Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
U.S. to Stop Deporting Young Illegal Immigrants; China Launches Its First Female Astronaut Into Space; President's New Immigration Policy Only Helps Young Illegal Immigrants; What Americans Can Learn From Other Countries about Immigration; Romney Gives Speech in Cornwall, Pennsylvania; Father Saves Daughter from Rape, Not Charged; "Xanadu" Becomes Broadway Smash
Aired June 16, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. You're in the NEWSROOM. Thanks for joining us.
The new campaign takes an old turn. You are looking live at Cornwall, Pennsylvania where republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is expected to speak just minutes from now. He is on day two of a bus tour that's taking him through small towns across six battleground states and we'll bring you some of what he has to say just as soon as he takes to the mic. We'll bring it to you. Earlier, Mitt Romney stopped in Weatherly, Pennsylvania where he spent most of his time talking about the economy. He also spoke by satellite to the faith and freedom conference in Washington where former rival Rick Santorum urged fellow social conservatives to rally around the Romney campaign.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I've talked to Governor Romney about this issue and I have no doubt and I mean this in all sincerity, I have no doubt he understands the centrality of family. He understands the importance of family for our culture, for our economy, and for our future.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And again, we expect Mitt Romney to speak just a few minutes and we'll carry it for you on CNN. Make sure you stay with us. Romney's avoided talk today about President Obama's big immigration announcement.
Mr. Obama's surprise move to allow some young people who came to the U.S. as children to avoid deportation has dominated the political discussion over the last 24 hours. And so, our Rafael Romo has the story about a young college student in Georgia who after a simple traffic stop faced a deportation order.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): She became the poster girl of undocumented students in the United States. Jessica Colotl, a college student from Georgia and was arrested in 2010 when she couldn't produce a driver's license after getting stopped for a traffic violation. She was given a deportation order.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JESSICA COLOTL, UNDOCUMENTED STUDENT: I don't think that's fair because I was brought to the U.S. when U was still 11-years-old. I didn't have an option.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: Like Colotl, hundreds of thousands of children of illegal immigrants are in limbo. President Obama issued a policy order Friday to stop deportations of young people like Colotl.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PRES. BARACK OBAMA (D), UNITED STATES: They're Americans in their hearts, in their minds, in every single way but one -- on paper. They were brought to this country by their parents. Sometimes even as infants.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: The policy order would benefit those who came to the U.S. before they were 16, have lived here at least five years, and are in school, have graduated, or served in the armed forces. They can't have a criminal record and they must be no older than 30. Legislation to help this group of immigrants has been proposed several times.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: It wasn't their decision to come to this country. But they grew up here. Pledging allegiance to our flag and singing our national anthem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: But conservative Republicans called the effort back door amnesty and complained that it's unfair to U.S. citizens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DAVID VITTER (R), LOUISIANA: These young illegals who would be granted amnesty would be put in direct competition with American citizens for the scarce resources.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROMO: President Obama's action is essentially an executive order which delays deportation for two years. A different precedent would have the ability to repeal the order on his first day in office.
Rafael Romo, CNN Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Rafael, thank you very much. About 20 minutes, I'm going to talk with a young Palestinian living in the U.S. He has a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois. He volunteers and his deportation proceedings are in September. I'm going to ask you about the policy shift and if now he'll get to stay here in the United States.
Looking overseas now to Syria, the United Nations mission sent there to monitor a cease-fire that nobody followed, that mission is now called off. The general who leads the observers' team, well, said it has just become too violent in Syria and the risk to his unarmed troops just too high.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. GEN. ROBERT MOOD, COMMANDER, U.S. OBSERVER TEAM: Operations will resume when we see the situation fit for us to carry out our mandated activities.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Just today, at least 77 people were killed in shelling and street fighting across the country. A Russian flag cargo ship is headed toward Syria and U.S. intelligence officials are watching it very closely. They believe it is carrying weapons, ammunition and some Russian troops. There is a Russian naval base on Syria's Mediterranean Coast. U.S. officials say, the Russians are probably beefing up security at that base as the country spirals out of control. In just a few hours, voters in Greece will make a decision with enormous impact in Europe and here in the United States as well. It is a parliamentary election to put lawmakers in office but in the end people may be choosing whether Greece stays in the Eurozone. One party promises to keep the Euro and roll with some huge budget cuts. The other party says no to the cuts despite a risk they could be forced out of the Eurozone. Markets all over the world are preparing to react. It could be an ugly trading day come Monday.
