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Former Yahoo! Employee Suing for Sexual Harassment; NASA Celebrates 45th Moon Walk Anniversary with Tweets; Michael Sam and Stuart Scott at ESPYS; Satirical Political Campaign in Kentucky
Aired July 17, 2014 - 10:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
NAN SHI, FORMER YAHOO! EMPLOYEE: She said, well, if we don't have this, then, you know, you may not get your stocks and, you know, you may not even stay at a Yahoo!
LAURIE SEGALL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the suit, just filed against Nan Shi, Zhang adamantly denies ever having a sexual relationship with her, claiming the engineer is looking for financial gain and that she simply wasn't making the grade. Nan Shi tells us another story claiming after she cut off the sexual advances her work was affected. Nan says she was removed from projects and separated from her teammates.
SHI:I don't mind hard times, but please, please, I'm a human being. You can not separate me from my other co-workers.
SEGALL: She reported the alleged harassment to Yahoo! HR.
SHI: The help I wanted is, please, please, move me to another team. I don't feel safe.
SEGALL: As a result, Nan Shi says Yahoo! asked her to stay home while they conducted the investigation.
SHI: That was the hardest time I went through. You know, I -- after months I finally went to my family doctor. I told her, you know, I have depression.
SEGALL: Zang also says her reputation has been damaged. Nan Shi herself claims both emotional and financial damages, as questions linger.
SHI: I just sit here and keep asking myself, why me?
SEGALL (on camera): And Carol, Nan Shi has said that she can't even open her computer to do work because it affects her so much. And then you got to look at the other side, which is Maria Zhang saying these allegations are completely false. She goes on to say they're outrageous and inhumane. Obviously a lot there. A lot to wrap your head around and may be up to a court to decide. Carol?
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Alright, I'm sure you'll continue to follow this story. Laurie Segall, any thanks.
Still to come on the NEWSROOM, he calls himself the most honest politician in the entire country.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listening to my constituents, legislating, these are things I don't do. What I do is spend about 70 percent of my time raising funds for re-election.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO: Now one group is hoping he can help clean up the nation's political system. We'll tell you how next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Honesty and integrity in politics? Now before you start laughing, hear me out because that's the idea behind the group Represent Us, which has vowed to end corruption and reform campaign finance.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): Represent Us has already raised $20,000 through indiegogo in a bid to crash the Kentucky Senate race. A contest observers say could be the most expensive ever.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO (on camera): And to knock off Senator Mitch McConnell and his rival Alison Lundergan Grimes, Represent Us has enlisted the help of the nation's most honest politician. His name is Gil Fulbright.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
GIL FULBRIGHT, "THE MOST HONEST POLITICIAN IN THE U.S.": Hi, I'm Gil Fulbright. The people that run my campaign, they have made this commercial and I'm in it. This campaign is not about me. It's about crafting a version of me that will appeal to you. A version that visits random work sites with paid actors pointing at things. A version of me that doesn't find old people loathsome or pointless. Has a conventionally attractive yet curiously still family. Listening to my constituents, legislating, these are things I don't do. What I do is spend about 70 percent of my time raising funds for re-election.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO: See, an honest politician. Joining me now, Josh Silver. He's the director of Represent Us. Good morning, sir.
JOSH SILVER, DIRECTOR OF REPRESENT US: Good morning, Carol.
COSTELLO: So explain what you're trying to do through this ad and through your other efforts.
SILVER: So Kentucky is the target of Gil Fulbright because it's slated to be a $100 million Senate election. If that turns out to be true, it will be the most expensive in the history of our country and its an obscene amount of money that corrupts the policy making process and ends up with laws that benefit political donors at the expense of most Americans. Gil Fulbright is an effort to shine a light on this corruption and to show that there's actually a big campaign launching across the country to fix the problem.
COSTELLO: So those ads will appear on television in Kentucky. What other things will you do to, you know, to illustrate the hypocrisy?
SILVER: We are going to have fun. So Gil Fulbright, as you can tell from this bite, he's a great actor and that is after all just exactly what he is. We went to launch a crowd funding campaign last week to raise $20,000 to get his campaign bus and send him on the road and in five days, we got 550 donors to give $20,000, now it's up to $25,000. And this thing has taken the country's imagination. It's been on all kinds of major media and I think it's because it's hitting a nerve. The American people, they're tired of being -- of having their hopes dashed. They're tired of not being told the truth, so we're going to get on the road. We're going to a place called Fancy Farm in rural Kentucky on August 2nd to officially launch the campaign. Gil's going to give campaign speeches, he's going to go to a bourbon distillery. He'll probably get drunk. He's going to talk about all the ways he's going to sell out the people of Kentucky.
