Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Hundreds Demonstrate at U.S. Consulate; No Deal on Chicago Teachers Strike; Boy Scouts Accused of Child Abuse Cover-Up; Insiders Kill NATO Troops; "SNL's" New Obama; NYC Health Board Passes Large Soda Ban; Business Owner Gives Back; No Deal on Chicago Teachers' Strike; Interview with Former Florida Governor Charlie Crist

Aired September 16, 2012 - 19:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Moving on now -- top of the hour. I'm Don Lemon. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM. We're going to get you up to speed right now on the day's headline.

Four American service members shot to death today in Afghanistan by someone wearing an Afghan's policeman's uniform. It is the third time in three days that Afghan forces have turned their weapons on NATO troops and killed them.

And we learn more today about one of those deadly attacks on Friday. NATO sources say the attacker who stormed the joint U.S. and British base were wearing American military uniforms. That is a tactic that militants very rarely use.

Two U.S. Marines were killed and several carrier jets were destroyed. All but one of the attackers were killed. It happened at the base where Britain's Prince Harry is deployed.

Pakistani police used water cannons to push back protesters today at the U.S. consulate in Karachi. Hundreds of people have gathered in protest of an anti-Islamic film made in the U.S. and demonstrators threw rocks at police as officers fired shots into the air. Some protesters were injured, but the building was not damaged.

Iran is confirming it has Special Forces acting as advisors in war- torn Syria. The Fars News agency reports Iran has been giving advice to Bashar al-Assad's government for some time but has no forces there now.

Explosions shook the suburbs of Damascus today. Opposition groups report at least 155 were killed all across the country.

Pope Benedict XVI led an open air mass that drew thousands of people today in Beirut, Lebanon. The Pope called for an immediate end to war in Syria. He also urged Arab leaders to stop the violence in the Middle East but made no reference to a film defaming the Prophet Muhammad which triggered unrest across the Muslim world.

New developments on the Chicago teacher's strike to tell you about -- we want to go straight now to CNN's Kyung Lah who is at the teacher's union meeting. Kyung what is the very latest? KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, I can tell you just a few minutes ago, Don that the meeting between the union delegates and the union leadership ended. The union leadership now having a news conference with reporters and announcing that their -- the strike is continuing; that the teachers are continuing to be on strike, on the picket line. There will not be school on Monday. There will not be school on Tuesday.

The union delegates wanted to have more time to review and digest what they learned today. They want to go back to their membership and talk it over. The soonest the students could be back in school, if this strike does end would be Wednesday.

Now one of the -- there were some 800 union delegates inside, all teachers. And standing with me is Michael Bochner; you're an elementary school teacher here in Chicago, a teacher for 20 years. What's your reaction to what you heard inside today?

MICHAEL BOCHNER, CHICAGO TEACHER: I think my reaction is a little bit of disappointment because I wanted to spend some time with my students again tomorrow. But I understand they'll have to be a little patient about that.

LAH: Is it hard being out of school and continuing to be on strike?

BOCHNER: It's extremely hard at Chavez; we're extremely dedicated to our students. We had a great staff and as enthusiastic as we've been about being on strike we've been doing a good job. Our heart and soul is with those students. So we want to work.

LAH: And as far as the details of the contract, what you've heard so far, I know you haven't read it line by line, but what -- what do you think about the deal so far?

BOCHNER: I think it's a compromise deal and I think that's part of the problem, is that some of the delegates are unsure about how their membership wants them to act. And so they are asking for a few more days so that they can talk to their membership and I think that's -- that's the problem. It's not all sweet, it's not all bitter and contracts are difficult. So I think that's what's going on here.

LAH: And some of the details that we've learned from the Chicago public schools. School day is going to extend, there is a little less say on the layoff process -- are these things that really concern you as a teacher?

BOCHNER: They do. It's a little bit different in my school, but there is a game behind the game and this is going to be what's going to be for security for teachers and how they're going to use charter schools which are non-union and these are all very important issues but they're very wide. It's not like -- it's not like this is something that we're thinking about.

But membership has gone down, because there are so many non-union people hired by charters and I believe that the union wants to -- wants to have its membership and I think the delegates want to make sure that the union is going to survive.

And we can't do that if we -- if we have people doing the same kind of work that we're doing, less well-trained, less effective and they're non-union so that's -- that's -- that's an issue for people who are delegates.

