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Greek PM To Resign To Get Support Of Bailout Deal, Austerity Plan
Aired November 06, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
It is big news in Europe with major impact potential here in the U.S. Greece's prime minister is expected to resign possibly in the coming days after a new temporary coalition government is formed. George Papandreou says that's the only way a drastic and unpopular bailout package would pass in Greece's parliament.
CNN's Jim Boulden is in Athens with the reason why officials consider that bailout package so important.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIM BOULDEN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: If Greece can't do that, many people fear it would then go bankrupt. It would be very, very difficult for the euro to survive, for Greece to survive in the euro, if it goes bankrupt. Banks could then stop lending to each other, recession could come back to Europe, that could affect the European markets. And especially affect the U.S. market just think what happened after Lehman Brothers collapsed in 2008.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Jim Boulden, thanks so much.
Analysts say a bankrupt Greece would also drag the economies of European countries beginning with Italy and Spain.
In this country for the second time in less than 24 hours, an earthquake shakes central Oklahoma. The latest one hit right before midnight Eastern Time, measuring a record 5.6. It was centered near Sparks about 45 miles from Oklahoma City.
ED MURRAY, KWTV ANCHOR: Having an earthquake right now. Our lights shaking quite a bit here. It is now calming down as another earthquake has just hit. I still hear a few lights rattling in our studio. And we will -- we still have our -- see our Duratran (ph) back here, I don't know if you can see behind us, still shaking here in Oklahoma City. We do not know the epicenter as it just now happened.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: More on that quake in a moment.
In Connecticut now, more than 100,000 homes and businesses are still without power. More than a week after a freak snowstorm paralyzed the Northeast. The governor sent National Guard troops to help utility crews. And he is asking the state attorney general to investigate the power company, which promised to have the lights on by midnight tonight.
Back now to Oklahoma where the ground has been shaking this weekend. A record 5.6 magnitude quake hit near Sparks overnight, less than 24 hours earlier, a smaller quake hit closer to Prague. Michael Seiden, with KOCO, got an early look at some of the damage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL SEIDEN, REPORTER, KOCO NEWS: This is the epicenter. Just take a look here, you can see broken glass littered all over the kitchen floor of this two-bedroom home. We're finding stuff like tea, I mean it is essentially somebody just dumped out the kitchen cabinets.
What I want to show you, though, as we move through this house, you see all that broken glass all over the kitchen. Coming into the living room, I want you to take a look at this. You see this brick that's coming through, the top of the roof, that is actually the chimney. This earthquake shook this house so hard the chimney collapsed, came through the roof and if you get a better look out here you can see where a piece of the chimney actually collapsed on an outside bench.
Now, fortunately, the homeowner and his wife were not hurt. They were just getting ready for bed. And that's when they describe their house just rumbling, pictures falling off the walls. The good thing is, though, a lot of people out here were familiar with the tornadoes but not the earthquake but the homeowner here tells me they do have insurance.
Those assessors, as the sun starts to rise, will be out here. They are going to assess the damage. But again, the biggest fear right now, is that aftershock that we've been feeling all over the state could come and force this chimney to come crashing down to the floor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Wow. Scary moments there in Oklahoma.
Jacqui Jeras with us now. So, lots of aftershocks, typically after a pretty sizable quake. Is that the case here?
JACQUI JERAS, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: That is the case. They go down in magnitude. That's the good news, we think this is probably the biggest one they're going to be having at this time and there have been a ton of aftershocks. As many as 30 or so have occurred and that's just in the last 24 hours or so since that initial 4.7, which was very early on Saturday morning, and then the bigger one happened just before midnight last night. There's the location of both of them. Close to each other. And the dots that you see on the map, those are all the aftershocks that occurred near them and the color coding just has to do with how recent they are. It has nothing to do with how strong they've been. The red one is the most recent. And most of the magnitudes of these by the way are about 3.0 or so for the aftershocks.
When you talk about something like a 5.6, that's what we would consider a moderate earthquake and it will cause some damage to buildings, but usually not major damage. There was only one report of somebody injured. They happen to hit their head on the wall but I understand everybody is OK. That's the good news. What's considered about a 3.0, the aftershocks that's minor. When things are unstable like the chimneys, maybe something hanging by a thread, just a little shaking can cause some of the problems.
