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Rampage in Afghanistan Leaves 16 Dead; U.N. Asking for Ceasefire in Syria; 72 Hours under Fire; Battle for Southern Supremacy; "Kony 2012" Explodes on Internet; High HIV Rates in African American Women; Re-Commerce Sites; Afghanistan Shooting by U.S. Soldier

Aired March 11, 2012 - 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.

It is the top of the hour and our top story now an alleged massacre in Afghanistan's Kandahar province is outraging Afghans and is one more setback to the effort to end that war.

NATO says one U.S. soldier is accused of killing 16 civilians. President Hamid Karzai says most of the victims are children. Afghan officials say the shooting spree took place in a district known as the birthplace of the Taliban.

CNN's Sara Sidner explains how the military is rushing to defuse a potentially-explosive situation.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARA SIDNER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Villagers mill about in an eerie calm in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. It is here that Afghan officials say 16 civilians were gunned down in their homes in the early morning hour Sunday leaving at least nine children, three women and four men dead and several more injured. The injured are being treated at coalition medical facilities.

(on camera): A senior official with the International Security Assistance Forces says a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant has been detained in the incident. So far, ISAF says he was acting alone and that there was no mission going on in the area. U.S. officials reacted swiftly to the incident.

JAMES CUNNINGHAM, ACTING U.S. AMBASSADOR TO AFGHANISTAN: We deplore any attack by a member of the U.S. Armed Forces against innocent civilians and denounce all violence against civilians. We assure the people of Afghanistan that the individual or individuals responsible for this terrible act will be identified and brought to justice.

SIDNER (voice-over): But villagers and tribal leaders on the ground told us there was more than one soldier on the ground in the villages when the incident occurred. President Hamid Karzai allude to that in a statement saying in part, "Those operations conducted against terrorism during which our innocent countrymen are killed, such as what the American soldier did, are acts of terror and unforgivable."

Kandahar is known as the birthplace of the Taliban and not long after the soldier was detained the Taliban put out an official statement claiming it happened during a raid by U.S. forces. ISAF is disputing those claims but a full investigation is underway.

Whatever the case, the killings come just weeks after deadly protests erupted when U.S. troops mistakenly burned Korans and other religious materials. The President of the National Coalition for Dialogue with Tribes of Afghanistan Prince Abdul Ali Seraj told us the timing of this incident couldn't be worse.

PRINCE ABDUL ALI SERAJ, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL COALITION FOR DIALOGUE WITH TRIBES IN AFGHANISTAN: The Taliban could not have asked for a better presence from the coalition than to have the two incidents that took place, you know, like the burning of the Koran about a couple of two or three weeks ago, and that's not even been settled yet. And now we have got the one soldier going and killing a number of Afghan civilians. They are really going to milk this for all it's worth.

SIDNER: Kandahar has been heavily targeted by coalition forces over the years. After this latest shooting incident, there is fear of violent reprisals.

Sara Sidner, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And President Barack Obama offered his condolences to the victims' loved ones.

For more on the U.S. reaction, our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr joins me now from Washington. Barbara, let's talk about the Pentagon's reacting and reaction and handling of this tragedy now.

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, you know it says you would expect Don, statements in public from high level officials expressing condolences and regret.

But I have to tell you as we discussed earlier behind the scenes, senior military officials, this is just a punch in the gut to them. You can -- you can hear their slumping shoulders in their voices when we talked to them today about all of this.

Both angry and upset and they really wonder where it's all going to go from here. Angry at the perpetrator, upset about what has happened. They were just getting past that Koran-burning incident. This is only going to make the mission in Afghanistan all that much tougher -- Don.

LEMON: Do we know anything more about the soldier accused? STARR: We're told he is a U.S. Army Staff Sergeant, enlisted of course, and that he is not himself part of any kind of Special Forces unit or -- pardon me not a special forces, soldier himself. No confirmation on the unit he was assigned to, but said to be part of the so-called conventional force in the U.S. Army.

One of the things they're going to be looking at very closely in the whole investigation, what kind of weapons was he carrying. How much ammunition did he have as he walked away from this base? What was he equipped to do and how -- how well thought out was this by him?

LEMON: Well, that's the thing. How could a soldier simply walk off without anyone being aware of his disappearance?

