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5-Year-Old Boy Held Captive in Underground Bunker; President Obama Takes Push for New Gun Control Measures to Minnesota Next Week; Gabby Giffords Goes to Capitol Hill

Aired February 2, 2013 - 22:00   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. The stories you're talking about in just a moment. But first, we want to get you up to speed on the day's headlines.

First up, 33 people were injured tonight in a bus crash that is in Boston. The charter bus carrying 42 passengers hit an overpass. It was traveling from Cambridge to Pennsylvania. Four of the injured are reported in critical condition. State police are investigating. We will keep you updated.

An American woman missing for nearly two weeks in Turkey has been found dead. Sarai Sierra, 33 years old, from New York, police in Istanbul say she was killed, possibly stabbed to death.

Also in turkey, a radical leftist group is claiming responsibility for sending a suicide bomber to the U.S. embassy in Ankara yesterday. The bomb killed a Turkish security guard.

What do you get when you hold a gun buyback program? Well, in Tampa, Florida, today you got some Glocks, you got some revolvers and you get this, a couple of rocket launchers. Can you believe? In all, the sheriff's department collected more than 2,500 firearms.

It appears this photo is meant to shoot down skepticism. The White House released this picture of President Barack Obama skeet shooting in August. The president was asked if he ever fired a gun when he recently released his plan for tougher gun control laws. He replied he went skeet shooting all the time in Camp David prompting skepticism by some Republicans.

We got a lot more plan for you this Saturday night. Here's what else we are working on.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A 5-year-old held hostage --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's allowed us to provide coloring books, medication.

LEMON: His home for five days now, an underground bunker. It's an eerie reminder of a school bus hijacking nearly 40 years ago. Two dozen children buried alive. One of the victims joins us live. Plus, a federal raid, allegations of sex parties and prostitutes. Just another day in politics or have we hit rock bottom?

Comedy or crossing the line? Critics say this year's super bowl ads are anything but funny.

All that plus, a push for more awesome.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The world needs you to stop being boring, yes, you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: This is a very bizarre story that we are going to start with tonight.

In Alabama this hour, the excruciating wait continues for family, friends and the entire community of Midland city, worried about the fate of a 5-year-old boy held hostage in an underground bunker. Police say they are in constant communication with Jim Dykes. He is the man they say killed a school bus driver Tuesday afternoon, then, took the boy hostage inside that bunker on his property. Police are talking to Dykes through a ventilation pipe and say they don't think the boy has been harmed.

CNN's George Howell is there tracking the story for us.

George, I know they held a vigil tonight. Tell us what people are saying. What's going on there?

GEORGE HOWELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, you know this community is just waiting hour by hour. There was a vigil earlier. Everyone is just hoping that this situation comes to a peaceful resolution. There was supposed to be a news conference here right now, but that was canceled.

We did, though, get some new information from the sheriff earlier today. He gave us some insight, Don, into exactly how Mr. Dykes is treating this young boy. First of all, in this bunker, we know that Mr. Dykes has an electric heater and blankets. And that is good news, obviously underground in this bunker, its cold, you know, a constant 50 degrees. So investigators say that Mr. Dykes is taking care of the young boy.

Also, they're able to get the medications into that bunker, crayons and color books. And we also learned today, toys and potato chips from investigators. But, Don, today when the sheriff came out and spoke with us, there was one thing that was interesting. He made what seemed to be a direct appeal to Mr. Dykes saying this.

I want to thank Mr. Dykes for taking care of our boys. So, it raises the question, Don. Does Mr. Dykes, does he have a television, does he have a radio? Is he able to hear that appeal? Certainly questions we are all asked.

LEMON: I understand that you spoke to the sheriff. Let's listen to what the sheriff had to say.

HOWELL: Sure.

LEMON: OK. Let's listen to what the mother had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: What do you hope if Mr. Dykes hears this or sees it? What do you hope he gets from this?

MICHELLE RILEY, MIDLAND CITY, ALABAMA RESIDENT: He just needs to know that, you know, everybody makes mistakes, everybody's been through life events that changes them. But Ethan is innocent. Let him go home to his mother. Let him go home to his grandparents. Let him come out to the community. Let him go back to school and be with his friends.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOWELL: Don, that was Michelle Riley. She was able to speak to Ethan's mother today. She says the family is distraught, hanging on by a threat. And everyone out here, you know, they are trying to be optimistic. But there's a great deal of uncertainty.

