it's ugly. it's really ugly. you can see it, it's not far you can see it, it's not far away from here. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com the newspaper headline that call president obama the n word. the fourth of july parade that calls an outhouse his library. poor taste? definitely. is it racism? who decides what you can and cannot say about this president. especially this president. i'll talk to the writer of. controversial newspaper column. also the toddler killed in a hot car. his father charged with murder and police have questions for the mother, too. unthinkable but it seems it just keeps happening. there is a couple arrested for leaving their 15-month-old in a hot car this weekend and a 3-year-old dead after getting trapped in his family car. what can we do to stop this?

plus it has been 50 years since the british invasion. if you want to know what it was really like, who better to talk to than one of the fab four. the one and only ringo starr tells us all about it tonight. but first i need to show you something that is causing a whole lot of controversy. ready for it? here it is. the newspaperaine. and it simply reads, the [ bleep ] in the white house. if you have watched me over the past couple years, the past few years, you know how i feel about this. although i think this word is toxic and used gratuitously at a often by far too many people of all different ethnic backgrounds, i do think it should be used if it is pertinent to a news story or the conversation. we can't talk about it without actually saying the word. was it appropriate to be used in this way in a headline? did this newspaper go too far? the writer of this article had a by the way is white and insisted on this headline, he will join

me alive to defend himself. and then there are the two images that you see behind me. it is from a fourth of july parade float. they show an outhouse with a sign that reads, obama. presidential library. then there is a figure on the front that most assume is president obama. some are outraged saying it is racist. others saying it is political satire. which is it? the man who created the controversial float will explain it tonight. we begin with some breaking news. take a look the a these incredible pictures. six flags magic mountain. it has hit a tree and it has derailed. four people are injured. as you can see, up to 30 people still trapped on that ride some 20 feet off the ground. we're going to keep an eye on this situation and bring this to you as we get more right hear on cnn tonight. stay tuned.

now to the tragic deaths across the country of the children left alone in broiling hot cars. here's new york -- here in new york it is 85 degrees right now outside. and in hot spots across the united states, temperatures are rising look at them all across the country. dallas, 98 degrees. 89 in albuquerque. and it is night time. more children are in danger now. we see it happening far too often. cnn has more. >> reporter: it's happened again. this time, el paso, texas. >> 911. >> a 2-year-old female. >> a 2-year-old left in the car parked at the family home. reports the child left to suffocate overnight. an autopsy being conducted on the little girl before possible criminal charges. >> and again, in tennessee, matthew brown and britney arrested after leaving the 15-month-old girl in their car after they shopped at the supermarket. she is okay after a firefighter

smashed a car wind over to free her. they face up to six years in prison. and again, in new york. melvin charged with endangerment for leaving his 2-year-old daughter in his car. win owes rolled up. a/c off. police broke the window and saved her. estimated temperature inside, 120 degrees. he told police, he simply forgot she was there. already this year, 15 children have died from heat stroke or suspected heat stroke. the researcher gathering this data says the number of close calls, in the thousands. cars can heat up very quickly. even in cooler temperatures. it is 91 outside. inside, we've only been in here 10 or 15 minutes. it is 108 degrees. i can tell you i'm sweating through my shirt already. i'm sweating just about everywhere. these cars can go from uncomfortable to deadly very fast. all these cases in the last week. even though most of the nation is laser focused on the

sickening case of 22-month-old cooper harris. >> sir, are you justin ross harris? >> yes, sir. >> the child discovered by his father justin harris who spent the day working at home depot, having lunch with friends and sexing women while his son spent seven hours strapped into his car seat. scratches to his face, abrasions on the back of his head. the child apparently struggling to survive the heat. harris charged with murder and child cruelty after police discovered he had searched the internet for information on how long it took pets to die in hot cars and living a life with no children. his wife leeanne may also be charged. during the probable cause hearing, suspicious evidence about what she said to her husband shortly after their son's death. >> she asked him, she had him sit down. and he starts going through this. she looks at him, did you say too much? >> the same week cooper died in georgia, 9-month-old anna marie

