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Mystery Illness Killing Kids; Democracy Arrives in Libya; Great White's Hunting Near Cape Cod
Aired July 07, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you so much for joining us.
We're going to get you up to speed on the headlines right now, beginning with a deadly disease outbreak with no name and only children as victims. It's some kind of illness that doctors have never seen before and so far can't treat it, can't stop it. At least 61 children are dead, all of them in Cambodia. The global medical community is stumped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PIETER JIM VAN MAAREN, WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION: It is very difficult to assess how dangerous and how rapidly spreading it will be if we don't know what we are dealing with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This mystery illness causes a respiratory attack that kills children. Medical officials are really worried about it spreading to other countries.
Federal agents just busted a massive drug operation in Tempe, Arizona. And they say its link to a major Mexican cartel. They took in three tons of marijuana, 30 pounds of methamphetamine and whopping $2.4 million in cash. Twenty people were arrested.
Libyan people voting freely and openly. It is the first real live democratic exercise in Libya since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi. Nearly 3 million Libyans pick parliament members today, waiting in long lines to vote in polling stations all across the station. And we've heard of a few disruptions. But overall, election observers say people were able to vote in peace.
In southern Russia, flash flooding has killed more than 100 people. Rising waters swept through houses as people slept. Some people had to be rescued from roof tops and trees. The rushing water submerged streets, ripped out traffic lights and stranded vehicles.
One resort town got two months worth of rain in 24 hours.
Now, I want you to take a look at this. I want you to keep an eye on the street at the top of your screen. See that tractor trailer? There it comes, right there, boom. Right into the gas pumps.
It happened on Thursday. That's in Akron, Ohio. The driver of the truck says his brakes failed. No one, thankfully, though, was seriously injured.
A small town of Newton Falls, Ohio, rocked by fatal shooting of four people. Police say they believe the deaths are linked to a man who then drove to a cemetery and committed suicide. Earlier they found a mother, father and a juvenile shot dead in the home. The woman believed to be the gunman's girlfriend was found dead in that house.
California is one step close to having the nation's first high speed railroad. The state's Senate has approved funding for the initial segment that will eventually link Los Angeles to San Francisco. Supporters say it will create jobs and modernize state transportation.
But critics say the estimated $68 billion price tag comes at a bad time.
Serena Williams takes her fifth Wimbledon title. The 30-year-old American defeated her Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in three sets today. It was the 14th major championship for Williams, and she didn't stop there.
A little over an hour ago, she teamed up with her sister Venus to win their fifth women's doubles title at Wimbledon.
Congratulations, wow.
It sounds like something out of a Hollywood blockbuster. Beautiful sandy beaches, warm summer weather, and dangerous predator lurking right beneath the waves.
CNN's Brian Todd is in Cape Cod now where some unwelcome guests are putting a damper on beachgoers' fun.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's the height of the summer vacation season here. Behind me, on Cape Cod, just a beautiful beach here. The weather is great.
Our photojournalist Walter Enfrado (ph) is going to show you a sweep of the beach here. This is one of the most popular, best known summer spots on the East Coast. But you'll notice there's no one in the water. That's for good reason.
(voice-over): Gorgeous weather. And it's the height of summer. But they're only going in waist deep. It's not because the water's cold.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I grew up watching "Jaws" back in the '70s, and vivid memories. I don't want to relive that.
TODD: This is what they're worried about on Cape Cod.
Not far from where "Jaws" was filmed, great white sharks are back.
GREG SKOMAL, MASS. DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES: Tuesday, our most recent sightings by one of our spotter pilots, two white sharks.
TODD: Each measuring at least 14 feet. Authorities have identified 20 of these predators right off the cape over the past three years and believe there are many more lurking.
A group called Cape Cod Shark Hunters works with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to track, photograph and tag the great whites.
We're out off the cape looking for the sharks with John Chisholm of the Marine Fisheries Division. We spot abundant marine life here including hump back whales.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right, go (ph).
TODD: It looks like a harpoon, but it's a listening station. These buoys carry acoustic receivers that track the migration and behavior of great whites that have been tagged. What's drawing them here?
JOHN CHISHOLM, MASS. DIVISION OF MARINE FISHERIES: We know they're here looking for seals. That's why we placed these in strategic locations where we know they're hunting seals, where we have documented seal predations.