STARR: Well this is -- this is you know the mystery. What we are told is in fact Afghan soldiers noticed him leaving this outpost and reported it. The U.S. troops then conducted a count of personnel and found indeed that one person was missing, not accounted for. And we are told that they began to send out a search party, this person then walked back into the outpost.

But I've been on a lot of those in Afghanistan. And you don't just wander away. Remote as they are, they are secure, there is concertina wire. There are guard posts. Nobody operates on their own really; so this is a bit of a mystery at the moment, certainly part of the investigation. How did he just simply get out and walk away from his post?

LEMON: And Barbara, as I ask you this next question, I believe we have a picture of President Barack Obama speaking with Hamid Karzai regarding this incident. And there it is right there, he reached out. And also as we said the President offered his condolences to the victims' loved ones today. And he said this does not reflect the U.S. military and its -- its mentality and its character.

I have to ask you, Barbara. There are reports too -- and I don't know if they are true -- but we have been hearing them that this soldier tried to burn the bodies?

STARR: There's reports that they believe he might have tried to do that. Some of the photographs, Don, that have emerged from the scene that our sources have seen show partially-burned bodies. This will be a point, obviously, to be very precise of the investigation of the interrogation of the suspect.

But right now based on the photographs that some of our military sources have seen, that they've told us about, they believe it might have been possible that that is what he was attempting to do.

LEMON: CNN's Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr. Barbara we appreciate your reporting. Obviously we're going to be following this very closely.

And more on this now, the U.S. has had a hard enough time dealing with previous ugly incidents. And we have mentioned the recent Koran- burning controversy. Riots after that outrage left dozens dead including six U.S. troops.

Sadly that was the second incident this year to cause anger. And we must warn you the video of the next incident is graphic. Pictures posted on YouTube showing what appears to be a group of Marines, remember that, urinating on several bodies. These pictures infuriated many Afghans and they make the mission to win hearts and minds even more difficult.

Now the alleged massacre in Kandahar Province in a district no less considered the birthplace of the Taliban.

We go to Syria now where violent attacks have claimed at least 32 lives today. Opposition groups say government forces were randomly shelling civilian areas in cities across Syria. This comes just as talks between the former U.N. Security General, Secretary General -- excuse me -- Kofi Annan and Syria's President ended without a peace deal. Annan is asking President al-Assad for a cease fire and to allow relief agencies to deliver much needed aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA: It's going to be tough. It's is going to be difficult but we have to have hope. I'm optimistic. I'm optimistic for several reasons. First of all, I've been here for a very short period. Almost every Syrian I've met wants peace. They want the violence to stop. They want to move on with their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Both Annan and opposition members agree that plans for a resolution cannot begin as long as the bloodshed continues.

Babarama is a Syrian neighborhood that endured constant shelling. It's also where civilians are killed and wounded every single day. CNN's Arwa Damon and her team set out to give us a view of what's taking place in Syria that no one has seen before. Here's her report.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: CNN's Arwa Damon, Neil Holsworth and Tim Crocket are in Babarama, a neighborhood that's endured constant shelling where civilians are killed and wounded every day; where a makeshift clinic tries to help.

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We're here with the Doctor Muhammad who has actually been on numerous YouTube videos throughout this uprising and now we're actually getting a firsthand look of exactly what he and his team are up against.

A 30-year-old man lies on the brink of death after shrapnel hit him in the head.

DR. MUHAMMAD, SYRIAN DOCTOR: I couldn't really do anything for him, I just stitched him up to keep the brain matter in and inserted a tube. Actually it's a nasal tube to suction the blood. DAMON: He will die if he doesn't get out.

HOLMES: Dr. Muhammad is one of only two doctors in this clinic. The other is actually a dentist.

DAMON: So Dr. Muhammad, he's not some sort of a front line trained in emergency surgery combat medic.

HOLMES: Combat medic, yes.

DAMON: He's an internal medicine specialist.

And now, I mean, look at what he's dealing with. Look at the casualties he's dealing with. The kind of casualties he's dealing with, the way he's had to cope. And the fact that it's day in and day out for him, it's relentless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN's Michael Holmes and Arwa Damon reporting. Make sure you join us for more of Arwa Damon's eye-opening tour through Syria. That is a CNN special, "72 HOURS UNDER FIRE", tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. That is at the top of the hour following this broadcast.

