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Siege of Zabadani, Syria; Two Americans Missing after Cruise Wreck; Evangelical Leaders Backing Santorum; Marines Investigate Corpse Abuse; Remembering Dr. King; Man Fights His Sister's Exhumation; History of the Cheeseburger
Aired January 15, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: More than 30 people reported killed in the latest fighting between pro government and opposition forces in Syria. In the besieged town of Zabadani, crowds of people rushed the cars of Arab League overseers.
They were desperate to tell the monitors about the government crackdown there. Opposition activists say regime forces have surrounded the city for three days and that power and water have been cut.
This was said to be the scene in the Syrian city of Idleb (ph). CNN cannot independently verify these images, but they are said to be of an opposition rally in support of military defectors known as the Free Syrian Army.
U.N. Secretary Ban Ki-Moon delivered a blunt message to Syria's President Bashar Al Assad during a visit to neighboring Lebanon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Today I say again to the President Assad of Syria, stop the violence. Stop killing your own people. The path of repression is a dead end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Meanwhile, Syrian state-run media report Al Assad has announced he is granting amnesty to anti-government demonstrators for all crimes committed since the uprising began last March.
It is the top of the hour and the CNN NEWSROOM starts all over again right now.
We're going to start with this. We're following two major developments in the cruise ship disaster on the Italian coast. Two Americans now are among the missing, that's according to the State Department. 120 were reportedly on the ship but only 118 are accounted for.
CNN's Dan Rivers has spoken to the rescue crew looking for them. More on that in just a moment. But first we're going to tell you this, the company that owns the ship is pointing the finger right at the ship's captain for allowing the ship to run aground on an island, an Italian island. CNN received a statement from Costa Cruises which reads in part. It says, "While the investigation is ongoing, preliminary indications are that there may have been significant human error on the part of the ship's Master Captain Francesco Schettino which resulted in these grave consequences."
The Captain is now under arrest and he could face charges of manslaughter and abandoning ship. But he is defending himself today saying the rocks the ship hit weren't on the map. Sadly, crews today found two elderly people dead near the ship's restaurant life vests still strapped around their bodies. That begins -- brings the death toll inside the Costa Concordia to five now.
Rescuers did pull out a South Korean couple who were trapped for more than 24 hours. They are newlyweds on perhaps the worst honeymoon of all time; 17 people are still unaccounted for according the island's mayor.
Here is why it is so tough to stop a cruise ship of this size. The Costa Concordia is 951 feet long and it can move as fast as 26 miles per hour. That's quite fast for a vessel that size. Now when it was christened in 2006, it was believed to be the biggest cruise ship in all of Italy. It's owned by a company called Costa Cruises whose parent company is Miami-based Carnival the biggest cruise line in the world.
Costa had a bad 2010. One of its cruise ships slammed into a cargo ship in China injuring three people. And another Costa ship smacked into a dock in Egypt killing three crew members.
We're getting more dramatic stories from passengers who were on board the Italian cruise ship. Here's how some survivors describe the rush to get to safety.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The crew was so young. And I -- you would have thought they could have handled it better. You would have thought they could have handled it better on the shore. You would have thought they could have handled, you know, getting people off the boat, warning people.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When the ship started taking on water and I saw the -- like the river water gushing in I started to panic then. And that's when we got -- started sprinting towards the boat.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We wanted to abandon the ship, but this crew although they tried very hard to do their job they were telling us they had no information. They had no information.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were misled. I really agree with you because we -- we were the lucky ones. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That 30 seconds in that lifeboat, slamming into the ship and being thrown away and free fall was the scariest point. We were fortunate. We boarded the lifeboat early enough. We were taken to shore early enough.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The fact that the captain abandoned ship and everything, and he wasn't informing anybody. And the crew actually -- they did really well in evacuating people in like a situation where their leader or their boss was gone.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We were being told everyone to stay calm. We're going to get off or everything like that. But what happened is it started to tilt really rapidly, like sink really rapidly. There was a crane, one of them it was about two or three yards off the water. And then the next thing we know, it's like in the water. So it was that dramatic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: CNN's Dan Rivers has been reporting from the scene on this disaster all day. And he has new information about the State Department, who has confirmed those two Americans are among the missing. Here's a report from CNN's Dan Rivers.
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DAN RIVERS, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With an open gash surrounding the length of her port side, the Costa Concordia looks like it's been gutted by a giant fisherman's blade. The cruise line is lying forlornly on the shore of Isla del Giglio, dwarfing the town behind it.
We were taken on a tour of the wreck by a local diver Aldo Basigi (ph) and shown a reef he thinks that caused the hit, one he swears is on every chart.
