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CNN NEWSROOM

NFL Player May Be Tied to Murder Probe; Supporters Rise to Paula Deen's Defense for Racial Comment; High-Tech Rifle Makes Anyone an Expert; Brad Pitt Talks New Film; Max Brooks Talks "World War Z"; Nick Wallenda Risks Life Again

Aired June 22, 2013 - 17:00   ET

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


DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone, I'm Don Lemon. As we go on the air this hour, major news breaking an air show disaster, a stunt plane crashes into a fireball with a performer on the wing. Thousands watched in horror.

One of the most famous chefs in the country under fire and accused of being a racist. Outrage and support for Paula Deen across the country and at her restaurants as we speak.

And what will happen to the man lawmakers call a traitor now that the government has filed federal charges against Edward Snowden and are vowing to bring him home to pay?

We begin tonight with a widening murder investigation involving a star athlete, not just any athlete, but a highly paid player for one of America's premier football teams.

Police officers are at the home of Aaron Hernandez right now for the second time in two days. He's the starting tight end for the New England Patriots. State police are there, local police. They even have police dogs with them. They're looking for clues in to the shooting death of a friend of Hernandez a man whose body was found nearby just a few days ago.

We want to get now to Massachusetts and CNN's Susan Candiotti, she's outside the Hernandez home. So, Susan, do we know exactly what police are looking for right now?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't. Because no one has disclosed exactly what is in this search warrant. Everything has been kept under wraps until now, but we can tell you this, we did spot a locksmith going into the house a few times during the course of the search, which has been going on for about three-and- a-half hours now, Don. We have seen at its highest point at least 20 investigators counted around the house and inside the house, a couple of dogs as you mentioned and other police officers also involved in and around this area and if we go to our second camera, we can give you a better sense of the number of cars and vehicles that have been here at one point.

They were also spending time on the white SUV if you can still see that at this time. They were looking inside of it. They took some items out of it. They put items back inside. The significance of that car is it's the same one we have seen Aaron Hernandez himself driving over the course of the last few days. We have not seen him today, Don. But we have seen his lawyer, and he arrived here about two hours into the search. Don, you indicated that indeed yesterday a couple of investigators were here, but they only spent about a minute after arriving with some paperwork and then we know that on Tuesday of this week, at least a dozen investigators were also here conducting an intensive search -- Don.

LEMON: So, no charges for Aaron Hernandez. Let's just say that right now. But here's the question, Susan, I want to know more about this man who was killed and his connection to Aaron Hernandez. His body was found not far from Aaron Hernandez's home, he's 27 years old and supposedly they were friends and they were hanging out on the night before the man disappeared and his body was found.

CANDIOTTI: That's right. And, again, let's stress, police are not calling Aaron Hernandez a suspect in the shooting death of Odin Lloyd at this time. But Odin Lloyd as you said is indeed -- was 27 years old. He was a semipro football player and according to Lloyd's family, he was friends with Aaron Hernandez and he's known him for a time. He said they liked to party together. They know that he was together, for example, on Sunday, or rather, last Friday, going to a nightclub together, the two of them. And we also know from some reporting from "The Boston Globe" that video surveillance cameras captured those two men on the same street where Lloyd lives just a few hours before police say Mr. Lloyd was murdered.

LEMON: So, police are also looking in to a strip club in Rhode Island. How does that figure into this investigation, Susan?

CANDIOTTI: Well, that's a good question, and it's hard to say, but police do confirm to us that a search warrant was executed at the strip club in Providence, Rhode Island called Desire Gentlemen's Club and this was conducted, again, on Thursday. Police say it is indeed part of this ongoing investigation, but we don't know to what degree. We can tell you this. Authorities tell us that they retrieved and made copies of video of surveillance cameras from inside that nightclub, videos that went back more than a day at least, so exactly what they're looking for there, we don't know.

We were unable to reach the club's owner. We don't know for a fact at this point from anyone in an official capacity whether Hernandez has visited that site, whether he or his friends, for example, Mr. Lloyd might have visited that club as well.

LEMON: And, Susan, we see police officers behind you and police are on the scene now searching the home of Aaron Hernandez for a second time and our Susan Candiotti is there. New developments, we'll get back to you, Susan. We appreciate that.

