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CNN NEWSROOM
E-Mail Probe Uncovered Affair; A Desperate Situation After Sandy; U.S. Edges Closer to Fiscal Cliff
Aired November 10, 2012 - 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. I'm Don Lemon.
Let's get you up to speed on the headlines now.
We're tracking new details this hour about the surprise resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus because of an extramarital affair. A U.S. official says the affair came to light because of an e-mail investigation sparked by a complaint of harassing e-mails allegedly sent by Petraeus' biographer. A full update from our Suzanne Kelly in a couple of minutes here on CNN.
The director-general of Britain's public television network, BBC, is quitting in a middle of a new sex scandal. George Entwistle took responsibility for a program that wrong wrongly implicated a politician in a child sex abuse case. It's just a latest crisis for the BBC, which already faced questions over another abuse case.
We finally have a winner in Florida. CNN projects that President Obama won the Sunshine State and its 29 electoral votes. That's based on updated vote totals provided just before today's noon deadline. The victory increases President Obama's electoral vote total to 332. Mitt Romney got 206 electoral votes, 270 are needed to win the White House.
Turning to the recovery from superstorm Sandy now. Nearly two weeks after the storm, frustration boiling over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't get light for my kids, I can't get power, heat, garbage pickup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: More than 280,000 people across the region are still without power.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said the he expects all the power to be restored statewide by tonight. He told reporters life will be back to normal for most of New Jersey come Sunday.
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake rattled southeast Kentucky this morning. The quake was centered eight miles from Whitesburg. Earthquakes are not uncommon for this area. People from Ohio to Georgia reported feeling the shaking, some more than 300 miles away. Fayetteville, North Carolina, honored veterans today, the day before the national holiday. The city held a parade honoring men and women who have served in uniform. Tomorrow, President Barack Obama is scheduled to take part in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.
And the Marine Corps is celebrating its 237th birthday today. The corps was founded in 1775 by a resolution passed during the Second Continental Congress. The celebration includes a birthday ball and a cake cutting ceremony.
More now on the downfall of the now former CIA Director David Petraeus.
A U.S. government official is telling CNN that the affair that caused Petraeus to step down was first revealed through an FBI investigation.
CNN intelligence correspondent Suzanne Kelly has more now -- Suzanne.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE KELLY, CNN INTELLIGENCE CORRESPONDENT: We now know from a U.S. official that it was a complaint that Paula Broadwell, the woman who wrote the biography of General Petraeus, was sending harassing e- mails to another woman close to the CIA director that prompted the FBI to investigate. Also we know from that source that the investigation led to the discovery of e-mails between Broadwell and Petraeus that indicated the affair.
That second woman hasn't been identified and the official we spoke with didn't know the nature of that woman's relationship with the former director.
But more details are coming out about the timeline of events and when U.S. officials were notified of the circumstances of this investigation.
A senior U.S. intelligence official tells CNN that the FBI informed the director of national intelligence, James Clapper, about the investigation on Tuesday night, election night, just as some polls were beginning to close, and that Director Clapper as a friend, colleague, fellow officer and admirer, urged Petraeus to step down from his position.
We know as well from that intelligence source that Director Clapper informed the White House about the investigation on Wednesday, and then, of course, on Thursday, the president and Director Petraeus met and that's when his letter of resignation was offered to the president.
The questions will focus on this second woman, who was she? What was the nature of her relationship with Petraeus? And what more do officials know about the nature of these e-mails between Broadwell and this other woman?
Maybe some of the questions will be answered as the oversight committees begin to pose questions of their own over this investigation and why they weren't informed of it until just hours before Director Petraeus sent notice of his resignation and the reason behind it to the men and women who worked for him at the CIA.
Suzanne Kelly, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Suzanne, thank you very much.
Petraeus' confession and resignation stunned the entire intelligence community. Next, we're going to talk with General Spider Marks. And he's going to give us an inside look. He knows both the people involved in the Petraeus decision.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: It's going to be an interesting discussion, make sure you listen. We'll dig much deeper into the stunning revelation surrounding retired Army General David Petraeus. He resigned as head of the CIA over an extramarital affair that the FBI uncovered.