So today, we saw people come together in this vigil, obviously, to honor, remember Charles Poland who many in this community consider to be a hero, but also, to think about Ethan. And there was a statement during this vigil today. People would say, Ethan is going to come out of that hole.

So, Don, everyone trying to be as optimistic as possible. We're all watching and waiting to see what happens on this property behind me, hoping that Mr. Dykes, as Michelle said, makes a split-second decision, changes his mind and comes out of the bunker, Don.

LEMON: George Howell, thank you so much for your reporting tonight.

And for one group of adults, the Alabama abduction brings back frightening memories and nightmares, really. They were school kids in Chowchilla, California back in 1976. Three masked men hijacked their school bus and took them captive, eventually forcing them into a van that was buried in a quarry. Scared, in the dark, they didn't know if they'd ever get out or if that van would become their grave.

After 16 hours, they did get out, led by their brave bus driver who was taken prisoner with them. They dug through debris, covering an opening at the top of the truck, found a guard shack at the quarry and called police.

Thirty six years later, the kidnapping still haunts many of them. A researcher who studied the case documented hallucinations, nightmares, evidence of PTSD and a fear that it could happen again to the kidnappers are still in jail. This man, Fred Woods, along with James (INAUDIBLE), his brother Richard, was finally paroled in 2008 after 20 tries. None of them ever saw a penny of their $5 million ransom demand.

One of those school kids, Jennifer Hyde joins us now from Nashville, Tennessee.

And Jennifer, I imagine what is happening in Alabama must bring back frightening memories for you.

JENNIFER HYDE, SURVIVED CHOWCHILLA SCHOOL BUS HIJACKING: It does. As an adult now watching this on the news, imagine what my parents and our community went through when this happened. But seeing this as an adult, I see it from a different perspective.

LEMON: What is it like? And I don't know if people can really understand that to the point that you can explain to our viewers, what is it like being buried, you know, in that moving van being buried underground like that for so long?

HYDE: It isn't something that you can explain unless you were actually in our situation. It's not something that anybody else could comprehend and it's very unfortunate for this young boy who's now missing and buried himself. His situation is different from ours. My heart goes out to him. I can't imagine him being alone in the situation that he's in. At least I was able to have other children with me and one adult that I knew and could trust. But that situation bonded the 26 of us children that were kidnapped and buried alive to the point that it's unexplainable.

LEMON: How did the abduction affect you as a child? And even now, I understand that you still sleep with a nightlight on and you can't ride in a subway or go anywhere underground now?

HYDE: That is true. As a child, I wasn't really fearful of strangers because I just wasn't brought up that way. I had to get back on a bus. I had to go back to school. The things that affected me were things that you wouldn't think of. If I got tired when I went to a slumber party, I would have nightmare nightmares. The nightmares that I did have were not normal nightmares for a child. The nightmares that I had, I actually saw myself die. I saw myself at my funeral. And it was explained to my parents that those are the type of nightmares that somebody would have that had actually prepared themselves to die.

So, at a very young age, you know, I had to take on a different role and lost my childhood. I mean, there, you couldn't just go on and have a normal childhood when you faced a life-threatening situation like that. You just can't go on and be care-free.

LEMON: It was the end of your innocence, you believe?

HYDE: Very much so. I think a lot of the children that were involved in the kidnapping had a lot of problems. We still do. We just recently had a reunion where a few of us ladies got together and a lot of them hadn't talked about it over the years. We hadn't talked to each other about it over the years. And to find out that we had all struggled with a lot of the same things, some of them were handled in different ways. Some of the families didn't talk about it. Our family was very vocal. I testified in court. I helped the police when our kidnappers were still at large. So I think for me personally, the fact that I was able to discuss it all these years has helped me tremendously in my recovery.

LEMON: All right. Jennifer Hyde, thank you.

Jennifer, we should say, your brother was also on that bus as well.

Jennifer, you're going to stick around. A trauma like this can have life-long effects and even shape you even when you become an adult. We are going to talk about that next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We were watching this play out on the news here. And tonight, we're talking about the bizarre and frightening child hostage situation that is going on right now in southern Alabama.

That's right, for days now, a man has held a 5-year-old boy in an underground bunker. We don't know the man's intentions. We don't know his demands. We don't know for sure if the boy is healthy. We're having a great conversation now with Jennifer Hyde who survived a school bus kidnapping back in 1976. They were also buried for a time.

And now, I want to bring in Anique Whitmore, she is a child psychologist. She's here in Atlanta.

And you heard Jennifer just a moment ago. And she talked about her ordeal when she was 9 years old. In her response, she talked about, you know, dreaming about her funeral and those things. Is that normal for people in those situations?

