private security firm who last wednesday told the government, look, we can't fulfill the contract of supplying 10,000 guards. you're going to help us out, so the government has said that 5 3,500 soldiers will be added to the mix making about 17,5 00 at the olympics, also police are stepping in to secure nine different sites. the whole thing is clearly very embarrassing. the british home secretary is being questioned behind me in the house of commons about exactly when she knew that the shortfall was going to happen and why more wasn't done earlier. >> and dan, this is my question, you say they're bringing in police, they're bringing in military personnel, but they're doing this less than two weeks ahead of the games. how do you train people properly no matter what their background,

to make sure the games are secure? that's the big concern right now. >> absolutely. yeah, i mean, what they're saying is that luckily, the british armed forces have stepped in, they feel they have the skill set to step in at short notice to conduct things like running x-ray machines, searching bags, checking tickets and so on. you know, obviously highly organized, highly trained. they don't normally do this kind of thing, but it's the kind of thing they can adapt to quickly. the problem is that means a lot of these soldiers, some of them fresh back from afghanistan, have had to cancel their summer holidays. it's very short notice. i was talking to a few of them at the weekend coincidentally who said they had only been told a day before they would have to deploy to london. the have to cancel their holiday. a lot of families upset. people want to know who is going to pick up the bill for that. g-4x said they will pick up the

tab for a shortfall. >> thank you, dan. appreciate it. well, let's move to hillary clinton now and egypt. a target for taunters in egypt. protesters threw shoes and tomatoes at her motorcade last night and this. >> monica, monica! monica! >> chants of monica, referring to monica lewinsky. a disturbing way for the secretary of state to end her historic weekend in the country. she met with the newly democratic elected president mohamed morsi. we have been talking throughout the weekend. you're in israel getting ready to do an interview with the secretary of state. let's talk about how bad things got last night at the end of the trip. >> it was pretty harrowing for the secretary's staff and the journalists with her. to be clear, she was never in any danger. her car, she was around the

corner, so her vehicle was not hit, but there was an egyptian official hit in the face with a tomato. the s.w.a.t. teams rushed us into the vans. basically, what is happening is there'a real perception in egypt that the united states really supports the muslim brotherhood, is backing the muslim brotherhood, and a lot of people in the runt rhee who didn't vote for mohamed morsi feel that they hijacked the revolution and that's what the protests are about. getting personal about the secretary, but the larger issues are about u.s. policy and i think that's what the secretary heard in her meetings. a lot of concern that she's abandoned christians that have been marginalized and the women, and secular people in the streets in tahrir square in the revolution. >> as you know, after she met with morsi, she went on to meet with christians, she met with the head military leader in

egypt. she spent a lot of time there, making the rounds, meeting clearly with the different groups and the different sides in all of this. has the secretary addressed what happened last night at all to you? >> well, she didn't address that specifically, but she is addressing these concerns, and she did hear an earful fromcretion groups, from woman groups that are really concerned about what u.s. tejzs are and what the values are in the region. later in the day, she made a speech at the u.s. consulate. i think these were kind of impromptu to make clear that the u.s. is not backing winners or losers. they're backing the democratic process. in the meetings with mohamed morsi and with the military staff chief, saying they really need to settle their differences. and basically really trying to address these concerns to the egyptian people, but she also told the christian groups and women, saying yes, there definitely are concerns. you have rights to fear for your

future. she is telling them you need to step, you need to assert yourself because you have a responsibility, too. she was listening and also saying everyone has a role in the new egypt to play, including people who have been marginalized. >> i know you're sitting down with the secretary in moments. syria and egypt, the kidnapping of two americans, are those going to be the main points of the interview? >> i think she wants to give her impressions about morsi. there was a lot of concern about the border with egypt that is becoming a preafghanistan type noman's land where there's a lot of terrorist activity. americans who were kidnapped over the weekend, and also, the situation in syria, a very big concern. she wants to kind of trade notes with the israelis. but i think the most important thing of these meetings, poppy, is really iran. you had a steady stream of officials coming to israel over the last couple weeks, national security adviser tom dawn ln is

here, releon panetta later in the month. it seems like the please don't bomb iran tour. it seems like a real effort to tell the israelis, listen, we have the control, we have your back. don't do it. >> that's a very, very good point. we'll look out for the interview later tonight. thank you so much. israel, a final stop on the two-week trip by the secretary of state. she also spent time in afghanistan, vietnam, cambodia among other countries. [ male announcer ] count the number of buttons in your car. now count the number of buttons on your tablet. isn't it time the automobile advanced? introducing cue in the all-new cadillac xts. the simplicity of a tablet has come to your car.

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why not give it a shot? carry on. now you can test-drive snapshot before you switch. visit progressive.com today. >> a major decision on a florida a&m university to tell you about. the university's president will resign effective immediately. you see him there on the screen. the trustees voted he should step down today instead of waiting for his scheduled resignation date. this comes more than seven months after the school's band drum major robert champion died following a hazer ritual. they're in reports to replace him with larry robinson. >> something that could have a ripple effect across ski swing states and the polls. florida will have access to aidate abase on immigrants. it's overseen by homeland

security. this is huge as florida pushed to purge illegal voters from the polls. it comes after weeks of locking horns with the obama administration. i find this fascinating because when you look at the numbers here, this could have very broad implications. now that florida has access to the database, give us a sense of the information they're going to have and how that could change things. >> the bottom line is that florida for months now has been asking in a battle with the federal government over gaining access to this database which is very sophisticated. and it will tell you exactly who is a noncitizen. and who is legally here but is not eligible to vote. so florida is saying with this database, we're going to be able to eliminate from the rolls people who should not be voting in florida and that there's nothing wrong with that. that's the position of the state of florida.

>> so here's what rick scott told cnn this morning. >> this is not a partisan issue. you want people to register to vote, get involved in campaigns, and vote. we want to make sure this is done the right way. >> but john, aren't critics saying and combatting this, look, this just hits minorities and poor voters unevenly? >> they're still saying that. we talked to the democratic party chairman in broward county. he said that, look, there's huge hispanic populations in florida. and up until now when florida was using driver's license records when they first started to look into this, before they had access to the federal database, that they were getting all kinds of people that are primarily hispanic, primarily minorities so it's singling them out, and that it was not fair. and they're still saying it could be the case even now

although they're hoping that this database is more accurate. >> and this is four months, you know, before the election. and you've got other states that have also been watching this very, very closely, john. wanting to do the same thing. so you know, as people look at the map on their screen of the highlighted states that are very involved in this as well, what happened in florida effects those states, nevada, colorado, michigan, north carolina. what is this going to mean big picture. >> democrats are saying we find it -- quoting them pretty much, they're saying we find it very coincidental that all of these governors in all of these republican states have gotten together at the same time, decided to go out and try and purge their voter rolls. now, the governors are saying this isn't a purge. nobody wants to see anybody but people who should be voting voting. but the democrats are saying it's awfully suspicious that in all of these swing states that -- and in florida right now, it's considered pretty much a toss-up, what will happen in

november, and that many people when are minorities who would likely vote democratic, you know, may be scared away from the polls if nothing else. >> john, thank you. appreciate it. >> sure. >> we want to also bring you this note. a florida department and states spokesman told cnn they identified about 100 people who were not citizens. they were registered to vote. that's just one sampling. cnn found that some of the names on the list were legitimate voters, people who were recently granted citizenship. sjdz [ kimi ] atti and i had always called oregon home.