CNN contributor and retired General James "Spider" Marks joins me now from Washington. He also speaks what on his mind and says the truth.
So, sir, what is your take on this. You know both the parties involved.
GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS (RET), CNN CONTRIBUTOR: You know, Don, it's terribly unfortunate. I do know General Dave Petraeus. In fact, we knew each other in high school and certainly at West Point, and then I had the great good fortune of serving alongside him in a number of assignments to include combat in Iraq early on.
And Paula Broadwell was a young officer who worked for me for about a decade ago. And she's just immensely gifted, bright, talented fit, a great representative, the very best our nation brings forward.
And so you had these two incredibly gifted folks and they make a human frailty, you know? But at the end of the day, leadership's all about competence, and character, and in the case of David Petraeus, no one, no one would challenge his competence. That's a matter of record.
But at the end of the day his character indicated a bit of a frailty, and he -- I would suspect he probably didn't have somebody whisper in his ear, hey, look, boss, you know, all glory is fleeting here and maybe even at the rules apply to everybody, which clearly they do and sadly we have two careers that are now in a bit of a tailspin. I think it's safe to say.
LEMON: You know both of them, and I'm pretty sure it's your sense, you were shocked by this.
MARKS: Terribly shocked.
Let me start with Paula. Here's this young lady, married, number of kids, incredibly gifted, as I said, really focused, disciplined young lady, and then you have Dave Petraeus and his record. He is just transparent to everybody, understands what he has done for this nation over the course of many, many years -- decades of service. So you wouldn't expect this. And so it's a tragedy.
And then you have to walk down the personal path and you can imagine the families that are suffering as well.
But I think it's key to understand that we lost Dave Petraeus in the CIA, but, you know, the CIA is going to be just fine. They'll find somebody to replace him and it will keep driving on. So, we'll be OK.
LEMON: Have you had a chance to speak to either party since it happened?
MARKS: I have not. And I think it would be inappropriate. I'm sure they're being bombarded. And it's also a moment of reflection and private time for them to get their arms around what their next steps in life are.
LEMON: Listen, it's not right to have an affair but then no one is perfect. Everyone makes mistakes so we hope that they both recover and especially Mrs. Petraeus and that they move on and get their lives together.
MARKS: Oh, absolutely, Don. I completely concur.
LEMON: Yes.
Let's talk a little bit more about current news: Iran. Iranian jets fired at a U.S. drone while it was on a routine surveillance mission earlier this month. It's the first time that this apparently has happened. What could Iran's intention be here?
MARKS: Well, you know, clearly, Iran is getting much more boisterous and they know they're under the spotlight. They're suffering commercially as a result of the economic sanctions but there is no discernible causal link between those sanctions and their nuclear development. Yet they are very much on the edge and they realize that the world is looking at how they are developing their nuclear capacity.
Now you have a U.S. unmanned aerial vehicle in international air space. This was not a violation of their territorial air space and they get shot on.
So, Iran is being incredibly aggressive. Let me add that they missed the drone. The U.S. responded in a very measured way to land the drone and now, we have to walk down the path of seeing how much more we can do to continue our intelligence over intelligence collection against the Iranians to ensure that they do not create a nuclear capability, and it's all about uranium enrichment, and the level of enrichment. There's no way that we know how much of that enrichment is taking place and how many rods they have developed.
So it's a very, very difficult intelligence challenge for us, and for the international community and we have to continue to plug away at it.
So this incident should not alter our path to try to get our arms around this at all.
LEMON: And, General Marks, seven Navy SEALs have been reprimanded for revealing classified information to the makers of a video game. The Navy was unusually public about this. Why?
MARKS: Well, I think they need to make an example of this. You know, I think we've reached the point in life where there are no secrets. Where is the propriety in all of this?
These SEALs are incredibly gifted individuals but they are members of the United States military. They're U.S. Navy SEALs. They have zero authority to be dealing with the commercial enterprise for their financial gain based on information and techniques, tactics, techniques and procedures that they would use in the execution of their tasks.
