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CNN NEWSROOM

Truck Bomb Kills at Least 79 in Pakistan; Choosing New Pope Could Start Soon; Russians Numbed by Meteor Strikes; Nightmare Cruise Investigation; Dorner's Autopsy Released

Aired February 16, 2013 - 19:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. Don Lemon here. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

I want to get you up-to-speed on the stories making headline this hour.

Truck bomb killed 79 people today at a marketplace in central Pakistan, nearly 200 others were wounded. Police say the explosives were packed inside a water tanker and detonated by remote control. The attack was the latest in an ongoing campaign of violence against Shiite Muslims in the region, which is overwhelmingly Sunni.

At the Vatican, cardinals could meet sooner than expected to begin the process of choosing a new pope. A Vatican spokesman says the conclave can start as soon as 117 cardinals are in Rome. Benedict XVI steps down at the end of the month.

Across southern Russia, it is cleanup day today. The biggest thing is the broken glass and the damaged buildings. About 4,000 structures were damaged when shockwaves hauls out from the meteor smashing into Earth.

Watch and listen.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)

LEMON: This video is from a high school student when -- took it when the meteor created a sonic boom that shattered windows and rattled apartment houses over nearly 80,000 square miles. More than 1,000 people were hurt mostly by flying gas.

Former Illinois Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. has been charged with misusing $750,000 in campaign funds. He bought personal items, including Michael Jackson memorabilia, fur coats, a Rolex watch, and Bruce Lee memorabilia. The formal charges came days after Jackson signed a plea deal with prosecutors. It will be up to a judge to decide if he will serve any prison time.

By now, you have probably heard stories from the Carnival Triumph. Vacationers for little fun in the sun ended up with sewage stinking up their cabins, fights over food, and sleepless nights. But for two passengers, this cruise was about more than getting away from it all. This is about much, much more. They boarded the ship to say farewell, scattering the ashes of a long-time friend who died recently from cancer.

For them, this was going to be a hard trip no matter what. And it became worse than anyone could have imagined. We're going to speak with one of those women in just a moment here on CNN. But, first, our Susan Candiotti tells us where the investigation into the Triumph stands right now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You can see the Triumph over my shoulder way off in the distance. Just to give you a sense of scale, that shape is the length of three football fields and has 13 decks in all.

A team of investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as with the National Transportation Safety Board are trying to figure out the source of Sunday's fire that brought this cruise to a screeching halt. They have a lot of work ahead of them as they try to go into the engine room and figure out where the fire may have started. It might have been somewhere else.

They have to look through all of the systems on board the ship. They have already spent time talking with passengers before they disembarked and went to the far corners of the earth going back home again. But they will be examining the procedures followed after the fire took place.

There's another engine room that they could have turned to as an alternative source of power, however, investigators are saying that might have been a risky move.

PATRICK CUTY, U.S. COAST GUARD SR. MARINE INVESTIGATOR: In this case, they may have been able to restore power but really the safe thing to do was to tow the vessel back into port, rather than try to reenergize the power system that was damaged by fire.

CANDIOTTI: Investigators will also be examining what's called the voyage data recorder, that among other things preserves conversations that took place aboard the ship's bridge and also stores all the kinds of data about what was happening aboard the ship as well.

We also talked with some of the crew members that went back aboard the ship to stay. They tell us they helping with the cleanup process. The investigation will take quite some time, possibly up to a year before a final report is issued by the Bahamian government where the ship is registered.

Susan Candiotti, CNN, in Mobile, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Susan, thank you very much for that.

Gina Howe never could have imagined what waited for her on the Triumph. The cruise was meant to honor the life of her friend Laura, seen here on the left, after she died from a rare form of cancer.

Gina, on the right, planned to scatter Laura's ashes with another friend, Carrie Burgess (ph), in the middle of this picture. A tough trip became much harder when the ship lost power.

Gina joins me now from Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Gina, thank you so much for joining us. We appreciate it.

GINA HOWE, JOINED CRUISE TO HONOR FRIEND: Hi, Don. It's wonderful to be here. Thank you.

LEMON: Tell me a little bit more about your own experience. How bad was it?

HOWE: It was really bad. Our own experience, we had raw sewage in our room that had over flowed from the toilet and we could not stay in our room more than a few seconds without wanting to vomit.

