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CNN Saturday Morning News
White House Ramping Up Leaks Investigation; More Violence in Syria; Covering Cancers From World Trade Center Demolition; Teen Burned Alerting Neighbors Of Fire; Unemployment Running Out For Many; Connecticut Plan To Help Long-Term Unemployed; Orangutans Using IPad; MakerBot Inventor; Medical Mistakes Kill 250,000 a Year; Mom Arrested for Cheering at Graduation; Back in Saddle with "Dallas" Cast
Aired June 09, 2012 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): From CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
DOUG O'NEILL, TRAINER, "I'LL HAVE ANOTHER": It is very disappointing.
KAYE: A Triple Crown shocker before any horse even reaches the Belmont starting gate. "I'll Have Another" is out and will never run again. We'll tell you why.
Also -- there's a federal investigation underway and it's targeting the highest levels of government. The FBI and Department of Justice now looking into three cases of state secrets possibly leaked to the public. We have new details.
Plus --
RICHARD DIENER, UNEMPLOYED SINCE 2010: It's been frustrating. It's been frustrating because I've never had a problem finding work before.
KAYE: Five million. That's the number of Americans out of work more than six months. We've got long-term unemployment in focus this morning. For millions, jobless benefits are running out. We have some tips on how you can get back to work.
Oh, yes. You recognize that song. Bobby is back. Sue Ellen is running for office and J.R. is as conniving as ever. No, we're not talking about the old "Dallas." This is the next generation. And they're still battles over control of South Fork. Wait until you see what the cast told me in our sit-down interview.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Good morning, everyone, I'm Randi Kaye. It's 8:00. Thanks for waking up with us.
We start with a guarantee from Attorney General Eric Holder that his new lead investigators will get to the bottom of the leaked secrets scandal. President Obama says his White House has zero tolerance for leaks and promises that anyone guilty will suffer consequences. Leaked information has included classified details of a cyber attack aimed at Iran and classified information on the U.S. drone program.
To Syria and new clashes now in the capital of Damascus. The city has long been thought to be a government stronghold, but we're seeing gunfights in the streets between rebel forces and government troops.
There is also fighting elsewhere in the country. Opposition forces say the military has killed at least 30 people today. Regional leaders will meet next week to discuss the next steps to take with regards to Syria.
Back in the U.S., Federal marshals now offering $5,000 for information on a fugitive murder suspect wanted in Alabama. Deandra Marquis Lee is considered armed and dangerous. He's wanted in connection with the shooting deaths of 9-year-old twins and their 73-year-old babysitter.
Atlanta-area megachurch pastor Creflo Dollar is out on bond this morning. He was arrested and charged with battery, family violence and child cruelty after an incident with his 15-year old daughter. Police say that she was choked by Dollar during an argument about going to a party. She called 911. Dollar says the case will be handled privately within the family.
We won't have a triple crown winner again this year now that "I'll Have Another" was dropped out of today's Belmont stakes. A track veterinarian noticed the beginnings of tendonitis, so the horse will retire instead of running again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
J. PAUL REDDAM, OWNER, "I'LL HAVE ANOTHER": Horseracing is a very tough game in that horses are very delicate creatures and things can happen to them and unfortunately, fate decided today was the day for "I'll Have Another" to end his career.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: So we'll have to wait another year for a possible triple crown.
To New York City now and possible financial help on the way for people sickened by the toxic smoke and fumes from the demolished World Trade Center on 9/11. A new ruling says that some cancers may now be added to the list of sicknesses.
Nick Valencia has been looking at this for us this morning and he joins us now.
So what kind of cancer exactly are we talking about here?
NICK VALENCIA, CNN ASSIGNMENT EDITOR: We are talking about 50 different types of cancer that are on this list, including lymphoma, lung cancer. This really represents an about-face in the Federal government's position on whether cancer was linked to these toxic fumes surrounding the rubble of the twin towers.
KAYE: So who might this cover and how many people are we talking about? VALENCIA: That's the interesting part of this story, Randi. We're talking about passersby, residents, people that were not just first responders, but those in the area that were impacted by that toxic fume, those toxic fumes in the months after September 11.
KAYE: So this really could help in terms of additional coverage for people who have been trying to say that hey, this stuff made me sick, right?