TODD: The population of gray and harbor seals on Cape Cod has made a huge comeback in recent years. Every expert we speak to points to that as the magnet for great whites.
(on camera): Here's a pod of seals. This is an area where they've tagged a lot of sharks. We're told that the sharks are very stealthy. They lurk on the bottom, come up and grab the seals even this close to shore.
Scenes like this make people wonder just how close the sharks could be. This dead seal washed up on shore, and expert says things to look for in a seal that's been attacked, teeth marks and possible tearing that you could be seeing right here.
(voice-over): An expert later looks at our video and says this was very likely a shark attack victim. The sharks aren't scaring folks off. They're actually a top attraction this summer and even good for business.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some quality great white shark t-shirts being sold. It's awesome.
SKOMAL: I think folks in general love to see sharks. They love the idea of sharks. I think sharks fascinate people. TODD: One marine biologist points out there hasn't been a shark attack on a human in these waters since about 1936. But with the seals making such a comeback and with the seals' proximity to the swimmers, authorities here are getting increasingly concerned -- Don.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Brian Todd. We appreciate it.
Next, a political debate gets hostile. First, a shoe gets thrown, punches and then a gun comes out. And later, a millionaire adventurer headed to prison for burning down his own home makes a deadly right inside a courtroom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This next story is just ridiculous. So say things got out of hand in a debate in Jordan is putting it mildly. Take a look at this.
OK. So a Jordanian member of parliament threw a shoe and then, get this, he pulled out a pistol when a discussion with a former politician got heated on TV. It was live.
It seems he was accused of buying his way into Jordan's parliament. The host stepped in, as you can see, to break up the fight. Aside from some bruised egos, there were no injuries there.
The Libyan people got to do something today that was impossible for more than 40 years. They voted. It was an election for parliament, 200 seats of the new national assembly. The turnout was higher than expected and people lined up to vote in places that were war zones just a year ago.
Moammar Gadhafi ruled Libya with no elections until his downfall.
Reports say almost 50 people have died in new violence in Syria today, just as the United Nations acknowledges that its mission to Syria has failed.
That admission comes in a U.N. report obtained by CNN. It recommends one of three new actions, withdrawing the 300 person U.N. team from Syria, increasing the team's size and giving members armed protection, or retooling the current team's overall mission.
Meanwhile, reports from Lebanon say shells fired during clashes in Syria landed in a Lebanese down, killing at least one person. That's according to the Lebanese army and Red Cross. Another source says two people were killed and anywhere from two to four others were injured.
Lebanon says it's beefing up its military presence in the area.
The United States has a new major ally. In a surprise visit to Kabul today, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced Afghanistan is now a major non-NATO ally. That means Afghanistan is eligible to receive military training and assistance. It also means Afghanistan can buy and lease military equipment long after NATO troops leave.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: But please know that the United States will be your friend and your partner. We are not even imagining abandoning Afghanistan. Quite the opposite. We are building a partnership with Afghanistan that will endure far into the future. Thank you so much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Secretary of State Clinton and Afghan President Hamid Karzai now head to Tokyo there. They're expected to pick up nearly $4 billion in reconstruction aid.
Scientology, made famous by its famous followers, including Tom Cruise and John Travolta. Now, with rumors that the group played a role in the breakup of Cruise's marriage to actress Katie Holmes, we're taking a closer look inside the secretive religion.
But, first, American public school students are ranked average at best when compared to other nations in reading, math and science.
CNN education contributor Steve Perry believes the power of words is key for a student to excel in any classroom. It's today's "Perry's Principles."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Reading is not just fundamental, it's essential. It's what makes a child confident in a classroom. It's not just about being able to phonetically recognize the words. We're talking about being able to interpret and predict.
Reading is essential to so many parts of the economic experience. When a child doesn't feel comfortable in school, I bet you, it's because they don't read very well.
Teachers -- they are the people who are trained and certified to determine a child's capacity to read.
They have all of the resources at their disposal to make sure that that child's reading level goes up. One of my biggest us frustrations is that people or teachers in the primary grades don't work hard enough to effectively teach children to read. So, what I need educators to do is to own the fact that it is their responsibility to teach children to read. I'm talking about reading for understanding. I'm talking about being able to read and make deductions and be able to have a conversation with the author.
You know that's the expectation of reading. So the expectation is that you will teach children to read.
