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Democratic National Convention to Start Tuesday; Reverend Sun Myung Moon is Dead; Afghanistan U.S. Special Operations Forces Suspended the Training of Afghan Police Recruits; NFL Season Kicks Off Wednesday
Aired September 02, 2012 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As the Democratic faithful descend upon Charlotte, they're welcoming committee, angry protesters filling the streets.
The death of the Reverend Moon. He started a religious movement.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you.
TUCHMAN: That became a multimillion dollar enterprise.
Nearly 50 years in the making, and they've still got hard core fans.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Even parents saying, oh, our child was conceived during "Free Bird."
TUCHMAN: Lynyrd Skynyrd talks candidly to CNN.
Their nerd flag proudly waving, the fun of dragon con up close.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TUCHMAN: Hello, I'm Gary Tuchman sitting in tonight for Don Lemon. Let's get you up to speed on some of the day's headlines.
President Obama on the road and making his case for re-election. He spoke today in Boulder lightning up a crowd of the University of Colorado.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We have come too far to turn back now. We've got more good jobs to create. We've got more home grown energy to generate. We've got more young people to send to college. We've got more good teachers to hire. We've got more good schools to build. We've got one more war to end. We've got more troops we've got to bring home. We've got more veterans we've got to take care of. We've got more doors of opportunity that we have to open for every single person who's willing to work hard and walk through them. That's why I'm asking you for a second term.
(END VIDEO CLIP) TUCHMAN: We'll take you live to Charlotte, North Carolina, to preview this week's Democratic Convention in a moment.
Mr. Obama's Republican rival Mitt Romney attended church today in New Hampshire. His wife Ann, was by his side. New Hampshire is one of those all-important swing states that could decide this race. Romney has crossed the one million mark in twitter followers. He sent a tweet that reads, one million active followers, thanks everyone for your support. Help us keep the momentum going. He also added a link to a donation Web site for his campaign.
An Afghanistan U.S. special operations forces have suspended the training of Afghan police recruits effective immediately. The move follows reports that more than 40 NATO members have been killed this year by insurgents dressed as police or Afghan soldiers. Fourteen were killed in August alone. U.S. forces will rivet all current members before reinstating the training.
The reverend Sun Myung Moon is dead. He's the founder and leader of the controversial unification church. Best known outside of church circles for conducting mass weddings, sometimes with thousands of church-arranged couples all saying "I do" at once. Moon died today in a hospital in Seoul, South Korea. He was 92 years old. A church spokesman says Moon's funeral will be held on Thursday.
An outbreak of Legionnaires disease is head Quebec city that killed 10 people sick and 165 more. And health officials don't know how people are getting it. The government has ordered some buildings to clean their cooling systems, a common source of the disease. Engineers says it's a severe form of pneumonia that spreads when people breathe in droplets or mist with the Legionnaires bacteria.
It didn't take long for drivers to run into trouble at the Belgian grand prix.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)
TUCHMAN: That is some crash. Four drivers had to leave the race after an accident caused by Roman Rojan. Formula One is punishing him for the accidents. Rojan will miss next weekend's Italian grand prix and has to pay a $63,000 fine. For his part, the French driver says he doesn't know who caused the accident.
Democrats are gearing up for the big show in Charlotte, North Carolina. A show with much different aims than Republicans had in Tampa, Florida. Some pundits say Mitt Romney's task for the Republican convention was to introduce himself to the American people.
President Obama does not really have that task. His introduction came before he entered the White House. So what's at the top of Obama's to-do list for the Democratic convention?
Shannon Travis joins us live from Charlotte.
Shannon, first of all, really weird news. We're hearing about a theft on the campaign trail today. What do you know about this? SHANNON TRAVIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, this is a pretty bizarre incident that we're just getting word of, Gary. Apparently a u-haul truck containing equipment for an event featuring Joe Biden tomorrow in Detroit, this u-haul truck was stolen. That's coming from the U.S. secret service. I'm going to read just a quote from a spokesman.
