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Hikers Back in U.S.; Obama Talks Jobs, Politics
Aired September 25, 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. Thank you so much for joining us. I'm Don Lemon. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSH FATTAL, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: After 781 days in prison, Shane and I are now free men.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: At long last, two Americans are back on U.S. soil. Their imprisonment in Iran finally over after more than two years. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer stepped off of a plane in New York today. They were released from Iran on Wednesday under $1 million bail deal brokered by the government of Oman.
Iran arrested Fattal and Bauer in July of 2009, along with a third American, Sarah Shourd, for supposedly crossing over the border from Iraq while hiking. All three were accused of being spies.
CNN's Susan Candiotti was there when the hikers spoke just a short time ago.
Susan, what did they have to say?
(AUDIO BREAK)
LEMON: Apparently, we are having trouble with Susan Candiotti who has been following that story.
We're going to listen to the hikers today as they spoke.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
FATTAL: We had to go on hunger strike repeatedly just to receive letters from our loved ones. Many times, too many times, we heard the screams of other prisoners being beaten, and there was nothing we could do to help them.
SHANE BAUER, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Though we'd like to be very clear, this was never about crossing the unmarked border between Iran and Iraq. We were held because of our nationality.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
LEMON: That was Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer. Again, they returned to the U.S. today. They were let go on Wednesday and they are back on U.S. soil.
Obviously, they are very happy. Their families are very happy. Sarah Shourd and Josh Fattal actually are engaged now, to be married. He made her a wedding ring out of a shirt that he wore in prison. But, again, the first time that they are speaking out on U.S. soil. You see all three hikers there.
Susan Candiotti is standing by for us live.
Susan, I hope all is well with you now and your live signal. Have they said anything about the reason that they were arrested in Iran? Where they confuse -- they said all along they didn't know that they were crossing the border. What have they said now that they are back?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, now that they are back, Don, they are saying pretty much what they said before, that if they had crossed the border, they didn't know that they had done so. On previous occasions, they said they were actually drawn across the border.
They did emphasize emphatically they are not spies. We do have a portion of what they said about that.
Do we have that ready?
OK. Let's take a listen.
LEMON: You had problems with your live shot but they talked about that. Here's my question. This is interesting because Bauer was critical of American policy at one point, wasn't he? Is he speaking about that at all?
CANDIOTTI: He sure was. As a matter of fact, what they are saying is -- and they maintain they have always held this position, all three of the hikers. They are critical, they said -- when they were being held, they claim, as hostages, political pawns, only because they were U.S. citizens, they said, because of bad blood between the Iran and the United States.
They said that their guards would tell them the reason that we're holding you in part because if you are I complaining about the conditions under which you are being held, well, what about the people who are being held at Guantanamo Bay? And they said, well, you know, we think the United States is wrong for treating people as they do, as they put it in secretive CIA prisons and in places like Guantanamo Bay.
But as these hikers put it, two wrongs don't make a right. And, Don, and that is a critical comment that may raise some eyebrows.
LEMON: All right. Susan Candiotti, thank you very much. We appreciate we apologize for the technical difficulties. Live television, sometimes, it happens.
President Obama is out west this hour speaking at a political fund-raiser in Washington state. And as you might imagine, he is getting a warm welcome from the partisan audience. We're looking at live pictures of the president speaking right now.
You know, he spent most of the speech promoting his jobs bill, a plan that's not popular among Republicans. And he also asked the crowd to help with his re-election. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I've come because I need you to help finish what we started in 2008. Back then, we started this campaign not because we thought it would be a cake walk. After all you supported a candidate named Barack Hussein Obama. You didn't need a poll --
(APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: You didn't a poll to know that that was no going to be easy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The president is speaking right now, live pictures you see. He is in Seattle, Washington, speaking at a Democratic event here. It's a partisan event. So, he is among a crowd who is very receptive.
You know, the president heads south to California for more fund- raisers later on this evening. Make sure you keep it here on CNN; we'll bring that to you.
Back in Washington, lawmakers are at odds again, this time over the budget. This time, it is a short-term spending bill that includes new disaster money for FEMA.
And on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," senators from both parties said they hope to avoid a shut down but they both insisted the other side is partially to blame.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: I give the Senate Democratic leader most of the credit. He manufactured a crisis all week, about disaster when there's no crisis. Everybody knows we're going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares, and that FEMA certifies. And the House sent over a bill that does that. The Senate should have approved it.
SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: One point of who to blame or not to blame on this current, hopefully, non-shutdown is that there is a group, and I do believe it is mostly centered in the House in terms of some of these Tea Party Republicans who say on every issue, we're going to make this a make or break.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, lawmakers have adjourned and they spent this weekend at home. They have until Friday, Friday to reach a deal.
You know, with his country close to revolution, Yemen's president today blamed terrorists for the deadly violence at anti-government protests.
Medics say one protester was killed today as Yemeni troops battled anti-government demonstrators in the capital. More than 200,000 turned out for the protests. On Saturday, 38 people were killed in clashes in the capital.
Well, today's address by President Ali Abdullah Saleh comes just two days after he returned to Yemen from Saudi Arabia where he was treated for injuries suffered in an assassination attempt. In a speech, he said al Qaeda is supported by the elements responsible for the violence.
Saudi Arabia is moving closer to equality for women. King Abdullah announced today that women will be able to vote and run for office. The change goes in to effect after Thursday's municipal elections, but no one knows when that will be. Thursday's election is only the second in the past 50 years. Still, the White House praised the move toward equality.
So much for the third time being a charm for Diana Nyad. The 62- year-old endurance swimmer reluctantly ended her latest attempt to swim the 103 miles from Cuba to Florida late this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA NYAD, FAILED IN 3RD CUBA TO FLORIDA SWIM: I owned it. I trained so damn hard for it. I deserve it. It is a hard thing to let go of.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: She is a good lady and a trooper. Nyad began her swim on Friday evening and projected it would take 60 hours to complete. She suffered jellyfish and man of war stings and was pushed off course by strong currents before being pulled to the water after 67 miles. Nyad made her first attempt 33 years ago. Her second attempt this last month ended after 29 hours.
Still ahead on CNN --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUN FIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus Christ!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A gunman opens fire near a stadium full of children playing football. We have information about how police took him out.
But, first, is Herman Cain now at the top of the GOP heap? And did Rick Perry's shaky debate performance help put him there? We are talking about politics right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's talk some politics right now. Call it a bolt to political lightning. Republican Herman Cain won this weekend's Florida straw poll and it wasn't even close. Maybe it had something to do with this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think Americans just don't know sometimes which Mitt Romney they are dealing with.
Is it the Mitt Romney was on the side of -- against the Second Amendment before he was for the Second Amendment? Was it before he was before the social programs from the standpoint of -- he was for standing up for Roe versus Wade before he was against first --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ooh. It hurts to look at, guys. Not a great debate for Rick Perry last week. Let's talk about it now: the straw poll and all of that with our regular CNN contributor Will Cain, and LZ Granderson, a CNN.com contributor and a senior writer at ESPN.
Will, so that was a cringe worthy moment. There's no doubt there. What do you think? Did Rick Perry make Herman Cain's win possible in the straw poll? Did it have anything to do with it?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
LEMON: Yes.
CAIN: I think Herman Cain winning the straw poll says much more about Rick Perry and to a lesser extent Mitt Romney than it does Herman Cain. It's essentially a vote of no confidence for Rick Perry. Listen, he tried hard in Florida. He wined and dined and breakfasted and gave private speeches to the straw poll voters but to come in a distant second is no bueno. This says a lot of what they think about Rick Perry.
LEMON: I mean, LZ, let's give the man his due. We are asking, you know, a question about Rick Perry when he won by a large margin the Florida straw poll. But the thing is, LZ, is Herman Cain now the man to beat? What's the reality here?
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: I'm sure he would like to think so. But the reason why he finished number one is because he was the most entertaining in the most recent debate. That's about it in a nutshell. I mean, he had some great responses that were humorous and people felt gook good about him, kind of like "American Idol."
But once it is all said and done and people go back home, you know, Herman Cain is not the man for the GOP.
LEMON: "American Idol" and politics. I like that. I like that.
You know, Perry stumbled has already restarted the Chris Christie rumors. But George Will, you know, he says the New Jersey governor is not the answer. And I think he said it more concisely than anyone. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE WILL, ABC NEWS: How many times and how many ways does a man have to say no before we quit running around in circles in this town because someone purporting to be a journalist purports to have known something? He has said over and over again he won't, and he won't.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Does that end it? Will that end, Will, the Chris Christy rumors? Probably not.
