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Freed Americans on Their Way Home; Cain Wins Florida Straw Poll; A New Shutdown Looming?; Bombs Hidden in Turbans; American Hikers Freed

Aired September 24, 2011 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

You know, by this time tomorrow, American hikers freed from Iran will be back on U.S. soil finally. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal are on a plane at this hour on their way back home. A third hiker Sarah Shourd was released more than a year ago for medical reasons. She's on the plan accompanying Bauer who is now her fiance.

Mohammed Jamjoom is in Muscat, Oman, where the hikers departed earlier today -- Mohammed.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: After three days in Oman, American hiker Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal finally departed Muscat on Saturday night. Before they left, however, they held a quick press conference at the airport's VIP lounge where both men made brief statements.

SHANE BAUER, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Getting off the plane that brought us here three days ago was the most incredible experience of our lives. We'll never forget the excitement of seeing our loved ones waiting for us in front of the plane.

JOSH FATTAL, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the waters of the Gulf. We stayed up all night with our loved ones and we watched the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives. We would like to thank Oman for welcoming us and hosting our families.

JAMJOOM: Also present at the press conference were both men's families, as well as Sarah Shourd, Bauer's fiancee. While they refused to answer any questions, they were all smiles when they were presented with large flower bouquets, gifts given by Omani officials. A short while later, both men made their way to the tarmac where they said their goodbyes to Omani and U.S. officials before boarding the plane that will start them on their long waited journey back home.

Mohammed Jamjoom, CNN, Muscat, Oman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Mohammed, thank you very much.

Let's go to politics now and a shocking finish in the Republican battle in Orlando, Florida, this evening.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Tonight's winner with 986 votes, 37.1 percent --Herman Cain.

(CHEERS)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. And there you heard it. Herman Cain surprised many by winning the straw poll at the GOP's Presidency 5 event. It wasn't even close. Cain received more than twice as many votes as Texas Governor Rick Perry, considered by many to be the front-runner in this race.

CNN political reporter Peter Hamby is at the event. He's in Orlando for us.

So, Peter, how unexpected was this?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: It was very unexpected coming into today, Don. Things started to shift in the middle of the day once we started talking to some of these activists who participated in the straw poll here in Orlando. And it seems that Perry kind of turned off a lot of people during his debate the other night. Some of the party activists here had questions about his record on illegal immigration.

So, a lot of people's second choice now was Herman Cain. And really, it's hard to find a Republican than doesn't like Herman Cain. They might not think he's qualified to be president, but they like Herman Cain. So, you know, when Perry kind of makes people unsure about him during the debate, people might be parking their support with Herman Cain, you know, as they kind of figure out am I with Perry, am I with Romney or am I with somebody else.

So, it was pretty sacrificing. And the reaction of the crowd in the room, I got to tell you, was he can static. People here were definitely for Herman Cain. There's no doubt about that.

LEMON: You know, you like a lot of people but it doesn't mean you want them to be president. But you know what? Being qualified for president, that's the important part here, Peter. So what does this do, if anything for Cain's campaign?

HAMBY: It gives him a much needed boost. Cain entered the race earlier this year and kind of soared to, you know, to double digits out in Iowa, a key state for him. Conservatives like him. A phrase that keeps coming up with Herman Cain when he talks to Republican voters is common sense.

LEMON: Yes. HAMBY: They think he can speak plainly.

LEMON: But does -- Peter, does this do anything for him in terms of raising money, in terms of polling, in terms of the possibility of actually becoming president, or is it just something that he won and it sort of helps him being able to top that out on the campaign trail. Is there any real value in this, is what I'm saying?

HAMBY: Yes, exactly. Like most straw polls, I think there's not a ton of value here. It does help him raise a little bit of money, get a little media buzz. At the end of the day, I think a lot of Republicans will tell you Herman Cain probably won't be president. This is cast almost as a blow to Rick Perry who really tried to court the voters in this straw poll and lost, and lost badly after that debate.

So, he's going to have to go into damage control mode in the next couple of days, Don.

LEMON: Yes, and actually do better in the upcoming debates. And you're seeing the results of the straw poll. Cain 37 percent, Perry 15 percent. He didn't really run that hard there, didn't really put his name in, Romney 14 percent, Santorum 11, Paul 10, Gingrich 8 percent, 2 percent for Huntsman, 1 percent for Bachmann.

