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Betty Ford Dies at 93; South Sudan's Birthday; "News of the World's" Last Edition

Aired July 09, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: This hour, people across the country are remembering former first lady Betty Ford, called a model political wife by a former aide, but it was her honesty in tackling a once taboo issue, breast cancer, an addiction that set her apart from other first ladies.

CNN's special correspondent Soledad O'Brien has more on her life and her enduring legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rarely was a first lady whose human qualities stood out more than Betty Ford. By her husband at all times, here for a visit by President Bush. She was strong, active and most of all candid.

BETTY FORD, FMR. FIRST LADY: It's been my own health that has made it possible for me to go ahead and in my way share what I learned with others.

O'BRIEN: Before 1974, it was almost unheard of for a first lady to publicly mention personal problems. In the first year of her husband's presidency, she announced she had breast cancer and would undergo a mastectomy. But it is this that will surely be her greatest legacy, the Betty Ford Center for Substance Abuse.

SHERRY BEBITCH JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST: I think she educated a generation that needed education, that needed support in how to deal with these problems.

O'BRIEN: Mrs. Ford exposed publicly that she had for years abused alcohol and had become dependent prescription drugs, the first major political figure to openly address the problem that plagued millions.

JOHN SCHWARZLOSE, DIR., BETTY FORD CENTER: It has been from the very first day a place for any man or woman who wanted help.

JEFFE: It made it unnecessary to hide the reality of substance abuse. And I think that was a contribution that Betty Ford made.

O'BRIEN: She wrote in considerable detail about her battles. She authorized a made for TV movie, the Betty Ford story.

GERALD FORD, FMR. U.S. PRESIDENT: She felt and I felt and the children felt that if the story was told well and we had faith in David Wellberg, that it could be immeasurably beneficial.

O'BRIEN: She married Gerald Ford just after 1972 and just before he ran for Congress for the first time. She was by his side from then on. She was her own woman speaking out for abortion rights and women in the workplace. Mrs. Ford kept largely out of the public eye in her latter years, most Americans saw her for the first time in more than a decade when she was given the place of honor at both the funeral and burial of her husband. It was a four-day period of national mourning and although she looked fragile, she never wavered and the treatment center that she helped create will be a memorial for generations to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: President Obama offered his condolences saying "Today we take comfort in the knowledge that Betty and her husband former president Gerald Ford are together once more. Michelle and I send our thoughts and prayers to their children, Michael, John, Steven and Susan." That from President Obama.

And this from former first lady Nancy Reagan. "I was deeply saddened this afternoon when I heard of Betty Ford's death. She has been an inspiration to so many through her efforts to educate women about breast cancer and her wonderful work at the Betty Ford Center."

Betty Ford's children were with her in her final moments. Thelma Gutierrez explains.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, Betty Ford had four children and all of them were at her side when she died yesterday afternoon. They released a statement today saying "That mother's love, candor, devotion, and laughter enriched our lives and the lives of millions she touched throughout this great nation. To be at her presence was to know the warmth of a truly great lady. Mother's passing leaves a deep void but it also fills us with immeasurable appreciation for the life we and dad shared with her."

The Fords were married for 58 years. Betty Ford's funeral details are pending, but we understand that she will be buried in Grand Rapids, Michigan at the presidential library where her husband is buried. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Thelma.

In other news, a brazen escape in Houston caught on surveillance camera. Our affiliate KHOU reports the two men knew jailers would open the door to a secure area to break up a fight which was allegedly staged late last month. One inmate escaped but was caught three days later, the other inmate didn't make it out of the jail.

Casey Anthony will be free a week from tomorrow. But there are signs of a family feud between her and her mother, Cindy. A Florida correctional official says that Casey refused to let her mother visit her in the Orange County jail last night. Anthony who was acquitted of murdering her little girl has been sentenced to four years in jail, but she has been given good credit for good time served. All right. The man who won this year's "Dancing with the Stars" well he may have waltzed his way into a DUI ticket in Atlanta earlier today. Heinz Ward who was a star receiver for the NFL Pittsburgh Steelers posted a $1,000 bond and with that charge and with that bond also comes this mug shot of him taken at the Dekalb County jail.

All right. Today "Atlantis" astronauts are making sure that the shuttle is in good shape. It's on the final mission of NASA's shuttle program. Before the crew began inspecting the shuttle's protective tiles for damage, they got an unusual wakeup call, music from Cold Play and then this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning "Atlantis" at Marshall Space Center, we wish you a successful mission and a safe return home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, they're awake now. "Atlantis" is expected to dock with the space station tomorrow.

