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Lohan Interview With Oprah; Man Dies at Newton-John Home; Chris Christie Political Future; Zuckerberg's Facebook Hacked; H.S. Football Player Dies During Practice; Deputy Sues Homeowner Over 911 Call; Actor Lee Thompson Young Dead; Spate of Bear Attacks

Aired August 19, 2013 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, at one point in this interview with Oprah, Lohan actually said she almost wanted to go to jail. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: You know, being in my addiction and everything and having all the chaos around me that I was so comfortable with, I somewhere inside knew and kind of wanted to go to jail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: So here's the thing, Jawn. And you and I, we have talked about the Oprah effect, right?

You go down, you bow down to the altar of Oprah Winfrey, and it's almost like a cleansing, and you have your reputation restored if Oprah deems everything OK.

At the same time, you have to look at the fact that now Lindsay Lohan doing part of this docu-series. So is it Oprah effect? Is it Oprah gain?

JAWN MURRAY, ALWAYSALIST.COM: Well, you know, listen, we really -- America loves a comeback story. People are really rooting for Lindsay. They have been rooting for her for years

This has been the road to the redemption story that has taken about four or five years to really get to this point, so we really hope that this interview and the docu-series is a step in the right direction.

We do know that two years before she died, Whitney Houston did the big Oprah interview where she had her come-to-Jesus meeting and took ownership of her wrongdoings and all her troubles, then she ultimately died from her troubles two years later, so the jury is still out.

This is where Lindsay Lohan is in her life. She can either take the turn and become the Drew Barrymore of her generation, because Drew Barrymore had very similar beginnings, or she could become Dana Plato.

We are hoping she goes in the direction of Drew and this is a step in the right direction. BALDWIN: Absolutely. The hope is there. Jawn Murray, thank you.

New Jersey's governor getting high marks from people in that state, he's expected to cruise to another term, but might he have his sights set on the White House? Something he said today, maybe, maybe, holds a clue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Just into us here at CNN, tragedy at the home of Olivia Newton John. We're getting word, a man has died of a gunshot wound in the singer's home in Florida. We're told Olivia Newton-John and her husband were not at the property at the time.

As far as the circumstances here, really no word yet, but the fire department says suicide investigation is now under way. Public records show that a sale is pending on that house.

Political talk today. Let's talk Chris Christie here. You look at polls, show he is cruising toward re-election as the governor of New Jersey, and he's staking out positions in some pretty tough, hot- button issues here.

He just signed a bill that bans so-called "gay conversion" therapy in his state, a move likely to frustrate his party's conservative wing.

He also just expanded the use of medical marijuana for children. Learned about that on this show just on Friday.

And he vetoed a bill that banned certain types of guns. One of the questions we're asking, does he have his eye on higher office? Maybe the White House?

Want to play some sound from him. These are his remarks at a campaign stop just this morning and it kind of sounded that way. Here he was.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOVERNOR CHRIS CHRISTIE (D), NEW JERSEY: Folks know that we're providing a model for the rest of the country, a country that all too often seems too divided in Washington, D.C., and other parts of our country, yelling and screaming at each other, each party not worrying about getting anything done, but putting out their next tough press release.

In New Jersey, we're showing people that, yes, Republicans and Democrats have differences and we should talk about those differences, but in the end, what they expect from us is to come together and get things done for the people who voted for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Want to talk about Governor Christie's political future, why he could spark a serious interparty battle among Republicans.

Here's Charles Blow, CNN political commentator, and Emily Miller, senior opinion editor for "The Washington Times" and also the author of the new book "Emily Gets Her Gun But Obama Wants To Take Yours." So welcome to both of you.

Here's the first thing that jumped out at us. You look at this guy, Chris Christie, three hot button issues, span of a couple days. Marijuana, guns, gay conversion therapy.

Emily, my first question is for you. What does that sound like to you? Is this someone that wants to get this out of the way before campaign season? What do you make of it?

