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Elderly Woman Set on Fire in Elevator; Deadly Clashes in Egypt; U.S. Completes Pullout from Iraq; 652 Confirmed Dead in the Philippines; Mitt Romney Wins Endorsements; Kobe Bryant's Wife Files for Divorce; Gas Prices Going Down; FAMU's Hazing Issue Goes On
Aired December 18, 2011 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us so much in the CNN NEWSROOM. Right now, we're going to get you caught up on all the day's headlines. And I have to warn you -- I've got to warn you -- you might not want small children in the room for this next story. It is that bad.
An alleged $2,000 debt is believed to be the motive behind the brutal killing of an elderly woman in New York City. A 47-year-old suspect is in custody right now in the fatal attack. Surveillance video appears to show a man dressed as an exterminator spraying his victim with flammable liquid as she stood inside an elevator. He then sets her on fire. Residents quickly called 911 but not in time to save her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I smelled smoke, like an electrical fire. I go back outside. I see smoke pouring out of the elevator. I go back to my apartment, called 911. Myself and someone from the sixth floor were running down knocking on everyone's door to get out. You know, knocking on doors, telling people there's a fire. Get out, get out.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: NYPD Deputy Commissioner Paul Browne joins us now by telephone. Thank you so much, Commissioner, for joining us.
Tell us what the suspect is saying. Apparently he was owed some money, and that's why he said he did this, is that correct?
PAUL BROWNE, NYPD DEPUTY COMMISSIONER (via telephone): Well, that's his play, yes. He says he had done some work for Miss Gillespie over the last year or so and he was owed money for that. And that's the stated purpose of this horrific attack.
LEMON: So deputy commissioner, just because these are stills, was the woman doused with the flammable liquid or was she attacked with a Molotov cocktail?
BROWNE: Actually both.
LEMON: Ok.
BROWNE: He initially sprays her with the accelerant in the frames you're showing, spraying her with it. Then he followed her into the elevator and methodically continued spraying her. The initial hit was in her face -- probably gasoline in the ace -- and then kind of methodically doused her spraying it. And then he -- using one of those long lighters you would use for a grill, he lit a Molotov cocktail and used the burning rag on the top of that to ignite her body.
Then he stepped out of the elevator, threw the Molotov cocktail inside and then returned one more time into the elevator to continue spraying flammable -- the accelerant on her. At this point, of course, she was down on the elevator floor.
LEMON: Oh, my gosh, it's just horrific. Can I ask you this, if those -- are these stills from videotape or is it just the stills of this incident? Do you have videotape of it?
BROWNE: There's videotape cameras both inside and outside the elevator. These were stills we took in order to show his picture when we were still on the hunt for him and not show the graphic attack on Miss Gillespie.
LEMON: On this woman. Has Jerome Isaac -- that's his name and he is 47 years old -- has he been charged yet? Can you detail to us what he --
BROWNE: Yes. He's been charged with murder in the first degree. He's also been charged with arson in this case.
LEMON: Did he live in the building?
BROWNE: He lived -- he resided not too far away. In fact, about ten minutes after this attack, he went and ignited the door of the apartment that we have as his own residence and he was concerned he may have burned himself in that second arson to the extent that he might be suspected of being involved in it and then he hid out on a rooftop in the neighborhood, fell asleep, and then later walked into a police facility reeking of gasoline and initially said he was responsible for a fire. But then under questioning with detectives implicated himself in the death of Dolores Gillespie.
LEMON: Was he burned himself?
BROWNE: I'm not exactly sure if he actually received burns or he thought he did in that second incident.
LEMON: What do you know --
BROWNE: There were no injuries to anyone else in that other incident.
LEMON: What do you know about the victim, 73-year-old Dolores Gillespie?
BROWNE: From everything we hear about it, she was just this sweet 73- year-old woman who lived for decades in that building. I think you may have had an earlier report she gave toys to children in the neighborhood.
LEMON: Yes. All of you --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I know there's a first for everything. I have never reported on a story like this. Have you ever heard of anything like this in all of your years in the police?
BROWNE: Well, this is as bad as it gets.
LEMON: Yes. Deputy Commissioner for NYPD, Paul Browne; thank you, sir, we appreciate you joining us on CNN. It's a terrible story.
BROWNE: Welcome.
LEMON: Let's move on now and talk about news overseas. Recent clashes in Cairo looked like a brief flare-up in violence. But new video makes this look a lot different, more violent than before, a more violent revolution. The pictures show security forces mercilessly beating protesters. The pictures are grim and if there are children in the room you may want to take them out.
