Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Saying Goodbye to Whitey Houston; Violence Creeps Closer to Syrian President; Gingrich Blasts TV Ads; Kevin Costner Honors Whitney Houston

Aired February 18, 2012 - 22:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Here in the CNN NEWSROOM, I'm Don Lemon. One last audience of millions for a singer who touched so many hearts. A final goodbye to a music legend at the place where it began. A celebration of the life of Whitney Houston.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SONG PLAYING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The sound of Houston's biggest hit "I Will Always Love You" as pallbearers carried her casket out of her hometown church in Newark, New Jersey. The moment kept a moving funeral service that began with these remarks --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. JOE A. CARTER, NEW HOPE BAPTIST CHURCH: We're here today, hearts broken but yet with God's strength, we celebrate the life of Whitney Houston.

(APPLAUSE)

LEMON: Opening the service, Joe Carter, pastor of the New Hope Baptist Church, Houston's famous friends one after another gave stunningly poignant tributes, like actor and filmmaker Tyler Perry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TYLER PERRY, ACTOR/FILMMAKER: There was a grace that carried her. A grace that carried her from heaven down through miss Cissy Houston. A grace that bought her up through singing. A grace that -- from what I understand, she wasn't even supposed to be able to speak, let alone sing because of an incident that happened to her as a child but there was a grace that kept on carrying her all the way through.

(APPLAUSE)

The same grace led her all the way to the top of the charts, sold all of these albums, and just done some amazing things. Won all these awards. She sang for presidents. And there was a grace that kept on carrying her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Gospel singer and pastor Marvin Winans eulogize Houston who was a long time friend. He started by thanking Houston's mother for bringing the service back home to Newark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. MARVIN WINANS, GOSPEL SINGER: I want to thank momma Houston, Cissy, for your just willingness to forget about everything else and have this service here.

(APPLAUSE)

That took a lot of courage. And because of that, you brought the world to church today.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Houston memorably made her film debut in 1992 in "The Bodyguard." Her co-star Kevin Costner recalled her struggle to land the role and her triumph.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KEVIN COSTNER, ACTOR: It's a tree we can all hang from. The unexplainable burden that comes with fame. Call it doubt, call it fear. I've had mine, and I know the famous in the room have had theirs. I asked her to trust me and she said she would. Half hour later she went back in to do her screen test and the studio fell in love with her. The Whitney I knew, despite her success and worldwide fame still wondered am I good enough? Am I pretty enough? Will they like me? It was the burden that made her great and the part that caused her to stumble in the end. Whitney, if you could hear me now, I would tell you, you weren't just good enough. You were great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, R. Kelly, BB and CC Winans all honored Houston with their voices. Aretha Franklin was scheduled to be there, but had to cancel because she wasn't feeling well.

As for Houston's ex-husband, Bobby Brown, he was there for a while, but he says in a written statement that he wasn't happy about being asked to move three times, and that security kept him from seeing the daughter he and Whitney Houston had together, 18-year-old Bobby Christina. So he left because, quote, "I refused to create a scene." But he did mention his ex later during a performance in Connecticut with his group, "New Edition" and this video just in to CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOBBY BROWN, WHITNEY HOUSTON'S EX-HUSBAND: I want to give blessings to my ex-wife, Whitney Houston. I love you. I want to give a lot of blessings to my kids. My fiance. My brothers. And all of you.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: That was Bobby Brown tonight.

Tonight, eloquence flowed from the pulpit as those close to Houston offered their praise for her. Bishop T.D. Jakes was especially stirring. Jakes is a producer of "Sparkle" a movie scheduled to come out this summer with Houston's last film performance.

And I had a chance to speak with him shortly after the service came to a close.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Her family, Cissy Houston and Bobbi Kristina, what they're going to have to deal with over the coming days, weeks, months, maybe even years. And we know they have a family around them for support, but men, it's going to be hard for a while for them.

T.D. JAKES, SENIOR PASTOR, THE POTTER'S HOUSE: I told Cissy, and I told Whitney's daughter before I left, I said I'm only a phone call away. Anything. Of course, I'm not their pastor, but I told them anything that I could do to help in any way, I would be glad to do that. One of the great things about church people is that we do come together in a crisis and under gird each other, and my heart goes out to all of the families that are hurting, each one in a unique way. All of them lost something different. And yet I think this is a time that they really need our support.

