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Storm Brewing of Atlantic Coast?; Gerri's Top Tips; 'Reclaiming the Dream' Preview; Nelson Mandela Celebrates His 90th Birthday Today; "The Dark Knight" Being Sold Out in Theaters Across the Country

Aired July 18, 2008 - 10:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, everybody. I'm Brianna Kielar. Heidi Collins has the day off.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Tony Harris. Stay informed all day in the CNN NEWSROOM. Here is what's on the rundown.

Tropical trouble for the southeastern coast? A storm may be brewing. We are keeping an eye on it for you.

KEILAR: Well, this tropical storm unleashing a torrent in Taiwan. Wait until you see the street.

HARRIS: And banking's wild week winds down. Still have some money questions? Our Gerri Willis has answers today. It is Friday, July 18th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: I want to get you right now to Rob Marciano in the weather center talking about some tropical weather.

Right, Tony?

HARRIS: Good morning, Rob.

ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey guys, yes. I wanted to point out this little disturbance off the Southeast coast which yesterday we talked briefly about it and mentioned that, yes, you know, it just -- it needs to make a transformation from just an upper level frontal thing into something that has got a closed circulation at the surface, it then can tap into some of that heat that the Gulf stream provides right up along this part of the coast.

And we're starting to see that flare-up of thunderstorms. And National Hurricane Center now has this on its radar. It's for possible tropical cyclone formation. And obviously the reason that we're worried is for the folks who live in northern Florida, Georgia, the coastline of the Carolinas, it is mighty close. So these things can spin off rather quickly and when they're that close to land, we get a little bit concerned. So we'll keep you posted on that for sure.

And this is the other area of concern that our computer models, a lot of them take it right into the Gulf of Mexico here by the beginning of next week. And the satellite now is showing some intensification. So the National Hurricane Center has ordered yet another plane to investigate it this afternoon. And this could be a tropical depression as well.

All right. Back to the one off the Florida coastline. Here's the radar. We'll zoom in just a little bit. The center of circulation kind of right there, so just south and east of Savannah. Obviously the eastern portion of the circulation firing up most thunderstorms which may lead us to believe that it's starting to become a little bit more tropical.

All right. Not to tropical -- well, certainly tropical heat, temperatures across the Northeast, that's the other big weather story that we'll be formulating over the next day or two. A heat wave in progress. Excessive heat warnings are posted for the city of Philadelphia, a heat advisory for New York City, temperatures in both places will be at least into the mid 90s.

And then you start to couple in humidity, which isn't so bad right now, but couple it in later today and tomorrow and then we'll start to see things feel a little bit more uncomfortable. So be aware of that. And also a lot of advisories for air pollution in some of the major cities, everywhere from Dallas to Atlanta all the way up to New York City. So if you're looking for an excuse not to cut the grass until Sunday or Monday, there it is.

And this is Fausto, which is going to stay offshore as well, that's the eastern Pacific, just to kind of round things out.

Tony, you know how that is, right?

HARRIS: Oh, do I.

MARCIANO: On the honeydew (ph) list. You say, hey, listen, it's so unhealthy, I may drop dead.

KEILAR: He's so glad you said that.

HARRIS: Boy, all I need was an excuse.

KEILAR: Sorry, hon, I can't.

HARRIS: All I needed was that -- thank you, Rob.

MARCIANO: All right. You got it.

HARRIS: Rob says, can't do it, can't play.

KEILAR: Can't do it. And some more extreme weather. Raging floodwaters and landslides just swamping towns, this is in Taiwan. You can take a look at these incredible pictures. All of this the aftermath of a brutal tropical storm that hit the country yesterday.

Some areas, if you can believe this, got 44 inches of rain in just 24 hours. At least seven people have been killed, six more are missing. And this man was one of the lucky survivors, plucked from the water by a rescue crew.

HARRIS: Well, the nation's economy, peaks, valleys and more volatility. Let's take a look at the Big Board, New York Stock Exchange right now. The Dow down 51 points, all kinds of twists and turns on Wall Street. The Dow slipping after two days of really big gains.

We're also keeping a close eye on the price of oil. Production cuts in Nigeria are halting what had been three straight days of decline. Oil dropped almost $16 a barrel between Tuesday and Thursday. At the corner gas station, the savings are pretty modest, at least so far, AAA reports gas prices down about a penny a gallon nationwide this morning.