EMILY MILLER, SENIOR OPINION EDITOR, "THE WASHINGTON TIMES": He's jumping all over the board, but there's no question that Chris Christie has his eyes on the White House.

He was, on Friday or Thursday of last week, at the RNC meeting in Boston and gave a speech where most of the people there expected to not like him because he has gone so far to the left and also has helped President Obama get re-elected after Hurricane Sandy last year, but really won over the crowd saying, here I am in a blue state using conservative principles.

And then oddly, although he did veto these gun control bills the next day, he then does this -- passes this bill on gay conversion therapy.

So he's a little bit all over the book, but absolutely no doubt his goal is the White House.

BALDWIN: So with this all over the book about him, clearly his willingness to work with Democrats as Emily points out, Charles, which is kind of the opposite of what we've been seeing in congress with Republicans, obviously that plays well with moderates in the media but how do you think that will play in a Republican primary?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Anything that plays well with moderates in the media is not going to play well with the Republican primary, basically.

The Republicans -- what you have to understand about Republican primaries is that among all Republicans, about a third of them are tea party supporters, but among people who say that they always vote in primary, about half of them are tea party supporters. So in the primaries, the field shifts dramatically to the right.

Chris Christie's moves of late don't necessarily stand him in good stead with that group of people, and what we'll have to see is whether or not he can sell the Republican primary voters on the idea that their tacking to the right is bad for them and bad for the party, and no one has yet been able to do that. So it's really hard to see how he emerges as a stronger candidate.

If you look at his negatives, he has the highest negatives of any Republican who might run for office for the presidency, so it's really hard for him.

It's hard for anyone who kind of positions themselves as a compromiser when most Republicans say they really, particularly tea party people, say they really don't want someone who compromises. They want someone who articulates Republican values better.

BALDWIN: When you look at gun control, for example, Emily, I know you wrote a column praising Christie for his gun control vetoes. You also note that he signed some gun control bills as well.

How does he win over activists and your pro-gun red states?

MILLER: Well, it's tough. New Jersey has the second strongest, according to The Brady Campaign, second strongest gun control laws in the country, and immediately after Newtown, Chris Christie said we need more gun control laws.

Obviously, the gun control laws there aren't working. So he created a task force. One of the things he asked for is a ban on 50-caliber guns which the only people who get killed by 50-caliber guns are in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are not part of crime.

That was just a sign this was not about crime prevention. This was about pandering to a certain group of people in his blue state. However, that's exactly the bill that on Friday night, he vetoed, and he vetoed two others that were very radical, making people say they're gun owners and still have other identification cards.

Although he's already gone on the record as being pro more gun control in his blue state, he is showing some restraint and showing that, if he is going to reach out to the primary and if he is going to reach out to the party base in a few years, he's trying to make some moves in that direction.

BALDWIN: Charles Blow, final thoughts. What do you think?

BLOW: I think he's shooting himself in the foot. I just don't see how this works to his benefit.

I think that it works in the grand scheme of things when people think of general election voting. This is the kind of Republican that you could get more moderates behind. Maybe you could shave off a few Democrats.

But you cannot escape the Republican primary process and that process is much more conservative than Republicans in general, and definitely much more conservative than the American populace and elect electorate.

BALDWIN: Thanks, you two. Appreciate it.

It was a warning directly to the founder of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg. When his team didn't respond, one hacker decided to prove his points. What that was, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: They tried to warn him. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg gets his own Facebook page hacked. This message appearing on his wall. Take a look.

This is a screen shot before it was taken down. Quote, "First, sorry for breaking your privacy and posting to your wall. I have no other choice after all the reports I've sent to the Facebook team."

That was what was written on his wall, a researcher from Palestine breaking the company's privacy rules.

He said he had to do it because the site security team ignored his efforts to inform them about a major security flaw at Facebook.

