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Iran Claims It Shot Down U.S. Drone; Occupy D.C. Standoff; U.S. Troops Arrive Home from Iraq; Occupy Washington Protesters Face Off with Police; More Santa Ana Winds Expected, Could Reach Hurricane Force; People Angry Over the Economy Turn Anger Towards Wall Street; Oklahoma State Stampede Injuries Many; Tiger Woods Edges Ahead of Zach Johnson in Chevron World Challenge; LSU Tigers Head to NCAA Championship
Aired December 04, 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: You're in THE CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.
We're going to start with Iran making serious accusations against the U.S., claiming it shot down an unmanned American spy drone flying over Iranian air space. State television now says the thrown drone is in the hands of the Iranian military. Soon after Iran made the announcement, NATO came forward with a possible explanation.
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr joins me now live from Washington.
Barbara, between Iran and NATO, there are two different stories about this drone.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: There are indeed, Don. Good evening.
Well, Iranian authorities are saying they did shoot down a highly- classified U.S. unmanned spy plane over their territory along that eastern border with Afghanistan. Iran says the drone they shot down was something called an RQ-170.
Now, that's one of the most secret drones in the U.S. military and intelligence arsenal, essentially a stealth drone, flies undetected, gathering intelligence and targeting information. What is the U.S. saying? Well, so far, the U.S. is using the NATO alliance in Afghanistan to issue a statement is only saying, quote, "The UAV which the Iranians are referring to may be a U.S. unarmed reconnaissance aircraft that had been flying a mission over western Afghanistan late last week. The operators of the UAV lost control of the aircraft and had been working to determine its status."
That is what the U.S. is saying about all of this, a loss of flight controls before the drone went down. But what the U.S. isn't saying is that it was shot down or that it was one of these highly classified drones.
So, the key question is really obvious, do the Iranians have their hands on classified U.S. intelligence technology? Don? LEMON: Barbara, let's talk more about the Pentagon's concerns. How concerned is the Pentagon about losing a drone in Iran?
STARR: Well, look, when things like this typically happen, and they do, a helicopter sadly goes down, a drone, an aircraft, what usually happens is the U.S. will very quickly call in an air strike. It will bomb the wreckage and if it's in Afghanistan or Iraq in recent years, because they don't want insurgents to get their hands on that technology. That's off the table. Don't look for an airstrike in Iran.
What the U.S. wants to determine at this hour is, what does Iran really have its hands on? Is there a wreckage? Is that wreckage partially intact? Could they get access to either some of the classified sensors onboard, the stealth technology? What can the Iranians possibly get out of this if, in fact, they have their hands on it? Don?
LEMON: You said when this typically happens, what's happened in the past. So, it's not the first time that Iran has claimed that it shot down a U.S. drone. So what happened with those past claims?
STARR: Well, to be clear. And thank you for asking. The ones I was talking about was Afghanistan and Iraq. The U.S. could in recent years go in and bomb the wreckage.
You are absolutely right. Iran has made these claims before. Some of them have been outright proven to be false, according to U.S. officials, and it has never been acknowledged that a U.S. drone has gone missing inside of Iran.
So, this statement today is very interesting for what it says, acknowledging that it appears to be possibly the drone that the Iranians are talking about. The U.S. is not dismissing it out of hand but they're not saying it was shot down. The only acknowledgment we're really getting from the U.S. military right now tonight is that a drone lost flight control, went missing. They don't have their hands on the wreckage, though -- Don.
LEMON: Barbara Star, appreciate your reporting. Thank you very much.
We're going to continue in Washington. And I'm talking about occupy protesters in Washington. They face off with police leading to several arrests. And the standoff was over this wooden structure that protesters built in a park.
So, why did they put up this particular structure? Let's ask our Athena Jones. She is standing by live now at the site of the protest.
Why this building?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Don, can you hear me?
LEMON: Yes. Why this building? Why did they put it up, Athena? JONES: I agree. Yes. They put the building because it's getting cold. It's there they want to hold their daily general assembly meeting inside of the building. They have daily meetings they've been holding to talk about what they stand for, to talk about plans.
And so, they erected this building overnight. They said it took only an hour. They used material donated by a family in Annapolis. They argue that this building, the structure is temporary. Police say it's illegal because it's a permanent structure. Protesters say it is temporary and it can be moved and taken down in an hour.
So, ever since this morning, you have had protesters sitting on top of this structure. As many as a dozen just sitting there all day in this standoff with police.
