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NATO Summit Participants Welcomed by Protesters; Abdul Basset al Megrahi; Robin Gibb Died at the age of 62;
Aired May 20, 2012 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN HOST (voice-over): Anger boiling into the streets of Chicago. This is the backdrop for world leaders as they meet with President Obama.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don on camera two.
CROWD: Four more years. Four more years.
LEMON: Campaign 2012 heats up, but one Obama supporter veers from the talking points.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This kind of stuff is nauseating to me on both sides. It's nauseating to the American public.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've got about 30 seconds.
LEMON: First, a super moon. Now, a solar eclipse. The amazing photos and what the universe has in store next.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Stand by.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Good evening, everyone.
Today we saw it, American police officers with night sticks and shields forcefully shut down a public demonstration. It happened in Chicago. Several people were hurt, a few dozen arrested, and the prediction of possible violence around the NATO summit came true.
Protest marches early in the day were loud but uneventful, but then it happened. Something or somebody made all hell break loose. Watch.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
LEMON: Chicago police say the crowd was about 2,500 strong when the tension escalated. It happened not far from where President Obama and more than 50 world leaders were juggling issues facing Afghanistan and NATO. The city's top police officer blames a small group of trouble-makers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SUPT. GARRY MCCARTHY, CHICAGO POLICE DEPARTMENT: There was a group of what we commonly refer to as the black bloc folks who kind of rallied together, they put their masks on, and we had intelligence from the crowd that as soon the ceremony with the soldiers were over that they were going to charge the stage and try to break through and assault our cops.
That's exactly what happened. They rallied. They that charged the cops, and they assaulted the officers. We responded. So far today we're up to 45 arrests today.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And tonight, CNN's Paul Vercammen is live down there in the crowd or where the crowd was earlier.
Paul, you were right in the middle of all that have when it got violent. What happened out there today? Who did what to trigger this mess?
PAUL VERCAMMEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, when you're looking at that from the inside out, it's very difficult to determine if there was one flashpoint. As the superintendent said, he believed that the black bloc protesters were going to charge the stage. That's when it became clear that there were just way too many people in one small space. Many of them trying to go in different directions. Don't forget the organizers of the vets who had thrown their metals in symbolic disgust of the wars across the seas, they were walking west, and everything just broke loose at one point, so it's hard to say exactly why or what's going on.
But I should note, as can you hear the sirens behind me, there are still groups walking through the streets of Chicago right now. You can see below me there are police with their visors up and riot helmets on. Every single one of them worried because this has gone on now for two nights, that the group of demonstrators will go into their area, try to cross the Chicago river here or whatever it may be.
Now, back to today's protest. I pressed the superintendent of police, and I asked him if force was necessary and why did they use their batons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VERCAMMEN: Can you explain why officers used their batons?
MCCARTHY: Absolutely, to overcome an assault, absolutely.
VERCAMMEN: You said you were concerned about the image that ultimately the batons did come out. It's not a pretty thing when the batons come out.
VERCAMMEN: No, but ultimately the officers were assaulted. They don't have to stand there and take an assault.
(END VIDEO CLIP) VERCAMMEN: And the chief also said that he had been verbally assaulted, not that that would trigger, you know, any sort of a skirmish, but I have to tell there you were clearly protesters who were pushing the officers first, and they have been enduring unimaginable taunts, Don, repeated taunts, with guys getting in their face, swearing at them and calling them all sorts of names.
So it has been tensed, and I think when they characterize it as the black bloc versus the police, that might be an accurate depiction because I didn't see, for example, anybody who might be under the umbrella of an anti-war demonstrator waving a peace sign getting into the officer's face and then assaulting the officers.
LEMON: All right. Paul, thanks so much for your reporting.
While Chicago police and demonstrators fought outside, one word dominated the discussion inside, the summit, and it was in Afghanistan. One key moment today, the president of France announced he would pull his 3,300 combat troops out of Afghanistan by the end of this year.
