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The Untold Story of Joseph Stack; Secret Service Investigates Ted Nugent; North Korea Threatens Retaliation over Criticism; Would-Be Terrorist on Trial
Aired April 18, 2012 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Kyra is off today. It is 11:00 on the East Coast, 8:00 on the West and we've got a busy hour straight ahead for you. Let's get right to the news.
Grisly scenes from the Afghan war. U.S. troops apparently posing with dead insurgents, triggering another military embarrassment or even worse.
This shot and another one posted this morning in the "Los Angeles Times" are more than two years old, but the outrage from the upper ranks is fresh. The allied commander says he strongly condemns what the Pentagon is calling inhumane conduct and a criminal investigation is underway.
"The Times" says it got the photos from a soldier who wants to highlight, quote, "a breakdown in leadership and discipline that could further endanger the troops."
Much more on this story in a moment when I talk with retired general and former NATO supreme allied commander, Wesley Clark. Stay tuned for that.
Police in Fayetteville, North Carolina plan to start a ground search near the bar where a missing young army private was last seen early Saturday morning. PFC Kelly Bordeaux was reported missing on Monday when she didn't report for duty at Fort Bragg.
An army official says she apparently got a ride from a bar employee and later texted someone that she got home safely. Bordeaux is 23-years old, 5-feet tall and weighs 99 pounds.
Police say for now they're treating this as a missing person's case, not a criminal investigation.
More saber-rattling from North Korea that could be the prelude to a nuclear test. The North, today, threatened retaliation in the aftermath of international criticism over its failed rocket launch last week.
Yesterday the new government of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un ditched a U.S. agreement to allow back U.N. nuclear inspectors. The U.S. also cancelled a deal to provide much needed food aid because of the rocket launch which Washington said was a disguised long-range missile test. U.S. officials say Kim may now order the test of a nuclear device.
A would-be terrorist who plotted to kill Americans with suicide bombs in New York subways is detailing his botched plans for a second day on the stand today. Najibullah Zazi, the mastermind of the 2009 plot, testified about how he and two of his high school friends hatched their plan.
The trial centers around this man, one of Zazi's friends, Adis Medunjanin. He is the only one of three on the trial. Prosecutors say he and his two friends were trained by al Qaeda in Pakistan and planned to strap bombs to their bodies and blow them up in New York subway stations.
The Violence Against Women Act. Live pictures now. You see it there. Vice President Joe Biden will lead the push to reauthorize the law. You're looking at the pictures of Biden. He'll be with other supporters of the Violence Against Women Act at the White House forum right now.
The law that was passed in 1994 would finance and help domestic violence programs, but is facing push back from some Republicans over new protections for illegal immigrants and gays. We're keeping an eye on that for you.
Police have nabbed a suspect for allegedly killing a Houston woman and kidnapping her newborn son. Verna McClain was arrested yesterday, that's according to a police report.
The 30-year-old registered nurse faces capital murder charges and confessed to shooting 28-year-old Kala Golden outside a pediatrician's office on Tuesday. The police report states McClain shot the new mom multiple times in the parking lot before taking Golden's baby. The 3- day-old baby boy was found safe six hours later.
You know, many of you are fed up with those airport screeners. But this man bared all -- bared all, we mean that -- in expressing his opinion of the process. John Brennan says screeners were harassing him, so he took of all of his clothes at the Portland International Airport in Oregon.
Police say screeners asked him numerous times to put his clothes back on. He didn't, so he was arrested and charged with disorderly conduct and indecent exposure. Police say he was not intoxicated or under the influence of drugs.
Rick Santorum mincing no words about what he thinks of Mitt Romney. In a letter to Iowa voters this week, Santorum says, quote, "It truly frightens me to think what will happen if Mitt Romney is the nominee."
The letter published in the "Des Moines Register" goes on to say Republicans and conservatives will be crippled by a nominee who presents zero contrast with Barack Obama on the major issues. Santorum campaign says the letter was sent out before he dropped out of the race a week ago, but Santorum has so far declined to endorse Mitt Romney.