Egypt, it's election there today and tomorrow. It is a runoff that will produce the first president since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. The Egyptian military has been running the country since the revolution last year.
In Colorado, firefighters are praying for rain hoping to slow a wildfire that is racing across rough terrain and inching closer to neighborhoods. The high park fire has scorched more than 55,000 acres forcing thousands of people to flee their homes. Most are trying to keep their spirits up, though.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICKIE BARON, PREPARING TO EVACUATE: My prayers can't be for the wind to change because that turns it to somebody else. My prayers every night are that everybody stays safe.
TERRIE SUBER, PREPARING TO EVACUATE: It's just stuff. It is re- buildable. The dogs, the horses, that's all that really matters and I'll get them out if I have to.
DONNA ASHTON, PREPARING TO EVACUATE: It would be hard just because I like home. I like being up here. You know, but we can't stop it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And if firefighters aren't in enough danger already they're now on the lookout for scared wildlife like bears in search of food. The fire is 20 percent contained now. Hurricane Carlotta is now tropical depression Carlotta but it was a category two hurricane when it slammed into Southern Mexico last night ripping off roof tops, tearing down power lines, and killing two young sisters. The storm weakened significantly after it made landfall. Heavy rains could still cause dangerous flash floods and mudslides.
An urgent plea from the mother of a man police say, killed three people plus, please, turn himself in, turn yourself in, she is asking. Police in Edmonton, Canada think it was 21-year-old Travis Baumgartner who shot and killed three armored car guards during a robbery attempt. A fourth is critically injured. Baumgartner works for the same armored car company as the victims. The shooting happened last night on the campus of the University of Alberta. Baumgartner's mother made a public plea begging her son to turn himself in before there is, quote, "further bloodshed."
What would you do? A father walks in on a man allegedly sexually abusing his child and kills the man. Now dad could go to prison. And we're following a developing story for you. Four climbers feared dead after an avalanche on Mount McKinley.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There you go. A crowd. Where is that crowd? It's Cornwall, Pennsylvania, that's where it is, and that's where republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is expected to speak at any moment now. Everybody gathering and waiting for the republican presidential hopeful and we're going to bring you what he has to say. Once he steps up to the microphone it should be at any moment now. This is day two of his bus tour taking him through small towns across six battleground states. So, we'll bring it to you.
All right. We're moving on now to other news. A spokeswoman for the National Park Service admits there's little chance of finding four Japanese climbers on Alaska's Mount McKinley. The climbers were lost when an avalanche barreled down the western side of the mountain. Another member of their team survived after being swept into a crevasse. Mount McKinley is North America's highest peak. The summit reaches an elevation of more than 20,000 feet above sea level.
A key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaeda has died. Saudi Arabia's state-run television is reporting that crowned Prince Nayef bin Abdulaziz died in Geneva. The hard-line conservative was named crowned prince in October by his brother the king making him King Abdullah's successor. It is expected that authorities selected by the king to choose his successor will meet as soon as the mourning period is over.
Along way to -- today by democracy activists Aung San Suu Kyi, the Nobel Peace prize winner from Myanmar finally gave her address in Oslo, Norway, more than two decades after winning the award. She couldn't accept the honor in 1991 because she was under house arrest. In her speech, Suu Kyi said, the push for democracy in Myanmar is beginning to bear fruit.
