tv CNN Newsroom CNN September 24, 2010 11:00am-1:00pm EDT
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leaders favorite part is calling popcorn, featuring spike, the latest canine pop star. jeanne moos, cnn, new york. that does it for us. have a fabulous weekend. don lemon in for tony harris today. >> we're in the wrong business. we have to do something else besides this. have a great weekend, kyra. live from studio 7 at the cnn world headquarters in atlanta, big stories for friday september 24th. comedian stephen colbert tells congress about his day as a migrant farm worker. the military special ops weather team in action. a critical unit when war depends on the battlefield forecast. >> what does this have to do with weather? >> well, you have to be alive to report the weather. and home, after more than a year in an iran prison, sarah shourd sits down today with cnn.
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>> nothing in life can prepare you for something like this. good morning, everyone. i'm don lemon. tony is off today. those stories and your comments right here right now in the cnn newsroom. >> but, up first, mr. colbert goes to washington. comedy central funny man stephen colbert brings his spin to serious issues, farm labor and immigration. he testified momenting ago before a congressional subcommittee. here's his take on a day spent picking beans. >> i started my work day with preconceived notions of migrant work, but after working with these men and women picking beans, packing corn for hours on end side by side in the unforgiving sun i have to say, and i do this sincerely, please don't make me do this again. it is really, really hard.
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for one thing, when you're picking beans, you have to spend all day bending over. it turns out and i did not know this, most soil is at ground level. if we can put a man on the moon, why can't we make the earth waist high? where is the funding? >> there is dana bash, our senior congressional correspondent. she joins us now from the hill. i'm looking through his prepared notes. i didn't see any of that. what was the react from the people in the room? >> reporter: i'm not sure what could you see on television, but i was in the room and you saw faces of shock from democrats and republicans. to be honest with you, they were try not to laugh but shock. the reason is what you just said because stephen colbert put in this statement that was rather plain, a short, quick citation of what he had done being up with farm workers, migrant farm workers, some in new york and
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that was the reason he was invite theed to be here. this is controversial and it probably goes without saying it's controversial. part of the question is for the subcommittee chair woman who invited him here. when she walked in this morning, i asked is he going to be in character, the satirist we all know or a serious expert witness? as she said, if you look at his statement, it seems serious but to be honest, i don't know. the fact that this is continuing to go back and forth, continuing in his q. and a. to be the stephen colbert we know, talking to republicans about the fact that he supports their policies, it is interesting and no anything we see here. it's not just republicans who question this. the actual chairman of this subcommittee, john conyers at the beginning said he appreciateds stephen colbert's attention to this issue, the celebrity he's bringing to the issue, but he said, please leave. >> i'm not asking you not to talk. i'm asking you to leave the
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committee room completely and 134i9 your statement instead. >> i'm here at the invitation of the chair woman, and if she would like me to remove myself from the room, i would be happy to do so. i'm here at her invitation. >> thank you very much. >> i emphasized, that's the democratic chairman talking to the democratic subcommittee chair woman. she was not happy afterwards. he took it back after he heard the opening statement of the republican witness. this is a very interesting ride, and already is. it is about a serious topic, there's no question, and that topic is about legislation talked about here for years, and whether or not there should be legislation passed for illegal immigrant workers, migrant workers on farms to allow them to be here legally because many people, including many people on that panel say that they are doing jobs that people in america simply won't do and that's why it's critical to allow them to be here legally.
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>> thank you very much. that leads us to this question. legal immigrant workers. how big of a problem is it. josh levs has a breakdown. >> we are talking about a comedian bringing attention to an issue on capitol hill. we want to look at hard facts for you. what do we know about the challenges our country is facing with illegal immigrant workers specifically on farms? there is a study from pugh hispanic center. 25% of agriculture workers in marc is an illegal immigrant. if you look at construction workers, they're saying 14%, which is, again, roughly 1 in 7. hospitality workers, 1 in 10 hospitality workers, an illegal immigrant koorgtd according to . the government doesn't officially know how many illegal
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workers there are. there is a unit from the department of homeland security that keeps an eye on this, and they believe that the numbers of illegal immigrants in american have dropped, down to 10.8 million in this country. let's talk to migrant farm workers. we have a little bit of video here. there's an interesting challenge that we face when it comes to handle this. any time we see video, we can't tell you for sure who is here legally or not legally. it's something happening on u.s. farms, and when we look at what's going on, the u.s. civil rights commission did a study recently and they tried to look at how immigrants, and illegal immigrants, how that's impacting other americans. they found that it does disproportionately affect black men in america because for a whole set of other reasons. a lot of black men are taking also these low-wage jobs and low-skill jobs. but that same commission that focuses on civil rights in the u.s. says it would not be a
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panacea. it would not be a solution to purely stop all of the illegal immigration because what that could actually do is force some of these jobs overseas. so the challenge that we have, don, involves huge numbers of people, and it involves so many parts to try to tackle this. keep the jobs in the united states while doing something about illegal immigration. that's what we face as a country. celebrities often take their cause to capitol hill and we will look at other stars who testified before congress and the impact of celebrity on politics. that's coming up. coming out of coral gables, florida, the police department is working on a bank robbery situation. there was a device we're told that is currently inside the bank along with one person in contact with police hostage negotiators. a hostage negotiation team has been in contact with the bank. the pleas are all out of the
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bank along with the customers. that's what the police are saying in coral gables, florida. we'll follow that are for you. other things to tell you. live from capitol hill, the house speaker, nancy pelosi, will soon respond to the new republican strategy called a pledge to america. we are awaiting her weekly news conference. it would make bush era tax cuts permanent. those will not be voted on until after election day. colombia says a rebel is dead. troops attacked a camp, killing several of them, including the department putty leader. karl penhaul has been following the fighting. >> reporter: i would say this is the biggest battlefield defeat suffered since the foundation in 1964. fans are remembers 1950s teen idol eddie fisher.