The thing that really blew my mind about Cissy is that she was incredibly strong. You know, I prayed with her several days ago. She was, of course, shocked and hurting and weeping. And I expected her to be kind of emotionally debilitated. The lady I saw sitting there today, of course she is in tears as it was her daughter, but she was very strong.

I also applaud Whitney's daughter. I thought she did such an incredible job of standing up to something that is unimaginably painful. Until you have lost your mother, a mother that you have a very close relationship with, you would never imagine what that does to you emotionally to find yourself motherless in this world. And I thought the whole family was incredibly courageous.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I also had the chance to speak with the Reverend Al Sharpton about the memorial service.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Everyone on the program were people that were involved in her life. We all were there, but those of us that were not as close were not on the program. So everyone spoke from a personal kind of testimony. Whitney was a beacon of light to this community, and I'm very, very happy that her mother chose to do it in this way.

LEMON: One moment that was seen around the world during the service is, when it first started, we saw Bobby out here standing, upset, he left. What happened inside?

SHARPTON: I talked to Bobby. Bobby did nothing but show love and respect for the memory of Whitney, and his daughter. And Bishop Jakes and I spoke with him on the cell phone. And he has shown nothing but love and respect. I wish people would leave Bobby alone.

LEMON: Not that. But we just heard that his entourage could not be accommodated.

SHARPTON: I don't know anything about that. I know that Bobby, when he spoke to Bishop Jakes and he said all he wanted to do is show respect and love.

LEMON: Reverend, this is the service. This is the program, beautiful program here. And I'm going to hold it here and just look inside and some of the pictures. It's just lovely pictures of Whitney Houston at the height of her career, as a young girl, winning awards as you can see here, looking beautiful. And at the end, of course, all the people who spoke and the way the program went. Reverend, thank you so much.

SHARPTON: Thank you.

LEMON: We appreciate it. And God bless. We all went to church today and our faiths were all renewed. We're all renewed.

SHARPTON: All renewed. I'm going to look for you tomorrow. Maybe it will develop a habit.

LEMON: Thank you, Reverend Sharpton.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Reverend Al Sharpton in a light moment there. Thank you, Reverend.

You know, Whitney Houston was a talent like no other, destined for superstardom. But she did have help along the way, people who believed in her and helped her find success. Like the man who produce and co-wrote some of her biggest hits ever, like "How Will I Know?" We'll talk with him a little bit later on in the show.

And now to another big stories. Syria's campaign to crush a resistance movement hasn't slowed but it shows new signs of weakness in the capital of Damascus.

Security forces fired on a funeral march which had turn into a demonstration against President Bashar al-Assad. Two people were killed, 15 more died across Syria. Damascus is considered the president's stronghold. Violence there could indicate his grip on power is slipping. The president met with one of his few allies today. He hosted China's vice foreign minister, who endorsed Syria's plan to hold a referendum on a new constitution, but he urged Syrian leaders to negotiate with the opposition.

(VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Still, a peaceful end to this conflict seems increasingly unlikely. This video is from the City of Homs. It's said to show the Syrian military in action. CNN can't confirm the video's authenticity by the way.

Iran says a deployment of Navy ships into the Mediterranean Sea is a sign of friendship and its military might. The vessels including a destroyer have passed through the Suez Canal according to an Iranian news agency.

A year ago, a similar deployment seen here stirred fears in Israel and other nations. The destination of the ships is unclear now.

An Arizona sheriff steps down from his post and Mitt Romney's presidential campaign after a newspaper publishes allegations about him and another man. The story in two minutes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: An Arizona sheriff has stepped down from a state leadership post with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign after a newspaper published allegations he tried to deport a former boyfriend. Sheriff Paul Babo acknowledged he is gay but denied the deportation allegations. Babo is also a Republican candidate for Congress. He said the man was a volunteer for his campaign. He said he had no reason to believe the man was an illegal immigrant and vowed to continue his congressional bid.