LAH: Thank you Michael Bochner.

BOCHNER: All right, thank you.

LAH: A teacher for 20 years at an elementary school here in Chicago.

But the headline again here is that the union delegation has decided, the 800-member delegation has decided that they want a little more time. They want time to talk to their membership. The strike is still on, Chicago public schools will not open on Monday and Tuesday; 350,000 students again, will not be in the classroom -- Don.

LEMON: And remember that's who's suffering right now -- those students, not learning, not in the class for more than seven days now. Thank you, Kyung. We appreciate it.

You know, you take your son to Boy Scouts, thinking that's one place you don't have to worry about. This is one place you don't have to worry about. But now the Boy Scouts of America is accused of covering up child molestation cases. The "L.A. Times" reports that scout officials knew about alleged molesters and very quietly asked those suspects to resign from the Scouts without telling parents.

"The Times" reviewed 1,600 confidential files from the 1970s and '80s. Nick Valencia, following the shocking story for us and Nick joins us now. Nick, tell us how widespread is this problem according to the "LA Times?"

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well it's pretty outrageous according to "The Times". Hundreds of cases, 80 percent of which according to "The Times", were not reported to law enforcement.

And even with parents, parents had suspicions of some of these scout leaders, Don. Some of the scout leaders were you know allegedly molesting these children on camp trips and very gruesome details. Very shocking details listed in these statements obtained by "The L.A. Times".

So, a lot more widespread cases from Los Angeles to Chesapeake, Virginia, even Rhode Island and Providence, Rhode Island.

DOBBS: Tell us about Arthur Humphries? Who is he? What is his involvement in all of this?

VALENCIA: Yes, this is probably one of the most shocking cases. Three decades of leadership. He had a preference of working with handicapped children. Scout leaders knew and documented alleged cases of his abuse. And even after alleged cases of his abuse they gave him a recommendation letter, Don you know to participate even further at some of these scout leadership conferences. We talked and we reached out to the scout leadership, the Boy Scouts of America and what they told us in response to these allegations, they said, "We have always cooperated fully with law enforcement and now require members to report even suspicion of abuse directly to law enforcement. Recent media reports looked at a subset of the Boy Scouts of America's, Ineligible Volunteer Files from approximately 40 years ago, when the Boy Scouts of America served approximately five million young people each year."

So they are sort of couching it, saying that this is a difficult culture, this is a different set of leaders in the Boys Scouts of America and this is not a phenomenon like it was back in the 1980s.

LEMON: But one of -- one of -- one shocking case involves a chaplain at a Boy Scout camp.

VALENCIA: He was a parish leader. In fact, it's the culture of corruption that's most shocking about this guy's case. In a case of Father Ed as he was lovingly referred to by Boy Scouts, he -- Father Ed was participating in alleged abuse, allegedly molested a boy scout who went on to molest other boy scouts. In fact, he was part of this executive leadership of the Boy Scouts that recommended that the parents not be told.

So he was covering up other alleged molesters and ended up being pinned by Boy Scouts for raping -- allegedly raping two other boy scouts back in the 1970s.

LEMON: Nick you'll continue to follow that story --

VALENCIA: Yes, I will.

LEMON: -- thank you. I appreciate it.

All right, well, the Pentagon moves quickly after this week's deadly attack on a U.S. consulate on Libya. What can we expect to happen now that some Marines have arrived and Navy ships are positioned offshore? We're talking with the former head of NATO Forces.

Plus this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told me that -- I have to stay here until November. He says I'm not going to come home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A young Marine's chilling premonition that he could die at the hands of an Afghan he trained to be a police officer. His family talks about losing him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Three straight days, three separate deadly attacks on NATO forces in Afghanistan. Not by obvious Taliban fighters or al Qaeda, but by infiltrators acting alone or in groups, often wearing the uniform of NATO allies.

Well, here is Anna Coren in Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNA COREN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's been a deadly weekend here in Afghanistan. Two more green on blue attacks, that being, Afghan soldiers turning on coalition forces that are training them.

Early Sunday morning, four American soldiers were killed after an Afghan police officer turned his weapon on them. Well this follows an attack on two British soldiers who were killed on Saturday.

Now this is an alarming trend for coalition forces who have already lost 51 soldiers this year as a result of green on blue attacks, compared to 35 last year.