CAIN: No. Let me tell you what I think is going on here, Don. A minute ago, I said Mitt Romney was also someone who lost in the Herman Cain win in the straw poll because Romney put together a great debate performance. And let's not mistaken, he's been running in Florida for six years. So, for him to lose as well says something.
But here's what I think is happening -- before donors and supporters walk out on the field and support Mitt Romney, they are kind of stepping off the sidelines and looking and going, Chris, are you sure you are not getting in, Paul, one more time?
LEMON: Sure, before we do this, right?
CAIN: Before we do this Mitt Romney thing, are you sure, Christie?
LEMON: Yes, OK. Listen, LZ, one more moment that I want to talk about in this debate that made an impression. The boos after a gay soldier asked about "don't ask, don't tell." I want you to listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My question is, under one of your presidencies, do you intend to circumvent the progress that has been made for gay and lesbian soldiers in the military?
(BOOING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK, LZ, were they booing the soldier or were they booing the question?
GRANDERSON: Well, obviously, they were booing the soldier. And for me, the most disturbing part of that was the lack of compassion and response that came from the candidates. They need to step up and say we do not boo our servicemen. We do not boo our servicemen. We do not boo the men and women who sacrifice their lives so we can be free. And I did not hear that from the candidates. And to me, that was more disturbing part, more so than the booing.
LEMON: They said they didn't hear it. They didn't hear it.
Will, I have been to the debates. You are on the stage, I don't know, usually you can hear everyone in the audience. Will, do recoils, though, when they see this sort of thing happen at a GOP debate or any debate really?
CAIN: Yes. You know what, Don? Because you and I are talking about it right now, the way I see it, that was a guy, maybe three, four, or five guys who booed. It's not representative, I believe, of the GOP electorate. It wasn't representative of the crowd there that day.
But, yet, here we are today talking about those handful of jerks, and yet that probably turns off independence. But I hope they look at the bigger picture.
LEMON: You know, the former head of the RNC --
GRANDERSON: Will, handful of jerks?
LEMON: Go ahead, LZ.
GRANDERSON: I'm sorry. Just like handful of jerks? I mean, who has been the most resistant towards GLBT rights but the GOP. So to say just a handful of jerks is that a whole movement against GLBT. It's ridiculous, Will.
LEMON: Yes. Well, listen, that's going to have to be the last word.
CAIN: You know, whoa, whoa --
LEMON: Go ahead. I will let you finish.
CAIN: We are not talking about gay rights right now. We're not talking about gay marriage. We are talking about booing a gay soldier. Let's be very specific about what we're talking here.
And so, for me to say that's a couple of jerks, that's exactly what it was. And I don't want to have an entire ideology of conservatives painted by someone who had booed a gay soldier. That guy needs to go to hell and it doesn't represent conservatism.
LEMON: Well, I think the former head of the RNC, Michael Steele, I think, said it best. When you boo a soldier you are booing someone's son or granddaughter who has gone off to sacrifice their lives for us. So, it doesn't bode well with independents usually.
Thank you both. I appreciate it.
Pop star Michael Jackson's doctor accused of helping cause Jackson's death goes on trial this week. Next, a look at the cocktail of prescription drugs that police found inside Jackson's mansion.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This is our lead story last night, at 10:00 o'clock. It's in suburban Seattle, new details are coming out about a dramatic shootout you first saw last night here on CNN.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(GUN FIRE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jesus Christ!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That barrage of bullets came as police killed a 51-year- old gunman near a high school stadium in the town of Issaquah. Police say the unidentified man fired his first shot at a nearby elementary school where he tried to break into a car. And then from there, police say he attempted to get into the cab of a backhoe that was on school property. And police converged on the scene and exchanged shots with the man, killing him before he was able to get near the children and parents at the youth football game.
No one else was hurt.
Michael Jackson died two years ago but this week, the entire world is going to relive that shocking and heart-breaking news. Dr. Conrad Murray, who was Jackson's personal physician goes on trial in Los Angeles for his alleged role in the pop star's death. At the center of the case, a cocktail of high power, prescription drugs that belonged only in a hospital.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Michael Jackson, 50 years old. The King of Pop has died.