lily in florida died after four hours in the back of her father steven lily's truck. he told police he mental to drop her off at daycare before heading to work. here's steven lily from the 911 call. >> piers: she's been in the car for hours. i absolutely forgot about her. she's not alive. >> a shocking admission from a father at the scene of his own daughter's death. as unimaginable as leaving a child in a car seems, experts say there will be more cases as the temperatures across the country rise. cnn new york. >> joining me now, legal analyst mel rob yinls, janet johnson and shelby county district attorney d.a. so amy, i'm going to begin with you. as a district attorney general in memphis, how often do you see children left in hot cars? and there's a new law that went into effect there last week. >> the new law is a civil law

that gives people immunity from civil lawsuits if they break someone's car to rescue a child. but far too often we have incidents in shelby county. here in memphis it gets very hot. far too often we have incidents where children are removed from cars. oftentimes still alive but unfortunately, sometimes it is too late. >> what sticks out to you, if anything, about the harris case, amy? >> well, what do you mean? just the -- >> in general, if you see this happening a lot, rate? and then there is a new civil law where you are, is there something that stands out in this particular case as to what the father said or to the actions of either of the parents? >> well, not really. it's a tragic, horrible situation. and i think what strikes us every time these situations arise, no matter where they are in the country, is how avoidable

they are. that it just takes a few extra steps. the harris case, i guess is a little unique if there is praf that this was premeditated and intentional. but far at a often it is just accidental. it is just someone not doing their job, caring for the child in their care. >> let's talk about what happened thursday. and many people may have been tang out because they did not get to see it because of the holiday. there was a probable cause hearing on thursday. i want you to walk me through daets that emerged about ross harris' behavior on that day in question. and witnesses say his behavior seemed normal for a distraught parent. >> well, some of the witnesses, don, say it was normal. and frankly, this is a case unlake all other cases that are p pending right now. it originally looked like a mistake but there is turn after turn after turn that makes everybody that hears all of the evidence that was in the probable cause hearing say, oh,

my gosh. this is gut wrenching and disgusting. first of all, you have the fact that while this kid is scratching himself and banging his head against his seat because he is trying to get out of the seat. he is stuck in there. the dad is sexting six women. then you have the fact pegs to the car and drops something off inside the car. the car was backed into the spot. so he had to walk past the child in order to open up the door and put something in. now, investigators say, don, that the car had an unbelievable stench to it just four hours later. so you know when he opened up the door, there must have been something that he smelled. then he gets in the car after seven hours of being at work. and the kid is already dead. you don't think the car smells? and then he drives for another two miles? gets out. there are witnesses that say his

immediate response is the kid is choking. when the police arrive, he is saying f-u to the police. he says he can't reach anyone on the phone when he's actually made three phone calls. lie after lie after lie after lie after lie, don. >> do you agree with that? police are continuing to build their case now with what mel has just said. do you agree with what she said? >> as the only defense attorney i have to say, in the beginning, it always looks bad for the defense. at this point the only burden is on the prosecution. so on thursday, it was horrifying. i listened as well. i've been a defense attorney for a long time. it was one of the most sickening proceedings i've seen. this is the burden on the state. so they've put out all their evidence and it is the worst stuff. we haven't heard from the defense so i don't want to rush to judgment. i think those things were particularly bad. i also think there was evidence that he is deaf. there's a subpoena that went out today where they're looking into his medical records. will that be a defense?

he had a head injury that caused deafness and memory loss? are these things that we'll find out about? what happened thursday? it was a horrible proceeding. but there was a witness who said, my heart went out to him. this is a guy who didn't have a dog in the fight. he isn't somebody who is a defense friend. he was a stranger. and he said i looked at him and i thought, that's the way someone would look if he was grieving. in fact, i felt his pain. so i don't want to us jump on and say this could be premeditated. it couldn't be anything else. i've represented people who have accidentally hurt and even killed their children. and it was an accident. so that does happen. i don't want us to try him right now. >> here's a question to amy. you heard what janet just said. and it happens so often that you have to have a law to prevent it. why do accidents happen like this so much? >> who knows? if we had that answer we could save hundreds of children every

year. part of that, i think, is people being careless, being rushed, being forgetful. unfortunately as we see playing out in the courts in atlanta, there are those intentional, premeditated crimes as well. the bottom line is it is a very simple thing to avoid. you have to make sure you get your children out of the car. you have to make sure you get elderly people that can't fend for themselves out of the car. >> and animals as well. so stick with me. >> and animals as well, yes. >> when we come back, what about the child's mother? what police are learning and saying about her. also, open season on president obama? a fourth of july parade float that calls an outhouse his presidential library. a headline calls him the "n" word. we'll ask the man had a wrote this column, what was he thinking? and reliving the glory days of beatle mania. the one and only ringo starr. also aware keeping an eye on

our breaking news story. that roller coaster derailment. we'll bring you the very latest. [ male announcer ] hey, look at you!