All right, time to talk some politics. Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich battle it out in the Deep South. Both spent the day crisscrossing Mississippi ahead of Tuesday's primaries there and in Alabama. In an appearance on CBS's "Face the Nation", Gingrich was optimistic.

All right. Apparently that was not the right video. We will get to that -- Gingrich on "Face the Nation" if we get it. Here it is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're going to get a lot of delegates in both Mississippi and Alabama. And I think the odds are pretty good that we'll win them. We're campaigning in both Alabama and Mississippi today and tomorrow. We've had great reaction, great crowd response. And we have good organization in both states. You're always playing catch up a little bit to Romney because of the scale of his money and how early he starts advertising, but the truth is, we caught up pretty dramatically. And I'm think we'll have a good day on Tuesday -- and I am committed -- I am committed to going all the way to Tampa.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Now to Santorum who took shots at Mitt Romney and Gingrich during a stop in Tupelo.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- that we must elect someone who can paint a clear contrast. Not someone who was for Obama care when he was Governor of Massachusetts. Not someone who was for a federal mandate for 20 years when he was Speaker of the House. Not someone who is going to give that issue away on climate change, on national security.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Tuesday's contests also include caucuses in Hawaii and American Samoa.

If it plugs in -- computer, TV, mobile device -- at some point this week, you have probably seen the words "Kony 2012" on it. The unlikely viral video about a Ugandan warlord has gained a ground swell of supporters especially on social media. But it's also faced some blistering criticism. We get into all of that when the men behind "Kony 2012" and the organization Invisible Children join us next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: "Kony 2012" -- it's been hard to turn on the TV or log on to Facebook or Twitter or your e-mail and not hear about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony. Most had never heard of him. Now millions of people do know the name thanks to a video posted on YouTube this week. And as our Miguel Marquez reports that was the plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GRAPHICS: Nothing is more powerful than an idea whose time has come.

MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is a 30-minute video. It's hope -- to change the world.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In order for it to work, you have to pay attention.

MARQUEZ: What the narrator and film maker want you to pay attention to is this man, Joseph Kony. He leads the Ugandan rebel group called the Lord's Resistance Army and his goal is to overthrow the Ugandan government. In his 26-year-campaign, Kony has kidnapped more than 65,000 boys and girls, kids, forcing them to maim their fellow villagers and sometimes, to prove their loyalty to Kony, kill their own families. Kony says he is doing it in the name of God but the children's stories paint a picture of hell on earth.

CNN has covered it since the beginning.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We were forced to bite him with our bare teeth as he screamed in pain. We continued biting him until he was dead.

MARQUEZ: Russell and his charity Invisible Children are on a mission because of a promise he made to a 12-year-old boy in 2003. Jacob was kidnapped by the Lord's Resistance Army and his brother killed by it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: After spending a few weeks with Jacob he told me something I would never forget. JACOB: So it is better when you kill us. And if possible you can kill us, you kill us. We don't want to stay because --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't want to stay on earth?

JACOB: Only to -- no one taking care of us. We are not going to school. So how are we --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You would rather die than stay on earth?

JACOB: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now, even now?

JACOB: Even now. How are we going to stay in our future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told me more about his brother and what he would say to him if he were still alive.

JACOB: I love you. But now I miss you. So it is better when we meet. We are not going to meet but we may meet in heaven. You see? So it is better. I will not talk it will start something. Because if I saw my brother once again, I don't --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. The film maker spotlighted in Miguel's piece, they join me now. Jason Russell directed the 30-minute documentary, "Kony 2012", that you have seen everywhere -- there he is waving in the red shirt with "Kony" on the shirt. You've seen it on TV and then everywhere. He's also the co-founder of "Invisible Children." And joining him is Ben Keesey, the CEO of Invisible Children.

With the sensation, there is naturally some criticism guys and we're going to get to that in a moment.

But first, Jason, this isn't your first film about Kony. So what did you do differently, if anything, this time that made this one catch fire?

JASON RUSSELL, FILM MAKER, "KONY 2012": Well, I kept telling, you know, my close friends and my wife. My wife has written all of the stories. I said this is the last one. I can't tell another one, you know. I made 11 or 12 movies about Ugandan children and Central African children crying. And I just -- I'm so angry.

