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LeBron James Returns to Cleveland; Student Tells Gays "Stop Stealing Black Female Culture"; Jeh Johnson Visits Child Immigrant Housing; High-Priced Hooker Tied to Death; Joint Chiefs Backed Bergdahl Swap.

Aired July 11, 2014 - 14:30   ET

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

JASON RILEY, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL: And I'm glad that you want to talk about black criminality because they don't want to talk about it.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR; I want to talk about the entire problem, but also black criminality, racism and everything, the entire effect on it.

I appreciate your thoughts.

RILEY: Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you.

Don't go anywhere. I want to talk to you about other things, as well.

Just ahead here on CNN, George Clooney rejects an apology from a tabloid newspaper involving his future mother-in-law. We'll discuss that.

Plus, back to the stunning news about the world's best basketball player. Some guy named, um, Lee Bron? Kidding. LeBron James going back to Cleveland.

And my friend, Ana Navarro, is a Miami Heat fan. She says she can cry on the air. I'm worried about her. Donna Brazile is there, a sports fanatic. I called them. They were having lunch. I had to break it up. I said come in here and talk to me about this. And there they are. We're going to discuss after the break. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Either you're like this -- LeBron James is headed back to Cleveland! -- or you're like one of my next guests.

(SINGING)

Ana Navarro.

I want to bring in CNN commentators and NBA fans, Donna Brazile and Ana Navarro.

Ana, did Donna have to take you out to lunch because you were sad? And Donna was she actually crying in her soup? (CROSSTALK)

ANA NAVARRO, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Can I tell you something? First of all, I got tissues with me, because I don't know if approximate I can get through this segment without crying on national TV like John Boehner. But I will tell you --

(CROSSTALK)

DONNA BRAZILE, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: I was driving, Don. I was driving. I'm a good driver, and all of a sudden I heard this big yelp. We were driving past the capitol, oh, my god, what's happening and she said LeBron is leaving! And I said, oh, my god. I almost got in a car accident. I had to calm her down over some fritters.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Aww!

BRAZILE: You can't take the Heat. He's going Cleveland, going home to inspire people. He loves home. I'm happy for him.

NAVARRO: OK, Donna, shut up already. OK?

(CROSSTALK)

Nobody wants to hear your -- it's my damn turn and I'm going to cry if I want to.

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: Oh. Don't cry, baby.

NAVARRO: Don, frankly, first thing I want to do is thank LeBron James, because he came to Miami in 2010. He gave Miami -- the Miami Heat great enthusiasm, energy, electricity. We had had the best player in the world. We won two championships with him there. He took less money than he could have --

LEMON: All right.

NAVARRO: To fall under the cap and be able to play with two other guys --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: OK, but, but --

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Now, that being said, I am bereft. Can we just declare a national day of mourning in Miami-Dade right now, because we need to go drink, we need to go cry, we need to go hold each other. I need therapy and a support group. I need sympathy. I need it all right now.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: What's he going to do -- seriously, what's D. Wade going to do now?

NAVARRO: Cry! What else is he going to do?

(LAUGHTER)

BRAZILE: They're going oh to regroup. They're going to regroup, find other players, other players will step up.

But, look, this is great for the Cleveland Cavaliers. LeBron will have to rebuild his team, but he is -- he can do it. But you know, the Republicans are going to Cleveland, LeBron has returned to his beautiful state of Ohio. Now the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame will have just one more attraction to see the great city.

LEMON: You guys, can you see air? This is a mural in Miami. This is from our affiliate, WPLG. LeBron's face has already blacked out, defaced, this thing. Is he going to get the same kind of treatment in Miami, you think, that he got from Ohio? Or from Cleveland a couple years ago?

NAVARRO: Frankly, I hope not, because listen, you never know. He might get cold in Cleveland and come back to Miami.

(LAUGHTER)

So, you know, let's be nice to him, you all. You know? He might come back to his second home. Back when he starts experiencing those Cleveland winters again.

We really shouldn't do that. He left his home to come to Miami.

BRAZILE: Right.

NAVARRO: He gave us two championships. He was a great contributor to the community, did a lot of charities. Did a lot of things with the kids in Miami. So let's thank him for the time he was there. But, hell, yes, our hearts are broken. No ifs ands and buts about it.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: All right. Listen, guys --

BRAZILE: I'm happy for Cleveland.