(END VIDEOTAPE) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: (AUDIO GAP) everywhere. The biggest entertainment story, it's still the split between Tom Cruise and Katie Homes and the rumors that Scientology played a role in the split.
Cruise is a high profile member of the controversial secretive religion. Holmes, who was raised Roman Catholic, has filed for sole custody of their daughter Suri. The move has fueled rumors that Suri's upbringing in Scientology maybe a factor in Holmes' decision to leave the marriage.
Here's CNN's Tom Foreman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When it comes to scientology, Tom Cruise may well be the faith's most combative celebrity defender famously tearing into NBC's Matt Lauer over the church's reputation of psychiatry.
TOM CRUISE, ACTOR: Do you know what Adderall is? Do you know Ritalin? Do you know now that Ritalin is a street drug? Do you understand that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The difference is -- this wasn't against your will.
CRUISE: Matt, I'm asking you a question. Matt, I'm asking you a question.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I understand there's abuse of all these things.
CRUISE: No, you see, here's the problem. You don't know the history of psychiatry. I do.
FOREMAN: Although Cruise joined scientology in the 1980s, over the past decade, his public identification with the group has been more pronounced explaining his beliefs on talk shows, in the press.
And Scientology meetings featuring Cruise with his "Mission Impossible" theme playing in the background and the star giving a military salute to a Scientology leader.
CRUISE: I think it's a privilege to call yourself a scientologist. It's something that you have to earn, because a scientologist does -- he or she has the ability to create new and better realities and improve conditions.
FOREMAN: Many of Cruise's statements underscore a central lesson of the faith that its followers can accomplish great things.
CRUISE: When you drive past an accident, it's not like anyone else. You drive past and you know you have to do something about it because you know you're the only one that can really help. I won't hesitate to put it on someone else somewhere else, you know, because I put it ruthlessly on myself.
FOREMAN: Such talk echoes teachings laid out in the 1950s by the faith's founder, science fiction writer, L. Ron Hubbard. He created an outline for conduct and advancement. For example, through counseling sessions, referred to as audits, followers are supposed to be led toward positive thinking and achieving their goals, no matter how ambitious.
Listen again as Cruise talks to fellow devotees about world leaders.
CRUISE: They want help and they are depending my people who know and who can be effective and do it -- and that's us.
FOREMAN: That was 2004. By 2005, Cruise was expressing even more enthusiasm over actress Katie Holmes, most notably by jumping around on Oprah's sofa.
So what happened? Holmes, who was raised Catholic, is believed to have converted to Scientology as her relationship with Cruise grew. But in the wake of their split there are reports that she is concerned over their daughter Suri being raised in the faith. But for now, neither is addressing those reports.
Holmes' attorney called the divorce a private matter and said her primary concern is her daughter's best interest. Cruise's attorney did not respond to CNN inquiries but told the "Los Angles Times" his client hoped the divorce would not be contentious.
Cruise has spoken dismissively what scientologists calls SP's, suppressive persons -- the term used for people who try to impede the mission of scientology.
CRUISE: They said, so have you met an SP?
(LAUGHTER)
CRUISE: You know, and I thought what a beautiful thing because maybe one day it will be like that. You know what I'm saying? Maybe one day it will be that. Wow, SP's, it's like, those -- I read about those in the history books.
FOREMAN: Whether any of this plays into the split with Holmes is yet unknown. But when Cruise and his second wife, actress Nicole Kidman divorced, similar speculation appeared. Kidman, who was also raised Catholic, never seemed to fully embrace Scientology. And after the breakup she was described as enjoying a homecoming in the Catholic Church.
As for Cruise --
CRUISE: And I do it the way I do everything.
(LAUGHTER)
CRUISE: There's nothing part of the way for me. (LAUGHTER)
FOREMAN: There is no sign he has any intention of backing away from his controversial faith.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: To get more insight into the Church of Scientology, I sat down with CNN Belief Blog co-editor Dan Gilgoff and I started by asking him: is Scientology a cult?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN GILGOFF, CNN BELIEF BLOG CO-EDITOR: Well, it depends on who you ask. Scientology is a relatively new religion. It was born really with the first church of scientology in 1954.
And almost from its inception there's been all of these battles whether it's a true religion, whether it's a cult. And, you know, you have challenges not only from religious groups who say it's not a true religion, you have challenges also from the world of science, which disputes a lot of what Scientology says about mental health. You have challenges really from the IRS, who didn't acknowledge scientology as a religion with tax-exempt status until relatively recently, the 1990s.