LEMON: All right. Athena Jones reporting --
JONES: It's unclear yet what's going to happen. We have been told by a legal observer who has been working with the group and who has been in touch with police that police told her, park police told her that they are going to give the protesters three warnings, were unclear when. They're going to give them three warnings. Pretty much back to back so that they can then -- after those three warning, they will be arrested.
She believes the police have not yet acted because they are trying to figure out a way to safely remove the protesters from this site.
LEMON: All right. Athena, thank you very much. We appreciate that.
In suburban Atlanta, one of the biggest megachurch pastors in the country will be without its leader for a while. Bishop Eddie Long of the New Birth Missionary Baptist Church says he is taking time off from the pulpit to attend to his family. His wife Vanessa filed for divorce three days ago. Her divorce petition cites a bona fide status separation, a marriage irretrievably broken and no help of reconciliation.
Well, the church issued a statement in her name, saying she had changed her mind about the divorce. But Vanessa Long's attorney strongly disavowed that statement.
When the pastor addressed his flock this morning, one would never guess the depth of the trouble in the Long family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BISHOP EDDIE LONG, NEW BIRTH MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: We are not hiding nothing or anything like that. I'm going to take a little time off to work with my family.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So the church says Long is not quitting. Long's problems began last year when four young men accused him of coercive sexual relationships. The pastor denied the allegations but quietly settled the lawsuit out of court.
Much more on this next hour. John Blake, who writes about religion for CNN.com will be our guest. You don't want to miss that conversation.
It's a great scene anytime of the year, but during the holiday, it is even sweeter. U.S. servicemen and women arriving home from Iraq. We're going to take you to the airport here in Atlanta for the smiles, the tears and all the hugs in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Emotional homecomings across the country as thousands of U.S. troops return home from Iraq. Troops from Ft. Hood, Texas, got a rock star welcome this weekend. There were plenty of smiles and tears as servicemembers were reunited with their family members after a 10- month tour of duty.
And here was a scene in the San Mateo, California area, where dozens of members of the California National Guard returned home. Family members gathered at the local Army for the homecoming and cheered when their loved ones arrived. This was the last National Guard unit to leave Iraq.
And nearly all 11,000 troops still in Iraq will be pulled out by the end of the year and that's what makes these homecomings so different than the others. This time the soldiers know they won't be sent back.
Here's CNN's Catherine Callaway.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CATHERINE CALLAWAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A plane just landed here at the Atlanta International Airport. It was full of troops from Afghanistan who were headed home for a couple of weeks of R and R. But it was also full of troops from Iraq who are heading home for good, and we talked with a few of them.
Here's what they had to say.
How do you all feel about not having to go back to Iraq? I know it's a difficult deployment. You are all smiling. But what are your thoughts about that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: It was nice to se trees and grass when we were landing. It is the little things you miss the most, plumbing.
CALLAWAY: Plumbing, did you say plumbing?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE SOLDIER: Yes. It will be nice to take a shower in the house instead of walking outside to take a shower. So --
CALLAWAY: Yes. And, of course, I know you've missed your families. You talked about your children. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SOLDIER: Yes, my children. My being constantly in touch with them, thank you to the USO that provided free Internet and phone service. And mostly, you appreciate the little stuff at home -- the freedom, able to just walk down the store and buy whatever you want. Not to have to wait until the (INAUDIBLE) opens. Not to (INAUDIBLE). So, it's the little stuff -- freedom is very, very priceless.
CALLAWAY: What's the best thing coming home from Iraq?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE SOLDIER: I hope the last ten years will be worth it. After 9/11 I was deployed, mobilized right after, the next day. So, hopefully, now we come back and end the mission, and it will be worth it, I hope.
CALLAWAY: So, they are well on their way home now. They will be redeployed but they will not be sent to Iraq. This is the scene we're going to see repeated many times between now and the end of the year as the approximately 11,000 U.S. troops that have been in Iraq will be reduced to less than 200 by the end of the year.
At the Atlanta International Airport, I'm Catherine Callaway, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Catherine, thank you very much for that.
Ever wonder what it would be like to have dinner with trend setters, and superstars, taste-makers and Hollywood royalty? Tonight, we'll be sure to check out an excellent Larry King special, "Dinner with the Kings." Larry sits down the dinner with Conan O'Brien, Tyra Banks, Shaquille O'Neal, Seth McFarland, Quincy Jones, Russell Brand and Twitter founder Jack Dorsey for sometimes funny, sometimes serious discussions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TYRA BANKS, CEO, BANKABLE ENTEPRISES: When I did my show, created my show, whatever, I also created a persona on "Top Model." And it's a character. So, when I'm sitting there and I have all this makeup on and I'm like your pictures (INAUDIBLE), you know, talking all of that and reprimanding the girls. I'm like that is a character, like I don't do that, like in real life, I'm like passive aggressive. I'm anti-confrontational. I'm even in coaching to like learn to be confrontational. So, it's a character.