you're an emailing, texting, master of the digital universe. but do you protect yourself? ♪ apparently not. when you access everything, you give everyone access to everything about you. but that's ok. while you do your thing... [ alert rings ] we'll be here at lifelock, doing our thing. watching out for things your credit card alone can't. [ alert rings ] and relentlessly protecting your identity. get lifelock protection and live life free. [ alert rings ]

take a look at this little boy. cooper harris. he died after he was left in a hot car by his father for hours. the father is facing murder charges. police have a lot of questions for cooper's mother. i'm back with mel robins, janet johnson and amy weirick. the case against ross harris, it seems pretty damning right now. is there any evidence that works in his favor, do you think? >> yeah.

i think what we haven't found out could work in his favor. what i wonder is, did he park in his usual stop at his job. or did he park in a place where nobody would see baby cooper. is he acting with consciousness with guilt. that's what we look for in court. or did he act normal? most of the people who took the stand on thursday, those were state witnesses, they said he acted normal. so again, i don't want us to look at the little bit of evidence that we have and say, well, that's all circumstantial and it all points to him. >> of course it does. aren't police say he was not normal and he used a profanity and he was on his phone with the boss the whole time? >> those are people who didn't know him though. >> i think there's evidence that cuts both ways. what we need to see is what is on his cell phone and what searches was he engaged in and what lies did he tell during the day if he told any that go to his credibility. >> i want to you listen to this. this is phillip stoddard of the

cobb county police department talking about what we're talking about. listen to this. >> what was he being emotional about? what was the main thing he was crying about or sobbing about? >> it was all about him. i can't believe this is happening to me. i can't believe, you know, this happened to me. why am i being punished for this? >> it was all very one sided. he talked about losing his job. what am i going to do? i'll lose my job. i'll be charged with a felony. is that a normal way to act after something like this happens? >> there's not, you know. it is something that will be discussed in voyeur dire when you start talking about the praf. there's no normal way to act. but it will be for the trier of fact to make that determination. whether the state has the praf beyond a reasonable doubt. >> let's talk about the wife. she isn't a suspect right now. she is only part of the

investigation. there continues to be a lot of conversations surrounding her. why do you think that is? >> i think it is easy to try to judge in a situation lake this how you think someone should act. i agree that we shouldn't rush to judgment to say someone is not grieving in the appropriate way. however, there are two things i found to be very troubling that i'm sure you'll agree with, don. one is that when she arrived at daycare to pick up little cooper and was told he was never dropped off, her first thing was to say, oh, ross must have left him in the car. and when people tried to say no, no, no, she said it again. and so there was something about that that triggers in my mind. wait a minute, she either knew he was capable of this or maybe she let -- go ahead. >> but mel, if she was in on it, wouldn't that be the last thing she would say? wouldn't she say, gosh, i wonder

what could have happened to cooper. would she implicate him immediately and say, oh, i bet he left the baby in the car? if they're that good at setting this up and that bad at then covering it up, i would find that shocking. i would think the last thing she would want to say at the crime scene. >> my theory is more not that she was in on it but that she knew something was up. whether educated something in the middle of the day to her. they're going to have to look at her cell phone, at his cell phone to see if he had communicated anything. maybe she knew he was capable of something like this. they were having marital problems. he was sexting six different women in the morning. who knows what was going on behind closed doors. i found that to be a very, very strange thing to say if you show up at daycare, you think your kid is there. you're told he was never dropped off and that's the first thing you say and then you insist. the other thing i found to be bizarre is when she said at the funeral, i love you, ross, i'm

doing this for you. wait a minute. what are you doing for him exactly? backing him up or covering up? that's what the police need to figure out. that's just may two cents. >> do you want to weigh in on that? >> i think we're parsing words that we wouldn't do if it was anything other than this gruesome crime. i do know that i've represent women who were married to abusers and child abusers, who were in denial. and i think that that is probably, if it turnls out that he's guilty, what is going on with her. she is standing by him initially. she loves him. she obviously put up with a lot from him. he's been cheating on her, sexting which i don't think is relevant in the long run. i do think that she probably is used to making excuses for him. this might be just one last excuse. >> actually, something that you'll probably agree with is the sexting might be relevant. let's say it is a mistake. if his whole life is in shambles and he has six women blowing up his phone in the morning with all kinds of sex and erotic