China is celebrating a rocket launch that represents a giant leap for Chinese women.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Three, two, one. Ignition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: A spacecraft, look at that, carried China's first female astronaut Liu Yang into orbit today. If all goes well, her ship will dock with China's orbiting space laboratory. CNN's Eunice Yoon have more on the extraordinary woman taking part in this mission.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EUNICE YOON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Liu is a mother of one in her 30s, she's a veteran air force pilot, and she was recruited specifically out of the military for the space program. There's been a big discussion about her online. People have been gushing about her flying skills. And in fact, the program officials have said that this launch isn't only significant for the space program but it's also socially significant in a country that normally favors boys over girls.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This mission makes China the third country after the Soviet Union and United States to send a woman into space using its own technology.
With the world watching and holding their breath, daredevil Nik Wallenda walked across Niagara falls on a tight rope last night. It doesn't look real, does it? Does that look real? It is real but it's just amazing. It took a breathtaking 25 minutes to complete the 1800- foot journey. Wallenda appeared calm and focused as he took small steps, braving the thick mist and roaring water. Afterwards, he talked about what was going through his head.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NIK WALLENDA, TIGHTROPE WALKER: You know, a lot of praying for sure. And that helps a lot. But you know, it's all about the concentration, the focus, and it all goes back to the training. You know, in the middle of the wire at one point, I just started thinking about my great grandfather, paying tribute to him and all the walks that he did and he was successful on. That's what this is all about. Paying tribute to my ancestors and my hero Karl Wallenda.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Wallenda is the first person in more than 100 years to cross over the actual falls. Wow, look at that. I think he finished like ten minutes early, he is supposed to take like 35 minutes but it took 25 minutes. Hard along it took, it was faster than they expected. Look at that. Next on Nik to do this, the Grand Canyon. Good luck. Congratulations to him.
Is the institution of marriage crumbling? For one age group the divorce rate is now twice what it used to be. You might be surprised to learn who we're talking about. But first this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN ANCHOR: Jim Rogers has been playing the markets since the 1970. And today, this legendary investor doesn't like what he sees.
JIM ROGERS, INVESTOR AND AUTHOR: Next year is going to be bad at the American economy, be very careful. Why is it going to be bad?
ROMANS: Fiscal cliff?
ROGERS: Lots of fiscal cliff, raising taxes, you think that's going to help. Europe is a mess. Lots of problems going on in the world. Christine, we've had recessions in America, every four to six years since the beginning of the republic. You can add, next year we're going to have an economic slowdown for whatever reason and it's going to be bad.
ROMANS: So, if you are so worried, what do you buy? Where are you putting your money?
ROGERS: My money is, I'm sure stocks sorting when you think something will go down and I own currencies and I own commodities.
ROMANS: You say everyone should a --
ROGERS: Everybody...
ROMANS: How much?
ROGERS: I don't have a gold in my pocket, I hope I do.
ROMANS: Let me see. He sure does. I won't keep it but --
ROGERS: I know you won't keep it. I got witnesses.
ROMANS: The -- has a pullback lately, I mean, you think that that is a place to buy commodities?
ROGERS: Yes, because two things will happen. When is the economy will get better? And shortages and commodities, I'll make money in commodities or the economy won't get better. And then government's are going to print money, it's the wrong thing to do Christine but that's all they know to do. And whenever they print money, you've got to own real assets if you want to make money whether it's silver or rise (ph) you've got own real things.
ROMANS: What's the best piece of advice would they ever gave you?
ROGERS: Buy low and sell high.
ROMANS: Of course.
ROGERS: What more do you need to know in life?
ROMANS: (INAUDIBLE)
ROGERS: That's the hard part.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: And just 20 years, 20 years the divorce rate has doubled for those over 50. In fact, according to new research, that age group made up a quarter of all divorces in 2009. Dr. Wendy Walsh, these are scary numbers. What's happening?
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: They're scary but you have to understand something, is that what we're doing is training a whole another generation to divorce and survive divorce. Because the statistics are pretty clear that the people divorcing over 50 tend to be people who have been divorced before. So they know they can survive at once. They can get through it again. And those long-term marriages you think you're worried about because suddenly they have an empty nest and what are they going to do? Those are more likely to stay together. So the shorter time you've been married the more likely you are to be divorced over the age of 50. So, it's not as scary as you think.
