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American Morning
USDA "Reconsiders" Ouster Over Race Remarks; Spotting slicks From The Sky; Secrets To Extreme Saving; Rebuilding for the Kids
Aired July 21, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. It's 8:00 here in New York on this Wednesday, July 21st. Glad you're with us on this AMERICAN MORNING. I'm Kiran Chetry.
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you. I'm John Roberts.
A lot to talk about -- let's get you right to it.
The whole tape and the whole truth. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack is now saying he will take another look at the facts surrounding the decision to get rid of department official, Shirley Sherrod, a woman who lost her job over comments that sounded racist if taken out of context. The NAACP is saying it was snookered at first but has now heard the whole tape and has done quite an extraordinary 180 on the whole thing.
CHETRY: It may be capped, but there are concerns this morning about the stability at BP's ruptured well. That's because it is leaking oil in five places and raising some concerns that perhaps the pressure is building. Just to make things a little more nerve- racking, a storm may also be headed towards the Gulf in the next couple of days.
ROBERTS: And too broke to retire. It's a situation a number of Americans -- well, let's say, tens of thousands of Americans -- find themselves in. So what can you do now to make sure that you can afford your golden years? We've got the secrets to super-saving this morning
CHETRY: Of course, the amFIX blog is up and running. And we'd love to hear from you. Join the live conversation. Go to CNN.com/amFIX.
ROBERTS: But, first, 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 be offered her job back. Just 24 hours ago when she was first given the chance to defend herself on this program, many people were branding her a racist after a conservative Web site released an edited tape of comments that she made back on March the 27th.
CHETRY: Well, now, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack says he will review the case after the full tape and whole truth came out.
The department wasn't the only one quick to react. The NAACP has also now apologized to Sherrod, saying it was, quote, "snookered" by FOX News and Tea Party activist Andrew Breitbart, who first posted the edited tape.
Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, Shirley Sherrod joined us -- joined us again. And we asked her how it feels to be treated like this and whether she could ever work with the department again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, EARLIER ON AMERICAN MORNING)
SHIRLEY SHERROD, FORMER GEORGIA DIRECTOR, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, USDA: It hurt, I think, even more for the NAACP to condemn me especially when you look at my life's work. You know, I have 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.
ROBERTS: 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?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Andrew Breitbart is the man who first posted the edited tape on his Web site. He told our John King last night that releasing the video was not about trying to get Shirley Sherrod fired. It's about the NAACP attacking the Tea Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S "JOHN KING, USA")
ANDREW BREITBART, PUBLISHER, BIGGOVERNMENT.COM: This is Shirley Sherrod trying to save her job when her problem is with Vilsack and the USDA and the NAACP, both which rebuked her and forced her to leave her position.
JOHN KING, HOST, "JOHN KING, USA": 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 incident 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 do not -- 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 are applauding her overt racism that she is representing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Of course, Shirley Sherrod says it wasn't racism at all. It's a story of how a woman got over, potentially, racist and a story of redemption.
CHETRY: Right. And so, on the surface it looks like it is conservative bloggers' mess to clean up. But could this end up being a major headache actually for the Obama administration?
Joe Johns joins us live from Washington with more on the potential political fallout of all of this.
And it was interesting because yesterday, Shirley herself said that she felt it was the White House who told Vilsack and the Department of agriculture that she had to go.
JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Well, and the White House is saying no. I mean, we did back channels all day yesterday. It's pretty clear the White House was saying, we're hands off. Vilsack took full responsibility for it. And his decision -- he apparently jumped the gun.
But, look, politically? Sure, there are some issues. We got a midterm election approaching. We have this back-and-forth, this sort of unrefined conversation about race going on between the tea partiers on the one hand and the NAACP on the other hand.
And, you know -- and it raises a bunch of questions in this country. You know, the first one is: did anybody really think that this was post-racial America? You know, that's the first thing. and how is that going to affect the midterm elections?
I think that the second one is a continuing theme that Democratic activists and others have expressed concern about with this administration and it's the issue of decisiveness and ability to move forward with the decision and do the right thing on sort of short notice without getting it all screwed up. And once again, we've seen an example of this apparently with the Shirley Sherrod situation, although it still hasn't all played out just yet.
ROBERTS: It also appears to be, Joe, a case of making a fairly major decision without having all the facts in hand.
JOHNS: Right. Right -- which is kind of remarkable because, you know, when you look at an important administrative decision, the most important thing the president's people have to do is explain the reasons in a cogent fashion and show that they really looked at all of the facts. This is an example where they didn't look at all the facts because they didn't have the whole tape. And when they got the whole take, they started see saying, well, this is something completely different from what we thought originally.