Another story that's unfolding right now is about celebrity chef Paula Deen recently asked under oath if she'd ever used the "n" word, well, she answered, quote, "yes, of course," that remark on race went public and her world hasn't been the same ever since. Deen has spent the past 24 hours issuing public apologies. Human behavior expert Wendy Walsh is standing by to talk to me about this story and she has some very passionate and insightful views about it. Wendy, now, we'll talk in a moment.

But first, I want to give you some background on this. Get you up to speed on it on Deen's remarks. The apologies have followed and the fallout still going on. Our Nick Valencia now with the latest. Nick.

NICK VALENCIA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's been a tough past couple of days for Paula Deen as she and her camp are in full pledge damage control after a deposition was made public in which she admitted that she used the "n" word in the pass. Now, she has begged for forgiveness and a YouTube video that she put out asking for her fans, and supporters and those that watch her on the Food Network to forgive her for what she's done. Now, despite all of the criticism and all the negative backlash that Paula Deen has received there are still some of her supporters that are coming out and really speaking for her character and saying there's no way that she could be a racist.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REV. GREGORY A. TYSON, SR., FIRST JERUSALEM MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH: Would a racist give thousands of dollars to an organization to help black boys? And not only that, but we can't count the amount of things that she's done charitable for black organizations. I mean, she's not keeping a record on everything that she does to help black people. She don't have to. She just do it because it's in her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VALENCIA: Now, Deen has lost her contract with the Food Network, after 11 years they said they will not be renewing her contract which ends at the end of this month. Deen also has so many more sponsors, cookware, and she's sponsored by a diabetes medicine as well, we'll be taking a close look to see if any other sponsors back out -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Nick, thank you very much, Nick Valencia.

Last night, CNN affiliate WTOC spoke with people outside of Paula Deen's restaurant in Savannah, Georgia, many sounded ready to forgive the popular TV chef.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Was it right? No. I mean, she could have used another term, but, hey, it was a mistake that she made.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: She made a mistake and she probably shouldn't have said that, but she has apologized and I think maybe we all take that for what it's worth. It sounds like it was sincere.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I think it's a learning lesson for her and it's a learning lesson for people that do forgive, so I will forgive her.

(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: All right. Now, let's talk about this with psychologist Wendy Walsh joining me now from Los Angeles. We had a very lengthy conversation yesterday. I appreciated your insight on this, so, Wendy, I'm having you on to talk about it. Just a reaction -- let's talk about all of this. First the reaction from the patrons outside of the restaurant, does that surprise you?

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: No. And I love all those women. I want them all to come to my house for dinner. It's just that really what America is about is learning to forgive and understand each other. And look what happened. I mean, the Food Network fired a 66- year-old white woman from the south for being a 66-year-old white woman from the south. I mean, we should put her in a museum, she's a dying breed. We shouldn't -- you know, let consumers choose whether they want to buy pots and pans or her recipes but to have her entire media brand fall over this when she's apologizing publicly and learning things, it's confusing to me, Don.

LEMON: You are not condoning what she said or her actions?

WALSH: No, absolutely not. Absolutely not. But she's acculturated by her generation, she's acculturated by her zip code, that's, you know, kind of who she is. It would be like saying that every black person in America should never say anything negative about a white person or they should lose their job. I mean, how politically correct that we're getting -- and by the way, I want to stand on the record today, Don, and tell you that I have used the "n" word in my car in private while I sing along with popular lyrics of the songs. OK? So, things happen in our culture. We've got to get over it and love each other. And forgive and understand each other. That's what this is about.

LEMON: OK. So, then let's talk about this then because, you know, we may have to agree to disagree on that. I don't think that just because she is acculturated, she's from -

WALSH: Oh, it doesn't give her a license.

LEMON: It doesn't give her a license to do that.

WALSH: It doesn't give her a free pass.

LEMON: She lives in a modern world. And she's a brand and a business. And if she's in a restaurant business, she works around a lot of people from different backgrounds and different heritages. But as someone, as a woman, as a white woman in America, you had a black husband and you have to black children, right?

WALSH: Oh, my children are multiracial.

LEMON: Well, you know what I mean? You have two children of color.

WALSH: Don't take me out of my kids.

LEMON: You have two children of color. So, but does that, as the gentleman said before Nick's story or in Nick's story that racist doesn't give money to black charities or help black people. And I'm not saying that Paula Deen is a racist, but you can have racist attitudes and still be a nice person and not be aware of it.