ALDO BASIGI, LOCAL DIVER: There's not one rock over here, which is not on the chart.
RIVERS (on camera): Every rock here is on the chart.
BASIGI: Every -- everyone. Everyone, that's why I think should be the only possibility should be only that one.
RIVERS (voice-over): He's planning to dive to see if there are traces of paint on the reef from the ship's hull. But the ship's captain, who could face criminal charges, insists he wasn't too close.
MASTER CAPTAIN FRANCESCO SCHETTINO (through translator): On my nautical chart it was marked just as water at some 100 meters to 150 meters from the rocks. And we were about 300 meters from the shore, more or less. We shouldn't have had this contact.
RIVERS: But officials running the rescue operation disagree, suggesting the ship came too close as the crew wanted to wave to friends ashore. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know the ship was so close to the island.
RIVERS (on camera): Too close to the island?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
RIVERS: As the frantic search for survivors goes on behind me, a picture is emerging of the chaos on board the Costa Concordia as panic spread through the passengers who were desperately trying to scramble ashore.
(voice-over): The ship's U.S. owner Carnival Corporation says it's still trying to figure out what led to the accident.
This was what it was like in the dark cold chaos as passengers fled the Costa Concordia in life jackets, battling against gravity to get out.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): The lifeboats weren't upside down. They were actually slanted and that made it hard to get on them because of that.
RIVERS: These photos were taken by American passengers Amanda and Brandon Warrick (ph) as they tried to escape.
BRANDON WARRICK, PASSENGER: We were one of the last ones. Pretty much the chaos happened for everybody to get on the lifeboats first. And we -- I mean, more or less we just didn't get there early enough for whatever. It was just so crowded. And there was no room for us.
And yes we just ended up waiting the last maybe few people. We were just holding on to the railing and not -- trying not to fall.
RIVERS: Korean honeymooners Han and Jun Kidok (ph) were rescued after more than 24 hours trapped aboard.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): At first, we were very scared. And as time went by, our fear grew and grew. We lived with the hope of being able to survive this ugly thing and above all with the strength of being near the one you loved. We did not get hurt.
RIVERS: Even though the search and rescue operation isn't over, already it's clear this accident will result in litigation and criminal prosecutions. The death toll remains uncertain with passengers still missing. Now everyone is wondering how on earth this massive ship came so close to this treacherous shore and how many more bodies will be recovered from the wreck of the Costa Concordia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN's Dan Rivers joins us now from Giglio, Italy. So Dan, 120 Americans reportedly on; 118 accounted for. We're hearing from the State Department now confirming that.
RIVERS: That's right. And that opens the possibility that two U.S. citizens could still be out there somewhere on the Costa Concordia. And it's now been almost three days and nights. This is the third night now. It must be said that things are looking pretty grim for those still unaccounted for, for those still missing.
There is a possibility we're told that survivors could be aboard. That's why they are not giving up. They are going through the night, as I speak. There are divers and firemen out there risking their lives in very hazardous conditions to search 2,000 cabins across 12 or 13 decks, which are all now turned the other way up on their side.
And you can imagine how difficult it is. They say that the glass on the outside of those cabins is too thick to break. So they've literally got to kind of work their way carefully along those -- those corridors trying to get into -- to each cabin. And some of them are under water. So you can just imagine how difficult and dangerous it is out there.
LEMON: And Dan, I understand you have been speaking directly to some of the rescuers.
RIVERS: That's right. They have been here just within the last hour and confirming they've got 120 people at the moment on board trying to look for survivors, including six cave rescue specialists because effectively, this is a bit like a cave. It's dark, it's wet, it's dangerous. It's almost like a skyscraper, in fact, in its size and complexity. A skyscraper that is now half submerged on its side and still very dangerous and unstable and something that they want to check as quickly as they can. But they are not going to give up until they know they've everyone out.
LEMON: CNN's Dan Rivers. Dan thank you for your reporting.
In politics now, six days before the South Carolina primary and Jon Huntsman picks up an endorsement. A live report from Florence, South Carolina is next.
And later, a nasty legal battle over the burial of an African-American Christian woman in a Jewish cemetery.
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LEMON: Well, just a few weeks ago, a lot of pundits well they thought Rick Santorum didn't have a prayer. But it's a different story now that he has won the backing of some major evangelical leaders at a conference in Texas with less than a week before the key primary in South Carolina.
Our political reporter, Peter Hamby has been following Santorum on the trail today. And Pete, it's good to see you. Is this Evangelical endorsement having any effect there in South Carolina?
