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Senate Widens Secret Service Probe; Concern Mounts for Missing Girl; FBI "Suspends" Cold Case Search; Kabul Explosives Found Plot Foiled; Personal Attacks Don't Work; Not Enough Women in Secret Service; Edwards Goes on Trial; 39-Year-Old Former Pitcher Plans Comeback
Aired April 22, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT: But we went to the home of the woman who started this scandal if you will. Donya Suarez, she is the 24-year-old single mom who lives down this dirt alleyway in a gated compound. Her neighbors tell us that she has not been back to her apartment since the news broke.
They didn't know where she went somebody showed up with suitcases yesterday and took them out of her apartment. She does have a young son that she lives with. And nobody really knew, Don, what she did for a living. They were quite surprised this was the woman involved in taking down so to speak the Secret Service. She has hired an attorney.
Meanwhile the investigation has expanded physically as well. That hotel over my shoulder is the Hilton Hotel, it's the second hotel now believed to have been possibly involved with the Secret Service agents ahead of the President.
So expanding in all directions, we're trying to find out exactly what the Colombian police are investigating because none of this appears to be a crime here in Colombia -- Don.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: All right, interesting. So, listen, Lieberman, Drew joined some other voices urging the White House to look into its own people, those that were down in Colombia. What do you know about the White House advance staff that was in Colombia?
GRIFFIN: We know that there were five of them, Don. Three men and two women who would have been here, possibly and most probably working with the Secret Service advance teams and the military advance teams. We contacted two of them by phone. One told us that he actually couldn't speak to the press, wasn't authorized. The other, a woman, told us that she could not confirm or deny anything.
Again, there are just five and now we have Representative King, Senator Grassley all asking if any of these White House people were involved. It seems it would be an easy yes or no answer, but we have not gotten it yet from either the White House or from anybody else down here.
LEMON: All right, Drew. We'll be looking forward to your reporting. Thank you very much reporting from Cartagena. An intense search is now underway in Arizona for a second straight day. Police are looking for six-year-old Isabel Mercedes Celis (ph). Her parents say they last saw her at bedtime, at bedtime on Friday night. The girl's uncle says the family is in shock.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUSTIN MASTROMARINO, UNCLE OF MISSING GIRL: You don't think anything like that would actually really happen to you and all of a sudden you wake up one morning and you're in that scenario.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We saw CNN affiliate KGUN that the family does not seem to have any troubles at home.
We're going to New York now where there are new developments in a 32- year-old missing person's case. CNN has just learned that no evidence of human remains has been found in a New York basement. Police have been searching since Thursday, looking for clues into the 1979 disappearance of 6-year-old Etan Patz.
Our national correspondent Susan Candiotti joins us from New York. Susan give us the very latest, please.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don.
Yes law enforcement officials are not saying anything publicly about this. However, a law enforcement source does tell us that no evidence of human remains has been found in the basement where they have been digging now for a few days.
Now here's the backdrop for all of this. After a team of FBI and New York Police Department officers were working at the scene, we watched about six hours into the day, they began to tear down a few tents that had been covering the entrance to that basement. And then they made this announcement. They said, "We're going to suspend operations for today. We will be back tomorrow to resume our operations."
So this adds a bit of mystery to everything as to what they still have to do tomorrow -- Don.
LEMON: What do they plan to do with the concrete chunk? And obviously they're sending it to investigators for testing, but they said this is a possible stain, right?
CANDIOTTI: That's right. That's a development that we also have learned about it. On Saturday, investigators had sprayed luminol, which is a chemical that can detect blood, not always. And so they saw this piece of -- of -- of a stain on a cement wall. They brought in chain saws, broke out the chunks that contain that stain, and they said we're going to send it to the FBI lab in Quantico, Virginia to determine, in fact whether that is blood and if it is, to whom it belongs.
So there's still some open questions here before they completely close down this operation. We don't know. They may have more to do here. Certainly we know they're talking to a lot of different suspects or possible suspects.
No one is being called that at this point, no one is being charged with anything, but they are really working hard since they have reopened this case in the last few weeks, really concentrating on additional people that they're talking with.
LEMON: Susan Candiotti reporting. Susan, I appreciate it.
A report in the "New York Times" says Wal-Mart subsidiary in Mexico used bribes to speed up store construction. That's illegal under U.S. law. Wal-Mart says this does not reflect what the company stands for.
Mexican company executives allegedly paid out $24 million in bribes. They reportedly bought permits, licenses and favorable inspections. CNN cannot independently confirm the details in the "Times" report.
Eleven member of the Secret Service implicated in the prostitution scandal in Colombia; would that incident have happened if there were more female agents? That's ahead?