WALSH: Absolutely. I think she became very aware of it in this situation and identify also think, you know, she didn't use this publicly. She was in a deposition and it was sort of goaded out of her in a way to try to get some evidence and it was never meant to be public anyway. But, again, I don't want to give this woman a free pass. What we need to look for in our culture Don, our widespread institutional racism.

You need to look at demographics of schools, private schools, at companies and you have to look at their hiring practices. This is the kind of racism we should chase down vigilantly in our culture, but you know, a sweet white woman selling pots and pans, you know, bless her, she made a big mistake. She doesn't get a hall pass. Let her consumers decide if they want to support her or not.

LEMON: OK. So, I'm a Louisiana boy, I grew up in the south and I've heard, listen, I know a lot about the "n" word, I've heard a lot. And I lived in Georgia and I heard the "n" word a lot, and I lived in New York and I heard the "n" word, and there are many people who say, you know, who sort of saying what you're saying. This woman is in her, I'm not exactly sure how old Paula Deen is, she's probably around my mom's age --

WALSH: Sixty six.

LEMON: OK. Sixty six, 70. There are a lot of people what's new, what is new. A white woman from the south has said the "n" word in her life at one point or another. What's new about that?

WALSH: She's a dying breed. I mean, we should literally bottle her and put her on a shelf and look at her in amazement as curiosity.

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: Because she certainly doesn't reflect the majority of progressive thinking Americans, but, you know, you almost feel a little bad for her. Because she does doesn't know better. And it's not her fault. And look at her asking for forgiveness.

LEMON: But she should know better. She should know better and I think she realized it in that video. You can hear her pain in that video and, again, I'm not condoning it. Anything she said or what she did may have done in the past, but guess what, most people would not even admit to using that word. She admitted it and that says something about her honesty, at least.

WALSH: But, Don, Don, did this woman break a law? Did this woman --

LEMON: It was in the privacy of her own home.

WALSH: Did she hurt someone? Right. Did she hire only white people in her world and not even look at black people as great employees for her company? These kinds of laws we need to vigilantly look at. These kinds of practices.

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: But you know, something said at a cocktail party or whatever as a joke, it's wrong, it's absolutely wrong, let me get this straight.

LEMON: Yes.

WALSH: But has she broken a law here? I don't know.

LEMON: But here's what's just as wrong, just as wrong and we put up with it all the time. Can you just tell your viewers about your experience at a country club recently and how you chose to deal with it?

WALSH: Oh, you read my e-mail. This is how, we have to vote as consumers. I actually was invited to a luncheon at a country club, I won't say where in this country, but it was in this country, and I was shocked because the ding room represented this ideal that Paula Deen spoke about when she was trying to plan her brother's wedding. You have to Google it to see exactly what she said. But the dining room was filled in this day and age with all black white staff and all the member of his country club were white.

So, the way I doubt with it of course is bringing it up to the member who had invited me to lunch mentioning it that this doesn't look like modern America making some light jokes as I educated him about this wasn't cool and then vowing to never go back. I mean, that is not a place where I ever feel comfortable.

LEMON: Yes. That's how I handle it.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: There was an institution where the CEO of the company spoke out against gay people, whatever. Guess what? I just don't eat the food. I don't give you my money.

WALSH: Yes.

LEMON: If someone is rude to me -- yes, there you go. Thank you, Wendy. We appreciate it. Thank you Wendy Walsh.

WALSH: Good to see you.

LEMON: Good to see you as well. At 7 Eastern, I'm going to talk with the panel of experts about this. A crisis management pro. An entertainment reporter, and an anti-racism writer and activist. And we're covering all the angles of this, that's at 7 p.m. Eastern and you can get @DonLemon on CNN -- @DonLemonCNN on twitter. If you have some comments, we would appreciate it.

And Wendy, we've got another big story that we've got to talk -- racial components running all through this soon as well. George Zimmerman on trial for the death of Trayvon Martin, Wendy and our legal pro Holly Hughes break it down for us, next.

And just ahead, Brad Pitt takes a huge gamble personally with his new film. We hear from the actor and the man who started the entire World War Z craze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: A stunt playing crashed and burned today at one of the country's biggest air shows. It happened right in front of a horrified crowd. It was in Dayton, Ohio. Look at it, it's burning in the ground right there. The engine single engine biplane was flying low and carrying a wing walker when it suddenly smashed into the ground and it exploded. Here's the awful moment it happened.

