if this keeps up, we'll have to raise the limit on debt-related ozies. ♪ raise the debt ceiling ♪ >> reporter: jeanne moos, new york. thank you very much for watching. i'm wolf blitzer. join us week days from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. eastern, and saturdays at :p.m. eastern on cnn. and tomorrow night 9:00 p.m. eastern, don lemon and i will be co-anchoring a special on the debt crisis. you will want to see what's going on. the stakes are enormous. cnn "newsroom with don lemon" starts right now. all right, thank you very much. it is the top of the hour. we begin with breaking news, i'm don lemon, everyone. if you need one more sign that the debate over raising the nation's debt ceiling is far from over, it happened just last hour on capitol hill. not only do the two sides have big differences over how to raise the ceiling and avoid default, they can't even agree on whether they're making

progress. democratic senate leader harry reid and republican senate leader mitch mcconnell on the senate floor moments ago. look. >> today the speaker republican leader held a press conference to announce they're in talks with the president and that a bargain to raise the debt ceiling is in the works and is close. in president, members of the senate, that's not true. i just spent two hours with the president, vice president, and leader pelosi, and it's fair for me to say that the engagement there is not in any meaningful way. the speaker, republican leader should know that merely saying we have agreement in front of a few television cameras doesn't make it so. >> the fact of the matter is that the only way we're going to get an agreement before tuesday is to have an agreement with the president of the united states. and the only person in america of the 307 million of us who can sign something into law. and i'm more optimistic than my friend, the majority leader. we've both talked to the

president today. talked to the vice president several times. i think we've got a chance of getting there. >> okay. so let's start on capitol hill with our congressional correspondent, kate bolduan. the parties can't agree that there's a deal near. are we back to square one? >> reporter: i think we should warn viewers, this story has and continues to just change minute by minute. i don't think it's clear yet if we're back to square one. i can tell you i think what we're seeing here is a lot of frustration on all sides on how long this has dragged on, and -- and how near the deadline i think we're getting. of course, a lot of she said/he said. and when you see mitch mcconnell saying that he has been talking to the white house all afternoon, indicating that the stalled talks that really were going nowhere in the past week are kind of -- starting up again, senate republican leadership aide saying that he was laying out for the white house what they, republicans, could accept and making the

point to say that they are working. but at almost the exact thing as quickly you hear from senator harry reid that they're not making progress. as he said, he didn't think the engagement was meaningful, and a top democratic aide saying that the senate majority leader's frustration or his pessimism if you will was that the top republicans, they haven't moved off of their like opening bargaining position. so there is a lot at play here. of course, these negotiations needs to move forward it f they're going to reach some form of compromise, don. right now, at least publicly, you're seeing the two of the top negotiators very much in different positions. >> yeah. ive said this two weeks ago. it's beginning to feel like ground hog day, and it is again, two weeks later. thank you, kate. stand by. democratic leaders meat with the president this afternoon. republican leaders say they're in contact with the president by phone. but so far, there appears to be little to show for their efforts. so let's get the latest from our chief white house correspondent now, jessica yellin.

what is the latest from the white house? again, there seems like the same conversation we've been having for weeks now. >> reporter: the change now is that after days of virtual silence as they waited for -- all sides waited for the boehner bill to move through the house, now there's engagement and talking and negotiating, as you say. the republican position is that minority leader mcconnell of the senate is negotiating with the white house. that is a change. so the action here is that vice president biden and minority leader mitch mcconnell, the republican in the senate, are in active conversations. it's noteworthy that sources here tell me it was mitch mcconnell who picked up the phone and first initiated contact with the vice president. they've spoken multiple times today as you've heard mcconnell say on the floor there. his to get off the phone to come and have this discussion on the floor with you, majority leader reid. so the point is we're moving -- they're moving, they're talking, they're moving toward something. and sources, you know, here say that there is awareness on all

