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NASA's Mission to Mars; Florida A&M Band Director Fights to Job; Human Factor: Hearing Loss; Tentative Deal Reached to End NBA Lockout; Black Friday Mayhem: Fights, Shoving Matches and Pepper Spray; Brawl Breaks Out At Nail Salon
Aired November 26, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Ted Rowlands in tonight for Don Lemon.
NBA fans have suffered enough let there be basketball. It looks like the season and abbreviated one will happen after all. Now, the players and owners have agreed to end the 149-day lockout. It is the tentative deal but if it holds the season, it will be 66 games instead of the usual 82, and it would start Christmas Day. A lot has to happen over the next month for this season to go off as hoped. Here are the key dates coming up. December 9th training camp would start the same day December 9th, free agency opens and trades will be start happening fast and furious. That will be exciting for fans to watch. Then, as we mentioned, December 25th, the regular season would begin with a television triple header. Here are those matchups, the Miami Heat versus the Dallas Mavericks, the Boston Celtics, of course the New York Knicks and the Chicago Bulls versus the Los Angeles Lakers. This was close to not happening at all but CNN's John Lewis explains how this deal finally came together.
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JOHN LEWIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The second longest work stoppage in NBA history may soon be over. Early Saturday morning, the league's owners and players reached a provisional agreement to end the lockout.
DAVID STERN, NBA COMMISSIONER: We reached a tentative understanding that is subject to a variety of approvals, but we're optimistic that that will all come to pass and that the NBA season will begin on December 25th, Christmas day.
LEWIS: Details of the agreement have not been released, but the league is saying teams likely will play 66 games instead of the usual 82.
DEREK FISHER, PRES., NBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: The most important key thing here is that fans and the support from the people and the patience, you know, through a large part of this process. You know, that's where a lot of this credit goes to. You know, the efforts that have been made have been largely within my mind. LEWIS: But more work lies ahead. Officials must formally construct the new collective bargaining agreement and the players needs to recertify their union which was dissolved earlier this month.
BILLY HUNTER, EXEC. DIR., NBA PLAYERS ASSOCIATION: We're happy that we were able to resolve and reach a tentative litigation settlement with regard to many issues that are pending before the various courts.
LEWIS: Team owners had locked out players in early July and games had been canceled through December 15. I'm John Lewis reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: All right. Let's bring in Jon Wertheim and he's a senior investigative reporter for Sports illustrated joining us by phone. Jon, players and owners are being pretty quiet about the terms of this deal. What are you hearing about the deal that hopefully will be ratified?
JON WERTHEIM, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER: Well, I think everybody is being a little bit coy until this gets ratified by majority on both sides. The -- hearing is basically a band that had a little flexibility built in. It will be about 49 to 51 percent to the players which obviously the (INAUDIBLE) the previous 57. But what makes this so ugly is that teams like, this was pretty much the term that we're on the table, you know, nine -- ago, so it's a little ugly lie we had to miss, you know, why we had this 150 days lockout, why we had to miss basically a month and a half, almost two months of games to get terms that really aren't particularly creative or revolutionary.
ROWLANDS: So, you're saying basically this is a game of chicken. And then, if this was the deal on the table that the owners have put on the table, did the players lose here? Did they give in?
WERTHEIM: Well, I mean, part of this is that both sides are obviously going to try and -- this as a victory. You know, realistically it looks like the players gave a little bit. Obviously a big comedown from the previous NBA, they knew that was coming. But, you know, the players will say the impetus behind this, was that they have done this decertification move and that they had put them on the defensive and so it pressured the owners. The owners can obviously say, look, we ended up getting several points down on this and the players missed the -- that was the impetus. But again, I think you're absolutely right, game a check on this. What it was with the NFL had this game of chicken. They were smart enough to cut it off before a regular season game, NBA, you know, it wasn't coming back unfortunately.
ROWLANDS: A couple of groups really suffered through this, the folks that made their livelihood out of it, and the fans. Do you think that 80 percent of the season is going to be enough to win the fans back?