KEILAR: John McCain, you can see live pictures here, he is campaigning in Michigan this hour. He's holding a town hall meeting at a General Motors Technical Center in Warren, which is a Detroit suburb. This is where GM is designing its first plug-in electrical car. You just heard some of the Q&A session and we're going to keep an eye on this event for you.

Also, John McCain trying to get some campaign mileage out of Barack Obama's overseas' trip.

Here's CNN's Dana Bash.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This Kansas City town hall was billed as a chance to talk about problems close to home, like the economy. But John McCain also made sure to tweak Barack Obama for his upcoming trip abroad.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I know that Senator Obama is going to Iraq. I was very interested that he articulated and announced his policies and approach to Iraq before he went.

BASH: Aides to McCain may not like it, but they know full well Obama's overseas trip will get a lot of coverage. And the reality is McCain himself goaded Obama into it.

MCCAIN: Just now coming up on 900 days since he last visited Iraq, since before the surge, I hope that he goes as quickly as possible with or without me.

BASH: The Republican National Committee still has a running clock on its web site. Now that Obama is going, it's oppo time inside camp McCain. Their central theme: by announcing his war policies before leaving, Obama is embarking on a campaign swing, not a fact- finding mission.

MCCAIN: I've been on a lot of trips around the world, usually at your expense, but I usually issue my policy statements when I get back.

BASH: And McCain aides are stepping up their push to highlight Obama's apparent shift in rhetoric on Iraq.

MCCAIN: My friends, flip-floppers all over the world are enraged.

BASH: Earlier this week, McCain declared Obama a flip-flopper for changing statements on the success of the surge. Now, McCain's campaign made this eight-minute video aimed at illustrating Obama's contradictory statements on Iraq.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We've got to make sure that we secure and execute the rebuilding and reconstruction process effectively and properly and I don't think we should have an artificial deadline when to do that.

BASH: That was 2004. Obama now calls for all combat troops out in 16 months.

(on camera): The Obama campaign quickly responded with a lengthy statement suggesting Senator McCain has for the most part been in lockstep with President Bush on the Iraq War, and that McCain's position keeps troops there indefinitely. But notably, the response did not address McCain's central charge, that over the years Obama's Iraq position has shifted with the politics of the moment.

Dana Bash, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: Former President Bill Clinton says he is eager to hit the campaign trail for Barack Obama. Clinton says he is just waiting for Obama to tell him when and where.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BILL CLINTON, 42ND PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We had a good talk. And he said he wanted me to campaign with him and I said I was eager to do so. And, you know, he's busier than I am on politics anyway. So I just told him that whenever he wanted to do it, I was ready. And so it's basically on their timetable.

He has got a lot of things to do between now and the convention, of which this is simply one. So I'll do whatever I'm asked to do, whenever I can do it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Questions about the former president's role in the campaign have lingered since Obama defeated Hillary Clinton in the Democratic primary.

KEILAR: Back in the bull's eye. For years now Afghanistan was considered the forgotten war. But now the Pentagon is preparing to build up forces there.

Our Reza Sayah is in Kabul.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Get us more troops and get us more troops soon. That's what U.S. commanders on the ground in Afghanistan are saying because recent developments indicate that the security situation is deteriorating.

And that's perhaps why both U.S. presidential candidates, Senator Barack Obama and Senator John McCain, are shifting their focus from Iraq's to Afghanistan. Consider the recent developments.

In May and June, more U.S. troops died in Afghanistan than in Iraq even though Iraq has five times as many U.S. troops. This week in Afghanistan, the single most deadly attack on U.S. troops. Nine troops died when an estimated 200 Taliban fighters attacked an outpost in eastern Afghanistan, and earlier this month the deadly suicide bombing in Kabul, considered by many the safest city in Afghanistan, but a suicide bomber killed more than 40 people in the heart of the city.

That is why U.S. commanders are asking for more troops. The Pentagon is in agreement but they say don't look for that to happen until fall.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Kabul.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Positive vibes from Iran. The country's foreign minister says he expects progress in tomorrow's nuclear talks with U.S. participation. Undersecretary of State William Burns will sit in on a meeting in Geneva with a European Union delegation and Iran's chief nuclear negotiator. Washington says Burns will not negotiate with Iran, but his presence there signals a big shift from President Bush's policy of isolating Tehran to a diplomatic approach.