In other tragic news, NATO has claimed responsibility for a deadly air strike that has killed eight Afghan women, wounding seven others. Anger broke out in the streets in response to this attack. It's believed these women were only picking up firewood at the time of the strike. ISAF has sent its deepest regrets and sympathies for the loss of innocent lives.

These tragic events only add to the complexities of this 11-year war creating more problems for coalition forces who're steadfast in exiting Afghanistan by 2014.

Anna Coren, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And like I told you before we talked with the heart-broken family of the U.S. Marine who was killed by one of his trainees in Afghanistan. It happened just last month. His dad tells me us Marine son did not feel safe around the Afghan troops he was serving alongside. That report coming up in just a few minutes here.

There are additional American troops either deployed or ready to go to the Middle East and North Africa this weekend, where they are going to be helping out there. 50 Marines are in Libya and could go to Yemen and Sudan.

On Tuesday, militants attacked the U.S. consulate in Benghazi and killed the United States Ambassador and three American men close to him.

I want to talk now to General Wesley Clark, retired U.S. Army and former NATO commander. General -- thank you for joining us. Can U.S. forces help keep these consulates and embassies safer?

GEN. WESLEY CLARK, RET. U.S. ARMY: Well certainly they can. First of all, forces around the consulates can provide direct defense. They can also provide deterrents and simply the word that we're putting additional forces in there has to be heard by people. The forces offshore can provide reinforcements, they provide additional intelligence and there's a lot going on behind the scenes, you can be sure of that.

Our -- our intelligence agencies are pounding the beat, looking for the source of the attacks, during the -- during the after action review as to what happened and why. Looking to find ways to prevent and get early warning of future attacks. There's a lot going on that we're not seeing.

LEMON: General, some of these countries like Yemen and Sudan say they don't want U.S. troops sent there. So how do military leaders handle that? I mean can the Pentagon send troops to non-hostile places where they are not wanted?

CLARK: Well, I think there is probably some additional security that's going into those places. I'm not on the inside. If I were, I probably couldn't tell you.

But there are other ways to get reinforcements in, other than sending in a Marine fast team. So there are some civilian security personnel that probably have already deployed there.

LEMON: Are you encouraged at all by Libya's willingness to -- to cooperate with the Pentagon?

CLARK: Well I think we have to put it in context. Most of these states want to work with the United States. It's just that they have a small group inside the state that wants to use the United States to rally and raise their own cause and also to undercut the government.

So the worst thing we could do is cut support to these governments. They need our help, they want our help. They want to modernize. They want to work with the United States. What we have to do is insist they fulfill their responsibilities to protect our sovereign territory in their countries.

LEMON: I want to talk to you about a story that we have been reporting. You've heard about the people who are dressed up in NATO uniforms, and then going in and killing people, harming people. And we're going to do a story about a young man who was killed in Afghanistan, working along -- he said he didn't feel safe trusting the troops that he was training -- the people he was training to be police officer. Can you talk about that? I mean that is a real problem, isn't it?

CLARK: It is a problem. And I know that our commanders in Afghanistan are taking additional measures. Additional measures like making sure our troops are armed, making sure there's sufficient numbers of troops out there. Making sure that when someone put his weapon down and doing some hands-on training, somebody else is standing back and watching and providing security.

And there are a number of things like this that do have to be done. This is a problem. But it's one of many problems that we're facing as we're completing the mission there.

LEMON: I always appreciate our conversations. General Wesley Clark, thank you very much for coming on again.

CLARK: Thank you very much, Don.

LEMON: Supersize, sugar and "SNL". They're all coming together at once. We're going to explain that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Sugary drinks, "SNL" and supersize calorie count and a virtual hodgepodge of delicious topics. And who better to chew it up with me: Ana Navarro, CNN contributor and Republican strategy; and Ben Gleib, actor and comedian. You are going to become a regular here. We love it.

(CROSSTALK)

BEN GLEIB, ACTOR AND COMEDIAN: I'm excited.

LEMON: We didn't see you guys last night. We didn't have a 10:00 show, Ana, you know, because we had to do Romney and Obama again. But both of you --

ANA NAVARRO, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You are getting me started early. There's only so much revealing I want Obama and Romney to continue doing.

GLEIB: Yes.

NAVARRO: I think -- I think they have been revealed enough, ok?

GLEIB: And if you want a real honest picture of somebody, ask the people closest to them, who will say, of course, all their dirty secrets on national television.