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in north korea, the commander in chief of the military has been dismissed. this is big news. the state run news agency says it's because of a, quote, illness. he was considered a close aid to north korean leader kim jung un. they note this move could signal a power struggle within that new regime. >> and in egypt, a stalemate in the negotiation stage between egyptian officials and a man holding two americans from the boston area hostage along with their egyptian tour guide. the pastor michelle louis and lisa alfonsi were traveling on a

missionary trip. they were obducted when their tour bus was stopped. their kidnapper is not demanding cash. he's demanding the release of an uncle from an egyptian jail. >> if you know my father, he's a leader and he really means well for a lot of people. she said he stood up and asked that he be taken instead of the woman. and they ended up taking him and the woman and the tour guide. >> unbelievable. his wife was there on the bus. as her husband was abducted. i'm joined on the phone from cairo. a journalist there. thank you for joining us. we appreciate it. can you give us a sense at this hour of what officials are doing in egypt right now? >> i have been on the phone constantly with the general from the egyptian intelligence handling the negotiations, and he confirmed to me that egyptian authorities have refused the

demands of the kidnapper. he is saying this would be an insult to the egyptian state and the law and this would actually be encouraging more kidnaps. the kidnapper is very determined not to release the hostages unless the authorities release his uncle who is detained on drug charges in alexandria. the hostages are in good condition, they're safe. it has been confirmed to us several times they are not being threat threatened. the kidnapper was interviewed on national tv here stating he does not have the intention of hurting them but he vowed to kidnap more tourists if authorities do not release his uncle. >> what is interesting, too, is this is ort of what we have seen now since the ousting of mubarak, an increase of kidnappings in this region, but generally they're asking for cash and the hostages have been released quickly. this has been a matter of days now. do we have a sense of the area

they're in? it's pretty unbelievable the kidnapper was interviewed on national television there. what else did he say the is he moving the hostages or is staying put until he gets what he wants? >> there's been at least six kidnapped in the last year and a half. all of the hostages have been freed without any damage. and this area has become an area of lawlessness after the uprising. security forces are trying to take control of the situation, but they have been twisting the government's arm, demanding release of their families from prison. cash at some times, and most of the kidnaps have taken place in southern sinai. this place, it was close to the state's monastery church where a lot of religious tourists go to the see the church or mt. sinai. speaking to the general from the intelligence, he also confirmed to me that the kidnapper is son the move. he's moving around the israeli/egyptian border.

he's using more than one cell phone which makes it harder for them to track him down, and the weather is very hot in that area and it's hard to pin him down. >> thanks very much. appreciate you staying on top of this for us. in a message posted on twitter friday, the u.s. embassy in cairo said they were in close touch with egyptian authorities doing everything they can to bring about the safe release of the american tourists. it's hard to see opportunity in today's challenging environment. unless you have the right perspective.

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a big gamble under way this morning. shell is spending billions of dollars hoping to find oil in the arctic off northern alaska. if it pays off, this company will reap the benefit of being the first to establish a new source of oil in one of the harshest climb nlts on the planet, translation, a boat load of money. last year, i spent time on a shell offshore oil rig. it's a major undertaken, the equipment, the machinery, they're huge, but shell is betting there are masage amounts

of black gold in the arctic. they're going to take rigs like that one and put them in the arctic and dig deep. miguel marquez reports. >> it's a massive gamble. if it pays, shell will reap the benefit of being the first to establish a new market for oil in one of the harshest climates in earth. >> we'll be drilling these like they're the most complex, most difficult wells we have drilled in company history. >> the plan to sink two into arctic waters, the wells won't bring up oil, but are designed to confirm what shell believers is down there, at least 26 billion barrels of black gold, enough to supply 10% of america's energy needs. >> if shell really hits something and then i think things will heat up even more. it's going to be a gold rush? >> it will be an undersea gold rush for oil.

>> but some of the native people who live here fear if the oil starts to flow, their way of life could be threatened. >> for the winter, it all comes from the ocean. the fish and the whale. it's going to ruin our ocean. >> abigail has lived in the tiny eskimo community her entire life. she's doing what she's done for years, preparing a seal skin to be made into winter boots. >> i'm 79 years old, you don't move like a young lady, but you have to keep on working on this skin. >> she like everyone else here uses every bit of the animal, same goes to walruses and especially whales. the people here still get by mostly like they have done for thousands of years, surviving

the brutal winter by hunting whales and other sea animals in the short but intense summer. the winter here, a much different story. the winds can blow at hurricane strength. the ice can move like a freight train weighing a million tons. unforgiving and rapidly changing climate. this is the point of point hope. it separates the seas here. about 90 miles that way is where shell hopes to drill this summer. toward the bearing sea, in that short time, the weather has changed enormously. it's a story we have heard before, tradition and culture threatened by change, modern life, and necessity. this time, the stakes couldn't be higher. oil that could help power an american boon. pitted against a way of life for people living on the edge. >> let's bring in miguel marquez live. first off, great reported. that's fascinating to be up

there and see what they're doing, breaking boundaries if they're successful, but getting to the area is dicy. the harshest climate arguably in the world, and one of shell's ships slipped off of its mooring just trying to get out there. >> yeah, all of the ships, armada of about 24 ships or so in dutch harbor right now. moving toward the seas, one of the oil rigs, the challenger, apparently, its anchor was in soft soil and it came loose in the wind and drifted several hundred yards toward shore. it may have touched up on shore a little bit, but so far, underwater cameras have shown there's no damage to the hull and shell still says everything is on track for the first week of august. environmentalists are making a big deal, if shell can't protect their ships in a protecting harbor, how are they going to do it out at sea? it has caused some concern, but it looks like all systems go. >> as we talked, a massive

amount of investment. shell might spend $20 million before they get any oil from the arctic. >> that's the shocking thing. they could spend 15, 20 years and $20 billion before shell ever sees a drop of oil. >> thank you. great reported. >> special, cold war, battle over arctic drilling, that avenue:00 eastern. [ male announcer ] imagine facing the day with less chronic osteoarthritis pain. imagine living your life with less chronic low back pain. imagine you, with less pain. cymbalta can help. cymbalta is fda-approved to manage chronic musculoskeletal pain. one non-narcotic pill a day, every day, can help reduce this pain. tell your doctor right away if your mood worsens,

