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Brooklyn Mass Murder; Writer, Rocker and Poet Lou Reed Dies; Britain Braces for Worst Storm in Years; World Series Game Three Ends with Rare Call; Island's Homeowners Face 600 Percent Tax Hike; Searching for Killer Whales; One Year After Superstorm Sandy

Aired October 27, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Top of the hour -- 7:00 here in the East. You're in the NEWSROOM. I'm Don Lemon.

The scandal involving the President, the NSA and German chancellor Angela Merkel deepens. Reports have surfaced that President knew the NSA were spying on Merkel for years with German media reporting that phone tapping on Merkel's phone may have begun as early as 2002. Erin McPike is in Washington and has the NSA's response -- Erin.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don a German newspaper reported this weekend that NSA Chief General Keith Alexander told President Obama about tapping Chancellor Merkel's phone back in 2010. Now the NSA denies that piece of it.

A spokesman told us today quote "General Alexander did not discuss with President Obama in 2010 an alleged foreign intelligence operation involving German Chancellor Merkel nor has he ever discussed alleged operation involving Chancellor Merkel. News reports claiming otherwise are not true."

But all that means is that Alexander and the President didn't talk about it. We don't know all the details yet or whether the President actually knew this was happening in the first place. Of course, Germany is demanding answers and sending a delegation to the United States in the coming weeks.

The German Interior Minister says if the allegations are true, it's possible the United States broke the law and they want someone to be held accountable. And he said German confidence in the United States, one of their closest allies, is shaken.

Now politicians on both sides of the aisle are conceding that there may be tension with our allies but they're basically defending these practices and that's including Republican Mike Rogers. He chairs the House Intelligence Committee and here's what he told CNN's Candy Crowley this morning.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MIKE ROGERS (R), CHAIR, HOUSE INTELLIGENCE COMMITTEE: We need to be respectful but we also need to be -- and we need to be accurate, it needs to be overseen and we need to make sure that we're not collecting information we don't need but we should collect information that's helpful to the United States interest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MCPIKE: And of course, Hillary Clinton tried to explain the importance of these surveillance programs as well over the weekend -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Erin, thank you very much.

And you know earlier I spoke to former CIA operative Bob Baer who says spying on allies is nothing new. But is the information gained from tapping the phones of our allies worth it? I asked him.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB BAER, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Now the National Security Agencies 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 much paid attention to. I think what's new now is it's been made so graphically evident just how big this collection program is.

And frankly, I think listening to Merkel's phone, if in fact that happened and it sounds like it did, you know, we didn't get much intelligence out of it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Former CIA operative Bob Baer.

I want to turn now to a grisly discovery in New York City. A mother and her four young children found late last night all stabbed to death in an apartment in Brooklyn. Now we are learning more about what happened before the killings. I want to turn to CNN's Rosa Flores now with the horrible details. What do we know Rosa?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well do know more about intense moments leading up to this killing. Police tell us the mother of those children was calling her husband for help then called her mother-in-law in China. When help did arrive, folks, police found a slaughter house. They arrested 25-year-old Ming Dong Chin.

Here is what we know. A 37-year-old mother and her four children, ages nine to one, were found dead inside her Brooklyn apartment; police say with apparent stab wounds to their upper body. The man charged for the killings is 25-year-old Ming Dong Chin who is the cousin of the slain woman's husband. He had been staying at their home for about eight to ten days and then the unexpected happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHIEF PHILIP BANKS, NEW YORK POLICE: You have, like I said, a mother, two males and -- two her sons and two or her daughters that were -- that were cut and butchered with a kitchen knife. We have the knife. The perpetrator made statements alluding that he -- he utilized this knife to commit this act.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FLORES: Police recovered that butcher knife from the scene, a pair of scissors were also found. No word if they were used. Ming Dong Chin faces multiple charges including murder one, four counts of murder two and assaulting an officer. Police tell us that that assault allegedly happened when he was being booked. No word on the motive. The police did say that he has made incriminating comments. And of course this is still under investigation -- Don.

LEMON: So where is this suspect from? And what was he doing in Brooklyn?

FLORES: You know, it's a very interesting question because authorities tell us that he moved to the United States in 2004 and since then, he's moving around from one address to another. He had been here in Brooklyn before. Most recently he had been here for eight to ten days and -- and that's all we know about him.