Meantime, Newt Gingrich is going after Mitt Romney again for negative TV ads paid for by a pro-Romney Super Pac. Gingrich blames his lost in the Florida primary on a barrage of negative ads, negative TV ads paid for by Romney supporters. At a rally in Georgia today, the state Gingrich once represented in Congress, he tried to undermine the money behind those commercials.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You tell your friends and neighbors, as you tell folks on Facebook, when they're seeing a negative Romney ad, all they need to know is it's paid for with Wall Street money and it's false. And that tells you that's not worthy of the United States of America, and that's not worthy of the presidency and he's now doing to Santorum in Michigan what he did to me in Florida. And it's unworthy way for somebody who try to become president of the United States by shrinking their opponents.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Rick Santorum is also criticizing Mitt Romney, questioning something Romney is fond of mentioning, his role in turning around the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics. Santorum says Romney's solution was simply to ask Congress for millions of dollars in taxpayer money.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: He heroically bailed out the Salt Lake City Olympic games by heroically going to Congress and asking them for tens of millions of dollars to bail out the Salt Lake Olympic Games.

(APPLAUSE)

In an earmark.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, also today, Santorum took time to explain remarks he made this morning at a gathering of Tea Party activists. He told the group that President Obama has what he called a phony theology.

In his words, "It's not about your job, it's about some phony ideal, some phony theology. Oh, not a theology based on a bible, a different theology, but no less a theology." Later in the day, he was asked to clarify what he meant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SANTORUM: The president of the United States is exercising his values and trumping the values of the church. If you don't want to call it a theology, I'm fine. You can have them, let me know what they want me to call it. But it is a different set of moral values that they are imposing on people who have a constitutional right to have their own values within the church. And that is a, that's not a new low, that's a reflection of exactly what, it is a new low. I should dare to go back. It is a new low. The president has reached a new low in this country's history of oppressing religious freedom that we have never seen before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: When asked if he thinks President Obama is less of a Christian than himself, Santorum said, quote, "No one is suggesting that."

The Obama campaign issued a statement calling Santorum's comments, "The latest low in a Republican campaign fuelled by distortions, ugliness, searing pessimism and negativity."

Up next here on CNN, Kevin Costner's tribute to his one time co-star.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTNER: I was your pretend bodyguard once not so long ago and now you're gone.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: They had a friendship and a spiritual connection few knew about before today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Whitney Houston was already a music superstar when Kevin Costner approached her about starring in the movie "The Bodyguard." And in his touching tribute today, he talked about the struggle to convince the studio to take a chance on her and convincing Whitney Houston herself that she was good enough for the part.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

COSTNER: I was your pretend bodyguard once not so long ago, and now you're gone, too soon, leaving us with memories of a little girl who stepped bravely in front of this church, in front of the ones that loved you first, in front of the ones that loved you best and loved you the longest.

Then boldly you stepped into the white hot light of the world stage. And what you did is the rarest of achievements. You set the bar so high that professional singers, your own colleagues, they don't want to sing that little country song, what would be the point.

Now the only one who sing your songs are young girls like you, who are dreaming of being you someday. And so to you, Bobbi Kristina, and to all those young girls who are dreaming that dream, but maybe thinking they aren't good enough, I think Whitney would tell you guard your bodies and guard the precious miracle of your own life and then sing your hearts out knowing that there's a lady in heaven who is making God himself wonder how he created something so perfect. So off you go, Whitney, off you go, escorted by an army of angels to your heavenly father. And when you sing before him, don't you worry, you'll be good enough.

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Kevin Costner, Whitney Houston's co-star in "The Bodyguard."

A mystery thousands of years in the making. Stonehenge, some believe it was a giant clock or a calendar. Others have suggested it was a ceremonial burial ground. One U.S. researcher says, well, you guys got it all wrong.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. Time to get mysterious. Jacqui Jeras is here.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, Don. I miss you.

LEMON: I miss you, too. I'm so tired, I'm punch drunk. So Saturday night mysteries, what do you have this week, Jacqui?

JERAS: Well, it's president's day weekend, don't you know, right? And so, of course, we had to pick a mystery that has to do with one of the presidents. Well, at least maybe the first lady.

