Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

White House in Damage Control Mode Regarding Surveillance of Allies; Rocker Lou Reed Has Died; Chris Brown Charged with Felony Assault in Washington D.C.; A Mother and Her Four Children Stabbed to Death; Marissa Alexander Sentenced to 20 Years; Bill Clinton Hits Campaign Trail Again

Aired October 27, 2013 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon here.

Top of the hour. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We are going to start with fracture relations with some of our closest allies. White House in damage control now, promising to review surveillance procedures at the NSA as a number of countries looking into allegations of U.S. spying grows by the day. Mexico, Brazil, France, Germany, 35 world leaders, demanding answers over U.S. intelligence activities on their term.

The worst off, the worst of it so far, reports that German Chancellor Angela Merkel had her private cell phone tapped.

I want to go now to CNN's Erin McPike. She joins us from Washington..

New reports out of Germany today that President Obama knew the NSA was spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel. What can you tell us about the latest allegations here?

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN GENERAL ASSIGNMENT CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, those allegations, excuse me, suggest that Keith Alexander who is the NSA chief, told President Obama about this in 2010. We just got a statement in from the NSA earlier this afternoon and sort of denied it. I want to read that statement to you.

They write, General Alexander did not discuss with President Obama in 2010 and alleged foreign intelligence operations involving German Chancellor Merkel, nor has he ever discussed alleged operations involving Chancellor Merkel. New reports claiming otherwise are not true.

Now, Don, here in Washington, we love to parse words. And all that statement says is that Keith Alexander did not discuss this with President Obama. Of course, it does not mean that it didn't happen or that President Obama didn't know about it. All we know is that the two of them did not discuss them, Don.

LEMON: OK. Here is what is interesting, though. We know that Germany is now sending an intelligence team to D.C. But, what is the conversation going to be between Germany and Washington?

MCPIKE: Well, that's a great question because, of course, the White House has acknowledged that they know our allies are very upset about this. And Germany in particular -- our German foreign minister said today that they want complete information. They want all the answers about why this is happening. And we will see what the administration has said. But basically, the administration and even Republicans who are at very high levels of power here in Washington are saying, you know, we do this. We do what other countries do. And that is we have this kind of surveillance program.

So, the White House won't say exactly when the meeting are going to be or who will be attending them. So, we will just have to see what happens in the next couple of weeks there, Don.

LEMON: When you mentioned what Germany was saying, were you talking about the interior minister? Because the interior minister did minced words, but saying what he thinks about the allegations.

MCPIKE: That's right. And one of the things he said is that is very possible that the United States broke the law. Breaking the law would one of the things. But, he said also, our confidence in our ally, the United States, has been shaking. So, that's not a really good comment for United States this weekend, Don.

LEMON: All right. Thank you very much, Erin McPike in Washington.

We're going to talk about Michael Rogers now. He is the chairman of the House and select committee on intelligence talking exclusively to CNN. CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley, asking him just how damages are these revelations that the U.S. maybe monitoring the phones of world leaders?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MICHAEL ROGERS (R), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: Well, I think the bigger news story would be, Candy, if the United States intelligence services weren't trying to collect information that would protect U.S. interests home and abroad.

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: So you think it was entirely appropriate for the U.S. to have monitored the phone calls? They are very strong U.S. ally in Angela Merkel. Do you think that is appropriate?

ROGERS: Well, I would tell you this. The intelligence services of which was outlined in some of the so-called disclosures doesn't necessarily fit with what is actually happening, right? So, it's not an exact, correct interpretation of what they're seeing. They're seeing three or four pieces of a thousand-piece puzzle in trying to come to a conclusion. I'm not going to talk about the individual decisions on what is and what isn't collective.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK. So, let's talk about this now. Bob Baer is joining me, a CNN national security analyst and a former CIA operative.

Bob, how rare is spying on our allies? I mean, was the U.S. doing this when you were with the CIA?