CONAN O'BRIEN, CONAN: One of the girls who must have been 16, 17 years old said to me, how do you get over your insecurity? When does that go away? And I said you never get over it. And she was shocked.
And I said -- she's looking at me and I have been doing this a long time and to her, I may as well be a thousand years old, even though I'm only in my early 30s. And -- but she said how do you get over your insecurity, and I said it's never going away. If you are any good at what you do, you'll always be afraid and you'll always think you are fooling everyone.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This will definitely make you see these kings and queens, you saw Tyra there holding court -- surprise -- of their professions in a new light. "Dinner with the Kings," it premiers tonight 8 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN. That's going to be very interesting to watch.
The Herman Cain train, well, it's a cliche, it has derailed. There you go. Now, the big question is, who's going to get his supporters that fell off the train? Michele Bachmann says they are already moving to her side. We'll discuss after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: With Herman Cain out of the race for the White House, his supporters are now fair game for the Republicans still in the fight. Cain says he plans to endorse one of his former rivals soon. Many are speculating that he could go back, he could back, I should say, Michele Bachmann, who told CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" that Cain's supporters were already migrating to her camp.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Herman Cain brought a really important, exciting, energetic voice to the race, and I think a lot of people will be sorry to see him go. We have been talking with the Herman Cain campaign and I look forward to having a full conversation with him.
One thing that we have seen is that a lot of Herman Cain supporters have been calling our office and they've been coming over to our side. I think part of that is because people see that I'm the Tea Party candidate in the race and saw Herman Cain as an outsider. And I think they see that my voice will be the one that will be the most reflective of his.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Well, let's talk more about that with CNN contributor Will Cain.
OK, Will, last time I had you on Thursday of last week, you told Roland Martin you were going to take him outside, and I don't know, maybe to the wood shed. L.Z. is not here today.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Right. So, be careful.
LEMON: What are you -- what are you doing to these people? Did you beat L.Z. up, too?
CAIN: I'm earning a reputation, Don. I'm scaring them off with my sharp intellect.
LEMON: OK. CAIN: Roland said it can't be my muscles.
LEMON: All right. So, listen, do you expect Herman Cain supporters to jump to Michele Bachmann as she said?
CAIN: Some. Some. You know, there are two polls out, "Des Moines Register" and I think it's called Public Policy Polling. They both say about 40 percent of Herman Cain supporters see Newt Gingrich as their second choice. We should stop and, you know, kind of marvel at that absurdity. Those that are attracted to the ultimate Washington outsider in Herman Cain are going to opt as their second choice for the ultimate Washington insider Herman Cain.
LEMON: Well, also, too, if you think about it, the thing that drove Herman Cain out of this race were allegations of infidelity and, you know, his shenanigans with women. And Newt Gingrich has a whole laundry list of those in his past.
CAIN: Right, so move to the guy with the next stellar character record. It's absurd that Newt Gingrich is the second choice. I got to say, one thing Herman Cain was able to foster, one reputation or perception that he was able to foster was that of conservative purity. And that's something Michele Bachmann has been able to do as well. She's been able to sell herself as a pure conservative.
So, yes, I think there are some supporters who right now support or did support Herman Cain he will move to Bachmann.
LEMON: How much of a boost could that give her, considering Cain's dive in the polls before his exit. I mean, yesterday, I was talking to Shannon Travis who was there. Shannon said there was hardly anybody at this announcement. It wasn't a big crowd and if you talk to other people who followed him even before, days before, there weren't big crowds showing up for him.
CAIN: Right. You know, well, honestly, it's kind of like two bank robbers sitting in a vault arguing over the split.
Meanwhile, the bank has already been robbed. Newt Gingrich has already stolen the Herman Cain support.
Look, it simultaneously flipped. Herman Cain was at 25 and Newt was at eight. And now, Newt is high and Cain is down to about eight.
LEMON: OK. Listen, Bachmann talked about being and you mentioned the true conservative -- being the Tea Party candidate. But is that true given her low poll numbers? Does the Tea Party even matter in this election?
CAIN: Here's the problem with that question. Here's the problem with this entire attempted analysis is we can't define the Tea Party. Is -- we have never been able to define the Tea Party. Is the Tea Party libertarianism by another name, as evidenced by Ron Paul or Rand Paul support? Or is it the religious right as evidenced by Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry? It's been impossible to define. And the truth is, yes, the Tea Party does swing some support, does swing some power. But it's impossible to coalesce. It's split up among Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich, Michele Bachmann.
