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Gunman Goes on Rampage in Hollywood; ESPN: Ex-AAU Chief Molested Boys; Talking with Bishop T.D. Jakes; Medicating Children for School; CNN Honors Heroes

Aired December 10, 2011 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. You're in THE CNN NEWSROOM.

Tonight, Los Angeles police are trying to sort out why a gunman suddenly started shooting at passing cars in Hollywood.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(GUNFIRE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my God!

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LEMON: On one of the most well-known intersections in Los Angeles, in the country really. Soon after this video was taken, police shot and killed that gunman. He was identified as 26-year-old Tyler Brehm. And, of course, the big question is why? Why did he do it?

Sergeant Mitzi Fierro is with the LAPD. She joins us now by phone.

So, Sergeant Fierro, tell us how long the gunman was shooting before he was shot?

SGT. MITZI FIERRO, LOS ANGELES POLICE DEPT. (via telephone): It appears that the incident took approximately -- a little over five minutes from beginning to end. As can see in the video, Tyler Brehm approached the intersection of Sunset and Vine armed with a handgun, started shooting at passing motorists, walked up and down the area of Sunset and Vine, and then walks southbound down Vine Street where he shot a passenger sitting in his vehicle, and then again proceeded back towards the intersection of Vine where he was -- excuse me -- back toward the intersection of Sunset where he was confronted by police, Sunset on Vine.

At that -- I lost you. Are you there?

LEMON: Yes.

FIERRO: At that point, the police ordered him to drop his weapon and he pointed his gun at the police. An officer-involved shooting then occurred.

At this point, we're still trying to piece together what motivated the shooting. We contacted his family who lives back east. We're trying to contact friends from the area to determine what exactly -- what the catalyst to this type of incident.

LEMON: So far nothing, huh?

FIERRO: So far we haven't been able to piece together really why he did it.

LEMON: Yes. Do you know how many shots he fired and did he ever stop to reload? Because there's video, I'm sure you've seen the video as well where he asks the guy in the fourth story window, up on the fourth floor, hey, give me some more ammo.

FIERRO: I couldn't -- I wasn't able to determine from the video whether or not he reloaded. It does show him firing a number of rounds. And we're actually finding casings up and down Vine.

LEMON: Goodness.

FIERRO: South of sunset.

So he fired a significant number of rounds. I'm sure at this point, investigators have an exact number. However, that has not been released to us at this point.

LEMON: So, you saw the guy in the window that I talk to you about, he was up on the fourth floor. We had him on CNN live an hour ago here. And he engaged him.

Is it smart for someone to engage someone like this to try to get their attention away from the people in traffic?

FIERRO: At that point, it appeared that he was in a position that he could do so without jeopardizing his safety. And, you know, it appears from the video that he was able to distract the suspect and keep him from shooting at additional people before the police arrived.

LEMON: What about victims? How many victims and their conditions?

FIERRO: We have three victims total at there point. The gentleman who was sitting in his car who was shot in the face and upper torso multiple times, and then we have two victims that received very minor injuries. We're very are fortunate that more people weren't injured during this incident.

LEMON: Sergeant, thank you so much. We are and that no one was killed, except for the gunman. Thank you. Appreciate you joining us.

FIERRO: Thank you.

LEMON: We have to tell you about another youth sports leader who's come under fire for alleged sexual abuse of children. The incidents were supposedly committed in the 1980s by Robert Dodd who later became the head of the Amateur Athletic Union. The AAU based in Orlando is one of the largest amateur sports organizations in the United States.

CNN's George Howell joins us on the phone from Memphis where these alleged incidents took place.

So, George, any response yet from either Dodd or the AAU?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, we are getting some information, new information, from the AAU, that they apparently received anonymous e-mails connected to these allegations, again, against Robert "Bobby" Dodd with the Amateur Athletic Union. Again, this is a big sports organization for young people, one of the biggest in the country.

This investigation, though, comes mainly from two former players who came forward to ESPN's "Outside the Lines" basically claiming that Dodd touched them inappropriately when they were teenagers back in the 1980s, several decades ago. And both are now grown men. Both say they decided to confront Dodd and speak out in light of the sex scandals at Penn State and Syracuse University.

Again, we're getting these tips from the AAU they got these anonymous e-mails also leading them to send this over to Memphis police who are conducting an investigation into this.

Now, one of the men spoke anonymously, but Ralph West spoke in that report on ESPN's "Outside the Lines" and claimed he was sexually abused at least six times in the 1980s. And the full story is set to air, Don, on ESPN "Outside the Lines" at 10:00 p.m. Sunday.