Our journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy describes the scene in Cairo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MOHAMED FADEL FAHMY, CNN JOURNALIST: Since we spoke, Don, the clashes have still been ongoing between the protesters and the police and the army. Today the video we acquired CNN video of the woman that was beaten severely and stripped of a substantial amount of her clothes. I spoke to the man who filmed the video and he was very devastated because when he was filming he saw how cruel the army was. They were beating elderly children and the girl herself was extremely beaten.
Just now I spoke to a friend of hers and she told me that the girl does not want to speak to the media. She is worried the situation might be escalating. Her parents don't even know what happened to her. They don't know she is the one in the video especially that the picture has been on the front page of several newspapers here in Cairo. And it has fueled a lot of rage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I also questioned him about a Cairo library that was torched burning 213-year-old manuscripts that officials say are irreplaceable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FADEL FAHMY: The library I was there at the site today to see what happened with it. It's a 200-year-old library with manuscripts that cannot be replaced. Today there was a rescue mission ongoing as we speak. Many protesters and residents have been trying to salvage whatever is left from these books and manuscripts that clearly a big loss to Egypt as a nation and, you know, they are trying to save whatever they can. There are people who are -- the church is helping, the mosques are helping and it's basically finger pointing.
Again, the military saying the protesters caused the loss and the protesters are saying the military caused the loss because the military was on the rooftop of the library building throwing chairs and glass bottles at the protesters so they were responding back with Molotov cocktail.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was journalist Mohamed Fadel Fahmy speaking to me in detail about Cairo's -- the chaos as we say raging in Cairo right now.
The last remaining American combat troops are now out of Iraq bringing an end to a war that's lasted nearly nine years and cost almost 4,500 American lives. CNN was at the Iraq/Kuwait border at the moment the final convoy rolled through.
Here is how it played out live on our show last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is breaking news Hala and it is history, the war in Iraq is officially over. U.S. Troops are moving across the border into Kuwait now.
HALA GORANI, ANCHOR, CNN INTERNATIONAL: And what this means is that really the last vehicle and the last convoy of the last, last, last anything you can imagine in terms of the military is crossing into Kuwait.
MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Here's the (INAUDIBLE) truck. It's probably -- this vehicle here is probably part of the route clearance element that comes through ahead of each series and makes sure that the road is clear. And behind those vehicles is going to be the last of the U.S. military presence or fighting presence in Iraq.
There's about 500 soldiers who have come over, men and women who have been coming over during the night and these are going to be the last of these. So it's been quite a historic moment and a very emotional moment around here overnight. But this is the last of the last coming up behind me right now. Certainly after nearly nine years, 4,500 U.S. military deaths, 33,000 plus wounded and of course, nearly a trillion dollars, of course, this is now the very end as these guys come across.
LEMON: Is this the last convoy truck behind you? They're closing the gate.
HOLMES: Yes the gate is closing. The gate is closing. So this is the last vehicle. Fittingly perhaps it is an MRAP (ph), one of the signature vehicles of this war brought in when the roadside bombs became so vigorous. Let's just listen as this truck drives past.
The gates are now closed. The last U.S. soldier is out of Iraq, other than those who are going to be involved with embassy duties and the like. So history in the making. Of course, the conversation you've been having and we should continue to have, of course, is the Iraq that they're leaving behind, an Iraq where it may not be officially at war but it's certainly a long way from being at peace, Hala.
GORANI: Joining us now is Iraq's former national security adviser, Mowafac al Rubaie.
MOWAFAC AL RUBAIE, FORMER NATIONAL SECURITY ADVISER OF IRAQ: I have to say that big, big, big thank you to the United States of America for bringing down Saddam Hussein overthrowing that horrible, brutal regime just ended nine years ago.
What happened after the bringing down Saddam Hussein was a lot of collateral damages on the Iraqi side. And I think this is a jubilant moment. And we feel in Iraq that we own the country now. We regain our country. We have now our sovereignty and independence completely.
And we -- the sense of belonging is now at a sky-high to Iraq and we believe that we are on the right track.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And that's how the war in Iraq officially ended live on CNN.
And just ahead here on CNN, the Philippines struggling to deal with a massive natural disaster; villages wiped off the map by flash floods, the death toll climbing. The story is straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In the Philippines now the death toll rising rapidly from a devastating tropical storm that engulfed the islands this weekend. More than 650 people are confirmed dead. At least 125,000 people have been displaced or otherwise impacted. Some help is getting to the victims. The U.S. has offered to help with that recovery.