All we know is the Tea Party is defined by what it is not. It's not Mitt Romney.
LEMON: Yes. Listen, I think this is a sound byte of the day. It certainly got my attention this morning. I want you to listen to it. Some of Herman Cain's critic accused him of turning the GOP race in to a reality show.
And here's what George Will had to say about him on ABC's "This Week." Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GEORGE WILL: Between now and 2016, both parties have to do some serious thought as to whether they can develop some filter to prevent this process, particularly with mad proliferation of debates, from being hijacked by charlatans, entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial charlatans.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who would be one of those?
WILL: Well, the one who dropped out, Mr. Cain, who used this as a book tour.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Sometimes the hurt hurts. Is that the truth? Is that a fair criticism of Herman Cain?
CAIN: I think George Will belongs on essentially the Mt. Rushmore of conservative thought, conservative writing and conservative punditry. George Will is the most consistently right, consistently correct thinker out there on the conservative side. And yes, he is right and yes, it's fair.
But here's my criticism of George Will. He could have said this sooner. This was apparent much sooner. Herman Cain, it became very clear, was not running for president and he was pulling the wool over everybody's eyes by going out there.
LEMON: You said this.
CAIN: Selling himself, selling books. I said -- thank you. I don't want to -- but, yes, this became obvious, Don.
LEMON: Yes, Will Cain, thank you very much. That's why you have no one with you, no competition. You keep beating them up. Your intellectual sharpness.
CAIN: No friends, no supporters, just enemies.
LEMON: There you go. You know, some of the greatest -- that's how it is. Thank you. We appreciate it.
A student who generates outrage after he puts a Confederate flag in his dorm room window. You'll be surprised to hear who exactly is backing this symbol of racism. I'm going to talk to him on the other side of the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. I want you to sit back and take a listen to this one. Pay attention please, if you will.
A college student from the South is standing up for the Confederate flag and you may have heard that before but you have to see this young man to understand why his take is unlike the others.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BYRON THOMAS, STUDENT: The housing department wants me to take down this flag. And I know it's kind of weird because I'm black. I look at this flag, I don't see racism. I see pride, respect, and Southern pride. That's what I see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So Byron Thomas who is 19 and black attends the University of South Carolina Beaufort. The school directed him to take down the Confederate flag hanging in his window after receiving about two dozen complaints. And then the university took the order back saying, quote, 'Because of the USCB's firm belief in the First Amendment and its right to free speech, the university cannot and will not prohibit these flags or other symbols that our students choose to display."
But now, Thomas says he will not put the flag back up. He explained to me why and his reasons for believing the Confederate flag is simply misunderstood. Here it is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
THOMAS (via telephone): I just want people to see in my generation and the old generation that to see that I wasn't just fighting for me to put the Confederate flag back up in the window because I just want my generation to know it's time to form our own opinions about things that we won't be divided, like things in the past generations used to be divided by, because if people want racism to stop, then we need to stop thinking of what the past generation went through because I never experienced racism in my life before. So, why do I got carry on that opinion that the past generation went through --
LEMON: As an African-American, do you understand what that flag means to most African-Americans and the people who fought on the side of that flag what they represented and what they wanted from this country?
BROWN: Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I'm doing my research. I researched that and all the negativity with the flag. And I just truly think ignorance made, gave that flag a bad name.
Ignorant people like the KKK.
LEMON: OK.
BROWN: Yes, sir -- when they got ahold of the flag. But even if you research it, you will see that the KKK when they begun, they were using an American flag. And then when the civil rights movement era and everything was happening down South, they got their hands on the Confederate flag. People want to call the flag racist, you use -- they forget the American flag because they associate slavery with only the Confederate flag.
But what flag was slavery under the most? Slavery under the American flag. They had a chance to end slavery under the American flag, but they didn't.
LEMON: At some point, we have to accept one flag. And the Confederate flag was a symbol of division for the most part and I think the American flag represents a symbol of togetherness.
Let me ask you this: what about just as a symbol of pain, the pain that the flag represents?
BROWN: I see where you are coming from, since my dad told me on racism. But from my point of view, why do I still have to carry those harsh feelings forward if I haven't been through like -- what do I tell my kids when you see a Confederate flag, that that person is racist.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, Thomas said his parents do not support his support of the Confederate flag. The University of South Carolina Beaufort plans to have a student forum to discuss the controversy when students return from winter break.