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: It's a little too early to tell. I do think that he's been getting some big crowds in the last few days. Santorum is certainly talking about it more and I expect it will actually have an impact here. As we know, things broke pretty late for Santorum in Iowa. And they have the potential to again here today. Santorum is basically going around the state saying he is the most conservative choice in the field. And basically, setting himself up as the strongest contrast to Mitt Romney as he tries to rally conservatives to his side and he needs to, to break out of the pack -- the anti-Romney pack, excuse me Don.
Take a listen to what he had to say here at a campaign stop in Florence today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: And unfortunately, the man who is leading the polls here in South Carolina, if you believe him, is someone whose plan was the basis of Obama care. Now in an election where this is the central issue, freedom, the traditional values of this country of free people, free markets, free enterprise, not top- down government control, why would the people of South Carolina put out there someone who we lose that issue with? Who's wrong on that issue?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HAMBY: So what you hear from Santorum and to an extent from Newt Gingrich in the last few days is a real aggressive attempt to puncture that electability argument that Mitt Romney is putting out there. That, if Mitt Romney is the Republican nominee, he will lose because he can't rally the Republican base and represent a strong, bold contrast to Barack Obama. Rick Santorum is saying he's that choice.
And again this endorsement from the social conservative groups in Texas if these organizations go to work for him, make phone calls, send out mailings here in South Carolina, it could be enough to make him the strongest alternative to Mitt Romney. But Mitt Romney still has the lead as we head into the primary next Saturday -- Don.
LEMON: Hey, Pete, before we let you go, I have a question for you. You have been spending a lot of time with Evangelical voters in South Carolina. In 2008, there the Evangelical vote had a big chunk of the turnout there. What's their main concern in this primary?
HAMBY: You know, you talk to voters they say the economy is still number one, which is frankly one reason why Mitt Romney is winning here because he does have a strong message on the economy and jobs and debt and spending and those sort of things.
I was in the upstate of South Carolina the last couple days, a very conservative, Evangelical part of the state where most of the Republican voters in the primary are going to come from. And you ask them, do you guys care a much about abortion and same-sex marriage, these issues that we have been talking about in the media? And they say, yes, those are very important to us. If the candidate is right on those issues, it's almost like a box that they have to check before they will listen to their arguments on the economy.
But primarily, jobs and the economy are the number one issue. They just want to make sure that the candidate's heart is in the right place on some of these social issues -- Don.
LEMON: Pete Hamby, thank you very much. We appreciate your reporting this evening.
So let's stick with politics and bring in our go-to guest for all things politics and culture, Goldie Taylor, she's the managing editor of the Goldie Taylor Project. I was just reading Goldie Taylor Project online.
So, let's stick with South Carolina now, Goldie. Primary next Saturday but there are a couple big candidate events between now and then, including the one right here on CNN. What does Romney have to do to pull out a victory there because even he has admitted that he thinks it's going to be a squeaker, right?
GOLDIE TAYLOR, POLITICAL ANALYST: Sure. Sure.
Romney has to do one thing between now and Florida. He has to close the deal.
LEMON: The deal.
TAYLOR: If he doesn't close the deal, it's going to be a bloody primary season and much longer than I think he ever imagined. Will he turn out to be the nominee? Likely so, but he's going to have Newt Gingrich and Santorum on his heels including Ron Paul along the way.
LEMON: Ok. Don't go anywhere because we're going to take a quick break. And we're going to be back with Goldie.
When we come right back, I want to hear what Texas Governor Rick Perry had to say about those Marines captured on video urinating on dead Taliban insurgents. And note that you have been getting a lot of feedback on this Goldie. You're a former Marine. We're going to talk about that much more next.
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LEMON: We're back now with Goldie Taylor, managing editor of the Goldie Taylor Project.
Goldie, let's shift gears now from politics and revisit that video that surfaced this week on U.S. Marines urinating on dead Taliban fighters. And I know you're getting a lot of feedback on this.
Now Texas Governor Rick Perry says the reaction in Washington has gone too far. Here's what he said to our Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: What I'm saying is what's really disturbing to me is this kind of the over-the-top rhetoric from this Administration and their disdain for the military it appears, whether it's the Secretary of State or whether it's the Secretary of Defense. These kids made a mistake. There's not any doubt about it. Shouldn't have done, it's bad. But to call it a criminal act, I think is over- the-top.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So first we heard the criticism; now we're seeing the reaction to the criticism. What are your thoughts on this?
TAYLOR: Well, it is a criminal act.
LEMON: The criticism to the criticism.
TAYLOR: Well, it is a criminal act. There is no question about that. Geneva Convention, you know, from Code of Military Justice, it was a criminal act there is just no question about that.
Was it a stupid mistake on behalf, you know, that four Marines perpetrated it? Absolutely. Does it have security implications? Absolutely.