LEMON (voice-over): As news of Michael Jackson's death sent shock waves around the globe, the search for answers was just beginning.
CAPT. RUBEN DE LA TORRE, LOS ANGELES POLICE: Just looking for any evidence of foul play or anything like that.
LEMON: Within hours, investigators were on the scene of Jackson's Hollywood mansion. They soon discovered the singer had his own personal pharmacy. Some of the prescription drugs were labeled. Many were not.
The extent of Michael Jackson's drug use was starting to emerge. Some of his closest friends and family were stunned.
JERMAINE JACKSON, MICHAEL JACKSON'S BROTHER: I only knew of what he was taking to sleep. That's it. Now, hearing all of these other things which I can't even pronounce the words, I wasn't aware. That led to dependency on anything else, I would know. But I'm just saying that every time I saw Michael, he was 1,000 percent coherent -- 1,000 percent, with a smile on his face.
LEMON: Michael's addiction did run much deeper and many within his inner circle were aware.
Physician Deepak Chopra, a personal friend of Jackson says Michael once asked him to write a prescription for a narcotic.
DEEPAK CHOPRA, MICHAEL JACKSON'S FRIEND: I said I wasn't going to write a prescription and when I confronted him he started to cry. And he said, you don't understand, I'm in a lot of pain.
LEMON: Chopra says he feared for Jackson's death. And so along with a member of Michael's family, he arranged an intervention.
CHOPRA: He was upset and angry, burst no a temper, left the room.
LEMON (on camera): When do you think the drug use started?
RANDY TARABORRELLI, JACKSON BIOGRAPHER: I believe that a lot of it had to do with the stress of the 1993 allegations.
LEMON (voice-over): In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of sexually molesting a 13-year-old boy. Jackson strongly denied the allegations during a televised statement but eventually settled the case for $20 million. No charges were ever filed.
During that same televised statement, Jackson also admitted publicly he had a drug addiction.
MICHAEL JACKSON, KING OF POP: As you may already know, after my tour ended, I remained out of the country, going through treatment for a dependency on pain medication.
TARABORRELLI: Those allegations in '93, the first set of allegations, began the ruination of Michael.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Dr. Conrad Murray goes on trial next week. And I will be in Los Angeles all week to cover the trial for CNN and bring you the latest from the courtroom.
It's the end of an era in one Spanish city. The bulls are officially corralled. Why they are no longer running ahead when we go globe trekking, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Developing weather news. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is here with the look at the weather.
Jacqui, when it rains, it pours for parts of our country.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, we are watching a dangerous situation unfolding right now, Don, in Memphis, Tennessee. A tornado warning that's been in affect here for, oh, maybe the last 25 minutes or so. We've got a tower cam that I want to show you that we're watching.
There's been a lot of lightning associated with this, some low- hanging clouds. From time to time, we think we may have seen a wall cloud here. There, you can just see a lightning strike right there. So, this is for Fayette County, Shelby Counties are now under tornado warnings.
And this storm also has a history of producing some very large hail when it was over the state line before it moved in to Tennessee when it was in to Arkansas. We have seen reports of between golf ball and tennis ball-size hail. So, this is a dangerous storm. This is north of downtown Memphis. I'll show you this on the radar picture here. And there you can see the area that we're talking about.
So, it's kind of getting some bad data in here, because it's right over the radar site. So, this is the area we are talking about, compared to downtown. There are also multiple storms, which have developed to the south and west of there. So, there are more storms moving in to the area as we head through the rest of the evening.
There's a tornado watch in effect until 10:00 tonight for western parts of Tennessee, down into Mississippi, as well as in to Arkansas.
Now, on the north side of the system, we are just I looking at showers, maybe some embedded thundershowers, but it's really been a lousy day for you here. We've got an area of low pressure. It's cut off from the main jet stream. So, it's going to sit here for the next three days. So, a lot of wet, active weather is going to be expected.
Now, something else has been going on associated with this upper low is we've had a number of water spouts reported off of Lake Michigan. Take a look at these pictures. This is from yesterday morning. This was about two to five miles off the coast.
You can see them from Milwaukee. You can them from the Chicago area. And there were literally dozens of reports of this.
This is kind of an unusual thing that happens from time to time over Lake Michigan, Don. That water is so warm right now. It's 25 degrees warmer than the cold air that moved in and that helps produce some of that instability and why they had so many water spouts there yesterday.