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♪ but i'm always hearing wedding bells ♪ >> fisher hit the top 40 more than two dozen times and hosted two tv shows but is probably best known for five marriages. first when he left debbie reynolds for elizabeth taylor, a major scandal at the time. he died at his home following complications from surgery. expect another war if the current round of middle east peace talks fail. that from jordan's king abdul ba. he says the latest push for peace is likely to collapse. >> the discussions in washington started out better than anyone could have expected. both sides have made a lot of ground. if the issue of settlements is still on the table on the 30th, everyone walks away. how do we get people back to the table and i don't see how that
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can happen. if we fail by the 30th, expect another war. >> let's bring in dan loathian in new york. is there any reaction from the white house to the king's comments? >> reporter: well, the white house did not react directly to those comments but this is something obviously that they leave is important, the moratorium and extending the moratorium. the administration, the president in particular, here at the u.n. has talked about how important it is to extend that moratorium in moving the peace process forward, and the president also laying out in sort of what lies ahead if the two sides can't get together and hammer out a peace deal. the president saying more blood will be shed. the hole land will remain a symbol of our differents. so clearly the administration realizes there's more violence ahead and that this moratorium is one way by extending it to hopefully prevent that. >> what is the level of optimism
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at the twhus is peace deal is even possible? >> reporter: i think as you talk to administration officials, it's really a case of cautious optimism. you heard the president in his remarks here at the u.n. talk about how there have been peaks and valleys, but more valleys than peaks. but they do feel like progress has been made in this past month over the last few weeks. you have the reisraelis palestinians coming to washington for face-to-face talks and negotiations taking place in sharmal shake and jerusalem. to use this phrase that the white house will throw around, they feel there's a huge window of opportunity that both sides are very close in moving forward on a peace deal, but, clearly, there are the skeptics out there who say that many presidents have gone down this radio before. how will this president be able to resolve such a difficult, thorny issue, but the president says so much is at stake here
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that progress has to be made. >> white house correspondent dan loathian in new york. thank you very much. they are warriors who know their weather but they're certainly not geeks. we meet a group of american soldiers who have weather skpeert that is a vital tool on the battlefield. wrong move! you. you can save up to half off that sale when you name your own price on priceline. but this one's a deal...trust me. it's only pretending to be a deal. here, bid $79. got it. wow! you win this time good twin! there's no disguising the real deal.
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an elite air force unit goes into battle with the likes of the green berets, army rangers and all special ops forces. jumping out of airplanes is just part of their skill set. rob marciano has one thing in common with these guys. he's a meteorologist. >> reporter: they're like any other soldier showing off their guns. >> the guys like to use this in southern afghanistan with big, wide open spaces and need to reach out and touch mb. >> reporter: what does this have to do with weather? >> you have live to report the weather. >> reporter: these are special options weather team, sowt. >> the signs of what you and i do is pretty much the same. the application of it is different. >> reporter: yeah, much different. it's environmental recon
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commando style. today is rapid training day. get a fully loaded c-130 on the ground and off-loaded quickly. this is the 10th combat weather squadron. dirt bikes, atvs, humvees, and sowt personnel. when they need to get into hostile environment, they do it from the back of a plane and in a hurry. these aren't the weather geeks i went to school with. no, sir, and on the ground is when they go to work. the main objective is to gather weather information, so that means you gotta get out there and quickly and set up whatever equipment you're using to take your data observations. temperature, 23. >> temp 2-3 celsius. >> reporter: this man has been deployed eight times. most have served multiple tours, and all of them, including
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sergeant brice hauser have war stories. >> if the ied goes off, we have guys hurt on the ground, and it's my job to let the med see vac birds to come. i suggest a flight path, and they were able to get in and get the two wounded guys off the l.z. >> reporter: lieutenant colonel benson commands the sowts and knows how important the training is. >> early on in the iraq campaign, we had guys up in northern iraq and taking weather observations and passing them back to 16 aircraft that were about to deliver about 1,000 paratroopers. weather cleared up for a brief period of time, 1,000 guys were able to land. >> reporter: don't refer to them as just the weatherman. >> to be called just the weatherman gets under your skin but once you're put in a situation to prove yourself when
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the weather is on the line, that's when they realize, hey, this guy isn't just a weather guy. he's a special operations weatherman and a soldier. >> don, you know how upset i get when you refer to me as just the weatherman but i'm not out there protecting our country and doing the special opposites. there are less than 100. they have one of the highest deployment rates in the military and since they have been doing it since world war ii, they have yet to lose a man. >> but the truth hurts sometimes. >> it does. >> how do they deploy? >> interestingly, they go out and one or two-man teams and get september out with a small force like a navy seals or green berets, guys that have worked for years together as a cohesive unit and they are thrown into the mix sometimes solo, and that can be a chore but time and time again they prove themselves prove to be worthy.
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>> they're heroes. the top ten cnn heroes have been chosen. meet a remarkable woman who reinvented herself and now works tirelessly to help other women change their lives. [ drums playing ] [ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters and f sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance, unless it's wielded with precision. see your lexus dealer.
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apartment. two russians could month naughts and an american astronaut are stuck on the space station for now. they were supposed to leave today on a soyuz spacecraft. engineers are doing troubleshooting. another court hearing this hour for actress lindsay lohan. a judge revoked her probation earlier this week and signed a warrant for her arrest. she admitted failing a drug test during her probation, and minutes from now a live report from l.a. felicia jackson promised her late sister that she would take care of her children. but she needed help. i used my american express open card to get half a million points to buy building materials to help build the jackson family a new home. well, i know if my dad was still around, he would have told me, with no doubt... he would have told me it's a no brainer and i knew that from the start. it was an honor. booming is moving forward by giving back.
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all year here on cnn, we have introduced you to some incredible everyday people, people who are changing the world for the better. we call them the top ten finalists for the cnn hero of the year. they have been announced and you can vote on cnn d.o.t. come. >> i'm, i'm ricki lake. the last two years, i have had the honor of helping to recognize the great works of everyday people changing the world at cnn heroes, an all-star tribute. as a support arer of 2008 hero, marie disilva and jack randa foundation, i am thrilled to help cnn introduce one of this
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year's top ten honorees. now more than ever, the world needs heroes. >> we all leave prison saying i'm going to get my life on track, and you end up getting off a bus downtown los angeles skid row. many times you don't even make it out of the skid row area before you're caught up into that cycle again. my name is susan burton. after my son died, i used drugs. i went to prison six times. finally, i found rehab, and i thought, i can help women come home from prison. i pick them up, bring them back to the house. here are some jeans. >> she offered you a warm bed, food, like a real family. she made me want to change my life. >> you came a long way. >> this is life. that's what it's all about.
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>> so, we want you to vote. go to cnn heroes.com. vote as many times as you want until thursday, november 18th. you can also find information on cnn heroes, an all-star tribute, hosted by anderson cooper. join us on thanksgiving night, 8:00 p.m. eastern when the hero of the year will be announced. right now, there's a nurse saving a life in baltimore. 20 minutes later, she'll bring one into the world in seattle. later today, she'll help an accident victim in kansas. how can one nurse be in all these places? through the nurses she taught in this place. johnson & johnson knows, behind every nurse who touches a life... there's a nurse educator... who first touched them.