You know, it turns out that this was -- the example that was taken out of the tape was just part of a large perfect story she was trying to describe, her own journey towards, you know, a different kind of racial consciousness than you see in the old South.
So -- so, that's a problem for the administration because they got to -- you know, you got to think about things before you do that and everybody knows that.
CHETRY: We'll see what happens today. There's sure to be other developments in this, of course.
Joe Johns in Washington for us -- thanks so much.
JOHNS: OK.
CHETRY: Well, also new this morning, 19 people arrested, including the head of North Carolina's NAACP chapter on the day of a tense racially charged school board meeting. Police even started to arrest a school board member in the confusion before they realized it was a mistake. The protesters came out against the board's vote to scrap a policy of bussing students to promote diversity in schools. Critics called the decision re-segregation.
ROBERTS: Officials in Utah say they fired one temporary state employee and another full-time worker will soon follow. They're believed to be the people that put together a now infamous list of 1,300 people accused of being illegal immigrants. The list which included extremely personal information, including going so far as to dates of birth for pregnant women, were sent out to government offices and to the media. Officials say they cleared eight other employees who were questioned during the investigation.
CHETRY: Denver paramedics say that at least 21 people were taken to the hospital after a United Airlines plane hit severe turbulence on its way to Los Angeles. The city officials say the people were treated for head, neck, and back injuries and then at least one person was seriously hurt. The jet took off in D.C. and landed in Denver around 9:30 Eastern last night. The FAA says inspectors will investigate.
ROBERTS: Just shy of 10 minutes after the hour. Now, a quick look at the weather forecast. Jacqui Jeras is in Atlanta for us.
Good morning, Jacqui.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.
The airports are going to be busy again today because of thunderstorms across parts of the Midwest, as well as the Northeast. And the chance of some of those thunderstorms becoming severe pretty is likely, especially late this afternoon and into the evening hours.
There you can see the big picture in the areas highlighted in red of concern. And it does include places like Denver, over towards Omaha, Des Moines, Kansas City, as well as Cincinnati, Pittsburg, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston.
South of this front, we're going to see that heat continue. And when we have the cooler air to the north, warmer air to the south and these storm systems tracking from west to east, we tend to get thunderstorms developing in those same areas and that means the flood threat is very real once again today.
There you can see your high temperatures well into the 80s and 90s. There are heat advisories still for about the southeastern quadrant of the U.S. So, it will be feeling like triple digits.
We're also tracking the Tropics and an area of disturbed weather moving up towards the north and west. It's going to be heading towards the Bahamas later on today. We've lowered the chance of this turning into a tropical depression today. But still, overall, it looks likely over the next 48 hours or so, this could potentially be making its way towards the Gulf of Mexico and certainly a system we'll be watching over the next couple of days.
John and Kiran, back to you.
CHETRY: All right. Jacqui, thanks so much.
Well, we've all had rough days at work. Mornings when the coffee just won't take. Maybe your allergy medicine left with you a fuzzy head.
ROBERTS: And there's Whoopi Goldberg who slurred her way through a live taping of "The View" this week. She admits that she was sedated for an international flight before the show and has talked about her fear of flying for years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
WHOOPI GOLDBERG, CO-HOST, "THE VIEWS": I'm --
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDBERG: Welcome to a day of hot topics right here on "The View."
You know what's funny right now? The fact that I'm still sitting up straight.
(LAUGHTER)
GOLDBERG: This morning, it is being reported that she's --
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
ROBERTS: Well, all we can say to that is (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: I'm sure her co-hosts were very amused by that. She --
ROBERTS: Yes. What's not to be amused about? That's pretty good.
CHETRY: Anyway. Well, I hope Whoopi is feeling better today because she goes on in three more hours.
ROBERTS: Yes. (INAUDIBLE).
CHETRY: CNN exclusive access: the oil disaster being fought from the air and on the water, working in tandem actually to find areas where oil needs to be skimmed. We're going to show you how this blimp skimmer operation works firsthand with our Rob Marciano as well as Amber Lyon -- next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Sixteen minutes past the hour with millions of gallons of crude oil fouling in the Gulf of Mexico. Crews are faced with a cleanup mission unprecedented certainly overwhelming. Made even worse because of the high temperatures now. But there is an impressive new weapon to fight the spill that's at their disposal.