A Major League pitcher is proving to the world that old is still gold. Us old guys can still do something. Forty-nine-year-old Jamie Moyer is now the oldest pitcher to ever win a major league game. His seven strong innings helped the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE MOYER, COLORADO ROCKIES PITCHER: I'm still able to live the dream and I still believe I have the passion for the game and, you know, it's a special night for me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Moyer broke the record held since 1932 by a Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher. He made his Major League debut in 1986.
An inspiring story from Texas to tell you about. A 6-year-old boy started selling lemonade to raise money for his father's medical bills last Saturday, but he had no idea so many people would turn out to help him.
Drew Cox's father has a rare form of cancer and KLTV says word of the lemonade stand spread so fast, Drew ended up raising $10,000.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DREW COX, RAISING MONEY FOR FATHER'S TREATMENT: To help my dad and with his bills.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It's cute. A family friend also says that they set up a "give-forward" account to help Drew's dad. Good luck to him.
The third Mega Millions lottery winner was just announced and we know it was purchased as a $3 quick pick. OMG, right?
Meet the Butlers from Red Bud Village in Illinois and you're looking at live pictures of the press conference right now where their announcement is being made. Can you imagine.
Look at that. Do we want to listen or do we keep going? Nah. Nah. He's too lucky. We're all jealous.
There were three winners for the $656 million Mega Millions jackpot. Two of them have already claimed their share, but have remained anonymous.
On now to our head story, our lead story, of photos published today showing U.S. troops posing with the bodies of Afghan suicide bombers. How the U.S. military is responding, that's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Hi, welcome back, everyone.
Once again, the Pentagon and NATO are condemning conduct unbecoming U.S. troops in Afghanistan. "The Los Angeles Times" today published two of what it says are 18 photos supplied by a soldier from the 82nd Airborne Division who served in Afghanistan.
Now, this was 2010, keep in mind. This is one of them that you're looking at. U.S. troops here are seen posing with Afghan police and the severed legs of a suicide bomber. We have blurred those out for you.
We've blurred the grisly parts and we have not verified the picture independently, but military leaders aren't waiting to weigh in on this. Here's what a Pentagon spokesman is saying and I quote.
"These images by no means represent the values or professionalism of the vast majority of U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan today. An investigation that could lead to disciplinary measure is under way there. Anyone found responsible for this inhumane conduct will be held accountable in accordance with our military justice system."
I want to bring in now a man with unparalleled insights and perspective on it this particular matter. His name is Wesley Clark. He's a former NATO supreme allied commander, now a businessman respect adviser and a scholar.
So, General, the "Times" says its anonymous source hoped to draw attention to a breakdown in leadership and discipline that might compromise the safety of the troops.
When you look at these pictures, do you see a leadership breakdown there?
GENERAL WESLEY CLARK, FORMER NATO SUPREME ALLIED COMMANDER: Well, it doesn't represent the standards or the training or the values of the United States armed forces.
Our soldiers and leaders know you don't pose with dead enemy bodies and there's a lot of other things that you don't do and we maintain these standards.
And I think the men and women of the armed forces have done a remarkable job. Our leadership has done a remarkable job.
No one ever expected when this conflict began in 2001 that we would be in it ten years later, 11 years later, and the volunteer army would have held together and done so very well.
This is an exception and I know the military will take the proper measures.
LEMON: It's an exception, but let's just look at this. We know in January the video of the soldiers urinating on corpses and I think it was February where there were deadly riots that erupted after the accidental burning of Korans at a U.S. military base. And then just last month, of course, we know about the U.S. Army staff sergeant accused of murdering 17 Afghan civilians.
So when it comes to U.S. troops, I mean, is there really any outrage left? I mean, can they actually win the hearts and minds after these incidences?
CLARK: I think it's a matter now -- we've accomplished our major objective there. We got Osama bin Laden. We've taken strong measures against al Qaeda. It's a broken organization, at least as it was in 2001, and it's not going to recover, at least not in the near-term there.
There are other enemies on the ground in Afghanistan and it's been a tough fight, so winning the hearts and minds, I think what we can expect on do is continue training the Afghan security forces.