And a mystery for scientist hundreds of dolphins washed ashore but no knows why, the investigation and some of the theories straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It could be the beginning of the end, a political end, for France's president. Nicolas Sarkozy came in second today in today's election in France; he'll face off against Socialist Francois Hollande in a runoff on May 6th.
But it's not looking good for the conservative leader. Most pundits believe that he could easily lose that vote.
Mexico is investigating another cold blooded killing. A group of masked gunmen stormed a popular bar late Friday night, killing 15 people. Two journalists were among the victims. Witnesses say the shooters were wearing uniforms similar to those worn by police. It's not clear why the gunmen carried out the attack but wars between rival drug cartels have taken their toll. According to the government, 47,000 people have been killed since the crackdown on drug traffickers began in late 2006.
The violence in Syria today seems to make a mockery of the so-called ceasefire. This video is said to be from Homs. CNN can't confirm its authenticity, and activists say six people were killed in that city today; 13 more reportedly died across the country.
Homs enjoyed a brief pause in the violence when U.N. monitors visited. Residents begged them to stay, saying that the relentless shelling stopped while they were in town. There's only a handful of observers in Syria, but on Saturday the U.N. Security Council approved a mission of up to 300. Activists still question whether that will be enough.
Afghan Security Forces stop plans for a major attack or a series of attacks in the capital on Saturday. In Kabul they found ten tons of explosives hidden under bags of potatoes in a truck with Pakistani plates. Five suspected militants confessed and are under arrest.
That's just one incident in one day. In Afghanistan a cat and mouse game against the Taliban also plays out at night.
Nick Paton Walsh went along on one mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK PATON WALSH, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A last stand in the Taliban heartland. Americans and Afghans launched an air assault before dawn into a remote hostile district of Ghazni they've not set foot in for six months. It's an incredibly flat, exposed space about a mile away from the village where there are two high-value targets that the America's wanted a rest.
America's withdrawal is meant to awaken Afghan forces to take over these manhunts. But as they push into the village in search of the Americans' most wanted local militants, the Afghans seemed pretty casual. Some doors stay locked. Their prey likely vanishing when they heard helicopters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they hear the birds coming in, they usually flee immediately.
WALSH: But as the American search a former weapons cache they become the targets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where's it at, where's it at, where's it at?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we got --
WALSH: Clearly insurgents are keen to defend this building or at least attack the Americans as they get near it. The shots come in close fire from a distant tree line. The Afghans spring into life, firing a rocket and then move to flank the insurgents, who keep taking pot shots.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh they don't like me running.
WALSH: Warning flares from attack aircraft massing above stopped the gunfire and distant figures, probably women and children, appear, meaning a counterattack is too risky and the fight is over.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the one in white is a child to be honest with you.
WALSH: The keen warriors make for poor police. Riding motorcycles is illegal and they have to decide a punishment. Should they shoot the fuel tank? Perhaps not. They let the tires out and then deliver what is here, a rare encounter with Afghanistan's government.
That night they leave and the Taliban surely returned knowing that without the Americans' support, the Afghan state's relevance here slips further into the distance.
Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, Ghazni Province, Afghanistan.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Iran says it has cracked the code on the U.S. biplane it captured last December. Military officials claim to have extracted data from the stealth drone. They tried to prove to the Pentagon that they weren't lying by saying they knew the plane had flown over Osama bin Laden's hideout.
The U.S. has asked for the plane to be returned.
In Peru, environmentalists have a real mystery on their hands; nearly 900 dolphins have turned up on a stretch of beach of the northern coast. Scientist have been testing the dolphins and trying to figure out exactly what happened.
But these deaths are just the latest in a worldwide trend. In February, 179 dolphins washed ashore on Cape Cod. And then in early March amateur video taken on a beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil showed more than 30 dolphins on the shore there.
You can expect the candidate for president to have a platform their positions on issues, their plans once elected. So what is President Obama's platform? We're asking that question right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Let's take you live now. There's Mitt Romney, he is in Greencastle, Pennsylvania today. It's a campaign stop. And it's just two days before Pennsylvania's primary. Of course, Pennsylvania big battleground state, and it is being said that Mitt Romney is going to have an uphill battle if he's going to capture Pennsylvania. He's going to try.
He's live there at Greencastle, Pennsylvania two days before the state's primary. Of course, we'll be following it all and our Wolf Blitzer will be helming the coverage right here on CNN come Tuesday.
The word "hope and change" carried President Barack Obama a long way back in 2008 but if he gets a second term, what does he hope to accomplish? CNN's legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says it is way too unclear at this point. In a commentary for the "New Yorker" this week, Toobin wrote this. He said, "The President and his campaign have been strikingly quiet about plans for a second term. As a rule, all incumbents, of whatever office, run for re-election on their records rather than on their future promises, but Obama appears to have taken the strategy to an extreme."