pictures, no wonder he is distracted. >> that's a great point. >> so final question. you have so much experience with this. is there, what can we do to help? is there any way to prevent this? what advice do you have? >> well, something we do here every summer. we get together with our child advocacy center and we have a press conference. it is so simple. reminding the public, reminding the community, where are the kids? are the kids out of the car? and it has to be instilled and become automatic in everyone's conversation. particularly in the summertime. the bottom line, it is never a good idea to leave your child in the car. whether it is november or august. a car is a deadly weapon. >> even if you think you're going for a little bit, you're right. the best thing we can do is give some advice to try to prevent it. >> thank you all. coming up, the "n" word. one newspaper was brazen enough

to use night headline and in reference to the commander in chief. the writer of that article joining me next. plus a small town fourth of july parade for a float that labeled an outhouse president obama's library. is it racist? the cadillac summer collection is here. ♪ ♪

during the cadillac summer's best event, lease this all new 2014 cts for around $459 a month or purchase with 0% apr and make this the summer of style.

this is the truth. you cannot be the president of the united states and not expect to face criticism. some of it very heated, right? is president obama taking heat for more than his politics? and some of the criticism, is it really about race? and does it cross the line?

>> reporter: what's red and white and black all over. a new york newspaper using the most racially charged word to describe president obama. a fourth of july parade float in nebraska shows a dummy depicted in front of an outhouse marked presidential library. is it open season on the president's race? >> when you see it, if you're an african-american, if you're a minority and you felt at any point in your life that you've been subject to racism, there are certain things that will get your back up. >> reporter: using an outhouse for the first black president's library smacks of blat ant racism to many. >> have you lost your mind? >> no ma'am burk you're about to. >> reporter: it brings to mind the 2011 academy award nominated film, the help. late today, according to kntv, the float's creator said the dummy was him and not the

president. and it is all political satire. it is certainly not the first obama presidential satire or protest sparking controversy. but is it racism? or political free speech? or in some cases, just bad taste. the mayor said in a statement, quote, we recognize and respect our citizens' differing political beliefs and their rights to express them freely. however, we are disappointed that the occasion of this family friendly celebration of america's birth was used in a way that disparaged the office of the president. >> some supporters of president bush would say the way he was characterized was also disrespectful of the office. >> i think it is a false egive religiousy. let me be clear. the idea of opposing a president or poking fun at a president, that's nothing new. it is when you cross that lane. you know? president bush, yes. during his lowest points certainly did take a lot of

criticism from the left and from democrats. but nothing that you would consider racist. nothing that you would consider out of bounds or over the top. >> reporter: like bush, obama's poll numbers have taken a nosedive. do attacks like these take away from the legitimate criticism. the writer of this point said it was to criticize the opponents who bring race into the discussion. clearly that back fared. cnn washington. >> thank you very much. joining me now, the man at the center of this uproar over this particular headline. james lincoln collier. he wrote the article for the west view news. he joins me now by telephone. this is a headline that really caused. so uproar. it says the [ bleep ] in the white house. why did you insist on using this term in this way? >> reporter: that was the whole point. is that a great many people in the united states continue to think of president obama that

way. i wanted to make that point that there is a substantial amount of racism still existing in the united states, and that is how i expressed it in order to get that point across as strongly as i could. >> so here's the issue that i think that i had with the piece. seeing it in print actually did not bother me. i think it is pert nenl to the news story. if there is a legitimate reason for using it. but you did not reference the word in the article. and you did not explain in the article why you used it. so it looks like it is just an attention grabbing headline. and you know these days, people don't read beyond the headlines very much. >> well, i can't help that. there's nothing i can do that people don't read the whole article. it is very supportive of obama. and it is directed at the people who are against obama because of his race. that was the point of it. >> i understand that. but still, as i said, you didn't

reference the use of the headline anywhere. listen, i've been a victim of that. people who write dlans for thing that i wrote and it has nothing to do with what i actually wrofl i understand that. but you insisted on this headline. yet you did not really reference why you insissed on it. >> i didn't insist on it. that's the title i put on the piece. i submitted it to the publisher and that's the way he ran it. i thought it was an appropriate title to put on the piece. that was the nature of the story. that a great many people in america have a lot of trouble with the fact that we have a black president. and may point was to try to get that across. and i used that term to make that understood. that's the way a great many americans think of president obama. >> you're right. when you look at the headline, you may not think that the article was very pro president obama and it is. here's what you write. you said it is possible to draw only one conclusion, far right voters hate obama.