HARRIS: Dr. Michael Debakey being laid to rest today. Live pictures now of the funeral at Arlington National Cemetery. The pioneering heart surgeon passed away last week. Debakey changed the way heart surgery is done in this country. He paved the way for the now common heart bypass surgeries for the development of the main component used in heart and lung machines.

He also performed the first successful partial artificial heart transplant while working for the surgeon general. Debakey came up with the idea for Mobile Army Surgical Hospitals, or MASH units. Earlier this year, Dr. Debakey received the Congressional Gold Medal, the highest honor for a civilian. Dr. Michael Debakey died of natural causes. He was 99.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A mother of two murdered. Police and family members searching for answers. Last hour we heard from the parents of Nancy Cooper. Cooper was reported missing Saturday afternoon, and her husband told police that she went jogging and never came back. A man walking his dog found her body Monday night at a construction site less than three miles from her home. Her parents are calling on the person who killed Cooper to turn themselves in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONNA RENTZ, NANCY COOPER'S MOTHER: I would like to know why. I'm sorry.

GARRY RENTZ, NANCY COOPER'S FATHER: As I said yesterday and I would say again, that I think this is an act of extreme cowardice by whoever -- the person who did this, and I think that if they had a shred of decency in their body that they would come forward and acknowledge their guilt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Cooper's parents have been granted temporary custody of their daughters, two young daughters. Now they have said the children's father is emotionally unstable.

HARRIS: A troubling consequence of the economy, the dropping dollar making it harder for Americans to travel overseas. That has left some places dependent on tourism dollars urgently looking for help.

CNN's David McKenzie reports from Kenya.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Massive wildebeest herds on the move on the unrelenting trek across the African savannah in search of grazing lands. Not even the mighty Mara River and its dangers will stop them.

(on camera): Every year over a million wildebeests migrate across this river to any one of the natural wonders of the world. Tourists have been flocking here for years, but this year, because of the political instability in Kenya, only 20 percent of the usual visitors have come here. And it could really hurt conservation efforts.

(voice-over): Each tourist pays for those efforts with a portion of their entrance fees to the Masai Mara used for managing the reserve. But that money has slowed to a trickle.

Joseph Kimojino has worked here for 20 years and he has never seen it this bad.

JOSEPH KIMOJINO, MASAI MARA RESERVE RANGER: If we cannot plan our operations as normal, then we fear a lot of poachers, I mean, will fill the park, kill the animals and then at the end of the day we will not have animals.

MCKENZIE: Their killing methods are brutal and indiscriminate. Wire snares set to capture wildebeests for bush meat, but they gouge anything in their path, even the mighty felled by the deadly sealed (ph) traps.

BRIAN HEATH, CEO, MARA CONSERVANCY: When the animals come into Kenya, there's this big influx of poachers, there's this sudden surge of poaching. Unless we can control it, we're in danger of the number of animals being poached, not being able to sustain that population.

MCKENZIE: So the Mara Conservancy takes on poachers with armed patrols.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a poacher's hideout. This is the camp of the poachers.

MCKENZIE: The lack of funding, though, has meant fewer patrols and staff, straining the effort to protect the reserve. The rangers haven't given up just yet, harnessing technology to help. Joseph started a blog to appeal directly to the public. They have raised $60,000 so far but it's not nearly enough to cover the monthly shortfall.

They're determined to carry on their work despite the odds.

KIMOJINO: We (ph) don't do better (ph) with antiquated (ph) patrols. Poachers will take over and obviously the Mara will be destroyed.

MCKENZIE: Without a sustained revenue, their tireless efforts could come to naught and the miracle of the Mara migration could be lost.

David McKenzie, CNN, Masai Mara.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Bank failures, credit problems. There is a lot to worry about and wonder about in today's economy. Gerri Willis will answer your questions.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know what, Christian (ph), see if you can get me a number on the Nasdaq as we take a look at the Dow. I forgot to ask you that just moments ago. The Dow, as you can, see down 23 points as we take you to the New York Stock Exchange. Trying to figure out what's driving the markets today, Brianna.

Yesterday we had some encouraging earnings reports from eBay, Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo, how about that? A bank doing particularly well. And then some disappointing news from Merrill. Maybe that was yesterday. And Citi as well. We're going to check in with Susan Lisovicz in just a couple of minutes and find out what's moving the markets. At least early so far, about an hour into the trading day, negative.