VALENCIA: That's right. But it's their burden to prove whether or not and how they developed cancer and of course as you know Randi, in the science community, there is a lot of doubt, extreme doubt and skepticism among epidemiologists that there is a link, a direct link between these toxic fumes and cancer. So the burden of course is on the victim.
But this could affect hundreds, if not thousands of people. There's about $4.3 billion already set aside in this 9/11 fund. This expanse now covers people that got cancer out there after 9/11 (INAUDIBLE)
KAYE: So how soon? I mean if this does happen, this is just a recommendation, right? How soon might we get this money?
VALENCIA: This is a recommendation. There's a long road ahead. It could take weeks if not months. There's a phase of public comment as well as review, so we're not out of the woods just yet.
KAYE: And can you imagine the paperwork? Not only saying that, having to prove that this made you sick, but also having to show you were in New York City. You were down at ground zero that day. There's just so much work involved.
VALENCIA: There's a lot of caveats to this.
KAYE: Certainly, all right, Nick Valencia, thank you for that.
From unemployed to finding new hope, one Connecticut company trying something new. And they've got an incredible success rate at getting people hired. We'll meet the man with the plan.
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KAYE: Good morning, San Francisco and good morning, everyone. It is about seven minutes past the hour. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We're glad you're with us.
So imagine this, a 15-year old boy putting himself in harm's way to help save an entire neighborhood from a wildfire. J.D. Tennapel hopped on his all-terrain vehicle to go door-to-door warning people of the fast-moving fire. He has second-degree burns now on his arms, legs and back. But his heroics didn't stop even when he was loaded into the ambulance.
J.D.'s mother Debbie Tennapel is joining me now from Delta, Colorado.
Debbie, how are you? Walk us through what happened and what drove your son to jump into action.
DEBBIE TENNAPEL, BURNED TEEN'S MOM (via telephone): Good morning.
Well, yesterday was quite a day. He saw smoke after mowing the lawn, was out playing with his dogs in the sprinklers, if you can imagine that in his bathing suit and flip flops and saw smoke and yelled that there is a fire and with how windy it was here and how dry it's been, it looked to be out of control before you know it.
So I called 911 and my husband and he started getting ready to go up the road to try to see what we could do and he got on his ATV and just - he just kind of went into action like he said and he knew there was some elderly folks and some grandparent type friends up the road.
KAYE: Even when he was in the ambulance, he was still trying to help people, telling the medics that they need to help save some neighbors?
TENNAPEL: There is an elderly woman that was renting from some friends of ours up the road about a mile and he couldn't get to her and he didn't know how you get her back. He could find where her little home was. He knew that there was somebody up there and our other neighbors weren't home.
So he came back down and when he came back down, the fire was so bad, he had to make a choice. Do I stay up here where the fire's coming or do I go through and try to warn everybody how bad it's getting. You just make a split second decision and as he did, his ATV started to cut out because of the lack of oxygen with how hot it was as he went through on the road and thankfully he went through and unfortunately, it took a toll on his body.
But, thankfully, he didn't have a shirt on. If he would have, it would have been worse burns. He happened to be shirtless at the time and went on down the road to warn our other neighbor and help her load up her dogs and before he knew it, she said you're burned.
KAYE: I'm sure you're a proud mom this morning. Do you consider your son a hero and I'm sure the neighbors are saying the same?
TENNAPEL: Well, they are saying that. He's just - it's what we all do when there's an emergency. We all kick into gear and that's what he did and I am very proud of him. He did a great job and I don't know how he managed to handle his all terrain vehicle at that speed after being burned, but I think you just kind of go - adrenaline takes over until you can get some additional care. But we're thankful the fire has gotten under control.
KAYE: I'm sure you are and thankful that he was around there to help save so many lives. Debbie Tennapel, I think you should give him maybe a few days off from homework, give that guy a break for all his efforts there. Thank you very much.
TENNAPEL: Thanks so much.
KAYE: And wish him the very best and a speedy recovery as well.
TENNAPEL: Thank you. I will do.
KAYE: Unemployment benefits are ending this month for tens of thousands of people who've been out of work long term. We're focusing this morning on the problem and some possible solutions. So here are the numbers. Take a look with me, the latest labor report shows 12,700,000 Americans unemployed.
