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Former Senator Arlen Specter Passes Away At 82; Mission Accomplished for Fearless Felix; Second Presidential Debate will be on Tuesday; Interview with Chuck Yeager; 14-Year-Old Pakistani Girl Still Recovering; Emory University Apologizes to Former Students
Aired October 14, 2012 - 22:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN HOST: You are in the NEWSROOM. I'm Don Lemon. We want to get you up to speed on the stories making headlines this hour.
Well, that guy is the closest thing to superman that we got. International daredevil Felix Baumgartner jumped from a balloon today on the edge of space. He plummeted to earth, breaking the sound barrier on the way down. Nobody has ever done that and nobody has ever ridden a balloon 24 miles above the earth.
He parachuted down safely. Lots of skydiving records smashed today. We are going to show you a whole lot more of the jump ahead this hour.
But breaking the sound barrier? No big deal for this man. He did it first back in 1947, 65 years ago today. Retired Air force colonel Chuck Yeager did something very appropriate for the anniversary today. He broke testify sound barrier again riding in the back seat of an f- 15 fighter jet.
But wait, there's more. I'm going to be talking to him about it right here general live. General Chuck Yeager joins me on CNN in just a few minutes.
The meningitis outbreak continues to spread. The CDC says, these two strains of fungus are part of the outbreak that has infected six more people in the last 24 hours. Overall 205 cases have been confirmed in 14 states. Fifteen people have died. The victims received tainted steroid injections commonly given to relieve intense neck and back pain.
And just ahead, we are talking to a family that is grieving. The grandfather is one of those who has died during this outbreak.
The state's work is well underway for Tuesday's night presidential debate at Hofstra University. President Obama and Mitt Romney will square off in a town hall style format. Our Candy Crowley is the moderator and we are going to have more on debate preparations straight ahead as well.
America has lost one of the giants of the U.S. Senate. Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. Specter was elected to the senate in 1980 and represented Pennsylvania for 30 years, longer than anyone in the state's history. He was 82 years old. I had this hour, a side of the senator you haven't seen before, a stand-up comedian.
I wounded teenage activists who stood up to the Taliban inspired a huge rally Karachi, Pakistan today. Tens of thousands of people gathered to support 14-year-old, Malala Yousafzai, who had blogged about the right of girls to get an education. Taliban members tried to assassinate her on Tuesday and she's in critical but stable condition.
Syria's army re-took control of a historic mosque in Aleppo after fierce clashes with rebel forces. Activists say Umayyad Mosque now has extensive damage of the army set fire to it. Parts of the mosque date back from the 12th century. Meanwhile, opposition forces say another 220 people have been killed across Syria.
The space shuttle Endeavor once soared 123 million miles through space today, crowd cheers is the shallow inch into its new retirement home in Los Angeles. The Endeavor finally arrive at the California science center after crawling 12 miles across L.A. over three days.
The 23 days until the election and the presidential candidates are hard to find. We barely got a glimpse of them today at President Obama or Mitt Romney. They are getting ready for Tuesday night's presidential debate, of course.
CNN political director Mark Preston is on site at New York's Hofstra University and my question for him, does President Obama have some work to do still for Tuesday?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL DIRECTOR: He does. He has some game- changing to do, Don. He had a very lackluster debate two weeks ago here on Tuesday night. His advisers are telling us that he's going to come with a different game plan. Let's listen to what Robert Gibbs said on "STATE OF THE UNION" this morning to give us a little preview of what to expect.
ROBERT GIBBS, PRESIDENT OBAMA CAMPAIGN SENIOR ADVISOR: He knew when he walked off stage and he also knew when he watched the tape of that debate that he's got to be more energetic. I think you'll see somebody who is very passionate about the choices that are country faces and putting that choice in front of voters.
PRESTON: And on the same show this morning on "STATE OF THE UNION," Ed Gillespie, a senior adviser for Mitt Romney said it does come down to a choice for which direction this country will go into. Let's hear what Ed Gillespie had to say.
ED GILLESPIE, SENIOR ADVISER TO MITT ROMNEY: The president can change his style, he can change his, in fact, he can change his record and he can change his policies. And that is what this election is about.
PRESTON: And here we are, Don, we just have a few weeks now until Election Day. The race is tight. Not only nationally but in the key battleground states. Mitt Romney has made up quite a bit of ground since his first debate. A lot of people are waiting to see what happens on the stage behind me on Tuesday night.
