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Jerry Jones On Being In Segregation Fight Pic: I Was A "Curious Kid"; New Study Debunks "One Size Fits All" Guidance To Drinking Water; "This Is Life With Lisa Ling" Premieres Sunday At 10PM ET; CNN Top 10 Hero: Meymuna Hussein-Cattan. Aired 8:30-9a ET

Aired November 25, 2022 - 08:30   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:30:21]

KAITLAN COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: All right, the Washington Post has unearthed this photo from 1957. In it, of course, the person who was circled there is Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones. He's among a crowd of white students who were confronting black students as they were attempting to enter the North Little Rock High School. Jones was asked about that photo, why he was in it, what it meant after the Cowboys Thanksgiving game yesterday. This is what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JERRY JONES, OWNER, DALLAS COWBOYS: That was, gosh, 60, 65 years ago and curious kid, I didn't know at the time the monumental event rally that was going on. And I'm sure glad that we're a long way from that, I am. And we just -- would that would remind me, just continued to do everything we can to not have those kinds of things happen.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Jerry, do you understand the perception that people have standing there because that was not exactly a welcoming committee?

JONES: Yes, I sure did. And I understand that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That photo was taken just weeks, of course, before the Little Rock Nine integrated a separate school, Little Rock Central High School. At the time, President Eisenhower had dispatched federal troops to help escort the nine black students past those resisting them entering the school. It became a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement.

So joining us now to talk about this is a member of the Little Rock Nine, Ernest Green. And Ernest, good morning, and thank you for being with us. And I think first off, we just want to get your reaction to what Jerry Jones said, as he's explaining his presence in that photo.

ERNEST GREEN, MEMBER, "LITTLE ROCK NINE": Well, good morning to both of you and to the audience. Well, my view is Jerry Jones as an opportunity to make that picture, have a different ending, by pursuing diversity and inclusion and involvement of the African American community, people of color, all throughout this country.

Dallas Cowboys is an institution that most Americans know something about it. Professional Football is an entity that everybody has some interest in. And I think that rather than talk to Jerry about what happened in 1957, let's go forward and see what we can do in this year.

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: I think it's -- listen, I have to tell you, Mr. Green -- thank you so much for doing this. Good morning to you. Happy Thanksgiving. It is indeed an honor to be on with you, because of -- people like you in large part is why I'm able to be able to sit in the seat and do what I do.

So I think it's tremendous that you want to stay in the present and move forward. But if you look at that picture, in the faces in that crowd, you faces -- you faced similar faces, you saw those people, those people grew up to be adults, many of them still alive today, functioning in this society. So for those faces, like the Jerry Jones and others that you witnessed, what's your message to them right now?

GREEN: Well, that they have an opportunity today to write -- to make that picture a different outcome, to show that this can be a country that involves people, not once to keep them out. I mean, the reason I went to Central High School was, one, it was nearer to me than the school that I was attending. And two, that Central had more classes, diversity of classes. They had physics, we didn't have physics.

All of that was to show that a segregated life in Arkansas was not something that was going to have a good outcome. And I think today, as head of the Dallas Cowboys, he has a opportunity to have a tremendous impact on expanding opportunities in this country.

[08:35:05]

COLLINS: And that's been a big question is, is he using his role -- that's been the question kind of raise, I suppose. Is he using his role and to further black coaches to elevate them, not just Jerry Jones, but other organizations in the NFL? Because that's been -- it seems like a big blind spot for them.

GREEN: Well, and I think you're right. I mean, the article that I read showed that, while the Cowboys have a African American quarterback, they did -- I follow that daily part ownership, an opportunity to bring in black coaches and people of color, all of that is within their grasp. And that Jerry Jones is somehow, he has more attention on him than many of the other owners.

He's a pacemaker, he can set the tone. And I hope he will, I hope he'll use this as a stepping stone and not a rock to throw at somebody. But I applaud you done for raising this because the NFL sets a tone for more than just a sports, it really is sets a tone for the country as a whole and going forward as what we need.

We need more involvement of the business community. We need to be able to show that there's a relationship between education and success. All of this is tied together and I think Jerry Jones would -- have an opportunity to try and right or wrong.

LEMON: Yes. Well, I think you're right, if you look at the change that's often made through sports, to Jackie Robinson, with Arthur Ashe, with Muhammad Ali, Wilma Rudolph and all of those people who broke barriers in this country, and they did it through sports. You did it through, you know, integrating schools.

I'm so honored and happy that you're here to give us some perspective, Ernest Green. Thank you so much. You'd be well.

GREEN: Thank you, and wish everybody a great holiday season.

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: Thank you, Ernest.