And now on to London where a tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch is getting ready to shut its doors. The final edition of "News of the World" is being prepared right now. It comes out tomorrow. Murdoch decided to shut it down after allegations that its journalists illegally hacked phone messages belonging to murder and terrorist victims. Let's bring in CNN's Dan Rivers who has been following this story from London. So Dan, has the move to shut down the paper kind of quelled the public anger?

DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, interestingly, we're hearing that the print run of the paper is actually doubled for tomorrow's edition to five million copies. Rather than about 2.5 million which is the normal circulation. We got a copy now of the front page, which I think we can bring up which is a collage of all of the various different front pages down the decades with the headline across the front "Thanks and Goodbye," kind of says it all really. But we're just waiting here now for most of the staff to come out of this building behind me, including the editor Collin Miler who we're thinking will make a statement.

Earlier on a few of the employees came out. Here's what they said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're extremely emotional, but every single one of us working up there today is very very proud that we're working for the "News of the World." We're very proud of our colleagues. We're very proud of our editor and we go out with our heads held up high.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

RIVERS: One other British newspaper here is asking the question today as well, is this Britain's Watergate scandal, kind of suggesting because of the political links to all this, namely that the former editor of this paper, Andy Coulson was hired by the former prime minister David Cameron. He was forced to step down from that role as communications director. I think there's a general feeling that this has got a long way left to run. There could be more arrests in the next few days.

WHITFIELD: And so Dan, Rupert Murdoch, on his way to London, any idea what happens once he arrives?

RIVERS: No, we don't - I mean, we'd be wondering if he's going to turn up here. We think now he might arrive tomorrow. Whether he makes any sort of public statement about this, we don't know. There's been no sign either here today of the chief executive Rebecca Brooks who has been in the real firing line for the last few days. She is still staying in her post despite a lot of criticism and caused for her to stand down from all the political parties here. And it will I would think be fairly, kind of, you know, leave a pretty bitter taste in many people's mouths here, because a lot of these journalists who are coming out here in a minute joined a long time after all this scandal had been going, and they think they feel that their jobs are being sacrificed and yet Rebecca Brooks who presided over the paper during some of the worst (INAUDIBLE) of this illegal behavior clings on to her job as chief exec.

WHITFIELD: Dan Rivers, thanks so much from London.

July 9, independence day.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: All right. They're singing, free at last in the newest nation of the world, South Sudan.

And we'll get you caught up on what royals Will and Kate are up to in southern California.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Troops and policemen in Syria were ordered to fire on unarmed protesters. That's what a human rights group says. Defectors from Syria told them in interviews, no comment on these allegations from the Syrian government however. Elsewhere overseas, the new U.S. secretary of defense is in Afghanistan today. Leon Panetta told reporters that Al Qaeda is "on the run." He met with Afghan president Karzai and the U.S. commander there General David Petraeus.

And independence day celebrations continued well into the night in the capital of the world's newest country. Redraw your maps of Africa, South Sudan is an independent nation.

So I had the opportunity to speak to two people, both from Sudan, both of them fled the wars in their homeland and have made the U.S. home. Well, like us, they watched history unfold this weekend in South Sudan. Listen to their reactions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) AYAK REEC, BORN IN SUDAN: Half of me is empty. Half of me is excited. The emptiness is the people that I have lost. You know, for this war. I have lost a lot of relatives, lost a lot of friends, and so the emptiness is there, but the excitement to be able to see that we are free and to be able to see that our people worked so hard, you know, to get our generation this freedom is very good.

WHITFIELD: So Ngor it seems like it is very difficult to look forward without looking back, two million people killed over a 50-year span of civil wars. You and I spoke a few months ago, how meaningful it was to be able to cast that vote.

NGOR KUR MAYOL, BORN IN SUDAN: That is the outcome we were fighting for 21 years and we lost life and we paid a lot of challenges, we did not stop a moment until (INAUDIBLE). So when we went for the same spirit we took to referendum is the same spirit we are going to take tonight to show the whole world what our brothers and sisters have offered themselves has come to an end.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: So today was officially the birthday of the nation of South Sudan and the people there took part in a referendum back in January on whether to secede from Sudan and more than 99 percent of them voted to do just that.

All right. Videos gone viral, the latest flash mob, this one is really big.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Didn't we mention earlier that usually viral videos means it's going to be something about an animal or something about a kid. OK. So it's not animal this time, Jacqui but kids -

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Kind of -

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Not the little cuddly ones but now the dancing kind who decides to go to the beach and have a little fun. And, boom, a flash bomb. A flash bomb

JERAS: I want to go to that pool. Did you see that pool?