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well, a clear contrast, that's what president obama says the american people are facing in this presidential election. and in an interview with cbs's charlie rose, he defended his campaign ad strategy saying he's been mostly positive up until this point. and he noted there's a need to inform the electorate. >> there's a sharp contrast, probably as sharp as we have seen philosophically between myself and mr. romney. i think he's a patriot, i think he loves his family, but he has

a particular theory of how to grow the economy that has to do with providing tax cuts for folks at the very top, eliminated all regulations and somehow that is going to generate solutions to the challenges we face. i have a very different approach and i think it's entirely appropriate for the american people to understand those two theories and the more detailed we get into what he's saying and what i'm saying, i think that serves the democratic process well and i think -- >> always about choices? >> politics is about choices. >> the more details we get, sounds like there are going to be many more attacks. the president is back on the trail today. he's taking his message to the people of ohio again. he was just in ohio a little over a week ago. getting a sense of how important the buckeye state is. how is this? no candidate has won the election without winning ohio since 1964.

cnn's dan lothian joins me from the white house. you know this well, you have been in ohio. i spent time a few weeks ago, this is a state, even towns right next to each other, divided, and we expect to hear a new attack aimed at mitt romney about corporate taxes, right? for that's right, and for weeks now, the president has been focused on this issue of tax fairness. again, at this town hall meeting in cincinnati, the president will bow going an mitt romney, saying under his tax policy, some 800,000 jobs could be shipped over seas. more than 70,000 to china. the romney campaign are not taking this accusation sitting on their hands or sitting down. saying that this is just another, quote, dishonest attack meant by the president to distract from his own failed policies. so a big slugfest. in addition to that's, the president also will be talking about the auto industry, how his administration bailed out the auto industry. how that helped to turn the

economy around in the state of ohio, and we expect the president to also continue hammering congress to extend the bush era tax cuts but only for those in the middle class. >> and i read, dan, that the president has spent more time in ohio than any state in his presidency, and it really does come down to the auto bailout because there are so many auto suppliers, so many tied to the auto industry in one way or another. mitt romney and the president on opposite sides of what happened there. the president responded to calls from mitt romney's campaign to apologize for ads questioning his connection to bain capital. he laughed it off and said we're not saying we're sorry, right? >> he's not backing down. he said take a look at the s.e.c. filing where it shows that mitt romney when he said he was no longer at bain capital, was still listed as ceo, as chairman, as president of that private equity company. so the president making the argument here that this is a

legitimate attack, that these are legitimate questions that need to be asked of mitt romney. take a listen. >> no, we won't be apologizing. sometimes games are played in political campaigns. understand what the issue is here. mr. romney claims that he is mr. fix it for the economy because of his business experience, so i think voters entirely legitimately want to know what exactly was that business experience? >> and why is this timeline even important at all? well, the reason for that is because mitt romney has said that at the time when the obama campaign is accusing him of being part of a company that outsourced jobbed he was not there, and so the obama campaign saying he was still part of that company when jobs, u.s. jobs, were being sent overseas. and as you know, outsourcing has been a big claim and counterclaim on both sides of this battle here. outsourcing jobs as part of bain

capital, and the president continued to drive that message today saying it's a legitimate question to ask. >> all about the jobs. thank you, appreciate it. >> we turn now to syria where the red cross says the violence has now turned into a civil war. it points to this, the onslaught of fighting that has spread across the country over the past 16 months. the bloodiest battles just in recent days and now the implications of a civil war to president bashar al assad and his regime could be huge. as we speak, the bloodbath is intensifying in syria's capital, dumasce, as more of assad's senior leaders defect. the latest, one of the most senior diplomats hooz defection is seen as a huge blow to the regime. the former syrian ambassador to iraq defected. i found this a fascinating interview to watch, how candid he was. this is a man who was within the syrian regime for 34 years.

so how telling is this defection? >> that's right. well, it's a blow to the regime. it's not going to bring it down, but it definitely weakens it. this man had been a top official in the ruling party. he had been a provincial governor for ten years and in 2008, he was given the very delicate diplomatic assignment of being syria's first ambassador to its neighbor, iraq, in more than 20 years. and he claims to know an awful lot about syria's dirty laundry when it comes to allegations that syria allowed al qaeda militants to cross through syria to iraq, to attack u.s. forces and iraqi targets in iraq and in the worst days of the u.s. occupation of iraq. he is probably somebody that western intelligence agencies would like to talk to and he's currently under the protection of the government of qatar who

has called for armen serial rebels to overthrow bashar al assad. he's joined the camp of the syrian president's enemies. >> when you sat down with him, i know it was about an hour-long interview in qatar, did you get any indication from him that there's a sense that more top syrian officials could defect? is this the beginning of the destruction of the assad regime? >> well, he said that certainly we are seeing daily defections from the syrian military and the armed forces. i'm seeing that here in turkey, another one of syria's neighbors where we see soldiers and even brigadier generals crossing the border, fleeing nearly every day over to here. here said we're not likely to see more ambassadors defecting because most european and arab countries including morocco just this week, have expelled syria's ambassadors from their capitals.

i asked him, i try today get a sense of what the mentality of bashar al assad and his inner circle are like, here is an excerpt from our lengthy interview. take a listen. >> does the syrian president and his supporters, do they believe they'll win in the end? >> translator: they are trapped. he committed crimes and they entered into a war of blood and they ruwear that they're going to pay for it. they're just buying time, maybe we'll get a chance to escape. >> and i was very surprised at this lifelong, career top official strongman in the syrian government said he would support a foreign military intervention to overthrow the syrian president because he thinks only force can knock bashar al assad out of power. >> a very strong message. ivan, thank you very much, and for folks watching at home, consider this number. the united nations estimates that more than 10,000 people have been killed in syria over the past 16 months.

also today, kofi annan is meeting with russia's president as well as their foreign minister to talk about russia's role in all of this. look at those toys. insurance must be expensive. nah. [ dennis' voice ] i bet he's got an allstate agent. they can save you up to 30% more by bundling your policies. well his dog's stupid. [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. are you in good hands? [ dennis' voice ] poodles are one of the world's smartest breeds. you see us, at the start of the day. on the company phone list that's a few names longer. you see us bank on busier highways. on once empty fields. everyday you see all the ways all of us at us bank are helping grow our economy. lending more so companies and communities can expand, grow stronger and get back to work. everyday you see all of us serving you,

