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Researchers Invent Smart Pill; Homelessness Rises Among Former Middle Class Americans; Warren Buffett Says Worse Part of Touch Economy Could be Over; More Americans Start Gardens
Aired May 03, 2009 - 18:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Rain, wind and total chaos. As Dallas Cowboys' practice facility comes crashing down, last night, we showed you the collapse as it happened.
But guess what? Tonight, we have new images for you of this aftermath, people trapped inside this debris. Those on the outside rushing in, as well, to help, including NFL players. We're going to play it out for you so you're going it to see it right here -- new images of the chaos that happened in Dallas.
The news starts right now.
Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon here at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
Up front this hour, severe weather right here in the southeast from where we're broadcasting. We're awaiting confirmation on a reported tornado sighting in east central Alabama. The National Weather Service had a warning issued at the time of the reported sighting and here's a live power cam shot on the top left of your screen. And thanks for our affiliate, WBMA.
But the Birmingham area is not alone in this. Alabama's capital city, Montgomery, is now under the gun, as well. Live shot from WSFA there on the top right of your screen.
And right here in Atlanta, we're by no means out of the woods. Bottom left of the screen, the storm is expected to be here very soon. Cinco de Mayo parties are going on right now in Centennial Olympic Park, and the sights and sounds from New Orleans makes for some unease down in the Crescent City, as well.
Much of the south has been dealing with severe weather the past couple of days. This is following -- flooding, I should say, in the middle of Tennessee. Take a look at that.
But extreme weather isn't limited to the southeastern United States. Check out this incredible iReport that we got. It was submitted by Laura Shields as she got caught in a hail storm in Grand Junction, Colorado. Take a close listen.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: You can hear that hail as it hits the ground or hits the car there where she caught those pictures. Let's get some advice now from our Karen Maginnis, our meteorologist here.
And, Karen, that advice would be to stay indoors. Don't go outside unless you have to.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Don, just as a warning. But within the next, probably 20 to 30 minutes, the Metro Atlanta area is going to see some severe thunderstorms. So, we will probably see that tower cam start to shake. These are severe thunderstorms, but we have been tracking a line of severe weather.
Take a look at this bow echo. I point this out. This is the bow echo. It bows like that because there are very strong winds at the surface just kind of pushing this line well ahead.
Well, this is the same weather system that has been responsible for the violent weather that we have seen across west central and east central Alabama. They have especially been hit very hard to the southwest of Birmingham, in the Bessemer-Pelham area, specifically Hoover, Alabama. We've got pictures out of Hoover.
Take a look at this. Downed trees, downed power lines. They are saying that in multiple county, St. Clair County being one of them, thousands and thousands of trees down. Do we have any injuries reported? Not as of yet. But you can imagine with just how violent this system has been, that that would not be totally unexpected.
All right. Let's go back and take a look at what's happened across northern sections of Georgia. This is actually northwest Georgia. Here is this purple-shaded area. That's a tornado warning. It goes for about another 10 minutes or so.
What has happened here is we watched this particular cell when it was back over here in east central Alabama. It is traveling towards the northeast at just about 30 to 35 miles an hour. So it looks like this particular cell is not going to move across the Metropolitan Atlanta area, but along Interstate 75 and 575 corridor, lots of bedroom communities that we have been watching just kind of explode over the last few years. So, this particular cell certainly has the potential for lots of damage.
I want to mention one other thing. Gantts Quarry, Talladega County, Alabama, that's southwest of Birmingham, they reported numerous trees down, one on a kitchen, one on a bedroom, and that's all the information we have unconfirmed right now.
LEMON: All right. But we'll keep checking with you.
Severe weather is happening in much of the south. Our Karen Maginnis on top of it, you want to stay with CNN. But she says it's going to be rolling further east from the Dallas area and then into Alabama, and then here, into Georgia, within the next couple of minutes -- probably as we are on the air here. So, stay tuned.
Severe weather smacks America's team with unexpected fury. The Dallas Cowboys are reeling after strong storms smashed their indoor practice facility, that happened just yesterday, live on our air, you saw the chaos as it happened.
Now, we have been showing you how it all unfolded as CNN affiliate WFAA's cameras were rolling. Well, tonight, we have new video for you. It is showing the chaos immediately after this collapse. The video shows the story better than we can tell you. So, we want you to watch and listen to this new video.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KUVN, SATURDAY)
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Come here.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a head count. Get a head count.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Head count. Is there anybody else?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get a head count.
(INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Boy, you can see in that video, players and staff members trying to help those who are trapped and looking under the tarp and under that metal to see if anybody else is there, trying to save their buddies. Well, that tape is coming from our affiliate KUVN.
Now, we have another view that's just into CNN just after that collapse. This is from our affiliate KDAF. Watch and listen to this one, as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, KDAF, SATURDAY)
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody over there?
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Down here.
(INAUDIBLE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, we got the fire trucks coming now, right, guys?
(INAUDIBLE)
(END VIDEO CLIP) LEMON: You saw the days on, you saw the injured.
Now, for an update on the injured and what they're doing to try to get this tarp off the field and get things back to normal in that area. The complete story now from CNN's Brendan Gage.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRENDAN GAGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Amazing images from Dallas television station, WFAA. The NFL's Dallas Cowboys were in the middle of a practice session for their first year players, a violent thunderstorms with high wind shook the walls of the air- supported canopy and everyone inside fled.
Listen to this team employee describe his experience.
MICKEY SPAGNOLA, DALLASCOWBOYS.COM: The wind was blowing so hard. When we opened the door, it's like the wind was sucking us back in and we couldn't get out of the door.
GAGE: Not everyone was lucky enough to escape the wreckage unscathed. Despite the terrifying images, officials say this was a case of things that were done right.
DR. PAUL PEPE, MEDICAL DIR., CITY OF DALLAS EMS: The immediate reactions here of not only the police and fire, you know (ph), the police and fire department and also the organization itself, the Cowboys organization. Their prompt action, I think, prevented a lot of the problems that we could have had.
GAGE: Dozens of players, coaches and support staff were inside the structure when it went down. The National Weather Service says wind gusts were as much as 60 miles an hour when the canopy wept down.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Brendan Gage from our affiliate in the Dallas area, WFAA.
So, listen, last night, I had a chance to talk to the guy who was inside shooting that video. Can you imagine what that was like? WFAA photographer who shot this incredible video was on our air last night 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
Take a look at that conversation.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Tell us what did you hear and then what caused everyone to look up at the ceiling and then start shooting this?
ARNOLD PAYNE, WFAA PHOTOJOURNALIST: Well, we were -- they were -- the Cowboys were right in the middle of their afternoon practice and the rain was falling tremendously hard outside. I mean, it was just absolutely pouring all of a sudden.
And I noticed that the walls started to waver. I mean, the wind was so strong that -- this is kind of a tarp-type structure that they practice in when the weather's bad outside, so they go inside to escape the weather. And then I noticed that the lights that are hanging from the ceiling start to sway. And it was -- it wouldn't stop. And then it caught the attention of the players and my attention.
And shortly after that, it was as though someone took a stick pin and then hit a balloon. It just collapsed, the walls collapsed, the ceiling was falling, and by the grace of God, I had the mind to just kind of take my time and see where things were falling before I tried to run out, because otherwise, it could have been worse than it was.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: WFAA's photographer Arnold Payne joining us on CNN last night.
Meantime, we have plenty of other stories that are developing this hour from the world of politics. We start with former presidential candidate John Edwards. He is acknowledging that federal investigators are looking in to how he handled his campaign money. His political action committee has been in the spotlight ever since it was revealed that it paid $100,000 to a video production firm owned by Edwards' mistress. In a statement, Edwards says he is confident none of his campaign funds were used improperly.
High-ranking Republicans are looking for an edge on the issue and in dealing with President Barack Obama. A weekend event in Virginia marks a first of several planned road shows by GOP officials eager to boost the party's image. House Whip Eric Cantor and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney tell CNN's John King that the party will be fine, but it needs to reconnect with voters.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S STATE OF THE UNION)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) FORMER PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Our party is a big tent party. We have folks of different perspectives. We've always been that way. We've always had different coalitions within the Republican Party. We'll continue to have that.
You know, this last election, we didn't win, but we didn't lose by an enormous amount. We just need to make sure that we communicate our message effectively and draw those folks who watch with interest back to voting for us.
REP. ERIC CANTOR, (R) HOUSE WHIP: And it's not that the Republicans need to change to become like Democrats. We know the principles upon which our party is founded. It is they are on the principles of free market, of the rights of the individuals, of the faith -- in the individual's faith in God, the ability for people to stand up on their own and reach for that opportunity.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Well, at the White House, the search is already under way for someone to succeed Supreme Court Justice David Souter. Earlier speculation is focusing on minority, perhaps a woman, as well as candidates whose careers include work outside the bench.