So, a lot of rotations all over the place, Don. We'll continue to track those storms and if anything changes in Memphis, we'll let you know.
LEMON: Yes, I lived right on the lake and I can attest to that. Not that I saw them so much, but I know that it does happen. Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate it. JERAS: Sure.
LEMON: You know, every day, there are always -- lots of big stories happening overseas. CNN international desk editor Azadeh Ansari is here with some interesting news items that you might have heard about.
All right. Let's begin in Spain, because the centuries-old tradition is going to come to an end in that part of the country. Tell us about it.
AZADEH ANSARI, CNN INTERNATIONAL DESK EDITOR: That's right, Don. So, when you think of Spain and when you think of Barcelona, you think of bull fighting, right?
LEMON: Yes.
ANSARI: Well, today marked the end of an era that has been synonymous with Spain and traditional, the traditional sport. So, what we are seeing here are pictures -- well, some of them are a little too graphic. So, I don't want to get in to the details of that.
But what we're going to show you here is video of Jose Tomas. He's one of the most world renowned matadors or bull fighters. And you can see him here in his video and you can see a picture of him here, too, which he had his last bull fight today.
They're saying it's not -- bull fighting is not ending in Spain. It's just ending in Barcelona. I just want to be clear about that.
And this is La Monumental. It's the ring where the bullfighting took place. And the seats were sold out at the venue. You could not get a single ticket --
LEMON: I could only imagine. Yes.
ANSARI: -- to this event that took place today.
LEMON: As they say, Barcelona.
(LAUGHTER)
ANSARI: Barcelona.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: There you go.
Let's talk about Peru. There is a debilitating virus, one of the most debilitating viruses in the world, and no one has ever heard of it. Explain that.
ANSARI: It is called the stealth virus. It looks and acts like HIV. Here's the alarming part. It acts like HIV. It looks like HIV. It is transmitted like HIV, but it is not HIV. So it is called the HTLV-1 or human lymphotrophic virus. It's very prevalent in Latin America. About 20 million people carry this virus but only 20 percent, less than 20 percent actually, display characteristics of it.
We are looking at video from Lima, Peru. Here's a doctor who's on the cutting edge of this research. And what happens is that people who actually display symptoms of this have very weakened muscles and lose mobility in their legs.
LEMON: Wow.
ANSARI: Here's a girl who has it. She got the virus from her mother while she was being breast-fed as a child, but the mother didn't know she had the virus.
LEMON: Wow.
ANSARI: And so then she then passed it along to her daughter.
LEMON: Yes.
ANSARI: And there's no treatment for it as of right now. It's been around in Peru, specifically, for over 400 years.
LEMON: Very disturbing.
Finally, let's go to Mexico. The war on drug cartels claimed another high-profile victim.
ANSARI: This time, they targeted -- the drug cartels targeted an editor of a Mexican newspaper. As we know, just south of the border, Don, this continues to happen month after month after month. The violence continues to escalate. There seems to be no end in sight.
Also, in Acapulco, teachers have come out and said enough is enough. If you don't control this -- to the government, they are saying this -- then we will protest and not show up to class. We can't go on like this.
LEMON: It seems like every week or so we get reports of violence and bodies. It's just unbelievable.
Azadeh Ansari, thank you very much. We will be covering internationally this week.
Another dark moment for the economy. Wall Street suffered its worst week in nearly three years. Will it be better on Monday after the opening bell rings?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The stock market is coming off the worst week since the days since October, 2008. It is no laughing matter, but Jay Leno found a little humor in it. And I'll let him put it in perspective for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JAY LENO, HOST, THE TONIGHT SHOW: Bad day for the stock market. Down nearly 400 points. Ew.
AUDIENCE: Oh.
LENO: They are calling it the worst September meltdown since the Red Sox.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ouch. Sorry for the Red Sox fans out this. But the point is all eyes are on the market to see what happens when it opens in the morning.
I want to bring in financial reporter, Nicole Lapin, to get you prepared on what you can expect. Get ready. Fasten your seat belt.
So what happens, what is likely to happen --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: -- when Wall Street gets back to work, Nicole?