I'm so angry that 30 days ago when we set out to make this movie, it was birthed out of an anger. I was just like -- I can't do it anymore. I guess the world doesn't care unless they look like you because, "It's their problem. It's their problem. It's not our problem."

So that's how the movie came up. We just wanted to try it not knowing that it would catch fire, and it did. So of course, we're overwhelmed and so excited. LEMON: There are -- Jason, there are plenty of injustices, maybe not as great here closer to home. Many would wonder why those haven't -- why aren't you addressing those? And my question -- you said you were angry -- why has this story stuck with you over the years? I mean, what's in this story that hit a nerve with you in particular? I mean a young man from San Diego.

RUSSELL: Yes, I mean it's just really personal because I made the promise to Jacob. So it's a personal promise that is on camera. So I have to give testimony to the fact that I made a promise to Jacob that we're going to stop them.

And I thought that it would take maybe six months or less once people found out about this atrocity. I didn't think it would take almost a decade of me trying. And let me just say this. There are thousands and thousands and thousands of people who have tried and are trying still to do it. I just happen to be the messenger.

So I've gone -- CNN has been covering it. Anderson Cooper -- all these people; they have been telling the same message. It's just this one has become very human because there's Jacob in it. And there's my son in it. And there's me in it. It's just a human story.

So Ben, this film aims to make Kony famous, Joseph Kony famous, and it has done that. So then what is the next step in this process?

BEN KEESEY, CEO, INVISIBLE CHILDREN: Exactly. Exactly. The film is the beautiful entry point, you know. And it's made and Jason makes it so intentionally for a brand new audience, someone that's maybe never heard of the LRA before.

So now the next step, and the thing that Invisible Children is working on now is how do we connect this awareness now to action and mobilization of resources from the international community to support the regional effort. To support the amazing people on the ground who are working every day both to get innocent women and children out of the LRA safely -- safe defections. And then also deal with the top commanders like Joseph Kony once and for all.

LEMON: And we say the pictures there that were up on the screen, of people who are disfigured. Yesterday I spoke with a woman who was a survivor of Joseph Kony. And there are some of the images right there. So of course, "Kony 2012" has its share of critics, including a woman who was on our show just yesterday, a survivor as I said of Joseph Kony and his army.

So Jason and Ben, I want you to stick around because I want you to address the criticisms coming and you know there have been criticisms and that's going to come up next.

RUSSELL: Ok.

LEMON: We're right back after a break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: I tell you now, if you're watching this broadcast, you're lucky because you're going to get some information about "Kony 2012" that you haven't gotten anywhere before. This is an exclusive. So, "Kony 2012" a film about Ugandan warlord Joseph Kony, which seeks to create a movement to stop Kony; it has been everywhere on the Internet, on TV, print, what have you.

So joining me again: Jason Russell who made the film -- he's also the co-creator of Invisible Children; and then Ben Keesey, the CEO of Invisible Children.

So you're facing some criticism for your film, as you know. First I want to say, does that surprise you? I'm sure it doesn't surprise. I mean does it surprise you? Quickly first Ben, does it surprise you?

KEESEY: No. I don't think so.

LEMON: Ok.

KEESEY: Any time you do something that's this public, people obviously are going to have questions. And especially when a 29- minute film gets out there and a lot of people didn't know that Invisible Children had been existing for eight years before. There's plenty of other videos and have deep, rich content and programs that are really affecting people today.

So the thing that we want to do --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Ok. Hang on. We're going to get to all that. I just want to answer that question. Jason does it surprise -- the criticism surprise you at all?

RUSSELL: It does just a little bit. But it's about the heart of the issue. It's about the heart of the messenger, you know. It's about that. And we're like, oh, wow, I didn't know there was that much tension.

LEMON: So here is the new information, the exclusive that I just said. So either Ben or Jason, you can take it. To address that criticism, you're doing something you hope to have it by midnight tonight or you're saying tomorrow. What are you doing?

KEESEY: Yes. We're just going to release a 10-minute video that kind of clicks through some of the questions where we say here's all the answers. Here's all the figures.

There's nothing to hide. Invisible Children has been transparent since 2004 when we started. That's our intention. And we want to show that this campaign is part of a strategy and a model that's comprehensive and that we stand by it.

LEMON: Ok. Now I want you to listen. The 10-minute video you hope to have it by tomorrow. It would be great if you can get it up before midnight but you said, you guys say tomorrow. So you're learning that for the first time right here on CNN, viewers.