WHITFIELD: I know.

JERAS: That was huge.

WHITFIELD: So that's Panama, right.

JERAS: Panama City.

WHITFIELD: And this is actually a church group, a really big church group. They're having fun. They rehearsed this.

JERAS: Oh my gosh. How can you not move.

WHITFIELD: You can go ahead and dance if you want to. You can do that.

JERAS: Yes. Go. Yes as long as you keep the video up. OK.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Yes, jump around.

JERAS: That's what I'm saying.

WHITFIELD: They did a montage, so it wasn't just like one song, one dance. You know, everybody and their mother does "Thriller," right.

JERAS: Right.

WHITFIELD: So they did a little bit of "Thriller."

They came up with their own thing. But they called theirs the walk.

JERAS: The walk. Yes.

WHITFIELD: That's kind of fun.

JERAS: OK. I would do it. Would you do it?

WHITFIELD: They practiced twice a night before actually taking it. Of course, I do. Why not? It would be fun.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I'd probably get a step or two wrong but with that many people, no one would notice.

JERAS: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Yes. We have in the weather picture, we know it's sunny where they are.

JERAS: I know. I love that, you got to be in the pool to stay cool there this time of year.

WHITFIELD: I know.

JERAS: Let me tell you.

WHITFIELD: It's sizzling.

JERAS: We got a tower cam for you out of Kansas City where it's just been sizzling hot for today. We got heat advisories, we'll show you the area that we're talking about. It's really the central and the southern plains states where the worst of it is, from Kansas City on southwards into parts of Louisiana into Memphis where the heat index today is between 100 to 110 degrees. And notice the dark red area that we have got in there as well. That's what we call an excessive heat watch, meaning that it's going to be even worse, basically, as we head into the early part of next week. Yes. So this is a significant event that we're going to be talking about.

Really some of the worst heat of the season for so many people and we're talking about 105 to 110 degrees, it really can be dangerous if you don't take care of yourself. Check on your elderly neighbors, check on your pets, make sure everybody's got water, got food, and that they're staying cool enough, because it can really make you sick. Look at that - 110 tomorrow.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.

JERAS: The temperature your body will feel in Little Rock, 104 in Jacksonville. 101 in Houston and in Dallas, we're talking about the seventh day, seventh consecutive day of those triple digits. The other weather story too, Fredericka, I just want to mention, lots of thunderstorms popping up out there. Nothing severe at this hour, that's the good news, but a lot of lightning, a lot of people outside over the weekend. (INAUDIBLE) some flash flooding. So be aware of those threats when you start to hear those rumbles of thunder.

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness. Extreme good weather on so many levels there. Jacqui, appreciate it.

JERAS: Sure.

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, Los Angeles, you know, is buzzing right now with its latest celebrity couple, Britain's newest royal couple Will and Kate arrived this morning and they wasted no time throwing themselves right into the whirlwind three-day tour there of California. CNN's Casey Wian is keeping tabs on the royal visitors. They have already arrived there at that beautiful polo club where you are?

CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Fredricka, just a little over an hour ago, the royal couple, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge arrived here in Santa Barbara by helicopter and they walked down the red carpet. They were preceded by a group of folks who paid between $400 and $4,000 a seat to see this charity polo match that's going to happen in about two hours.

They're expected to raise several million dollars for charities that are sponsored by Prince William and his brother, Prince Harry. They will benefit At Risk Youth, they will benefit the environment and also military families around the world. That polo match is expected to begin in a little less than two hours and the highlight is expected to be at the end of the match when the Duchess of Cambridge is expected to present the trophy to the winning team.

We're told that no one is going to pull any punches, so to speak. This is going to be a very, very competitive match. There's going to be several internationally ranked polo stars and the prince himself is said to be a pretty darn good polo player, especially on the defensive side which is where he will be playing later this afternoon. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Still a lot of pressure on him. He really has to do well with everyone watching, you know, anything can happen on the horse.

WIAN: Absolutely, anything can happen and there's a report that there's actually a plastic surgeon standing by, just in case Prince William or any other participant gets hurt significantly.

WHITFIELD: What?

WIAN: Yes, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness.

WIAN: I'm being told that that's actually an erroneous report.

WHITFIELD: OK. Phew.

WIAN: Apparently that's not happening

WHITFIELD: It's a tough sport though. We know anything can happen with polo, it is a tough sport. And you know all the best to all those who are out there playing that sport. All right. Thanks so much, Casey.

WIAN: Right.

WHITFIELD: And of course their weekend is not done, they, of course, this evening are going to be going to a star-studded event this evening.