LEMON: 1993, I believe, yes.
GILGOFF: That's right.
So it's always been this embattled religion and it depends on who you ask.
LEMON: It's interesting that you say that, because you can understand why some don't see it as a religion. When you think about traditional religion, because there is not one central deity or figure at the top -- there is no Christ, there is no God, there is no Buddha or any figure like that.
It's -- they talk about UFOs and they use it as science. So many people -- you can see why people think it's not a religion and it's more of a science or even sort of a psychology or self-improvement place.
GILGOFF: Yes, it really talks about Scientology as being something that you do as opposed to something that you believe. And the whole thrust of the movement is really aimed at replacing psychiatry and rejecting psychiatric drugs.
The organizing principle is that we have human beings have this reactive mind that experiences all of this trauma, not only in our current life, but also what scientologists believe is our past lives.
And so, there's this whole process -- what they call auditing -- of sitting down and working through these traumas that leads to a state this scientologists called "clear." This is really the sort of central principle of what scientology is. It's what the members sort of espouse as the helpful aspects of the religion and what the scientific community and what the psychiatric community really takes issue with.
LEMON: Is it true? Is it tough to get out or can you get out once you become a scientologist? Some people have these stories about they followed me, they had my personal information, they would harass me. Is it that hard to not be a scientologist once you are one, to get out of that religion?
GILGOFF: There are former scientologists that say it's really difficult to get out. And I think that this leads to this image problem for the religion that they're partially trying to solve and always have by recruiting these high profile Hollywood celebrities like Tom Cruise. And so, the thinking is, this is a new religion. They obviously have had PR problems in the past and getting these high profile figures associated with it is one way of adding legitimacy to the tradition.
LEMON: You can see why one who is drawn to celebrity may be drawn to Scientology because it teaches you that there's nothing that you can't accomplish in essence if you put your mind to it.
GILGOFF: Right. I think that's true. And I also think that you can't understand the founding and growth of the church without getting its connection to Los Angeles. So that the very first church to open up in 1954 was in Los Angeles. Scientology is really the only religion out there that very actively recruits among celebrities. So there are all of these centers that are devoted to celebrity recruiting. So you can understand the appeal to celebrities of this kind of new approach to mental health and it's also a product of the church very conscientiously aiming its recruiting efforts toward that community.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN Belief Blog editor Dan Gilgoff -- thank you very much, Dan.
And to learn more about Scientology and read other fascinating stories about faith and religion, log on to CNN's Belief Blog. The address, CNN.com/Belief.
Ahead, a former Wall Street banker, a millionaire adventurer headed to prison for burning down his home, his own home. But then a deadly decision right inside a courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You don't have to be in front of a television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone. Or you can do it from your computer at work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Coming up on half past the hour.
I want to get you up to speed on the headlines now, beginning with a deadly disease outbreak with no name, and only children as victims. It's some kind of illness that doctors have never seen before and so far can't treat it and they can't stop it. At least 61 children are dead, all in Cambodia. The global medical community is stumped.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VAN MAAREN: It is very difficult to assess how dangerous and how rapidly spreading it will be if we don't know what we are dealing with.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This mystery illness causes a respiratory attack that kills children. Medical officials are really worried about spreading it -- spreading to other countries.
Libyan people voting freely and openly. It is the first real live Democratic exercise in Libya since the fall of Moammar Gadhafi. Nearly 3 million Libyans pick parliament members today, waiting in long lines, to vote in polling stations all across the country. We've heard of a few disruptions, but overall, election observers say people were able to vote in peace.
In southern Russia, flash flooding has killed more than 100 people. Rising water swept through houses as people slept. Some people had to be rescued from roof tops and trees. The rushing water submerged streets, ripped out traffic lights and stranded vehicles. One resort town got two months worth of rain in just 24 hours.
The small town of Newton Falls, Ohio, rocked by the fatal shooting of four people. Police say they believe the deaths are linked to a man who then drove to a cemetery and committed suicide. Earlier, they found a mother, a father and juvenile shot dead in a home. A woman believed to be the gunman's girlfriend was found dead in his home.
Serena Williams takes her fifth Wimbledon title. The 30-year-old American defeated Agnieszka Radwanska of Poland in three sets today. It was the 14th major championship for Williams. And she didn't stop there. She later teamed up with sister Venus to win their fifth women's doubles title at Wimbledon.