I think it's a good idea to keep it public and to -- you know, leadership is about being deliberate. This is deliberate leadership on the part of the Navy and I think it's a good thing to get that message out.
LEMON: General Marks, always a pleasure. Thank you.
MARKS: Thank you, Don.
LEMON: All right. Many are still struggling after Sandy took away the most basic of necessities. Ahead, we'll talk with one woman, 70 years old, she lives in a high-rise apartment complex, no elevator, just having water every day is a haul, a long haul really.
But, first, it is time now for our "Veterans in Focus" segment. Today, we're honoring Herbert Carter. He's a World War II vet who died Thursday at the age of 95.
Carter was a lieutenant colonel with the famed Tuskegee Airmen, the first group of African-American pilots in the military. He was one of four from the original group still alive.
And last year, Carter spoke to us about breaking barriers and making history.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LT. COL. HERBERT CARTER, FORMER TUSKEGEE AIRMAN: See (ph), to fight was doing so as an American, that I felt very proud of being and was willing to go fight and die for. It had nothing to do with racial status that I had to endure, and it was my love for America in spite of her imperfections. I feel that recognition has finally come around.
I simply hope that our young men and women of America will look at this experience and the story of these Tuskegee Airmen and from it make themselves a committee of one, so that we can perpetuate the legacy that these airmen have left.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: First there was Sandy, then a nor'easter. Residents in the Northeast can't catch a break -- 280,000 customers still without power across the region. FEMA says that more than $40 million in assistance has been approved for victims and is already in the hands of survivors or on the way.
CNN's national correspondent Susan Candiotti is in one of the hardest hit places in the Northeast, the far Rockaway neighborhood of Queens -- Susan.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Don, it's where you don't want to be when the power goes out. This is a 22-story high- rise where a lot of seniors live. There are no working elevators. The only way up is one step at a time.
We met one woman who has been trudging up those stairs every day.
(voice-over): All bundled up, Albina Williams manages a smile before the 70 years old -- yes, 70, makes a twice daily climb up six flights dragging four gallons of water and a grocery cart and a bucket to her apartment.
(on camera): Is it OK if I help you?
ALBINA WILLIAMS, 70 YEARS OLD: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: You're using this for what?
WILLIAMS: Flushing the toilet.
CANDIOTTI: I can't imagine how you carry that and this. This is the third floor, right?
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Do you need to rest?
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: Catch your breath. You're going all the way up to the 16th floor.
WILLIAMS: Every day. You want to see my gallons, look.
CANDIOTTI: Albina, I'm going to try to pull this lady's bag up there, too.
WILLIAMS: That's too much for you.
CANDIOTTI: I don't know how you ladies do it.
OK, this is floor five.
WILLIAMS: Five.
CANDIOTTI: Up we go. Up we go. OK, with he made it. This is the sixth floor.
All right. Albina, how is your breathing right now?
WILLIAMS: Tired and --
CANDIOTTI: You're OK?
WILLIAMS: I tired. I'm tired. It's really rough.
CANDIOTTI: What is it like at night? What are the sounds that you hear? What goes through your mind?
WILLIAMS: I just try to study in my mind and just focus on God.
CANDIOTTI: What was it like the night of the storm?
WILLIAMS: Oh, it was horrible, because the lights, television go off just like that.
CANDIOTTI: And then what?
WILLIAMS: Darkness, no light, no water.
CANDIOTTI: Albina, I have to tell you I'm feeling your hands right now. Your hands right now are frozen.
WILLIAMS: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: They are so cold. And this is during the daytime, when there's light in here.
WILLIAMS: I put this on, and then this is this stuff and then I put this over it, and this now I put on pants under, and put this over it, and then this comforter.
CANDIOTTI: After putting on all those layers and underneath the comforters and all the blankets, is it enough?
WILLIAMS: I keep warm.
CANDIOTTI: You manage to keep warm.
I'm glad it's working but how long do you think you can go on like this?
WILLIAMS: I have no idea.
It's there for the bathrooms.
CANDIOTTI: When you're asking them how long will it take for the power, what do they say?