Your top stories are next, including the explosive ending to the discovery of World War II era bombs in a German town.
Plus big economic news, the unemployment rate takes a big dip. CNNMoney.com's managing editor tells us if this means we're on the road to recovery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I want to go back to a developing story that we told you about at the top of the newscast. Occupy protesters in Washington face off with police leading to several arrests. The standoff was over this wooden structure you are looking at right there that protesters built in the park.
Let's go live to Athena Jones. We spoke to Athena earlier. She's now live at the protest.
Athena, you are standing in front of this building. Why did they put up the building? What's going on there?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We spoken to a lot of demonstrators and they say they put it up this structure, which they say is a temporary structure to provide warmth. It's getting colder here. These are Occupy D.C. protesters that have been camping out at this park, McPherson Square, which is a park just a few blocks from the White House. They have been camping here since the beginning of October but it is colder and they want to have this structure so people can come in and have their general assembly meetings they have each day to talk about plans, talk about what they stand for.
The issue is over whether this is a temporary structure or an illegal structure. Police say it is illegal because it is permanent. The protesters say it's temporary. We put it up over night in an hour's time. So if it can be taken down in an hour, it is temporary. That's what the big issue has been all day.
We have been seeing arrests all day. In the last half hour, four more people were arrested. You can see protesters on top of the structure. They have been up there several hours now.
But it looks as though something is happening here. We are seeing more police action in recent moments. You can see -- I don't know if you can see behind me, this large armored vehicle coming up.
We spoke to a legal observer who's been working with the group and in touch with police who said the police were going to give these protesters three warnings in rapid succession and that if they would leave before the end of the three warnings, they wouldn't be arrested. And if they decide to stay, they would be arrested.
LEMON: Hey, Athena --
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: So it looks like something is about to happen here.
LEMON: Can you chat with us, can and move up so our viewers can see what's going on.
JONES: Can you see that?
LEMON: Behind you, you said these are -- yes. I'll have the cameraman slide over. You are kind of in the way there.
We'd like you to continue talking to describe what is going on behind you. But what is this --
(CROSSTALK)
JONES: Certainly. It may be hard to see for you.
LEMON: Yes. There's a police wagon there, pulled up there.
JONES: It is maybe hard for you to see. Exactly. The legal observer who has been working with the Occupy D.C. group, her group has been working with occupiers around the country. She was in touch with police earlier who said they wanted to give these people a chance to come down and avoid arrest.
LEMON: So you said there's a little more activity going on there.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What are they doing? Are they ordering anyone to get down or, do you have any sense of what is happening?
JONES: What we were told was going to happen is that once the group -- that the remaining protesters with given warnings, but then police were going to remove them. We believe the delay over all this time has been in trying to figure out a safe way to remove them from the structure. You can tell it is several feet off the ground. It can be dangerous if someone were to fall from up there. That appears to be with what they are doing now.
We haven't had a lot of direct contact with police, to answer basic questions of whether there are any protesters still on the ground inside the structure. We are told there are not. As far as we know, these last -- looks like a half dozen protesters perched up on the roof. Those are the last ones remaining. We expect to see the police at least try to begin to remove them from up there after what's been several hours. It has been going on since 11:00 or noon or so this morning around 11:00 or noon or so. Occupy D.C.'ers say that there have been 26 arrests but we haven't gotten confirmation from the police on that yet.
There's been a lot of chanting. It's been mostly calm, certainly since we arrived about three hours ago. Lots of chanting. There have been supporters out here throwing food to the protesters. There -- a while ago, a safety inspector came by and put up signs, warning signs, danger signs, all along the edge of the structure, condemning it, saying it is not safe.
So, we're going to have to wait and see what happens here. We are all watching. There's been a crowd of, at one point, several hundred. It has dwindled, thinned out, returned a little bit, to watch the spectacle all day.
LEMON: Athena Jones, good reporting.
We want to pay close attention to this because we saw what happened in Oakland. We saw what happened in Portland. We saw what happened at the campus of U.C. Davis and the pepper spraying, what have you. This one hopefully won't turn out that way. But these have a tendency, at least in the past, from what has happened in the past to, at some times, turn violent. You see them throwing things as we continue to monitor those pictures. We will keep an eye on the Occupy Washington protest now and what appears to be a possible police standoff, a possible police standoff in the making there. We will continue with that.