I've got Goldie Taylor here with me. She's a political analyst, a social critic, managing editor of the new Goldie Taylor Project blog at GoldieTaylor.com. So Goldie, what about Toobin's points here? Why don't we know more about the President's plan for the future as Jeffrey Toobin says we don't? GOLDIE TAYLOR, POLITICAL ANALYST: You know, I think the first thing that we have to put away with is that some of my colleagues say that they are objective about things, and then they come down one-sided, and I think that's problematic here.
If you look at the entire GOP field, the most comprehensive economic strategy that any of them had was 9-9-9. To say this president hasn't articulated what his values are, what his principles are, what his road map is going forward when it comes to jobs, when it comes to unemployment, when it comes to student loans and hiking the interest rate, he's absolutely done that.
LEMON: Ok. So to Jeffrey's point, he's saying that Mitt Romney is saying "I'm for smaller government, a stronger military, for lower taxes", right?
TAYLOR: Talking points.
LEMON: Right. Talking points. So then if you were to pick those points for President Obama, what would you say? President Obama is running on this for 2012, what would that be?
TAYLOR: I think, you know, President Obama is running on a program of fiscal responsibility. I think he's running on a program of a more compassionate America that has a stronger safety net for the least of these. I think he's running on a strong program of shortening this middle class so they have an opportunity to sort of shore up their wealth and send their kids to college, pay for health care. You know, make sure that health care is affordable to them.
I think there are a lot of policies that when it comes together, it forms an Obama doctrine. Unfortunately, for Mitt Romney, he doesn't have one.
LEMON: Ok. So listen, so Toobin gives a number of examples here. He says does the President still believe in climate change? Does he still back unions? Does he still disagree with the Citizens United decision? Where is he on all of this?
TAYLOR: I think -- I don't think the President has changed his mind about any of it? You know, does the President believe that climate change is an issue? Absolutely. No one's ever heard him turn tail on that. Does the President, you know, that students should be able to have an opportunity to go to college and that their student loan interest rates should be, you know, kept at a reasonable rate?
He's never changed his mind about any of those things and given us no reason to believe otherwise.
LEMON: All right. We've already seen the general campaign get petty with this dog-gate, I guess. I cannot believe that we've become fascinated by this and they're doing so much reporting. I want to play this moment from Bill Kristol on "Fox News Sunday" and then we'll talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BILL KRISTOL, EDITOR, "THE WEEKLY STANDARD": I think Republicans would be well advised to keep it on the high -- (inaudible) keep it on a high level.
And I think if you're an incumbent president, who doesn't -- isn't thrilled with defending your own record, you'll try to disqualify the opponent. You can try to disqualify him on personal. It has not worked.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: It sounds like good advice, but is there any chance that Republicans or Democrats will follow any of that, any of that advice?
TAYLOR: Probably not. You know there was a movie called -- I think it was "Hollywood Nights". A punch was thrown and somebody said, "Is that all you got?" So if all you have is the eating proclivities of Indonesians in 1967, you're in an awful lot of trouble.
This is ground that Mitt Romney has got to stay out of. I think it came up first on the "Daily Caller" sheet. Tucker Carlson put it out over the last couple of days. You know, it was something that was rehashed out of the President's autobiography --
LEMON: Something that was written in a book back in the '90s, right.
TAYLOR: Something that was written in a book back in the 90s that somebody decided to go back and read the book and pull it out and stick it on, you know, a no-name Web site. And so here we are today talking about what the President may or may not have tasted in 1967.
LEMON: All right Goldie, there is a common denominator among the Secret Service agents in that prostitution embarrassment. They are all men, of course. Would more women agents make a difference Goldie Taylor -- I want to ask you that question. And we're going to talk about it after the break.
TAYLOR: Sure.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, real talk now. Putting more women Secret Service in the field, would that have stopped the prostitution fiasco in Colombia? Two women lawmakers tell ABC, well, the answer is yes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. SUSAN COLLINS (R), HOMELAND SECURITY COMMITTEE: I can't help but wonder if there had been more women as part of that detail if this ever would have happened.
REP. CAROLYN MALONEY (D), NEW YORK: And one thing I asked him is how many women are on the force? It's only 11 percent of the agents are women. And if -- we agree on this, if there were more agents on the ground, maybe we would not have had this. (END VIDEO CLIP)
VELEZ-MITCHELL: Goldie Taylor is back. I'm equal opportunity on all aspects, equal opportunity employment, I believe in that. But when it comes to physical protection, can women really compete with a man at that?