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well, if you're leaving the house right now, a reminder ucan continue watching cnn from your mobile phone, also live from your desktop, go to cnn.com/tv. >> well, just two months ago, a new mom with twins was in cretical condition with a flesh eating bacteria, but lawna kirkendoll has made incredible progress. she spoke to elizabeth cohen who joins us live. elizabeth, obviously, a happy day for this mother and her whole family. what did she tell you? >> she told us, poppy, that she is feeling great. she is so excited to go home. i got to interview her and i asked her, what was your lowest moments? she said there weren't many low moments although there were sometimes a few. >> sometimes i cried over, you know, the fact that i'm sick, sometimes i cry over missing the babies. sometimes i have cried over knowing that life will never be

like, i guess, i had always thought it would be. but it will still be a good life. >> now, her doctors told us that her recovery, her full recovery won't be quick. it will be a matter of at least many months. poppy. >> do we have any sense of when she's going to g to go home? >> you know, they said soon. one of the doctors actually said tomorrow. so some time this week is probably the best estimation. >> you know, i had heard that it was really heartwarming that she got to held her twins at one point and some thought that may have helped speed up her recovery and her friends raised money to help pay for all of the treatment. >> one of the -- you hear doctors talk about this all the time. your state of mind is important to your recovery. this is a woman who was very, very sick. she was critically ill. she had more than 18 surgeries to get the bacteria and tissue cleans up that the bacteria killed. this is sawoman one of the

doctors said we did not think we would actually reach this day. there was a time in which we weren't sure if she was going to live. >> what do you think people can learn from her? >> you know, i think what people can learn from her, what happened is she noticed a strange bruise on the back of her left thigh and she showed it to her hospital, and they got to the hospital immediately. what we can learn is when something looks strange, don't just say, oh, forget it, i'm sure i'm fine. act on your instincts. even if the doctor says don't worry about it, tell them this is strange. we have to take it seriously. if she hadn't done it, she would likely be dead right now. >> absolutely. thank you very much. >> we also have an update to tell you about on aimee copeland. she lost parts of four limbs to a similar flesh eating bacteria. she's going to return home from rehab next month to a nearly 2,000 square foot addition to her family's home. aimee has been meeting with interior designers to personalize her new space which

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it is a place that needs no more rain, but as you can see here, that prayer is not being answered. looking at southern japan where the rain has set off mudslides and caused rives are overflow. at least 28 people reported dead, 4 missing as a result. hundreds more cut off. very isolated regions of the country. and the forecast calls for even more heavy downpours there. back here in the united states, we desperately need the rain. a new report from the government says we are now experiencing the worst drought in more than a decade, worst on record. authorities have already declared more than 1,000 counties in 26 states as drought natural disaster areas. let's bring in chad meyers with that. a very big deal. >> it is. it's not a big deal for northeast because it's been raining there. that's why you haven't heard a

lot about this. literally, this is not a northeast news story, because all of the people making the news live up here and there's no drought. if you're living in iowa, missouri, kansas, illinois, back into kansas, even oklahoma, there's a significant drought going on. just to give you an idea, back 15 years ago in a prior life i owned a corn farm in nebraska. when i sold my corn going to the silo i'd get $1.6 to sometime $2.10 a bushel. that was a big year. right now it's selling for 7.50 a bushel. that's more than three times, okay, it was 15 years ago, but three times more than what the normal price was for many years. and this drought's not getting any better. the brown areas here continued the drought all the way through rest of september. that's the end of the growing season. i've seen pictures of crops and there are about a foot and i half high, i know the old story, knee-high by the fourth of july. i'll tell you, corn is higher

than that in the midwest by the fourth of july, trust me. it's over your head by the fourth of july and it's not this year. not enough rainfall out there. so what are we talking about? some of the numbers here, it's the top ten, one of the top ten largest in the past 100 years. 56%, 56 to 61, depending whose numbers you're using of the lower 48 states are in a drought. talked about the fires in colorado that's how dry it has been. a lot of those things are dead because there hasn't been enough rain. there's been that rocky mountain weevil there going in there and killing all of the trees. why isn't it as bad right now as the dust bowl? we've done better things. we have hedge rows, better farming techniques we don't dig the dirt up when it's dry like they did in the dust bowl. yes, it's better but it's a big drought. you'll feel it in your pocketbook come the end of the season when there's not that much food out there to get. >> that's a big concern, what this is going to mean for

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i love this next story. britney vie viola competing a diver. had you asked her 15 years ago she would have had the same olympic dream for a completely different sport. randi kaye takes us through the journey. >> reporter: the olympic dream began 16 years ago. >> what got my eyes focused on the politics was in 1996, when the magnificent seven won the gold medal as a team in gymnastics, i was a gymnast at the time and i wanted to be those girls. >> reporter: viola excelled gymnastics stopped being fun. when it was time to decide whether to move away from florida to ohio for advanced olympic training, britney said no. >> thought about, you know, renting a place up there, splitting our family up, going

back and forth which a lot of gymnast families end up doing, to find better training, and she broke down and started crying after the american cup, and she said, i don't want to live away from my family. and we had to sit down and we talked about it, as a family. we said this is crazy, you know? we are not going to break our family up and put her through something for an olympic dream. >> reporter: as that dream died, another was born. >> i was playing on diving boards at my high school, lake highland preparatory school and the swim coach saw me doing front double flips, old gymnastics moves i used to do always to my feet and asked me if i wanted to join the dive team there. i never knew it was a sport at time, it was something that i was up for the challenge. >> most valuable diver, let's see, diver of the year, another most valuable diver. >> reporter: the violas are an

athletic family. britney's mom ran track in college, and her dad former world series mvp and cy young award winner frank viola. >> she's got my makeup internally, she's a perfectionist which i was. if she would do a school paper, make a mistake, instead of erasing going on, she'd rip the paper up and started over again. the paper had to be pure. that's her mentality in diving. >> reporter: unlike gymnastics she could stay in florida to train. still, making it to london was no easy task as she had to overcome injury and an eating disorder. >> a lot of an eating disorder is believing in something that is not true, that is a complete lie, and for anyone who thinks that i'd look at myself in the mirror and say, i need to change something in my body, i'm not beautiful, they'd think i'm crazy and so just knowing something as simple as i'm beautifully and wonderfully made is a truth ta i need to keep

reminding myself and believe that over anything else that enters my mind. >> reporter: what's top of mind now is winning gold, something her dad finds hard to imagine. >> i think i'd be just like this, i'd be in awe, my god, that's my little girl, look what she's achieved. >> reporter: randi kaye, cnn, atlanta. >> that will do toer to er te . newsroom international starts right now. suzanne malveaux. >> hey there. welcome to newsroom international. i'm suzanne malveaux. around the world in 60 minutes. in syria, the video posted online, said to show rebel fighters in damascus. activists tell news agencies armored vehicles deployed near the city center for the first time since the start of the uprising. at least 28 people are dead after torrential rains soaked the japanese island of kyushu. floods, swollen rivers, mudslides forced thousands to evacuate homes.