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Absolutely. You know, the National Security Agency has always sucked up phone calls from all around the world. Much of it is accidental. Much of it is discarded. You did pick up prime ministers and presidents at some point or another. Occasionally, you got a piece of intelligence out of it. But for the National Security Agency, it was always incidental. And it wasn't paid much attention to.

I think what is new now, it's been made so graphically evidence just how big this collection program is. Frankly, I think listening to Merkel's phone, if in fact that happened and it sounds like it did, you know, just we didn't get much intelligence out of it. That's an ally.

LEMON: You know, Bob, I would think that many people aren't surprise. They would think that everyone is just sort of being monitored. Doesn't Angela Merkel and others have to sort of act outrage? Its spying goes both ways and just to put up the sort of fade outrage? Because we are not the only one who is spy.

BAER: Of course, I mean, we shared the same sort of, you know, chatter intercepts, whatever you want to call it with the Germans. I'm sure ambassadors have walked in to Merkel's office and said look at what we picked on, you know, some country in Africa or Asia, it doesn't matter where, what are we going to do about this? So, she certainly knows about it. And to have her cell phone intercepted, it wasn't a surprise. Come on.

LEMON: Yes. And you said, you know, we didn't get much intelligence from her phone. How valuable is the information that we could be getting from these phone calls of the leaders? And is it really worth the bridge of trust with our allies?

BAER: I think it's worth next to nothing, frankly. I mean, we can knock on her door, the ambassador can. Ask hr a question. She'll give an honest answer. The risk just wasn't worth it.

I think the problem is, I mean, this is just outrageous that the National Security Agency should have a contractor go in dirty work searches, picked up all these documents and flee to Moscow.

I mean, what is happening now here, this information used to be compartmented and it was -- this would never happen. We got to get a grip on all the leaks in Washington.

LEMON: All right, Bob Baer, appreciate it.

BAER: Thank you.

LEMON: President Barack Obama is going to travel to Boston on Wednesday to praise and promote the Affordable Care Act. The administration has long touted Massachusetts on health care law as the model for Obamacare. This comes the same day that health and human services secretary Kathleen Sebelius is to testify on Capitol Hill about the failures of a healthcare.gov Web site. Contractors told members of the House energy and commerce committee, this week, the government was to blame for the problem plague in software.

I want to go to Virginia now where former President Bill Clinton is returning to his role as political closer. He is heading a campaign trail for a long time friend in gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. The pair are attending an event at Richmond Community High School. There they are right now, one of the several stops on the putting jobs first tour. We are going to take you there live in about 30 minutes here on CNN.

Meantime, two famous musicians making headlines today for very different reasons. Lou Reed, one of rock's most I influential artists has died. He was just 71-years-old.

And Chris Brown, the RnB singer, is charged with felony assault after fight in Washington D.C. Brown is already on probation for beating his former girlfriend, Rihanna.

I want to go on CNN's Alan Duke covering this two stories for us.

Alan, can we start with Chris Brown? What do you know about this fight?

ALAN DUKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, right now, it's a he-said, he- said situation where the victim maybe saying one thing and Brown the other. And it all be sorted out by investigators and court.

What we do know, the very fact that Chris Brown has been arrested on a felony assault charge, he is in jail right now, is --has tremendous impact on his future freedom because is on felony probation here in Los Angeles just last month, actually in August. He was found to have violated that probation. And so, it was extended. So this, when he's in court next month for a regular probation hearing, will not be pleasing to the judge. It is very possible that this could result to Chris Brown having another probation violation facing some time in Los Angeles county jail.

LEMON: Yes, he was there performing for Howard University. And apparently, despite happened there in the hotel, someone wanted to take a picture and he says I don't go with that gay stuff. And then, it sounds really stupid if this indeed what happened.

DUKE: Well, that's just one side of it. And you know, this is a story told at 4:30 in the morning on a Washington street. Let's wait and see. I believe that his lawyer from L.A. Mark Geragos is probably on his way to D.C. right now. I'm expecting he will be in court tomorrow. But until then, he is in a jail cell without bail in Washington D.C.