The 69-year-old justice sent word to President Obama on Friday that he's going to retire when the current court session ends in June. The president said he wants his choice for the court to be on the job by October when the new Supreme Court session begins.
Well, there's no one better to talk about these developing political stories than our very own Bill Schneider. He joins me now from Washington.
OK, Bill, let's talk about David Souter.
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST: OK.
LEMON: You know, I guess his legacy here -- because he's leaving, he's the first person who really leave on his own accord at such an early age, right, when he's sort of in the middle of his career.
SCHNEIDER: Well, he's 69 years old.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMON: That's still young.
SCHNEIDER: But he's never been a person of Washington. He's always -- his heart has always been in New Hampshire.
He didn't hang out in Washington. He wasn't a fixture on the social scene. He didn't make a lot of speeches around the country. He's always said that his heart is in New Hampshire.
And, you know, a lot of Republicans still consider themselves betrayed by him because he was advertised back in 1990 as a conservative appointee by the first President Bush, the Republicans were sure he'll be a reliable conservative. He wasn't. He voted most of the time with the liberal bloc on the court.
So, when Obama -- President Obama, makes the new appointment, it's not likely to create an ideological shift because he'll be replacing a liberal vote with another liberal vote.
LEMON: Yes. Many conservatives spoke out against him. They are -- some of them are glad to see that he was gone. I'm sure they'd wish that it was a Republican in the White House ...
SCHNEIDER: Right.
LEMON: ... to make the decision about who will replace him.
So, let's talk about this. You know, everyone saying it's going to be a woman, it's going to be, you know, a minority, or what have you. Could it be a woman and I guess it could be, do you think, though, that he'll be replaced with a woman?
SCHNEIDER: Well, that's the buzz in Washington, which doesn't mean all that much. But it's -- women are at the top of most lists and there are a number of imminently qualified women really of the last 10 or 12 years. Women have moved in to positions of prominence on the bench.
There's woman who is the solicitor general. Elena Kagan, she is very high on the list. The woman governor, Jennifer Granholm. There are minorities. You see Diane Wood. Sonia Sotomayor, that would be -- she would be among others, the first Hispanic or Latino justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. There's never been an Asian-American justice. Deval Patrick over on the right you see, he's the governor of Massachusetts.
Some African-American say there should be an African-American appointed because a lot of African-Americans don't feel represented by Clarence Thomas whose views are very conservative.
LEMON: Yes, it's very interesting. And I've been reading some of what conservatives are saying and they're saying by even mentioning should like it should be a woman or should it be an African-American, whatever it's identity politics and it would be identity justice ...
SCHNEIDER: Right.
LEMON: ... by replacing and it should be the person who is qualified.
Now, I know on Friday, the president said he is looking for diversity, but he's looking for diversity of career and opinion, and not necessarily in a woman or a man or skin color or race or what have you.
SCHNEIDER: He said life experience and empathy.
LEMON: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Very important, because there's been criticism all of the current justices were taken off the federal bench. They all lived in what's been called the judicial monastery. And President Obama has said, even as a candidate, that he wants someone who can relate to ordinary people, who has a variety of life experiences ...
LEMON: Right.
SCHNEIDER: ... that you don't find on the bench.
Not a single member of this court right now has ever been elected to anything. That used to be very common.
LEMON: Hey, Bill, I got one more question for you, because they're talking about the rebranding of the GOP. And, you know, there's this road show, we saw Eric Cantor out, we saw Mitt Romney out. Nothing in this said Republican, they just said -- what was the title of what they were doing?
SCHNEIDER: It's called the National Council for New America.
LEMON: What's going on here?
SCHNEIDER: Well, the Republican chairman was not there. What they're talking about is really a listening tour where we heard that before. They're going to go around the country with this road show. They want to talk about positive policy ideas. They're not talking about partisanship. They are not attacking Barack Obama.
What they are doing is taking a cue from Barack Obama and trying to develop a positive message and go out there and listen to people and reconnect with the country. And it's very consciously not a Republican effort. They call it nonpartisan, even though all the people involved are Republicans.
LEMON: Hey, I got some very interesting questions for you that I want to continue this conversation with you, Bill. We're going to bring you back at 7:00 because we have some breaking news that we need to get to. Thank you very much, Bill Schneider.
We want to get to Karen Maginnis now on the CNN severe weather center.
Karen, we're hearing breaking news, tornado warning. Talk to us.
