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Silicon Valley Sex Trade; Costa Concordia Floating Again; Holder Talks Race; Bergdahl Ready for Regular Duty

Aired July 14, 2014 - 14:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Happy Monday, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, in today for Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for joining me.

Sex, drugs and possible murder, times two that is. This story is getting bigger by the day. Alix Tichelman, the alleged prostitute accused of shooting up a Google executive with heroin and then leaving him on his yacht to die is under lock and key now and police in Georgia are reopening a second death which ties -- with ties to Tichelman possibly. Her boyfriend was found dead of a heroin overdose just two months before the death in Silicon Valley. The story is unveiling plenty about the booming underground sex trade in the tech hub and CNN's Money tech correspondent Laurie Segall joins me now.

Laurie, this is a - just a bizarre story. How lucrative is prostitution in Silicon Valley and how are these people finding out about each other?

LAURIE SEGALL, CNN MONEY TECH CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, this particular case is really just pulling back the curtain on some of the underbelly of Silicon Valley. You know, about a year ago I spoke to a lot of high-end prostitutes in the valley who said, hey, there's been an uptick in our business because of all the money and there's so much money in the valley right now. These companies are selling for billions of dollars.

After this story came out, I got on the phone and I spoke with many of those sex workers and they said, Laurie, the business now is so lucrative, it's like Wall Street back in the day. They said they're seeing so many clients. I actually - I spoke to one sex worker who went on the record and talked a little bit about what they were seeing. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MAXINE HOLLOWAY, SEX WORKER: I think it's really interesting that we have this increase of tech employees coming to the bay area. You know, they're working really long, intense hours, which is giving them this disposable income. But along with that lifestyle, it doesn't always leave room for traditional dating. So this really nice kind of mutually beneficial relationship with professional sexual providers seems to work out really well.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: And, Don, so well, in fact, that they're becoming entrepreneurs in their own sense. They are marketing towards the money and towards the geeks. I spoke with one woman who actually showed me the t-shirts she wears and the ads to try to attract the engineers. These are t-shirts with references to "Game of Thrones," "Geeks make better lovers." You can't even make this stuff up. You're looking at them right behind me. These are the pictures of what she showed me.

They're also accepting mobile payments via Square, so they can accept credit card payments. Square is kind of a techie company. And they're also wearing stockings with Twitter handles on it. You just can't make this stuff up. But we are seeing that it's a lot worse and now safety is really in focus.

LEMON: So is it - I mean are they trying to crack down on this or is this something that they just allow because of - because it is Silicon Valley?

SEGALL: When there's money and there's power, this kind of thing happens. But, you know, we can take a look. They actually just shut down a site called My Red Book. Now, My Red Book was - it was where all these women went and advertised their services for free. This is where the clients went for these services. And also this is where they rated -- people talked about whether or not they felt safe. So a lot of women are saying they're a little bit nervous now that this site has been shut down. But you can see that the feds are really cracking down on this. As we know and as we see in this case, safety is an increasingly big concern here.

LEMON: Yes. Yes. Sex workers say that safety is an increasing concern. But my question is, I wonder if there is a demand. You see the Mustang Ranch, what have you. If there is such a demand, do you think there's going to be the push to sort of decriminalize this in some way or at least regulate it?

SEGALL: There's a huge movement right now. It's interesting you say that. Because you get on the phone with sex workers and they say, hey, look, why don't we start an open dialogue about this? We want to be able to go to the cops and say, hey, this doesn't feel safe. They want to be able to change the laws to have a more open conversation about this. This is a huge movement. And I will say, Silicon Valley is known for being a more open, free spirited place. But then you have cases like what happened here with Tichelman, who's going to appear in court on Wednesday. We'll hear more from her. But you have cases like this that really kind of -- you know, you say, look, this stuff is very, very dangerous, it's an underbelly and it's something that the feds are going to crack down on.

LEMON: Yes. It's going to be interesting to watch. I predict that we're going to watch it like we're watching Colorado with marijuana. This may be the impetus for at least a regulation of something that we never thought.

SEGALL: (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: All right, thank you very much, Laurie Segall. Appreciate that.

SEGALL: Thank you. LEMON: The ill-fated Costa Concordia is floating again and many people thought they'd never hear that. Today's process to float the giant cruise liner was both tricky and dangerous, that's according to engineers. The feat is being called a complex operation, never attempted before. It has been two years since the deadly accident in which the ship ran aground off Italy, and 10 months since the doomed cruise ship was brought upright and secured. Thirty-two people were killed in that wreck and CNN's Erin McLaughlin joins me now. She's in London.

Erin, how are salvage teams managing to move this giant damaged ship?