WILLIAMS: They're not saying anything around. They say they don't know, maintenance say they don't know. I'm not hearing nothing.
CANDIOTTI: Albina, what is getting you through all of this?
WILLIAMS: God gives me the strength.
CANDIOTTI: He's giving you strength.
WILLIAMS: Yes, God giving me the strength. The only God giving me the strength, I'm telling me, because if it wasn't him, I couldn't pull through this. God is good.
CANDIOTTI: Albina, I wish you a lot of luck and I hope the power comes back soon.
WILLIAMS: Thank you.
CANDIOTTI: All right, take care.
Residents are getting some help. The National Guard and volunteers have been trudging up and down the stairs delivering food and supplies, but until that power comes back, every day and night is excruciating -- Don.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Susan, thank you very much.
Congress back in session, next week, but can Democrats and Republicans get past their differences to avoid the fiscal cliff.
And just who is the woman involved in the cheating scandal with General David Petraeus? She was once on our show. And we're going to take a closer look at Paula Broadwell, next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You don't have to be in front of television to watch CNN. You can do what I do. You can stay connected. You can do it on your cell phone or you can do it from your computer at work. Just go to CNN.com/TV.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: So let's talk a bit more, shall we, about the e-mail investigation that sparked the surprise resignation of CIA director -- former CIA director now, David Petraeus. A U.S. official tells CNN that Petraeus' extramarital affair came into light because the FBI looked into a complaint that his biographer Paula Broadwell was sending harassing e-mails to another woman who was close to Petraeus.
Well, Tom Fuentes is the former FBI assistant director and also a CNN contributor. And earlier I asked him, why would the FBI investigate CIA e-mails?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FUENTES, FORMER FBI ASSISTANT DIRECTOR: Because the FBI has jurisdiction if someone uses the Internet to threaten another person. So that's where the investigation began. It was not against Director Petraeus. It was because threats were being received over the Internet and since they're coming in to someone working at CIA headquarters and particularly in the executive area that prompted the FBI to go ahead and investigate the threat.
LEMON: OK, so the big concern here then, that an outsider could have access quite simply to sensitive information and intelligence.
FUENTES: Well, that's the concern, when it starts, but when you look into that, in the CIA or FBI headquarters or any of the intel agencies, often you have dual computer systems to that you can receive outside e-mails because someone might send a complaint over the public Internet service providers, and then of course you have the classified e-mail systems internally, and they're completely separate. But the fact that someone's receiving a threat at that level, they have to investigate and look at the nature of the threat and look at the person making the threats and start subpoenaing that person's records to see if they're threatening other officials or if there's more to the story, who they're connected with.
During that subsequent part of the investigation, that's where they determined the connection between the other woman and General Petraeus.
LEMON: Is there anyone here at risk of criminal prosecution?
FUENTES: From what I'm hearing, no. That the FBI investigation was winding down. They had determined that there had not been a security breach and that there had been no indication of a criminal violation on the part of Director Petraeus or someone from his staff, and basically that it was an administrative matter in terms of whether he's using government computers, government-owned computers to send and receive e-mails or, you know, the nature of that. But, no, that there was going to be no prosecution.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, the book Paula Broadwell coauthored is titled "All In: The Education of General David Petraeus", and in a way she has authored a much different story, one that has very much to do with the fall of a great American leader.
Here's a closer look at the woman behind the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON (voice-over): Paula Broadwell, from this point on, she'll be linked to the inglorious fall of one of America's most highly regarded military leaders. So who is Paula Broadwell? She's an honors graduate of West Point, a retired Army reserve major who lived, worked in or traveled to over 60 countries in 15 years of military service. Paula Broadwell is an author who has written about counter insurgency, transformational leadership and women in defense.
She joined me as a guest earlier this year to discuss Afghan military attacks on NATO soldiers. I asked her if all NATO troops had to be concerned with having targets on their backs.
PAULA BROADWELL, CO-AUTHOR OF GENERAL PETRAEUS BIOGRAPHY: Well, I think that's taking it a little bit too far. There isn't a bull's eye on the back of every one of our servicemen and women over there. In fact, I think a lot of this dialogue is overlooking the very strong relationships that many units have with their partner Afghan units and in the ministries where this happened. In fact, some of the soldiers and they're typically called Afghan hands have great rapport and respect with Afghans.