LEMON: All right, Mark Preston. Thank you very much.
Candy Crowley, as you know, is the host of CNN "STATE OF THE UNION." She is also the moderator of Tuesday night's presidential debate. It is a true honor for a very deserving journalist and she has some interesting things to say about the town hall format and how she's preparing for the debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT: You have interviewed both candidates before. Does that change your approach?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's interesting. I'm not sure if having an interviewed both of them changes how I would approach either of them. I think it's more that I've interviewed both of them, I've interviewed presidents. I've interviewed candidates, so there's an ease there. Actually, neither one of them scare me in that sense. It is that we are, of course, having this other element of the town hall. And so, the mixture of all of that and trying to keep that under control and on target and letting the people's wish from a town hall meeting come through, that's the sort of thing that keeps me awake at night, frankly. It's not these two guys.
TEXT: How do you prepare to moderate a debate?
CROWLEY: I am hoping that in 25 years that I've covered politics has prepared me and given me the base for this. However, from the minute I knew that I was going to do this, things have become more embedded in my memory than -- day-to-day when you're doing a story you read something and you're like, that's interesting and you kind of move on to the next thing.
But with this, you want to make sure that you are in on the campaign dialogue. That you are in on the policy debate. That you know when they move. Because campaigns don't move sort of minute by minute. They move sort of incrementally over the months and you have to kind of watch it. And so I'm much more, I think, tuned in.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Presidential contenders square off on Tuesday night and our special coverage - special live coverage will begin at 7:00 eastern here on CNN.
A grandfather in pain goes to the doctor, he has given a steroid injection. Now, he's dead, likely because of this, fungal meningitis. We have an exclusive with a heart-broken family, that's next.
And falling to earth and landing in history. A record-setting sky dive from 24 miles above ground. The pictures are incredible to see!
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A Kentucky grandfather, Eddie Lovelace, got a steroid injection to relieve pain and now he's dead. He was really healthy, walked three miles a day, taught Sunday school and worked full time as a judge. Lovelace is one of 15 people who have died in an outbreak of fungal meningitis. CNN's Elizabeth Cohen talks with his heart broken family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lord give us the strength to go forward.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Something is missing in the Lovelace house. Five generations gather in mourning.
FLONNIE LOVELACE, VICTIM'S MOTHER: I lost all I've got.
COHEN: Eddie Lovelace, husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, Sunday schoolteacher at his church and a circuit court judge in Albany, Kentucky, dead, a suspected Kay of fungal meningitis.
CHRIS LOVELACE, VICTIM'S SON: He was the center of our universe as a family.
COHEN: Judge Eddie Lovelace was a healthy 78-year-old man, worked full time, walked three miles a day. When in the middle of September he started feeling dizzy and slurring his speech.
CHRIS LOVELACE: He didn't get to finish his Sunday school lesson and that individual is a longtime member of his Sunday school and he said he had never witnessed that happen before.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in the kitchen and he said, my legs don't work right. He said, there's something wrong with my legs.
COHEN: Lovelace had had a stroke. But doctors at Vanderbilt University Medical center told his daughter, a nurse, it is one of the strangest strokes they had ever seen.
KAREN TALBOTT, VICTIM'S DAUGHTER: They couldn't give me any explanation. They told me that a stroke that occurred in this area of the brain was usually seen by prolonged uncontrolled hypertension, which he did not have.
COHEN: Lovelace died five days after being admitted to the hospital.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a nightmare.
COHEN: Later, the doctors put it together. Lovelace has been in a car accident and received three injections with steroids for back and neck pain. The medicine he received was likely made by the New England come pounding center. After his death, these injections were recalled because of fungal contamination which can cause strokes. Now all his family can do is remember the devoted public servant. The grandfather who let his granddaughters play with Barbies behind the bench when they were little while held cork cases.
What kind of man was your dad? CHRIS LOVELACE: He was the most intelligent man I met. His memory was uncanny. If you need advice, irregardless of what the subject was, you could always take his and trust it.
COHEN: His family looks back and asks why.
CHRIS LOVELACE: The decisions to save money. The decisions not to regulate drugs. Decisions not to oversee these facilities. Those decisions affect lives every day and if different decisions had been made at certain points along the way, my father would be here today.