ROBERTS: It is a blimp. CNN and CNN viewers have been granted exclusive access to get onboard and have a look at things from about 500 feet above the Gulf of Mexico. Rob Marciano and Amber Lyon take us inside a tag team cleanup operation that's now under way in the Gulf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): We are just pulling up to the coast of the Gulf Shores, Alabama. Because the blimp just glides across the water, these guys have a great viewpoint. When they spot anything wrong, they tell the pilots who then radio down to that vessel right there, Rob Marciano so on that.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEROLOGIST (on camera): And we are on the lead strike team vessel heading out into the Gulf of Mexico to work with ten other vessels of opportunities that are skimming out there and that that blimp that is going to help recon with us. It is going to be -- quite an experience. Lieutenant J.G. Scott McBride with me on the command vessel here. You were on the horn getting some information. What can you tell us?
LT. SCOTT MCBRIDE, U.S. COAST GUARD: Basically what's happening here is the air ship is conducting a search pattern, it's flying approximately 22 knots. What's going to happen is -- it flies at a thousand feet. And once it spots oil, lit descend to 500 feet to get a closer look.
LYON: Webb where are we headed right now?
WEBB MOORE, U.S. COAST GUARD MISSION SPECIALIST: We are actually going in. Some skimmers had a report from medium to light oil. So we are actually going to go there and find it. These guys are picking up oil right here. These skimmers. MCBRIDE: There is a little light sheen reported on the water. And that's guys along with the stripe team are on it and they actually cleaned it up.
LYON: Taking a look right now at some boom. There is a boat down there laying that to protect the beautiful white sands of Gulf Shores, Alabama. They even have a book that shows pictures of exactly what they are looking for. And there's names for all these kinds of oil. You got medium oil there, light oil. We even have what's called a streamer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Roger that we are done with the boom in here, we were going to continue westbound about a half mile off shore and meet up with the Fort Morgan group.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All right. Copy that.
MARCIANO: The workhorse of the coast guard search and rescue operations and Steve Sword (ph) one of our photo journalist is hopping right with them. Give us yet another vantage point of how all this is coming together.
LYON: I think what's most evident about the effects of the oil spill on the coastline is look at these beaches. Normally they are packed with tourists. And you are just seeing empty lawn chairs and umbrellas.
WEBB: You are going to see a lot of sharks pushed up. What's happening is the bait fish are coming closer to shore because of all of the oil. So all of the sharks, I mean, we have seen 100-plus sharks at one time. I have never seen that in my entire life.
MARCIANO: The latest weapon in the arsenal to battle the oil, there's the air ship heading back now to land. Seas are getting way too rough to do any effective skimming. So at least for today skimming operations have ended.
LYON: We just wrapped up day 12 of testing this blimp. There's about two weeks left and then the coast guard will decide if they want to send it out into the field to hunt for oil permanently.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERTS: Rob and Amber joining us live from the Gulf Shores, Alabama. And you know, after being up there for most of the day, Amber, what kind of advantages did you find using the blimp as opposed to other aircraft like a plane, a helicopter, something like that?
LYON: Well, I would say, John, the most evident advantage is that the blimp is a greener way to clean up and spot this oil. In fact if you compare it to the more traditional things the Coast Guard has been using, helicopters, a blimp uses about ten gallons of fuel an hour. A helicopter, 150 gallons. In addition to that, a blimp can stay out over the water about ten to 12 hours at a time. Whereas a helicopter have to return to port to refuel every three and half hours or so.
CHETRY: And also talking about what it is like on the ground. Rob, just how rough does have it to get for skimmers to not be able do their jobs effectively? I asked this because we are looking at the possible development of a tropical system that could hit that area.
MARCIANO: Yes are on that little disturbance just outside of Puerto Rico. But yesterday, you know, seas got to four or five feet and that was enough for them to shut down. We were probably out there an hour or two longer than they would have liked. Because obviously when it gets more rough, the waves will crash over the boom that's collecting that oil and skimming it. So that's a frustration as well.
And yes, that thing is developing. Although it looks a little bit more disorganized this morning. Jacqui Jeras I'm sure will be talking more about that. But if it develops into something it may very well head into the gulf of Mexico and we are getting into prime time hurricane season. So the next few weeks will certainly be critical.
CHETRY: Well good job to both of you. Fascinating look at how this is looking at tandem and try to get on it before it gets to shore. Thanks so much. And I want to tell people about a programming note as well. Rob Marciano has been in the Gulf for three months. Most of the time. And his special report "Rescue Saving the Gulf" is air this weekend. Rob will take you inside the largest most ambitious cleanup job we have ever seen in this country. One that is sure to last for years. Saturday and Sunday night 8:00 eastern. Only on CNN.