You might say to yourself, wow, Oklahoma, earthquake? What? Well, yeah. It's happened before. And there's actually a significant fault line here called the Mears Fault. That's in Southwestern Oklahoma. They think this is like 130 years old and it's been a long time since they've had a major earthquake on this thing. The strongest quake they think-didn't have seismographs back then-so we don't know, 1,300 years for sure, but they are estimating between a 6.5 and 6.7 earthquake at that time.
We don't think that there would be a big one like the Chile quake, for example, that would cause catastrophic damage in places like there. Also by the way, just for a quick mention, Fredricka, this shows you where people felt it. People from Texas all the way up into Iowa.
WHITFIELD: That's a large area.
JERAS: And into Illinois.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my goodness. Scary stuff.
JERAS: A little bit.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much, Jacqui.
Now to the child sex abuse scandal rocking Penn State University. A former coach for the Nittany (ph) Lions football team is accused of molesting boys. Jerry Sandusky denies the charges. Two school officials accused in the alleged cover-up are expected to turn themselves in tomorrow. Our Susan Candiotti digging into this long list of charges.
Susan?
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.
You know, what sets apart the sex assault charges against yet another coach is this -- who the coach is, Jerry Sandusky, who worked for, Penn State, who made a key allegation, an eyewitness who said he saw an attack happen. And questions about a possible cover-up. Penn State's former long-time Assistant Coach Jerry Sandusky, who is a venerated figure in that school's program, 67 years old, accused of sexually assaulting at least eight boys some as young as 11, at several locations, including Penn State locker rooms. Pennsylvania's attorney general said the boys were all part of Sandusky's own charity. A mentoring program called Second Mile that he founded. The case covers 1994 through 2009. Also charged Timothy Curley, the current Penn State Athletics director, and Gary Schultz, Penn State's senior VP for finance. They are accused of failing to report the alleged sex assault of a young boy to police and then lying about it to a grand jury.
A key allegation against the retired coach, comes from a grad assistant who testified he saw Sandusky having sex with a boy in a locker room shower. Reported it to head Coach Joe Paterno. Paterno told the university athletic director. And Paterno is not accused of any criminal wrongdoing. Pennsylvania's top prosecutor says the failure of Penn State officials to report the allegation to police allowed a suspected predator to abuse more kids. Some question what the possible victims in that mentoring program must think now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE WISE, SPORTS COLUMNIST, "WASHINGTON POST": I can't imagine how many now think to themselves, did the coach know? Did Joe Pa, the great Joe Pa know that his defensive coordinator was keeping young boys in his company, and what he was doing to them? That to me, if I'm an abuse victim, that's what I'm asking today. How many people knew about Jerry Sandusky in the Penn State program?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: Now Penn State's president issued a statement defending the school and it reads in part "The allegations about a former coach are troubling and it is appropriate that they be investigated thoroughly. Protecting children requires the utmost vigilance. Tim Curly and Gary Schultz have my full support. I have complete confidence in how they have handled the allegations about a former university employee."
Now Sandusky surrendered yesterday and is out on bail. Through his attorney he denies the charges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSEPH AMENDOLA, JERRY SANDUSKY'S ATTORNEY: Jerry's very, very depressed. He's very upset. He's very distraught about the charges, the allegations, and the knowledge that regardless of whether he eventually proves his guilt or innocence, that people are going to think he did this stuff.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: The two Penn State officials are expected to surrender tomorrow and the attorney general says the investigation is far from over. Fred, we also have not heard from Sandusky's former mentoring program, which still exists called Second Mile.
WHITFIELD: So Susan, what's the period of time, the span of time that these alleged assaults took place?
CANDIOTTI: A good decade, at least 10 years. And investigators are saying that now that this information is coming out, is being made public, they would not be surprised if they heard from additional alleged victims.
WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti from New York, thank you so much.
Commercial flights between New York City and Cuba resume today. A charter company in partnership with Delta Air Lines began weekly flights to Havana from JFK Airport. The U.S. government relaxed restrictions on travel to Cuba earlier this year. Other international airports in the U.S. are applying to host flights to Cuba.