OK. For you and I, as normal people, weekends are a great time to catch up with some movies. And when enough of us buy tickets, a few actors and actresses can actually get very rich. "Forbes" has released its list of the highest paid actresses. Take a look Julia Roberts ranked fifth now on the list, earning 20, a measly $20 million between May 2010 and May 2011. Her most recent release "Larry Crown" co-starring Tom Hanks hasn't helped her much though, getting off to a rather slow start at the box office.

And then Reese Witherspoon is one step higher on the list at $28 million for the year. She is tied with Jennifer Aniston who also made $28 million. And there's another tie at the top of the "Forbes" list, I'll show you which actresses got paid the most right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So "Forbes" has released its list of the highest paid actresses for the past year. Two big names are tied for the top spot. This is surprising (INAUDIBLE) perfume saleswoman and "Sex and the City" star Sarah Jessica Parker pulled in $30 million last year, as she is joined at the top of the list by actress, writer and director Angelina Jolie. Her 2010 film "The Tourist" didn't do so well in the U.S., but it did make millions around the world.

All right. So two comedies hit the big screen this weekend. "Zookeeper" and "Horrible Bosses." Film critic Grae Drake from fandango and movies.com joins us from Los Angeles. So glammed up. Something tells me your are ready for the royals. Hello.

GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, MOVIES.COM: Hello. I got to come prepared.

WHITFIELD: I know. Hey, you know, can't be caught off guard.

OK. So let's talk about these very fun movies. It's so nice that there would be two great comedies. They were going to begin with the zookeeper, because very lovable actor, Kevin James, is kind of the center of attention in this flick. Let's take a quick peek.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Griffin, we need to talk.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh cried. How are you able to talk?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's see, today's Tuesday, so, always.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're the best zookeeper we have ever had. We don't want you to leave.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You listen to us, we'll show you how to get the girl.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You think I should ask her out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right now slow it down, hot shot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So Kevin James, Rosario Dawson and Leslie Bibb. OK. So the plot here, a group of zoo animals decide to break their code of silence in order to help the lovable zookeeper Kevin James find love.

DRAKE: Right.

WHITFIELD: And so there's a lot of comedy in there too. Did you like it? Cut? Funny?

DRAKE: Yes. No, it's really not as unwatchable as the trailer led me to believe. I'm finally starting to understand the logic that Hollywood is trying to impress upon me, which is that everyone should be in love with Kevin James. Everyone. Like you too, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I love him, I think he's a cutie pie.

DRAKE: I really do too and I'm finally starting to accept it. Now this movie is a little bit more for kids, obviously with the talking animals, but the logic of the movie fascinated me enough to keep me watching.

WHITFIELD: Oh good.

DRAKE: Apparently, if you're not great with love, the way to win over your lady is to urinate in a potted plant in public.

WHITFIELD: OK. Now we got (INAUDIBLE) factor.

DRAKE: It's pretty crazy, because a lion that talks like Sylvester Stallone and a lion that talks like Cher told you to do it. Who am I to say that's wrong?

WHITFIELD: Oh my goodness.

DRAKE: But the true star of this movie is everyone's favorite DUI picture taker, Mr. Nick Nolte, who plays Bernie, the gorilla.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good.

DRAKE: And he brings a lot of gravitas to a role that just couldn't be about bananas but really it's about animal cruelty and a deep love of T.G.I. Fridays. So this movie is so crazy, I didn't want to kill myself while I was watching it.

WHITFIELD: What's the grade?

DRAKE: I give it a C, because if you're two people, two adults looking for a good time, this isn't your movie. But if you're an adult getting dragged along with the child, you might like it.

WHITFIELD: OK. Tolerable. I get it. So let's talk about "Horrible Bosses." I'm sorry just seeing the trailers, this does look like kind of stupid funny like I would actually like this one. So let's take a look at the clip.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes, we have got to trim some of the fat around here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do you mean by trim the fat?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want you to fire the fat people.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're lazy, they're slow and they're sad to look at. You can start with large Marge.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Marge can you come in here please.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Margie's not fat, she's pregnant. I'm not going to fire her.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, fine.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stay where you are, Margie. Congratulations you can fire (INAUDIBLE).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you talking about?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You mean Hank? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He freaks me out. He's been rolling around all day on a special little secret chair.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: OK. So maybe that clip isn't the funniest but Jason Bateman, Charlie Day, Jennifer Aniston. A lot of folks are saying they're actually very funny in this. What were your thoughts?

DRAKE: Yes. Now, to me this movie was about a bunch of people who were punished for excelling in the work place and had to manage a group of ungrateful and workers who even plot to kill them. No, I'm sorry, I got all Tea Party there for a second.