LEMON: All right guys. Both of you are in Los Angeles tonight. We were going to start with Obama but we ended up starting with -- well, Romney and Obama revealed -- "Saturday Night Live" says good-bye to Fred Armistead as commander-in-chief and hello to Jay Pharoah.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JAY PHARAOH, COMEDIAN: Now, I know I'm not perfect. I'm just -- I'm aloof. Ah, I'm overconfident.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so Ben, you're a comedian. Did he do better than Fred?

GLEIB: I think his voice is more accurate. But believe it or not, his face doesn't look anywhere near as Obama-like as Fred Armistead. I don't know if they can meld the two. Keep Armistead face and use Pharoah's voice.

LEMON: Ana did you think it was a good switch? NAVARRO: Don, I don't know if he did better than Fred, but I think he does better than Obama. He certainly is funny and entertaining and he seems to connect and have some real comedic timing. So I'm all for him.

GLEIB: And I will grant -- I will grant you that point, that he did capture how unexcited Obama is these days when he speaks with his ahs. His campaign is so much more uninspiring than it was four years ago. He was one of the most inspiring leaders in American history and now the best his campaign offers is just imagine how much worse it could be.

NAVARRO: Well listen, the campaign is less uninspiring because is he less uninspiring.

LEMON: Oh my God.

NAVARRO: There's only so much hope and change you can do in four years. We've had four years of hope and change and we're now in "cope and wait" mode.

GLEIB: But it's still better than Romney's campaign which the best he offers is the economy is not doing great and I'm a businessman. Sort of like, "Oh, can we look at what you did at your business?" "No."

NAVARRO: Well, fortunately he's not trying to sell hope, change, or inspiration. He's trying to change -- sell qualifications.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Ok. This is going off the rails. You two are in the same room, you guys need to take this back on the road.

Let's move on now to sugary drinks instead of beating up on both the candidates. New York City's health board approving its ban on supersize sugary drinks in restaurants and other places like movie theaters. So Ben, you can walk into a fast food joint in the city, order 20 large fries, but only get a 16-ounce soda. I mean come on. Is this really going to be effective in fighting obesity?

GLEIB: Obviously, it's not because also 7-Elevens can still serve huge drinks. I don't know if Bloomberg has the 7-Eleven lobbyist's pocket or what it is. But you know, this is a difficult lot. I'm curious if the mayor will allow people to ask for easy ice is that allowed under the new 16-ounce rule? Can we go easy ice?

NAVARRO: I'm beginning to think instead of getting rid of the sugary drinks we should get rid of Mike Bloomberg.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Well some people say it's too much government, Ana -- too much government involvement. Do you believe that?

NAVARRO: Too much -- too much nanny state, too much government, you know too much big brother is watching and big brother is telling me and God knows I need to lose a few pounds, but Michael Bloomberg telling me not to drink 16 ounces of sugary drinks is not going to do it.

And Don I just spent the week in New York. I think he should dedicate himself to getting rid of smelly taxi cabs and pot holes. That should be his priority right now.

GLEIB: Also, can I say? I think you look lovely, first of all. But 16 ounce is far too low to ban a drink. I can drink a 16-ounce soda in three seconds, that's with ice in there? Boom.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Well, listen, don't be giving your bad habits to viewers around the world.

Don't be giving your bad habits Ben to viewers around the world.

Listen, talking about decadent and devilish calories, this week McDonald's starts posting a calorie count on its menu boards, including a section that will highlight favorites under 400 calories for all those items that are under 400 calories. So what do you think?

I don't know. Do you think it's going to backfire? I don't know if it will really make a difference to me if I saw the calories because it's not something I do every day. And to most people, do you think it's going to make a difference, Ana?

NAVARRO: You know, Don, I want to think that when people go to McDonald's, they already know what's good and what's bad. They already know that a salad or a wrap is less than a double cheeseburger, you know. So go for them.

You know, we've become a -- it's a menu for dummies type of thing. In the event that you don't know that adding bacon and cheese to your burger is going to make it more caloric, we're tell you. So I think it's a good thing for them.

GLEIB: That's a strong point. If you need calorie counts to know that McDonald's is not good for you, you really have other issues -- awareness of the planet. You've got to be a little bit more self- aware of your environment.

NAVARRO: No, no. Listen, you are going too Bloomberg on me. They sell oatmeal.

