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Meningitis Outbreak Spreading Fast; Concerns Over Internet Addiction; North Korean Soldier Defects; Delaware's New Controversial Child Abuse Law; Teen Calls 911 to Report Murder He Committed; Bond Movies Accurately Predict Future
Aired October 06, 2012 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. We'll going to get you up to speed on the day's headlines. A news that -- the stories that are making news this hour. We have new developments on that deadly meningitis outbreak to tell you about. The CDC says, the death toll has now risen to seven people, 64 people, nine states have contracted meningitis linked to steroid injections into their spines.
Now, the plant where the contaminated steroid was made has been voluntarily shut down, more on the story for you in about five minutes here.
Look who appeared before a federal judge in New York City today. Abu Hamza al-Masri, he's a Muslim cleric, born in Egypt, finally extradited to the United States from Britain. He got a long list of terrorist and charges going back to the late 1990s. Al-Masri is also a professed admirer of Osama bin Laden's. Formal arraignment, Tuesday morning.
President Obama getting a boost on one hand, and doing damage control on the other. He is riding high on lower unemployment numbers, but also trying to recover from his poorly reviewed showing at the first presidential debate with Mitt Romney. Meantime, Romney's team claiming a big support of bounce since the debate, they say, they've raised more than $12 million in the past 48 hours.
The family of a fallen border patrol agent attended an emotional vigil last night in Arizona. The FBI says, friendly fire likely killed agent Nicholas Ivie. Another agent was wounded in the incident. The FBI says, it is investigating what is going on. But it appears that only the two agents were involved in that gunfire.
And an extraordinary trial in Vatican City has ended with a guilty verdict. The former butler to Pope Benedict XVI was sentenced to 18 months in prison for stealing confidential church documents and passing them into a journalist. The Vatican spokesman says, the Pope will most likely pardon him.
A North Korean soldier says, he killed his platoon and squad leaders before defecting to the south. South Korean soldiers among the demilitarized zone heard the gunshots before the soldier crossed the heavily armed are between the countries. More than two thousand people defect from North Korea to South Korea each year. As we mentioned, just a moment ago, the deadly meningitis outbreak rapidly growing. Today, the CDC announced meningitis cases were found in to new states. Ohio and Minnesota. This math, it shows you where tinted steroids injections linked to the outbreak were sent.
Dr. Sanjay Gupta explains how the meningitis outbreak got started.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, again, we're talking about fungal meningitis here. And let's say, it is a relatively rare form of meningitis. We're used to hearing more commonly about bacterial meningitis caused by a bacteria which can be treated with antibiotics typically, or the most common form, which is viral meningitis. We typically hear about that for example on college campuses. Fungal meningitis can be very serious, it can caused very significant symptoms.
But the good news here is, it is often not very contagious. Now, the way that they piece us together Don, it's a real medical investigation. You had people getting this rare form of meningitis in different states over, you know, different times over the summer. And eventually, they were able to trace this back to the medication, the type of steroid that is often used as an injection in around the spinal cord to treat the pain. What they found is well, was that the -- what happens in the manufacture of the steroid was send it to a compounding facility where they can divide up the doses into the smaller doses and then send that out to hospitals and clinics.
They believe at that point that is where the contamination occurred. And in some cases, they could actually see mold which is, is what fungus is. They could see that mold in some of these vials. As far as the patients themselves again, typically older back patients. Most of them had back pain, that is why they're receiving these injections. And take a look at the list of the symptoms that they might developed, first of all, it could take a while after the injection, up to 28 days or so. That made the investigation more difficult.
Mild strong like symptoms, numbness or weakness on one side of the body or the other. And then it could progress pretty significantly from there, stiff neck, dizziness, headaches, and all the symptoms associated with them inflammation around the brain and spinal cord. Obviously, the goal at this point, make sure nobody else gets anymore of these injections. Identify the patients who have had and try and treat those patients as quickly as possible. Don, back to you.