So, I think we can't go too far and say there's a target on everyone's back.
LEMON: Paula Broadwell is a gifted athlete, who ran track at West Point, and graduated at the top of her class in physical fitness. On one of her profile pages, she lists triathlons, kickboxing, and weight lifting as three of her interests. She is the co-author of a biography of General David Petraeus, the head of the CIA who resigned this week after admitting an extramarital affair.
During promotional appearances for the Petraeus biography, Broadwell discussed her unusual access to the general. Earlier this year, CNN's Brooke Baldwin asked her how she was able to get so close to the general.
BROADWELL: Well, this started as my dissertation about three years ago and I was working with General Petraeus, virtually, doing interviews via e-mail. And occasionally running with him and interviewing. And when he was selected to replace General McChrystal in the summer of 2010, I decided the time was right to turn it into a book.
So, I got a visa, went to Afghanistan, actually went on a few trips and embedded with the troopers in the field and headquarters. And at some point I think he realized I was taking the research seriously, I was sharing hardship with the troops and risk and decided to open up a little bit more access. But we had a relationship before I went there as far as this dissertation was concerned so it took it to another level.
LEMON: That access is at the root of this unfolding drama, an investigation by the FBI into alleged harassing e-mails from Broadwell to another woman close to Petraeus uncovered communications between Broadwell and Petraeus that were consistent with an extramarital affair.
Those e-mails led to the general's resignation accepted Friday by the president of the United States. (END VIDEOTAPE)
We will continue to follow that story, of course, but it's half past the hour. We want to look at today's headlines for you.
Nearly two weeks after superstorm Sandy, frustration boiling over in some areas of the Northeast.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can't get light on or anything for my kids, I can't get power, heat, garbage pickup.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: More than 280,000 people across the region still without power. New Jersey Governor Chris Christie said that he expects nearly all the power to be restored in his state by tonight. He told reporters, life will be back to normal for most of New Jersey come Sunday. We certainly hope so.
We're closing the book on Tuesday's election now. CNN projects that President Barack Obama won the Sunshine State and its 29 electoral votes. That's based on updated vote totals provided just before today's new deadline.
The victory gives President Obama 332 electoral votes, Mitt Romney finished with 206 -- 270, of course, are needed to win the White House.
United Nations has declared today Malala Day, in honor of a 15-year- old Pakistani girl whose bravery has inspired the world. It's been one month since Malala Yousufzai was shot in the head by Taliban militants for campaigning for girl's rights to an education. She's recovering at a British hospital where her father showed her some of the many "get well" cards sent in by supporters.
The director general of the Britain's public television network, the BBC, is quitting in the middle of a new sex scandal. George Entwistle took responsible for a program that wrongly implicated a politician in a child sex abuse case. It's just the latest for the BBC which already faced questions over another abused case.
A 4.3 magnitude earthquake rattles southeast Kentucky this morning. The quake was centered eight miles from Whitesburg. Earthquakes are not uncommon for this area. People from Ohio to Georgia reported feeling shaking, some more than 300 miles away.
And on the day before Veterans Day, the Marine Corps is celebrating its birthday. The corps was created 237 years ago by a resolution passed during the Second Continental Congress. Marines celebrated the day with a birthday ball and a cake cutting ceremony to honor their history and tradition.
You've heard about the fiscal cliff I'm sure. Well, you may be tired of hearing about it, but how important is it for Congress to act? (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DANIEL NEWHAUSER, ROLL CALL: Congress has basically put a gun to its own head and said, "If we don't act, we're going to shoot ourselves."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: What you need to know about what needs to happen, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Fayetteville, North Carolina, got a head start on Veterans Day with a parade honoring men and women who have served our country in uniform. The holiday was first celebrated in 1919, one year after the end of the First World War. That war formally ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918.
President Obama is scheduled to take part in a wreath laying ceremony tomorrow at Arlington National Cemetery.
