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Tommy Chong Revealed that He has Prostate Cancer; New York's Governor Proposed to Lower the penalties for Possession of Marijuana; a Proposal was Released that Marijuana to be Legalized; Torrential Rains are causing Extensive Flooding in Pensacola, Florida
Aired June 10, 2012 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: When will it end? The rain that won't let up, causing a flooding state of emergency.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down on camera two.
LEMON: Tommy Chong, surprise revelation on this show.
TOMMY CHONG, ACTOR: My announcement is that I was diagnosed with prostate cancer.
LEMON: No surprise though. His treatment choice, pot. And another pot confession.
LOUIE ANDERSON, COMEDIAN, ACTOR, AUTHOR: I used to smoke marijuana.
LEMON: Comedian Louie Anderson.
ANDERSON: Listen, I don't need another reason to be hungry.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 30 seconds.
LEMON: Preacher trouble.
CREFLO DOLLAR, PASTOR, WORLD CHANGERS CHURCH INTERNATIONAL: Exaggeration and sensationalism.
LEMON: Megachurch pastor, Creflo Dollar, back in the pulpit and out of jail, denying he choked his teenage daughter.
DOLLAR: I should have never been arrested.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Good evening, everyone. Thanks for joining us. I'm Don Lemon.
Parts of the gulf coast under water tonight literally.
Torrential rains are causing extensive flooding in Florida, prompting emergency evacuations around Pensacola. More rain is expected, and add that to as much as 22 inches within a 24-hour period in some areas and things won't be drying out any time soon.
Our, Leroy Bonifay, joins me now on the phone from Pensacola, Florida.
Leroy, I'm told that you lost a car in the rising water, and people are losing cars and more of their personal property.
LEROY BONIFAY, PENSACOLA, FLORIDA (via telephone): You got that right. I lost a brand new BMW, so new that I hadn't even made the first payment on it.
LEMON: You guys got so much rain within a 24-hour period, it's not over yet, and we looked at the video. If you look at this video, I mean, the streets, and we say that as a cliche, but they literally do look like rivers, water lapping up against the curb.
BONIFAY: Yes, they do.
LEMON: So, how are you guys doing down there? Do you have power? What's going on?
BONIFAY: Yes, we've got power. We've got electricity and -- and everything is going on pretty good. Rain has -- the torrential rain has stopped. We've just gotten steady sprinkling rain all day long today, but not the torrential rain that we had yesterday that caused all the flooding.
LEMON: Did you yourself get stuck in this and then someone had to help you out? Did you get rescued?
BONIFAY: Say that again, please, Don.
LEMON: Did you get stuck in this and you had some folks help you out?
BONIFAY: Yes. We had -- we got stuck in the water, and we was just sitting in our car hoping that the water would run down and the water just kept rising, and then some -- and then a gentleman and a lady whose cars were also stuck. They had gotten out, and they were helping the other people, and they came over and insisted that we get out of the car and let them help us on to the dry land. No dry land but it was dry land.
LEMON: Hey, Leroy. I've got a question for you. We've seen you up on the screen in the yellow jacket and the cap, that was Leroy and he is joining us on the phone. Just for a quickly.
BONIFAY: OK.
LEMON: You and your wife, are you OK? Is your home in any danger of being flooded.
BONIFAY: No, no. We live in a very high section of town and there was no damage to our home.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. Leroy Bonifay down in Florida, and they have gotten so much rain out of it, and it's not going to stop soon.
BONIFAY: Our main problem -
LEMON: Thank you very much, Mr. Mr. Bonifay. Appreciate it.
More severe weather to tell you about right now. Raging feast moving wildfires in Colorado continues to grow. Two thousand people have been asked to leave their homes as high winds drive the flames to more homes and businesses. Eighteen structures have already been lost or severely damaged.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't imagine that my house is there right now, to be honest with you. I can't imagine what it is, how close the fire was, and I know I'm not going to have a home, and I have no place to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: We should tell you there's at least one person still unaccounted for, and police are also looking into reports that two hikers may be missing. The wildfire's erratic nature is complicating matters, burning 14,000 acres in several directions.