LEMON: You know, been there done that. I can do it again. Basically? Yes.
WALSH: That is really a lot of it. Now, we lose sight in fact that women are most that initiating these divorces and women are placing a lot more demands on their emotional needs in a relationship. So, a lot of guys who have worked hard their whole life that may have been in sort of somewhat traditional gender roles are often blindsided that, you know, in their 50s, 60s, or 70s, their wife has taken a hike because she's got enough money, she's had her own career at this point. So, I caution people to think hard about the big social consequences. This is not easy on adult children. It's not easy on social circles. One partner is often left isolated socially. And it costs a lot more to maintain two houses than one. No matter what age you are.
LEMON: OK. All right. So, women are initiating it. As I say, you've come a long way, baby. Women are like, hey. I don't want to do this anymore.
All right. So, a lot of this is, because kids are gone as well and then they're like now what? So, are you saying that they have to reinvent their relationship?
WALSH: Well, that's the piece. You know, you have to understand that most relationships have a purpose. The relationships that do best are building something and whether it's the remodeling a house, building a house from the ground up, building a charity, building a business, or the more common, building human beings. So when those human beings leave the nest, your left, it's like the factory is closed but the employees are still hanging around, Don. So, you got to figure out what your new purpose is.
LEMON: So, what do you do then? When the kids are gone, when you're used to rearing kids, what do you do to get that old relationship back? Or maybe it just changes. A relationship evolves.
WALSH: Don, why do you think the pet care industry has risen especially in the luxury area. It's the divorce, the empty nest dog. But it's also, it's a matter of not getting back to what you were before the kids but figuring out who you are now and looking at your retirement years as a great time of personal growth and you can grow together.
LEMON: OK. All right. So some people are watching and they are about to be empty-nesters and they may not know, uh-oh, you know, they, too, could become a statistic, a divorce statistic. So what do you do to help?
WALSH: I'd say especially if they're on their second marriage and especially if that second marriage has been less than a dozen years or so, they need to open their eyes and start to nurture their relationship. Remember relationships are not about what about me, what about me, what about my needs? Relationships are about what can we put into this relationship to help it grow and be strong together? So that's really the question. Ask not what you can do for your marriage or what your marriage can do for you. What you can do for your marriage right? It's time to put into it.
LEMON: Thanks, Dr. Wendy. Hey, good luck come next week.
WALSH: Next week. Thank you.
LEMON: Bring the statue if you win. We'd love to see it.
WALSH: I will.
LEMON: Thank you.
OK. So, the woman you are about to see has a degree in architecture from the University of Illinois. She also volunteers in her community and her deportation proceedings are about 90 days away. There she is. After the President's immigration announcement, I've asked her if she is going to stay now.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Obama's major shift in immigration policy will affect hundreds of thousands of young, illegal immigrants. From the Rose Garden, here is how he explained his reasoning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: These are young people who studied in our schools, they play in our neighborhoods, are friends with our kids, they pledge allegiance to our flag.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: When she was just six-years-old, Alaa Mukahhal came to the U.S., since then she has gotten a degree in agriculture and volunteers at an immigration advocacy group but in September, she is facing deportation. So does this first of all welcome, and it's interesting because when most people think about this policy, Allah, we were talking to you -- they think of people of Latin, Latino people or Hispanic people I should say and they don't necessarily think of people from the Arab world, Muslim, or from different countries around the world. It just doesn't affect Spanish speaking people.
ALAA MUKAHHAL, UNDOCUMENTED PALESTINIAN FACING DEPORTATION: Correct. Yes. That's right. Thank you for having me on the show, Don. But yes. It impacts all sorts of people. Yes.
LEMON: So what do you make of the policy? Are you going to get to stay now or do you still have to go through the process and go through the motions?
MUKAHHAL: So the memo was just announced yesterday. We still have to wait for an application to come out and that I'd have to apply for it and then wait for a response before I know the answer.