LEMON: Thank you. It's amazing to be able to speak with people like him, right?

COLLINS: It's such good perspective --

LEMON: Yes, yes.

COLLINS: -- on a conversation that obviously was relevant then but it's still relevant today.

LEMON: Right on.

COLLINS: All right, we've also got some interesting news here. You know, the old rule, you got a drink eight glasses of water a day?

LEMON: Yes, that's water.

COLLINS: Multiple coffee mugs. We'll tell you whether or not was actually true.

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[08:42:01]

COLLINS: OK, you might have been told that you need to drink eight glasses of water a day. But does that factor fiction? There's a new study published in the journal science that took a look at just how much water people are consuming daily versus what they actually need.

Here to share those results to this is CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen. Elizabeth, I have been drinking eight glasses of water. So I would like to know if this is true or not.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's about sorry, Kaitlan. I mean, I'm sure it hasn't done you any damage. But it is an adage. There is no science behind it. The CDC says there's no specific recommendation for how much any one given person should drink because the needs vary so much. No one's actually sure with this whole eight glasses a day thing came from anyhow, Kaitlan, Don?

LEMON: What? Thank you, Elizabeth Cohen. I've always wondered that because I don't drink eight glasses of water a day. Plus, I would be in and out of the bathroom and --

COLLINS: Is it funny how it gets in your brain like good science.

LEMON: Yes. I've seen people carrying around water bottles --

COHEN: That's right.

LEMON: -- and I'm like, what?

COLLINS: Oh that's huge like jugs.

LEMON: Yes. So how much water should we be drinking?

COLLINS: Well, because there isn't any specific recommendation, this study did something really interesting. They took 5,600 people, international study, and they gave them water that was marked with isotopes and they can see how much their body was actually using. And what they saw was that people actually used four to 25 cups a day. It's a huge range.

It depended on their physical activity, their gender. Men seem to need more water than women. Also on their weight and on the climate with in a hot and humid place.

COLLINS: OK, so not including tea, milk, anything else you might get -- or a tea, coffee, anything like that. When it's just pure water, how much should people be drinking per day?

COHEN: You know, it's so hard to say and I'm going to be a little bit sort of gross here for a minute. I think we ought to leave aside this whole number of glasses of water and tell you to look at your pee. That's really what you need to do. You need to look at your pee.

The Cleveland Clinic lays this out so beautifully on their website, and I'm going to share a part of it with you. They say, if your pee is the color of like pale straw, you're a winner. That's it. That's what you're aiming for. If it's Amber or honey colored, you're mildly dehydrated. If it's syrupy or like brown ale, kind of like a dark beer, that's bad. That's dehydration. You should rehydrate. Drink as much water as you, you know, feel like you can and see it. If it doesn't change, you maybe should go to the doctor.

This is so well known in hot weather countries that in Israel, for example, they've made up a song that every school child knows to look at their pee. I'll sing you just the first line. I'll spare you the rest. But it's (foreign language). If you've got yellow pee, that's not good. Any school child can tell you that. We all need to learn that.

COLLINS: I don't think if you could see Don, Elizabeth, but he's laughing so hard right now.

LEMON: Look at your pee.

COLLINS: Don, learn that's not going up.

LEMON: Elizabeth --

COHEN: It's true.

LEMON: -- I have worked with you for 16 years now. I've never -- this is the funniest thing I've ever heard you say, look at your pee. Wait, can you do that song again for us.

[08:45:08]

COHEN: It's true. Sure. (Foreign language). Yellow pee, pee. That's not good. It then goes on to say if it's sort of, you know, pale you're a winner, you're a hero. And kids know this, every school kid in Israel can see you this little jingle.

LEMON: All right.

COLLINS: You go to medical school and you got that.

LEMON: Happy Thanksgiving to you.

COHEN: Right, exactly.

COLLINS: Thanks, Elizabeth.

COHEN: Happy Thanksgiving.

LEMON: Thank you.

COLLINS: All right, coming up -- Don, still laughing. Lisa Ling is going to join us on the newest episode of "This Is Life." She's an explorer, all some people are embracing non-human companions to fill a void of loneliness. Yes, you're going to want to watch that.

LEMON: What is happening with this show?

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[08:50:00]

LEMON: Lisa Ling is back with a special this season, new season of "This Is Life." In the first episode, Lisa takes a close look at how the loneliness of the pandemic era is changing the very fabric of human relationships, and how some people are embracing non-human companions to fill the void. Take a look at this preview.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LISA LING, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER & HOST "THIS IS LIFE WITH LISA LING": (voice-over): Most of the time, Tasha (ph) spends her days in a finished bedroom in Tony's basement.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey totchy (ph) pop. Ready to get that makeup off and get changed?