And don't miss our special tomorrow about our soldiers and the sacrifices they make for our country, for their country. "Veterans in Focus: Service, Struggle and Success". It airs Sunday, 2:30 p.m. Eastern, right here on CNN.
And after all the drama of the election night, the 112th Congress returns for its lame duck session on Tuesday. And time is running out to keep the U.S. from going headlong over the so-called fiscal cliff in the New Year. That's when an onslaught of spending cuts and tax hikes are slated to go into effect.
CNN's Athena Jones has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It's time to get back to work.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): With the election in the rear view mirror, the focus in Washington is back on efforts to avoid the economically devastating fiscal cliff.
JEANNE SAHADI, CNN MONEY CORRESPONDENT: If we just go over the cliff and let the policies stay in effect, we're basically going to undo the recovery. Neither party really wants to be blamed for that.
JONES: The cliff amounts to $7 trillion in spending cuts and tax increases over the next decade. The threat of these painful cuts set to begin on January 1st is part of a deal Congress and the president made last year to force them to agree on a long-term deficit reduction plan.
DANIEL NEWHAUSER, ROLL CALL: This is unprecedented scenario that Congress has basically put a gun to its own head and said, "If we don't act, we're going to shoot ourselves." JONES: So far, that long-term plan hasn't materialized. The biggest chunk of the cliff, the Bush tax cuts. They're also a big sticking point. Democrats insist cuts for families making $250,000 or more must end.
OBAMA: We're serious about reducing the deficit. We have to combine spending cuts with revenue. And that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes.
JONES: Republicans say that will hurt the economy.
REP. JOHN BOEHNER (R-OH), SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Feeding the growth of government through higher tax rates won't help us solve the problem.
JONES: But the speaker also signaled what could be an opening, saying raising more revenue is now on the table as long as it comes from tax reform and not higher rates. One thing that's clear, lawmakers want the president to be involved in any deal making.
BOEHNER: I think it's important for us to come to an agreement with the president, but this is his opportunity to lead.
JONES: And taxes aren't the only hang up. Congress also has to figure out how to reduce spending on entitlements like Social Security and Medicare, the Democrats' sacred cows.
With the balance of power unchanged on Capitol Hill, finding that elusive common ground on these issues could be tough, both in the lame duck session and beyond. A short-term deal that postpones the cliff appears most likely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: That was CNN's Athena Jones reporting.
And one other note, many in the House and Senate won't be coming back for the 113th Congress, 86 lawmakers are retiring, lost or ran for a different office.
It is the hottest movie in the country and one of our CNN iReporters sat down with one of the hottest men in movies, Daniel Craig, James Bond -- one on one, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Well, the latest James Bond film "Skyfall" stars Daniel Craig returning for a third time as 007. It's expected to open strong in the U.S. this weekend, and it is already making a killing overseas.
One of our superstars CNN iReporters. Her name is Julie Ellerton. She got to sit down with the cast in New York last month.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANIEL CRAIG, ACTOR (as James Bond): Some men are coming to kill us. We're going to kill them first.
JULIE ELLERTON, IREPORTER: I really loved it.
CRAIG: Great. Thank you.
ELLERTON: I think this is the best one.
CRAIG: Wow. Thank you.
ELLERTON: Really, exceptional.
CRAIG: Thank you, thank you.
ELLERTON: How much influence do you have over the script?
CRAIG: I'd like to take an awful lot but whether they listen to me, they're just pretending. I'm very much involved. I mean, I don't try and sort of control it, I just kind of, the criteria in our hand was the best Bond we can make, so therefore let's get everything bond into it.
(MOVIE CLIP PLAYS)
CRAIG: Sound is incredibly collaborative. John Logan sat in on rehearsals and was really generous, because I was probably a little bit kind of, I hope he forgives me, but he just went away and he'd go away and come back with great dialogue and witty dialogue, a lightness of touch that I really wanted to get into the film.
There's no shame in saying you've lost a step.
ELLERTON: Were you a James Bond fan?