We'll do that in just a couple of minutes right here in the NEWSROOM.

KEILAR: Well, with the economy sputtering, you probably have questions about your finances. So today's e-mails are about credit unions, credit reports, loan consolidation, and those stimulus checks. And here to answer your questions, CNN personal finance editor Gerri Willis. And, Gerri, Willie in Florida...

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hey, Brianna.

KEILAR: Oh, good to see you. Willie in Florida wants to know, is it possible to find out about credit unions, how safe are they at this time?

WILLIS: Well, you know, that's a great question from Willie. Credit unions are a really good alternative to banks. And, you know what, they have the same guarantees, as long as you have $100,000 or less in an individual account, or $250,000 or less in a retirement account, you're insured.

Plus, credit unions may have slightly better interest rates and rates on CDs, savings accounts, and money market accounts. To find a credit union in your area, go to creditunion.coop.

KEILAR: OK. And then Elizabeth wants to know: "I have registered with a number of temp-perm agencies, all of which ask and insist on allowing them to check my credit report. I know that some inquiries to a credit report lowers my FICO score. Do these kinds of inquiries lower the FICO score as well?"

WILLIS: Well, typical, typical, typical, Elizabeth, there is good news here, though. A potential employee inquiry will not lower your FICO score. If you want to check your own score, that doesn't hurt your FICO score either. And while you're correct that some inquiries do impact your score -- for example, if you apply for a credit card, an auto loan or a mortgage, that lowers your score. Basically any time you seek access to a loan, that is going to lower your credit score.

KEILAR: And that's such -- that is the interesting question. I think until you're actually at a point where you're wondering where someone is actually, doing an inquiry, you sort of don't really -- you know, you don't really pay attention to the answer. So it's always a good one to refresh people's memories.

WILLIS: Right. Very good point.

KEILAR: And George from New York, he wants to know: "Are lenders required to offer loan consolidation opportunities? My daughter has her student loans with Sally Mae. We searched their Web site for information regarding loan consolidation, but apparently they do not offer it any longer."

WILLIS: Yes, you know, George, the bad news is that lenders don't have to offer consolidation loans or any other kind of loan for that matter. And everybody is having your problem here it seems like. A lot of lenders have stopped consolidating loans, including Sallie Mae, for federal consolidation loans just go to the U.S. Department of Education Web site. It's loanconsolidation.ed.gov. You can also get a consolidation loan from the Direct Loans program. For private student loan consolidation, try finaid.org. KEILAR: And Raj from Texas, Gerri, he is obviously still waiting for his economic stimulus check. He says: "Who do we contact about stimulus checks if we have not received them?"

WILLIS: Well, and that's a long time, right? Well, your first stop, irs.gov. There's an official stimulus report status checker, believe it or not, online. You can contact the IRS by phone, call 866-234-2942. Keep in mind, though, the last batch of stimulus checks for folks who filed their tax returns by April 15th went out earlier this month. The IRS will continue to send checks to folks who got extensions to file their '07 returns. So if you haven't filed yet, make sure you do so before October 15th. After that, you'll still qualify if you file your 2008 return.

And, of course, if you have any questions, send them to us at toptips@cnn.com -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Gerri, I have a question for you.

WILLIS: What's that?

KEILAR: So I hear you're busy on Monday?

HARRIS: What?

KEILAR: What are you doing?

WILLIS: Hey...

HARRIS: What's going on here?

WILLIS: Well, I'm going...

KEILAR: Tony, you know.

HARRIS: What's going on here?

WILLIS: Well, I'm going to go visit the folk at "The View" and talk about money and they have some questions about is their money is safe, and what should they do to keep their money safe. It's going to be a ton of fun. I hope you tune in, but I know you're sort of busy.

HARRIS: Hang on a second.

KEILAR: We're not too busy to tune in to that.

HARRIS: Wait a minute. Gerri Willis, "OPEN HOUSE," "ISSUE #1," a frequent guest on "LARRY KING LIVE," the book "Home Rich," and now you have time for "The View"? I want to buy stock in Gerri Willis.

WILLIS: I want you to be my agent.

HARRIS: There you go.

WILLIS: I'm changing agents. It's over. It's you, Tony.

HARRIS: Wow!