MAGINNIS: Yes, just a few minutes ago, Don, you may remember me saying that we were expecting the severe weather to move towards the Metro Atlanta area. There you can see from our live tower cam some of the building clouds. Well, the worst is on its way. We are under a severe thunderstorm watch.
However, there is a tornado warning in this purple shaded area. In particular, we are watching this particular cell, it's moving off towards the northeast. So, it looks like the southern portion of the Metropolitan Atlanta area could see some fairly violent weather over the next 30 minutes or so as this is a tornado warning -- which means as Doppler radar indicated, which it is right now.
But also, you may remember, we were watching this particular cell right around the Rome, Georgia area, moving off toward the northeast. Well, that tornado warning has been discontinued, but still, quite a bit of violent weather. But not just for the southwestern portion of Fulton. Also into Fayette County and into northern sections of Coweta County, as well.
So, this particular cell is moving off towards the northeast at just about 35 miles an hour. We're going to see some rumblings going on here, Don, in just the next few minutes or so.
LEMON: All right. Thank you very much for that, Karen Maginnis. You said it would be happening and it is.
So you guys need to stay tuned. Severe weather could be heading your way if you're in the path, you need to take cover.
Thank you, Karen, very much.
MAGINNIS: You're welcome. LEMON: You know, you've heard us talk all this week and really last week about the swine flu, swine flu this, swine flu that. But so far, it is mild compared to the epidemic of 1918. Not many people remember that. One person does -- a survivor. We're going to talk to her.
She wants to make up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: That is one sweet ride. That scared me. See that? It is me in a nostalgic classic car show yesterday at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
I want you to take a ride with me down memory lane. You know what? We're sort of bearing the lead here.
This is a Chrysler -- these are all Chrysler products. And right as Chrysler is restructuring, there is a Chrysler car show in Atlanta. We're going to take you to it. Chrysler die-hard lovers will speak to us about how they feel about this.
First, we have new numbers today in the global H1N1 flu outbreak. The CDC announced an additional 66 confirmed cases of the swine flu right here in the U.S., bringing the total to 226 cases in 30 states. They include one death.
The WHO confirms there are now 898 cases of the virus worldwide in 18 countries. Health officials say the increase doesn't necessarily reflect all new cases. Instead, they're catching up on testing previously collecting samples or collected samples. And 300 people are under a week-long quarantine at a Hong Kong hotel after a Mexican visitor tested positive for the H1N1 virus.
Influenza's high water mark was right after World War I and especially contagious form of Type A Influenza spread to virtually every corner of the world then from 1918 to 1920. The flu pandemic killed an estimated 40 million to 50 million people worldwide. In the United States, the illness claimed about 675,000 lives.
Well, the 1918 pandemic was commonly but incorrectly called the "Spanish flu." Rose Worth was just a little girl in Colorado when the illness hit her family. She survived, but her parents did not survive.
Heidi McGuire, of Denver affiliate KUSA talked to Worth, now 100 years old, about the killer flu of 1918. Pay close attention.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSE WORTH, 1918 FLU SURVIVOR: I can remember the day that my dad said he was going to call the doctor while we were in school.
HEIDI MCGUIRE, KUSA REPORTER: Rose Worth was just a child, but she knew exactly what the Spanish flu was. For two years, she saw people around her getting sick, and then her own family in 1920. WORTH: In minute she said she had the flu, I just knew I was going to lose her.
MCGUIRE: Worth's mother, Elizabeth, was the first to get it. She can't recall how long her mother was sick, but she remembers exactly what she told her.
WORTH: Rosie, you're going to have to help daddy take care of the children. Those were her last words to me.
MCGUIRE: Worth was the oldest of four children and what her mother didn't know was two days after her death, Worth's father would die, too, and then her baby sister.
WORTH: The little one that died (ph).
MCGUIRE: Worth remembers being sick, but she never thought much of dying.
WORTH: I don't remember worrying about it. I just remember being sick and knowing that I'd lost my mother.
MCGUIRE: At 11 years old, Worth survived the flu headlines labeled a "killer."
WORTH: That was the killer, yes.
MCGUIRE: Now, with the scare of another flu being compared with that in 1918, Worth says like before, she's not worried about herself.
WORTH: It's your family. You don't think about yourself anymore, not at 100 years.
MCGUIRE: Worth celebrated a century in January. She says she's had a full life and surviving the flu was just part of it.
WORTH: I'm pretty tough, I consider myself. And life has made me tough.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: She survived, 100 years old. Wow.