JAVIER BARDEM, ACTOR, "SKYFALL": Yes, of course, I'm 43 years old. So since I was 12 years old when I was 12 years old I saw "Moonraker" with my father. Since then I've seen them all. Of course, 007 is in my life, many other people's lives since they were young because it's 50 years.
It's a lot of time doing movies and to be part of it now, it's a privilege. It's really an honor.
ELLERTON: Excited when they approached you to play the role?
BARDEM: Yes, totally but at the same time you have to forget about it and focus on what they're proposing you to do because otherwise this will be too heavy to make any decision, so when I was working and shooting, I didn't want to think too much about it.
Now that I'm promoting the movie I just realized it's 007 and the movie that celebrates 50 years. So it's a big deal and I'm honored, it's a privilege to be part of it.
(MUSIC)
ELLERTON: Each Bond girl adds her own unique spin. What was that for you two?
NAOMIE HARRIS, ACTRESS, "SKYFALL": I think you know you stay within the confines of the script but then you also have fun with it and play with it, and, you know, we all have our own unique story and all different anyway. So whatever we bring to it is always going to be different.
My Bond guy is bound to be different from Bernice's, because we have different life stories. But it's a matter of letting go of all the expectations and being original, trying to find something unique about the character.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: The girls are beautiful, man. For more great interviews or to submit your own CNN iReport, check out iReport.com.
So nearly two weeks since superstorm Sandy and thousands in the Northeast remain in the dark, while they wait for power, neighbors are helping neighbors. We're going to show you how people in Queens, New York, are coming together and keeping spirits high.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: People live on the East Coast, some who have suffered without power for 12 days waited for officials to come days waited for officials to come through on big promises to end the blackout. About 280,000 customers are still without power in the region, some places not expected to return until at least Tuesday.
During the Army/Rutgers football game, a t-shirt sale was held to raise money for storm relief efforts. The shirts had a logo of the state of New Jersey and the word "strong" on it with the "R" emphasized for Rutgers.
Some 130,000 households around New York City are still without power, most outages in Long Island and some areas of queens. Like the Rockaway Peninsula.
As CNN's Deb Feyerick reports, people there are fed up and want their power back now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You want to hear what I have to say or not?
DEBORAH FEYERICK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Anger, frustration, and despair as people demand to know why their neighborhood remains dark more than 12 days after super-storm Sandy hit this boardwalk community.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I can't get light on, I can't get power, heat, garbage pickup, nothing?
FEYERICK: Workers from Long Island Power Authority known as LIPA are visible, but still can't seem to get the electricity back in the homes in the flood zone.
New York's governor has threatened to pull the company's operating license.
GOV. ANDREW CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: We paid them and gave them a franchise because they represented themselves as experts at doing this. And they failed. And they should be held accountable for their failure.
FEYERICK: At the Mt. Caramel Baptist Church next to a public housing complex, volunteers worked hard to serve hot meals and keep up morale. Many left before sunset. The trains are still not running this far out.
One woman told us it feels like martial law here with people bolted inside their homes after dark.
JANNICK BROWN, QUEENS, NEW YORK RESIDENT: There's no power, no light. You can barely see in front of you. It's difficult, you have a hard time. Usually you try to get in before the sun goes down.
FEYERICK: Kenneth Gonzalez, a registered nurse, is now crammed into his living room, one he now shares with three other people and a few belongings he could save.
KENNETH GONZALEZ, QUEENS, NEW YORK RESIDENT: Somebody comes in here with guns to take the little I have left, what am I supposed to do? It's like Armageddon or something. They just forgot about us, you know? How are we to survive?
FEYERICK: Deborah Feyerick, CNN, Rockaway, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Now making their mark, the New York borough of Queens was hit hard when superstorm Sandy tore through and a snowstorm swiftly followed. But some Good Samaritans are pitching in to help. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need generators. If anybody can help us and donate generators, it would be so sweet of y'all.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We need power in our houses. It's a shame what happened here. We need power.
NEANNA BODYCOMB, VOLUNTEER: We all have a bunch of friends that live out here. A lot of people who are running this operation actually live out here and run these businesses. And a lot of us are really close to those people.
