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NATO Summit Begins; Obama, Karzai Meet Before NATO Summit; Democrat Contradicts Obama Campaign Strategy; Transgender Beauty Contestant Loses; Chicago Police Try to Hold Back Protesters from NATO Summit; Police Beat Protesters Apparently Unprovoked

Aired May 20, 2012 - 18:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: The protesters versus the police. Brutal clashes in Chicago where the president meets with world leaders. We're live there for you.

A baby girl goes missing. Three years later, by chance, her mother stumbles across her picture and tracks her down to the United States. It's now a strange international custody battle.

She was a 2010 cover of "TIME" magazine after her husband mutilated her face. Tonight she tells us what's keeping her from having surgery and what she sees in the mirror.

I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. The G-8 Summit is over. President Obama now turns his attention to Afghanistan. That is a dominant topic at the NATO summit now officially underway in Chicago. It's two days, two days more than 50 president, prime ministers and kings and a million question to answer about the future of Afghanistan after NATO troops pull out.

That's the discussion inside. Not so civilized, though, outside.

Our CNN cameras rolled when a police -- Chicago Police van drove through a loud but peaceful crowd of protesters last night. At least one person was hurt. No comment from the CPD on why the van's driver chose to go through that mass of people without even stopping.

This is Chicago today. People in the crowds have mostly been behaving but five men are now in custody for allegedly planning to cause damage or violence in the city during the NATO summit.

We're going to have more on the actual summit in just a moment and what those world leaders are taking about there. But let's go live to CNN's Ted Rowlands first. He is in Chicago.

Ted, any trouble or tension on the streets right now that you're seeing.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, we're the part where the police are pushing the group away from the United Nations, away from the NATO common area. This is the Cermak and Michigan intersection which I don't know if you have a live picture of but you have an army basically of Chicago Police in their riot gear pushing the crowd back. Some of the crowd are -- some of them are resisting. Some of them are throwing bottles and other objects at police officers.

One gentleman right in front of me right now just laying down on the ground refusing to move and the question here, will the Chicago police continue push? Because now we have a number of people that have gotten down on the ground and are refusing to move. And they're screaming at these folks in riot gears, at these officers.

So far for the most part, they have (INAUDIBLE) resistance. The officers have. They have been pushing people with their baton. However, it is one of those situations that could get ugly very, very quickly. We're monitoring it as you can imagine quite closely.

LEMON: And Ted, we're going to stick with this for a moment and talk to you. We're looking at that picture. You said it's Cermak and Michigan Avenue there and we're looking at it -- look at that pictures right out by McCormick Place, which is -- really the near Southside, right off Lake Michigan there.

And we see those crowds. We have been -- we got -- started getting reports last night, Ted, or protesters. They -- complaining to us, they say, that they -- police were strong-arming them. We showed the video of the van going into the crowds.

What's been the response, as we look at this person that you told us about laying in the streets here? What's been the -- response from the police department?

ROWLANDS: Basically (INAUDIBLE) that incident where the person was hit by the car or was -- that they were a professional protester. As they say the officer driving that van, they believe that they were set up, if you will, in that scenario.

What we're seeing right now, though, is what we have been anticipating really all week and that is the ultimate clash between police and protesters that want to get close to the NATO summit. Word just being held at McCormick Place. Look like a full bottle of water being thrown into the crowd of police officers and seeing a number of people arguing and screaming into the ears of these officers. But we're not seeing too much in terms of movement right now from the officers. They're getting their direction, obviously, from the leaders that are in the back. It's a chaotic situation to say the least.

LEMON: And again these pictures are coming to us from our affiliate WLS Chicago. We're going to stick with these pictures, though. We're not going to go far away from them.

Ted, stand by.

Let's look at some new video that is just into CNN.

So to out viewers and to Ted Rowlands who is joining us live in Chicago, what you're looking at, police in combat gear, Chicago police versus protesters there.

And, Ted, what we're showing really just the police pummeling some of these people in the crowd. This has been happening -- this happened, I guess, within the last 10 minutes, all of this. Police just pummeling those people in the crowd. This is live pictures now. Do we know what was behind that? Is it -- are they -- are they instigating or are they trying to push them back? What's going on here?