ERIN MCLAUGHLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they're using a lot of careful calculations. There's plenty of precise engineering going on in Italy right now, Don. That being said, today they did have some problems, some issues with the cabling. But a senior salvage master saying, at the end of the day, the key thing here is that the Costa Concordia is floating once again. However, there could be some rough waters ahead for the rotting cruise liner.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN (voice-over): After two-and-a-half years of intense preparation, the Costa Concordia is finally floating.

MICHAEL THAMM, CEO, COSTA CRUISES: The ship is on even keel. The ship is afloat again. And our technical systems are working very well. So I think we have seen a great start of this refloating operation, and let's move forward.

MCLAUGHLIN: For the past 10 months, engineers have been hard at work attaching metal boxes to either side of the ship. Monday morning, they pumped compressed air into those boxes, raising it some two meters off of massive underwater steel platforms. Next, they began to tug the Concordia about 30 meters to the east. It was a dangerous and tricky procedure. The ship is rotting and there was a real risk the bottom of it could give way.

Once the ship was afloat, under water divers went to work to find the remains of a 32-year-old crew member. Russel Rebello is the last missing casualty of the disaster. Over the next few days, divers will begin to attach chains and cables to help secure the ship's vulnerable underbelly. And they'll lower some of the metal boxes on the star board side of the ship. Then the full refloat begins. Lifting the Concordia up, deck by deck, clearing any debris along the way.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MCLAUGHLIN: Once this ship is completely floated, the plan is to tug it slowly and carefully some 200 miles. All the way to the Italian Port of Genowa (ph) to be completely dismantled. If all goes according to plan, they should be doing that by Monday.

Don.

LEMON: Erin McLaughlin, thank you very much. We appreciate that. Just ahead here on CNN, it's only been six weeks since he left Taliban custody, but Bowe Bergdahl is getting ready to return to active duty. Too soon? And how will he be received by his fellow soldiers?

Plus, Eric Holder says he feels some of the criticism against President Obama is based on race. We're going to debate that next.

And, kid spots an interesting duo - he spots an interesting duo, chatting it up on a park bench, on a street bench. And look what's behind him. Check that out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Welcome back, everyone.

Attorney General Eric Holder once again making some eyebrow raising comments on race, politics and saying that -- the opposition of President Obama. He talks about it in an interview with ABC News. Holder spoke candidly saying he feels some of the contention directed at the president and his administration has to do with race. Here he is.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: There is a certain level of vehemence, it seems to me, that's directed at me, directed at the - at the president. You know, people talk about taking their country back. You know, I can't look into people's hearts, look into people's minds. But it seems to me that this president has been treated differently than others. There's a certain racial component to this for some people. I don't think this is the thing -- there's a main driver. But for some, there is a racial animus.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the attorney general, Eric Holder, has never really been shy from giving his opinion. In a speech in 2009, Holder called the U.S. a nation of cowards when it comes to confronting racial issues.

So let's talk about this further now with Charles Blow, CNN political commentator, and Jason Riley, a member of "The Wall Street Journal" editorial board.

Jason, you wrote an op-ed today and it's titled - the theme says, "Team Obama's message, vote Democrat because Republicans are racist." And here's what you write. You said, "in 2008, Barack Obama outperformed both Al Gore and John Kerry among white voters in states like Texas, Georgia and the Carolinas. Has it occurred to Mr. Holder that criticism of the president might be due to his performance and not his skin color?" Why do you think Eric Holder harbors these feelings?

JASON RILEY, EDITORIAL BOARD, "WALL STREET JOURNAL": Well, first of all, I'd like to say that I think that however much racism you think remains in this country, the policies promoted by this administration are much more harmful to the prospects of black in America - blacks in American than racism. I mean opposition to school choice, which helped kids out of failing schools, support for minimum wage loss, the disproportionately black - priced blacks out of the labor force, those are much more harmful than any resident -- residual racism in America.

LEMON: We can debate that. But to Eric's -

RILEY: But to his point -

LEMON: His point, yes.

RILEY: I think the best rebuttal to what Eric Holder is saying is what President Obama said when he was asked about this some years ago. You might recall Jimmy Carter said a few years back that a lot of the opposition to Obama is due to racism. And Obama said, you know, I was black before the election. And I'd add, he was black before his re- election as well.

LEMON: What do you say, Charles?

CHARLES BLOW, CNN POLITICAL COMMENTATOR: Well, I mean, first of all, Holder's comment is full of caveats. I mean in -- to the -- so many, in fact, that it makes it almost impossible to argue it. He's saying "some."

LEMON: Right.