food and supplies are being airlifted to areas where hundreds are cut off because of fallen trees. many are relying on volunteers for help. >> i am grateful, really, really grateful. there is no way i can do it alone, and this area has many elderly people. >> forecasters expect more heavy rain to take the island. a powerful tornado caught on tape as it ripped through the town in northwestern poland. one person was killed, ten others wounded over the weekend. a witness describes this as a black column carrying everything away with it, talking about birds, debris, sucked up water from the lake. the latest burst of violent weather to batter poland this month. in london now, very serious concerns that are being raised over olympic security. hundreds of athletes start arriving today the observer newspaper is reporting that last few weeks several people on a

terror watch list waved through at the airport instead of being flagged. olympic organizes are scrambling to fill thousands of security jobs after the main contractor said it would not be able to provide the 10,000 staff that it promised. joining us from london, dan riv to talk about this. it sounds, dan, kind of alarming, what's going on here. first of all, give us an update on these folks who were on the terror watch list, who made it through security who are in the country. >> reporter: well, that's what the observer newspaper is claiming. however, the home office, the interior ministry, if you like here, is pushing back on that claim. they are admitting that there were staff on passport desks here, a board of full staff who don't normally check passports extra people have been drafted in to reduce waiting times when you arrive at heathrow. they are insisting that no

corners were cut, all of the normal checks were done, as per usual. they're saying that an independent inspector of the board of force agrees that all of the necessary checks were being done and he had full confidence in the process. they are pushing back hard against the suggestion that half a dozen known terror suspects have been allowed to slip in because of staff who aren't properly trained or people don't know what they're doing because they've been drafted in to check passports at the front here in the uk. the other perhaps bigger story here, that's getting a lot of track is the story about the private security firm that has failed to come up with the requisite number of guards for various olympic sites. now, the interior minister office has been defending what's happened. basically they've had to draft in an extra 3,500 soldier to bridge the gap left by the security firm g4s because

they're unable to guarantee the full 10,000 guards at various, different sites that they were contracted to provide. here's quick bite from theresa may explaining what went wrong. >> we have accredited over 20,000 g4s personnel. the issue is getting staff to the venue security task. >> reporter: so she's basically saying, until last wednesday, they were being told by the private security firm g4s they would get more people than necessary. they would overshoot their target. in fact, we know they're going to undershoot and the police and army are having to step in, canceling holidays, leave, in order to make sure all of the various stadiums are guarded properly. >> how worried and people there? i mean, you know you talk about this scrambling at last minute for security. people must be pretty concerned. >> reporter: it's pretty unedifying and it's embarrassing for g4s, the company involved.

they've held up their hands and said, yes, you know, it's a mistake we apologize. lots of calls for them to make sure that they pick up the tab for example soldiers having to cancel holidays. some soldiers coming out of afghanistan think they would have a break after six months away in combat and suddenly having to find to go up and basically check tickets at olympic venues and search bags and so on. so it's embarrassing for them. embarrassing for the government and the olympic organizers, as well. but the message is being, you know, throughout the government, that you know there is, of course, a security concern here just a day after we won the bid here in britain for the olympics in 2005, we had the 7/7 bomb attack. that underlines a constant security risk here in london. they're saying they can ensure these games are safe and secure. >> all right. dan, sounds like it's just a messy situation there. a lot of work to do just with

the days away from the olympics. thanks, dan. up until a few days ago, he was syria's top man in baghdad. now he's the most senior syrian diplomat to defect. speaking to cnn, his first exclusive interview with the u.s. network and says that the syrian government has deliberately opened the door to al qaeda militants. he's telling his story to ivan watson, what has actually finally pushed him to abandon this regime. >> reporter: syria's man in baghdad for nearly four years. that is, until a few days ago when the syrian ambassador to iraq suddenly announced his defection. what prompted you to say, i've had it, i don't want to work with this government anymore? >> translator: i served the syrian regime for 34 years and in many different positions but after what happened in the last year during the holy revolution, all of the killing, the massacres, the refugees, i don't

see how anyone can remain silent. so i decided to end my relationship with regime. >> reporter: fares one of al ass assad's trusted lieutenants an insider who knows how the syrian government works. who is making the decisions in damascus right now? >> translator: the regime in syria is a totalitarian regime and dictatorship. there's only one person who gives orders, that person is the president. >> reporter: in his first interview with the u.s. news organization since his defection, fares rejected syrian government claims that the syrian rebels are al qaeda terrorists. instead, he accuses the assad regime of cooperating with al qaeda ever since the u.s. invasion of iraq in 2000 3 by paving the way by al qaeda militants to transit syria to attack targets in neighboring iraq. >> translator: al assad and his

security forces are directly responsible for the killings of thousands and thousands of iraqis and coalition forces. because he gave al qaeda everything it needed. he trained them and gave them shelter. >> reporter: fares point advertise controversial cross border u.s. military raid in 2008 against the syrian town. fares claims the american target was an al qaeda camp run by the brother in law of the syrian president. you saw with your own eyes that he was leading this al qaeda in iraqi operation? tr trrp. >> translator: one hour after the raid he was there at the location. a conversation took place between me and him and he was angry about the attack made. he was kind of scared. >> reporter: fares is in doha, under the protection of the qatarry government. syrian opposition members applaud the ambassador's defection, but tell cnn they

don't trust a man who waited 16 months before joining the uprising. what message would you like to send to bashar al assad and your former colleagues in the syrian government right now? >> translator: my former colleagues, i ask them to join the people and leave the corrupt regime. there is still time. to al assad i say you don't know history. two wills cannot be defeated, the will of god and the will of the people. history will curse you for the crimes you committed in syria. >> reporter: a blunt warning from a man who was once of the syrian regime's top enforcers. >> ivan wasson joining us with more. ivan, you know that these accusations are explosive. do we know, or do we suspect, this guy's credible? >> reporter: well, he certainly was in a position where he would know a lot of the dirty laundry of the syrian regime, especially

if we go back to dark and bloody days in iraq in '05, '06, '07 when the u.s. was accusing the syrian government allowing jihadys to transit into iraq. he did seem to want to curry favor not own with the syrian opposition, now that he's defected and he talks about a quote/unquote holy revolution against al saad but wanted to cooperate with international organizations to help bring down the syrian regime and even said he would support a foreign military intervention. so he does very much seem to be wanting to make friends with western governments that he previously was very much at odds with when serving the syrian rent geem. >> take a look here. listen with me.