COHEN: And your father just went in for really, a very routine procedure.
CHRIS LOVELACE: He did. And he went there for pain relief. He went there to get help.
COHEN: And he got --
CHRIS LOVELACE: Death.
COHEN: Elizabeth Cohen. CNN, Albany, Kentucky.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Thanks, Elizabeth.
Former Senator Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. Personal story from one of his close advisers straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: President Obama and Mitt Romney, round two.
Why will this one be any different than the first one? I talked about Tuesday's night big event with Will Cain and L.Z. Granderson. L.Z. thinks the town hall format will be a better venue for President Obama so I asked him why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
L.Z. GRANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Because he will be able to have the audience there to gauge, right? Be able to understand a little bit more about the energy level that he has. He will be able to understand how the way he's answering questions, have a more immediate impact on the audience and, perhaps, the nation.
LEMON: So in second performance, he's kicking vibe off of the audience. Will, do you agree with that?
GRANDERSON: Absolutely.
WILL CAIN, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: I totally agree but for a different reason. Look, I was reading a review of the 2008 town hall debate that Barack Obama had with Senator John McCain at the time. And here are the words they used to describe it. That he was dispassionate. That he kind of ambled when he chose his words. Does it sounds familiar?
So I don't know. I don't know how high his bar on ratcheting up his energy. I'll say this that I agree with L.Z., the town hall format lowers the bar. That confrontational aspect becomes more sensitive. People feel that. I don't think they like head-to-head as much. It's more about connecting.
LEMON: Was that the one -- That was Tom Brokaw's debate back in 2008, right? He was - when he talked about it on doing a town hall type debate this morning on "Meet the Press" and he said it was very tough and he is, you know, he said like something like, I'm paraphrasing. My condolences to Candy because it's a tough debate to do.
But so, let's talk about Joe Biden for a minute. Let's go back to last week's debate. We knew that "Saturday Night Live" would have some fun with the debate performance. It didn't disappoint. Take a look.
TARAN KILLAM AS PAUL RYAN, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": First of all, I want to take Central College for hosting us this evening.
JASON SUDEIKIS AS JOE BIDEN, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE": Oh, boy. Here we go. Oh, man.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Four years ago, President Obama made a promise.
(LAUGHTER)
KILLAM: That he would bring down unemployment below six percent.
SUDEIKIS: This guy -- I mean --
LEMON: That's funny. And they were dead on. I have to say, do you think this will be old news by Tuesday, L.Z.?
GRANDERSON: Well, it's old news now. You know, once you've been "SNL," it is pretty much out of the news cycle. I don't think that's a big impact --
LEMON: Oh, come on. Sarah Palin and Tina Fey, I mean, still. You can't get enough of that. I still watch the clips.
GRANDERSON: Well, I mean, in terms of having a more immediate impact and the way people view the debate, you know. It may impact the way people view Joe Biden but not necessarily the debates or the future debates.
LEMON: Yes.
CAIN: No, I totally disagree. I totally disagree. Look. I know you didn't want to ask me this Don, but you said it just now. Look. We used to view debates through the prism of when they happened, our impressions and then the spin room afterwards. But now, we have the forever called the Internet where things are mashed up imparity. You are kidding yourself. You don't think that that kind of parity does an impact how people view this.
LEMON: No. That is kind of where I was going to go with that. because listen. Good or bad, guess who people are talking about? They're talking about Joe Biden, right? And they're people that thought he was, you know, sort of a caricature of himself. But I think that most people kind of think the way Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed. He offered the best defense of Joe Biden that I've heard. I want you to listen.
MAYOR KASIM REED, (D) ATLANTA: The fact of the matter is, he dominated him. Now, people can talk about Joe Biden, but what I think people like about him is he's authentic. The one thing about Joe Biden is you believe what he was telling you. The only thing we really know about Mitt Romney, his changing, is that he wants to be president of the United States of America.
LEMON: When -- the criticism of this guy, when you say he's rude, I don't understand that.
CAIN: Really?
LEMON: No. He didn't cuss out of their name, called him a cuss word, talk about their mother, that's kind of what people do when they are having an actual conversation, whether it's someone on the right or on the left. Mitt Romney was very aggressive in the presidential debate and some people say that he was bordering on rude. But guess what? He won that debate. You may think Joe Biden is rude, but that's part of it when you're in a debate?