LEMON: -- you're good sports.

I got you again. The producer said, you know, Ana? I'm like, yeah, I'll call her, she's my friend. And you guys were eating. And I called twice and you said, just let us eat. And cry.

NAVARRO: Yeah.

(CROSSTALK) NAVARRO: Well, I have to tell you, I was crying. I was -- I was crying, because I love going to those Miami Heat games. You know --

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You'll still love it.

NAVARRO: Going to a Miami Heat game really is like going to a big party to see three stars. It breaks my heart to see that the Miami Heat triumvirate of Chris Bosh, LeBron James and D. Wade broken up. Those three guys together.

BRAZILE: Come and see us. The Wizards will love you. Come on up.

LEMON: Donna, give her a hug, please. I've got to go.

BRAZILE: I will.

(CROSSTALK)

NAVARRO: Stop mocking me, you two, OK?

LEMON: Bye, y'all.

NAVARRO: Bye!

BRAZILE: Bye.

LEMON: Bye, Felicia. See you.

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Donna Brazile, Ana Navarro.

Up next, an op-ed column is getting a ton of backlash. The title says it all, quote, "Dear White Gays, Stop Stealing Black Female Culture." We'll talk to the student that wrote it, plus the guy who is challenging her. And I've got my take on this, as well.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So this is one of those things that you -- let's say you don't really know about gay culture. You should watch this. You're going to learn a lot here. A senior at the University of Mississippi has a message for the white gay men out there, who, she says, are acting like black women. She says "Stop Stealing Black Female Culture" -- that's actually the title of her opinion piece that "Time" magazine published on their website. And she has gotten quite the reaction online. Here is what some of Sierra Mannie says, "You are not a black woman and you do not get to claim blackness or womanhood. The difference is that the black women with whom you think you align so well, whose language you use and stereotypical mannerisms you adopt, cannot hide their blackness and womanhood to protect themselves the way that you can hide your homosexuality." Well, of the gay white men who disagree with her, at least one of

them, decided to fire back a response. H. Allen Scott wrote this: "Recognizing the things she thinks belongs only to black women is the very thing that causes the separation and hate in our society. There is a reason why this country is called a melting pot, because eventually once you lose the (EXPLETIVE DELETED) separation and start appreciating what makes us all amazing, you start realizing that. Wow, we're not all that different after all."

I want to bring both of those writers in now. H. Allen Scott is in Los Angeles. Sierra Mannie is in Oxford, Mississippi. I'm in the middle.

I'm going to start with Sierra.

So what's your response to what Allen wrote?

SIERRA MANNIE, STUDENT, UNIVERSITY OF MISSISSIPPI: I actually did not read what Allen wrote.

LEMON: Because?

MANNIE: I did not see it.

LEMON: OK. You didn't read what Allen wrote. All right. So then how are you going to defend yourself? I'm going to have to tell you what he said. You heard what he said about -- that I just wrote -- that I just read. He said, you know, we're all more the same than we are different. And we should stop the separation and pointing it out and that would make us a better -- we're a melting pot.

MANNIE: Well, if you read my article closely, you see that I say things very similar to that near the bottom of the piece, that although we are not the same, we are equal. And that is not an attempt of mine at all to say that you cannot enjoy music that was created by black people. That's not to say that you can't enjoy the things that you like. And there is a very thick line between appropriation and appreciation of the things that maybe some people perceive.

LEMON: OK. H. Allen, she does make a very good point. And I thought the crux of her article. When she said, but here's the shade. She said, "The nonblack people who get to enjoy the fun things about blackness will never have to experience the ugliness of the black experience, systemic racism and the dangers of simply living while black."

That's a very cogent point that she is making. Did you understand that?

Can't hear him?

MANNIE: I can't hear him.