Quote, "a u-haul that we were utilizing was stolen at the Weston Hotel overnight." That's from Ed Donovan with the secret service. They are not saying what was actually in the truck, so we're unclear about that. But the secret service representative is saying that this should not interfere with Biden's event tomorrow in downtown Detroit -- Gary.
TUCHMAN: OK. That's an unusual development. We don't hear that kind of story too much.
Let's talk about, Shannon, about what expectations Barack Obama needs to meet at the democratic convention.
TRAVIS: Yes, in a lot of ways, his charge is different from Mitt Romney's last week in Tampa. Mitt Romney had to introduce himself to a lot of people who don't know him, but the president obviously is well known, as you mentioned right off top.
His case is his charge -- his case to make the case for re-election. You can expect for a lot of the speakers to come out and talk about all of the things that the administration has done for the economy. They have readily acknowledged that the economy is not moving as fast, not as many jobs, but not as much as they would like.
But talk about their economic success, talk about the auto bailout and how the auto industry is doing fine. You can expect them to play up the benefits of the nation's health care law, Obama care, that a lot of critics call it. And as well to talk about his national security success, especially the killing of Osama bin Laden.
Take a listen at one person who basically sum all that up in a night, tiny little sound-byte. Take a listen.
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MAYOR RAHM EMANUEL (D), CHICAGO: People want to know about the first term, very simple. General Motors is alive and well and Osama bin Laden is not. That's what got done.
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TRAVIS: A nice little bumper sticker slogan there from Rahm Emanuel, the mayor of Chicago, who was President Obama's former chief of staff, Gary.
TUCHMAN: Indeed, that is a tidy sound byte, I might say.
Shannon, let's name only names. What political stars are we going to hear from at the convention? How can these specific Democrats help the president make his case? TRAVIS: Yes, I mean, basically the democratic stars, as you just mentioned, are all going to be trotted out. John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic nominee. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, they'll be up on stage as well. Probably the biggest draw on Wednesday night, former president Bill Clinton. He will be putting President Obama's name in to nomination and making the case, more importantly, the case for re- electing the president and against electing the Republican challengers. He will be a big draw on Wednesday. Also, we expect to hear from the first lady, Michelle Obama -- Gary.
TUCHMAN: Shannon, that's so fascinating about politics. Four years ago Bill Clinton was saying nasty things about Barack Obama when his wife was running for president. Now he's a valued asset for the Obama campaign.
Shannon Travis, thank you. We look forward to hearing from you during the Democratic National Convention. Thank you, Shannon.
Protesters are already in Charlotte getting a jump on this week's convention. The protest was called march on wall street south.
CNN's Joe John spent some time talking to demonstrators today in Charlotte about their motives and plans.
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JOE JOHNS, CNN CRIME AND JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Gary, here in Charlotte, and the run up to the Democratic National Convention, the march on wall street south, has been subject to a lot of hype but it came off without a hitch with only two arrests and no reported violence.
CROWD: Hey, hey, ho, ho, wall street south has got to go.
JOHNS: Between two and 10,000 people were predicted for this march, only a few hundred showed up, but they were loud.
CROWD: Our children get sicker. Your pockets get bigger.
JOHNS: About what you would expect for a march against one of the leading financial centers.
Honestly, it was the police who led the way, but not far behind pushing a bicycle was an organizer from occupy wall street in New York, who had come over from Tampa where he had been protesting at the Republican National Convention. He said he'd lost some people after the event in Florida.
AARON BLACK, OCCUPY WALL STREET PROTESTER: We ultimately ended up coming down with a couple of buses and some other people found their own transportation. Now, as for numbers here, they're a lot less. Half the people ended up going back to New York.
JOHNS: Why did they do that?
BLACK: A lot of our people have jobs. A lot of people aren't interested in protesting Obama.
JOHNS: For the police in the city, of course, the smaller numbers made the march more manageable. Political conventions of the past have often exploded in ugly confrontation, but not so far this year.
