black 2004 Pontiac Grand Prix in his escape. It was seen going -- last seen, this is my last report. You may have seen him, you said sooner than -- more recently than this report, going northbound out of Purcell, Oklahoma. That was 11:25 a.m., 11:25 Eastern Time.

But you have seen him close to the command center since then?

HEWETT: We have, yes. We have one individual that knew this Bosse. And he definitely said that was definitely him and seen him running north from the abandoned vehicle. So, we are real reasonably sure he is in this area at this time.

LEMON: Armed?

HEWETT: We have perimeters set up all around.

LEMON: Is he armed?

HEWETT: Yes, we do have an outside perimeter set up. Yes.

LEMON: Is he armed? And answer that question for me as you tell me if you look over your right shoulder there --

HEWETT: No, he -- at this present time, we do not believe he is armed. But we still consider him dangerous and we will be extremely careful in our pursuit.

LEMON: Yes. And you got resources. We talked about aircraft in the air, there are numerous people looking for him. We just saw a whole lot of manpower there. You have got all -- I'm sure all forces out looking.

HEWETT: Yes.

LEMON: Yes. All right.

HEWETT: Yes, we got troopers from all over the state.

LEMON: All right. Sheriff, we appreciate you joining us. Thank you very much.

And our thanks to our reporter on the scene. Make sure you stay tuned to CNN. We're going to continue to follow this developing story for you and bring you updates. This man is dangerous. They said killed three people and escaped from prison.

Let's move on because we have another story that's just in to the CNN NEWSROOM.

A school bus accident in Pennsylvania has injured 30 people. It happened just about an hour ago. And, right now, crews are transporting victims to hospitals. None are believed in critical, but rescuers tell us some are very seriously hurt.

Now, we don't know the ages of those hurt, but we do believe some of those injured are children. Again, this is just developing. And we'll bring you more details on this story as we get them in here to CNN as well.

Let's get you caught up on the headlines now. We can tell you, it's a very busy day.

The flooding in Minot, North Dakota, is not expected to get worse than it is now. The swollen Souris River has crested and will slowly start receding over the next week. Up to 4,000 homes have been flooded to some degree, representing about one-third of the city.

Residents are under a boil water order to sterilize tap water used for cooking and drinking.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: The annual gay pride parade is always a colorful affair. And people choose to wear as little clothing as possible usually, some folks. But today's event in New York had an extra spark.

Late Friday, the state of New York legalized same-sex marriage. The new law takes effect in late July.

And just ahead, we'll speak with Daniel O'Donnell, a New York state assembly member who was a primary sponsor of the law. We're going to ask him about this historic moment in gay rights, moments away.

Now that Vice President Biden's budget talks have collapsed, President Obama is getting directly involved in the standoff over reducing the budget deficit. He's going to host separate meetings tomorrow with Republican and Democratic leaders in the Senate.

The government faces an August 2nd deadline to increase the federal debt ceiling or risk possible default.

Right now, two celebrations rolled into one giant parade.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: New York celebrates gay pride and same-sex marriage all in the same weekend. And the man who sponsored the bill says get ready for a big boost to the economy because of it. He explains live next. And imagine the state forcing you to be sterilized, robbing you of the ability to have children. It happened to thousands of people like Elaine Riddick.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELAINE RIDDICK: They cut me open like I was a hog.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Hear more live right at the bottom of the hour.

And many of you want some more information. If you want to tell us about what's on your mind or any of the story, check out us on social media. You can reach us on Twitter, Facebook, CNN.com/Don and on Foursquare.

My new book, "Transparent," about my life and journeys in journalism available anywhere books are sold.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. We some breaking news that we want to update you on.

I want to tell you about that school bus accident that we reported at the top of the hour. We're still awaiting to get new information on that.

It's in Pennsylvania. It has injured 30 people. And we're telling you this -- obviously, it was some sort of field trip. Most of you watching, I'm sure, have children, so you can relate. It happened about an hour ago.

Right now, crews are transporting victims to hospitals. None are believed -- at least believed to be in critical condition, but rescuers tell us some are seriously hurt.

We don't know the ages of those hurt, but we do believe that some of those injured are children.

Again, this story is just developing. And we're going to bring you more as we get it here on CNN. So, stay tuned.

