His relatives' homes have been broken into and they've been beaten by authorities in Shandong Province in eastern China, said Chen.

"We can see their retribution against my family since my escape has continued and been intensified," he told Cooper.

Still, Chen, 40, said he has no regrets about what he's gone through.

He shared what it was like to enjoy freedom.

”I haven't been able to feel the nature for a long time," Chen said. "On that day I had some time to soak in the sun and feel the breeze. i just felt I hadn't been able to do that in so long. I have missed out for too long."

Chen, his wife and their two children arrived in the United States on Saturday. He will take a fellowship at New York University, where he will study law.

Back on April 22, Chen escaped in the dark of night from more than 18 months in lockdown at his house in Shandong. The daring plot played out like a Hollywood movie - a blind man sneaked past sleeping guards, scaled the wall around his house, injured his foot and hid in a pig sty.

Chen had a stern message about the brutality he said he faced in his own home.

"I want to correct one thing here," Chen said. In the future, he continued, "let's not use the word 'house arrest' but instead let's use the term 'illegal detention.' It's hard for me to describe what it was like during that time. But let's just say that my suffering was beyond imagination."

After Chen escaped, one of his supporters drove him to Beijing. He eventually spent six days in the U.S. Embassy and then received treatment for his injuries in a hospital before coming to the United States this past weekend.

But Chen's troubles go back several years. The self-taught legal activist angered Chinese officials with his fight against alleged forced abortions under China's one-child policy. Starting in 2006, Chen spent four years in prison for "damaging property and organizing a mob to disturb traffic."

When he was let out of prison, Chen said that's when he was held under lockdown in his own home.

Don't miss Chen's interview with Cooper tonight on AC360° at 8 and 10pm ET.

Our Keeping Them Honest reports on the Disabled Veterans National Foundation (DVNF), a non-profit organization that claims to collect donations for veterans, have gotten the attention of lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Anderson spoke with Sen. Max Baucus and CNN’s Investigative Reporter Drew Griffin, who has been working on this story with CNN Producer David Fitzpatrick for a couple years. Sen. Baucus and fellow Senate Finance Committee member Sen. Richard Burr have launched an investigation to determine if the charity is abusing its tax-exempt non-profit status.

A North Carolina pastor said gays and lesbians should be rounded up and confined in an electrified fence until they die off. Keeping Them Honest, Pastor Charles Worley also made anti-Obama remarks in his sermon, which could be a violation of the church’s tax-exempt status. Anderson spoke to one of Worley’s supporters who defended the pastor’s comments, and CNN’s Gary Tuchman talked with a lesbian mom who has attended his sermons in the past and was saddened by the pastor’s words.

The Pakistani doctor, Shakeel Afridi, who helped the United States find Osama bin Laden was sentenced by a tribal court to 33 years in jail for treason. Anderson spoke with CNN National Security Contributor Fran Townsend about the trial. She said the current Pakistani investigation could lead to the death penalty if Afridi is charged with treason in the federal court.

Today’s Scoop:

Chinese human rights activist Chen Guangcheng tells Anderson about his suffering while detained, his harrowing escape, and his new life as a law student in the United States. He also expresses concern for family and friends still in China. Hear Chen tell his story of defiance and survival for the first time since arriving in New York.

We told you about a Massachusetts school that uses electric shocks to try to control the behavior of students, including some who are autistic. The Judge Rotenberg Center’s (JRC) website says the shock therapy is FDA approved. We’re Keeping Them Honest on that claim. Earlier in the week, Anderson asked the Director of Research at JRC about the medical research supporting the method. Tonight, Anderson will speak with Massachusetts State Sen. Brian Joyce who is opposed to the school’s practices of aversive therapy. Tune in at 8 and 10 p.m. ET.

A look ahead:

You don’t want to miss our special report “Arab Spring: Revolution Interrupted” Friday at 8 p.m. ET. Anderson will talk to CNN International correspondents Arwa Damon, Ivan Watson, Nic Robertson and former CIA officer Bob Baer about the progress and trouble in the Middle East.

Just for laughs:

Ever danced to tunes spun by a Royal DJ? You may get the chance. Find out who landed on our RidicuList!

Follow Deena Sami on Twitter.

Dear Mr. President,

I’ve had a number of conversations lately with your political brethren (from both parties) who have invoked a pair of criticisms which are much in vogue.

First, they talk about false equivalency. They rightly complain that sometimes we journalists say things such as, “30 Congress members from one party pushed for pork projects that wasted tax money, and 2 from the other party did the same, so both parties are to blame.” The suggestion of “equal fault,” these critics say, is disingenuous and unfair.

I can’t argue. Too often we journalists take the easy road, rather than being brave and simply saying that facts show one side is more to blame than the other.

But then, these critics move on to their second point, and my agreeable nature takes a turn for the worse. As sure as I admit that Party X is more at fault on some issue, the folks from Party Y immediately insist that then absolves their crew from any complicity! This is especially troubling when the calamity or malfeasance in question could not have occurred without all that support…including the minority party’s contribution.

Look at it like this: Imagine Party X spends a whole day filling a barn with old rags and cans of gasoline. Then Party Y walks by and tosses in a match. Arguably, Party X is more to blame because they worked for hours to set up a dangerous tableau; but the catastrophe itself was caused by Party Y’s final action. So how can Party Y argue innocence?

I’m all for addressing this issue of false equivalency. But I think we need to also address the question of what I call “false innocence” which both parties periodically try to claim; because the guy who drives the getaway car is still part of the bank robbery…even if he doesn’t have a gun.

Hope all is well. Give a call if you have a moment. I’m around.