GLEIB: It's true. It's very --

NAVARRO: They sell yogurt parfait.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: You guys, you want to like continue this conversation when I'm done. But Ben, let's see Ben -- let's see the suit. Remember this look. You look very nice. When I see you on "Chelsea Lately", I don't want to see the dumb vest, the crazy plaids and stripes together. I want to see you looking like a respectable gentleman like you look now.

GLEIB: That's because this show is respectable. "Chelsea Lately" not as much.

LEMON: Oh.

NAVARRO: I'm not messing with "Chelsea Lately".

LEMON: All right. See you guys. Thank you.

We should all be so lucky to get a boss like this one. Next -- the business owner who did not forget his employees when he decided to sell his company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You don't have to be in front of the television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone or you can do it from your computer at work. Just go to cnn.com/TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So we often hear about business owners selling their companies without any care or concern about their employees. Howard Cooper, not one of those business owners, and this week, he made his mark by giving back to the staff that helped make his car dealership successful. Cooper gave all 89 employees $1,000 for every year they have worked at his dealership.

One employee had been there for 46 years, another for 30 years. For $1,000 a year, you can get the idea. That's a lot of money. Cooper called in to a local radio show to talk about his big gift.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWARD COOPER, CAR DEALERSHIP OWNER: It was an emotional experience, but it was fun. There was a little teary-eyed, as a matter of fact, for myself as well as them.

ANN COOPER, HOWARD COOPER'S WIFE: I think he's a man that really admires loyalty. And I think he had so many employees that were here for 20, 30, 40, some almost 50 years, and I think he wanted to do something to -- something nice for them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: I got an e-mail from a very surprised Candy Crowley when she saw this story yesterday. She said, "Hey, Don, that's my uncle." Very nice.

By the way, the final payout isn't known, but Howard Cooper has certainly made his mark. Congratulations to him.

Let's get you up to speed on the headlines right now. We have this one that is just in. No deal to end the week-long Chicago teacher's strike. The union president says teachers need more time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KAREN LEWIS, PRESIDENT, CHICAGO TEACHERS' UNION: They're not happy with the agreement. They would like it to be actually a lot better for us than it is.

I mean, clearly a contract is always a set of negotiations. No sides are ever completely happy, but our members are not happy, and they want to have the opportunity to talk to their members to see -- they still want to know, is there anything more they can get?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So key sticking point. How to update the teacher employee evaluation system for the first time in 40 years? Some 350,000 Chicago students won't be in class until at least Wednesday.

It started with the French tabloid. Then an Irish one. Now, an Italian gossip mag says it will run 26 photos of Kate Middleton topless. But they'll have to get past Britain's royal family first. Their lawyers headed to Paris to file criminal complaint tomorrow against the paparazzi and to try to stop further publication. Under French law, a breach of privacy is a criminal offense.

Here is a Facebook oops. Brian Stropolo was supposed to be one of replacement refs working in New Orleans game at Carolina today. But it turns out he posted pictures of himself on Facebook last month tailgating at a Saints' preseason game.

The NFL found out just this morning. So the replacement ref was, well, replaced.

And the Saints, by the way, lost to Carolina, 35-27. They didn't look so great today.

After much speculation, there are two new faces on the "American Idol" judges panel. Look at these two. Goodness gracious, Rapper Nicki Minaj and country singer Keith Urban will join Mariah Carey who was hired in July, and "Idol" original, Randy Jackson.

That is going to be crazy. How they're going to keep all those people corralled? I mean, Maria Carey is like three people in one.

Take a look at this picture. Ryan Seacrest just tweeted -- I mean, she is different personality-- tweeted the new casts. Nicki Minaj has about 18 personalities. And then Randi, who knows what you're going to get?

The show's 12th season starts in January. It should be very interesting.

A young marine's chilling premonition.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He told me that, "If I have to stay here until November," he says, "I'm not going to come home."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: His son killed by an Afghan police officer that he had just trained.

Thirty-six years ago, Dick Traum, excuse me, was the first amputee to run the New York City marathon. Since that time, an organization he founded has helped more than 10,000 athletes with disabilities around the world their potential. He's this disabilities reach their potential. He's this week's CNN hero.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DICK TRAUM, CNN HERO: Working out in Central Park is the best time of the day for me. It's an opportunity to test myself. You feel like you could do anything.