LEMON: Why are you getting -- what kind of pushback are you getting? What are people saying?
TAYLOR: Well, you know, it's a mixed bag. I mean there are some people who are very surprised that I was a Marine and that I served and went to Paris Island and went through boot camp and all of those other things. And then there are people who are chiding me and others for blowing this out of proportion that what would you do if you were on the front line and put under that kind of pressure?
Well these laws were put into place because we're under that kind of pressure. It is there to protect us and the people that we serve.
LEMON: All right. Let's move on now and talk Dr. Martin Luther King; already some observances this weekend. What do you think Dr. King would think about politics today? For example the Republicans running for president?
TAYLOR: I think Dr. King has to be rolling over in his grave. And not necessarily because, you know, there are strong Republican ideas, strong Democratic ideas, but he's got to be quite upset about the, what I call, the uncivil discourse happening in this country. That we are fighting over things that have less to do with the common good than with our individual good.
I think that's where the real issue is here today that we can't think about the least of these for all of this bickering back and forth on issues that at the end of the day don't make -- you know, don't put any food on anybody's mouth.
LEMON: I know you're just assuming, but what do you think he would make of the President's performance?
TAYLOR: You know, I think he would be proud that we had our first African-American president. I think that he would be proud that African-Americans by and large had more access to the ballot box. I think he would be saddened that we didn't exercise that right the way we could and should.
So I think you know -- but to say about the president's performance, I think he probably would want more focus on the least of these. I think he would ask that of any president. And so has Barack Obama done enough on that? I think he's done what he could and I think Dr. King would respect that.
LEMON: Goldie Taylor, why don't you say how you really feel? Sometimes.
TAYLRO: Every once in awhile.
LEMON: Maybe you won't get in trouble for this appearance. Thank you. We always are -- we always are. But you know what; the truth is the truth.
TAYLOR: Truth is truth.
LEMON: Thank you Goldie. I'll see you in South Carolina next week. I'll be there. And you'll be reporting -- you'll be there and I'll be reporting as well.
TAYLOR: Absolutely.
LEMON: We'll see you. Thank you Goldie.
An African-American woman is buried in a Jewish cemetery and a nasty legal fight is erupting. That controversy right after the break.
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LEMON: A Connecticut man is fighting for the sister he recently buried. Her wish granted; she was laid to rest in an interfaith part of a Jewish cemetery. But a member of the congregation says she shouldn't be there. Our Susan Candiotti reports that person is suing to have her exhumed.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Steer followed his sister's wishes when he buried Juliet, a Christian, in this Jewish cemetery. She was only 47 and died of lymphoma.
(on camera): Paul what did your sister like about this place?
PAUL STEER, FIGHTING SISTER'S EXHUMATION: It's nice, peaceful, quiet.
CANDIOTTI: There's been little peace since congregation board member Maria Balaban did what some consider the unthinkable. Suing to get Juliet Steer's remains dug up and moved out.
MARIA BALABAN, PLAINTIFF: She's not supposed to be buried there. She's not Jewish. I had no idea what she was.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Paul Steer was flabbergasted when Balaban's lawyer called him.
STEER: I said what is all this about? Well, my client don't believe your sister accepted the faith and she has to be exhumed. You're going to take her. And I say, man get out of here. You know (INAUDIBLE), you can't do that.
CANDIOTTI: Balaban is also suing her own congregation, even though they say she voted two years ago to create an interfaith section.
ARTHUR LIVERANT, CONGREGATION AHAVATH ACHIM: This to our right is the Jewish section. And to our left is the newly-opened interfaith section.
CANDIOTTI: But Balaban says this interfaith section was never supposed to include non-Jews without any ties to the congregation.
BALABAN: I will never approve that. And I did not approve it.
CANDIOTTI: Paul Steer is troubled that Balaban hasn't objected to four other plots in the interfaith. They're reserved by white families.
STEER: Well, my sister is black and the other four that had reserved plots is white.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): You think that the woman who is behind this lawsuit is racist?
STEER: Well, my belief, yes I think so.
CANDIOTTI: Are you racist?
BALABAN: No I am not.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Balaban says the other four plots reserved by white families have ties to the Jewish congregation and that her long track record as a social worker helping black teens speaks for itself.
BALABAN: I do not want to hurt the poor Juliet who's buried there, that she thought she was going to be buried in a peaceful place. I'm fighting for those who approved that.
CANDIOTTI: Balaban's fellow board members maintain she knew what she was voting for.
LIVERANT: Anybody of any faith should be buried in the interfaith cemetery.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Do you think Juliet should be -- do you think that Juliet should be moved?
LIVERANT: Absolutely not.