LEMON: All right. Sanjay, thank you very much. Five men, all of them, suspected terrorists appeared in federal courtrooms today. One of them was the most high profile radical Islamist in the United Kingdom. Abu Hamza al-Masri, they are all now in the U.S. successfully extradited from Britain last night. Their flight arrived in New York before dawn. They all face several terrorism charges and fought their extradition from the United Kingdom. One of the suspect's father talks to CNN in London.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ASHFAQ AHMAD, BABAR AHMAD'S FATHER: I am disappointed, because I thought we lived in a democratic country. And we have got the best legal system in the world. And I thought that I will get a fair chance, and Babar will get a fair chance, but I'm very disappointed.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, a senior FBI official calls the suspects' extradition a major milestone in -- tourist's space America justice, some of the charges date back to the late '1990s.
Defense Secretary Leon Panetta is expressing his frustration with the leader of Afghanistan after Hamid Karzai that U.S. isn't doing enough to fight terrorism in Pakistan. Karzai wants the U.S. to send weapons and planes to the Afghan Air Force, but the -- reporters, Karzai should not be complaining.
LEON PANETTA, DEFENSE SECRETARY: We have lost over 2,000 U.S. men and women. ISAF has lost forces there. And the Afghans have lost a large number of their forces there in battle. Those lives were lost fighting the right enemy, not the wrong enemy. And I think it would be helpful if the President every once in a while expressed his thanks for the sacrifices that have been made by those who have fought and died for Afghanistan. Rather than criticizing them.
Let's talk a little politics now, you can score one for the Obama campaign in Ohio. At least every Ohio voter can now vote the weekend before the election. The federal judge sided with President Obama's campaign and overturned a restriction on early voting, that state Republicans had put in place. It would have limited the weekend voting to military families and U.S. citizens living overseas.
And President Obama playing catch up after on what many are calling a dismal debate performance this week. CNN's Dan Lothian's report on how the President is punching back at his opponent, one campaign rally at a time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is the President that most people agreed didn't show up on debate night. Animated, forceful and taking shots at his GOP opponent.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor Romney said he'd get rid of Planned Parenthood funding. Apparently, this along with Big Bird who's driving the deficits.
LOTHIAN: Campaign rallies and presidential debates are two completely different events, but the contrast in body language and policy sales pitch is hard to overlook. Zingers are back.
OBAMA: Now, my opponent, you know, has been trying to do a two-step and reposition and got an extreme makeover. Governor Romney was fact checked by his own campaign.
LOTHIAN: And so is talk about Governor Romney's 47 percent fundraiser which never came up at the debate. OBAMA: We've always said that real change takes time. It certainly can happen if you're willing to write off half the nation before you even take office.
LOTHIAN: Democrats and other supporters argue that while the president may have lost the debate on performance --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No question about it. I think he was listless.
LOTHIAN: He won on substance, but his GOP opponent campaigning in Virginia begs to differ.
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I got a chance to ask the president some questions I think people across the country wanted to ask the president. I got the chance to ask him why does the middle class is so buried in this country. Incomes have gone down. Prices of gasoline have doubled.
LOTHIAN: Either way, the post debate president appears to have emerged with new intensity and the campaign admits they'll be using a different playbook for the next face-to-face encounter with Governor Romney.
STEPHANIE CUTTER, OBAMA DEPUTY CAMPAIGN MANAGER: What could the president have done differently? You know, we'll of course recalibrate and recalculate based on the Mitt Romney that showed up.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: Back to that 47 percent fundraising comment, Governor Romney now calls it completely wrong. But the president as he was wrapping up his remarks here in Ohio, took one more shot saying, he wants to be a president for all Americans, and he singled out Independents, Republicans, and the Tea Party.
Dan Lothian, CNN, Cleveland.
LEMON: All right, Dan, we want to get you now live to Apopka, Florida, and Mitt Romney will be speaking there very soon. You see the stage there is set. This is called a victory rally for Romney. He's expected to speak within this hour, if not, we'll have it for you in the 7:00 p.m. hour, but he spent the day early today near Orlando, Florida, of course practicing with the debate rehearsal with Senator Rob Portman. Mitt Romney expects to speak at any moment at Apopka, Florida, we'll bring it to you when it happens right here on CNN.
Let's move on now. Venezuela, one day away from its presidential election, and Venezuelans living in the U.S. are hitting the road. They're traveling to one of six offices where they can cast a ballot for president. The Venezuelans in Florida, that means a road trip to New Orleans. Volunteers estimate 7,000 people in Florida will cast ballots in New Orleans, but they don't see the trip as a burden.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARIA VERDE, VENEZUELAN VOTER: It's a privilege to vote. It is not a right, it is a privilege, and the fact that we have to go through all of this, gives it a little more emphasis on how privileged we are.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, current President Hugo Chavez hopes to win a third term. CNN's Paula Newton is in Venezuela and will be reporting on Election Day here on CNN.