I got to tell you that it's a CNN policy not to show you the moment of impact. So, we're going to freeze it at this point, and you can hear it and the pilot and the wing walker suddenly were both killed.

His murder captured headlines nationwide, I'm talking about 17-year- old Trayvon Martin, shot and killed while walking home from a convenient store in Florida more than a year ago. In just two days, opening statements are set to begin in the trial of his accused killer George Zimmerman. But a big step in the case today could possibly change the course of his trial. The judge rule that testimony from two prosecution witnesses who analyze screams on 911 calls cannot be used.

So, the criminal defense Attorney Holly Hughes, she is here along with human behavior expert Wendy Walsh back again. Holly, to you first, what is today's ruling mean for the case?

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: Well, what it means is the prosecution will still be able to play the case, Don. But there's something called a Frye hearing base. A Supreme Court case called Frye obviously that said, if you want to use scientific experts, their testing and their methods have to be generally accepted in the scientific community. Now, Judge Debra Nelson issued a ruling and she said in her ruling, I don't find that the message and the scientific way they got to their result is generally accepted, it's not credible evidence.

So now, the jury able just get to decide for themselves. They will hear the tape play and we know the prosecution is calling Trayvon's parents Tracy and Sybrina and they will be able to say in my opinion that's my child screaming, so it's not as if the jury won't hear this, but they won't have an expert telling them what they should think about it and think about it this way, if you had DNA evidence and you put a mechanic on the stand, they go, oh, yes, that's the same DNA, you wouldn't pay much attention to him, but if you put up a scientific DNA analyst, the jury gives that expert testimony more weight. Same token, I don't want a DNA expert telling me about a catalytic converter, I want a mechanic, so juries listen to experts. They're not going to have that now.

LEMON: OK. So, Holly, it looks like as Zimmerman's fate though will be decided by a jury made up of entirely women. HUGHES: Yes.

LEMON: So, that is for a reason. You have had to impanel lots of juries, what's the strategy behind that?

HUGHES: Well, the strategy is when you are picking a jury you look for the people who can be fair and impartial, the ones who say, yes, I know something about it, but I can set it aside. This jury pool, remember they started with a pool of 40, they got down to 40 after asking all the questions about pretrial publicity. That pool was a majority of females, so the county itself is 78 percent white. And the jury is 83 percent white, so those numbers legally speaking are OK. And the defense Mark O'Mara came out and he said, look, I'm happy with this jury.

We have people on this jury who can listen to the evidence, keep an open mind and make a fair, logical, reasoned decision. So, I think both sides are going to do well with this jury. These six women, first of all, they know the eyes of the nation are on them and they're going to go above and beyond to make sure that they are fair and they listen to all the evidence. You've got some mothers and some not mothers. So, that place well for both sides. You've got a safety officer on there too, Don. That could work well because she might fell a little for George Zimmerman as, you know, a neighborhood watchman, it could also work against him.

LEMON: But clearly we won't know, Holly. We won't know until all of this starts to play out. And we're going to be watching this very closely. But here's the thing, this just struck me as we were talking here, we are talking about the death of a teenager and everybody is talking about, you know, race, right?

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: Because we're talking about the neighborhood watchman and there's a black teenager and he's white or white Hispanic.

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: And then, Wendy, you and I just talked about Paula Deen and it just seems like and my twitter feed is going crazy. Anytime you talk about race or racism, anything, it just fires people up. What's going on here? What lesson haven't we learned? What are we not getting, Wendy?

WALSH: You know, because it hurts. Because these are very sensitive, sensitive things and there are lots of people in America who have experienced racism firsthand or were told about historical acts of racism and that's a very painful, awful thing. Listen, I have children of color. We talked about that and I am, like, a mother bear protecting them from ever being treated a different way because of the color of their skin --

LEMON: Is that the first place we go to, Wendy, is that the first place most Americans go to when it involves two people who are not of the same race? WALSH: You said the key word, America. Because it's, you know, so much of the history of America has been with racial.

LEMON: There you go.

WALSH: Has been about racial tensions, I'm Canadian and I come from a very different kind of culture, you know, if anybody ever said the slight bit of racist language, they would be so put down by people because it's so politically incorrect. But I think that with this case the gender is an even bigger issue in terms of this jury because if you think about the psychology of women, Don, women tend to be more often the victims in our culture. They definitely are the consumers of most true crime whether it's TV or books.

