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Conservative Web Site Posted Edited Version of Sherrod's Speech; USDA May Reconsider Sherrod's Termination; Deadly Floods in China; Five Leaks Found in BP's Capped Oil Well; Rough Weather on the Way to the Gulf, Storms Brewing over Puerto Rico; Details on the "Washington Post" Investigation of the Intelligence Community

Aired July 21, 2010 - 07:00   ET

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


JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good Wednesday morning to you. Thanks so much for joining us on the Most News in the Morning on this Wednesday, the 21st of July. I'm John Roberts.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Kiran Chetry. We have a lot to talk about this morning, so let's get right to it.

First, the whole tape is out now, and we're getting closer to figuring out whether or not there will be some changes today in the statements that came out yesterday. All of it relating to that woman, Shirley Sherrod.

Now Tom Vilsack, the agriculture secretary, now saying he may reconsider the facts surrounding the decision to get rid of Shirley Sherrod, a woman who lost her job over comments that sounded racist. The NAACP is saying it was snookered at first but has now heard the whole tape.

ROBERTS: Five leaks have now been found in BP's capped oil well, raising concerns that it could be buckling under the pressure. Admiral Thad Allen dismissing them as small drips, decided to keep the well capped for a sixth day now.

But now rough weather may be on the way to the Gulf in the next couple of days. There is a storm brewing over the coast of Puerto Rico, just what clean-up crews do not need at this point.

CHETRY: While the intelligence community goes about its business anonymously, the economic impact on the community at large can be very real. Detail on the "Washington Post" investigation into top-secret America just ahead.

ROBERTS: First, though, a stunning twist in a story that's once again brought the sensitive state of race and politics to the surface in this country. It now sounds like Agriculture Department official Shirley Sherrod just might get her job back.

Just 24 hours ago when she was first given the chance to defend herself on this show, many were branding her a racist after a conservative web site released an edited tapes of comments that she made back in March. But now the whole tape is out, so is the whole truth. CNN's Joe Johns has the whole story for us. He's live in Washington this morning. And Joe, context is such an important thing, particularly in a story like this.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's for sure. Now a lot of people in Washington wonder whether the government may have jumped the gun. We'll see what they say, John, Kiran

This is a story about race and politics and America's history in the south, the story of the personal journey of Shirley Sherrod, a top-ranking agriculture department official in the state of Georgia, worked for the federal government, who gave a speech at the NAACP a few months ago, made some personal disclosures about whether she was going to help a white farmer who came to her for help decades ago.

And so excerpts of that speech got posted on a conservative web site, the whole thing going viral. Before you know it, Shirley Sherrod's boss, the agriculture secretary, asking for her resignation.

It is the tale that she tells that the excerpt of the tape was taken out of context, that she's not a racist, and that she treated the white farmer in her story fairly.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER GEORGIA DIRECTOR OF RURAL DEVELOPMENT, USDA: I did not discriminate against him, and in fact I went all out, I had to franticly look for a lawyer at the last minute because the first lawyer we went to was not doing anything to really help him. In fact, that lawyer suggested they should just let the farm go.

All of that process -- that's why I tell it, because everything that happened in dealing with him -- he was the first white farmer who had come to me for help. Everything that I did working with him helped me to see that it wasn't about race. It's about those who have and those who don't.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: As it turns out, the farmer and his wife, Roger and Eloise Spooner, are on Sherrod's side and became good friends with her, telling CNN Shirley Sherrod she was just like she said, a big help to them when they were in financial trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ELOISE SPOONER, GEORGIA FARMER: She put us in touch with the lawyer that knew what to do, and he helped us save our farm.

ROGER SPOONER, GEORGIA FARMER: She went with us. She went with us in our car. She asked us did we want her to go. And we definitely wanted her to go. And I don't know what brought up the race issue in this.

(END VIDEO CLIP) JOHNS: Perhaps the thing that added gasoline to the fire in this case was Sherrod's assertion that the White House run by the first black president was somehow involved in asking for her resignation. It is pretty evident that this case could become a political problem for the Democrats in an election year if not handled properly.