CNN's Jessica Yellin has more on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CHIEF WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jessica Yellin reporting in Chicago today.
Also today, NATO leaders signed a deal to add five more unarmed drones to the alliance. More than a dozen countries will pitch in to pay for them.
Another disco icons from the 1970s has died. Robin Gibb passed away today in England after a long fight with liver and colon cancer. Gibb and his two brothers Maurice and Barry made up the selling over 200 million albums. They were disco legends with hits like "night fever, staying alive" and "how deep is newer love."
Robin Gibb was 62. His death comes three days after the death of disco queen, Donna Summer. We will have more on Robin Gibb's death a little bit later on in the show.
The only man convict of the 1988 Lockerbie bombing is dead, but sense of relief for the victims' families is mix with anger. The death of 60-year-old Abdul Basset al Megrahi comes two and a half years after he was released from a Scottish prison.
At the time, doctors said he didn't have long to live because of prostate cancer, but al Megrahi proved them wrong, and the welcome he received in Libya only added to the anguish of those who lost loved ones.
The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 killed 270 people, including 189 Americans.
Newt Gingrich wrapped up his run for president and just got his bill. His campaign debt has a lot of zeros in it. More on that next.
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LEMON: The bill is coming due for Newt Gingrich's presidential run, and it's going to cost him, cost him a lot. A federal election commission report shows Gingrich ended his campaign this month with close to $5 million in campaign debt. Gingrich raised more than $23 million over the course of his White House run which officially ended on may 2nd.
Newark, New Jersey Mayor Cory Booker obviously didn't get the Obama campaign memo when it comes to attacking Mitt Romney. Booker says issues like Bain Capital and President Obama's former pastor are just big distractions on what really matters.
Here's Mayor Booker and my conversation with Will Cain and Lz Granderson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE
MAYOR CORY BOOKER (D), NEWARK, NEW JERSEY: This kind of thick is nauseating on both sides. It's nauseating into 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. It's a distraction from the real issues. It's either going to be a small campaign about this crap or it is going to be a big campaign in my opinion about the issues that American public cares about.
LEMON: First to Lz. Lz, a democrat who says Bain Capital doesn't matter, and you say amen. Why?
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN.COM CONTRIBUTOR: Amen, brother. Because he's absolutely right. I mean, these side conversations that are happening that are being spurred on by our super PACs and by pundits like Will and I, those things simply don't matter. They are making the conversations dumped down and stupid, and he's absolutely correct. We need to stay focused on the important things and that's the economy.
LEMON: Hey, Will, 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?
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: These politicians from New Jersey have a tendency to speak their mind. I think Cory Booker has integrity. I think that this isn't an endorsement of Romney in any way. I think what it is, 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. It is a big issue, but what is refreshing about Cory Booker is that he's not toeing the party line and there's nothing more boring an mundane or just inseparable and someone just - when the Democrats can't do anything wrong or the Republicans can't do anything wrong and they are infallible. It's nice to see someone who actually has some integrity.
So, good for him, whether you agree with him or not.
GRANDERSON: Absolutely.
CAIN: Absolutely.
LEMON: California's lieutenant governor definitely on message though. Here's his view on Bain Capital.
LT. GOV. GAVIN NEWSOM (D), CALIFORNIA: We are 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 cost. 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.
LEMON: All right. So he is on message here, Will, and I will say to you, I'm going to ask you first because you say it is a big issue.
CAIN: Right.
LEMON: So, is criticizing Bain going to resonate with voters, Will?
CAIN: Well, I -- I certainly hope not, Don. And take Gavin Newsom there. Actually that 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 businesses, 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 & Noble is out of business, as George Will pointed out shortly later, Barnes & 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 by- product and not the purpose. And capitalism has proven pretty good at this.
LEMON: OK. Lz, I'm going to move on if that's OK with you. I don't know if it's pertinent for to you respond. OK.
GRANDERSON: Sure.
