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Summit Cities Brace for Trouble; World Economy on Summit Agenda

Aired May 19, 2012 - 19:00   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.

It's the top of the hour.

President Obama splitting hospitality duties this weekend between Camp David and his adopted hometown of Chicago. He's playing host for two major international meetings, the G8 going on right now, and starting tomorrow, 60 world leaders talking mostly about Afghanistan and Pakistan, and missions in Libya and possibly Syria. It's a two-day NATO summit in Chicago. That is a high-profile international gathering and that means protesters -- groups or individuals with something to say always seek out these events and the television cameras that cover them.

We want to go straight now to Chicago and talk with CNN's Paul Vercammen.

Paul, tell me about this domestic terror sting that netted some potential troublemakers?

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, what happened was authorities here in Chicago have arrested three young suspects, all of them 20- somethings. They brought them into court today after arresting them Wednesday and they're accusing them of a vast conspiracy. In fact, they say they were going to get Molotov cocktails or fire bombs and perhaps throw them at Barack Obama's campaign headquarters, the mayor's home, Rahm Emanuel's, and also throw these fire bombs at police targets -- very serious allegations.

Let's hear what authorities have to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANITA ALVAREZ, ILLINOIS STATE ATTORNEY: The individuals that we have charged in this investigation are not peaceful protesters. They are domestic terrorists who came to Chicago with an anarchist agenda to harm our police officers, intimidate our citizens and to attack their politically motivated targets.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: The charges, two acts of terrorism, and they said that they were possessing explosive or incendiary devices. Now, the defense attorneys talk about a giant gulf. They say that this group was infiltrated by undercover agents who actually bought the Molotov cocktail equipment for them that they had come to Chicago for peaceful reasons.

Let's hear what the defense attorney had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DEUTSCH, ATTORNEY: What we've learned now, we believe it is a setup, an entrapment to the highest degree. And it is sensationalism by the police and the state to discredit the protesters that have come here to nonviolently protest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERCAMMEN: Now, before the trial, before the hearing today, you can hear defense attorney suggesting that that equipment was beer-making equipment, not for Molotov cocktails, but they backed off that, Don. They basically said they're now looking at more of an entrapment type defense.

LEMON: OK, so that's in the courtroom. Downtown Chicago, what does it look like now? Any disturbances going on?

VERCAMMEN: Well, Don, you know, you can look behind me and it's a picture postcard spring day in Chicago. We have passed some of the disturbances, nothing -- nothing that you would consider to be violent or out of hand. In fact, there's probably a whole lot more action at your basic college football tailgate party.

LEMON: All right. Paul Vercammen, thank you. We appreciate that very much.

As we've been talking about the protests there, you cannot get a gathering without seeing some protests, and that's what's happening in Chicago. The NATO summit gets started tomorrow in Chicago and the G8 summit is wrapping up at Camp David.

There's troubles in Greece as well, all across the eurozone, have dominated talks among G8 leaders and the world's largest there.

We're going to get now to CNN's Brianna Keilar. Brianna Keilar is standing by for us. She was at the summit at Camp David.

We're going to talk about the protests that were happening there at Camp David as well. But you have been following all of this, Brianna. What are you seeing?

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: We haven't seen any protests actually, Don. We're quite far away from that, just down the road from Camp David in an area that certainly protesters would be kept far from.

But what we really saw today was a focus on the eurozone crisis. It's entering year three and we're seeing a bit of a shift in the G8 countries, moving more towards a strategy that President Obama has been advocating for some time, focusing not just on government spending cuts, on budget cuts, but focusing as well on stimulus, if you will, on trying to create economic growth and jobs -- something that has eluded a number of eurozone nations for some time now,

President Obama is really watching the situation in Europe during this election year, afraid certainly that it could spill over and affect the fragile economic recovery in the U.S.

Here's what he said today.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: A stable growing European economy is in everybody's best interests, including America's. Europe is our largest economic partner. Put simply, if a company is forced to cut back in Paris or Madrid, that might mean less business for manufacturers in Pittsburgh or Milwaukee. And that might mean a tougher time for families and communities that depend on that business.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now the G8 countries also presented a united front on Iran, and this is ahead of a critical week, because Iran will begin discussions with the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, talking about Iran's alleged nuclear weapons program. Also, Don, you see there are sanctions set to begin. U.S. sanctions, E.U. sanctions, oil sanctions against Iran, and there was a pledge today by these G8 countries that if there are any disruptions in the world's oil supply, which would cause a spike in gas prices, could hurt the economic recoveries obviously all around the globe, that they would deal with that in a coordinated fashion.