When the Department of Agriculture called for her resignation, she says they told her the White House itself wanted it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERROD: They asked me to resign, and in fact they harassed me as I was driving back to the state office from West Point, Georgia yesterday. I had at least three calls telling me the White House wanted me to resign.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: The secretary of agriculture, Tom Vilsack, however, told us that just wasn't the case, and it didn't matter whether Shirley Sherrod felt she had been taken out of context. What mattered is what she was captured on videotape saying.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM VILSACK, AGRICULTURE SECRETARY: I didn't speak to anybody in the White House. When I saw the statements in the context of the statements I determined that it would make it difficult for her to do her job as a real development director and it would potentially compromise our capacity to close the chapter on civil rights cases.

I didn't want anything to jeopardize her job in terms of getting people to work in Georgia and getting her job done, and I certainly didn't want us to have a controversy making it more difficult to turn the page. So I made this decision, it is my decision. Nobody from the White House contacted me about this at all.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: And in fact, last night a White House official confirmed to CNN that after Vilsack made his decision Monday, and then President Obama was briefed on it and fully supported the secretary's demand for Sherrod's resignation.

So here we have another story about how unforgiving Washington can be. But as you know, the last part of this story, John, Kiran, is that Vilsack apparently is considering going ahead and reconsidering this, getting all the information in, which probably is a thing that should have happened at the first place. Back to you.

ROBERTS: It also appears to be, at least on the surface, another example of how something totally out of context put out there on the Internet can ruin somebody's life.

JOHNS: Yes. Well, that's absolutely right. And you have to watch out for that and you have to vet it a little bit. I think we all do it in this business. There's a lot of great stuff that happens on the Internet, a lot of really good bloggers. But there's also bad information as well. It is the wild, Wild West, you know? So you've just got to watch it.

ROBERTS: Particularly ironic, too, where the agriculture secretary says her language might not be able to let her do her job effectively in the future, whereas she tells this tale where she contends that it helps her to do her job.

JOHNS: The question also is really whether what she said would follow her around and, you know, create lawsuits and other kinds of mischief. That is something they have to get their crystal ball and look into the future about.

ROBERTS: We'll see what they come up with today. Joe Johns this morning, thanks so much.

As we mentioned, we were the first show to allow Shirley Sherrod to defend herself in her own words yesterday morning. She will join us again in about ten minutes' time with her latest reaction to this quickly developing story.

CHETRY: The government wasn't the only one to react quickly and perhaps double back now. The NAACP also apologizing to Sherrod after the initial statements that they viewed what she says as racist.

In a statement released yesterday, NAACP president Ben Jealous said, quote, "With regard to the initial media coverage of the resignation of USDA official Shirley Sherrod, we've come to the conclusion we were snookered by FOX News and tea party activist Andrew Breitbart into believing she had harmed white farmers because of racial bias.

Having reviewed the full tape, spoken to Miss Sherrod, and, most importantly, heard the testimony of the white farmers mentioned in the story, we now believe the organization that edited the documents did so with the intention of deceiving millions of Americans.

Next time we are confronted by a racial controversy broken by FOX News or their allies in the tea party like Mr. Breitbart, we will consider the source and be more deliberate in responding."

Last night Campbell Brown grilled the organization's vice president about why they didn't initially dig a little deeper on this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMPBELL BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: You came eight and you called her actions -- your word -- "shameful," and you did that without even reviewing her entire speech, because frankly, you didn't have to listen to that much more of her speech. It was pretty clear the point she was trying to make if you'd just listened to another minute.

HILARY SHELTON, VICE PRESIDENT, NAACP: It was done by certain people within the NAACP. They based it on the information that was before them. They made the decision. Quite frankly, if all she'd said is what you heard on that tape, you would agree that as the NAACP has always maintained, we have a no-tolerance policy on racial discrimination and racist statements.

BROWN: I get that. But that's not what she was saying. Clearly had you done even the smallest amount of homework you would have known that.

SHELTON: Once we got the full video and listened to the whole thing in its entirety, it was very clear that not only was she not a racist, but she moved beyond the call of duty to make sure that the Spooners had what they needed to be able to save their home. She had done that for so many other families as we continue to dig deeper and deeper into it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: And I guess one of the big lingering questions is why they didn't wait until they had the full tape before responding as forcefully as they had.

As for Andrew Breitbart, who first posted the edited tape, he told our John King last night that releasing the video was not about Shirley Sherrod.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANDREW BREITBART, PUBLISHER, BIGGOVERNMENT.COM: This was Shirley Sherrod trying to save her job when her problem is with Vilsack and the USDA and the NAACP, both of which have rebuked her and forced her to leave her position.