ROWLANDS: What they're trying to do is push people back. And now what you saw there were the order was given to push the protesters away from the barricades that have been set up there to protect the NATO summit area. And the results of that, of course, is like what one man was pushing against the other, people are going to go down. And the Chicago police officers have riot gear and they have their nightsticks with them. So a lot of people here are claiming they were injured. A handful of them were (INAUDIBLE) just speeding up and screaming, claiming that he has a friend that got his teeth knocked out, who was screaming at an officer.

Right now we're seeing the police moving back. This is like -- the order has been given to allow the protesters a little bit more room. They're just moving back slightly. We're not sure what the -- if this is a change to the strategy or not. But clearly, if you're looking at these pictures and being on the ground here, it's way too (INAUDIBLE) because of the chaotic nature of it.

LEMON: Well, you know, Ted, I wouldn't doubt that people were hurt if you -- if you -- if anyone could see in the way those people were bring pummeled. Again, I don't know what they did, if they did anything to instigate that, to set the police off, but from our vantage point here it just looks like the cops were wailing on the people there in the crowds with their nightsticks.

So no doubt that people were hurt. It's incredible to look at. And I'm sure that police want to get these people off the street. They've set up barricades. We do in this country have a right to protest and to take to the streets. And it is -- to see this sort of behavior, it's disturbing to look at, Ted.

ROWLANDS: What happened was the order was given for people to back away then were pressing up towards the police barricade. And so the police are arguing, well, they've disobeyed a direct order to stop. Force of the people moving into the police. This is what began the order to basically push the crowd back. And that's the ugliness that you saw on that of the Chicago Police Department (INAUDIBLE) saying listen, we want to disband this crowd. We've ordered them to disband. Their protest was over. Their time in their permit is over. And that is why we were pushing them away. We are doing so to keep the (INAUDIBLE) place around the NATO summit.

Well, this gentleman right next to me screaming at officers. There's blood on his shirt. Now he's getting into a little bit of a fight with one of the officers here. Of course the police has a riot gear on. This guy has a mask on.

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: It is disturbing, Don. It has come to this. Over the last five days it has been relatively peaceful, in fact very peaceful. There's been thousands of people thinking (INAUDIBLE) but all that now is out the window and this is what they train for.

LEMON: Yes, and just -- we're hearing the background noise there for -- in Ted's phone.

Ted, just from knowing the -- you know, what's going on here from living in Chicago. I see the state police there as well as the CPD, the Chicago Police Department.

Hey, Ted, before we let you, we're going to -- and we'll continue to look at these pictures. But before we let you go, how many people are we talking about in this crowd?

ROWLANDS: As far as -- probably I'll say -- here we go. Now there's --

LEMON: We see it. We see it.

ROWLANDS: Police were pushing forward and the -- situation, that chaos. People are throwing (INAUDIBLE) to police and they're pushing back. I don't know if you can see this or not. But --

LEMON: We can see it, Ted.

ROWLANDS: It seems like there's another order was given out. A bucket was thrown to hit the police officers. And one of the large buckets gets -- one of the police officers. And I think the bucket was empty, though.

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: Clearly this is -- this is an ongoing situation and just -- one second you're seeing (INAUDIBLE) down and then something has happened to them and they erupt again.

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: But to answer your original question, I'd say you've got about 150, 200 people actively challenging police at the line. And then about 500 to 1,000 others who are sort of in the background. There's a second tier that are not actively pushing.

LEMON: OK.

ROWLANDS: Right now listening to a lieutenant who is giving an order for officers to retreat, to move back a little bit so there is a space now in between the officers and the protesters.

One thing that (INAUDIBLE), Don, is there's not a lot of dedication with police to the protesters. They just seem to be holding their ground. And then every now and then they have a surge.

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: And I don't know if you can see this or not --

LEMON: Hey, Ted. I can't -- I can't see this. I have one question before --

(CROSSTALK)

ROWLANDS: It's very chaotic.

LEMON: I just have -- I just have one question for you, if you can just quickly here. What -- is it a laundry list of complaints that these protesters have or do they have one specific thing that they're upset about?

And there is the video of the police pummeling these protesters and we don't -- again, we don't know what set the cops off. They may have a legitimate reason but it's just disturbing to see this.

So, Ted, what are they upset about?