sides that no party line bill is going to raise the debt ceiling. >> okay. >> so that would be a shift. >> all right. so -- what you're saying, though, i would gather -- i'm not hearing it from the floor, but this is a moving story, there is some optimism that we are closer to a deal now, is that correct? >> reporter: you know, don, it really does depend on who you speak to. so as kate reported, you heard harry reid saying no, we're nowhere. there were glimmers of hope from -- on this end of pennsylvania avenue especially before that meeting with reid and pelosi. a deal has to happen this weekend. we are getting close, maybe by tomorrow morning we'll have more to report for you. >> okay. thank you, chief white house correspondent, jessica yellin. don't go far, we'll be covering this through the weekend. rolling coverage. thank you very much. to help make send of all this, i want to -- make sense of all this, i want to bring in wolf blitzer. wolf has been covering the story the whole time. so here's a question -- deal or no deal? are they close?

and are they just really talking at each other now? >> my sense is that mitch mcconnell is probably closer to what's going on right now than harry reid, the majority leader in the senate, in the sense that mitch mcconnell's been speaking with joe biden. remember, he used to be a united states senator, there's a longstandinging relationship there, and he's speaking with the president. i don't think mitch mcconnell would be saying, you know, they're close it a deal, he's optimistic, there won't be a default -- on i don't think he would be saying that unless he had a basis. he really used to talk all the time to harry reid, thought he had a deal a week ago with reid but felt the white house sort of undermined that deal and he doesn't trust harry reid as much as he used to in the sense that harry reid can deliver. he sees that the president of the united states can deliver if he wants to, and -- and look, at this stage, we've now heard from harry reid saying they're no closer to a deal.

we've hear from mitch mcconnell saying we are closer to a deal. who haven't we heard from? we haven't heard from the white house, the president or vice president or any of their top aides. at least on this day except for the president's radio and internet address which he taped earlier, that was basically a reiteration of what he said the day before. we'll hear tomorrow some of the president's aides are going out on some of the sunday morning shows, i know gene spurling is going to be on "state of the union" tomorrow morning with gloria borger. we'll hear what they have to say. so far it's weird in the sense that the white house is being at this critical moment in these negotiations thunderously silent, and we don't really understand, you know, what's going on. my own sense is they're moving in the right direction, though. because they simply can't afford default. >> yeah. and mitch mcconnell certainly calling on the president saying the president, the buck stops with him. if he agrees to something, then the democrats, he says, will most likely fall in hine. that was his -- that's what he said on the floor not long ago.

wolf blitzer, thank you very much. enjoyed your coverage just last hour. make sure you stay with us because we're going to be all over the story throughout the show. democratic senator ben cardin is going to join me at the half-hour for more perspective on these very fluid debt talks. i want you to listen to this -- >> stepped back, pulled my glock 40 and put ten bullet in your [ bleep ]. until you drop. >> that is an ohio police officer caught on tape threatening a motorist. and apparently it's not his first incident caught on camera. we're going to show you the video. it's gone viral. we're going to talk about the case with our legal contributor, holly hughes. you'll hear it, as well. many of you are asking questions. you can reach out to us on twitter or facebook. check out "transparent." ake spee in servicing clients that serve our country. my name is marjorie reyes. i'm a chief warrant officer. i am very grateful and appreciative that quicken loans can offer service members va loans.

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why are they so stupid and refuse to realize that they cannot keep spending money when the bank is broke and they have no more money in the bank? who are they fooling? >> americans like you speaking out on cnn's ireport and throughout the hours, our broadcast on cnn, we'll hear your voices, your voices, not just the people in washington. meantime, some other news to tell you about. in canton, ohio, some residents are demanding a suspended police officer be fired. dash cam video that you're about to see allegedly shows the officer threatening to shoot people during traffic stops. here's eric manfield of wkyc. i took two steps back, pulled my glock 40 and put ten bullet in your [ bleep ].