What is the recipe for success with these marches? We've seen a peaceful march in Tampa and apparently a peaceful march here. Very different from what we saw in Denver and Minneapolis four years ago.
CHIEF RODNEY MONROE, CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA POLICE: I think it's anticipation and communication. You got to anticipate and have the willingness to meet with people and talk to people, to understand what they want to do, and then you try to negotiate yourself through it in order to make sure in the ends that everybody is safe.
JOHNS: Protests are expected to continue here on the holiday, including one demonstration featuring members of organized labor -- Gary.
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TUCHMAN: Joe, thank you very much.
Coming up on CNN tomorrow night, "Obama revealed." My colleague Jessica Yellin reveals the man for the people who know him best, personal confidants, his closest advisers, and even President Obama himself. Watch "Obama revealed, the man, the president" tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern time and pacific on CNN.
All eyes will be on the president this week as he delivers his acceptance speech. What will he say? What should he say? Some answers next.
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TUCHMAN: So what can we expect to hear from President Obama at this week's democratic convention?
Earlier I posed that question and more to Lz Granderson and Will Cain. They're both CNN contributors. I asked since we can assume that the president won't specifically ask delegates if they're better off now than they were four years ago, what he thought the president might say.
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WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: About nine months ago, I'd say, he gave a speech in Kansas where he talked about the middle class. He talked about status of the middle class against those of the wealthy. I think those are themes we'll hear from again. I said nine months ago, so that's not going to be a new message.
And I will say quickly, what he should do would be to say something along the lines of what you suggest he shouldn't, Gary. This, are you better than you were four years ago? I think he should say look, I inherited a very, very difficult situation. It's on the right track. I've turned it around slightly. I think you can try to make that difficult message.
TUCHMAN: Lz, what do you think the president should say this week?
LZ GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, it was funny listening to the way that Will characterized the President Obama and the DNC platform is going to be.
I don't see it as a division. I see it as pointing out of different ideas about what's good for the American people. There is no division when you point out the numbers. The numbers of the last 20 year have said one thing explicitly. And that is the fact that income has left the middle class and the lower class and at a number that's disproportionate to the growth of rich people, has all gone to the rich Americans. And we've seen that gap for the last 40 year, not the last three and a half of the Obama administration. Not even during W's administration, but the last 40 years.
And so again, that's not division. That's pointing out the trends. And once he does that, then he's able to talk about why he made the decisions that he did. Why he instituted Obamacare, for instance.
TUCHMAN: Lz, let's talk about for a second the last democratic president. Wednesday, the second night at the convention, will be Bill Clinton time. And he has remembered for a lot of things. But one of them is a good economy, a surplus. Last surplus this country has had. Any risks that Bill Clinton could upstage the president?
GRANDERSON: You know, when I saw that question, I just sort of laughed because in order to be afraid of that, the person who follows Bill Clinton would have to be insecure. And President Obama is not insecure.
In fact, I think it says a lot about him as well as Democrats that they're not even going to bring out President Clinton, but also President Carter. I think you noticed that W. Bush was absent during the RNC. The reason why, because they are embarrassed by him.
The Democrats are not embarrassed by their previous presidents because they're quite proud of a lot of good things they've done when they were in office, but also more importantly after office. It gives you a little more insight to the character of the men.
So, no. I do not believe that Patty Clinton on the bill is going to upstage and I think what it does is just further illustrate just how unified they are in trying to help the country.
TUCHMAN: In all fairness today, I have seen in my many decades in this business, after a president loses, for example Jimmy Carter back in 1984, he didn't come to the convention either. Eventually, they become elder statesmen and they show up and everyone is very proud of them. So, we've seen this story before.
But either way, Will, what do you think about that? Is Bill Clinton, the Democrats' secret weapon? Or could his presence highlight some problems we're having with the economy right now? CAIN: I think Bill Clinton is a wonderful speaker for liberal ideology in a Democratic Party. So, I think he's nothing but a plus for them taking the stage this week. Do I think he'll remind people of a time when they had a democratic president and the economy was better? No, I don't know. I mean, you know, what's going to be more impactful than that is the fact, Gary, is that fact that during this week while the Democratic National Convention is taking place, the United States' total debt is going to eclipse $16 trillion. That has got speaks louder than any kind of reminiscing to during Bill Clinton was president.