Of those, more than five million have been out of work for at least six months. The average is actually around 40 weeks. And then there are the 99'ers, people who have exhausted all unemployment benefits, regular and emergency. Fortunately, there are some solutions to their plight.
In Connecticut, there's a company that started a program tailored to the 99'ers, trying to get them back in the workforce. Joe Carbone is president of CEO of The Workplace. The Workplace has a program called platform to employment. And Mark Charpenter is a graduate of that program. Good morning to both of you.
JOE CARBONE, CHIEF OF STAFF FOR THE MAYOR OF NEW HAVEN, CT: Good morning.
MARK CHARPENTER, GRADUATE, PLATFORM TO EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM: Good morning.
KAYE: Joe, let me start with you. You say platform to employment isn't about job training. So what is it about?
CARBONE: It's about dealing with some of the other rather bad effects of long-term unemployment which is a loss of one's confidence and in a very, very competitive market like we have right now, if you don't have full real confidence in your abilities, you really cannot compete.
It's about also dealing with the emotions of long-term unemployment, things like depression. You're out of work for a year. You're clearly suffering from that. And it's also recognizing the advantage I think business has in this market. So we're offering business a completely free of risk opportunity to engage one of our candidates into a job that's open.
KAYE: And how successful has the first group been?
CARBONE: We had 100 people in the first group and we got 72 percent of them placed, with the exception of three or four that did not make it through the eight-week period. Everyone else is working. I think we've got a 92 percent rate of persons being hired after the eight-week internship was completed.
KAYE: Mark, you say that the platform program was just a starting point. Tell me first how long you have been out of work and what did this program mean for you?
CHARPENTER: The program was exceptional for me because everyone in the platform to employment program cares so much about getting you re- employed. I had been unemployed for over two years. I had done some consulting work and had tried to make ends meet in a certain way.
But when I was one of the 20 people chosen to be part of the platform to employment group, Joe's mission - and he said it to us the first time he met us - was hope starts here, because you do lose hope when you're over 50 years old and you feel like no one's taking a look at you anymore even though you've been successful in your past experience.
KAYE: And what kind of message do you have for those - we're talking about the long-term unemployed, a lot of folks about to lose their benefits. So Mark, what's your message to those who are still out there looking for work, for people who may know someone maybe who's been out of long-term work.
CHARPENTER: I think that that's a great question. A couple of things, one is specifically never lose hope, network every single day. Reach out and to those of you out there who know folks that are unemployed, please take time to go for a hike, take them out to lunch, write them a note, give them a phone call, because as Joe mentioned, these people are feeling fear. They're feeling sad. They're feeling frustrated. They're feeling confused and if they can have some support from family and friends, it's critical in the road back to success.
KAYE: I'm just curious Joe, how are you -- why do you think you're able to help find these people work? Why are you having success that the rest of the country doesn't seem to be having?
CARBONE: Because we're trying, I think there's a capacity out there across this nation for other parts of America to do exactly what we did. There's a business community that will respond to a program like this. I have no doubt that if we deal with the issue of a person's self-confidence and the emotional issues that result in long-term unemployment, we can ready people to be challenging and to be competitive in the job market. So others just need to take the leadership on and do it.
KAYE: You have a new group now. Are they any different from your first group?
CARBONE: This group now, it's a program that was sponsored by the AARP foundation. And all of the participants are aged 50 or higher. So they are facing a greater struggle beyond the normal misperceptions of long-term unemployment. If you're over 50, you're also facing what could be discrimination based upon age or just some other kinds of misperceptions of older workers. So they've got a number of things ahead of them that they have to overcome.
KAYE: It's nice to see that you have a program that does seem to be working, Joe Carbone, Mark Charpenter, thank you both very much for your time this morning.
CARBONE: Thank you for having us.
CHARPENTER: Thank you very much.
KAYE: How easy are today's electronic gadgets? It depends on who you ask, of course. Any eight-year-old seems to be able to handle a smart phone better than most grownups, but our John Zarrella found a very different group of technology whiz kids we'll say. We'll introduce you.
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KAYE: Good morning, Washington, it's 20 minutes past the hour, welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
The iPad has given millions of people a new way to think and to communicate. That even goes for a group of orangutans in Miami. Our John Zarrella takes us to the zoo.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Meet the orangutans at Miami's Jungle Island. There are six here. Some are young and well, let's just say, some are getting long in the tooth. And just like many of us, the four kids love playing with new gadgets. The older ones, Sinbad and Connie, not so much.