LEMON: You are a diabetic and I imagine that made it tougher for you.

HOWE: It did. It really did, trying to make healthy choices with the food, and getting some protein, but I knew God had my back.

LEMON: You said that you wanted to scatter Laura's ashes because she loved vacation, she loved water, she loved sun. What do you think -- I mean, out of everything that you went through, I'm sure you probably thought she was watching over you. But what do you think she'd make of it?

HOWE: I think she'd be happy with the way that Carrie and I tried to hold her tight in our hearts. I know that she'd be happy with the way we spread her ashes. It was just picturesque, picturesque.

LEMON: You were able to scatter her ashes before the ship lost power. But afterwards, it was a nightmare. Do you plan to sue the cruise ship?

HOWE: I don't -- I don't know what I plan on that. I have never been that kind of person. I just want to know what really happened because I feel like I still don't know the truth.

LEMON: You are not getting any answers?

HOWE: No. I have heard nothing. You know, it seemed like everything that we got answered on the cruise ship then turned to a different answer. So, I never was clear. I just, just held out faith. That's all.

LEMON: You haven't watched much news coverage, have you?

HOWE: No, I haven't. I went to sleep last night. I don't remember my head hitting the pillow.

LEMON: Is it because this wore you out, this whole experience or you do not want to relive it again? Maybe it's a combination?

HOWE: No, it's because I was so exhausted. Carrie and I tried to sleep on the deck on the lawn chairs that they had and one time we tried to stay in the lounge. It was just very uncomfortable and I think it was just unsettling for all of us to even try to fall asleep.

LEMON: Tomorrow is Laura's birthday. Any plans for the day?

HOWE: Just going to be around my family and thank God. Hug everybody that I can. Tell them I love them.

LEMON: Gina, thank you for joining us. We are glad that you are OK.

HOWE: Thank you. Thank you very much. And thank you for memorializing Laura.

LEMON: You're quite welcome. Again, we appreciate you coming on -- Gina Howe.

In other news tonight, experts are now saying that the meteor that broke up over Russia was so big, it had nearly 30 times the power of Hiroshima atomic bomb. So, how did something that big and powerful go undetected? We're asking an expert next.

And later this hour, a little girl takes on the Catholic Church. Her football career sidelined for what many believed is discrimination.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: One firefighter is dead and three others are in burn units. It happened in Bryan, Texas, late last night when a Knights of Columbus Hall became -- engulfed in flames. Officials say a fire lieutenant was killed, nobody in the building was in the building when firefighters responded. They are investigating what caused the blaze.

From 130 miles an hour to zero in a blink of an eye, it happened Friday night in Iowa during a high-speed chase. The police officer was out of his cruiser so he was OK. But the driver of the speeding car was killed. Only after the wreck did the police discover the man's 5-year-old son was in the wrecked car. The boy survived and is being treated for his injuries. Affiliate KCCI says the child was at the center of a custody dispute between the man and his ex-wife.

Running for cover in Russia. More than 1,000 people were hurt when a meteor raced across the sky, triggering a sonic boom, witnesses describe the meteor's flash as bright as 10 suns. It happened nearly 30 times the power -- it had nearly 30 times the power of the Hiroshima atomic bomb.

Earlier, I spoke with an astronomer who explained to me in a very simple term just what happened. He also brought some pretty cool space debris.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) DAVID DUNDEE, ASTRONOMER, TELIUS SCIENCE MUSEUM: Well, it's big for a meteor and very tiny for an asteroid. The reason this asteroid or small meteor made such a large impact, if you will, on the Russian landscape is that it was traveling at 33,000 miles per hour. And as it decelerated, it's kind of like a swimmer doing a belly flop from a very high diving board into water.

LEMON: Right.

DUNDEE: But you are traveling a lot faster than the swimmer. So, that energy has to go somewhere and then energy went into light as you saw in the street, when it was heating up that column of air --

LEMON: And that's what caused all the shock wave and all the damage?

DUNDEE: Yes, the shock wave is what happened. And the injuries happened because people naturally went to their window and saw this bright light, because light travels faster than sound and then the sound arrived and shattered the windows when everybody was looking out their window.

LEMON: Is there a way to warn or predict the next meteor or the next close encounter?