NICOLE LAPIN, FINANCIAL JOURNALIST: That I wish I knew. I wish Jay Leno or I -- it is either of our guesses. We would be in the wrong industry if we could actually tell you. But stock market futures, which are pretty good indicators of how the market will open, were slightly higher, last time I checked. They are in the green. So we could be getting a bounce from the beat-down we saw last week and that saw the Dow and the broader S&P 500 off 6.5 percent.
Let me tell you a secret about buying stocks in the stock market. It is similar to buying groceries at the grocery store, at the supermarket. When things are on sale, which is another way of looking at what the market is doing right now, there are a lot of bargain hunters, Don. So we could see a little bump when Wall Street opens tomorrow morning.
LEMON: Yes. Listen, there's lots of concern about the European -- Europe, the markets there. This current crisis in Europe, I hear it could make the 2008 meltdown look tame by comparison. I wonder if you are hearing anything like that from the IMF and World Bank meeting in Washington.
LAPIN: That's actually the scariest thing I'm hearing right now, Don, as leaders meet in Washington right now, is that it could make 2008 look like small potatoes, because 2008, remember, was a banking crisis that stemmed from the housing sector. And this could be much worse. This could be a solvency crisis, versus a liquidity crisis. Because leaders don't know how fast and how far this is actually spreading in terms of contagioncy (ph). And that is really stemming from the bad guys, like Greece, Italy, Ireland, Portugal. We don't know how far and how fast it is spreading. That's one of the concerns we are hearing from Geithner, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, coming out of Washington today, saying it could affect their banking sector, which could come over here and make 2008 look like a walk in the park.
LEMON: As far as the markets tomorrow, we will get some indication when the European markets start to open, the Asian markets start to open. Not long from now. That may give us an indication of what will happen in the U.S. But the oil markets, Nicole, are affected, but it is not a bad thing, such a bad thing for consumer because at least, in the short term, gas is under $3 in some states.
LAPIN: It could be a silver lining for those consumers. You are right, Don. But look, look oil cuts both ways. It could be a short- term stimulus for consumers because they are spending less to fill up their tanks. So presumably, they will spend more on stuff like dinner and clothes. But on the flip side, it also shows weakening global demand. That cuts in longer term to consumer sentiment, consumer confidence and fear of things like the markets that we just talked about of Europe as well. So folks are not actually spending like we would hope them to be spending.
I would say, and this may not make me the most popular lady on the show tonight, but perhaps, deal with a little pain at the pump right now, because that could be nothing compared to what we are looking ahead to if we do see this continue, global weakening in term of not only the energy sector but a global economic recovery.
LEMON: Nicole Lapin. Thank you.
LAPIN: Just keeping it real.
LEMON: Yes. Yes, you are.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Thank you. We appreciate it.
LAPIN: Always great to see you.
LEMON: An agonizing choice for the American children of an illegal immigrant, stay in the country they know and love, or follow their parents back to a strange land. The story of a girl who had to make that decision is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Imagine being born in America, spending most of your childhood here and then, one day, being deported. That's what often happens to the sons and daughters of illegal immigrants when their parents are discovered. It's a heart-breaking dilemma with no easy answers.
And as part of the CNN special, "Latino in America, II, In her Corner," our Thelma Gutierrez introduces us to one of these families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I first met Julie QUIROZ when she was 13. She was in the middle of one of the most tumultuous times of her life. Her mother and brothers had just been deported to Mexico. Her family was about to be separated for good.
We followed Julie's story for four years to document the impact of deportation and separation on American children born to undocumented parents. There are an estimated four million kids just like her.
Julie's nightmare began in 2006, when immigration agents arrested her mother, a hotel maid, who had been working without documents in Burien, Washington.
JULIE QUIROZ, FAMILY DEPORTED: I was there when they handcuffed her. I was there when they took her down.
GUTIERREZ: Julie's mother, Anna, her step father and two older brothers, who had come to the United States when they were just toddlers, were all deported. Julie and her sister, Sharis, both Americans and still children, had no choice but to follow.
Julie was a stranger in a foreign land. And that's when we first found her, in a cramped house in the middle of Mexico City, where Anna sold tacos on the street, Sharis played on the asphalt, and Julie had dropped out of school.
(on camera): How did you do in school?
QUIROZ: Really bad. Just come home, sit down, cry, and say, Mom, I can't do it.