LEMON: Yes, what's the saying? Nothing good happens after 2:00 a.m.

Let's talk now about Lou Reed, an amazing legacy. When I saw this come across, you know, the news flash, it's just terrible to see it. He leaves behind an amazing legacy. A quick listen, first, though.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING) LEMON: Yes, and that's about the famous version that we know. It's probably the one that we had could use here. But "Walk only the wild side," I mean, that was a huge hit from his solo career. He had a liver transplant earlier this year. Do we know anything about the cause of his death?

DUKE: No, they're not saying. We're waiting any moment for a statement from his management. They're not giving us any other investigation other than he died a few hours ago. You know, news of his death, it just takes you back.

The funny thing about that, walk on the wild side, that was a commercial hit for him. And he really didn't seem to want commercial hits. I mean, this is a guy who recorded an album that was basically audio -- electronic audio feedback, a double album in 1975. That's how much he wanted to be Avant-garde with his rock and he certainly was.

So, you may not be familiar with most of his work, but his impact on music and culture is profound.

LEMON: Yes, and all of those hit that you hear from the '80s, I mean, '80s was an amazing time for music when you think about the punk rook and all of that influence. Lou Reed had a big influence on that '80s sound.

DUKE: Yes, he did. And in fact, just I think it was a couple or three years ago, he recorded an album of his music with Metallica. And I think it was called Lou-Lou. And you are going to listen that. But yes, he really wasn't appreciated as much as of his days he was later in the '80s and '90s with some of his music showdown. But that is all artists are like that.

Usually, they're more famous in debt, sadly, than they are -- when they living rather, be painters or, you know, musicians. But anyway, what a loss.

Thank you, Alan. We appreciate it.

Anthony DeCurtis, Rolling Stone, next hour, talking about Lou Reed's legacy and hid death. We're going to talk a lot more about that.

In the meantime, a heartbreaking scene to tell you about. Four kids and their mother killed in their home. And now, a relative has been charged with their deaths. That's next.

And this, she went to prison after firing a warning shot to scare her abusive husband. That's what she says and I'm going to talk to some people trying to overturn that conviction just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Rap star Jay-Z finally speaking out on a lawsuit against a luxury store. Angry fans have been asking him to end his contract with Barney's New York after two African-American students claimed they were racially profiled. Saving on his Web site, reads like this. I am against discrimination of any kind. But if I make snap judgments, no matter who it's towards, aren't I committing the same sin as someone who profiles? I am no stranger to being profiled and I truly empathize with anyone who has been put in that position. Hopefully, this brings forth a dialogue to affect real change.

Very good statement by him.

New developments are surfacing in a grizzly and horrific mass killing here in New York. A mother and her four children, the youngest was just 1-year-old. They were found late last night, stabbed to death. It happened at an apartment in Brooklyn.

Awful story. Rosa Flores is here. The man is in custody and what have they learned about him?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We know his name now that suspect is a 25-year-old Mingdong Chen. Now, we know that police are telling us that he is a cousin of the slain woman's husband. Now, when police officers arrives, that is after a 911 call that was made by the sister-in-law of this woman. Now, this man arrived in the U.S. in 2004. And has been moving around from address to address ever since. Now, he had been staying at the Brooklyn address for eight to ten days when the unexpected happened last night.

And here's what we know, folks. Police responded to a call to a person stabbed in the Brooklyn apartment. When they arrived on the scene, they discovered a slaughter house, a 37-year-old mother and her four children ages nine to one dead. Authorities say they were clearly stabbed multiple times to their upper bodies. NYPD describes the weapon recovered as a butcher's knife. A pair of scissors were also recovered, but it is unclear if they were used by the suspect.

Mingdong Chen now faces multiple charges including murder one, four counts of murder two, resisting arrest and assaulting an officer. No word yet on a motive. The only thing we are hearing from police is that the suspect made this comment saying Don, that since he has been in this country, everyone else is doing better than he is. And so, police are trying to interpret what that means, but they clearly do not know what that means.