DUNDEE: Best radar, even the best military radar would be having a tough time detecting something 50 feet or less across. This is a kind of an unpredictable event. Unlike the asteroid that passed the Earth yesterday, we had plenty of warning and knew where it was coming and where it was going. And this, actually, this fragment that I have with me today is from the impact that happened in 1947.

And that is mostly -- as you can tell, it's pretty heavy and it's made mostly of iron and nickel. That's different than from what happened yesterday. That was mostly a stony meteorite as best we can tell.

This one actually, most of it, did not break up in the atmosphere, but actually came down and made craters in 1947. So 1903 was similar event because it was an air burst that wiped out the trees in Siberia.

LEMON: I'm surprised how heavy it is for its size.

DUNDEE: Yes.

LEMON: You said it's mostly iron.

DUNDEE: That is one of the telltale signs you have a meteorite and not a meteor wrong.

LEMON: OK. Boom. That is funny.

OK. Yesterday, how much -- with the burst yesterday, how much of a danger was the planet really in? DUNDEE: Globally, very little. I mean, the meteor, if it came over a more populated area, obviously, you'd had more injuries. But it's not like a climate changer, like the one that hit 65 million years ago, that made the demise of the dinosaurs possible. But certainly the asteroid that passed us yesterday, if that had hit, it would have wiped out 800 miles worth of real estate very quickly.

LEMON: Goodness. Are the two events connected?

DUNDEE: No.

LEMON: Not at all?

DUNDEE: And we know it for sure.

LEMON: That's a coincidence?

DUNDEE: A lot of people have asked that. You have to know the two events were separated by about 14 hours. The Earth is hurdling around the sun at 19 miles per second. So in 14 hours, we have covered a lot of real estate going around the sun. So, we're in a different place.

So, these two items were not connected in any way. Just a cosmic connection, or cosmic coincidence, I should say.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: My thanks to David Dundee.

Straight ahead here on CNN, something else in the sky, you have seen them on spy films and used by our military in warzones. Now, they are coming to a neighborhood near you. But does that mean big brother is watching you?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: President Obama is in Florida in weekend getting in golf at an exclusive resort. A little while ago, fighter jets had to escort a Cessna out of restricted air space near where the president is staying. The plane landed without incident and the FAA is investigating.

Meantime the president used his weekly address to reinforce the message he delivered in this week's State of the Union address, calling for new programs to stimulate the economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to launch manufacturing hubs across the country that will transform hard hit regions into global centers of high tech jobs and manufacturers. We need to make our tax code more competitive, ending tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and rewarding companies that create jobs here at home.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: In her party's weekly address, Alabama Congresswoman Martha Roby blamed the president for the billions in spending cuts that could take effect on March 1st.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. MARTHA ROBY (R), ALABAMA: As the clock is ticking towards his devastating sequester, the president has failed to put forward a plan to prevent it, why? Because President Obama and Senate Democrats see his sequester as an opportunity to push through another tax increase.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Roby said that the president should consider the alternative budget cuts already passed by the Republican-led House.

Florida Senator Marco Rubio is headed to the Middle East. He left today on a week-long trip that will take him to Israel and Jordan. He plans meetings with the Israeli and Palestinian prime ministers. The trip comes just days after Rubio delivered the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address.

When drones are used to save the lives of American soldiers, we are glad to have them. But what about when they are in our own skies spying on us, whether we have committed a crime or not? That is a question that authorities are wrestling with, while playing catch up with this technology.

CNN's Athena Jones looks at the complicated question of what to do with drones.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The skies across America could soon be welcoming more drones. The FAA is seeking proposals from cities, states and universities to create six test sites for unmanned aircraft systems.

The sites will allow them to develop safety standards that will allow the government to fully integrate drone into the national air space by 2015. The drone industry says they make good economic sense.

BEN GIELOW, ASSOCIATION FOR UNMANNED VEHICLE SYSTEMS INTL.: In the next three years after the FAA figured out integration, we could see as many as 70,000 jobs be created in this new industry.

JONES: The Coast Guard uses drones for surveillance on ice sheets in Alaska and local authorities in North Dakota once used a border patrol drone during a dispute over cattle.

Drone makers predict they'll eventually be used by energy companies to monitor pipelines and by farmers to monitor crop.