And our Peter Hamby is reporting from Florida straw poll in Orlando. Thank you very much, Peter.

You know, the two runners-up in the Florida straw poll have their sights set on another state right now. That's where they are. You're looking at live pictures.

Take a look now from Mackinaw Island -- that is in Michigan -- where former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney will speak at any minute at a dinner for the Mackinaw Republican Leadership Conference. Romney is considered a favorite in Michigan because of his ties there. He's a native of the state and his father served as governor there in the 1960s.

But Texas Governor Rick Perry isn't ready to cede the state to his rival. Perry spoke earlier in the day during a lunch at the same Republican conference. So, here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I don't dislike government. I just want government to work, and work for us. I'd like for the federal government to do some of the things that it's actually supposed to do in the constitution. Like defend our borders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let's gets to Washington now where at this hour, President Obama is going to speak at a dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus. African-Americans are among the president's strongest supporters. They're also suffering, and unemployment rate close to 17 percent. Some members of the CBC say they want the president to fight harder for his proposals.

And in just a few minutes, you're going to hear my conversation with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver. He is the chairman of the CBC.

And, you know, conservative analyst David Frum has a lot to say about the nation's economic situation, as well. This week, he called a national emergency that's more urgent than the aftermath of the 9/11 terror attacks.

Earlier, I spoke with him about the latest threat of a government shutdown, highlighted by the Senate's vote Friday to block a House budget plan. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID FRUM, EDITOR, FRUMFORUM.COM: They see a future that is trending in ways they don't like and that I don't like either. But on our way to the future, we have to get through the present. I think there are conservatives who feel, if you don't prevail on the ideology today, that's it. It's gone forever.

Well, nothing is forever, except for the lives of the people who are affected by this recession. That their 20th or 21st year is not going to come back. If their house is foreclosed, they're not going to get that back.

So, let's get the economy on its feet, let's have government do what governments can do, and then, in a calmer time, let's have a calmer discussion about the shape of government.

LEMON: OK. And I spoke with a member of the Congressional Black Caucus, Sheila Jackson Lee. And she said listen, we've got to get the Republicans on board to make some sort of move to do something. In her estimation, a Democrat's estimation, the Republicans are not budging even when the president proposes policies that they have proposed before.

Do you agree with that? So, what do you make of -- what do you make of when I ask you the president's handling of this economy, the Democrats and what Sheila Jackson Lee had to say about the Republicans not budging on it?

FRUM: Well, when the president unveiled that job speech, I think that was not one of the high points in his presidency. It's true as Congresswoman Lee said, Jackson Lee said, that there are a lot of elements of that proposal that are acceptable to Republicans.

But the president put a lot of hooks in it that were designed to force the Republicans to say no. The battle so often is not only what do we do, but how do we pay for it. And the president then inserted into his plan for what to do next a series of ideas about how to pay for it that aren't acceptable to Republicans and that he knew wouldn't be because he now is trying to push them to say no.

It's too late for him to have a strong recovery in time for his election. So, what he wants to do is instead to defray a strong choice and that means he needs the Republicans to say no for his own political purposes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: David Frum.

You know, we're about to talk about something that you parents might not want little ears to hear. It's our conversation about controversial behavior from kids fighting in cages to adults shattering the dreams of children.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

I don't think that he would just made a mistake. He was just being a mean-spirited person.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, this father is furious at one of his daughter's teachers for telling her the tooth fairy isn't real. The school supporters -- the school supports the teacher, I should say. We'll talk with Wendy Walsh about this and let you make your own decision of who is right.

And we want you to weigh in on this topic. You can reach us on Twitter, on Facebook, CNN.com/Don, also on Foursquare.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So usually when kids fight, grown-ups try to break up the brawl. But this video -- take a look at it -- it shows the adults jeering on 8 and 9-year-old boys as they go at it in a cage.

The footage is from a British mixed martial arts group who told "The Daily Mirror" the cage fighting is all in good fun. But now, there's talk of child cruelty charges against the parents.

So, lets bring in our resident human behavior expert, Dr. Wendy Walsh, who also co-hosts "The Doctors."

So, Wendy, this looks too violent for a child of 8 to be doing -- 8 or 9 years old. But school wrestling matches look a lot liking this video. So, do you think that kids fighting in cages, do you think that's harmful?

DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: I think, Don, I'm going to say something that's going to surprise you. Boys are socialized very differently than girls. And these days, women are saying, where are all the real men? Well, it seems like we've taken away so many male rites of passage.