WERTHEIM: Yes, I think basketball is -- this sense. You know, if you we missed a month and a half of football, you've missed the third of the season, you missed November and part of December in basketball and I hope too many fans are so concerned. You know, we missed meeting more games called years ago during the lockout in the, you know,'99- 2000. I hope if anybody was terribly dissatisfied that -- 55 games season there. So, I missed one thing, the NBA has going for it. Not a great time for basketball in November and December. So, if you start the season on Christmas Day, I think certainly a reason to -- 55 games is plenty.
ROWLANDS: Yes. That's usually when a lot of fans watch their first NBA game from start to finish is on Christmas.
WERTHEIM: Thanks, Ted.
ROWLANDS: Thanks Jon. I appreciate it. Jon Wertheim with Sports Illustrated.
Among those relieved to hear, the NBA lockout is ending. The country's basketball's fan in chief, President Barack Obama. The President was asked about the tentative deal today after he finished playing basketball at Fort McNair. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What do you think about the NBA strike?
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: Good deal.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: That pretty much sums it up. Good deal, says the president. He can't get enough basketball this holiday weekend, apparently, this afternoon, he was in Maryland watching Townsend fall to Oregon State, Townsend, Oregon State coached by his brother-in-law.
Investigators searched the home of Syracuse University, assistant basketball coach that had been accused of sexually abusing two ball boys. Bernie Fine's house, police state troopers even the secret service and the U.S. attorney's office reportedly took part in this searched. It's not clear what exactly they were looking for, but CNN affiliate WSYR is reporting that they left three with filing cabinets labeled evidence. Fine is on paid administrative leave from Syracuse University, the former ball boys, Bobby Davis and his stepbrother Mike Lang accused Fine of molesting them years ago.
A check of stories from around the world, Arab league finance minister say, the group should punish Syria for crack down on protesters, this video on YouTube showed enthusiastic demonstrations in the city of Holmes with Syrians pledging with the league to hit the regime hard. The sanctions would include freezing government assets and those belonging to Syrian officials. Travel restrictions will be enforce as well tomorrow morning, foreign ministers will decide whether to accept decisions to enforce those sanctions.
Pakistan is reconsidering its relationship with the United States and NATO after blaming those forces for a deadly attack on two check points inside Pakistan. The battles took place in the rugged terrain between the two countries where the boarder isn't always exactly clear. Twenty four Pakistani soldiers were killed. Thirteen were wounded, many seriously in the aftermath of the attack, Pakistan cut off two vital supply lines into Afghanistan. Prime Minister urged lawmakers to meet him in Islamabad.
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YOUSUF RAZA GILANI, PAKISTANI PRIME MINISTER (through a translator): This morning at 9 a.m., there was an attack on Pakistan, an attack on Pakistan sovereignty and an attack on Pakistan security. Learning of this, I was going to attend meetings with my sons and brothers, but I'm now going to Islamabad to hold a special security session of the DCC. I'm calling on all the leaders of Pakistan to come and discuss this situation so that no one can even dare to attack Pakistan sovereignty or Pakistan security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: The incident spark angry protest in Lahore, relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have deteriorated since the raid on al- Qaeda Leader Osama bin Laden's compound. NATO was careful not to accept blame, but did promise a full investigation.
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BRIG. GEN. CARSTEIN JACOBSEN, ISAF SPOKESMAN: In the early nine hours of this morning, the force, Afghan forces and coalition forces, in the eastern border areas where the dhore (ph) in line is not always 100 percent clear, and -- involved in a fire fight app (INAUDIBLE) into this activity and we have to look into this situation most actually happened on the ground.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Clearly, a developing story long term closure of the two supply routes into Afghanistan could strain NATO's resources roughly 40 percent of non-lethal NATO supplies and fuel go through Pakistan.
Are yourselves spending too much money on Holiday gifts? Well, we'll reveal some of the hidden secrets retailers used to lure you in. And your money and how can keep on breaking the bank this season. Stay with us. It's coming up.
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ROWLANDS: Well, if you missed out on Black Friday bargains, don't worry, Cyber Monday is just two days away. That's when retailers slashed prices for online merchandise. And there are a lot of deals to be had, a survey by shop.org says, eight out of 10 online versions will be offering promotions. Many shoppers won't let work it in the way of their shopping, 60 percent of workers plan to shop for holiday gifts from their desks. And despite a weak economy, analysts expect sales to hit a record $1.2 billion this year.