LEMON: I'm going to talk about Joe Biden. He definitely knows his role. He is Joe the populist. He was in rare form this week in the capital, in the rustbelt of Youngstown, Ohio. I want you to take a listen.
JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My mother and father dreamed as much as anyone rich guy dreams!
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 are not bad. They just don't get it!
LEMON: That's why -- listen, because of that, you either love Joe Biden or you 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 once we get fired up. And these are the sort of things that I think once we get past this, you know, rah, rah stage and people start debating, these are the things that the American people really going to want to hear, plans. We already got the emotion.
LEMON: Yes.
GRANDERSON: What we need now is direction. What exactly are we going to do?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thanks Lz and Will.
Cory Booker, by the way, and the truth about Bain Capital, the subject of our no talking points segment at the bottom of the hour. Stay tuned. You want to see it.
First, we had the super moon. Tonight, wait for it. There it is, right there. The super eclipse. Man, that's a beautiful picture, isn't it? Been a long time since we've seen one of these and it's not done yet, all right, so we're tracking it for you next.
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LEMON: All right. There it is. Take a look. It's the solar eclipse. Bonnie Schneider is tracking it for us.
Bonnie, how much longer will we be able to see this? BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: We'll be able to see it for at least the next couple of hours. That's the live picture out of San Francisco. The other place to track it right now is Albuquerque, New Mexico. We are getting some great pictures as well this.
So, this eclipse will be going on into the evening hours, and we're tracking it for you. Because you will even see it as far to the east as Lubbock, Texas. And generally speaking, the weather for visibility in the U.S. has been great to take a look at this eclipse. I'll talk more about this and show you where else you can track it throughout the evening - Don.
LEMON: I'm so excited. Same technology we use to track Santa Claus.
Appreciate it, Bonnie Schneider. Tropical storm now. Alberto is hovering off the coast of South Carolina, but it isn't expected to make land fall. Alberto has sustained winds of 45 miles per hour. The hurricane season doesn't officially begin until June. Alberto is the earliest named storm to form in the Atlantic in nine years.
Well, we'll pull out our crystal ball for what you can expect next week right now. What will affect the wallet, and what to expect out of Washington and Hollywood? That's next.
We want viewers to stay connected. We want all of you to stay connected to CNN, even on the go. Make sure you grab your mobile fun and go to CNN.com/TV. If you're on a desktop or a laptop, you can also watch CNN live.
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LEMON: Now to the big stories in the week ahead, from the White House to Hollywood, our correspondents tell you what you need to know. We're going to begin tonight with the president's plans for the week.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House. In his second summit of the weekend, President Obama is meeting with world leaders at the NATO gathering in Chicago with the focus, of course, is Afghanistan.
On Monday, he heads to Joplin, Missouri, an area that was devastated by tornadoes almost a year ago. He'll be delivering the commencement address at Joplin high school.
Then, later in the week the president travels west for a combination of fund-raisers, official events and another commencement address.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN political desk.
Mitt Romney speaks before a Latino group here in the nation's capital on Wednesday. The speech and a new Spanish-language campaign commercial seem to be part of an outreach by the presumptive Republican nominee to Latino voters who may have been turned off by Romney's tough talk an illegal immigration during the battle for the nomination.
Also this week, primaries on Tuesday in Arkansas and Kentucky.
POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
Well, after all the focus on facebook and its IPO on Friday, Wall Street will get back kind of to normal on Monday. Coming up this week, we will get the latest existing and new home sales report for the month of April as well as a look at consumer confidence.
And on the earnings front, a lot of big names reporting. We quarterly numbers from Dell, HP, Costco, Tiffany's and Lowe's.
We'll track all of that and keep an eye on all that have on facebook on CNN money.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" A.J. Hammer. Here's what we are watching this week. Showbiz is on location. I'm hanging out with Wendy Williams on the set of her show as she celebrates her 500th episode.