The whole investigation, discovery network is all about love and crime and it's a women, female audience. So, no matter how much women rise in economic power, they still know that one man can overpower them with physical strength. So, are they going to have compassion for Zimmerman in that sense worrying that he's the victim, also, are they going to have compassion with Trayvon's mother because they're women and it's the loss of a child? I think the gender piece is going to be very interesting in how this jury plays out.

LEMON: It's interesting to me to see if the country tunes in for this particular trial like, you know, some of the other high profile trials, the Casey Anthony trial.

WALSH: I think they will.

LEMON: Who was the one just before this Holly that we covered?

HUGHES: Jodi Arias.

LEMON: Jodi Arias.

HUGHES: Jodi Arias. Yes.

LEMON: Yes. So, we'll see. 9:00 a.m. Monday morning.

WALSH: We've forgotten already.

LEMON: Yes. Thank you. Thanks to both of you.

WALSH: All righty, thanks Don.

HUGHES: Thanks you.

LEMON: Tonight, look up. You'll see something very different. The moon looks strange. It actually freaks some people out. I'm going to explain just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: For decades, tons of trash has been dumped along the Mississippi River which provides drinking water for 18 million people. This week's CNN hero has made it his mission to clean it up and he's been joined by over the years by more than 70,000 volunteers.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD PREGRACKE, DEFENDING THE PLANET: Sixty seven thousand tires, 951 refrigerators, 233 stoves, it's crazy what you find in the rivers.

I grew up right on the Mississippi River. Around the age of 17, I really started to focus on the problem.

Eighteen million people get their daily drinking water from the river. I'm thinking this should not be like this. This stuff just collects here and it goes on for blocks like this. It's a bad deal.

I said you know what? If no one's going to do anything about it. I will. I'm Chad Pregracke, with the help of over 70,000 volunteers we've removed over seven million pounds of garbage over America's rivers.

Are you guys ready?

(CROWD): Yes.

PREGRACKE: Our primary focus is the Mississippi river.

You guys will be amazed in two hours of how much stuff we get.

In all we worked on 22 rivers in 18 states. We do everything in our power to get people excited about it. At the end of the day you're out there picking up garbage.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is this a basketball?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Totally yours. Little by little we're getting it.

PREGRACKE: But you're having fun, they'll have fun.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I knew I was going to be sweating but I didn't think I'd be singing karaoke on a boat.

(CROWD): Yes!

PREGRACKE: People want to see change and are stepping up to make change.

That was the last bag, come on, let's give it up, yes!

This is a problem that people created, but a problem that people can fix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Welcome back, everyone. Half past the hour right now. Want to get a look at your headlines here on CNN. You're about to see some frightening video. It is an airplane crash that killed two people, one of them a famous air show performer. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Jane Wicker sitting on top of the world. Oh, no!

(SHOUTING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: So, there you go. We froze the video because it is our policy there not to show you that. Here's another angle, the moments just before the crash. It happened this afternoon in Dayton, Ohio, at one of the biggest air shows in America. The plane went down right in front of a huge crowd. The pilot was killed. Jane Wicker was also killed. She was a wing walker, one of the best-known performers in the national air show community.

Paula Deen tries to say I'm sorry. The celebrity chef has issued two videotaped apologies, trying to limit the damage from reports that she has acknowledged using the "N" word. Well, the Food Network says it will not renew her TV contract. But Deen supporters are rising to her defense. A Facebook page created to support Paula Deen has more than 110,000 likes.

A big step in the George Zimmerman case today that could change the course of this trial. The judge ruled testimony from two prosecution witnesses who analyzed screams on 911 calls cannot be used. Those calls were from neighbors who heard a fight the night Trayvon Martin died. However, the judge noted that the audio can still be played during the trial. And witnesses familiar with the voices of Zimmerman or Martin can still be called to testify.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There it is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Yeah, and that wasn't a boat, OK? Deadly floods are devouring homes near Calgary, Canada. At least 10,000 people have been evacuated, some leaving in boats and canoes. Gas and power have been cut off. Heavy rains soaked Calgary in nearby areas in brown floodwaters. There it is on your screen to see. Imagine that. Authorities say two people were killed and a third person is missing.