And men organize themselves through sparring and by creating a hierarchy. This weekend, I met one of our heroes, a Navy SEAL who almost died in action, and his kind of childhood and the training he went through turned him into a hero.

So, yes, there might be -- somebody who sent me an e-mail who says "I'm a sensitive artistic guy and my father made me do these hyper masculine things that abused me," and just as there's going to be a Marine or, you know, a Navy SEAL who will say, oh, you get men, now you get it.

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: So, the point is, whether it's child-led or whether 80s parents-led. If a child really doesn't want to do it and the parents aren't paying attention, then it's abusive.

LEMON: Yes. And as you said, people are socialized differently, especially males and some men in some places it's expected. So, very good -- very good analysis on that.

Let's turn now and talk about the rejection of redheads?

"The Global Post" -- this is what they're reporting, that the world's largest sperm bank, Denmark's Cryos International, is turning away redhead sperm donors. Its managing director to a Danish newspaper and here what he says, "There are too many redheads in relation to demand."

Is that ethical, Dr. Wendy?

WALSH: Well, you know, in some ways, it certainly smacks of eugenics, doesn't it?

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: And it sort of points to the decay of our culture. But, Don, let me tell you, I'm choosing sperm for me, I want to know what it looks like. I happen to have Irish in my family, so I might choose a redhead.

But the point is, it's about supply and demand and this is a business. It's probably no different the way people choose than how often they click -- the same patterns that they click on dating Web sites. People who want to connect and create offspring have a visual connection first and who wouldn't want to know what your baby's going to look like.

LEMON: Yes. And what's wrong with redheads? I like redheads. All right.

WALSH: Exactly.

LEMON: Yes. So, listen, tell me about this new study showing how dad's stress can be passed on to his kids.

WALSH: Well, you know, up until now, most of the studies on what goes on genetically and in vitro had to do with a woman's health and a woman's contribution, and what a woman does during pregnancy. But now we're seeing all this new research coming out looking at sperm and what kinds of sperm create what kinds of fetuses.

Now, this is only a mice study at this point. So, hopefully, we will eventually start to see patterns in humans as we're able to collect this data. But in the study, it showed that mice exposed to chronic stress basically had offspring who were very stressed as well and showed anxiety and depression.

LEMON: OK. Finally, from our affiliate WBBH -- a teacher in Florida ratted out the tooth fairy, telling an 11-year-old student that it doesn't exist. Her father complained to the school district who backed the teacher.

What's your take on this, Dr. Wendy? Should the teacher have ratted out the tooth fairy?

WALSH: Well, I say kudos to these parents because while the parents of their kids' peers are worrying about that their child is learning to sex, these parents have done a different kind of sex education. They basically told their daughter that, you know, there's a bunny and we know how promiscuous bunnies are will come into her bedroom and lay some multicolored chicken eggs. And they maintained this for her until almost high school.

So, I'm actually upset that a teacher would challenge this. I mean, I think it's amazing that they've been able to keep this for so long.

And now, we need to stop talking because I think my children are watching.

LEMON: And Santa Claus is real.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: In my house, he is.

LEMON: Yes. We love to hear more, but we love you on "The Doctors," as well. I saw you all this week, great job, Dr. Wendy.

WALSH: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

WALSH: Thanks.

LEMON: President Barack Obama is about to make a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus.

Coming up: I'm going to talk with the chairman of the caucus, Representative Emanuel Cleaver, about what he calls a job crisis for African-Americans and how he wants urgency from the White House in dealing with the problem.

And a Florida millionaire convicted today of shooting and killing his wife. We're going to have the inside scoop on why the jury had no choice but to convict.

But, first, remember how it was when you were in school -- the teacher always in front, students at their desks taking notes? Well, in tonight's "Perry's Principles," CNN's education contributor Steve Perry takes a look as kids take charge at least for a day. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When the synapses in my brain connect, then I learn.

Can you guys stand up and do it with us?

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): The students are teaching class today at the Beardsley School; the pupils, their teachers. This role reversal is part of a revolutionary program developed by the National Urban Alliance, or NUA.

(on camera): How do the teachers respond to having kids tell them how to teach?

ERIC COOPER, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL URBAN ALLIANCE: They love it, primarily because it really gives them an understanding of the strengths that the students have, as well as where the gaps are that need to be filled in.