LINDA JACOBS, JUNGLE ISLAND CAREGIVER: Those two just have no interest in it. These four can't get enough of it and they just understand, it's just like they catch on and Connie and Sinbad just sort of look at them as if to say, what is this newfangled thing?
ZARRELLA: This newfangled thing is an iPad. For a year now they have been drawing and painting on it. Most recently they have learned to identify symbols. The app, called tap to talk, shows a group of symbols like banana and peanut. The orangutan has to pick out the right one.
JACOBS: Can you touch the peanuts? Peanuts.
ZARRELLA: Caregivers say they are amazed that there seems to be no end to the orangutans' ability to learn and the iPad is another way to stimulate them to enrich their lives.
JACOBS: They are so underestimated in their intelligence, really, there's almost -- there's almost no limit to what they can learn.
ZARRELLA: These great apes may be smarter than chimpanzees says Patti Ragan, founder of the center for great apes sanctuary in central Florida. Here too, the iPad is used to enrich the sanctuary's 15 orangutans and to raise awareness to their plight. There are according to the World Wildlife Fund, only 53,000 or so left in the wild.
PATTI RAGAN, CENTER FOR GREAT APES: Habitat destruction is leading to the deaths of probably 2,000 to 3,000 arrest orangutans in the world a year right now.
ZARRELLA: The work with orangutan intelligence is already progressing beyond just recognizing symbols. They're Skyping. Yep, you heard me right. Using the iPad II, a zoo in Milwaukee and one in Toronto, carried out the experiment. COLLEEN REED, ORANGUTAN OUTREACH; They're really interested to see each other in real time and they can recognize that it's not just a recording, that it actually is real time.
ZARRELLA: Back at Jungle Island, 14-year old Hannah has taken a shine to me, letting me brush her hair and then returning the favor. Maybe she would play the iPad word game with me.
(on camera): Touch mango. No, huh. Where's the mango? Where's mango? She actually did it. She absolutely did it. She's amazing. I'm amazed.
John Zarrella, CNN, Miami.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Our thanks to John Zarrella for that one.
Former Penn State assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky is about to stand trial. He's accused of sexually abusing 10 boys, but are some of the jurors just too close to the case?
But first, we all know about printers, but if you think printing is limited to some words and pictures on a page, well think again. Joe Carter has more in today's start small, think big.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOE CARTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Computer printing is stepping into another dimension. Bre Pettis is one of the inventors of the MakerBot, a personal 3-D printer.
BRE PETTIS, INVENTOR, MAKERBOT: Normally when you need something, you think, OK, where am I going to go shop for that? When you have a MakerBot, you think, maybe I'll just make it myself.
CARTER: Tell me why and how I'll start it.
PETTIS: So we really wanted to have a 3-D printer, but we couldn't afford one, so we decided to just make it ourselves and when it finally worked, we were having so much fun with it, we decided everybody should have one of these.
CARTER: The MakerBot costs about $1,300 and works by melting coils of plastic into a fine thread that creates 3-D models of just about anything. You've got some practical things and just fun kind of toy- type things.
PETTIS: You've nailed it. It's a mix of things that are really fun and playful like toys and puzzles and then really practical things like things you're going to use in the house.
CARTER: You can create your own designs or download other creations and simply print them out. Here we are, a practical item the MakerBot can make. It's chess pieces.
PETTIS: You go ahead and you print them all out and you've got a chess set and then you're ready to play chess.
CARTER: There's so many times in my life where have lost even one single chess piece. Now I can just print it out. If you can imagine it, you can create it.
PETTIS: Once you have the MakerBot, you get MakerBot goggles and you start looking at things as if the whole world can be made of the MakerBot.
CARTER: Joe Carter, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Welcome back everyone. I'm Randi Kaye. Thanks for starting your day with us. Bottom of the hour now, so let's get you caught up on what's happening.
We start with a guarantee from Attorney General Eric Holder that his new lead investigators will get to the bottom of the leaked secrets scandal. President Obama says his White House has zero tolerance for leaks and promises that anyone guilty will suffer consequences. Leaked information has included classified details of a cyber attack aimed at Iran and classified information on the U.S. drone program.