I think we can expect to fulfill the obligations there to Hamid Karzai's government and I think we'll get an orderly withdrawal out of that region as the president said, 2014.
That's what we're really looking for. There will be mixed feelings because those mixed feelings on the ground among the populace are inevitable in wartime. This is a country that's been through 40 years of war. So there have been a lot of losses, a lot of tragedy. There's a lot of hatred.
This is one more small piece of that.
LEMON: General, I have to ask you this as a journalist because I know no news organization would take lightly this request from the Pentagon. They asked "The L.A. Times" not to run the pictures because they were worried about our service members' safety.
And I want to read a statement from the paper now. It says, "After careful consideration, we decided that publishing a small but representative selection of the photos would fulfill our obligation to readers to report vigorously and impartially on all aspects of the American mission to Afghanistan, including the allegation that the images reflect a breakdown in unit discipline that was endangering U.S. troops."
What do you think? Is it right or wrong to run these pictures? I think the public has a right to know, but there is also something there about the safety of our men and women in uniform.
CLARK: It's a tradeoff. If I had been in the Pentagon in Secretary Panetta's position or some other position there, I'd have appealed to "The L.A. Times" not to do it because I wouldn't want any unnecessary risk for our troops.
"The L.A. Times" is a journalism organization. They have their own opportunities, their own concept of integrity. I haven't been in that position and had to make those calls.
So they obviously weighed the factors and believed that the public's right to know was greater than the marginal additional risk for the troop. That's their decision. They'll have to live with the consequences.
But the government can't be in position of being able to control the media totally. People have to be able to exercise individual, independent judgments. "The L.A. Times" did it.
I'm disappointed in the action, I'm disappointed that it saw publicity and I hope our troops will be okay and I hope we'll do the right thing in the chain-of-command to prevent this in the future.
LEMON: All right, well said. Thank you, General Wesley Clark. Appreciate it.
Who are the most influence sat people on the planet? The new list is out and you may be surprised who's really change the world. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So think about this. Really think about this. If you had to pick the year's most influential people, who would they be? Besides yourself, of course.
"Time" magazine is about to come out with its annual, 100-most- influential list. That edition hits newsstands on Thursday, but you're getting a sneak preview and you can see some of the names right here on the cover, I guess, if you squint.
There they go. Many of them are pretty obvious, right? Their names and faces, they're household names. The expected politicians, the high powers execs, the sports stars, the celebrities.
But then there are others who are quietly making their mark and influencing lives, as well. People you don't know, but you should.
More on who made the "Time's" 100-most-influential list now with the executive editor, Radhika Jones. Thank you for joining us.
As we were talking during the break, I'm upset that I didn't make it. Your parents are upset that they're not on it as well, but there are so many people on here.
How do you choose? What's the criteria for the people who ultimately decide here?
RADHIKA JONES, EXECUTIVE EDITOR, "TIME" MAGAZINE: We put out an APB to our staff in January. All our writers around the word, editors, former persons of the year, former members of the Time 100 and we just asked them who is the most influential people on your beat, in your field, what have you, and we get tons of suggestions.
And we start to debate and it narrow down. And we're a global magazine, we're looking for a global reach on this list. We're looking to represent a lot of different stories and a lot of different innovations. LEMON: And the 100, I mean, the world is a big place, so narrowing it down, I'm sure the criteria is very tough.
Let's talk about this. You divide it into five categories. They're the breakouts, the pioneers, the moguls, the leaders, and then there are the icons.
So I'll tell you the famous high profile people, who are some of the most influential people that we should know about, but don't know about?
JONES: One who I think of in sort of the unfamiliar category is a young man named Salman Khan who is the founder of Khan Academy. It's an online hub for educational videos and this is a guy who used to run a hedge fund.
He posted like an algebra tutorial for his cousin across the country and it was helpful to her and he decided that this is something that we should be doing in terms of using digital technology to help with education.
Now there are 3,000 videos on the site. Bill Gates wrote about him for the issue. He uses the videos with his kids. He loves them. And someone who's doing something very simple, but very powerful to change education.