GUTIERREZ: Why?
QUIROZ: I can't read or write Spanish.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): When Texas businessman, Joe Kennard, read about Julie's plight, he contacted her mother and arranged for her to move to Texas with his family so she could continue her education.
JO KENNARD, ORGANIZATION TO HELP CITIZEN CHILDREN & TEXAS BUSINESSMAN: You might make the argument she deserved what she got because she was an adult and knew the consequences and the choice, et cetera. But why the children? They are born here. They are U.S. citizens.
GUTIERREZ: It was a huge opportunity for Julie but an incredibly painful decision for her family.
That was four years ago. Julie is now 17. She told me that just thinking about the day she left her mother behind in Mexico still causes her heart to drop.
QUIROZ: I just remember we were holding hands and just slid apart, and I went my way and she went her way. I looked back once. She was looking and never turned around again because she was crying. I don't want to see my mama cry. GUTIERREZ: So Joe Kennard hired an attorney, and after several years of fighting their case in court, Julie's mom was granted a temporary work visa to return to the United States.
QUIROZ: Mommy!
(CROSSTALK)
(LAUGHTER)
GUTIERREZ: It was a bittersweet reunion.
Back in Burien, Washington, Julie and Sharis are now living with their mother.
GUTIERREZ (on camera): Do you mix Mexico?
SHARIS HERNANDEZ, JULIE'S SISTER: Yes.
GUTIERREZ: What do you miss the most about it?
HERNANDEZ: I miss my dad.
GUTIERREZ: Sharis would prefer to be in Mexico because her dad is there. And you prefer here because you grew up here. It is a difficult the spot for kids to be in, isn't it?
QUIROZ: They have no choice basically.
GUTIERREZ: (SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE).
I asked Anna if she had any regrets about putting her children in such a difficult position. She said, yes, because she brought her oldest children in to the U.S. when they were very young, and that they are suffering because of the decisions she made. But she says she also did it for them, to give them an opportunity for a better life.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
Julie and Sharis savor these moments with their mother, and say they have faith the rest of the family will one day be reunited.
Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Burien, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Tonight, Soledad O'Brien introduces you to a Latina boxer about to face the fight of her life as she attempts to make her Olympic dreams a reality. CNN's "Latino in America, In Her Corner," tonight at 8:00 p.m. eastern, only on CNN.
Baseball goes Hollywood. Check out the cover of this week's "Sports Illustrated." Who is that guy? The next athletics ace? Not quite. We will talk about with "Sports Illustrated's" Jon Wertheim, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The baseball playoffs get underway this week with the wild card team in each league still up for grabs.
Joining us now to talk about it, Jon Wertheim, "Sports Illustrated."
And fittingly, there's this week's cover. Wait. Who is that guy in the Oakland A's cap? Huh? We will talk about that later on.
But first, Jon, let's talk about the playoffs. A couple of weeks ago, the Atlanta Braves and Boston Red Sox appeared to be locks for the wild card spots and now they are fighting to hang on. What the heck happened?
JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Imploding. No, it is fascinating. We didn't really have much this the way of a playoff race. All of a sudden, this season is going to come down to the last day it looks like. The Braves are barely hanging on over St. Louis. And the big story is the Red Sox, who are having a miserable September, right now, they have a half game lead. It is one of these things where, even if they make it, you wonder what they will bring in to the post season. This has just been a real collapse. And we'll see if they can hang on to the slight lead the next few days.
LEMON: Yes. Let's talk about the Philadelphia Phillies. They easily had the best record for most of the season but they had lost eight in a row going in to today. Are they still favored to win the World Series still?
WERTHEIM: Yes, I think they are. Remember, they clinched (ph), so maybe the urgency isn't there. They were in New York this week. They have such a great pitching rotation, four ace starters. You really have to look at them as the favorite. The Yankees probably second, but I wouldn't read too much into this recent slide from the Phillies.
LEMON: All right, let's talk about the labor beat, Jon. We can't talk sports without strikes or lockouts.
(LAUGHTER)
Are we going to have pro basketball this year?
WERTHEIM: We may have it but it doesn't look like it will start on time. Remember, the NFL, they were talking about how to basically divide the $9 billion profit, this big pie. The NBA is different. You have more than half of the owners saying, hey, we are losing money. You don't have the public -- the public wanted their pro football. You don't sense that with the NBA. They have already canceled pre-season games. And, boy, these sides are far apart. It will be interesting to see this ends up playing out because, right now, it looks pretty grim.