Interesting crowd control strategy at a Best Buy in Puerto Rico. Employees used the store's metal gates to help limit the number of shoppers inside the store at any given time. But as you can see, the gate didn't slow some of them down. Some Black Friday sales are still going on this weekend. The retail machine is now in full swing to lure you into spending a lot of money. And this week's Smart is the New Rich. Former marketing Insider Martin Lindstrom exposes some of the tricks stores used to get you to use to buy. You can also find out how not to fall for it. Here's our Christine Romans.
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CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: It's hard to escape the grip the company have on us, particularly if we don't even know what's happening, Martin, how do they get us? Give us some of the secrets.
MARTIN LINDSTROM, AUTHOR, "BRANDWASHED": Well, it happens everywhere. Just think about this when you walk into a retail store like a supermarket. Did you know that if we walked counter clockwise by the store, we spend seven percent more. And not only that, we're actually seeing now the supermarkets are putting in speed bombs into the flaw, so the tiles tends to biograte sliding, it makes us slow down, and as we do that, we spend six percent more. And not only that, we also know now that it's up of music they're using in the retail store actually makes us spend more money. So, actually every signal we expose for every second actually has one single agenda that is to make us spend more.
ROMANS: Wow! It's like being in a Vegas casino whether no windows and no clocks and the lighting just perfect. Except it's the super market and they're trying to make you reach in your pocket and spend more money. So, next time we're shopping, what can we do differently not to fall for it?
LINDSTROM: I think one of the best advice is not bring your kids with you. We know today that if you spend your kids with you, you could just spend 26 percent more. There's also another good advice and it sounds stupid but actually works very well. Use your music player or your iPhone and play some music, really hot music, very hard rhythm because that makes you rush out of the supermarket very quickly. And by the way, another advice, to always use very big dollar notes, the $100 bills or $50 notes because they actually makes you spend less. We call that the denomination effect. The idea is very simple. It is the less money you spend, well, tepidy (ph), it's directly correlated with the higher the bills you had in your pocket.
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ROWLANDS: All right. Coming up, you may have seen the wild pictures from Black Friday and the mayhem. Coming up, we'll talk to the experts about what makes people to this, pepper spray, fellow shoppers, shooting at malls, all that less to get a big deal.
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ROWLANDS: Black Friday mayhem, shoppers going wild and getting violent, trying to get their hands on holiday bargains. It happened in at least seven states, including California, where a woman allegedly pepper sprayed fellow shoppers to get ahead in line. At several other stores, fights broke out. What is the psychology behind this type of behavior and what triggers this kind of frantic?
Joining us live from Los Angeles, human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh who is co-host of "The Doctors," and here in Atlanta, psychologist and relationship expert Alduan Tartt. Let's start with you, Alduan. What is going on here? How do people get within to such a frantic?
DR. ALDUAN TARTT, RELATIONSHIP EXPERT: Well, it's the principle scarcity. We state simply, we want or we can't have. And so, we have limited supplies and we create the demand, people get in competition for one another for what they want and need, and they think other people there are the competition.
ROWLANDS: Wendy, what do you think?
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, I think I would add to what Dr. Tartt said and say, there is also some actually political reasons. In a more socialist country, people are more conditioned to line up politely in queues and wait their turn, but America's all about individual rights and freedoms and that means the right to be first in line. On top of that, we're talking about a bad economy where people are hurting. But it doesn't mean that we're not still consumers and we want to consume, consume, consume. And so, because of these dissidents, people can get a little frantic.
ROWLANDS: But Alduan, do you think that people have a plan that they think they're going to get XY and Z in there, and they get there and they realized, they're not the only ones there and then they start to panic.
TARTT: Absolutely. We don't like to lose money, we don't like to lose resources, we don't like to lose power, and we get there and we see people in our way, then we try to eliminate them. And just like Dr. Walsh said, in an economy that stricken session, we feel like we need to make this dollar stretch. And you're getting in the way of by my son at play station, I'm going to eliminate you.
ROWLANDS: All right. Wendy, obviously, retailers love the fact that people are coming out at midnight, 4:00 in the morning to hit these stores in this frenzy actually creates a sport in shopping. Do retailers hold some responsibility in these incidents in that they're bringing more people into the game than they have actual sales items to sell?