LEMON: We saw Paul Vercammen in Chicago just a bit ago. And he told us about the protests there and the three guys who were arrested. But what about the NATO summit that starts tomorrow? What's on the president's agenda?

KEILAR: You know, the big item on the agenda for NATO is obviously Afghanistan, figuring out a way to wind things down. As we know, the plan is for NATO troops, for U.S. troops to depart by the end of 2014, but there's a lot of questions that need to be answered. How can those troops leave without really having the country descend into chaos? How can they leave and make sure that Afghan security troops -- or security forces can really stand on their own two feet and keep the people of Afghanistan safe and the government there stable?

There's also, Don, the issue of how to pay for it. After NATO troops leave, the price tag for supporting Afghanistan is expected to be about $4 billion a year, and that's still -- they're still looking for pledges in addition to obviously in the U.S., which is going to be shouldering a lot of that burden, they're looking for help from some of their allies.

LEMON: All right, Brianna. Thank you very much, we appreciate it.

We're going to go back to the protesting now. It's hard to hold a global summit these days without protesting. This weekend's G8, no exception. This is a scene not far from Camp David in the small town of Thurmont, Maryland. Several hundred Ethiopian activists gathered there to protest against Ethiopia's prime minister, who had been invited to the summit to discuss food security in Africa. There were no arrests.

Quickly, back to Chicago now. Ted Rowlands is at the scene where protests surrounding the NATO summit is happening now.

Ted, how big was this protest? What are you seeing?

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it was very big today, and this happened after those three arrests and after the court appearance this morning. They called in an impromptu protest using Twitter and other social media. They got a pretty big crowd, about 300, 400 people walked the streets of Chicago with no real plan, going from one street to another, trying to get towards McCormick place, but they ran into several roadblocks. Those roadblocks, of course, were police. They were mounted police at one point, and then there were biked police where they actually had a standoff for a considerable amount of time on Michigan.

Eventually, the police let them go through, and their tactic thus far all week has been basically to tire them out, to let them parade around the city, open the streets for them, block traffic. At this point, we've only seen a few arrests on this past protest. We did see one individual who did not obey police orders and broke through a barrier. He was taken into custody.

But all in all, at this point, we haven't seen any incidents of violence, of vandalism, and this is exactly how Chicago police want this to play out. Let the protesters have their day in the sun, walking the streets, maybe snarling traffic, but not causing any damage to the city of Chicago. That's plan.

Now, tomorrow, of course, is the big one, and tomorrow is when a lot of these folks say they will be willing to get arrested.

LEMON: Ted Rowlands, thank you very much for that.

You could feel the tension on the launch pad this morning at the Kennedy Space Center, and then something odd happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Four, three, two, one, zero, and liftoff. We've had a cutoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So no liftoff there. Space X is attempting to become the first commercial company to spend a spacecraft to the International Space Station a half a second -- a half a second before liftoff, the computer system shut down the launch. Seems a rocket engine glitch stopped it from taking off, and we'll have more on the planned mission just a little bit later on in this hour. Half second. Kennedy family members and loved ones are bidding a final farewell this weekend to Mary Kennedy. This is Bedford, New York, where the estranged wife of Robert Kennedy, Jr. was found dead on Wednesday. She will be buried at the Kennedy compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts.

Medical examiners say Mary Kennedy died of asphyxiation by hanging. She was 52 years old.

It's not officially hurricane season, but we may have the makings of one already. The first tropical storm of the year has formed in the Atlantic Ocean.

And out-of-control -- elderly couple's car speeds out of control and they're unable to stop it. You may be driving that same model.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It is a bit early for this. But the first named storm of the 2012 Atlantic season is here and so is our Bonnie Schneider.

So, Bonnie, we have tropical storm Alberto. What does this mean that it's so early?

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, it doesn't necessarily mean we're going to see a better or worse season, but it is unusual because we have Alberto in the Atlantic and we had Aletta in the Pacific all before the official start of the hurricane seasons respectively.

For the Atlantic hurricane season, the actual starting date is June 1st. To have a storm so early in may, unusual.

Let's take a look at Alberto. I do have an update for you. The storm has strengthened.