Back in 1965, I got hit by a car, and I ended up losing my leg. I didn't see it as holding me back. It wasn't a big issue.

In 1976, I became the first amputee to run the New York City marathon. It was probably the best day of my life. And I just felt this joy can be shared with others.

I'm Dick Traum and I help people with disabilities achieve their potential through sports.

How many people here are doing the New York City marathon? Virtually everybody who is a member of Achilles has a vulnerability.

People come to Achilles and we match them with guides.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He just did 16 miles!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, 15 miles.

TRAUM: The atmosphere is social. There's jokes and there's laughter. It truly is a family.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I had this stroke in 1980. When I started with Achilles, I could only walk from one lamppost to another lamppost. And now I just did the New York City marathon.

Dick helped me a lot. I can do everything in my life.

TRAUM: We change the way people perceive themselves. And you see the glow. There is nothing in the world that I have more fun doing.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: He was supposed to come home from Afghanistan for three months early, but instead he was killed in the country's dangerous Helmand Province, gunned down by the very Afghan forces he was training.

CNN's David Ariosto talked with the family he leaves behind.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID ARIOSTO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the game Greg Buckley Jr. was supposed to see, back home on leave from Afghanistan, where he helped train Afghan forces. The 21-year-old Marine had only two days left before heading home to see his brother play varsity high school football for the first time.

But before getting word that he was to go home early, he phoned his dad.

GREG BUCKLEY, SR., GREG'S DAD: He told me, if I have to stay here until November, he says, I'm not going to come home. And I said, I don't understand. He goes I'm going -- you have to be to tell mom and Justin and Shane, you know, that I'm going to be killed over here. And I said, out in the field, you know, or whatever? He said, no, in our base.

ARIOSTO: Then it happened. Greg was gunned down August 10th by the very forces he was training. Like he said, it happened inside the base and by his phone calls and letters, he knew it was coming, and on one particular night on guard duty, he a run-in with a trainee.

G. BUCKLEY: The guy turned around and said to Greg, you know, we don't want you here, we don't need you here. And he said, why would you say that? He said it again and Greg turned around and said to him, you know, why would you say that? You know, I'm here giving my life to you guys to help you, to make better. Do better for yourselves. And the guy just started tormenting him all night.

ARIOSTO: His dad says Greg spent the rest of the night with the trainee.

G. BUCKLEY: Pitch black out and he kept saying over and over again, we don't want you, we don't need you, we don't want you, we don't need you.

ARIOSTO: Building up local security is the linchpin of NATO strategy for withdrawal. But attacks by trainees have become disturbingly more frequent. Families like the Buckley say it's a sign America's longest war has gone on long enough.

G. BUCKLEY: I basically collapsed, and his mother collapsed. We were both on the floor, bawling.

ARIOSTO: But Greg's two brothers refused to cry, at least during the day.

G. BUCKLEY: One night, I went into Shane's room, and he was on the end of the bed. And his head was hanging over the edge of the bed. I thought he dropped water on the floor, and he was just bawling. And I broke down (ph).

And later on that night, I heard noises in Justin's room, I went inside and he had a pillow, holding his face, 4:30 in the morning, screaming at the top of his lungs. Heart wrenching. And I said to Justin, why don't you keep crying during the day? And we both turned around at the same time and said, we can't. We have to dare of you and mom.

ARIOSTO: With the community behind them, the Buckley family is now coping as best they can. And Justin, Oceanside star running back wearing camo with his team to honor Greg, makes sure to salute his fallen brother each time he scores.

(CHEERS)

ARIOSTO (on camera): Greg was supposed to be home for this game. What would you tell him right now?

JUSTIN BUCKLEY, GREG'S BROTHER: I would tell him I love him and I miss him. That's about it.

ARIOSTO (voice-over): David Ariosto, CNN, Oceanside, Long Island, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Proper procedure or over the line? You decide after watching and listening to the exchange between an officer and a woman.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This story is back by popular demand. It really got me going, and I'm on Twitter right now with a whole bunch of people talking about it.

So pay attention, a full bladder and a heavy foot led to a woman being handcuffed in Texas. The dash cam video from the Keene Police Department is from Thursday, OK? So, Sergeant Gene Geheb is seen pulling over a car going 16 miles over the speed limit and then the regular run-of-the-mill license and registration traffic stop turned into this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYNN BEDFORD: All right. Just hurry up, I've got to go to the bathroom. I have a bladder infection and --

OFFICER: Let me see your driver's license and insurance, please.