LEMON: OK. If he can't hear, there is no point in doing this. We'll do a break and come back and talk about this. We'll be right back. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Want to get now to the border crisis that has burst the immigration system at its seams. So many undocumented kids trying to come into the U.S. they have forced authorities to look for space beyond federal holding centers. They have converted facilities never meant to hold immigrants. Earlier today, Homeland Security secretary, Jeh Johnson, visited one of those places. He was in Artesia, New Mexico, and urged lawmakers to spend nearly $4 billion to stem the tide of immigrants. A tide so intense that it has pushed the immigration courts to case loads that the Justice Department has never seen before. In June, there were 375,000 cases pending in the immigration courts. 375,000.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEH JOHNSON, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Our border is not open to illegal migration. And our message to those who are coming here illegally, to those who are contemplating coming here illegally into south Texas, is we will send you back.

This facility, which was opened as a detention facility on June 27th, represents the proof.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So what exactly did Jeh Johnson see for himself?

CNN's Ana Cabrera has more on the facility now -- Ana?

ANA CABRERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, this is the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, typically used for federal officers and special agents, but has been converted in just the past couple weeks into a temporary housing facility for these undocumented immigrants.

So far, we have learned more than 200 women and children have been brought here, bussed in from Texas, where they crossed the border illegally, many coming from Central America, so can't just be turned around. We know this particular facility can house up to 672 undocumented immigrants. And Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials tell us they anticipate a lot more to arrive.

Here, they get to stay in what appear to be dorm rooms. They live in sort of a campus-type setting. They've provided food and creature comforts. They have access to a refrigerator snacks, meant to feel like an everyday life scenario. There are plenty of opportunities for children to play outside. There are even teachers who are being brought in to help educate these children, which is mandated by the federal law.

Now, a much different picture here than what we are seeing in Texas at those crammed and overwhelmed holding facilities that were just overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of immigrants crossing the border there.

But it is important to note, this is just a temporary facility. These women and children can stay here only while they wait for deportation or as they work their way through the immigration court system -- Don?

LEMON: All right. Ana Cabrera, thank you very much. We appreciate that.

A woman that police describe as a high-price hooker is tied to the heroin death of a second man. And his friend says there is, quote, "no freakin' way the man was a drug abuser." Alix Tichelman's alleged role in the heroin death of a Google executive in California prompted police to reopen a case across the country. The dead man in Georgia was Tichelman boyfriend, Dean Riapel, owner of Atlanta's Masquerade Ball and Concert Hall and lead singer of the shock-and-glam rock band, Impotent Sea Snakes.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I want you to listen to the 911 call that she made last November.

(BEGIN AUDIO FEED)

ALIX TICHELMAN, ALLEGED HOOKER: I think my boyfriend overdosed or something. Like he's -- he won't respond.

911 OPERATOR: OK. And why do you think he took an -- why do you think it's an overdose?

TICHELMAN: Because there's nothing else it could be. I know that for a fact.

911 OPERATOR: Accidental or intentional?

TICHELMAN: I think -- oh, definitely accidental. Accidental.

(END AUDIO FEED)

LEMON: So Riapel's friend and former band mate says he was into raising monkeys, not shooting heroin.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ALAN WINE, FRIEND OF RIAPEL (voice-over): He was in no way shape or form any kind of user of heroin or drugs or anything. I'm a pot smoker. And he would always get on me about smoking pot, it's not good for you. He was really health conscience. And, you know, Dean doing heroin, no freakin' way.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: Another twist in the case is if there could be another one. The yacht where police say Alix Tichelman helped the Google executive shoot heroin, then stepped over his body, finished her glass of wine and left without calling for help. CNN affiliate, KRON, reports that yacht is for sale for $345,000.

Up next, critics bash President Obama for giving up too much in the prison swap involving Bowe Bergdahl. But now the military leaders closest to the president are revealing whether they disagreed with the decision.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So it turns out that top officials at the Pentagon were on the same side as the president on the matter of swapping the five Taliban prisoners for Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl. As you'll recall, the trade drew flack from many Republicans, who said that President Obama had negotiated with terrorists, and had traded too much for Bergdahl's return. Well, not just Dempsey, but all the Joint Chiefs of Staff backed the trade, as well. Not just Dempsey. All the Joint Chiefs of Staff backed the trade as well.

With more on this story, CNN's Ed Lavandera from Dallas.

Ed, why are we just hearing about this now after the president put himself out there, you know, for a month or so, or more, and got all the criticism, and now we're just hearing this?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, these were letters that were requested by a congressional committee that is looking into the situation in the Bergdahl swap. And these were released by Senator Carl Levin as part of this investigation that's been going on into the Bergdahl release.