WILLIS: You rock.

HARRIS: What a path you're on. And we're taking a lot of credit for it right here in the "CNN NEWSROOM."

WILLIS: Oh, you guys. You guys are wonderful.

KEILAR: That's good. Hopefully we can run some of her appearances.

HARRIS: Oh, you'd better believe it.

KEILAR: Very fun. All right. Gerri, thank you so much.

WILLIS: Thank you. Thanks, guys. Join us for "ISSUE #1."

KEILAR: Of course, and you know, just to refresh your memory, good news for all of you Gerri fans, there is more next hour, Gerri answering your questions about bank failure and how you can protect yourself. She is going to talk savings accounts, trust accounts and mortgages.

HARRIS: Wow. "Black in America." CNN's Soledad O'Brien hosts the CNN documentary tracking the trials and tribulations of black America. Forty years after the death of Martin Luther King Jr., but before next week's landmark documentary, we are presenting an important forum with some key voices in the African-American community. CNN and Essence magazine, "Reclaiming the Dream" airs Saturday night at 8:00 Eastern.

Here's just a taste.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Do you think the rap of disappearing black fathers, which is a phrase I've heard a lot, is it an unfair rap, it is because the media picks up on that and just hammers that every single day, or is it a fair rap?

JULIANNE MALVEAUX, PRES., BENNETT COLLEGE FOR WOMEN: Well, at some level it's real, at some level it is media. I remember when Bill Moyers had that "Disappearing Black Family" series. Well, a family is still a family whether the father is there or not. But you want the father there.

I mean, I want people to be clear, the ideal situation is to have both parents. But if a lack of the ideal -- my resistance to some of this conversation is about, I also want us to surround every child. I'm not a mom, but I call myself "another mother" because I have godchildren, I have nephews...

O'BRIEN: You get to give them back at the end of the day.

(LAUGHTER) MALVEAUX: I get to give them back. Every child deserves to be nurtured. The fact that the mother or father has made a mistake should not have an effect on the material conditions of the child.

BISHOP T.D. JAKES, FOUNDER, THE POTTER'S HOUSE: I totally agree with you, but I think the problem has gone to the other extreme, it has gone beyond just accepting the mother, who has had a child out of wedlock, to applauding her for having a child out of wedlock. It has gone too far. It has really gone too far.

You've got girls today -- when I grew up, girls did not want to get pregnant out of wedlock. You have got girls today who walk up to a guy and say, I want to have your baby. And that's absolute madness.

O'BRIEN: But what has changed? I mean, what has changed from the '60s where we see this massive leap in the numbers? What has changed?

ED GORDON, JOURNALIST: We keep looking for this complex answer to that question. What has changed? Expectation has changed. It's exactly what Bishop suggested. I'm from Detroit. When I grew up -- and you hate to sound like your parents, but when I grew up...

(LAUGHTER)

GORDON: When a girl got pregnant, she all of a sudden moved down South. She went South. What happened to Crystal? She down South. We knew what that meant. We knew exactly. Because mama was not going to be embarrassed to watch Crystal grow with all of her -- I'm not saying that's the right thing to do, but there was a certain expectation there. We've allowed those expectations to drop.

HILL HARPER, ACTOR & AUTHOR: But it really, to me, starts with self esteem and self-worth. Because unless we -- all of the issues we're going to talk about on this program are future-based ideas, education, financial literacy, health, HIV/AIDS, those are future- based ideas.

If you don't believe that you're actually worthy of a future, then that falls on deaf ears. So it doesn't matter. And so we have young women today that aren't even African-American making pregnancy pacts. It's about trying to figure out a way to make yourself -- to feel better.

And that's what -- my whole thing is we've got to deal with self- esteem, self-worth first.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: CNN and Essence, "Reclaiming the Dream," airs Saturday night at 8:00 Eastern.

KEILAR: From job loss to life gain. How a layoff can be the best thing that has ever happened to you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HARRIS: Bottom of the hour on a getaway Friday. Welcome back, everyone, to the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Tony Harris.

KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar, in for Heidi.

(BUSINESS HEADLINES)

KELIAR: A state of limbo in the state of Kentucky. An old law has stalled a new-age electric car. This is the Zap Car and it rides on three wheels. And under Kentucky law, that officially makes it a motorcycle. But, state law also says that motorcycles can't be enclosed. So that makes outlaws of these pint-sized vehicles which top out at a mere 45 miles an hour. A bipartisan committee has asked the governor to grant an exception. But he says he must first be convinced that the Zap is safe.