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lindsay lohan back in a beverly hills croom this hour to answer for a failed drug test. a judge revoked her probation earlier this week and ordered a bench warrant for her arrest. kareen wynter joins us now from los angeles. if it it wasn't so sad it would be funny. it's again, here rego. >> reporter: it's like the bad ending of a hollywood movie and you're just replaying it all over again. i'm going to let you know i'm doing my best to hear you. it's a madhouse outside this beverly hills superior courthouse where lindsay lohan showed up a short time ago. the frenzy, you have press, spectators, law enforcement. she walked through the doors, and is upstairs now. we're not sure if the hearing has started. we have one of our colleagues up
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there, but no cameras in the courtroom, turn off all blackberries and electronic devices. we are where we are because lindsay lohan failed her recent drug test last week, testing positive for cocaine and the stimulant adarol, and that was the basis for her being out on probation. she spent just 23 days of a 90-day rehab. she was let go. apparently the doctors at ucla said she wasn't bad off and let her out early. >> her probation was for a 2007 drunk driving conviction. so this going on even before that, right? >> reporter: absolutely. oh, absolutely, 2007 dui conviction and violated the terms, and was supposed to serve 90 days in jail. served a fraction of that and only a fraction of rehab, and at the end of the day, she was
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released early, and the judge said if you violate the terms of your probation, you will be back in court. >> kareen wynter in beverly hills today following the lindsay lohan trial and she now has to see a judge. waist-deep water in parts of the upper midwest. days of heavy rain soaked the region, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. ♪ [ male announcer ] every business day, bank of america lends billions of dollars, to individuals, institutions, schools, organizations and businesses. ♪ working to set opportunity in motion. bank of america.
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arcadia, wisconsin. about half of the town of 2,500 people have been evacuated. all of the stores are closed down that way. everything is closed that way. >> well, you know, when the red cross has to open a shelter, it is big, big trouble. rob marciano, any relief in site? >> the rain has stopped but the river that slices through arcadia and the wisconsin river to the east, that river is forecast to crest over the weekend and likely will blow out the floods that they had in '08 and in 1993. all of these counties in wisconsin and southern minnesota and parts of iowa are areas that are under the gun for flooding for the rivers. no more rain or not much more expected. the sliver of rain you see here, kind of a weakening front plowing through the east coast
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slowly, hitting a strong area of high pressure and warm air. that's the other story, memphis, tennessee, 96, jackson, 95. these are yesterday and i think we'll see similar numbers today. 93 degrees is the high temperature in d.c. have over 50 or 60 days of seeing over 90 degree days in the d.c. area. this front will run into the warm airy and see temperatures in the 90s. look at minneapolis, 58 degrees there. that gives you an idea of how cool it's going to get behind the front. matthew, this is barrelling east. the latest update has it moving west at 20 miles an hour. it might be faster than that. it's directly impacting nicaragua and honduras right now and will officially make landfall, i think, over the next few hours. this may be a good thing for us because it's moving so fast.
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the forecast has it plowing into the mountains here which will pretty much kill it at least temporarily and drift it north across yucatan and may next week be in the gulf and the caribbean. that's when it becomes a problem for the u.s. you know, it is the largest school in the world. it is online and it is free and it's expanding. we'll talk to the founder and winner of a $2 million prize from google. [ male announcer ] you can't un-smoke a cigarette. and you can't go back and un-do the times you tried quitting...
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so it was two years ago today that google announced project 10 to the hundredth. the goal was to change the world by helping people. google got 9/50,000 entries and today they announced five winners. one is the khan academy. the man behind that is with us today. happy day for you? >> it is. it's pretty exciting. so, tell us, what do you plan to do with the google money? >> well, as you mentioned, khan academy is pushing close to 2,000 videos.
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they have all been produced by me. we are going to translate the content into the world's major languages, spanish, hand darin, and we're going to build out the software part. i built out the first version. what shis is going to allow us to do is become more than just me. we will be able to hire a team and turn into an all-out virtual school for free. >> that's the obvious question. how do you do it? how do you do school online and is it viable and does it work? >> well, you know, there's two parts of school. one is the learning part and the other is the credentials part. it i think when people go to the site, they'll see there's a lot of testimonials from a lot of people who are not just using this as a supplement but using it as a substitute for what should go on in the classroom. we get huns of letters a day
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from learners all over the world who use it as their primary way to learn. >> can we say that you were one of the tech guys, right? i know you worked in money and business. i think you were a hedge fund -- you worked in hedge funds, right? how did you decide to change and say i'm going to deal with education and teaching on line? >> well, you know, there was always a part of me that wanted to do something in education. about five years ago, i had a family member in new orleans -- i was in boston at the time -- who needed help with math. i started tutoring her remotely and he brothers. it went well but it was hard to schedule time. i said, let me do our lectures on youtube. they liked me better on youtube than in person because they got to pause and repeat, and i guess there wasn't the stress of a live interaction with their cousin and i made it free for anybody else and started to get letters from random people
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around the world who said these videos allowed them to pass algebra or allowed them to go ba to college. i was doing it part time as a hobb working at a hedge fund, and the site kept growing until last year it got too exciting for me to be able to focus on my hedge fund job. i quit and lived off of savings. we got a few donations earlier this year that allowed me to take a salary. this google award allows us to take into a real free virtual school. >> how do you feel about the award? this really helps moving things along? >> it's super exciting. we will be able to build out a team and internationalize the content so more than just english speakers. we can start to address the other 5 billion people in the world. i think probably the biggest thing is that it's, you know -- the schooling people are pretty serious thinkers, and they wouldn't be throwing around 2
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million for any effort. so i think this is a strong val dags. >> the move waiting for superman is opening today and it's about education. do you have any advice on how to fix the american educational system on fr what you are doing that we can do for our schools, the brick and mortar schools? >> people have been talking about technology being a major factor. all of the attempts have been positive mold the technology to the traditional academic model. we are trying to rethink how you learn now using technology and maybe we should mold the traditional mod toll how we use technology. i think you will see major chances in the next five to ten years. >> sal man khan, we will be watching to you see what you do with the money and how had helicopters your effort there. thank you.
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>> thank you. >> time now to check the top stories here on cnn. the justice department is objecting to a request for an immediate halt to the military's don't ask, don't tell policy towards gays. the white house says it is committed to a repeal but ending it could put service members at risk. >> a woman who is homeless and bankrupt is a $54 million lottery winner. she bought last friday's mega millions winning ticket and tells the new york post she wants to keep her job as what prison guard on riker's island. a 1950s pop idol, eddie fisher, has died, his family says from hip surgery complications. he was married to debbie reynolds, elizabeth taylor and connie stevens. he was 82 years old. if you need muse toik rock towards your goal weight, a california woman is orchestrating what she calls
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chick empowerment songs to help. who is on the case? dr. sanjay gupta on how she overcame the weight loss blues. >> reporter: heidi had long days, and nutrition was the last thing on her mind, but when she stepped on the scale on her 50th birthday -- >> i hit this number, and it was a real wakeup call for me, and i realized that all those years of being in the fast lane, working hard, not taking care of myself had taken its toll. >> reporter: so she did what she does best. she started a company, a music company of all things. >> i wanted chick empowerment music about you go, girl. get in your jeans, but i couldn't find anything like that. so one of the things i did to change my life is decided music like that needed to exist and started writing music. >> reporter: along with the help of music producers george daly and david malloy, she created
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skinny songs. >> the song i get the most fan mail about is one called "you da boss". >> reporter: and the has been a success. >> someone said you could sing songs about lowering your cholesterol and that wouldn't be motivating but talking about fitting into your skinny jeans is. >> reporter: she has lost more than 40 pounds and is very much in charge of how she looks and how she feels. >> it was really about permanent changes that i could live with day in and day out. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn reporting. imagine you have a disease and you could die but no one, not even your doctor, can tell you what it is. where do turn? we want you to meet the doctors turned detectives who try to solve the toughest medical mysteries. watch dr. sanjay gupta weekend mornings. mmmm.