New uses will need new rules to protect privacy. CHRIS CALABRESE, AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION: We do not want drones to be eyes in the sky constantly spying us. We need controls so that drones are only used when we have -- we believe a crime is happening or we are trying to do something particular like fight a forest fire or finding a missing child. If we put those controls in place, we will have a powerful technology that has appropriate controls.

JONES: In Seattle earlier this month, the mayor ended a police department drone program over privacy concerns, and the Virginia legislature is at work on bills that would temporarily ban drones there.

The FAA is asking for public input on its proposed privacy requirements for these test sites and this privacy issue isn't going away. Just this week, two House members, a Republican and Democrat introduced a bill that would require law enforcement to get a search warrant before using drones to investigate crimes -- Don.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right. Athena, thank you very much.

What if I told you, there could be a weapon that was deadly, it was undetectable, untraceable and disposable? It sounds like science fiction, right? But we may see it in just a matter of months.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It was one of the most emotional moments from President Obama's State of the Union on Tuesday -- his passionate plea for new gun control measures.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand birthdays, graduations, anniversaries, have been stolen from our lives by a bullet from a gun.

Gabby Giffords deserves a vote.

(APPLAUSE)

The families of Newtown deserve a vote.

(APPLAUSE)

The families of Aurora deserve a vote.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That brought everyone, everyone, including House Speaker John Boehner, to their feet.

Even if the president's gun measures are passed, the measures that include a ban on assault weapons, gun owners may have another way to arm themselves -- another way. It's very interesting. And they can do it through the computer. I want you to listen to this, because it sounds like science fiction, but the technology is closer than you think.

Using 3D technology, you can now print guns. Yes, print them and yes, they will fire bullets.

Any concerns? Does that alarm you?

How about this part? The guns are disposable, untraceable and undetectable.

I want to bring in now Laurie Segall. She is our CNN Money tech expert.

So, listen, Laurie, how does this work?

LAURIE SEGALL, TECHNOLOGY REPORTER, CNNMONEY: I mean, Don, you are right, it sounds like science fiction, but essentially 3-D printers have been around for ages and car manufacturers were using them.

But now, they are becoming ubiquitous because they are cheaper now and they are in people's homes. And, essentially, you're able to download blue prints of just about anything, connect with software on your computer and the 3-D printer would just print out, you know, whatever you have put in there and it uses liquid plastic. So, people are printing out everything from buttons if they lost a button.

But now they are starting to print out gun parts groups that are trying to make this more and more ubiquitous. And one I spoke to, Defense Distributed, they said, you know, right now you can print out parts and put it together and make a gun. But really, in the next few months you can print out a gun, Don.

So, this is technology that's in the future. This is technology that's right now.

LEMON: And trying to have the laws catch up with the technology, it's going to be pretty challenging, just like having the laws catch up with what's happening on the Internet.

SEGALL: Sure. I mean, you are absolutely right. Every time you got this new technology out there, you can't ignore it. I mean, the idea that in our homes we're going to be able to print out everything from buttons to shoes to lethal weapons. I mean, that's something that's very, very close in the future.

So a lot of lawmakers are struggling with that right now. You know, there's a renewable Undetectable Firearms Act that has been in place for a long time and that's coming up and people are talking about that. You know, are we going to renew that law.

It's really just people testing out this technology right now. But you have, you know, Defense Distributed, showing how they've been able to print out a gun that can print shoot not six bullets, but now, 100 or 200.

LEMON: Amazing.

SEGALL: So, the technology is going to get there, Don.

LEMON: How common, Laurie, do you think that these 3-D will be in the near future?

SEGALL: You know, I say it. I said it before. I'll say it again. They're going to be ubiquitous. We are going to have 3-D printers in our home like we have a normal printer, where they used to be hundreds of thousands of dollars, now, they're $1,000, $2,000. Lots of 3-D printing companies who are devoted to getting these in people's homes. I've been covering 3-D printers for a couple of years now, and you just see how the accelerated that growth is, Don.

LEMON: Yes, it's interesting because you print this out. You get this plastic. You make your own gun. It doesn't have to go through a gun manufacturer. Therefore, you can't really trace any of it. That's -- man. That's a little scary.

SEGALL: Scary stuff.