TAYLOR: I would have you come see some of my fellow women Marines and ask that question to them. And I'm going to guarantee you that maybe you need a pair of sneakers to run as quickly as you can. I don't believe -- you know, lack of integrity is gender neutral. And so whether there are more women or less women, will there be bad decisions, you know, bad things going on? No more, no less if women are present or not.
Should there be more women in the Secret Service? If women are qualified, if they can do the job, if they can meet the physical and mental test, if they can meet the emotional test and background checks -- absolutely. I think that's happened. I think you're seeing more and more women join the Secret Service as a career.
LEMON: We were talking about earlier. And I said you know me. I grew up with all women, the only boy in the family --
TAYLOR: Right.
LEMON: And I want a big bouncer-looking, football player dude with me because if someone is going to try to shoot me or what have you, I want people to go, where is Don? Where is he? He's behind that big guy.
But can a woman really do that, a big hulking guy? I really don't think so, I'm sorry. I have to be honest.
TAYLOR: Most of security -- 98 percent of security is intellectual and has absolutely nothing to do with brute strength.
LEMON: Yes.
TAYLOR: But, you know, at the end of the day, brute strength alone will not keep you safe. It won't keep the President safe. I think that's a misnomer when we say that women aren't strong enough.
LEMON: I'm talking -- yes. I'm talking about that physical part, as far as reading and having a role in the Secret Service absolutely. And even as agents.
But I'm just speaking for me, you know. It's like I want a big guy who is going to jump in front of a bullet because I want as much space between me and that bullet as possible -- a big bouncer-looking dude.
TAYLOR: I don't know.
LEMON: Come on. Come on look at that. You can't even see Goldie. Look if is she's standing in front of me right there.
TAYLOR: I think you'd rather have me.
LEMON: I know. I know you said if someone's going to come get you, they better be a faster draw.
All right. Listen, the implications behind that idea, I think what they're saying. We need some den mothers around and if there were some den mothers around hovering over everybody, that that wouldn't happen.
TAYLOR: Well, I don't know that that is necessarily the case if a woman is around, would I not partake in this behavior or not? These are grown people.
LEMON: Right.
TAYLOR: And they're going to make individual decisions for themselves. And whether or not there were more women or less women in the Secret Service will not decide whether or not this men participate in this kind of behavior.
You know, there are a lot more women joining the Armed Forces. But still you see, you know, engagement in illicit behavior by some of the men in our military armed services. And so the presence of a woman does not impact whether or not bad behavior happens.
LEMON: It certainly makes you think twice, though. In the locker room --
TAYLOR: I've seen some things.
LEMON: The locker room behavior. You'll have to tell me what those things are in the break. I'm sure it's not appropriate for TV --
TAYLOR: No.
LEMON: -- for a family-friendly broadcast like this one. Thank you, Goldie Taylor. We missed you last night, by the way.
TAYLOR: Thanks for having me.
LEMON: Good to have you back.
All right. your top stories are next, including these new developments in the three-decade old case of the story of a missing boy -- one of the first to ever appear on a milk carton.
And a desperate comeback for a 39-year-old baseball player who's willing to do almost anything to be back in the game.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Let's take a look at your headlines right now. It's just past a half -- past the hour.
CNN has learned that no evidence of human remains has been found in a New York basement. FBI investigators suspended their search earlier today just hours after saying they discovered a possible bloodstain on a concrete wall. They've been combing through the basement since Thursday looking for clues in the 1979 disappearance of six-year-old Etan Patz.
Senator Joe Lieberman promises there will congressional hearings over the Secrete Service's prostitution scandal. He's also urging the White House to investigate any of its staffers who were down in Colombia, and so far six Secret Service members have lost their jobs over the scandal.
France's president will need to win a runoff in May to keep his job. Nicolas Sarkozy came in second in today's vote. The face-off against socialist Francois Hollande will finish with the most votes. Many pundits predict that Mr. Sarkozy will have a hard time holding on to the presidency.
Iran has managed to extract information from the U.S. spy plane it captured last December. And to prove to Washington that they did, military officials in Tehran offered details they claim came from the plane. These include a statement that it has flown over Osama bin Laden's hideout. Pentagon hasn't commented on the Iranian claims.
It is just five cents. But we'll take that. U.S. gas prices are down a nickel over the past two weeks, marking their first drop since December, according to the Lundberg Survey. A gallon of regular now costs $3.91 on average. Chicago has the highest price gas in the nation. The lowest -- Tulsa, Oklahoma.
John Edwards, the former senator, presidential candidate and now disgraced widower. He is headed to trial tomorrow, accused of using campaign contributions to cover up an affair with a mistress. Here's CNN's Joe Johns.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This political soap opera started at a bar in New York City where Edwards met self-proclaimed filmmaker Rielle Hunter in early 2006. She was quickly hired by Edwards to film webisode, casual online videos of the former senator. The video showed just how close Edwards and Hunter had become.