GOP presidential candidate Herman Cain, dogged by sexual harassment allegations, are they impacting his spot as the virtual frontrunner? Details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. It is the hour's top story, trying to keep the major economies in Europe from tumbling into bankruptcy. The pivot point today is Greece. That's where the prime minister could resign today, or in the coming days, in a wave of economic turmoil that could impact markets around the world. Live to Athens now and CNN's Diana Magnay.
So, Diana, what do we know about George Papandreou's plans for the coming days?
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, basically he has had a long weekend of discussions. He has met with the president, the opposition has met with the president. There's just been a big cabinet meeting all it to try to form a new national unity government that can carry the terms of the bailout agreed with the European Union on October 26th, really to save Greece, to carry that and implement that plan.
We are hearing that really, you know, we are approaching the end game of that process. The president, the leader of the opposition, Mr. Samaras, and Mr. Papandreou all meeting with the president right now. And they are discussing who could be a possible follow on prime minister in Mr. Papandreou's place.
He has apparently said to the opposition I have one condition and that is that you must stick to the terms of the bailout in their entirety. Otherwise, I won't step down. If you agree with that, if you agree to a national unity government, then we can name a new leader and I will step aside. And we believe that that might happen, if there's an agreement reached tonight, we could have a new government by tomorrow.
WHITFIELD: And Diana, what are citizens saying about Papandreou's possible resignation?
MAGNAY: People have been very uncertain what to think. Because things have flip flopped so much even over the last week, previously the positions yesterday-actually this morning-the positions of the opposition, and of the ruling party, were as follows -- the opposition said we want snap elections. And we want to sort of cherry pick the terms of the bailout. And Papandreou's party said we want elections further down the line. We must implement the bailout before elections are due.
Opinion polls said most people believe that it was right to have later elections, that calling snap elections now would throw the whole process into upheaval. I think the people are very, very disappointed in George Papandreou as a prime minister. They also, though, don't really believe that Mr. Samaras is the man to lead them forward, either.
They're pretty fed up with all of their politicians for having gotten them into this mess in the first place. I think it will be reassuring for the country, and Europe, to see some kind of unifying consensus agreed across the parties. And that's what they're working so hard to try and achieve right now.
WHITFIELD: All right. Diana Magnay, thanks so much from Athens.
All right. In this country today, marks one year out from the presidential election. GOP hopeful Herman Cain is still being dogged by sexual harassment allegations, but at last night's Tea Party debate in Texas, it sounded like a love fest almost. Listen to what his GOP rival Newt Gingrich had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NEWT GINGRICH, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Herman's role in turning around Godfather Pizza, which he was sent into when it was a very troubled company and the degree to which and enthusiastic, positive, solutions oriented leader, suddenly changes the team.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right. Let's bring in Will Cain, CNN contributor and columnist with the blaze.com. The team, that's interesting.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Hi, Fred.
WHITFIELD: How are you? So was this a debate or was this kind of like a new alliance between Gingrich and Cain?
CAIN: No, I think it was a debate. It was a conversation that focused on substance and issues and the fact that they agree on many of those issues didn't mean it wasn't a serious debate. Beyond symbolizing somewhat of a team between these two guys I think there's also a really smart strategy going on with Newt Gingrich right now.
WHITFIELD: Really? What do you mean? CAIN: We have seen over months this kind of -- I think we've seen a cycle. We have seen Michele Bachmann, Rick Perry, and now Herman Cain, rise up to be the alternative to Romney. Herman Cain is encountering trouble, the one man who hasn't gotten involved in the blame game where the campaign blames Rick Perry for leaking sexual harassment charges. Perry says it was Mitt Romney, the one man who stood above this is Newt Gingrich. He is the one who has invoked Reagan's 11th Commandment, "Thou shall not speak ill of another conservative."
In fact, he has spoken very nicely of Herman Cain. I think what you could almost see is him currying the Herman Cain fandom, the Herman Cain electorate out there, that might move on and put Newt Gingrich in position to be the next guy to rise up to be the alternative to Romney.