So during the storm, I was trying to call them, after the storm trying to call them. I finally got in touch Wednesday and they said it was really bad, a lot worse than we all thought. So I packed up my car full of supplies and I drove out thinking I would just come for a day. We were just trying to get food and water out to people. Nobody knew what was going on.
Then, I decided to come back the next day and the next day and it just started growing. Now we have a little operation that we're running, what we're kind of calling the commissary. This is a place where people can walk up, people who are mobile can walk up. They can get supplies and they can get food, diapers, baby formula -- basically everything.
We set up coffee, hot food, loose snacks. They can come up all day, get what they need. It's kind of like a cross between a restaurant and a bodega. Some people are coming for just themselves. Some people are coming for three families.
There is another relief group just a few blocks away. We were both offering cleanup services, both offering distribution, both canvassing and we all got together and decided we were going to combine forces.
So now we are distribution. We'll be handling all food and running deliveries. And they're going to be handling all cleanup services. That's anything from pumping a basement to removing wet insulation.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You need some help over here?
BODYCOMB: Ripping out carpet, moving washers and dryers, all that thing. We are going to find out everybody's needs are and we're going to try to fill those needs the best we can. Our main goal now is to sustain a quality of life.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos with the most bizarre coverage of the election coverage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you missed the moment live, let's relive it.
RACHEL MADDOW, MSNBC: President Obama has been re-elected.
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: President of the United States.
MEGYN KELLY, FOX NEWS: It was a hard-fought battle.
STEVEN COLBERT, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE COLBERT REPORT": "The Colbert Report" is ready to project that CNN has projected that Animal Planet has predicted that the winner of the 2012 presidential election is Barack Obama.
MOOS: Talk about a thoughtful pundit -- though painting a bleak picture of President Obama's second term, FOX commentator Dr. Charles Krauthammer joked --
CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER, FOX COMMENTATOR: So as a psychologist, I will offer to write prescriptions for anybody who needs them right now.
MOOS: But Obama supporters were ecstatic. CNN even cut away to some in Kenya. Speaking of which --
(on camera): What would election night be without a Donald Trump angle?
(voice-over): After Mitt Romney's loss, Trump tweeted, "This election is a total sham and travesty. We should have a revolution in this country." Which prompted NBC's Brian Williams to launch this zinger.
BRIAN WILLIAMS, NBC NEWS ANCHOR: Donald Trump, who has driven well past the last exit to relevance --
MOOS: The exit for Mitt Romney was Ohio, and after FOX News called Ohio for Obama, the network's own best-known commentator objected.
KARL ROVE, REPUBLICAN STRATEGIST: We've got to be careful about calling things.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's awkward.
MOOS: Once Karl Rove questioned the call by FOX's decision desk, Megyn Kelly walked back there.
KELLY: Whoa. Careful.
MOOS: Live camera in tow.
KELLY: Keep coming. Here we go.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're actually quite comfortable with the call in Ohio.
MOOS: But the anchor who got the most flack was ABC's Diane Sawyer.
DIANE SAWYER, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Can we have music? Because this is another big one here.
MOOS: Viewers thought her delivery was strange: "I'll have what Diane Sawyer is having," tweeted singer Josh Groban.
SAWYER: President Barack Obama has won Minnesota.
MOOS: Someone else tweeted, "And Diane Sawyer declares tonight's winner is chardonnay."
Officially, ABC wouldn't comment, but staffers suggest Diane was just exhausted from hurricane coverage and debate prep.
(on camera): And what's an anchor supposed to do when she gets a call of nature while she's in the middle of calling states?
MADDOW: I came back from the bathroom and said that Colorado was still too close to call. Nobody told me while I was in the bathroom, Colorado went for President Obama. Thanks, you guys. I really appreciate it.
MOOS: One thing networks don't project are bathroom breaks.
Jeanne Moos, CNN --
JON STEWART, HOST, COMEDY CENTRAL'S "THE DAILY SHOW": Good news for Mitt Romney. He has won tonight -- we can announce this right now -- most of the confederacy.
MOOS: -- New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We're just human, people.
All right, see you at 10:00. Thanks for watching.