LEMON: There are people who look at this list sort of as a celebration of high profile and influential people, but it's not always people who are influencing in the right way because you have some controversial figures on there like Syrian president Bashar al Assad and then you have Kim Jong-Un, the North Korean leader.
Why did you choose to put them on?
JONES: That's right. We would use it if everyone used their influence for the good. We're a news magazine and we feel like, of course, that's not the case.
And the president of Syria has been a huge driver of news and, unfortunately, has had a very powerful influence in the Middle East this year, so we put him on.
But we also want to draw your attention to another Syrian on the list who is the political cartoonist, Ali Farzat, who is using his pen to resist the regime and so that's sort of the flipside of the bad influence.
LEMON: Well, it's definitely a very interesting list. Can't wait for the list on come out on Thursday and our viewers just got a sneak preview.
Thank you, Radhika Jones. Always a pleasure.
JONES: Thanks so much.
LEMON: A 22-year-old man wakes up unable to tell hot from cold. A few weeks later, he's diagnosed with M.S. His incredible journey to beat the odds and teach a younger generation about the disease. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Multiple sclerosis is a chronic, unpredictable disease of the central nervous system and it can be very painful and make day-to- day life a struggle.
Today our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, has the remarkable story of a young man. He's not just living with the disease, but helping others to overcome it.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Noah Shebib doesn't miss a beat or a chance to perform.
His life in showbiz began on TV as a child actor, including an episode of "Goose Bumps" and of the cult classic film, "The Virgin Suicides."
But by his teenage year, it was music that proved to be Noah's true calling.
NOAH "40" SHEBIB, MUSIC PRODUCER: Everyone in the studio would fall asleep and wake up in the morning and I'd still be sitting in front of the computer. So they started calling me "40 Days And 40 Nights" because I didn't sleep.
GUPTA: As a go-to sound engineer in Toronto, "40" soon attracted the attention of hip-hop up-and-comer, Drake, now a Grammy-nominated recording artist.
SHEBIB: We worked together for a couple days in the studio, I think. I charged him a little bit of money and then by the third day, we sort of agreed that we were going to take a little road together.
GUPTA: And then a monumental setback. "40" found himself celebrating his 22nd birthday in the hospital.
SHEBIB: I woke up one day and all the temperature in my body was distorted. The sense of hot and cold and what that meant to my brain was a very confusing thing.
GUPTA: The diagnosis? Multiple sclerosis. "40" spent the next two years trying to get back on his feet.
Two years later, another setback for the Shebib family. Noah's mom was also diagnosed with M.S. which is not directly inherited.
SHEBIB: I've got this disease, I'm going to win with it and my story will be that much better when I get there.
GUPTA: Today he is there. Right there. On a massive electronic billboard in New York City's Times Square. He's in a campaign for the National M.S. Society.
SHEBIB: As long as I'm on my feet, I will continue to run. And until somebody stops me.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: An IRS office in flames after a pilot intentionally flies right into it. His wife details the hours leading up to his suicide mission, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Two years ago, a man by the name of Joe Stack crashed his plane into the IRS office in Austin, Texas. He also left behind a manifesto railing against the government.
Now the woman who knew him best, his wife, Sheryl, is speaking out and she spoke with our Kyra Phillips exclusively about carrying the burden of what her husband did.
Here is part one of "Faith & Fury."
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
SHERYL STACK, WIFE OF JOE STACK: I still love Joe. I don't think that Joe was a bad person.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It took some time for Sheryl stack to get to this point. For two years, she has struggled, but has found comfort in her music and her faith.
STACK: I have been more sad than mad. Suicide is so painful on so many different levels and then you add the public factor, the public suicide.
PHILLIPS: It was February 18th, 2010. An angry and violent Joe Stack set his family's house on fire then drove here to the Georgetown Municipal, boarded a single-engine plane --
JOSEPH STACK, FLEW PLANE INTO IRS BUILDING: Georgetown tower, Dakota 2889 Delta's ready for departure.
PHILLIPS: -- and was cleared for takeoff.
TOWER: 89 Delta clear for takeoff.