So let's -- I want both of you to listen to Evelyn Apoko. She's a survivor of Joseph Kony. Here's what she said after viewing your film "Kony 2012." Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

EVELYN APOKO, LRA SURVIVOR: I feel really hurt because I don't know. It's not easy to be a survivor, but I'm glad I was able to escape. Maybe the purpose is why I'm sitting here.

And it's very painful for me to hear that Joseph Kony is right now in the United States a celebrity. And I ask myself, why a celebrity. The kids are the ones supposed to be a celebrity because they have been through a lot.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ben, how do you answer?

KEESEY: Well, Evelyn is a good friend of ours. She actually e- mailed us last night after the show and explained that a lot of her comments were related to the fact that Joseph Kony is not by himself. There's a lot of innocent women and children and abducted fighters that are near him and so any approach to stop the LRA needs to be sensitive to that. They need to do everything possible to protect the innocent women and children.

And I explained that Jason and I have been saying since the beginning also. That is absolutely the mission and the point of this campaign.

LEMON: Ok. Go ahead, Jason.

RUSSELL: Well, the intention is built into the name -- to make the invisible, visible. So of course, we want the children to be visible. That's the point. But because of the zeitgeist of the culture in the world, we need an enemy. We need to know who the worst is. And the world has already agreed. We didn't make it up.

The International Criminal Court said the first is Joseph Kony because he's the most perverse in the world. He's just the most perverse. No one makes anyone else take children, makes them kill their parents and eat their parents.

LEMON: Ok.

RUSSELL: That's what's going on. He's been doing that.

LEMON: Ok. I want you now to listen to some people who live in Kampala, Uganda -- their reaction to "Kony 2012." Listen

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You turned peoples' problems into their businesses. It's unfortunate that we can have people who are merchandising by choosing peoples' problems.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can they use the situation of war to benefit themselves to make money out of peoples' plight?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Ok. So they think that you are becoming famous and making a name off of other peoples' plight. The merchandising and what have you. What do you say to them? Where's the money going?

KEESEY: Well, I think more than making ourselves famous, we're trying to make Joseph Kony famous. That's what the film is all about and that's what it shows. It's important to remember also that now that Joseph Kony is no longer in Uganda, we spent a lot of time in the currently affected LRA areas in the DR of Congo in the Central African Republic. And I was just there a couple months ago.

And those communities are asking with a lot of passion and energy, please keep talking about Joseph Kony. Even though he's left Uganda, even though he's in a weakened state, the organization of the LRA is still wreaking havoc right now today on hundreds of thousands of people. Hundreds and thousands are displaced because of it. So it's not a spent force.

And I think we use the fact that it's a weakened state, that's a good thing. Now we just need to follow all the through and permanently disarm the LRA.

LEMON: As you know, we deal with time issues here. So if you can answer. So the money is going to the organization? You're not becoming rich off of these donations?

KEESEY: Correct. All of "Kony 2012" is under our non-profit 501P3. 81 percent of our money last year went to programs.

RUSSELL: And it's not our money. We don't view it that way. We view it as the children's money because the youth of the world have funded this. So it's not our money.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: All right. Jason, I want to ask you this. I have to ask you this real quickly. There has been criticism that says Joseph Kony is no longer in Uganda. He is somewhere in Congo and therefore, you're putting the people at risk now for retaliation by doing this. That this movie should have been done six, seven maybe 10 years ago instead of now.

JASON RUSSELL, FILMMAKER "KONY 2012": I totally agree. I totally agree. Don, what do you think about that?

LEMON: So what are you doing to help the other places? In Congo and what have you because it's not in Uganda anymore. And if you're putting them in jeopardy, I just want to know what your response is?

RUSSELL: Well, if you go to the LRA crisistracker.com, you can find it online. Lracrisistracker.com. We have an app for that. It's on your iPhone. You can download it.

LEMON: OK.

RUSSELL: And you can look right now in realtime. So if you're watching CNN, get out your phone and download it. Lracrisistracker.com.

LEMON: You asked me what I thought about it. I think that in an effort - I think information is good. I'm going to give you -- this is my opinion.

RUSSELL: Yes.

LEMON: I think information is good.

RUSSELL: But true information.