LEMON: Yes. Does this give you a little bit of ease of mind like OK. Whew. Does this take a little bit of a burden off your shoulders like at least the pressure is not on like it was before?
MUKAHHAL: Absolutely. You know, I'm very excited about this. I'm hopeful. But also cautious because it is a memo and not a law, and so we have to see how well it is going to be implemented and hopefully the administration will work swiftly and quickly to implement it.
LEMON: I have these other questions for you. I think you bring up something very interesting. You said it's a memo and it's not a law. The criticism from those who oppose this and the presidential candidates, some who oppose, like Mitt Romney and others, Marco Rubio, they say that this doesn't go far enough and that this -- this memo as it is now should go further and that it's going to inhibit a progression for people who actually want to become citizens. Do you agree with that?
MUKAHHAL: I don't think it'll inhibit anything. This is a temporary fix. Until Congress can come up with a more permanent solution, until both Democrats and Republicans can work together to come up with a more permanent solution but as long as Congress is on a deadlock, this is, I mean, this is what the president is doing to open -- to give at least undocumented youth who have been here for a long time a chance to be able to get work permits. So I think this gives us hope if anything.
LEMON: Yes. And you work for an immigration advocacy agency and I think it's interesting that you say undocumented immigrants and when people say, illegal immigrants is that offensive to you?
MUKAHHAL: It definitely means a huge difference because when you think illegal, you can't get past that and you can't see the humanity behind it but I'm a person just like you. I happen to be undocumented. I came here when I was six, and I only identify with Chicago where I'm from. And so when you see illegal, the only thing people can think is that you're not supposed to be here to begin with but, you know, the idea is that, you know, we grew up here. So, you know, we grew up with your kids, too, went to school with them. So, yes, undocumented is definitely the right word. You know, there's a campaign called drop the "I" word and yes.
LEMON: Yes, I actually have all these questions that prepared by me and my producers and what have you been just sitting here listening to the conversation I was just picking up on that. And I think that's the best way you can interview someone is just to sort of listen to them. And I noticed that you keep saying undocumented. In our copy we keep saying illegal. People online to me keep saying, stop saying illegal. It's offensive. So I was just wondering how you felt about that.
Let's explain a little bit about your family. Your family, back in 1993, I understand, came here legally. Your dad has a green card. But you and your mom don't have a green card yet. How does that happen?
MUKAHHAL: So we -- I was born in Kuwait. I'm originally Palestinian. We flew right before the Gulf War we went to Jordan and then we emigrated from Jordan, sold everything we had and came here on a tourist visa. Six months later it expired. So my dad applied for asylum and it was referred to an immigration judge and in front of the immigration judge he made his case. He said, you know, look, I'm going to cancel my asylum application but I want to apply for status. I have three children who are U.S. citizens. I've been paying my taxes, have good moral character, been here for over 10 years, and the judge said there is no reason to deport you and it would be an extreme hardship on your family, so that is how he got his green card. And so that was the only way he was able to do it. When I turned 18, I went to my lawyer and I asked him there has to be some kind of application for me to apply, some way for me to be able to get in that proverbial line, and the lawyer told me, outright, no, there is nothing for you unless a law or a policy or something changes.
LEMON: And we've been reporting on that. I really have to run here. I don't want to give you short shift, but I want to ask you, do you understand those who oppose the policy, who say, there has to be an end point? Have you to put your foot down somewhere and stop illegal immigration in its tracks, or you're going to take jobs away from Americans. And it won't work. You'll have too many people in the country who are undocumented and so on. Do you understand the other side? MUKAHHAL: What they don't tell you is that undocumented immigrants in 2010 alone contributed over $11 billion in taxes. What they don't tell you is that this country needs immigrants and is built on a foundation of immigrants, hard-working people who are just like you, who come here for a better -- in search of a better life, who work hard like my father did, who, you know, gave everything they can to this country because they believe in the democracy of this country, who would make perfect citizens, and all they need is a chance to prove themselves. We're not asking for --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: So you don't understand the other side? You don't understand their argument. Is that what you're saying?
