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Cashing in on "Lin-Sanity"; Diplomats Press Syrian Regime; Taliban Executes Woman in Public; Flash Flooding Washes Out Roads; Taboo Topic: Black vs. White; Diplomat's Press Syrian Regime; Ernest Borgnine Dies; Eating Healthy; Mascots in Danger
Aired July 08, 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: I'm Don Lemon. Top of the hour, you're in the CNN NEWSROOM. Let's get you up to speed.
In Afghanistan today, six NATO troops were killed in a roadside bombing and we just learned in the past hour that all of those troops were Americans. It happened in the eastern part of Afghanistan. A total of eight NATO troops died yesterday and today in three separate incidents. The attacks come as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with diplomats in Tokyo and they're discussing Afghanistan's future and the shape of the international force going forward.
Also in Afghanistan, a woman was shot to death, executed in public. Someone recorded this public killing of a woman. She's wearing a burka and we won't show you the moment of her death, but a man with an automatic rifle shoots her at least nine times while men gather around and cheer.
Afghan officials believe the woman was part of a love triangle involving two Taliban commanders who accused her of adultery. U.S. officials have responded calling it a cold-blooded murder.
Kofi Annan is back in Syria pleading with the ruling regime to sign on to a new peace plan; even as the special envoy touched down in Damascus, the death toll was creeping up. Activists say at least 43 people were killed today. Secretary of State Clinton had her own message for Syria's president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The future to me should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime. The days are numbered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Egypt's newly elected President is defying the military in a power struggle that could decide the country's fate. President Mohamed Morsi is calling Parliament back into session, overriding the military's decision to dissolve it. Military officials are planning an emergency meeting to discuss the move.
The death toll from the flash floods in southern Russia is still rising as the waters recede in areas. Officials now say at least 150 people are confirmed dead. Some survivors are venting their anger at authorities saying they never had any warning of the floods.
We have a tiny bit of optimism from a part of the world where a mystery disease has killed dozens of children. Health officials working around the clock in Cambodia may have an explanation for the deadly outbreak. They're seeing evidence of a virus known to cause neurological attacks. It's not definite, but it's something to go on.
A Hollywood legend, Ernest Borgnine died today. He was an Oscar winner, a movie actor and veteran of a million TV shows like "Air Wolf" and "McHale's Navy". Ernest Borgnine did in -- died in a hospital in Los Angeles. He was 95 years old.
At Wimbledon, Roger Federer's victory today stole the spotlight from Andy Murray's run at tennis history. Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title at Murray's expense. Murray was the first British player to reach a Wimbledon final in 74 years. Federer now has 17 grand slam trophies.
The weather went from wicked to deadly in Cuba, Missouri overnight. A new mother riding out the storm in her car in a food store parking lot was killed when debris crashed through her windshield and hit her in the chest. The powerful storm also collapsed buildings and upended cars around the small town.
You're about to see a very brutal and frightening piece of video. It's shaky and blurry, but it shows a woman being shot to death while a crowd of men stand by and watched and they cheer. And we're told it's a public execution carried out by the Taliban. U.S. military commanders have now seen the video.
Here's CNN Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Starr.
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Don, an Afghan woman killed -- executed by the Taliban it's believed because two Taliban men had a dispute over her according to the governor of the Afghan province where the killing took place. Amateur video is very difficult to watch. We of course will not show the moment of death, but look, this is the ongoing brutality of the Taliban.
The local governor says the men involved accused her of adultery and then have her killed. That official says the men quote "Faked a court to decide about the fate of the woman and in one hour, they executed the woman." The two men involved were then killed by a third Taliban commander. Afghan officials say they are still looking for the others involved.
There was a very strong and swift statement from the top U.S. military commander, General John Allen, who said quote "Let's be clear. This wasn't justice. This was murder and an atrocity of unspeakable cruelty. The Taliban's continued brutality towards innocent civilians, particularly women, must be condemned in the strongest terms. There has been too much progress made by too many brave Afghans, especially on the part of women for this kind of criminal behavior to be tolerated."
Look Don, the deeper issue, of course, is the growing concern that women's rights in Afghanistan will be set back. The Human Rights Watch says nine out of ten women in that country suffer physical, sexual or psychological violence or forced marriage -- Don.
LEMON: Barbara, thank you very much.
The connection between slavery and some of the world's best athletes: controversial comments from one Olympic gold medalist.
But first, weather to the extreme record temperatures across the country. Deadly storms as well and in one area, wildfires followed by dangerous floods.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: This has been our breaking news now for a week we're talking about the nightmare weather, the heat wave consuming most of the country has broken all kinds of records 4,500 daily heat records have been broken in the last 30 days, 240 all time heat records are broken between June 23rd and July 5th and guess what? There is relief on the way. Well, sort of. A cold front is moving in, which is great because it's going to break that heat spell hopefully. But with that cold front comes more storms, more wind, hail and lightning.