>> so this is video posted onli online, said to show rebel fighters in the capital's neighborhood. activists telling news agencies the armored vehicles deployed near the city center, the first time this has happened since the start of the uprising. what do we know about this? >> reporter: the fighting has clearly spread to the syrian capital now, not just the suburbs anymore, but now seeing the syrian government cannot fully control damascus the way it claimed to in the past. and not only is there this incredible purportedly live video the rebels were streaming but also video of a roadblock from one of the main highways cutting through damascus with opposition activists blocking traffic and members of the free syrian army that we talked to claiming that they're trying to cut off supply routes for the syrian military to basically

make the situation easier for the rebel fighters. one of the free syrian army officers that i talked to today, he said the fight for damascus is coming soon. in fact, we may have even seen the start of it in the last two days. suzanne? >> ivan watson, excellent reporting. more of what we're working on for this hour, love, passion, grief. not emotions you'd associate with the taliban. but some members of the group are putting out poetry. >> the village seems strange. this is separation as if my beloved have left it. >> plus, less than two weeks away from the olympic games. while we are watching the athletes compete, also checking out what they're wearing. this year it's going to be different. women can wear religious coverings. the evolution of olympic fashion next. ♪

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on a small boat in the persian gulf. >> reporter: it happened earlier today, exactly the incident that worries the u.s. navy in the middle east so much. a navy oiler, a supply ship, fired on a small boat in the persian gulf near dubai when this small boat got too close. the navy tried, they say the crew tried to warn the craft to stay away. the ship, the small boat, kept coming. the navy eventually fired warning shots. they say the small boat still kept coming and finally the crew of the ussrappahanock used .50 caliber machine gingriches to disable the boat. one person was killed, three injured. this incident, you know, is -- it has happened before tragically. still remains to be seen whether the small boat was an actual threat. but when shethese small boats i

get too close to navy ships they try to warn them to stay away if they keep coming they have no choice, they have to stop the boat. >> any information at all what kind of boat this was? where this boat was coming from? who was on this boat? >> reporter: well, i have to tell you a u.s. official is describing it as a small, white pleasure craft-style small boat. you know, that, of course, could mean anything in the waters of of the persian gulf, all kinds of small boats go up and down the gulf all day and all night long. fishing boats, vessels, merchant ships, small boats, people out for a day sail. the appearance of the boat may not get to the question of what the boat might have been up to or what the navy thought it was up to. they will have to investigate this. is it a case of mistaken identity and it was simply a small white pleasure boat and the people on board may not have

understood that the u.s. navy was signaling them to stay away? we just don't know yet. but the navy says they went through their standard procedures. they even fired warning shots across, in front of this little small boat, before they finally fired to disable it. >> barbara, quickly, explain to us why they are in such high alert in that particular area to not allow a craft to come close to our military. >> reporter: well, i mean, again, part of it starts with these are very crowded waters. the boats, small boats go up and down. a lot of them are speed boats. we have seen the iranians out there in the past. that's always the big concern. if you see a speed boat coming at you at high speed, how close do you let it get before you stop it? iran always a concern. we do not know at this point, no one has told us, that this boat was coming out of iranian waters. it was about ten miles out from the port in dubai. it was out in open waters by all

accounts. but, again, you know, when they get to too close the navy protocol, they have to stop them. remember, suzanne, the navy learned a tragic lesson about this back in yemen many years ago when small boats approached the uss cole and blew it up. >> barbara starr, thank you very much. london, a flood of people showing up for the olympics. it's started with the games, they don't open until next friday but the first wave of athletes and officials arriving. heathrow airport expecting around 237,000 people to pass through today. well that's an all-time record. more than 500 volunteers stations around the airport to welcome the athletes. when the olympics get going they're going to look like never, they've never looked before. more female u.s. olympians than ever and very different kinds of outfits coming to light as more female athletes compete.

>> reporter: until recently, this woman, a competitive weight lift who are represents pakistan at the international level, had shied away from competitions with clothing rules that conflicted with her religious beliefs. >> that was my choice, i felt like if i couldn't cover myself i wouldn't go compete. so the first competition that i couldn't go to, it was definitely disappointing. >> reporter: athletic attire can be alluring as events themselves, such as the gold shoes worn by michael johnson in the '9 and 2000 game or the one leg leotard worn by gold and silver medalists flo jo. some sports have changed in an effort to make the olympics more inclusive for women, modest uniforms as well as hijabs per misted. muslim women competing for the

first time. with the help of the council on american islamic relations and the u.s. olympic committee, abdullah pushed for the international weightlifting federation to allow muslim women freedom to uniforms to that conform to the conservative dress code. >> the way we look at sport it should be also global and it should accommodate people from different backgrounds, different national origins, different beliefs, as long as they meet the standard of the sport itself. so this shows openness, shows tolerance. >> reporter: abdullah's efforts have helped raise the bar for women worldwide. >> anyone who competes at any national, local, international competition that is under the iwf organization or guidelines can cover their arms and legs and their head. so for me, it meant i could compete because that's how i

dress. >> she's a pioneer. trailblazer who set a record, an opened the door for muslim women. >> i finally made it. i did it. i'm wearing the clothing i wanted to wear. women that normally weren't going to compete can now compete. the boundaries are broken. >> so the world's other big sporting agencies are also relaxing rules. earlier this month, soccer's governing body lifted the ban on head scarves. the red cross declaring civil war in syria. what that means for the nation and possible war crimes prosecutions. everyone has goals.

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welcome back to newsroom international. taking you around the world in 60 minutes. syria, witnesses say they are seeing the largest military deployment in the capital since the start of the uprising. fighting rages you can hear the sounds of gunfire across damascus. activists say troops backed by armored vehicles have entered the neighborhood to get rid of the rebels.

as this is happening, the international red cross has now officially declared this syrian conflict a civil war. hala gorani joining us. what does that mean? what is the criteria, what does that mean for people on the ground? >> well, the international committee of the red cross previously said that there was fighting intense fighting in hot spots, localized areas in syria, homs, ha ma. in this case, the terminology of the red cross, it is calling the conflict in syria a noninternational armed conflict. which is in laymen's terms a civil war. what does that change? it means that civilians and noncombatants are protected under international humanitarian law which could lay the groundwork for future prosecution for war crimes of people involved in the conflict who break basic international humanitarian rules such astor tur, killing of civilians,

prevented wounded from reaching hospitals and medical care. it changes things not on the ground for now but possibly in the future. >> what does it mean for the president, bashar al assad? if it's considered a civil war and faces potential war crimes, will they go after him as a war criminal possibly. >> that's possible, of course. what's interesting about a noninternational armed conflict, in other words, civil war, and this establishment of international humanitarian law is that now all sides have to respect these rules of engagement inside the country which means prosecution can happen on the side of the regime, but also on the side of the rebels. the regime has been accused offer. atrocities but the rebel fighters have been accused of breaking basic humanitarian rules. >> tell us what's happening in tremseh, it was on sunday, yesterday, they went back to the place where 150 people were killed in 1 day, the worst day ever in the uprising.