JOHN KING, CNN ANCHOR: I think she has legitimate questions, as do we, for Secretary Vilsack, the NAACP, the Agriculture Department, and perhaps even the Obama White House.

But did you reach out to her when you posted this to ask her, "I have this tape, I think it shows what you believe to be damning conduct or questionable conduct"? Did you reach out to her and say what are you talking about, when did this happen?

BREITBART: This was not about Shirley Sherrod. This was about the NAACP attacking the tea party, and this is showing racism at an NAACP event. I did not ask for Shirley Sherrod to be fired. I did not ask for any repercussions for Shirley Sherrod. They were the ones that took the initiative to get rid of her.

I think she should have the right to defend herself. But what you see on the video are people in the audience at an organization whose sole job is to fight against discrimination, and they're applauding her overt racism that she's representing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Just who is Andrew Breitbart? He might not be a household name, but in some circles he's incredibly influential. His main site is Breitbart.com, a news aggregator, getting millions of hits daily thanks for frequent hits from the Drudge Report. And that's where Breitbart got his big break, working as an editor there.

Since striking out on his own, Breitbart has built a brand around his "big" web sites, and that includes biggovernment.com, the site that first posted the video of Sherrod. There is also Bighollywood.com, Bigjournalism.com, Bigpeace.com.

ROBERTS: In an interview that was given when the site launched, Breitbart said that those sites would "fight the mainstream media who have repeatedly and under the guise of objectivity and political neutrality promote a blatantly left-of-center, pro-Democratic Party agenda."

Biggovernment.com by the way was also the first site to post those undercover ACORN videos featuring the pimp and prostitute.

Ironically Breitbart also helped launch "The Huffington Post" web site after meeting Arianna Huffington while working for Matt Drudge.

CHETRY: Also new this morning, five leaks found in BP's capped oil well in the Gulf. Some say this could increase the fears that it would buckle under the pressure.

However, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen is dismissing the leaks as "small drips," ordering the cap to remain on for a sixth day while the integrity testing continues.

Meanwhile, there are some reports today say BP's embattled CEO Tony Hayward may be stepping down from the company. Those reports right now at least are being denied by BO.

ROBERTS: Paramedics in Denver say at least 21 people were taken to the hospital after a United Airlines flight hit severe turbulence on its way to Los Angeles. A city official says they were treated for head, neck, and back injuries. At least one person was seriously hurt.

The jet took off in D.C. and landed Denver around 9:30 eastern last night. The FAA says inspectors are going to investigate the incident.

CHETRY: And torrential flooding in China leaving more than 700 people dead and another 347 at least missing. Chinese officials say that 90 percent of the deaths are from flooding, mudslides, and landslides. More than 645,000 homes collapsed because of that flooding.

We'll have more later this hour from our John Vause who's in China's Sichuan province.

(WEATHER BREAK)

ROBERTS: Up next, Shirley Sherrod, the woman at the center of the firestorm. We ask her what she thinks, coming right up. It's 15 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) ROBERTS: Seventeen minutes after the hour. Back to our top story now, the controversy over the dismissal of agriculture official Shirley Sherrod.

CHETRY: By now, you've probably heard the portion of her remarks that led to the request for her resignation by the Department of Agriculture, remarks where she seems to be suggesting that she withheld help from a farmer in need because he was white. But listen now to comments that she made in that same speech that weren't initially released.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD, FMR. GA DIR., RURAL DEVELOPMENT, USDA: Like I told you, God helped me to see that it's not just about black people, it's about poor people. And I've come a long way. I knew that I couldn't deal with hate. You know. And as my mother has said to so many, if we had tried to live with hate in our hearts, we'd probably be dead now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTS: Well, we're joined now by the woman at the center of this controversy, Shirley Sherrod. Shirley, thanks so much for joining us yesterday morning and thanks so much for being with us again today.

SHERROD: Oh, thank you.

CHETRY: Shirley, boy, 24 hours has happened. I'm sure it's been a whirlwind for you. Now the news that there could potentially be rethinking of this both by the NAACP who put out a new statement and also the Department of Agriculture. What are you feeling today knowing what a firestorm all of this has caused?