Regards,
Tom

As we've been reporting for weeks, tax records show DVNF raised nearly $56 million over three years. But here's the problem: Not one dime has gone directly to help disabled veterans. Instead, CNN's Drew Griffin discovered the charity sends free stuff to veterans groups - stuff they say they didn't ask for and don't need. We're talking about thousands of bags of coconut M&Ms, bulk shipments of chef's aprons and military dress shoes. The veterans groups have had to sell the items to raise money so they could buy items vets actually do need.

So, where did the nearly $56 million donated by Americans go? Griffin followed the money trail to a company called Quadriga Art, a company that specializes in fundraising. Quadriga Art and its subsidiaries have more than 500 charities on their client list, including DVNF. A source who had first-hand dealings with Quadriga tells us it’s the "financial equivalent of heroin addiction for charities."

Tonight on 360°, Griffin reports on the Quadriga connection to veterans charities. Plus, Anderson Cooper talks with Sen. Baucus about his investigation. Watch the preview and tune in at 8 and 10 p.m. ET

Neighbors of the Providence Road Baptist Church - where a sign advertises "old time religion" - say Pastor Charles Worley is known for being over the top, with one neighbor describing him as "fire and brimstone" whose views are out of sync with much of the surrounding community.

"I figured a way out, a way to get rid of all the lesbians and queers, but I couldn't get it past the Congress," Worley told his church on May 13, in a video that has been seen half a million times on YouTube.

"Build a great big, large fence - 50 or 100 miles long - and put all the lesbians in there," Worley said. "Fly over and drop some food. Do the same thing with the queers and the homosexuals, and have that fence electrified so they can't get out. Feed them. And you know in a few years, they'll die out. You know why? They can't reproduce."

Some church members, who declined to give their names, defended their pastor, saying his words had been taken out of context. "He said he would feed them!" some church members told CNN, referring to the Worley's idea for rounding up gays.

Worley "takes a real firm stand on the Bible and what it says about different things," said church member Joe Heffner. "Whether I like it or not or whether anybody else likes it."

Another church member, who declined to give his name, said that "Being gay and lesbian or homosexual is wrong according to the Bible... it's Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve."

"We love the people, hate the sin, OK? Point blank," he continued. "You need to lay off my pastor."
The pastor's sermon also attacked President Obama, with Worley saying that "I ain't going to vote for a baby killer and a homosexual lover."

On Wednesday, the group Americans United for Separation of Church and State filed a complaint with the IRS alleging that Worley violated the rules of his church's tax-exempt status by engaging in political speech against a candidate.

"Pastor Worley's vicious and mean-spirited assault on gays and lesbians is bad enough," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive director of Americans United. "His pulpit command that people not vote for President Obama is a violation of federal tax law. I urge the IRS to act swiftly to investigate this matter."

Video of the sermon had initially been posted on Providence Road's website but was recently taken down, according to CNN affiliate WBTV-TV in Charlotte. The phone line at Worley's church has been busy since Monday night, and Worley's home number has been busy since Tuesday.

The church's website has also been down, but it had described the house of worship as fundamentalist, meaning it represents a Baptist tradition that's more conservative than the Southern Baptists.
Worley's sermon was posted on YouTube by a group called Catawba Valley Citizens Against Hate, which is organizing a protest at the Providence Road Baptist Church on Sunday.

Addressing his congregation last Sunday, Worley referred to his earlier controversial sermon.
"I talked a little bit, I believe it was last Sunday, on the homosexual lifestyle, and there was a whole lot of people who didn't like what I said," Worley told his congregation Sunday, according to WBTV. "I want to read it out of the Bible, and then we'll go from there."

"Listen, all of the Sodomites, the lesbians, and all of the ... what's that word? Gays - I didn't wanna say 'queers' - that say we don't love you, I love you more than you love yourself," Worley said, according to WBTV. "I'm praying for you to be saved."

Worley's initial sermon was partly framed as a response to Obama's endorsement of same-sex marriage, which he made in a TV interview a day after North Carolina voters passed a state constitutional amendment banning legal recognition of such marriages and other types of gay unions.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, or GLAAD, was working Tuesday to gather criticism of Worley's comments from other North Carolina pastors.

"I am angry and sick at heart over Pastor Worley's comments," said the Rev. Dennis Teall-Fleming, pastor at Open Hearts Gathering in Gastonia, North Carolina, in a statement distributed by GLAAD.

"Nothing he says has anything to do with the Gospel of Jesus Christ," said Teall-Fleming, who leads a Disciples of Christ congregation. "I call on all Christian and Baptist organizations that have any connection with him to condemn his comments as strongly as I do, including Providence Road Baptist Church of Maiden."

CNN's Ish Estrada and Dan Gilgoff contributed to this story.

Dear Mr. President,

I suppose you’ve seen this latest ABC News/Washington Post poll asking voters that perennial question: Are you better off now than you were the last time you voted for a president?

You also probably know that the results were not exactly a ringing endorsement.

16 percent say they are better off, and 30 percent say they are worse off. They blame former president Bush more than they blame you, but they remain pretty evenly split on whether you or Romney can better lead us out of the economic wilderness.

Such assessments must be sobering for any president. I mean, you get elected amid all the bunting and balloons, everyone praises your ideas, and then a few years pass, reality sets in, and Bob’s-your-uncle everyone is saying, “Meh. I guess he’s ok. But who else do we have in the hopper?”

Oh sure, you have a genuine chance of being re-elected, and that will certainly mean a little champagne popping at the White House if it comes to pass. But even the winner in a presidential race these days can pretty much count on almost half the country not wanting him in office. That’s a lot of people. And since polls are a more day-to-day version of that same phenomenon, I guess you can’t really be upset when a bad one comes your way.

Still, I’m tempted to turn that question around: Is your life better or worse than it was during the last election? I imagine your answer might be, “Well, depends on how you look at it…”

Regards,
Tom