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you don't love me anymore do you billy? what? i didn't buy this cereal to sweet talk your taste buds it's for my heart health. good speech dad. [ whimper ] [ male announcer ] honey nut cheerios tastes great and its whole grain oats can help lower cholesterol. bee happy. bee healthy. long summer days, and not enough sleep. what i wouldn't do for a do-over. [ female announcer ] neutrogena® clinical skincare, exclusive ion2 complex combined with activating cream helps restore collagen depleted skin. neutrogena clinical skincare is clinically tested to undo the look of a year's worth of skin aging in just 4 weeks. do-overs do exist. [ female announcer ] clinical skincare. neutrogena. #1 dermatologist recommended brand. [ tires screech ] [ engine revving ] [ drums playing ]
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[ male announcer ] 306 horsepower. race-inspired paddle shifters and f sport-tuned suspension. all available on the new 2011 lexus is. it isn't real performance, unless it's wielded with precision. see your lexus dealer. you struggle to control your blood sugar. you exercise and eat right, but your blood sugar may still be high, and you need extra help. ask your doctor about onglyza, a once daily medicine used with diet and exercise to control high blood sugar in adults with type 2 diabetes. adding onglyza to your current oral medicine may help reduce after meal blood sugar spikes and may help reduce high morning blood sugar. [ male announcer ] onglyza should not be used to treat type 1 diabetes or diabetic ketoacidosis. tell your doctor if you have a history or risk of diabetic ketoacidosis. onglyza has not been studied with insulin. using onglyza with medicines such as sulfonylureas
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may cause low blood sugar. some symptoms of low blood sugar are shaking, sweating and rapid heartbeat. call your doctor if you have an allergic reaction like rash, hives or swelling of the face, mouth or throat. ask your doctor if you also take a tzd as swelling in the hands, feet or ankles may worsen. blood tests will check for kidney problems. you may need a lower dose of onglyza if your kidneys are not working well or if you take certain medicines. [ male announcer ] ask your doctor about adding onglyza. extra help. extra control. you may be eligible to pay $10 a month with the onglyza value card program. >> time right now for our cnn equals politics update. mr. mark preston, the best political team on television, joins us live from d.c. i'm sure he's in shirt sleeves and ready to tell us what's crossing. >> i'm here for you.
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terrible news for president obama. a new cnn opinion research corporation poll just released as we speak right now shows that the president's approval rating has hit an all-time low. it's at 42% right now, don. cnn had it previously at 50%. terrible news for president obama. probably worse news for congressional democrats as we head into the midterm elections. let's compare that to past presidents during their midterm stay when they were in office. president bill clinton, ronald reagan, jimmy carter all at 42% at the same time. terrible news for president clinton. midterm elections, out in west virginia, a seat held by robert byrd, quite frankly one of the most famous senators ever to serve in the united states senate, republicans think they have a shot at that seat. of course, byrd died earlier this year. there is a place holder. the popular governor is running
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for the seat but the national senatorial committee is spending over $1 million to run radio ads against the governor, trying to play off the president's low approval rating. let's close out with this, the cnn 100. this is your road map to the midterm elections, picking the 100 top house races. today we look at north dakota. earl pomeroy, republicans think they have a shot at that seat. >> thank you. next political update in an hour. for the latest political news, you can go -- you know where to go, cnnpolitics.com, of course. interesting grooming.
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interesting. the bulls are back. stocks surge. it's because the dow is up right now 170 points. remember when we'd say, it's up 170 points, wouldn't be that excited about it? nasdaq up 41 points and we're going to get to wall street and check in on that in just a second, but help for small businesses really on the way to the tune of $40 billion. last week, the senate passed a new piece of legislation and last night, the house signed off on it. on monday, the president says he'll saturday night. allisison kosik at the new york stock exchange with more. how would this help small businesses? >> the whole idea is to make small businesses smaller and then make the broader economy. help small businesses create about a half million jobs, then give them access to credit as well. if you give them money, you give them the confidence to spend it.
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number one, it looks to create a $30 billion fund to give some ultra cheap loans to community banks. most small banks get their loans from these banks and by purposing capital in them, they can get that to main street. it also gives about $12 million in tax breaks. it would encourage these businesses to buy new equipment and hire. it would really motivate people, also, to start their own businesses. we can see job creation here as well. $1.5 million in grants for states with lending programs for small businesses. it looks to grow these small businesses, get them to grow and hire. >> experts are saying the recession is over. why is this necessary if that is true? >> the fact of the matter is the economy has not recovered yet. take a look at how hiring has
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been for small businesses in the past few years. the top line shows smaller companies. the bottom line shows bigger companies. companies with more employees. the bottom line with this, they both have the same theme running through them. business hiring has fallen off tremendously. this is important because small business really created the most jobs in this economy, something we need to give a huge boost to the economy. some republicans oppose this bill because businesses at this point, they don't need credit, they need customers. it's the demand side of the equation. i don't think they'll get the customers if they don't have jobs. >> thank you so much. farm labor and immigration, it's taken the spotlight today for a house subcommittee. gary tuckman is going to show us what it's like to work in the fields in california. plus, this week, a group of
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economists declare the great e session officially ended in june of last year. it doesn't feel that way to a lot of out of work americans. poppy harlow will take a look at that for us. well-being. we're all striving for it. purina cat chow helps you nurture it in your cat with a full family of excellent nutrition and helpful resources. purina cat chow. share a better life. purina cat chow. boss: and now i'll turn it over gecko: ah, t, ecko. as we all know, geico has been saving people money on rv, camper and trailer insurance...