LEMON: Yes. All right, Laurie. Thank you. Appreciate it. Good segment.

SEGALL: Thanks.

LEMON: On "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" tomorrow, a lesson for the U.S. We'll explain the action Australia took on guns after the mass killing. Fareed talks with the man who made it happen, former Prime Minister John Howard. "GPS" airs tomorrow, 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. Right here on CNN.

It is half past the hour, we are getting close -- we're going to get a look at your headlines right here on CNN.

The head of Iraq spy school was killed today, but there are conflicting reports about his death. Local officials say he was killed by confronting two suicide bombers who had just killed his two bodyguards. The police say he died when two bodyguards killed two bombers and the accidentally their explosives by shooting one of their bodies.

We go to South Africa now. And a national hero, formerly charged right now with murder. Oscar Pistorius will know on Tuesday if he will even get bail. He is charged with shooting to death his 29-year- old girlfriend in his home in Pretoria. Through his agent, Pistorius strongly denies the murder charge and prosecutors say they'll argue he planned it ahead of time, premeditated.

A Delta passenger who allegedly smacked a crying toddler during a flight has been suspended from his job. Joe Rickey Hundley of Idaho could get up a year in prison for assault. He was sitting next to the little boy and his mother on a Minneapolis-Atlanta flight when the boy began to cry. Hundley used the N-word and slapped the child. In Southern California, an autopsy shows a single bullet to the head killed rogue ex-cop Christopher Dorner. Police say the fatal wound was most likely self inflicted. Dorner died Tuesday after a nine-day manhunt in which he killed four people including two police officers. The mountain cabin where he made his final stand burned to the ground during the standoff.

In an interview with the Los Angeles TV station, Dorner's mother condemned her son's actions and expressed sorrow for his victims and their families.

Coming up at the top of the hour here on CNN, a look at frenzied man hunt, the final shootout and the victims of the ex-L.A. cop killing spree. Watch killer cop, inside the hunt for Christopher Dorner, 8:00 p.m. eastern.

After five days on the field, an all-star offensive guard booted from the youth football league, Why? Because she is a girl. Her fight to be reinstated; that is straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The NBA's best players are gathered in Houston. It also happens to be the great Michael Jordan's 50th birthday. That's added new fuel to the debate about who is the best of all time, is it Jordan? What about Lebron James?

Well, Rachel Nichols of CNN and Turner Sports asked LeBron directly in an exclusive interview.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RACHEL NICHOLS, CNN AND TURNER SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Michael Jordan said if he could take Kobe or take LeBron, he take Kobe because of five rings to one ring. Is that even a valid way to look at it? What do you think?

LEBRON JAMES, NBA PLAYER, MIAMI HEAT: I look at it like OK. You have a guy like Jeb Bush. That's one multiple rings.

NICHOLS: Former Michael Jordan teammate.

JAMES: Yes. I do not take Jeb Bush over Charles Barkley. You know, let's get to even more of a comparison where, you know, we talk about the all time great of Bill Russell, 11 rings, which is five more than Mike won. But if we had a draft today, would you take Russell over Jordan? I don't think so. So, it all depends how you categorize talent and the greats.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NICHOLS: Catch LeBron James at the NBA all-star game tomorrow on our sister network, TNT, coverage begins at 5:00 eastern, tipoff at 8:00 eastern.

Ever wish you could sneak inside a stadium and see what it's like from a player's perspective? Google is brining NFL stadium images to Google maps starting with a very cool look at where the Indianapolis colts play. Fans are treated to all kinds of views from the tunnel all the way to the end zone. You can also check out the stadium suites and explore the player's locker room.

The man behind one of the most recognizable and famous NFL logos has died. Jack Eskridge designed the Dallas cowboys star while serving as a team's equipment manager in 1959. This is a fascinating story inspired by the color blue and the Texas flag. Eskridge created a simple look that became legendary. The 89-year-old Eskridge died this week.

A Pennsylvania girl got booted from a catholic football league over her gender. The 11-year-old girl has been playing football since kindergarten.

CNN's Sarah Hoye is tracking the little girl's fight to get back on the field.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 11-year-old Caroline Pla has been suiting up for football since kindergarten, but her playing time with the Catholic youth organization ended after last season. The archdiocese of Philadelphia enforced its boys only policy for football sidelining the all-star guard and defensive event.