To Syria and new clashes now in the capital of Damascus. The city has long been thought to be a government stronghold, but we're seeing gunfights in the streets between rebel forces and government troops. There's also fighting elsewhere in the country. Opposition forces say the military has killed at least 30 people today. Regional leaders will meet next week to discuss the next steps to take with regards to Syria.
So you go to the hospital to get better, right? But more than a quarter million people each year die from medical mistakes and many others just have to live with the consequences.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has been digging into this problem. Take a look at what she uncovered in her special report -- 25 shocking medical mistakes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jesse Matlock has a wandering right eye. The three-year-old needs surgery to have it fixed. He goes in for the operation and the surgeon cuts into the left eye instead of the right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I were in awe, we're like -- can you repeat that again and she said frankly I lost sense of direction --
JESSE MATLOCK, HAD EYE SURGERY: They messed up and did this eye and then did this eye.
COHEN: Surgeons are supposed to initial or mark the correct site like they did with Jesse. But here's one way they can still get confused.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We place drapes over the entire area to keep it sterile. Mistakes can be made very rarely when you have a draping that obscures the mark.
COHEN: In the U.S., seven patients every day suffer body part mix-ups.
(on camera): Just before the surgery make sure you confirm with the nurse and the surgeon the correct body part and side of your operation and don't be shy about doing it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: Pretty scary stuff. Elizabeth Cohen joining me now. So good morning, how is Jesse doing?
COHEN: You know he is doing much better, but he still -- his vision has suffered in that eye, the eye that was fine and was operated on by mistake. He's walked into walls, he has trouble seeing things correctly but we're told that it is getting better. So we really hope it recovers completely.
KAYE: Yes I certainly hope so. I know you're a big proponent of telling patients to be your own advocate to speak up, not to be shy. But in a lot of cases you know you have children like Jesse who -- who really maybe are too young to know what to say and maybe their parents don't handle it. So what -- what's your advice?
COHEN: You know in my family we face this, when our daughter went in for a hernia operation and my husband and I made sure that just before the surgery took place, like while she was in the holding area we said we want to talk to the surgeon. We said "Doctor, remember, the hernia is on her right side." You know we went over it again, we said, it wasn't that we didn't trust him -- he's a fabulous surgeon.
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: He didn't know who he was dealing with --
(CROSSTALK)
COHEN: Exactly and you know but he was grateful. He said he understood why we wanted to do that. The nurses were not so thrilled because we held up their schedule. We made things a little bit slower. But you know we insisted on it. This is our kid.
KAYE: Yes it's really important to speak up that's the main thing.
So tonight in your report, in your special report you countdown down 25 shocking medical mistakes. I'm sure you have some surprises in there. But what made you really want to look -- look at this? I mean, obviously it's going on. It's a danger for people.
COHEN: Right and I think that people don't always recognize that. And the reason I wanted to do this is very personal and is also again is about my child. And it was because when one of our daughters was two days old, she had an unnecessary spinal tap in the hospital. She wasn't supposed to have it. The doctor didn't order it and it happened kind of by a -- by a communication error.
And so I have set out to make sure that this does not happen to other people. And to let people know look doctors and nurses are human. And these are big busy hospitals things are going to happen and you have to do your best to make sure that they don't happen.
KAYE: Yes you know we've covered the stories of celebrities who have had instances with their children.
COHEN: Right.
KAYE: But it's really you know the everyday people that are in there in the hospital trying to get better and these sort or things happen. So it sounds like a great special.
COHEN: Oh thank you, thank you.
KAYE: Yes.
COHEN: So when we count down -- count down the mistakes, we don't just tell you about the mistakes. We tell you what you can do to prevent the mistakes from happening. So I think that --
(CROSSTALK)
KAYE: -- which is the key.
COHEN: -- which is the key, exactly.
KAYE: All right, Elizabeth. Thank you very much.
COHEN: Thanks.
KAYE: And don't miss Elizabeth's special, "25 SHOCKING MEDICAL MISTAKES", that's tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern. You can only catch it right here on CNN.
Now this week's "Travel Insider". CNN producer Jamie Maglietta recently headed to Savannah, Georgia for a fun get away.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMIE MAGLIETTA, CNN PRODUCER (voice-over): While researching weekend trips from Atlanta, I realized Savannah is only four hours from the city. What we love about Savannah is River Street; the cobblestone street borders the Savannah River. It has the New Orleans feel with southern hospitality and -- get this -- street drinks, yes, you can stroll along River Street with a beer in your hand. Besides beer, there are also tasty restaurants.