Catch "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" weeknights 11 p.m. Eastern and Pacific on HLN.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much.
Candid criticism of President Obama's re-election strategy from supporter Newark Mayor Cory Booker. But, is he eating his words? Don't miss tonight's "no talking points."
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LEMON: Here's some of the stories making headlines right now.
Rescue teams in northern Italy are searching for survivors after a magnitude 6.0 earthquake early Sunday. Officials say seven people were killed and dozens injured, 11,000 people have been displaced by the disaster.
Prime minister Mario Monti left the NATO summit early to return to Italy.
Robin Gibb has lost his fight with colon and liver cancer. The 62-year-old singer founded the Bee Gees with his two brothers, and together they were disco legends with hits like "night fever," "staying alive" and "how deep is your love." Those three songs appeared in the soundtrack of "Saturday night fever," one of the best- selling albums of all time.
Today in Chicago, it was a scene that we looked at right here that we're hoping not to see around the NATO summit, unbelievable. Protesters who had been marching peacefully, and police officers closely watching for trouble. Suddenly they started fighting.
Chicago's police superintendent says his cops were in the right, that they were reacting correctly to an assault by protesters. A few demonstrators and police officers were hurt, and more than 40 people were arrested.
CNN's Ted Rowlands was right in the middle of it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A small group of protesters was all that was left after a chaotic day a few blocks away from the NATO summit where hundreds of protesters challenged the police line. Police in riot gear using their batons were able to push the protesters back, and eventually they dispersed.
Ted Rowlands, CNN. Chicago.
VERCAMMEN: I'm Paul Vercammen on the streets of Chicago. What I saw was about 1,800 to 2,200 protesters jam one intersection near the NATO summit. That's when police and riot here tried to clear out the intersection. You could see that they were shoving was going on. Cattle guards were being picked up. I saw about eight people being treated in a makeshift triage unit. They said they had been hit by batons. But, I also saw a lot of shoving by the protesters, and police had been repeatedly taunted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ted Rowlands and Paul Vercammen, both in Chicago for us tonight.
Tomorrow is another day and the NATO summit continues and police expect crowd of demonstrator to fill the streets. Once again, make sure you stay with CNN. We'll report it for you.
The only man convicted of a bombing that took 270 lives, CNN talks to the family of one of the Lockerbie bomber victims.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We've been reporting on the protests happening in Chicago. They are happening again this evening. We'll get you some video now. These particular protesters are in front of an event that is being hosted by the first lady of the United States, Michelle Obama.
There's a dinner for NATO spouses at an art museum, and she is there at the art institute of Chicago, and these protesters are outside of that protesting now, and we saw what happened on the streets. These don't appear, obviously, to be as violent as the ones that happened earlier, but we are keeping an eye on it.
This just into CNN from our affiliate WGN in Chicago. Again, we'll keep an eye on it for you.
It is time now for "no talking points." Somebody didn't stick to the talking points this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER: I'm not about to sit here and indict private equity. If you look at the totality of Bain Capital's record, it -- they have done a lot to support businesses, to grow businesses, and this to me, I'm very uncomfortable with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And seen, with that single comment New York Mayor Cory Booker took the wind right out of the Obama re-election campaign strategy which is to hit Mitt Romney on Bain Capital. Romney's former private equity company where he claims to be a job creator. But the Democrats say not so fast, not so fast. He fired more people than he hired just to make money, and the Dems have already rolled out this attack ad.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bain capital walked away with a lot of money that they made off of this plan. We view Mitt Romney as a job destroyer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Oh, wait, there's more.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like a vampire. Came in and sucked the life out of us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was like watching an old friend bleed to death.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Vampire, bleed to death, all right.