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TUCHMAN: CNN contributors Will Cain and Lz Granderson. Many thanks to you.
And you can take part in the DNC and CNN's election round table. This Tuesday join Wolf Blitzer and our political team for a live virtual chat. Go to CNN.com/roundtable and submit your questions. And we will give you the answers in real time. The CNN election round table is at 12:00 noon Eastern on Tuesday.
Charlotte preps for the Democratic National Convention. Some who will arrive there won't necessarily receive a terribly warm welcome. They've been called the Paparazzi of politics. You'll hear from one next.
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TUCHMAN: News makers have to be vigilant now days as the Paparazzi close in filming their every move. But we're not talking about Hollywood elite. We're talking politicians whose own words can be used as ammunition against them.
Kelly Maher is a political video tracker for the Web site revealingpolitics.com. She's a Republican. And earlier I asked her what she hoped to accomplish.
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KELLY MAHER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, REVEALINGPOLITICS.COM: Finding delegates and also finding people who are rallying and figuring out what it is that they're interested in this upcoming election.
TUCHMAN: We remembered the case of representative Bob Etheridge being ambushed in 2010. Watch.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you fully support the Obama agenda?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Who are you? Who are you? Who are you?
TUCHMAN: Well, Etheridge later apologized and said there is no excuse for his behavior. So, what's the difference between as basically hunting and tracking someone down, Kelly, in the everyday pros goggle looking for the sound bite of the day? MAHER: Well, I think that interestingly enough in this marketplace of ideas, the barrier to entry to becoming a citizen journalist is almost nothing because everyone is walking around with a smart phone that records video. So all you have to do in order to get the important clip that can change the election is show up at an event with your smart phone and wait for somebody to say what they actually think.
TUCHMAN: Some people, Kelly, would call you a gotcha machine. What do you say to that?
MAHER: Yes, I'm pretty sure you called me a one woman torpedo effort two years ago which I'm not making this up. One of my girlfriends had that printed on a t-shirt for me after you aired that piece. It was hysterical. And probably one of the best compliments I've ever gotten.
But, you know, ultimately what we are seeing is we are seeing the mainstream media, whether it's print or television, is changing and they rely more and more on bloggers and citizen journalists to come in with their cameras and their smart phones and provide a lot of that content for them. And that is largely what I do is take video at town halls and rallies and all kinds of different events waiting for people to really reveal themselves.
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TUCHMAN: And we'll see what Kelly comes up with. She is a political video tracker for the Web site revealingpolitics.com.
Well, is it a stopgap or a ticking time bomb? The NFL and referees haven't come to an agreement. The season begins next week. So the replacements are here to stay, for now.
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TUCHMAN: The NFL season kicks off this Wednesday. If you're watching at home, the game will mostly look the same as last year, but on the field this $9 billion business, the National Football League, has a big problem.
Here's Mark McKay explains for a second straight season labor issues are destructing from the game.
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MARK MCKAY: CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): As another NFL season gets ready to kick off disaster could be right behind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE REFEREE: Correction on the reporting of the foul. Both teams - both fouls on the kicking team. Five yard penalty.
MCKAY: The NFL and its referees have been in a labor dispute ever since the last collective bargaining agreement expired three months ago. The NFL locked out the referees and hired replacements called from the lower levels of college football as well as the high school ranks. Though the NFL continues to provide on the job training for these officials, the results have been mixed with some embarrassing moments that could put the credibility of the league at stake.
TOM COUGHLIN, HEAD COACH, NEW YORK GIANTS: We just hope these officials know the rules, know how to enforce them and can keep the game under control and keep order.
MCKAY: There are 121 NFL referees. They are considered part-time employees who have other careers outside the NFL. Last year officials were paid an average of $149,000 plus benefits.