WHITFIELD: How do you explain when you talk about alternatives, Herman Cain's campaign can be considered an alternative to what is usually the traditional campaign. Nothing traditional about whether the way he's handling the allegations or the way he's handling the press. Is there something about his nontraditional ways that best explains his rise in the polls and rise that he is experiencing as it pertains to fund raising?
CAIN: Not just-100 percent. And not just does that explain his rise in the polls it explains the conservative base's reaction to the sexual harassment claim, which has been largely to circle the wagons around Herman Cain.
Look, it is three things. It's Herman Cain as a man, he's charming, he's funny, he's likable. People want to believe him. It's Herman Cain as the symbol. What you just described. He is the outsider, he brings something new to politics. He doesn't come pressed out of a mold as a politician who gives you canned answers. He says something, seemingly, off the hip. Like he's winging it. Herman Cain, this as you just described, this kind of nontraditional campaign is totally working in his favor.
WHITFIELD: OK. And best example, last night. He kind of shows shoot from the hip, he may be charming as you say and may be very likable, but he agencies also kind of -- he's showing his disdain for the press. Take a listen to how he handled the press last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HERMAN CAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If you all listen, if you all just listen, for 30 seconds, I will explain this one time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Could you sit down at the microphones for us, sir?
H. CAIN: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No, no.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why not in? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time for us to trade places, everybody, so Mr. Cain -
(CROSS TALK)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's time for us to trade places.
H. CAIN: See what I mean? You all -- I was going to do something that my staff told me not to do, and try to respond. OK. What I'm saying is this --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you --
H. CAIN: We are getting back on message.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you, Mr. Cain.
H. CAIN: End of story. Back on message. Read all of the other accounts. Read all of the other accounts. Where everything has been answered, end of story, we're getting back on message, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, Will, I wonder if this is potentially going to backfire, whether his temperament is going to continue to upstage any message that he may want to get out about his campaign?
CAIN: Yeah. I think so. That's my guess, Fredricka. You know, it's almost like this kind of shooting from the hip, this winging it approach that offers so much of an alternative to traditional political campaign also comes with an expiration date. We've seen Herman Cain develop a bad habit of saying things that he has to then back off of and then modifies and puts them back out there.
Whether it is his position on abortion or putting electrified fence on the Mexican border or trading prisoners from Guantanamo Bay for captured U.S. troops; he's said things, almost seeming like he's unprepared for the question, winging it, had to change it.
This has lent some level of charm to his campaign, but it also has exhibited a bad habit that sooner or later will catch up to him. You know, I'm not a psychologist, not a psychiatrist, but why does he continue to appear unprepared? You know, there is a kind of guy out there, successful businessman, which Herman Cain is, whose confidence level and ability to talk people into things, influence, persuade, exceeds reality. Sooner or later you have to prepare, you have to know ahead of time what you're going to talk about. I learned that in this business.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good points there. Appreciate that, Will Cain, thanks so much.
Of course, all of you at home want to join us again, 4:00 Eastern Time, when we dedicate an entire hour to more talk about the presidential contenders in the 2012 election. Will Cain will be back to talk about where President Obama stands one year from election day now.
Learning to fight back, women increase their odds of surviving an attack by learning self-defense. That's coming up after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Top stories straight ahead and do you recognize this photo from the '60s? Of course, you do. There Olympians John Carlos and Tommy Smith. Carlos on the right, then they were protesting racial discrimination, making a stand for human rights as a whole. And now, John Carlos is part of the Occupy Movement. He will be joining us momentarily to explain.
Being responsible for your own safety, it's something every woman should consider. Elizabeth Cohen has more in today's "Health For Her".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
911 OPERATOR: Police department.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A man is trying to break in my door!
COHEN (voice over): This woman calling 911 was hoping to be rescued.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why are you here? Why?
COHEN: The police arrived too late to stop the attack. She was raped, but survived.
She gave 100 percent of the responsibility for her safety to somebody else.
COHEN: These women are learning about that case and how they can avoid becoming a victim.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Since you are the only one guaranteed to be there.