Up next, incredible video you need to see of the Israeli military taking out a drone. And the civil war in Syria costing more than just a live to those fighting.
A look at some of the ancient treasures that are fast becoming nothing more than the waste of war.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Who is spying on Israel from the air? That is what its military is wondering after shooting down a drone in Southern Israel. Look at this video. Statements from the Israel defense forces, it says, it is not clear where the drone came from, but it carried no weapons or explosives. Israeli soldiers are searching for clues in the area where it was brought down.
Anger over U.S. drone strikes led to a massive protest today in Pakistan. A convoy of more than 100 vehicles traveling from Islamabad to Pakistan's tribal region as part of the protest. Pakistanis are furious over the strikes that routinely target militants. Although the U.S. usually won't confirm that it is behind those strikes.
Turkey hit Syria again today with two artillery rounds, the latest attacks again came after three Syrian rounds slammed into Turkish territory. It is believed the Syrian shells were intended to hit rebels fighting for control of a Syrian border village. The Turkish government officials have warned people near the border not to go outside.
And Turkish worries about the bloodshed in Syria are understandable. Activists say at least 105 people died in fighting just today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar. Allahu Akbar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: This is Homs, where at least 23 were reportedly killed. Clashes between rebels and government troops were also seen in the capital of Damascus, and Syria's biggest city, Aleppo.
More than 30,000 people have been killed in Syria's civil war, another 300,000 have fled the fighting. And in their wake, they have left behind some of the world's greatest cultural landmarks. And now, those two are becoming casualties of war. Here's CNN's Hala Gorani.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) HALA GORANI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Rich in history and culture, Syria is home to some of the world's greatest landmarks and ancient ruins. But now, after 19 months of fighting and civil war, the Global Heritage Fund says, many historical treasures are being destroyed.
The ancient villages of Northern Syria were named a UNESCO Heritage Site in 2011. The region is home to monasteries, ancient churches and preserved Christian Byzantine villages. Many of those ancient ruins were knocked over, as seen in this amateur video, possibly used as roadblocks in the fighting. And Syrian army tanks have moved through the region trampling some of the landmarks.
Al Bara was once a popular tourist destination. Now, the ancient tombs are damaged by shelling. The Croix de Chevalier has been around since the time of the Crusades, considered the most preserved military castles from that era. Now, this heritage site is being used as cover by rebel forces defending themselves against the government's heavy artillery.
Another ancient location, Apamea, located about 5 kilometers northwest of Hama. The ruins here date back to the Roman and Byzantine periods and the site is known for its ancient columns. Now, Apamea is heavily damaged by shelling. Looters took mosaics, even a Roman statue, reportedly selling some of the priceless artifacts for weapons.
And then there is the ancient city of Aleppo, known for its culture and urban development and home to the largest covered market in the world dating back to the 12th century. Last week, that market was burned during fierce fighting. Precious ancient treasures that belong to the world, not just to Syria, once preserved and admired, now, some gone forever, destroyed by war.
Hala Gorani, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: How much do you need the internet? If being without the web makes you feel a bit anxious, well, you may have a mental illness. We'll discuss, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Well, the bible used by the psychiatric community now includes a new listing, internet use disorder.
Human behavior expert Wendy Walsh joins me now from Los Angeles. All right, this is very interesting, Wendy, this manual is not listing it as a full-blown disorder yet, just that it needs to be further studied. And a lot of us are using devices, our computers a lot. So what does internet use disorder look like?
DR. WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: Well, it looks like almost any other addiction disorder, that is a pre-occupation with the activity, whether it is on-line gaming, surfing the internet, on-line porn, whether you have withdrawal symptoms when you try to stop. And also, if you are sort of losing interest in all the hobbies and fun things that you used to do. And finally, the deception piece. If you're deceiving your friends and family about how much you're on line or addicted to your Smartphone, or what your withdrawal symptoms feel like, then that shows an addiction.