Football, it is the country's most popular sport. It is also incredibly violent. Football is played at a high speed with dangerous collisions, each and every play, and one player's family today is coping with tragedy.

De'Antre Turman died during a practice at a suburban Atlanta high school after making a tackle just a couple days ago.

Jake Tapper, I want to bring you in. We talked about this on my show. This 16-year-old, apparently incredible player, had been offered a scholarship to university of Kentucky to play, and you're talking to the coach.

JAKE TAPPER, CNN ANCHOR, "THE LEAD": Talking to the coach, talking about what exactly happened Friday night, was this a freak accident or was this something else.

Obviously, Brooke, you covered it a lot. There are a lot of parents out there who are concerned about letting their boys play football in high school or college.

Obviously a growing scholarship when it comes to research about the damages that football can do to the human body, especially when it comes to neck and head injuries, so we'll be talking to the coach who coached this 16-year-old until Friday night when that horrible, horrible accident happened on the football field.

That's coming up on "THE LEAD."

BALDWIN: Feel for those players and, of course, for the parents and this coach.

I'm sure it will be a pretty compelling, pretty emotional interview. Thank you. See you at the top of the hour on "THE LEAD" just a couple minutes from now.

A 911 caller, expecting help from a responding officer, gets that, but then ends up with much more. The officer filed a lawsuit against the person who called for help.

Back in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Combining robotics with theaters and comedy clubs, one robot expert is doing exactly that. It's all part of this week's "THE NEXT LIST."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: This week on "THE NEXT LIST," urban beekeeper Andrew Cote.

ANDREW COTE, URBAN BEEKEEPER: Maybe it begins as a hobby and might work up into a small business, then it's just an obsession and there's no turning back. It's like crack.

GUPTA: And social roboticists have their Knight who brings a human touch to technology.

HEATHER KNIGHT, ROBOTICIST: I have this crazy idea that maybe we could come to a world where we replace not people by robots, but computers by robots.

Like, how about making technology more human?

GUPTA: Their stories on "THE NEXT LIST," this Saturday, 2:30 Eastern.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: Let me tell you about this officer-involved shooting because it's now led to a lawsuit. And I know you've heard that before, but this case turns the table on what you're probably expecting here.

So this deputy is not getting sued, but is actually the one filing suit over an emergency at this home in Katy, Texas, from December.

Deputy Brady Pullen is going after the 911 caller in court for not letting officers know how dangerous the situation actually was. His lawsuit says this, quote, "Defendant knew or should have known that the man's mental state after the ingestion or smoking of bath salt have rendered him a danger to others."

When you read "The Houston Chronicle," they say that Pullen was one of these two deputies who shot the man to death after responding to a call that he was acting irrationally. When the deputy arrived, the man reportedly broke Pullen's nose, bit him and reached for the officer's gun.

Now the deputy is asking for more than $100,000 in damages.

Back "On the Case" with me, CNN legal analyst Danny Cevallos. My goodness, Danny, I've never heard of something like this before.

Let me just cut through it, though. Does this deputy have a case?

DANNY CEVALLOS, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: In sum, probably not, but here's why. Somebody who comes to your property for a business purpose is called an invitee. And a homeowner owes them a very high duty to make the property safe. But we have an exception in America for what we call the firefighter rule. In essence, if you're in the business of emergencies, police, firefighters, you should expect when you arrive on the scene, it's going to be just that, not safe.

However, some courts have also carved out exceptions to even that rule, where a homeowner conceals information. In other words, if this homeowner called and said, my husband's having a heart attack, and then the police show up and there's a -- she has a pet alligator that she didn't tell anyone about, maybe they have liability there.

But she informed the police that this person was the one that they needed help with, then this is not outside the realm that somebody might get violent when you respond, even when you respond for a medical call.

So, all in all, ultimately, this is probably a weak case, might get tossed on a motion for summary judgment.