a large minority have been quietly angry that they must have in the white house a member of an infather i don't remember class of people. until recently they have felt could not strained to keep their mouths shut. but america's increasing tol ranls of far right opinions has made racism more acceptable so long as it can be distinguished, however thinly, as politics. disguised, excuse me. i didn't bring may glasses so i'm having a little trouble. i think you made a very legitimate point. explain yourself. >> i said what i said. there are a great many people who will pre tend they're talking about a political member but behind it they're driven by racism. it exists in the united states and there's no getting around it. you just have to listen to people talk when they think they're not being overheard. that is certainly part of the american culture and it has been for a long time. >> are there any exceptions to

this? would you agree that there are plenty of people on the rate or far right who really just hate the president's policies and they didn't really care what color his skin is? >> well, of course. there are all kinds of people voting the way they do. feeling the way they do about any president. a lot of them are driven simply by politics. but you have a substantial number of people, and it would be impossible to put percentages to it. who are very, driven by their own racist attitudes. that would not be just true of the south. you find plenty of that in the north as well. >> i'm going to speak with charles from the new york tames. you reference that, about "the new york times" not using the word. he says by using this headline, you have lost your larger argument. i believe he thinks you lost the moral high ground as well. is he wrong or right about that?

>> i don't think so. i wouldn't have done that if i thought that were the case. i don't think it is the case. i think the point was, to get it across. that this is still an attitude in the united states. and clearly, from the response that i had, i expected there would be some response. but not to the extent that there has been. and that makes it very clear to me that this is still a very emotional issue for the american people. people on both sides of the fence, obviously, but still a very emotional issue. i don't get called up to be interviewed by cnn very often, i assure you. but this is why you're interested in me. because this issue is still a very emotional one for american people. >> would you do it all over again including using that word if you knew then what you know now? >> i wouldn't change it at all. if i thought i shouldn't have

done it in the first place, i wouldn't have done it. if i would do it again, i would do it exactly as i've done it. >> james lincoln collier. thank you for joining us. >> thank you vex. when we come back, i want our political team to weigh in. is a president facing racism or politics as usual? also, ringo starr's birthday. i'll talk to him about the beatles and what it was lake to be part of the british invasion. ♪ ck pain... ...and a choice. take 4 advil in a day which is 2 aleve... ...for all day relief. "start your engines" and i'm his mom at the dog park. the kids get trail mix, and here's what you get after a full day of chasing that cute little poodle from down the street. mm hmm delicious milo's kitchen chicken meatballs. they look homemade, which he likes almost as much as making new friends

yes, i'll call her. aww, ladies' man. milo's kitchen. made in the usa with chicken or beef as the number one ingredient. the best treats come from the kitchen.

. ? president obama's critics racists. david gergen, senior political analyst and adviser for presidents nixon, ford, reagan and clinton.

those are some pretty big resumes here. charles, you just heard from the man, james collier who wrote that controversial headline. and the words. he was saying he's trying to make an important point that was large better the opposition to the president being largely based on race. did he have a valid point in your opinion? >> well, i think you have to separate those two things. on the one hand, you can see that he's trying to be provocative and draw people into reading the piece. i write a column in the new york time. part of job is to be provocative. when you use racial slurs in your provocation, you've automatically lost the argument. no one will listen to the argument. no one will get past the slur so i think you've already lost. whatever good you thought you were doing, you lost it. the second point, i think you have to detangle. is there racism in america? of course there is. social scientists have for

decades designed very sophisticated experiments to make sure they can measure both implicit and explicit racism across all sorts of measure, medical, the legal system, educational system, what have you. we know that exists. that doesn't shock anyone that exists. >> his larger point was whether or not the opposition and the criticism to him is largely based on race. we know there's racism. >> but even he admitted in your interview with him that there is no way that you could put a percentage on it. you can't jump from the fact that racism exists in america to being able to identify how much of the resistance to obama is racist. maybe social scientists will in the end design sophisticated experiments to be able to measure to some degree, if that is extra. right now we don't know that. if you're trying to jump from this kind of cause and effect to