Minutes after he was found guilty of torching his own home, ex- Wall Street banker Michael Marin was dead. All signs point to a suicide by poisoning. It is a desperate final act to a life that lived large for a man who evidently couldn't handle a disgraceful fall.
Ed Lavandera has details on the shocking events in the courtroom.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We the jury --
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These were the final minutes of Michael Marin's story and life.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We find the defendant, Michael James Marin, guilty of arson of an occupied structure.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): How he got here is a tragic and bizarre tale. But before we tell the story, remember this moment. After being found guilty of arson and now facing up to 21 years in prison, Marin covers his face and appears to swallow something. We'll come back to this scene.
Michael Marin graduated from Yale Law School, had a lucrative career working around the world for Wall Street investment banks, making several million dollars. He collected Picasso artwork, drove a Rolls-Royce and flew his own plane.
PAUL RUBIN, JOURNALIST: He was an engaging character.
Paul Rubin profiled Michael Marin back in 2008 for the "Phoenix New Times" newspaper, spent hours talking to the eccentric millionaire.
RUBIN: He's the smartest guy in the room. He's the smoothest talker in the room. He gets all the girls. He's that guy. He just ran into the brick wall that happens to these characters eventually.
The brick wall was this 10,000 square foot home in the Biltmore Estates, an exclusive phoenix, Arizona, enclave. Marin bought the house in 2008 when the real estate market was collapsing. It came with an interest-only mortgage payment of $17,250 a month. But Michael Marin had long left Wall Street and had not worked in several years.
LAVANDERA: And he was quickly running out of money. And that's when prosecutors say he concocted a scheme to raffle off the house and, in the process, make $1 million for himself.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): The raffle was an oddly creative way to unload the Biltmore house. Raffle tickets would sell for $25. The proceeds would benefit the child crisis center. To generate publicity for the raffle, investigators say Marin scaled Mt. Everest, doing interviews from the mountain with a local television station. It all played into the Marin mystique.
We can finance it to acclimatization climb up to 25,000 feet.
But Joe Epps says it was all a sinister ploy. Epps is the forensic accountant that unraveled Marin's personal finances for prosecutors. JOE EPPS, FORENSIC ACCOUNTANT: What happened was he paid $2,550,000 for the house and set up with a couple of friends of his a bogus second mortgage designed to increase the value of the house by $950,000 on a -- for a second mortgage that really didn't exist.
LAVANDERA: You think this raffle was just a scam to make a million dollars, basically?
EPPS: Yes. And at the same time, to be able to look like a very generous person who didn't make anything off of it.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In April 2009, the Arizona attorney general ruled the raffle was illegal. The plan fizzled. At this point, Marin was six months away from having to make a balloon payment of roughly $2 million to lenders or risk a major jump in his monthly interest payments. Marin's financial world was collapsing around him.
RUBIN: I don't think that he really thought this thing through, he and his pals. And it ended up where he had to do something that was pretty wacky, which was burn down his house.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): In the early morning hours of July 5th, 2009, fire engulfed Marin's Biltmore home. He called for help from his upstairs bedroom.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, what's your emergency?
MICHAEL MARIN, ARSONIST: My house is on fire.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are you going to be able to get out?
MARIN: I've got one of those ladders.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have a ladder where?
MARIN: I would rather work on that than talk to you, so let me get the hell out of here.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Marin emerged from the burning home wearing scuba gear that just happened to be ready to go in his bedroom. Jeff Peabody is the Phoenix Fire Department investigator who handled Marin's case.
JEFF PEABODY, INVESTIGATOR, PHOENIX FIRE DEPARTMENT: Every fireman says you're not going to believe this guy. He came out of a ladder out of his master bedroom, wearing a scuba tank and a scuba mask and a snorkel.
And, yes, you're right, I find that odd.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Marin even relived the escape from his hospital bed.
MARIN: I realized that I actually had some air left in that tank. And that's what enabled me to get back to the window and deploy that ladder. If I hadn't had those two things, we wouldn't be talking.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Peabody says he found four spots in the house where fires were intentionally set and a long line of phone books that was supposed to help the fire spread, which brings us back to that Phoenix courtroom.
A jury convicted Marin of arson. He's facing between 7 and 21 years in prison. After he appears to swallow something after the verdict is read, notice as he reaches down and appears to get something from his bag. He then wipes his face, swallows something and appears to swallow again.