LEMON: So, you need to go to see someone about it, just like any other addiction, right?
WALSH: That's right.
LEMON: Yes. All right. I always say an addiction is an addiction, right? So, you equate as others enter an addiction gambling, things like that, alcohol, and drug addictions, but too much alcohol, of course, drugs, obviously will kill you. Too much gambling, you know, is bad for your finances. So, what does too much computer time do to us? Too much internet. What does that do?
WALSH: Well, first of all, it is a fake stress as we're surfing around on the internet looking for a random reward of a dopamine rushes. We hit on the thing that excites us. We're not meant to be sitting psychologically still while we're experiencing that kind of rush or that kind of anxiety or that kind of stress. So it hurts us psychologically. Secondly, it creates a kind of attention deficit disorder. Because reading something on the internet is a very different thing reading a book, you are surfing, glancing, scanning, clicking through, moving on, having five screens open at once. And finally, it is replacing real-life relationships and real-life communication skills. It reduces social intelligence, emotional intelligence, because you're just busy taking in information.
LEMON: But won't we adjust? I mean, humans adjust, you know, as time progresses you will adjust to it.
WALSH: You will adjust to having more faulty real-life relationships, yes.
LEMON: Yes. OK. That's true. I noticed that people spend a lot more time on the internet that used to just go to a coffee shop, or a bar, to like hang out with people. Now, people are chatting on line. More you don't do it. But is this a real thing? Or are we just caught up this sort of addict society or it symbolizes an addict nation? Because everybody is addicted to something. Something.
WALSH: Yes. You know it is a new addictive substance or a new stimulation to become addicted to. But those people who are unable to self-regulate, who experience huge withdrawals symptoms, it is a very real thing, Don.
LEMON: So, what do you do? Are there people who specialized in internet addiction?
WALSH: Any therapists who specializes in any kind of addictive behavior can threat internet addiction. But I would tell everyone to first of all, look at your own family. And start putting technology rules on your kids, on your teenagers, start early, no media during the dinner table, no media on while homework is being done. All media goes off at a set time at night, so you're not falling asleep with background sounds, try that with your family and see how they get through their withdrawals.
LEMON: So do you recognize it when the things that you said, when people are withdrawing and maybe they're not showing up for dinner or you have to say, get off that phone or get off the computer?
WALSH: Yes, I mean, my wake-up call was when my oldest who is a teenager now was in second grade, she wrote her first essay about how moms spent so much time on her computer and cell phone, and was not parenting enough. And I was like, woho, I got to focus, not multi- task, multi task is not the way to go, it just makes you damning a lot of things, you got to focus on one thing well.
LEMON: That was some wake-up call, glad you got it.
WALSH: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: Thank you, Wendy, we appreciate it.
WALSH: Thank you.
LEMON: North Korean soldier defects to South Korea after killing his comrades.
And military wives going topless for a cause close to their hearts.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Don't forget you can stay connected, you can watch CNN live from your computer, you can do it from work, just go to CNN.COMLIVE/TV.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A North Korean soldier says, he killed his platoon and squad leaders before defecting to the South. South Korean soldiers along the de-militarized zone heard the gunshots before the soldier crossed the heavily armed area between the countries. CNN's Paula Hancocks has details. Paula.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It is not unknown, but it is certainly rare for a North Korean to escape to the South through the DMZ, the de-militarized zone that separates North and South Korea. It is described as the most heavily fortified border on earth, and yet the Korean soldier was able to walk across it on Saturday. The joint-chiefs-of-staff here in Seoul described the reporters how he managed it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
COL. LEE BUNG-WOO, SPOKESMAN, SOUTH KOREAN JOINT-CHIEFS-OF-STAFF (through a translator): The North Korean soldier has defected to our guard post in an inter-Korean management zone at 12:10 p.m., October 6. Our army has raised its military alert in the area, but there has been no extraordinary moves by the North Korean army, so far.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HANCOCKS: Seoul says, the soldier was on guard duty when he killed his platoon and his squad leaders, he was then able to cross the border without being stopped. South Korean soldiers say they've heard the gunfire before seeing the North Korean soldier fleeing after it was confirmed that he did in fact want to defect, he was taken to an undisclosed location and interrogated. Very few managed to cross this tyke (ph) controlled border, in fact, the last time a North Korean soldier succeeded was two-and-a-half years ago, according to the defense ministry, here in Seoul.