CAIN: Well, people are rude. I mean, so you drew a corollary to how people are in life and people are rude in real life as well, Don. That's not necessarily a net positive.
I will say this. Look. To the "Meet the Press," Joe Biden did dominate the debate. But what he did by doing that is he motivated both bases. He motivated the left and the right. The question is, how are the mannerisms and how that rudeness might play off of independence.
And I'll say one more thing that I think we might be confused about the word "authentic" means. I believe Joe Biden is authentic. I believe should he walk up right here right now I'll see the same guy I saw in the debate. But that doesn't mean unimpeachable. It doesn't mean truthful.
Authentic and truthful are not interchangeable. So when he carried it on to say that they believe what Joe Biden says, I'm not sure that's a connection. They believe that he's that guy. That doesn't mean they believe everything he said.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: My thanks to Will and L.Z.
The man that represented the state of Pennsylvania and U.S. Senate for 30 years has died. Arlen Specter had overcome several serious illnesses over the past 20 years, but lost his battle with non- Hodgkin's Lymphoma today at his home in Philadelphia. Specter was 82 years old.
Earlier, I spoke with someone who worked closely with him for many years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN ULLYOT, FORMER SPECTER COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR: Well, he's somebody who was incredible principled and one of the smartest people in terms of knowing constitutional law. Couple anecdotes really quick. He never, in the entire time I worked with him and before and after that, I've never heard of him reading a speech on the Senate floor. He always spoke from just a few notes, extemporaneously. He did the same thing even when he was a chairman. And normally, chairman will have a big opening statement, he would do that really - I mean, it was with a lot of off that it was with a lot of preparation. And he didn't want to be known as somebody who was scripted and so he was very proud of the fact that he worked on his own statements.
And the other anecdote that I will give you is that, a lot of people don't know that he was actually behind closed doors as well as in public, one of the funniest people that you will ever come across.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: And coming up, Senator Arlen Specter was known for being a fighter but he did have a softer side in the form of stand-up comedy. Later in the hour, a different side of a long-time senator.
I'm probably telling you something you already know. Zombies are everywhere on the TV, in the streets, everywhere. And I'm going to talk to one of the guy you can blame this all on. That's next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You don't have to be in front of a 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: It may be far fetch, but don't dare call this fictions. Zombies have taken over our world literally going well beyond the movie screen. "The Walking Dead" has returned for the third season. And yes, if you are following my Twitter feed, you know I'm obsessed.
And it is even in the political reason. It is not even safe there anymore. House Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi's Republican can challenger John Dennis released this ad. That ad features Pelosi directing blood-coated zombie to perform an animal sacrifice.
And what about the road sign hackings at are becoming so common in cities across the country? Warning: Zombies Ahead.
I talked about this with Max Brooks, son of actor and director Mel Brooks, about our fascination with zombies and the people that study them.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX BROOKS, AUTHOR, "THE ZOMBIE SURVIVAL GUIDE": Zombies are big. They are a mega problem. It's not like one werewolf you can run away from or there's a giant sharks, don't go in the water. But zombies are a pandemic so to speak. And I think we've been facing since 9/11 just one massive global problem after another. So I think that's sorts of on everybody's brain right now.
LEMON: How did the 1968 film "Night of the Living Dead" resurrects interest in zombies?
BROOKS: That changed everything. George A. Romero did for zombies what George Lucas did for space movies. Zombies used to be sort of the Haitian voodoo zombie which is just one dude raise by the dark arts. And then, he wasn't a flesh eater. He just, I don't know, did your laundry. But George Romero made it a global plague, flesh-eating pandemic which we now know as zombies.
LEMON: The CDC has even jumped on board, warning people to be prepared for the zombie apocalypse. I mean, they admit it's tongue- in-cheek, but that's -- zombies don't really exist obviously. So why even do this kind of campaign, Max?
BROOKS: Because it's very smart. Because it's actually getting kids preparing for natural disasters without even realizing it. I get asked all the time, do I have a zombie survival kit. I said yes, the same earthquake kit I've had all my life. I live in southern California. And what the CDC is doing is essentially tricking kids into being prepared for anything.
LEMON: I told you in the commercial break that I went to the set of "The Walking Dead." They wouldn't make me a zombie. I don't think you're going to make me a zombie. But I know another of your books, "World War Z" is actually being made into a movie starring Brad Pitt. So maybe there's hope for me. I don't know.