ANIQUE WHITMORE, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: It's definitely not abnormal. I think when a child faces a traumatic event and they don't know what the outcome is going to be and perhaps death is in their future. That is something that they repress and later in life, they fear that that is a possibility.

And so, in their dreams when their guard is down, that is going to creep up to them. So for her to be able to manage to process that fear, that dream, is a pretty amazing feat for her as she ages and grows further away from the traumatic event.

LEMON: And Jennifer, as I mentioned before the break, your brother was also in the bus with you. Your brother was older. How old was he?

HYDE: He was a year older than I was. He was 10.

LEMON: He was 10 and you were nine at the time. It was 16 hours. Do you know - does he -- did he talk about it? Did he share a similar experience that you had?

HYDE: My brother dealt with it differently. He was a very funny, comedy. He actually thought when the kidnappers got on the bus that it was a joke. And he threw his hands up in the air and said; we didn't do it. So he dealt with it differently.

He also wrote a lot. He did a lot of writing about his feelings and things -- that was how he dealt with it. Unfortunately he was killed in an accident five years after the kidnapping. So I don't really know how he would have dealt with it as an adult.

LEMON: You said that children or people deal with it differently. And she is explaining that. This little boy, and let's hope he gets out of this bunker, will deal with it differently as well. And the longer it goes on, I would assume the harder it will be for him to come to any degree of normalcy after this.

WHITMORE: Depending on his personality, his age of five, how he processes what he experiences. We don't know what he's experiencing there. We don't know what his support is going to be like once he makes it out. It will be an amazing event when he does come out and what will be put into place to help him process what he experienced.

LEMON: And children are resilient. And they're very resilient and even can overcome these types of situations. What I often find interesting though, is when sometimes when these things go on for a long time, when you have abduction. This one is interesting. This is one is different because this someone is buried in a bunker. But when you have an abduction, sometime people -- many times, they bond with their abductor because I guess there's no one else around for them to bond with.

WHITMORE: True. And the younger the child, the more they are the sponge. And so, if this individual is pleasant to him, this little child may be in adornment of him. He may really enjoy his company. We don't know what this child is being treated. And so, if he's treated in a kind manner, you're right, that child may learn to enjoy who he is as a person. We just don't know.

LEMON: Jennifer, can I talk more about the reunion that you had. You mentioned before the break, we didn't get to talk a lot about it. You said that you shared things with each other. You hadn't seen each other in a while. And you found that there were similarities. You were surprised, in the way that you had dealt with this over the years. Talk to me more about that.

HYDE: When I met with the other -- some of the other kidnap victims a few months ago, I found that as adults, we had a lot of the same feelings towards the kidnappers and we all had very strong feelings of love and admiration for our bus driver, that he was a true hero to us. And that we all cherished that time that we spent with him.

So a lot of things, but we also had a very unexplainable bond between us. I hadn't seen some of these girls since high school. But the fact that we had all been through the experience that we had been there, we have all come through it as survivors, it just -- it's like being a war veteran with your group of soldiers. It's something that only you as a group that have been through it can understand the feelings and the fears and even unspoken, you just understand. And you get where they're at.

LEMON: Advice to the parents and to the family of this little boy?

WHITMORE: To stay calm, to be patient and to be supportive once he arrives back into their arms.

LEMON: Doctor, Jennifer, thank you very much. We appreciate both of you.

Gun control, now a major focus in the White House. The president leading the charge, straight ahead, his plans to tackle the issue.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Barack Obama takes his push for new gun control measures to Minnesota next week, a state full of hunters and sportsmen but also a proven ground for new ways to prevent gun violence. It's the latest chapter in a conversation started, of course, by the horrific events in Newtown, Connecticut.

But in just the past few days, there have been a series of events that are keeping the issue front and center. Tuesday in Illinois, a 15-year-old Hadiya Pendleton was gunned down in a Chicago park shelter trying to stay dry during a rainstorm. It happened just a mile from President Obama's Chicago home. She was the 42nd person killed in the city already this year, 506 Chicagoans were killed last year.

Wednesday in Arizona, police say a man angry over a legal dispute opened fire on three people at a Phoenix office complex. Two of them died. The gunman later killed himself.

In Washington on the same day, former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, herself a victim of a shooting attack, testified that now is the time for Congress to act.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BAGRIELLE GIFFORDS, FORMER ARIZONA CONGRESSWOMAN: We must do something. It will be hard, but the time is now. You must act. Be bold, be courageous. Americans are counting on you. Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And Thursday in Georgia, a shooting outside a middle school. A 14-year-old was wounded in the head but was treated and released from the hospital. A fellow student is in custody.