COHEN: The average police response time in mid to large cities in the United States is more than 10 minutes. What you do before police arrive can mean the difference between life and death.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they want your purse, give it to them. Because your life is worth protecting and is valuable. And we can replace a purse.
COHEN: If they can't diffuse a dangerous situation these women learn to fight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Step back, no!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No!
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your target area? The face. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No!
COHEN: They practice thrusting fingers to the eyes. Fists or palms to the face.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No!
COHEN: Aiming for the groin, never forgetting.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If they want you to move to a different location do not do it. It is a death sentence.
COHEN: These women now know they have a fighting chance.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Armed assailant taken down by 76-year-old grandma.
COHEN: As they take charge of their own safety. With this week's "Health For Her," I'm Elizabeth Cohen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Taking matters into his own hands the CEO of Starbucks has a plan to get people back to work, and it includes you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The latest U.S. Department Labor report shows a slight slow down in new jobs added, but lower unemployment. The report released two days ago, employers added 80,000 jobs. That's down from the summer. But the national unemployment rate is down, 9 - uh, down 0.1 percent to an even 9 percent, lowest unemployment rate since April.
Starbucks wants your money to help create jobs across America. The giant coffee chain is selling wristbands and the proceeds go to a group that makes loans to small businesses. Starbucks' CEO Charles Schultz sat down with our own Poppy Harlow in a one-on-one interview to talk about the program.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Right now, in Starbucks across the country, you will find these wristbands and the company is asking for a $5 donation, and then you get a wristband, to try to help create jobs in America. All that money is going to go help fund small business loans. The big question is, why is Starbucks asking for your money to create jobs? We asked Howard Schultz, the CEO, take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD SCHULTZ, CEO, STARBUCKS: The real issue here is we have 9 percent unemployment in America, it is almost doubled that in the Hispanic and African-American community. People are losing faith and hope in America. And I'm saying to businesses and leaders across the country let's not wait for Washington. We, too, can make a difference. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: Fredricka, the back story is very interesting. This move comes on the heels of a pledge that Howard Schultz made earlier this year to stop any campaign donations to politicians until Washington really gets its fiscal house in order and a long-term debt plan. And he pledged to hire. He went as far to ask business leaders across the country also to join his pledge to hire Americans.
Now I asked him if he thinks there's a moral obligation for business owners in this country, right now, in this jobs crisis to hire? He said it's not a moral obligation, but he's encouraging businesses to do whatever they can and invest the money they have in creating jobs in this country. He explained why he thinks it is so important for businesses to do that right now. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCHULTZ: The old school of looking at profit as a singular goal for the reason a company exists I think is a shallow, wrong approach. I also believe that those companies that are willing to embrace the balance between profitability and a social conscience will make more money. You will be able to attract and retain greater people because they will believe in the reservoir of trust of the company.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARLOW: You can see a lot more from our interview of Howard Schultz, we have it all right there on CNNMoney. But certainly, Fredricka, an interesting move by a very, very big American business. Back to you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Poppy.
A political turmoil, economic disaster costing one European leader his job. Now comes the impact on the rest of the world. Details straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Head's up, an asteroid the size of a big plane is expected to fly by earth in just a couple of days. Jacqui Jeras with us now tracking it.
OK, we had visions of the, you know, pieces of debris from that satellite that were the size of a school bus and now we've got something even bigger.
JERAS: Asteroid.
WHITFIELD: What's going on? It seems like all of a sudden, right?
JERAS: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Raining a lot of interesting stuff. JERAS: It has. Well, we also have the science to track some of this stuff now and so we're a little bit more aware of it these days than we used to be. That helps most definitely.
OK, this is an asteroid. It's called kind of a funky name, 2005 YU55 to be exact. It's going to be getting close to the earth but not so close that we're worried about it hitting us. This is the moon, this is the earth. This is a nice little map I got from space.com.
Great web site, by the way, if you're a space enthusiast and so basically, this asteroid is going to be moving a little bit closer than the distance between the earth and moon. So it's going to get right within that orbit, right in here.
This is going to be happening on Tuesday night about 6:30 p.m. Eastern Standard Time. Hopefully you set your clocks back. We have video to show to kind of show it to you. You know, an asteroid is usually like a big chunk of something, right?