Whew, it is hot in this studio. No, the three main stars in the movie have such great chemistry that they're a lot of fun to watch. But Collin Farrell looks hot with a comb over and a potbelly, go figure. And Jennifer Aniston is putting the sexy back in sexual harassment. She's like Anthony Weiner DDS. You're like, wow.

WHITFIELD: You're scaring me.

DRAKE: Really funny movie.

WHITFIELD: Grade? You're making me nervous. Give me your grade.

DRAKE: I know don't be nervous, welcome this movie into your life because it's really delightful. Jamie Foxx plays a character whose name I can't even without the FCC getting all up my business.

WHITFIELD: OK. We don't want them to call on us.

DRAKE: Very funny.

WHITFIELD: And so what was your grade on this one?

DRAKE: I give this one a hearty A because it's really fun to watch.

WHITFIELD: What?

DRAKE: - these guys make terrible decisions.

WHITFIELD: A? You do not give As easily so this is a big endorsement.

DRAKE: Very funny movie and it's a great way to escape the heat. Really (INAUDIBLE).

WHITFIELD: I like it. Nice recommendation. Thanks so much. Something tells me that you're not going to the movies looking that good. You're going to be hanging out with Will and Kate this evening. You have to, you know, tell us all about it.

DRAKE: You know it.

WHITFIELD: All right. Grae Drake, thanks so much. Appreciate it. DRAKE: Thanks, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: OK. Robots in space, how about that? That's just one of the things NASA is planning for the post shuttle era of space travel. Our Josh Levs gives us a peek into the future.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now, this afternoon people are remembering the legacy of former first lady Betty Ford. She died at the age of 93. Her late husband Gerald Ford became president when Richard Nixon resigned in 1074. President Obama called Mrs. Ford a "powerful advocate for women's health and women's rights," but her personal crusade to de-stigmatize and fight addiction may be her greatest legacy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERRY BEBITCH JEFFE, POLITICAL ANALYST: She educated a generation that needed education, that needed support in how to deal with these problems. It made it unnecessary to hide the reality of substance abuse. And I think that was a contribution that Betty Ford made.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And we're hearing Mrs. Ford will be laid to rest in Grand Rapids, Michigan, at the presidential library where her husband is buried.

A moment of silence in Arlington Stadium last night before the Texas Rangers game. Players and fans paused to honor a man who fell to his death from the stands the evening before. Shannon Stone was trying to snag a ball thrown into the seats when he fell over a railing on to the cement 20 feet below. He later died of his injuries.

The woman at the center of a grave re-selling scheme in suburban Chicago has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. Carolyn Towns pleaded guilty to six charges, including removing and desecrating human remains at the historic Burr Oak Cemetery. She was one of four workers arrested when the scheme was exposed two years ago.

And to the rescue, the U.S. Coast Guard. This fishing boat was adrift in the Pacific for five days with a dead battery. On board a man and his son, and both are reportedly fine.

In sports, Derek Jeter was not only swinging for the fences but for the record books as well today. The slugger for the New York Yankees hit his 3,000th career hit. He is now part of an exclusive club, only 28 Major League players have reached that milestone.

Back at home plate, Jeter celebrated with his teammates. The crowd at the Yankee Stadium gave him a standing ovation.

The crew of Atlantis is too busy to watch baseball history being made today, and too far away. They're making some history of their own. The astronauts are getting the shuttle ready for its final docking with the International Space Station. Our John Zarrella is at the Kennedy Space Center. He has keeping tabs on what is to come -- John.

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Fredricka. Yes, we were a little too busy to watch Jeter's 3,000th hit. You know, he was five for five today. He had five hits and five at-bats.

WHITFIELD: Impressive.

ZARRELLA: That's -- so he really had -- yes, he really had a good day. My producer, Rich Phillips (ph), is all excited. He's a big Yankees fan. But...

WHITFIELD: Yes, out of this world in a different way.

ZARRELLA: Yes, the folks out -- oh absolutely, absolutely.

The folks on board the shuttle are actually racing towards their rendezvous with the International Space Station and that will of course happen tomorrow. Today they spent a good bit of the day going over and inspecting the leading edges of the space shuttle's wings just in case there was any damage while they were on ascent from perhaps debris or foam falling off the giant external tank.

It doesn't appear there was any, which is certainly always good news to hear that. So they did that most of the day today, that inspection. And as I said, now they're racing towards that rendezvous with the space station.

WHITFIELD: Well, that's incredible. So that should happen tomorrow. This will be, I guess, the last time anybody sees this kind of rendezvous.