Cow power. It seems that one dairy farmer in California has figured out how to turn his cows into serious energy producers.

And CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow has our Energy Fix from New York. Poppy, am I smelling what you're stepping in, here? Are we talking poop?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: This Energy Fix, Brianna, it's stinking right now. Behold, the power of poop! I've got to keep a straight face for this one, OK. Let me get through this.

A farmer in Lodi, California, says each of his cows produces enough electricity to light one 100-watt light bulb for 24 hours.

Our affiliate in Sacramento, WXTV caught up with farmer Larry Castelanelli. He has 3,000 cows and they're dropping straight enough methane to power his entire 12-acre farm. Very impressive. Here is how it works. The farmer harvests the cow poop, separates it and sends it into a digester, which is basically a two-acre lagoon. You see it there. Wow. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY CASTELANELLI, DAIRY FARMER: What's bubbled up here is all that methane gas. We capture this gas, this methane that would normally go up and get the ozone. Instead, we capture it, we run it through the generator, we get electricity and we're running the dairy with it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARLOW: All right. So eventually all of that is sent into a generator. It's a little-known fact that the methane from cows is a source of global warming. So, you know what, Brianna? This is solving two problems at once. Pretty cool.

KEILAR: Yes. And obviously it's a renewable energy source, Poppy.

HARLOW: Yes, it is. That is right. As long as the cows keep on doing their business, Larry can keep doing his without paying an electric bill at all. It takes a little more than a month to turn the cow manure into the energy. So this is not an instant fix. But, Larry says, the hotter the day the better the system works. I'm sure the more it smells, as well. And other farmers around the country, they're also also doing this and report of reduction in odor at the same time.

As you can see, we here at CNNmoney.com are following your Energy Fix stories from each and every angle -- Brianna.

KEILAR: Yes. And I sort of resisted, but it was a renewable energy source. I told Tony that I was going to call it a re-pooh- able.

HARRIS: Do it, I dare you. You did it!

HARLOW: And I was going to sign on saying, Poppy Harlow reporting live. Poppy with the poop scoop. There you go.

HARRIS: Oh, my!

KEILAR: We're like fourth graders. I love it.

OK, Poppy Harlow. CNNmoney.com's Poppy Harlow. Thank you so much.

HARLOW: You're welcome.

HARRIS: Are we still on the air? Are we still on?

KEILAR: Oh, this isn't a commercial break?

HARRIS: Oh, my!

Happy birthday, Nelson Mandela. The former South African leader, Noble Peace Prize laureate and international icon turns 90.

Live now to South Africa. Our Robyn Curnow is at Mr. Mandela's home in Qunu, with his grandchildren.

Robyn, great to see you. And we received not too long ago, a birthday message from Mr. Mandela, who wants the rich to share more with the poor.

ROBYN CURNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. I had a rare interview with Mr. Mandela just a few hours ago. He hasn't given an interview to the press since 2004, when he officially retired.

But indeed, he stressed again that the inequalities, the poverty inequalities between rich and poor really worry him. He also told me that he didn't regret sacrificing his family life for the greater good, for the anti-apartheid struggle. Because he knew that it was in soul, it was the right thing. So, a man who's definitely an inspiration to many people around the world. And of course, also to his own grandchildren. We're here outside Mandela's house, in his home village, as you said. And I have two of them with me. They've spent the day with him. This is Arjoa and Hoand Anani. Both of them actually grew up and are currently studying in the states, just so you know, if you see them on the streets in either Boston, Massachusetts, or in upstate New York.

OK, Hoang Anani, so you first. Talk about inspiration. Does your grandfather inspire you? .

HOANG ANANI MANDELA, MANDELA'S GRANDSON: Yes, very much so. Also as an image and a beacon of peace and perseverance through hardships. And, being away from home, it helps to know that somebody has done it before. In terms of somebody standing up for what they believe in and fighting for the goals and achieving what they want out of life.

CURNOW: Do you think anybody can emulate Nelson Mandela? He's said himself, he's not a saint. He's the sum of all his mistakes.

Do you feel that's maybe one of his greatest lessons? You can be like him?