Not welcome news to all those who still have no power. As of today that's nearly 155,000 customers in ten states and D.C. The weather in Missouri causing a tragic death; a nasty storm blew through the town of Cuba last night. A new mother was riding out the storm in her car, she was talking to her brother on the phone. He was riding out the storm in car right next to her. Just then, flying debris crashed through her windshield and struck her in the chest. Can you imagine?
While in Colorado now, they just can't catch a break there from fires to flash flooding, mud, branches, rocks washing out the streets in Ft. Collins.
Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider here; Bonnie some parts of Colorado need the rain, but it seems that they are getting way too much at once. As they say, Bonnie, when it rains, it pours.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It does and that's really the last thing that folks in Colorado want to have to deal with right now because when you're talking about an area that was just severely burned, there's no trees, there's no shrubs to slow down the rush of the water.
So when you look at the rainfall totals across the fire zones, imagine an inch and a half of rain falling north of Ft. Collins in just 90 minutes. That's what happened last night, so three days we saw almost two inches of rain. This rain would have been nice -- over the past couple of weeks gradually, but all at once as you mentioned definitely a problem. And actually when we look at the radar picture you'll see there are still scattered showers in the region and that always runs the -- runs the risk of lightning anytime you have a fire danger area. But I think flash flooding will still continue to be a problem across that region today and tomorrow. Looking across much of areas further east, we have a new threat. Thunderstorms, severe thunderstorms with deadly lightning, large hail and very damaging wind; and these watch boxes extend all the way from Kentucky to the coast of Maryland and Delaware. So it's a pretty expansive area that we're looking at these thunderstorms.
And I mentioned the lightning, unfortunately this weekend we had some deaths related to lightning strikes. So it's important to remember lightning is deadly and these storms contain a lot of it. You are looking at real time lightning strikes. So this is happening as we speak.
I want to talk about the heat and some better news; I can't say it's great news because we still have a lot of advisories. But the picture is looking better at this hour than it did yesterday or for the past few days. The record heat just shattered many records as we've been talking about, literally, thousands of them for the past 30 days.
But as you can see Don, we put this into motion, cooler air slowly but surely coming down. By the time we get to Monday and to Tuesday and Wednesday, we are going to see some improvements in the forecast getting a little more back to normal.
LEMON: All right, that's good news. Thank you Bonnie we appreciate it.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
LEMON: Next --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: One of the fastest men on earth --
MICHAEL JOHNSON, ATHLETE: You want to get up to speed as quickly as possible.
LEMON: -- reveals the secret to his success -- slavery.
JOHNSON: I was able to break the world record.
LEMON: Is he right? Does the color of your skin make you better, faster, stronger?
(END 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.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Ok this is a taboo topic and it got you on social media going as well. I appreciate your comments keep them coming.
Here's the question. Are black people better at sports than white people? More specifically, are black people bred to be better?
Four time Olympic gold medalist Michael Johnson is not only fast on the track, he's also a little fast with his opinion, telling London's "Daily Mail", quote, "All my life, I believe I became an athlete through my own determination, but it's impossible to think that being descendant from slaves hasn't left an imprint through the generations. Difficult as it was to hear, slavery has benefitted descendants like me and I believe there is a superior athletic gene in us."
Last night, we brought out the experts to see what they had to say about this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Yes, he did say that.
So let's talk about it. And joining me talk about it is Bomani Jones, of ESPN and SBNation.com contributor and Kenneth Shropshire. Kenneth is the author of "In Black and White: Race and Sports in America". Gentlemen thank you for being here.
So listen. What do you think? What is the bottom line here when you hear those comments from Mr. Johnson? I'll start with you, Kenneth.
KENNETH SHROPSHIRE, AUTHOR, "IN BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND SPORTS IN AMERICA": It's problematic. It's nothing new. This is something that has occurred over the past 100 years. Initially with African- American athletic success, post the Berlin Olympic games with Jesse Owen and then again in the '70s we saw it a lot. But this is -- this is a story that emerges and there's rarely been any sort of foundation for anyone to make such statements.
LEMON: There have been a number of studies done, Bomani Jones and this is drawing controversy because there are many people who believe that what Michael Johnson says is true -- both black and white.
BOMANI JONES, CONTRIBUTOR, SBNATION.COM: Yes but I think that has -- it's number one, an issue of correlation and causation because there are so many different issues with the same structures and everything else. Because one thing you could say, are black people better at sports? And then it begs the question, what sport are you talking about? Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and Europeans seem to do just fine with it.