LING (voice-over): A place he built just for her, where the two of them can be alone.

(on-camera): Are you physically intimate with Tasha?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

LING (on-camera): What's that like?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's different. It's different than I would have expected. But there's a relationship there. Right now, sex is a very small part of it. It really is.

Oh, look at how gorgeous you are.

LING (voice-over): Sex may be why Tony first purchased Tasha, but he tells me, that was just the beginning.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Joining us now the host of "This Is Life," Lisa Ling. Hello, Lisa. Listen --

LING: Hello, Don.

LEMON: -- this people are going to think this is weird. And to some extent that maybe they're right. But he's not the only one. And that's the reason you did it. There are lots of people who are doing what this man is doing.

LING: Well look, Don. This is not an episode about sex dolls, it is about the reliance and even the relationship that we all are in with non-human entities. I mean, most of us these days are completely reliant and even addicted to our devices, our smartphones and the things that you can do and experience on them. And they are powered by very powerful AI.

And so there are algorithms that are literally -- that know more about us than we know about ourselves. We spend more time on them than we do with other human beings. They know what makes us happy, what makes us sad, what kinds of things that we want to buy. And in some ways, they've even begun to think for us, because we're not thinking for ourselves.

You know, these algorithms are essentially curating our feeds, delivering information based on the data they've collected about us. And even Stephen Hawking, before he passed away said about AI, that eventually it will become a new life form that will outperform humans. So these are things that we actually, I think, need to be discussing and thinking about

more.

COLLINS: You know, one thing this made me think about are the studies that they've done where if someone has dementia, or Alzheimer's, how they have these -- they're like dogs or stuffed animals, animals they don't actually care for but how it helps them cope and helps them actually deal with what the progression of those symptoms looks like.

But with this, specifically, when it comes to what you're talking about the relationship that this man has with this doll, it raises the question of loneliness, I think --

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: -- and what it looks like that people feel the need to seek that out, because there is this something that I think was exacerbated by the pandemic.

LEMON: Exacerbated by the pandemic, right.

COLLINS: Yes.

LING: Absolutely, Kaitlan. And when you think about it, there are so many people out there who have social anxiety or a crippling fear of rejection. And I think those numbers have increased since the pandemic. When you think about something like a doll, right, stuffed animal in the cases of people who are -- who have these neurological disorders, but again, even our devices, they validate everything about us, right?

They will never speak negatively of us or never feed you information that you don't want it to feed you or you might not think, right? And so what does that say about the future of humanity, right? When this kind of technology really starts to take on a life of its own, which it is starting to do. I mean, again, it's occupying more of our time. So to say that we're not in a relationship with it would be false.

LEMON: Yes. Anything about the -- in this day and age and we're so connected, right? But then yet we can be so isolated and disconnected.

COLLINS: Yes. This is why I love Lisa's show --

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: -- because it's so interesting.

LEMON: I can't wait to see it. Lisa, thank you. Enjoy the holiday. I hope to see you in person soon.

LING: So great to see you both. Thank you.

LEMON: Thank you. And you can catch life -- "This Is Life with Lisa Ling," Sunday at 10:00 Eastern on CNN. And we're back in a moment.

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[08:59:07]

COLLINS: All right, the top 10 CNN Heroes of 2022 have been announced. One of them is going to be named the CNN Hero of the Year by you, our viewers. We are reintroducing each of our top 10 as you hopefully will vote for your favorite.

Millions of refugees fled Afghanistan and Ukraine over the last year. This hero knows firsthand the challenges that they faced, rebuilding life in a new country.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: For all refugees and immigrants, food is a sense of self-preservation. So as long as you preserve those family recipes, it really instills a sense of rootedness, feeling connected to your cultural upbringing.

In August, Chef Urbal (ph) will be partnering with Flavors from Afar to highlight her dishes from Afghanistan.

My restaurant Flavors from Afar, we really bring international cuisine to Los Angeles in a way that hasn't been done before and it's a way to highlight chefs who all share some form of displacement.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

COLLINS: That's so cool and so special for them to be able to --

LEMON: Yes.

COLLINS: -- share that and keep that up. Go to see cnnheroes.com right now. You can vote for her or any of your top 10 favorites this morning.

LEMON: And just in case you were wondering, we did not plan these outfits. I walked into the studio and I said, are you kidding me? We're wearing the exact same thing.

COLLINS: Great minds dress alike.

LEMON: Hope you had a great Thanksgiving. We'll see you on Monday. Enjoy your weekend.

COLLINS: CNN Newsroom starts now.