Also on Thursday, in Texas, an assistant district attorney was gunned down in the Kaufman county courthouse parking lot. Investigators say one, possibly two people, committed the crime. They've offered a reward for more leads in the case.

The renewed attention on crimes involving guns, starting of course with Newtown, has spurred lawmakers into action. The president has put vice president Joe Biden in charge of crafting his proposals. Biden has championed gun control for years but his comments Thursday offered a dose of reality for gun law supporters.

Here's what he said after a meeting with Senate Democrats on Capitol Hill.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOE BIDEN, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Nothing we're going to do is going to fundamentally alter or eliminate the possibility of another mass shooting or guarantee that we will bring gun deaths down to 1,000 a year from what it is now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Comments like those spotlight the complexity of this emotional issue. And on Thursday night, our very own Anderson Cooper hosted a town hall with supporters and opponents of tighter gun restrictions. And some of the most interesting comments came from people who know what it's like to face tragedy firsthand. Here's a sampling.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

COLIN GODDARD, VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING SURVIVOR: I just don't understand why the first idea put forth is something that might help at the last second. We can do better than what we're doing now. And we can do things in advance to keep a dangerous person and a gun from combining in the first place, you know. We don't take that seriously. We don't do background checks on people. That's nuts. That's something we should get cut.

SARAH MCKINLEY, SHOT AND KILLED HOME INTRUDER: You know, at the same time, I think that once they start limiting, they're going to limit more. I mean, they are not just going to come in and take our guns away. They are going to start with one thing and then go to something else.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR, AC360: You see it as a slippery slope? They get their foot in the door and then, they take more and more?

MCKINLEY: Exactly. But I personally have no problem with doing background checks or registering all my guns in my name or whatever, you know. But the bad guys are always going to have the guns.

AMARDEEP KALEKA, FATHER KILLED IN WISCONSIN, SIKH TEMPLE SHOOTING: The question I have, this has become a polarizing issue on all fronts. We don't need that as a country right now. We have been down that path so many times. What are the gray areas? Where is an area, on where you guys will agree so that we have public safety?

SANDY FROMAN, BOARD MEMBER, NATIONAL RIFLE ASSOCIATION: I think everybody on this panel can agree that we don't want to have people who are insane to have guns. We don't want to have terrorists to have guns. We don't want to have hardened criminals, violent criminal to have guns. We all agree on that. And we need -- I think it's part of this national dialogue that, you know, we are here talking about to come to some ways about things that we can agree upon when there's plenty to do, I think that we can agree upon, to enforce existing laws.

GODDARD: I want to say, you know, to the idea if we only had more guns in more places of our country that we would all become safer, I mean, if that idea was true, then, United States of America, we'd already be the safest country in the world. I mean, how many more 100 million guns do we need before things become safer for everybody?

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: First of all, if you look at the perpetrators of these crimes, most often, there is not a diagnosable mental illness ultimately. If you look at all violent countries, five percent are ultimately committed by someone who is mentally. Typically, they're more likely to be victims of these types of crimes as opposed to perpetrators. And if there is violence, it's usually directed at themselves, not at others.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: The question is what can they ban? They cannot ban handguns. We know that from the Supreme Court. But can they ban assault weapons, can they ban tanks, can they ban stinger missiles? You bet they can. And they do. And so, that much we know, is that the federal government can ban certain weapons but they can't ban all weapons.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: President Obama has promised to take his message of new gun restrictions to events all around the country, starting with his Monday event in Minnesota. CNN will be there to cover every angle of this debate for you.

Ahead, a gay controversy among issues dominating the super bowl.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: A federal raid, allegations of sex parties and prostitutes, just another day in politics or have we hit rock bottom?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: What a week it has been for super distractions leading up to the super bowl. Everything was tackled during media week except it seems for the actual game itself. President Obama spoke out about player safety. There was the usual water cooler chatter about super bowl ads. And then there's a sibling rivalry between the two head coaches, the Harbaugh brothers.

Well tonight, we're going to focus on two big ones. First gay rights took center stage after comments from NFL, from two NFL players expressing two different opinions. Take a listen to Chris Culliver of the San Francisco 49ers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRIS CULLIVER, SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS CORNERBACK: I don't do the gay guys, man, I don't do that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Are there any on the 49ers?

