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CNN NEWSROOM

Back After Superstorm Sandy; Dealing With The "Spectrum Crunch"; Memorial Day Reunion; An American POW's Story; Anti-Muslim Backlash Feared In U.K.; Obama Honors Girls Killed By KKK; America's Young Freedom Fighters

Aired May 27, 2013 - 14:30   ET

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


WAYNE CIMORELLI, OWNER, SPICY CANTINA: -- I spoke with had a great day yesterday. Families poured out. People were very -- very -- it was different. I must have heard the word thank you a couple hundred times. You know, thank you for rebuilding our boardwalk. Thank you for rebuilding our shore. It was an emotional day, a very busy day, a lot of families. It was great.

JOE JOHNS, CNN ANCHOR: Now your business is the Spicy Cantina Bar and Grill. You suffered something like a million dollars in damage after the storm. How are you recovering?

CIMORELLI: Ask my wife. It was, you know, it is behind us now. It was 5-1/2 grueling months. We had six feet of water the entire block, five feet of sand, the first 30 feet, the entire length of the block. We lost everything that we had in the basement. All our infrastructure was gone.

It was a lot of work, a lot of hours, my crew, I have people who worked for me as much as 20 years, and we all pulled together. We worked hard. We got it done and we rebuilt and if anything -- if there was a silver ling in the hurricane cloud, it was we rebuilt better.

JOHNS: Was this the worst you've ever seen? Have you ever been through something like this before?

CIMORELLI: No. I started on the boardwalk in 1967. The most water I ever had in my basement was about a quarter of an inch, about eight feet long by 36 inches wide. For the entire basement to have six feet of water and for us to have that much sand in our basement, nothing like that had ever happened before. It was -- it was -- it still is daunting that, you know, there is always going to be concern that it could happen again.

But we're, you know, listen, we're ready to go, the Casino Pier is going to have 18 rides up, they bought some new rides and they'll be ready to go real soon. And we had tremendous support from the media, which has been quite a surprise to me, just how passionate the media has been about letting people know that we are -- that we're open. And it has been very -- it is amazing, really.

JOHNS: So are all the customers back? Are you still sort of waiting for that to happen and, I guess the president is coming tomorrow, what do you think about that?

CIMORELLI: Well, the president of the United States coming to the Jersey Shore is a big deal. I think it is tremendous. It is a little overwhelming, I think. The governor of the state, Governor Christie, I mean, he's been to our boardwalk so many times. He reminds me when I speak to him that that's the boardwalk he grew up on. He's been really -- everyone's been helpful.

So it's -- I'm -- even this interview today, I mean, it is -- I think for a long time we always thought that we were taking a bit for granted. And because we employ a lot of children with what we do for the entire jersey shore is for a lot of people in New Jersey it is the first place they'll ever get a job. So we're appreciated. And we're coming back. We're ready. And CNN having us on for this interview, it is -- it is more than kind. It is -- I don't even know how to thank you.

JOHNS: Well you guys have been through a whole lot and so thanks so much for that, Wayne, Cimorelli, all the best.

CIMORELLI: All right, thank you very much.

JOHNS: Cell phone users take notice. There is a problem on the horizon that could slow your speed, force more dropped calls, and raise the price of your bill. What can be done about the spectrum crunch coming up next?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: Now, we have all experienced dropped calls, calls not going through, and you know how frustrating that can be, usually when it happens. There are a lot of people in the same area all trying to use their cell phones at once. Take, for example, New Year's Eve.

CNN's business correspondent Zain Asher joins me now from New York. Zain, this is part of a broader problem that could end up getting worse, right?

ZAIN ASHER, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Exactly, and it is troubling, Joe, because, you know, whenever there is a disaster, an earthquake, for example, or the tornado as we saw in Oklahoma where a lot of people are trying to use their cell phones at once, sometimes the calls will not go through. That is partly because of a shortage of something known as spectrum.