A mega church pastor, a man of God, feels compel to stand before his congregation and defiantly stated he did not beat up and choke his own teenage doubter.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOLLAR: And I want to say this very emphatically. I should have never been arrested.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Creflo Dollar. No doubt one of the biggest churches. He's the head of one of the biggest churches in the southeast. Two days ago, he was in jail outside of Atlanta. His daughter says that during a family argument Creflo Dollar punched and spoke to her, prompting a call to 911. Earlier I spoke about the case with CNN's Nick Valencia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Police are saying one thing and Creflo Dollar is saying another. Well, police are alleging is that he struck and choked his 15-year-old daughter over an argument about not being able to go to a party because she had bad grades.
What happen was, what police are saying happen, he chocked and he beat her. He is saying that it was just a family incident that escalated, got out of hand, and he never meant to harm anyone.
LEMON: OK. Before we move on to talk more about this. Can you please remind us who this guy was. VALENCIA: Sure.
LEMON: Because we said 30,000 strong. He's on television.
VALENCIA: A big deal.
LEMON: You see him all over country, not just the 30,000 people in the physical church.
VALENCIA: No. He's online. He has a huge presence online. He's what's called a prosperity minister, a T.D. Jacques and Joel Olstein among the other popular names. He preaches a message of God rewarding his followers with material wealth and spiritual gifts, those who follow his message.
LEMON: That was his standing ovation that he was look at. HE got a standing ovation today when he went to church, when he walked to the pulpit, so people -- people stand by him, and I spoke to -- we had some people who were standing by him at church today. Let's listen.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He is the best pastor in the world. He teaches the world with simplicity and understanding. He's a great father and husband.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So I know this is a great man of God, him and his family.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I have a 15-year-old daughter herself, and if she needs discipline, that's what she will get. Thank you. Case dismissed.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Did you think for a second not coming this week?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Please, no, and come on in and join us.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The pastor's Creflo Dollar's statement in the church today, his first public comments he's made about the incident since his arrest on Friday. He assured his flock, quote, "all is well in the Dollar household."
OK. This has just in to CNN. We have confirmed that Anthony Sanchez has resigned from his elected position in imperial county, California. Want to know what he is? Let me remind you right here.
See that video? He was recorded spanking his stepson with a belt. The two were playing baseball in their backyard and Sanchez became furious when the boy could not catch the ball. His next door neighbor caught it all on camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm having a (bleep) problem for him because he won't catch the (bleep) ball. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you know my son?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know your son. I'm a (bleep) father too.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Anthony Sanchez was arrested and charged with felony child abuse. His lawyer tells CNN tonight that Sanchez has resigned. He was halfway through his second term on the imperial irrigation board. Prosecutors will decide tomorrow whether they will formally file child abuse charges.
John McCain talked to CNN about the leaked classified government documents, and he's got some words for President Obama. That is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Go with me here. President Obama, document leaks, John McCain, the Miami Heat, and, yes, Sarah Palin. They are all tied together.
We're going to explain because this conversation started earlier today after Senator John McCain told our Candy Crowley that the president needs to take responsibility for leaks of classified documents.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), ARIZONA: I have no idea whether the president knew or did not know. I have never alleged such a thing, but I have alleged that if you look at the information that's been leaked, again, that information in the book says that several officials said that they had to remain anonymous who gave this information because they would lose their jobs.
The president may not have done it himself, but the president is certainly responsible as commander in chief.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: OK. So the senator responding to several classified reports that were leaked from the White House. Some claim the leaks were done intentionally to make the president look tough in an election year.
The bluntly White House flatly denies this claim, and attorney general Eric Holder says he's assigned two special prosecutors to investigate the issue.
So let's investigate right now. We're going to do it in a couple minutes. There we go.
With Lz Granderson, he is a CNN contributor, also, senior writer to ESPN, that's not here in the copy. But we must say that. Must give you your accomplishments, sir. Republican strategist Ann Navarro. Hi, Ana, we missed you last night. How was the wedding, by the way?
ANA NAVARRO, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: Don, everything was great, but I want you to add and Heat fan Ana Navarro.
LEMON: That's right, I forgot. Heat fan, Ana Navarro.
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Congratulations, Ana.
LEMON: Congratulations. Who are you going for, Lz, quickly?
GRANDERSON: Heat.