What's your direction of flight, sir?
STACK: 89 Delta going southbound, sir.
PHILLIPS: At 9:44 a.m., Joe Stack was headed for his final flight.
Joe Stack knew exactly where he was going -- the Echelon Building in Austin, which housed the IRS.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: From Austin, Texas, a single-engine aircraft has crashed in to a seven-story building.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was a fireball. People were screaming, a few crying.
PHILLIPS: Stack slammed his plane between the first and second floors of the building. It exploded on impact. One man was killed, Vernon Hunter, an IRS employee.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The country, the city, the region in danger --
PHILLIPS: Immediately, there were fears that this was an act of terrorism. But it wasn't. It was simply one man's grudge against the IRS.
And then came the manifesto. Before Stack would die by suicide, the 53-year-old software engineer would leave behind a rambling diatribe online where he railed against the government in excruciating detail. "I choose to not keep looking over my shoulder at Big Brother while he strips my carcass," Stack wrote. "I choose not to ignore what is going on all around me. I have just had enough."
Today, that manifesto still haunts Sheryl Stack.
(on camera): What do you say to people that may be listening to you and thinking, how could she not know about this rage, about this manifesto, about this anger?
SHERYL STACK, WIFE OF JOSEPH STACK: Well, I knew that he was angry, but I thought he was angry at us, you know, about the IRS, I didn't know that he was violent. How could I possibly know he would do a thing like that?
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Sheryl met Joseph Stack through a mutual friend in 2005. Both loved music. Sheryl played piano, Joe played base guitar. Two years later, in a small ceremony in Austin, they married. Joining them was Sheryl's 12-year-old daughter, Margo.
(on camera): What made you fall in love with Joe?
SHERYL STACK: Well, he was really sweet and funny and smart.
PHILLIPS: So you both loved music.
SHERYL STACK: We both loved music. And he also was a private pilot and he had his own plane.
PHILLIPS: Did he ever talk about how he was angry with the government, angry with the IRS?
SHERYL STACK: When we were dating, he did talk about the IRS, and he did not seem so angry. He just didn't like them.
PHILLIPS: What would he say?
SHERYL STACK: You know, he thought they were crooks, they were above the law.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): But actually, Joe's emotions ran much deeper. In the '80s, while living in California, he was part of the anti-tax movement. Even forming his own tax-exempt home church. His run-ins with the IRS continued for decades. Then in late 2008, Joe and Sheryl got audited. And once again, Joe was in another battle with the IRS, a battle he wasn't going to lose. Joe Stack started to document what would soon become his suicide mission. He wrote, "Desperate times call for desperate measures. And violence not only is the answer, it is the only answer."
SHERYL STACK: He said they're never going to leave me alone.
PHILLIPS (on camera): When do you think he was writing this manifesto?
SHERYL STACK: One day he was writing -- and whenever I would walk into the room where he was writing, he would just turn his attention to me.
PHILLIPS: So when you walked in, he closed your computer, he had something he can't want you to see?
SHERYL STACK: But I couldn't know what it was. And so a few days before that horrible day, when everything -- I don't know what to call that day. I don't know what to call that day. But a few days before that, he was writing and I walked in, I said, "Honey, what are you writing, are you writing a journal, are you keeping a journal," and he said, something like that.
PHILLIPS: Coming up --
SHERYL STACK: I saw the smoke and I thought, oh, my god, he's burned the house down.
PHILLIPS: -- the tape you haven't heard. She tells Austin's arson's investigator what she knew in the hours leading up to her husband's final flight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You're look at chilling images after a plane flew into an IRS building two years ago. Joe Stack and an IRS employee were killed. And just hours before that, he burned their house down, leaving behind a wife, stepdaughter and with a whole lot of questions. In a suicide note he posted online, he expressed anger for what he called Mr. Big Brother IRS Man.
Now two years later, Stack's wife speaks with Kyra Phillips about his death and the last time she saw him alive.
Here is part two now of "Faith and Fury."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: This is what's left of the home that Joe Stack burned down.
(on camera): Is it hard to come back here?