CAROLINE PLA, BANNED FROM FOOTBALL BECAUSE OF GENDER: Just really mad that we do not get the same opportunities as boys because we are not a boy.

HOYE: Caroline's father said the ruling is archaic.

GEORGE PLA, CAROLINE'S FATHER: Girls playing football is not something new. They are not going through uncharted water or pioneering something that has not been addressed before.

HOYE: Caroline's mom started online Petition on change.org to let girls play. Her original goal, 100 signatures, there's now over 100,000. One signer is 9-year-old peewee football sensation Samantha Gordon from Utah that who was recently featured on a Wheaties box.

Caroline also caught the attention of talk show host Ellen DeGeneres.

ELLEN DEGENERES, TV HOST: First of all, is it hard? Have you been hurt? Have you gotten hurt?

CAROLINE PLA: No. I have never really not gotten hurt, but I have hurt people, so.

DEGENERES: You have?

CAROLINE PLA: Yes.

(APPLAUSE) HOYE: The media blitz and petition have not swayed the archdiocese. In a statement, it said in part, traditionally football is a boys only sport due to its full contact nature. Most parents and players have preferred this.

Some now disagree. Calls for an immediate change in the policy are premature and unwise without adequate consultation especially given the potentials safety issues involved.

A panel selected by the archdiocese will review the rule with the decision expected by mid-March.

CAROLINE PLA: I was just really surprised that we are not allowed to play because we are girls. They say it's a safety issue, but I don't get that, because it's not just a safety issue for us, it's a safety issue for anybody that goes on the field.

HOYE: The church it seems that is a formidable opponent.

Sara Hoye, CNN. Philadelphia.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well this is an old story, girl meets boy, boy is a zombie, they fall in love, well sort of. We are talking to the cast of the latest zombie/romance film.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Facebook says it has been hacked. But if you use the site, don't worry. Your date is safe and sound. That is according to the company. Company describe a cyber attack as sophisticated and says, it happen when some employees visited the site that installed the virus on their computers. Facebook says it notified police and that its own investigation isn't over in to the matter.

It may be last call for Tennessee's high beer tax. A beer tax reform act is bill working its way through the state legislature, the goal, make the drink cheaper to buy and to ultimately the bill sponsors, they want to make the state more attractive for breweries. Bounty state has a highest beer tax at 17 percent.

In recent years, we have seen a resurgence in a subsequent decline in popularity in vampires and werewolves in movies. Zombies, it seems, well, they just won't die. This summer, the biggest budget ever for a zombie flick will bring world war z to the screen. That is based loosely on the Max's books bestselling novel. It stars Brad Pitt and it looks pretty scary. But before then, a lower budget in a lighter treatment, girl meets zombie movie, zombie falls in love with girl. And CNN ireporter Paul Chambers talked with the two lead actors in the new zombies/romance movie "Warm Bodies."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

PAUL CHAMBERS, IREPORTER, MOVIE REVIEWER: : So, this is kind of like Romeo and Juliet, a little bit. ANALEIGH TIPTON, ACTRESS: It is. It is like that stock-rough love story. And we definitely pay tribute to Romeo and Juliet and ours is just the quicker version, I guess, that story.

NICHOLAS HOULT, ACTOR: Talk about making it awkward to meet a girl's dad. Like instantly, he wants to shoot me and threaten to shoot me. It's fun.

TIPTON: It's intimidating.

CHAMBER: Nic, your vocabulary is quite limited when you start the file. And you know, you have to grown a lot, like zombies do. But you have to communicate to the audience. What kind of challenges did that pose to you?

HOULT: It was tricky. Just thinking in different ways, I suppose, and try to use more body language and you know, a lot of the time, the character is trying his best on connect and emote. So, I kind just focused on the other people in the scene and luckily Jonathan Lavin, caused talented actresses and actors around me.

CHAMBERS: How do you feel that zombie purists are going to take this on because this is different?

HOULT: That was a worry, at first, because you know, a lot of zombie purists though, for me should never think or feel anything. You know, we have taken a shorted in zombie land and kept that kind of tone, I guess. But added a slight romance in there.

CHAMBERS: So, do you think there's enough, Theresa, to make it a date movie? Do you think there's enough of the love story in it?