say, because there is racism in america, and because there is a strenuous objection to obama, that the two must have a causal relationship, then i think you already overreach. >> kelly ann? >> i really appreciate charles saying that. i was astonished to hear your interview. he said two thing that really caught may attention. one is that he doesn't get called by cnn very often. quote, that's for sure. so he definitely got his 15 minutes of fame. he talked about the substantial number of americans had a are against the president because of his race. and this is a man whose circulation of 20,000, i don't know if the viewers are aware burg the west village in chelsea, a lovely place but a very lovely, very wealthy white enclave. i found it remarkable that this man is painting with such a broad brush that people, a substantial number of americans are against him because. his race. charles is rate. of course there's racism in this country and we have a terrible

history of that in this nation. however, i think it would behoove the democrats to admit. if you are against the president's policies right now, you're probably not a racial bigot. you're a senate democrat. you have mark begich in alaska saying i don't want him campaigning with me. i want him to change his policies. >> you're making the same jump. >> i'm showing the ill logic. >> make the same point he is making. that you can exclude it. you can't measure at this point how much or to what degree or whether or not it is the main factor or a subordinate factor, a conscious factor or a subconscious factor. none of us know the answer to that. >> david, get in here. >> well, in the first place i think mr. collier, his mistake was dumb but i don't think he is a racist. he was waving the flag trying to get attention as charles suggests. on the question of whether the opposition to obama is drichbl

by racism, i think that's a false charge in this sense. i think the opinion polls about obama's performance in office are driven by performance itself. early in the presidency, he was well over 60%. now he's down in the low 40s. some poll have him in the high 30s. he hasn't changed the color of his skin during that time. it is his performance that has driven a lot of people including some democrats. i think that the vitriol directed at the president comes from, in part, from racism. there is no question that a country that was once riddled with racism still suffers from it. it is not as wade spread as it was. i think that the tone of the conversation, the way he's treated. that outhouse was racist. the you wonder, the people who were the gate canadaer of that ought to be ashame of themselves. it sends so many signals.

if that is picked up by the rest of the country to be acceptable. >> i want to you hear what the creator of this had to say. it was in nebraska. let's listen. >> it is me. i've got on my bibs, i've got my walker, i'm turning green and some say i look like a zombie. but i am not a hatemonger. and i am not a racist. i trade tad political satire as best i could. to be honest it is mostly political disgust. no more or no less. >> he is saying the dummy is not the president but actually himself. what do you make of that? >> well, like the old saying, one second. like the old saying goes, who knows what secrets lurk in the hearts of men? yang what his motivation is. >> i agree with that. >> i'm sorry. >> the expression can be

interpreted without having to go into his inner soul. >> that's what i was about to say. which is this. which is that motivation will, separately from perception. so if you can't have enough empathy to understand that your joke or your off color statement could be perceived by someone else as being offensive, and have the kind of honor enough to apologize for that. to say, i thought this was just a political expression. but i can see through historical context that this can be seen as offensive by some people. that's the honorable thing to do. >> literally i have ten seconds left. >> i do think that all of us have to be sense i have the to the fact that we live in a very diverse country. how we see something may not be the same way that people who are, who have been the victim of discrimination, african-americans have been. >> that's an important point. >> in horrible ways that we've heard. you have to begin to have a

conversation which shows respect for their perspective. >> i have to give you the last few seconds, kelly. >> that's a very important point. >> where were the people who put on the parade? >> that's a very important point about our diversity and perception. let me say that i hope everybody -- >> got to go fast. have the "n" word is an ugly word. it doesn't deserve that. the objection is that we allowed to it live another day. there's no justification to have that whatsoever. let's get it off our basketball courts, out of our locker rooms, out of our rap music. >> i have to go. thank you, all of you. ringo starr when we come back.

this is a big year for millions of beatles fans around the world. 50 years ago the fab four topped the charts in america. made their live debut on the ed sullivan show and released their first song. who better to talk about it than the one and only ringo starr. still rocking after all these years. and teaming up in the name of peace and love. here's a portion of the ad campaign that launched today with ringo and the celebrity drums.