LEMON: Heat. So you're both happy today.
All right. Back to the subject at hand. I'm going to start with Ana. Should the president take responsibility for these leaks?
NAVARRO: Yes, Don, and the reason he should do it is because it's a national security issue. We're not talking about a political issue. I saw a sight this week that you rarely see in Washington. I saw the leadership, the head democrat, Dianne Feinstein of the Senate intelligence committee with the head Republican, Saxby Chambliss, together with the leadership, the democrat and Republican leadership of the house, getting together and saying this is a huge problem. National security is at risk. The lives of people, of U.S. agents, the lives of people serving our country is at risk. Our relationships with our allies are at risk.
We must address this. When you see Republicans and Democrats get together, not only in the Senate but with their colleagues in the house, you know that this is serious and must be addressed.
LEMON: Lz, I was actually here anchoring live when they held that press conference after the meeting in Washington, and I said to our Dana Bash -- Dana Bash asked a question about politicizing this in an election year, and it's hard to say that it is being politicized if you have people on both sides of the aisle saying, hey, this is a serious problem that needs to be investigated. Do you think that the president has taken responsibility for this or has handled this properly?
GRANDERSON: Absolutely, and I -- I don't see him ducking his administration. In fact, you know, the "New York Times" had a story today in which it stated that the Obama administration has investigated leaks within his administration more than any other presidency. So, it's not as if he's taking this lightly at all. He understands the risk. He understands how important this is.
LEMON: Lz. --
GRANDERSON: You know, my problem -- yes, sir.
LEMON: Hold on. Let me play this sound bite and I'll let you continue because it's sort of saying what you're saying. Here's the president. He says it's personal to him. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The notion that my White House would purposefully release classified national security information is offensive.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So Lz., I'm going to let you continue on, but if someone else in the White House did this and that's in there and --
GRANDERSON: Absolutely.
LEMON: -- and if the president had no idea, why should he take responsibility, but continue on with what you were saying.
GRANDERSON: Well, he should take responsibility because at the end of the day it's his responsibility as the justice department's responsibility to find out where the leaks came from, if not from his administration then for administrations after his.
This is about the country. This isn't about a party. The only real issue I have is just with, you know, the tone of Senator John McCain. I have a lot of respect for the senator. However, I feel as if he's trying to inject a political angle the way in which he's attacking the presidency, as if he's ducking this. He's not ducking this. He's taking responsibility.
LEMON: OK. Ana?
NAVARRO: I don't agree with that. You know -- I know John McCain very well, and I can tell you that when it comes to issues of national security, when it comes to issues of freedom, when it comes to issues of the armed services and the people who risk their lives for the country, John McCain does not play politics. He doesn't play games. He's been there him level.
GRANDERSON: Are you kidding me?
NAVARRO: For him it's as personal as it can get. No, I'm not.
GRANDERSON: John McCain plays as much politics as any politician can. I mean, think about it.
NAVARRO: Not with this, Lz, not with this. The American public knows that John McCain is a hero.
GRANDERSON: His very first major decision once he secured the nomination was to pick his VP, and he politicized that and put the country at risk by giving us Sarah "freaking" Palin. So, don't you tell me that John McCain would not be calculative even if it would risk the safety of the country. Taking Sarah Palin not betting her properly. That optimizes toward a size of --
LEMON: OK. NAVARRO: Lz, Sarah, was not -- Sarah was not --
LEMON: Sarah Palin --
NAVARRO: Sarah Palin has not released the --
LEMON: Did he say freaking? Sarah "freaking" Palin, all right, he did.
Is there anything to laugh about in the news these days? Sure, there is. My conversation with comedian and legend -- legendary comedian. Let's save that Louie Anderson is next.
Do you think he supports the legalization of marijuana. Well, here's a hint. He says likes the idea that you can get it in a brownie.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: I had the pleasure of talking with legendary comedian Louie Anderson right here at this desk last night, and he surprised us. Everyone knows he's a super funny guy, but he's got a lot to say about society and an interesting -- very interesting personal story, too.
We talked about getting older, how he uses twitter and facebook, and since we had a "Cheech and Chong" theme going on yesterday and this weekend, I asked him if he had ever smoked pot.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON: Just the whole idea, you know, I didn't even know I was going to turn 50. It just happened one day. I just turned 50. It just was -- I was asleep. I woke up.