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give you sheer coverage instantly, then go on, to even skin tone in four weeks. new aveeno tinted moisturizers. we watched forever as this unfolded and they were held captive. we're talking about sarah shourd and her friends. she is hoping to meet with iran's president while he is in new york this week. she wants to ask him to free her two come pan yans. she and her friends were arrested while hiking near the iraq-iran border. >> president ahminedjad is here this week and i know that you
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have wanted to try to get in touch with him. he was on with larry king on wednesday talking about whether or not shane and josh would ever get out. he said that's in the hands of the judge. i've made my appeal. do you think you'll have a chance to meet with him? >> i don't see why he wouldn't want to meet with us. i've made it really, really clear i have no animosity towards him or the government. i just want this resolved, to be finished. i think it would be a really good opportunity for us to meet each other. >> what would you say to him? >> i would just ask him to release my fiance and my friend for the same reasons he released me. as a humanitarian gueesture. >> what do you think of this idea he has about a prisoner
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swap? eight iranian in exchange for shane and josh? >> i'm not a politician. this is not my area of expertise. i don't know how this should be resolved, i just know it should be. it's a humanitarian issue and i hope that it ends in a way that can move us forward. our country and iran and create some kind of a better relationship between us. >> sarah shourd on ""american morning"." i'm don lemon. tony is off today. it's the top of the hour and of course, anything can happen. here are some of the people behind today's top stories. will a celebrity comedian's appearance on capitol hill change anything about their lives? a group of economists declared this week the recession ended more than a year ago. what do you have to say about that? >> i guess the top economists
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are in different communities. i think the recession is ongoing. more like a depression. >> you are online right now and we are, too. josh levs, of course, following what's hot. >> the u.s. and more than a dozen other countries are holding an earthquake drill today to see how effective social media can be in helping. details are here. >> thank you. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com today, a strong reaction from president obama to ahminedjad. ahminedjad faulted the united states for 9/11. dan lothian is with us from new york. tough words, dan. >> that's right. no surprise because mahmoud ahminedjad has sort of made a career of making outrangs comments and yet again, he makes these comments about the united states being responsible for 9/11. the president reacting to those
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comments. i'll tell you about that in just a second, but let's listen to what he said yesterday in new york. >> that some segments within the u.s. government or kchestrated e attack to reverse is declining american economy then ordered to save designist regimes. the majority of the american people as well as most nations and politicsians agree with thi. >> now, president obama in an interview with bbc per shiseido the following, quote --
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the reason why president obama sat down with this interview according to white house officials is because he wanted to speak directly to iranian people. they're trying to say that the u.s. wants to engage, wants to make sure what their nuclear ambitions are for peaceful purposes. the president really wanted to reach out to the people in a very personal way. that's the reason he sat down for this interview, was asked the question and then reacted to the comments ahminedjad had yesterday. >> white house correspondent, dan lothian. thank you very much. we're going to stick with politics right now. a funny man, serious subject. steven colbert appeared before an immigrant farm committee.
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sentence congressional correspondent dana bash joins us with what happened. i imagine you've gotten some reaction now. what are lawmakers saying about steven colbert? >> john conners, the chairman of the full committee that held this hearing, he, during this hearing, surprised even the whom chairing it, by saying that he wanted steven colbert to leave. he said, i think you should leave. i just ran into mr. conniers and i said, why did you say that. he said, because i thought it was going to be a circus. i said, was it a circus and he said no, that what colbert said was quote, profound. what he came to testify about was the whole question of migrant workers, jobs in the ago agriculture sector and whether or not there should be a guest
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worker program to allow illegal workers to stay here legally to do these jobs because as many democrats on this panel argue, they're doing jobs americans won't do because wages are too low. that is what was going on in a very serious way for the most part when colbert wasn't talking, but he did, at the end, at his two cents on the issue. >> so, what's the answer? i'm a free market guy. normally, i would leave this to the invisible hand of the market, but that has moved over 22,000 farm jobs to mexico and shut down over 1 million acres of u.s. farmland due to lack of available labor because apparently, even the invisible hand doesn't want to pick beans. now, i'm not a fan of the government doing anything, but i've got to ask, why isn't the government doing anything?
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a b maybe this ad jobs bill would help. i wouldn't know. like most members of congress, i haven't read it. maybe you could offer more visas to the immigrants who will probably be doing these jobs any way and this improved legal status might aloe immigrants' recourse if they're abused. if your co-workers can't be exploited, you're more likely to be exploited and that might improve pay and working conditions on these farms and they may cause americans to take these jobs again. >> that is colbert's opening statement. probably goes without saying, this was an incredibly controversial decision to invite colbert here. they went to the same farm in new york to see what it was like to be a migrant worker. she told me before this started, she wasn't clear which colbert was going to show up.
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the satirical character we know or just be serious on the issue. he did surprise the panel by throwing out his written statement that he had submitted earlier, which was kind of milk toast and instead giving that and much more. >> i think the answer is we got to see both. dana bash, we appreciate your reporting. our very own national correspondent, gary tuckman, knows what it is like to be a field worker for a day and we'll bring you his report on working in a vineyard picking grapes. colbert's appearance is just the latest in a long line of celebrities testifying before congress. josh levs is here are some highlights. >> i think it would be easier to come up with a list of celebrities who have not testified before congress. i was looking online to see if there's an easy place i can show you and there is from good.is.
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they're showing you some from the last couple of years. this is nick jonas, who has diabetes, and testified about additional testing for diabetes. kevin coster says what believes could help with future spills. sheryl crow, funding for breast cancer. roger clemens when he swore in front of a national committee that he didn't take steroids. two more. carrie washington in support of national endowment for arts. this is dennis quade, his hospital accidentally injected his newborn twins with the wrong drug, they almost died. he testified before the house
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pushing for the right to extend the length of time in which you can sue drug makers. we have interesting video -- one person we're going to see is nicole kidman, a reminder you don't have to be from america. that's all in the past couple of years, so there is a lengthy parade of celebrities who make their way to capitol hill, offer some testimony. >> i wanted to show the -- this is the one at the top of mine, can you quantify, does it make a difference when these stars testify? >> you can't. part of what's tricky, there's a possible law that involves the same idea. also, a lot of congressional testimony in general ends up being the whole point to get attention for an issue then not much happens with it any way. i reached out to some viewers asking some people what they think about colbert's
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appearance. here's one that i got -- there are a lot of people who weren't aware of this issue until today. colbert's testimony is beneficial in that sense. she's not the only one saying something like that. you can read all about it. they do bring attention to issues. someone out there benefits every time attention is brought to an important issue. >> attention. i think that's what many times they want, and money. thank you, josh levs. middle east peace or dire consequences. a leader predicts what will happen if the current talks fail. first off, our random moment. [ female announcer ] sometimes you need tomorrow
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expect another war if the current round of middle east peace talks fails. that dire warning from jordan's king abdullah. a moritorium expires sunday and the next round of talks could start soon after that. king abdullah says if the settlement issue is not resolved, the talks are likely to collapse. >> the discussions we had in washington better than any of us could have expected. both sides have made a lot of ground and if the issue is still on the table on the 30th, then everybody walks away. if they do, how are we going to get people back to the table? i don't see that happening. >> the white house has called for extending the moritorium on settlement building. harvesting grapes.