WALSH: Absolutely. They have a huge responsibility in this because they're upping the ante. They're taking a limited quantity of items and selling them only a limited amounts of time and allowing masses of people to go for it. Now, what we have to remember, though, that overall, human beings are becoming less violent than ever. I mean, in the Middle Ages, there's somebody upset you, you clubbed them right there. And so, these few incidents that we have video of really don't reflect all the orderly people who did have a happy shopping experience. Millions of people on Black Friday. And we have to remember we are becoming more peaceful.
ROWLANDS: Yes, we've got some video of people that did, get in line in an orderly fashion, and a lot of stores did this, they brought people in in segments, 15, 20 every 30 seconds to two minutes, and that way, you see the orderly progression I guess of people going in, and they will stop people. So you knew before we gotten to the store, we're going to get that big screen TV because you were in there. Is this what more stores should do, Alduan?
TARTT: Well, I mean, it's about the profit, if they create the lost guest, people going to come out. And say, sales are up. Now, they didn't necessarily think about the dynamics, even behavior. Of course, they maybe should have, but sales are up, they would probably do it again, to be honest.
ROWLANDS: Right. Both of you guys, don't go anywhere. Stay here. When we come back, we'll talk more and we'll going to talk about another chaotic scene. This one was in a nail salon. We'll tell you what happened and what led to this no holds barred thrall along customer. It's an unbelievable story. We'll have that next. Stay with us.
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ROWLANDS: A peaceful day of pampering rudely interrupted at a nail salon in Snellville, Georgia. Take a look at this. A brawl broke out among customers this week. It all started when a mother and daughter reportedly started yelling about the salon's pricing. When a customer yelled back, the fighting began. A third woman reportedly got into the mix and threw a ceramic bowl which injured a bystander.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: And from there, it was off the chain. Bowl was flying, glass was flying, hair was flying.
ASHLEY CORBETT, INJURED: This is how we're going to spend our Thanksgiving.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROWLANDS: Joining us again, psychologist Alduan Tartt, and from Los Angeles, human behavior expert, Wendy Walsh, who is the co-host of "The Doctors." So, Wendy, let's start with you. What do you make of this whole scene?
WALSH: Did I mention earlier that as a species we're becoming more peaceful and less violent?
(LAUGHTER)
Well, in order for that to take place, you have to actually socialize out violent behavior. Every two-year-old starts by hitting and every mother says, no, no, we don't hit. But in plenty of families, this anger management, if you will, is not socialized in people. So when they're feeling fight or flight, when they're having a fear response, violence will come out and aggression will come out of them before an ability to negotiate with words, apparently. ROWLANDS: Alduan, what triggers the others to get involved? You're watching a fight and all of a sudden now, I'm involved because I'm so angry as well.
TARTT: I mean, it depends on the aggressive script a lot of times. Sometimes we say, if someone disrespects me, then I'm going to jump into it, I'm going to say this or say that. But a lot of times, it depends on the size, your mood, how you're dressed, whether you feel that one person is the victim. Often times, we've felt that two people are in the wrong, you kind of let him battle out themselves. But I thought that pedicures would be messed up by fighting.
(LAUGHTER)
A hockey game is one thing, but...
WALSH: Not to mention, hair.
ROWLANDS: Yes, Wendy, you think that, and I guess this argument was about pricing. I mean, is financial stress in play here, likely?
WALSH: No, I don't think the content of the argument is really what we should talk about here, because obviously human beings have conflict all day long. They certainly do with their spouses, their ex-spouses, their teen teenagers. Conflict exists all day long. The question is, you know, my famous, my hero Freud once said, the first man to hurl a word instead of a stone had began to evolved. So, it's a point of learning these anger management techniques and using negotiation and verbal language instead of fist.
ROWLANDS: But it could be tough, Alduan, you know, and especially during the holidays, there's a lot of stress, there's a lot of relatives over at your house that normally aren't there. How do you keep from not losing your cool in a situation like we saw there?