>> reporter: it was posted one week ago, already it's an online must-see. canton police officer danielle harliss berating a driver who appears to be showing him his conceal-carry license so that harliss would know he was armed. >> i'm so close to caving in your [ bleep ]. head. >> reporter: now a second video. >> i'll kill every one of you [ bleep ]. >> reporter: this from a year ago. >> i'll tell you what [ bleep ]. i will shoot you in the face and go to sleep tonight. >> reporter: as harliss' temperaturer flares while a traffic stop for suspected drunk driving. >> we're seeing repeat behavior. a disturbing pattern. >> reporter: fill up mulivor is for ohioans for can seal carry, a group calling for the police officer's job. >> in both cases this officer's behavior is entirely egregious. he needs to be removed at once. >> reporter: in both cases, officer harliss is encountering a gun during a traffic stop, which is always a perceived threat for police.

now it's up to police brass to determine what's acceptable. >> you [ bleep ]. get the [ bleep ] before i shoot you. >> all right. that was eric manfield of wkyc. holly, i'm going to bring in holly, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor. let's start with that particular question. when does a police officer cross the line from aggressively doing his job to threatening and abusive behavior? we weren't there. >> right. >> but that looks pretty damning. >> it's pretty bad. here's what happens -- he stops these people, saying is there anything i need to be concerned about. they say no. come to find out when he talks to the back seat passenger, he pulls the seat forward and sees a gun. that's when he really loses it. i don't mind an officer using profanity, don. i don't mind that his temper's flaring and he's jammed up. but when he starts threatening to kill citizens, to shoot them in the face, to put them in

their grave, calling them morons and idiots and liars, he's gone over the edge because now what we see an officer who cannot control his temper. that's a crime, don. if a citizen said to another citizen, "i will shoot you in the face," and is holding a weapon, has access to a weapon, that is a terroristic threat, a felony charge. this officer has gone beyond the pale when he starts threatening. >> if you were defending this officer, what would you do? >> okay, if i were defending him, the first thing i would say is they lied to him right up-front. this was a gun in the back of that car. the driver admits, hey, i just got out of jail or prison three weeks ago. and the officer says, what for, guns and drugs. so naturally the officer is on high alert. his adrenaline is pumping. it's a rush. they say to him, no weapons in the vehicle, and suddenly there is one -- i would defend him by saying this man was in fear for his life, he felt like something terrible was going happen to him. and this is duress. he did not actually intend to

levy a threat against these people. his temper got away from him, but he didn't unharness his gun, he didn't pull it or brandish it. >> if you were prosecuting him -- >> i would say he has gone too far. he can't handle his temper, he can't control it. what is next, don? after you do-not-call these people stupid, threaten -- after you call these people stupid, threats tonight put a bullet in their head, what is going to rein that anger back in and keep him from pulling the trigger. if i was prosecuting him i would say this is an officer out of control. he does not need to be on the street with a weapon in his hand. >> okay. holly hughes, thank you very much. i have to get this in -- this came in from the canton police department. here's what they say, the statement from the canton police department says, "the officer was relieved of duty and has not worked since the incident. it is being fully investigated." again, that's -- >> he's being paid -- on paid administrative leave. when you have two videos like this, don, what more evidence do you need? seriously? this is a big problem, and it's going to come back to bite them if they don't dismiss him

altogether. >> thank you. this is some of the tornado devastation from joplin, missouri, justi two months ago. next we'll talk with one of the first people on the scene who reported for us, a local resident, bethany scoody, right after the break. first, choosing a college, it is a big decision, and to help make it many families turn to "u.s. news and world report," their annual rankings of the best schools. our education contributor, steve perry, looks at how the rankings are created and whether they're actually hurting higher education. ♪ rankings didn't really matter as much to me. >> i find it generally to be pretty accurate. >> what is your issue with the ranking? >> the process of college admissions has been commerci commercialized to the nth degree, led by "u.s. news & world report." >> reporter: lloyd thacker leads the education conservancy. they say the rankings have become a beauty pageant where some students feel pressured to choose their college based off numbers instead of their own values. there's a group called education

conservancy. >> they don't like the rankings. >> they think it's a crock. >> it's true that the rankings have become a big brand for "u.s. news." but they've become a brand because there was a wed is of information -- was a wed is of information. >> he claims the rankings are fair because they're based on a combination of reputation, graduation rates, resources, and endowments among other things. when we hit the streets to find out what students thought, the results were mixed. >> there's always this, i don't know, strive to get into the school that's ranked one higher than the next. >> in my opinion, it's stupid, yeah. it is. it shouldn't be that way. >> the college ranking might easily sway a college student to choose one school or another. >> biased. yeah, a little bit biased, tainted. kind of stereotypical. but important. >> we believe that we're producing something for consumers and that's our main mission. i don't think it's as pivotal