BLOW: He's saying, even at the end of that statement, that I don't think that most of the opposition to the president is because of race. However, he is saying that this is what he believes. And I think there are a lot of people who want to have -- who believe that and who firmly believe that there is some component of opposition to this president that is based on race. And whether or not that is even explicit race bias or if that is implicit racial bias or whatever the case may be, they believe that that is true. The issue, I think, that we have to look at when looking at this issue is whether or not people can even have that conversation. If he -- can this man actually say that this exists to some degree in America. There's a mountain of social science that says that racial bias exists in America, and undoubtedly that - some of that seeps into our politics. It can't be denied.

LEMON: And he talks - right, he talks about that in that same interview, Charles. He says -- Pierre Thomas asks him, would you back away from the comments that you made about us being cowards when it comes to dealing with race, and he said, no, I still stand by that. We do a terrible job when it comes to discussing race. You don't - you don't buy it?

RILEY: Eric Holder does not want to have a serious conversation about race in America, nor does President Obama. These two went to Al Sharpton's annual convention to have a conversation about race.

LEMON: But how is that not having a serious conversation (INAUDIBLE) -

RILEY: Is -- does Al Sharpton strike you as the type of person you turn to, to have a sober, considerate discussion of race in this manner (ph)? I would - I would submit that you go to Al Sharpton when you want to have exactly the opposite conversation. Well, the question is why - why did Holder (ph) --

LEMON: You know what (INAUDIBLE) -- I don't really know that. Listen -- listen, Al Sharpton is on a different network and I don't always agree with the Reverend Al Sharpton, but the Reverend Al Sharpton has been very outspoken in many ways, has helped a lot of people. And the last time he ran for president, he was actually one of the most sober- sounding people in the arena.

RILEY: He's one of the most -

LEMON: That's among - that's among Democrats and Republicans.

RILEY: He's one of the most racially divisive people in this country. You do not go to Al Sharpton to help bring people together racially in America.

LEMON: Yes. Is Al Sharpton one of the most racially divisive people in the country or do people make him out to be that way in certain ways? Because if you bring up someone like an Al Sharpton, the right goes, oh, my gosh, there he is, there goes Al Sharpton.

RILEY: No, no, I think -

LEMON: Is he made out to be the bogeyman in a sense?

RILEY: I think he - I think the former. I think this is the agenda that the black left pushes, that racism is an all-purpose explanation for what ails black America. The question is why Holder is making these statements and making them now. And he's making them for political reasons. The Democrats are concerned about turnout among minorities in November. They have not had a lot to offer this group of people in terms of policy. If you look at unemployment rates, if you look at how the economy is doing, all they have to offer here are scaremongering, scaring them to the polls, because they're worried, particularly those - in those Democrats (INAUDIBLE) --

BLOW: There are a lot of tactics people using to push people to the polls, number one. Number two is, when you talk about, you know, blacks on the left, that's a very broad category to use. I think that we need to always look at all groups of people and say that there are many diverse opinions, even among black people. Even you can see on this panel that there are different opinions about different things. And I think we need to respect the fact that people of the same skin color, the same gender, the same, you know, orientation can have differing opinions about subjects. And once we start to respect that, we can actually have conversations. And those conversations can exist in the presence of Al Sharpton or anybody else. Al Sharpton has (ph) many decades (ph) and I think that you have to take every human being and look at the totality of their life and say that they - it has not always been perfect, but there are good - there are good parts and bad parts and we can have conversations with this person, whoever they are. And I think that that is a proper way to look at any human being.

LEMON: I think that - I think if you - some -- if you listen sometimes to the Reverend Al Sharpton and others, and if you read what they actually say instead of just the headline or just the rhetoric that comes from the opposition, I think that - I think that many people will find that sometimes Al Sharpton does make sense. He's not always, as Charles Blow said, he's not always a bad person when it comes to race. Sometimes he's actually right on the money.

RILEY: Well, I'm not talking about his personal character. I don't know him personally.

LEMON: Yes.

RILEY: I'm talking about the public policies that he's promoting on behalf of blacks and whether or not they've helped or harmed blacks in this country.

LEMON: Yes.

RILEY: That's what I'm talking about. And I strongly disagree with what he's pushed in the name of helping blacks.

BLOW: Well, there are a lot of things to disagree with all across the spectrum and whether or not they've actually been beneficial to the African-American community. And I don't think that any particular party or any ideology has, you know, of -

LEMON: The trademark on.

BLOW: Hold the trademark -

LEMON: Right.

BLOW: On actually helping or hurting. I think what we have to do is look at each individual policy as an individual policy and say, is this helpful or hurtful. And we also have to look at the kind of systemic historical nature of racial bias. And we cannot divorce that from present behavior. We cannot divorce that from present outcomes. And once we look at the totality of all of those things, then we can make a rational decision about whether or not these things are helpful to black people and people in general.