ZARRELLA: Right.

WHITFIELD: Will it be any different from what we have been able to see in the past?

ZARRELLA: No, no. Probably not. But what's going to happen is when they first approach and they rendezvous, before they dock, the shuttle itself is actually going to do a back flip and flip over so that the crew on the space station will be able to take pictures of all the thermal tiles underneath the shuttle, which is standard procedure now.

Again, all of this came after the Columbia accident to ensure there's no damage to the heat shield, the protective tiles on the shuttle. So they'll do that. Then they will dock, open the hatch, and then on Monday, they're going to start offloading all of those supplies, more than 7,000 pounds of goods so they can stock up the pantry and the refrigerator on the station for -- that will last at least a year, all those supplies.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Big payload. All right. Thanks so much, John Zarrella.

ZARRELLA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Even with the final shuttle mission under way, NASA says it will still take the lead in exploring space, but how?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: OK. So the final shuttle mission is under way right now. Its conclusion means the end of 30 years shuttle flight. So what is next for NASA? Our Josh Levs is here to help us look into the future.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Because NASA saying, don't think this is the end. This is the message that they are projecting. And it's true. They have a lot of plans, and they're actually saying it's not the end of manned space flight either.

Take a look at these pictures I want you to see here. And I'm going to give you NASA's words. They're calling this the "flagship of its next generation space fleet, pushing the envelope of space flight far beyond low Earth orbit."

WHITFIELD: It's going to be a little cozy.

LEVS: It's going to be cozy. It will have something attached to it. But it's called a Multipurpose Crew Vehicle. And it's based on the Orion capsule. It could take four astronauts on 21-day missions. So that's the goal there.

So they're saying, hey, still working on U.S. ways to put people into space. They're also working on new technologies to get people out to Mars. And just big picture, NASA is saying it's committed to staying in the lead of exploring space. Take a look at this video.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY BRAUN, NASA CHIEF TECHNOLOGIST: What we're doing is we're investing in a broad portfolio of technology. Some of those technologies are risky, some of them will pan out, other will not. But in the end, we'll have the technological capabilities to go to places and to explore both with robots and humans that we can't do today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: So, Fred, you heard him there say humans and robots. That's another part of what they're working on, these calling them robo- nauts, we've got some video, that NASA has been developing with General Motors. And right now it's a torso, they're working on legs and wheels. They have actually already demoed something with wheels.

They say it helps to have robots that are actually designed like humans, partly because everything on the space station and on these shuttles were designed for humans. So if you need to do basic tasks...

WHITFIELD: Built to assist humans, yes.

LEVS: Right, it makes sense to have a human body. They're also hoping that eventually they can get these robo-nauts all the way as far as Mars and elsewhere. One is already up in the space station, actually. Our next video here is the unpacking early this year of one of these torso robo-nauts.

WHITFIELD: So it's kind of a test, they want to see how well it does in this capacity before they're able to move forward.

LEVS: Yes, exactly. They're testing at each stage of the way. Big picture, they're hoping they can send it up to Mars, eventually, and have it pick up things on Mars the way a person's body would.

But I will tell you that even with all this going on, there are a lot of people who feel that it's well and good they've got projects, but that the U.S. will not be dominant in space, that with ending the U.S. shuttle missions and that with cutting back on the budget, you can expect the U.S. to lose the lead, something they don't want to see.

WHITFIELD: Interesting, well, bottom line, finances, budget. Very expensive and that's the decision that was made.

LEVS: Yes. And we're going to see pretty soon how much they're losing for fiscal year 2012, Congress is continuing to have its battle. I'll tell you this, all the technology I just showed you, everything is up on my Facebook and Twitter pages. I want you to check it out. I also have information there, something I told you about earlier today, Fred, this asteroid that you can see from Earth. NASA has a spacecraft that's going to be arriving there in a week, and it talks to you about that as well. It's all up on the Web.

WHITFIELD: Amazing stuff.

LEVS: Amazing.

WHITFIELD: We'll allow you to keep us posted up on Facebook and Twitter.

LEVS: OK. You got it.

WHITFIELD: All good stuff. Thanks, Josh, appreciate it.

How about this, could a pill prevent cancer? That's in our "Healthy Living" segment straight ahead.

And do you start the day tired or refreshed? It all depends on how much sleep you actually get, right, Josh? Whether you're a parent or not?

LEVS: That's why I've got my Red Bulls, 7 in the morning.

WHITFIELD: Oh, I know, you do many Red Bulls during the day. OK. So what do you suppose the average amount of sleep is that every American gets?