force in admissions even though it's a factor. >> what did t does is it turns -- what it does is it turns students into customers, education into product, and gaining admission to the most selective college a prize that must be won. >> steve perry, new york. this past year alone there was a 93% increase in cyber attacks. in financial transactions... on devices... in social interactions... and applications in the cloud. some companies are worried. some, not so much. thanks to a network that secures it all and knows what to keep in, and what to keep out. outsmart the threats. see how at cisco.com cisco.

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the hospital as i'm standing in front of it social security about seven -- one building and another on the right has another building attached to it with a couple more stories to it. every window looks to be blown out. there's debris hanging out of the windows. the main entrance sign a mess. the glass is blown out. there are just cars stacked all over the parking lot. there are still cars parked in front as if they were going into the hospital. but they are destroyed. >> two months ago a massive f5 tornado destroyed much of joplin, missouri, including the st. john's medical center. it was the single deadliest tornado in u.s. history. 159 people were killed. joplin resident bethany scutti,

who you just heard, provided some of the first on-the-scene descriptions of the devastation for us. a lot has happened in joplin since that unforgettable day. bethany joins me with new video of how the land scale really has dramatically changed. talk us through the videos. i want to begin with the hospital which really has been the epicenter this disaster. >> absolutely. the hospital itself looks much the same as it did that night. except the parking slots lot -- parking lot is cleaned up, the cars have been moved away. the structure itself is pretty much the same. they've taken to putting up tents. they have temporary tents that they've been doing all of their work in dealing with patients. they're soon going to put up a new little more permanent structure to get them through until the new hospital is ready in about two to three years. >> i remember that clearly as you were walking to this hospital, the hospital that we were look at, and you got to the

scene and said, gosh, the windows are blown out, there were patients on gurneys, they were trying to treat them in a tent there. that experience for you was like what? >> it was crazy. i've been through tornadoes before, but i've nevernent seen anything like this. mass devastation. let's look at the video of the high school. someone has turned the downed trees into carved statues of eagles. what are they going to do about classes this year? >> the juniors and seniors are going to be in the mall. they have taken a store that was not being used and they are working on it and getting it set up. they're actually going to have a really nice facility for them there. they are going to have a coffee house in there, a workouts facility, a broadcast station as well as classes and offices. >> interesting. and what about what's going on in washington right now? does this -- are people just so focused on getting their lives back together, they paying attention? because i mean, this is an impact on them, especially people trying to rebuild their lives. >> absolutely.

it takes a little bit, i think. when you go through such a tragedy to figure out what's going on in the world. you're really inside your own little bubble and working through things there. i think people are starting to pay attention now. absolutely it affects them. >> yeah. and what about volunteers? it's been crucial, i'm sure, having volunteers -- >> absolutely. there have been so many people come to help. almost 70,000 registered volunteers, which has been just so helpful. of course we're still going to needs them for a while to come. >> how's everybody doing really? how are folks doing in joplin? >> people are getting better. there's hurts people, but it's getting a lot better. it's been a tough time, but we're going to be all right. >> yeah. and you have your whole family here. >> i do. i do. >> and you guys fared okay. some people died, and i'm sure the -- just the community is dealing with that. any advice that you can offer americans or something that you can tell the people who are watching about what you guys are dealing with there and what happened and how quickly this happened and what they can do to

help, as well? >> well, you know, we're going to need help for a long time to come. and there is nothing like the sense of community that comes together when there's a tragedy like that. so, you know, we're still going to need the financial help, the support, the prayers, and just the help of the people around the world. >> and don't forget about you, right? >> absolutely. >> not far from the headlines. >> definitely. yeah. >> thank you, you were great that night, one of our ireporters providing reports for us. first on the scene there. really appreciate. and not just us but bringing it to the american people. thank you and best of luck. appreciate you joining us. >> thanks. coming up, the latest on the debt talks, are we any closer to a deal? we'll ask democratic senator ben cardin what he is hearing. later on this hour, listen to this -- >> stephen, are you jealous that i'm here? >> what? of course i'm jealous. this guy's only two years younger than i am. he looks like a baby. >> okay. that was a little weird. my visit to the "stephen colbert show." see what he found so funny in the green room before the show. for everybody in an ap class,