OK. Well, the King family is mourning another loss. Reverend Vernon King died suddenly Friday at his home in Greensboro, North Carolina. He was 48. No word on the cause of his death. He is a nephew of slain civil rights leader, Martin Luther King, Jr.
Vernon King pastored the Saint James Baptist Church in Greensboro and was a member of the Kings Center board. The reverend Vernon King, dead at the age of 48.
We're back in a moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: News now about the auto industry.
All Chrysler plants will be idle starting tomorrow as the automaker begins bankruptcy proceedings. Workers leaving last Thursday won't be back to work until the automaker emerges from bankruptcy. Now, most analysts expect that process to take at least two months. Well, Chrysler says five of its plants will not reopen at all.
Meanwhile, we're learning that Chrysler's perspective new owner, Italian carmaker Fiat, is talking to General Motors, as well. Fiat says it will like to acquire the G.M.'s Opel division and fold it into a single car company that includes Chrysler. Fiat is best known for its Fiat, Alfa Romeo, and Ferrari brands.
Chrysler muscle cars once ruled the streets of America. Remember that for those of you old enough to remember? And a lot of people have strong nostalgic feelings for those glory days. I'm one of them. Check them out. Check it out.
I think I said that's a lot of power there. Well, that's me behind the wheel of the 1971 Hemi 'Cuda. Hundreds of fans turned out this weekend to show off their babies at the Atlanta Motor Speedway.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a '71 Hemi 'Cuda. The engine is 654 cubic inches.
LEMON: Wow.
So, Darren, what do you think, you've got this great Chrysler product. It's a classic. And now, they're restructuring. What do you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's frightening. It's absolutely frightening because I'd hate to see them go away. I mean, they've been part of American culture for so long, it would be a great loss to see them go under.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're going to emerge better. I mean, look at the airlines. I mean, they went into bankruptcy. They emerged stronger than they were before. The new business model and the old business model don't fit. So, you got to do something.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The way I look at it is they emerged from bankruptcy once before. I hope they can do it again.
LEMON: You know, that's what people like about, you know, the American car industry. When you talk about it, the muscle car, the big, the loud or whatever. Do you think that's still viable though, Lanny?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yes. People -- you got people like myself, I like horse power. You fall 40s (ph). I'm a big block guy.
LEMON: But even in new cars when they're talking about fuel efficiency?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We still want something -- we still want something to rock and roll, you know? We want to save fuel in another car. You got another car you save fuel in and another car you want to get rock and roll in. So everybody wants some power still. Even though you want to save fuel, at the same time you still want some horse power.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: You've got to admit, that sounds good. That was the General Lee, wasn't it? Yeah. Yes, it was. If the sound of a V-8 makes your heart race, make sure you stay with us. I'll take a closer look at classic cars and the people who love them, specifically Chrysler classic cars.
Get ready for the smart pill. You swallow it. It goes straight to the part of your body that's ailing. And that's only the very beginning of this new medical news coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: You guys afraid of heights? Are you afraid of heights? I don't really like it. I'll do it. I'll get up high, but I'm of afraid of it. Check this out. Visitors to Chicago's Sears Tower no longer have to press their faces to the glass to see light from atop the nation's tallest building. This is not for the faint of heart. This is an artist's rendering of a glass-bottom observation deck being built. The sky deck extends 4.3 feet from the skyscraper and should be completed in June. It's all part of a multimillion-dollar renovation to the building before it's renamed the Willis Tower. Isn't that weird? It's going to be the Willis Tower. About $1.3 million people visit the observation deck each year. Wow.
The Willis Towner. Remember when the, what is it, the Rockefeller Center was now the RCA, the G.E. building. What was before that? The Pan Am building and now it's Met Life now, I think.
All right. If you take -- I digress. If you take any kind of prescription drug or if you've taken any kind of pill in your life, I want you to listen to this. What we're about to show you could change the way you treat your illnesses and it could change the basic medicine, as well. It is the smartest pill that you will ever pop.
And CNN's Sean Callebs has tonight's "Edge of Discovery."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wireless technology is everywhere. And soon it could even be inside us. Sound hard to swallow? Well, meet the I-pill.
JEFF SHIMIZU, PHILIPS RESEARCH: What we're doing is we're putting smarts on board of the drug delivery pill.
CALLEBS: Part medicine, part machine. The I-pill is equipped with micro sensors and GPS-like navigation so it knows exactly where it is in the body. When it's time to deliver the dose, it goes to where your body needs it is most.
According to researchers, this medication makes the medication work better and limits potential side effects.