LEMON: Are there any witnesses?

FLORES: You know, this is a very interesting question because all this happened in an apartment that's inside a residence. And so, what police are telling us is that nobody was inside. No one else was inside the apartment. But there were other people in the residents. And what's really fascinating is that this woman was calling for help. So, she called her husband, couldn't reached him via cell phone. She called her mother-in-law in China. She dispatched her sister-in-law and her sister-in-law was the one who arrived and actually called 911.

LEMON: Fro China?

FLORES: No. The sister-in-law lives nearby. LEMON: She dispatched her sister-in-law from China and she called--?

FLORES: She called her mother-in-law in China. Her mother-in-law sent over her sister-in-law who lives nearby and she was the one who knocked on the door, her and her husband, found the situation brewing and called 911.

LEMON: My God.

FLORES: So awful, yes.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you, Rosa. See you a little bit later on the broadcast.

She got 20 years after firing a warning shot into the wall of her home. She says she did it to scare her abusive husband. But, instead, ended up in prison for a warning shot. We will talk to some people trying to overturn that conviction and that is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: While most of the nation watched George Zimmerman's acquittal over the killing of Trayvon Martin, another controversial, Stand-Your- Ground case, had already played out in another Florida courtroom. Marissa Alexander was sentenced for 20 years for firing a warning shot at a wall to scare her husband who she said threatened her life. We've assembled a panel to discuss her case and the issue of domestic violence.

But, first, I want to give you some background now from CNN's Gary Tuchman.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She walks down the jail hallway in handcuffs. Marissa Alexander is facing 20 years behind bars, convicted of aggravated assault of the deadly weapon. She says she was defending herself, standing her ground from a husband who has been arrested before on charges of abusing her.

He was arrested for doing what to you?

MARISSA ALEXANDER, FACES 20 YEARS IN PRISON: He choked me. He pushed me forcefully into the tub. He pushed me so hard into the closet that I hit my head against the wall and I kind of passed out for a second.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Her husband received probation after that incident. Months later, Alexander says she was in the bathroom at her home here Jackson, Florida, when her husband started pounding on the door. She says he was in a jealous rage over text messages on her cell phone.

ALEXANDER: He managed to get the door open and that's when -- he strangled me. He put his hands around my neck.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Alexander got away from her husband and then made a fateful decision. She could have got out the front door to escaped. Instead, she went to the garage, but says she did not have her car keys and the garage door was stuck. So instead, she grabbed her gun she kept in his garage.

What did you think you were going to do with it.

ALEXANDER: I thought that I was going to protect myself.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Did you think you were going to have to shoot him?

ALEXANDER: Yes, I did, if it came to that. He saw my weapon at my side. And when he saw it, he was even more upset and that's when he threatened to kill me.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But how is he going to kill you if you're the one with the gun?

ALEXANDER: I agree. I thought it was crazy, too.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): But why didn't you run out the door with it?

ALEXANDER: There was no other way to get out the door. He was right there.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): What if you ran around him and went out the door. Your life would have been easy today.

ALEXANDER: Yes, but the law says I don't have to do.

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The law she is talking about is the controversial stand your ground law. Instead of running, she did what she thought was allowed by law. She believes she stood her ground and fired the gun into the wall. Nobody was hurt. But it was enough to scare her husband, Rico Craig, and he left the house with his two young children from a previous relationship. Alexander was safe from her husband, but not from the law. She was arrested. Her stand your ground defense rejected and found guilty.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That was CNN's Gary Tuchman. Thanks to Gary for that.

And joining me now is Esther Armah. She is with the national group called 31 for Marissa, a campaign trying to overturn Marissa Alexander's conviction. And, also, to bring awareness to domestic violence. Also joining me via Skype from Poland, Washington is David Leonard, associate professor at Washington State University who shares the same passion.

So, welcome to both of you.