The next thing I always want to bring up is that Michael Johnson is not a scientist. So I think it's easy for a lot of people to bag on him about this that he knows so much on the topic. It is a correlation-causation issue and when he says that there is a super athletic gene in all of us, I'm trying to figure out why I'm sitting here and talking to you and not going to London next month.
LEMON: Let's talk -- let's talk a little bit more about this breeding argument. I want to read something that Lee Evans said. Lee Evans is an Olympic gold medalist. He says we were bred for it, certainly the black people who survived in the slave ships must have contained a high proportion of the strongest. Then on the plantations, a strong black man was mated with a strong black woman. We're simply bred for physical qualities."
So again, he is saying this as well, Bomani. But still, you're not buying into that.
JONES: Well, he's not a scientist either. This is all -- it's also worth noting that we're a little bit far beyond slavery. I don't know exactly how much the 150 years since then would have bred some of these characteristics. But once again, I understand why people could say they see a certain thing, and then say, well of course, it has to be da-da-da. But who is Lee Evans?
LEMON: And my question was going to be why isn't science taking more time to study this and you think even by doing it, it would be a waste of time.
SHROPSHIRE: What's the ultimate outcome, you know? So in the 100 meters in London, we'll see blacks with ten pound weights on like we have race horses. Or we'll see whites in baseball, all of a sudden, they only get two strikes. I mean what kinds of changes do we begin to make other than saying there's something to the hard work of individuals no matter what their race, the desire and the interest in different sports and the opportunity?
LEMON: Maybe it has to do, too, with the opportunity, as you say, growing up in certain neighborhoods, which types of sports you have the opportunity to play. And listen, I want to go beyond this because you guys, as you guys said at the top of this broadcast, this has happened before.
We heard about it in the '70s, and the '80s, and the '90s. And one of the most iconic moments on this issue came in 1988. You guys remember when sportscaster Jimmy the Greek made these comments? And they're played back by CNN's Larry King? Take a listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JIMMY "THE GREEK" SNYDER, SPORTSCASTER: The black is a better athlete to begin with because he's been bred to be that way because of his high thighs and big thighs that goes up into his back and they can jump higher and run faster because of their bigger thighs, you see. The white man has to overcome that. But they don't try hard enough to overcome it.
This goes back all the way to the Civil War when during the slave trading, the big, the owner -- the slave owner would, would, would breed his big black through his big woman so that he could have big, black kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You know --
SHROPSHIRE: There's another Nobel Prize winner there.
LEMON: Just hearing that, you go, you're just going, "Just stop. Stop right there. Don't say it." But Jimmy was promptly fired from CBS for his comments. Michael Johnson is also a sportscaster, guys. Should he be fired? Our guests are going to weigh in next. Stand by.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So black athletes, are they made better than white athletes? Just before the break, you know, we played you that infamous sound bite from Jimmy the Greek and it was so profound to see on the air. It's just interesting. We're going to play part of it again. Take a listen
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SNYDER: This goes back all the way to the Civil War. When during the slave trading, the big, the owner, the slave owner would -- would breed his big, black to his big woman so that he could have big -- black kids.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Ok, so CBS promptly fired Jimmy the Greek, who was a long-time sportscaster there. Michael Johnson is also a sportscaster but he works for the BBC and Johnson told "London's Daily Mail" in part that he believes slavery benefited descendants like him and left black athletes with a superior gene. So should he be fired, too?
Author and professor, Kenneth Shropshire joins me again and then Bomani Jones, ESPN and SBNation.com contributor. They're back.
Bomani, what do you think? Should Jones be fired or is this a double standard because he is a black athlete or have times changed now?
JONES: Well, if somebody were to fire him, I would understand, but I think an important variable to point out on that is Jimmy the Greek worked on CBS at the "NFL Today". The NFL is a very conservative, "don't rock the boat" sort of operation. That's the sort of thing that being associated with the NFL you will wind up getting fired for.
I think it's patently ridiculous that Jimmy the Greek had not been fired, I don't think it would have been an issue, but I think the real fireable offense for him was that somebody put a microphone in his face when he had absolutely no business talking on television.
LEMON: Kenneth, should he be fired?
SHROPSHIRE: I don't think so. I think Michael's on more of a personal journey. This was a context of a documentary. He made some comments at a point believing what he believes, but without going through a full scientific method to understand what the reality is.
LEMON: Does it sound worse coming from the mouth of a white man? Do you think that's why? Because essentially, you know, the language that Jimmy the Greek used, a big, black man with his big, black woman for a big, black baby. Ok. But essentially come on, guys, they're saying the same thing.