Think of it as wireless capacity. You can't touch it, can't see it, but this is really the lifeline of the cell phone market. The problem with spectrum is that there is a limited amount. So you can't create more of it. There is a growing concern because there as more and more people use smartphones and tablets, the more the wireless capacity gets clogged and that's when you get things like poor cell phone service over time and also slower data speeds.

Right now the entire world uses less than one exobite of mobile data per month. It's about a billion gigabytes. By 2017, that's expected to increase ten times. Smartphone usage is also expected to increase by 81 percent in the next five years, tablet usage by over 110 percent. So unless something is done, those dropped calls as you mentioned, Joe, could become more and more frequent -- Joe.

JOHNS: So it is not up to the user on the street to try to increase spectrum, of course, but is there anything we can do to sort of use it more efficiently?

ASHER: OK, so one option is for cell phone carriers to upgrade their systems to make sure their spectrum is being used to full capacity. Now, the problem with upgrading is that it costs tens of billions of dollars and carriers will typically pass on that cost to consumers.

Now another option might be for two cell phone companies to merge that way they can get their hands on more spectrum. T-Mobile and AT&T actually did try to do this a couple of years ago as a way of doubling the amount of spectrum available to them. Their bid was blocked because the FCC thought it would reduce competition.

Lastly, though, one solution is for broadcasters to give up some of their spectrum and give it to the mobile phone companies, but, of course, broadcasters do not want to do that. So it does feel though options are limited and it may be years before any real progress is made -- Joe.

JOHNS: I would say that's a sticky question. Thanks so much for that, Zain Asher in New York. Thanks.

As Americans observe Memorial Day, we're going to talk to a veteran and former prisoner of war about his captivity and release from a Vietnamese prison 40 years ago.

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JOHNS: On this Memorial Day, a select group of American veterans is heading home after a special weekend reunion in California. About 200 Vietnam Prisoners of War gathered at the Nixon Presidential Library 40 years to the day after they were welcomed to the White House by then President Richard Nixon.

Ross Perot, a staunch supporter of the POWs during and after their captivity, was among the guests. One of the men who attended that reunion is with me now, Retired Air Force Colonel Lee Ellis. He was shot down over Vietnam in 1967, endured more than five years of captivity in and around Hanoi.

Good to see you and thank you for coming in. I want to talk to you about that reunion in just a minute, but first, what do you think about on Memorial Day? Who do you think about on Memorial Day?

COLONEL LEE ELLIS (RETIRED): I lost four guys who were roommates, either in flight school, combat training or the war, who didn't come home. So I actually do think about them during the year, but especially on Memorial Day. I kind of go back and remember them, you know, such a great sacrifice they made and their families.

You know, the families really are the ones that are still suffering from the losses and I try to connect with some of them. It is just a time to really reflect and remember what great Americans they were and how we missed.

JOHNS: Now you wrote a book about leadership and I actually got to look through it here, "Leading With Honor." And there are a lot of things you write about, but one of the things I felt found most interesting was the chapter on resilience, coming back through adversity. Talk about that a little bit.

ELLIS: Well, we had to bounce back because there were health issues from time to time, there was torture. There was isolation. There was a tendency at times to get down because, well, we have been here two years and it looks like we could be here two more. It was really going to be 3-1/2 more.

There were times when you would be down or someone in the group would be down and we would just try to reach out to them and encourage them and say, come on, man, we're going to get out of here. We did that for each other. We were always encouraging each other and we need that to bounce back. We need other people who are speaking into our lives giving that encouragement.

JOHNS: This is the 40-year anniversary of that big celebration, sort of, at the White House, with President Nixon and a cast of thousands. We have some pictures of that. Bob Hope was there, John Wayne was there. Talk to me a little bit about that. Sammy Davis Jr.

ELLIS: Well, I had -- he was -- the celebrity host at our table, so my mom and I sat beside Sammy Davis Jr. and what a great evening that was. He was entertaining just to be at the table, so cordial and so nice. But he then performed on stage as did many of the special guests, but it was a wonderful evening, a time that we really realized that we were free and home.