And since the story broke, the AAU says that Mr. Dodd is no longer the president of that group. They have brought in a new interim president, Louis Stout. And they say at this point they don't know exactly Dodd's whereabouts -- Don.

LEMON: So, George, these alleged incidents, did they happen before or after Dodd became head of the AAU?

HOWELL: You know, it's still not quite clear, Don, whether it was before or after. We do know that Dodd was a youth coach here in Memphis for the YMCA, worked with many kids here in the area. So, clearly, investigators are looking into that. But for several decades, he was the president of this big national organization, big nonprofit, for youth sports -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. George Howell, we appreciate your reporting.

News overseas now. The crisis in Syria shows no sign of ending. And the Arab League will meet again this week desperate for a way to end the bloodshed.

These pictures are said to be from today, although CNN can't confirm the authenticity of this video. Activists say at least 16 people were killed, but a full-scale assault that may be in the works didn't happen. Pro-democracy activists say the military has surrounded the city of Homs and fear they could launch that assault at any moment now.

An angry message from tens of thousands of protestors in Moscow to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin. Today's protests were some of the biggest since the fall of the Soviet Union. Demonstrators ignored the frigid weather to turn out. Many believe the last election was rigged in favor of Putin's United Russia Party. The demonstrators want the results thrown out and a new election held.

A convicted cop killer's life is spared 30 years after he committed his crime. The prosecution has dropped its pursuit of the death penalty. And get this -- the wife of the officer he killed supports the decision. That story in two minutes.

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LEMON: After 30 years, a convicted cop killer's execution is off the table for good. And the widow of the officer he killed supports the decision. She says she is tired of the constant reminders of her husband's death.

CNN's Susan Candiotti sat down with her.

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SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Thirty years after her police officer husband was gunned down on a Philadelphia street, Maureen Faulkner joined friends and family on Friday to honor him in the same church where they married in 1980.

MAUREEN FAULKNER, POLICE OFFICER'S WIDOW: On this day 30 years ago, when with Danny was murdered, I was just a young 25-year-old girl. I had no idea what my -- the last 30 years were going to be like.

CANDIOTTI: The man convicted of killing Officer Daniel Faulkner, Mumia Abu-Jamal, was sentenced to death by a jury in 1982. Appeals have kept his execution on hold.

FAULKNER: If they are going to have capital punishment in the state of Pennsylvania, then they need to enforce it.

CANDIOTTI: Yet Faulkner now supports the Philadelphia D.A.'s decision to stop pursuing the death penalty for Abu-Jamal.

FAULKNER: The appeals process would start all over again, just as it did in 1982 and we would go on until the day I die.

CANDIOTTI: A one-time radio reporter, Abu-Jamal has become an outspoken activist and author while on death row.

His supporters held their own rally Friday night. They call the D.A.'s decision a vindication of their believe that Jamal was wrongly convicted.

SUZANNE ROSS, "FREE MUMIA" SUPPORTER: There's no question that we consider it a setback for all those people who have been clamoring for 30 years to, quote, "try Mumia".

CANDIOTTI: But Suzanne Ross, who spent 30 years working to free Abu- Jamal says the decision doesn't go far enough. ROSS: We want Mumia released from prison. He is innocent man.

CANDIOTTI: Supporters claimed Abu Jamal had an inadequate defense. A jury with few African-Americans and a judge who favored the prosecution. Philadelphia's D.A. stands by the trial jury's verdict.

SETH WILLIAMS, PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ATTORNEY: While Abu-Jamal will no longer be facing the death penalty, he'll remain behind bars for the rest of his life. And that is where he belongs.

CANDIOTTI: From prison, Abu-Jamal called Friday night's rally urging supporters to continue the fight.

MUMIA ABU-JAMAL, CONVICTED OF KILLING OFFICER: I'm still on death row, it's just a slow death row. And I will fight just as hard if not harder that we fought the death penalty.

CANDIOTTI: For Maureen Faulkner, that call was just more salt on a 30-year-old wound.

FAULKNER: Why does he still have a voice when with he so brutally murdered Danny 30 years ago?

CANDIOTTI: Abu-Jamal's supporters will try to keep his voice in the spotlight, but for Maureen Faulkner, the focus will remain on keeping alive the memory of her late husband and all victims of violent crime.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Let's talk some politics right now.

Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich's campaign is clarifying remarks that he made about the Middle East peace process. In an interview with the Jewish Channel, a cable network, he described the peace process as, quote, "delusional."

Here's some of what he had to say.

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NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Well, I believe that the Jewish people have the right to have a state and I believe that the commitments that were made at a time -- remember, there was no Palestine as a state. It's part of the Ottoman Empire. And I think that we've had an invented Palestinian people who are, in fact, Arabs and were historically part of the Arab community.

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LEMON: That channel is called the Jewish Channel. And since that interview was released, the Gingrich campaign has issued a statement saying, quote, "Gingrich supports a negotiated peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians. However, to understand what is being proposed and negotiated, you have to understand decades of complex history," unquote.

We want to head now to Iowa where Gingrich and the other GOP hopefuls are getting ready for tonight's presidential debate. CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser standing by.

So, Paul, is there a strategy behind what Newt Gingrich said about the Middle East?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Don. Here's the politics. Because Gingrich is doing it and just about every other presidential candidate other than Ron Paul is doing the same thing. Maybe Gingrich went a little further.

But all year, this entire campaign, they've all been major supporters of Israel, pointing out what they would do as president to help the Jewish state. At the same time, they've been pointing out that president Barack Obama is not a really a friend of Israel and that his policies have made Israel less secure. We've seen this time and time again. Maybe Gingrich went a little further.

But what's the politics? Well, Jewish Republican voters? Yes, to a degree.

But there's another thing, and that's social conservative voters, big friends, very strong backers of Israel. And I think what this is what all the candidates are doing, trying to reach out to those voters. Here in Iowa and in South Carolina, two of the first three states to vote, these social conservative voters are very influential in the caucus here and in the primary there. So, Don, some politics at play.

One of the campaigns has responded. Mitt Romney's campaign, one of his surrogates, a foreign policy surrogates, a former ambassador, yesterday pointing out that Gingrich's words not helpful at all to the peace process and critical of what Newt Gingrich has said. So, Don, that is where things stand right now with his comments on Israel.

LEMON: And he's the front-runner in so many polls. And so the firestorm, it's all going to be centered on him.

STEINHAUSER: Oh, no doubt about it. Listen, this is the first debate in about three weeks, the last one our CNN debate in Washington, D.C., just before Thanksgiving. And as you said, a lot's changed since then. You look at all the polls, nationally and in most of the states other than New Hampshire, yes, Newt Gingrich is now the front-runner including a brand new CNN/"TIME"/ORC poll.

So, when you rise in the polls, when you become the front-runner, it brings more scrutiny. And I think we're going to see that tonight on the stage and the debate hall. We've already seen some of the other campaigns, the Romney campaign, the Paul campaign, critical of Gingrich over the last couple of days, trying to point out the differences.

In fact, just a few hours ago at a campaign event right here in Des Moines Mitt Romney said, yes, he would do that on the stage. He would point out his differences between him and Gingrich. We could also see Rick Santorum and Michele Bachmann, two other candidates who in the last couple of days have been critical of Gingrich, we could see some of that play out tonight. He definitely could be in the line of fire tonight, Don.

And, remember, Don, less than three week, or just over three weeks away now from the Iowa caucuses. So, the clock is ticking for these candidates to make an impression with those remaining undecided voters, Don.

LEMON: Three weeks away from the Iowa caucuses and you said the last debate was three weeks ago, like that was such a long time -- that wasn't that long ago, Paul.

STEINHAUSER: So much has changed in this race. It doesn't take much time at all, Don. I bet in three weeks, we may have another front- runner. We'll see.

LEMON: Who knows?

The familiar work station, debate work station behind you, we all know it too well. And, Paul, I've said this to you in person -- you should be one of those speed talkers. You can say more in a minute than most people can say in like an hour. Yes, you speak so quickly.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Thank you, Paul Steinhauser.

STEINHAUSER: I'll slow it down next time. I promise, Don. You got it.

LEMON: Thank you, sir. Enjoy. We'll be watching.

You know, he is a force behind best-selling books, popular movies and a church with 30,000 members. Bishop T.D. Jakes is going to join me after the break. There he is right there. And I'm going to ask him about -- we were just talking politics -- about our divided politics, our struggling economy, and what some people have labeled as a war on religion and a war on Christmas. Is it real?

Don't go anywhere. My conversation with him is next.

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LEMON: Bishop T.D. Jakes is one of America's best-known pastors. His media empire includes radio, television and film productions and numerous best-selling books. His latest is "The Relationship Bible: Life Lessons on Relationships from the Inspired Word of God." And his church, the Potter's House in Dallas, claims more than 30,000 members.