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congress, would you guys please remember the golden rule -- do unto others as you would have them do unto you. it's not do unto others before they do unto you. please go back to sunday school. >> tonight on cnn during our broadcast, you're hearing from you, the american people. that was one of our cnn ireporters. if you want to submit one, go to

ireports.com. ireport.com, we'll get it on. and we appreciate you guys. it is a working weekend in the nation's capitol. it could make for a late night. the house has adjourned. senators are still on the job right now. live pictures there from the senate. and now a live picture from the white house. president obama met with democratic leaders a little while ago. republican leaders say they are talking with the president by phone. a short time ago the two party leaders in the senate couldn't agree on whether the two sides were even making progress. republicans, however, insist that they will not allow the united states to default on its obligations, okay. so earlier i discussed the debt ceiling impasse with republican senator rand paul of kentucky. -of course, won his seat -- he, of course, won his seat on the strength of strong tea party support. i asked him why the debate has reached this perilous stage and why we are at risk of default. >> i think all along the president should have taken default off the table.

in fact, we have legislation that would require him to pay the interest on the debt, require him to pay social security checks, and require him to pay the soldiers' salaries. we've never been for default or reneging on any checks. the president has put that on the table in a grand, elaborate way of chicken. we've always been opposed to that. we think he should reassure the markets. >> all right. so that was republican rand paul. let's bring in, hear from a democratic senator, ben cardin of maryland. he joins me now. senator, good to see you. thank you, and i have been asking everyone who comes on. this is crucial to the american people. if people are watching and want answers, let's do not talking points, can we agree to that? >> absolutely. >> what's your reaction to senator paul's comments there? >> well, look, if we are unable to pay all of our obligations, we're in default. if we go to april 2 and we haven't raised the debt ceiling, they're their are going to be people that we owe money to that we're not going to be able it

pay whether they're federal employees, recipients of benefits or contractors. and that's a default. and we don't want to see that happen. it will hurt the credit and reputation of the united states and will cost every american family more money in taxes or interest payments. >> unless i heard wrong, i heard rand paul saying that the debt ceiling should be taken off the table. and in a speech that you delivered on the senate floor earlier this month, i think you two are agreeing because here's what you said. you said "i urge my colleagues to put the national interest first, take off the debt table idea that the u.s. might default on our debt, and work together to bring about a credible plan to manage our national debt. we are guessing dangerous low close to the august deadline for america to increase our debt limit." it appears that you two have some limit. why can't you all just get it together? >> because i'm prepared to raise the debt ceiling with a clean vote because i don't think it's really related to the other issues here. most of my senate colleagues and the members of the house won't do that. we've tried that. so they're insisting that we

also have what we call a plan to deal with our deficit. i think that's a good idea. but they have taken so much off the table we can't talk about revenues. we can't do this, we can't do that. everything's on the spending side, on the domestic spending -- >> okay. >> that's not going to work. >> let me ask you this then. don't you understand, though, if they take the debt ceiling off the table, that's the bargaining chip. they would lose their bargaining tool, probably the strongest one they have, so why would anyone take that off the table? i don't think that that's going happen, do you? >> no, we understand that. so what are they trying to achieve? they want to reduce the amount of government spending. well, already have an agreement on all sides that we're going to reduce government spending by over a trillion dollars. that's a pretty good deal. i think we've already accomplished what they set out they wanted to do. if you look at the reid proposal, it's dollar for dollar increase on the debt ceiling with decreasing the debt. no revenues are on the table. something the democrats feel