And so they're -- they're talking to him with an interpreter because he only speaks Mandarin. They tell us that he's made incriminating comments and again, it's all under investigation and I assume we're going to learn more soon.

LEMON: All right. Rosa will be following this for us. Rosa Flores, thank you very much, we appreciate it.

FLORES: You're welcome.

Mourners now are attending a wake right now for a beloved Massachusetts teacher brutally killed at her school. The body of 24- year-old Colleen Ritzer was found dumped in the woods outside Danvers High School on Tuesday. One of her students, 14-year-old Phillip Chism has been charged in her killing. St. Augustine Church in Andover cancelled its regular service this evening to accommodate mourners. Her funeral will be held there tomorrow.

More trouble for entertainer Chris Brown. The R&B singer is in jail charged with assault after a fight outside of Washington hotel. Brown punched allegedly punched a man who was interested in getting a pitcher. Brown's bodyguard was also arrested. The alleged victim is out of the hospital. Brown was already on probation for beating his ex-girlfriend, Rihanna. Any run-ins with the law could get him some extended jail time.

Another musician making headlines today -- Lou Reed the rocker, writer and poet who influenced a generation of musicians -- generations of musicians who followed him, dead at the age 71. Anthony DeCurtis of "Rolling Stone" magazine telling me last hour that Reed was an important -- as important a songwriter as more commercially successful music icons like Lennon, McCartney, Dylan.

CNN's Alan Duke joins us. Alan any details about Reed's death? ALAN DUKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We still don't know the official cause of death. We do know that a few months ago he underwent a liver transplant. Now we also know that over the years, he's acknowledged drug use, a very dangerous, serious drug since the '60s and the toll that that can take on your liver. We don't know if that's directly related into his death this weekend.

He was seen since his liver transplant walking the streets of New York. So we know that he was doing reasonably well there and in interviews and on his Web site. His wife said that he hoped for a full recovery but we did learn this weekend that he has died.

LEMON: You know we he had that liver transplant earlier this year. And he made no secret of his years of drug abuse which you reference a bit earlier.

DUKE: Right. Well it's all in his songs, one of his songs of the late 60s was called "Heroin".

LEMON: Yes.

DUKE: And that was one of the legacies that his music brought to us is poetic rock lyrics that were just laced with drug references.

LEMON: Yes all right. Alan Duke thank you very much.

Listen I want to tell you next a live conversation with the former drummer of Velvet Underground and her times with Lou Reed. You don't want to miss that.

And hurricane force winds are expected to hit the United Kingdom, the UK. It just may be the worst storm in decades. We're going to go live to the English Coast.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: I want you to watch this because for those of you who know Lou Reed, you know his legacy. It's amazing. And for those of you who don't, you're going to learn something right now. Glam rockers, punk rockers and many more owe a huge debt to Reed and the band he founded in the 1960s, the Velvet Underground, wrote about darker themes like drugs, street hustling, sexual deviancy, while many of their contemporaries sang about peace, love and understanding.

Maureen Tucker was their drummer. And she is on the phone from her home in Georgia. And thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing?

MAUREEN TUCKER, VELVET UNDERGROUND (via telephone): Kind of weird. I'm not sure -- I'm not sure how I'm doing at all.

LEMON: Yes. Kind of weird -- That's a good way of putting it. When was the last time you spoke to Lou?

TUCKER: Probably within a couple years. We didn't see each other a lot. LEMON: Yes.

TUCKER: Because as you said, I'm in Georgia. And he's in New York. We never really -- not never, but we didn't see each other very often.

LEMON: Yes tell us about him. I mean do -- a lot of people don't know his legacy right on how much he contributed to -- especially what we call punk rock.

TUCKER: Yes.

LEMON: People don't realize. Tell us about him.

TUCKER: Well his legacy I would say was he certainly influenced, probably millions of people -- into a number of things, into maybe reading more, into playing music. And when I had been on tour, there's been kids from 15 years old to 60-year-olds commenting on how much they were influenced by Lou and the Velvets. So it is far- reaching.