Also we're keeping close watch on that escape, that manhunt, massive manhunt in Oklahoma.

The price at the pump could detour your summer plans but our Joe Carter has some travel tips that can make the gas last when you're "On the Go."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The summer road trip is here. And getting the most miles out of a tank of gas is key to saving money. Just how you fill up is important. MARK ORWOLL, TRAVEL AND LEISURE: Don't top off the tank. What can often happen is you can spill some, of course, but gas can also get trapped in the hose. So, when that gas pump clicks off, stop fueling.

CARTER: And when you're done, make sure the gap is tight.

ORWOLL: That will stop the loss of fuel through vaporization. So, click that gas cap.

CARTER: How you drive also effects yours mileage.

ORWOLL: When driving in the city, avoid jack rabbit starts.

By flooring that gas, you are just wasting fuel. Slow down before you get to the intersection and then gradually speed up. You're going to save a lot of money on gas that way.

CARTER: Cruise control efficiently keeps a steady speed. And you can save more if you slow down.

ORWOLL: Drive 55 instead of 65 on the highway. That can save you about 5 percent in terms of your fuel efficiency.

CARTER: Getting your car tuned up can also help make every drop count -- for your next trip "On the Go."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. So, what does New York's new law mean to the rest of the nation? And could there be political battles ahead? We'll ask Heather McGhee, the Washington director for the public policy group Demos, and Republican analyst Lenny McAllister.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's why I ordered federal agencies to extend the same benefits to gay couples that go to straight couples wherever possible. That's why we're going to keep fighting until the law no longer -- I heard you guys. You know, believe it or not, I anticipated that somebody might interrupt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. Those hecklers want President Obama to support same-sex marriage. But like virtually every Republican presidential candidate, he is still opposed. He does, however, say his view is, quote, "evolving."

So, what does New York's new law mean to the rest of the nation and the political battle straight ahead?

We're going to talk now with Lenny McAllister, a Republican analyst. And Heather McGhee is a Washington director for the public policy group Demos. And then we're also going to talk with Democratic Assembly member Daniel O'Donnell. He was among those pushing the marriage equality bill in the legislature.

So, quickly, let me start with you, Lenny. What do you think? Is the president -- when he says that his stance on gay marriage is evolving, is that just a way of saying "I'm going to say that I'm OK with it but after I get re-elected"?

LENNY MCALLISTER, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: You know, I don't want to pin him down to that. I think that this is a very complex issue and I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt to say, listen, he said something in 2008. He is seeing the winds of change coming across America. And as a liberal, he may be evolving his point of view on this.

I'm not willing to say that he's flip-flopping so much on this. I do think he is trying to find the sweet spot politically in order to save votes. But the more I actually think about this, I think that maybe he is trying to find an evolving position.

Now, with that said, for him to come out so hard in 2008 and say marriage is between a man and a woman and be caught in this crux, if you will, in such a violent state as New York state, he does have a political hard spot that he's right in now.

LEMON: Heather, is it time for him to make a decision? And instead of saying he says that, you know, it's between a man and a woman, he said that before. Now he is saying it's evolving.

What does that mean? Is it time for him to say, hey, listen, no or yes?

HEATHER MCGHEE, DEMOS: I think he said the heart of the matter which is gay men and women should have the same rights and responsibilities and legal protections as all other committed couples. You know, in politics, we talk about a dog whistle. I think that the community that was listening to him heard his that heart was committed to the fight they were fighting that very night in New York and heard that his heart was with marriage equality.

And, of course, the big moves on "don't ask, don't tell," and, of course, saying, you know what? We are not going to defend the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act. Those were really huge moves on his part.

LEMON: Hey, so listen, Mr. O'Donnell, there are people who are saying New York is going to serve as a beachhead to start changing laws all across the country.

And you heard what Governor Cuomo said. The nation looks to New York for decisions, and looks to New York for inspiration. So, he believes it's the right thing, it's about civil rights.

Might we see more because of this?

DANIEL O'DONNELL (D), NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY: Well, I do believe that will be the case.

MCALLISTER: I don't think so.

LEMON: Go ahead, Mr. O'Donnell.