RIELLE HUNTER: I'm so glad you like it.
JOHN EDWARDS, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I like it. Why don't you hear me give it live?
JOHNS: Immediately those close to Edwards suspected an affair. Behind the scenes, the government argues that Edwards was orchestrating a massive cover-up. Loyal and wealthy donors paid for his pregnant mistress to relocate, and personal aide Andrew Young would claim paternity. In the fall of 2007, a tabloid published a story on the affair. Immediately the campaign went into defense mode.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When you were running for president, you flat out denied having a relationship with Rielle Hunter. Is -- did you give me a truthful answer, were you telling the truth then?
EDWARDS: Yes.
JOHNS: After being chased by reporters, eventually he admitted personal failure.
EDWARDS: There is no question that I've done wrong, that I take full responsibility for having done wrong. And I will regret for the rest of my life the pain and the harm that I've caused to others.
JOHNS: Once a prominent politician preaching two Americas, Edwards himself was living two lives. He had fathered a child with his mistress while his wife, Elizabeth Edwards, was dying of cancer. It got worse. In 2011, the government indicted Edwards on six counts, including conspiracy, issuing false statements and violating campaign finance laws. He faces up to 30 years in prison.
EDWARDS: We're conditioned to say the same things, we're conditioned to say -- we're conditioned to be political. And it's hard to shed all that.
Edwards has spent the last year preparing for his trial, shuffling his legal team and undergoing surgery for a heart condition. Former top aides are expected to testify at his trial. Rielle Hunter has immunity.
EDWARDS: I did not break the law and I never, ever thought I was breaking the law.
JOHNS: Experts say the government has a tough, unprecedented case to prove in the arena of campaign finance, but no matter what the outcome, it is the ultimate fall from grace for Edwards who was once adored as a son of the South. Joe Johns, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Joe, thank you very much. Getting a billion people to agree on anything is itself remarkable, but the Earth Day network says it's happening and it spans the world. From cutting back overgrown highway shrubs on hot day outside San Francisco to rallying support for the environment in a steady rain in Washington. Earth Day 2012. Activists want to pressure world leaders to deal with pressing issues like endangered wildlife, arctic melting and air pollution.
All right. Perfect segue right now to the weather. Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey.
LEMON: Should I even -- I'm not even going to try because you have your hands full. You're juggling everything there. Snow, maybe -- maybe snow, rain, what else?
JERAS: There's a lot going on, and it's a tough forecast. The wind is the other aspect that we need to throw into all of this mess. And timing is everything as well as this dry slot which could be developing for the big cities for tomorrow, and when is this snow going to hit on the back side? We're talking overnight we'll start to see that transition, so the big deal today has been the rain, and it's been very steady, and it's been heavy at times. Widespread amounts across the mid-Atlantic and northeast have been somewhere between about a third of an inch to a half of an inch.
But with rain continuing, especially into -- just to the west of the I-95 corridor, we could see those amounts pushing out towards two to four inches, so localized flooding, we could see urban flooding, and it's been a mess. Take a look at these pictures that we have for you out of Massachusetts. This is in Boston area today. Yeah, a day for the geese, that's for sure. About a quarter of an inch in Boston, but we're expecting that rain to continue for tomorrow. You get into western Massachusetts, especially up into Berkshires, and that's where we have a greater potential for flooding, so be aware of that.
All right, where is the snow going to be? Well, you've got to get into higher elevation than that. We're talking into the Alleghenies, into parts of West Virginia and then on up towards Buffalo. I think south of town we'll see some heavier accumulations. We could see over a foot in a few locations, and that is going to be a big mess, and one of our big concerns is that this snow is going to be heavy, it's going to be wet, we're going to see that wind kick in along with it. And it's been an early spring, Don, so most of the trees have full foliage on them, and so that means power outages and that could be pretty widespread in some of these locations. But bottom line, it's been a mess of a travel day at the airports in the northeast. Tomorrow is going to be probably messier.
LEMON: All right. Thank you, Jacqui, we appreciate it.
How far will a 39-year old former major leaguer go in order to get back in the game? Well, C.J. Nitkowski hasn't pitched in the majors since 2005, seven years ago, but he wants one more shot and he's willing to undergo a risky medical treatment to make it happen. CNN's Drew Griffin talked to him.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: At 39 years old, Christopher John Nitkowski really has no business trying to pitch in the major leagues. In baseball terms, he is a has-been. Just don't tell him that.