LEMON: Yes did you have any idea at all, when people are phenomenon and they are famous, that they do something that is just amazing, maybe they have you know a huge television show, like Carroll O'Connor did, you know like "All in the Family". Did you all have any idea back then, that you were doing something that we would be talking about nearly 50 years later, that Velvet would be this iconic band.

TUCKER: No, no, not at all. I mean we all believed in the music and loved it. But no, but I don't think anybody who's doing something artistic, writing or painting or whatever, thinks well, in 20 years, I'll be famous. No, we did not think that. But we had -- we had fans who made us realize it was worth it. But we didn't have it when we were together. Actively, we didn't have a big -- a big splash like The Doors or whatever.

LEMON: Yes did you -- did you learn from him? Did he learn from you? And what was it like working with him and Andy Warhol?

TUCKER: The last what excuse me? I'm sorry.

LEMON: I said what was it like working with him and Warhol?

TUCKER: Working with Lou sometimes could be trying. Never to me, that's for sure -- never to me -- but to some other people. But I guess we learned from each other. We all learned from each other without even realizing it.

And Andy was certainly fun. I had a lot of fun in those days.

LEMON: Yes what do you want people to remember or know about him?

TUCKER: That Lou was generous, encouraging, thoughtful, and I loved him very much.

LEMON: Yes. Maureen Tucker, thank you. Peace be with you, ok?

TUCKER: Thank you, very much.

LEMON: All right.

I want to move on now to another story because happening right now in Britain, a powerful storm, packing hurricane force winds, sweeping across the U.K. and heading towards London. The storm could be Britain's worst in a decade and cause chaos for tours and travelers tomorrow.

CNN's Erin McLaughlin is in southern England right now. Tell us what the conditions are where you are.

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Don. The storm has definitely arrived here at Lyme Regis. The rain is pretty heavy. The winds are pretty strong around 45 miles per hour at the moment, that according to a Met office spokesperson that I talked to. Conditions are expected to get worse as the night progresses.

So far, as you can see around me. People seem to be heeding the government's advice to stay indoors, to stay off the roads, though it is around 11:00 at night. You wouldn't expect that many people to be out anyway.

The real concern though for officials they tell me is the wind. Now, normally they say you would see this kind of system in the winter. The problem with seeing it in the fall is that the ground is saturated. The trees still have leaves which leaves plenty of opportunity for trees to fall down, blocked roads, cause external damage -- that kind of thing. Now there have been comparisons between this storm and the great storm of 1987 that happened here in the U.K. and France. Around dozens of people died billions in damage though officials I talked to say they do not expect these conditions to be that bad, Don.

LEMON: Erin McLaughlin, thank you. And make sure you stay safe out there. We appreciate it.

LEMON: It's the controversial call everyone is talking about. It ended game three of the world series. That report is next.

And Jay-Z releases a statement reacting to racial profile charges at Barney's.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Baseball fans will be talking about the big drama on the diamond for years. Many fans might never have heard about the Major League rules about obstruction but last night, everyone got a crash course. Here is CNN's Nick Valencia.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN FARRELL, BOSTON RED SOX MANAGER: It's a tough way to have a game end.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It was one of the most bizarre ends of any baseball game. Not to mention a pivotal game in the World Series. But on Saturday night with two outs in the bottom of the ninth, this happened. A rare obstruction call to end the game giving the St. Louis cardinals a 2-1 edge on the series.

FARRELL: He is on the ground. If he tries to raise up, then he is clearly getting in his way for Craig to try to advance to home plate. But you know that he got tangled up with him and that was the call.

WILL MIDDLEBROOKS, BOSTON RED SOX: We didn't think there was any obstruction there. I was inside the baseline had to dive for it. As I'm getting up, he trips over me. I don't know what else to say.

VALENCIA: After the game, a rare press conference. The umpire defended his call.

JIM JOYCE, THIRD BASE UMPIRE: The base runner has every right to go unobstructed to home plate and unfortunately for Middlebrooks he was right there. And there was contact. And so, he could not advance to home plate naturally.

VALENCIA: At home plate, the Red Sox storm the field to argue while elated Cardinals players ran to celebrate. Both sides thought they were right.

JESSE SANCHEZ, MLB.COM: You know what -- last night was history. It was an obstruction walk-off.

VALENCIA: Jesse Sanchez writes for mlb.com. Last night, he was in the middle of the madness. A baseball traditionalist, he thought it was the right call.