Made of some kind of compound or rock and it orbits around the sun and this is going to be getting close to us. Now, about every hundred thousand years or so, one does hit the earth. That's the big theory of what happened to the extinction of dinosaurs, at least some people believe that.
So this is pretty big in size. It's 1,300 feet in diameter. So if you do the math, that's about four football fields or larger than an aircraft carrier. Yes, that's pretty large.
WHITFIELD: Huge.
JERAS: That would cause a lot of damage with that thing hitting the earth. But the cool thing about all this really, Fredricka, is that while you can't see it with the visible you should be able to see it with a really good telescope.
Scientists are going to be able to study this because it's getting so close to us without doing some kind of a mission or anything like that.
WHITFIELD: That is fascinating stuff. What's the location if people want to check it out?
JERAS: You have been to in the northern hemisphere and so you just have to look with the telescope. Best chance is if you live along the east coast.
WHITFIELD: All right, excellent. Thanks so much, Jacqui.
JERAS: Sure. A look at our top stories right now.
This is exactly -- this is likely to be the moment that the prime minister may have been regretting. George Papandreou, the Greek prime minister, is expected to step down after the particulars of a new coalition government are finalized. The move is designed to try and save Greece from national bankruptcy that would drag down other European nations.
Take a look at these live pictures from the White House. Protesters are trying to keep President Obama from building the Keystone pipeline. The pipeline would carry crude oil from Alberta, Canada, north of Montana, to Texas. The $7 billion project would create thousands of jobs, but protesters say it could contaminate drinking water.
And former heavyweight boxing champ, Joe Frazier has liver cancer. Frazier's manager says the 67-year-old is seriously ill and currently in hospice care in Philadelphia. He was diagnosed just last month. Fans will remember that Frazier was the first man to beat Muhammad Ali back in 1971, but he lost two later bouts with Ali.
And legendary performer, Andy Williams says he is suffering from bladder cancer. Williams broke the news to concertgoers last night during a Christmas concert in Branson, Missouri. Andy Williams is 83. He has been singing professionally since childhood.
Straight ahead, Olympic medallist, John Carlos talks about this moment in his life, the moment he raised his fist in protest of discrimination.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: It was an iconic moment in Olympic history. More than 40 years ago, American track and field medallist, John Carlos and Tommy Smith raising their fists on the medal stands. That was 1968, Mexico City.
Carlos is now talking about that powerful moment in his book "The John Carlos Story, the Sports Moment That Changed the World." Today, he's also taking a stand in the "Occupy Wall Street" movement that has swept the country.
Mr. Carlos joining us now from Dallas. Good to see you.
JOHN CARLOS, 1958 OLYMPIC MEDALIST: Good to see you, Miss Fredricka. How are you today?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing just great. We're so glad that you could join us this weekend. I know you've been extremely busy in addition to this book tour and now being involved in this "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
First let's talk about your book. More than 40 years after that iconic movement with Tommy Smith, and you've written about it now, why?
CARLOS: Well, I think it's time, 43 years has gone by, there's been so many articles and magazines and books written about that particular era and my name was involved in many ways.
I felt that it was time that I put my words down in my own voice for my kids and my grandkids as well as to society, to hear from John Carlos relative to the ways of Mexico. WHITFIELD: What is that message you wanted to clear up or messages that have already been conveyed about that moment that you wanted to dispel, perhaps?
CARLOS: Well, you know, last time I was on your show, I was making it clear that they have been propagandizing for 40 some years about the fact that they had taken our medals away from what we did. Our medals were never taken away.
I felt that they had no right to take the medals away because these medals weren't gifts to us that they could ask for the gifts back. They put us into a situation where we had to go through rounds of elimination to earn these medals and we earned them.
There was no right for them to take it, but when they approached us to take it. We backed them off. They still propagandized for 43 years that they had taken our medals away, possibly to intimidate young individual athletes to make them understand they have no right or concerns about society or what's happening in their lives.
WHITFIELD: So in the title of your book, you are calling this the sports moment that changed the world and many people have thought exactly that. In what way did that moment make an impact, not just on Olympics and the Olympic moment, but on world history?