Bishop Jakes joins me tonight from Dallas.

It's good to see you. Happy -- merry Christmas, early Christmas, to you.

BISHOP T.D. JAKES, ST. PASTOR, THE POTTER'S HOUSE: Thank you, Don. Same to you. It's a pleasure to be with you.

LEMON: Let's talk about Christmas. Even if I said -- if I said, "Happy holidays to you," because some people will say happy holidays because they put Christmas and New Year's together. I don't necessarily mean they're trying to take away Christmas, but maybe you do.

We've heard so much about the war on Christmas in recent years, people complaining that Christianity has been shoved aside in favor of commercialism and political correctness. Do you agree with that? Do you think there's a war on Christmas?

JAKES: I think people are first of all trying to be so politically correct we're afraid to say anything to each other. And I think it's really unfortunate.

And there are certainly some groups of people who are anti any expression of Christianity and have been and probably are always will be. Although it's disappointing, it's what makes America great, that we have all the diversity in the midst of this great country. Learning to live with each other and respect each other and our differences and our uniquenesses is the objective that I think we have yet to master at this current time.

LEMON: And, you know, this has gotten political. Rick Perry has released an ad attacking President Obama. I want you to take a listen to it.

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GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a Christian, but you don't need to be in the pew every Sunday to know that there's something wrong in this country when gays can serve openly in the military but our kids can't openly celebrate Christmas or pray in school. As president, I'll end Obama's war on religion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: What do you think when -- I mean, I was going to ask you if you think President Obama has mounted a war on religion and Christmas. But when you hear that commercial, when you see that ad, what goes through your head?

JAKES: First of all, I dearly love Governor Perry. He's the governor of our state. I've known him very well for a number of years.

But on this particular issue, I see it quite differently. I just left Washington where I was with invited to a Christmas celebration with the president and the first lady. And previously, they had asked me to speak for an Easter service specifically on the death, burial and resurrection of our Lord.

So, I don't know what leads him to that perception.

But having interacted with the president personally, I am quite convince that if he had a war against Christianity, he wouldn't have asked me to preach on the death, burial and resurrection of the Lord for Easter and invite me back for Christmas. So, I think it's a terrible misunderstanding.

LEMON: That ad in general -- some people when you hear it, he says he's not ashamed to say I'm a Christian, which is fine, and then he talks about our men and women who happen to be gay who are in uniform and many who risk their lives and have died. It just strikes some people the wrong way.

JAKES: Well, I can understand that. My personal opinion, when it comes to defending the country, I think we need everybody that's eligible in the country to defend the country. That's just my personal opinion. Anybody that wants to give service to our nation, I respect them and honor and all of the men and women who are giving their lives for us, I certainly appreciate them.

Whether we agree on every other issue outside of that as it relates to religion and faith and all of that, again, our diversity is the strength of this nation, and I think that we really need to move away from the things that divide us and begin to focus more on the things that unite us and respect our differences but appreciate our commonalities as well.

LEMON: We're going to keep you here for a bit and continue this. Stay with us.

I want to continue the conversation and talk about -- I'd like to ask you about our fellow Americans who are struggling in this economy and the abuse scandals that have dominated the headlines lately. We're going to be right back.

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LEMON: Bishop Jakes is back, T.J. Jakes is back, best-selling author. His latest is called "The Relationship Bible." He's also the founder of the Potter's House Church in Dallas.

We're going to talk now about the state of our nation, the political gridlock in Washington. Any thoughts on how to unite what seems to be such a divided country right now?

JAKES: First, I think most Americans are really, really frustrated because we have this toxicity that continues to exist in our nation where people really benefit from our polarity rather than being centrist in their ideologies. I think that we have to tone down the hostility and move away from this type of rhetoric that is not solution-based.

What we need for the millions of people who are outside right now, who are sleeping in shelters right now, is the birthing of ideas. And this gridlock that we keep seeing in Washington is extremely disappointing from people that we are paying from our taxes to resolve the issues that threaten the welfare of our country.

LEMON: Because of the economy, because of the way things operate on the highest echelon of business, Wall Street, what have you, we have a lot of unemployment right now. The economy is bad. And now, then there's this movement, the Occupy Wall Street movement which has -- which has moved really across the country.

What are your thoughts on this protest? On these protests?