This has to do with our 16th president's wife, Mary Todd Lincoln. It had to do with a portrait that's been hanging in the presidential library museum in Springfield, Illinois for years and years. Well, guess what? Turns out this portrait that you're looking at is a fraud. That's what it should be looking like. That's the original. Believe it or not, this portrait was purchased in 1929 by the Lincoln Family, donated to the museum and the curator wanted to have it restored. Well, in the process, they learned that this portrait had been modified.

So there you can see she's wearing a cross necklace in that picture. In the next picture you're going to see right there, she's actually wearing a broach of Abraham Lincoln. So that's on the top. This was allegedly a portrait that was penned by Mr. Carpenter there, Francis Carpenter. They don't even know that it was actually done by him either.

Her facial features have been modified. Her hair has been modified. So they don't know who the sitter was. They don't know who the artist was. But they decided, Don, believe it or not, it's the most famous painting in the museum, they're going to keep it around.

LEMON: Yes. Now, that is a Saturday night mystery.

JERAS: Indeed.

LEMON: Indeed.

JERAS: All right. Our next story, this was kind of interesting. It has to do with the Milky Way galaxy, right? And there are so many mysteries surrounding the galaxy. Probably as many as there are stars out there right? Well, some new images have created, yes, one more mystery, unfortunately. More questions than answers.

The European Space Agency took these images. Never seen before patches of cold gas. That's what you're looking at there. These are basically islands of carbon monoxide and they actually could help astronomers learn more how stars are formed. You know, stars like sun. Things like planet. And they might actually be able to map out these regions.

All right, this next image that you're looking at here, this has to do with microwave radiation. You see that spot in the middle right there? That's basically what they're calling microwave fog. And it's unusually energetic and they don't know why the heck it's there.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Right in the middle?

JERAS: Yes, right in the middle, especially. Do you see the yellowish and kind of a whitish colors? It gives off this brighter light basically. And so they don't know why. There are a couple of different thing that they think potentially could be causing it. And if one of them is correct, it could be a huge deal, right?

Have you heard of dark matter? They say most of our galaxy is made up of this dark matter. Well, they say that spot could be evidence of the annihilation of dark matter. So we don't have any proof that dark matter exists. That picture potentially could do it.

You know, I haven't eaten all day. Now you have me wanting a Milky Way.

JERAS: A Milky Way. That actually sounds pretty tasty right now.

LEMON: Is there a Milk Way in the machine back there? I want one.

JERAS: Maybe a Snickers.

LEMON: There's a little machine over there, a snack machine. I'm going to go get a Milky Way in a second.

JERAS: All right.

LEMON: What else do you have?

JERAS: We have one more mystery for you, Don. So don't go away for this next one. And this one has to do with Stonehenge, right? Mystery has been surrounding this thing for thousands and thousands of years. And the basic consensus is this thing is basically used for worship, spiritual worship and also burials. But one researcher now says maybe it has something to do with sound. We'll tell you what they're talking about -- next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, OK, time to get back to "Saturday Night Mysteries." Jacqui, two cool mysteries so far involving the Milky Way. Hey, can I show you this?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN REPORTER: Did you get one on the break?

LEMON: There's no Milky Way in the machine. So I got this.

JERAS: The peanuts have protein. So that's better, right?

LEMON: It satisfies. That will do, since I don't have a Milky Way.

JERAS: I know you're going to be eating it while I read this next story, like --

LEMON: Number three, bring it on.

JERAS: All right. Number three is Stonehenge. We were talking about this before the break. And the big mystery surrounding this, everybody has always wondered how the heck did they do this 5,000 years ago and get those stones and lift them up on top, what did they use this strange formation for and largely it's believed that it had to do with spiritual worship and burials.

Well, this researcher now, Steven Waller (ph), says these stones were created to give this special sound phenomenon. Ancient people had this myth about echoes being spirits in rocks. So he says this formation was used to create this kind of an illusion that people would take like two pipers would play music surrounding the rocks and it would create this interference kind of pattern.

So the sound waves would clash with each other and give off louder and softer noises, depending on your location. I mean, it's something we've all kind of experienced, you know, kind of an echoey sort of thing. So he said that they would basically have these piper shows and it would just give this type of magical sound illusion that nobody had ever heard before.