LEMON: All right. NFL controversy now, the controversy of the week, the so-called flop by a couple of New York Giants apparently faking injuries. Let's look at it right there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: Go down and fake injuries.
ANNOUNCER: Yes, I --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Jon, explain this. What were they doing?
WERTHEIM: You don't think they were really hurt? You don't think both those guys miraculously went down on the same play?
LEMON: I'm hurt. I'm hurt.
WERTHEIM: The Giants need a better choreographer. This has been happening at some level for a few years. It reminds fans of the other -- of the other football, soccer. We saw it in the World Cup. Players taking a dive. Maybe they are tired, it slows the clock. But the NFL cracked down they put out this morning, saying, look, this is -- you could lose draft picks, suspensions, fines. We will see if it continues. They call it scuba, you know, taking a dive. The football term is scuba.
LEMON: Yes.
WERTHEIM: It has been building for a few years. We'll see if we see more of this throughout the NFL season.
LEMON: It is common but they are taking steps to prevent it. But finally, finally, OK, Jon, Brad Pitt on the cover of "S.I." for his movie "Money Ball." Take a little listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRAD PITT, ACTOR: What can he do?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Go out on the street?
PITT: What have you got?
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: He gets on base.
PITT: We are card counting at the black jack table. We are going to turn the odds on the casino.
I'm heading in. Text me the play-by-play.
UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: Wait. What?
PITT: I don't watch games.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jon, the movie has gotten great reviews. Pitt is playing Billy Bean. That is his character. And Billy Bean, a big influence on the game, I'm sure. Did it work for his team over the long haul, his influence and what he did?
WERTHEIM: It worked for a period. We're talking about -- that scene you showed was great. It showed you have these old-school scouts relying on their gut versus new-school analytics and data to assess players. And what the A's did allowed them to compete for a while. The problem is everybody caught on to this tactic, if you want to call it that. Now everyone is playing "Money Ball." Everyone uses these analytics. And the Oakland A's are well under 500. So it worked in the short term, helped baseball, but it really didn't change much in the long run.
LEMON: "Money Ball." And what's the book called again, Jon Wertheim?
WERTHEIM: "Scorecasting." It's got a little "Money Ball" in it.
LEMON: "Scorecasting," "Sports Illustrated. That's the book, the author of the book.
Thank you very much, Jon Wertheim. We appreciate it.
Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras told us just a few minutes ago about a tornado warning in the Memphis area. And we are going to get the latest on that situation after a quick break.
But first I want to tell you about this vacation. It is time for rest, relaxation and for some exhilaration, of course? Adventure tourism is on the rise.
CNN's Alison Kosik has some tips to make the most of your experience when you are "On the Go."
(ON THE GO)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Our meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras, has been following a tornado warning in the Memphis area.
Jacqui, what's the update on that?
JERAS: Well, the warning has expired. That's the good news. But there was a funnel cloud spotted. A lot of lightning with the storm. I believe we have video from the tower cam to show you from the tower cam. A tornado warning was in effect for a half hour there. The funnel was five miles north of the city. A close call for Memphis. The warning is over with for now. However, a watch remains in effect. Conditions still favorable for tornados to develop. and we will be watching the area through the evening. The watch will go until 10:00 local time for tonight.
Now, this is part of the weather system. It is associated with what we call an upper level low, which is up here across the great lakes. And it's cut off from our main jet stream pattern, which means there's nothing to move it out of the way. So Milwaukee, Chicago, Indianapolis, Cincinnati, this dreary weekend you have had, unfortunately, will continue into the work week, probably at least until say Thursday, when things look better. It will be warm across the Rockies. It will also be warm ahead of that system. Watch for some nice near-80-degree temperatures tomorrow for New York City and Washington, D.C. Denver up to 87 degrees.
And last, but not least, we are keeping an eye on the tropics. Ophelia is post tropical. So no longer concerned about. And we have Tropical Storm Philippe, but nothing expected to hit land anytime soon -- Don?
LEMON: Post tropical, that's good.
JERAS: Yes.
LEMON: Thank you very much. We appreciate it, Jacqui Jeras.
The next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