If you want seafood, I suggest you try Fiddlers or Tubbies. But if you want to take a break from River Street's festivities walk seven minutes to Lady and Sons. It's owned by Paula Deen. I recommend you try shrimp and grits -- yum. If you're looking for a place to stay, you may want to try to Bohemian Hotel right on River Street. It is across from the Savannah River and the World War II Memorial. Just keep in mind hotels along the Savannah River are pricey, so I recommend you stay further out of town to save.
(on camera): From River Street in Savannah, Georgia, I'm Jamie Maglietta, CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: Good morning, everyone and good morning, New York. What a gorgeous shot there of Central Park. Absolutely beautiful; you see the reservoir there even in the background.
Welcome back everyone to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Randi Kaye. I'm so glad you're with us.
A jury of five men and seven women will soon decide the fate of Jerry Sandusky. Opening statements begin Monday for the former Penn State assistant football coach who's accused of sexually abusing 10 boys for more than a decade. Atlanta defense attorney, Peter Odom, joining me now to talk about this; good morning to you.
PETER ODOM, ATLANTA CRIMINAL DEFENSE LAWYER: Good morning.
KAYE: First of all, this seems pretty unbelievable, eight of the 16 jurors and alternates have connections to Penn State, is that a little too cozy, a little too close for comfort there for some?
ODOM: Not really in an area like this, that's going to happen. It's really not uncommon for people in this area to have connections to Penn State. It's a huge university.
The question really is going to be do those people have opinions about the case? And even if they have opinions, can they put those aside and be fair and objective? So I don't think there's going to be a -- an advantage or a disadvantage for either side.
KAYE: Ok. Opening statements begin tomorrow -- begin Monday, I'm sorry. What do you think the defense team's biggest hurdle is going to be here?
ODOM: Well the biggest problem for the defense is that there are so many victims who are telling stories that are so similar. We call that the slop-over (ph) effect. Even if one victim's testimony is weak, then testimonies from other stronger victims will slop over to fill in the gaps. And so there's just a lot of evidence against this man.
KAYE: So how will they get beyond the fact that so many boys from so many different years are telling this similar story? How do they defend against that?
ODOM: Well they've already foreshadowed that in their pre-trial motions. They are going to try and allege that these victims have gotten together to collude and to fabricate their stories. This will be an attack on each victim's credibility. So they'll try and show that each victim individually is not credible and so taken as a whole you can't believe the case.
KAYE: And how strong of an impact do you think these young victims will have in the courtroom because they are showing their face. I mean the judge said they're going to have to come forward and tell their story up front.
ODOM: It's -- it's very damaging that these victims have come forward at all. Child abuse is, of course, very common, what is uncommon is for children themselves to come forward and talk about it.
So the fact that these young victims are in court talking about what a very embarrassing scary events really in itself is strong.
KAYE: Yes. What about these supposedly, they're called love letters that Sandusky apparently sent to some of those accusers, how damaging might those be?
ODOM: Well depending on what is said in those letters. They might be able to attack the context and say these aren't love letters, these were just letters expressing appropriate adult affection for someone that I had contact with. Or they might just decide to try and ignore them and try and focus on the credibility of the victims rather than these love letters. In any event, it's going to be hard to overcome.
KAYE: Yes no doubt.
I want to ask you about this other story that -- that we've been paying a lot of attention to. A South Carolina mother arrested after cheering too loudly at her daughter's graduation.
ODOM: Right.
KAYE: I want you to take a listen to this first.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANNON COOPER, MOTHER: I got up and said, "Yea, my baby made it." Don't scream, don't cheer? I know I -- I'm thinking of my man, you know I'm going to cheer, because, you know, I went through too much to get her to this point and I can't show my excitement?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KAYE: I mean, OK. Let -- we have to talk about this, because the school district apparently wanted everyone to be orderly. They didn't want any loud cheering, but isn't a graduation a celebration?
ODOM: Well I'm glad that there weren't any police officers around at my daughter's graduation, because I'd probably still be in jail. And I just don't understand what they were thinking in arresting someone. She'll never be convicted and it's just is a waste of time, a waste of taxpayer money and I wish this poor woman the best.