There will be a dazzling spectacle in the sky tonight. Well, actually, early tomorrow morning, OK? It's a super moon. It happens when the moon is full at the same time it reaches its closest point to the earth, making for the biggest, brightest moon of the year. This year's magic moment occurs at 7:32 a.m. eastern time. So don't go out drinking, or if you're out, stay out until 7:00. But on the east coast you might want to take a peek earlier before the sun interferes with the view. There you go. I wonder if the "Superman" people did that, super moon just in time for the "Superman" movie.

A new weapon put into the hands of almost anyone, and they instantly become an expert shot. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So, you have to see this next video to believe it, all right? It is a high-tech gun that turns any beginner into an expert sniper. And it's not just on the horizon. It is on the market now. This is a precision rifle made by a Texas company called Tracking Point. OK? This is why I said to watch it. It costs a whopping $27,500. Probably good that it's expensive so a lot of people can't get their hands on it. As impressive, here's the best part. It allows a person to hit a target 10 football fields away.

CNN talked to the CEO of Tracking Point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JASON SCHAUBLE, CEO, TALKING POINT: This is the most advanced shooting system in the world in that it can, within minutes, an untrained user can be able to hit shots out to 1,000 yards, 1,200 yards using this technology. In addition, we have a Wi-Fi server embedded in this scope that allows a shooter to be able to stream video out of the scope, download the recorded videos of every shot sequence he's taken.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. I want to bring in "CNN Money's" Laurie Segall.

Laurie, help me understand. I can only say it's remarkable technology. It's a little scary if it gets in the hand of the wrong person but it's expensive so --

LAURIE SEGALL, CNNMONEY.COM: Yeah. The idea that I've never shot a gun and I can shoot and hit a target 1,000 yards away, pretty eye opening.

LEMON: Yeah.

SEGALL: It uses image sensing technology and the gun decides when it's going to shoot and it calculates variables, wind pressure, that kind of thing. And you can pull the trigger and if it isn't aligned with the target, it won't shoot.

LEMON: If you don't have your best shoot, the gun says, not going to do it.

SEGALL: Not going to happen. But when it does, you shoot, and you can actually make it.

My colleague, Aaron Smith, went out and tested out the technology. I want to show you the video. It's very interesting. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can see, I lift the gun up and you can see what we're seeing right there.

I want you to find the 250 yard mark.

AARON SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: My hands aren't nearly as steady as I thought they would be.

Is that 1,000?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's 1,000. I want you to shoot the target there on the far left.

Good tag. Solid tag.

All right. Let her rip. Squeeze and hold. Move it into the --

SMITH: Three hits.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SEGALL: Looking like this, three hits, and he's never even really shot a gun before. So wrap your head around that one.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: I don't know. I'm afraid of guns. Even though, you know, I grew up in the south and a lot of them --

(CROSSTALK)

SEGALL: Sure.

LEMON: 27,000 bucks, that's really a steep price tag. Are people buying this?

SEGALL: You would think people wouldn't because it's so expensive. But if you talk to them they said they've already sold 500 this year. They will tell 1,000 next year. And they say the demand is completely overwhelming. You can imagine a lot of people want to get their hands on this kind of technology.

LEMON: What about regulation? This will make anyone, quite honestly, a marksman or a sniper.

SEGALL: Anyone buying a gun has to get a background check. But think about this. Someone can sell this technology and that can go unregulated. Anytime there's a new technology lawmakers need to understand it. We talked about they already printed guns before. And they need to wrap their head around it and say, look, this is something that needs to be monitored.

LEMON: Wow. $27,000, you can hit a target 1,000 yards away.

All right. Thank you.

SEGALL: Thank you.

LEMON: Good story. Appreciate it.

He's got a lot on the line. Talking about Brad Pitt. He takes a big gamble with his new film. You'll hear from the actor and the man -- and the man who started the entire "World War Z" craze.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: The zombie movie with the monster budget hits theaters this week. It's got tough competition. "Monsters University" opened this weekend, too. And the new "Superman" is still going strong. The producers are likely just happy that "World War Z" has begun to rake in some cash.

Our Nischelle Turner explains.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(SHOUTING)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The box office showdown is the final frontier in the battle to bring "World War Z" to theaters as "Vanity Fair" documents in its June cover story.

(on camera): We know that movie had a huge budget. There were a lot of problems with it.

DANA BROWN, DEPUTY EDITOR, VANITY FAIR: Everything started to go wrong when they went into production without a finished script. There were third-act problems. Everybody knew that. And they went into production anyway, which is what you do in Hollywood. You have a big movie star, he has a schedule to keep, and they just went for it and started filming.