According to the National Hurricane Center, a nearby ship reported that winds are now at 60 miles per hour. Earlier this evening, they were at 45. So, the storm has gotten stronger, even though we see some of the convection a little bit further away from the center of circulation.

So, where is Alberto headed next? Take a look at the track. And the storm kind of meanders off the Carolina coast for the next day or so, and then starts to work its way further up the coastline. But remember, the cone of uncertainty is pretty wide, especially as you go a couple of days now, Sunday, all the way to Tuesday when the storm is forecast to become extra tropical.

The cone does well stretch into the areas inland of North Carolina, and South Carolina, and possibly Virginia, but it's still pretty far out to say exactly which way Alberto will go, even though it's a strong tropical storm. Right flow, the tropical storm force winds extend outward about 45 miles. We're not seeing too much in the way of heavy thunderstorms. Seeing the Carolina coastline right now, you can see some rain work its way in just north of Charleston, but it's important to note that even though there are no watches and warnings up right now, we may get one issued possibly later on tonight for this region and certainly for tomorrow.

So, if you live in the coastal area of the Atlantic, including the Carolinas, please keep close watch on Alberto -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you, Bonnie.

A blind Chinese activist is safe in the U.S. after suddenly leaving his homeland with almost no notice. Chen Guangcheng arrived last hour in Newark, New Jersey, with his wife and two children. Newark University offered Chen a fellowship. Chen left for the airport in Beijing without a passport or visa. He has spent the past few weeks in the hospital after escaping house arrest. He angered Chinese officials with his fight against alleged forced abortion under the country's one child policy.

Nine people were killed in a suicide car bombing today in eastern Syria. State-run media say a terrorist drove a booby trapped car into a military site. The government blamed terrorists, but opposition groups are holding the government responsible. They say these nine deaths were among 29 total across the country today.

Imagine sitting in traffic when your car decides it's on a kamikaze mission. That's apparently what happened to a South Korean couple and their Hyundai Sonata.

CNN's Paula Hancocks has the story. And the video of the crash has gone viral.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The 30-year-old son of the couple in the car, who only wants to be identified by his surname Kwon, says he posted the footage of the May 6th crash online because he wanted to prove that it wasn't his father's fault.

The footage is from a camera attached to the rear-view mirror, which is fairly common practice in Korea. Kwon tells CNN, his parents, both in their 60s, heard a weird noise before the Hyundai Sonata accelerated. The footage shows the car swerving to avoid other vehicles and also driving through two red lights. It eventually crashed into a stationary car at a speed believed to be around 80 miles an hour, or 120 kilometers.

Kwon says his mother underwent an operation for internal bleeding and is waiting for a second operation on her back, and his father has fractured ribs and finger.

An official investigation is under way. The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs says they're currently investigating four other case of sudden unintended acceleration.

Hyundai declined our request for an interview, but did send a statement saying, "The vehicle is being investigated by the Korean National Forensics Service. There is no time estimate for conclusion of the investigation."

Japanese carmaker Toyota recalled millions of cars back in 2009 due to cases of sudden unintended acceleration.

Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Paula, thank you very much.

Battered and bloody -- new evidence in the Trayvon Martin case shows a battered and bruised George Zimmerman. Does it help his case?

But first, even on the go, grab your mobile phone and go to CNN.com/TV. If you're on a desktop or a laptop, you can also watch CNN live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For the last three months, very few images from the night Florida teen Trayvon Martin was killed have been released. That's until now. Prosecutors released this surveillance video, the last few minutes of the teenager's life, buying that bag of Skittles and iced tea that have been talked about so much.

Along with that video, more than 200 pages of evidence and eyewitness accounts were released, including an audio recording from an eyewitness. The autopsy report and the photos that show wounds on neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman's face and head.

But what does this prove and what does it say about Zimmerman's self- defense claims?

Former police detective Alex Manning joins me by phone now from Pigeon Forge, Tennessee.

Alex, did any of the pictures or video released surprise you? Alex?

ALEX MANNING, FORMER POLICE DETECTIVE (via telephone): I'm here. Can you hear me, Don?

LEMON: Did any of the pictures or video released -- did any of that surprise you?

MANNING: Not at all, Don. We knew there was a confrontation. And this just proves there was a confrontation. As we said before, when we did the timeline, there were two minutes when we didn't know what happened. Now we know what's happened. There was a fight.