CARLOS: Well, I think, first of all, it set everyone to think, irregardless of what part of the world you were in to resurrect your conscience and have a concern not just for yourself, but for your fellow man as well, to try to make this a better more cohesive society, for all individuals to have an opportunity to succeed in life.
I would hate to think just based on the individual's color, that he cannot achieve the goals that God might have set forth for him in their lives. To think an individual might have been a heart surgeon or individual might have had the cure for balding or individual might have had for gum disease.
Or any type of opportunity to improve society that these individuals would not come to fruition just merely because of the color of their skin or the racist or biggest that's trying to run this world.
WHITFIELD: Did that moment define your identity and if that is the case, did you like that? Did you embrace that? Have you for all these years?
CARLOS: Well, it's a part of my life, a part of who I am. This is nothing new that took place in 1968 on the victory stand. I've been this way since the time I was a young kid. All of that would be emphasized in the book.
This is not just a special day for me and Mexico on October 16th. This is just what god has been leading me up to, to be on a world platform. To let people know we have to come together as a race of people and solve our social issues. WHITFIELD: And now people have come together in a big way on these "Occupy" movements that have swept the country. You've been involved in that. To what degree are you involved and why do you think it's important?
CARLOS: Well, first, I think it's important because when I became involved in this fight that we have for equality for everyone, there was individuals long before John Carlos, Dr. King, Rosa Parks, Ghandi, Adam Clayton Powell, many individuals, John Brown, many individuals felt that we need to do something to change this society.
To make society wake up and be responsible for itself, to try to cure the ills that we have. We felt that 1968 was an excellent opportunity for us to try to make a better understanding as to how we can come together as a race of people and be tolerant of one another and try to learn from one another to try to solve our problems that we have.
Many people felt like as long as we shed our mobs and ran in the Olympic games. As long as we shut our mouths and go and win the wars for them, everything is fine and dandy. They don't live on my side of town when the wars are over, or when the Olympics are over.
They don't come around my neighborhood unless they come around to see if they can pick up another super star for basketball or football. Relative it to those that don't have the athletic talents what happened to those individuals? They have a right to exist and succeed in life just as well.
WHITFIELD: John Carlos, author of the book "The John Carlos Story, The Sports Moment That Changed The World." John Carlos, thanks so much. Will we be seeing you in London as well next year?
CARLOS: Well, Fredricka, I hope to be there with your dad, God willing.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. He's watching so he's hoping to see you as well. Thanks so much.
CARLOS: Mel, I love you, baby. You take care, I'll see you soon.
WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. He's going to love that message. Appreciate it. John Carlos, good to see you from Dallas.
He became an overnight sensation with his hit song "Baby." Now Justin Bieber faces a lawsuit over a real baby and claims that he is the father.
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WHITFIELD: Now when you hear that song, perhaps your mind goes elsewhere. Teen pop star Justin Bieber has been slapped with a paternity suit now. He is 17, the woman is 20. She says Bieber is the father of her 3-month-old boy. He says no.
Let's check back in with our legal guys, Avery Freidman in Cleveland and Richard Herman in our Miami bureau today. My, goodness, you guys -- you guys, how did this come to be?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does --
WHITFIELD: That was kind of rhythmic, I figure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go ahead and do it.
WHITFIELD: Who knew the song that brought him this kind of fame would now be the subject matter of a potential paternity suit. So Richard, you first. She was 19 at the time, allegedly, the time, and he was allegedly 16 at the time.
So she says -- her camp, her name is Mariah Yeater, by the way, her camp wants a paternity test, but apparently L.A. is investigating whether there would be -- if this encounter would lead to statutory rape cases, which do you want to tackle first, Richard?
RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, it's definitely statutory rape, he was 16, the age of consent is 18 in California. So she admitted to a crime of statutory rape. Do they prosecute those?
Usually they do not prosecute those in California, Fred. It's not going to be prosecuted and it's a simple cotton q-tip swab of the inside of the mouth. There's his DNA. Unfortunately, he's probably going to have to end up giving a DNA sample and --
WHITFIELD: Really, could you be forced to do so? Even if he and his camp, already, vehemently denying the claim, saying that --
HERMAN: Sure.