TURNER (voice-over): Early on, Hollywood buzzed of sets plagued of problems, rewrites and reshoots, and a budget which reportedly ballooned to $200 million. The industry whispers, uh-oh, zombie Boondoggle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTOR: What is going on?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER (on camera): So going into it, you think, oh, gosh, is this going to be a flop or a disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The buzz -- you know, Dana Lindalov (ph), who created "Lost," came in and rewrote a good chunk of the movie, and from what we're hearing, it works. It works.

(SHOUTING) TURNER (voice-over): Pitt and the studio Paramount launched a high- profile publicity tour, beginning with a world premiere in London where Brad brought his fiancee, Angelina Jolie just after her double mastectomy surgery.

ANGELINA JOLIE, ACTRESS: I'm very proud of Brad. I think it's a really fun film.

(SHOUTING)

TURNER: Then the actor showed up in person to surprise American audiences at preview screenings to fuel positive word-of-mouth.

BROWN: The buzz has grown over the past few weeks since they've been screening it. And I think it's, yeah, I think Paramount has averted disaster for sure.

TURNER: The battle off screen may have been epic, but the one onscreen?

(SHOUTING)

TURNER: The producer and actor want us to know for him, nothing but a popcorn-fun good time.

BRAD PITT, ACTOR: You know, let's do the motion that we get to do, and put in really good scares. And people are having so much fun. It's fun for me. Really good fun.

TURNER: Nischelle Turner, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We're not done with "World War Z" yet. She gets Brad Pitt. But you know the man that started the entire "World War Z" craze? He's the son of Mel Brooks, author, Max Brooks. That's who I get to interview. He's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: In the blockbuster zombie movie "World War Z," the hero played by Brad Pitt is looking for patient zero, the first to infect everyone else.

And in that light, we have exclusively brought you the "World War Z" patient zero, all the way from London right now, Max Brooks. There he is. He's the author of the novel "World War Z" and then, essentially, the guy who infected the entire planet with the current "World War Z" fever.

There are big differences between your book and the movie. Obviously, we're not going to get you to comment on the film. But for an author, this story came out of you. What is the first thought in your head? What was it when you heard them say, hey, we're making this into a movie? MAX BROOKS, AUTHOR: Well, you know, for me, ironically, growing up in Hollywood, the movie wasn't half as exciting as getting a book published because I grew up with movies. Hollywood premieres, Hollywood parties, that's my childhood. But to have your name on a book shelf, to go to a book store and see your name, that was a first for our family. That was where the rush really came.

LEMON: "World War Z" the book, and the movie, it's a huge universe. Most zombie stories are small and claustrophic and cramped spaces. You cross the globe with literally dozens of characters in there, but all created while alone. You're writing, one guy with a computer in his room, or wherever in your travels. How odd is that? Doesn't that make you a little bit insane?

BROOKS: Well, I think the insanity was there before I wrote the book. The book is just an outgrowth of that.

(LAUGHTER)

Don, I wanted to write a global zombie book, because, to me, zombies are a global crisis. But all the zombie stories I had read up until then are very local. I always had global questions. I wanted to know how our government was reacting, how other governments were reacting. I feel, in the times we live in, there are no more local problems. And I feel what affects one group of people affects all of us. That is sort of what I wanted to capture in the book.

LEMON: One reviewer wrote this about "World War Z," "It is rooted in the current mood of economic panic and terrorist fear and impending chaos. It presents the zombie army as a culmination of what it is going to look like if and when the bottom falls out of society."

Do you see your story and other zombie stories as sort of a parable, a potential heads-up for other global disasters?

BROOKS: I wouldn't want to speak for other zombie authors, but I can say, for me, what I find so interesting about zombies is that they do literally eat the threads that hold society together. You know, no other monster really does that. Every other monster is small scale and you have to find it. But then you can run back to society and be safe. Zombies are really a slate wiper. If you look at zombies as the parable for any sort of mega disaster, global disaster, it fits perfectly.

LEMON: I'm sure it didn't hurt being the son of one of the most famous comedic actors and producers, Mel Brooks. But as you establish yourself apart from Mel, what was the hardest part of being Mel's kid?