CULLIVER: No. They don't got no gay people on the team. They got to get up out of here if they do. Can't be with that sweet stuff.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: Really? Is that true?

CULLIVER: Yes. It's true.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: But, they might be able to play well --

CULLIVER: No. No. You can't be -- no. Be in the locker room -- no.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So Culliver later apologized for what he described as his very ugly comments. Now here's Ravens player Brendon Ayanbadejo, I always get his name wrong, speaking out strongly on gay marriage equality.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRENDON ATANBADEJO, BALTIMORE RAVENS LINEBACKER: It needs to be passed federally, and you know, why not be the person to carry that message, not only to the United States but to the rest of the world. I have this huge platform. The whole world is watching. It's a message of positivity. It's a message of equality. And it's a chance to get it out. It's not going to affect the way I play football. But, it is going to affects a lot of people's lives off the field.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Plus, our other big topic is Ravens' linebacker Ray Lewis playing in his last game, but also, facing renewed questions about his pass. He is joining us live from my town, New Orleans, home of super bowl XLVII, CNN.com sports contributor Terrence Moore and former NFL player Lamar Campbell.

And I have to tell you that Brendon is going to be mad at me because we are actually twitter and text buddies and we have been chatting all week and I screw his name up every time.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: So, gentlemen, let's start with the actual game. Those Harbaugh brothers, Terrence, who are your thoughts on their coaching style? TERENCE MOORE, CNN.COM SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR: Well, you know, the operative word is demanding. And we know this because Jim Harbaugh, who is the coach of San Francisco, he had this quarterback named Alex Smith who was doing quite well until he got injured. And then there's this old adage in the NFL or in sports in general, you cannot lose your job through an injury. Guess what? Alex Smith is now the Jimmy Hoffa of the NFL. We've not heard from this guy because a guy named Colin Kaepernick's got in there and done the job.

Then, on the other side, you got John Harbaugh, the brother, who was coaching Baltimore, and John Harbaugh came out and one of his best friends in the NFL is Cam Cameron, who was his offensive coordinator, he whacked him in December because he wasn't getting the job done, OK? Bring in the new offensive coordinator.

So, the thing here is, it's all about results with these guys. They're very, very particular and they want it done their way.

LEMON: OK. Lamar, I want to ask you about something else. But, do you care to comment on this, yes or no? Are you good with it?

LAMAR CAMPBELL, FORMER NFL PLAYER: Yes. I'll definitely comment on it, for sure. Sure.

So one of the things that I believe is when you look at the history of these two brothers, they grew up Michigan men under the great ball ship backlog. You see the way their team plays. They play hard, they play physical and they've run the football in a day where now you have 5,000-yard passers, guys throwing the ball all over the place. They went old-school defense and hard hitting. And you see that in the way that their teams play the game.

LEMON: OK. All right.

Lamar, you've been having a good time because your voice is shot.

So, listen. I want to turn now to the sweet stuff, those comments made by 49ers' back-up cornerback Chris Culliver.

Lamar, what was he thinking? Oh, man. This is 2013.

CAMPBELL: You know, these NFL teams have media training. And we all know when media day come, you're going to get the craziest questions from the craziest people. But in this day and age and the advancements that we've made with lesbian and gay rights, for him to say something like that on a national stage, playing for the Lombardi trophy, probably everything that on NFL players play their entire life for, put everything on the line for this trophy, to be a distraction to his team was extremely selfish.

So, hopefully, he can learn from his mistakes. It's been a PR nightmare. I'm sure for this young man, 23-years-old, and hope he will get stuff together. Because as we know, some Hardaway made that fateful mistake years ago and it cost him his job as well.

MOORE: But, you know what, Don, I mean, he said he was thinking with his head instead of his heart. Perhaps we're getting that Valentine's Day is just around the corner. But you know, what gets me is how all of a sudden they get this sensitivity religion. Where they get this sensitivity religion out of nowhere? His agent comes out and says he's going to take this training now where he's going to talk to at-risk gay kids in San Francisco. I don't know what that means.

Only thing I know is that Ray Lewis had it exactly right. When Ray Lewis was asked this question, he said, you know what, I'm not here to talk about world issues. I'm here to talk about locker room issues. That's a veteran move of guy that has been around for 17 years.

LEMON: Well, don't get ahead of yourself. Don't get because we are going to talk about Ray Lewis. You're right, all of a sudden, though, people find religion when you start talking about taking things away from them and, you know, and their bank account and all of a sudden they find religion like, oh, I didn't mean him. I'm not homophobic or racist. I'm not any of those things when you start, you know, talking about taking things away from them.