C.J. NITKOWSKI, FORMER MAJOR LEAGUE PITCHER: So you go as long as you can. I had a good friend tell me one time, make them tear the uniform off you. You can do whatever you're going to do the rest of your life. You can't play baseball forever.
I don't have everyone, but most of them ...
GRIFFIN: His Major League jersey collection is evidence, though, that he has tried.
(on camera): They're almost all there. Cincinnati, Detroit.
NITKOWSKI: They are in order. Houston -- I went back to Detroit.
GRIFFIN: Braves.
NITKOWSKI: When I got traded to the Mets. From the Mets, I went back to the Astros. Texas picked me up. And within four weeks, I was back in the big leagues again. And it's just -- it's been a rollercoaster.
GRIFFIN (voice over): So many teams hired and fired Nitkowski, the path is almost dizzying. He was a fresh-faced rookie in 1995 with the Cincinnati Reds. Then after 10 big league seasons came the final cut in the majors, the Washington Nationals in 2005. That only sent him looking for other jerseys to wear.
NITKOWSKI: These are my Japanese jerseys home and away. I played for three different teams in Korea.
GRIFFIN: Finally last year, the career-ending injury. He was hurt, he says, right here, pitching to high schoolers, trying to increase his velocity. He felt a twinge in his pitching shoulder. At 39, married with three kids, it was the moment he should have stopped playing games, moving on like so many others, into coaching or perhaps a real job. Instead he took the biggest gamble of his professional career.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe just a little bit of pain again.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Doing all right so far?
NITKOWSKI: Now I'm fine. Yeah.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want you to faint on us.
NITKOWSKI: No.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll take your magic potion.
GRIFFIN (on camera): You have been working out crazy. Do you ever lay in bed and think, am I delusional?
NITKOWSKI: There's times where you question yourself. Anything you want to do, if you have a passion about it, you're going to do whatever it takes to do it. So that's where I'm at. And there is times doubt definitely creeps in and I say, what am I doing?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Our CNN's Drew Griffin reporting, see more of Drew's story with C.J. Nitkowski at the top of the hour. It's one of three stories featured on "CNN Presents" 8 p.. Eastern right here on CNN, of course.
If you've ever watched "The Bachelor" you may have picked up on something that has now led to a lawsuit.
And Howard Stern, the shock jock and the talent show he won't stop talking about.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Saturday night at 10:00, you have got to join us each week. It's all about smart conversation and a lot of fun. And we look at the big entertainment stories of the week with my panel, comedian Dean Obeidallah, former NFLer Jamal Anderson and legal eagle Holly Hughes. And we talked first about Ted Nugent's comments about the president and then the battle between screenwriter Joe Eszterhas and Mel Gibson. Eszterhas gave this rant to TheWrap (ph). Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MEL GIBSON, ACTOR/DIRECTOR: I go to work, you're getting paid, I'm not! [expletive deleted] I am earning money for a filthy little [expletive deleted] who takes advantage of me!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so Eszterhas and Mel Gibson have been jabbing at each other in the media and we're, you know, we're only hearing Mel there, we want to be fair. But, you know, there were the comments from Nugent and then there's Mel, and they both are pretty much loudmouths. Should we be surprised by this?
JAMAL ANDERSON, FMR. RUNNING BACK, ATLANTA FALCONS: No. I mean at this point, I mean, Mel has been -- I mean, when he got in trouble in California, that rant then. It's just unfortunate because this was a guy who was a tremendously talented actor. It's hard now to watch some of the great movies that you loved when you know all of this stuff and the rants and the different behavior that's come out. I'm like, come on, do you really?
LEMON: Dean?
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: You know, I said the same thing a few times to club owners at comedy clubs, Don. So I have to be honest, I'm not that shocked. No, I mean -- look at Mel -- Mel Gibson. It's unbelievable. He's actually making Charlie Sheen look better. Charlie Sheen looks like employee of the month when you look at the rants of Mel Gibson. There's no defense for Mel Gibson, this is just Thursday or Friday, it's nothing. The man has got a history of angry outbursts. Ted Nugent's completely different. That wasn't angry. That was political rhetoric that got to the level of being actually a crime and violating the federal statute to prohibit threats against the president. So it's different. Mel is crazy, Ted Nugent not crazy. That's the difference.
LEMON: Are you sure about that?
OBEIDALLAH: Am I sure Ted Nugent is crazy? I'm not sure if he's actually legally crazy, I might be prosecuted for that. Look at Alec Baldwin -- women don't do this. This is the interesting thing. Women like Snooki, they get drunk, they fall down. You don't se these angry, crazy rants. This is something men do. We-
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: What - why don't we let a woman speak to that. Do women do this?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: OK. No. You know what? If a woman is going to say something, she's going to make sure she's not taped, first of all, it's going to be a cat fight in the bathroom, there's going to be a little slapping, somebody's weave might get left on the ground, OK? But then it's over. And you know what, Mel ...