LEMON: And were you 50.
ANDERSON: Oh, my God, I'm 50.
LEMON: And you look good.
ANDERSON: Thank you.
LEMON: Seniors using the interiors, more than half of Americans over the age of 50 use internet. They are online, they are in facebook, or whatever. Are you cyber savvy? do you do all that stuff?
ANDERSON: @louieanderson. Able to be myself, on facebook, you know, you got to tweet me @louieanderson. I'm on facebook @louieanderson. And, you know, the whole thing about it is I'm a little behind. Like I don't always get the tweeting thing right.
LEMON: Yes.
ANDERSON: You know, like sometimes I'll say I'm at whole foods and people will say, so what. Well, I'm hungry.
You know, I used to smoke marijuana. People always want me -- they will say Louie, you want to smoke marijuana. I go, listen, I don't need another reason to be hungry. All right? I do not -- never was one of my favorite things, I have to be honest with you. It's a lot of work
LEMON: You think.
ANDERSON: Yes. The rolling and the bong.
LEMON: According to Tommy, someone brings it to your house, can get them --
ANDERSON: I like the idea of it in brownies. Shouldn't all medicine be given in peanut butter like for dogs or in brownies for humans?
LEMON: Listen.
ANDERSON: My stroke medicine.
LEMON: Shouldn't we stop this holier than thou thing?
ANDERSON: Yes, lets.
LEMON: Most people I know, I have to be honest, holy rollers, whatever, has smoked pot or either smoke pot and professional people. Women will tell me, my friends will say, you've got -- you have cramps, smoke some pot.
ANDERSON: Yes.
LEMON: So then, why do we have this holier than thou at feud?
ANDERSON: Well, here's what's happen. We have this now as part of our culture but it's an unspoken part of our culture. Let's just say, you know when people, instead of having to drink after work might smoke some marijuana to relax.
I mean, I think it's become part of it, and people are just like -- I think it's part of our culture that we won't recognize because of some really, you know, really religious -- religious reasons and -- reasons, and the conservative, you know, conservatives always use drugs to scare everyone. If drugs are legalized, then they are going to start coming and stealing our kittens.
LEMON: Well, listen. I'm speaking strictly about marijuana, because if you look at the pharmacology of it, there are drugs that I don't think that should be regulated.
ANDERSON: No, I agree with you.
LEMON: But when you look at marijuana, and the experts I speak to, when you look at pharmacology of the drug and what it does, it would be better to sort of legislate it so that young people can't buy it, so if it hurts someone there's no stigma in getting them treatment for it.
ANDERSON: Listen. If people -- if kids are killing themselves with alcohol poisoning and killing each other in car accidents and doing that stuff, it isn't any different than marijuana. I mean, marijuana, we don't want them doing either one to excess but marijuana should be legalized. We should tax it. It should be a crop. It could help the economy. I agree with all of that.
LEMON: All tight.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thank you, Louie Anderson.
Protesters in Mexico furious and we're right in the middle of it. How some of you inspired these calls for democracy.
(COMMERCIAL BEAK)
LEMON: Mexico's presidential election just three weeks away, but activists already crying foul. They protested today in Mexico city. There it is, saying the media trying to influence the election in favor of front-runner Enrique Pena Nieto. Years of frustration boiling over in one election.
CNN's Miguel Marquez joins me now from Mexico City.
Miguel, what are you hearing there, that these protesters are fed up with the politicians and businesses? This sounds like a lot -- a lot like the occupy movement that we've been seeing here in the United States -- Miguel?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm not sure if you can hear me at the moment, but we're in the middle of the debate here. (INAUDIBLE). They expected about 50,000. It's about an hour and a half through at this point, and the candidates have been going back and forth and going from U.S.-Mexican relations. The two underdog candidates have been trying to take out the main candidate all night but have not been able to do that.
The Occupy or occupy movement, but it's the (INAUDIBLE) 132. I am 132, which takes its cue from the occupy movement in the U.S. and around the world has come out in full force trying to get Lopez Obrador, the second place candidate at the moment, to win the Mexican elections.