TIPTON: Yes, absolutely. For guys and girls. And that is what is so great about it, it's a mixed genre. I mean, it really is action and romance and comedy and something for the guys a little bit of gore and all the action and then it's such a sweet endearing love story in it. And - then, on top of it, there is a social commentary and it is about how love breathes life back in you and the importance of being connected and not being so distracted by the world around us and all the technology.

And so, not only is it good for guys and girls, it's also good for a wide demographic of people. My 60-year-old dad saw the movie and loved it. And has told all his friends and they are all excited to see it, yes.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: You can see more iReports like that one by logging on to iReport.com.

A final moments of a ship at sea.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: We are learning new details of how the HMS bounty sink during hurricane Sandy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We are learning more now about the sinking of the HMS Bounty, a replica of the famous 18th century ship sank last October caught of Hurricane Sandy. The captain and one member of the crew died, coast guard hearings begin a few days ago in Virginia, with surviving crew members describing what happen when the ship rolled over and sent everyone into the water. It's not a criminal hearing but it could lead to new federal safety regulations.

A black nurse said she was banned from caring for a newborn child because of her skin color. Tanya Battle is suing the Michigan hospital where she has worked for 25 years. Now, according to the nurse, the baby's father said he did not want African Americans involved with his baby's care. Her Lawsuit claim this note was on the baby's medical chart. It reads, please, no African American nurses to care for baby per dad's request. Her attorney describes the nurse's reaction.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIE GAFKAY, ATTORNEY: It was shocking to her. She was very upset. She was very offended. She was in disbelief.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The hospital has not commented to CNN.

Fashion designer John Galliano is trying to come back after being exiled over his drunken anti-Semitic rant a few years back. He raised eyebrows at New York fashion week by wearing an outfit, some say mock the Jewish faith.

CNN's Alina Cho is tracking the uproar in New York.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Don, as fashion weekends in New York and ramps up in Europe, one of the biggest stories to come out on New York is John Galliano's return to fashion. His brief presidency at (INAUDIBLE) made big headlines but not everyone is happy about it.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): When this image appear odd the cover of "The New York Post" this week, fashion designer John Galliano dressed in garb that some believed mocked the Jewish faith. Some members of the Jewish community were stunned.

DOV HIKIND, BROOKLYN ASSEMBLYMAN: There was no doubt in my mind, when I looked at the entire picture of what Galliano was wearing, that he looked like one of the people I represent.

All the more stinging because Galliano, though loved in fashion for being a true original is now equally known for this. Cell phone video at a cafe in Paris that ultimately got him fired from his job as top designer at Christian Dior. He was also found guilty of making anti-Semitic and given a suspended fine of $8,500 by a French court. That was in 2011. Since then, Galliano, largely, has been out of the spotlight.

Until January when Oscar de la Renta invited Galliano into his studio for a three-week residency, seen in the fashion industry as a way to test the waters and ask the question, is the public ready to forgive.

At de la Renta's show this week, the clothes on the runway clearly had Galliano's influence. What was not known until now is the disgraced designer has been on a path to redemption, meeting privately with top Jewish leaders.

ABE FOXMAN, NATIONAL DIRECTOR, ANTI-DEFAMATION LEAGUE: I think he's still on a pilgrim imagine.

Abe Foxman is the national director of the anti-defamation league and says over the past year and a half, he has personally met with Galliano five times.

FOXMAN: I said do you know to say to a Jew my hero is Hitler, what it means? He says now I do. But when I was drunk, it just came out.

CHO: Do you like him?

FOXMAN: I've grown to like him. I will tell you, the first time he came to visit, the security wasn't -- he was dressed in such a way to say you're not coming to see Foxman.

CHO: That's because Galliano was dressed like this. Look familiar? His spokeswoman says John has worn big hats and long coats for many, many years. I can assure you, there was no intent to insult Jewish culture.

FOXMAN: This is John Galliano being John Galliano. This is a fragile human being. Why go after him? This one can destroy him.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Foxman says Galliano has told him he wants to go to Israel, even Auschwitz, meet with survivors and better understand how hurtful he was when his image was splashed across the cover of the tabloids, Foxman said he e-mailed Galliano with the message you are not alone.