JAKES: Well, you know, first of all, again, I'm glad to live in a country where we have the freedom of expression and where we can express ourselves in nonviolent ways and for the most part they've done a great job with that. The thing I would love to see rise up out of the mayhem of the Occupy Wall Street movement is some deliverable ideas, this is what we want, some itemization of the ideas, and to really challenge the establishment to implement those ideas.

We're seeing the protesting, but by and large, this global 40,000-foot view of what they want, this euphoric ideology needs to be nailed down to some specific deliverables so that we can send a message to the powers that be, whether they'd be in Wall Street or Washington, that mainstream America really wants to see some change.

LEMON: And you're talking -- speaking truth to power basically, if you're going to have this movement, then you need to have a clear, concise message behind it, correct?

JAKES: Absolutely. I'm not exactly sure what that message is, and I'm not exactly sure that that message is the same from city to city. So there is some internal infrastructure that needs to be added to this movement for it to have the impact that it needs to have.

LEMON: Bishop, let's talk about all of these child self abuse scandals we have been hearing so much about recently, Penn State, Syracuse, on and on. There was another one today.

What is going on in our society, in our country, when you hear about cover-ups and things like that?

JAKES: You know something, Don, this has been going on for years and years and years. It's just that, with social networking and the 24- hour media cycles that today, it has come to the surface in the way that it has not done historically. But with one in six boys molested in this country before the age of 18 and one in four girls, this is not a new story and these cases with Penn State and Syracuse and elsewhere highlighted are important, but my concern, Don, is that most of the abuse that we're seeing happening in this country is not highlighted.

It is not with big celebrities or important or prestigious people. It's down in the trenches with nearly 50 percent of boys being molested in homes by people that they know. So I don't want us to demonize these people as the epitome of evil at the expense of overlooking people in our communities, in our neighbors and even our relatives who have access to our children.

It's time for parents to really take a sharp wake-up call and build the kind of communication mechanisms with their children so that we can really check to make sure that this is not happening not only at Penn State where we need to really stamp it out but also in our own neighborhoods and communities.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I have to ask you this, bishop. I have to ask you about Bishop Eddie Long. You know him. I think you're friends with him, a fellow pastor. He leads a mega church here in Atlanta. He settled several abuse cases that were filed against him, misconduct cases, is a better way of saying it. His wife just filed for divorce. Your thoughts on that, first, the misconduct allegations.

JAKES: Well, I think if there was actually misconduct we have - the young men involved - and they are older men. I think it's a little different from a 10-year-old who can't speak for himself. When you get these older boys who can make decisions, old enough to drive a car, old enough to go to war, if there is a deliberate action done here, we can't take a cash settlement when we really want justice done.

Because it leaves the public wondering what really happened. Because of the judicial system that we have today, none of us - our curiosities are not resolved because the only people who really know what happened between the boys and bishop are the boys and bishop. And perhaps we will never know at this point. But we can use it as a talking point, to begin to deal with how we interact with leadership and how we interact with people and what our expectations are of people.

And in that way I think it will do well. Look, the most recent information that I have read is that Bishop Long has taken a sabbatical with his wife to rebuild his marriage and strengthen his relationship. I read due to the pressure of all of the media.

LEMON: He said last Sunday in church that he's going to take some time off to deal with the issues with his family. But his wife did file for divorce and she said she stands behind that. She said it was, you know, irreconcilable differences, so that there's no chance of getting back together.

JAKES: Well, whenever I counsel any couple, Don, I try to see them resolve things because at the end of the day, above our jobs, above our careers and everything else, I think family is really important.

LEMON: Do you know how he's doing?

JAKES: I do not know. I do not know. I did know that he had decided to take a leave of absence until I read it. But I'm hoping that they're using it as a time to cut off the phone and the TV and really rebuild their relationship. For the people who are high profile like yourself, like me, him and others, it's very difficult to maintain a private life when you're living in a fish bowl all the time. Sometimes you have to cut off all the lights and put your priorities back into alignment. My prayer is that the Longs will use this opportunity to get that done.

LEMON: Well, that's what your new book is about partially. I'm sure you're talking about this. This is called the "Relationship Bible, Life Lessons on Relationships from the Inspired Word of God" right? JAKES: Absolutely. I find that the Bible really is full of relational information, whether it's in the workplace, whether it's dealing between mothers, daughters, fathers, sons or most importantly our relationship with god. The cross itself is not just a vertical relationship between us and god but also a horizontal, the implication is that god is also concerned about how we get along.