WHITFIELD: The teen star never is alone back stage at a concert and also tweeted that he's going to ignore the rumors and focus on his music. So if there's this denial, then would he be forced to take a paternity suit -- I mean, a paternity test?
AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: He's going to go family court.
HERMAN: Sure. Go ahead, Avery.
FRIEDMAN: Ye. I mean there's -- the hearing is coming up on the 15th of December. Simple swab, will resolve it. Call me romantic, but she claims that she had this passionate tryst with Justin in the rest room in the bathroom, how romantic. What a lovely story.
HERMAN: Thirty seconds.
FRIEDMAN: Look, I think this is a typical fan. Bottom line, probably didn't happen, but you have to go through the process and that will end on the 15th of December.
HERMAN: By the way, Fred, we hear allegedly, she accused a former boyfriend also of fathering this child. So, you know, in the end he may have defamation.
FRIEDMAN: We'll see. WHITFIELD: Remember, you can catch our legal guys every Saturday noon Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
All right, one of the most earth shattering moments in pro sports history happened exactly 20 years ago. It involves this man and a shocking announcement about his health that announcement and his life in the two decades that followed, next.
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WHITFIELD: It's the 20th anniversary of a watershed moment in professional sports. November 1991, Earvin "Magic" Johnson announced he was infected with the virus that causes AIDS.
CNN's Mark McKay looks back at that momentous day and the decades in Magic Johnson's life that followed.
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MARK MCKAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Earvin "Magic" Johnson entered the NBA as a 20-year-old rookie and took the league by storm.
During his first 12 years for the Los Angeles Lakers, Johnson won five NBA championships, three league most valuable player awards and an all-star in 11 of the 12 seasons. Then in a flash it ended.
EARVIN "MAGIC" JOHNSON: Because of the HIV virus that I have attained, I will have to retire from the Lakers today.
MCKAY: The news rocked the sports world, but Johnson was determined to face this new challenge head-on.
JOHNSON: Your back is against the wall and I think that you just have to come out swinging. I'm swinging. I will now become a spokesman for the HIV virus. I guess now I get to enjoy some of the other sides of living.
MCKAY: Johnson returned to the court three months later to play in the 1992 NBA all-star game where he was named most valuable player. He was also a member of the famed "Dream Team" that won the Olympic gold medal later that summer in Barcelona.
But Johnson's attempt to return to the NBA in September of '92 was short lived. Several players, most notably his Olympic teammate, Karl Malone, voiced concern about playing against an HIV infected player. Johnson would attempt one more comeback in January of 1996.
JOHNSON: I didn't think I went out the way I wanted to go out before, and that's the reason I'm back.
MCKAY: Johnson played in 32 games in '96, retiring for the final time at the end of the season. Today, he's a business executive and an NBA television analyst, head of a foundation whose efforts revolve around HIV/AIDS education, and, perhaps, more importantly, he's a husband, father and a grandfather. It's been 20 years since that stunning news and magic is still going strong. Mark McKay, CNN, Atlanta. (END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And the stars are out in Belfast where the MTV Europe Music Awards are about to begin.
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WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now. This is likely the last weekend in Greece with George Papandreou as prime minister. He's expected to step down after the particulars of a new coalition government are finalized. The move is designed to try to save Greece from national bankruptcy that would drag other European nations down.
Belfast, Ireland, gearing up for a big party, MTV's European Music Awards are being handed out tonight. Singers from across the globe are expected to be there, among them Lady Gaga, Katy Perry and Justin Bieber. The event so big it is taking place at three different venues across Northern Ireland's capital.
And a turkey on the loose, this little guy has been stopping traffic in Granger, Indiana. Look at him running down the street while a man chases him. He is not going to be caught. Maybe he's trying to avoid becoming someone's dinner a few weeks.
He's been hanging around the same area since September and he's even earned a couple nicknames from the local construction crews. They like to call him Tom and Kenny.
And I'll be back in one hour as we focus on politics, Election Day 2012, exactly one year from today. We'll hear from the president of the United States as well as those Republican candidates who want his job --