>> it was lucky in those days, if you had an instrument, you were in the band. it is just, i love the sound of them, the depth of them, what they give me. you know? it is just my instrument. just, that's what i want to play. >> ringo starr and john varvatos join me now. happy birthday. i understand you turned 25 and every year you celebrate with peace and love. >> 24 today, brother. 24. >> so you're at the famous, the iconic capital records building which you know a lot about. you're sitting next to a fashion icon. tell me about this collaboration. it is called peace rocks initiative. >> it started, john invited me to be a male model this year, which i am, and actually on his chest. and from that, things just, the

opposite, into good hands. he decided to come along on the peace and love trail and was very supportive. and actually came up with this idea of peace rocks. which i'll let him tell you about. >> yeah. peace rocks is something that we're working together with ringo on, with his peace and love foundation that he worked with david lynch on. and we are trying to get people to flash the peace sign, snap a picture, post it at #peace rocks. for every post we'll give a dollar to this wonderful fund that gets people's minds in the right place about earthly peace and love. something that ringo has been the, you know, the number one, i guess it is -- you own it really. >> i don't own it. but i am still trying to spread

peace and love. >> he's been spreading it for a lot of years. >> it's been a dream. people say you keep doing it. yes, because one day in my mine, one day, one hour, one minute, everybody at noon will go, peace and love. all over the world. >> we hope that happens. if you do this and say peace and love, you're not thinking anything else. you're thinking of that. >> can we talk about the beatles? 50 years ago the beatles arrived and the term british invasion was coined. what was that time like for you? >> it was one of the most memorable moments, exciting moments of my life. all the music we loved came from america. and we were english, we were from liverpool. the idea of getting to america was like always a dream. we happened to arrive in america. and we had the number one record

and we were loved. it was an incredible part of my life. >> how about this weekend? hard day's night back in the theaters after all these years. >> the beatles go on. that's what's incredible. i'm really proud of that. they don't see the mop tops, the dress code. they just listen and hear the music. and the music is still relevant today and still stands up. and when you think that a lot of it was made on that, they have now 200 tracks. we were a great band and it shows. we loved what we did. that's what you hear coming through. and the talent to perform it. and of course, with john and paul writing it. >> you have to admit that the fashion did have an influence. when you look at the matching suits, you had the stove pipe trousers, they call them skin n

jeans, it made almost as big an impact. >> beatle hair cut, beatle jackets, now we don't have that. we were talking about being relevant now. so they are just into the music. at the time, in the '60s, of course it was relevant, you know. >> how important do you think fashion played into the beatle success? >> it is part of the aura, you know. in the end what really lives on is the music. that's really what transcends every generation. the fashion when you look today isn't so transcending. but at the time, the whole buying in of every person around the world, it was about everything from their personalities to the song writing to their stage presence and it was just one more shot of adrenaline. the fashion that took they will to another level. >> so i want to tell everybody, if you want to learn about it,

go to john varvatos.com. plus you can watch the series, the '60s, thursday at 9:00 p.m. where the beatles will be featured. before i go, so we can get everybody doing this, i'll going to social media and i'm going to post a selfie of us. give me the peace sign and i'll get a big selfie of us. peace. >> #peace rocks. send your photo. >> a dollar for every post goes to the funneled. >> peace, guys. >> you're helping yourselves and a lot of other people. >> thank you. >> peace and love. and check out ringo's fashion through the years. check out our twitter page or go to cnn.com. ugh. heartburn. did someone say burn? try alka seltzer reliefchews. they work just as fast and are proven to taste better than tums smoothies assorted fruit. mmm. amazing. yeah, i get that a lot. alka seltzer heartburn reliefchews. enjoy the relief.

tomorrow, the stories that you'll be talking about in washington state.

tomorrow, it is legal to sell pot for recreational use and those crazy people in pamplona, spain, are off and running. yes, it is the annual running of the bulls. at least four people have been injured so far. and we have an update for you on that derailed roller coaster at magic mountain near l.a. thanks for watching. see you back here tomorrow night. same time, same place. "ac360" starts right now. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com good evening, i'm wolf blitzer. breaking news out of the middle east. air strikes over gaza right now. the operation now has a name, protective edge as more rockets fall, casualties rise. also tonight, what is one of the devices that scared officials so much they amped up airport