LEMON: So what about the timing, though, of the release of these pictures? Why would they wait for this point to release these sorts of details?

MANNING: Well, I'm assuming Angela Corey, the attorney, there just really wanted to be able to do a thorough job without the influence of the news media. But looking at this, it still doesn't show the timing. We don't know if Zimmerman attacked Trayvon or Trayvon attacked Zimmerman.

I think the autopsy report reflects one small cut on Trayvon's knuckle. I can tell you if someone pulled a gun on me, I'd have a cut on my knuckle also because I would have fought.

LEMON: Some of this -- Alex, some of this evidence includes interviews with Zimmerman. Do you think that those interviews will be released?

MANNING: I'm sure they will. They're slowly releasing everything. I know there were 67 C.D.s that were released. I'm anticipating the release of those. I'd like to see what he says.

LEMON: Yes, it's interesting being this convenience store clerk and being one of the last people -- the video that we're seeing now -- one of the last people to see Trayvon Martin alive.

The details we have been hearing so much about, much has been made about THC, which is a substance in marijuana. And then we're hearing about George Zimmerman having Adderall prescriptions, and then another prescription medication.

Does any of this mean anything, or sit just more fodder for the media until this case is tried?

MANNING: It's probably a little more fodder for the media. THC in marijuana depresses it. I can't believe Trayvon -- maybe if he was smoking marijuana, didn't buy a bag of Doritos to go with the skittles. He wasn't going to be in the fighting mood.

But one thing, as a law enforcement officer, that I learned is when you approach somebody and they're in a neighborhood where they're supposed to be, they don't take -- they don't take off running. They'll turn around and ask you, what are you doing? Why are you following me?

If he would have been somewhere he wasn't supposed to have been, this probably wouldn't have happened because Trayvon would have taken off running. That's what people do when they're somewhere they're not supposed to be. He was headed back to drink his iced tea and probably eat his Skittles with his little brother.

LEMON: Yes, I think what you're saying if someone approached me and said what are you doing here, I would turn and say, what the hell are you doing here? Why are asking me that question?

MANNING: Exactly. I live here, what are you doing here? That's what I would say.

LEMON: Yes. Alex, thank you very much. Appreciate it.

MANNING: Sure.

LEMON: Beauty pageants aren't what they used to be and neither are the contestants. Tonight, a woman who was born a man goes for the crown. But first this -- students in countries outside the U.S. spend 60 more days in school a year than most American students. Some say that's making American less competitive scholastically.

Steve Perry has suggestions on what Americans can do to measure up.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: The rest of the world is going to school longer than most of the American children. One of the reasons why is because we've made it too expensive to send our children to school year round.

It's not more expensive to run the buildings because the building no matter whether we're in or not. It's because of labor costs -- the administrators, most of all the teachers, they get paid more if they work a longer school year. And to pay them more would mean that we're not going to likely be able to run a longer school year.

We need our teachers to understand that our schools need to go longer. Not just longer for longer sake, but longer in giving the children an opportunity to have a deeper dive into academic experiences. We can do better as a country and we know what it takes to run a good school system.

The question becomes, when will we actually decide that we're going to run those same types of schools in this country?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. A nationwide beauty contest set for tonight will showcase 62 young women -- their talent, their charm, and in one contestant's case some ugly controversy. I'm talking about 23-year- old Jenna Talackova. She wants to represent Canada in this year's Miss Universe pageant. And standing in her way is a not so minor detail that Jenna has not always been a woman.

That's right. This tall, blonde beauty queen was born a boy. And that did not sit well with Miss Universe officials and Jenna had to fight just to be onstage tonight.

So, let's go to Toronto and CNN's Paula Newton.

So, Paula, this woman is certainly determined to be part of this beauty pageant. Is she for real? Because you have spoken to her, you've spoken to her representatives. Or is it a publicity stunt? I don't think it's a publicity stunt. She seems to generally want to be part of this pageant.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, she definitely wants to be part of this pageant, there's no question. But I think, you know, the publicity angle cannot be ignored here. But, look, she set out to be an equal to the other 62 contestants and then, Donald Trump intervened and said, look, you are not a natural born woman. The pageants that I run, you need to be a natural born woman. He then reversed himself.