PERRY (voice-over): The training is broken up into two parts. First, an NUA representative leads a session on creative teaching methods for students and teachers.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ready, set, go.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Neurons are the brain cells, the brain cells, the brain cells.

PERRY: Then the kids take over.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll only give you about two minutes, so go.

PERRY: You're working in some of the lowest performing school districts in the country. What is it that you hope to gain?

YVETTE JACKSON, CEO, NATIONAL URBAN ALLIANCE: It's not just so that the students feel empowered, it's so that the teachers see what unbelievable wealth of potential these students have.

PERRY (on camera): Today, you guys were teaching. Was that cool?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

PERRY: What makes you think you could be a good teacher?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They always teach us, so it's good to teach them for a change.

PERRY (voice-over): The cost of the program is split between the NUA and participating school districts. More than 450 students in 15 schools across the country have participated so far. The NUA says those student's performance has improved in the classroom and they're currently sponsoring formal research to confirm that.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think teachers need to know that they should keep on trying and keep on teaching the kids no matter what.

PERRY: Steve Perry, Bridgeport, Connecticut.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Hey, we've been reporting on this. This is a big event tonight in Washington. President Barack Obama speaks next hour at a dinner hosted by the Congressional Black Caucus.

The group is one of his most ardent supporters. It also represents Americans hit hardest by the economic slowdown. Some CBC members have even taken their criticism of the president public, imploring him to fight harder for his policies.

And I asked the caucus chairman, Congressman Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri, if it's hard to criticize this president.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Is it harder to criticize this president constructively as everyone -- even you, you can stand some constructive criticism, so can I -- is it harder for a black person, whether a constituent or a congressperson, a lawmaker, to constructively criticize this president because he is African-American? And is that counterproductive by being in that position?

REP. EMANUEL CLEAVER (D), MISSOURI: I do think that for African- Americans in politics and Congress, it is more difficult. Make no mistake about it, because all of us would like desperately for this president to have a successful presidency. And the only way that's going to happen is that if we're able to move him in positions that we think are going to be beneficial to him.

But we're not going to go out and blast him at press conferences. If we have disagreements, we're going to try to direct those disagreements in a manner that will not end up on the front page of the day's newspapers, and we think that working with the president in a manner where the African-American community around the country understands that differences are not necessarily disassociation or disaffection.

LEMON: Right. We support the president. We don't always agree with him, and when we don't, we're still not going to blast him. We're going to try to get information to him.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Congressman Cleaver also told me that the president can only do so much. That's what he said and that it's important the public get involved if they want to influence policies.

A Florida millionaire is found guilty of killing his wife. Holly Hughes tells us why his story didn't hold water with the jury. And we take a look at incredible images of streaks across the night sky as a rogue satellite crashes to earth.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's go to Florida now where the high profile murder trial of a millionaire developer has ended in a guilty verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury found the defendant guilty of second degree murder as charged in the information.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So the trial lasted about a week. Bob Ward's defense argued his wife died in 2009 of an accidental gunshot to the face. Well, the jury wasn't convinced. They found Ward guilty today of second degree murder. Ward's daughters sobbed when the verdict came down. There you see them.

The prosecutors had hammered away at inconsistencies in Ward's story.

And then there was this bizarre jailhouse video. Take a look. Just days after his wife died, Ward apparently performing a striptease for his daughter and his sister-in-law. All three acted like him being arrested was a big joke.

Our legal expert Holly Hughes says Ward presented his defense team with an uphill battle in trying to get an acquittal.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: When you very calmly say five times, I shot my wife and you don't at the time, you're not hysterical.

LEMON: There's no urgency, nothing in his voice.

HUGHES: Right. And he's not hysterical. He's not saying get here and help her. So, they're stuck with the statements their client made.

So, the best they could do is say -- well, yes, he already admitted firing the gun. But what we can do now is now say it accidentally went off. He didn't intend to fire the gun. She was trying to kill herself.

So, unfortunately, sometimes, by the time a lawyer gets a case, client's already put them in a bad position.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The defense is expected to file and appeal.

A satellite falling to earth wasn't deadly, but it did turn out to be dazzling. Stargazers caught glimpses of what appears to be the spacecraft breaking up in the earth's atmosphere. CNN can't confirm these pictures are that satellite.