KAYE: Yes I mean they actually hauled her away and put her in some type of holding cell and there was a $250 fee for her. I mean is this really disorderly conduct? I mean, legally is there any ground here at all?
ODOM: No how about just tell the woman, ma'am could you please calm down?
KAYE: Yes.
ODOM: Or escort her out? If you really have to do that, so --
KAYE: It's a little much.
ODOM: A little much, overkill. Overkill.
KAYE: All right, Peter Odom nice to see you. Thank you very much.
ODOM: Thank you very much. Nice to be here.
KAYE: Thank you.
Sue Ellen is returning to South Fork, yes the cast of "Dallas" is back on the small screen. Still to come: my conversation with actress Linda Gray.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: I am so excited about this. J.R. Ewing, Sue Ellen and Bobby are back. That's right after 13 seasons and 357 episodes "Dallas" returns. The original "Dallas" which ran on CBS from 1978 to 1991 remains one of the most popular television series of all time.
Now TNT is reviving the series which follows the original characters and their children. And what about the bitter rivalries, scandals and cliffhangers that made the show so successful? Two of the show's stars, Linda Gray and Josh Henderson, told me what to expect.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: I'm so excited about this series. I have my DVR set, I'm all excited about it. First let's start. I want to ask you Linda first. What -- what made you decide to reprise your role?
LINDA GRAY, ACTRESS: What made me decide?
KAYE: Yes what brought you back?
GRAY: I love it. We were chosen. That's what Cynthia Cidre, our executive producer says. She chose and she calls us the big three and invited us back to -- to play this crazy, wonderful, dysfunctional world again.
KAYE: "Dysfunctional" being the key word.
GRAY: Yes that's it.
So who would say no to that, because, you know, I love working with Larry and Patrick. And we knew that we would never get to work together again because we're too recognizable as those characters.
So this was like a yahoo, let's do it. Let's -- let's go to Texas and do it again.
KAYE: And Josh, are you ready to join this dysfunctional family?
JOSH HENDERSON, ACTOR: I -- I'm completely ready, you know. I guess ready as I can be. I don't really know what to expect except that, you know, I feel blessed to be part of this.
KAYE: How true to the original series is this going to be?
GRAY: It's a continuation and I must give Patrick Duffy the credit because he says it's Year 14. And that's exactly what it feels like. It wasn't a glitch, a bump, it just seamlessly goes from what you saw before to this new generation, to 2012.
KAYE: Tell me about this new generation of Ewing. You play "Little J.R." as I have seen it called. Are you going to be as ruthless as your father?
HENDERSON: I'm like the sweetest guy you have ever met. It's kind of odd.
KAYE: Oh, I don't know about that.
GRAY: Oh, don't trust him.
HENDERSON: It's kind of weird that John Ross is so --
KAYE: You have a ruthless mother and a ruthless father, so I don't know.
HENDERSON: Yes. How did John Ross turn out so nice and caring and respectful? I'll say he's a little chip off the old block, you know. He definitely knows how to do business one way and that's the J.R. way and he believes it's his fate to be an oil man and hopefully he wants to be even better and one up J.R.
He thinks that's possible, but it's -- that's his goal. And, you know, he's an intense, passionate, young man who has issues from not having the best parenting. And you know, here we are now -- thanks, Mama.
KAYE: Tell me about the target audience because I'm wondering as a fan of the original series, will watching it now make me feel older or will it bring me back to that time and make me feel young again.
GRAY: As "Dallas" always was and still is; it's about entertaining you --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It will change everything.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I am sick to death of this family devouring itself over money.
GRAY: -- and keeping you engaged with the characters.
KAYE: And the cliffhangers.
GRAY: And the cliffhangers.
Because what it is now, it's a continuation, it will blend -- it blends beautifully with the older characters and the young characters and there's not -- there's nothing that will have you say -- to my knowledge, anyway, at least being a mom -- you won't just sit there and go, no, it's not like the old days. They'll just be "Oh, my God did you know this and this?" They'll just forget about it and feel that it's just this flawless segue into this new show.
KAYE: Year 14.