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steven colbert gave a satirical statement about his days picking beans and packing corn. gary tuckman takes a more serious look at the day spent with immigrant workers in the field. >> reporter: before dawn, migrant laborers in the california desert. despite triple digit temperatures still to come, they wore long sleeves, scarves and ban danas to protect themselves from the sun. they're all veterans and they're all mexican, except for me, the rookie american, who is joining them for a full day of work. the only person in short sleeves. the only person who doesn't know what he's doing. but i've been assigned a partner. benjamin rodriguez has worked in the fields for 32 years. he's teaching me the trade. here's what i'm learning. got to get rid of the green
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ways, but sometimes, they're way down. if you miss them and they get to the grocery store and you buy grapes and see green ones, you'll complain to the store, the store will complain to the ranch and the ranch will complain to me, the worker. you make $8 an hour and split 30 cents between three partners. the third is benjamin's wife, maria, who is loading up the grapes for the store. she says it makes her back hurt. it's hard. we have to do it. if i don't work fast, i cost him money. there is some pressure. not just doing a story. maria and benjamin have five childr children. two of them grown. they won't discuss their immigration status, but if you're legal, you would usually seek a less punishing situation. either way, taxes are taken out. they each make a base rate of $65 a day.
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after taxes, it's about $5. as the hours go by, the workers sing to help make time pass to take their minds off the heat. they're aware many people believe mexican immigrants take away american jobs, but on this ranch -- i asked him how many americans he's seen in his 32 years in the field and he said zero. for 15 year, you've been hiring crews to do work. >> right. >> reporter: how many americans have you hired over the 15 or 16 years? >> not one. >> reporter: has one ever expressed interest? >> no. not in the fields. >> reporter: the temperature has now climbed to 102. as it gets hotter and the sun gets brighter, your mind starts playing tricks with you. you start not being able to make out the colors anymore. they're purple though.
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the trucks start getting loaded up. i'm doing some wheelbarrow duty, which can't be good for the back. i realized before this day started, this work would be hard. what i didn't realize is just how -- it would be. it's not even lunchtime yet. >> delicious grapes. hot off the vine. >> reporter: the afternoon goes slower than the morning. benjamin stays on top of me to get rid of the green grapes. at 2:30 p.m., our final load of grapes. this is the last. it's quitting time and there's mass exodus. benjamin, marie and i have done 100 boxes. that's a $30 bonus for the two of them. i wish benjamin and maria luck and they head home as quickly as
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possible. they have to do it all over again at 6:00 a.m. this just in. it involves lindsay lohan. we know she was in court today in beverly hills. there she is entering court earlier, but then left and was sent directly to jail because the judge there has ordered her to remain in jail without bail until october 27th when there will be a probation hearing. she was in court this morning because she failed a drug test and the judge revoked her probation. all of this stemming back to 2007 when she was on probation for a drunk driving. she was told to get her act together and stay off drugs. she failed a drug test and
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i just wish that all of the important information was gathered together in one place. [ printer whirs ] done. ♪ thanks. do you work here? not yet. from tax info to debunking myths, the field guide to evolving your workforce has everything you need. download it now at thinkbeyondthelabel.com. in the upper midwest, a state of emergency in in place in parts of wisconsin and minnesota after days of heavy rain. flood waters have driven hundreds from their homes. let's get advice on what's going on there from chad myers.
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the rain has stopped, but it's not over yet though, is it? >> overnight, it was sliding east and still sliding now. this was a milwaukee event. this was rochester, minnesota. the line of weather here, all these green counties are not flood warnings so much as the water is up. it was three feet lower an hour ago. these literally, every single county you see in that bright green, those are flood rivers out of their banks. rivers that are somewhere above flood stage. i didn't count them, but there must be 70. 70 counties with a river or more and lot of times more, out of their banks. that all happened when a storm system refused to move. it just sat there. the front sat in one spot and the rain happened all night long. and this could happen again tonight and into tomorrow, but for a different part of the
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world. for this. tropical storm matthew. this is really concerning for honduras, even maybe el salvador and nicaragua. it's only a 50-mile storm. this is insignificant at 50 miles per hour. why is this going to be so dangerous? becau because, don, look at this. here it is now. here it is tomorrow. this is wednesday. it doesn't move 400 miles in a 120 hours. and if you get tropical rains in one spot, especially in a very rugged, we have mountains here, this is part of the rocky mountains, these mountains will catch the rain. the rain will run off rather quickly and there will be mudslides we haven't seen since i don't even know the hurricane. wilma and gilbert come to mind.
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this is going to have big time rain. not so much of a tropical storm, but a rainmaker and it gets up into a very warm gulf of mexico. >> then who knows from there, right? >> sure. >> boy, we're watching that one. thank you, sir. wait no longer. exhale now because terry mcmillan stops fwoi talk about her new book.
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the one man i love is married with a kid. and there's my life in one little sad nutshell. >> men do leave their wives. >> the ladies commiserating. guys, you know you're in trouble when that happens. but they are back. savannah, berndine. getting to happy, terry mcmillan pins the chapter. fredricka whitfield sat down with the author. >> people have been waiting to know if there was going to be a sequel and here we are. "getting the happy."
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what happened in these women's lives that you felt it was time to see what's happened 15 years after? >> well, it wasn't what happened to them. it was due to what happened to me. i had no intention of writing a sequel. after my divorce, i was bitter and angry and i met a lot of other women in m my age group w were just sad. so, trying to explore what it might take for us to get back to happy, so to speak. i came up with four different scenarios a lot of women have to deal with. i realized i had told a story with four female protagonists, then i realized those women were the perfect candidates for this story. ♪ >> i'll be 21 on my next birthday, so that makes me 20. and you are? >> 40. >> when people read stella, they
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thought that was their experience. >> it's interesting that you talk about you were in a place. you were upset. your husband wasn't what you thought he was. why is it you made a decision, i'm going to do a continuation of these women's lives as opposed to write specifically about what happened to me. >> even telling the story of stella, about 95% of that did not happen, but i was compelled to tell the story and i knew that to some extent, nothing is promised. when he decided to tell me what he thought he was and i said, i know what thinking means and then of course, all the other ugly stuff started coming out. when you've been deceived and lied to, when it happens, you don't care, you're just angry. >> at what point did you say rk i'm tired of being mad? >> i was swearing a lot. grinding my teeth. it was not who i was and it just started dawning on me, how much energy it takes to be angry.