LEMON: It's a green light to a situation, I think, that's great. It would be great if people are impassioned enough to find out where other warlords and dictators are and use your model to bring light to them. I think that's great. But I think in the criticism that you have taken it here and you have responded to us. I think that's great as well. Continue to do that. As long as you do that, you're not hiding anything, I think it's good information.

So listen, I have to ask you about this "Kony 2012" movement. It's not over. What is April 20th, 4/20, why is that the day? Why is that the date?

RUSSELL: Take it.

KEESEY: We were playing off the 2012 theme. So we were going to rally on every 20th and 12th of the month. And so we thought the end of April will be the perfect point. You know, the 20th, it's a Friday night, near the end of the school semester because -

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You know what people think about 4/20. 4/20 is the code for pot. That's what people -

(CROSSTALK)

RUSSELL: And it's Hitler's birthday. People are reading too deep into it. It's not the DA Vinci just a date in April. That's it.

LEMON: OK.

RUSSELL: It just happens to be loaded with, you know, history.

LEMON: OK. So listen. Jason and Ben, 10-minute video. You hope to have it by tomorrow. When you send it out, tweet @donlemoncnn. We'll put it up. We'll put it here on CNN for you. That's new information. Thank you so much.

RUSSELL: Don, thank you for trying to get the story straight.

LEMON: All right.

RUSSELL: Thank you very much.

LEMON: We appreciate you guys being so open and come back and see us. Good luck.

RUSSELL: Thank you.

KEESEY: Thank you.

LEMON: All right.

A new report finds HIV rates among some African-American women in the U.S. are almost as high as in parts of Africa. A doctor from the Emory Center for AIDS explains the stunning numbers next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK. I want you to pay attention to this. Imagine if you are an African-American woman, whatever you are. If this was happening to someone who looked like you. All right. A new study conducted in 10 cities across the U.S. has found that the HIV rates for black women are actually much higher than previously estimated. Five times higher than the numbers reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Joining me now to talk about is is the study investigator, Dr. Carlos Del Rio. Thank you so much for joining us. I think this is a very important study. So first, tell me why you think this study is so important? How did you choose the women and what does it show to you?

DR. CARLOS DEL RIO, STUDY INVESTIGATOR: Don, I think the study is important because we have had a lot of difficulty understanding why African-American women have such a higher risk of HIV infection compared to white women. There's about a 15 percent higher risk for African-American women compared to women. And in this country, about 25 percent of new infections every year occur in women. And yet understanding why that racial and ethnic disparity exists has not been clear.

What the study has done is has recruited women in 10 communities of high risk of HIV and has looked at what happened to them. We found several things. One of the most important findings of the study is I think that what puts this woman at risk are the associated factors. It's substance abuse, it's poverty. It's, you know, poor income. It's a series of factors that you and I know are more common in African- Americans.

So again it's not that they get HIV because they are African- American. It's all those other factors that simply compounded and make it very, very hard for them to avoid HIV infection.

LEMON: OK. So African-American women are at the top of the list especially when it comes to new infection rates. I think they're highest right, among African-American women.

DEL RIO: Correct.

LEMON: Already. So how did you choose the specific cities? And why not big cities like - why not L.A. or Chicago or something like that?

DEL RIO: Well, it's based on data that CDC has of areas that we know there's a higher proportion of HIV infections occurring in women. And it's primarily in the eastern United States where we see a higher rate of women. The epidemic in some other cities, for example, in San Francisco is primarily among gay men. So I think these other cities that were chosen for a variety of reasons, but most importantly is because they are some of the most affected areas of the country for women.

I think an important topic to also remember is that, you know, ironically, yesterday was also Women and Girls HIV Awareness Day. And I think it really highlights the importance that we need to put in trying to get prevention. There's a new campaign. Take charge, take the test. We really need to encourage African-American women that the first step is to know your status. You got to know if you're infected or not. If you're infected, you got to get into care. We found 32 women during the study enrollment period who were HIV infected and lived in these communities with a lot of risk of HIV, yet didn't know it.

LEMON: OK.

DEL RIO: And then if they are HIV negative, they got to use prevention.

LEMON: All right. Doctor, I want to ask a couple of things, really quickly here because we don't have a lot of time. You mentioned it was because of lifestyle. You said because of drug use or what have you. Does it have anything to do with dating men who are not revealing their statuses? And not revealing that they are gay or does that all factor into that?