And I can read a little bit of the letter. It's interesting, we should point out, too, several of these Joint Chiefs members, also pointed out in these letters, they weren't all privy to what was going on. And they were asked after the fact what they thought about all of this. But Martin Dempsey, the general, in writing, said, "In arriving at my military advice, I balanced the risk of transferring the detainees with the importance of returning a U.S. soldier from enemy captivity. I concluded the risk posed by the detainee's future activity would be less grave than breaking faith with our forces in combat."

And we heard that over and over throughout many of these letters, that ultimately, this code, the military code of leaving no soldier behind outweighed any of the risks involved. And all of this very significant, Don, because we are told that sergeant Bowe Bergdahl is nearing the end of his phase three reintegration treatment down at the Army facility in San Antonio, Texas. And over the course of the next couple weeks, we'll again hearing what the Army will do with Bowe Bergdahl next in that investigation, scheduled to meet with the investigators at some point. All of that has been kind of on hold while the Army investigates in other ways. But really we'll start to hear much more about Bowe Bergdahl's future in the coming weeks. LEMON: Eddy Lavandera. Ed, thank you very much.

Hello, everyone. Top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon, in for Brooke today.

Cleveland is going crazy right now. You guys know why. The king, LeBron James, back with the Cavs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: What are you guys ding, just ran up here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Yeah. We just got done with the game, heard about it, ran over here. We booked it, man. We heard as fast as we could. We're going to make it, dude. We're winning the finals. I don't care, LeBron is the man, dude. We did it, we did it.

(CHANTING)

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're freaking out, yelling out the windows. It's awesome.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: OK --

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good day for Cleveland. I'm going to say that. Good day for Cleveland, Manziel, LeBron, Wiggins.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ran from our house here.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three or four miles.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Three miles, yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED REPORTER: You ran.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We ran from our house, yeah. After years of losing, I'm real young, and there's 40 years past me. But I will say, I'm proud to be from northeast Ohio.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Ahhh! Not even words. What's wrong with people?

Here's what LeBron told "Sports Illustrated." He said he looked at other teams but wasn't going to leave Miami for anything except Cleveland. He also said he needed the support of his family. And here's what he wrote. He said, quote, "To make the move, I needed the support of my wife and my mom, who can be very tough. The letter from Dan Gilbert, the booing of the Cleveland fans, Jerseys being burned, seeing all that was hard for them. My emotions were more mixed."

Well, I wonder how emotional he's going to get about this. I want you to check out this mural in Miami. There it is. Soak it in. Just can't win. Our affiliate WPLG shot this. Someone defaced him on this Heat mural. Took over two years to create. Maybe just the first sign of what he can expect from the return to the city, to his city.

So let's go back to Cleveland now. That's where we'll find Martin Savidge.

Nobody defacing any murals in Cleveland right now. All is forgiven there, correct, Marty?

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yeah, yeah. Everything is forgiven. Don, I'm here with some of my closest friends. They've all come out to say hello to me, which I think is just wonderful. They're from the east side, the west side, from everywhere in between.

Let me get Dominic here.

Look at this young man. Look at that sign. It is "The king has returned."

You may remember that sign. There used to be a big huge one up in Cleveland. Well, now it's come back, as has the man himself.

Let's talk to this man right here.

How do you feel about all of this?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm feeling great. I feel like I'm on top of the world right now. Only thing that I'm looking forward now is that nice gold world championship!

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For the state of Ohio, baby.

(SHOUTING)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to wait for that trophy for the state of Ohio.

(SHOUTING)

SAVIDGE: Look at this. This is just a panoply of Cleveland. We're all here, all down here, all very happy. And, of course, this is a great day for the city of Cleveland. They were heartbroken not that long ago. And I think all is forgiven -- Don?

LEMON: I can't -- I can't tell. They're very demure and reserved.

Are they excited, Marty, there? SAVIDGE: Hard to read the emotion here, isn't it?

LEMON: Yes. I don't know what's going on there. OK. I'm not sure.

Marty, how are you -- how do you feel? You're a die-hard fan.

SAVIDGE: Yes, well, I think everybody -- when the news first came out, there is like that second-and-a-half where there was just like silence, because we're not accustomed to hearing always great things and this was great news.