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i have since forgiven my ex-husband and we are actually friends now. i don't think you allow your past to destroy your present. hold up a minute here. i deserve to be happy. i deserve to have some joy in my life and this story, i wanted to try to da matize what happens when you do and when you don't rely on someone else for all of your happiness. >> it sounds as though you've sprinkled your life into all of these women's lives to some capacity. >> i take observations and personalize them through my characters. it doesn't mean that it had to have happened to me, but when i write it through these characters, through their eyes and hearts, it feels like it did. >> is this likely to be a movie? >> 20th sedgery fox bought it before it was a book. three of the four women seem to
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be interested and we are praying and hoping that whitney will, too. >> to summarize, savannah, the first character you tackle. what's the breaking point for savannah, how does she get to this point? >> she just discovers something about his behavior that sort of angered her. not anything that was as deep as finding out your husband is gay. she just decided to take a risk on herself and going solo. she is not, nor have i, given up on love or men. >> gloria? >> she is experienced a different kind of a loss that i don't want to say. she has to go through her own form of grief and just start to begin to heal her life. >> and bernadine. >> she has forgiven her first ex-husband. they are friends in this story. but she has had an experience that has made her bitter, so she has to learn a lot of things in terms of forgiving herself and
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others. >> and robin? >> robin tried to be a good single parent and her attitude is that you should look for a man the same you do a good pair of black pumps. keep trying them on. >> so these women are now breathing? >> i would like to think they are. you can exhale more than once. >> and to read more of what matters to all of us, make sure to pick up the latest issue of "essence" magazine. ♪ i thought it was over here... ♪
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why don't we talk money, he's laughing. cnnmoney.com. the bulls are back. stocks are surging. that's what cnnmoney.com says. the dow is up 180 points. nasdaq, 44. up 44. the recession officially ended 14 months ago, but it doesn't feel that way to many americans facing high unemployment and a crippled housing mark. a lot of us are in that category.
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poppy, a lot of skepticism about whether the recession is over. people just aren't feeling it. >> earlier this week, we got sort of the technical definition of the end of the recession from a fwroup of economists who say it ended 14 months ago. even warren buffett this week saying he doesn't really think the recession is over when it comes to how the average person is feeling. take a look at these numbers. probably not a surprise to you, but we have about 15 million people in this country out of work. some of them for more than a year. and about 9 million people that are underemployed, not making enough just to get by. when you talk to people across this country as we did from california to the midwest to new york, their personal recession is anything but over. take a listen. >> the top economists don't live in the same communities. for some communities, it's more like a recession. >> it's nowhere near over.
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i do some inspections for people, housing inspections and i feel that the market, it's going to take four or five years to recover. >> i'm a law student right now so until i get a job or intervurks it's not over. >> i have a master's degree and haven't found a job yet. i'm working retail and my other roommates work retail and we live paycheck to paycheck. >> jobs are very hard to get and a lot of people don't want to get jobs because they're getting too much given to them for not working. >> look around. i don't see many people here at the restaurants. it may be coming back, but coming back slow. >> to say the least. the government's sort of unprecedented efforts to put americans back to work, just this week, a $42 billion bill to
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aid small businesses. that was just passed. and the big question, what is the private sector going to do? they've got $1.7 trillion, these companies have cash on the sideline. they're not hiring. the private sector needs to start hiring. >> thank you. >> real people. two bizarre medical mysteries. the doctor detectives, they find answers. ♪ every day you check the weather, check the time ♪ ♪ check the news online ♪heck the wife, eck the kids ♪ ♪ check your email messages ♪ check the money in the bank ♪ check the gas in the tank ♪ check the flava from your shirt ♪ ♪ make sure your pits don't stank ♪ ♪ check the new hairdo, check the mic one two ♪ ♪ 'cause i'm about to drop some knowledge right on top of you ♪
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let's take a look at your top stories right now. the house speaker, nancy pelosi, taking a swipe at the gop's pledge to america. last hour, she branded house republicans' promise of what's to come if they win control of congress. she said it's show boating. mark zuckerberg is donating 1$100 million to improving publc schools in newark, new jersey. he is 26 years old and has an estimated net worth of almost $7 billion. actress and bad girl lindsay
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lohan is heading back to jail. the judge has ordered her to remain in custody without bail until a hearing on october 22nd. the judge revoked her probation this week and signed a warrant for her arrest. she has admitted failing a drug test during her probation. all week long, dr. gupta took us inside the national institutes of health undiagnosed diseases program. he introduced us to a girl with tremors and a mom whose muscled are growing out of control. now, he tells us if they have solved either of these baffling medical mysteries. >> no one could explain what was happening to sally. at 53, her muscles had groan grotesquely large. >> it became increasingly
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difficult just to walk. at some point, i knew if it konds, it would kill me. >> steroids were ruled out, so no explanation, no diagnosis. that was why she was accepted into the program. dr. william gall runs the program. for a lot of patients, i really got the sense of this is a place of hope or last resort for them. that's a lot of pressure. >> it is. we try to be realistic about it and get our patients to be realistic about the issues, too. they've been to the best places in the country. now, you're coming here. we only have a 10 to 15% success rate, so i don't want you to get your hopes up too high, but on the other hand, we don't want to take all hope away. >> for one week, the medical
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experts probe, collect scans and bachelor's degr blood work. >> we do detective work, but a lot of the work takes place after the patients have gone. >> after five days, the patients go home. and despite the odds against success, they are less desperate. >> i took that disclaimer and i heard it. i still question a strong dose of hope. >> what would be months of a search for clues to solve sally's mystery was just beginning. >> bottom line. it's just confined to the muscle. what could this be? >> it's also what everyone is asking about 6-year-old chily. shortly before her 4th birthday, the mystery began. >> i have to eat at if --
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>> how serious is kylie? >> i would say real serious. she has a disorder that will threaten her life is essentially the issue here. sort of racing against time. >> she has been at the udp for a week. dr. gall and his team have been sifting through all the data on her. do you have a diagnosis? >> no, but we have a few good leads. >> for a time, they suspected a rare brain disorder. it affects the brain's motor strength, but as tests came back, clues showed the electrical charges in her brain were not coming from just one area, but in fact, from all over. so, they were back to square one. >> you try to dif wrenn wait, whether this is environmental or
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something that happened to her. >> in time, analysis revealed the clue. they found a mutation in a particular gene that makes a protein. is it possible that what we're talking about here is truly something that's never been described before? >> it's very possible. >> brand new. >> brand new. mutation. and maybe identifying a gene that is not known previously to cause a human disease. >> back home in reno, nevada, gina and steven are trying to focus on spending time as a family. although she is deteriorating, she is happy. >> maybe some day we'll get that phone call, hey, we might know what it is. >> in maryland, doctors are digging deeper into the genetic clue. they're doing a dna analysis of kylie's parents and sisters.