SHERYL STACK: That's hard to answer. It's not as hard as it was initially. It was really hard right after it all happened.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Among the rubble, reminders of a different Joe Stack -- a burned guitar case, and this message of faith.
SHERYL STACK: Everything was completely black and covered with soot. And there were some boards with nails sticking out of it. And on one of these boards was this -- looked like a white flag. And I went over and picked it up and turned it around and it was this Irish blessing. It was a tea towel and it wasn't burned.
PHILLIPS (on camera): The only thing still hanging in that entire house.
SHERYL STACK: Everything was completely burned.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Iconic, considering what Joe did. Sheryl says in the months before, he began acting differently. He became more angry with the IRS and the audit. He started to blame Sheryl and her daughter, Margo, for all his problems. And he became increasingly strict with Margo. Sheryl talked about divorce. Tension continued to build. And according to Austin police records, Sheryl said Joe had, quote, "threatened her daughter on previous occasions," even threatened to break her neck. Life with Joe was getting odd and more unbearable.
SHERYL STACK: He said that we were the cause of you all of his troubles.
PHILLIPS (on camera): Wow.
SHERYL STACK: But that was at the same time that he was giving me a birthday card and saying, you're the best thing that ever happened to me in my whole life.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Then came their final night together. Everything seemed fine. Sheryl was giving a piano lesson. Margo, who was only 12, was preparing dinner with Joe. What would happen next would change their lives forever.
MARGO, DAUGHTER OF SHERYL STACK: After we had dinner, we sat down in the family room and he was just talking, like he just wanted to leave. And he said he was just going to disappear, but we didn't know what he was talking about. And I said, mom, he's not even taking the toothbrush with him or anything. Where is he going? This is kind of scaring me. PHILLIPS (on camera): So did you think might doing some that wasn't right?
MARGO: I kind of had like a feeling that something was going to happen, like something bad. And I told my mom that I wanted to leave. And she said OK. And so we left.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Sheryl took her daughter to this nearby Ramada Inn. She never heard from Joe again.
The next morning, this is what Sheryl drove up to.
In this interview obtained by CNN, listen to what Sheryl tells the fire department's arson investigator.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERYL STACK: I saw the smoke billowing and I said, oh, my god, he's burned the house down. And then I figured he was in it because he's suicidal. I figured he was in the house. So I couldn't wait to see his car. You know, once I realized he burned down our house and everything in it, I hope he's in the house because if he's not, he's still at large, and I have to be afraid for my life because he's mad at me for ruining his life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS (on camera): Why would he set the house on fire?
SHERYL STACK: I don't know if it's because we left or if he just completely blew up inside himself. I don't know. I don't know if he would have done it if we'd stayed.
PHILLIPS: Two years later, do you find yourself saying, oh, my gosh, my gut was right to get out of the house that night, to get my daughter out of there?
(LAUGHER)
SHERYL STACK: Her gut was right. She may have saved our lives.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): The morning of the fire, Sheryl and her daughter took refuge at a neighbor's home.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: We just got some information --
PHILLIPS: It would be there she would discover the fate of her husband on the local news.
UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: -- the airplane that hit --
SHERYL STACK: They interrupted the House fire to show that a plane had crashed into a building.
PHILLIPS (on camera): How did you react when you realized it was his plane and it was him? SHERYL STACK: Well, I don't think I did react. Think I just was in complete and utter shock.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): Sheryl was left to deal with the rage that had been documented in destructive and direct detail.
(on camera): He wrote in the manifesto that violence not only is the answer, it's the only answer.
SHERYL STACK: I don't know who that is. I don't know that man.
PHILLIPS (voice-over): A man who would be secretly simmering for decades, leaving behind a rant against the U.S. tax system, and a wife who just wants to refer the Joe she loved.
SHERYL STACK: I learned a lot being up in the air with Joe. One of the things that I learned up there is that the sun is always shining on the other side of the clouds. Might be a really dark, dark day, might be a terrible, terrible day, but on the other side of those clouds, the sun is shining.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Now thanks to good friends and members of her church, Sheryl has received a lot of help financially. She sold the property where her home once stood and recently moved into a new home with her daughter. And as for the IRS audit, Sheryl, who teaches piano, says she continues to pay off that $20,000 debt.