LEVS: I'm going to go -- like, I'll with seven maybe.

WHITFIELD: Five-and-a-half hours, seven hours, eight-and-a-half hours, 10 hours? What do you think?

LEVS: I'm guessing seven. WHITFIELD: OK. Answer right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So before the break we asked you how much sleep do you think the average American gets? Is it five-and-a-half hours, seven hours, eight-and-a-half hours, or 10 hours? I know this is hard to believe, a study by the U.S. Labor Department found that it was C, eight-and-a-half hours, the average amount of sleep for Americans. I know, I saw that face Dr. Bill was giving and I was saying the same thing.

So we learned this week the arthritis medicine Celebrex might prevent lung cancer from developing in ex-smokers. If so, it would represent a huge step forward in the fight against cancer. That's the subject of our weekly look at how to get healthy and stay healthy, "Healthy Living" expert Dr. Bill Lloyd joins us now from Sacramento.

So, Dr. Bill, about 100 ex-smokers were involved in this clinical trial. Why do people think that Celebrex may have prevented some of these patients from actually getting lung cancer?

DR. BILL LLOYD, "HEALTHY LIVING" EXPERT: First, I can't remember the last time I had eight hours of sleep.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Me either, I don't buy it, but oh, well.

LLOYD: Scientists have known for a long time that the chemical signals that control inflammation in the boat also play a role in the transition from healthy cells to cancer cells, so they said, wait a minute, what happens if we use a powerful anti-inflammatory drug, would that have an effect on those signals and prevent healthy cells from becoming cancerous?

WHITFIELD: Wow. So will there be more testing before the drug actually goes up for FDA approval?

LLOYD: This recent study was a pilot study, like you said, 100 or so. That's a phase two trial. So what they're going to do now is recruit thousands of people. Again, these will be heavy smokers, 30 years or more of smoking, who have quit for at least a year.

They have quit for at least a year, and then they'll be given the Celebrex. And then they'll do a special biomarker test to see if their cells have not made the change to cancer.

So far cells that -- patients that take the Celebrex do not go on to form the lung cancer. So it's a very promising opportunity to protect people from developing lung cancer.

WHITFIELD: So the oncology world is pretty excited about this trial for obvious reasons, right?

LLOYD: Sure, the prognosis for lung cancer, any lung cancer is dismal. They're making headway. There is some improved survivorship, we've talked about that in the past. But overall it's still a very grim diagnosis.

So anything that can prevent somebody from actually getting lung cancer is a real positive.

WHITFIELD: So would all ex-smokers be candidates for this or just people who smoked for most of their lives and just recently quit, or what's the combination?

LLOYD: Yes, I think the people who have smoked for a long time obviously are at a much higher risk of getting cancer. These are the ones that they're targeting for this study. But it's important to know that drugs like Celebrex are very powerful agents and they have side effects.

People who take Celebrex can get into heart trouble, kidney trouble, and liver trouble. So they have to screen these patients not just for their smoking history, but are they healthy otherwise so that they could tolerate this therapy if it became approved by the FDA.

WHITFIELD: All right. And then what would a patient do or an ex- smoker do if they want to explore the possibility of taking Celebrex?

LLOYD: Well, conventional therapy first. You get with your doctor. You worry about lung cancer. Make sure first that you have had a good screening, chest X-ray, and no other findings that suggest that you already have lung cancer.

But if you're one of these candidates that might be able to tolerate Celebrex, you and your doctor can discuss the risks and benefits. It's important that nobody start a medicine, stop a medicine, or change a specific dosage of a medicine without first talking to their doctor.

And then the two of you can have a discussion as to whether or not you would want to enter into one of these trials and take Celebrex with the hopes of protecting yourself from getting lung cancer.

WHITFIELD: All right. Fascinating stuff. Thanks so much for helping us live healthy. Dr. Bill Lloyd.

LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.

WHITFIELD: The British tabloid News of the World has covered scandals for more than 160 years. Now a scandal of its own has brought the paper down.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It's the end of the News of the World. The British tabloid that eavesdropped on the royal family is about to be shut down after getting caught up in a much wider hacking scandal.

It's former editor, a former royal correspondent, and a third man all arrested on corruption charges. Richard Quest looks back at the tabloid's history, hits and misses.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR (voice-over): It was in 1843 that the first News of the World rolled off the presses. Priced at just three pence, it was the cheapest paper of its time and it was aimed directly at the working classes.

Before long the British paper had established itself as the most widely read Sunday paper, eventually reaching sales of around 2.5 million copies each week.

Fast forward to 1969 and the paper changes hands. Rupert Murdoch becomes the new owner and the News of the World is Murdoch's first Fleet Street foray.