But eight minutes later, Marin starts convulsing and collapses. Each though it's not been officially determined what killed Michael Marin, it's believed Marin swallowed some type of poison. Marin's attorney says the convicted arsonist showed no signs of preparing to commit suicide.
ANDREW CLEMENCY, ANDREW MARIN'S ATTORNEY: It was a gigantic shock. I think it's fair to say that we certainly had no inkling that this was going to happen. I'm not aware that anybody did.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Ironically, it's Jeff Peabody, the fire investigator who built the arson case against Michael Marin, who tries to help him. But Peabody says there was no way to save him, and that his final moments played out in a dramatic fashion just as Michael Marin had lived his life.
PEABODY: If he's going to do something, then this would be the time that he would do it. Sort of like escaping from his house in scuba gear, this was going to be his closure. But --
LAVANDERA: A grand finale exit.
PEABODY: A grand finale exit, yes.
LAVANDERA (voice-over): Ed Lavandera, CNN, Phoenix, Arizona.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This might make you feel a little old. Ringo Starr turned 72 today, and he's still out touring. We'll ask him where he gets his energy.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: From his first days with The Beatles in 1962, Ringo Starr has never slowed down. The hysteria of the 1960s gave way to a solo musical career that started in 1970. And he's just released his 17th solo studio album, called "Ringo 2012."
He's also been a working actor for decades and is still touring, now with his All-Starr Band. And today is his 72nd birthday. This morning, our very own Randi Kaye talked to Ringo Starr, who was on a tour stop in Nashville.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR: Ringo, good morning to you and happy birthday.
RINGO STARR, ACTOR AND MUSICIAN: Thank you, Randi, good morning to you too, 72.
KAYE: Seventy-two, we wish you many, many more. But this has become more than just --
STARR: Yes, me, too.
KAYE: This is really more, though, than just a simple happy birthday. I know that this is a big day for you, because you want your fans to send out peace and love wishes to the world every year on your birthday.
STARR: Yes, well, we started this several years ago. Now at noon, on my birthday today, of course, the 7th of 7th, wherever you are, on a bus, in the office, in the studio, hanging out, getting Randi tea, whatever you're doing, at noon, just go, "Peace and love." That's all I ask for my birthday, peace and love.
KAYE: We will do that, 33 minutes from now.
STARR: We're here right now at the -- sorry, Randi, what did you say?
KAYE: I said we'll do that 33 minutes from now, at noon.
STARR: OK, great. Well, we're here at the Hard Rock. They've been very supportive. There's a very nice lady here called Annie (ph), who helps us out a lot. And so the last five years we've done this.
KAYE: Well, I think it's great. You're in Nashville also because you're on tour with the All-Starr Band. Let me give our viewers a little taste of you performing.
STARR: OK.
(MUSIC PLAYING)
KAYE (voice-over): So tell me about the All-Starr Band. I mean, this is what, the 13th version?
STARR (voice-over): Thirteenth version. I've been doing it now for 23 years --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: -- Ringo and the All-Starrs. But this band is incredibly excellent. We have Gregg Rolie, he's on organ and keyboard and he's from Santana. So we have "Black Magic Woman."
We have got Steve Lukather from Toto, "Africa," you know, everybody has to have a hit to be in the band. We have got Richard Page back, Mr. Mister, "Broken Wings." And then we have Todd Rundgren back for the third time.
KAYE: Wow.
STARR: Doing you know, "Bang the Drum." So we have got a really cool lineup, a very diverse lineup. But when you put it all together, it works. So --
KAYE: And on top of --
STARR: I don't know that when I start.
KAYE: On top of it all, you have your new album out as well, "Ringo 2012."
STARR: I hope the camera is on me now.
(LAUGHTER)
KAYE: Oh, we got it.
STARR: That's how it looks. Anyway, yes, "Ringo 2012," I thought, let's keep it simple. And, you know, there's the first track on it is a track I wrote with Glen Ballard, and it's called "Anthem," and it's an anthem for peace and love. So I'm trying my best, peace and love, peace and love, you know, everywhere I can.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Peace and love. Peace and love. Well, The Beatles, by the way, have sold more than 1.5 billion records and counting. Happy birthday, by the way, Ringo.