MUKAHHAL: No. I'm saying I do understand it but it is coming from a different perspective. And I think there needs to be some kind of connection between the two. The other side, we both need to sit down together and to talk to each other and listen to each other.
LEMON: Your hearing's in September, right?
MUKAHHAL: September 18, yes.
LEMON: Good luck to you.
Thank you for coming on CNN. We appreciate it. OK?
MUKAHHAL: Thank you.
LEMON: All right.
Always outspoken on immigration issues, the man nicknamed "America's toughest sheriff" has also been known to lock horns with the White House. But Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio told me he knows exactly why the president made his announcement on immigration.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE ARPAIO, SHERIFF, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: Politics. Why timing? Why now? Why not let Congress decide next year on this issue and on all of the illegal immigration problems we have?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Immigration policies vary from country to country. America can learn from others what could be done and what shouldn't.
CNN's Fareed Zakaria traveled around the globe to see what we can learn from other nations.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST, GPS (voice-over): If you've never been to Calgary, you might know it for its annual stampede.
(SHOUTING)
ZAKARIA: Ten days of cowboys --
(SHOUTING)
ZAKARIA: -- rodeos.
(SHOUTING)
ZAKARIA: Last year, the royals. And of course, its Muslim cowboy hat-wearing mayor. What? Who?
NAHEED NENSHI, MAYOR OF CALGARY, ALBERTA: The great thing about Calgary is nobody thinks it's funny that a guy who looks like me in a cowboy hat is sometimes the image of this city. People just accept that.
(SHOUTING)
ZAKARIA: When Naheed Nenshi became the first Muslim mayor of a major Canadian city, in 2010 --
NENSHI: Yes. Yes.
ZAKARIA: -- he shattered Calgary's red-neck stereotype.
NENSHI: When I was running for office, it was only people who were not from here who said, whoa, is Calgary ready for a mayor like that? The people in Calgary said, it's a kid from the east end. We know him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The "GPS Road Map for Making Immigration Work" airs tonight here on CNN at 8:00.
It is frightening to watch but amazing at the same time. A toddler, thrown from an SUV as it flips, during a police chase, gets up and walks away.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: There he is. He's doing his thing. There is Mitt Romney. Pointing in, the whole thing. He's in Cornwall, Pennsylvania, and he's speaking now, and he has been going around the country. This is his belief in America tour, taking him through small towns across six battleground states. There he is, Cornwall, Pennsylvania. You guys want to listen?
MITT ROMNEY, (R), FORMER MASSACHUSETTS GOVERNOR & PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: -- get America working again.
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: And they were --
(APPLAUSE)
ROMNEY: They were principles fought for and thought about and written right here. When the founders wrote the Declaration of Independence, they said that our rights came from the creator, not from government, and that changed the world and made us the sovereign. It made the citizen the sovereign of the government. That became the servant. They need to understand that in Washington again.
(CHEERING)
ROMNEY: And among our rights were life and liberty and the pursuit of happiness. We have economic freedom, political freedom, personal freedom. The president has been impinging on our freedom. We need to become free again. Our economy runs on freedom. I'm going to get this economy going again.
(APPLAUSE)
LEMON: All right. He is spending a lot of time talking about the economy and jobs, and avoiding talking about the president's announcement on immigration yesterday. You see him all riled up. There he is, Mitt Romney, Cornwall, Pennsylvania, going through six battleground states on his bus tour. Watch it live right now on CNN.com. If you want to continue to watch, CNN.com/live.
Should a father be punished for killing the man he caught sexually abusing his 5-year-old daughter? Many in the town say no. What would you do? Stay tuned for the story straight ahead.
But first, this Father's Day weekend, our "CNN Hero" is Leo McCarthy, a courageous dad who wanted to help protect kids from underage drunk drivers after his own tragic loss.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEO MCCARTHY, CNN HERO: October 27, 2007, was a beautiful autumn day. Mariah was with her two friends. I didn't know the last time I kissed her would be my last time. Later that night, they were walking down this path when an underage drunk driver swerved off the road and hit them. Mariah landed here. She died that night. They're only a block away from my house. Mariah was only 14. And I'm thinking, how did this happen? It is so preventable.