And "Faith and Fury" will air again will Saturday with Kyra Phillips at 8:00 p.m. eastern. Make sure you tune in.
Dead or in jail, that's what Ted Nugent is promising he'll be if President Obama gets reelected. Could his comments backfire on Mitt Romney? "Fair Game," next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Bashing the president of the United States in very derogatory terms. Rocker, Ted Nugent, a Romney supporter, on a rant at the NRA convention, denouncing President Obama as a criminal among other nasty things. Reportedly now being investigated by the Secret Service and it is Fair Game for us today.
Joining us now is CNN political analyst, Mr. Roland Martin; and also Christopher Metzler, associate dean at Georgetown University.
First, guy, thank you for joining us.
I want to listen to part of what Nugent said about the president and his administration. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED NUGENT, SINGER: If Barack Obama becomes the president in November, again, I will either be dead or in jail by this time next year.
Our president and attorney general, our vice president, Hillary Clinton, they're criminals.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so we want to point out that the Romney campaign put out a statement saying the candidate believes everyone needs to be civil.
So, first of all, to you, Roland, your first reaction to Nugent's statement.
ROLAND MARTIN, CNN POLITICAL ANALYST: Pure ignorance, shameful and ridiculous, Nugent's statement. And the weak-as-paper statement the Romney campaign put out, where you don't reference Ted Nugent. When you say we all need to be -- again, absolutely weak. Liberals and conservative, Democrats and Republicans should have the courage to call out supporters who use that kind of language. He should be denounced for those ridiculous comments.
LEMON: Chris?
CHRISTOPHER METZLER, ASSISTANT DEAN, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY: Absolutely. The comments are absolutely offensive. There is no question about that. And I think what candidates have to understand, I'm not suggesting that any presidential candidate must respond to each and every comment by each and every supporter. However, when you do take the -- you do take the endorsement, you have a responsibility to respond to the supporters.
And at this point it's becoming more of a distraction. The Romney campaign needs to come out and say, as to what Nugent said, this is offensive. It's offensive. There's no other way of explaining it. And for those conservatives who are afraid to take that position for fear that other conservatives will not like that, too bad. This is about what's right, and in this particular case, this is ridiculous.
LEMON: Roland, I have to ask you this -- just outside of the Beltway and people -- diehard politicos -- when Nugent says something like that, don't people go, what an idiot, and move on, instead of responding this way, a Secret Service investigation? Aren't they just like idiotic remarks?
MARTIN: I can't speak for what most people think. Sure, if you listen to what people have to say, folks will say it's idiotic. But the difference is this here. Mitt Romney sought Ted Nugent's endorsement. When you seek somebody's endorsement, the question then comes up, are you going to be using Ted Nugent on the campaign trail? Is he going to be out there as one of your surrogates? That's what changes the dynamics when somebody says something.
LEMON: Roland, what about the Secret Service though apparently investigating. Is that too much?
MARTIN: No. The job of the Secret Service is to investigate every threat against the president of the United States, whether he's a Democrat or Republican. They are simply doing their job, and I would say any Democrat or Republican or Independent, they would want the president safe at all times. It's their job to investigate all threats.
LEMON: Chris, do you see this as a threat? He didn't outright say I'm going to do something. He just said they're criminals and I'll be dead or in jail or something --
MARTIN: Actually, he also said cut their heads off by November.
LEMON: Right.
MARTIN: That's what he also said.
METZLER: Look, the bottom line is, it is the Secret Service job to investigate it. They will find what it is that they're going to find. And so I think they have a responsibility to investigate it.
You know, whether it's a threat, they'll come to that conclusion on their own, but I think it will be derelict of them not to at least conduct that investigation. And then see where it leads. I think that's fair enough.
LEMON: I want to talk now about this Secret Service investigation just real quickly, I have a short time left.
Roland, do you think the critics of this are overreaching, the people trying to score political points against the administration for what happened in Colombia?