O'DONNELL: New York is a very large place with a very diverse population. We became the first state that legislatively changed this law without being ordered to do so by a court. That obviously took a lot of work. It took a lot of changing of minds.

The polling, the data has evolved overtime. The truth is that the people who oppose this most vehemently are generally people on the outside of mainstream of our society. My partner and I have been together for 31 years. The state of New York gives out licenses, like a hunting license and a driver's license, a license that I'm deprived of.

But starting July 24th, on my partner's birthday, we will be able to get those licenses. And that's going to be a very good thing for New York. It's going to be a very good thing for New York's economy when all my friends start going out renting halls and buying gowns, and buying dresses, and buying suits, and paying for caters, all those things -- all the money that will expended to have our relationship celebrated will be a very good thing for the tax base in the city and state of New York.

LEMON: You know, it's interesting. Lenny, I see you here shaking your head.

And I can bring this full. You know, yesterday, I said husband and husband. I asked one of our guests, husband and husband, and wife and wife this one says, here come the brides, right? This is an article that's in a local paper here in Atlanta. A lot of people, it's uncomfortable for them to hear that.

So, Lenny, you're shaking your head. You're saying, it's not going to -- you don't think it's going to spread across the country and you're saying, why were you disagreeing with what Mr. O'Donnell had to say?

MCALLISTER: Well, because this is -- one, to compare it to having a gaming license or a driver's license, marriage is the institution that holds America together. The family is the institution that holds America together.

And to take a liberal state, such as New York state, and think that they're going to take that standard and apply it to Kansas, apply it to North Carolina and apply it to --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Wait, wait, hang on, hang on. Hold on, Lenny. Hold on, Lenny.

MCALLISTER: is not going to necessarily play

LEMON: I want to -- I just want to -- I'm going to let you finish. But you said marriage is an institution that holds families together, right? MCALLISTER: Yes. I do.

LEMON: So, what about gay families? That doesn't apply for gay families?

MCALLISTER: I think does apply to gay families, but the highest level of relationship that you can have, as a Christian and as a Frederick Douglass Republican, I say that the highest relationship and institution that there can be is a marriage. And that's between one man and one woman at one time. That's what I believe.

Now, do I think that the state should get involved in this? Maybe it should be more like a Ron Paul. Maybe the state shouldn't be involved in the business of marriages at all and leave it completely up to the churches.

LEMON: Let's have Heather get in. Go ahead, Heather.

MCGHEE: Don, I just have to say -- the state has always been involved in marriages. The marriage is a contract, not just between two people, but a contract between people and a unit and the nation and the community that they live in.

I mean, you said it yourself. I have to say my best friend is going to be able to get married this summer to her partner in New York state in the place where she lives. They pay property taxes, they own property. They're going to have a family there.

And they're also really vital members of their community. They protect the elderly, do community service work and they work with young people who are troubled.

I mean, that's -- they work every day to make their community stronger. And so, that mutual obligation between the country, community, and the family unit, to be able to respect the commitments that we all make to one another, that's what you're talking about when you say marriage is sacred. And so, of course, that should be extended to everyone who's willing to work for it.

LEMON: OK. Mr. O'Donnell, Daniel O'Donnell, it's a huge celebration. I said it was -- it's a double celebration. It's gay pride and they're celebrating the same-sex marriage in New York City today.

Did you and your partner go? What is it like on the streets there?

O'DONNELL: Oh, absolutely. We marched the entire parade route to absolute euphoria. The people of New York are very, very happy. The community I live and represent is very, very happy. I received communications from people I haven't heard from in decades so thrilled that we are in this place.

And you know, the previous speaker who referred to our American history clearly doesn't know anything about it. Thomas Jefferson said our civil rights have no dependence on religious opinion. The Supreme Court said that the right to marry is a fundamental right of an American citizen. I am an American citizen. And my attempt and desire to have the right to marry who I choose is not a threat to anyone, nor does it undermine anyone else's relationship unless, of course, that person was a woman who wanted to marry me and she would be very disappointed if she didn't.

LEMON: All right. Daniel O'Donnell, that will have to be the last word.

Heather McGhee, and, of course, Lenny McAllister, really appreciate it. We were going to talk about more political issues, but this became such an interesting conversation, we stuck with it. Thank you all for coming in. And happy pride to all of you.