Paula Hancocks, CNN, Seoul.
LEMON: Coming up on half past the hour, we'll going to get a look at your headlines right now. Abu Hamza al-Masri appeared before federal judge in New York City today, he's a Muslim cleric, born in Egypt, finally extradited to the United States from Britain. Well, he's got a long list of terrorist charges going back to the late 1990s, al- Masri is also a professed admirer of Osama bin Laden. His formal arraignment will be Tuesday morning.
President Obama reportedly getting a boost on one hand, and doing damage control on the other. He is riding high on lower unemployment numbers. But also trying to recover from his poorly reviewed showing at the first presidential debate with Mitt Romney.
Meanwhile, Romney's team is claiming a big supporter bounce since that debate. They say they have raised more than $12 million in just the past 48 hours.
Venezuelans in the U.S. traveling to one of six offices where they can vote in tomorrow's election. Volunteers say at least 7,000 will go to New Orleans from Florida, to cast ballots. Current President Hugo Chavez, running for another six-year term, he was first elected president in 1998.
And a rocket from a private company is set to launch tomorrow night, carrying supplies from the international space station. Symbolically, this SpaceX flight is huge, because it is the first contracted cargo re-supply flight in NASA's history. 11 others were scheduled at a total cost of $1.6 billion. This launch is set for 8:30 p.m. eastern.
And a group of military wives are making quite a statement as part of an effort to combat post traumatic stress disorder. It was all started with just one picture and a Facebook post. The woman, holding her husband's gun, reveals a heartfelt pledge of support, written across her bare back. Alicia McCoy, whose husband died by suicide in March, said her husband sought help for PTSD, but it was not enough.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALICIA MCCOY, HUSBAND DIED AFTER BATTLING PTSD: Our soldiers have a lot to say. They have a lot bottled up inside of them. And no one is listening. I feel like they're afraid to be able to say what they need to say, because they're afraid it is going to hurt their record.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: After just a few months, the photo campaign now includes hundreds of women from around the world, taking off their tops to battle -- bare. For more information on this story and others, head to CNN.com.
In New York this morning, the Navy commissioned the "USS Michael Murphy," its newest guided-missile destroyer. The ship was named for a Navy SEAL killed in Afghanistan in 2005. Lieutenant Murphy was shot when he ran out into enemy fire. He was trying to get a clear signal so he could call for backup for his four-man team.
The state of Delaware overwhelmingly passes a tough child-abuse prevention law. Why the Delaware County Policy Council says it crosses the line. That is coming up.
And the nation's unemployment rate fell in September. The numbers are in, and they're good, unexpectedly good. More people are returning to work, and hiring was steady.
Let's meet one guy who took a huge risk to make a career change in a brightening job market.
Here is Christine Romans with today's "Smart is the New Rich."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Olatunde Kamson wanted to switch careers from operations in I.T. to marketing and big data. In a slow jobs market, that takes training and risks.
OLATUNDE KAMSON, WENT BACK TO GRADUATE SCHOOL: I decided to go back to business school. And I went part-time and realized that I needed even more training. So I left my full-time position, and gained an internship at CBS, and that was a great gateway. So the internship, plus the MBA, I was able to fortunately land the job by looking at the data more on the marketing end and helping with making strategic decisions.
ROMANS: The switch took time and money, $80,000 in student loans.
(on camera): Is it worth the investment to re-train in your career, and take on all of the student loans?
KAMSON: Yes, it is worth the investment.
ROMANS (voice-over): The degree loan doesn't open doors. He also worked with a job coach.
CAROLINE CENIZA-LEVINE, CAREER COACH, SIXFIGURESTART: We really worked with him on interviewing and network, because, let's face it, as a career changer, his resume speaks to what he did before. In order to get people to think of him in a different way, he had to talk to people and tell them his story. ROMANS: Not all career switches require an MBA and 80 grand in debt. Consider community colleges or free online courses in the new field.
CENIZA-LEVINE: Counter-intuitively, a career-changer can't seem like a career changer. People will ask about experience if you're not demonstrating enough expertise or a skill set. You have to show the people who are already in that job, in that industry, that I can do this, too. And it is just a question of getting hired.