But I want you to listen to Jenna in her own words when I asked her why she feels she needs to compete in this kind of a pageant. Take a listen. And after that, you'll hear from that celebrity lawyer that she handles to come up against Donald Trump, Gloria Allred.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You say that you're fighting for equality. Some wonder why have that battle at a competition that objectifies women?

JENNA TALACKOVA, MISS UNIVERSE CANADA CONTESTANT: The power that you get for having the crown, you can inspire so many people with that power. So if I have to walk in a bikini for that, I will.

NEWTON: You said you're in it to win it?

TALACKOVA: I'm in it to win it.

GLORIA ALLRED, ATTORNEY: I am here to focus on Jenna and what she has won. And it's been extremely important. And it really is a civil rights victory. And she has earned the right to claim that victory.

TALACKOVA: Like I always say, my family didn't understand. So why would I expect anybody else to understand?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: You know, it's interesting that she's very frank about the fact that --

LEMON: We lost Paula. Sorry about that. We'll get Paula back. Anyway, the pageant is tonight. We're going to follow it here on CNN and we'll follow to see what happens with Jenna (INAUDIBLE) at tonight's Miss Universe Canada.

All right. Time now to get you updated on today's headlines.

President Barack Obama is heading for the NATO summit in Chicago after hosting leaders of the world's largest economies at Camp David. The NATO talks are expected to focus on Afghanistan. President Obama said last hour that G8 leaders made genuine progress this weekend on efforts to create jobs and revive the world economy.

In Chicago today, three men busted for planning what prosecutors call acts of domestic terrorism. They face a judge who set their bail at $1.5 million each. Police say they were stockpiling fire bombs and weapons and planning to use them in Chicago this weekend, and that's where world leaders are gathering for a NATO summit that kicks off tomorrow.

Blind activist Chen Guangcheng is beginning his new life in the U.S., a Chinese dissident arrived last hour in Newark, New Jersey, along with his wife and children. New York University has offered him a fellowship and a chance to begin a new life in America. Is he still a dissident now that he's here? A first in space history has been put on hold, at least temporarily.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three, two, one, zero, and liftoff. We've had a cutoff.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was close. SpaceX is attempting to become the first commercial company to spend a spacecraft to the International Space Station. Half a second, half a second before liftoff this morning, the computer system shut it down. It turns out there was a problem with one of the engines. The company and NASA say the next launch attempt could come Tuesday or Wednesday. We'll be watching.

More people forced to leave their homes because of a raging wildfire in Arizona. The gladiator fire is one of four active fires that are spreading and intensifying. Four small towns are now under evacuation orders. Gladiator fire has torched about 13,000 acres. A bit of good news. Some high winds are easing and that helps firefighters just a little bit there. We'll watch that one closely as well.

He won "Dancing with the Stars," but he's also a soldier who was burned during the war in Iraq. Now he is speaking out about what it's like for vets returning home from war to no jobs. You'll hear from him next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For American service men and women returning from war, a new battle awaits them when they try to get back into the job market. So many of our veterans are struggling to find work. This weekend, a CNN documentary follows Georgia National Guard soldiers as they strive to re-adjust to home life. The documentary is called "Voters in America: Vets Wanted" and it's narrated by veteran actor and "Dancing with the Stars" winner JR Martinez.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JR MARTINEZ, ACTOR/VETERAN: Simply because of the fact that, you know, I faced a lot of difficulties coming home when I got out of the military. You know, luckily for me, I had the amazing opportunity to become a motivational speaker, kind of create my own business, my own brand, so to speak. But a lot of troops don't have that opportunity. A lot of troops don't know that the possibilities are out there.

And quite honestly, there aren't sometimes a lot of possibilities, opportunities so to speak. So it's important for me to say, you know what, this is my way of continuing to serve. If I can sit here and read a script and narrate this documentary, then that's my part.

LEMON: So listen, why should -- this is your appeal now. Why should people hire veterans when they come back?

MARTINEZ: Well, because of the simple fact that, you know, a lot of times you look at it on paper, you know, these vets don't necessarily on paper -- you think what exactly can they do for this company? But you know, they're leaders. They're trained to perform under unbelievable circumstances. At the same time, they're very resilient. They're very positive. They just want opportunities. They excel in every single opportunities. They are hard workers and they want to learn. And you know, if we ask these men and women to go overseas and sacrifice for six months, a year, two years, multiple times, let's give them an opportunity to be able to provide for their families and to be able to live a normal life that we all want to live in the United States of America.