SHERROD: Yes. You know, when I look back over the last couple of days, it just seems so unreal. You know, had the department taken the time at the very beginning, we wouldn't be doing this today. For them to now say, after so much attention to it and, you know, having the tape out there even before and not being willing to actually look at it, to have them come forth now to say they're willing to do that, I guess is sort of bittersweet for me.

ROBERTS: Yes, you know, I was wondering about that because we interviewed the agriculture secretary yesterday. CNN did. And he seemed to stand by his guns saying, no, I fired her because the type of language that she used in that speech might jeopardize her impartiality in the future. People might question her decisions. He also released a statement to the same effect, and then very late last night said, you know, we're going to take another look at this. What do you think of that? I mean, it was a 180 of monstrous proportions. Wondering what you think.

SHERROD: Yes. Yes, it was. And you know, if they had just taken the time to -- even without looking at the tape to look at me, to look at what I've stood for, to look at what I've done since I've actually been at the department, I don't think they would have been so quick to do what they did and so insistent.

You know, I was on a 3 1/2 hour drive from one part of the state to the other. And to keep calling me telling me that they wanted my resignation, and then to eventually say, "pull over to the side of the road" was so cold, you know. And to now come back and say, well, we're willing to look at this, it is definitely a little bittersweet. Apparently --

CHETRY: Go ahead. Apparently -- go ahead.

SHERROD: Well, I was just going to say apparently they never really looked at me. You know, I didn't make a lot of noise. I just work since I've been at the agency and I worked for fairness for everyone. I worked for access for everyone at the Georgia rural development office.

CHETRY: I want to also talk about NAACP'S reversing of their position as well. I mean, as you know, I read you the statement that was put out in the wee hours of yesterday morning by NAACP President Ben Jealous condemning you. After that he talked to Anderson Cooper last night. He says he was snookered by FOX News and Andrew Breitbart because of the way the tape was edited. So listen to a little bit of what Mr. Jealous had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BENJAMIN JEALOUS, PRESIDENT, NAACP: We made a quick set of calls. It was late at night. As you may recall, our statement came out at like 1:00 a.m. We tried to figure out what was going on. We looked at it and we said, you know what? There's just no way to condone this. What we didn't realize is it had been spliced and diced six ways from Sunday so as to completely hide this beautiful story of transformation.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: And as we understand it, Ben Jealous called you to apologize yesterday. What do you think of his turnaround here? Do you accept his apology?

SHERROD: He did call me and as soon as he said "I apologize," I said right away "I accept." You know, it hurt I think even more for the NAACP to condemn me, especially when you look at my life's work. You know, I've been out there for 44 -- 45 years, I should say, you know, working for justice and to have an organization like the NAACP condemn me, you know, so quickly without looking into the facts was very hurtful. But I accept the apology and, you know, just ready to move on.

CHETRY: Some are asking is this a teaching moment and what's next for you. So we're going to ask you those questions when we take a quick break. More with Shirley Sherrod in just a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Back now with more with Shirley Sherrod.

Shirley, the fellow that posted this video talked about the language that you used that was demonstrating racism at an NAACP meeting. The secretary of agriculture also talked about the language that you used, the way you talked about it. If you watch the whole tape, you learn a story about your father, more than 40 years ago being murdered by a white man. Three witnesses to it. Yet a grand jury refused to indict. How much did that incident sort of inform your thinking and the way that you talk about all of this at these meetings?

SHERROD: You know, as I have said many times, the thing that happened to my father was so devastating to me, my sisters, my mother. My brother was born two months after he died. The thing that happened there, the things that happened after his murder, but especially on the night that he died, you know, made me -- I knew I had to channel what I was feeling in to something. I couldn't go and kill the person who killed him. And I prayed and came up with the decision with God that I would devote my life to working for change.

I didn't say -- well, I think early on my thought was working for black people, but I realized over time, just like I tried to say in the speech, that it's not just about black people. You know, I couldn't spend the rest of my life just working on issues of black people. We live in this world with others and just like I've worked to have white farmers, I've work to help Hispanic farmers. I've connected -- I connected myself with farm groups and other organizations around the country. I didn't just have an impact right there in southwest Georgia.

CHETRY: You know, it's interesting, you bring to the forefront -- and the reason we're talking about it today, is that race is still something that is so difficult to discuss without accusations flying back and forth. I mean this is the latest example of you actually trying to impart, you know, some wisdom about your experience dealing with race relations, and it ends up blowing up into this 24-hour, you know, craziness.