BROOKS: Yes.
LEMON: It's required reading for several colleges including the U.S. Naval War College. My question is, why do college students need to be aware of zombies?
BROOKS: Well, I think also because zombies are a global problem. I think in a way it's a great way of exploring globalization which I think is kind of a dirty word in an isolationist country like the United States. For the first time you have college students talking about global problems in an exciting way. It's not sort of boring economics or global trade. It's talking about zombies. So it's a great way of studying all these global problems in an entertaining, fun way. LEMON: Yes. Can you help me out?
BROOKS: Don, I went to the set of "World War Z." I couldn't even get made into a zombie. So you know, good luck to us both.
LEMON: There's actually a Facebook page called "Don Lemon wants to be a zombie" in there. It is a petition. I will send it to "The Walking Dead" folks. I will send it to your folks as well. But I have to ask you why -- another kind of funny question -- why do zombies move so slow? Are there any fast zombies that can actually catch you?
BROOKS: Oh, yes. There's been the fast zombie craze since the movie "28 Days Later." But for me, I like the slow zombies because it gives me time to think about how many ways I can die. I'm naturally a neurotic guy. So I just let that neurosis go when I'm chased by 1,000 slow zombies. It's like the tortoise in the hair, but this time, the hair gets eaten.
LEMON: So give us tips some tips for surviving zombie. I know you have a couple of best. I know you have some.
BROOKS: Well, the main one is just take a deep breath and think and don't panic. You know, your brain is your greatest weapon. You can think of creating a weapon and think of tactics, but you can't do any of that if you're completely submerged in panic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Max Brooks, thank you so much.
Talk about a leap of faith. A jump from 24 miles up. It's amazing and it takes your breath away. We've got it for you next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Half past the hour right now. Let's take a look at your headline.
A meningitis outbreak continues to spread. The CBC says these two strains of fungus are part of the outbreak that is infected 205 people and 14 states. Fifteen people have died, victims receive tainted steroid injections commonly given to relieve intense neck and back pain.
They're working on the stage for Tuesday night's presidential debate at Hofstra University. This time it is a town hall style formal, President Obama's aides say he will be ready and energized. Mitt Romney's advisers say the president can change his approach but he can't change his record.
America as lost one of the giants of the U.S. Senate. Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. Specter represented Pennsylvania in the Senate for 30 years. President Obama says Specter was, quote, "fiercely independent, never putting party or ideology ahead of the people he was chosen to serve." Arlen Specter was 82 years old.
And just ahead this hour, a sign of the former senator you may not have seen before. Stand-up comedian.
The space shuttle Endeavour once soared 123 million miles through space. Well, today, crowds cheered as the shuttle instant to its new retirement home in Los Angeles. Endeavour finally arrived at California Science Center after a 12-mile trip across L.A. over three days.
OK, if you have a fear of heights, you should grab a hold of something because a dedicated daredevil finally achieved an amazing feat today. He zoomed faster than the speed of sound and he wasn't in an airplane. That wasn't his only milestone achievement.
Here's CNN's Brian Todd with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: With the heart-pounding hop into the stratosphere, Felix Baumgartner makes history. He jumps from 128,000 feet above earth, 24 miles up, higher than anyone before him. During free fall he spun for a few harrowing moments but stabilized quickly.
FELIX BAUMGARTNER, STRATOSPHERE JUMPER: It spun me around everywhere and I was trying to find out how to stop this. I put an arm out it didn't work and putting another arm out. You're always late because of that speed. When you travel at that speed and with the suit it's pressurized, you don't feel the air.
TODD: In the first seconds he broke another record. No one had ever gone outside the sound barrier outside a vehicle. Baumgartner reached a top speed of more than 700 miles an hour, well past the speed of sound. Free fall lasted 4:19 before his parachute opened, that's short of the record for the longest free fall in history.
But after he safely touched down, the man known as "Fearless Felix" was hailed as an aerospace pioneer.
BAUMGARTNER: It's hard to realize what happened right now because there's still so many emotions, you know. I had tears in my eyes when I was coming back a couple of times because you sit in there, and you thought about that moment so many times. You know, how it would feel and how it would look like and this is the way -- it's way bigger than I anticipated.