STEER: The judge will give us justice. And I know my sister will be at peace. CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Next month, a judge may decide whether the religious objections will force Juliet Steer from her final resting place.
Susan Candiotti, CNN Cole Chester, Connecticut.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right Susan.
Coming up, a CNN special investigation; doctors you pay to examine your x-rays may have cheated to become board certified. What that could mean for your health. It's a CNN exclusive right after the break.
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LEMON: Coming up, a CNN special investigation. Doctors you pay to examine your x-rays may have cheated to become board certified. What that could mean for your health? It's a CNN exclusive right after the break.
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LEMON: Let's see you caught up on the headlines right now.
Two Americans are among the missing in the Concordia Cruise ship disaster along the Italian Coast. That's according to the State Department. 120 Americans were reportedly on that ship, but only 118 are accounted for. The owner of the ship, Costa Cruises, is blaming the captain saying significant human error on his part led to the ship running aground. The captain is now under arrest. He could be charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship. The death toll now stands at five.
For a fourth straight day, protesters in Romania demonstrated against recent austerity measures. These pictures are from Saturday when 17 people were injured in the capital Bucharest in the most serious protests in years. Police had to fire tear gas to dispense the furious crowds. These demonstrations were sparked by a proposed reform on Romania's health care system.
The Russian fuel tanker bound for the snowed-in town of Nome, Alaska has finally arrived. The U.S. Coast Guard ship led the way breaking through 300 miles of ice. Now once crews ensure the ice is safe to walk on they will begin to pump the fuel through pipes and into town. The voyage is the first ever attempt to bring fuel to an Arctic Alaska settlement through sea ice.
Crowds celebrated the birthday of Martin Luther King Jr. today for the first time today at his memorial on the National Mall. Many were thrilled that the National Park Service will change a paraphrase quote on the memorial. Critics felt the quote made the civil rights icon appear arrogant. King would have been 83 years old today. He was assassinated in Memphis in 1968. You know, it is a critical specialty in medicine. Talking about radiology. They are the doctors who examine x-rays and other imaging to diagnose if you have a serious disease. To get board certified, radiologists must passed a series of test during their residency. But a CNN investigation has found many of those doctors have taken shortcuts along the way by getting exam questions from doctors who had had taken the test before. It's been going on for a long time, and there's even a name for it, it's recalls. Because the doctors memorize the questions and then write them down.
Now a national crackdown is underway by the group that certifies radiologists, which calls the practice down right cheating. Here's special investigations unit correspondent Drew Griffin with a preview of prescription for cheating?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is absolute definitive cheating.
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Dr. Matthew Webb is a 31-year-old army doctor accepted into one of the military's largest radiology residency programs. A San Antonio, Texas, based complex that includes the renowned Brook Army Medical Center where Webb trained as a resident. But it wasn't long before he was stunned to learn an open secret about most of his fellow doctors. They were, he says, cheating to pass medical exams.
WEBB: It wasn't until I took my physics exam that I found out that the way the residents were studying for the exam was to actually study from verbatim recalled back tests that had been performed by prior residents.
GRIFFIN: To become certified by the American Board of Radiology, or ABR, doctors must pass two written exams and an oral exam. Webb says he took the first exam in the fall of 2008. And to his surprise, he failed that first test, which focuses on physics. He says he went to the director of the radiology program at the time.
WEBB: He told me that if you want to pass the ABR physics exam, you absolutely have to use the recalls. And I told him, "Sir, I believe that's cheating. I don't believe in doing that. I can do it on my own." He then went on to tell me, you have to use the recalls. Almost as if it was a direct order.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Drew is here now. Hello, sir. How are you doing? First off, what is the military saying?
GRIFFIN: The military wouldn't talk to us on camera. We instead got a statement from them. They acknowledged residents shared these exam questions in the past. But it does not encourage or condone cheating of any kind. The military also admitted, Don, that some faculty members and program directors were aware of the use of these recalled questions and even that a smaller number of faculty and a past program leader even encouraged the use of these recalls. They said as one of several ways to improve medical knowledge and prepare for the exam. The military now says they are not going to do that anymore. They pulled this stuff off their website and that the residents must sign a statement saying they are not going to use them.
LEMON: OK. So then do these - who oversees these? And do they consider this to be cheating.
GRIFFIN: This one's interesting. A lot of the doctors that we talked to don't consider it cheating. But the American Board of Radiology absolutely does consider this cheating. At the same time, the board insists that just because doctors may have cheated on this, it doesn't make them a bad doctor. They have to go through some other testing. They also are residents for four years or so. They did have to go through oral exams. But the American Board of Radiology changing their tests. They say the tests will be much harder to cheat on. We'll see.