LEMON: OK. So I'm not sure about this, but I am told that some employers worry about PTSD or employees having to leave suddenly for the National Guard. What would you tell those employers?

MARTINEZ: Those four letters are an amazing four letters that is brought to a lot of people's attention, which is PTSD, post traumatic stress disorder and it's real. It exists. However, you know, a lot of people have a tendency to look at every single event and think they're a walking, ticking time bombs, that they're unpredictive, that they don't want to work, that they're lazy, that they have all these issues and that they don't want to actually continue to live life. That's actually not the case. A lot of times what these guys want is an opportunity and multiple chances of trying to get a job when they come home, ultimately will break down any man and any woman.

That's exactly what you see, is when these men and women are having to interview for a convenient store job and doing something that they did that's way below what they're qualified to do in the military, you know, and they're being rejected from even doing that, that will tear down a man. So yes, let's pay attention to PTSD. But also I think one way to fix that is giving these individuals an opportunity to learn something brand-new and feel that they can do it and provide for themselves.

And if they're worried about deployment or having to go through National Guard, remember they're serving the country, so that should not be a worry. JR Martinez, thank you very much. Continued success along your journey.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Yes, my thanks to JR Martinez. And you can watch the "CNN Presents" documentary "Voters in America: Vets Wanted" top of the hour, 8:00 Eastern right here, CNN, right after this broadcast.

From ballet dancing in a coal mining town, to fame and fortune for eating McDonald's for a month, you know, Morgan Spurlock sat down in CNN.com's red chair to talk about how he went from a quarter million dollars in debt to making one of the most talked about documentaries ever.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: All right. Not many people would consider eating McDonald's for a month to be a wise career move, nor a health move, but film maker Morgan Spurlock isn't afraid to think outside the box, and in his Red Chair interview, Spurlock told cnn.com how setbacks have made him wiser.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MORGAN SPURLOCK: I was the youngest of three ballet dancing brothers, which was not the cool thing at all to be doing in West Virginia, believe me.

Both my brothers ended up going on to become professional dancers, and I ended up kind of going much more towards, you know, film and television. I didn't know originally until I got to high school, when you have that meeting with your guidance counselor when she goes "What do you want to do with your life?" And they get that big book of here's where you could go to fulfill your dreams and your future. And I said I really want to make movies, you know, I want to learn how to make films. I want to work in the film business.

She says "Well, you can go to college for that." I was like you can go to college learn how to make films? I said "I'm going to go to the Hollywood and I'm going to make movies. So I applied to USC, I got into broadcast journalism. I didn't get into the film school. And every semester I kept applying to the film school and every semester I keep getting rejected and I end up getting rejected five times by USC, and finally the last time I applied, I also actually applied to NYU, and I got into NYU, so I transferred there in 1991 and that's where I ended up staying. I've been in New York ever since.

So we created this company called the interactive consortium. We created a show called "I Bet You Will" that within the first week of us launching the show, CBS called and said we want to put the show on television which was remarkable. And so to keep my company going, I started taking out credit cards. And I had great credit at that time. So I was paying my employees with credit cards. I was playing rent with credit cards. I was playing credit cards with credit cards. I amassed about a quarter million dollars in credit card debt.

I was evicted from my apartment. I was sleeping on a hammock in my office. And at that time, I was like I still got an office. Finally MTV got the show from CBS. We did 53 episodes of that show for them. During that time, I paid off about $50,000 worth of that debt. And when they canceled that show, I had about $50,000 in the bank. I said "Well, I can either pour that money into this bottomless pool of debt, or we could make a movie."

The idea of "Supersize Me" came at my mom's house where I get a lot of great ideas. It was Thanksgiving of 2002 and I was sitting on her couch and like this trip to (INAUDIBLE) when a news story came on about these two girls who were suing McDonald's. Which I thought was the craziest thing I've ever heard. These two girls are going to sue a fast-food company for buying food that they ate and say it was their fault. And then a spokesperson for McDonald's came on television and said "Listen, you can't blame us for these girls being sick. You can't blame us for these girls being obese. Our food is nutritious, it's good for you."

I don't know if that's true either because (INAUDIBLE) good for me then shouldn't I be able to eat like 30 days straight with no side effects. And I was like I got an idea for a movie. And then we got into Sundance. And everything changed.