SHERROD: Right.

CHETRY: What does that tell us about how far we've come as a country in terms of being able to openly discuss issues about race especially black and white?

SHERROD: Right. You know, it makes me wonder just how far have we come. You know, we've work on these issues for years and years but where have we gotten when we can't -- when we can't deal with it as individuals. And that's basically what I'm saying. Let's look at treating people like we want to be treated. And everything I've always done, I always think, you know, how would I want to be treated in this situation? And I've let that guide me. And whether it's dealing with white people, Hispanics, Asians, you know, it's how I would want to be treated and I spend my life knowing how I would want to be treated, and then treating others in that way.

ROBERTS: It's part of their 180 on this whole issue. The NAACP has appealed to the president to give you your job back. A lot of other people now rallying behind you, people who have abandoned you at the beginning. If the agriculture secretary were to come to you and say, Shirley, we'd like to have you back, what would you say?

SHERROD: You know, I'm just not so sure at this point. I really wonder in light of how I was treated over the last two days just what that relationship would be like for the future. Can they move beyond this?

ROBERTS: Yes. That's a question a lot of people probably want to know.

Shirley Sherrod, thanks so much for joining us and we'll keep watching the story. Really appreciate it.

SHERROD: Thank you.

ROBERTS: All right.

SHERROD: Thank you.

CHETRY: Shirley, thanks.

And coming up, we're going to be speaking with Wade Henderson in just a couple of minutes. He's with the president -- Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. He's weighing in on this entire controversy, the larger issues about what it says about us as a nation but also should Shirley Sherrod get her job back. We're going to talk to him as well.

It's half past the hour. We'll take a quick break. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

ROBERTS: New this morning, BP's capped oil well now said to be leaking in five places. Raising concerns that it might be buckling under the extreme pressure. Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen dismissing the leaks though as "very small drips" and ordering the well to remain capped for a sixth day now.

And just to makes things more nerve-racking, as if they could ever be, a storm may be forming off the coast of Puerto Rico and potentially heading into the gulf in the next couple of days.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: 2 1/2 million Americans are now a step closer to getting their jobless benefits restored. The Senate could vote as early as today to extend federal help through November. Yesterday Democrats, as well as two Republicans voted to end debate on the bill. The House is expected to approve that extension.

And back to our top story this morning. We are finally getting more information surrounding the comments made by Shirley Sherrod, a former Agriculture Department official. We just heard from her a few moments ago as she spoke to us again for a second day. Comments posted on a conservative web site that sounded racist but now we know were taken out of context. ROBERTS: Here's the rest of the tape to play for you now. You can hear for yourself the point that Sherrod was trying to make.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHIRLEY SHERROD: While working with him made me see that it's really about those who have versus those who have not. You know. And they could be black, they could be white, they could be Hispanic. And it made me realize then that I needed to work to help poor people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SHERROD: So should Shirley Sherrod be offered her job back. Our next guest says yes. Wade Henderson is the president of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights. He's in our Washington bureau this morning. Wade, good to talk to you. A lot of people are walking back from what they originally said about this whole case and walking it back pretty quickly.

What did you think when you first heard about this? Did somewhere in your mind did you think, wait a minute, maybe we aren't getting the whole story here?

WADE HENDERSON, PRESIDENT, LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE ON CIVIL & HUMAN RIGHTS: John, first before I say anything else to both you and Kiran, listen, thanks to CNN. We're getting to the bottom of this story so you all should be congratulated for your in-depth coverage.

ROBERTS: Just doing our jobs, Wade.

HENDERSON: Yes, but having said that, look. I think that most Americans would now agree that Shirley Sherrod is a sympathetic figure, that if anyone has been victimized by this terrible mischaracterization it's Miss Sherrod. And I think when you look at the tape in its entirety you see that she told a very powerful tale of personal redemption and racial reconciliation.

I think Americans in their entirety would benefit from listening to her story. Having said that, I think our goal now is to make Miss Sherrod whole. That may be returning her to the job that she was removed from, it may mean giving her another position.

I think she herself said this morning she's not entirely sure that she should return to that position. But I think the real goal here is to make certain that she, if anyone, is not harmed by this terrible mischaracterization and misuse of her story.