SHIMIZU: Medications today are basically designed for the average person. Some people it helps, some people it has no effect, and some people it makes sick. But if you can change that for the person, then you can widen that range of people who are going to be effectively treated by your medication.
CALLEBS: The I-pill is still being test order animal, but it could be instrumental in fighting Crohn's disease, colitis and even intestinal cancer. And down the road, the small mechanics on this revolutionary pill could have an even larger effect.
SHIMIZU: It falls along the lines of something in the future of personalization of health care. We're programming that pill for you and seeing if you're responding and changing as time goes on rather than just sending you off with a bottle of pills and call me back in two months.
CALLEBS: Sean Callebs, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Chanelis says, in our viewer feedback, "Wow, I was a few miles away when that wind came through. It was frightening like a tornado was coming. Very scary."
LoLds442 says "Chrysler, good. Hemi, Charger, Challenger, Viper, Ram, Main, Jeeps, vans, new hybrids, EVs" -- I don't know what that is. "Bad, nitro, caliber, commander, 300s."
OK. Thank you. You are a gear head, whoever that is.
CrushStevens says, "That collapse was so awful that it makes me wonder if other teams with similar venues will upgrade or make improvements for prevention."
All this comes from Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. Tell us what you're thinking.
Hey, let's show this one over here. I was tweeting while we were on the air, Roger. Take this camera. Take this footage. I was Twittering while we were on the air and I said, hey, lucky no one died in the collapse. Check out me in the muscle car. I want a classic muscle car.
Maria Renee says, "I want a classic muscle man."
(LAUGHTER)
Lokiinwa says, "Classic muscle cars rock. More fun than" -- OK, I won't say it. I know what they're saying. "No muscle car, I want a car that doesn't require fossil fuels. Grow up.:
OK. Just want to live a little. It can be fun.
Thank you very much. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, we'll get your responses on the air.
We're about to bring you a story that will tug at your heart. The number of homeless families is on the rise.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHALALA (ph), HOMELESS: I'm afraid that we wake up in the morning and my mom -- we get a house and everything that we wanted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Get ready for the new face of homelessness. It might look all too familiar. But are there brighter days ahead? One of the richest men in the world says the worst part of this tough economy could be over.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: The changing face of homelessness, no longer solely the realm for the poor, the disenfranchised or substance abuser. The depressed economy has sent scores of former middle class families to the proverbial flop house.
CNN's Kate Bolduan introduces us to such a family now living on the brink.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Every day, just past 4:00, Sheila Wash meets her daughter, Shalala (ph) as she arrives home from school.
SHEILA WASH, HOMELESS: Hey, I brought your jacket because I know it's cold.
BOLDUAN: But every day is anything but a homecoming for the Wash family. Sheila and her two children are homeless, have been since 2007 after Sheila lost her job with the government. The Washes are now living in this Washington, D.C. shelter.
WASH): I just thank God that we have a roof over our heads right now, you know, and you have to September things that come to you.
BOLDUAN: Their situation, only made worse as the economic recession set in.
WASH: Trying to find a job, it's been hard. And then now a lot of people being laid off, it's even harder, you know, trying to find a job whenever other people are looking for the same job. BOLDUAN: The Washes are part of the changing face of homelessness, not just individuals, but families. The D.C. region alone is reporting a 15 percent jump in homeless families since last year.
(on camera): What would you say to the people who don't understand this face of homelessness?
WASH: I mean, you just can't judge a book by its cover. It's always a story behind a person less fortunate than you.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): School officials in Prince Georges County, Maryland, where the Wash kids go to school, say a day doesn't go by without enrolling more children as homeless.
Denise Ross handles outreach to homeless families.
DENISE ROSS, HOMELESS EDUCATION SUPERVISOR: Some of them are embarrassed, some scared. Some are sad. Some who are displaced or homeless feel that school is a safe haven. They really want to come to school.
BOLDUAN: And school is the one source of stability Sheila Wash says they can count on right now. They're shopping for new uniforms with the help of school vouchers.
However, they're facing another set back. Their current shelter is about to close and the Washes don't know where they'll stay next. But one wish keeps them going.
SHALALA (ph): I pray that we wake up in the morning and my mom -- we get a house and everything that we wanted.
BOLDUAN: Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: We hope you get a house and everything you want, as well.
And we hope there's good news in all of this. And there might be according to the oracle of Omaha. He just dispenses his investing wisdom to thousands of financial followers this weekend. Warren Buffett's economic prognosis, things are beginning to look better, he says.