ADJOA AMUAH, MANDELA'S GRANDAUGHTER: I think that's definitely the essence of who he is as a person, you know. That he's relatable at the end of the day, to anyone. You know? The things that he stands for, forgiveness, compassion. I mean, everyone hopes and aims to be like that. And I think -- that being accessible to everyone else makes him an easier idol to kind of look up to.

CURNOW: Absolutely.

He's quite a cool guy, isn't he? He has quite a funny sense of humor.

MANDELA: Yes, he does. And it's highlighted by the very many times that he, at 90, has his wits and is very good with the comic relief. And it can relate to all the generations that would be sitting around the table. So, from the youngest that are roughly about 8 and to the oldest members of the family. When we're sitting at the table and he cracks a joke. all of us can get it and it's always fun to see that he's got his wits about him.

CURNOW: That's the one thing that strikes me just by researching his life and also obviously covering him as a journalist. He's always willing to crack a joke. And do you think that's one of the reasons, A: The secret to his long life and maybe the way that he managed to heal a nation, because he kept his sense of humor?

AMUAH: I definitely think so. I think if you're able to laugh at yourself, it definitely makes anything better and more, you know, easy to go through. So, yes. I definitely think so. He's a very funny person. Very, very funny. Very humorous.

CURNOW: OK, that's great. Those are two of Nelson Mandela's grandchildren. And as I said, Hoang Anani, he studies in upstate New York and Adjoa went to school in Boston, Massachusetts. So, if you do bump into them on the street, you can say hi.

HARRIS: Absolutely. Oh, that's terrific.

Robyn, good to see you. Thank you.

KEILAR: The dark knight all night. "Batman" fans lining up for midnight sell outs and more show up for shows at 3:00 and 6:00 in the morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You know, it doesn't have to be the end of your world. It can be the beginning of a better one. A woman gone through job loss has a message for others.

Here's CNN's Ted Rowlands.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Kitty Wiemelt says she wouldn't be fly fishing on a weekday morning with her husband Jerry, if she hadn't been laid of. Not once, not twice, but three separate times.

KITTY WIEMELT, AUTHOR, "LAID OFF? DON'T STRESS!": It's just an awesome life because I have been able to have some control.

ROWLANDS: Wiemelt says she gained that control by reinventing herself after losing her job. Instead of looking for another marketing job in the medical field, she started her own consulting firm.

WIEMELT: Was that marketing schedule OK?

ROWLANDS: She always wanted to be a public speaker so she joined Toastmasters and now she gets paid to speak on a number of subjects, including getting laid off. And she authored a book, "Laid Off, Don't Stress! How to Get From Mad to Glad," a compilation of success stories after job loss.

WIEMELT: Let's hope the fish are ready to be caught today.

ROWLANDS: Now seven years later, Weimelt says she's making more money than ever and has more time to fish.

WIEMELT: Last year we were able to take 12 weeks off and just go fish and visit our kids and just enjoy life. Because I didn't have to ask anybody.

ROWLANDS: Lynne Behringer story is in the book. She was laid off after working for the phone company for 23 years, her first job out of school.

LYNNE BEHERINGER, OWNER, TEETER HOUSE: It was the best thing that ever of happened to me. ROWLANDS: Behringer said she always wanted to be a chef so she went to culinary school. And now, nine years later, she owns the Teeter House, a quaint authentic Phoenix tea house.

BEHRINGER: It's hard, I mean, no doubt about it. It's very hard. But it's very rewarding.

ROWLANDS: Both women say getting laid off changed their lives for the better, and both have similar advice for people who lose a job.

BEHRINGER: This is not your fault, first of all. And don't despair. Think about what you'd really like to do in your life and maybe you can make a career out of it.

WIEMELT: It if you wouldn't have been pushed out of that job, maybe you would have never looked at anything else. But here you have an opportunity to think, what do I really, really want to do?

ROWLANDS: Ted Rowlands, CNN, Phoenix.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(WEATHER REPORT)

(CROSSTALK)

HARRIS: All right. "The Dark Knight." The latest installment in the "Batman" movies. The movie could actually break records this weekend. But the loss of star Heath Ledger, left the studio walking a pretty fine line.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: Boy, I have to tell you. When we were talking about the story in our morning meeting, the description of it was pretty funny. Not funny at all when you see the pictures we're about to show you.