Now back to "Meet the Press," and as we saw with VP Joe Biden two weeks ago, that show is like kryptonite for Obama surrogates and Mayor Booker, of course, did not stop there.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER: Real issues, a small campaign about this crap, or it's going to be a big campaign, in my issues, about the issues that the American public cares about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is exactly the kind of thing that we applaud on our "no talking points," segment, a politician who goes off script and says what he really thinks. Having said that, he felt he had some explaining to do later on.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOOKER; I believe that Mitt Romney in many ways is not being completely honest with his role and his record, even while a business person and is shaping it to serve his political interests and not necessarily -- not necessarily including all of his facts in his time there.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Booker, what happened? Did you get a phone call after your "Meet the Press" appearance? You say that only from afar. We know that you're a brave guy. People love you for your honesty. Don't back down from the truth.
That's tonight's "no talking points."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Rushing back now to one of our top stories, the death of Lockerbie bomber Abdul Basset al Megrahi. He's the only man convicted in the bombing that took 270 lives, but his time in prison was cut short, infuriating families who lost loved ones in the bombing.
Alison Kosik spoke with one family about their ordeal.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, I sat down with the parents of one of the victims who was on Pan Am Flight 103, and they said the pain of losing their son never goes away.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARBARA ZWYNENBURG, MOTHER OF LOCKERBIE VICTIM: Thank goodness he's gone. He should have been gone years ago. I'm glad.
KOSIK: Al Megrahi's death brings little relief to Barbara and John Zwynenburg. Their son, Mark, was on Pan Am Flight 103 that was bombed over Lockerbie, Scotland in 1988. Even now, Mark's presence is everywhere in their New York home.
ZWYNENBURG: Another one of his buddies.
KOSIK: Mark Zwynenburg was 29 years old, worked for Goldman Sachs in London and was on his way home for the holidays. It was 24 years ago, but it's every bit as painful today.
JOHN ZWYNENBURG, MOTHER OF LOCKERBIE VICTIM: I miss him a lot, good kid. Would have been a contributing member of society, so I'm very sad about that, sad for him. We're hurt. He's gone. All the other people, just not -- just think, remember down in Washington and the families, I met one family lost five members of their family, unborn children, so sad.
KOSIK: Mark's parents have followed every twist and turn of the investigation to bring al Megrahi to justice, protesting and demanding more information. They even wrote former president Richard Nixon seeking his support two years after the bombing. Nixon responded with a handwritten letter.
JOHN ZWYNENBURG: Including governments we subsidize and --
BARBARA ZWYNENBURG: And encourage.
JOHN ZWYNENBURG: Encourage terrorism.
KOSIK: Years later, they continue to keep tabs on the case, baffled by a decision by Scottish officials nearly three years ago to release him when he supposedly had three months to live. Insulted by al Megrahi's hero's welcome in Tripoli, and al Megrahi died surrounded by family while Mark was killed while traveling far from his loved ones.
BARBARA ZWYNENBURG: How they could compromise and send that guy home to be with his family. He was part of a murder racket. I mean, what, are you kidding, for killing all those innocent souls on the plane. I was very angry. We all were.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KOSIK: Mark's parents say they believe there are others out there just as responsible for killing the 270 people on that flight, including 189 Americans on that December day in 1988 - Don.
LEMON: Thank you, Alison.
One year ago damage and destruction spanned as far as the eye could see. The entire city of Joplin, Missouri, including the high school, was in ruins. Administrators had to scramble to come up with a place for students to go to class, and CNN's Jim Spellman visited a rather unusual place that they chose. We'll have Jim's report in just moments here on CNN.
Meantime in Toronto last night, history was made. Jenna Talackova became the first transgendered contestant competed in the Miss Universe Canada Pageant. The 23-year-old forced Donald Trump and the pageant to end its ban on transgendered contestants. She didn't win, but she feels pretty good about her performance.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JENNA TALACKOVA, TRANSGENDER, MISS UNIVERSE CANADA 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'm so proud of myself. I made sure I did my best performance so I wouldn't feel guilty with the outcome. People should embrace their individuality and follow their dreams like I did.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Talackova was born a boy named Walter. She began hormone therapy as a teenager and had gender reassignment surgery four years ago. As we mentioned though, one-year anniversary of the destruction in Joplin, Missouri is today. The entire city of Joplin, including the high school in ruins, and administrators and everyone had to scramble just to get students out of harm's way.