LEMON: We got it.
HUGHES: Yeah!
LEMON: We got it. I'll want to move on because I really want to get to this, the television show, "The Bachelor" being sued. See if you can -- if you can tell why. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my god.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The end is in sight. And everything that I dreamed of could be coming true.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Emily, will you accept this rose?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thanks.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Will you marry me?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What do you think? Can you figure it out? There are a lot of white faces there. In 23 seasons, there's never been a black bachelor or black bachelorette. Now two African Americans are filing a class action lawsuit saying, you know what? They didn't get their shot. Do they have a point?
ANDERSON: Don, this is outrageous. I can't even believe this is a topic. There are absolutely no African-American bachelors or bachelorettes. We don't exist!
HUGHES: Maybe they're afraid to go on the show.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: There are no single black people?
ANDERSON: That's what I'm saying, it's a joke that there hasn't been a single one. Really? (CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: Maybe they just don't want to embarrass themselves, okay? This could be a really good move on their part.
(CROSSTALK)
OBEIDALLAH: You guys are missing it, there's a lot of diversity. There's all different shades of white people there, some off-white, some guy with a tan, someone didn't shave. How come - no Arab, I mean, no black person -- I'm Arab, Muslim, how come there aren't Muslims on it? They could marry four women. It would be a great show. At the end, four wives.
HUGHES: Maybe they don't need to go on TV to get a date. How about that? Maybe they have enough in real life.
ANDERSON: No.
OBEIDALLAH: No.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Up next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HOWARD STERN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: If you're not down with it, get the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] off my channel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The king of all media under pressure to fill Piers Morgan's shoes. And to stop the backlash that he's lost his edge. Has Howard Stern jumped the shark?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Back right now. Dean Obeidallah is in New York, Jamal Anderson is here, Holly Hughes is here as well. We talked a minute ago about Mel Gibson and a public battle with a screenwriter, right? But it's been a rough week for shock jock Howard Stern. His multi- million dollar lawsuit against Sirius XM Radio gets thrown out. That got thrown out. Now he's fighting with director Judd Apatow, who says he's Howard Stern's biggest fan, the director of "The 40-Year-Old Virgin." Here is what he tweeted. He says, "I hate to say it, but I don't have much interest in discussions about 'America's Got Talent.' I tried. It's just too much synergy." He's talking about listening to Howard Stern's show. And then Howard Stern got really upset and then he fired back on his radio show. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STERN: Robin was with me over at AGT, which Judd Apatow says I shouldn't talk about because he's such a genius. He tweeted - he tweeted his opinion. ROBIN QUIVERS: Oh, really? He decided that -- you shouldn't talk about AGT?
STERN: No. I shouldn't talk about "America's Got Talent." No, I only spend half my life there. I won't talk about it. But hey, man, do I talk about that [EXPLETIVE DELETED] film you made? I keep it to myself. His criticism of me talking about AGT is that I go on and on. Ever see the movie "Funny People"? Talk about going on and on. I don't put my wife in every project I do, either. And if you're not down with it, get the [EXPLETIVE DELETED] off my channel.
QUIVERS: You don't want to be in that conversation.
STERN: That's all. What am I going to tell you. That kind of ticked me off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You're not shocked. Nobody's shocked that Howard Stern went off on Judd Apatow, right?
HUGHES: Isn't he called a shock jock, right?
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Dean, go ahead.
OBEIDALLAH: How thin-skinned is Howard Stern? Judd Apatow tweets one thing, and then he attacks the casting of the guy's wife in movies? Judd Apatow is very funny. His movies are great. So I don't know why Howard Stern is taking it so personally, one comment. And who wants to hear about "America's Got Talent?" Put strippers on the sex machine. That's what people listen to the show for. Let's be honest. That's what they listen to.
LEMON: I have to say, I am a true Howard Stern fan. I don't know if you guys are. I listen to Howard religiously, and my Sirius radio is locked to Howard. And lately I've got to tell you, I'm tired of hearing it. Everything - I was like, what is AGT? I didn't even know what AGT was. I don't watch it. I don't like talent shows. He's taken over as a judge for Piers Morgan. Piers Morgan left to do his show. And he's taken over as a judge. And now all he talks about is AGT, AGT. I want to hear Debbie the pet lady. I don't want to hear (inaudible), "America's Got Talent."
ANDERSON: You've got to imagine, Don, when the negotiations started happening, and his payment, then he started shifting the discussions on the show, which changes everything for the audience.