what have they found? >> initially, this is why it's difficult, access to syria's extremely limited to international journalists. initially what we heard is there was another massacre of civilians, women, children, and combatants as well. but from the evidence that the u.n. monitoring team as well as other journalists who have been on the ground it seems as though it was an attack by the syrian regime against combatant outposts. most of the video was of fighting age males which is a tragedy, of course, perhaps not on the level of what we saw in other villages where there, remember the horrifying videos of women and children lined up like that on the floor of mosques and in homes. in this case it appears it would have been the regime targeting rebel fighters and rebel positions, whether they were there positioned or protect the village is unclear. >> appreciate it. we've got breaking news. more of it after the break. we understand the americans,

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breaking news here. americans who were held hostage in egypt have been released. pastor michel louis from boston and lisa alphonso traveling through egypt on a missionary trip to israel. they were abducted friday when the tour bus was stopped in the sinai pen lins la. joining us on the phone from cairo, you had a chance to talk to them, is that right? >> i just spoke to michel louis and he's extremely happy. he said all i can say, thank god to our governors for securing our release. we're heading directly to israel to join members of our church. as soon as we get our passports sent to us from cairo.

i'm in good health and good spirit but i have not taken my medicine since friday so i'm a little tired. lisa extremely happy. they've been treated really well. they are in police custody with egyptian interpreter. they're in good spirits. they're waiting to get passports and it seems that the situation has been resolved. >> how was it resolved? how do we foe? >> the authorities did not give in to demand of the kidnapper. >> so do you know how this was resolved? how did they escape? >> reporter: it happened really quickly. i was on the phone with the intelligence and they were telling me they're not reaching any sort of solution and the police headquarters called me up and said, hey, they're here, they're in our bureau, so it's actually not clear what exactly happened for this breakthrough, but everybody's happy that this has been resolved and we will be following up with more information and we will be getting more photos of them in the police station.

>> who was actually holding them hostage? what did they want? >> reporter: the kidnapper is a well-known criminal in sinai. he wanted his uncle released from an alexandria prison, who he claims has been detained on false doctor charges. the kidnapper is not known where he has gone but he's not been apprehended so far. >> you say that they are in good spirits, good condition, because we do know that the pastor's a diabetic. >> reporter: yes. he also added that he did not receive his medicine since abducted and he's a little tired but he's happy and wants to join the rest of his 22 members of the church that continued their trip to israel. they were in sinai on a missionary trip and they were heading to israel when he was abducted and picked up off the bus. he's in good spirit. at the moment they will be escorted by the u.s. embassy personnel who are on their way to sinai to receive them.

>> thank you very much. when you have more detail, we'll get back to you. madonna causing another controversy. the political party is threatening to sue material girl over a swastika.we h e big drms one is for a clean, domestic energy future that puts us in control. our abundant natural gas is already saving us money, producing cleaner electricity, putting us to work here in america and supporting wind and solar. though all energy development comes with some risk, we're committed to safely and responsibly producing natural gas. it's not a dream. america's natural gas... putting us in control of our energy future, now. how did the nba become the hottest league on the planet? by building on the cisco intelligent network

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welcome back to the "newsroom international." we take you around the world in 60 minutes. talking about france, where madonna may be hit with a lawsuit. here's why. at a concert saturday night in paris, madonna flashed a video of far right party leader with a swastika super imposed over her face. it is a really quick montage but enough to outrage the national front party. we want to bring in kareen wynter to talk about it. first, why was that -- tell us why it was so upsetting and what

was the point of it, really? >> reporter: first of all, madonna's known for using live shows as a political platform in the past. now france's national front are fighting back. madonna's camp responded to the legal threat telling cnn the show's been the same since it tarted in tel aviv in may but declined to comment any further. now the image is part of a video montage, we saw a little bit there, showing several current and deposed world leaders projected on to a giant screen during the song "nobody knows me." after the image appears it fades into an image of adolf hitler. a spokesperson for the party said images are an insult and draw a terrible link between the party and ideology they reject. they previously warned madonna na the party would seek legal action if the singer showed the image at her concerts in france but it seems like madonna clearly did not heed that warning.

>> do they explain why they are showing this, why they keep showing this, the point she's trying to make? >> well, again, here, madonna, a political lightning rod. she hasn't commented why she chose this leader. there are reports in the past she's targeted the pope, she's targeted the former president of egypt. so we don't know, again. but madonna, she loves to use the stage to make a political expression. her camp didn't go into detail here why they chose this party but here's background, though, for viewers who may not follow french politics closely. the national front, it's the third largest political party in france. it won its first seats in parliament in 15 years with 2 law makes elected, she made a strong showing in the first round of france's presidential election. she's pledged to crack down on illegal immigration, called for france to leave the eurozone and restore its currency to the franc. knowing madonna, she loves controversy. she knows people are talking

about it, maybe she'll put out another statement explaining why she close to do this. why, madonna? your music speaks for itself. >> causing controversy around the globe with her music and statements she's making. appreciate it very much. when it comes to sweden's music scene, here what happens topping the charts. ♪ ♪ >> this is the group panetoz performing their dance hit "dansa pausa." i kind of like this one. i think our floor director's dancing here, by the way. the group formed in stoling hole. but members come from angola. the song about celebrating life,

you can tell, right? hit number one on itunes. also more than 700,000 views. a movement in new york but occupy protesters out in full force around the world. even sleeping on couches in hong kong. one company is fed up and wants to remove them. ok! who gets occasional constipation, diarrhea, gas or bloating? get ahead of it! one phillips' colon health probiotic cap a day helps defend against digestive issues with three strains of good bacteria. hit me! [ female announcer ] live the regular life. phillips'.

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india men bathe in a river before going to temple for prayers. it is the festival happening across india to honor the hindu god of destruction. this is the holiest month, according to the calendar. and people from a small town of spain watch as while fire engulfed the hillside earlier today. more than 75 o. firefighters and members of the military tried to put out the fire. threatens a world heritage site on the canary island. this guy on a couch camped outside the hsbc bank headquarters in hong kong. protesters are some of the last remnants of the worldwide occupy movement. movement. the bank is trying to evict them. s. afternoon's overhaul starts with more pain. more pills. triple checking hydraulics. the evening brings more pain. so, back to more pills. almost done, when... hang on. stan's doctor recommended aleve. it can keep pain away all day with fewer pills than tylenol.