BALDWIN: I have to say. I just have to say this. CNN has not been able to reach the deputy. We tried. We also wanted to reach the woman he's suing. Neither sent us any kind of response.

But do you think that there could be a chance that this could this set a dangerous precedent for people who do call 911?

CEVALLOS: If this case proceeded, and it probably won't be allowed, but if it did, that's absolutely true. And that's the reason for that rule.

It would create what we call a chilling effect on people when they pick up the phone in that moment to decide whether or not to call 911, if they thought, well, I could also get sued for this.

How would that affect emergency calls as a public policy issue? So if this case proceeds, it might do just that.

BALDWIN: OK, but you're saying it probably won't. Danny Cevallos, thank you.

It is something most people don't think about, but just this week we have seen an increase in bears attacking humans, and we're hearing some pretty amazing survival stories. We're going to talk about that next.

Plus, more on our breaking news on the sudden death of this young former Disney star. More details after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BALDWIN: More information on that breaking story we brought you, the Los Angeles police department confirming actor Lee Thompson Young was found dead in Los Angeles just a couple of hours ago. The cause of death, not clear at this time.

He starred in Disney's "The Famous Jet Jackson." Currently has been starring in the TNT show called "Rizzoli & Isles," and I want to read part of a statement from TNT and Warner Brothers to us here.

"Everyone at 'Rizzoli & Isles' is devastated at the young of Lee Thompson Young. We are beyond heartbroken at the loss of this sweet, gentle, goodhearted, intelligent man. He was truly a member of our family."

Meantime, it is a rare thing when a bear turns on a human, but since Thursday, a spate of bear attacks across the U.S. has seen seven people mauled in five states.

One of the latest attacks happened during this hunting trip in Alaska. James Tuttle was mauled and nearly killed by a brown bear in the Brooks Range, but the nightmare didn't end for the hunter.

He was stranded out there in the Alaskan wilderness bleeding for 36 hours. CNN's Amy La Porte has the story. I can't imagine.

AMY LA PORTE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I know.

BALDWIN: Why did it take so long to find him?

LA PORTE: Well, basically, it started with just a hunting trip. This guy was -- he had just shot a caribou. He was going up to the carcass. All of a sudden, he gets blindsided by this grizzly bear.

He hears the grumbling. No warning. No time for warning. It pins him on the ground. He gets up, and it comes back for round two.

So that's when the real damage was done. I mean, the injuries that they're talking about were really extensive. He had some serious blood loss.

Fortunately for him, a hunter nearby had some medical experience. He was able to come in, stabilize him.

But, I mean, the real story here is 36 hours he was out here in the wilderness. So basically a nearby rescue team tried to get in, send a helicopter in. The weather was so bad, the fog was so dense, couldn't get to him.

So they sent in the big guys. They sent in the National Guard. They were able to get to them.

So it took them -- the incredible part for the National Guard is they had to use flares to guide their way through this pass and night- vision goggles.

BALDWIN: And that's not the only -- we were talking earlier about this bear mauling story in Michigan involving this young girl, who is lucky to be alive.

LA PORTE: I know. Twelve-years-old, take a listen to what she says about the attack as she was jogging.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ABBY WETHEREL, BEAR ATTACK VICTIM: All of a sudden, the bear got me, put me down on the ground and started like scraping me and clawing me.

So I was like petting it. I don't know where that came from, but I just thought maybe if I petted it, it would like me.

Well, that did not work, so then it just got me again, and then I heard that you should play dead, so that's what I did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BALDWIN: Smart girl.

LA PORTE: Play dead, right? Didn't work. Petting it didn't work. Not great advice.

BALDWIN: No. So, I mean --

LA PORTE: She's OK now.

BALDWIN: Her face, her legs, she's OK.

My goodness. Amy La Porte, thank you very much.

LA PORTE: Thank you.

BALDWIN: And that will do it for me. I'm Brooke Baldwin here at the CNN World Headquarters in Atlanta.

To Washington, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper starts now.