JONES: I think one of the difficulties is when you start talking about people talking about race in this context, when we start making preferences to black people that are uninformed there are few, if any stereotypes of black people that are remotely positive. This is about as close as you can get to sounding positive about black people.
So when you start talking hear somebody talking about black people and sounds like they're discussing animals, it does make people cringe. Of course, you can make the argument that in slavery, black people were treated like animals. So you can see how, -- you know, you can see how that goes. What he said wasn't that utterly preposterous, but I don't think double standard is quite the right word. I'm a little uncomfortable saying exactly what it is, but I will say it does sound worse coming from a white person because there's an historical lineage that says that normally these things end badly when white people start talking about black people and have no idea what they're talking about.
LEMON: You guys remember James Baldwin, you remember the fire next time and the foreword to that letter -- to that book he wrote. "A letter to my nephew" -- do you remember that -- to his nephew. And it's kind of the same argument. But he says here. It says, "It will be hard, James, but you come from sturdy peasant stock, men who picked cotton and dammed rivers and built railroads and in the teeth of the most terrifying odds, achieved an unassailable and monumental dignity. You come from a long line of poets," then goes on to talk about since Homer. And he says you know -- he goes and says, "My dungeon shook and then my chains fell off."
Is he essentially saying the same thing? Are people using this argument when they think it benefits them and then at other points are offended by it?
SHROPSHIRE: Well, you know, the positive is that we all have a history. We all come from somewhere. There's an influence from everyone based on their background, but to say that because I came across in a slave ship, I should be able to run the 100 faster than anyone else, there's a few things.
There are a few more links that need to be there before you can come to that kind of conclusion.
Bomani -- I cut you off. What were you saying?
JONES: Yes, Baldwin didn't say we dammed rivers and built railroads because we were naturally built to do so. He said that we did that and we survived on the backend, speaking to a strength that's more figurative literal, of course, strength (ph) about its real existence, not about the physical presence. So I don't think they're even close to being the same thing.
That's the point that (inaudible). And I promise you if (inaudible) interpret that as seeing James Baldwin say we are naturally built to build rivers I would probably would have (inaudible). LEMON: And you know what, I had used that quote in graduation speeches and a lot of speeches that I do. I know what he means by that but you can take it depending on your interpretation of it to mean the same thing.
Kenneth Shropshire, Bomani Jones -- thank you very much. Appreciate it, guys.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. So moving on now, how's this for support. The House Speaker, a Republican, says he doesn't think the American people will fall in love with the presumptive Republican nominee for president, but that's ok. What? We're talking about it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Coming up on half past the hour, so we want to get you up to speed on the headlines now.
First to Afghanistan today where six NATO troops were killed in a roadside bombing; and we just learned in the past hour that all the troops were Americans. It happened in the eastern part of Afghanistan. A total of eight NATO troops died yesterday and today in three separate incidents.
The attacks come as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton meets with diplomats in Tokyo. They're discussing Afghanistan's future and the shape of the international force going forward.
Also in Afghanistan, a woman was shot to death, executed in public -- there's the video right there. Someone recorded this public killing of the woman. She was wearing a burka and we won't show you the moment of her death, but a man with an automatic rifle shoots her at least nine times while men gather around and cheer. Afghan officials believe the woman was part of a love triangle involving two Taliban commanders who accused her of adultery. These officials have responded calling it a cold-blooded murder.
Kofi Annan is back in Syria pleading with the ruling regime to sign on to a new peace plan. Even as the special U.N. envoy touched down in Damascus the death toll was creeping up. Activists say at least 43 people were killed today. Secretary of State Clinton had her own message for Syria's president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
HILLARY CLINTON, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: The future to me should be abundantly clear to those who support the Assad regime. The days are numbered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Egypt's newly elected president is defying the military in a power struggle that could decide the country's fate. President Mohamed Morsi is calling parliament back into session overwriting the military's decision to dissolve it.
Military officials are planning an emergency meeting to discuss the move.
We have a tiny bit of optimism from a part of the world where a mystery disease has killed dozens of children. Health officials working around the clock in Cambodia may have an explanation for the deadly outbreak there -- seeing evidence of a virus known to cause neurological attacks. It is not definite, but it is something to go on.
A Hollywood legend, Ernest Borgnine died today. He was an Oscar winner -- winning movie actor and veteran of a bunch of TV shows like "Airwolf" and "McHale's Navy." Ernest Borgnine died in a Los Angeles hospital. He was 95 years old.
At Wimbledon, Roger Federer's victory today stole the spotlight from Andy Murray's run at tennis history. Federer won his seventh Wimbledon title at Murray's expense. Murray was the first British player to reach a Wimbledon final in 74 years. Federer now has 17 grand slam trophies.