BEN REITER, WRITER, SPORTS ILLUSTRATED: The NFL referees want a raise in that salary. And make no mistake. They are requesting a significant raise. They want more than double that over the course of five years. The NFL is countering with annual raises over the next seven years of five percent to 11 percent. There is quite a distance between those. There are also issues about pensions and a few other things. At the end of the day the problem is financial.
MCKAY: The NFL players' association has criticized Commissioner Roger Goodell and the league saying they are jeopardizing players' safety by using inferior referees.
ADAM PODLESH, CHICAGO BEARS PLAYER REPRESENTATIVE: I think on the whole it is in the back of our minds a bit of a concern because like we said before, these referees have never refereed in an NFL season game. So, that's you know, a bit of a concern.
REITER: Laws are only as good as their enforcement really. And in this case players sense they can get away with something, helmet to helmet hits. And they sense that orders is not being upheld. They will take advantage of that. And really, it's a public relations thing. It is the perception that the NFL is not doing everything it can to protect players playing a very dangerous game.
MCKAY: The first week of games could determine which side gets the upper hand in negotiations. If the games come and go without incidents, the NFL will continue using replacements and the locked out referees will continue to lose paychecks. If not, the outrage from fans, coaches and players will put pressure on the league to get a deal done.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: And that's Mark McKay reporting.
A gruesome task for one Syria, documenting the dead. Victims of a brutal and bloody civil war. A terrifying thought, but wait until you see what one activist has pledged his life to. That next.
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TUCHMAN: Let's take a look at the headlines at the bottom of the hour.
President Obama on the road and making his case for re-election as he makes his way to this week's democratic convention. He spoke today in Boulder to a large crowd at the University of Colorado. The convention gets started two days from now n Tuesday.
Protesters are already hitting the streets of Charlotte. Hundreds of people marched by Charlotte's banks. Some of them were chants "we got sold out." Today's protest was called march on wall street south. The number of demonstrators at the Republican convention fell short of expectations, in part because of a guy named Isaac who showed up.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney and his wife an attended church today in New Hampshire. New Hampshire is one of those all- important swing states that could make or break this election.
We also learned today that Romney has crossed the one million mark in his twitter followers. This is what he said on twitter. One million active followers, thanks everyone for your support. Help us keep the momentum going. And he also added a link to make donations Web site for his campaign.
About 1,500 people wisely got out of the area today where a wildfire is chewing up the San Gabriel mountains about 30 miles east of Los Angeles. This is Glendora, California. A couple hundred firefighters are hitting the fire on the ground and from the air. About 1,000 acres of forest have so far burned.
Across Syria, more than 140 people were killed just today. About half of them in the capital of Damascus and its suburbs.
Now, add that number to the staggering 1600 people killed over the past few days, and you've got the single deadliest week in Syria since the civil war began. Opposition sources say government forces massacred 35 people in a village near Hama today and a bomb went off next to government buildings in Damascus, wounding several bystanders.
Nearly 5,000 people died in Syria in the month of August in street fighting, air strikes, and shelling. And we, CNN, have to rely on opposition reports of these casualties because CNN cameras and reporters are not allowed in the country right now.
For journalists describing the war in Syria, it would not be possible without the videos we see posted online. What these activists see this their villages and towns goes beyond horror. Dead men, women, children and their neighbors. In some cases, their own siblings.
CNN's Arwa Damon takes us to the town of (INAUDIBLE), not far from the border with Lebanon (ph). The video you will see was obtain by a freelance journalist. Now, we must warn you, many images are disturbing and may not be appropriate for all viewers.
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ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every night Trad scrolls through the videos he shot that day, reviewing scenes he wishes he'd never witnessed. It's a macanbra (ph) routine but one he's addicted to. Trad simply can't stop, can't let go, can't give up.
For the past 18 months, he's documented nearly every single death in (INAUDIBLE), a town of some 50,000 before the violence started. Name, date, location. More than 400 victims and counting. Often they are his neighbors, friends, relatives, people he would see around town, and once he pointed the camera at his brother's corpse.