TODD: This mission had been five years in the planning and in Baumgartner's ear during the ascent Colonel Joe Kittinger, the man whose record Baumgartner broke. Kittinger had jumped from 102,000 feet in 1960. I interviewed Baumgartner and Kittinger together earlier this year.
Are you jealous of Felix that he is going to break your record?
COLONEL JOE KITTINGER, PREVIOUS RECORD HOLDER: No. I'm delighted that he's going to do it. He is advancing science. And he will do a great job.
TODD: Mission leaders and space officials hope this jump will show them if astronauts, space tourists or high-altitude pilots can survive for any extended period outside a vehicle if there's a malfunction. If held up as expected, Baumgartner's high-pressure suit could be the next generation suit for future missions.
What will Felix Baumgartner do next? He told me that after this jump, says he wants to pursue an occupation as a helicopter rescue pilot. It might be a bit of a letdown.
Brian Todd, CNN. Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Brian, Felix Baumgartner may have set a few new aviation records but the grand daddy of all aviation record-breakers made some news today himself, by the way. Legendary pilot Major General Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier again at 89 years old. Now that's quite a feat. I'm going to talk with him right here, live, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Tonight we've talked about a man that set a few altitude and speed records. But we wouldn't have known much about the sound barrier and if it could have been broken were it not for this man.
Chuck Yeager, United States Air Force. It was on this day, October 14th, 1947, that Chuck Yeager achieved what is arguably the most important aviation milestone period. He flew an experimental airplane so fast that it broke the sound barrier. He was the first human being to go that fast.
And today, in the skies over Las Vegas, Chuck Yeager did it again. He broke the sound barrier riding back seat in an air force fighting jet. General Yeager is now 89 years old and we are privileged to speak with him right now from his home in Las Vegas.
General Yeager, happy anniversary on your historic achievement. Were you at the controls today when you broke the sound barrier again?
General Yeager is not there. All right, we are going to get the connection and we will be right back after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Good news, we re-established contact with general Chuck Yeager. We are trying to work it out so we can get it on television. We will bring it to you shortly.
In the meantime, I'm going to tell you a few other stories here.
A young Jewish man got a letter saying he flunked out of dental school. Perry Brickman had always been a good student. The school he works so hard to attend, Emory University near Atlanta, forced him out because he is Jewish. It took 60 years to get an apology for the anti-Semitism.
And I talked with Dr. Perry Brickman earlier tonight and began by playing a clip from his documentary.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. PERRY BRICKMAN, DISCRIMINATED BY EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL IN 1950s: We got that dreaded letter. And more likely than not, our parents would say, what have you done to me? When you began to try to explain what happened, nobody believed you. They just didn't it. Oh, that's impossible.
Emory? You know --
LEMON: My goodness. Well, Dr. Brickman joins us now. Discrimination didn't stop him. He graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee dental school and had a very successful career. Thank you very much.
You went back and you interviewed fellow students, decades after the discrimination. What motivated you to do that?
BRICKMAN: I had retired two years before. The year was 2006. And we attended a conference at Emory University where they were celebrating 30 years since the first year of Judaic studies had happened at Emory and it was a great moment. Since that time, they have had many more Jewish faculty men's and so on. So it was great.
LEMON: So when I introduced you, you said when you got the letter you knew you hadn't failed but you said you were not so sure?
BRICKMAN: No, I don't think. Not just me. This is the same story everybody tells. You got a letter when you got home. It says either you could come back and repeat or you're out. In my case they told me I couldn't return and there were four Jewish boys in my class and in two years all of us were gone.
LEMON: Did you suspect something or did you just thought you didn't make the grade?
BRICKMAN: No, I didn't. I thought I was doing OK. And no one had ever called me into an office. The Dean didn't call me in. None of the instructors took me to the side. I carved all my teeth. They never - I think you should have seen some of the things. They break your teeth and throw them out the window. I really did have a rough time. It was a shock. But when I got home, the worse thing was having to tell my parents.
LEMON: Tell your parents. Emory apologized Wednesday to you and other Jewish students it discriminated against decades ago. Listen to the apology.
JAMES W. WAGNER, PRESIDENT , EMORY UNIVERSITY: I am sorry. We are sorry.
LEMON: How do you feel about it? BRICKMAN: I feel great. Emory has been incredible. They'll really have. I showed -- I spent a long time, maybe four years, getting all my documentation. I am an Apple person so I learn how to make movies, i-movies in my lessons and I came up with a movie and I took it to Emory and they were shocked. They were really were and they said, this is not Emory. And I said well, I know, but it was. They said, we have to do something about this.