TARTT: Well, I get to realize it, you know, tough times past, you got to stay focus on what the silver lining isn't the dark clouds. Some I'm out of work but I'm spending more time with my kids. And if you don't do that, you don't take care of yourselves and you got a lot of stress to -- the slightest little thing will set you off.
ROWLANDS: All right. Wendy, advice this holiday season? How do you maintain a stress-free environment.
WALSH: Try as best you can to bring your higher self to your holiday tables. When we all meet up with a family of origin, it seems that we all become ten years old again. And the old sibling rivalries happen, and we're like an angry teenager with our parents again, but we have to remember who we are as an adult and bring that higher self into our family, and also this is a great opportunity for forgiveness. This is a time where we can let go of the victim archetype that we may carry and say that it's time forgive some of the trauma that may have happened in our earlier life, as hard as that is.
ROWLANDS: And we are evolving. Thank you, Wendy, Wendy Walsh here from Los Angeles, Alduan, thank you Alduan Tartt here with us in Atlanta.
All right. Checking some of our headlines, a body buried in a shallow grave in Ohio may be linked to the so-called Craigslist killer there. The FBI is working under the assumption the body is of a man who has been missing for more than a week. He answered a fake Craigslist jobs ad. Authority say, one man who responded to the same ad was found dead. Another escaped after being shot. Two people are in custody. One of them has been charged with attempted murder.
The family of a Florida A&M drum major who died last week and maybe preparing to sue the school. Authorities suspect Robert Champion's death was caused by hazing. No one has been charged by Champion's family has hired an attorney, the school fired the band director this week and he's hired a lawyer to fight to keep his job.
Well, it's like the -- there will be an NBA season after all. At least in unabbreviated one, players and owners have reached a tentative agreement to end the NBAs 149-day lockout. The deal still has to be voted on and there are details still to be worked out, but if this deal does hold, the season will start on Christmas Day with a television triple header featuring the league's hottest team and largest markets.
And check out this snowy mess that slammed parts of Newfoundland, Canada on Thursday. Folks there are still digging out more than a foot of snow. The record-breaking snowfall shut down roads and closed schools and businesses. Meteorologists there say they haven't seen this much snow in almost 40 years.
Well, meteorologists here, including Karen McGinnis in the weather center say, we've got some travel problems coming probably tonight, and I guess tomorrow will be the tough one, right, Karen?
KAREN MAGINNIS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Tomorrow is the really big travel day. We're seeing about 42.5 million people, most of those using the highways. No problems there.
But as far as the airports go, yes, it looks like at least over the next 24 hours, we will see most of that problematic area across the Deep South. Chicago right now, some delays being reported there. We've got a frontal system right across this region, and on the back side of this, this is where we've got that cold air that's spilling in out of the north. And as a result, very gusty winds, but cold air is going to be in place, enough moisture that could produce a little bit in the way of some snowfall over the next couple of hours.
I think for the most part, though, those accumulations are going to be light. However, it does look places like Memphis, even Nashville, extending on in towards Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio, you could get some snowfall there. We're looking at those delays, major delays at least in the short term, possible right around Chicago. And maybe some minor delays off and on in Dallas. We had that rainfall move through.
Now, it's going to be windy. I don't mean just a little windy, I mean wind gusts up to possibly 50, 55 miles an hour. Memphis, Minneapolis and Miami, the windy conditions prevail there as well.
Coming up for Sunday, it is across the Deep South. If you're going in and out of Atlanta, Hartsville-Jackson International Airport, Ted, it looks it could be slow going as we go into the next 24 hours for you.
ROWLANDS: All right. People may be spending an extra day or two at grandmother's house over the Thanksgiving weekend.
It was a perfect launch for NASA on its quest to explore the red planet. Coming up, we'll show you what NASA hopes this expensive science experiment hopes toto find on Mars.
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ROWLANDS: NASA's biggest and most advanced probe yet is on its way to Mars.
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ANNOUNCER: Two, one, main engine start, zero -- and liftoff of the Atlas V with Curiosity, seeking clues to the planetary puzzle about life on Mars.
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ROWLANDS: A successful launch just a few hours ago. It is the start of a very long journey. The Curiosity rover should make it to Mars next August. Curiosity is a self-contained science lab on wheels, facing some very high expectations. Years of work and $2.5 billion have gone into this mission.