Jacqui Jeras here, she knows all about these storms and the Philippines, really Jacqui no stranger to storms. Why is this one so deadly?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it hit in a different part of the Philippines actually. And part of it the reason and this was an area that usually gets maybe one every 12 years, all right. So it's not as common there.
The other part, it came at night and it was a very quick moving storm. It had over a month's worth of rain in about 12 hours and the floodwaters came in and they reached the rooftops. So there was very little time to get out of there.
The good news now is that much drier weather has moved in. This is where the storm is now and it's weakening, expected to dissipate altogether before it has the chance to reach land at all. So hopefully we're all over and done with that storm system. But just a very sad situation overall, certainly, Don. And there's a major snowstorm brewing right here in the United States.
JERAS: Yes. I know. A lot of people wanting to travel this week with the holidays approaching and this is really a very high-impact storm and it's going to really cripple traffic, we think, in some parts of the country and the big area that we're most concerned about along I-25 here into Colorado, into new Mexico, along I-40 as we head over towards Oklahoma and then up here to the south of I-70.
So this will be the area of the most accumulating snow. It's also going to be the area of strongest winds and we're talking 35 to 45- mile-per-hour gusts that creates whiteout conditions and really makes it difficult to move around at all. So they're advising officials in New Mexico, they've already released a statement saying stay at home. All right.
So things get started tomorrow. It's been bringing some light rain into the southwest. A little bit of snow today. But this will pick up in forward speed. It's going to pick up in intensity and it's going to pick up a lot of moisture.
On the front side of this, we're talking about potential for severe thunderstorms across parts of southeastern Texas. That includes you in the Houston area for tomorrow afternoon and there you can see on the back side that that cold air advances and moves in where we're going to see that foot plus or so of snow. So this kind of spells it out for you.
The best thing I can tell you about this is that for the most part it misses the big city. It stays north of Oklahoma City and just kind of sneaks its way into Kansas City so it's a less traveled area, slightly less population; so, trying to look at it as the glass half full sort of thing.
A cold front comes down associated with this as well and we're going to see a big drop in the temperatures. So as we head into tomorrow, our forecast highs and back into the 20s for you in Minneapolis. Only 30 in Denver, still very mild ahead of this so enjoy your 60s while it lasts because eventually it's all going to sweep through and everybody is going to be a lot colder, Don, by the weekend.
I know you don't want --
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: You know 70s in December is really not --
LEMON: All right. So it all started at 6:00, right at the top of 6:00 when we Fredricka and I were talking about marriage. I'm not cynical about marriage. I'm just stirring the pot, Jacqui. I'm a big romantic. I'm just stirring the pot.
JERAS: Oh, man. She deserves half, just saying.
LEMON: We'll agree to disagree.
JERAS: Ok.
LEMON: We are less than a year from deciding the next president of the United States and it could be the PhD versus the MBA for the Republican nomination. Coming up: Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney, what are their chances? In-depth analysis ahead on the other side of this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's all about politics, isn't it? The tug of war over your paycheck may go back to square one. House Republicans aren't happy with the plan the Senate passed yesterday to extend the payroll tax cut for more than two months instead of a full year. Speaker John Boehner tells NBC that the short term fix just isn't acceptable.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. JOHN BOEHER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Two months is just kicking the can down the road. The American people are tired of that. Frankly I'm tired of it on the House side. We've seen this kind of action before coming out of the senate. It's time to just stop, do our work, resolve the differences, and extend this for one year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So the majority leader Eric Cantor says the House will convene tomorrow and either amend the Senate's bill or pass a motion to send it to a conference committee. That committee would slug it out over the differences between the Senate's two-month extension and the House's full year extension plan. If they don't get it done by January 1st, 160 million Americans will start taking home less pay. Your government at work.
Mitt Romney is picking up steam in his run for the White House. Republican presidential nominee Bob Dole endorsed him. So did the "des Moines Register" newspaper and, remember, the important Iowa caucuses January 3rd. Nikki Haley also rallied for Romney. Will all that political love make Mitt Romney more likeable, more acceptable to Republicans?
Political analyst Goldie Taylor is here with her take. Goldie is sitting next to me talking to the TV going, what? You say no. It's not going to make him more likeable. Then what is?
GOLDIE TAYLOR, POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. The GOP establishment long since came out in favor of Mitt Romney and still his numbers have topped around 25 percent, 26 percent. The very idea that many of them are coming out now, now that they're afraid that a candidate they may not like, may take the nomination, they're coming out publicly.