Esther, I'm going to start with you because a Florida judge has ruled Marissa, will get a new trial because the last trial judge didn't instruct the jury properly. How confident are you that this conviction will ultimately be overturned? ESTHER ARMAH, POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, the challenge is that we are currently the moment around domestic violence will be consistently litigate a woman's behavior. So, the way we response to violence is we say, but why didn't she just leave? Why didn't she do this? Why didn't she do that? Why didn't she do the other?

Now, on November 1st, there's a going to be a state of case hearing about whether or not the prosecution is going to drop the case or they are going to go forward and set a date for a new trial. And 31 for Marissa which is led by Maria Macava (ph) of the Chicago task force on violence against girls and women. Any myself is emotional justice on blog, put together this campaign for the entire month of domestic violence -- .

LEMON: We're going to talk a little bit more about that, but it's not just as easy as people living. It's not quite that easy.

ARMAH: They never is. And there's not an appreciation of risk to a woman's life when she does leave even though the research and the statistic say, leaving can mean losing your life.

LEMON: Yes.

You know, this same judge has made it seem clear that the first judge was right to block Alexander from using the state's stand your ground law as a way to defend her action. Isn't she facing the same difficulty, you know, this time around, David?

DAVID LEONARD, ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR, WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY (via Skype): Well, clearly, the difficulties extend beyond the law, the difficulties reflect a domestic violence culture that, as Esther said, puts the onus on women, asks want women have done. Blames women for choices rather than looking at a cultural violence. A culture that consistently demonizes and criminalized women.

When we look at the fact that men who are accused and convicted of killing domestic partners and spouses face only two to six years, yet, Marissa Alexander is facing 20 years, we see the various cultural and legal obstacles that she's facing.

LEMON: What do you mean cultural and legal obstacles?

LEONARD: Well, as you said, I mean, this a way that the stand-your- ground law operates. It is at really putting her at his advantage even though she stood her ground against violence. But the cultural dimensions that I'm referencing is this idea that domestic violence is a private issue. That the man is the king of the castle. That this is an issue that is inside the home. And we see how that plays out within media culture, within the legal system that genuinely doesn't show a concern for the victims of domestic violence. And here we have Marissa Alexander standing up and saying enough, and once again, it's on her. And she is facing 20 years because of that.

LEMON: OK. You know, there have been numerous heartfelt messages written to Marissa that reveal cases of domestic violence in the lives of the writers. And one of those writers is David Leonard. Next, we're going to read an excerpt of his letter to Marissa and ask him what moved him to write it. And we will also read letters from other man who share personal stories of domestic violence. And we will talk a little bit more about 31 for Marissa.

We will e right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're back with Esther Armah, one of the national group, 31 for Marissa, the campaign to overturn a Florida mom's conviction on stand your ground rule. And David Leonard, associate professor at Washington State University, also part of the group.

David, I want to bring you this conversation a little bit more now. You wrote a letter directly to Marissa personalizing her pain. Here is an excerpt here right now.

It says while we have never met, you've impacted me in ways you will never know. I think about you daily. A poster calling for your pardon hangs in my office. I think about and the horror that you have endured. I'm specifically talking about men failed you long before you said enough to abuse. We have failed to create a culture that repels violence against women.

What moved you to write this?

LEONARD: Well, I think I was moved on multiple levels, one from the first moment I read Marissa Alexander's accounting of what happened. But also the work of Esther and others in the group, really compelled me to push back at the silence, a silence against want has happened to Marissa and what continues to happen to her. The silence about over domestic violence and domestic violence culture. And our failures to deal with the root problem that we see whether that is patriarchy, whether that is the finding masculinity through violence and physicality and domination.

But I think, ultimately, I wrote the letter because I think so often when we're having conversations about domestic violence, we forget about the people. We forget about the victims. We forget about those whose pain and who are locked up and I think that is really important because we lose the focus on people so often.

LEMON: Well, this campaign has prompted men from all ages and backgrounds to write letters personalizing their experience of domestic violence.

One man named Darnell wrote this. He said I watch your horror and fear as my father used his heavy hands or feet or words brutally attack my mother. What was he thinking or not thinking? What was his feeling or desiring to feel that would make him harm the woman who loved him?