Here's CNN's Jim Spellman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JIM SPELLMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When the tornado struck, Rachel Berryhill and her family took shelter in their bathroom.
RACHEL BERRYHILL, JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: We shot the door and we were just holding on to each other and our eyes were closed and we were all praying.
SPELLMAN: They weren't hurt but emerged from their house to a scene like this.
When did it hit you that your life wasn't going to be the same?
BERRYHILL: I think once I found out that the high school was destroyed.
SPELLMAN: Joplin high school was reduced to rubble, and classes in the district were cancelled for the remainder of the year. Administrators needed to find a temporary facility fast, and they did, at a local shopping mall.
In just a few months they took over a vacant end of north park mall and turned it into the temporary Joplin high school. The students need to learn and they also need to be together.
BERRYHILL: It's really important, like we get support from each other and from our teachers, and it just helps us grow stronger and stronger.
SPELLMAN: Walking the halls of what most call the mall school, it's easy to forget all that the students have been through. Do people talk about it much anymore?
BERRYHILL: Like not -- no, not like they used to. Things will remind us of the tornadoes, like storms. We'll be like oh, my gosh, I'm really scared.
SPELLMAN: To try to keep students safe if another storm hits, the school has installed these tornado shelters. Each student is assigned to a shelter. They come with a few flashlights, and even a simple bathroom behind this tarp. They run regular drills to be sure that every student can be out of the school and into their shelter in a matter of minutes.
Yainer Ovideo spent the first days after the storm searching on rescue teams seeing things that teenagers shouldn't see. YAINER OVIDEO, JOPLIN HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT: It was hard, went a long time not being able to sleep and I got up to take medicine to force myself to sleep. For a long time I had nightmares.
SPELLMAN: Counselors help students like Yainer but being together with his friends for their senior year has made a difference.
OVIDEO: Everyone is going through the same thing. So, it's like you just talk about it each other's stories and you know you're not alone.
SPELLMAN: The mall school will remain in place for two more years as a permanent school is built on the site of the old Joplin high school.
There must have been times when it was really difficult just to get through the next day.
BERRYHILL: Yes. It was definitely stressful, and it's so much harder than like -- than like how my life was. It's changed a lot, and it's still different, but I know it's going to be better, so -- so --
SPELLMAN: Jim Spellman, CNN, Joplin, Missouri.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Hers is the face of torture and survival, and the mere sight of it is hard to bear. Nevertheless the mutilated face of Afghan teen, her name is Aesha was on the cover of "Time" magazine in August of 2010. Her nose and ears cut off by her husband and other Taliban members but since her rescue her fairy tale ending has remained elusive.
CNN's Jessica Ravitz has the exclusive story
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BIBI AESHA, 19-YEARS-OLD; I think all the time why this thing happened to me and why they cut my ear and nose. If I had my nose, I could have my life now.
JESSICA RAVITZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is 19-year- old Bibi Aesha. It was her husband who cut off her nose and ears.
Born in a village in southern Afghanistan, Aesha was forced into marriage at a young age. She was given as payback for a crime committed by someone else in her family. After years of abuse from her in-laws, Aesha ran away but was caught. She spent months in prison. Her father-in-law retrieved her, and with her Taliban husband and others brutally cut off her nose and ears.
She appeared on the cover of "Time" and was brought to the U.S. for reconstructive surgery. But she was deemed too emotionally fragile to undergo the procedures. Almost two years later she has settled with an Afghan family who wants to give her the life she never had and the tools to become independent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Say it in English. Can say it better in English.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She wants to be a police officer. That's what she wants to be.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She loves justice and she thinks she's found it in police officers and soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love police officer.