All right. There's a massive manhunt for an accused murderer who overpowered deputies and escaped from jail. An update is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We want to get you caught up on the headlines, and it's a busy day with a lot of breaking news, including this, a manhunt on right now for an alleged murder on the loose in Oklahoma.

Here's what investigators are saying. They are saying Shaun Bosse, the man you see right there, escaped from custody, overpowering two deputies and then stealing one deputy's car.

Now, Bosse is accused of killing a woman and her two children and burning down a mobile home with the victims inside.

The number of victims killed in an Amtrak crash in Nevada has risen now to six. A tractor trailer truck skidded some 300 feet before hitting the train at a crossing on Friday.

Our affiliate KOLO reports 28 people are unaccounted for, which may include people who boarded and got off at earlier stops.

Amateur video shows how those freed tried to help survivors still on board. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get away from this smoke!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you OK?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's out there. Tell her to hang and jump! Tell her to hang and jump. There's somebody over there.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everyone out of this car?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Move back!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Can you imagine? Do you know how many people take trains every single day and having to deal with that? The train was headed from Chicago to California.

In flooded Minot, North Dakota, the swollen Souris River has crested and will slowly recede over the next week. Up to 4,000 homes have been flooded to some degree, representing about one-third of the city. People who live there are under a boil water order to sterilize tap water used for cooking and drinking.

And I want you to check this out. It's billed as the only authenticated photo of legendary outlaw Billy the Kid. Someone bought it at an auction in Denver for $2.3 million. It had been expected to go for about 400,000 bucks. Billy the Kid, whose real name was William Bonney, by most accounts paid 25 cents to have this made about 135 years ago.

And a woman is subjected to forced sterilization by the state of North Carolina, along with thousands of others. You'll hear her story for yourself. She's joining me live, straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARY FRANCES SMITH-ENGLISH, VICTIM OF FORCED STERILIZATION: And he says, "I don't care what you think, I told you." And he laughed again. "But you're sterile. And you are not going to have no more kids. You ought to be thankful for the three you got."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: This North Carolina woman was forced to be sterilized and then became frustrated by a system that has yet to compensate her decades later. She is one of about a dozen people who testified before a panel trying to figure out how the state of North Carolina can make amends. Forced sterilization happened in 33 states right here in the United States -- 33 states! Starting in the 1930s. What were called "eugenics boards" labeled the victims as feeble minded and usually they were the disabled, the poor and, most often, people of color.

North Carolina deemed Elaine Riddick feeble minded. She had been raped at the age of 13 and sterilized at the age of 14.

She joins me now here in the studio in Atlanta.

I appreciate you being here.

ELAINE RIDDICK, VICTIM OF FORCED STERILIZATION: Thanks for having me.

LEMON: Did you block out part of what happened? That's what I hear. Pardon me.

RIDDICK: Yes. After I found out that it happened to me, I was totally humiliated, degraded. It was a big insult. You know, I became a hermit. I didn't want to deal with people. I didn't want to live in society. I just couldn't believe that my government would do something like this to me. LEMON: They gave you a hysterectomy when you were just a child. And how could people who take care of you, how could they sign off on this?

RIDDICK: Let's back up.

LEMON: OK. Go ahead.

RIDDICK: They didn't give me a hysterectomy.

LEMON: OK.

RIDDICK: What they did was -- when I was 13, I was raped, molested. I had my son at 14. When I went into the hospital to have my son, the state of North Carolina decided that they were going to give me cesarean birth, where when I had my son, they went inside me -- after they took my son from me, they went inside me and sterilized me at the same time.

Later on, because of -- my body was traumatized so severely, I ended up having to have a total hysterectomy. But prior to that, before I had the hysterectomy, most of my life was -- I had to live in a lot of pain, hemorrhaging. When I got my monthly cycle, you know, I had to -- it felt like someone had taken a knife and was gutting me. That's how severe the pain was. My menstrual cycle wasn't normal because it lasted, maybe, a half a month, 12 to 15 days at a time. And this happened from the time I was -- after I had my son, from the time I was 14 until I had got into my 40s, when I eventually did have to have a total hysterectomy.