BROOKS: Well, I think whenever you grow up in the shadow of great people, they expect you to be an out growth of that person. My early years were spent being cast as sort of Mel Brooks Jr. My first book, "Zombie Survival Guide," was put in the humor section. A lot of people bought it and were waiting for the jokes. I kept saying, if there is a joke, it's on me. I'm not a funny guy. I'm a genuine nerd. LEMON: You know, everyone -- well most people do -- I look for my parents' approval. Do you look for your dad's approval? What does he say about "World War Z"?

BROOKS: I think my dad is very happy that I have a job.

(LAUGHTER)

LEMON: As simple as that, right? As long as you're working, he's happy?

BROOKS: Right. I mean, let's face it, what Hollywood parent doesn't want their kid to not ask them for money? So I think he's very proud when he comes over and he says, hey, you need a little money? I'm like, Dad, I'm fine. We're good.

LEMON: That's great.

Thank you so much, Max Brooks. We really appreciate it. Best of luck to you.

BROOKS: Thank you, Don. Stay safe.

LEMON: Mel, you did good. You raised a really nice kid, and talented.

OK. He is going to risk his life again, but unlike last time, this time there are no safety measures. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: How would you grade the economy? If you don't have a job, you might give it an "F." If you're in the stock market, you might get it an "A." What do the financial experts think? We'll find out.

CNN's Christine Romans this week with "Smart is the New Rich."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Summer is here and stocks are in turmoil after a 13 percent gain this year. Unemployment is still too high. Investors are making a fortune in housing but nearly 10 million people owe more on their mortgage than their home is worth. There are a rash of statistics to measure this recovery. But let's look at this way and give it a good old-fashioned letter grade, starting with a man whose firm manages $2 trillion.

I would give the economy A-B to a B-plus. It is getting better but not fast enough.

ROMANS: He buys and sells bonds. These guys are real-estate tycoons.

DON PEEBLES, CEO, THE PEEBLES CORPORATION: I'd say it's a C-plus.

UNIDENTIFIED ANCHOR: What do you think, Mort?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: C-plus.

ROMANS: And here is a Harvard professor.

UNIDENTIFIED PROFESSOR, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: I think B-plus at this point. We should be creating way, way more jobs.

ROMANS: And the view from the stock market?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think B-minus. The economy has held up well. Maybe more of a C-plus. I give it a B-minus because the government sector is fading. Government job growth is fading.

ROMANS: He is talking about Washington belt-tightening. Belt- tightening at exactly the wrong time says this former Clinton adviser.

UNIDENTIFIED FORMER PRESIDENTIAL ADVISOR: On fiscal policy from the Congress I am afraid I will not give a passing grade right now.

ROMANS: "Wall Street Journal" editorial writer and critic of the Obama administration.

STEVE MOORE, EDITORIAL WRITER, WALL STREET JOURNAL: I give it about a B-minus but I'm optimistic about the future. You got the low interest rates, housing recovery. I'm pretty optimistic we may see that B- minus turn into a B-plus.

ROMANS: And, finally, the former chair of President Obama's economic team doesn't give a grade but nails how many Americans are feeling about the economy.

UNIDENTIFIED FORMER CHAIR, PRESIDENTIAL ECONOMIC TEAM: I don't know. The economic conditions I'd say modest at best.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Christine. Thank you very much.

A guy with a famous last name is going to try something tomorrow that would make his great grand daddy very proud if he doesn't die trying. Nick Wallenda, yes, of the wire walking Flying Wallenda family, takes on his most terrifying challenge tomorrow when he steps out on a cable stretching across a gorge near the Grand Canyon. Wow. 1500 feet in the air. Here is a part that will really make your stomach drop. No safety line, no safety net to catch him if he falls.

Wallenda says he's got a secret and that's to accentuate the positive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NICK WALLENDA, THE FLYING WALLENDAS: When you're walking at a height greater than the Empire State Building, it can play tricks on your mind. It is important I'm always in control of those thoughts.

One of the challenges leading up to a big walk like this is all the media that wants to talk about the doom and gloom. This is real, untethered. This isn't like Niagara Falls where my network partner came in and said I had to wear a tether. This is with the Discovery Channel and they believe in me and they are allowing me to do this with no tether. So this is life or death, this crossing, and it is important that I'm mentally in control of everything.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, Nick will step out on that steel cable tomorrow at 8:00 p.m. Eastern.

You have to tune in at 7:00, one hour from now. It's going to be a great show.

I'm Don Lemon, at CNN world headquarters. See you back here in one hour.