HUGHES: And the other thing that was just mentioned is, you know, methinks thou doth protest too much. If you're this upset because a guy puts out one tweet, then he is not your only tweet, trust me. You've been getting it from all corners.
LEMON: I think he's a bit sensitive because he knows, Dean, because he knows. Go ahead. HUGHES: Yes, and it's not the first one he's heard.
OBEIDALLAH: And Don, Judd Apatow actually apologized afterwards, said, I'm Howard stern's biggest fan. So I don't know why Howard made it such a big deal. I think maybe Howard wants a little press. I mean, that's part of it. Don't forget, he was the king of all media on terrestrial radio. He could get press doing anything, amazing. He's a little big ignored on satellite radio. That's just life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It's just life. Come on, Howard.
All right, great stuff. That was our conversation from our new Saturday night 10:00 p.m. show. Don't miss it next week. Tune in.
All right, hoopla over holograms, pop stars are turning to them to wow their fans, and tech guru Katie Linendoll shows us how they work, and she'll tell us which artists are embracing them. Coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It is time now to take a look at the latest in the tech world and hologram hoopla. Hologram hoopla. Our 2008 CNN coverage showcased a hologram of Will.i.Am in our studios, but we weren't the only ones to utilize this technology. Last Sunday, a deceased Tupac took the stage at the Coachella music festival in California. The rapper's holographic image quickly went viral. Katie Linendoll is here with more on the hologram. Katie, I thought it was pretty close, like oh my gosh, it was a little creepy, but it was very cool.
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Yeah. Let me break down a little bit of the statistics here. So the hologram, which is actually more like a 2d projection, was created by two companies. One, AV Concepts, and also Digital Domain. Now, Digital Domain was actually founded by James Cameron. And in terms of making the hologram, they actually used extensive input from Dr. Dre. If you noticed, those mannerisms are spot on. The hologram took about four months to create, an estimated $100,000 to $400,000. Also, the hologram, it's rumored to be going on tour, and it was completely customized for that Coachella music festival. Now, I called over to AV Concepts to actually get some dirt on the inner workings and what they're going to be doing with it. They say they're not giving any info to press until after tomorrow, because I think the hologram is actually going to be used again tonight at Coachella. So we'll have to stay tuned on that.
LEMON: OK. So am I the only one who's, like, oh my gosh, who thinks this is something like - I have to say it looked better than our hologram. I thought at least from looking at it on tape or on video, it looks pretty cool. But people have been doing it for years, right? Look at that.
LINENDOLL: Yeah. Everyone was, like, freaking out like this was a brand new technology. I have got to tell you, people have been implemented holograms for years. And notably, if you ever go to see the Celine Dion show at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas, she sings to herself as a hologram every single night. She also mixes it up with Stevie Wonder, Bocelli (ph), and I have to add this one. There's a 16-year-old pop star, Don, in Japan, Hatsune Miku-
LEMON: Yes, we've talked about that.
LINENDOLL: She's been selling out tours. She's completely digitized. We talked about this before. She's been selling out tours since 2010. She's currently on hiatus, so if you want tickets, I hate to break the bad news. But again, use of hologram technology for the last few years.
LEMON: Wait, hold on, the Celine Dion thing is an SNL skit waiting to happen, as she does it, she sings with herself. Remember the Titanic one? The guy with a xylophone that went around singing it? It's pretty funny.
LINENDOLL: She is the greatest singer in the world, Don. She is the greatest singer.
LEMON: These holograms are really cool. I would actually go to a concert to see that. I think that's interesting.
All right, so listen, last Thursday was national high-five day. You did something special.
LINENDOLL: Yes. This is like the career highlight for me. So I host a mini tech show on Spike called "All-Access Weekly." In honor of national high-five day, on air I actually wanted to break the most high-fives in one minute record. Let me tell you something, Don, when you want to break a Guinness world record, it's pretty intense. You actually have a four to six week submission process. 50,000 people submit annually, and 5 percent get through. So I found out that the person that had the record was Mr. Giggles the Clown from the UK. He had 101 high-fives in one minute. I got over 100 people, as you see there, in our studios, and I would like to say -- oh, there's Giggles. He's moving in slow-motion. So I had to break his record, and, Don, I would like to say that the on-site Guinness adjudicator said I broke the record. You have an on-site ceremony if you win.
LEMON: You're a pro, you won. Can you flip it over, please? It's upside down.
LINENDOLL: Had that problem before. Yes.
LEMON: That is awesome!
And, scene.
LINENDOLL: The segment's reached an all-time low. My excitement just got shut down.
LEMON: I love you, Katie. You're hilarious. Thank you. Congratulations. We'll see you next week. I'm Don Lemon. High five to you. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "CNN PRESENTS" begins right now.