TRAD, MEDIA ACTIVIST: I didn't know my brother was the first one. After I came, I also I take some photo of another one. Suddenly I remember this one my brother. The start I shout, my brother, my brother, my brother. Doctor, my brother. But after normal, I am sad also, the first, and angry. But after normal.
DAMON: The 37-year-old once owned a furniture shop. Now he's part of a small team of media activists. Filming and posting online the horrific videos that have come to symbolize the Syrian uprising.
Most of the residents have fled, but the indiscriminate shelling still takes its toll on the few who remain. Those who have nowhere else to go. In the last few weeks, this 8-year-old girl was killed by a mortar round that hit her home. There was nothing the medical team could do but try to hide the wound to spare her mother the anguish. She collapses when she hears the news.
At times, Trad tries to console families, reassuring this woman that her son is going to be OK, that he will survive the wounds to his leg. Occasionally, he hands over the camera so he can help, but too often there is nothing he can do but film.
Much of the city lies in ruins, similar to most of what we see from across Syria. Its people resigned to their fate, knowing that they are on their own. The hospital regularly targeted is trying to build up its defenses.
This man, who works in construction, is building a bunker for his family. His children take a quick peek into the darkness below. Perhaps this will save them. Perhaps is will be their grave.
Trad's younger brother is now a rebel fighter. He was a mechanic who wanted to be a deejay. He plays music as Trad recalls the fate of one of their media activist friends. Detained by Syrian security forces and returned to them with his eyes gouged out.
TRAD: And they take the eyes. The same, my job. Why?
I can go down Bashar. I throw Bashar by this one. Too much dangerous here in Syria the camera. But when I finish with revolution, I catch the camera like this and I throw it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: We can't afford to let up on this story because every day civilians and children are getting brutally killed.
That was CNN's Arwa Damon reporting.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: This week ,President Obama heads to the democratic convention. Wall street eyes the economy.
And a reality TV show pledges to be kinder and gentler. Really? Our correspondents have it all. We begin with the president.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Athena Jones in Port List, Texas.
President Obama speaks at a labor day event in Toledo, Ohio, on Monday before heading down to Louisiana to meet with people affected by hurricane Isaac.
On Tuesday, he travels to Norfolk, Virginia, and on Wednesday he goes to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the Democratic National Convention. He officially accepts his party's nomination for president on Thursday night.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN MONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York.
It will be a shortened trading week with markets closed for labor day. But when trading kicks off on Tuesday morning, Wall street will be all eyes on the August jobs report. That is set to be released on Friday morning, and it will be critical for consumer confidence and also in the race for the White House.
Also on tap this week, the August car and truck sales data that comes out as well as a look at how much folks are spending on construction, a pretty good sign of how they're feeling about the economy.
We will track all that, on CNN Money.
A.J. HAMMER, HLN HOST, SHOWBIZ TONIGHT: I'm "Showbiz Tonight's" A.J. Hammer. Here's what we're watching this week.
"Basketball wives 2.0," is the show really going to cut out all the violent drama this season? Well, I will speak with Jackie Christie, one of the stars of the L.A. franchise.
TUCHMAN: All I need to do is mention "Sweet Home Alabama" and "Free Bird," and you know who I'm talking about. Lynyrd Skynyrd, defining the sound of southern rocks since the 1970s. Even after a tragic plane crash in '77 killing three of the band members, Skynyrd played on cranking out hit after hits, album after album over the years.
Now on tour with a new album, "last of the dying breed," is giving the band its highest billboard chart since the 1970s, the highest debut in the last 40 years.
CNN's Fredricka Whitfield talked with singer Johnny Van Zant and guitarist Gary Rossington and Rickey Medlocke. She asked them to share stories about their music.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY ROSSINGTON, GUITARIST, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Oh, yes, but we can't discuss them on this program. Yes --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A few of them.