ROWLANDS: Here you see the (INAUDIBLE) the group is a fragment. That you have the anti-war folks. You have people that has specific beefs with NATO that have come to Chicago. And you have what police have called the professional protesters. And the anarchists who are here because they want to cause trouble. That's their sole goal.

Earlier, about a half an hour before this raucous, there was a ceremony of Iraqi and Afghanistan vets who (INAUDIBLE) the stage and threw their medals back. They took their medals off and threw them towards the McCormick Place where the NATO meetings are taking place. And that went off without a hitch. It's been very peaceful. In fact I think it was surprisingly peaceful. And then when -- once that was ended, that was suspended, if you will --

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: That protest ended, now the chaos (INAUDIBLE), and I'm seeing a number of different types of folks than this crowd. A lot of the classic stereotypical kids in black, ski masks.

LEMON: Yes.

ROWLANDS: And then there are other folks well, they seem that they were taken care of.

LEMON: OK, Ted.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Ted, stand by. Stand by. We're not going to go far away from these pictures, Ted. So we want you to stand by. But let's talk about the reasons that those protesters that you're looking at on your screen there in Chicago, the summit hosted by President Obama and attended by a wide spectrum of world leaders. All the NATO countries are represented. And many others with a strong interest especially in the near future of Afghanistan.

Chief White House correspondent Jessica Yellin joins us now in Chicago. Jessica, I would imagine that you are far away from that. They're keeping them back. It is disturbing to see. But let's talk about the president and what he's doing this weekend. Working hard on diplomacy there.

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Don. It is calm here, a tension of a different sort inside the summit conference center where before the summit even kicked off, I'll tell you, Afghanistan is dominating this meeting and it's so important that before the summit began, the president sat down with Afghan President Hamid Karzai.

And in public remarks, Karzai, the Afghan president, thanked the U.S. taxpayers for everything the taxpayers have done for Afghanistan, announced -- said that the Afghans will no longer soon be a burden to the U.S. and assured the president that Afghans will be ready to take over the combat lead when it's handed over. And here the president vowed that the U.S. will not sort of cut a hasty exit.

Here's what the president said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We are working with the Afghans over the next several years to achieve a complete transition to Afghan lead for Afghan security, one in which we continue to provide support for the Afghan National Security forces that have made excellent progress over the last several years.

And also painting a vision post 2014 in which we have ended our combat role. The Afghan war, as we understand it, is over. But our commitment to friendship and partnership with Afghanistan continues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

YELLIN: Now why is this so important? All these nations are facing enormous economic pressure. Part of the reason probably we're seeing so much protest as well outside. There is just tension around the economic pressure. And so here in the next day and a half, the U.S. and these nations will be talking about economic commitments, how much economic -- how much financial commitment each of these nations is willing to give to the Afghan effort between now and 2014, and also what kind of military commitment they'll make after all U.S. and other national forces are withdrawn after 2014 -- Don.

LEMON: There's -- listen, Afghanistan, really, that's the center of things. But there are other things besides Afghanistan that are on the list of things to talk about this weekend, tonight and tomorrow.

YELLIN: Yes. A quick rundown. So the president and his cabinet members and staff will also work with other nations talking about such things as Pakistan's supply route. Will they -- will Pakistan open up some of their roads to let the U.S. use those roads to get troops and supplies in and out of Afghanistan. It's the easiest way to do that for the U.S. Also a missile defense system that Europe is pushing ahead on and wants to build but that's getting Europe's hackles up. And there are a number of other issues on the sidelines that are taking up the interest. Some people want to talk about Syria, that could be brought up on the sidelines. And then again a lot of talk about this financial commitment by the other nations to support Afghanistan in the coming days -- Don.

LEMON: All right. It's nice to get to that actual business at hand that they will be doing there.

Jessica Yellin, joining us from Chicago because we've spent a lot of time covering the protest which you're looking at.

Jessica, thank you very much. Great reporting and breaking it down for us.

The pictures you're looking at, viewers, that is Chicago. It's the south loop, if you want to call it downtown. If you're not from Chicago. But it's really sort of the near Southside of Chicago right there in Michigan Avenue -- on Michigan Avenue, right near Lake Michigan and it's really the cops versus protesters in that city. We've seen some really sort of violent -- sort of combat between the cops and the protesters there.

Not exactly sure what's going on that the protesters instigated that they might have but I can't see it from here exactly what's going on. I can just sort of presume that they've instigated cops in some way. And we saw the police just pummeling some of the protesters with nightsticks.