COSTELLO: Of course this is partly about educating voters too, as to what's really going on, right? Exposing the truth or lies that politicians tell during their campaigns.
SILVER: Right. It is. And here's the interesting thing. A study by the Annenberg Center recently showed that Stephen Colbert and his satirical show, where he pretends to be a news anchor, actually taught his viewers more about America's broken campaign finance system than cable news viewers. So there's something to take note of here, that people learn from satire and comedy better than they do from actually watching the news. So we thought what better idea than to run a Gil Fulbright, have some fun, and really teach the people again both that there's a major problem that's corrupting our political system. There's a nonpartisan, cross-partisan way to fix this that's not about progressives, not about conservatives, but about the American people who completely agree with each other that we have to get money out of politics and that there's a way to fix it at represent.us on the web.
COSTELLO: Okay, that's a great effort. Thank you so much for explaining it to us. Josh Silver, we appreciate it.
SILVER: Thanks for having me.
COSTELLO: Still to come in the NEWSROOM, honoring two men from the sports world. One an athlete, the other an anchor, each showing courage in the face of adversity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COSTELLO: Great moments in sports. Not on the playing field, but on the stage. (START VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO (voice-over): The ESPYS were handed out last night with Michael Sam receiving the Arthur Ashe Courage Award, given to those who have shown strength in the face of adversity and stood up for their beliefs. Sam publicly revealed he was gay before the football draft and to some has become a role model.
MICHAEL SAM, NFL PLAYER: To anyone out there, especially young people. They don't -- feeling like they don't fit in and will never be accepted, please know this, great things -- sorry. Great things can happen when you have the courage to be yourself. Thank you and God bless.
COSTELLO: The night also belonged to ESPN anchor Stuart Scott honored for his courageous battle against cancer.
(END VIDEOCLIP)
COSTELLO (on camera):We're going to talk about both Scott and Sam with former NFL player Esera Tuaolo and CNN sports star -- I always like to call you that, Andy Scholes.
ANDY SCHOLES, CNN SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Welcome to both of you. Esera, by the way is the author of -- you're a star too, Esera. Don't worry. You're the author of "Alone in the Trenches: My Life as a Gay Man in the NFL." I really appreciate you being here.
ESERA TUAOLO, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Thank you very much, Carol.
COSTELLO: You're welcome.
We talked with you after the Rams drafted Michael Sam. In the two months since then, how do you think he's handled himself?
TUAOLO: I think he's handled himself amazingly. For me what's so great is that, you know, we have people that come out an just want to live their lives and that's great, that's all good. It's so encouraging to see this young individual, this young man, come out and want to make a difference, especially for our younger generation. For me that is absolutely great.
COSTELLO: Of course he has yet to play in a pro football game, so I get a little nervous with all the attention he's getting, right?
TUAOLO: Well, no, not really. I mean if you just Google the young man, you'll see that he definitely can play. He's a great athlete. You know, so yes, I think a lot of people are excited to see him play and perform. I mean I think yesterday, I've never watched the ESPY awards. That was the first time I ever watched the ESPY awards. And, let me tell you, I'm glad I did. His acceptance speech was not only powerful, encouraging, but very humble and there's going to be a lot of our younger generation that saw that and is going to be encouraged to come out or to be proud of themselves. COSTELLO: I know. Made me cry.
TUAOLO: Other than being proud of my children, I've never been more proud of an individual like I am with Michael Sam. He did a great job.
COSTELLO: We have to talk about Stuart Scott, too and I want to talk about that with Andy because his speech also brought people to tears.
SCHOLES: Yea, and for those that don't know, Stuart Scott was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer in way back in 2007, Carol. He's been battling it. Its been coming back on and off since then. He said he didn't even know if he was going to make it to last night's show.
(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)
SCHOLES (voice-over): Because he revealed during his speech he has had four surgeries in a span of seven days recently. It's just incredible the fight he's going through and he says he's still fighting and he delivered one powerful message to all the cancer patients out there.
STUART SCOTT, SPORTSCASTER: When you die, it does not mean that you lose to cancer. You beat cancer by how you live, why you live, and in the manner in which you live.
SCHOLES: And Carol, he said his two daughters are the reasons he's still fighting. They're the reason he was able to get on the stage. You see right there his daughter Sydney came up on the stage and gave him a big bear hug. And you know, we remember Jimmy V. For his moment when he said don't give up, don't ever give up. I'm pretty sure we're always going to remember this Stuart Scott moment there, the speech he gave on the stage. Its really emotional. It got me when I just watched it again.