That's still really cool, though --

(CROSSTALK)

JERAS: It is cool. Apparently the scientific community is a little iffy on believing that one or not. So you be -- go ahead and be the judge for yourself.

LEMON: So other people on Twitter are laughing because I wanted a Milky Way. But I have to tell you -- I have to be honest with you, you want to know my guilty pleasure? Like the thing I'll do when I'm really tired and go home? I will have a Snicker (sic) bar --

JERAS: Yes and ice cream?

LEMON: Plain -- there's nothing like a Snicker (sic) bar, plain Lay's potato chips and the Coca-Cola, which, from Mexico, from Costco -- oh, my gosh, it is awesome.

JERAS: Salty sweet.

LEMON: It's like salty, salty, salty, sugar, good night.

JERAS: I don't know how you can sleep after all that, my friend.

LEMON: Oh, trust me, I won't have any trouble tonight. Thank you, Jacqui. Appreciate "Saturday Night Mysteries."

JERAS: All right. Take care.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

LEMON: Time now to check some of your headlines. An Arizona sheriff has stepped down from a state leadership post with Mitt Romney's presidential campaign. That's after "The Phoenix New Times" published allegations he tried to deport a former boyfriend.

Sheriff Paul Babeu acknowledged he is gay but denied the deportation allegations. Babeu is also a Republican candidate for Congress and he vowed to continue his campaign.

The Pope has officially inducted 22 new cardinals, including two Americans: the archbishop of New York, Timothy Dolan, and the archbishop of Baltimore, Edwin O'Brien. The new cardinals will play a role in deciding on the new pope. Also named was the first Native American saint, a 17th century Mohawk woman who suffered from smallpox. Tens of thousands of Russians took part in rallies today to support presidential candidate Vladimir Putin. The election is scheduled for March 4th. The opposition accuses the government of paying people to attend these rallies. Polls show Putin should easily win back the position he held for eight years.

The world watched today as Whitney Houston's family and friends said their goodbyes to her. A funeral was held for the superstar at her hometown church in Newark, New Jersey. So many famous faces were on hand to pay their last respects -- Tyler Perry, Kevin Costner, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys and so many more.

After the funeral, many of Whitney Houston's family and friends gathered at a Newark restaurant. And CNN's Susan Candiotti has more. Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN REPORTER: Don, as the rain came down after that funeral, friends and family of Whitney Houston, including a number of celebrities, came to a private dinner, a repast after the funeral. And they gathered together, no doubt, to swap stories and to comfort each other after the experience they had just been through.

A number of the notables, well, we saw Kevin Costner, who spoke so eloquently at the funeral. Afterwards he came out and even waved to spectators who were standing way across the street. We were kept a great distance across a good six lanes of traffic, but people who came here wanted to experience some piece of what happened earlier today.

We also saw Tyler Perry and Dionne Warwick, Angela Bassett, Jennifer Hudson, the Reverend Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton, who also waved to the crowd across the street. Undoubtedly for many here, an inspirational experience and also a very comforting one. Don, back to you.

LEMON: Susan Candiotti, thank you very much for that. Whitney Houston had the good fortune in her career to meet and collaborate with some of the best minds in the music business, no doubt, like Grammy award-winner songwriter, producer and musician, Narada Michael Walden. He co-produced this hit for her and so many others. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "I WANT TO DANCE WITH SOMEBODY")

(END VIDEO CLIP, "I WANT TO DANCE WITH SOMEBODY")

LEMON: I want to welcome Narada right now. And Narada, tell us how you -- what a great song. And you sang -- you -- did you sing that for us the other night? You sang for us --

NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, GRAMMY AWARD-WINNER SONGWRITER, PRODUCER AND MUSICIAN: I meant when we were on (ph). I think I sang "How Will I Know" for you.

LEMON: Yes, yes.

WALDEN: I think I sang "How Will I Know" for you. LEMON: How did -- tell us -- tell us how that came about, "How Will I Know," and when she sang it, you did a little melody for it. Do it for us again. How did it go?

WALDEN: There's a boy, I know he's the one I dream of -- I was just so struck by her power, you know, "Takes me to -- "

She had so much powerful to be so beautiful, and at 19 years old, you know, thin and gorgeous. I was like wow.