Nikki Haley has done it. You know, the "Des Moines Register" has done it. But I'm not sure that it's going to make a dime's worth of difference in a place like Iowa where you have staunchly conservative Republicans who don't trust Mitt Romney on the issues.
LEMON: Ok. So what about Newt Gingrich? He was topping the polls. What happened? Why can't either of these candidates break from the rest?
TAYLOR: I think they have a couple of issues. Number one, you have this very ultra conservative Republican base that if you stray away from their party line or their version of the Republican Party, then you're just not going to earn their support. So this is not a time for a common sense Republican. This is a time for a very ultra right- wing Republican and so the others just can't survive in this kind of environment.
LEMON: Ok Goldie. One candidate who is riding high right now, Ron Paul; multiple polls show him in third place or tied for second. He was on "The Tonight Show" with Jay Leno on Friday. Here he is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, TALK SHOW HOST: How about Mitt Romney?
RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He used to be governor of Massachusetts.
LENO: Right, right, right. Very good. That's like a Rick Perry answer.
PAUL: Maybe that's where he should stay at, being governor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Listen, regardless of your politics, he's a likeable guy. You have to like him right? Most people like him.
TAYLOR: Depends on how much you know --
LEMON: If he showed up at your dinner party --
TAYLOR: If he showed up at your dinner, you'd like to have him there. But you know, he's likeable depending on how much you know about his politics.
LEMON: Does he have a chance in you know what of getting the nomination?
TAYLOR: He likely does not have a shot at winning the entire nomination but he does have a shot at changing the conversation. And in Iowa he has a clear shot to win Iowa because he's organized, he has the money, he has the volunteers. He has the turnout machine that it takes to win in the very retail politics of Iowa, a place like Iowa. He'll make the other candidates have to go back and reorganize and start again.
LEMON: Ok. So for us political novices or mini political novices, Goldie why are these caucuses so important?
TAYLOR: Well, I'll start with what it doesn't do.
LEMON: Iowa. TAYLOR: Iowa does not predict the Republican nomination. What it does, however, is allow these candidates to test their message; to test it up close with voters again and again. It gives them an opportunity to connect and show their mettle with the GOP establishment. Am I a candidate worthy of getting behind?
If so, when the big money donors take a look at this race, they go, let me see what he did in Iowa. Let me see what he did in New Hampshire.
LEMON: Ok. We're done with politics now.
Let's move on and talk about what we were talking with about in the break. We're talking about Kobe Bryant and his wife, and there's been a big discussion with the ladies in the studio and there are a lot of guys on Twitter saying it's a war on men, half, why should we pay half when the woman is not earning and what have you. You say?
TAYLOR: It's a tough conversation to have. There's no right or wrong answer. I'll tell you why the laws were put in place in the first place. Men who had wives who stayed at home, who were taking care of children, keeping house, when they left for the next marriage, they left these women without child support, without spousal support; women who had not made a life for themselves. And so they changed -- they made this law, so that these women and children could be taken care of in their transition.
The number one reason for children living in poverty in this country is lack of child support by the former husband. So whether he's making $40,000 or $40 million a year, then an equitable distribution is in favor. If he wanted to protect himself from half --
LEMON: He should have done the pre-nup.
TAYLOR: He should have a pre-nup.
LEMON: Here is the thing. And I know I said right up front. You have to take care of your kids. There is no doubt about that and probably keep them in the lifestyle that they're accustomed to and if you can make it better, make it better.
But why would someone who has not earned the money make half the money for the duration of their lives when you've been married only ten years? It doesn't make sense to me. I would not ask that of someone -- if my partner made more money than me and we broke up, I would never have the gumption to say half of yours is mine and you owe me. No one owes you anything.
TAYLOR: Marriage is both a legal and a social contract. And the social contract you make with your partner might be a different social contract than I make with my partner. So you might have -- my husband likes it that I work. That's the thing. No stay-at-home here.
But there are other relationships where the social contract is that if you don't work and stay home and take care of house and children so that I can go out and provide, then I have a social contract with you that I'm going to provide for you in an ongoing way. And so I think it's a personal decision.
Kobe Bryant made a personal decision.
LEMON: Absolutely. Absolutely. But also it's your choice to stay home and not make money. It's your choice not to go into your education. You don't have to make that choice. I don't understand why anyone would block someone from getting an education from an earning potential. If you love someone you want them to be as big and as great and the best that they can.