You see the Chicago police and also state police, Illinois State Police, in full combat gear. There is a difference between combat and riot gear. A couple -- two different things. They appear to be in combat gear to try to keep these protesters back from the NATO summit that's happening there. World leaders meeting with the president right now and that's the situation at hand. We will continue to follow the story here on CNN. Don't turn away.

So towing the party line is usually the rule number one in politics, but did a rising star in the Democratic Party insult President Obama and show support for Mitt Romney at the same time?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The Obama campaign is making Mitt Romney's years at Bain Capital issue number one in the White House race but one big sitting Democrat isn't playing along.

Let's talk about it now with our dynamic duo. I guess they're -- we can call you the political avengers. I kind of like that.

CNN contributor Will Cain and LZ Granderson, a CNN contributor and a CNN writer for ESPN.

You guys know what I'm talking about. Newark New Jersey mayor, Cory Booker, obviously didn't get the memo when it comes to attacking Romney. He didn't get the talking point memo. Booker says issues like Bain Capital and Obama's former pastor are just big distractions from what really matters. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public. Enough is enough. Stop attacking private equity. Stop attacking Jeremiah Wright. This stuff has got to stop. Because what it does is it undermines to me what this country should be focused on. Is this is going to be a small campaign about this crap or it's going to be a big campaign in my opinion about the issues that the American public cares about.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. First to LZ. LZ, a Democrat who says Bain Capital doesn't matter.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: And you say amen. Why?

LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Amen, brother. Because he's absolutely right. I mean these side conversations that are happening, that have been spurred on by our super PACs and by pundits like Will and I. Those things simply don't matter. They are making the conversations dumbed down and stupid. And he's absolutely correct. We need to stay focused on the important thing and that's the economy.

LEMON: Hey, Will.

WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.

LEMON: Do you think this is an example? Is it a gaffe or do you think it's just -- you know, he's speaking his mind and I don't know, will there be any repercussions from this?

CAIN: These politicians from New Jersey have a tendency to speak their mind. I think Cory Booker integrity. I think that this isn't an endorsement of Romney in any way . I think he'll -- what it is, this is a reflection of reality. He understands the role of capitalism and private equity. And you know in the end, that's the only place I disagree with Cory Booker. This isn't a small issue. This is a big issue. We're debating capitalism here.

LEMON: Yes. Will, I think you're absolutely right.

CAIN: Yes.

LEMON: It is a big issue. But what is refreshing about Cory Booker is that he's towing the party line.

CAIN: Yes. LEMON: And there's nothing boring or mundane or just insufferable when someone just -- when the Democrats can't do anything wrong or the Republicans can't do anything wrong. And they're infallible. It's nice to see someone who actually has some integrity so good for him.

CAIN: Absolutely.

LEMON: Even if you agree with him or not.

GRANDERSON: Absolutely.

LEMON: California's lieutenant governor definitely on message, though. Here's his view on Bain Capital.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: They're in the business of profit. There's nothing inherently wrong about that. Not job creation. In order to maximize profit, you've got to minimize costs. What's the biggest cost in a business, personnel, reducing jobs is the business of Bain. Not creating jobs. This is the proof point of the Romney campaign that he can create jobs, that he has a better record. He's 47th out of 50 states in job creation when he was chief executive in Massachusetts.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. So that -- he is on message here.

Will, out say to you, I'm going to ask you first because you say it is a big issue. So --

CAIN: Right.

LEMON: Is criticizing Bain going to resonate with voters, Will?

CAIN: Well, I -- I certainly hope not, Don. Actually, take Gavin Newsom there. Actually Gavin Newsom's analysis isn't terrible. His conclusion is. If Mitt Romney was seeking profit and that resulted in some job losses at steel business, well, that's the point of capitalism. It's not intended to give everyone a broomstick in their hand and have a job.

But that being said, despite the fact that Barnes and Noble is out of business as George Will point out shortly later, Barnes and Noble is on its way out of business and Tower Records is on its way out of business, we have net new job creation every year. Jobs are a byproduct, they're not the purpose. And capitalism has proven pretty good at this.