CHETRY: You know, we've heard a lot of rush to judgment, lot of people saying that, you know, out of context, rush to judgment. We see this a lot, especially when it comes to issues surrounding race. I mean, what about - and first I'll ask you about the NAACP, then I'll ask you about Breitbart. What does it do to the credibility of the NAACP for coming out so quickly in condemnation here, perhaps rushing to judgment as they now admit, AND then having to do a 180?

HENDERSON: Kiran, it's a great question, but I actually think the NAACP is stronger as a result of this story. First of all, let's put this in context. What you saw is an organization that has a policy of no tolerance for racism. Feeling especially sensitive to the issues having raised questions about the internal bigotry within the tea party movement, not accusing individuals but saying that the movement tolerated a certain amount of bigotry which was evident from speeches and films we had seen.

The NAACP I think overreacted perhaps at least initially out of sensitivity to the fact that as an organization it, too, is subject to the same standard. You measure civil rights by a single yardstick. I think that's what the NAACP did.

ROBERTS: Right. But they threw her overboard without knowing the full story and are you really promoting the issue of civil rights and fairness if you're willing to do that?

HENDERSON: John, I think they admit that they were snookered by the information available to them at the time. But I also think they erred on the side of attempting to condemn what they thought was an example of bit bigotry and insensitivity that was inappropriate by a government official.

Obviously, they learned that was not the case, they stepped forth very quickly and they apologized to Miss Sherrod and they made this, I think, a very important example of why the kind of thorough investigation that I think CNN has done and now others has contributed to a positive view of this issue.

So no, I don't think they're harmed by it, I think they're strengthened. Now as for Andrew Breitbart, I think the use of a tape like that of Miss Sherrod's speech and editing it such that you intend to create a misimpression of racial bigotry where none exists needs to be condemned for what it is. It's a political manipulation of one of the most sensitive issues in the American debate.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Right. So my question now -

My question about Breitbart, not just him but in terms of exposing real racism on both sides when it happens, how does this change our national discourse, if it does, both about being open and being able to discuss racial issues without fear of this happening on either side, but also with exposing real racism?

HENDERSON: Yes. Yes. Kiran, that's a very good question. I mean I think, as you know, a few months ago Attorney General Eric Holder framed this issue as America, a nation of cowards, because of its fear and hypersensitivity about discussing race, which we know to be the most sensitive issue in American history. I think that this Shirley Sherrod incident is a cautionary tale about how issues of race injected into the public debate need to be handled with care.

It should not, however, discourage Americans from talking about an issue which is at the heart of some of our most difficult policy decisions. And I think that this story actually contributes to a better degree of racial understanding and the complexity of the issue. I think if we handle it with sensitivity and care, I think we can make this a teachable moment for all Americans.

ROBERTS: And perhaps part of the teachable moment too is for all of us to take a pause when we see something, get the full story before we react.

Wade Henderson, thanks so much for being with us. Really appreciate it.

HENDERSON: Thank you, John. Thanks, Kiran.

CHETRY: Sure. Thanks for your insight today, Wade.

Still ahead, top-secret America. It is "The Washington Post" special two-year-long investigation and today they are focusing on entire secret intelligence communities. All across America. Possibly right next door to you contributing billions to the local economy but you'd never know it. The "Post's" William Arquette joins us next.

39 minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: 42 minutes past the hour. In suburban neighborhoods across the country, intelligence workers go about their top-secret business although no one really knows the nature of their work. The economic impact though on the community is clear. This morning "The Washington Post" wraps up its three-part national security investigation, taking a look at life in an actual intelligence community.

William Arkin was one of two reporters on the series and he joins us this morning from Washington. Good to see you this morning, Bill.

WILLIAM ARKIN, "THE WASHINGTON POST": Thank you very much.

CHETRY: So you're talking a little bit more about these communities. You focused on an area Ft. Meade, 250 companies there, a lot of top- secret buildings, a lot of top-secret activity. This is a place that contributes billions to the local economy. So what is life like in those places where no one really knows what everybody else does outside the Intel community?

ARKIN: Well, we try to described what we call an alternative geography of the United States where Main Street is this 20-mile ring around Ft. Meade, Maryland, which is north of Washington, D.C. and within that area virtually everybody works for or is connected to the NSA or some other intelligence community, and in street signs that are in the medians of roads, as you drive through it, rather than it being houses for sale, it's cleared job fairs and other kinds of top- secret activities.