ROMANS: Remember, an employer typically scans a resume for 10 seconds or less.
CENIZA-LEVINE: Too many people will suspend the rest of their search, hoping for the perfect resume that gets noticed. It's irrelevant. What really matters is networking and interviewing. You want to get in front of as many people and tell them your story. in his case, he was interested in strategy. He talked to people who had those jobs. He didn't know them, but he reached out.
KAMSON: It was a two and a half year journey to get the job I wanted. But it is definitely worth it and paying off now. This is my dream job.
ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Delaware has become the first state to pass a controversial law that effectively outlaws the corporal discipline of children by their parents. Now the bill redefines child abuse laws to include any act that causes pain. Delaware's attorney general, Bo Biden, the son of Vice President Joe Biden, says the old law needed to be changed because it had been difficult to prosecute cases where a child was too young to speak or otherwise nonverbal.
Criminal defense attorney, Holly Hughes, is here.
OK, Holly, critics say it could go too far. It could be misused. How do you think a law like this will be interpreted in the courts?
HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY & FORMER PROSECUTOR: I think it is coming back. It will be challenged. It's going all the way up. It will not pass constitutional muster. It's what we call vague and over-broad. And essentially anything you do that causes pain. Well, what happens when your child is about to run into the street and you snatch them back by the arm and that causes pain? Have you suddenly -- are you on the hook for child abuse? Are you going to be arrested for that? This is craziness.
LEMON: My parents would be -- have life in prison.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHES: Oh, my word, exactly. Mine, too, mine too. I was just talking about that.
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: That's right. Productive members of society, right? You know, neither one of us is advocating abuse.
LEMON: There is a difference.
HUGHES: Right, there is an absolute difference. There is a line between abuse and discipline. And you need to be able to discipline your children. I mean, this is way too much over-reaching, too much state inference with the ability to necessarily do what you have to do to raise a good child.
HUGHES: Well, I was spanked at school. I went to Catholic school.
So let's move on now. In Texas, a 17-year-old called 911 and described to the operator what happened at his home. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DISPATCHER: OK, what is the emergency?
JAKE EVANS, CALLED 911 TO REPORT HIS CRIME: I just killed my mom and my sister?
DISPATCHER: What?
EVANS: I just killed my mom and my sister.
DISPATCHER: You just killed your mom and sister? How did you do that?
EVANS: I shot them with a .22 revolver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: OK, so first of all, what happened? What is behind this? Do we know?
HUGHES: We don't know. But when the operator -- she was fantastic. she kept him on the line for 22 minutes while the police were enroute, kept him talking, just asking him questions, you know, why did you do this? He said essentially, I was not angry. There's no real reason. I just planned it for a while. I just wanted to kill somebody. And she says to him, "Them? You mom and your sister or anybody?" Oh, just anybody?
LEMON: My goodness.
HUGHES: I think what we'll see is a defense is going to have to --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: -- for a psychiatric evaluation.
LEMON: If he is being charged with capital murder --
HUGHES: Yes.
LEMON: -- then how do you defend somebody like this? Because can they use it as a confession?
HUGHES: Oh, absolutely. This is absolutely admissible.
LEMON: Is it inadmissible?
HUGHES: Of course, it is. It is freely and voluntarily -- there is no interrogation. She is just trying to get information at this point in time.
LEMON: How do you defend somebody like this?
HUGHES: I think what is going to have to happen, Don, we're going to see a psychiatric evaluation because, if you listen to this, he is not upset. He is not boasting either. He not, hey, I did this. He is just calling in, and he is very disconnected from his own life, from his own experience. So whether or not -- as you and I both know -- psychiatric defenses are not usually successful. They're only successful in about 1 percent of the cases they're tried in. And they're not tried very often. But I think with this young man -- as young as he is, and as violent as this was, and to just stay there and admit you did it, and not try and run away and not try to hide, I think we can actually see somebody who can't differentiate between right and wrong. That is going to be the tack they use.
LEMON: It was very trite, like my alarm is going off --
(CROSSTALK)
HUGHES: That's right. I am going to the store for milk, oh, by the way, I just shot my mother and 15-year-old sister. Yes, heartbreaking all the way around, for everybody involved.
LEMON: Thank you, Holly.
HUGHES: Thanks.