LEMON: Yes. OK, hey, LZ, I want to move on if that's OK with you. I don't know if it's --

(CROSSTALK)

GRANDERSON: Sure. LEMON: OK. I want to talk about Joe Biden. He definitely knows his role. He's Joe the populist, he's a rare form -- he was in rare form this week in the Capitol. In a rustbelt, Youngstown, Ohio. I want you to take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT: My mother and father dreamed as much as any rich guy dreams.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely.

BIDEN: They don't get us. They don't get who we are. They don't understand, it seems to me. Again, they're not bad, they just don't get it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That's why -- listen, because of that you either love Joe Biden or hate him. But this resonates with a lot of people, LZ.

GRANDERSON: Yes. You know what? It does. It's a very emotional moment as Will Cain would like to say. It's very emotional. But I think you need to do a little bit more than just get us fired up. We need tangibles. We need a plan. We don't just need to feel fired up. We also need to know where we're going to once we get fired up. And these are the sort of things that I think once we get passed this, you know, rah-rah stage and people start debating, these are the sort of things that the American people are really going to want to hear. Plans. We already got the emotion. What we need now is the direction. What exactly are we going do?

LEMON: All right. That will have to be the last word. Thank you, LZ. Thank you, Will. Appreciate it. No fighting this week.

CAIN: Won't have enough time. No more time to get in.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: All right. Thanks, Guys. Thank you.

Hey, listen, before we move on, I'm going to tell you at the NATO summit, we showed the protest there. We went and talked to Jessica Yellin who was actually covering it. The class photo being taken. Do we have pictures of that? The NATO summit in Chicago?

We do not. Thought we did. OK. They're leaving the stage. The class photo just happened. What is that? Murphy's Law. You talk about it they leave the stage.

All right, we'll bring it to you. Let's move on now.

She may be the most unforgettable beauty pageant contestant not to win the title. That's because she used to be a he. The day after she came up short, she's talking about her finish.

And we want our viewers to stay connected to CNN even on the go. Make sure you 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: In Toronto last night, history was made. Jenna Talackova became the first transgender contestant to compete in the Miss Universe Canada pageant.

Paula Newton joins us now. She's in Toronto. She's following this story for us.

Paul -- for us. Paul, she didn't win but she is OK with her performance. You talked to her.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: She came to the final 12. Didn't make it to the final five but she is happy with her performance. And for a lot of the issues that you and I spoke about yesterday, she feels --

LEMON: Having a bit of an issue with Paula Newton there in Canada. Let's listen to her interview with Jenna Talackova.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNA TALACKOVA, TRANSGENDER BEAUTY PAGEANT CONTESTANT: For a couple of seconds I was a little bummed out. But after like a couple of minutes I was just extremely happy. I am so proud of myself. I made sure I did my best performance so I wouldn't feel guilty about the outcome. People should embrace their individuality and follow their dreams like I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Paula, she was under a tremendous amount of pressure, but she did well.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: She did do well. She was very candid, Don, that it did ugly this week. She heard things. Was told some things about what she had done in life that people didn't approve of it. She says she is doing it not just for beauty pageants. Why are we talking about this as a story? She wants to leave the door open for other transgender people to be able to compete in whatever they want to compete in. Apparently, she has some feminists and lawyers right behind her.

LEMON: Thank you, Paula Newton. We really appreciate it.

You don't see this often a solar eclipse. But some of you who live in the western U.S. will get a cool view of this pretty soon.

But first this. Each week, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta profiles innovators from all walks of life and all fields of endeavor. The program is called "The Next List." Next Sunday, he will talk with Sarah Parkat (ph), who is unearthing history, not by digging in the dirt, but by looking down from space.

(THE NEXT LIST)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Back now to Chicago. Those are police officers who are trying to hold back protesters. They are trying to keep them away from the NATO summit the president is holding with world leaders now.

Paul is in the crowd that you are looking at right now.

Paul, I understand you are being moved back by police in combat gear.

PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): That's right. Right next to the camera, we have it right here. We have police in full riot gear and with batons. There have been some people who have been struck by batons here as they try to clear the intersection. What happened is about 180 to 2200 people by police estimates converged on this intersection. It's very close to where the NATO summit is being held. It's about as close as demonstrators could get. I'd say they're about a block and a half away. Chicago police had given a disperse order and, right now, what we can see if basically a stand off between some of the protesters and the police in riot gear -- Don?