LEMON: Yes. Just because they cheat doesn't make them a bad doctor. It makes them a cheat though.
GRIFFIN: Absolutely. The American Board of Radiology says this is cheating plain and simple. It shouldn't be condoned or done. Even though if you watch tonight, you'll see it's done across the nation.
LEMON: Speaking of that, can't wait to see it. Thank you, Drew Griffin. We're going to have much more at the top of the hour. Prescription for cheating is one of three in depth investigations premiering on "CNN Presents." Again, it's at the top of the hour at 8:00 p.m. Eastern again. It's Drew Griffin.
Next, who will be taking home one of the coveted golden statues? We're going to go live to the red carpet for one of Hollywood's biggest nights. The Golden Globes Awards coming up.
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LEMON: All right. It's Golden Globes night in Hollywood. And there, of course, all the usual questions. What is everyone wearing? Who did they bring as their date tonight? These are live pictures - look at that. That's the red carpet right there. And who will be the big winners? Of course, all right. Well, Ricki Gervais returning to host the show. The real question is which celebrities will get roasted? I have to say to A.J. Hammer who is live on the red carpet, A.J. Hammer, will you stay out of Ricki Gervais cross hairs? Man, he will get you.
A.J. HAMMER, ANCHOR "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": I've talked to a lot of people tonight who are actually a little bit nervous about what Ricki Gervais might say. That's why they are already drinking champagne on the red carpet. OK. We're live now, Shailene. Sorry, we got to go. That's the thing here at the Globes. It's very lose. It's formal, yet casual. Shailene Woodley, nominated for best supporting actress for, in my opinion, one of the better movies to have come out of the last many years.
SHAILENE WOODLEY, NOMINEE BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS: Thank you. HAMMER: Seriously, I just saw it for the first time - I'm almost embarrassed to say about two weeks ago. So it's fresh on my mind.
WOODLEY: You're embarrassed. I'm still catching up -
HAMMER: For you, we know you from "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" on television. You're nominated at the Golden Globes because of a film you did with George Clooney. Your head spinning around and around?
WOODLEY: Totally. I have never been to anything like this before. I'm just along for the ride. I'm just so thrilled to be here and so grateful. And I have no idea what to expect. I'm just going to sit back and then enjoy it.
HAMMER: Expect that it's going to be lose. Have you noticed people are walking around, not with glasses in their hands, their walking around with bottles?
WOODLEY: Yes, exactly. So true.
HAMMER: Only at the Globes. And has anybody tried to hand you one yet? You know what? Let me wait until my award is done.
WOODLEY: Yes.
HAMMER: And then we'll consider what we're going to do?
WOODLEY: Yes, yes. Exactly. I'm going to be smart and intelligent tonight.
HAMMER: And I have high expectations for you. Did you see George Clooney yet? Because you told me, you and I spoke when you received your nomination. We spoke on the phone that day. You said that George as one would expect has been nothing but unbelievably supportive. Did you have a few words with him on the carpet?
WOODLEY: Yes, he's incredible. He told me get prepared. It's an hour and a half carpet.
HAMMER: And here you are nearing the end of it. Let's talk fashion for a moment. Because obviously, there's a great deal of pressure. And I believe George is right nearby.
WOODLEY: He is. And Stacey looks beautiful.
HAMMER: He's not going to hear us if we shout to him. But obviously, there is some degree of pressure. In fact, you told me that day you have no idea where to begin in choosing a dress. You look spectacular.
WOODLEY: Thank you so much. This dress is extremely comfortable and I can breathe in it. It was designed by lovely designer, Marquesa.
HAMMER: Are you nervous at all about seeing the paper tomorrow? I don't think you have anything to be nervous about but obviously there's a great deal of scrutiny at the Golden Globes. People are going to be talking about what you're wearing. I don't mean to be making you nervous right now.
WOODLEY: No, no, no, every one is entitled to their opinion. I don't care.
HAMMER: You don't care.
WOODLEY: I'm comfortable now so they can say whether it's positive or negative. It's positive in everyone's eyes when they write it. Everyone's opinion varies.
HAMMER: Well, I'm positive. You look terrified. I wish you the best of luck. And moreover, just enjoy your first Globes experience.
WOODLEY: Thank you. I totally am. This is so cool.
HAMMER: Shailene Woodley, best of luck. Nice to see you.
Don, as you see, in my opinion, one of the bigger and more important stars here tonight to head off looking stunning. I think she's going to have a surprising evening.
LEMON: Well, good luck to her. And A.J., you have the best assignment, we have to say, of this evening. So congratulations on that as well. Good luck to all the Golden Globe nominees. A.J. Hammer on the red carpet.