I mean, that's interesting that someone writes that, don't you think?

ARMAH: Well, the importance of the campaign would actually engage and target men specifically because for so much of the time when it comes to domestic violence, it has been left to women. Women are considered responsible for the violence inflicted upon them and they are the ones who were tasked to resolve it. And that has been a complete disengagement as far as men is concerned.

So, this campaign was about specifically targeting men. It's really simple. It comes down to this. Stacy Ramble (ph) is a white male teacher. He was convicted of raping a 14-year-old girl. He got 30 days. Marissa Alexander is a black woman who fired a warning shot that didn't hit anybody and didn't hurt anybody and she face 20 years.

LEMON: Right.

ARMAH: That is an issue with how we think about justice and a woman's right to stand her ground in defense of her body which is a legal route.

LEMON: If that doesn't show you just how wrong that is, right, to that comparison.

Final question to you, Esther, how long does this campaign continue? And have you spoken to Marissa?

ARMAH: No, we haven't spoken to Marissa. (INAUDIBLE) campaign, they have been organizing from the worker around her case and around pushing to free her. The campaign, as I said, is led by Maryann McCarver (ph) and myself. It run until October 31st. So, if you just go on twitter, #31forMarissa, you can e-mails more letters. If you check out a Tumblr called the scwagspot (ph), every single letter, and today is day 27, there are going to 31 letters will be up on that Tumblr from all kinds of men, high school black boys, incarcerated teens, middle-aged white men in Chicago. We've a son of Hindu immigrant showing the importance of men breaking their silence about how men can engage in fighting domestic violence.

LEMON: Hash tag?

ARMAH: #31 for Marissa.

LEMON: M-a-r-i-s-s-a.

ARMAH: That's right.

LEMON: David, you do have important work. Thank you very much. I appreciate it.

LEONARD: Thank you for having us.

LEMON: And Esther, thank you as well. Appreciate it you coming on.

Former President Bill Clinton hitting the campaign trail. No, it is not what you think or is it? Sure, he is campaigning for an old friend. But, is he also, in part campaigning for someone? Maybe his wife for 2016? We're going to go life to the campaign trail, that's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, you see there over my left shoulder, that is former president Bill Clinton. He is in Virginia today returning to his role as political closer. He is hitting the campaign tour for a long time for a gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe. The pair are attending an event in Richmond Community high school right now. One of several stops on the putting jobs.

First, let's go to CNN's Peter Hamby. He is live at that event in Richmond.

The former president speaking now, Peter, this is the start of a three-day, nine city tour. Why is the former president leaning into this race so hard?

PETER HAMBY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Don, two obvious reasons, as we mentioned. Terry McAuliffe is actually one of Bill Clinton's best friends. They have known each other for a long time. And secondly, this is Bill Clinton's element. He loves campaigning and frankly, he is good at it.

But the strategic reason here in the final days of the race is that they race between Terry McAuliffe and Republican Ken Cuccinelli, McAuliffe has about eight-point lead. The poll show that voters are pretty much de-satisfied with both candidates. A third party candidate has been rising up because of it. So, this race is really going to come down to turning out the base.

And we are here on the north side of Richmond, the heavily African- American part of the city. This is a part of the city where President Obama rolled up really big margins in 2012. This is Democratic voter territory. And Bill Clinton is telling voters that they need to show up to the polls and he has ton of the reasons why.

Take a listen to what he said earlier today in Northern Virginia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The real question is can those of you who get up and worry about getting your kids to school and putting clothes on their backs and foods on the table and living your dreams? Will you care as much as they do and show up and vote? A big reason for the incredible political division in this country is that in the non-presidential years, a whole different America shows --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HAMBY: The other reason that President Clinton is here, Don, obviously, is that he is a political super-star, and frankly, generates lots of media attention. And that helps keep Cuccinelli down. He is Cuccinelli's actually campaigning this week with Republican Rand Paul and Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, two Republicans stars, Don. So, he is bringing in some heavyweights as well, Don. LEMON: So Peter, it doesn't look like it sort of that chilly there because you are not wearing a jacket. So, I'm going to ask you to standby a little bit. We are going to listen to the former president and you and I will chat.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLINTON: You knew it before you came in here.