TAYLOR: Right. Absolutely. They made that decision together. They are now making a decision to divorce together. I understand the settlement has already been made and that tells you a lot about this relationship.
LEMON: So the final thing here, pre-nup, everybody, right?
TAYLOR: If you need a pre-nup, you're going to need to get divorced.
LEMON: Yes. Goldie, thank you. I appreciate it. You're the best.
TAYLOR: Absolutely.
LEMON: Let's move on now. Two very different pictures of alleged WikiLeaks leader Bradley Manning; his lawyers say he was talented but struggling with personal issues. Prosecutors call him a skilled, calculating traitor. An update on his trial, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here's what's going on, pay attention. These are your headlines right now.
During a military hearing in Maryland today, prosecutors called Bradley Manning a calculating traitor known for his computer expertise and emotional outbursts. A defense expert also said Manning's computer in Iraq had an unusual amount of problems. Manning is the army private accused of providing secret government documents to WikiLeaks.
The hearing will determine if he will face a full military trial.
Rescuers are searching for 49 people missing after an oil rig capsized and sank off eastern Russia. They're battling high winds and huge waves in the freezing waters. These are file pictures of the rig which went down while being towed in a storm. Officials say at least four bodies have been found and 14 people were rescued.
More than 500 Palestinian prisoners are free now. They filed into the West Bank after Israel released them. They are the second group of prisoners exchanged for the release of Gilad Shalit. He was freed in October after being held by Hamas for five years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, my.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Isn't that odd? Look at that. It's hard to believe and it's kind of hard to watch. Seven people were injured when this runaway cart plowed right into some people at Cowboys Stadium last night. It happened after a high school playoff game. All seven, though, were treated for minor injuries at the stadium. But ESPN is reporting one man was taken to the hospital just as a precaution. They're trying to figure out exactly why it happened.
All right. Gas prices keep tumbling. The Lundberg survey says the price of a gallon fell five cents over the past two weeks, continuing a trend that started back in October. The average price of a gallon of regular is now $3.24. The reason for the latest drop, crude oil prices dropped $7 a barrel over the last two weeks.
A special group of angels is pitching in this holiday season to help. In Indianapolis, a woman walked into a K-Mart and paid off the layaway bills of several cash strapped families. The shopper said she wanted to make the holiday better for as many people as she could. She paid off the layaway bills of over 50 customers, the bounces ranged from $10 to nearly $800. The same thing is happening all across the country.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EDNA DEPPE, KMART ASSISTANT MANAGER: She said that she had money. She wanted to make Christmas happy. And it was like an angel had just dropped out of the sky.
ANGIE TORRES, CUSTOMER: I took out my credit card to pay my minimum balance. She said, "Don't pay that. I'm going to pay it for you."
I said what can we do for you? She said "The only thing you can do for me is to give back."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: There is proof right there that the holiday spirit is alive and well. Nice going.
Well, straight ahead here on CNN, Florida A&M's alumni association delivers a message. Weighing in on the future of FAMU's president.
But first, according to a national report released just this week, nearly half of America's public schools failed federal achievement standards. So how can parents help turn around a failing school? We get some advice from education contributor and principal Steve Perry in this edition of "Perry's Principles."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR (on camera): There are ways you can improve the school. The first is that you as a parent have to get involved, you have to meet with the principal and the teachers there and you have to come and be solution oriented. Coming in and pointing out problems doesn't help anybody. We see the same problems as you do. Talk to other parents and see what they think. Get your PTA together and as a group be solution oriented. Talk about how you can improve your reading scores, math scores, talk about how you can make it a more comfortable environment, fight the powers that want to maintain the status quo within the school. Demand that people stay after school with your children even if it is outside the contract. You must be determined to get the best education out of any school that you have to send your child to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Florida A&M's alumni association says their president should not be suspended over the hazing scandal while the investigation wears on. Drum major Robert Champion died last month. An autopsy ruled he died from blunt force trauma during a hazing indent. Today the alumni group said hazing needs to stop especially at historically black colleges.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TOMMY MITCHELL, PRESIDENT, FAMU NAA: We are 70,000 graduates strong and we call an end to senseless hazing rituals. We anticipate prosecution and penance. Since hazing is a nationwide problem, we stand ready to take the lead on working with FAMU administrator (INAUDIBLE) U.S. institution, other (INAUDIBLE) in Florida and in the United States, other universities as well as middle and high schools around the state and the country to solve this age-old problem across the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: No one has been charged in Champion's death. Another band member Bria Hunter says Champion actually warned her weeks before his death. Last night I spoke with BJ Bernstein who is now representing Hunter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: She did an interview, she and her mom did an interview before you became her attorney because you would have not allowed this interview.