Here's a question for you. What race has the fastest growing population in the country? Their votes could determine the outcome of this year's presidential election. We're taking a closer look in two minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Mary Richardson Kennedy, the estranged wife of Robert Kennedy Jr., was taking three different antidepressants when she took her own life in May. A toxicology report also found that she had no alcohol in her system at the time of her suicide.
The 52-year-old, who had been battling depression, was found dead on May 16th. The medical examiner's office determined Kennedy died as a result of asphyxiation due to hanging.
A volunteer group is on a mission ahead of November's presidential election to recruit and mobilize the Asian-American community. The voting block could be key. The latest census shows that the Asian community is the fastest growing population in the U.S. Here's CNN's Sandra Endo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BEN LEE (PH): Hi, my name is Ben Lee.
TOA DO, POLITICAL VOLUNTEER: I want our community voice to be heard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to make sure that everyone is registered to vote.
ANN PHAN: My name is Ann Phan. I'm 37 years old and I live in Alexandria, Virginia.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Ann Phan is part of a group of volunteers this election year, making sure Asian-Americans turn out to vote.
PHAN: I think the Asian-American community has been politically overlooked because maybe Asian-Americans haven't been as politically involved for as long.
ENDO (voice-over): A recent Pew Research Center study shows Asian-Americans have been the fastest growing racial group in the past decade, even outpacing Latinos in the past three years. And for Asian-Americans, their political power is slowly progressing.
TOBY CHAUDHURI, CHAIR, AAPI VOTE: They've actually moved from being a marginalized community to being able to be the margin of victory in very close elections.
ENDO (voice-over): Asian-Americans comprise 6 percent of the American population and according to the Pew study, the racial group have the highest median household income for any group and is the best educated. But political volunteer Toa Do, who immigrated from Vietnam, says stereotypes have worked against Asian-Americans.
TOA: There's a lot of myth about us as a model immigrant community, like we do well in school. We work hard. We pay taxes. So the myth is that we don't have any problem, and because we don't have any problem, we don't have any voice.
ENDO: The latest census numbers show in 2008, 3.4 million Asian- Americans went to the polls. But the group is largely ignored by both political parties. And another challenge, unlike the Latino population, which mainly has a common bilingual identity, Asian- American communities have so many different languages, making it hard for them to coalesce into one voting block.
CHAUDHURI: They haven't been reached out to or engaged. So there's a level of engagement that can happen there. And because the community is so young and spread out across the country, some engagement in the short term could really reap a lot of benefits in the long term.
ENDO (voice-over): And with bilingual balance for Asian- Americans, expanding across 11 states, the community's time in the political wilderness may be coming to an end -- Sandra Endo, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. The CNN iReport interview is next. Your questions that you submitted, anything you wanted to know about television twins Tia and Tamera, like who would win in a cage match against the Olson twins?
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Really? Olson twins? That's a real question. Hear that answer coming up next.
And don't forget that you can watch CNN live on your computer while you're at work. Head to CNN.com/TV. Do it now, go, go, go.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Do not adjust your television. You're about to see double. CNN's iReport team put your questions to reality TV twins, Tia and Tamera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will never forget a kid screaming down the hall. And he said, "Your show sucks," just like that, out loud, in front of all the kids. And I turned around and I said, "Well, the check don't."
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He shut up.
TIA: Hello. I'm Tia.
TAMERA: And I'm Tamera.
BOTH: And we're answering your iReporter questions.
MORGAN AND SAMANTHA MONAGHAN, IREPORTERS: We would like to know what the craziest twin question you've ever been asked.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It will just be me. Right?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, this is a big one.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it will just be me and I'll just be walking down the hall or whatever. And then some of our friends, they'll just shout and say, "Hey, guys." Or, "Hi, Tia and Tamera.
TAMERA: And I'm like, Tia's here? I didn't know that.
TIA: Like (inaudible) me.
ANDY CLINTON, IREPORTER: There's something I've been wondering since the mid-1990s. Actually, we both have. In the ultimate cage match between you and the Olson twins, how would it all go down?
TAMERA: Oh, well, Tia, that's a big duh.
TIA: Andy, I think my sister and I would definitely win that.
TAMERA: I think so, too. I mean, look at us.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was trying to lose my weight, we said, oh, you lost an Olson twin.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You guys know we love you.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know. We love them. They're amazing.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But I think we would definitely kick their butts.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. Yes.