I put together a lot of articles. I added a lot of materials and highlighted scriptures to help people look into the word of god to help navigate through the crisis at work, at home or even at church.

LEMON: Bishop T.D. Jakes, thank you so much.

JAKES: Pleasure, sir.

LEMON: Talk to you soon.

Moving on now, they're inspiring people, doing extraordinary things and Sunday night CNN is honoring them. We're counting down to the "CNN All-star tribute." Next, you'll meet one of the finalists for hero of the year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A-listers will be out in a big way as we celebrate this year's top 10 CNN Heroes. Entertainment correspondent Kareen Wynter is at the L.A. Shrine Auditorium where final preps are being made for Sunday night's "CNN Heroes, an All-Star Tribute." Hello, Kareen, what can we expect? Major stars.

KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. A blockbuster night indeed, Don. Take a look behind me. I'm outside the Shrine Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. You really have to give it up to these guys, they've been out here all day long trying to put the finishing touches on everything. You can see the glamorous red carpet. It's already being laid down all the way to the end.

"Showbiz Tonight" at CNN Heroes, the live show right before "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute" that I'll be a part of. But this is so spectacular we're going to have guests like Kid Rock, George Lopez, Jerry Seinfeld. And we'll have stars, talk about the real stars of the night, Don, CNN's top 10 heroes. Wait until you hear this remarkable story from this remarkable man, Derreck Kayongo. He comes from Atlanta, his wonderful non-profit organization called the Global Soap Project.

And I have to tell you this is all about saving lives but what's so remarkable about your story is it's a story we can all relate to, Don. How many times have you visited a hotel and you use a soap once or twice and they throw it out. Well, Derreck's company has found a way to put that soap to good news.

Tell us all about it. It's a pleasure having you.

DERRECK KAYONGO, TOP 10 CNN HERO HONOREE: Thank you so much. Actually it's such a delight. Today 2.6 million bars of soap were thrown away. In aggregate annually we throw away about 800 million bars of soap. In juxtaposition we have two million children who die of diarrhea diseases every year. Can you imagine if we move that soap from the land fields that we throw away and made new bars of soap out of it to help a kid, save a life.

WYNTER: And it's really all about CNN heroes like yourself finding creative solutions to problems.

KAYONGO: Yes.

WYNTER: Your organization started in 2009. You've gathered up 200,000 bars of soap since then. And you're really impacting communities in, what, 10 countries right now, saving lives.

KAYONGO: Yes, actually 18 countries.

WYNTER: 18!

KAYONGO: 18 countries and I think that this is a simple solution to a big problem. So you think about how many kids don't have soap around the world, how many mothers would love a bar of soap. And here we are throwing it away. Well, no more. From today onwards, I think after CNN Heroes, I think we'll get enthusiasm behind this that the hotels will give us all the soap. And that also the kids that we're trying to help out there, will get a bar of soap. So this is a great time for us, it's a great story. You know, we're giving back.

I think we're very excited about what is going on, and I promise you next time you see me we'll have recycled a million bars of soap. How about that?

WYNTER: That sounds fantastic. It's a pleasure having you here.

KAYONGO: Thank you so much.

WYNTER: I know your wife and two children will be on hand as you are honored, all of CNN's other top 10 heroes, stories of inspiration just like this, Don. What could be better?

LEMON: Thank you, Kareen. We appreciate it. We'll be watching. And you, the audience, can see the 10 nominees and donate to the hero of the year that you'd like to choose, CNNheroes.com, just go to cnnheroes.com and watch "CNN Heroes, An All-Star Tribute" live Sunday night 8:00 p.m. Eastern/5:00 p.m. Pacific.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (voice-over): A dilemma united these two moms. Patricia Weathers and Sheila Matthews (ph) say elementary school staff pressured them to medicate their young sons for attention disorders.

PATRICIA WEATHERS, FOUGHT AGAINST MEDICATING SON: The school principal actually told me, you know, "your son is not focused, he's not on task, and this is like a continual problem. She goes, counseling is too slow a process, and you need to put your child on medication.

PERRY (on camera): You fought it, though, in the beginning.

WEATHERS: Something inside of me told me that that was not what I wanted to do.

PERRY: Right. What do you mean?

WEATHERS: He literally attacked me, physically hitting me. He went to school and he was banging his head against the desk. When he was asked to take a test, he ate the test. And I said, "This is not my son. I'm pulling my son off these drugs."

PERRY: You Sheila had a similar situation?