That music and all of that means it's time to talk some politics. House Speaker John Boehner says you don't have to vote for Mitt Romney. He just wants you to vote against President Obama. How's that for candor, huh? Let's talk about it with two sitting contributors everyone loves, we love them here, Democratic strategist Maria Cardona and Republican strategist Ana Navarro. Ana, do you ever sleep? You -- either of you, you guys are always on the air. Always.
(CROSSTALK)
ANA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: What can we do? We're doing our job, Don.
LEMON: She is working hard for the money. Both of them. OK, so here's what Boehner said. As quoted in Roll Call. "The American people probably aren't going to fall in love with Mitt Romney." He told GOP audience. "I'll tell you this, 95 percent of the people that show up to vote in November are going to show up in that voting booth and they are going to vote for or against Barack Obama." Ana. Ever heard the speaker of the House say that about his party's nominee? Does that worry you at all?
NAVARRO: It doesn't worry me at all. I think the man is absolutely right. And you know, look, the first time you marry for love, the second time you marry for money. You know, we fell in love with Barack Obama four years ago. This country fell in love with Barack Obama. The young, charismatic leader. It was all about hope and change. Well, four years later, we're in cope and wait. Unemployment's been at eight -- over eight percent for 41 months. And I think people have fallen out of love with Barack Obama. I don't need to fall in love with Mitt Romney. I just need for unemployment numbers to fall.
LEMON: Yes. NAVARRO: If we're looking for love, we can go on match.com. If we're looking for a president, it's an entirely different thing.
LEMON: I think what the -- I think the concern is passion with actually going to the voting booth. Going to the polls. You have to be, and we use that term, love. Something has to move you in order to get you out of the house to do that. Maria, is Boehner right? By the way, I like, first for love, first for money -- that was very good, Ana. But is Boehner right? Is this election just an up or a down referendum on Barack Obama and if so, is that good or bad for him?
MARIA CARDONA, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's not, Don, and here's what I think Boehner, who I think it was an astounding moment of candor because I think he realizes that Mitt Romney is not lovable and is not somebody that the voters are going to ever feel passionate about. Now, it would be or could be enough if the guy that he was running against, Barack Obama wasn't so likable himself and you know, I agree with Ana on one thing. There are certainly disappointment by -- from a lot of voters in the fact that this president hasn't been able to do everything that he set out to do four years ago, but they are also giving him and I've seen this in many polls and in many of focus groups that I've been in, they are giving him the benefit of the doubt. And these are independent voters. So, they understand what he was going up against and they also understand that it's going to take more time. So, Mitt Romney is going to have to offer something a little bit more than I am not Barack Obama. Especially when Barack Obama still has some very high personal likability numbers.
LEMON: All right. So let's talk about ...
NAVARRO: I agree -- I agree with Maria -- I agree with Maria on that, Don. I think Barack -- I think Mitt Romney does need to offer more. You know ,we are in the Oprah and Dr. Phil generation. We want to know this guy and we don't know him yet. He needs to tell us more, we need to understand what he stands for, what his convictions are, what moves him. How he feels about things, what he likes to eat, how he likes to dance.
LEMON: Well, that's part of falling in love. That is the whole thing about being drawn to someone because you know them personally. You know, listen. I agree, the economy could be better, President Obama did -- had -- was -- the economy was going off a fiscal cliff when he got into office ...
NAVARRO: Yes.
LEMON: So I -- Listen, I see both sides to it. And there is sometimes, there is not both sides. But I see it here. People are frustrated. They've been out of work for a long time. There were issues going into the campaign. So, we all get it. But at least there has been at least positive job growth, maybe not what people wanted, over many months.
NAVARRO: That's right.
LEMON: So, the question is, are people going to say hey, why change horses in midstream or is what the 59 point plan, whatever he has on paper, is that going to actually work once Mitt Romney gets into office if he ever gets into office? That's a huge if as well, Ana.
NAVARRO: I -- you know, I agree with you, Don. I think he should listen to John Sununu who is one of his staunchest supporters, and says, let's keep it simple. Let's talk in small sentences. A 59 point plan. Don, I can't even follow a 59 point recipe. I just think, you know, that gets too complicated. We need to feel confidence. We need to understand what he's offering ...
LEMON: Yes.
NAVARRO: And yes, look, the question's going to be, do you stay with a devil you know or do you go with a devil you don't know.
LEMON: Right.
NAVARRO: And I'm not calling Obama a devil, I'm not calling Romney a devil.
LEMON: No, we get it. It's a figure of speech. I get it.
NAVARRO: Don't anybody get excited here.