And CNN's Poppy Harlow has the latest from Omaha, Nebraska.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
POPPY HARLOW, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT: Reassuring words on the state of the global economy coming from Omaha, Nebraska. But Warren Buffett cautions the economy remains in peril and a time line for recovery remains vague.
WARREN BUFFETT, INVESTOR: Our economy back in September was like finding a friend of yours in quick sand up to the chest and he's going down. And we threw a rope out to him and he ties it around himself, you hook it to a car and you yank him out. Now, you probably are going to dislocate a couple of shoulders. I mean, you can't do it without some pain involved. But the important thing was to get out of the quick sand. And we got out of the quick sand.
HARLOW: This tell-it-like-it-is candor is why 35,000 shareholders gathered in Omaha, Nebraska, for the Berkshire Hathaway annual meeting on Saturday. He answered any and all questions.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to hear what he says and what's going to happen to his companies, what actually they're doing to help their companies do better.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I want to know when he thinks the real estate market will recover, if we've seen the bottom.
HARLOW: Buffett sounded off on these issues and others while giving the current administration credit for its efforts to revive the economy.
BUFFETT: We're doing the right thing. And I tip my hand to the administration.
HARLOW (on camera): To be sure, like most publicly traded companies, Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway has taken a hit. A shares of Berkshire, the parent company of everything from Dairy Queen to Geico, has fallen 31 percent from a year ago. But still the world turns for Warren Buffett for his wisdom with which he delivers with his typical Midwestern wit.
BUFFETT: We were all in a party. It was kind of like Cinderella at the ball. It was a lot of fun.
I've got the real thing here. What else have you got?
Well, I like this the best.
HARLOW (voice-over): He may be called the oracle of Omaha, but even Buffett admits he can't predict the future. He says the greatest risk beyond the horizon remains the one we cannot see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN's Poppy Harlow. She joins us now from Omaha.
Poppy, first up, I have to ask you, he supports the administration's efforts to battle the economic crisis here, but did he talk to you at all or give any indication on what's ahead for Americans when it comes to the bailout and also when it comes to the banking system, because that's our big problems, the heart of our problems here?
HARLOW: First of all, Don, he really does support the Obama administration. He said they're making a lot of smart moves. He tips his hat to the administration. When it comes to the bailout, I said, listen, Mr. Buffett, are we really going to get paid back for hundreds of billions of dollars invested in banks, automakers, insurance companies, namely AIG? And he said most of that will get paid back. But he did say that some won't. He said the smart investments, when you look at Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, that will get paid back.
But he did talk about banks. And he really reiterated the fact that Americans don't have to worry about the banking system. And that's critical, because people need to be reassured. and this man is certainly one that can do it. He says no big bank will fail.
He talked about the FDIC, Don, going back to 1934 and since then, and since then, not one taxpayer penny has been lost, backing up the banks because the FDIC -- he just has so much faith in the solvency of most of our nation's big banks.
We asked him also about the stress test, and also he said about 15 of the 19 banks undergoing the stress tests, Don, those are not too big to fail. It's the four big ones that are of greater concern.
LEMON: Poppy, we're up against a break here, but I want to ask you real quick about the personal side of him. Many times you meet people who are successful or invented new things and they have no real personality. You know what I mean? They can't really relate to people because they're so focused. He doesn't appear to be that way. What about him?
HARLOW: That's not Warren Buffett. We're at the University of Nebraska for this live shot. He lives just a little ways from here and a house he's lived in for decades. He's a man that...
LEMON: We're losing you. You're fading for some reason. Signal fad.
HARLOW: Oh, really?
LEMON: Yes. It's weather.
HARLOW: All right. All right.
LEMON: It's weather, Poppy. We're losing you. So sorry about that. We'll talk about that later.
Hey, if you want to know more about it -- thanks, Poppy, we're going to let you go.
If you want to know more about her interview with Warren Buffett, go on line on CNNmoney.com. CNNmoney.com, you can get more of Poppy's interview.
That's what we're dealing with today here, weather causing that satellite fad that you saw there in Poppy's live shot.
We know that Jacqui Jeras is a great meteorologist. We've got our Karen MaGinnis here today. But Jacqui's a good meteorologist, but what kind of gardener is she? Well, looks like she's a pretty efficient one, if you ask me. We'll get down and dirty with our Jacqui Jeras in just a moment.
(LAUGHTER)
Man, I wish I was out there doing that today. That looks fun.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Following severe weather here.