LEMON: Appreciate it.
HUGHES: Always.
LEMON: Coming up, a recent study shows at least five million kids skipped class at least one of every 10 school days. Was that you?
HUGHES: No.
LEMON: I didn't.
(LAUGHTER)
HUGHES: I'd get spanked for that, too, Don.
(LAUGHTER)
LEMON: We'll tell you what one school system is doing to get them back behind the desk.
But first this. Each week, we like to shine a spotlight on the top-10 "CNN Heroes" of 2012 as you vote for the "CNN Hero of the Year" at cnnheroes.com. This next's honoree is bringing a hidden population out of the shadows. Kids who are caregivers for ill or aging loved ones and she's helping them hold on to their childhood at the same time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, let me help you.
My mom has been sick for as along as I can remember.
You need more methadone.
Helping her out is a big priority than going to school because I don't know what I would do if something happened to her, how I would be able to really live.
O'CONNOR SISKOWSKI, CNN HERO: In the United States, there are at least 1.3 million children caring for somebody who is ill or injured or elderly or disabled.
They can become isolated. There are physical effects, the stresses of it, and the worry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you, baby. Thank you so much.
SISKOWSKI: But these children suffer silently. People don't know they exist.
I am O'Connor Siskowski. I am bringing this precious population into the light to transform their lives so that they can stay in school.
We offer each child a home visit.
Has that been helpful?
We look at what we can provide to meet their need.
We go into the schools where there is a support group, and we offer out-of-school activities that give the child a break.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: This is so relaxing.
SISKOWSKI: So they know that they're not alone.
(SHOUTING)
SISKOWSKI: We give them hope for their future.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Nicholas. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Now, I'm getting "A"s and "B"s, and I feel more confident.
SISKOWSKI: But we have a long way to go. There's so many more children that really need this help and support.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The top-10 "CNN Heroes for 2012 have been revealed. And you can now vote for your choice for hero of the year. Just go to CNNheros.com or cnn.com, and then search for heroes and you will find it. We'll reveal your 2012 hero of the year December 2nd during our "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." It's hosted by our own Anderson Cooper.
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LEMON: Some kids skip school because they have to work or care for a relative. Other would just rather watch TV or lay around. Either way, chronic absence, defined as missing one of every 10 school days, is a problem for at least five million elementary school and high school students.
CNN's Athena Jones looks at how one school system is fighting back.
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UNIDENTIFIED TEACHER: We're going to try and teach you strategies for making good decisions.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baltimore teen, Jerod Williams, has come a long way. In seventh grade, he missed 33 days of school last year and was in danger of dropping out.
JEROD WILLIAMS, SKIPPED SCHOOL: Some days, I would just stay home, play the game, eat, sleep, that is about it, and watch TV.
JONES: Williams struggled to get passing grades at a school where he didn't feel the teachers cared. That is where Kay Webber-Ndour comes in. She handles attendance initiatives for the city's school district.
KAY WEBBER-NDOUR, STUDENT SUPPORT SERVICES, BALTIMORE CITY SCHOOLS: I saw him on the first day of school, and one of the teachers who knew him said this boy has not been in school for days and days and days. And we approached him and said this is going to be a very different school year for you. We expect to see you here.
JONES: In eighth grade, Williams missed just five days of school, the following year, just two. At 17, he is now a sophomore in high school with perfect attendance, and his grades improved, especially in math.
WILLIAMS: I got "B"s and "B"-pluses, and one "A".
(SHOUTING) JONES: A Johns Hopkins University study estimates that five to 7.5 million K through 12 students are chronically absent each year, meaning they miss one school day out of every 10.
Maryland, where the rate is 11 percent, is one of just six states tracking the issue.
ROBERT BALFANZ, JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY: It is really a hidden problem I think. They say it is like bacteria in a hospital. It actually creates havoc, but we don't know it because we're not measuring it.
JONES: Repeated absences are most common in kindergarten and in high school. And low-income students are more likely to miss class, often due to transportation or health issues and sometimes because they have to work or take care of family members.
WEBBER-NDOUR: We have to go the extra mile. We're texting parents now. The school system itself is texting principals, and saying, you know, there are a large number of students who are absent from your roles. What is going on?