DEL RIO: It probably does. And it probably does because there's also higher rates of infection in men in those communities. And many of these women almost 40 percent of these women said they had unprotected sex with men who they didn't know their HIV status and that of course, plays into this.

LEMON: Yes. And you said that the numbers, you found the numbers of HIV in these cities were comparable with parts of sub Saharan Africa, which has been ravaged by HIV AIDs in places that have less information than the United States.

DEL RIO: And we're right here in the District of Columbia, in D.C.. And D.C. is again a city. If D.C. was a country in Africa, it would be one of the affected countries in the world. I think one message also out of the study is that the epidemic in the U.S. is not gone. It's here, but it's primarily affecting the forgotten population. The poor and the ones who are not really paying much attention to. And we really need to do renewed efforts as the HIV - the AIDS conference is happening in July here to really confront the epidemic.

LEMON: OK. Yes, doctor. That's going to be big. Now, I have to go, but I have to ask you. The stigma in the African-American community have anything to do with it? Does that contribute to this?

DEL RIO: Stigma has always had something to do with the HIV epidemic. And I think it's one of the most difficult things to deal with.

LEMON: Dr. Carlos Del Rio, an important study. We appreciate you joining us here on CNN. Thank you.

DEL RIO: Thank you so much.

LEMON: All right.

A new story now about cell phones. A man in Philadelphia was so bothered by people around him talking on phones that he found a way to block them. That story is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The makeup of the American family is changing. When it comes to searching for the best schools for children of same sex parents, how do they choose a safe and supportive environment in addition to a good education? CNN's education contributor Steve Perry has some advice.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAURIE ROBINS, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Since my kids are coming from a lesbian family and we have different faiths, I wanted my kids to be really raised in an open environment. How can I decide which private schools are best for her?

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: That's a really good question and an important one. Because you need to understand where your children are going to school not just because of what they are going to learn academically, but how they will be treated.

What I suggest you do is go visit the school. Go as a family. Ask the question you're asking me. What are your values on diversity? How do you respond to a gay family? Get them to answer your questions and ask the question until you feel like you have gotten the answer. Ask the reputation of the school, not just the school itself. Because if they want your money as a private school, they're going to tell you what they want you to hear.

But more importantly, ask your friends. When you get the opportunity to go on a tour, go with other students. Ask them. Kids in all they do, they don't typically lie. The kids will tell you the truth. So somewhere between asking the school directly, visiting the school, asking their reputation, and finally asking the students who attend that school, you should find your answer.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Take it away from us, Lord. Take it Lord. Take it, Lord.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As the fierce storms tore through the Midwest and south last weekend taking 40 lives emergency recovery teams scrambled to respond to devastated communities across 10 states.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep pushing it forward. Doing good.

MARCIANO: Among the relief workers heading into the destruction zone was CNN hero Tad Agolia and his First Response Team of America.

TAD AGOLIA, CNN HERO: Let's go ahead and get this debris cleared enough so we can get the grapple claw in here.

We got here just a few hours after the tornado struck this community. We've cleared the road. We've provided the light towers. We powered up the grocery store. We powered up the gas station to provide the essentials that this community needs.

MARCIANO: Since 2007 Agolia's team has crisscrossed the country providing recovery assistance to thousands of people at 40 disaster sights for free. This week they worked tirelessly for days restoring services and clearing tons of debris.

AGOLIA: See if you can grab the claw, actually cut the roof right in half. It's very hard for traditional equipment without the claws to actually grab this debris. That's why you need specialty equipment like this.

MARCIANO (on camera): What do you do with it?

AGOLIA: We remove it from the community, but time is of the essence. There's a lot of people that want to get back in here. They're looking for anything they can salvage.

MARCIANO: Why do you do this? Why did you choose this road?

AGOLIA: When I'm watching those super cells go right over these small communities, I want to be there to help.

MARCIANO: You get to work. You do good stuff.

AGOLIA: Thank you.

MARCIANO: Thanks, Tad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Coming up on CNN, do you ever get really annoyed by people talking on their cell phones around you? A man in Philadelphia got so annoyed he used one of these. It stopped the calls, but now he could be in serious trouble. That story is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Apple released a new iPad on Wednesday. Good news for all of you guys who got to have the latest, coolest toys. But what if your old devices, I don't know, could help pay for your new ones? That would be great, wouldn't it?