SANCHEZ: These are the rules of the game and really the rules apply all year long. And you can't change that. Doesn't matter what point of the season you are in. This will be one of those bizarre moments in history.

VALENCIA (on camera): Now this isn't the first time that Jim Joyce has been in the middle of controversy call. Back in 2010, it was Joyce's blown call at first base that ruined what would have been a perfect game for Armando Galarraga. After the game, Joyce gave a tearful apology. For his part Galarraga kept it classy, saying, "Nobody's perfect."

Nick Valencia, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right Nick. Thank you very much.

Serena Williams is unstoppable again. Williams beat back a strong challenge from China's Ling Na to win the Women's Tennis Association championships today. The 32-year-old superstar just completed her most dominant season ever. Also Serena Williams won the French open and the U.S. Open this year. I mean, she is just on a high here.

According to Forbes, Williams smashed the all time earnings record for women's tennis this year. She raked in $12.4 million this season. You go, girl.

If you missed it yesterday, history was made in Nascar. Darryl Wallace Jr. won the Nascar truck race at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. In doing so he became the first African American to win a national Nascar race in nearly 50 years.

Car owner Joe Gibbs says Wallace has tremendous talent and the beam believes he can have a huge impact on the sport. The last black Nascar winner was Wendell Scott back in 1963.

Rap star Jay-Z finally speaking out on a lawsuit at an angry store. Angry fans have been asking him to end his contract with Barney's New York after two African students claim they were racially profiled.

A statement on his Web site reads like this. I'm against any 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 that has put been in that position. Hopefully this brings forth the dialogue to effect real change."

Johnny Knoxville's new comedy "Jackass" brought Sandra Bullock's "Gravity" back to earth. "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" was number one at the -- can I say that on television -- weekend box office raking in $32 million. I guess I just did.

Let's look at a bit of Knoxville's "Bad Grandpa".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Grandpa, this thing doesn't work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, God. Nothing. Oh -- ow.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So I guess I'll say it again. Every "Jackass" movie debuted at number one.

An old Georgia community that's home to slave descendants is facing property taxes as high as 600 percent. We will tell you why and give you a tour just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Oh, didn't realize we're back. Look at that Lady Liberty. Beautiful shot of the harbor tonight. It is 54 degrees out. And there we go -- soak it up folks.

It's the bottom of the hour and we want to turn to some of the news that are making -- some other stories that are making headlines this hour.

First up, the President knew that the latest headline splashed across a German newspaper claiming not only was the NSA tapping the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for years but that President Obama knew all along. The NSA denying the allegations.

Now to Phoenix, police found five people and two dogs found shot to death at an apartment complex. The suspected gunman was among the dead. Four bodies and both dogs were in the apartment. The suspect's body was in the apartment next door. Police are not releasing the suspect's name. Investigators are trying to figure out a possible motive in that one.

In Baltimore, authorities say an apparent murder/suicide involves a police officer, firefighter and a love triangle. Three people were found dead inside a suburban home including the suspect, a Baltimore police officer. Authorities say the 37-year-old officer burst into the home and shot and killed his ex girlfriend and the firefighter and then took his own life. Apparently his ex girlfriend recently started dating the firefighter.

The operator of a carnival ride that injured several people has been arrested after investigators found evidence of tampering. Five people were hurt when the Vortex ride suddenly restarted as riders were getting off Thursday at the North Carolina State Fair.

The operator, 46-year-old, Timothy Tutterrow, faces three felony counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

On a lighter note, McDonald's breaking up with its catsup maker after a 40-year relationship. McDonald's ditched Heinz catsup citing management changes. Heinz recently hired a former Burger King CEO to lead their catsup company. McDonald's and Burger King, of course, longtime fast food rivals.

McDonald's used Heinz catsup internationally but only use in Heinz in Minneapolis and Pittsburgh in the U.S.

Georgia's Sapelo Island is a tiny community. Home to about 50 people, all descendant of slaves. Its land was virtually unspoiled for generations. That is until the tourists showed up. One outsider especially unwelcomed the tax man who's raised taxes as much as 600 percent on residents.