Over the years that followed, the newspaper built a reputation on hard-hitting exclusives, usually exposing the embarrassments of celebrities and politicians. Prince Harry, age 16, was one of the many to be exposed.

Then there was David Beckham, he was exposed and an adulterer, when they discovered the secret affair he was having with his personal assistant.

In 2005, the paper published a seemingly mundane story about Prince William injuring his knee. It was another exclusive for the News of the World that made its reputation getting scoops.

Royal officials realized that the story could only have been sourced by the illegal interception of Prince William's mobile phone voicemail. And right there began the chain of events, allegations and scandal that enveloped members of the royal family, celebrities, politicians, and now murder and bomb victims.

Richard Quest, CNN, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And back in this country, the royal couple, the British royal couple on a whirlwind three-day visit to Southern California, so what's on their to-do list? We're on the William and Kate watch.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, we're just seven minutes away from Don Lemon and more of the NEWSROOM. We have given you lots all day long, but now you got more of it coming.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: It's our favorite moment of the day. Look at you. That's great.

WHITFIELD: Oh, thank you.

LEMON: Is that orange? Tangerine?

WHITFIELD: I'll go with that.

LEMON: Yes. OK. We're going to talk serious stuff but I'm going to make you laugh at the end.

WHITFIELD: Oh goodie, I love to laugh.

LEMON: At the end of this.

Lots of interesting coverage tonight, Fredricka, on the CNN NEWSROOM coming up in just about five minutes here, I'll be talking to supermodel Alek Wek, she is from Sudan and is celebrating the world's newest nation, talking about South Sudan. It's amazing. When do we see a new nation? How often? Not very often. She's going to be in our New York bureau, we're going to talk to her. She's gorgeous, beautiful.

WHITFIELD: She is.

LEMON: Also, Fred, check out this lady's hair. That's exactly what the TSA did, they checked out her hair at the Seattle airport and she claims it was racial profiling that led to the search. I'm going to be talking to her about that. Was it? What do they think she had in her hair? Does it look weird to you?

WHITFIELD: No, but you know what? This story sparks some interesting, I guess, parallel. I was traveling recently in Los Angeles and there was a young lady who was traveling in front of me and she went through the magnetometer, and they pulled her aside.

And they said they wanted to check her hair. And then she had actually whispered to the lady -- I could hear because she was right in front of me. And she whispered to the female TSA agent, she goes, well, I have extensions. So I bet she -- the clip, she had the clip kind. And so they searched her hair.

So at that moment, I learned that, yes, everything...

LEMON: Everything is in play.

WHITFIELD: ... can and will be inspected.

LEMON: Everything is in play, yes.

WHITFIELD: And it was a different experience that she had than this young lady is claiming to have. But it's not out of the ordinary anymore that just about everything is searched...

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Everything. And a lot of people have hair clips -- it's just normal now.

OK. Now I said I was going to make you laugh. I said I was going to make you laugh.

WHITFIELD: Oh yes, yes, yes, make me laugh. LEMON: Look at this. What happened to my hair?

WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh, is that you?

LEMON: I know. Coming up, I'm going back to the '80s.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my.

LEMON: That's me in the dressing room at the Broadway show "Rock of Ages" that's touring the country right now. And I got a costume sample and a hair sample from one of the stars.

WHITFIELD: No way. I've got to see that again.

LEMON: Going to do a little air guitar. I want to rock! I love rock 'n roll.

WHITFIELD: Yes, you were enjoying that. I think this is an excuse to...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's funny. And wear the hair, I don't know, I've got to see that hair one more time.

LEMON: That's going to be like the number one search on my Google images.

WHITFIELD: I like it, I like it. Very funny stuff.

LEMON: And I did it to myself.

WHITFIELD: OK, Don. Well, it's always good to have a little fun and poke fun at one one's self. Thanks, Don. We'll be watching. Straight ahead.

All right. We're going to take a look at some of the stories that our affiliates are covering today. The Dalai Lama is in Washington beginning an eleven-day spiritual ritual. Thousands gathered today on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol.

And a small fire broke out at a Rihanna concert in Dallas last night. The concert had to be cut short. CNN affiliate KTVT is reporting the fire apparently started from pyrotechnics that were part of the show. Fortunately no one was hurt.

And the royal couple, Will and Kate, hit the red carpet in California, this red carpet was rolled out in Santa Barbara where William will take a part in a polo match not long from now. We'll be watching that throughout the evening in the NEWSROOM with Don Lemon.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. See you again tomorrow beginning at 2:00 Eastern Time.