It is not clear that they will be successful in doing that, because he's very far behind in the polls. I'll have to turn about it back over to you guys now, because I'm not able to hear it at the moment.
LEMON: Yes. I was going to say, no questions for Miguel. I have a lot. But, thank you, Miguel Marquez. At a very large rally there. We appreciate it and we will continue to follow.
Make sure to stay tuned to CNN. Let's move on and talk about the Romney campaign. He has got a fresh attack ad against President Obama. You are going to want to see this. It's part of our no talking points tonight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We want to get you caught up on the headlines.
The weather service is warning, warning of the high risk of rip tide currents through Monday down in the gulf. Torrential rains are causing flooding and flash flood watches are in effect for parts of Florida, Alabama, and Mississippi. Some areas have received as much as 22 inches of rain in a very short amount of time.
Two hundred and fifty fire fighters are battling a blaze in Colorado that has torched 20,000 acres. One person is unaccounted for, and two hikers are said to be missing near the high park wildfire. Larimer County sheriff, Justin Smith, well, he says there's no hope for containing the fire at this point. And new evacuation orders have been issued there.
This California man was caught on camera whipping his stepson with a belt. He has resigned from his public service position. Anthony Sanchez was arrested and charged with felony child abuse. A next door neighbor recorded that video, recorded the whipping.
It's time now for "no talking points."
Tonight, the meaning of a word, the meaning of a word "a la President Clinton."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It depends upon what the meaning of the word is, is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was 1998. That was during the Lewinsky scandal. Well, this one isn't tawdry, but this week President Obama and his campaign making a similar argument over the word fine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Overall, the private sector has been doing a good job creating -- creating jobs. The private sector is doing fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Of course, Republicans pounced, immediately.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. ERIC CANTOR (R-VA), HOUSE MAJORITY LEADER: And my question would be to the president, are you kidding? MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He said the private sector is doing fine. He said the private sector is doing fine. Is he really that out of touch?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Within hours a response to the response.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The economy is not doing fine. There are too many people out of work. The housing market is still weak and too many homes underwater and that's precisely why I asked Congress to start taking some steps that can make a difference.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. Clarification though. Too late. The Republican ad was already in production.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: The private sector is doing fine. The private sector is doing fine. The private sector is doing fine.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. All of this perfect recipe for the Sunday talkers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE HUCKABEE, HEAD, FOX NEWS CHANNEL'S HUCKABEE: The private sector is fine. I can see that on a loop in a commercial. The private sector is fine. The private sector is fine and then showing pictures of closed factories and people standing in unemployment lines.
DAVID AXELROD, OBAMA CHIEF CAMPAIGN STRATEGIST: They are more eager to have a debate over an out-of-context clause in his remarks than the substance of what he says.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. So out of context. Where have I heard that before? That's right. Right after this statement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: I'm in this race because I care about Americans. I'm not concerned about the very poor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. That was back in February. Democrats pounced on that. Romney and his campaign said that the quote was taken out of context, and although Romney shouldn't have said, it people knew what he meant.
Now the Obama folks are making the same argument. So here's the truth, in context, as always reported by the "Washington Post." "The private sector is in positive jobs territory, having created an average of 160,000 jobs per month in 2012. It's in positive territory for Obama's time in office as well. The U.S. has created on net 780,000 private sector jobs since February of 2009."
Is the private sector soaring, I don't think anyone would say that, but as we like to point out often in our "no talking points" segment context is everything. Is the private sector fine? Boy, it depends on what your definition of fine is.
That's tonight's "no talking points."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You can't same the name Tim McGgraw without also mentioning Faith Hill, of course, that his wife.
Our Fredericka Whitfield caught up with Tim McGraw in Tampa and asked how he and his equally famous wife balance huge careers and raising a family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST, NEWSROOM (voice-over): He's a super country star with more than 30 number one hits.
Now touring 25 American cities with his good friend Kenny Chesney.
TIM MCGRAW, COUNTRY SINGER, ACTOR: It's a pretty cool deal.
WHITFIELD: But seldom, far from his thoughts, family, including his country singing superstar wife Faith Hill and their three daughters. One is 10, two are in high school.