BJ BERNSTEIN, ATTORNEY: No, no.
LEMON: So let's do the longer sound bite first, a longer one where she talks about the hazing and her mom stops her in the middle of it, saying "Hey, I don't think you need to talk any more." Let's find out first and then we'll talk to BJ about it.
BRIA HUNTER, ALLEGED HAZING VICTIM: The first day everybody - well, not everybody was - some, a good few people got hit.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need to stop.
BRIA HUNTER: OK.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm uncomfortable.
BRIA HUNTER: They went around the room and they asked people, do you want to be a part of this organization?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's an organization within the band.
BRIA HUNTER: Well, it's not affiliated with the band but it's in the band.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you mean?
BRIA HUNTER: Like it's not legal.
LEMON: OK. The mom was not comfortable talking about it but they in some way kind of knew what was going on but did they know how severe it was?
BERNSTEIN: You know, obviously no. You don't know that your child is going to be beat to the stage that she's in the hospital or with Robert Champion, your child is going to be, that he die.
LEMON: But her dad was in the band, wasn't he?
BERNSTEIN: Her dad was in the band but it wasn't like this when he was there to this level. And again, this is the problem. It's an open secret at Florida A&M and other institutions where hazing occurs.
LEMON: OK. Let's talk about Robert Champion. He died. His death was ruled a homicide. An autopsy revealed that the hazing trauma was the cause of his death. They were friends. He warned her. Listen.
BRIA HUNTER: He didn't like it. He told me not to let anyone touch me.
BERNSTEIN: Even worse what that child said and it gives me chill bumps and met his parents the other day. Bria has told me that Robert said to her hazing is like a cancer. And one day it's going to be found and come to light. And who could have realized that what's brought it to light was that child's own death? If that doesn't give every person chill bumps who says "You know why are you going after the school? Why is it the school's fault?" Because there is a tradition and fraternities and sororities and there are a lot of alums know exactly what I'm talking about.
But they have to stop and think things are changing, times are changing. Why is violence a way to show your loyalty? You can show your loyalty to your fellow pledges, to your classmates in so many other constructive ways and in a world where we're upset about bullying -
LEMON: Right. BERNSTEIN: Where we're upset - this whole newscast about the violence in our world. These are the good kids, these are the kids who are scholars, who are musicians.
LEMON: And because it's always been that way it doesn't mean that it has to go on being that way. Because you did something in the past, it doesn't mean were you doing the right thing.
BERNSTEIN: Exactly. It has to stop and that's what we're going to work on hard here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: B.J. Bernstein, thank you very much for that.
She was the nation's first female prisoner of war and rescued in Iraq. Now she is a college graduate. A one-on-one interview with Jessica Lynch is next.
But first, turning to your money. If you're looking for a job this time of year, you may be able to take advantage of this holiday season to get ahead. CNN's Christine Romans spoke to Brad Karsh of JB Training Solutions for some helpful tips.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST: Tell, our viewers, Brad Karsh what you need to be doing to take advantage of this time of year to get a job?
BRAD KARSH, PRESIDENT, JB TRAINING SOLUTIONS: Sure. And speaking of this time of year, I'm going to sort of holiday theme this. One tip that I have is don't be greedy this holiday season. And a lot of job seekers want to hold out for the perfect job.
Now if you've been out of a job a week, a month, maybe you can hold off for some stuff. But if you've been long-term unemployed, you want to try and get a job, any job. And I see people saying like "I was a director. They're only going to make me a manager." My advice is prove it on the job, don't prove it in the interview.
ROMANS: Just get in there.
KARSH: Just get in there. It's easier to have that discussion with someone in HR once you've been there six months as opposed to arguing about it before you start working.
ROMANS: And if you're going to have five million people potentially rolling off unemployment benefits, you can't afford to just wait too long for what you think is your old level, right?
KARSH: Exactly. And that's what a lot of people are doing. I say just get in, do something, as long as you're not going to be miserable. Get in somewhere.
ROMANS: How should you using the holiday season maybe to find those connections and networks? Because we talked about networking as an important opportunity keeping up your connections but holiday parties, is it crass or is it very savvy to be making those connections?