But, we're going to -- stick around, guys. We're going to talk about Ray Lewis. He is no stranger to super bowl or controversies. That's next. Don't go anywhere.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We're back. There they are. Lamar Campbell, Terence Moore. I'm surprised they could fit on the screen. How much have y'all been eating?

MOORE: Quite a bit, I must say.

CAMPBELL: I'm still eating like I'm a football player. I had to remind myself. I'm not playing anymore. So my metabolism doesn't work the same as it used to.

MOORE: You can tell by his voice he's been down to the French quarter.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: So, let's get right back into the conversation here. Let's talk about Ray Lewis and his last NFL game. This is his last NFL game. He is getting waves of respect from fans and media.

Lamar, is he trying to outrun his past after what happened in Atlanta after the 2000 super bowl when a fight he was involved in left two people dead?

CAMPBELL: You know, I don't want to consider that he's running from his past. I think every time that he has been that -- question has been addressed to him, he owned that -- if anything, he was in bad company that night. And I tell you, everything that he has done since then has been to rebuild his image and it was a turning point in his life. And I don't think you have the Ray Lewis that you have today, the inspirational leader that you have today without that incident that happened in Atlanta.

MOORE: Well, and Don, I think Lamar is exactly. Plus, the fact, we know Ray is a changed man. He's not doing that silly dance at the super bowl. We'll start with that.

But here's the other thing. You know, how much does this guy have to continually say that he made a mistake back then 13 years ago? He is about to spend the rest of his life trying to help young people not make the same mistakes that everybody's waiting for this Perry Mason moment, I mean, that doesn't happen nowadays.

LEMON: But Terence, you told me last week on this show that Ray Lewis is a changed man. That's what you're saying right now.

MOORE: That's right.

LEMON: But, why do so many people disagree with you -- many people are upset with you for saying that.

MOORE: Well, because they're not paying attention. Again, this man has said over and over again, I was wrong, I made a mistake. This man has said over and over again, I'm going to spend the rest of my life helping young people not make the same mistakes. And what I was saying before that, I mean, you look at this Perry Mason moments, people don't come out and confess if they're not guilty. And even if they are guilty, until the last minute, so maybe on his death bed he might say something. But right now, he's doing the best he can to rectify the situation.

CAMPBELL: One thing, don, we all have made mistakes. If this was not Ray Lewis, this happens tragically all the time. Ray is on a platform. We can actually make a difference with what he's done since that incident. And I think that speaks a lot to his character.

LEMON: Here's the thing that why, you know, we're a country that we believe in redemption. Why is it that some people -- why can some people be redeemed and others can't be redeemed? Why is it that we pick some people and its OK and other people we don't?

MOORE: Well, that's why I have a problem with this particular case. A lot of times, that's because guys don't fess up. Like a Roger Clemens or a Barry Bonds, you know, that keep denying it or we just saw what happened with Lance Armstrong. Over and over again, he denied it --

LEMON: Or Michael Vick.

MOORE: Or Michael Vick. This guy has come out and said, hey, you know, I was wrong. I mean, we don't know - we haven't seen the white suit that he wore that day. That's why I got a problem. But outside of that --

LEMON: Lamar, I got to ask you because I want -- you were at the cobalt lounge and perhaps, sat (INAUDIBLE). What are your memories? Quickly. CAMPBELL: Yes. It was my rookie year. And I was very excited to be at the super bowl here in Atlanta. And there was a lot of melee outside the cobalt that night. It wasn't until the next morning that we realized what happened in a few, that, I know that nobody personally -- we couldn't believe it. But, you don't know who he was hanging with. Of course, two men tragically lost their lives. It's never OK to build - everybody have a rebuilding, lifer-changing moment off the lives of someone else. I confirm and believe on that. However, you're always going to be haunted by that memory. And believe that's what Ray Lewis to this day.

He is haunted by that memory and wants to make sure that never happens again. That's why he speaks out the way he does. And he has something that's in high demand that we do not have in a lot of areas and that's leadership.

LEMON: OK. You see these sirens? They're coming to get you if you guys don't go quickly. I just want to know, who's going to win and I want scores. So, who are you going to pick?

First, Terence.

MOORE: Well, you know what, the best team always wins the super bowl.

LEMON: Who's going to win?

MOORE: Baltimore is a magic team. It's going to be San Francisco.

LEMON: Lamar?