And we do know that 26 pieces weighing a total of 1,200 pounds could have survived the fiery re-entry. Data indicates that the satellite broke apart and likely landed in the Pacific Ocean, far off the U.S. coast. The upper atmosphere research satellite was launched 20 years ago this month.

Bristol Palin's in the headlines again. A wild night out at a honky tonk, a ride on a mechanical bull, and it all leads to a Bristol throw-down when another bar patron said something about her mama. It was all caught on tape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In the war on terror, a new twist on suicide bombers and the targets are some of the most important people the U.S. is depending on to bring peace and stability to Afghanistan. CNN's Reza Sayah explains how the Taliban are exploiting an ancient cultural bias to reach their targets.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 14th, a suicide bomber kills a senior afghan official at a funeral for President Hamid Karzai's slain brother. July 27th, a suicide bomber assassinates the mayor of Kandahar City. August 19th, a suicide bomber targets a government building in Helmand province. September 20th, another suicide bomber assassinates Burhanuddin Rabani, the man leading the peace talks with the Taliban.

(on camera): Four suicide bombings in a little bit more than two months all of them targeting some of the most important leaders in Afghanistan and they all had one very unusual thing in common. In all four attacks, assailants hid their bombs underneath their turbans.

TABASAN ZAHEER, HEAD OF PAKISTAN POLICE BOMB SQUAD: If he's coming here to embrace him, well the turban can certainly kill both of them.

SAYAH (voice-over): Tabasan Zaheer is head of the police bomb squad in Islamabad, Pakistan. His office decoration decapitated heads of suicide bombers. Pictures too graphic to show. Zaheer says turban bombs seem to be the newest weapon in the fight for Afghanistan because asking to search the Islamic headdress is often viewed as disrespectful.

(on camera): Would you be comfortable asking tribal elders to remove their -

ZAHEER: No. It's not that easy.

SAYAH (on camera): It's not that easy.

(voice-over): With powerful explosives like this C-4 turbine bombs can weigh as light as a tissue box and nearly impossible to detect.

(on camera): You're telling me all you need to make a bomb that fits in a turban is this little bit of c-4, this detonator and a cord. That's it.

ZAHEER: That's it.

SAYAH (voice-over): The power of those explosives is on display in this police training video. Last month, President Karzai called on clerics to condemn turbine bombings, calling them an affront to Islamic values. The bomber was not a follower of god, says this man. I condemn all bombings says Malik Muhammad Rafik whether they're in church, trousers or turbans.

Explosives experts say the Afghan government will have to use more metal detectors, search people in clothing they may not have in the past until then, they say turban bombs could remain the Taliban's most effective new weapon.

Reza Sayah, CNN, (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: I want to check your headlines right now. Nevada police say motorcycle clubs may be involved in a deadly shooting at a casino near Reno. A brawl began just before midnight Friday at the gambling hall. Ambulances took three gunshot victims to hospitals. One of them later died. Authorities say as many as 30 people were involved in the fight.

Michael Jackson's former physician, Dr. Conrad Murray goes on trial next week for involuntary manslaughter in the pop star's death. The jury has been selected.

The pop superstar died in 2009 from a combination of anesthesia and other drugs. He was under Murray's care at the time. The trial which is expected to take about a month will determine if Murray was criminally responsible in the death.

Two American hikers are on their way home after being locked up in Iran for more than two years. Shane Bauer, Josh Fattal are on a plane at this hour heading for the U.S.. Iran arrested them for allegedly straying over the border from Iraq in July of 2009. Now they were accused of being spies and sentenced to eight years in prison but on Wednesday, Bauer and Fattal left Iran for Oman under a million dollar bail deal. A third detained American Sarah Shourd was released a year ago for medical reasons.

Endurance swimmer Diana Nyad is not giving up on her dream. Last night she began a new attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida. Nyad was forced to abandon an attempt last month. This time, the 62-year-old briefly got tangled up with a jellyfish. She was treated for stings, then she took off again. She hopes to make it to Florida by Monday.

All right. I have to tell you about this. An ugly altercation for Sarah Palin's daughter, Bristol, while shooting her own reality show. A film crew is tracing Bristol's move from Alaska to Los Angeles to work for a charity. But things went sour when she saddled up on a mechanical bull at this west Hollywood bar. She faced up to some very public vitriol against her and her famous family. And I want to bring in Maureen O'Connor. She's a staff writer from the web site gawker.com. So Maureen, I want you to show us what happens in the rest of this video.