I mean, the people who live there are sort of all aware of the fact that this is a hub of the intelligence establishment, but to the rest of America, places like Ft. Meade, Aurora, Colorado, Tampa, Florida, San Antonio, Texas, those places might be represented to them as, you know, the Alamo and yet in reality, they are something completely different when one scratches the surface.

CHETRY: And for the conspiracy theorists, it is a quite interesting read. You talk about what happens to your GPS in a car, let's say, when you get close to the NSA, the National Security Agency. You sort of start getting put in these incorrect directions, and a series of u- turns. It is fascinating what you reveal about how little we know about what really goes on there.

ARKIN: Well, hopefully we've made some foundation here so that we can have greater knowledge of what has happened to the U.S. government in this national security field since 9/11. I think we do a pretty good job and a balance between both preserving national secrets, as well as at the same time giving people enough information for them to make a decision about whether or not what has accreted since 9/11 in the past decade is really the best bang for our buck and also the most effective.

These communities and this entire world of top-secret America is just so out of view and we all know, as we do when we work in Washington, that that combination of secrecy and bureaucracy is just deadly.

CHETRY: Right. But it also is a double-edged sword. Because it's supposed to be out of view. Correct? I mean, for national security purposes, I mean, is there some element of compromise by people who would seek to do us harm knowing about this?

ARKIN: Well, when there's too many secrets there's no secrets. I mean, the reality is, and we've seen this in every espionage case over the last three decades, that people who have access to classified information are the ones who are themselves the greatest threat. And limiting those number of people and adequately and properly classifying information is really the government's biggest task, and - and what we've seen since 9/11 is just this explosion of top-secrets where everything from the Department of Agriculture all the way up to the CIA has to now do work at the top-secret level in the counterterrorism world.

And, clearly, that is just not the way to preserve secrets. To say that the "Washington Post" is the one that is making a - a problem with this is really absurd. I mean, everyone we spoke to on the record, Secretary of Defense Gates, the CIA Director Leon Panetta, even the - the Undersecretary of Defense, General Clapper, who was on the Hill yesterday to be confirmed as -

CHETRY: Right.

ARKIN: -- the Director of National Intelligence, agreed with us that the system had just become too large and too unmanageable, and if one is really concerned about national security, one has to just pay attention to the fact that the - that the only way we're going to bring this under control is close scrutiny and cut back.

CHETRY: Your article also highlight some of the extreme lengths that they go to to ensure secrecy and safety and to make sure that's happening. I mean, if you're one of these contractors who's getting paid and living in - in these areas and has top-secret clearance, I mean, as you write about in the article, you have to submit to very strict, intrusive rules. You take lie detector tests routinely. You have to sign all types of forms, file lengthy reports on overseas travel.

And it's also interesting that they're coached on how to deal with nosey neighbors for example, or - or curious friends, and, in some cases, coached to assume false identities. What is the net effect on the community and the family members of these people?

ARKIN: Well, anyone who's ever lived in the Washington area knows that there's a neighbor down the street who works for "the government", and so this is something that might be second nature to those in Washington. But in the rest of the country, where much of the system has expanded into communities that were not traditionally military communities, it does fundamentally change.

But, look, let's be clear about something. Counterterrorism is not a jobs program in the United States, and people who work in this world feel a bit of a - bullet-proof to the economic downturn. Top-secret America is doing very well today, and because it's doing very well, one has to ask the question whether or not we should rely upon the very people who are profiting from this to also tell us what the problem is.

So they are in charge of both saying this is the threat, and, at the same time, they are in charge of deciding what needs to be done in response to it. To me, that's a bit of a corrupt system. So it's a bit like the "Three Stooges" rat catcher episode where the Three Stooges are rat catchers and in order to drum up business they'd knock door to door and told people that there are rats in their basement.

I think that, you know, we need to take a really hard look at what government has done in the national security field since 9/11, and if secrecy is the biggest impediment to adequate and effective oversight of our national security, then I think "The Washington Post" has done a real service.

CHETRY: Well, we'll see where it turns out. As you talked about, those hearings happening on the Hill as we - as we speak.

Bill Arkin, great stuff. Thanks so much for joining us this morning.

ARKIN: Thanks for having me on.

CHETRY: John.

ROBERTS: There's a storm brewing in the Caribbean. It's right around the area of Puerto Rico. It may be headed for the Gulf of Mexico. We've got news on that as well as your travel forecast, coming right up with Jacqui Jeras. Stay with us.