LEMON: Yeah.
NAVARRO: But, you know, the question -- so, you know, not only do we have to -- not only is there passion to leave Obama and to turn away from Obama, but also, Romney has got to give us something to run towards.
LEMON: Yes.
NAVARRO: And that's something that I think he needs to start working on, and very effectively in a very short period of time. He needs to start going big. He needs to start talking big.
LEMON: Ana -- Ana, I get it. Let's move on. Can we put the quote up here from Jeanne Sahadi up on the screen -- here is what Jeanne Sahadi says, Maria, she says "Lawmakers can't control for all the potential headwinds that can hurt hiring such as the turmoil in Europe or the pace of the economic growth globally. But they can choose to clear up the uncertainty about U.S. fiscal policy. Problem is, almost no one expects him to do so before November elections." Is the president going to get involved or is he just going to focus on his re-election? Because listen, something has to -- we know two people are running. But something has to be done in Washington while all this is going on and they're going back and forth, (inaudible) whatever. Nothing is happening and people are out of work and the economy isn't getting better. Substantially better.
CARDONA: Well, look, the president, sure. Right. Exactly. So the president has already said that he would sign a bill tomorrow that deals with this fiscal cliff if the way that you deal with it is balanced. Meaning that there is, that there is substantive and robust deficit reduction, but that there are also new revenues. And this goes back to the first topic that we were talking about. The majority of the American people want for this deficit and all of our problems in terms of the fiscal cliff to be solved in a balanced and fair manner. They know, and a lot of independent economists have said this, so, you can't just cut, cut, cut your way to increased jobs and that's what this president is talking about. He's talking about fairness, he is talking about fighting for the middle class. And so, going that to the first topic, when voters go into the voting booth, they want to vote for somebody, even if they're getting married for the money, they want to know that that person is waking up every day thinking about them.
LEMON: Yes.
CARDONA: Thinking about fighting for them, and that's what this president is going to make the case in this election for.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much. That is the end of it. I mean some people marry for money the first time, Ana. And there's nothing wrong with that.
CARDONA: (laughs). That's true.
LEMON: Thank you. Thank you, guys.
NAVARRO: Thanks.
LEMON: It's likely on a short list of songs that everyone knows. Lee Greenwood talks about the tune made even more famous after the events of 9/11. But first, American public school students are ranked average at best when compared to other nations in reading, math and science. CNN's education contributor Steve Perry believes that power words is key for a student to excel in any classroom. It's today's "Perry's Principles."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Reading is not just fundamental. It's essential. It's what makes a child's confident in the classroom. It's not just about being able phonetically recognize the words. We're talking about being able to interpret and predict. Reading is essential to so many parts of the academic experience. When a child doesn't feel comfortable in school, I bet you it's because they don't read very well. Teachers, they're the people who are trained and certified to determine a child's capacity to read.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is this for?
PERRY: They have all of the resources at their disposal to make sure that child's reading level goes up. One of my biggest frustrations is that people who are 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 being able to have a conversation with the author. You know, that's the expectation in reading. So, the expectation is that you will teach children to read.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Proud to be an American. A phrase synonymous with singer Lee Greenwood. It is after all his song. Tonight, he sits in the red chair and talks tears, religion and wardrobe.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEE GREENWOOD, SINGER: There is no doubt that in performances of "God Bless the USA," I will lose it. Now in the first two or three years, it was almost every night.
(singing): And I'm proud to be an American where at least I know I'm free ...
GREENWOOD: I began to evolve as a patriot, if you will. I always loved what I did, entertaining people and getting them to feel good about themselves, but then you started getting people to feel good about themselves as an American and it placed me in a little different position as an artist. I became known as an American artist. And my song "God Bless the USA" suddenly was what everybody knew me by. Not by some of my early hits, I don't ever get tired of singing it. And -- and it's kind of my calling card.
You don't necessarily have to be a Christian to be a patriot. But I think as the title of my book, "Does God Still Bless the USA?" is relevant because as we begin as a country, many patriots, of course, had the faith of their God. And I, I am a Christian as well. I'm proud to say that. And one of the things that's right about America is that we display our faith as a Christian nation and there's so many things that are wonderful about being Christian. Now, I'm not making the statement, you have to be one, but in this nation, the overall general population, most of us are Christian. I know we're changing a little bit and there's many immigrants who come here from different faiths, and we embrace all of that, but I just question any poll that would say we're not mostly a Christian nation. Well, if I was to go to another country, let's say, for instance, I go to Israel, I expect to see Jewish faith. If I go to Japan, I'll probably expect to see the Buddhist faith. In the Middle East, probably the Muslim faith. So if you were a Jewish person, or a Japanese or Middle Eastern, you are in this country and you may and gratefully regard your own faith, but you're still in a Christian nation.