MAUREEN O'CONNOR, GAWKER.COM: So after a middle-aged man begins to severely crudely heckle Bristol, at which point she walks right up to him. She gets to his face and brings his sexual orientation into the mix. A really sort of interesting confrontation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you ride Levi like that? Your mother's a whore.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bristol, what was that about?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Repeat what you said to me.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your mother's a (bleep) devil, dude.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, she's the devil.

She lives. She breathes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want her dead?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know what? If there was a hell which I don't believe there is one she will be there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why is that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She's evil, she's evil, she.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right. IS this because you're a homosexual?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pretty much.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And that's why you hate her?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And why'd you say I'm a homosexual?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because I can tell you are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: It looks like she actually brought it up but she was in a bar in west Hollywood. You know? Has there been any comment from either the Palins or the man Bristol argued with at this bar?

O'CONNOR: Both actually. Bristol made a comment about evil on her Facebook page and her publicist said that she was calmly dealing with the man and she was just standing up for her family and her publicist also mentioned she isn't homophobic at all and that's not what she meant. The man, however, says that if it happened again, he would do it again. He's not sorry and he also did say that he thinks that Bristol is being homophobic although I would say he's probably being a misogynist too. So it's a little bit ugly on both sides, I'd say. LEMON: Yes, he did use that - come on, if you say something like that about someone's mom, I mean, most people would be offended.

All right. Let's talk about another reality show.

O'CONNOR: It was awful.

LEMON: Yes. Let's talk about another reality show.

Celebrity wife swap. There's one pair in particular that a lot of people are going to be interested in seeing switch places.

O'CONNOR: The disgraced evangelical pastor Ted Haggard is going to be doing "Celebrity Wife Swap." with bad boy actor Gary Busey. Ted Haggard, of course, is the one that was caught. He stepped down from being the pastor at New Life Church in Colorado Springs amid a gay sex scandal involving drug use.

LEMON: OK.

O'CONNOR: As if there wasn't enough pressure on his marriage already.

LEMON: Don't you just find that odd? I mean, it's just - it just seems weird.

O'CONNOR: Well, Ted Haggard did quite a few interviews. He went on divorce court not actually in the court, he did an interview with divorce court about his marriage. So he definitely isn't shy about talking about his marriage. This is the first time that he would be doing something so openly inviting cameras into his personal life in a reality show though.

LEMON: I just say - I mean, for both, it's just odd. Gary Busey whatever, his wife as well on the show. He has been on the show as well and they both talked about it.

Let's move on to another topic. There are many concessions for prisoners on death row but a last meal usually is, you know, one of them. But that's not the case in Texas anymore. Is it?

O'CONNOR: Effective immediately, Texas is no longer providing a last meal to death row inmates. They will be eating the same food as everybody else in their area of the prison on the night before they die. This happened because after Lawrence Brewer, a man who was put to death who had been convicted of that really brutal dragging death, a racially charged murder. So he requested multiple steaks, a pound of barbecued meat, ice cream, pizza, just the works and following that a politician said "I don't think we should be doing this anymore" and the corrections department said "Yes." Effective immediately, people will not be getting any more last meals.

LEMON: No more last meals. Maureen O'Connor, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

O'CONNOR: Thanks, Don. LEMON: OK. I want you to raise your hand if you're ticked off with the new Facebook changes. Anybody? Buhler? Doesn't affect you? OK. Lots of people are upset though. We'll help you - except for the people in the studio. We'll help you navigate the Facebook makeover and find out what's behind all the changes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. So when Facebook's CEO Mark Zuckerberg took the stage at this week's F-8 conference, there was something very off about him. I want you to take a closer look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDY SAMBERG, APPEARING AS "MARK ZUCKERBERG": I'm also proud to announce some new features on Facebook, for example, a new section in your list of friends. It's called I'm not really friends with these people. Yes. It's the perfect place to put awkward classmates from middle school, older drunk women you meet at charity events, racist neighbors, and aunts.

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LEMON: All right. Of course, that was actually "Saturday Night Live's" Andy Samberg doing his best Zuckerberg impression. The man himself though did actually walk out and announce a number of changes to Facebook and not every one is loving them.

I want to bring in now tech expert Daniel Sieberg talking about this. He is the author of "The Digital Diet, a Four-Step Plan to Break your Tech Addiction and Regain Balance in your Life." That's a book I need to read. Boy. So Daniel, I want to ask you what is Facebook adding? Why do they keep changing it when it seems to be - I mean, shouldn't they leave well enough alone? I don't know.