LEMON: Now, Paul, does it appear to you that police are being heavy handed? Or is this business as usual in your estimation when it comes to keeping protesters back and keeping them where they are supposed to be protesting and behind police barricade.

VERCAMMEN: I did not, myself, witness any beatings. That does not mean to say that it didn't happen. I know that police did use batons. There's been other moments where it is clear police have shown some restraint. They have been taunted repeatedly by some members of the crowd. There has not been any attempt by police to charge any of the protesters. They moved in uniform. You can see as you look at the picture here. You will see 12, 16 police officers in --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Paul, hang on, hang on, hang on.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Hold on, Paul. There is a picture to the right of your screen, and coming from the protester side, is a police barricade that they threw at police. Now police are moving that barricade out so the protesters who have been saying that they have been peaceful, that does not appear to be a peaceful act. Let's listen.

VERCAMMEN: Well, Don, I can --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Hang on, Paul. We want to listen to this.

(SHOUTING) LEMON: Paul, this is a -- I'm not sure -- it's maybe from the top of a live truck. It could be live truck or a mass cam or it could be someone who is on top of a balcony. It's not -- it's not a shot from a helicopter. But is this pretty close to where you are, this high shot that we're looking at?

VERCAMMEN: Yes. Don, I think if I heard you correctly, I think that is close to me. I'm only about 25 yards away. I now see that barricade being put lifted. Many of the protesters have lifted the barricades and moved them around. As I've said, there has been a lot of pushing and shoving going on as they've been trying to clear the crowd. You can now see that barricade being put up on a planner where riot police have also been standing during this confrontation.

LEMON: And obviously, in this situation, there are people who come to protests peacefully and then there are others in the crowd who are instigators as well. And the first -- let's listen to this.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICER: This is the Chicago Police Department. You must disperse to the west.

Attention, attention. This is the Chicago Police Department. You must disperse to the west.

Attention, attention. This is the Chicago Police Department. You must disperse to the West.

LEMON: Here is what is going on here. The police are trying to push these protesters back in a certain direction. And they are doing it through -- by force, as you can see by the number of officers trying to push the protesters back. The protesters don't want to be pushed back. So they are standing their ground as best they can with all of these officers in full combat gear.

You're looking at two shots there on your screen. To the left of your screen in a ground shot, a CNN camera, and that's where our Paul Vercammen is station. 25 yards way, this is a high shot on the right side of the screen. It appears to be on top of a roof or balcony at Sirmac (ph) and Michigan Avenue in Chicago. This is courtesy of our affiliate WLS. Thank you, WLS for these live pictures. You wouldn't be getting them if it wasn't for our affiliate.

You're looking at some confrontations there. And the protesters, as you can see on this, picking up the barricades. And some have tossed them into where the officers are. Others have picked them up maybe to move them out of their way. And maybe they're doing it so people don't get hurt, who knows. The first one that we saw being picked up was thrown on the side of police officers.

This is what happens when you have something like the NATO summit, any kind of summit. It draws protests. It draws protesters. You're going to see protests when we have the conventions coming up. We'll be looking at pictures similar to this, I guarantee you. Every convention, there are protesters coming out. We'll keep an eye on this for you. We have to take a break. If anything happens in this situation that deems us coming back, we will come back. They're using those -- you see those plastic handcuffs that they use as well in the situation. So stick around. On the other side of the break, more live pictures coming. They are opening up the fire hydrants now to -- let's see how far this far hydrant goes out into the crowd before we take the break. All right, closing it.

Back in a moment. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Live to Chicago. You're looking at protesters there for the NATO summit. We have seen some confrontation with police. These protesters, police are trying to push the protesters west, away from the NATO summit. We're watching it live on CNN.

We'll get back live with our Paul Vercammen, our reporter on the ground in just moments. We're going to get quick break and then we are back, live on CNN, just moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(TECHNOVATIONS)

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LEMON: Bad news, we've lost a lot of great people in the music industry this week. CNN confirms now through the family of Robin Gibb that he has passed away. The singer of the Bee Gees fame has died. According to his web site, he passed away today after a long bout with cancer and intestinal surgery. About a month ago, maybe longer, Robin Gibbs was in a coma and not expected to come out. Miraculously he came out and survived another few weeks. But Robin Gibb dead at the age of 62. We lost some greats in the music industry. We lost Chuck Brown, 75; Donna Summer, 62; and now Robin Gibb, 62 years old. Rest in peace. Our thoughts are with his family and loved ones.