BEDFORD: I have a bladder infection.

OFFICER: Let me see your driver's license and insurance please.

BEDFORD: You listen to me. OFFICER: No, I want to see driver's license and insurance, please, and then I'll listen to you.

BEDFORD: Why? Why are going to wait?

OFFICER: Let me see your driver's license.

BEDFORD: I'll give it to you in a minute.

OFFICER: No, you're going to give it to me now or I'm going to take you to jail.

BEDFORD: Well, go ahead.

OFFICER: Step out of the vehicle. Get out of the vehicle. Get out the vehicle.

BEDFORD: You are hurting me.

OFFICER: Get out of the vehicle.

BEDFORD: I'm going to report you for hurting me.

OFFICER: OK. Step out of the vehicle.

BEDFORD: You twisted my arm -- oh!

OFFICER: You're under arrest.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the chief of police issued this statement. "The incident has been reviewed thoroughly by the Keene Police Department and the city of Keene administration. All parties have conclude that Sergeant Geheb did not violate any state laws or department policies and, in fact, was following department policy in regards to violators not providing information."

Did you see the video? The woman in that video was later released without ever leaving the scene, but she didn't get off scot-free. She was issued citations for speeding and failing to show ID.

My question is, why not just let the woman go to the bathroom and then write her as many tickets as you want? You can be a cop and be human at the same time.

So, the political lines seem to blur more and more every year. Some folks leave one party and become independent. And then there's former Republican Governor Charlie Crist, who many believe has swung past independent and gone to the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: People are going to ask, if you are supporting President Obama, why are you independent? Why not just say going to become Democrat. (END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: My conversation with the former governor is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Buddy Romer, Jerry Johnson, two former Republican governors who recently come on this show to explain why they've left the party and become political independents. Now, add Charlie Christ to that same list.

The former Florida governor is also an independent now, but some wonder if that's only temporary, after all, he endorsed President Obama at the Democratic Convention. So I asked him what caused him to make the switch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHARLIE CRIST (I), FORMER FLORIDA GOVERNOR: As said at the convention, I didn't leave the Republican Party. Much in the passion that Ronald Reagan once talked about when referring to the Democratic Party, that he didn't leave the party. The party at that time had left him, and I felt the same way with Republicans.

You know, it's just a matter of, you looked at policies and positions and the things that are important to me, and the principles that I've always stood on -- you know, education, ethics, the environment, the economy, immigration policy that is progressive.

LEMON: You know the Florida pizza shop owner that gave the president the bear hug? You went to the same pizza shop. You got sort of the same hug, sort of the same posed.

And the reason I'm asking that is because it happened to the president, many people are going to say, well, Charlie Crist is doing this, just like he did in that photograph. He is being opportunistic -- it's an opportunity for him to increase his visibility. And what do you say to that?

CRIST: Well, they are dead wrong.

LEMON: There are people who will say that you staged that photograph, you staged the same pose and the same hug. What do you say to them?

CRIST: Well, like I said, that's not true. I mean, reason I went there wasn't to do the hug, although you know, he felt compelled to do it and I was grateful that he felt that way. But the reason I went there was to encourage him. I mean, he had been getting death threats, believe it or not, for supporting our president.

And he said, Charlie, you can't imagine the kind of threats I've been getting simply by being nice and decent to the president. I said, actually, I can. It happened to me a couple of years ago when the president came to Fort Myers and that's when I first started to see the intolerance of my former party rear its ugly head and that's just not right. LEMON: All right. So, listen, people are ask going ask you're supporting President Obama why are you independent? When are you just going to become a Democrat?

CRIST: I don't know. You know, my wife already has. So it may not be to far in the offing, but the thing that's important to me is not the politics of it but really to support the man that I got to know over the past four years, even as a Republican governor, what he did to help us during the BP oil spill, he put people above politics, he didn't care. He helped us with our teachers, our firefighters, our law enforcement officers with the Recovery Act.

Time and again, he's been there to help Florida and I saw it up close and personal. He even tried to give us a bullet train, high speed rail. But unfortunately, ideology got in the way of that and then it wasn't accepted by our current administration in Tallahassee.

But the president's a good man. He's a good and decent human being. He has been a good leader for our country and I'm honored to support him and try to help him here in the Sunshine State.