LEMON: Yes. I've got to run, but I think that that's why I made my point, what I did, about the Reverend Al Sharpton. I think people throw people's names in there as a sort of - you know, as a hot button issue and go, oh, my gosh, well, we can't - and you can't always do that, as Charles was saying. You have to take people on the totality of their argument. Thank you very much.

RILEY: Thank you.

LEMON: I wish we could continue. We have to move on now.

Up next here on CNN, Bowe Bergdahl suddenly returning to active duty, but what does that mean exactly? Find out who will be with him at all times.

Plus, families being forced to leave everything behind, and parents sending their kids away as a battle between Israel and Hamas escalates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Luckily, he caught a taxi to take them away. And not a moment too soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Some still see him as a deserter, but U.S. Army Sergeant Bowe Bergdahl could be back to regular duty as early as today. It has been 44 days, though, since his release by the Taliban, and 32 days since his return to U.S. soil. A short reintegration period, no doubt, considering he spent five years in Taliban captivity. But according to the Army, Bergdahl has finished undergoing therapy and counseling and is apparently ready to reenter life in the military. Joining me now Lieutenant Colonel Rick Francona, CNN analyst.

Colonel, that was fast.

LT. COL. RICK FRANCONA, CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Yes. Yes, probably maybe too fast. But --

LEMON: You think so. Why so?

FRANCONA: Well, but he - because he's -- he's going to suffer a lot of post-traumatic stress. But I see what the Army's doing. They need to get him back into a regular unit so they can begin the process of figuring out what they're going to do with him.

LEMON: So when we say active duty, does that mean -- what does that mean exactly? What will he be doing? Will he have access to military weapons or anything like that?

FRANCONA: No. No. They'll -- he'll be probably in some sort of office environment. But they need to get him into a unit with a chain of command and a commanding officer. And only then can they begin the investigation into what happened to him.

LEMON: Yes. So if he -- let's just say indeed he was desertion, right, that is considered one of the worst transgressions in the military.

FRANCONA: It is.

LEMON: Will he ever be, you think, accepted by his comrades?

FRANCONA: I don't think so. He's going to -- I don't think he'll remain in the Army.

LEMON: Even if it's -- let's just say he said - I - he said, I was going to return. I wasn't deserting. You still think he won't be accepted?

FRANCONA: No, not at all because the members of his unit consider him a deserter. And, of course, the intent of whether he planned to return or not is what determines the crime of desertion. That's - it's a very high bar. And it should be. But his life will never be the same, and I don't think he'll stay in the Army. And I don't think the Army will have him because there's too much of a cloud hanging over him.

LEMON: OK, but he has two soldiers with him?

FRANCONA: Right.

LEMON: At all times.

FRANCONA: Yes, these are - these are, I guess you call them watchers.

LEMON: Is that for his protection or -

FRANCONA: Well, both. For everything, Don. They're going to - they're going to make sure that nobody bothers him, because he - he could be a target.

LEMON: OK.

FRANCONA: There are people that are not happy with him. Also to make sure he doesn't try to harm himself. And also to make sure he doesn't walk away again.

LEMON: He's got a lot of questions to answer.

FRANCONA: He does. And now the general that's in charge of the investigation has access to him. Now that he's not in an inpatient status, they can proceed with the investigation.

LEMON: The consequences for him, what kind of punishment?

FRANCONA: Well, I - I think even if they have a court martial and they find him guilty of the worst crime, they're not going to do anything to him. He spent five years in captivity at the hands of the Taliban. What worse -- what are they going to do to him?

LEMON: It's interesting. His life will - well, you know, you were -- before you came on, his life will never be the same regardless. If he's guilty or innocent of desertion it's --

FRANCONA: Right. Right.

LEMON: It won't be the same.

FRANCONA: He's going to be a magnet for good publicity, bad publicity. He may be the poster boy for some sort of anti-war movement. Who knows. But his life will not be the same as Bowe Bergdahl from -

LEMON: From before.

FRANCONA: Idaho.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you very much.

FRANCONA: Sure. LEMON: Rick Francona, appreciate that.

A teen in Omaha had a friend snap an epic picture with a couple of guys hanging out on a park bench. And those guys just happened to be one of the world's richest men and a Beatle.

And the creators of "South Park" laughing all the way to the bank with a multimillion deal that means Stan, Kyle, Eric and Kenny will live forever.

And then this. Doctors think they may have found an inexpensive and easy test to detect Alzheimer's. One of our five senses could give us an early warning about the devastating disease.

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