Our Athena Jones is reporting. Stand by. We will get to it. Let's check your headlines right now. The first up, President Obama has offered Pakistan his condolences for the NATO attack that left 24 Pakistani soldiers dead, but he is not apologizing for the assault. There are pictures taken. These are pictures taken of the outpost after it came under fire from NATO forces. The president told the Pakistani president the U.S. is committed to a full investigation. And the White House says the two agreed to continue the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, which is critical to the security of both nations.
45,000 Germans returned to their homes today after two World War II- era bombs and a third device were successfully dismantled. One was a 4,000 pound air mine, likely dropped by the British Air Force. A second bomb was defused while a fog-producing device was destroyed. For 65 years, the bombs were hidden in the Rhine River, until dropping water levels exposed them. The evacuation was the largest in Germany since the end of the war.
Southern California can expect more of this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There's a massive noise and I knew something terrible had happened to the house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: As homeowners clean up from last week's hurricane-force winds, the Santa Ana winds are due to kick up again. Tonight, forecasters warn they could again reach hurricane strength.
A perfect time to turn to our Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras in the Severe Weather Center.
Jacqui, is it going to be as bad as last weekend? I guess it possibly could be.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I don't think it will be that strong but still strong enough to cause a lot of problems. We are concerned there will be additional power outages and additional tree limbs down. When there is so much debris out there, they are frantically trying to clean up, that could be projectiles and become a dangerous situation.
So we have another strong high coming in from the north. This is really a cold system that's going to be diving in. It will bring the off-shore winds and Santa Ana winds will arrive late tonight and continue into tomorrow morning. They could gust as high as 65 miles an hour. Wind advisories in the city, into Los Angeles. It will be a strong wind event for you folks, as well.
On top of that, remember Utah got hit hard last week? Guess what? We have high wind warnings in effect for the northern front range here into to the Wasatch. We want to give you a look here at Salt Lake City, from our affiliate, KSL. The governor issued a statement today, the National Guard has been called up to clean out that debris before the heavy winds arrive tonight. They could be pushing seriously hurricane force. On the bottom side of this system, as this thing moves to the four corners region, we will see heavy snow. About the northern half of New Mexico, the southern Colorado could see over foot in the high country. Denver looking for three to six inches tonight and into tomorrow. And with the strong winds, travel not recommended along I- 25. Temperatures behind this, the coldest air of the season, Don. Look at the morning temperatures. Five degrees in Denver; 16 degrees in Salt Lake City. And add in those winds, and the wind-chill indices below zero. We are talking about temperatures 25 to 45 degrees below where they should be for this time of year.
LEMON: All right, Jacqui. I'm listening to you, I'm on the air, and also listening to the producers and some getting information.
Thank you, Jacqui.
Because we want to go back to this in Washington. Let's get back to that park in Washington where Occupy protesters have been ordered to come down off the structure they have put up. We are just getting the information here into the CNN NEWSROOM that they have been ordered to come down and they are starting to come down. And apparently there were -- there was at least a bit of a confrontation earlier. We had video of that. You can see things being thrown there on top of the roof of the structure that was put up in the park. They have been ordered to take it down and ordered to come down from the structure. So far, they have haven't the structure down, but it appears some of them are coming down. Rest assured, we will continue to monitor this for you.
As a matter of fact, we will have more of it for you on the other side of the break. We will monitor these pictures. Don't anywhere. We will show you what is happening with Occupy Washington in moments.
(SHOUTING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Welcome back, everyone. The week wrapped up with big economic news. The unemployment rate dropping dramatically.
Joining us live from New York to tell us what it means for the economic recovery is the managing editor of CNNmoney.com, Lex Harris.
Hey, Lex. We will talk about that, OK? We will talk about the big drop and what was behind it.
Can we go to this Occupy thing? Because we are following these pictures coming out of Washington now. You see our Athena Jones, who's preparing for a report right now. We're not going to go to her. But you see the structure that has been built.
Listen, you have been following this. Economically, these people are concerned and upset over what they call the 1 percent getting everything, and that basically they're turning their anger to Wall Street.
Where is this movement now? It is a last gasp effort, or do you see it moving?
LEX HARRIS, MANAGING EDITOR, CNNMONEY.COM: I think it has been gaining momentum. Right? You had a lot of back and forth and wondering how they were going to make it through the winter. In fact, their message has probably gotten stronger. Even we, "CNN Money," had the opportunity last week to go down to --they have office space now. And we talked to -- they don't have leaders. It is still a leaderless movement. But they are really creating a structure to how to get their message out. It is the message you are describing. It's about income equality. It's about corporate interests in Washington. And they are getting actually louder, I think.
LEMON: They are getting louder but are they having an impact on the powers that be, the people who are in charge of the economy? Is there an impact there? There is a loud voice, but are they making a difference?