Karen MaGinnis, take it away.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: All right. We're looking at severe weather rolling in across the metropolitan Atlanta area. Looking at a live picture from the CNN Center. We'll tell you about the tornado warning and the severe weather that has hit across the Gulf Coast region as CNN's "NEWSROOM" continues after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: We can call her now a Jacqui of all trades.
(LAUGHTER)
Well, you have to work hard, you might even get dirty, but you might even save some cash in the long run. And you'll probably eat healthy. I'm talking about gardening. And more of you are doing it these days, getting down and dirty, in these economic times. Even I'm doing it. I love going out there now. Maybe it's because I'm getting older. Even our first lady is getting in on the action, teaching budding gardeners at the White House.
Our own meteorologist, Jacqui Jeras. Jacqui of all trades, is also digging in the dirt and digging up some cash.
JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Don. I don't know if you garden at all, but when I first started researching this project, I was amazed at the number of Americans that do. Half of us, that's right, 50 percent of Americans grow some type of fruit or vegetable in their gardens each year. People do it because they like it. They say it's fun. It can be a stress reliever. It's a great family activity. Some people want fresh organic vegetables and fruit available to them at any time. But the number-one reason that people are growing a food garden this year, to save money. That's right, to save money.
The National Gardening Association says that seven million households plan to start a new food garden in 2009 to save some green. They say for minimal costs and effort, I should be able to reap about a half a pound of produce per square foot. The average investment I would have to put into my garden, about $70. And I should be able to get about $530 in return.
Yeah, that's right, $530. Who doesn't want to save that kind of cash over just a couple of months' time? So, the big question is, if you've never done this before, can you really do it? Is it possible? And if so, how?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JERAS: All right. So, this is the area that I chose.
WALTER REEVES, GARDENING EXPERT: Yeah. And this is a good one. We need a lot of sunshine and that's the biggest thing to guarantee success from a vegetable garden, lots of sunshine. South is this way, so we'll have plenty of sun.
JERAS (voice-over): Walter Reeves should know. He's an author and expert on gardening in Georgia.
(on camera): How many hours a day?
REEVES: Gosh, at least eight. I would love eight. Six is marginal for lot of vegetables.
JERAS (voice-over): But the sunshine isn't the only thing needed.
(on camera): In terms of having a successful garden, how important is having good soil or the additional soil we'll be getting?
REEVES: We said sunshine was the most important thing. But second and real close in importance is good soil. And in any part of the country, you want to make sure your soil is a fast-draining, sort of loamy organic soil, not a lot of clay, not a lot of sand.
JERAS (voice-over): So after laying out the garden boundaries, we get to work on the dirt. We remove grass and break up the soil. Georgia is notorious for its heavy clay. My husband, Mike, sets up the bed borders and we go off to the nursery.
REEVES: We just got all sorts of bell peppers right here.
JERAS: And tomatoes, fresh herbs, strawberries. And don't forget the topsoil.
(on camera): And then we should go to the sees?
REEVES: Now we need seeds. It's a little too early for nurseries to have squash, cucumbers, some of the warm season plants out. We can plant seeds in the garden.
JERAS: OK. I'd like some squash. I love zucchini.
REEVES: This is black beauty zucchini.
JERAS: They look so different.
(voice-over): And I can't resist adding a few blueberry Bushes. But that's where my budget gets into trouble.
(on camera): Most people probably wouldn't get that. I personally would like to keep them, so we'll try our 125 and hope we come out ahead.
REEVES: You'll be a great gardener by the end of the summer.
JERAS (voice-over): Back at the house, we nix the new soil and build a trellis for the tomatoes and cumbers. And finally, it's time to actually dig and put them in the soil.
REEVES: You want to take them out of the pot. You can see the roots right there. We sort of mash them just a little bit. We dig a hole big enough to hold the whole plant in the ground, sort of level. And that's all we have to do is put some dirt around it.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JERAS: OK, OK. So, I went a little bit over budget, but I just couldn't resist with the blueberry bushes. You know, I decided this was the one thing that my family would really, really love. The kids in particular are going to like this.
By the way, I was doing a little backyard barbecue for later today, and I bought this pint of blueberries. This cost me five bucks, so it wouldn't take that much to fill this up a couple times and hopefully break even with the blueberries, or at least that's my plan.
There are other ways you can save money to keep yourself within that $70 budget. One of the ways is try to use materials maybe you already have. I already had this chicken wire and this wood so, my husband helped me cut the wood, and then we put the trellis in that way. That's why it doesn't look really fantastic. But, hey, it works, right. It just has to be functional.