I want to go back to Chicago where there are protests going on right in the shadow of the NATO summit. Look at these live pictures now. These are courtesy of affiliate WLS. There near the southside of Chicago, the south loop by down Michigan Avenue. Down by Lake Michigan, I should say. And we have been watching clashes between the demonstrators and police officers. Right now, it appears to be as peaceful as we have seen it. But we have seen some bottles, water bottles, buckets being thrown at police. We've even seen a barricade being hurled. And we have seen police just pummeling some of these protestors. And it looks like, from our vantage point, unprovoked. We're going to hear from them in a little bit. We also have ground shots. We have a crew live on the ground and we'll get to them in a bit.

Stick with us on CNN. We have a lot of breaking news we are tending to and we'll be back in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: We're following breaking news here on CNN. It's a scene that we were hoping not to see near the sight of the NATO summit in Chicago. This happened just moments ago. I want you to watch it closely.

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LEMON: All right? That is Illinois State police and Chicago P.D. Chicago mounted police nearby. They are pummeling those protestors. They are fighting crowds of protestors with batons near McCormick Place where the president is hosting world leaders right now. The crowd was trying to push through the police line. Protests earlier today were quieter, and they certainly aren't quiet any longer.

So we've got CNN's Paul Vercammen, who is on the phone right now. He's down in the midst of those crowds.

Paul, what are you seeing where you are? We're hearing the police say, move west, move west. What's happening now?

VERCAMMEN: (voice-over): Well, Don, right now, it's a stalemate. They've been trying to move the crowd to the west. And there are hundreds and hundreds of Chicago police officers in full riot gear. The protestors who were in the intersection about a block and a half away from McCormick Place where the NATO summit was being held have basically just stopped in their tracks. Police are not pushing forward right now. They're not trying to move them out. They have announced over the bullhorn, as you said, to move west, it's time now to disperse, but basically we've got a standoff right here -- Don?

LEMON: The Office of Emergency Management issued a severe weather warning for strong thunderstorms, possibly hail, winds up to 40-50 miles an hour, heading to the loop, which is where you guys are.

VERCAMMEN: Yes.

LEMON: Have you seen any indication of this weather coming through? That may stop some of this in its tracks as well.

VERCAMMEN: Absolutely, Don. We have seen the skies get dark here as we move into the evening, and we have felt a stray drop here and there. We certainly have heard thunder. So everybody -- the crowd is clear that the skies could open up, and people have made reference to that. So they are bracing for the possibility of a storm coming through, and possibly just with changing weather, could loosen up with right now is one colossal knot here in downtown Chicago.

LEMON: You said right now it's basically a standoff. We have seen in waves as we have been watching, it's peaceful, and then the cops stand their ground, the protestors stand their ground. And then it moves one way or the other, usually with the police having the upper hand. So this is a lull now, and then it may fire back up as we've been seeing?

VERCAMMEN: That's exactly right. We're just seeing a little movement right now to the west of officers in riot gear. Some of them also are state police marked by green stripes on their helmets. I don't know if they're going to loop around. But one thing that's clear that the officers have done throughout the weekend in Chicago is they sometimes will steel off a group of protestors and move them on, and that's a way of dispensing of the crowd and making sure it doesn't get too rowdy. But again, the sort of nexus of all this is Michigan Avenue and Sirmac (ph). And you can see the signs and the NATO war machine of global 1 percent, et cetera, et cetera, Occupy signs, some black banners waving. Right now, with the exception -- well, there is no violence right now. And some people are sitting in the streets, but the officers in riot gear are not trying to move them out.

LEMON: And look -- if you say down the street -- we don't have control of this camera because it's our affiliate, WLS, giving us these pictures. We saw the line of police offers there. Not only is it Chicago police, there is also the Illinois State police who are there as well.

And some of the confrontations we have seen have been unbelievable.

If we can keep these pictures up and then roll some of the other video as well of some of the violent moments that happened just a short time ago and just really caught us by surprise. It's hard to look at people who are getting pummeled like that. But that's what happened on the right side of your screen. And this happened maybe 30, 45 minutes ago when we saw this on CNN.