pretty strongly about. >> okay -- >> and yet -- >> i don't want to get too in the weeds and don't want to be disrespectful. again, quite honestly, quite frankly, we've heard a lot of about what's on the table, what's not on the table. again, let's talk here as we're talking to each other -- >> exactly. we want to get this resolved. >> yes. okay. so then, here's the issue -- you have to even if you disagree with the tea parties and maybe the extremes in the republican party, you have to agree that what they've done is pretty unprecedented. you have to respect what they've done. they've basically backed the democrats and the president to a corner, and they are getting their way. >> but they're also bringing us dangerously close to a national default. they've already hurt our country as far as our reputation is concerned. look, i -- i think what they're asking for is unrealistic. a constitutional amendment that won't work the way that they would like to see it done. additional cuts in spending programs that affect our most

vulnerable. look, we need a compromise. and what we're seeing so far come out of the house of representatives from the republicans is that they're not interested in a compromise. we've -- let's sit down, let's work this out. frankly, i think that's going to happen in the senate. i talked to enough of my republican colleagues to know that we are talking about a true compromise so that we can move forward and not threaten the debt this nation. >> are we close to a deal? are we close to working it out as mitch mcconnell said? harry reid said he didn't think so. >> i think this is dangerously close. it's not justice working out a bill that can pass the senate, it's got to go back to the house, pass the house, and be signed by the president. we've already seen how difficult the house of representatives can be. i think we -- i really do believe we'll get it done. but i tell you, we're at great risk. >> we certainly hope so, and the american people. thank you for coming on. again, don't mean to be disrespectful, you know, talking points -- we get so used to them, and i think people just

want answers to straight talk. thank you very much, senator, appreciate it. >> good talking to you. >> all right. when we come back, photo shopping causing problems in the u.k. we'll tell you what actress julia roberts has to do with it. [ female announcer ] sweet honey taste. 80 calories per serving. 40% daily value of fiber. i'm here in the downtown area where the crowd is growing. [ female announcer ] watching calories at breakfast never tasted this sweet... i'll go get my bowl. [ female announcer ] ...or this huge. new fiber one 80 calories. yes, you can actually love breakfast. [ male announcer ] get ready for the left lane. the volkswagen autobahn for all event is back. right now, get a great deal on new volkswagen models, including the jetta, awarded a top safety pick by the iihs.

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what is the basis of a democracy? compromise. that has become a dirty word today. nobody want to compromise, especially the right wing republicans. >> we're hearing from you, the american people, about how you feel about these debt talks in washington. go to ireport.com, and you can submit one. we'll hear from you throughout our broadcast here this evening on cnn. in other news now, want to show you this youtube video. it shows the before and after shots that you may not have known existed. what a celebrity look like before a photo's touched up, and then after airbrushing. it is common practice in the united states, but in the u.k. the advertising standards agency is taking a stand, banning ads of actress julia roberts and model kristi turlington. we have more on the story and headlines from hollywood. this group regulates advertisers, why is it acting

now? >> reporter: right, a british politician took issue with the two ads, with the company l'oreal, for skin products. the argument is that these photographs that are used are misleading. here you have two women in their 40s, yet they have the luminous skin of someone much younger, maybe someone of a teenager. so this politician and this group, this advocacy group wants to see advertisers get back to realty. but the realty is that when it comes to photoshopping, you can't put the genie back in the bottle. i think people so accustomed to photoshopping and airbrushing, they come to expect it when they see the ads. it's almost not a big deal anymore. face it, everybody knows how to photoshop these days. people take photographs of themselves with their cell phones, they touch them up at home, and then they post them on their facebook page. it's part of the gloss glossy,

vain society we're part of. even i'm airbrushed tonight. you know that i'm actually 120 years old. >> i thought it was just 115. you don't look a day over 100. that's great. you look great. >> reporter: thank you. >> listen, there's a he said/she said going on, playing out with hugh hefner and his elk fiancee crystal harris. we have a warning we're about to hear r-rated details, so shann shannon, she talked with the hef about the hef on "howard stern." take a listen. >> you only had intercourse once? >> yeah. >> how long did this horror situation last? the awful sex? >> like two seconds. not turned on by hef, sorry. >> all right. >> all right. this is drawing controversy. why marry him then? >> reporter: don't you just -- don't you -- she's not marry him. don't you just love the way celebrities -- >> she was consideringing marrying him. >> he almost went down the aisle but canceled. it's become a he said/she said. she didn't really give up too many details about what hef's