SHEILA MATTHEWS, REFUSED TO MEDICATE SON: My son, too, he was seven at the time. I started getting calls. He was calling out, getting up out of his seat, and then I was told by the school psychologist that I should really consider putting him on psychiatric drugs. I was, like, this is so not what I want.

PERRY (voice-over): Sheila saw Patricia on TV during one of the times she testified before Congress about medicating children labeled ADD or ADHD.

WEATHERS: Because our children are suffering -

MATTHEWS: I called her up and I was, like, help me. And she was, like, my suggestion is that you research the drugs, and my suggestion is you don't do it. I went to the school and "I said, I am not putting my son on these drugs. This is so wrong. And we're going to tell other moms about this."

PERRY: In 2001, the women became activists, forming a nonprofit Able Child which educates parents and lawmakers. After Patricia found out that her son had anemia, hypoglycemia and allergies, she changed his diet and his attention problems improved.

Sheila focused on how her son communicated by working on his speech and language, his disruptive behavior stopped.

WEATHERS: Parents aren't being told that there are other solutions that you can deal with a child because the medication and drugs are like the quick fix.

PERRY: Steve Perry, Middle Brooke, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, Patricia's son, Michael and Sheila's son, Joseph, are now thriving young adults, both graduated high school. Michael is a mechanic living in New York and Joseph is a sophomore majoring in marketing in Bowling Green State University.

A hot gift idea this holiday season, computer tablets. Find out which one gives you the most bang for your buck, coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A popular item on Christmas lists this year, tablet computers. But figuring out which tablet is the best option can be pretty tricky. So joining us now from San Francisco to help us figure out all of that is Brian Tong. He is the editor of CNET. OK. Brian, break it down for us.

BRIAN TONG, EDITOR, CNET: Yes, Don. OK. Well, when you're looking for tablets, there's just kind of two ways to look at it. One is what do you want to do with it and really how much are you willing to spend? So I kind of have a few here that I brought just to break down that division.

There's really two classes. So obviously the tablet that everyone knows about and has heard about, the iPad, right? This guy known for all of its apps, the ease of use, but it's also known for its price tag which starts at $499. So you know, although it really defined what a tablet experience could be, it may not be in everyone's wheel house.

Now we also wanted to show you one of the competitors to the iPad. This is called the Asus Transformer Prime. When you look at it, you're like, why is this a laptop but the trick about this guy is that I can actually take this tablet off. It's thinner than an iPad and separated from its base, which makes it serve as a keyboard. This is also a $499 tablet. But one of the criticism is Android based tablet typically, you get, is that there's not as many robust apps or the experience isn't as tight as what you're used to seeing on an Apple iPad. So those kind of cover the high end, right?

LEMON: Yes. Let's - Do you have more to show? Because what I wanted do is these two tablets, or whatever unless you have more to show, the prices side by side. You have more?

TONG: Yes.

LEMON: You have more? Show more, go ahead.

TONG: Two more. This is kind of more of the general consumer tablets here. We have the Kindle Fire and the Nook tablet. These are seven- inch tablets but they start at a price point of either $249 for this Nook tablet or $199 and what people found out and if you look at the breakdown of the graphic that you guys have, we talked about the iPad and the Asus Transformer and those are both 499 -

LEMON: The two that you have up now, Brian - the two that you have - can we take that graphic down? And then we'll talk about that. Put them up together because that one is like - the one you have in your left hand is like just a bigger cell phone. It's not that much bigger than some cell phones. Can you operate that?

TONG: Yes, if you have big pockets, you might be able to fit it in your pocket. The trick with a seven-inch screen is that although can you browse the web, it's a little more cramped. A lot of people are looking at these tablets as a way to, you know, take video, movies, music and reading with them on the go. So we found with tablets it's more of a consumption device which means I don't have to have everything. It doesn't have to be like a computer but it's something like this seven-inch tablet that's $199. This might be the magic sweet spot for people.

LEMON: OK. Now let's show the comparison. Let's put it all up.

TONG: OK.

LEMON: So which tablet gives you the most bang for your buck here?

TONG: Well, for most people, I'm going to say it's probably looking at the $249 and $199 price point. And the reason why is like I said earlier most people just want to browse the web a little bit. Take some movies on the go. It's really great - it's light in your bag. You can you do everything that some of these higher end tablets do, but not everyone wants to video conference, not everyone needs GPS or blue tooth. Those are higher end features in these 499 tablets. So I would look at either Amazon Kindle Fire, the Nook tablet, if you're really just trying to get into the tablet products, and just see if you even like these. Because at the same time a tablet really isn't for everyone.