COSTELLO: I know, its getting me right now
SCHOLES: It's a touching moment.
COSTELLO: Esera, Andy, thanks so much. I'll be right back. month and make this the summer of style.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
COSTELO: What an awesome moment 45 years ago, but the question for you in today's terminology, how do you tweet the moon launch when twitter didn't exist? CNN's Jeanne Moos is all atwitter over the 45th anniversary celebration.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a very special blast from the past. Remember newspapers? They were the preferred way to read news in 1969, but NASA decided to tweet the re-enactment of the moon launch to celebrate its 45th anniversary.
JACK KING (voice-over):We are go for Apollo 11.
MOOS: At the same time of the morning corresponding to real events, NASA sent out tweets, the astronauts are breakfasting on steak and eggs, suiting up, waving good-bye.
KING: All three astronauts now aboard the spacecraft.
MOOS: That's Jack King, nicknamed "The Voice of Apollo."
KING: T minus three minutes and counting.
MOOS: Jack was 38 then. 83 now.
KING (on camera):The atmosphere in the control center was completely electric.
KING (voice-over):Astronauts report it feels good. T minus 25 seconds.
MOOS: Jack says he wasn't nervous.
KING: 10, 9. Ignition sequence starts.
MOOS: Jack did make one tiny weeny flub right at the end of the countdown.
KING (on camera): I did get a little bit emotional. I had about four voices coming in my headset.
KING (voice-over): Five, four.
KING (on camera):All of a sudden another voice came in my ear and it was mine and the voice said, my God, we're going to the moon.
KING (voice-over):Three, two, one. Zero. All engine running. Liftoff. We have a liftoff.
MOOS: : There were TV bloopers that day.
WALTER CRONKITE, NEWS ANCHOR: Now to Ike Pappas at the VIP viewing area.
MOOS: VIP, very inaudible person.
MOOS (on camera): Walter Cronkite wasn't tweeting in 1969, but his immediate reaction to the launch was so short and sweet it could have fit in a tweet.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN (voice-over): Liftoff on Apollo 11.
CRONKITE (voice-over): Oh, boy. Oh, boy. Looks good.
MOOS (voice-over): 45 years after the moonwalk.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN (voice-over): A giant leap for mankind.
MOOS: There's a guy who tells us he still thinks it was a giant fraud, that all moonwalks were fake. Bart Sibrel is most famous for hounding astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
BART SIBREL, CONSPIRACY THEORIST: Why don't you swear on the bible that you walked on the moon?
MOOS: Buzz finally punched him.
SIBREL: You're a coward and a liar and a thief.
MOOS: The next time we have another one of those super moons like we had the other day, imagine the voice of Apollo gazing up.
KING: I looked at the moon and said, we did it.
MOOS: You can call that mission a perfect.
KING: Ten.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos.
CNN.
KING: Liftoff.
MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: That was awesome. Tonight on CNN's Emmy nominated series "THE SIXTIES: THE SPACE RACE" from the mercury rockets to the Apollo landing, see the pioneers who became heroes and the fight to reach the moon before the Soviets. Join CNN and set your DVR for "THE SIXTIES" tonight. 9:00 p.m. eastern on CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: One small step for man. One giant leap for mankind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(SINGING)
CRAIG MORGAN, COUNTRY SINGER: I'm country singer Craig Morgan and Nashville is my city. It's the capital of country music and we're taking you on a VIP back stage tour here at the Grand Ole Opry.
(SINGING)
MORGAN: First thing we do when we get in, is we have to check in and find out where our dressing room is. Where am I at tonight? As a member, you have a mailbox so the fans can send mail to us here. Not everybody that plays at the Grand Ole Opry is a member of the Grand Ole Opry. To date, there are just over 200 members. This is the list of every member past and present. There's 19 dressing rooms. Well, actually there's only 18 because there's not a number 13.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hello there.
MORGAN: You never know who you're going to run into.
What is your favorite thing about being here at the Opry?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, Porter, Roy and standing in those big, tall shoes.
MORGAN: Look who we have here.
Mr. Ricky Skaggs.
MORGAN: This is the green room. During the flood of 2013, this is how high the water level got.
This is the infamous circle here at the Grand Ole Opry where the legends, as well as the new artists, stand to perform.
Thanks for spending time with me back stage at the Grand Ole Opry. Hope to see you in Nashville soon. Its time for me to hit the stage.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Welcome Mr. Craig Morgan.
(SINGING)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COSTELLO: Sounds good, right? Thank you so much for joining me today. I'm carol Costello. "@ THIS HOUR" with Berman and Michaela starts now.