You know, I have mixed feelings about the clothes I wear when I sing. I like to represent myself and represent America as a patriot and sometimes I get people who say you can't wear the stars and stripes as a piece of clothing. Well, actually, the Supreme Court said you can. It's not a desecration of the flag. The flag is what it is. It's a symbol of patriotism just like the eagle. I don't wear the flag, but I do wear colors of the flag. The red, white and blue is something I love to wear. I also have a black and white stars and stripes jacket that I wear, but it's a symbol of who I was and who I am.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: You can see more fascinating interviews like this one online at our Website, just go to cnn.com/video and search for "Red Chair."
A new program in the nation's capital, turning the healthy heating argument upside down. Fitness and nutrition expert. Oh, my gosh. Trouble is here in the house. Mark MacDonald here to talk about why banning unhealthy foods is not the solution. That is not a gun show, man.
That's a six shooter and don't forget, you can watch CNN live on your computer while you are at work. Cnn.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: (inaudible), bring that camera in here. We're in the studio. Do the thing. What do you call that?
MARK MACDONALD: It's called the popping pecks of love.
LEMON: So Christie (ph) is just freaking out, that creeps you out. Why?
MACDONALD: Now, my son Hunter loves this. Because there's a journey to (inaudible) part two. And he says, daddy, do the popping pecks of love.
LEMON: Christie is our floor director here. And she's like, oh that creeps me out. Anyway, let's get to business here. One dollar a day doesn't seem like a lot, but for a family of four it could add up to $100 a month to spend on fresh foods and vegetables. A new program in D.C. is giving low income families what they are calling a vegetable prescription, a kind of subsidy for that encourages healthy eating. Fitness and nutrition expert Mark MacDonald joins me here in Atlanta. Venice Nutrition, of course. What -- This idea seems to be the opposite of banning unhealthy foods here.
MACDONALD: Yeah, to me it's the best. When we were on last, we talked about banning people. But to me, we're educating people, and we're not only just providing them the opportunity to get healthy foods, we are also having a nutritionist with this program, a nutritionist who will educate them on how to realistically work that into their day.
LEMON: Well, we've been programmed to think that if you eat healthy, it's going to be more expensive. You say it's cheaper?
MACDONALD: Yeah, it can be cheaper.
LEMON: How?
MACDONALD: It just takes a little bit more work.
LEMON: All right.
MACDONALD: When we -- look, if you go to a fast food restaurant, and you're seeing the dollar menu, it is a dollar for a lot of foods ...
LEMON: Right. MACDONALD: ... but then a salad is much more expensive. But if you go to like a warehouse, like a Costco ...
LEMON: Right, right.
MACDONALD: ... or Sam's Club or even like a Trader Joe's ...
LEMON: Right.
MACDONALD: You can get quality vegetables and fruits at a very low price.
LEMON: Yeah. And you know what I love about New York City, you can get almost on every corner fruits, I mean you can go pay a quarter for if you want one thing, a dollar and you get like four -- that doesn't happen everywhere, you know, because we have these food deserts or whatever. Have we forgotten the importance of fruits and vegetables? And I say, working with you, I just don't want to pick up an apple anymore, because I'm like wait a minute, it's gong to throw me off balance. So I don't -- I mean -- do we forget?
MACDONALD: Apples have carbohydrates. So every meal, this is absolutely ...
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: I know.
MACDONALD: ... but fruits are critical ...
LEMON: All right.
MACDONALD: ... because it's our cells. When we talk about antioxidants. Every breath we take, we create free radicals. They are poisons to your body. Natural part of metabolism, but if left unchecked, poisons. Fruits and vegetables provide your body with antioxidants to combat those free radicals, they protect your cells, they're your body's bodyguard.
LEMON: Yeah. But ...
MACDONALD: It's critical.
LEMON: I kind of like them when they're tempura. Is that -- not good?
MACDONALD: Well, it is -- all in moderation, Don, right?
LEMON: Right.
MACDONALD: We just have got to find the way to make it realistic for people. People think it's not possible to eat healthy, and it is.
LEMON: It is. You know, in all seriousness, though, can programs like this motivate people to eat -- to make healthier choices? MACDONALD: I think so. Because it's a bridge for people. When you look at -- not only you're providing people with the money, you're also providing people with the education.
LEMON: But it's a nanny state, you're telling me what to eat. I should be able to eat what I want.
MACDONALD: You know I'm not on a big government intervention for health side, but to me, not only do we provide people the bridge to do it ...
LEMON: Yeah.