Now, the great hazard of political extremism which is what Terry is placed in this whole election, is because it allows us to run away. I don't care how smart you are, it's a bad way to run a railroad. There are lots of studies, I can just add it tonight, which prove that groups make better decisions than individuals in any complex environment. There's a book called the wisdom of friends (ph) by American journalist (INAUDIBLE).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, that is former president speaking. The crowd always loves Bill Clinton because he is such a, you know, charismatic speaker there, talking about his friend, and who he's running against here. It is a bad way to run a railroad, he says.

Hillary Clinton also campaigned for McAuliffe last week storing presidential speculations. Peter, has bill Clinton teased out any 2016 buzz today?

HAMBY: Not explicitly, Don. And they're both being cagey about her presidential aspirations if they exist. But earlier in that Dale City event, up in northern Virginia, Bill Clinton just mentioning the name Hillary Clinton got one of his loudest applauses of the whole event. We can expect that here.

Look. Hillary Clinton, I covered her last week when she campaigned for McAuliffe on the Falls Church. She got an interception. This campaign is giving on our first chance to step back into the political arena, possible in a 2016, Don.

LEMON: Yes. And, of course, I saw the former president tweeting out yesterday, happy birthday to his wife. Hillary Clinton yesterday, 67- years-old.

Thank you Peter Hamby, Richmond, Virginia.

This week will mark a one year anniversary, no one will celebrate. Super storm Sandy and its wide-spread destruction But there is something to celebrate, the resilience of the survivors. They have come a long way in a year. That is next.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Cool, calm, confident. 13-year-old Jaylen Arnold is on a mission to banish bullying for all. JAYLEN ARNOLD, SUFFERS FROM TOURETTE SYNDROME: I felt the pain of being bullied. I have been bullied bad. But I know there are over a hundred kids being bullied a hundred times worse than I was.

GUPTA (voice-over): You see, Jaylen has Tourette syndrome. It is a neurological disorder which causes repetitive involuntary movements and sounds called ticks.

ROBIN ECKELBERGER, JAYLEN'S MOTHER: Jaylen began ticking at the age of two. We went through several doctor appointments. (INAUDIBLE) like oh, my goodness. I think this was classic Tourette case and he was only diagnosed at three because in order to be diagnosed with Tourette, they have to observe the behavior for one whole year.

GUPTA (voice-over): Jaylen's mom, Robin, uploaded a video to You Tube hoping that it would help children, parents alike better understand his son's disability. The video has racked up around 200,000 views and captured the attention of actor, Dash Mihok who is currently starring at show time's hit series, Ray Donovan.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was on fire.

GUPTA (voice-over): Together, Dash and Jaylen captivate their student audience working with Jaylen's challenge foundation to put a stop to bullying.

DASH MIHOK, STAR, RAY DONOVAN: I'm here because I have a young brother named Jaylen Arnold who reminds me of me as a kid.

He has been doing it at an age that I wish I had had the bravery to step up and reach as many people as he does.

ARNOLD: We came up with Jaylen's challenge because I want to stand up and I want to do something make a difference.

It hurts to think about how much torture and how miserable a kid's life can be just because one person is causing them to feel their self esteem and that they're worthless.

MIHOK: Are we going to bully?

CHILDREN: No way.

GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Superstorm Sandy hammered the northeast almost a year ago. In two days, survivors will mark the summer anniversary, October 29th in Rockaway Queens Sandy left devastating scars. Yet today, a spirit of resilience runs through rockaway.

CNN's Alexandra Field has incredible stories of resilience from people who called Rockaway home. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A lot can happen in a year. In good times, Madeline Chocolate factory churns out 20 million pounds of chocolate. Last year, there was none.