You know, it is as big as 35 football fields and it has every kind of TV, computer, gaming console, everything that plugs in and powers up. If you're in the market, don't spend a dime without hearing about the trends from this year's consumer electronics show in Las Vegas. That's straight ahead. You don't want to miss it.
But first, American classrooms are becoming more diverse and many schools are challenged with educating children about different cultures. Some teachers say they simply can't spare the time in their already crowded curriculum.
CNN education contributor Steve Perry and school principal, he offers this perspective.
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STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: One of the biggest challenges for America's public schools is to meet the diverse interests of our country. And I don't care where you are and I don't care what school you run there is always going to be a group that feels like their perspective wasn't engaged. It's not just about gays and lesbians versus Native Americans versus African-Americans versus white people. We've got it all wrong. W hat we need to do is understand that our children need to learn about cultures as many as we can but understanding that we're not going to be able to do a deep dive because the beauty of this country is there are so many cultures. So there's always going to be a group who feels like their culture wasn't represented effectively enough. This is where the community comes in. And the sooner we understand it the better. Schools can do what they do. Let's get them to do something well first which is to teach children how to read, write, and compute.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
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LEMON: If you're going to buy a computer, a tablet, a TV, a gaming console, anything electronic in 2012, you want to listen up. Pay close attention. This week Las Vegas hosted the Consumer Electronic Show. A space as big as, get this, 35 football fields. I'm not kidding. Crammed with every gizmo, gadget imaginable. Our tech reporter Katie Linendoll, she can attest to that. She just got back from this year's CES.
This must be what heaven looks like to Katie Linendoll. I know it's true. I glanced at a monitor and I saw you there live. I said she's losing her mind. Her head is going to pop off. And my first question is, what should we be looking for? And why didn't you take me?
KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Yes, Don, I missed you terribly. I'm still coming off my CES high. You said 35 football fields of gadgets, what more can you ask for? But I want to talk about the main trends that are coming from the show in what you should be looking for in 2012. Every year CES has a different theme. In the past, notables has been 3D TVs and also tablets. This year, we had a few different themes. And two I want to focus are on thin and connectivity.
Starting with thin. People, of course, always want thinner, but they still want to pack that power. And a perfect example of that, Don, is ultrabooks. Get used to hearing this word a lot bused around a lot in 2012. We saw a few ultrabooks in 2011, but 2012, we're going to see a ton more.
Acer and also Dell announcing their ultrabooks in CES. What it is is just a very portable laptop. It takes cues from the Macbook Air, under three pounds, around $1,000 in price for the consumer. And also very thin. Less than 1/8 of an inch thick. And Intel actually estimates that 40 percent of all laptops will be ultrabooks this year. But also on that thin front, we got to talk about one of the showstoppers which was the Samsung OLED or however you want to pronounce it. OLED 55-inch TV. So what is really great about this is you really have to see it in person to see the dynamic picture quality, but really amazing in sheer size, it's sheer contrast, but also how thin it was. LG and Samsung will also be announcing those later in 2012. That again was a big show-stopper.
And we talk about connected. Have to get this one in. One of the big themes, connectivity. It's all about having our devices better connected. Now, I have to tell you, in the past, CES has showcased a lot of different home appliances and it was kind of a snooze fest. We've seen these before. Not very practical. This year, home connectivity really stepped it up. Smart washers and dryers, smarter TVs, but smarter robots with cameras on them so you can actually monitor and clean your floors when you're not even home.
LEMON: Oh my goodness.
LINENDOLL: The show-stopper in the connectivity front, Don, was actually this LG smart fridge. It was a second generation fridge. Here's the deal. You can scan any bar code on any product or scan your receipt after you purchase food, it will monitor your freshness, it will actually tell you customized meal for each user. There's also a little drawer inside the smart fridge that is a chill blaster. You can put a wine in there, you can put a can of soda. It will actually freeze it in about a few minutes. So all about connectivity and thinness.
LEMON: It does everything but snuggle with you. I know, things now can't be too thin or too big when it comes to television. You were talking about how clear that the TV is. I have the - you and I talked about this, that LG Smart TV. It's so clear, my show rebroadcasts and I don't watch it. I'll flip it off. I'm like, oh, my gosh, you can see - it's clear.
LINENDOLL: I know it's amazing in terms of picture quality. People were astounded. And you truly have to see it in person. They've never made an OLED that size, 55 inches with that kind of clarity. So a lot of people very excited for TVs in 2012.
LEMON: Interesting. Good stuff. You can never be too - it used to be to rich or too thin. But you can never be too thin or too big or too clear now. That's the message, right, Katie?
LINENDOLL: Right.