My wife and I split up not long after our son was born. And you know, a lot of that came from the amount of time that I spent, you know, working and not focusing on my family life, you know, on my son. And now that we split up, I make so much time to be with him. You know, I really do. He is the most important thing in my life. More important than any job, anything that I do. One day the work will stop. You know, one day you're going to be old and you don't want to be sitting old and sitting in an old folks home surrounded by all your old DVDs going look, I made this. My son doesn't call me. It sounds terrible.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. You can see more fascinating interviews like this one online at our website, cnn.com/video and make sure you search Red Chair.

We have some developing news right now. We want to take you live to New York City. Blind Chinese activist safe now in the U.S. after leaving his homeland with almost no notice. Chen Guangcheng, we have been telling you about. He is live now in New York, of course, NYU offered him a scholarship, a fellowship, as a matter of fact. And he and his family are now there. Let's listen in.

CHEN GUANGCHENG, CHINESE ACTIVIST (THROUGH TRANSLATOR): I am also very grateful to other friends, such as the embassies of Switzerland, Canada, and France, et cetera, who have called in with their support.

LEMON: So the translation of what he's saying follows, but again he's saying he's happy to be in America. Again, this is Chen Guangcheng. He arrived last hour, Newark, New Jersey. What you're looking at right now is live from New York University, which offered him a scholarship, a fellowship, excuse me. He left from the airport in Beijing without a passport earlier today. It was a 14-hour flight. Reporters were kept away from him. He spent the past few weeks in a hospital after escaping house arrest. And he angered Chinese officials, as you know, with his fight against alleged forced abortions under the country's one-child policy. He had been either under house arrest or in prison for about seven years. We'll continue to follow that for you here on CNN.

Moving on now. You know the man behind Facebook. But do you know the woman behind him? She deserves much of the credit for Facebook's success, and some say she could one day be president of the United States.

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LEMON: All right. Mark Zuckerberg made his mark this week in a big way by becoming one of the richest people in the world. On Monday he turned 28 years old. Then Friday an IPO for his company, Facebook, made Zuckerberg a fortune on top of a fortune. On paper he is worth more than $19 billion. Let's say that again. $19 billion. He's 28 years old and that's what he's worth.

Of course Zuckerberg says he didn't start Facebook to get rich. In his words, he wants to make the world more open and connected. Mark Zuckerberg is a household name. Here's one you may never have heard of. Her name is Sheryl Sandberg. She may be just as important for Facebook's future success. And Poppy Harlow explains why.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM (on camera): You know the story. Mark Zuckerberg started Facebook in his Harvard dorm room. But do you know Sheryl Sandberg? She's his right-hand woman. And people say Facebook wouldn't be where it is today without her.

SHERYL SANDBERG, FACEBOOK CEO: I was a really serious geek in high school. It works out.

HARLOW (voice-over): She's Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer. Number two to founder Mark Zuckerberg. She joined Facebook in 2008, taking it from less than 150 million users to more than 900 million today.

DAVID KIRKPATRICK, AUTHOR "THE FACEBOOK EFFECT": If Sheryl hadn't been there, I don't think Facebook would be going public today so successfully. She came in and basically created the business. She had a whole month's worth of meetings trying to figure out what business Facebook was even in.

HARLOW: A Harvard grad who worked as Larry Summers' chief of staff at the U.S. Treasury Department, she landed next at Google, where she built the company's ad business.

TIM ARMSTRONG, AOL, CEO: I think Sheryl's, you know, main contribution was actually figuring out how to go from essentially zero customers and a new channel to figure out how we were going to get billions of dollars and a million customers, and she built that from scratch.

HARLOW: She's so important to Facebook the company's public filing documents say losing her could harm the company. I interviewed her the day Facebook became profitable.

SANDBERG: The big announcement today is that we hit 300 million active users and we're cash flow positive.

HARLOW: As a female who has reached close to the top of the corporate ladder she challenged young women to do the same during her 2011 commencement speech at Barnard.

SANDBERG: You are the promise for a more equal world, a world where men run half our homes and women run half our institutions would be just a much better world.

HARLOW: And for this mother of two balance is key.

SANDBERG: I walk out of this office every day at 5:30. So I'm home for dinner with my kids at 6:00.

HARLOW (on camera): Has she changed the culture at Facebook, do you think?

CLARA SHIH, CEO, HEARSAY SOCIAL, SANDBERG FRIEND: Oh, absolutely. But I'd say that her influence has gone far beyond just Facebook. I think she's established a new way of doing things, a new culture to aspire to across all technology companies.