MARTIN: First of all, anyone trying to score -- trying to blast President Obama for what the Secret Service agents allegedly did, they're absolutely wrong. The job of the advance team is to protect the president. You lay the groundwork. They are just as important as the protective detail. And so people shouldn't say, well, the president is safe and these guys really weren't near them. 2 it does not matter. This is what their job is. Absolutely they should investigate this fully.
LEMON: Chris, I have 10, 15 seconds here. What do you say?
METZLER: But I do think there's a larger issue here. If you put in place the JSA administrator and now the head of the Secret Service, there's a question in the administration about the culture of these organizations and whether there is sufficient culture change in the organizations. So I think, in fact, you have to look at this. At some point, I think the head of the Secret Service may want to step down, because what this indicates is there is a culture in the Secret Service that probably is not the best, and it needs to be looked into.
LEMON: Chris, that's going to have to be the last word.
Chris and Roland, thank you.
ROLAND: All right. METZLER: Sure.
LEMON: It's the final countdown to the Olympic game. Right now, U.S. Olympic hopefuls -- they're in Times Square showing off their skills. We'll go there live next.
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LEMON: 100 days to go until the Olympics in London, and the city is getting ready to welcome the world. Olympic organizers unveil the events motto, it's inspire a generation. They're doing some dry runs to make sure everything works perfectly during the opening ceremony on July 27th. That's going to come fast. The U.S. Olympic committee hosting a road to London celebration in New York today.
Richard Roth is live there.
Richard, what's on schedule today and what is the mood there?
RICHARD ROTH, CNN SENIOR U.N. CORRESPONDENT: All right. We're here in Times Square in New York City and we're here with two of America's most famous athletes. There's a 100-day countdown kickoff to the Olympics.
I'm with Greg Louganis and Shannon Miller.
Greg, do you feel the fever?
GREG LOUGANIS, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST & FORMER DIVER: Definitely. We're here for the raise the flag awareness. We can be a part of the Olympics to have the Olympic flag that's going into the opening ceremonies and sponsor a stitch in the flag 37.
ROTH: Shannon, gymnastics was your specialty. What do you think the athletes who are going over to London should be focusing on with 100 days to go? And a lot of them still don't know if they're going. They have to win at the U.S. trials.
SHANNON MILLER, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST & FORMER GYMNAST: That's right. We're at the 100 day mark. It's go time for all the athletes. Qualification process is beginning. I think for the athletes it's all about staying focus. There's so much going on with the Olympic excitement. You have to stay focused on what you're doing and stay healthy. It's about staying healthy and making it through qualifications so you can get on the team.
ROTH: The U.S. Olympic team leader making a point of saying the government of the United States does not contribute to the funding for these games. It's all corporate. Because it always has a corporate feet which sometimes is annoying but without that money the athletes are not getting the funding.
LOUGANIS: When I was diving, at one time, I was working three part-time jobs just to be able to pay for my training, pay for my living expenses. You know, but now the athletes need the sportsmanship. They need the support. they need all the help they can get. We're competing against communist countries who their athletes are subsidized by the government. They're expecting gold medals and you can't win gold medals if your attention is deviated elsewhere.
ROTH: Shannon, what stars should the U.S. look for?
MILLER: Certainly, in gymnastics, you're looking at Jordan Weaver, currently the number one female athlete in gymnastics and also Gabby Douglas has really made her way onto the scene. Also look for some 2008 athletes that have thrown their hat back in the ring, Nastia Liukin. It's going to be a lot of excitement. Gymnastics USA is the one to beat.
ROTH: Shannon, Greg, thank you very much.
These are very accomplished athletes in Times Square. They have been doing, Don, trampoline acts, bicycle, motorcycling, but then Times Square has seen it all through the years. 100 days to go before the London Olympics.
Back to you.
LEMON: Let's hope London is ready.
Great to see those guys.
Thank you so much.
That's it for me. Suzanne Malveaux is up next.
Suzanne, are you ready for the Olympics? Are you ready? It's going to be amazing. Coming up in July.
That's it for me. Take it away, Suzanne Malveaux.