JORGE FARBER, CEO, MADELINE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: So, the place was a war zone.

FIELD (voice-over): How high is the water come up?

FARBER: The water probably was at 40 some inches.

FIELD (voice-over): The spilled chocolate was the least of the problem. When superstorm Sandy laid waste to the Rockaway, the largest employers, all 450 workers lost their jobs.

Was there part of you that said, let's just turn the lights off and walk away?

FARBER: More than once.

FIELD (voice-over): The power never came back on at Allie Hagan's place.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We had a beautiful front desk.

FIELD (voice-over): Her house in Breezy point whip stoop the storm, but it burned in the fire that torched the neighborhood after what seemed the worst had passed. She hopes in year she'll be back here. There's a word for people like her.

DENNIS CHARNEY, AUTHOR, RESILIENCE: It is one of those things that if you meet somebody who is resilient, you kind of know it.

FIELD (voice-over): For more than 20 years, Dr. Dennis Charney has been studying the science behind the brilliance. It is book co- authored with Doctor with (INAUDIBLE). They tackled the question, why is it that some people seem to naturally bend without breaking. Charney said it is partially genetic. But we can all learn to adopt traits that will make us more resilient like optimism and altruism.

CHARNEY: People who are autistic can give back to others. That helps them in their own recovery.

FIELD (voice-over): Considering the survivors of 9/11, or Hurricane Katrina, those who put others first now consider the faces of superstorm Sandy.

FARBER: Many of these employers have been with us for 10, 20, 30 years.

FIELD (voice-over): Knowing people were counting on him, gave gorge the steam to get help to get his factory back open.

For Allie Hagen, it was about her neighbors. She helped organize a support group of sorts to rebuild together.

ALLIE HAGEN, HOMEOWNER: Oh, my goodness, we've had 50, 60 people. E- mail chains. We talked to each other all the time.

FIELD (voice-over): Charney says their studies prove role models and support systems increase the odds of weathering any of life's storms.

CHARNEY: You're working together as a team to overcome a tragedy, or a city tragedy, it makes it a lot easier.

FIELD (voice-over): A lot happened to Allie Hagen last year, but she is determined to do a lot more next year.

Alexandra field, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: To read more stories of resilience from the survivors of hurricane Sandy, check out our main page at CNN.com.

In North Carolina, five people were hurt at the state fair on a ride called the vortex. Now investigators suspect this accident was no accident at all. Next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A carnival ride operator in North Carolina has been charged in connection with an incident that sent five people to the hospital. He is facing three felony counts of assault with deadly weapon. Witnesses say the vortex ride had come to a stop Thursday night. And people were getting off when it started up again. Now, according to investigators, the ride's safety devices were tampered with after the ride had been inspected.

FLORES: With your weekly five, I'm Rosa Flores.

The doctor blamed with the death of Michael Jackson gets out of jail on Monday. Conrad Murray says he wants to go back to Houston to practice medicine again. His quest is a long shot. Texas revoked Murray's medical license this last summer and will most likely not restore it.

In the market for mansion. Tuesday, O.J. Simpson's lavish Florida home hits the online auction block at nearly 5,000 square feet, it has four bedrooms, four bathrooms and yes, a swimming pool. Simpson still owes nearly $800,000 on the home plus about $85,000 in back taxes and insurance.

Wednesday, we'll hear from a top Obama administration official on what went wrong with the government's health care Web site. Health and human services director Kathleen Sebelius will testify before a House committee. Sebelius has been urging people to sign up for the Obamacare and maintain that the Web site is improving day by day.

The justice department is sharing secret, a throve of de-classified files are to be released by the NSA on Thursday. The second batch of documents will focus on the inner workings of the foreign intelligence surveillance core.

Deep cuts are coming to the food stamp program. The cuts are totaling about $5 billion take effect on Friday and will reduce a family of four's benefits by $36 a month. According to federal data, at least 47 million people or nearly 15 percent of the population receive assistance.

And that's your weekly five.