My name is Leo McCarthy. I give kids tools to stay away from drinking.
Our state has been notoriously the top-five drinking and driving fatalities in the country. The drinking culture is a cyclical disease that we allowed to continue.
Mariah's Challenges feed the first generation of you kids to not drink.
In the eulogy, I said, if you stick with me for four years, don't use alcohol, don't use illicit drugs, I'll be there with a bunch of other people to give you money to go to post-secondary school. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I promise not to drink until I am 21.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I promise not to get into a car with someone who has been drinking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I promise to give back to my community.
MCCARTHY: I think Mariah's Challenge is something that makes people think a little bit more, to say we can be better.
Mariah is forever 14. I can't get her back. But I can help other parents keep their kids safe. If we save one child, we save a generation.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So you're out and about and you're not in front of a television. Stay connected to CNN on your cell phone, like I do, or watch it from your computer even at work. Go to CNN.com/tv. Tell them Don Lemon sent you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Remarkable video from Texas. Look at this closely. This footage is from inside a police cruiser. It shows a violent end of a police chase. As the SUV flips over, a toddler is thrown from the vehicle -- yes thrown -- and miraculously gets up and runs after the SUV. Do you see that? Why is the toddler involved in the police chase anyway? The girl was riding in a car with a group of teens accused of being part of an armed robbery. Two of the teens are the girls' parents we should tell you. Just because you can have kids doesn't mean you should.
Now a story that has angered a lot of parents and got them asking how they would act in a similar situation. A Texas father, after hearing his young daughter screaming, finds a 47-year-old man sexually abusing her. According to the sheriff, the father stopped the alleged abuser, punching him repeatedly in the head. He was later pronounced dead.
Criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, joins me now.
Holly, what --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: Defense of others.
LEMON: It is such a weird story. The father has not been charged.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: What kind of charges could he face or is he going to be charged? Do we know?
HUGHES: He probably will not. LEMON: Really.
HUGHES: There will be a full investigation. Well, remember that we have a self-defense law but we also have defense of others.
LEMON: OK.
HUGHES: Almost every state has that. So if you see a forcible felony being committed against another human being, if you want to jump in and rescue them, you're protected by the law. You're able to do that. Here, what we have is this father -- can you imagine? 4 years old. I mean, 4 years old, Don, this little girl is being abused -- she is screaming for daddy. Can you imagine his heart? He runs in there.
LEMON: Disgusting.
HUGHES: He finds somebody abusing her. And let's face it, he doesn't pick up a weapon. He doesn't pick up some kind of bar. He just pummels the man, which a lot of people would have done a lot worse. The man subsequently dies, which is a terrible thing, I'll give you that. But legally speaking, he had a right to defend his daughter.
LEMON: This father has already been judged in the court of public opinion. Listen first and then we'll talk.
HUGHES: OK, great.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Everybody was talking about the same thing. They would have done the same thing. I don't think he should be arrested or any charges should be filed.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If somebody abused my grandchild like he did, I think he deserved everything he got.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Especially 4 years old. That's terrible.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Is it going to be hard for any law enforcement person to be objective here.
HUGHES: Of course, it is. Because everybody has a beating heart. We're human beings, Don. We hear the story and we think it's awful. They're going to review the facts. What is going to happen, legally speaking? They'll submit it to the district attorney's office. They'll have a grand jury take a look and say, these are the facts. This is what happened. This is what didn't happen. Grand jury is probably -- you know, I'm not a betting woman -- but I'd say they're going to go, yes, no bill, no charges here.
LEMON: I'm willing to say that.
HUGHES: Yes.
LEMON: I'll step on the line --
HUGHES: There you go.
LEMON: -- and say any parent or anybody would do the same. I don't know about killing the man.
HUGHES: Right.
LEMON: I would say kill --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: All he did was punch him. Now it ended --
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: Yes.