DANIEL SIEBERG, AUTHOR, "THE DIGITAL DIET": Yes, there are those folks who say if it isn't broke don't fix it. And every time Facebook comes along with some new changes or additions, there's always pushback. But in this case, we're talking about some pretty dramatic and big changes to Facebook. First of all, new ways you can check and see what your friends are reading or watching on TV, new ways to stream music into your profile. You can also change your news feed. You can sort of see things at the top that are maybe more relevant to you.

But easily the biggest one of all is something called time line. This is what everybody's going to see in their Facebook profile in the coming months. It's going to be kind of like a digital scrapbook. There's definitely sort of a creepiness and a cool factor to this. It will change the way everything comes into your Facebook profile and almost like and you can see some video of what Facebook has put together there, of what it will look like. It is kind of like a timeline.

But what you can actually do is go back and not just - you can add photos and information about yourself that predates when you joined Facebook. So you're really putting your entire life out there. Now remember, you are in control of this in theory. It's voluntary. You can always choose to get rid of Facebook if you want to. But there are a lot of folks who are sort of weirded out by this. Not so sure they want to embrace it. But by the way, Facebook also announced 800 million users worldwide. Every time things like this happen, people still seem to come back to it. So we're not seeing any signs of it slowing down.

LEMON: Yes, I think your book should be left in the bottom of like the drawer or a storage box for no one to see except when you get older, you can show your kids and laugh. All right. What's been the response so far though to all these changes?

SIEBERG: I think it's a bit of a mixed bag. Although I will say anecdotally, I do have a Facebook profile and I always say that a lot of folks are saying, "You know, why all these changes? We just got used to things before. I don't see what the point is." So we'll have to wait and see if people do embrace this idea or they decide to run away from Facebook.

You know, at the beginning, you talked about that Andy Samberg video where he joked about the friends you don't like. As part of timeline, you can actually potentially go in and see the friends who unfriended you. So there are all sorts of features here that could sort of make people really curious or really turned off by it.

LEMON: OK. All right. Let's switch gears here and talk about some politicians and Twitter. A lot of politicians on Twitter but now here's the interesting thing. They can buy their way on to your trending list?

SIEBERG: Yes, to another big social network with Twitter and now we're talking about politicians who can basically buy ads on Twitter. And so you're getting either sponsored tweets that might show up at the top of your news feed. You might be seeing that you want to follow a particular politician on the side of your screen. So they're changing the way that people interact with Twitter.

Obviously politicians have been part of Twitter for a while. We know that President Obama is the biggest and most popular politician on Twitter. But you know, they have to go where the people are to get their message out. So we shouldn't be too surprised. Of course, it's a little bit surprising now is that politicians can pay for this and really try to get into people's computers wherever they are.

LEMON: OK. Let's one last thing here, Daniel. A lot of people know Einstein's theory of relativity of the top of their heads. E equals MC squared. We heard that forever and ever. But now it turns out that that could be wrong? What?

SIEBERG: Yes, just this tiny little story about the entire theory of relativity possibly being wrong. This came out this week, basically to sort of explain it to you in layperson terms, they were sending particles between this research lab in Geneva and in Italy. What they discovered over the course of years was that is some of these particles were going faster than 186,282 miles per second which is the speed of light. There were only going faster by about 1/16 nanoseconds, like 16 billionth of a second. Very difficult to sort of wrap your head around this. But they could measure it.

Now as you can understand, the idea of breaking the cosmic speed limit is being met with a lot of skepticism in the scientific community. But these researchers are saying they stand by their findings. We'll just have to wait and see if they can confirm it. No time travel yet.

LEMON: My brain just exploded. That's why I'm a journalist. Numbers. Daniel, thank you.

SIEBERG: All right.

LEMON: You know, when we can, we like to highlight regular folks who are out there who are making their marks on the world. And we're going to meet a high school runner. His name is Josh Ripley. He's shown here on a training run in the blue shirt. He was speeding along at a meet last week when he sees a runner from the other team on the ground bleeding badly. Other runners well, they just keep going, but Josh stops, he picks up the guy and he sprints half a mile back to the start for help. Then he turns around and he runs his three-mile race.