like in the bedroom. be honest, do we really want to know what hefner is like in the bed room? i personally do not. but a lot of "playboy "playboy" playmates, a couple, came to hef's defense and said, hey, he's a really loving guy. and then harris back-pedalled and apologized on twitter. she said the sketern interview scared her and she blurted things out and she's sorry. later on twitter, hefner tweeted that that apology was perfectly fine. so it seems that everything's okay in the world. the upshot is we still don't really know what hef is like in the sack. and you know what, i'm perfectly okay with that, don. >> yeah. yes. and we'll end on that. enough said on those subjects. shannon cook, always a pleasure. thank you. co coming up, my encounters with stephen colbert and john stewart. maybe, it's something you haven't seen yet.

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oh, my god. he's not a difference-maker. he's a vampire. this story just got good. go get 'em, don. >> well, i have to say that you're a hero to a lot of people, and thank you for coming

on. let us know what happens -- >> no -- don, ask him about being a vampire! you see the little teeth right there? those are vampire teeth. he's got the -- i see them! i see them! >> it's pound to happen sooner or later in the news business. you watch "the daily show," "colbert show" with your covers over your eyes. you see when they are going to show a clip of you, you cringe, hold your breath. you hope they won't mock you too much. all in good fun. imagine my surprise when i saw this on tuesday night. >> as we explore our new segment, cnn anchor don lemon, appears not to care for cnn. cnn, i'm concerned, it appears that don lemon may not be care for the antics of your network, cnn. behold. >> even parts of canada are sinfully hot. >> warmer than where i'm used to, but hell -- >> nothing do to see joke about this, it is dangerous, and as i

said, nothing to joke. he is the cato to my green hornet, the dino girl to my elctrawoman -- i have no idea who these people are except for batman. >> that may be the nicest way i've ever heard anyone say "who writes this [ bleep ]. "the hostage situation that seems to be his tenure, zenith or -- >> one, two, three. >> oh! i got to tell you, i like don lemon a lot. but he's going to have to work hard to top that. cnn "newsroom" begins right now with don lemon. good morning. >> good morning, i don't think i'm going to have to work that hard. what the heck was that? >> what do you mean what the heck was that? that was alli velshi's donner ganger, a common egg --

doppleganger, a common egg, knocked into a glass of water. it seems that don lemon enjoys reporting. the uprisings in syria, breach of trust, or simple interest stories. emily good says she recorded that video in her front yard because she was concerned it racial profiling and police rar harassment. do you believe that this is a systemic problem with rochester police? >> that's lemon's comfort zone. don't worry, i'm sure cnn producers are hard at work trying to fit don lemon into their format. something catchy like "don lemon's zesty news bowl." i got one, how about lemon harangue. you drive a hard bargain, sir. >> you can see, we decided to go with "don lemon's zesty news bowl." thank you, jon. i didn't know that that was coming. i did know about the segment on the "colbert report" the next

night. here's the rest of stephen going after me for not asking a guest about his most noticeable trait. >> no, don. ask him about being a vampire. you see the little teeth right there? those are vampire teeth! he's got the -- ha, ha, i see them. i see them. forget it. i know what to do. come here, come. on let's go. taxi! go! [ tires screeching ] [ laughter ] >> thousands of people milling around, shops open. that's happening now. >> all right, sanjay. thank you very much. make sure you stay safe out there. we'll have much more on the flooding coming up on cnn -- >> excuse me. excuse me. >> stephen? stephen colbert, what the -- >> don, i have a question to ask you -- >> i am in the middle of a broadcast. >> yeah, who isn't? hold on, sanjay. don, did you or did you not interview a man who had foreclosed on a bank?