HUGHES: He didn't go out there with the intent to kill. He went out there with the intent to stop this man from sexually abusing his 4- year-old little girl.
LEMON: How can you defend that? How can you defend that?
HUGHES: There's no criminal intent there.
LEMON: Where -- where is the precedent? There are cases like this before, right?
HUGHES: Absolutely, yes. You'll find cases like this all over the country. Yes. You're the betting man. You're saying anybody would have done the same thing. I'll jump out there with you and say I don't see charges being levied here. He acted within the law.
LEMON: I could here what my parents would say. they'd kill him then revive him and kill him again.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHES: That's exactly right, yes. Absolutely. They wouldn't be alone in that.
LEMON: Thank you, Holly.
HUGHES: Absolutely.
LEMON: All right.
Now this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Miraculous. LEMON: Woo-hoo. I haven't been on roller skates since high school. So why am I risking my life to do it? Because anything is possible in Xanadu!
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Oh, my. I've lost my mind again. That's me on roller skates. A box office flop is now a Broadway smash. We're going behind the scenes and rolling with the cast of Xanadu.
(LAUGHTER)
(SINGING)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We're just getting some information into CNN. Just in, one person, we've been told, has been killed in Toronto, and that's where a stage collapsed just before spectators began arriving for a concert. It was a concert by the alternative rock band, Radiohead. We are hearing -- and this is courtesy of our affiliate, CTV -- a second person reportedly suffered serious injuries. Two others treated at the scene here. And as you can see, it looks like -- that's what it looks like. And we're also being told that scaffolding, a scaffolding-type structure collapsed about 40 to 60 feet above the stage. The concert has been canceled. We'll continue to update you on this story just as soon as we get more information.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: J.R. and the rest are back.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: After 20 years off air, the new "Dallas," the show drew almost seven million viewers in its debut on Wednesday on our sister network, TNT. That was more than any other cable series premiere this year, which got us thinking, what classic show would you most like to see revived for the 21st century? What happened to -- what's her name, Luellen? Here's some of our possibilities we thought of: "All in the Family," "Cheers," "Cosby Show," "Happy Days." Logon to my Facebook -- donlemon/cnn, to take our poll. You can also name another one your favorites. And we'll have the results when you come back on the air at 7:00 p.m. eastern. Which classic show would you like to revive?
So last time I covered a Broadway production, this happened, I lost my mind. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SINGING)
(APPLAUSE)
(SINGING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That was last year. This is this year at "Xanadu." So "Xanadu," the musical, it bombed as a movie. Now pull those neon tubes socks, lace up your roller skates and adjust the headband, we're going back in time to 1980 with the cast of "Xanadu."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
LEMON: How do you feel, like, being on roller skates in a theater, everyone is so close? It's almost like being in a living room.
JORDAN CRAIG, ACTOR: Yes, it is. But it's got to be exciting for the audience members to be that close to the action.
LINDSEY ARCHER, ACTRESS: We want them to be a part of our party. And so having them this close, they really do get to interact with us.
CRAIG: I would like to open a roller disco!
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: You fall down in the middle of the play?
CRAIG: No, I've never actually fallen during a performance. Let's knock on some wood.
ARCHER: Because I'm near him and he can hold on --
CRAIG: Right, right. Yes.
LEMON: Down, down, down in front!
(LAUGHTER)
(SINGING)
LEMON: Do they sing along with you, in the audience?
CRAIG: Absolutely.
LEMON: On any of the songs?
ARCHER: Every once in a while, you'll see people singing along, or when a song starts, you'll hear, yes!
(SINGING) ARCHER: I love being a part of "Xanadu." It's just when everyone's together and we're all on skates.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Down, down, down. Good.
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Right, we're going to teach him that.
(SINGING)
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Freestyle, he doesn't even want to learn.
CRAIG: It's you!
ARCHER: It's me. Hi!
CRAIG: Hello.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you falling in love with him?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No!
(SINGING)
LEMON: Nice! I love that song! That's great!
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