KARSH: Well, I think it's never a bad idea to network and people definitely think or get worried that they're going to have to be a little too crass. People enjoy networking. They want to talk to friends, they want to hear what's going on and they want to legitimately help you. So it's not a bad idea.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Today is the first day of no combat troops in Iraq after more than nine years. In 2003, the United States invaded. And soon the nation learned who Jessica Lynch was. At 19, she made headlines. When U.S. troops rescued her from Iraqi captivity, now arguably the best known POW from the Iraq war has conquered new challenges. And CNN's Susan Candiotti has her story now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): At 28, Jessica Lynch is celebrating a newly earned college degree that could fulfill her dream to be a kindergarten teacher.
(on camera): What does reaching that goal mean to you?
JESSICA LYNCH, FORMER POW: Everything.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Everything because she's gone through so much.
In March 2003 the Army filmed her dramatic rescue from an Iraqi hospital. Lynch was a 19-year-old POW. She was held apart from others for nine days, captured after surviving an ambush during a supply mission. Eleven fellow soldiers were killed including her best friend, Laurie.
LYNCH: It's hard not to think back to that day and not remember those faces that were sitting beside me and how bravely they were performing.
CANDIOTTI: During the rescue unable to move because of injuries, Lynch was terrified until American soldiers identified themselves.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's OK. It's OK.
LYNCH: They were looking at me and saying we're American soldiers. We're going to take you home. Yes, I'm an American soldier, too.
CANDIOTTI: by the time she came home, the official story made her out to be like Rambo. She set the record straight. Her gun jammed, she couldn't fire a round.
(on camera): What really happened?
LYNCH: I was knocked unconscious so there was no Rambo fighting. There was no GI Jane. There was none of that.
It is the time for truth, the whole truth, versus hype.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Lynch testified before Congress four years ago about misinformation in her case and others.
LYNCH: We have so many heroes, we don't need to fabricate them. There are soldiers out there every day that are doing heroic things.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you still get flashbacks?
LYNCH: Every day. Every day is a constant reminder of what happened that day.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Lynch has had 20 surgeries on her legs so far. She wears a brace and says the pain is always there. She is now a mother of a four-year-old daughter.
LYNCH: I know that Iraq is in the past and that little bundle of joy, that's my future.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): I see that engagement ring.
LYNCH: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Is a marriage in the future?
LYNCH: I hope so.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): She is happy to see American troops come home from Iraq. The end to an unpopular war. Her legacy from that war is more complicated.
LYNCH: People remember me as the prisoner of war and the fabricated stories but, you know, to me, I was just another soldier there just doing my job.
CANDIOTTI: Like so many vets returning from Iraq, wounded but moving on.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Parkersburg, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: And coming up, it is one of the hottest games of the holiday season, a new spin on a classic. Every gamer has fantasized about driving one of those cool Mario carts and, guess what, now you can actually do it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: You're bringing a video game to life.
RYAN FRIEDLINGHAUS, CEO, WEST COAST CUSTOMS: Yes, it was one of those meetings where I took and I was like, can I really do this? Can I turn a digital video game that my kids play into like real life?
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: All right. Are these for real? Look at that. We'll take you for a test drive, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: If your kids are gamers, this is probably on their list this year. The brand-new Mario Kart Seven, the deliriously paced racing game for Nintendo 3Ds. When you're playing this, it's easy to imagine actually getting behind the wheel. But these karts have always been way too fantastic for the real world. That's until now. Our tech reporter, Katie Linendoll joins us now, live from Los Angeles.
So Katie, Nintendo did something unprecedented here for the launch and had an exclusive - you had an exclusive look at it so spill the beans. Give us some details.
LINENDOLL: Yes, for the launch of Mario Kart 7, Nintendo wanted to do something entirely different so what they did was they commissioned West Coast Customs to build two life-size Mario Karts. This is like a gamer's dream. But here's the kicker, Don. They only had 30 days to create them in time for the L.A. Auto show. All they had to go off was THE animation from the game. We had an exclusive look. Check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LINENDOLL: You're bringing a video game to life.
FRIEDLINGHAUS: There's one of those meetings I took and it was like, can I really do this? Can I turn a digital video game that my kids play into like real life?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
FRIEDLINGHAUS: We do a lot of different stuff here and we're always building cars and crazy things and people come up with these ideas but this is by far the craziest thing we've ever done.
LINENDOLL: How long did it take to build?