CNN's John Zarrella watched the launch up close at Kennedy Space Center this morning and has details on what NASA hopes the rover will be able to accomplish.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The Atlas V rocket carrying the curiosity rover lifted up right on time from Cape Canaveral at 10:02 a.m. After about 44 minutes, the spacecraft separated from the upper stage rocket, putting Curiosity on its way towards the red planet, traveling at 22,000 miles per hour. It will arrive there in August, and scientists say they expect some incredible science.
(voice-over): Probes to mars. Telescopes searching for other earths. Listening for life out there.
There's no proof yet, but the body of evidence is growing. We are not alone.
SETH SHOSTAK, SETI INSTITUTE SENIOR ASTRONOMER: But one thing that strikes you is every time we learn something new about the universe, what we learn is that our situation doesn't seem to be all that special. And that suggests that life is not all that special either.
ZARRELLA: But it is still just that, a guess, based in part on astronomy in overload. Findings from telescopes like Hubble, Spitzer, Chandra, new discoveries at a breathtaking rate revealing the sheer mind-blowing grandeur of the universe. Consider these heavenly numbers just for a minute: perhaps 1 trillion, with a T -- that's right -- trillion galaxies in the universe.
Stars, you ask? OK. How about 300 sextillion? That's three followed by 23 zeros.
So, where does that leave us with planets? More specifically, planets like our own?
WILLIAM BORUCKI, KEPLER PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: We're learning something that's a fundamental importance to mankind: how frequent are earth around other stars.
ZARRELLA: Bill Borucki is the principal investigator for NASA's Kepler telescope. Its mission: find planets similar in size to the earth orbiting their suns. So far, it has been successful beyond expectations. Of the 1,200 planet candidates, Kepler has found nearly 70 are earth-sized.
NATALIE BATALHA, KEPLER CO-INVESTIGATOR: The indication from data that we have in hand is that small planets are common, that the galaxy makes them efficiently. So, they're going to be abundant.
BORUCKI: The number is large enough. So, there must be, you know, many billions of such planets in our galaxy. So, that's been a very happy surprise.
ZARRELLA: How many are orbiting at just the right distance from the sun to support life? More than 50 candidates found so far where life might be possible.
What Kepler can't do is detect life. So, for now, that will remain just a guess.
(on camera): We've talked a lot about the size of this rover. Now, the very first ones like Sojourner was about this big. Take a look at this. This is a mock-up of a wheel of Curiosity. The wheel is as big as the Sojourner rover was. There are six of these on Curiosity. So, this really is the Cadillac of rovers and scientists believe it's going to help them answer those age-old questions: was life possible on Mars then and perhaps even now?
John Zarrella, CNN at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: A drum major in Florida A&M's marching band is dead and hazing may have been the cause. Ahead, our legal analyst Holly Hughes joins us to talk about the legal ramifications of this extraordinary case. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Florida A&M's long-time band director is fighting to keep his job after the death of a drum major in the school's marching band was linked to hazing. Police say 26-year-old Robert Champion died after a performance last Saturday. He reportedly vomited and complained of not being able to breathe. Later, he was pronounced dead at an Orlando hospital.
Holly Hughes is here, criminal defense attorney.
Holly, this is an interesting case. They've put the band director on administrative leave for a time. It appears they're going to go ahead and fire him later on December 22nd. He's officially basically been dismissed. The school is blaming the band director for allegations of this conduct. Investigations into Champion's death continues, though we don't have a lot of details here.
But from what we do know -- is this a case where the school and, specifically, this band director may be facing criminal charges?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: It's possibility, but it depends on -- we need the autopsy report, first of all, to find out exactly what this young man died from. And then, secondly, we need to know if this band director condoned either by silence or kind of a hands-off approach, or if he, according to some reports, he did go to the administration and ask for help in stopping this. So, if he has taken all those steps, done everything reasonable, he himself won't face criminal charges. But, of course, if it's a hazing incident, the students who were directly involved will be facing them.
ROWLANDS: In fact, his attorney has said publicly many times since this broke last week that this band director, in the attorney's words, had exemplary anti-hazing leadership that this head come up, and he believed that this is a tenured professor, he not only shouldn't be facing any charges, he shouldn't lose his job because of this, and that these kids that may or may not have done this did this in an environment that this director created, which was anti-hazing.