HARRIS: I think just creating awareness is a big part. And you are getting more and more people showing sympathy for the movement. I think that's a big first step. To actually affect change is going to take months, I mean years. We still -- I mean, we still can't even get some very basic changes done, everyone says, because it is an election year. So how will we get anything meaningful thing done to satisfy what the Occupy movement is all about. But I think -- certainly people are listening and I think you will start to hear more of that in 2012.
LEMON: Another complaint, too, is unemployment. These people who are out there say we don't have jobs. We don't have jobs. That's part of the 1 percent not having jobs. When you look at the drop in the unemployment rate, how big was the drop, and is it really real because a lot of people stopped looking for work?
HARRIS: That's exactly right. It was definitely a very big drop. We were all there watching the numbers at 8:30, as we do the first Friday of every month. And to go from 9 percent to 8.6 percent unemployment rate was a very big deal.
But you are right. Very quickly the story line from all of the economists we talked to were, it's good, it is getting better, but it is not good enough. When you think about it, they are looking at the jobs added. So 120,000 jobs created in the month. Again, good, but really, you need to see 200,000, 300,000 jobs to really be consistent with a healthy economy.
And you talked about 315,000 leaving the workforce. That can happen for a number of reasons. If it happened because people are discouraged and not seeing the opportunities they need, that is not a good sign, and it's why people are saying maybe it is a fluke.
LEMON: Yes. I want to ask you, because many people I speak to, who are know-it-alls about the economy, to say that -- they say our economy has changed. It has shifted in the way that we sort of calculate these numbers. It's shifted for good. We will probably never see an unemployment rate -- we will never see a huge drop because the metrics have changed. Companies have figured out they can do more with less. So you won't see as many people -- you won't see the availability of jobs as you might once have?
HARRIS: That's obviously the big worry. We have been through big changes in the economy before over the past few decades. Some of it -- some of the slow growth we're seeing right now is really just a matter of time. Everyone says, coming out of the huge collapse we had in 2007, going in to 2008, it was going to take seven years to 10 years to get out of the problem. So to have this expectation that three to four years in, we would have a meaningful change. You know, I heard -- I had the opportunity to hear Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve, speak this morning. And that was the line he was saying, it was just -- we're three years in, and some of it is going to be taking time and not doing policies that retard the progress and slow it down.
LEMON: Good information. Good information.
Thank you, Lex Harris. We appreciate it.
And we threw the Occupy thing on you at the last minute, because it was developing, and you did a great job in handling it.
We appreciate it. Thank you very much.
And, again, there it is. We will continue to follow the developments in Washington. This is McPherson Square Park.
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: I'm just kind of listening to see what is going on. McPherson Square Park, where they put up a permanent structure. They have been ordered to take it down. They are defying police's orders, as you can see, and they are chanting --
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: -- "Stay, stay, stay."
We're going to stay with it. More after the break.
(SHOUTING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: All right. You're looking at live pictures now in Washington, D.C. This is McPherson Square Park, where Occupy protesters are facing off with police, leading to several arrests there. The standoff is over -- you see that wooden structure right there? How could you miss it? It's right in the middle of your screen. They built it in the park. They've been ordered to take it down. They say, nope, not going to do it. You see them parked there on top of this structure.
Our Athena Jones reporting live from this park right now.
So, listen, they've been ordered to come down. We saw some of them coming down, but not all of them. Is this a standoff now, Athena?
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: Athena, are you there?
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: So Athena's not there. We'll get back to her. Athena Jones is our reporter who is covering this.
You can hear them doing, as they all do at the Occupy, mic checks, someone else repeats mic check, and then they start repeating what the other person said.
Here's what they're chanting about. Let's listen for a second.
(SHOUTING)
LEMON: OK. So, here we go. Occupy protesters in Washington and a standoff with police over this structure. We'll continue to follow it here on CNN. More at the top of the hour.
Let's talk a little college football right now. My LSU Tigers headed to the national championship game, but who will they play? Who will they play? Will it be Alabama? Why? They've already beat them. Or Oklahoma State? No, why? They're much better. Jon Wertheim ways on which team has the advantage.
But first this, Jon. Tristan Eden is a self-described skateboarding punk who had several run-ins with the law as a youth for a variety of crimes, including painting graffiti on city property. But judges and school officials impressed with Eaton's artistic talents gave him a second chance to improve his life. And he did, eventually designing a toy for Fisher Price at the age of 18. Now his artwork is part of a permanent collection at the New York Museum of Modern Art.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TRISTAN EATON, ARTIST: I'm Tristan Eaton, the president and creative director of Thunder Dog Studios. There's a few projects that Thunder Dog has done that are basically the perfect example of what I love about doing commercial art and collaborating with brands.