How do you keep that family together, you know, given the -- given the anxieties, the pressures that come with a very high-profile life for both of you?
MCGRAW: You know, I say yes, ma'am, a lot.
WHITFIELD: Comes in handy?
MCGRAW: You know, I have to say my wife, she's the rock in our family, you know. I do what I do, and we have three daughters and she keeps their schedule, my schedule, her schedule, because she's a very busy woman as well.
WHITFIELD: Wife and mother Faith Hill is the latest voice of "Monday Night Football." Overall selling more than 40 million albums in her own right, and together in their 2006 soul to soul tour Hill and McGraw struck a chord with the highest grossing country tour of all time. MCGRAW: She just is very good at just making sure that everybody's got what they need, and, you know, and we -- we really live our lives in our community. We live our lives through our kids. You know, we work, but, you know, work's only a little bit of what people see of us, and, you know, we love our job and we love going out and playing music, love making records or making movies, whatever it is that we do. But there's nothing better than to come home and to have that security and that foundation that you have, and I think that she really is -- is the rock for that.
WHITFIELD: So you have these complementary careers, you know, on this parallel track, but at the same time it can be rather competitive too, because one person is going on tour, maybe conflicts with the other tour, so does it become like a family effort, you, your wife, three daughters, all go on tour together?
MCGRAW: We do. We go out a lot -- now that I have two daughters in high school starting next year and then a 10-year-old daughter, so they got their own lives.
WHITFIELD: They don't want to go on tour?
MCGRAW: I'm the most "Un-cool" guy they know, so they certainly don't want to be hanging out with me out on tour. But they happen to be here. They come out some, and, you know, after 15 years of doing this, you know, Faith and I really had solid careers before we got married, so we sort of had an idea what have we were getting into. And after 15 years of doing this, and our management companies and people that work for us and the rules that we sort of lay down of how we want to live our lives, we just sort of find a way to do that.
You know, we have our schedule -- we have our kids' schedule and then everything else sort of finds its way after that, and knock on wood we're able to do that. I don't want to sound like it's just an easy decision for us. As a matter of fact, we're very fortunate to be able to do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right.
On the West Coast, look at this. This washed up. It is a huge dock. Sixty feet long, and it's there because of Japan's tsunami. Look at that thing. That's next.
And we want you, our viewers, to stay connected to CNN and even when you're on the go, make sure you grab the mobile phone and go to CNN.com/TV. And if you're on a desk top or even a laptop, you can also watch CNN live -- CNN.com/live or slash TV. There it is.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Time now for "Sunday night mysteries" and in our mysteries a massive dock washes up on an Oregon beach, but where did it come from? For a while it was unclear, but now we know. It was ripped from its moorings during Japan's tsunami last year. The 60-foot long, 132-ton structure washed ashore on Monday. Oregon officials are now taking bids to salvage or demolish it.
Dozens of credible radio signals that were once dismissed may hold major clues to solving what happened to aviator Amelia Earhart. An historic aircraft recovery -- recovery group made the claim during a conference in D.C. The group believes transmissions were made after Earhart landed the plane on a remote island in the western pacific.
Well, Earhart vanished during her attempt to fly around the world almost 75 years ago. The recovery group believes her remains are on that island.
This weekend we have been tackling the marijuana issue and the laws that govern it. New York's governor has proposed lowering the penalties for possession because he says those penalties run fair.
Now, what would happen if we made pot legal? What if he made it legal? What if we sold it and regulated it? One expert says we're missing the money train by not doing so.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. JON GETTMAN, SHENANDOAH UNIVERSITY, CRIMINAL JUSTICE PROFESSOR: The U.S. government estimates 17 million pounds of marijuana grown each year in the U.S., $3,000 a pound, $50 billion industry. Just domestically grown marijuana. Just leave aside what's brought in from overseas.
Now, all that money that's spent on it is money that is not generating tax revenue, not being spent at the local grocery store, local hardware store, on cars or boats or what have you. It is not generating any tax income whatsoever.
That alone is costing state, local, federal government, $15 billion, $17 billion a year in tax revenue, and that is not even counting what the excise tax would be if it were legal.