Katie Linendoll, she brings geek chic to the tech world all the time. And she is our tech news person each week. Can we call you "person"? Reporter, I don't know, correspondent, contributor, whatever. So Katie, people are thinking about upgrading from one device to another. How do that go about using these so-called re- commerced site. What's that all about?

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH REPORTER: Yes, more and more people are turning to re-commerced sites. And all that means is trading in your gadget for some extra cash on various sites. And when people want to upgrade say like the iPad, they're actually turning to this to get some extra money. So much in fact that during the first hour of the new iPad announcement, someone was selling their old iPad once every eight seconds to the nation's leading site, gazelle.com.

And very interesting, Gazelle, actually had a chance with them. They said, "the deal is you want to get the best bang for your buck, lock in your price early, before the announcement happens. You can get around $270 on average for an older iPad model. Now, since the secondary market is flooded with iPad 2s and also original iPads, you can get about $225. But you see those numbers. Gazelle has taken 140,000 iPad offers, just in this last month alone. 90,000 of those actually came after the apple announcement.

So, we talk about Gazelle, but if you also want to sell in those old gadgets for cash, a few other sites to be aware of, Ecosquid, NextWorth, also Ebay Instant Sale, recellular.com. Instead of putting them in the landfill, you can get some decent money out of them. So the next time you have a gadget, try to sell it.

LEMON: I watched you all last week. I was jealous when I saw you, you know, talking about the new Apple iPad. So I want to talk about this, because I know, are you done with the new Apple iPad, yes - you done talking about that?

LINENDOLL: I'm done with that.

LEMON: OK. All right. So let's move on now because it's annoying for a lot of people.

A Philadelphia man might be in trouble after he used a cell jammer on a bus to stop people from blabbering away on their cell phones. So what the heck is a cell jammer? LINENDOLL: Yes, this is a trending topic on Google after this man kind of get busted. A cell phone jammer is actually a device that can disable anyone's cell phone within range. It's kind of easy. The best one with I've ever seen, Don, it looks just like a Blackberry. All you had to do was hit the button and anyone within a certain range, it knocked out their cell phone service.

Now I have to tell you, you can go online and pick one of these up from anywhere from $40 to around $1,000, but it's typically from a site overseas. They're actually illegal in the U.S. and when the story broke about this Philly man on a bus, knocking out everybody's cell signal, the FEC came out and said, "You guys, hello, first off, in the U.S., it's highly illegal. Second you can get slapped with a pretty serious fine." So before picking up a cell jammer, you might want to think about the consequences.

LEMON: And they've been around, because the picture shows an old flip phone, which is really old. So they've been around before.

LINENDOLL: No comment.

LEMON: Katie, always a pleasure. Thank you so much.

LINENDOLL: Thank you.

LEMON: All right.

An alleged atrocity is a new setback to the war in Afghanistan. Ahead, the latest in the massacre in Kandahar province that has left the U.S. scrambling for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's take a look at your headlines right now.

President Barack Obama has spoken with Afghan president about the alleged massacre of 16 civilians in Afghanistan by a U.S. soldier. President Obama offered his condolences to the victims, loved ones, while insisting the incident doesn't represent the true character of the American military.

NATO's International Security Assistance Force says the soldier accused of the killing acted alone. Nine of the victims were children, three were women.

In Syria, peace talks have ended in a no deal. U.N. special envoy Kofi Annan and Syrian President Bashar al Assad met for a second time today in attempts to bring peace to the troubled nation. Annan is proposing a cease-fire and a release of the detainees. He's also asking that relief agencies be allowed to deliver much-needed aid.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KOFI ANNAN, U.N. SPECIAL ENVOY TO SYRIA: It's going to be tough. It's going to be difficult, but we have to have hope.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: As they met, opposition groups reported that violent attacks had killed another 32 people in cities across the country.

Next, England's Prince Harry is wrapping up his trip to Brazil. The prince took the reins of a horse-drawn carriage and then played in a charity polo match today to end his official visit. He's there as part of the Queen's diamond jubilee and to encourage trade relations between the two countries.

Yesterday, Harry played rugby with some local children and hit the sand for beach volleyball to promote the summer Olympics in London. Very nice.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. CNN's special, "72 Hours Under Fire" begins right now.