JONES: Baltimore schools also use robocalls to alert parents about absences. Social workers talk to families when the students are missing too many days of class. And students are being rewarded for good attendance, like this elementary school.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Who is excited to come to school every day?
JONES: Which won a field trip, a grant and a visit from the mayor.
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAYOR: Elementary schools --
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAYOR: -- we won --
(SHOUTING)
UNIDENTIFIED MAYOR: -- a trip to Fort Discovery.
JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Baltimore, Maryland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: A movie milestone worth a martini, shaken, not stirred. Bond, James Bond. And why it seems life imitates art in an eerie fashion when it comes to the 007 films.
Don't forget you can watch CNN live on your computer at work and on your Smartphone at CNN.com/tv.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: Let's be honest here, the gadgets in James Bond movies are some of the coolest around. And while we some day may see x-ray glasses and laser beams shoot out of watches, Bond movies have already given us a glimpse of what's to come.
CNN's Nischelle Turner has a look now.
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SEAN CONNERY, ACTOR: Tell me, does the topping of American missiles really compensate for having no hands?
NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Just weeks after "Dr. No" premiered in 1962, the Cuban Missile Crisis gripped the world. And suddenly, the idea of a secret base in the Caribbean, threatening the U.S., didn't seem so farfetched. It was the first 007 movie, and the first case of life imitating Bond.
It happened again in 1966 when a military aircraft carrying nuclear weapons crashed over the Spanish coast and one of the bombs landed under water. It was just like the plot of "Thunderball," which came out a year earlier.
And in 1966, three Apollo astronauts were killed in a tragic accident mere weeks after the opening scene of "You Only Live Twice" was filmed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: John Cork, who has written numerous books and documentaries about the making of the Bond films, has a theory about why they so accurately and eerily predict the future.
JOHN CORK, AUTHOR & DOCUMENTARIAN: I think one of the keys to success of the James Bond novels and the James Bond films is that everybody involved in creating these stories, from Ian Fleming, on to the screenwriters today, works very hard at trying to figure out what is going to be happening, as they say, 10 minutes into the future. James Bond always needs to be on the cutting edge. So often, when you're on the cutting edge, you happen to be right there with history.
TURNER: And, indeed, he was. The brainwashed beauties of "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" predated the Manson cult murders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: "Live and Let Die's" head of state/drug lord villain came 10 years before the reign of Manuel Noriega in Panama. And just nine months after the release of "The World is Not Enough," there was a fatal incident involving the nuclear reactor of a Russian submarine. But alas, no James Bond to stop it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(SHOUTING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TURNER: Is this all coincidence or crystal ball?
CORK: A lot of people over the years have just said, oh, the Bond folks just got lucky. But my grandfather had a saying, "The better you are, the luckier you get." They work very hard at creating these James Bond stories that are going to feel right of the moment. And when you do that, sometimes you catch the moment.
TURNER: So pay attention next month when the new James Bond film "Skyfall" arrives. It could just be another preview of world events.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: How much do you know about fear?
(CROSSTALK)
TURNER: Nischelle Turner, CNN, Hollywood.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I don't really know them specifically. All the Bond movies kind of run together.
What's your favorite? "Octopussy"? You just wanted me to say that on TV, didn't you? Thanks. You got me to do it.
Coming up --
(LAUGHTER)
-- a unique harvest for health.
(LAUGHTER)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Look at those things. No, your eyes aren't playing tricks on you. Those pumpkins are really pink. But the light pink, or salmon color, isn't a mistake or a result of the drought. The pumpkins are being grown to raise money for breast cancer research. They are a new variety of pink-skinned pumpkins, grown just in time for October's Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
Mitt Romney taking the stage in Florida shortly for a rally. There's somebody playing guitar there. You can watch it live on CNN.com. Governor Romney is spending the weekend in Florida, holding a couple of rallies there. Earlier today, he rehearsed for his next debate with President Obama with Ohio Senator Rob Portman. And you're looking at the highlights from this upcoming rally one hour from now in the CNN NEWSROOM. That's when I'll be back here.
In the meantime, I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. A few seconds left here. That's it.
Your favorite Bond movie? Nothing else? Bond character? Nothing?
That's not a character. Oh, yes, it is.
I'm Don Lemon.
Here's Wolf Blitzer and "THE SITUATION ROOM." See you in an hour.