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>> every new case that comes to us brings with it a human story. i think the important thing is for us as professionals to look at the successes that we have. and to try to not dwell on the failures that we have because we fail so often. >> but not always. luckily for sally, the experts at the udp solved her mystery. >> i expected miracles from them and they gave them to me. >> the tissue sample hit the jackpot. in the congo red staining of the b bopsy, scientists found ab normal proteins from cells in the bone marrow. mystery solved. the diagnosis, a rare disease in
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which proteins deposit themselves into tissue. this was a mystery because it manifested in her skeletal muscles. >> this is one you get to put a check in the solved column? >> yeah, it is. >> that's got to be the best feeling. >> it is, sort of justifies our existence. >> but for sally, a diagnose meant only she had a chance for survival. there is no cure. in june of last year at the mayo clinic, she underwent cheem therapy. >> there were times in the process when i thought it was real possible i would die. >> today, sally is far from 100%. >> every day, she's a little bit stronger and every day, she walks a little further. you just sort of have to smile because these are things that
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were inconsiderable a year ago. >> doctors don't know if sally's body will ever return to the way it was before the disease -- >> i was cooking one night in the kitchen and everybody was around and louis armstrong came on the radio singing "what a wonderful world" and i just started to cry because those e routiru routine moments of life are so precious and i have them and i'm so grateful. they found it just in time. ♪ and i think to myself what a wonderful world ♪ a new cnn poll may spell trouble for democrats. your cnn equals politics update straight ahead. my
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you'll never ever pick up a cigarette." and brian looked at me at eight years old and said, "promise me you'll quit." i had to quit. ♪ my doctor gave me a prescription for chantix, a medication i could take and still smoke, while it built up in my system. [ male announcer ] chantix is a non-nicotine pill. that stays with you all day to help you quit. in studies, 44% of chantix users were quit during weeks 9 to 12 of treatment, compared to 18% on sugar pill. it's proven to reduce the urge to smoke. ask your doctor if chantix is right for you. and find out how you can save money on your prescription at chantix.com. some people have had changes in behavior, hostility, agitation, depressed mood and suicidal thoughts or actions while taking or after stopping chantix. if you notice agitation, hostility, depression or changes in behavior, thinking or mood that are not typical for you, or if you develop suicidal thoughts or actions, stop taking chantix and call your doctor right away. talk to your doctor about any history of depression or other mental health problems,
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which can get worse while taking chantix. some people can have allergic or serious skin reactions to chantix, some of which can be life threatening. if you notice swelling of face, mouth, throat or a rash stop taking chantix and see your doctor right away. do not take chantix if you've had a serious allergic or skin reaction to chantix. tell your doctor which medicines you're taking as they may work differently when you quit smoking. chantix dosing may be different if you have kidney problems. the most common side effect is nausea. patients also reported trouble sleeping and vivid, unusual or strange dreams. until you know how chantix may affect you, use caution when driving or operating machinery. chantix should not be taken with other quit-smoking products. ♪ my benjamin, he helped me with the countdown. "ben, how many days has it been?" "5 days, mom. 10 days, mom." i think after 30 days he got tired of counting. [ male announcer ] talk to your doctor about chantix. find out how you can save money on your prescription and learn terms and conditions at chantix.com. the more you spend, the bigger the bonus, up to $250 to use on your next purchase.
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start earning with as little as $75 spent, including great sale prices. hurry, sears bonus days are on! sears. stay twice... earn a free night! two separate stays at comfort inn or any of these choice hotels can earn you a free night -- only when you book at choicehotels.com. it is about that time again. time for your cnn equals politics update. mark preston joins us now live from washington. mark, what do you have for us? >> before we get to real serious news, i have a friend here in town for the steven colbert testimony. it's pete dominic. he used to work for steve
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colbert. he went up to hear mr. colbert testify. he can't hear you, don, tell me what the testimony looked like today. >> three words. impactful and important and some might say inappropriate. i say, i love him. >> he needed to learn how to count. >> needs to go back to math class. >> dana bash was there as well. he's getting applause. let's get to the real news as they say. bad news for democrats. the new poll is out. the generic ballot shows republicans have a nine-point lead over democrats. we have 39 days until the midterm elections. last hour, we told you president obama's approval rating is at 42%.
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two good numbers for republicans, two bad numbers for democrats. michael steele is motoring across the country. 48 states. doing a little campaigning. he'll be back in annapolis on october 29th. some think it's a good idea. others think it's a waste of money, but you really got to read that story on cnnpolitics.com and you know, who needs colbert? maybe pete on the street does, but i've got you some gaga. karen winter has got you some gaga. in fact, karen has a story up on hln right now where she looks into what role lady gaga's playing in the political realm right now. we have the report on cnnpolitics.com and in fact, this is what she says. gaga is inspiring young americans to make political noise of their own. pretty good stuff. >> mark preston and pete, thank
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you, sirs. for the latest, go to cnnpolitics.com. when i went on medicare, i did the numbers. that was the moment of truth. medicare by itself doesn't cover everything. we'd need more than that. i don't want to spend my life worrying about what would happen if one of us got sick. [ male announcer ] now more than ever, you may be wondering: do i have the right medicare coverage? don't spend your life worrying. let the health plan experts at securehorizons, providers of aarp medicarecomplete, help you decide. a leader in medicare plans, securehorizons is a name you can depend on for coverage beyond original medicare. [ woman ] it's nice to get the care you need without always thinking about the money. i can just focus on the things i need. [ male announcer ] in these changing times, the name on your medicare health plan may be more important than ever. choose a company you can depend on. [ woman ] life's too short to worry about health care. i hate to worry. i like things i can depend on. [ male announcer ] don't spend life wondering about your medicare coverage. talk to securehorizons today
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my money. my choice. my meineke. the newest financer on the internet. i enjoyed from facebook and when twitter goes down. >> this outage of facebook yesterday got people talking about joking about the role it plays in our lives. "huffington post" pulled together some of the funniest tweets -- 5 million people forced to work. a fake one from al-qaeda. not sure if we did that. facebook users are roaming the streets in tears, shoving photos of themselves in people's faces and screaming, do you like this,
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do you? even light buttons are down on facebook. we can't live in a world where we can't ash tearily like things. this dad lithuania dancing behind his two daughters. are they too young to be embarrassed by dad? he's now the new song and dancer. 780,000 views. >> these little girls, they're like, oh, dad. there's one of him dancing with his shirt off. >> he's a new, famous dancer now. ♪ we need directions to go to... pearblossom highway? it's just outside of lancaster. sure, i can download directions for you now. we got it. thank you very much! onstar ready. call home. hi, daddy! i'm on my way. send to car and...done! you have one saved destination: dillon beach.
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would you like those directions now? yes, i would. go north on route 1. check it out. i can like, see everything that's going on with the car. here's the gas level. i can check on the oil. i can unlock it from anywhere. i've received a signal there was a crash. some guy just cut me off. i'll get an ambulance to you right away. looks like our check engine light's on. can you do a diagnostic check for us? everything's fine. oh, but you've got a loose gas cap. safely connecting you in ways you never thought possible. onstar. live on. it helps to eat calcium-rich foods like yogurt, spinach, and cheese. but calcium, vitamin d and exercise may not be enough to keep your bones strong. so ask your doctor about once-monthly boniva. boniva works with your body to help stop and reverse bone loss. studies show, after one year on boniva that's exactly what it did for nine out of ten women.
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