It's 49 minutes after the hour.

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ROBERTS: It's coming up now on eight minutes to the top of the hour. Let's get a quick check of the morning weather headlines. Jacqui Jeras is in Atlanta for us, and got some poufy (ph) stuff over the Caribbean there this morning, I can see.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, if that's what you'd like to call it, yes.

You know, a little bit of good news with this, though is that this has become much less disorganized in the overnight hours and a lot of the convection, the thunderstorm activity, has dissipated here over Puerto Rico and Hispaniola, so that's a little bit of good news. The National Hurricane Center has actually lowered the probability a little bit of this developing today, but it still remains in the high category, at 60 percent. They decided to postpone their planned trip with the hurricane hunters to fly into this and they're thinking maybe they'll do it tomorrow as conditions might become more favorable.

We've got a lot of wind shear or stronger winds ahead of the system and that's why it's going to have a hard time developing. But, as it heads closer towards the Bahamas and potentially towards Florida, we could see it start to develop and turn into something.

We're also looking at those models, bringing it towards the Gulf of Mexico, but we don't expect this to be a terribly strong system, at least not in this time. But, keep in mind, it still hasn't developed, and if you remember with Alex, it didn't take a terribly strong storm near the oil spill to cause some problems and stop some of those skimmers. So we'll be watching that very closely.

Now, back here, in the lower 48 for today. We're looking at showers and thunderstorms still focused along that stationary front here, and that will continue to be a big story right through the rest of the week.

We're also monitoring the northeast where we've got a few spotty storms right now. We are expecting severe thunderstorms to develop later today, so if you have travel plans, expecting a lot of delays here. Also, some problems in Denver and Phoenix due to thunderstorms and wind, and then also San Francisco and Seattle due to the low clouds and fog.

The heat continues, guys. Just can't get rid of it across parts of the south, so looking for temperatures well into the 90s once again.

And if you're looking for a cool place, by the way, guys, try Argentina. South America has been having a record cold snap as well as the worst snowstorm in 30 years.

CHETRY: Was this the hottest June on record? June 2010?

JERAS: Globally, this was. But, yes. It was the warmest June on record. Try to tell that to people in South America, though.

CHETRY: Yes, exactly. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

JERAS: It's the (ph) average. CHETRY: Well, this morning's top stories just minutes away, including race and politics, sound bites, instant reaction, and now some backpedaling this morning. All of it adds up to a firestorm in Washington. So could the Obama administration and Democrats pay politically for something that a conservative activist started?

The latest fallout from the Shirley Sherrod controversy.

ROBERTS: Secrets of extreme savers. How some people are saving up to - listen to this - two-thirds of what they make each year, even in this economy, and how you could, too.

CHETRY: Also, talk about being eligible for an upgrade, how one teen started with an old cell phone and ended up in that Porsche, trading on eBay. How do you do it? We're going to talk about it, coming up.

Five minutes till the top of the hour.

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CHETRY: Welcome back to the Most News in the Morning.

Deadly floods now covering entire towns across parts of China. More than 700 people are now dead, and there's a look now at the flood gates. This at the Three Gorges dam. It is the world's largest.

ROBERTS: Meanwhile, in Sichuan Province, one town is seeing the worst flooding in 160 years. Hundreds of thousands of people have had to be evacuated.

Here's an amazing firsthand look from our John Vause on the scene there.

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JOHN VAUSE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: These people have been yelling out for help. They - they want someone to come and help them. And the Communist Party official who's with us has now said three people, preferably someone elderly (ph), bring them down and get them out of this area and to safety.

So there's some people just waiting over here. You can see them. They're calling us over because they want some help. They want to try and get out of this part of the city, because, obviously, the - the water, there's no power in here. There's no clean water. A lot of the infrastructure's been damaged.

Everything here is just underwater, and it's really putrid. It's muddy. There's debris. There's God knows what in this water, probably sewage and all hosts of diseases as well. So it looks like this is not a healthy situation for a lot of these people to be in, and this is going to be one of the biggest problems they're going to have as the water recedes, again, to deal with disease and bunch of other issues here.

(END VIDEOTAPE) ROBERTS: John Vause in Sichuan Province with some pretty extraordinary pictures for us this morning.

Top stories coming your way in the Most News in the Morning in two minutes. Stay with us.

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