LEMON: I think the best way to do an interview is just to listen. So I haven't asked you any question because your story is fascinating. I'm sitting here looking at you, and I cannot -- and listening to you, and cannot believe this happened and that you even survived and you are here to talk about it. You mentioned your son. How old is your son now?

RIDDICK: My son is 43.

LEMON: 42. He's the product of what?

RIDDICK: Of rape. And I love my son. I'm so proud of him. You know, someone asked me a question the other day --

LEMON: Tony.

RIDDICK: Tony. Someone asked me the question the other day, how do we get along? Do I have certain feelings towards him as far as, you know, reminding me that he was a product of rape? No. That's my son. I love him very much. He's a special gift from God. That's how I look at it.

LEMON: What do you want from the state of North Carolina?

RIDDICK: Well, I'm going to ask a question, and maybe they will answer what -- the question that you asked. I mean, to the people that's home looking at me right now, I would like for you to turn around and look at your children and tell me what do your children -- what are your children worth? What are they worth? Look at these kids? What are they worth? You can't give me back what you took from me, but North Carolina should -- you can't put a price on a child's future. You can't put a price on what they think you're worth. You can't just say what a child is worth today.

LEMON: You talked about the effects on your menstrual cycle, on your health, physically. But what about mentally? Emotionally? Is this something you ever recover from?

RIDDICK: You will never recover from this. Because this is always there. Every time you wake up, when you go to sleep, it's there. You think about how you have been treated in this country here. You think about -- me, myself, I have been so severely damaged until I was on Prozac, Serequel (ph) and Haldol (ph). I had to wean myself off of these things in order for me to cope. And I have to cope and I have to go on.

LEMON: There people who are watching this, I'm sure, stunned and probably more stunned than I am, because I had read at least a little bit about it. Is there any hope -- is there any hope that you can offer people, who say, my gosh, maybe I have lost my faith in humanity. You're OK. But some people will just, you know, say how can she recover?

RIDDICK: Well, I think for me, you know, in order -- for me, I had to recover because I'm on a mission. Sometimes we can't look at ourself. Sometimes we have to do God's will. And God's will is for us to be happy. You know, and to go on with life. Pick yourself up and go on. You can't look at what society has dealt you. You just got to think about what you mean to yourself. What am I worth? Am I meant to sit here and just take this? No, you don't sit there. You don't lay down and take anything. You take yourself -- if you think you're worth something, you have to fight for your worth and what you think you're worth.

LEMON: Elaine Riddick, inspirational words. Thank you so much.

RIDDICK: Thank you for having me.

LEMON: Thank you very much. You are -- you are an amazing woman, an amazing woman.

RIDDICK: Thank you.

LEMON: We'll be right back, everyone.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Through films like 2006's "Apocolypto," Hollywood has helped us imagine what the Mayan people of Mexico may have been like. Now a few artifact sheds, untouched for more than a millennium, sheds new light on the ancient culture.

International desk editor, Azadeh Ansari, is here with that and other global trekking discoveries.

Azadeh, this is really cool. What's been uncovered here?

AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: Don, Mexican archeologists resorted to modern-day technology to uncover the secrets of this ancient Mayan burial chamber. They took this small remote- controlled camera, put it inside this Mayan tomb, about 16 feet down. And they show us on the inside of what they can see in this tomb, which is paintings, black and white paintings. They believe this is a tomb of a Mayan ruler that ruled over 1,500 years ago. So this thing has not been seen for, like, 1,500 years. So hopefully, it can shed light on the Mayan civilization and the culture, and give us some information to move forward with.

LEMON: Fascinating. So we go from a tribe in Mexico to news about a special tribe in the Amazon region of Brazil. Tell me about this new tribe that's been -- what seems like real isolation, true isolation here.

ANSARI: Don, that's the key, true isolation. Some of these indigenous people have never seen a TV, have never driven a car. They never logged on to the Internet. What we know as modern culture in the 21st century is foreign to them. So what happened is the Brazilian government came out this week and they confirmed the existence of one of these un-contacted tribes. It's about 200 people that live in the Amazon Forest, which is near the Peru border. They grow their own vegetables. They hunt. They are very healthy people yet very susceptible to diseases. So you can't just go in on foot and say, hey, I want to see what's going on over here. Because they --

LEMON: They haven't contact, yes.