ROBERTS: So you may find it difficult to put away even just a little bit of money every week or every month saving for your retirement. But what about people who save as much as close to two- thirds of their income? We are going to give thank you secrets of extreme savers coming up in just a couple of minutes, 21 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It's 24 minutes after the hour. "Minding Your Business" this morning. Here's something to think about. How big is your nest egg? New survey shows a large percentage of baby boomers are at risk of not having enough saved for a retirement. The money is going to run out long before the years do. So what can you do now to upgrade your nest egg? Donna Rosato is the senior writer for "MONEY" Magazine. She profiled some extreme savers for CNNmoney.com and joins us now. These people seem to do the unbelievable.
DONNA ROSATO, SENIOR WRITER, "MONEY" MAGAZINE: These folks are amazing. And we really call them the super savers, extreme savers. Saving 20, 30, 40, 50, even 60 percent of their take home income.
ROBERTS: We got three people we are going to profile this morning. First of all, Eddie Haskell.
ROSATO: Yes.
ROBERTS: Not that Eddie Haskell, and Debbie Classteen from Liberty, Missouri. Tell us about them.
ROSATO: That's right. This is a lovely couple. They are outside of Kansas City. They have been saving more than 50 percent of their take-home income in the 20 years they have been married. But Ed has been doing this even back into his 20s. He had a goal of retiring early.
And the big key to their success has been avoiding debt. This is a couple that waited until their mid 30s until they bought their first home and bought it with cash, $105,000 townhouse. And then they bought their second home for $200,000, all in cash, in 2001. And this has been really terrific for them. They have been able to save so much money that Ed actually retired ten years ago.
ROBERTS: That's amazing.
ROSATO: He does a little teaching and consulting. But no debt means you don't -- you have a lot more to save. You are not paying interest to other people.
ROBERTS: Yes, I mean they are not bringing in millions of dollars. He is a retired Air Force officer and she is a college professor.
ROSATO: That's right, these are people who are on relatively -- these are not the wealthiest people in America. These are people who are just very smart about their savings.
ROBERTS: Second example for us from Atlanta, Georgia. Tiffany Murray. Tell us about Tiffany.
ROSATO: Tiffany is terrific, she has a terrific job. She makes a nice, you know, salary herself. She works in recruiting for a big consumer products in Atlanta. But she -- she really wants to fuel her savings. She also has a goal of trying to retire early. She's only in her 30s now. Saves more than 25 percent of her income and she does it by creates multiple streams of income. She loves to do freelance writing, event planning. So after work, on the weekend, she actually creates extra -- you know, she does work for up to $25,000 a year. And she saves another 25 percent of her income this way.
ROBERTS: Yes, here is something else she does. My sweetheart could take a note from this. She clips coupons.
ROSATO: She does.
ROBERTS: It is not a bad thing.
ROSATO: Her friends call her -- an extreme saver. But she just calls herself a smart spender. And she is not shy about using coupons. She is even a mystery shopper. She will stay at hotels and get and write reviews on her stays there. And in exchange, gets reimbursed for the stay.
ROBERTS: Great, can anybody do that?
ROSATO: Well you have to sign up and read a couple of screening tests. But yes, you can do that.
ROBERTS: OK, third example, is Marcus and Sheila Sites (ph) from Alexandria, Virginia. Tell us about them.
ROSATO: Yes, this is another lovely couple. They are both in their early 40s. They save more than 60 percent of their take-home income. And they make a decent income.
ROBERTS: How much?
ROSATO: More than 60 percent of their take-home income.
ROBERTS: Sixty percent?
ROSATO: Yes and so I said, how do you do that? This is something we can learn from. What they do is they live below their means. And how do they do that?
Again they have a nice house, but they live in a 1,700-square foot townhouse with their two teenage children. They can afford a much larger home. They could afford, you know, a bigger place. But they said, you know what, we don't want to do that. They are on track to retire by the time they are in their 50s.
ROBERTS: That's just amazing. OK, so what are the lessons here that we can take from all of this if we want to become super savers, what do we do?
ROSATO: Well you know an important lesson is really just to think about savings. Set a goal for savings. But the real key when you set a goal, you are more likely to reach it. But the real key is to be concrete about that savings. I interviewed a number of behavioral finance researchers and they said that families that actually labeled their savings account with their children's name for their college fund doubled their savings after they put their child's name it.
So, put a -- set a goal and make it a concrete goal. And you feel a lot worse tapping into Suzy's tuition account than you would having money in a bank account.