LEMON: Thank you! Share the bounty when you come back. We want to see some of that new stuff right here in the studio. Katie Linendoll.
Up next, the American classic that was actually created by mistake. Mmm! We find out how the cheeseburger was born. That looks delish. Yum.
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LEMON: Check the headlines. Two Americans are among the missing in a Concordia cruise ship disaster along the Italian coast. That's according to the State Department. 120 Americans were reportedly on the ship, but only 118 are accounted for. The owner of the ship, Costa Cruises, blaming the captain, saying that significant human error on his part led to the ship running aground. The captain is under arrest. He could be charged with manslaughter and abandoning ship. Death toll now stands at five.
Denmark is celebrating the 40-year reign of its popular queen. Margrethe II is 71 years old. She took the throne in 1972, the first woman to head up Europe's oldest monarchy. This evening, a gala dinner was held for Danish officials, foreign dignitaries and the royal family.
Got to se the pictures of this. Two fury ambassadors named happy and chubby arrived in France today. The two giant pandas are a gift from China. They landed at the Charles de Gaulle Airport earlier today. They'll spend the next decade at a zoo in central France as part of the joint conservation and research program. China has sent China pandas abroad as gestures of political goodwill since the 1950s. They're so cute.
Cheeseburger, cheeseburger, cheeseburger. For those of you old enough to remember, they're an American classic and now come in all shapes, sizes, and flavor varieties. But who invented them and why? CNN's Casey Wian shares the story of the 90-year-old favorite.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I don't think I should, but I could probably eat it every day.
CASEY WIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Not far from the landmark Pie and Burger in Pasadena, California, the cheeseburger was born in the mid 1920s. As one story goes a cook named Lionel Sternburger working at his dad's Right Spot Restaurant accidentally burned one side of a hamburger.
PAUL LITTLE, PASADENA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE: Rather than throw it in the trash, he flipped it over and put a piece of cheese on it to hide his mistake and served it to a customer who was delighted to have it.
WIAN: Almost 90 years later, successors are thriving. Pie And Burger serves 250 a day.
NORMA KINLEY, MANAGER, PIE AND BURGER: I think he would be really proud of himself (INAUDIBLE).
WIAN (on camera): Since the mid-1920s, the cheeseburger has gone through too many modifications to count. One came about a decade later when Bob Wian, my dad, opened a hamburger stand in nearby Glendale called Bob's Pantry. So there that he invented the first double-decked cheeseburger, which came to be known as the Big Boy.
(voice-over): McDonald's introduced the Big Mac in the late '60s and now cheeseburgers are adorned with just about anything a customer can dream up. So Pasadena is hosting Cheeseburger Week, a restaurant competition to crown the best in cheeseburger paradise.
CLAUD BELTRAN, CHEF, NOR FOOD & WINE: First you've got to start of with great beef.
WIAN: At Noir, the beef is infused with tarragon and covered in caramelized onions and ementhal cheese and placed on a fresh ciabatta bun.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We put remilad on both sides. It looks an awful lot like thousand island.
BELTRAN: No, sir. We call it remilad. We can charge a lot of extra money just by calling it remilad.
WIAN (on camera): Have you done a calorie assessment of this particular cheeseburger? BELTRAN: We don't care about calories here. You drink enough red wine, I think you'll be fine with calories.
WIAN (voice-over): We skipped the wine, but not the burger.
(on camera): That's amazing.
(voice-over): Even more extravagant is the Kobe beef burger at (INAUDIBLE). It's seasoned with roasted garlic and herbs and loaded with bacon, foie gras, (INAUDIBLE) cheese, port wine reduction with garlic aioli on a homemade caramelized onion brioche.
RAY VASQUEZ, CHEF, POP CHAMPAGNE & DESSERT: I kind of like to think of it as an artist sees a painting in his head, I just got flavors in my head.
WIAN: There's even a Mexican restaurant entering a pulled pork burger.
ARMANDO RAMIREZ, CO-OWNER, EL PORTAL: We wrap it in banana leaf and bake it all night in the oven. So it becomes very tender. This is what we do to make it different and I try to compete with all those great burgers out there.
WIAN: Rob Rice crafts his dry aged rib eye burger with duck fat caramelized onions and two kinds of cheese and then reveals a secret.
ROB RICE, CHEF, KINGS ROW GASTROPUB: The burger nod. You can see someone give the nod when they take to the dining partner. And so that's the big reward for us.
WIAN: We're happy to oblige.
(on camera): Is that the hamburger nod?
(voice-over): Casey Wian, CNN, Pasadena, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Goodness, gracious. Can somebody overnight me in-n-out burger, please? I'm starving now.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m.. "CNN PRESENTS" is next.
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