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JOSH RIPLEY, HELPED INJURED RIVAL: I had blood on my legs and arms after carrying him and a lot of people thought I was hurt. But I had to inform them that it wasn't my blood and I was fine.

MARK PAULAUSKAS, INJURED DURING RACE: I just want to say that I'm really, really thankful for what he did, stopping his race just to help me is really a truly wonderful thing that he did.

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LEMON: Well, Mark, the injured runner needed 20 stitches to fix a gash in his ankle and he hopes to thank Josh in person for his sportsmanship. Very nice. Very nice.

A teen commits suicide after being bullied because of his sexuality. Now Lady Gaga picks up his torch leading the cause to bring awareness to bullying.

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LEMON: The "X Factor," did you see it? I saw it. It was good. It's living up to its name. The much hyped talent show featuring Simon Cowell has been on air for a week and parents already are complaining about indecency.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where is Paula going?

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LEMON: Paula Abdul walking off the set. She looks like she was going to be physically ill. What's going on here? CNN entertainment reporter, Shanon Cook is here with the details. So what happened, Shanon? A contestant went too far, right?

SHANON COOK, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: Well, Don, you could say dropping your pants on national television is taking things a little bit too far. That contestant that you saw wearing the silver outfit there, his name is Geo Godley. And during his audition, he basically danced around, sang a little bit, and exposed himself. And as you can see, the judges weren't terribly amused. Poor Paula had to vacate the premises. She was feeling so sick. And now the Parents Television Council has filed a complaint against the FCC. They're charging that graphic nudity has no place on a family friendly show.

However, Don, you can't actually call it graphic nudity. Because when the show actually aired, they put a giant cross over this guy's crotch. You actually didn't see anything. Either way, it was just uncomfortable. The whole thing was a little bit uncomfortable.

LEMON: Yes, yes, yes. Maybe that's the "X Factor." I mean but you didn't see it so, yes, I don't know. OK. Let's move on now.

West Borrow Baptist Church, making entertainment news? Why is that? That's a group we hear protesting outside of funerals or against gays.

COOK: Right, well, the group was picketing over a concert that the Foo Fighters were scheduled to perform in Kansas City. The Foo Fighters said, "OK, well, if you're going to protest us, we're going to protest your protest basically by singing right in front of you." So they showed up in front of the picketers on a flat bed truck. They were dressed like hillbillies and they sang this country jam which kind of have suggestive lyrics. We actually have a little snippet of their counter protest. Let's take a listen.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It takes all kinds I don't care if you're black or white or purple or green whether you're a Pennsylvanian or Transylvanian, Lady Gaga or Lady Antebellum -

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COOK: You know what's funny, Don, the song it was called "Keep it Clean, Hot Buns." What's kind of bizarre is one of the protesters in the crowd actually called out at the end that they enjoyed the song. All just a little strange.

LEMON: All right. OK. Lady Gaga taking on bullies. Tell us about that one?

COOK: That's right. Lady Gaga said that she was really distraught to learn about the suicide of 14-year-old Jamie Rodemeyer who was bullied for being gay. Rodemeyer was apparently a huge Lady Gaga fan. He posted on Youtube that he really idolized her and her music brought him hope. And Lady Gaga who has often been very vocal in stepping up for gay causes basically has been particularly incensed by this recent incident and took to Twitter to say that she plans to meet with President Obama to discuss legislation to counteract bullying. We don't actually know if such a meeting is going to take place but Gaga was able to get her many followers help make the subject of a bullying war a trending topic on Twitter.

LEMON: You have the Matthew Shepard law. She wants to do the same thing with Jamie Rodemeyer to a Jamie Rodemeyer anti-bullying law. So have that law in his name. Thank you, Shanon. Great topics. We appreciate you joining us.

Make sure you join us on October 9th when Anderson Cooper will hold a special "AC 360" town hall to explore ways to stop bullying. That's October 9th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.

And it's a tug-of-war of epic proportions. See how law enforcement officials show a lot of muscle for special Olympics athletes.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: On your mark, get set -

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LEMON: Oh, it's man and woman against machine today at Chicago's O'Hare Airport. Teams of 20 competed in the law enforcement torch run playing pool. It was an epic tug-of-war. Groups tried to drag a 90-ton airplane 20 feet. You know, teams are required to raise at least $1,000 to each participate. So the proceeds went to the contest they benefit, Special Olympics Illinois. Very nice.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10 p.m.. Thanks for watching.