Now, if it were legal, the price would drop tremendously. And it is hard to do an estimate of how much tax revenue it would generate, but it would be in the billions of dollars. It would be considerable, and also it would stop this hemorrhaging money out of the legitimate economy and that allow would increase tax revenue considerably for local government
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Then I sat down with sit with iconic actor Tommy Chong about states loosening their law on marijuana possession. The conversation had a light moment but not before he dropped a bomb telling everybody here for the first time on this show that he was diagnosed with cancer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) CHONG: I was diagnosed with prostate cancer about a month ago, and I'm going to start treating it with cannabis oil or hemp oil or pot oil, and -- and if -- and the reason I am treating it with hemp oil is because I look at a video just recently called run from the cure by Rick Simpson, and it documents how he cured his melanoma cancer by using hemp oil.
LEMON: You believe that -- you think you -- you got prostate cancer in prison after, you know, the paraphernalia and the company and the internet company selling the bong. This is in 2003. You think you got it in prison, why?
CHONG: That's my feeling, because I was totally healthy when I was in jail and I hadn't smoked pot before I went in jail, and then while I was in jail I was as clean as a whistle because they drug- tested me almost every single day. And I started having problems with my prostate.
Right there, I remember very well, because when you have problems you have to get up in the middle of the night and pee a lot, and then I also contacted gout while I was in prison from the food.
And so, I think there's a combination of the food and the fact that the prison itself of Taft, California, is built over the toxic waste dump and they have a thing there called valley fever that other prisoners were getting, and they don't neo-know what it was, some sort of wasting disease, so I think that -- I think I got it there.
LEMON: Yes. we should tell, you haven't smoked pot in how long? People think you're a pothead and you haven't smoked in --
CHONG: I laid off for about a year, you know, and when I started getting kind of weird health issues, you know, which actually turned out to be prostate cancer. And so I -- I did everything. I'm a very holistic person who went on the juices and everything, you know. No red meat and the whole bit, and so -- but now that I found out that the hemp oil will help the prostate, hey, I'm back, man.
The only thing they can really blame Bob for is it made you crazy in like reefer madness, and I agree with that part. You know, it's really -- you know what's weird now is that because I'm taking it as a medicine.
And I also played golf, so I took the medicine early one morning, and I got really stoned, and I -- I went to the golf range and I couldn't play. I couldn't hit the ball. I felt like I never picked up the club before and it was weird, because here, I'm Tommy Chong, you're supposed to be able to do everything stoned and I couldn't hit the ball once. It was sad.
Well, it makes some people crazy. It makes - I mean, it makes you do weird things, like there was a policeman who ate a brownie, and he phoned 911 and told 911 that he was a police officer that he ate a pot brownie and that he was going crazy. And the fact that he phoned 911 and kind of ratted himself out was a good indication that he probably was going to go crazy. It does affect you mentally, you know. Pot does, and there's no way around that part, you know, and it affects some people spiritually, like myself, for instance, you know. I've really gotten into the spiritual world deep, thanks to my ingestion of the magic weed.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right.
Incredible pictures from the gulf coast that we're going to tell you about now. Parts of Florida literally under water and so was this man, the man that I'm going to tell you about coming up. Hear how he survived.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Large part of the gulf coast under water tonight, and some places more than 20 inches of rain fell this week, and 20 inches of rain.
Earlier I spoke with a 90-year-old Pensacola man who said he had never seen water get so high so fast.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BONIFAY: Yes. We've got power. We've got electricity and everything going on pretty good. The rain has -- this torrential rain has stopped. We've just gotten steady sprinkling rain all day long today. But not the torrential rain that we had yesterday that caused all the flooding.
LEMON: Did you yourself get stuck in this and then someone had to help you out? Did you have to get rescued, or did they just help you?
BONIFAY: Say that again, please, Don.
LEMON: Did you get stuck in there, and you had some folks help you out?
BONIFAY: Yes. We had -- we got stuck in the water, and we was just sitting in our car hoping that the water would run on, and the water just kept rising. And then some -- a gentleman and a lady whose cars were also stuck, they had gotten out, and they were helping other people, and they came over and insisted that we get out of the car and let them help us on to the -- on to the dry land. There was no dry land, but it was dry land.
LEMON: Hey Leroy, I've got a question for you. We've seen you up on the screen in the yellow jacket and cap. That's Leroy, and he's joining us on the phone. Just real quickly.