LEMON: You know, what's interesting is that Gary Catona, one of her voice coaches, said, you no, it's very rarely you can get a singer who has a great tone, great tonality to her -- his or her voice, and then you get a singer that's really athletic, with a very muscular voice, and Whitney Houston was the rarity that had both. She had a great tone and she could just do about anything vocally.

WALDEN: That's it. She had both. She could do very sensitive, like her aunt, Dionne, a very sensitive creature, like a cat, like stroking a cat, very tender. At the same time, unbelievable power. And this is what we love about her. Both sides of the range.

LEMON: Yes.

(CROSSTALK)

WALDEN: She's a spark plug.

LEMON: Yes, knew when to restrain and then -- and to pull it back, like with the National Anthem, and then maybe show just a little bit to get your emotions up. You were -- you -- I'm sure you were -- you watched everything closely, the services. What did you think?

WALDEN: I felt the spirit of Whitney in the room to comfort and to bring a deep love to everyone there. That was the magic I felt. And I was very happy that I was there. I was very happy to see Stevie there. I was very happy to hear Kevin Costner's words.

I was very happy -- actually, the choir that first began the whole thing was incredible. That got the whole thing, just very Whitney going, you know, very Whitney vibes.

LEMON: Well, we saw it, you know, from a distance, even though the camera was in there, it was a, as we call it, cool camera, it's just one camera angle and one news organization is controlling it and then we all just take the feed, so we don't really see the faces, and there are no cutaways, you just see that one camera. Take us inside and tell us what people were doing, how they were reacting.

WALDEN: Well, I want to say everyone was very respectful. They sat in their pews until they felt the spirit, because someone said the right thing, and then everyone had to stand, just to echo that sentiment. And in fact, I felt that people were being so respectful and very sharp to hear every word spoken and to hear every lyric sung.

So if something hit them, boom, they wanted to react right away. There was no lag time on anything. And that was, I think, the most beautiful thing, that they were so respectful for Whitney, for her day. This is Whitney's day.

LEMON: I told Bishop Jakes, when he was -- when he would preach, when he did his thing, I thought to myself, like I was sitting in church going, well, well, amen. You know, it was -- it was just -- it had that sort of real down-home feeling to it.

Hey, can we talk a little bit more about Whitney and your -- how you produced for her? How did you build those hits for her? What was it like to write and produce a track for Whitney? Did you have her voice in mind? Or did she take it and go, you know, I'm going to go here with it instead of there. Let's try this.

WALDEN: With Whitney, we always knew that we needed a strong chorus, because she can -- she can sing anything. So the song would be the star and we found a hit chorus. And Clive would -- most times would say, hey, I think I've got a great song here, see what you can do with this.

So really it was about trying to find the right arrangement that would really feature her the most because, you know, she's incredible. So in writing for her or producing for her, make room for her to shine. Make room for her to be the star she -- because again, she's an angel.

She was a heavenly, earthly angel that -- something they had really known before and never really seen before. So always very much aware of making room for her voice.

LEMON: You know, Narada, thank you, just the last thing, if you can. Do you think she had another chart-busting album in her?

WALDEN: Absolutely. I was excited to work with her again. And God took her home. There's a thing called God's hour, God's timing. So she's home now to rest. And we love her and we send love and we respect her.

But on my heavenly -- on my -- on my time, she was here with us, on the Earth, I would be -- I would be in the studio with her right now because I'm so enamored with her talent and her beauty and her spark plug energy. We had to know that about her.

LEMON: We've got to run. Unfortunately, we're out of time. But thank you. We'll always love her. Thank you, Narada.

WALDEN: Love you, too. Love you, too. Thank you, Don.

LEMON: We'll be right back.

WALDEN: Thank you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Music and dancing fill the streets of Rio de Janeiro today as revelers celebrated this year's Carnival celebration. The festival kicked off yesterday with thousands of costumes, samba dancers and CNN's Shasta Darlington is in the middle of it all. Shasta?

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN REPORTER: The party has definitely gotten started here tonight, Don. We're at the Sambadrome, and that's where Rio holds its incredibly lavish parades. You can see here hundreds of dancers are lining up, ready to go in. And in front of them, one of those lavish floats, often with barely dressed women atop, dancing, sambaing the night away.