LEMON: Do you have advice for anyone who feels discriminated against? Because as I was telling you in the commercial break, there was a guest on earlier and he had kids with him and I said, you know, my perspectives tell me, that's just the way it was, and I say, I don't ups. I wonder what things we'll be saying to younger people about -- that's just the way it was. What were you guys think something what advice do you have for people --
BRICKMAN: Things are different now. They're very different. Students speak up. We couldn't speak up. There was no way. My father tried to get the Dean to, you know, revisit this and he wouldn't even see him. Others were treated very bad. You know, it was a one-sided thing. You didn't have any option to do that. Nowadays, kids have advisers and they don't take anything.
LEMON: Yes. But you said that they have been great and you feel welcome on the campus now.
BRICKMAN: I've been there for many years. I live near Emory. And Emory, I never let them define me. Even then, I just got up and my dad took me over to Tennessee. I had been accepted there to dental school and I just happened to choose Emory because I had gone there under graduate there and they treated me great at Emory before. I couldn't believe.
So I went over there. The Dean put his hand on my shoulder and he said, boy you're going to do all right. Because he had my grades from before. I had been accepted and I showed him my carvings and I did. I did great.
LEMON: So it happens and then you move on and you don't let it define you.
BRICKMAN: That's the secret.
LEMON: And probably that's the best advice. Thank you.
BRICKMAN: You are welcome.
LEMON: Thank you. We really appreciate it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, it was on this date, October 14th, 1947, that Chuck Yeager flew an experimental airplane so fast it broke the sound barrier. Brigadier general Yeager is now 89-years-old and he is on the phone at his home in Las Vegas.
So for the second time as a charm, General Yeager, happy anniversary on your historic achievement. How do you feel.
MAJOR GENERAL CHUCK YEAGER, U.S. AIR FORCE (RET.) (via phone): Fine, thank you very much.
LEMON: Great! Great! Great! It's an honor to have you on. We're glad that we can hear you. You were in the back seat. There were controls back there. Were you at the controls when you broke --?
YEAGER: Yes. It's not my airplane. It belonged to the air 40s base and I was lucky that they would give me one. But I made sure he had an instructor pilot in the front seat. I fly from the front seat but it's not my airplane.
LEMON: 89-years-old! That's so cool that you're doing that. In 65 years later, did today's special flight feel any different than the thousands of hours you've flown before?
YEAGER: Yes. It was fun. To me because what I did, I took -- I went down to Edwards which was about 170 miles away and made a sonic boom and went across Edwards at about, oh, you know, 1.3 mach number and that laid down a pretty good sonic boom on Edward and then I came by and made a low pass over the runway and flew back to Nelison (ph) and landed. And I really appreciated the air force giving me a brand new F-15 to fly.
LEMON: So do you get a kick out of that sonic boom, creating that sonic boom every time?
YEAGER: Yes. You can control it by mock numbers. Like the f-15 today. We had to keep it at about 1.4 mock and that lays down a pretty good boom. If you want to go up to mock two, you start breaking glasses and knocking in roofs.
LEMON: Listen. Talk to me a little bit more about flying, about being at the controls. I mean, this is the more modern plane than last time. How do you compare flying this modern fighter jet to the Glamorous Glennis that you flew through the sound barrier when you first did it in 1947?
YEAGER: This one was a rocket. It burned liquid oxygen and alcohol. And it also had to be dropped from a b-29 at 25,000 feet and it was a research airplane. It -- you couldn't use it for combat or something like that. But what it did, it showed us that if we're going to operate beyond the speed of sound we have to have a flying tail on the airplane. The horizontal stabilizer. And that was -- we -- that's the only way we can control the airplane, I mean, two Mach one, but it was with the flying tail and it took the British and the French and the Soviet Union five years to find out that little trick and it gave us quite a jump on the rest of the world.
LEMON: I bet you've been showing those young bucks something out there.
Thank you, sir. Congratulations to you. We're so proud of you. 89 years old and still at it. We appreciate it and tell your wife we said hello, OK? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello back. Thank you.
YEAGER: We had so much trouble getting you.
LEMON: That's all right. Hey, it is television and we're honored to have you both on. Take it easy. Hope to talk to you soon.