BONIFAY: OK.
LEMON: You and your wife, are you OK? Is your home in any danger of being flooded?
BONIFAY: No.
LEMON: OK.
BONIFAY: We live in a very high section of town, and there's no damage to our home.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The gulf coast are staying in emergency shelters, and there's more rain to come.
Now to the big stories in the week ahead starting with the president's plans for the week.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I'm Dan Lothian at the White House.
Another busy week of campaigning for president Obama with events in Baltimore, Philadelphia and Cleveland.
Then on Thursday Mr. Obama and the first lady will travel to ground zero and be briefed on the construction project there of one world trait center.
Finally on Friday, they will observe the LGBT pride month with a reception here at the White House.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm Paul Steinhauser at the CNN political desk.
Voters in Arizona's eighth congressional district head to the polls Tuesday to choose a successor to their former congresswoman Democrat Gabrielle Giffords. She stepped down in January, one year after surviving an assassination attempt.
Later in the week Republican candidate Mitt Romney reaches out to his party's conservative base as he speaks at the annual faith and freedom conference right here in Chicago.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
Buy week ahead for Wall Street. We'll get key economic reports, including retail sales and place your readings as well as the scent has reported in the state of the housing market.
A lot of focus will also be on a. The tech giant kicks off its worldwide developer's conference. Most are not expecting the Iphone5 or a new Ipad to be announced, at least not yet.
And the world will be watching Greece ahead of its key election, and worries persist about the instability of the Euro zone. We'll track all of that in the business news of the week for you on CNN money. NISCHELLE TURNER, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT CORRESPONDENT: I'm "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT's" Nischelle Turner.
Here's what we are watching this week. The block buster reality show "basketball wives" bans physical fights. The ban sparked by one of the show's most controversial stars Evelyn Rosato. We're going one-on-one with Evelyn in a must see headline making showbiz news maker interview.
LEMON: All right, guys. Thank you.
Now it's time for Jeanne Moos who tells us about a man who just couldn't say good-bye to his dead cat.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Liftoff. For the cat copter, a remote-controlled helicopter made out of a dead cat. No wonder jaws dropped
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they should let the cat rest in peace. That's crazy.
MOOS: But the cat's owner, Dutch artist Bart Jansen considers this a tribute.
BART JANSEN, ARTIST: I really love this cat and to me this is a way to actually make him eternal.
MOOS: His name was Orville. He and his brother Wilbur were named after the Wright brothers, so when Orville got hit by a car last year. Jansen turned him into art to be exhibited in a Dutch museum.
JANSEN: Since he was already named after a famous aviator, well, it became clear that he just needed to fly.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably like about the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life.
MOOS: Jansen had Orville taxidermies and put on an ultra lightweight casing, half cat, half machine, Jansen calls it, the Orville counter.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's a little flap here.
MOOS: Where gyroscopes and the receiver are, there's a propeller attached to each paw. What was striking during our describe interview when Jansen held the Orville copter up to the camera? Those eyes.
LEMON: Those eyes are glass, by the way.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sends a wrong message to children, too. Like an animal is being tortured.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's his own damn business. The animal is dead. MOOS: His brother Wilbur doesn't know what to make of the reincarnation of Orville.
Jansen says cats dream of chasing birds, just look at Tom in the "Tom & Jerry" cartoons. Jensen says Orville used to lie on the doormats watching pigeons and now he's flying with the birds, the greatest goal a cat would ever reach, but to PETA it's a macabre way to remember a beloved family member. Orville is now a cat captor.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm an artist so it's fine by me.
MOOS: But many of the comments online are beyond Kathy. That man is not an artist. He is a sadist. Dear artist, I hope if you get run over, they make you into a mano-copter.
JANSEN: Yes. well, that wouldn't that be cool.
MOOS: The artist is willing to part with his flying pet.
JANSEN: I do think someone would want this. It is for sale.
MOOS: A Dutch TV show was shooting the cat copter in a field.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Liftoff.
JANSEN: When a pilot sent it swooping towards some cows, moo versus meow and meow won.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think the cat would probably approve.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Have a great week. I'll see you back here next here again. Bye.