>> the guy in philadelphia, yes, i did. yes. >> did you not notice that he was a vampire? >> stephen, i did notice when he started talking that he had sharp teeth. >> yes, and that -- at no point did your journalistic instinct click in and say, hey, maybe that's a more interesting story? >> it's not about his lifestyle, it's about a bank. that's not what the story is about. >> oh, excuse me. i didn't realize it was a lifestyle choice. didn't realize we had to be so sensitive and accepting of vampires -- >> what have you -- >> you have turned that man into the jackie robinson of vampires. >> do you believe yourself? stephen -- >> that's all i hear. >> that is offensive on a whole lot of levels. >> yes, it is, and i don't forgive you. >> get out of here. >> i will get out of here, don lemon. before i go, i want to say this -- i truly enjoy your book, "transparent." a candid memoir that "the new york times" calls 2495. >> it is okay to be a newsman and have a sense of humor. i want to thank everyone at

comedy central. thanks for watching, as well. hopefully it won't turn up too often. let's move to serious news. could the answer to the debt crisis in washington be found in how tech companies handle their businesses? after all, many are getting their hands on more cash than the u.s. government. best buy award, t then they gave us an iihs top safety pick, and you -- well, you gave us your approval. so we thought, why not give a little back? the chevy model year wrap up. get in on our greatest model year yet. and now very well qualified lessees can get a low mileage lease on a chevy malibu ls for around $179 a month. our greatest model year yet is wrapping up. ♪ sing polly wolly doodle all the day ♪

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this is hard to believe, but according to reports, apple, you know, apple, the iphone, they have more cash on hand than the u.s. government. it sounds oppressive, you realize, radio shack has more cash on hand. >> you know what? what jay leno was saying there is true. according to a report from the bbc, the latest figures show that apple has cash reserves of $76.4 billion. but the u.s. only has $73.7 billion in cash on hand. that's nearly $3 billion less. so i want to bring in our tech expert daniel sieberg to talk about this. he is the author of "the digital diet." daniel, is this what we have come to? >> well, kind of. and by the way, if apple spent money the way the u.s. government does, about $10 billion a day, they wouldn't

last two weeks. but apple has clearly made a lot of smart decisions. the ipad and the iphone very popular, as we know. also they've got the latest operating system lion that's just released out. the mu mac book air. all is not necessarily great in apple's world. the ipod which came out back in 2001. the sales with that has started to drop off a little bit these days. of course, everybody is concerned about the future of steve jobs with his health. but obviously apple doing very well with a lot of their business decisions. >> everybody has got their opinion on what the government is doing wrong. so maybe we should talk about what apple is doing right. >> well, they're making technology cool, is basically the bottom line. you know, if you look around these days it's rare to find somebody in your experience who doesn't have an iphone, doesn't have a mac book, doesn't have an ipad, some sort of apple product. now, this didn't always used to be the case. it's hard to think back to the day when apple products were

really not that cool and were certainly not everywhere. more than ten years ago these days apple stock covers about $4 hundred a share. only ten years ago it was about $10 a share. so it's been a huge turn around for apple. they're just making a lot of smart decisions that are making technology a seamless part of our lives. i have no vested interest in apple, by the way. i don't own any apple stock. but i can tell you they're doing cool things and clever things. >> hey, listen, can we talk about these debates a little bit more. the debt talks? twitter's role, because it seems that tweets don't like getting spammed, even by the president, do they? what's going on here? >> exactly. this is a lesson for, you know, a president who has embraced social media over the years. in this case we're talking about the barack obama, the official barack obama twitter feed. it was putting out a lot of tweets and basically asking the followers to go to their local

congressmen or their local politicians and ask them to use the hash tag compromise as part of the debt ceiling debate. but the fweets were coming in so quickly you can see the list of them there that people really felt like, hey, this is too much for me. so he lost about 40,000 followers. keep in mind that he has about 9 million followers. he's one of the biggest twitter users out there. we have to keep this in context. it is a lesson that you just can't spew this stuff out there. you got to think a little bit. they have sense stopped, by the way. really slowed down. >> i'm always cautious when people say can you tweet this. social media, especially twitter, they don't like press releases. every once in a while they let you get away with it. you have to respect that. thank you very much, sir. we appreciate it. the latest on the debt talks right after the break. nsurance. great! at progressive, you can compare rates side by side, so you get the same coverage, often for less. wow! that is huge! [ disco playing ] and this is to remind you

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