ROSSINGTON: You know, everything throughout our career has had a story and that's what we write about and to be able to last so long, I guess people can understand the stories we tell and the songs, and we just try to play for the people, you know, and do our thing for that.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN HOST, CNN NEWSROOM: And people, you know, love the ones I just mentioned and so many others. Even when you come out in your launching, you know, your new tour, your new album, new songs, people in the audience are chanting, you know, "Free Bird." When do we going to hear that?
ROSSINGTON: What song do you want to hear today?
CROWD: Free bird!
ROSSINGTON: You got it baby.
We always do the old favorites and stuff. We always do that for the people. It's fun to do a new tune here and there to keep it fresh.
WHITFIELD: What happens when you look in the audience and you see those who have been growing with you and then they're bringing their kids?
ROSSINGTON: Oh, yes.
Some of the songs, "simply man," "free bird" you can see women or people crying, sometimes they think about their sons being overseas of staff in service. There's memories that come up. It's kind of a lifetime of memories through our music.
RICKEY MEDLOCKE, GUITARIST, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: I think what's cool is the stories that you hear from, you know, people all over the years and the stories that they have about certain songs, how certain songs of the band has touched them in a certain way, you know, and it's just - it's amazing to me to listen to all the different ones from graduation to, you know, even parents saying, oh, our child was conceived during "free bird," like enough information.
WHITFIELD: I hear "free bird" and I think about my high school and junior high dances. And you know, it was just the buildup and everyone, you know, gets excited about the song and takes, you know, to the floor. And I think, yes, very nostalgic.
But you know for you, Johnny, is it nostalgic when you play kind of the older tunes, the signature tunes, but then you got to introduce the new stuff, too, and it becomes a different tone on stage, doesn't it?
JOHNNY VAN ZANT, SINGER, LYNYRD SKYNYRD: Yes. Well, right now we've got the new record out "last of a dying breed." I love it because we start the show off, kind of giving it out away, But Gary comes out playing a slide and we have this Wolf thing happening. And it's just a lot of fun for us.
And you know, I have been here in the band for 25 years. My brother, Ronnie, started the band with Gary and Allen Collins and, you know, it's been my pleasure to be out here and see how it's grown and, you know, see all the young fans come into this and love the old with the new.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: A lot of you rock and roll fans may already know this, but the story of how Lynyrd Skynyrd got its name is an amazing story. They had a gym teacher named Leonard Skinner. And it was a mocking tribute to him because he demanded they cut their hair in high school and they decided to name their band after him, but they changed it to Lynyrd Skynyrd.
And Fred, also talked to the band about their used of a confederate flag in concerts and an album covers. And we will have that segment, next weekend.
A little girl with autism was unable to speak, and doctors did not give her very good odds of ever saying a single word. But she beat those odds with a little help from an ipad. Her incredible story next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: A little girl with autism finally learned to speak with the help of an ipad. For years little never said a word. She just cried and cried.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester sat down with the little girl's parents and got this emotional story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHARIYAH SIDDIQUI, 5-YEAR-OLD: It's OK.
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We see a piece. 5- year-old sees the whole puzzle.
FAWAD SIDDIQUI, FATHER: She would be doing it from memory. That's how it works for her.
SYLVESTER: She's happy, playful, and with remarkable memory has autism.
AYZA SIDDIQUI, MOTHER: She had all the classic symptoms and everything. She was doing the repeated behavior, the communication delay, everything. When they did tell me, it was a really difficult time, you know, because all the research tells you there's just no cure and that's just the way she is and you kind of grieve a little because you wanted her life and your life to be different.
SYLVESTER: She was still not talking at three. Her parents were told her odds of ever speaking, at best, 50/50. So she did the only thing she could do.
FAWAD SIDDIQUI: She'd wake up in the morning and she wants to watch a cartoon, an animated movie. She had no way of telling me which cartoon she wants to watch and from which part she wanted to watch it. So, the only way she would communicate with me is pointing towards the television and crying.
SHARIYAH SIDDIQUI: Polar bear.
SYLVESTER: But about that time in 2010, her father, Fawad Siddiqui heard about something new, the first ipad, which was just hitting the market.