LEMON: Yes. Hey, we've been talking for a long time and really I'm out of time here. I want to ask because there's one that's supposed to give the iPad a run for its money. So my question is, are they all available for Christmas including the one that is supposed to rival the iPad?

TONG: Well, they all were up until the Asus Transformer Prime that we talked about that came, keyboard base. They're delaying that until after Christmas which is - they're going to lose that entire shopping season. So that's going to be a big miss for them. Everything else you can buy them online. Amazon's Kindle Fire, you have to get them directly from Amazon. But everyone else, you'll see all those tablets available and in stock.

LEMON: (INAUDIBLE) All right. Thank you, Brian Tong. Appreciate it.

TONG: I will see you, Don.

LEMON: The Eurozone crisis threatens to send the world back into another global financial recession but you wouldn't know it by looking at the stock market. Should you get out of the market before it's too late.

CNN's Christine Romans and Matt McCall from Penn Financial Group break it down.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: We've been talking about Europe's debt crisis and the effect it could have on the United States. Some are drawing comparisons between Europe's potential threat of collapse and the collapse of Lehman Brothers in 2008.

Here's what happened to the Dow in the six months following Lehman's collapse. You can you see there it was a very, very rough time. Matt McCall is president of Penn Financial Group. Matt, there have been some good days and bad days but recently even in the face of Europe's uncertainty, the Dow has been above 12,000. Is this your last chance to get out when you see history like this?

MATT MCCALL, PRESIDENT, PENN FINANCIAL GROUP: Well I look at this chart and have a couple different views. One, it makes me a little bit sick and it scares me. But then back in March we actually bottomed below 7,000 and a year and a half later you actually doubled your money. So it's tough to kind of time it.

ROMANS: And now that market is right back up at 12,000 where it started.

MCCALL: Yes. And a lot of people waiting for the exits right there in March. We're not near the lows now so we're not in that same type of predicament. But there's a good chance we could have a major pullback if something doesn't happen in Europe and here in the United States. The political landscape right now is causing, you know, a lot of concern for investors, our confidence has been falling, the housing market is still falling apart.

So last chance to get out, I don't know if I want to call it that but you actually have to be nimble and start looking at a portfolio and thinking, you know, if you're concerned and you're too risky, start selling.

ROMANS: So let me clarify it a little bit then, let me quantify. If you need the use of your money in the next year, should that money be sitting in an e-trade account.

MCCALL: It should not be in (INAUDIBLE) to pay that loan. Your money should be in a savings account. Unfortunately you're not getting much - you know, interest on that, maybe half a percent if anything. But in the next year, you have to have cash. If you have a 20-year time horizon, Christine, sure you can be in that chart because there's a good chance you'll bounce back.

ROMANS: And you can buy all the way in.

MCCALL: You don't want to be buying in. That will cost average in on the way down.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Be sure to watch "Your Money" with Christine Romans and Ali Velshi every Saturday at 1:00 Eastern and again every Sunday at 3:00 Eastern here on CNN.

Just in time for the holidays, joyous reunions in Virginia. As our military men and women come back from Iraq and Afghanistan and a holiday tradition that honors the fallen. Volunteers across the country lay wreaths at military graves. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Now some other stories making news today. A happy homecoming for thousands of sailors on board the two U.S. destroyers, a cruiser and aircraft carrier "George H.W. Bush." They arrived back in Norfolk today, after a seven-month deployment, supporting troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Family members were right there to welcome them back, all thrilled their loved ones will be home for the holidays.

President Barack Obama attended the 112th Army-Navy football game today at Fedex Field outside of Washington, D.C.. The vice president and his wife joined him for the game. President Obama didn't play favorites. He watched from Navy's side for the first half and from Army's side the second half. Navy won, 27-21. Wow that was close.

Volunteers across the country are remembering fallen U.S. service members by laying wreaths on their headstones. Wreaths across America has grown into a holiday tradition. More than 700 state and national cemeteries, dozens of U.S. military cemeteries on foreign soil and all of the sites of the September 11th attacks now take part. About 90,000 wreaths were left on headstones at Arlington National Cemetery alone.

A cross-town rivalry got out of hand today in Cincinnati. Players from Xavier and Cincinnati traded punches as their basketball game was ending. The brawl cut the game short with nine seconds left. Xavier had already put the game out of reach, 76-53. Suspensions are expected once the league has the chance to review that video.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta. We'll see you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. Good night.