(CROSSTALK)

ANSARI: They haven't had contact, so their immune systems are compromised. So they did this by over-flights. They surveyed the area and identified them. The key is they want to protect them and the land. And not change their way of life is the key.

LEMON: Very cool stuff, Azadeh.

ANSARI: Yes. Thank you.

LEMON: That was a good global trekking.

(LAUGHTER)

Uncovering mysteries with Azadeh Ansari and globe trekking.

(LAUGHTER)

Thank you.

ANSARI: Thank you.

LEMON: The Williams sisters back in action and, once again, they look like America's best hope at Wimbledon. Jon Wertheim, Sports Illustrated," joins me live from London in just a minute.

But first, Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee is one of the most famous spots in the nation's music scene. Times were rough for a while but now it's making a comeback. Tom Foreman shows us how in tonight's "Building Up America."

(BUILDING UP AMERICA)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A fugitive barricades himself in a motel room in Utah with a hostage. The standoff lasted 16 hours with the fugitive keeping in contact with the outside world through Facebook.

David Airyoestoe (ph) explains how police use the status updates to their advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID AIRYOESTOE (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Ogden police, it began when fugitive Jason Valdez was spotted by an officer.

RANDY WATT, ASSISTANT CHIEF OF POLICE, OGDEN, UTAH: He has a long standing violent and drug history with us. He is a very well known long-standing gang member as well.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): Police pursued and he locked himself in a motel room.

WATT: When police made contact on the phone, he said, I'm not going to prison. I have a gun. I have a hostage.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): It was the beginning of a 15-hour standoff. Police shut down his phone service, but they didn't realize they couldn't block his data service. Seven hours in, the situation took a strange twist.

WATT: We were notified from someone on the outside that he was coming up on Facebook and he was discussing the negotiations and police activity.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): He updated his Facebook status six times. Quote, "I'm currently in a standoff. Kind of ugly. I love you guys. If I don't make it out of here alive, I'm in a better place."

At one point, he posted a picture of hostage, whose face we have blurred, with a note, quote, "Got a cute hostage, huh?"

Relatives said chimed in, quote, "Keep your head up. Do the right thing." But some tipped him off to police movements.

Fearing others might do more to help the alleged fugitive, police considered shutting down his page. They weren't sure that they could. Ultimately, Assistant Chief Randy Watt said they decided it was worthwhile to keep it up and running.

WATT: We were gaining more than we were losing by allowing the Facebook activity to continue.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): Another comment, quote, "End this peacefully." It didn't happen. Police eventually blew up the walls of the hotel room. Police say Valdez fired two rounds before turning the gun on himself. He's in the hospital in critical condition, but expected to survive. He'll face charges when he comes out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You didn't want this life. Why do you want to go back to prison?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That dude is a good dude. And he would do anything for anybody, OK? And he helped me out a lot.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): Police say social media could have made the situation much, much worse if Valdez's supporter had descended on the scene.

WATT: We didn't see it developing but that was one of the concerns. And it's definitely a concern for the future.

AIRYOESTOE (ph): Watt says other law enforcement should take note.

WATT: If you haven't seen it yet, you're going to see it, so I would start preparing now.

AIRYOESTOE (ph) (on camera): Valdez faces two attempted murder counts and one kidnapping charge. The hostage made it out without injury. Valdez's Facebook page remains active and public. And as you can guess, it's drawing a lot of attention.

David Airyoestoe (ph), CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: David, thank you.

I'm up early, tweeting the other morning and I see that Ron Artest wants to change his name to "Metta World Peace," and I said, what in the world's going on. And he tweets me back, and now he's going to join me live in just a moment. What's in a name? We'll see.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. It is one of the worst brawls in NBA history, and right in the middle of it, was Ron Artest, who was playing for the Indiana Pacers at the time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Wallace is fouled. Oh, my -- Ron Artest. This has potentially serious --

(CROSSTALK)

ANNOUNCER: -- the scorer's table. He's trying to get down to the bench. Artest is in the stands. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so the 2004 fight between the Pacers and the Detroit Pistons spilled over into the stands. Artest served the longest suspension in NBA history, 86 games and lost almost five million bucks in salary.