And as CNN's David Mattingly explains, the move is putting their lives and futures in jeopardy.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Slave descendant on Georgia's Sapelo Island have held on to their ancestral land since the end of the civil war. Abyss to the island today reveals a humble lifestyle. Under the shade of a sprawling live oaks and curtains of Spanish moss but there is also a desperation here.

(On camera): What were the taxes before?

REGINALD HALL, SAPELO ISLAND, GEORGIA RESIDENT: $2,036 total.

MATTINGLY: What did they go up to?

HALL: $10,836.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Reginald Hall the taxes on his family's land increase overnight more than 500 percent. And he's not alone. The problem, new county assessments spiked by demand for expensive vacation homes on this undeveloped island.

(On camera): How basic is life here?

HALL: As basic as it gets.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): Hall takes me on a tour down the bumpy roads to the island's only residential area. A place scenery rich but job poor.

(On camera): What are you getting for your tax money?

HALL: Nothing.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): There are no paved roads. No schools and the only ferry to the island doesn't run at night. But that hasn't stopped outsiders from setting off an upscale building boom with unaffordable taxes as the fallout.

BENJAMIN HALL, SAPELO ISLAND, GEORGIA RESIDENT: Once we move the land through this strategy of increasing taxes, we have fallen as a people.

MATTINGLY: These residents are descendants of the hundreds of slaves brought to Sapelo from West Africa in the 1800s.

They are living remnants of what's known as the Gullah-Geechee culture. Fewer than 50 still live here.

B. HALL: That's part of what built this country. And Sapelo being the only intact Gulla-Geechee community in the country that's left.

MATTINGLY: For most, selling out is not an option. Cornelia Bailey is ninth generation Sapelo.

CONRNELIA BAILEY, SAPELO ISLAND, GEORGIA RESIDENT: I told one guy's prices, and he said everything has a price. I said, no, you don't know me. I said this is priceless. You don't have enough money to buy it. So forget it.

MATTINGLY: Residents say they get no help from county officials. To find out why we had to hop the ferry back to the mainland where answers were unusually hard to come by.

(On camera): No county official we approached would agree to either talk to us on camera or even return our calls. We were able to reach the head of the tax assessor's board who said that when it comes to preserving the culture on Sapelo and taxes, they are just following state law.

(Voice-over): Tax assessor board chairman James Larkin suggests the Sapelo residents brought this on themselves saying, "If they hadn't started selling their property, there wouldn't be a problem." (On camera): Do you buy that?

R. HALL: Not at all.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): A group of residents plans to sue in state and federal courts. Reginald Hall is fifth generation Sapelo.

(On camera): What do you think about when you come out here?

R. HALL: My grandmother.

MATTINGLY (voice-over): At the island's historic cemetery, Hall can't help but get emotional, thinking how the struggles of the past could be forgotten.

R. HALL: They humbled themselves. Most of the times in certain disgrace and weren't allowed to live. They were only allowed to survive.

MATTINGLY: And the fight for survival continues. With hopes there will be future generations calling the island home.

David Mattingly, CNN, Sapelo Island, Georgia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very interesting and emotional story. Thank you, David Mattingly, for that and best of luck to them.

We are looking for killer whales in the Pacific. It can be dangerous and it's undaunted. You don't want to miss what our Martin Savidge found out and his guide.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Syrian rebels say they want no part in peace talks. Nineteen opposition groups are refusing an invitation to Geneva to next month, posting this video on YouTube, saying, negotiating with President Bashar al-Assad's regime will be, quote, "an act of treason," making them traitors to the revolution.

Colombia's FARC guerrilla group has released an American hostage who spent more than four months in captivity. Rebels captured Kevin Scott Sutay while he was backpacking through the country in June. His case drew attention from the Reverend Jesse Jackson who pushed for his release during a trip to Cuba last month.

The Red Cross says he is in good health and he'll be reunited with his family soon. Kidnapping government forces and civilians long been a key strategy of the rebel group.

A Bulgarian woman with up to 10 children is confirmed as the biological mother of Maria. That's the mystery girl found in a Roma camp in Greece. She appeared on Bulgarian TV saying she only had the best intentions for her daughter.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (Through Translator): I want her with me. I don't want her to live in Greece. No one was with me when I gave birth. A woman lied to me, said she would take care of Maria like I would have. Do you know how I felt when I saw her dancing and begging, her hands dirty? I've never allowed any one of my children to go begging.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Greek authorities charged that Roma couple living in Greece with abducting the child. A longstanding prejudice depicts Roma as people who steal children for forced labor although authorities have produced no evidence that was the case with Maria.