JOHNS: So one of the people who was actually at the Hanoi Hilton with you was former senator and presidential candidate John McCain who happens to have just taken a trip over into Syria. So you were there with him, and one of the things that we found very interesting is he talks all the time about Vietnam, his experiences there, even the Hanoi Hilton. Did you come back and talk about it or did you sort of find your way into discussing all of it with friends and family?

ELLIS: I think we had time to process before we came home, so most of us were OK with talking about it, but I never brought it up. If someone brought it up, I was very happy to talk about it and share whatever, you know, they wanted to know. But until this book came out, I really didn't talk about it that much.

But as I finish that, I realize it was a message here about great leadership that we -- really, I was a 24-year-old kid. And what helped me get through that experience most was the tremendous, courageous leadership.

JOHNS: And now, as you look at these wounded warriors coming back, and families dealing with so much of what Americans had to deal with in Vietnam, what is your message to them? ELLIS: It is one of resilience and hope. I think most of them already have the message. You have to live one day at a time and they're doing that. Those of us who are around them, we circle around them to help them live that one day at a time, to get better and better and better. I think the fact that they're valued and still have a great deal to offer to our society, most important message that they need to hear.

JOHNS: Do you remember John McCain in the Hanoi Hilton?

ELLIS: Yes.

JOHNS: And communicating with them. You wrote about it in the book.

ELLIS: Yes, we were in the same camp initially then we went to different camps for two years and came back to the same camp for another two years. The last nine months of the last two months of the war, rather, we were actually in an open compound together where we walked together and talked together every day.

And he was kind enough to write the forward to my book this time. So we know each other. We see each other once or twice a year. And I just really admire the way he conducted himself in the Vietnam POW camps, very courageous, set a great example.

JOHNS: Colonel Lee Ellis, it's great to meet you, happy Memorial Day, by the way.

ELLIS: Thank you.

JOHNS: Thank you and thanks for your service.

ELLIS: Thank you very much.

JOHNS: CNN has a unique way to honor U.S. veterans from wars in Afghanistan and Iraq who sacrificed their lives. Servicemen like 23- year-old Trevor Johnson. The Marine from Montana was trying to diffuse a roadside bomb in Afghanistan's Helmand Province when it exploded in January 2009.

And 19-year-old Kevin Cardoza, the Texan soldier was one of five killed earlier this month when a roadside bomb hit their vehicle in Afghanistan's Kandahar Province. Just two of the fallen heroes you'll find at cnn.com. we invite you to log in and join us in honoring the memory of 100 soldiers in 100 hours.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

JOHNS: From a public murder last week to a public protest today on the streets of London. Members of the anti-Muslim group the English Defense League were protesting the brutal daylight killing of British soldier, Lee Rigby on Wednesday. Rigby's alleged killer say the attack was in response to the deaths of Muslims overseas.

The Defense League's rally triggered counter-demonstrations forcing London police to step in. All of this comes as British-Muslims fear backlash against them is on the rise. Going to turn now to CNN's Atika Shubert in London. Atika, first to the murder investigation, there has been a 10th person arrested?

ATIKA SHUBERT, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes. A 10th person arrested. A 50-year-old man was arrested by armed police on the street earlier today. Now we don't know his connection, but like the other nine suspects, he has been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit murder.

Now, the thing is with all of this, we don't know how they're connected, so we don't know if they supplied weapons or if they supplied help, we don't know. And police aren't giving any details at this point. The two main suspects who were shot seriously wounded and now remain in separate hospitals under police guard, police, we understand, still have not been able to talk to them fully -- Joe.

JOHNS: Now getting back to the protests and Islamophobia. Has there been a rise in attacks against Muslims since the soldier was murdered or is there just a perception of concern?

SHUBERT: No, there definitely has been a rise. I mean, what we have seen, for example, is arson in at least two Islamic centers earlier yesterday, actually, late last night in the town of Grimsby. Two people were arrested for a fire that started in the mosque there. We also have seen a man who walked into another mosque, making threats with a knife. We have seen those tensions rise.

And a lot of British-Muslims say when they see a protest like the English Defense League, they're fearful it could get worse. I mean, there are a thousand protesters from the English Defense League today just outside the gates here near the prime minister's office. In fact, they sealed off this area for security.