RAVITZ: Aesha had arrived in America more traumatized than anyone had anticipated.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Somebody wants to kill me or somebody following me. Every second night she has this kind of dreams.
RAVITZ: For more than a year a strong support system of women surrounded her, but still Aesha struggled to find a sense of belonging. In late 2011 she asked to move in with the family who cares for her now. But progress is slow, and Aesha's past is not easily overcome.
AESHA: What are we practicing? I'm practicing -- practicing, practicing English.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She is interested to learn the language. She is doing her homework and she guessing to the English class. Which do you like? Miss or Ms.? You like Miss, OK, so we can choose. Trying to speak English. Practicing 70.
OK. Let's count.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He treated her like our own. She's part of this family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She sees how the people have the relationship with each other, the respect.
RAVITZ: Family hopes Aesha will soon get the surgery to rebuild her knows and ears. If she does, it will be a grueling and complicated process that could take up to two years to finish. Aesha and the whole family have a long road ahead of them.
AESHA (through translator): I hope that they give me a very nice nose.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You can read more of Aesha's story on CNN.com/savingaesha.
Now back to our breaking news here on CNN. We're covering the protests in Chicago. Live pictures there. You see this is outside of the art institute in Chicago. This is an event that's being hosted by the first lady of the United States. There were several protests earlier today that got violent, and this one apparently has not yet, but we'll check in with the reporter on the scene coming up in moments.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right, live pictures now from Chicago, courtesy of our affiliate WGN, and obviously this camera man does not realize he is on the air right now. But anyway, the protests, can we just come back to me on camera? This is probably dizzying our viewers right now. Thank you.
The protests have been happening all over Chicago, specifically early in the south loop where they got really violent. That's the pictures that you're looking at, and we saw police officers pummeling some of the protesters there in Chicago, and we saw some of the protesters haunting police officers. This was three blocks away from the NATO summit that's happening there with the president and leaders from around the world.
This evening, take a look at this, let's show this video from earlier. This is the video of an officer's pummeling some of the protesters there earlier.
A new report this evening from WGN reporter Gaynor Hall filed moments ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GRAYNOR HALL, WGN REPORTER: Several groups of protesters have confirmed because this is where first lady Michelle Obama was hosting a dinner for the first spouses of NATO officials. So, it's been a spirited crowd gathering here just a few moments ago, and they were jumping up and down dancing in the streets, dancing in the rain. They weren't deterred by a downpour, a brief downpour that we had just as they weren't deterred earlier today by the group that descended on Chicago.
So, they are chanting and holding up their hands. In the middle of Michigan avenue forming a human peace sign trying to send their message to the people who are inside, but so far this leg of the protest as far as we've seen has been very peaceful. It was much like what we saw yesterday where groups broke off from the larger protest earlier in the afternoon and then they just started to march. They took to the streets once again making their way around downtown Chicago and gathering here. So that is the very latest. I'll send it back to you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. Hard to hear that reporter but that was Gaynor Hall from WGN with all of the yelling and screaming there and the protests continuing into the night in Chicago. It is just before 10:00 there, and it's going to continue on as we just want to check could-to-see what else is happening in the pictures.
Let's move on and talk about another story that happened today.
Musicians dream of having a career like Robin Gibb. He and his brothers owned a decade as the Bee Gees. They gave the '70s a soundtrack and became icons.
CNN's Becky Anderson looks back at Robin Gibb's legacy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BECKY ANDERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With record sales of over 200 million, including 60 hit singles and nine Grammys, the Bee Gees remain one of the most successful pop bands in history.
Along with elder brother Barry and his twin brother Maurice, Robin Gibb first had chart success in Australia before the family returned to their British homeland, and reached much bigger audiences.
The band made a change in direction in the 1970s, fashion for dance music exploded. The Bee Gees music provided the soundtrack for what was then the biggest movie in history, "Saturday night fever." The film made worldwide superstars of actor John Travolta and the Bee Gees themselves. It provided iconic tracks including "staying alive," night fever," "more than a woman" and "you should be dancing."