Given the chance to search for killer whales in the Pacific Ocean, most people would go the other way. Not our Martin Savidge, though. With the help of an expert guide and some modern technology, here's what he found.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): I'm looking for killer whales. And told Andrew Skinner of Great Pacific Adventures he's the man I have to see.

ANDREW SKINNER, GREAT PACIFIC ADVENTURES: We were kind of hoping maybe we could go out and see if there were any whales.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, I don't see why not.

SAVIDGE: October is late season for late killer whale watching. I'm going to need some luck. And something else. The suits that keep me dry because in the boat we're taking, there is a good chance of getting wet.

It's a 30-foot inflatable Richard Hall inflatable with two twin 225 horsepower outboards capable of highway speeds. Andrew drives, listening for sightings radioed in by a network of spotters including sea plane pilots and other boats. It's not long before I get my first glimpse.

(On camera): There it is.

(Voice-over): They're not killer whales but humpbacks.

SKINNER: You're going to see that back come up, and then maybe the tail will follow.

SAVIDGE: We push on, cruising past a couple of rocky islands catching a chorus from another sort of sea life.

It's during a break on shore we get the call we've waited for.

SKINNER: What direction are they headed? SAVIDGE: A pod of killer whales is spotted to the north. It's more than half an hour away. And with the day growing late, we have to move fast.

(On camera): Looking for killer whales can be a, well, high speed pursuit sometimes. These boats that we're in can go up to 50 miles an hour. With the temperature of the ocean at 48 degrees, the wind chill is pretty severe.

(Voice-over): But when we get there, the only thing we see is waves. Sudden there they are. The tall dorsal fin of the male rises several feet out of the water. The smaller females nearby. For their protection we don't get any closer than 100 yards. When they suddenly turned towards us, Andrew cuts the engines.

SKINNER: So we'll just shut the boat down. Sit quietly and let them pass.

SAVIDGE: It's an amazing moment as they pass just a few feet away.

We follow the pod as they make several dives before finally calling it a day.

(On camera): There you can see the golden sun just setting on the horizon there. Which also means it's about time for us to do the same thing just like these whale orcas. And head right off into the sunset.

(Voice-over): Martin Savidge, CNN, Victoria, Canada.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Very nice, Martin.

CNN Films follows the history of killer whales in captivity leading up to the death of a SeaWorld trainer in 2010. Make sure to watch "Blackfish" tonight 9:00 Eastern right here on CNN.

Dr. Conrad Murray leaves jail. O.J. Simpson, his Florida mansion hits the auction block. And the president goes back on the road to defend Obamacare. Those stories and more in your week ahead next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): 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 past summer and will most likely not restore it.

In the market for a mansion? Tuesday O.J. Simpson's lavish Florida home hits the online auction block and 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 on the road urging people to sign up for Obamacare and maintains that the Web site is improving day by day.

The Justice Department is sharing secrets. A trove of declassified 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 Court.

Deep cuts are coming to the food stamp program. The cuts 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."

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Thank you, Rosa Flores, for that.

President Barack Obama will travel to Boston on Wednesday to praise and promote the Affordable Care Act. The administration has long touting Massachusetts 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 the healthcare.gov Web site. Contractors told members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week that the government was to blame for the problem plagued software.

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius has been taking a lot of heat for her role in the Obamacare Web site fiasco. Not only are Republicans calling for her to be fired but even "Saturday Night Live" of course jumped in with their take on the botched roll-out. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, tonight I have a number of friendly tips to help you deal with those technical problems. For example, have you tried restarting your computer? Sometimes it helps to turn the computer off and then turn it back on. We don't know why. It just does.

If our Web site still isn't loading properly, we're probably just overloaded with traffic. Millions of Americans are visiting healthcare.gov, which is great news. Unfortunately the site was only designed to handle six users at a time. So if you're in a rush, consider using our low-res Web site with simpler fonts and graphics. Nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was very funny, very funny. You know, it has been nearly a year since Superstorm Sandy slammed into the East Coast. Why are some people able to rebound from adverse city easier than others? The science behind resiliency next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tuesday marks the one-year anniversary of Superstorm Sandy. After crashing through the Caribbean, the powerful storm made landfall in southern New Jersey, and destruction can still be seen and felt along the East Coast.