So the tensions are definitely simmering and they're threatening to boil over and this is why the government has put out extra police to try to calm things down, bring it back to a normal level.

JOHNS: Now, speaking of arrests, in the investigation it turns out the prime suspect was actually picked up three years ago. Tell us about that.

SHUBERT: Yes. This is a really interesting twist to the whole story. It turns out that in 2010, Michael Adobelajo, who is the main suspect. You've seen a lot of the videos talking directly into cameras with weapons still in his hands. Well, he was arrested in Kenya on the border with Somalia.

According to Kenyan authorities, he was allegedly trying to meet up with the terror group Al Shabab in Somalia. He showed up in a Kenyan court. He made his case. He was in detention for a few days, but he was later released without any charges and he returned back home to Britain.

JOHNS: Atika Shubert, good to see you. Thank you for that.

Coming up in the 3:00 hour, the woman known as "Death Row Debbie," she was on death row for 23 years, convicted in the murder of her 4-year- old son. Now, she might walk. We'll have that story for you in just a few minutes.

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JOHNS: This Memorial Day holiday, Congress and the White House have honored another kind of freedom fighter. Not members of the military, but you can call them casualties of a major American conflict, civil rights in the south.

President Obama has signed a bill that posthumously awards the congressional gold medal to four girls murdered by Ku Klux Klan members 50 years ago. The 1963 bombing of the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, Alabama, helped galvanize the nation against racism.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: That tragic loss, that heart break helped to -- and a more just and equal and fair America.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Denise McNair was 11 and Cynthia Wesley, Addie May Collins and Carol Robertson were all 14 years old when they were killed.

Before those deaths at the 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, children were already putting themselves on the line for civil rights. They marched along with the grown-ups at an event that now the subject of a new television movie. CNN's Tina Kim has that story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TINA KIM, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was the time many in the south were not ready to face, Alabama 1963. State law enforcers turned against their own citizens, African-Americans who cried for an end to Jim Crowe laws and all of this is now the latest backdrop for a family movie?

NIKKI SILVER, TONIK PRODUCTIONS: The family, when you first meet them, they're a typical, slightly oddball, funny, think the Cosbies, American family.

KIM: Nikki Silver, executive produced "The Watsons go to Birmingham" with Tonya Lewis Lee, the wife of acclaimed Director Spike Lee. The television movie just wrapped production this month, marking the 50th anniversary of the children's crusade, when more than 1,000 students from elementary schools, high schools and colleges marched for civil rights. The made for TV film uses this piece of history to tell one family's story and much more as the director explains.

KENNY LEON, DIRECTOR, "THE WATSONS GO TO BIRMINGHAM": It is funny and it is serious. So one can laugh, think and cry and it says something to us right now as we deal with bombings in Boston, we deal with security at airports. KIM: The plot revolves around an 11-year-old boy whose Michigan family heads to Alabama where he sees how badly African-Americans are treated.

SILVER: It is Kenny's discovery and understanding of this, and the love that his family gives him and helping him understand.

KIM: Kenny also sees how kids put themselves on the line for the children's crusade, like the grown-ups, the younger are subjected to dog attacks, detainment and police abuse. And just like the grown- ups, they overcame it.

TONYA LEWIS LEE, TONIK PRODUCTIONS: Yes, there is a dark side to humanity. That is real, but the power of standing up, taking a stand to make a difference in your world is more powerful than the segregation, more powerful than the negativity.

KIM: So powerful, its message rings true decades later. Tina Kim, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

JOHNS: "The Watsons Go To Birmingham" is based on the book of the same name by Christopher Paul Curtis. The film airs September 20th on the Hallmark Channel.

Welcome back. I'm Joe Johns. It is Memorial Day, 3:00 p.m. in the east. We're going to go and take a couple of pictures at Arlington National Cemetery, just outside of Washington, D.C. where you can see people holding hands there. This is the moment established by the country as a moment of remembrance. You're looking there at them and let's listen now.