ANTHONY DECURTIS, ROLLING STONE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: The Bee Gees became really, you know, the biggest group in the world at that point. Unfortunately, you know, they paid a price for that. You know, they got tagged as a disco group, and suddenly, you know, once that wave had receded, you know, the white suits and the puffed up hair and the funny stage moves didn't -- weren't so entertaining for people.
ANDERSON: Although their popularity faded in the decades that followed, their songs were covered by artists as diverse as Elvis Presley and Aretha Franklin, while their musical contributions were recognized by the rock 'n' roll hall of fame, alongside pop bands such as Abba.
ROBIN GIBB, SINGER: Why our songs listen to our songs on the radio is because of our melodies, harmonies and human emotions, human relationships and that reaches out to lots of young people. You know human emotions never goes out of fashion.
ANDERSON: The band was brought to an end due to the death of his brother mar's from cancer in 2003. But Robin continued his passion for music culminating unique Titanic (INAUDIBLE).
GIBB: The only songs that melodies last, all the Mozart works have lasted, the songs of melodies. If he were alive today he'd be writing popular songs. It's not about how complicated music is. It's about how simple and relative to the human spirit it is.
ANDERSON: While they had its prestigious premier in central London, Robin Gibb was in a nearby hospital being treated for pneumonia following a long battle with cancer. A few days later he slipped into a coma while family and friends gathered to maintain a bedside vigil.
Becky Anderson, CNN, London.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Robin Gibb, 62 years old. Man, I love the Bee Gees. I love the Bee Gees and disco and all of that.
So listen, tell us about this eclipse. You have been tracking it. What can we see now?
SCHNEIDER: We can still see it, you know, depending on where you are, and really the weather in the U.S., with the exception of the west coast has been terrific to see the eclipse, there the ring of fire, the solar eclipse. You can see this is picture from San Francisco. This is our affiliate KGO.
And generally speaking as I mention the weather has been favorable to watch this eclipse event. Let's take a look a little more information about the eclipse event. It's what happens when the moon passes between the earth and the sun and we saw some great viewing over in Asia. Though Japan had not so great weather and some areas as well. But, a partial eclipse with areas is further to the north. The red line indicates the path of where we saw it from beginning to end. And we can still pick up some glimpses of this towards Texas. And really once you start getting into New Mexico and Texas, that's where the skies were brilliant and clear so I think that's where we're getting some of our great pictures.
LEMON: That picture is really cool. That's from San Francisco.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, San Francisco and had some nice weather. I think in other parts of California not so great what. But, what an opportunity to see something like that.
LEMON: All right. Thank you. More, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Not so fast, Bonnie Schneider. We need you to talk about this tropical storm. The first named storm of the season.
SCHNEIDER: Yes, for the Atlantic, and it's so interesting. We had two named stores for the Atlantic and the pacific before both seasons started, and very our area here in the Atlantic, we're taking a closer look at Alberto, it's interesting to note that this storm has changed the structure so much in the past 24 hours.
Right now the movement is to the south, but the storm is really going over some much cooler water. That's why the winds are dying down, barely a tropical storm at 40-mile-per-hour winds, so I think that the track will continue to take this storm further off to sea. So, it kind of alerted us, even though it didn't do any damage or caused too much trouble, definitely brought us to the attention, Don, that hurricane season is June 1st.
LEMON: But, early doesn't necessarily mean more or stronger, right?
SCHNEIDER: No. it' just means that we have to be ready for hurricane season to begin. I think sometimes it can start before the season actually officially begins.
LEMON: Pull out the red jackets with the big CNN letters on. We'll all be out there and hope there's no injuries. It's all good this year.
Thank you, appreciate, it Bonnie Schneider.
And thank you so much for watching. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN headquarters in Atlanta.
I'll see you back here next week. Have a great week. We'll leave you with the eclipse.