HUGHES: Exactly, and we've actually heard some of the others students' parents coming out, mothers of other band members saying, "I went to him," meaning the director, Mr. White, "and complained, and he did address the issue. He did try to stop the hazing of my child. He sat other students down and said, don't do this."
So, there seems to be some evidence, some proof, even if it's a low threshold that, this band director did in fact try to stop the hazing and some of the students just went rogue off on their own.
ROWLANDS: And we should point out, because we're now talking about, we don't know the actual details of what possibly was alleged, but you have a sneaking suspicion likely that somebody is talking here.
HUGHES: Somebody is absolutely talking. I mean, they may play an instrument but they're about to start singing, OK? Because -- you know, I mean, think about it. They're not going to come out and say this is due to hazing if somebody has not put the idea into their head; if somebody hasn't given them at least some credible evidence.
And you got to figure there's probably more than one student involved. So, only one person is getting the deal. That's not a hard choice. Let's see, graduate college, go to prison, graduate college, go to prison. Somebody is going to start telling what happened to get a deal.
ROWLANDS: Right. Second case we want to talk about is the lawsuit filed against the band Sugarland, remember that dramatic video of the stage collapsing in the wind. Apparently, in that contract, Sugarland have a final say on whether that concert should go on, they've been named in a lawsuit here.
But this is a band. They're not experts in scaffolding and integrity of a stage. Should they be held responsible in any part, in your opinion, here?
HUGHES: Well, the other thing that we have that plays into this is what we call acts of God. And, you know, a lot of times, insurance companies won't pay out because of an act of God. And when you're talking about the weather being involved in this stage collapse, I don't know that ultimately Sugarland will be held responsible, because again, they're not technical engineers, they didn't put the stage together themselves.
Was it reasonably foreseeable is the question that a jury is going to want to know, that given the weather and the building of the stage together that this thing would collapse and, in fact, kill and injure so many people, up to 40 injured folks.
So, it will come down to does Sugarland really want to drag this into lawsuit or do they want to settle quietly, their insurance company, in order to not have this bad publicity.
ROWLANDS: All right. Holly Hughes, thank you very much for your insight in two very interesting cases that Sugarland, actually both cases. We'll hear more from both of them.
Thanks, Holly.
HUGHES: Thanks.
ROWLANDS: Voting is underway right now for CNN's Hero of the Year. TV host Nate Berkus introduces us to one of the top 10 finalists, Chef Bruno Serato.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NATE BERKUS, TV HOST: Hi. I'm Nate Berkus. As a member of the American Red Cross Celebrity Cabinet, I am committed to emergency preparedness, disaster response and lending a helping hand to those in need.
Now, I'm thrilled to help introduce one of this year's Top Ten CNN Heroes.
BRUNO SERATO, CNN HERO: I came to this country 30 years ago. I love to cook, but to be in the restaurant business, you must love the people. How is your lunch, ladies?
In 2005, my mom was here on vacation from Italy.
I said, "Mom, let's go to the Boys and Girls Club."
This little boy, 5 years old, eating potato chips for his dinner. He was a motel kid.
I find out, a poor family who has nothing else live in a motel. When they go back after school, there's no dinner. There's no money.
Mom said, Bruno, you must feed them the pasta.
I'm Bruno Serato. I listened to my mama. Now, my mission is feeding hungry children.
Spaghetti.
I don't give the kids leftovers. I prepare fresh pasta.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bruno brings a tray, and all the kids get excited.
SERATO: Are you hungry? Are you hungry?
Right now we are between 150 to 200 kids.
Who like the pasta?
My mom, she made me start. Now, I could never stop.
They're customers. My favorite customers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: You have just a little less than two weeks left to vote for the CNN Hero of the Year. Just head to CNNHeroes.com and don't forget to watch live on Sunday, December 11th, as Anderson Cooper hosts CNN Heroes, an all-star tribute live from Los Angeles.