AYZA SIDDIQUI: Sounds like I want. And I bring something to eat. She was doing drink. You can do chocolate milk.
SYLVESTER: The electronic tablet and new apps like the pro-quote to go changed everything for Siddiqui family.
Did it lead to her speaking to becoming verbal?
FAWAD SIDDIQUI: Yes, definitely. That's how it all started because before that we tried everything. But nothing was clicking for her because she's a very, very visual person. For her, everything is visual. And ipad gave her that option, being able to do that.
SYLVESTER: And for the first time, she gained a sense of control.
FAWAD SIDDIQUI: Compared to, like, people with children, you know, who are regular children, they probably put in an effort and see the reactions right away. You teach them something, and they react quickly. For us, sometimes it's like 200 percent effort and maybe five percent of result. And, you know, we have come to live with that. We have understood that this is going to be the way.
SYLVESTER: She went from the child who was not able to say a word to this.
AYZA SIDDIQUI: Do you want six or eight?
SHARIYAH SIDDIQUI: Eight or seven.
AYZA SIDDIQUI: It's amazing hearing mommy and daddy or, you know, even for herself when she needs something and she can say, you know, I want goldfish.
SYLVESTER: The electronic tablets don't work for all children with autism. She has a mild to moderate case. And there is a potential downside that it becomes a crutch.
AYZA SIDDIQUI: We worry she becomes a little too fixated on it. Especially when she's not in school with a structured day. I feel like she doesn't do it as much. But it can be a problem sometimes when she gets a little too fixated and we want her to interact with us and do something different. It was play on ipad. So, it can be a bit of a problem. It can be a challenge. But, it's more helpful than not.
SYLVESTER: More than a toy, it helps her find her own little voice.
SHARIYAH SIDDIQUI: An ipad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: That will brighten up your Sunday night.
Thanks to Lisa Sylvester for that report.
Hurricane Isaac is gone, but many CNN reporters are still wringing out their clothes. A behind the scenes look is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TUCHMAN: The entertainment turned frightening at a monster truck show in Harrisburg, Oregon. Very scary. Three people at monster air 2010, that's the name of the show, were hurt. One of the 48-inch tires of this out of control ford landed on them. Our affiliate KVAL reports. A sheriff's sergeant says the victims will survive, no injury. That's good news. An eyewitness says the driver lost control after he hit a mud pit.
Now, here's an inside peek at how our CNN correspondents got the emotional stories during hurricane Isaac. A lot of it involves trying to stay dry.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: They are much more protected now than they were seven years ago.
We see that barrier that is essentially a soup up sea wall that goes two miles across. I was surprised by how new everything looked. I mean, I knew it went up in a hurry, but it looked like everything was fresh out of the box. Fresh concrete, the steal casings, everything looked to be fairly new and not really weathered. We had a really great ride from the coach car. Who doesn't like going up in a chopper? Right, John?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's just going to be swirling.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think Charlie said he thinks it's going to come in this way. We definitely don't want to be here. We might want to just tuck right over here.
MARCIANO: Yes, I do. Do you hear me?
Do you want to move a little bit? I don't know how much tether you have.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You all right, Brian?
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I am good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is pg.
TODD: Trying to tuck in here.
This is what we do to remember all the work that we do. We take these ridiculous things and send them to our significant others and like our kids. I look rough. This is what 36 hours on the clock will do to you.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN HOST, AC360: You get wet -- so wet. You get more wet than you ever remember. You didn't even know you could get this wet. Every time you try to dry off, there's no point in even trying to dry off after a while. It's just -- just wet.
MARCIANO: The worst part is the waiting. Get out there and get ready. And wait. We'll be right to you. We're coming to you next. Oh, no, somebody first. Oh, we just lost the shot. We'll be right to you. It's the waiting. Other than that, there's no better place to be.
TUCHMAN: I could tell you the men and women we work with in the field on these hurricanes and tropical storms are the best in the world at what they do.
I'm Gary Tuchman at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta, Georgia.
Have a good night and a great week.