CAMPBELL: I think San Francisco. I'm going to agree with Terence. I think San Francisco is going to hoist the Lombardi tomorrow.

LEMON: OK. Both of you are wrong.

I got to go. Both of you are wrong. It's going to be Baltimore. I'll see you when you all have some case of crow tomorrow.

(LAUGHTER)

MOORE: Have a good one, Don. We are going to have magic faith for you, man.

LEMON: Thank you. Some cage of crow. Thank you.

Up next -

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And action.

LEMON: Comedy or crossing the line? Critics say this year's super bowl ads are anything but funny. (END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You can only imagine. The French quarter is packed for super bowl weekend. It's shoulder to shoulder, thousands of people. And then this happened.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: Goodness. Yes, this is a flash mob right in the middle of the French quarter. It's all to build hype for pop sensation Psy's super bowl commercial. Not everyone seems fine as super bowl commercials this year, fun or funny. From some corners, the ads have prompted complaints about perceived racism and sexism. One ad has even targeted some saying it may encourage sexual aggression in young men.

Comedian Dean Obeidallah is in New York.

Dean, a couple of super bowl commercials are taking some heat. I want you to listen to a clip of this one from Volkswagen.

DEAN OBEIDALLAH, POLITICAL COMEDIAN: Sure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hate Mondays.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. And they're the worst.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No worries, man. Everything will be all right. Yes, man.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't fret me, brother. The sticky bun come soon.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Some complain the accent there is offensive. Volkswagen says it's asked Jamaican people tested the ad, to test the ad and no one made spoke to had a problem with it. Is this offensive to you, Dean?

OBEIDALLAH: Unbelievable. I'm outraged. Once again, Don, another week of outrage by me. I don't know, what is the stereotype people are upset, because Jamaicans are happy? You know what, I wish -- I'm Arab. I wish that was a stereotype, people would think Arabs, those people, they are just happy all the time.

I don't understand it really. To me, this is another faux outreach situation. If we're going to complain about little things when the real issues come up of minorities being demonized or negative stereotypes being further, no one's going to listen.

LEMON: Do you think it was started by Volkswagen because I didn't understand it. When I saw the guy, I was like, what he is trying? And then I was like, I don't really get it here.

OK. This is an Audi ad.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: So this kid's going to prom, stag. Then he gets the dad's Audi. The dad's Audi, boost of confidence, he goes there. He kisses the prom queen. Is that too much?

OBEIDALLAH: Well, it was an age-appropriate kid. It wasn't like a 50-year-old guy gets in the car and drive to the high school and kissing the prom queen. That would have been a different story.

You know, I could see where some people are well, you know, he should have grabbed her and perhaps against her will and that could be wrong. He suffered consequences in the ad. He want to take reality to its furthest point. He got a punch in the face for it. Will it encourage young men to be more aggressive? Are you kidding me? The hormones going on in young guys are insane.

LEMON: We were just --

OBEIDALLAH: Don, everyone complains about everything.

LEMON: Everyone complains about everything. Everything now -

OBEIDALLAH: Everything is all caps in twitter.

LEMON: Yes.

OBEIDALLAH: I'm Angry.

LEMON: Yes. And when I was young, when I was young, which was 19 years ago, people just used to have fights. Sometimes people deserve beat downs and not advocating violence. But sometimes you had a fight in the street or in the playground and it was done. And now it's, this person is harassing me, this is person beat me up --

OBEIDALLAH: You don't have twitter then.

LEMON: Get over it.

OBEIDALLAH: If you have twitter then, you would throw people on twitter. Fight them on twitter or facebook or social media now.

LEMON: It's ridiculous. OK. Yes. Get over it, people.

All right, let's move on. We are talking about hiring prostitutes and making thousands of calls to other women. Elected officials accused. And one just stepped down today. We are going talk about it straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Sounds like a TV movie, FBI raid, tawdry allegations of sex parties with prostitutes, trips to the Caribbean on a wealthy campaign donor's private plane. Is this American politics as usual or are we hitting a new low here?

New Jersey democratic senator Robert Menendez had a tough week. He denies allegations of hitting - of hiring prostitutes in the Dominican Republic. And Menendez says he paid for his flights there on his close friend's private plane. FBI agents raided his friend's office this week. The same friend owes more than $10 million to the IRS.

Dean Obeidallah is back in New York.

So Dean, what's the best move for senator Menendez right now?