Now this isn't the only parade. There are going to be another two nights after this. And these parades go until the sun comes up. So we'll see a lot of partying, 80,000 people packed into the stands here. And of course, this is carried live around the country. So another 200 million Brazilians could tune in.

Now as you can see, all of these schools have different themes. These women here are the bianas (ph). The right here behind me we have some gladiators. Now this isn't the only party in town. In fact, across the city, neighborhoods are holding what they call block parties.

But we're not talking about a couple hundred people. In some cases, more than a million people turn out (inaudible) block parties. To follow, samba, musicians, plenty of drinking and plenty of partying. Don, this Carnival is just getting started.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Shasta.

Well, forget Kobe and LeBron. The only NBA player anyone is talking about is this guy, Jeremy Lin. And we're not just talking about him here in the United States. His popularity is spreading around the world. That story is straight ahead.

But first --

Tonight we're honoring a woman who has given many children with cancer what her own daughter couldn't have, a place to learn and make friends. This week's CNN Hero helps these kids reclaim their childhood by giving them their own preschool experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NANCY ZUCH, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: Morgan was a very happy child, had friends and then one day when she was two years old, Morgan was diagnosed with leukemia. We were devastated. To make it worse, because of the chemotherapy, she had no immune system. She could not be around other children.

I was driving Morgan to the hospital and all of her friends were going to the preschool and I thought, we need to start a program for children with cancer where they can socialize and have friends and learn and play.

My name is Nancy Zuch. I give children battling cancer a preschool experience.

Exposures to a simple childhood cold or illness can become life- threatening to these children. Clean hands. Good girl.

We provide a safe and clean environment to have individualized supply boxes, and they don't share.

Tell us about the special doll.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's my leukemia doll, because I have leukemia and she has no hair, just like me.

ZUCH: The doll is just like you.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everything that you hoped for your children, it`s like you have to rebuild that. And it's a really difficult thing to do.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It`s wonderful to see my daughter be like a normal kid.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And they love school because they`re around other kids, which they are not used to. We live in isolation, we don`t do anything.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We can`t go in.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Too many people in there.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Before we found the Morgan center, the hospital was the only place that my kids would go.

ZUCH: Part of me lives worrying about their treatment, every new child that I meet, and every parent that's telling me their story. But to see the smiles on their faces and they're reclaiming their childhood, that feeling is such a joy that it's indescribable.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And remember, CNN Heroes are all chosen from people you tell us about. To nominate someone who is making a difference in their community, go to cnnheroes.com, cnnheroes.com. Your nomination could help them help others.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So this was either a very unfortunate choice of words or just plain ignorant. ESPN ran a headline on its mobile site that read "Chink in the Armor," with a story about Jeremy Lin and the Knicks snapping their seven-game winning streak. It was yanked after about a half hour. A network spokesman later apologized, promising an internal review and disciplinary action.

Lin, who is of Taiwanese and Chinese descent, came off the bench and lit a fire under the Knicks, leading them to seven straight wins before Friday night's loss. So there's your joke, if it was one, not funny because they won. Lin has taken the basketball world by storm, and not just here in the United States. Sports fans in China are also taking note. CNN's Eunice Yoon is in Beijing for us.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EUNICE YOON, CNN REPORTER (voice-over): With his unbelievable performance on the court, Jeremy Lin has become an American sensation. And the Linsanity over the New York Knicks' guard is starting to spread halfway around the world to China.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (Speaking foreign language)

YOON (voice-over): The Taiwanese-American 23-year-old from California is winning over fans here, in a country where there are as many basketball buffs as there are Americans in the world.

BROOK LARMER, AUTHOR, "OPERATION YAO MING": China has a very, I think, wide and inclusive sense of national identity. And it embraces even a Chinese-American born of Taiwanese parents in Palo Alto, who is a devout Christian.

YOON (voice-over): Lin Shu-Hao, as he's known here, has already garnered more than a million followers on Weibo, China's version of Twitter. His jerseys are selling fast on the popular e-commerce site, Taobao.