Hearing loses and occupational hazard among rock starts. But the case of KISS front man Paul Stanley was much more serious. CNN's Sanjay Gupta has his story next after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: One in five Americans has trouble hearing in at least one ear. For some, it's genetic. But for many, it's because they've been listening to too much loud music. One example is Paul Stanley, lead singer for one of the most famous and loudest bands, KISS. He was born with hearing loss.
CNN's Sanjay Gupta has his story and campaign to educate teens about how to prevent hearing loss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) PAUL STANLEY, KISS: Come on and clap your hands!
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To rock and roll all night, and party every day. That's always been Paul Stanley's dream.
STANLEY: If somebody had told me at 58, 59, I'd be running around on stage without a shirt, you know, and tights and high heels, I would have said, you know, what drug are you taking?
Come on and love me!
GUPTA: But the road to rock stardom as the front man for KISS was difficult. Few people know it, but Stanley was born with a condition that should have steered him away from music.
STANLEY: I had a physical deformity called a microtia.
GUPTA: One of Stanley's inner ears, the air canal, which convey sound to the brain, never developed. Figuring out the direction of sound was particularly challenging, and he was also born with an underdeveloped outer ear.
(on camera): Did you get teased a lot with tough comments?
STANLEY: It was horrible. You know, I have to say that childhood was not fun.
GUPTA: You decided to grow your hair out. I mean, and that's become such a signature look of you and the band. Was that in part because of wanting to hide your ears?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA: You grew your hair out to do that?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA (voice-over): Strength and a bit of defiance got Stanley through the taunting.
STANLEY: Something told me inside that I could do music and, interestingly, being deaf in one ear, was not something that I saw as a hardship or something that was a hindrance at all.
GUPTA: But eventually off stage, hearing loss did become a hindrance. So, Stanley had surgery.
STANLEY: Basically, you take a power drill and aim into the head.
GUPTA: Surgery was successful, but it does not equal self- acceptance. That, Stanley learned over time, and by working with kids.
(on camera): You talk to kids who have microtia, so they're, right now, they're like, Mr. Stanley, I'm the one getting teased on the playground, I'm not the rock star.
STANLEY: And how cool it is for them to hear somebody say, I was there and look what I did. You can get through this and you'll find out how much something means to you by how hard you're willing to work to overcome it.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROWLANDS: Do batteries in electric cars pose a fire risk? One popular model, the Chevy Volt, has sparked a federal investigation to find out.
And not only is this man willing to jump out of a perfectly good airplane, he wants to do it over and over and over again to honor a fallen hero in Afghanistan.
Details after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: Checking some headlines.
Four people were killed today when a small plane crash near Crystal Lake, Illinois. That's just west of Chicago. The FAA says the plane was flying under visual flight rules, suggesting the weather was clear at the time. The NTSB is investigating the cause of the crash.
The federal government is also investigating the Chevy Volt over fears that electric car's batteries may pose a fire risk. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says the Volt's lithium ion battery could catch fire in a crash. So far, there have been no accidents involving fires and there is no recall. G.M. insists that the car is safe.
This Alabama skydiver took to this jump and then he did it another jump and he's going to continue to jump 100 times in one day. In fact, he went one better, safely jumping 101 times. He did it to remember Mike Spann, first American killed in combat in Afghanistan in November of 2001.
Money raised in the event will go toward a trust fund for Spann's children.
Pro-democracy Syrians are a hailing the possibility of sanctions against their government by the Arab League. Finance ministers agreed today that the assets of the government and its officials should be frozen. They also want to punish the regime for travel with travel restrictions. Arab League foreign ministers will decide tomorrow whether to adopt these sanctions.
Pakistan has cut off two supply lines into Afghanistan after a deadly strike by NATO forces on Pakistan's own troops. Trucks carrying vital supplies are now sitting idle at the border. Pakistan says it will reassess its relationship with the United States and NATO. Twenty- four Pakistani soldiers were killed in the attack. NATO hasn't accepted blame but is promising a full investigation.
Gary Giordano will be freed Tuesday in Aruba despite prosecutor's objections. A judge rejected their request to hold the American citizen as they investigate the disappearance of his traveling companion, Robyn Gardner. Giordano has been in custody since August. He denies any involvement in Gardner's disappearance.
I'm Ted Rowlands at the CNN Center in Atlanta. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins right now.