GRAY: Yes. Yes, Year 14. And that's how it feels, it feels like that to us, the three of us. And it just feels smooth.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: So it seems the new "Dallas" will pick up where the old one left off, but will anyone get shot and is the theme song the same? That's next.
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KAYE: Affairs, benders and murder, the drama depicted in the '80s series "Dallas" pushed the boundaries of television. Now the show is returning to TNT. Sue Ellen, J.R. and Bobby are back with the new generation of trouble makers. They talked with me about some of the twists and turns that we can expect in the new season.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: Any surprises in the two-hour premier that's coming up?
GRAY: Oh the odd --
KAYE: Tease us.
GRAY: You'll love it. There are surprises.
PATRICK DUFFY, ACTOR: You have no right to drill on this land.
HENDERSON: I'm a Ewing, I have every right.
GRAY: It engages you. It just brings you right in and it just holds you and just shakes you, OK, don't you dare get up. You have to see this show, it's so amazing.
KAYE: This is the one thing I need to know, is the theme song the same?
GRAY: You bet.
KAYE: That's good. As soon as that music starts -- You're in.
GRAY: Yes, exactly. You can't sit still, you just like it. It just grabs you.
HENDERSON: I know some people who are probably going to be there and go, "Let's just see if it's as good as the original. I understand. I get it, you know. And I know that quickly I believe that this show really took them back so much and really engaged them so quickly that they were able to just enjoy.
KAYE: So is anybody going to get shot this season?
HENDERSON: I hope it's not who shot John Ross -- that would be no fun.
(CROSSTALK)
HENDERSON: There's all kinds of crazy stuff and you just have -- I mean I think that we're going to hopefully go beyond people's expectations.
And when it comes to the cliffhanger stuff, I mean you almost can't even leave during the commercial break because there's more than one cliffhanger in the show. I mean it keeps you guessing right from the first episode. You're going to think it's over and it's not.
And it's just going to keep -- it twists and turns and it's so layered. So, I won't tell you about how things go down, but there's some big stuff out there.
GRAY: Don't you dare.
KAYE: I have to ask you Linda because a lot of our viewers watched you, you know, 20 years ago. And you look fantastic.
GRAY: Thank you.
KAYE: What have you been doing? What is your secret?
GRAY: I'm a happy person. I have a great family life and I workout. They're teaching me how to work out even better. I watch these guys in the gym, and I go, oh, I better step it up a little bit.
HENDERSON: It's funny, we bump into each other at the gym all the time. Hey, mama.
GRAY: I love it. He calls me "Mama", isn't that the sweetest thing in the world? You know, it's life. It's enjoying every minute of life and the other beauty secret is working. So, you know, that's working. I love it.
KAYE: Is there anything that she taught you in the offset that you want to share with us.
HENDERSON: She, I remember she told me in the beginning, she said if I needed any advice, if we ever have a dinner scene and Larry and Patrick are in the scene, just watch out for flying dinner rolls. So any time that we ever are around food, on set or off set, I was definitely --
GRAY: He was prepared.
HENDERSON: Is that Larry? Patrick here? You know, no -- their main thing, just like Larry, he said congratulations on being here with us and have fun. Enjoy the ride and as long as you do that, it will come through the work. And it was the best advice because we all had so much fun and at the end of the day, I'm so proud of the show. It really -- there's an emotional value to the show and I think a nostalgic value for the original fans that hopefully it takes people back and we just take them for a ride because this show's definitely --
GRAY: Absolutely.
KAYE: I can't wait for the ride to begin.
HENDERSON: Good.
KAYE: Thank you both.
GRAY: Great. Thank you.
HENDERSON: Thank you very much.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KAYE: And it premiers this coming week on TNT.
A straight A student, a member of the National Honors Society and Harvard bound, and she did it all while being homeless.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KAYE: "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" is coming up in 30 minutes; Christine Romans has a preview for us. Hi Christine.
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN HOST, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE": Hi Randi.
President Obama fighting to save his job and to do that, it's your job he needs to worry about. Candy Crowley and I break down what unemployment looks like in the key states that will determine the next president.
Plus the latest shots fired in the political war on women. This time the battle lines are being drawn across your paycheck. Women still make less than men, should the government get involved?
And we'll introduce you to the one person that can fix your finances. If you want a clue, look in the mirror. We're going to show how to be your own financial savior. That's all coming up at 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- Randi.