Now Ron Artest has petitioned to change his name. He wants to be known as "Metta World Peace."

So, Ron, I played that because Metta world peace means you want to be peace everywhere, peaceful everywhere, yet you were involved in one of the biggest brawls.

RON ARTEST, NBA BASKETBALL PLAYER: The introduction wasn't creative enough because you showed the brawl but you didn't show all the good stuff that I'm doing.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Ron, hold on. Let me say this. I want to tell you the reason we showed that, because Metta World Peace -- I'm wondering if you wanted to change your image to a more peace image, so we showed that. It's a history-making brawl that happened.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: We can talk about all those things. Right off the bat, come on, man. Be fair, we can talk about all those things. That's why you have the opportunity to be on the phone with me now. Go ahead.

ARTEST: It's OK. I'm just saying it wasn't creative. I really appreciate you having me on the phone.

But, yes, you know, I was definite hi in the middle of that brawl and everything. It was a bad experience for me, my family, and everything. I've been doing a lot of good things lately. The reason I wanted to do that is get across a message to the kids and the youth that, you know, moving ahead, you know, you want to come together, you know, and you want to, you know, have that positive energy, that star power. You want to -- the reason I changed my name, it was positive and energy-driven. It had nothing to do with everything else. And a lot of things, hair, back home, educational wise, things like that, it was just headed in the wrong direction, you know, so I wanted to move on.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: OK. I appreciate that. I appreciate that. They say if you want peace, you have to be peace. So you know, don't -- I understand, I take your apology. But don't come on and attack me because I'm just -- this is about your life. So, listen, where did "Metta World Peace" come from? How did you come up with that name?

ARTEST: Yes, it was awesome. I wasn't really attacking you, I'm just saying who does the production, they were -- (CROSSTALK)

LEMON: OK, I got it.

ARTEST: You're the anchor. You're not production. You're awesome.

LEMON: Thank you.

ARTEST: The production, they weren't creative.

LEMON: Where'd you come up with Metta?

ARTEST: I like what I seen. I dealed with you and Larry King and Thelma and Sanjay Gupta, so I love CNN. Don't worry about.

I chose the name. We had a couple of years ago -- I was going to change my name three years ago but I didn't want to do it to be an entertainer. I wanted to be inspired. It took us three years to come up with something good and, this year, we had the name, me and my team. And then we was -- it took us three to four months to really say, OK, you know, you're going to have the heart and we're going to do it.

LEMON: OK. So listen. I'm on Twitter early -- I have insomnia -- early one morning. I see you want to change your name to "Metta World Peace."

(LAUGHTER)

I tweeted out, "What's going on, why"? You tweet me back and you said, "Don, you can call me Ron or whatever but everyone else has to call you "Metta World Peace"." A joking thing, so I asked you to come on, and you did, so thank you. I like to have this kind of conversation. We can disagree and still be friends. So thank you very much.

ARTEST: Still be friends, that's OK.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Listen, where's your life now? Since that all happened, you lost a lot of money and you got a lot of controversy and people have said a lot of things about you. Are you at peace with that now, Metta?

ARTEST: I kind of forgot about that because I donated my ring to charity, my championship ring. When I won the championship, I donated it for mental health awareness. So I've been real focused on that. I'm also doing a reality show to help rehabilitate convicts and parolees, so when they come out of prison -- the rate of return is 90 percent or something like that. Prisons are overcrowded. I haven't been focused on that, bro. A lot of people have been focused on it. It was unfortunate they had to bring it back up. It's a part of my life. I'm not one to shy away from things I've been through, but I'm always looking ahead. I like to look forward and stay positive and move forward. LEMON: Ron, I have 15 seconds left. Where are you with the name change? What happens now?

ARTEST: You move on, have fun, enjoy life and --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: No, legally. Are you legally going to change it? Where are you in the process?

ARTEST: Oh, yes, yes, yes, definitely. You go to ronartest.com and you can find out everything. You know. Yes, definitely.

LEMON: Ron Artest.

ARTEST: Thanks, Don. Appreciate it. Nice speaking to you.

LEMON: Nice speaking to you.

I've got say, interesting character, Ron Artest. Never at a loss for words.