MACDONALD: ... we provide them with the nutritionist to show them how to make it part of their day. We create lifestyles. When kids don't eat healthy, if parents eat unhealthy, the kids eat unhealthy.
LEMON: Yes.
MACDONALD: And children lay down their fat cells during adolescence. We need to stop that trend. We need to create education.
LEMON: Where -- you usually bring me some like new thing that they're testing on the market. Nothing? You got nothing? What -- you came without treats?
MACDONALD: (inaudible). Next time, I'm going to have super props.
LEMON: I just want some new stuff, some antioxidants. Something ...
MACDONALD: I had to bring antioxidant stuff.
LEMON: All right. All right.
MACDONALD: Next time.
LEMON: Just for Christie, do this thing for her.
MACDONALD: Popping pecks of love?
LEMON: Very good, Christie.
She goes, I'm not watching.
MACDONALD: She (ph) is going to love this.
LEMON: Thank you.
MACDONALD: Or you want it, that's for you.
LEMON: Oh, stop it. You're embarrassing everyone. Thank you, Mark MacDonald. All right, so they are cute, sometimes cuddly, even funny. And so why won't people even athletes just leave mascots alone? But first this, as a police officer, Zach Hudson frequently encounters seniors vulnerable to crime, abuse and neglect. Rather than wait for his neighbors to fall victim, he organized hundreds of local volunteers to help protect them. He is this week's CNN hero.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ZACH HUDSON, POLICE OFFICER: I've been a police officer now for a little over ten years.
We see people at their worst. And the one thing that I have seen over and over again is victimization of the elderly. They're the forgotten portion of our society that nobody really thinks about. They're alone and yet they don't ask for help.
(on camera): Hey, buddy. You got a flat tire going there?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I know. But I don't have the money to fix it.
HUDSON: That's not good.
(voice over): they're that much easier to victimize. It's extremely sad.
If I can help you with that tire, why don't you give me a call.
I realized something had to be done. I've had enough.
I'm officer Zack Hudson. I was raised by grandparents and my great- grandmother. Now I'm bringing this community together to help keep seniors safe.
Mr. Anderson, how are you?
Cops and firefighters come across seniors that have various problems, are able to call us, and seniors reach out directly to us.
how's your floor looking? Not so hot. Soft.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My floor getting mushy, I was scared to death that I would go right down through it.
HUDSON: We contacted not-for-profits, faith-based organizations and businesses and we get it taken care of for free.
If we can get the tile down, that wheelchair won't take its toll on the floor like it did.
There's no job too small. We have 25 yards to do.
It takes commitment from the community.
Nice and solid.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love it.
HUDSON: Elderly people rescued me in a lot, a lot of ways.
What do you think, Mr. Anderson?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I won't want to leave my bathroom.
HUDSON: This is simply an opportunity for me to give back to them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Remember, "CNN Heroes" are all chosen from people you tell us about. To nominate someone who is making a difference, go to cnnheroes.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Most people wouldn't consider it a dangerous job. But sometimes being a mascot can be downright brutal. Here's CNN Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: His critics say that for a winner, he sure acted like a loser. Seconds after this French runner won the 3,000 meter steeplechase event at the European Championships in Finland, he slapped away a gift bag and then shoved a mascot, the mascot for Helsinki 2012. Turns out under that boxy, blue-eyed head was a flesh-and-blood 14-year-old girl.
Now, Mahiedine Mekhissi Benabbad didn't know he was shoving a 14-year- old. But still.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's he got against mascots? Oh. OK. Slap.
MOOS: Reaction on the runner's own Facebook page was way worse. "Bloody stinky swine." "Imbecile." "What a psycho." Benabbad has been hot-headed in the past. For instance, when a competitor head- butted him, he came out swinging.
This wasn't the first time that the runner has had a run-in with a mascot. Two years ago after winning the same race in Barcelona, he gave the mascot a big hug, asked him to get down on his knees, then pushed him over.
We've seen mascots assaulted before, most memorably when a Pittsburgh Pirate player used his bat on a passing Italian sausage, who fell and took out a weiner. There have been cases of mascot-on-mascot assault, and we've seen mascots help run down rowdy fans, in this case with a belly flop.
Those who work as characters say something strange happens, that you become dehumanized, and people do things they'd never do to another human. It could have been worse for Appy, the Helsinki mascot. Look what happened to Elmo when he tried to spread cheer among school kids. Tickle me Elmo became torture me Elmo until he managed to dance out of danger.
Jeanne Moos, CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go Elmo.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Ah. Poor mascots. Meanies. Jeanne, I want that lemon head thing. That would be perfect for me. Send it down via company e- mail. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. "CNN PRESENTS: Cruise to Disaster" begins right now.