Now, whether he'll ever have after career again as a top designer for a big fashion house is not yet know. Some in the industry say they still not ready to forgive. And Don, they say, they will never forget -- Don.

LEMON: Yes, Alina. Thank you very much for that.

A sip of water turns into a flood of quips. It was a check out seen at Marco Rubio and his big gulp during a big speech. We're spilling all the jokes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

LEMON: That is the band fun. They just picked up a Grammy as best new artist despite being around for a decade now. I got a chance to speak with the band after getting some of your questions for them.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We put it out on twitter yesterday, I said do you have any questions for fun. What do you think the question was?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How we got our name. It's how we got out name --

LEMON: No. It was how do you sing in the tight jeans?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're not even that tight.

LEMON: Am I right? How do you sing in the tight jeans?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Listen, the jeans aren't that tight. Go back to Freddy Mercury. Historically, rock 'n roll jeans are very tight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that is true and they should. If you think about it, it shouldn't that thus make singing easier?

LEMON: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Has anyone ever grabbed their part of the body, their voice changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it is actually supposed to work.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never seen that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have never seen that happen in real life.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's scientific.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Coming up tonight, my full interview with the band fun. They're the hottest thing right now, so, set the DVR, the recording and join me at 10:00 p.m. eastern.

OK, it was the gulp heard around the nation. The sip that launched a million clips. You've probably seen senator Marco Rubio's famous mid speech swig.

Jeanne Moos reports on the flooded jokes left in its way.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (over-over): Like a man lost in the desert, parched, 11 minutes into a speech, Marco Rubio reached.

SEN. MARCO RUBIO (R), FLORIDA: Then false choices like the one the president laid out tonight.

MOOS: And now we've all become water logged by that one little swig played over and over in lip-licking slow mo put to a Latin beat by a radio host. Out came the hash tags Watergate, Gulp gate, Rubio's water bottle itself started to tweet. Don't hate, hydrate.

People posted Rubio film titles, "Zero Dark Thirsty" and "silence of the thirsty."

It could have been worse. At least he managed not to dribble it down his chin or his chest.

Holland spring vast in the glory on its facebook page reflecting on our camao, what a night. Even a conservative co-host "the view" cracked why, so, likening the Republican senator to the winner of west minster.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He and Marco Rubio like to have water.

MOOS: And since the press was laughing it up, Senator Rubio played along tweeting out a photo of the bottle and bringing along on a prop.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE REPORTER: You tweeted half the water bottle yourself.

RUBIO: Yes. I needed water, what am I going to do, you know? It happens. I got in a funny way of reminding us we're human.

MOOS: The last time he was reminded at the Republican convention after Clint Eastwood left the podium, senator Rubio arrived thirst thirsty.

RUBIO: I think I just drank Clint Eastwood's water. Thank you.

MOOS: But Marco Rubio isn't the only one drowning in water jokes.

John Boehner drowned his sorrows as the president spoke. And "New York" magazine compiled Robert Pattinson's nervous tick, the talk show water sip.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have never seen --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We got to talk about twilight.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What's going on in your personal life?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So now, there are rumors --

MOOS: When Paul Ryan debated Joe Biden for the vice presidency, his sips ended up as a skit on SNL.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I may not go every Sunday, but on Christmas eve--.

MOOS: Two-handed chug is one thing, but a pair of comedians made fun of what they called Marco Rubio's cot in mouth dry noises.

RUBIO: Thank you for listening. May God bless all of you.

MOOS: We'll toast to that.

Jeanne Moos, CNN.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to say, folks, who do you trust --

MOOS: New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: That's pretty hilarious.

All right, coming up tonight at 10:00 p.m. eastern, did you guys see the SNL skit last week about the guy, the black, one black guy who's in every commercial? They were talking about this guy, Jamison Reeves, who seems to be in every commercial because he says he is an acceptable black friend and he doesn't make white people uncomfortable. That's what he says.

We're going to talk to him about why. Why does Hollywood keep hiring the same black actor over and over and over again. And is he right? Is it because he doesn't make white people uncomfortable? We'll ask him. He is going to join us live tonight 10:00 p.m. eastern.

I'm Don Lemon at the CNN World headquarters at Atlanta. Thank you so much for watching. An AC 360 special, "Inside The Hunt for Christopher Dorner" begins right now.