I was contacted by the Obama campaign and I ended up creating three posters for the "Vote for Change" campaign.
To be able to be involved formally, to do something official was so cool. Because it feels like you're making a piece of history.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You can learn more about Tristan on "The Next List" -- more about Tristan on "The Next List" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta next Sunday at 2:00 p.m. eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right, there was no stopping this excessive celebration at Oklahoma State University last night. 13 people were hurt when OSU fans rushed the home field after they trounced rival, Oklahoma, 44-10. Well, the scene got crazy fast. And ESPN showed the crowd tearing down the goalpost. Look at that. That's very dangerous. Most of the people injured were trampled in the rush, but two people suffered critical injuries when they jumped or fell from a high retaining wall around the field.
We'll talk more about Oklahoma State and whether they should get a title shot.
But first, this just moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANNOUNCER: It's in!
(CHEERING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was Tiger Woods ending his drought with his first tournament win in more than two years. Woods shot 10 under for the tournament, 3 under for the day, to edge past Zach Johnson at the Chevron World Challenge in California.
Jon Wertheim, senior investigative report for "Sports Illustrated," joins me now.
Here's the cover, featuring the Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin.
OK, Jon, Tiger hadn't won a tournament since November 2009, right before that very public sex scandal cost him his marriage. Is this win enough to say that Tiger is back?
JON WERTHEIM, SENIOR INVESTIGATIVE REPORTER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: Oh, it's a great sign. I mean, no doubt, this is the best news in two years. I don't know if you'd call winning the Chevron, he's back. But this has been a rough couple of years. We haven't seen a fall from grace like this for a long time, Joe Paterno notwithstanding. So for him, to win any event is news. We never know quite where he is physically or emotionally, but a nice way to end the year. And, hey, it's something.
LEMON: Yes.
WERTHEIM: It's a start.
LEMON: Yes, and in every win, every little bit of confidence, you get more confidence. So maybe this will be helpful.
WERTHEIM: Exactly.
LEMON: Can we go now to the BCS championship? People are trying to explain it to me. I still don't get it through my thick skull? I'm happy either way because LSU is a lock. But in a little more than an hour, the final standings come out and we find out who'll they play on January 9 for the title. Will it be Alabama or Oklahoma State? Oklahoma State made a serious case last night? Who's it going to be? I think it should be Oklahoma State, because we already beat Alabama. Why go back to that?
WERTHEIM: I totally agree. Every year, we have these controversies. This is a flawed system. Maybe this will finally knock some sense into them. I'm totally with you. Oklahoma State should be playing in the game. We don't want two schools from the same conference. We don't want a re-match. Oklahoma State's lost one game, and that was a quirky road loss, but it looks like Alabama's going to have the votes. If Alabama somehow wins the national championship, which would be terrible to you, they wouldn't even win the division of their conference. It would be national champs. It's just so counter intuitive. And if people do the right thing, it'll be Oklahoma State, but doesn't look good right now.
LEMON: Why -- everyone's trying to explain it, even over beers last night. I'm like, I don't get it. Everyone asked me who I thought it should be, and I said I thought it should be Oklahoma State, considering what happened It was a trouncing -- Oklahoma. So why -- is it money? Is it just the way the system is? Is it these new rules and regulations? What's going on?
WERTHEIM: It's this crazy -- you know, it's the crazy BCS algorithm and this vote is weighted this much. This is only an hour-show, so we can't talk too much about it. But Alabama's only lost once, and they lost to the best team -- they lost to LSU so, in theory, they'll get more votes than Oklahoma State. But it makes no sense. And again, we have this every year. And this year is no exception. And someone's going to -- Oklahoma State looks like they're going to get the raw end, unfortunately.
OK. Jon Wertheim, I forgot my LSU stuff, but I have this right here. That is the other reason the team --
WERTHEIM: I like that.
LEMON: Can you see that? That's nice. That's my Saints shirt.
WERTHEIM: There you go.
LEMON: I had to take it off because you could see the black T-shirt under my white shirt here, so there you go.
(LAUGHTER)
WERTHEIM: It's a good year for you.
LEMON: And there is the cover of "Sports Illustrated" right now. It's got Los Angeles Clippers' Blake Griffin on the cover.
And Jon's book is called "Scorecasting."
Thank you, Jon. Appreciate it. WERTHEIM: Thanks, Don.