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welcome back to "newsroom international." around the world in 60 minutes. want to jump right now to

saigon, june 1963. this is disturbing. you might want to turn away if you're sensitive here. what you are seeing is an iconic image, a monk burning himself alive. he was protesting government persecution of buddhists. now it captured the world's attention nearly 60 years ago but the practice dates back to the late 4th century. fast forward today in tibet, it's become what my guest calls an epidemic. since march more than 40 men have set themselves on fire to protest china's occupation of tibet. cnn contributor is joining us to talk about it. i mean, you know, even just seeing these pictures, it is so horrific. it is so disturbing to realize that people are driven to do this to themselves. you write a piece and you talk directly about the dalai lama, you say he could stop this.

he could actually stop this but he's remained neutral. you say if the dolalai lama wer to speak out against the deaths they would stop. in a real sense, their blood is on his hands. can you explain that? >> well, first of all, i think it's important to say that, you know, the blood is also on the hand of the chinese government. we have a situation here that really is an attempt at the destruction of the language, religion and culture of the tibetan people. it's understandable frustration that we're seeing here. the sad part that is we're seeing a response that is, you know, self-kiflilling self-violence. the tradition and the dalai lama stood for centuries for peace. the dalai lama won the peace prize. i was in d.c. yesterday at the martin luther king memorial, i saw his words about the united states setting a moral example for the world. and the dalai lama has traditionally done that but he's fallen short by not denouncing

killings and bringing them to an end. >> why has it become an epidemic? >> part of it is copycatting. one of the things we know about suicides from just studies of suicides of individual, nonpolitical suicides, is that the greatest tendency to -- for someone to commit suicide comes among people who know people who committed suicide. the same thing happens with politically motivated events whether in tunisia, tibet, in the middle east, if you know someone who is doing this, kind of builds on itself. the idea that these people are just killing themselves isn't quite right. they're helping to keep a chain going that is going to lead to the deaths of other young monks and in some case nuns and religious people in tibet. >> i want to read the response to the recent deaths that the dolalai lama said. if i say something positive the chinese immediately blame me. i say something negative the family members of those people

feel very sad. isn't he in a catch-22 here? >> i think -- i agree, he's in a very, very difficult situation. but this is where leaders show their leadership. this is where spiritual leaders show their spiritual leadership. i think in this case at least the dalai lama is falling short. he could say listen, i know there's a tradition in china of doing this, i know this tradition goes back but we stand for nonviolence and that nonviolence includes nonviolence against others and also nonviolence against ourselves. you have to realize a lot of the kids are teenagers who are killing themselves here. these are not necessarily 40, 50-year-old monks. these are in many cases people new to the buddhist tradition, and it bears a kind of grim resemblance for me to situations in the middle east with suicide bombings. obviously they're not killing other people, but they're religiously motivated, they're young people. in many cases they don't know what kind of life could be in

front of them. for us to be cheering them on i think is a big mistake. >> thank you so much. appreciate it. poetry isn't the first thing that comes to mine when you think of the taliban in afghanistan. the controversy books, controversial books, they talk of love, war, from the other side. a bo at re tends to stay at rest... while a body in motion tends to stay in motion. staying active can actually ease arthritis symptoms. but if you have arthritis, staying active can be difficult. prescription celebrex can help relieve arthritis pain so your body can stay in motion. because just one 200mg celebrex a day can provide 24 hour relief for many with arthritis pain and inflammation. plus, in clinical studies, celebrex is proven to improve daily physical function so moving is easier. celebrex can be taken with or without food. and it's not a narcotic. you and your doctor should balance the benefits with the risks. all prescription nsaids, like celebrex, ibuprofen, naproxen, and meloxicam have the same cardiovascular warning.

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high in the world, today it has descended our god. >> reporter: love, patriotism, grief, words inspired by the afghan landscape written by the country's brutal former rulers, the taliban. their poetry appears in a new book by two western academics, it hints at an unseen side of the militant group. >> the poems are part of the tradition of literature of a cultural tradition almost. you have similar images used to the ones which classical poet of the 19th century used. there are love poems. obviously a great sense of patriotism and nationalism to the poems. and also you know, a reflection of the experience of being in the war and the suffering that they talk about in the villages.

the village seems strange. this is separation as if my beloved has left it. the grief of separation is so cruel that it is not scared of anyone. when the soul does not leave the body, it shakes. poetry was so present, you know, you find it on friend's cell phone, listen it to it in a taxi, have it in friends' cars and people when wrornts suppohe supportive of the taliban listen to the poetry, they could relate to this on an emotional level. afghan stand up, the enemy has come today. he has come to the green lawn of your homeland. stand against him. you might destroy him. he has come to the garden of red flowers. >> if you had one message for the west, for those who never lived in afghanistan, who never

met anybody who, for example, fights in support of the taliban or simply calls themselves a supporter of the taliban what would you say about those who met who fall into that category. >> the taliban are humans. just as we are. what cruelty is it that has brought this grief to our nation? lights are snuffed on contact. there is great grief and sadness. >> reporter: but publishing poems has drawn criticism from the highest levels. with one former british military commander richard kemp saying it gives the oxygen of publicity so an extremist group. it's a claim that the book's editors deny. >> the central problem in many ways of the foreign engagement and interaction in afghanistan has been lack of understanding, quite often. and this is just one piece in the wider puzzle, i guess.

but you know, we're on our way now, as president obama said recently. but you know, it's still important to try to engage particularly at the moment where we're engaged in political discussions with the taliban. i'm suzanne malveaux. this hour in the "cnn newsroom," preview president obama's speech. he's expected to speak in ohio an ahour. plus people in florida call it a loss but the governor calls it a win. that's the latest in the voter registration rules. want too get down to to here. jobs, taxes, hot topic in the presidential race.

that's what president obama is going to talk about in the next hour. the president's holding a town hall meeting in cincinnati. he's going to tell the crowd that mitt romney's corporate tax policies would create jobs in other countries. this is the president's eighth trip to ohio this year. recent polling there shows him leading romney, 47% to 38%. ohio, of course, a crucial state in november election. want to bring in dan lothian. more on what we can expect from the president as well as jim acosta, he's got latest reaction from the romney camp. dan, first to you. we know the president, he's going to talk about corporate taxes, specifically focusing on romney support for eliminating taxes on the foreign income of american companies. what's the message here? >> reporter: well, the message from the obama campaign will be two-fold. first of all to say while mitt romney may be talking about helping the middle class, that he's looking out for wealthy companies and this is one example, the president will be highlighting a report by an economist that