OBEIDALLAH: I'm originally from New Jersey and I follow politics there. And I will be honest, I mean, people are talking about it. It was on the front page of "The New York Times" yesterday. He's got to get out ahead of this. Any publicist day one will tell you, you can't just release terse statements from your office and literally avoid the media, running through the halls, almost to avoid the media. I saw a CNN reporter trying to get a comment from him.

You have to come out because if you don't, it's going to build and build and build. And who knows what the facts are? I'm not saying the allegations are true. But, it is building to a point where there could be voracity to it. It is going to tarnish him - or result of his removal from office by people t demanding him to step down like Anthony Weiner.

So, let's see what happens. Get out ahead of it, senator Menendez. If you are watching this, get ahead of this and talk about it. Answers some questions, that (INAUDIBLE).

LEMON: Let's move on to Nebraska. Nebraska's lieutenant governor suddenly resigned today after a local paper reported he used his government-issued cell phones to make thousands of late-night phone calls to four women, none of whom was his wife.

Rick Sheehy's wife of almost 30 years filed for divorce a month ago, calling their marriage irretrievably, how do you say that, irretrievably broken. I think you meant irreconcilable. OBEIDALLAH: Right.

LEMON: Irretrievably broken.

OBEIDALLAH: He was on the phone all the time. I guess he had no time to talk to her. But look at this way. He may have had an affair with four women at the same time. Forget about lieutenant governor. This guy should be governor. That's the kind of multitask we want in our elected officials.

You know, why is it, honestly Don, we should have discussion when they wives only male elected officials getting in sex scandals? We never heard of a female elected official. Twenty percent of the U.S. Senate, are now women. We haven't heard of any women getting in sex scandals. What is wrong with these guys? They are hurting men and they are hurting the elected officials because no one trusts our elected officials as it is. This makes it worse. LEMON: Because the women getting in sex scandals are become high school teachers. That's what happens.

OBEIDALLAH: OK, but --

LEMON: Who's the comedian here, Dean, come on.

OBEIDALLAH: Don, you're funnier than me. This is your show.

(LAUGHTER)

OBEIDALLAH: When I have the Dean Obeidallah show, Don.

LEMON: When are politicians going to learn to stop using your work phone if you're going to do mischief?

OBEIDALLAH: Four women, 2,000 hours. Read about this guy. Boy, this is - and how do you think you're going to get away with it? The same thing, Senator Menendez, if it turns out to be true, it goes back to, how do you think you're going to get away from this? You are elected official. You're above the law? No.

Let's hope senator Menendez, it is not true. But, this guy resigned already. So, this is true.

LEMON: All right. Hey, I have 30 seconds left here though.

So, Geraldo Rivera says he may run for New Jersey State Senate as a Republican.

OBEIDALLAH: U.S. Senate, just when we were getting our reputation back with "Jersey Shore" off. Senator Geraldo Rivera. Why not have Snooki throw her hat in the ring, too?

You know what, the Republican Party is so weak in New Jersey; he could easily get the nomination and be the Republican candidate.

LEMON: There he is with (INAUDIBLE). My friend from channel five in New York.

OBEIDALLAH: He could be running against Cory Booker or Mike Bloomberg next year. It could be some race, I tell you, Cory Booker versus Geraldo?

LEMON: We have to run. But back in the '80s and '90s, when he had his talk show, it was Geraldo and my friend's dad couldn't used to - couldn't say his name. He was going, did you guys see that gorilla show today?

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: Thank you, Dean.

OBEIDALLAH: Thanks, Don.

LEMON: Have a good night. LEMON: Next, a push for more awesome.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The world needs you to stop being boring. Yes, you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Tonight's moment of the week, a note of inspiration.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBBY NOVAK, 9-YEAR-OLD: The world needs you to stop being boring. Yes, you. Boring is easy. Everybody can be boring. But you're gooder than that. Life isn't a game, people. Life isn't a cereal either. Well, it is a cereal. And if life is a game, aren't we all on the same team? I mean, really, right? I'm on your team. Be on my team. This is life, people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, then, probably know that. We will. This 9- year-old's video did something, something like seven million hits on you tube. And that's just one of the many he put together with his brother-in-law. The two talked about their awesome strategy with Soledad O'Brien earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BRAD MONTAGUE, ROBBY'S BROTHER IN-LAW: The first video came with the question is, what if the president really were a kid? And I think that would be interesting because he would be concerned about everybody's emotional well-being.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN HOST: Their awesomeness.

MONTAGUE: Is everybody happy? Is the world awesome?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, there you go, future president, Robby Novak for a much gooder world and a more awesome you.

I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for watching. Go get your awesome on. Good night.