We're talking about three members of an Army band, wiped out by a parachutist who drifted off course during a review at Ft. Riley, Kansas. Take a look. Man, did you see the tubas go down? Boy, the parachutist blew through at about 50 miles per hour. One band member was knocked unconscious and had a fractured jaw. Another broke his ankle. A third soldier had a minor leg injury. The guy with the parachute, well, wounded his pride.

KEILAR: Well, it's a much-anticipated movie opening. People waited in late-night lines in many had cities for the latest part of the "Batman" saga, but "Dark Knight," of course, has another draw. Late actor Heath Ledger's final complete performance. And it's something the studio is handling very carefully.

CNN entertainment correspondent, Kareen Wynter has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): His performance as the manaical Joker in the "Dark Knight," has already earned Health Ledger rave reviews from critics and co-stars alike.

MAGGIE GYLLENHAAL, "RACHEL DAWES": Heath did something really remarkable in this movie.

GARY OLDMAN, "LT. JAMES GORDON": It wouldn't surprise me if he doesn't sort of get some kind of nod or nomination, Oscar nomination.

WYNTER: For those behind the scenes, finishing and promoting the late actor's last film was no easy trick.

STEVE ZEITCHIK, "THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER": Warner Brothers Christopher Nolan, the director, were in a very interesting position and in many ways, difficult position with how to exit the story of the Joker.

WYNTER: Steve Zeitchik is a senior writer for the Hollywood Reporter.

ZEITCHIK: Walking that line between you know, leaving the door too wide open on one the one hand. But being on the other hand, too explicit about what happens to him at the end of the film. So, I think there was really some tricky production and post-production issues that you know, both the director and studio faced.

WYNTER: Once completed, deciding how to use Ledger's image and performance to market the film, came with its own set of challenges.

ZEITCHIK: If they you know, push Ledger too hard in their marketing campaign, then I think they can risk looking like they're trying to capitalize on the tragedy. If they don't push it hard enough, then I think they're probably leaving an opportunity to really capitalize on one of the great performances in terms of these kinds of movies.

WYNTER: Warner Brothers, a studio behind the film, which like CNN, is owned by Time Warner, declined our request for a statement.

ZEITCHIK: You know, there are some people who are coming out and saying, did Warner's use him too much. And there others are saying, well, did they not use him enough? And that's generally a sign when you're hearing those kinds of competing voices that the balance was probably struck roughly in the right proportion.

WYNTER: The film is also striking a chord with fans. Fandango.com, the nation's leading movie ticket web site says, "The Dark Knight" has sold out theaters from Alaska to Florida, and is on track to break records.

Kareen Wynter, CNN, Hollywood.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: High school students. Many had never been around a plane before. Now, they're building one? And a world-class aviator will fly it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: A young man gives back. Aviator Barrington Irving made history last year and now he's doing something even more meaningful for some high school kids.

Here's CNN's John Zarrella.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You can usually find high school student Julio Belazair (ph), working under the fuselage at Miami Executive Aviation. A few months ago, Julio wasn't sure what he wanted to do with his life. Now he's thinking about a degree in avionicks.

God just made miracles happen and just opened doors for me.

ZARELLA: Julio us one of 60 students. Many had never been around an airplane before. Now they are building one. Today the wings are going on.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you sure it's on properly? Are you sure?

ZARELLA: It better be. When the plane is finished, Barrington Irving is going to fly it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So this landing gear is being held by a bungee chord.

ZARELLA: Last year Irving made history as the first black pilot and the youngest person at 23, to fly solo around the world in his plane, Inspiration. It took three months. Irving says he came up with what he named the Build and Soar program, during those long hours flying.

By bringing up and keeping up their grades, students from Miami Dade schools were chosen to build Barrington's plane.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Challenges like this, is something that a lot of people don't believe we can do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We keep pushing them and pushing them and pushing them so that they can see what they have with inside of them.

ZARELLA: Instructors, skeptical at first, say the teams proved them wrong.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All you have to do is just guide them, show them, and they're ready to start.

ZARELLA: The plane should be ready to fly, October 1st. Irving has named it Inspiration 2.

(on camera): In only its first year, the program has been so successful, that Barrington Irving needs more space for next year, to accommodate more students. Because right now, he's turning kids away.

John Zarella, CNN, Opa-laka, Florida.

(END VIDEOTAPE)