Sandy killed 117 people in the U.S. alone and caused property damage in the billions of dollars. But how and why do some people bounce back from this kind of adversity better than others?

CNN correspondent Alexandra Field has more now on the science behind resiliency.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

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

JORGE FARBER, CEO, THE MADELEINE CHOCOLATE FACTORY: So the place was a warzone.

FIELD (on camera): How high did the water came up?

FARBER: The water had been about 40 some inches high.

FIELD (voice-over): The spilled chocolate was the least of the problem, when Superstorm Sandy laid waste to the rockaway's largest employer, all 450 workers lost their jobs.

(On camera): 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 deck.

FIELD: Her house in Breezy Point withstood the storm but it burned in the fire that torched her neighborhood after it seemed the worst had passed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I love you, love you, love you. How are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I miss you. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I know.

FIELD: Hagan hopes that in another year she'll be back here, there's a word for people like her.

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

FIELD: For more than 20 years, Dr. Dennis Charney has been studying the science behind resilience. In his book co-authored with Dr. Stephen Southwick, they tackled the question, why is it that some people seem to naturally bend without breaking?

Charney says it's partially genetic, but we can all learn to adopt traits that would make us more resilient, like optimism and altruism.

CHARNEY: People who are altruistic and give back to others, that helps them in their own recovery.

FIELD: Consider 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: Knowing people were counting on him gave Jorge Farber the steam to get up and get half of his chocolate factory back open.

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

HAGAN: Oh, my goodness. We've had, you know, 50, 60 people. We have e-mail chains. We're talking to each other all the time.

FARBER: Charney says there studies prove world model and support system increase the odds of weathering any of life's storms.

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

FIELD: A lot happened to Allie Hagan last year, but she's determined to do a lot more next year.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When are you coming home?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We'll be home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We don't know yet.

FIELD: Alexandra Field, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: To read more stories of resilience from the survivors of Hurricane Sandy, make sure you check out the main page at CNN.com.

Turning now to some other stories. The president knew, that's the latest headlines splashed across German newspapers, claiming not only was the NSA tapping the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel for years, but that President Barack Obama knew all along. The NSA denying those allegations.

A man is in custody, charged in the grizzly stabbing deaths of a mother and her found children. The victims were found in their Brooklyn Apartment late last night. Police say the suspect is a cousin of the slain woman's husband. The motive still unclear at this hour.

Chris Brown arrested, jailed, and charged with assault after a fight outside a D.C. hotel. The alleged victim says Brown and his bodyguard punched him as he tried to get into a picture with the singer. Brown is on probation for beating his ex-girlfriend Rihanna. A violation could mean extended jail time.

Fans and fellow artists mourning the death of Lou Reed, the iconic rocker, writer, and poet influenced generations of musicians. No word yet on the cause of death. He had a liver transplant earlier this year. Lou Reed was 71 years old.

And finally some must-see moments. Here's video from a go-pro cam. I want you to watch New Zealander and extreme mountain biker Kelly McGarry. Ad he does a jaw-dropping I can't believe this video, look at this. Jaw dropping, backflip over a 72-foot wide. Canyon depth and sticks the landing.

No way. Well, he went airborne another two times during this run at the Red Bull Rampage event in southern Utah earlier this month. McGarry came in second and told reporters he was freaking out about the backflip, but he felt he had the speed, so he just went for it.

Gees.

One Georgia cheerleader has a lot to cheer about. She is now in the Guinness Book of Records, she's a record holder. This is a video that got her that record.

Sixteen-year-old Michaela Clark broke the record for the most consecutive backhand springs. The previous one was 36. Michaela managing an incredible 44.

And can you guess what this is? That is a month-old Zooey -- oh, look at that. From Huntington Beach, California, showing off her awesome new stick figure costume created by her father. Dad-- his name is Royce.

Thank you, everybody for watching us. "BLACKFISH" in one hour here on CNN. Make sure you tune in. Anthony Bourdain now.