LEMON: So Jeb Bush said this about your decision to run for the Senate as an independent in 2010. "He organized his life around his personal ambition and ran in a primary where he was the odds-on favorite, didn't offer a compelling reason to be elected to the Senate. Marco Rubio cleaned his clock and beat him in the general and now he is trying to find a way to get back into the political game. It has nothing to do with principles or ideas." And he goes on to talk about you.

What do you say about that?

CRIST: Well, he is a delightful fellow. I think what's important is -- I'm not going to respond to that kind of negativity. There's no place for it in our society. And that's stuff is exactly what we have to get away from.

You know, the people in our country want people to work together for the common good. They don't appreciate those kinds of attacks, those ad hominem personal attacks. You know, that's the kind of stuff you get to you the of the Republican Party today and that's why it felt so good to not be there any more and frankly, felt so exhilarating to be in Charlotte.

LEMON: You think had the extreme of the party have too much influence on the party?

CRIST: Yes, they've hijacked it, there's no question about it. I mean, the Republican Party has been hijacked by an extreme ideological point of view that is pretty intolerant, relatively un-accepting, trying to take away a lot of people's voting rights, reducing our funding of public education and helping teachers, doing the kinds of things that, you know, I just never thought were important.

I was proud at the time to be from the party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. But remember, Teddy Roosevelt left the party at one time, too. So, this is not a new thing.

I mean, you know, when a party gets hijacked by an extreme ideology, those of us who feel like they are more mainstream almost have a commitment to the ourself and an obligation to our soul to do what's right and take a different path. And that's what I've done.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: My thanks to Charlie Crist. Enjoyed that interview.

The classic Oreo cookie with a Halloween twist, but candy corn Oreos? That looks good. Intrigued or disgusted? That does not look disgusting to me. I love candy corns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The makers of the all-American cookie, the Oreo, giving it a Halloween flare. Candy corn? What are they thinking?

Here is CNN's Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do you get when you combine America's most famous cookie with its most loved and hated candy?

You get what "Gizmodo" called this mutant love child of deliciousness, the limited edition candy corn Oreo.

About a third of the folks we tested without telling were able to place the taste.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. I got the corn, the candy corn.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'll give them props for matching the flavor, but I don't like candy corn.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once a year. Love it. For about three hands full. Then I'm done.

MOOS: Just in time for Halloween, Nabisco is selling the candy corn Oreo at Target stores. Candy corn has been a target for haters.

LEWIS BLACK, COMEDIAN: All of the candy corn that was ever made was made in 1911.

MOOS: Lewis Black calls it the worst thing about Halloween. But when we gave a cookie to Fiona.

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It remembers me about all of the candies that I had for Halloween.

MOOS (on camera): Uh-huh. Like this?

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Yes. I love those. MOOS (voice-over): Odd flavors of Oreos are nothing new. Nabisco makes blueberry ice cream Oreos for Indonesia and green tea Oreos for China. And they've gotten edgy with their advertising, giving the Oreos' image a makeover for gay pride and to honor the latest Mars rover.

But an actual candy corn Oreo has the Internet chomping at the bit to review it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Children smell. You there go can I have it? That's no.

MOOS: One reviewer thought the cookie's taste is so identical to candy corn if you can't get your hands on the new Oreos, he recommends sticking actual candy corn between the halves of a regular Oreo. Still, some refuse to try it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm in a 12-step program for Oreos.

MOOS: Childhood memories of using candy corn for Halloween fangs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Arr.

MOOS: Some people only have eyes for Oreos, even in the most unlikely places.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hi, this is Rob. I'm not bathtub. Want to see my package?

MOOS: That's candy corny.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: The answer is no. That's gross.

Wes, how many stores did you go to looking for those?

We can't find them. We've been looking -- they are only at Target but we can't find them at any Targets. They said this they'd be there closer to Halloween, right? I love candy corns, so I would get them.

How is that guy? That guy said he didn't like candy corps? That is un-American. Don't you agree, Jeff?

Obviously killing some time, a little bit of time there.

Thanks for watching. Keep fighting with me on Twitter. I'm enjoying it.

I'm Don Lemon at CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. See you back here at 10:00 p.m. Eastern. In the meantime, CNN PRESENTS: CRUISE TO DISASTER. It begins in about five seconds from now.