CHRIS SORIANO, IREPORTER: Can you describe an irritating, I- just-can't-stand-you-right-now moment? (Inaudible) each other on set?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My sister loves to rehearse over and over and over again. So it gets kind of annoying.
And I'm a spontaneous actress.
TIA: She would always ask the question, "Did I do OK?"
TAMERA: I knew you were going to say that.
TIA: "Was that fine? Do I look pretty?"
(LAUGHTER)
TIA: It's usually, "Do I look pretty?"
I'm like really, Tamera? And she would ask that question over and over and over and over again.
LATISHA MCCLARIN, IREPORTER: But you guys have had a pretty amazing career in the industry. And I was just wondering if you ever had any inclination to ever rekindle your musical career (inaudible)?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would love to do a Broadway musical, maybe a Christmas album.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But to pursue a singing career, I'll leave that to Justin Timberlake.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But we did this play, and there's this song. You want to do it?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What do you want to say?
(CROSSTALK)
(SINGING)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Good job, sis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Which one was Moesha?
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Inside joke. Just kidding. All right? Going to cnn.com to see all of our iReport interviews. "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT'S" pro athletes, even the first lady. And next Saturday, right here on the iReport interview, Christie Brinkley will answer your questions.
A customer on a rampage trashes a mobile phone store. It is the latest video to go viral.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You have heard of a bull in a china shop, but that's nothing compared to one angry customer inside a mobile phone store. Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How badly did this guy want his money back? Badly enough to tear everything he could off the walls of this T-Mobile store in Manchester, England.
Badly enough to attack the store with not one, but two fire extinguishers. Badly enough to do all of this with people watching through the windows.
His name is Jason Codner, though on the Facebook fan page admirers made, he's just called Angry T-Mobile Guy, everyone's favorite vigilante.
When police finally arrived and arrested him for criminal damage, his look said, no need to get rough. After they put on the cuffs, he was nodding and smiling pleasantly, as police broke up the crowd his amazing rampage had attracted, and is still attracting online.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And all I could do was cheer him on. Yes!
MOOS (voice-over): Considering how much we all love our phones, there sure is a lot of pent-up anger at phone companies.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't feel sorry for T-Mobile. Them jokers, they ripping somebody off.
MOOS (voice-over): But for every "I feel your pain, man," someone else posted, "This behavior is inexcusable." MOOS: T-Mobile says the customer wanted a refund, "a refund that we were not able to give, as it was clearly outside of the stated terms and conditions."
But some of the Angry Guy's fans said they sometimes felt like doing what he did.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, what is that going to prove? Nothing. I would just feel better.
MOOS (voice-over): One clever YouTuber played the Angry Guy video backwards, and titled it, " "Happy man attempts to repair damaged mobile phone shop." This tantrum now joins other memorable rampages.
For instance, the Russian doctor, who rammed his car into showroom vehicle after vehicle after he got fed up with waiting for his car to be fixed.
And a woman who stiff-armed bottles at a liquor store after she says the clerk used the phrase, "you people," while refusing to let her use the restroom.
MOOS: In this case, the T in T-Mobile stood for trashed. And their slogan, "Life's for sharing," well, his cell phone video is sure getting shared, along with comments like, "Can you hear me now?"
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But I don't recommend it. But what that guy did, mmm.
MOOS (voice-over): Jeanne Moos, CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kudos for him, man.
MOOS (voice-over): New York.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: People are just cra cra.
OK. Tonight, an American Olympian with four gold medals says athletes like him have a superior athletic gene because of slavery.
And a California man says the priest he beat up molested him as a child. But a jury says William Lynch is not guilty of assault. Was justice served?
Tonight, 10:00 pm Eastern, you don't want to miss any of that.
This story, I want you to take a look at it again. It's hard to believe that no one was hurt in this. Look at -- keep your eye at the top of the screen, at that street right there. See the tractor trailer going? Boom, it goes right into the gas station, into the pumps. It happened on Thursday.
That is Akron, Ohio. The driver of that truck says his brakes failed. Obviously, look at that. And, again, I can't believe no one was seriously hurt in this. Akron, Ohio. That is -- we say amazing video a lot. That is truly amazing video right there.
I am Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. I'm going to see you back here at 10:00 pm Eastern. Make sure you join us then. A Fareed Zakaria special, "Global Lessons: A GPS Road Map for Saving Health Care," begins right now on CNN.
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