HARLOW: So she's changed Silicon Valley?

SHIH: Absolutely. And if you look at Oracle or you look at Apple, a lot of these companies have a single leader. Usually, it's always been a guy who has a singular vision. We're seeing a shift from ego driven to leadership driven.

HARLOW: People who know her say Washington could be in the cards.

ARMSTRONG: I told her she should run for president.

KIRKPATRICK: I think Sheryl will end up in Washington, and I honestly think she could someday be president. And that's not a joke.

HARLOW: President?

KIRKPATRICK: Sheryl has a political background. She has unlimited resources. She connects with young people. She's got the whole package.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you have political aspirations?

SANDBERG: I have aspirations to do something that matters. And right now I don't think there's much I could do that would matter more than Facebook.

HARLOW (voice-over): A big challenge Sandberg faces, making money of an exploding number of online users. Ultimately Zuckerberg controls the company with more than half the voting shares.

KIRKPATRICK: Her biggest challenge is going to be managing Mark and helping figure out how much Mark and she together can push on the product while they are a public company.

HARLOW: Poppy Harlow, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're going shopping at the store where our government goes to buy the newest high-tech military goods. The new weapons in the war on terrorism.

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LEMON: Some of them look like they're straight out of a James Bond flick. High-tech gadgets designed to help fight the war on terror. CNN's Suzanne Kelly tested a few out. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUZANNE KELLY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): So here we are at the counter terror expo in Washington and it's really at places like these where private industry and government come together to find new solutions and ways to combat terrorism. So let's go take a look at what they've got.

All right. So first thing we see here is this laser shot. It looks kind of cool, almost like a video game. John, you're from Laser Shot, you're based in Texas. What have you got going on?

JOHN GRITSCHKE, LASER SHOT: This is a firearms training simulator. It's used for -- it's used by military, law enforcement personnel for firearms training. This is not a real weapon. This is a replica weapon.

KELLY (on camera): So everybody here is safe?

GRITSCHKE: Yes, you're not going to hurt yourself.

KELLY: That's good. Oh, I think I'm missing everything.

GRITSCHKE: You're not, you're doing good.

KELLY: I feel like I'm missing. This is not easy.

GRITSCHKE: Now look at that. Shoot targets hit 10, no misses.

KELLY: Whoa.

GRITSCHKE: 10 for 10.

KELLY: This thing is good.

GRITSCHKE: Fire department, sonar equipment. Every branch of the military owns our equipment. A lot of DHS agencies own our equipment.

KELLY: It's a good business.

It's no secret that defense contracting and coming up with all these new gadgets is really a multibillion-dollar industry but sometimes you don't think about all the little implications for the fight against terrorism, things like perimeter protection or over here, the latest in handheld thermal imaging for law enforcement officers. And even something as simple as a power flare can make a difference. One of the more interesting-looking sort of contraptions here, sorry, Shawn -

SEAN NEWSOME, SEABOTIX: That's OK.

KELLY: -- Seabotix little -- what is it?

NEWSOME: It's an underwater remotely operated vehicle.

KELLY: I'm glad you said that. How does this help in the fight against terror? NEWSOME: Well, we can put this in the water instead of divers. So you look at some applications diving along a reef, for example, more of a research application.

KELLY: OK. Research.

NEWSOME: Or inspecting military vessels or point security.

KELLY: This looks kind of cool and interesting and has a camera on top. And this is Eric Ivers with -

ERIC IVERS: Robotex. Yes.

KELLY: Robotex. Is this like a really fancy remote control car?

IVERS: It's more like a really fancy remote control tank. The one- sentence description of this is you can throw it through a window, drive it upstairs, find the bad guy in the dark, and have a conversation with him without going inside a building. Would you like to drive it?

KELLY: I was dying for you to ask. Are you kidding me?

IVERS: OK. Put your thumb on here.

KELLY: All right.

IVERS: Push gently forward until it moves. Push the pole gently backwards till it moves. Then push directly to one side in order to turn it.

KELLY: Coming for you. Look out.

We're getting ready to pack things up here in Washington and head back home, but this is just one other example of the way you can see just how big this kind of business is, these private companies selling their wares to governments and law enforcement in the fight against terror.

In Washington, I'm Suzanne Kelly, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thanks for watching. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.