FRIEDLINGHAUS: Thirty days to build two. All this stuff is, you know, off the video game. It's identical to what the Kart looks like but it works. You know, we built a chassis from scratch. We took the dimensions and my guys actually hand built everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You had to create every single part, the lights, the exhaust, the lenses, (INAUDIBLE) this thing is almost street legal.
FRIEDLINGHAUS: Yes, it goes 30 miles an hour so you have to have a driver's license for this.
LINENDOLL: Holy cow. Yahoo! You brought these to the L.A. Auto Show. How are they received? Because this is hard core -
FRIEDLINGHAUS: When we pulled the covers off this, I mean people were - it was more like quiet like they couldn't believe it, you know.
KRYSTA YANG, PR SPECIALIST, NINTENDO OF AMERICA: He did a phenomenal job bringing those karts out of the game into real life.
KENSY PFITZER, WEST COAST CUSTOMS: We got the opportunity to go out and drive them and it's like a little kid again driving these cars around. I mean it's a dream come true.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Whoo-hoo!
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Katie, that was so much fun. You must have been tempted to just drive that thing home and not go back. I mean is someone actually going to buy this thing?
LINENDOLL: Oh, my gosh, it was insane. I had to tell you it has three speeds. You saw it go up to 30 miles per hour, it has a low, a turbo and a reverse. They're actually raffling one off at Gamestop here in L.A. and anyone across the country can enter. So someone is going to win one and they'll take one back to Nintendo headquarters but the celebs are coming out in droves. And I don't know why, Don, but we always talk about Justin Bieber on this program but Justin Bieber is buying one too. Naturally.
LEMON: Justin Bieber is becoming Kevin Bacon. It's going to be like six degrees of Justin Bieber. Is this thing street legal?
LINENDOLL: Listen, you got to have a license for it. There's no way that you could actually take it out on the street but, look, it's drivable. It was so much fun and I thought it was so cool to talk to be talking to Ryan who is the founder of West Coast Customs because he said this is the most unique thing and everything that they've created. I can tell you that being inside there, the projects they're working on and commissioned for not only with companies but with celebrities, they're off the charts.
To say this is the most unique was really special. They lit up talking about it. They said that young and old people are very receptive to these two custom builds.
LEMON: Were you really throwing bananas out of that thing.
LINENDOLL: I brought bananas. A couple of blue shells, too.
LEMON: Yu are bananas. OK, so do they plan to make these like a bunch of them and mass produce these things, because I think a lot of people would be interested.
LINENDOLL: I know. I think a lot of people would be, as well. But here's what they did. They actually built two molds but out of courtesy to Nintendo they've actually destroyed those molds, so to re-create them and I imagine this is what they're going to be doing for Justin Bieber too, they have to start back from scratch and to build off of an animation and they were telling me that there was two tech programs that they used to get this from basically a cartoon to real life was no easy task so I imagine it's going to take a lot longer than 30 days to build but they are on it, they said.
LEMON: It's really cool. Hey, listen, yesterday you and I were on the radio together just for a moment and I heard some sad news, that someone's no longer with us.
LINENDOLL: Yes. Yes, if anyone remembers our two-day tech a haul segment, one of the features of the segment was the R2-D2 robot that I wanted for about a year now. There was a call to my cell phone that R2 has exploded in my apartment back in New York City. So we'll take a moment to pay homage to R2. He's dead.
LEMON: R2, you will be missed. Katie, thank you. Appreciate it.
LINENDOLL: Thanks.
LEMON: When we come back, some sweet reunions between troops and their families.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It has certainly been a historic weekend in Iraq where the final military convoy has left the country bringing the war to an end after nearly nine years. The last remaining combat troops crossed the border into Kuwait. Nearly 4,500 Americans lost their lives in the Iraq war and another 30,000 were wounded. And as the troops come home, we've been seeing so many great homecomings.
Here are some of those sweet reunions between the troops and their families.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If you are here right now I would say thanks for serving us and our country.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just happy and shocked. Really happy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is a tremendous feeling and one that very few moments in life parallel just really thankful to be home.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, baby! Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What a surprise. What a shock and this is the best mother's day present.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a surprise for you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very blessed, very proud to be the mother of a soldier.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Really sweet. Welcome home. Welcome home and we want to you have a great holiday season. Speaking of a great holiday season we want one of our colleagues to have a great holiday season. Glen Emory, he is leaving us. There he is right there. After 19 years here at CNN and he's been on the weekend team since I started weekends and he is a great writer, a great producer and most of all a fantastic person. I don't want to cry but I'm going to miss you, Glenn. Good luck.
I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching. See you at 10:00.