And the Harvard graduate's tongue-in-cheek video on how to get into the Ivy League school has been viewed half a million times on the Chinese Internet, poking fun at Asian stereotypes --

LIN: Step one, get glasses.

YOON (voice-over): -- while capturing the imagination of a nation obsessed with education and success.

"He proves that Asians can succeed in basketball," says this fan.

YOON: But Lin's success here isn't a slam-dunk. Lin didn't grow up in China and he didn't rise through the ranks of the nation's sports system like his mentor, Yao Ming.

LARMER: Yao was promoted from day one as this national icon who represented the nation, who was standing tall in the world, to show that China itself could stand tall. On the other hand, I think that Jeremy Lin will eventually grow on Chinese.

YOON (voice-over): "He gives players like me a lot of confidence," this fan says. "He's not too tall, just like us."

When Yao retired from the Houston Rockets last year, the NBA feared the game here could lose momentum. Now they're hoping the 6'3" player, who the media have called a supernova, can one day fill Yao's shoes.

"This might just be a burst of talent," he says, "but I hope he keeps playing like this for a long time," a feeling that is mutual among the Linsane back in the U.S. -- Eunice Yoon, CNN, Beijing.

LEMON: Good for him. Go, Lin.

When we come back, Whitney Houston in her own words.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, presidential politics now. Republican hopeful Rick Santorum is mocking Mitt Romney's role in turning around the Salt Lake City Olympics back in 2002. He says Romney's solution was to ask Congress for millions of dollars in federal earmarks.

Santorum says that makes Romney a hypocrite. Romney has criticized Santorum for bringing home federal dollars while serving in the Senate.

We're going to check some other headlines right now. A crowd of mourners in Damascus, Syria, flee as security forces fired on them today. Two people were killed as a funeral march in the capital turned into a protest against President Bashar al-Assad. Fifty more were killed across Syria.

Meantime, President Bashar al-Assad hosted China's vice foreign minister. The Chinese official said he urged Syrian leaders to negotiate with the opposition.

Iranian navy ships, including a destroyer, have reportedly passed through the Suez Canal into the Mediterranean Sea. A deployment one year ago, seen here, stirred fears in Israel and other nations. Iranian news agency quotes an admiral as saying the deployment is meant to show friendship and to support for countries in the region and to display Iran's military resolve.

You know, it was a day that was filled with emotions, sadness, reverence, but ultimately joy.

Stop the prompter right there -- let's -- Whitney Houston -- one week ago at this time, Piers Morgan and I were on the air, breaking the news to the world that Whitney Houston has died and it certainly does not feel like a week has passed and there's been so much information and so much said about Whitney Houston.

But today was all about love and respect for her. So thank you so much, viewers, for watching us this entire week, bearing with us, going through this story. And to the Houston family, friends and fans, our hearts and prayers go out to you.

Millions watched today the funeral services for Whitney Houston, and we have heard so much from her and about her, from her friends, her family and her collaborators. But tonight, we want to leave you with Whitney Houston in her own words. I'm Don Lemon in New York. I'll see you from Atlanta tomorrow night, 6:00, 7:00 and 10:00 pm Eastern, good night.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WHITNEY HOUSTON, SINGER AND ACTRESS: It was about what would fit with my voice, what song did. And when Clive heard me sing "The Greatest Love," which was the first song, he kind of like grasped onto it and said, OK, that's where we're going to go. We're going to go with it. We got -- we finally got someone who can sing great ballads.

So I am proud to carry that torch. You know what I'm saying? I'm proud of that. When you're doing it, you just -- you give the best you got. You know? I worked really hard, you know, and I gave it all I had, you know, and that's all -- that's all you can expect. I feel humbled. I feel -- I feel blessed to have, you know, received all of this -- these accolades. And that's -- I don't know, that's the way I feel.

I fell in love with a great man and I thought, mmm, I think I'll have his baby.

No, I'm really kidding. But no, I did fall in love with a great man and decided I would like to have some kids. But I don't know, I just thought maybe it would be nice to have somebody carry me on.

I feel a comeback for me, I've been here. I've just been here. I just took a break, you know, which sometimes you have to. You have to know when to slow that train down and kind of just sit back and just --

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)