YEAGER: Where are you from, England or Australia?
LEMON: No. I'm from here. But listen, when you do it again and, you know, another 65 years, make sure you come back on, all right?
(LAUGHTER)
YEAGER: Sure.
LEMON: Take care, guys. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: He was known for his sharp legal mind. But did you know Arlen Specter wanted to do stand-up?
Here's CNN's Michael Schulder.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was a Senator for 30 years. A round of applause for Senator Arlen Specter, everybody.
MICHAEL SCHULDER, CNN SENIOR PRODUCER (voice-over): This is not the Arlen Specter America came to know.
ARLEN SPECTER, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: I've been in the Senate for 30 years practicing comedy.
(LAUGHTER)
REPORTER: It was the man Arlen Specter was becoming.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go in your office.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a comedy session. We're just going to develop some material here.
SCHULDER: After losing his treasured seat in the Senate, Arlen Specter at the age of 80, was aiming to become a stand-up comic.
So now you're embarking on this stand-up comedy career.
Earlier this year Specter and I spent team together as he prepared for his next performance.
Arlen Specter's funny? What do you say to those people?
SPECTER: I say, there's something funny in almost everything. SCHULDER: Specter really does see something funny in everything.
Our Dr. Sanjay Gupta got a taste of it four years ago when Specter was battling cancer for the second time.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You probably are going to lose more of your hair.
SPECTER: I'm going to lose all of my hair. I'm going to bald as a billiard ball.
SCHULDER: Specter liked to quote Churchhill to describe his approach to life: Never give in.
GUPTA: How you feeling, Senator?
SCHULDER: Not so hot.
GUPTA: What's bugging you today?
SPECTER: Overhead headache. I was up and at 4:00. Couldn't sleep. Got my squash partners out until 5:30. Played a little squash.
SCHULDER: Anyone who can play squash during a chemo headache cannot be dismissed when he says he wants to do standup.
We're going to go over some of the material that you're planning to use on Monday night at Carolina lines, correct?
SPECTER: Things are a possibility.
When I was recuperating from Hodgkin's, the doctors told me to spend some time in a hot tub. So I was in this hot tub, luxury updating, and in comes Ted Kennedy, 283 pounds, in his finest, his birthday suit. And like a walrus, he plops into the hot tub and, you know the old story about rising tidal lifts old boots, my head hit the ceiling.
Newt Gingrich. I've known Newt a long time. I've known him so long. I knew him when he was skinny. I've known Newt so long I knew his first wife. Strom Thurmand said, in his deep South Carolinian accent, we have sex almost every night, we almost have sex on Monday, we almost have sex on Tuesday -- I don't know if this is fit for CNN.
It reminds me of a comment at Pay Moynihan at about Malcolm Wallop.
SCHULDER: Who is Malcolm Wallop?
SPECTER: Malcolm Wallop was a center from Wyoming.
SCHULDER: By the way, in the future when I say, remind me, that means I don't have a clue, just so you know.
SPECTER: Oh. I thought you knew everything and had made that comment to inform the audience who Malcolm wall Republican was. Joe Biden is a good charter for hero because he talks too much. There's a picture of Joe Biden over here. You know how much it costs to buy a seat in the United States Senate, $30 million. So when you pay $30 million for a seat, you like to sit in it.
SCHULDER: Specter, the former prosecutor, studied his comedy performances with a critical eye, taking careful notes on which punch lines worked, and which fell flat.
Clearly, you're clearly tuned in to the audience because you were pausing.
SPECTER: There's a cadence to it and the audience get into the cadence to it. When you pause they laugh. The last time I pause they laugh again. Sometimes they laugh automatically.
SCHULDER: In the end, between his long Senate career and his short but determined effort at stand-up comedy, and his multiple battles with life-threatening illness, Arlen Specter demonstrated a few things about power. The power of sitting down. The power of standing up. And the power of never giving in.
Michael Shoulder, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
Arlen Specter died today after a long battle with cancer. He has elected into the Senate in 1980 and represented Pennsylvania for 30 years. President Obama said Specter was, quote, "fiercely independent, never putting party or ideology ahead of the people he was chosen to serve." Arlen Specter was 82 years old.
I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. Thanks for watching tonight. Make sure you have yourself a good night and a great week. I will see you back here next weekend.