ROBERTS: And you got to track your spending as well right?
ROSATO: Yes, I always think about tracking your spending as sort of like dieting. You would be shocked if you wrote down everything you eat, how much you eat. But if you write down everything that you spend, you really get -- identify what your spending leaks are. And a number of the super savers I spoke to do this. And it helps them really figure out where they can save more.
ROBERTS: And don't be afraid to cut coupons, either.
ROSATO: That's right, there's a great Web site called coupons.com. though, actually, zap coupons directly to your store royalty card to make it really easy.
ROBERTS: I got to bookmark that. Donna Rosato, great to see you this morning.
ROSATO: Thanks John.
ROBERTS: Thanks so much, Kiran.
CHETRY: Still ahead, we are talking tea party. The caucus for some big questions about which members of the GOP are embracing it and which are not, who is in, who is out? Jim Acosta next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHETRY: Half past the hour. Time to check the "Top Stories."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announcing new sanctions against North Korea. The sanctions will freeze assets and attempt to block Pyongyang from buying and selling weapons. Secretary Clinton and defense chief Robert Gates are in Seoul meeting with South Korean officials.
ROBERTS: It's day two of British Prime Minister David Cameron's U.S. visit. The prime minister met with President Obama yesterday and said he can feel our pain over the BP oil spill.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: I completely understand the anger that exists right across America. The oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico is a catastrophe for the environment, for the fishing industry, tourism. And I have been absolutely clear about that.
And like President Obama, I have also been clear it is BP's role to cap the leak, clean up the mess, and to pay appropriate compensation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERTS: Cameron travels to New York City later today for meeting with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
CHETRY: And her reputation restored, but will she get her job back. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack now saying he will reconsider the facts surrounding the decision to get rid of department official Shirley Sherrod, a woman who many branded a racist, threw under a bus because of an out-of-context sound bite.
Sherrod spoke to us about the kneejerk reaction of the tape earlier on "American Morning."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHERROD: Apparently they never really looked at me. I didn't make a lot of noise. I just worked since I have been at the agency. And I worked for fairness for everyone. I worked for access for everyone at the Georgia Rural Development office.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: The NAACP also fist condemned Sherrod but now it says it was snookered.
ROBERTS: This morning the tea party goes under the big tent. The newly minted congressional tea party caucus holds its first official meeting just about a half an hour from now.
CHETRY: Some prominent Republicans are onboard, but others are definitely not. Jim Acosta is live in Washington with the story. And of course the tea party has been in the news lately because of the dustup with the NAACP.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This should come as no surprise this is forming, because a lot of Republican lawmakers appear at tea party rallies and this new tea party caucus is growing fast, John and Kiran. Members are holding their first meeting later this morning.
And just like the tea party itself, the leader of the new caucus is no stranger to controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: The tea party does haven't to protest outside the capitol to get its message across. The growing political movement has its own organization or caucus inside the House of Representatives.
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R) MINNESOTA: Grandma isn't shovel- ready.
ACOSTA: The leader of the new tea party caucus, Republican Congresswoman Michele Bachmann of Minnesota says her group will routinely sit down with ordinary Americans who she says want their country back.
BACHMANN: I think it is going to be very interesting to listen to what real doctors and real house wives and real farmers and real small businessmen have to say. They live in the real world.
ACOSTA: The tea party caucus message of low taxes and small government has already lured about a dozen GOP House members, including Indiana's Mike Pence.
REP. MIKE PENCE, (R) INDIANA: I'm proud to be a tea party endorsed candidate for reelection. I was honored to join the tea party caucus.
ACOSTA: But the caucus comes as the movement faces a big test. The NAACP is accused tea party leaders of tolerating racist behavior at their rallies, and one tea party leader, Mark Williams, was ousted from the movement after he posted a racially charged commentary about the NAACP on his blog. Booting Williams, Pence says, was the right call.
PENCE: When we see people in organizations over which we have influence that engage in rhetoric or commentary that is offensive to the American people, it's important that we speak out against that.
ACOSTA: Tea party needs to police its own?
PENCE: And I believe they are.
ACOSTA: Bachman says tea-partiers have also been victims of offensive attacks. She points to Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee's comments at a recent NAACP event. The Texas Democrat compared tea- partiers to members of the KKK.
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: Those who used to wear sheets are being able to walk down the aisle and speak as a patriot because you will not speak loudly about the lack of integrity of this movement.
ACOSTA: When we called Jackson Lee's office for an explanation of her remarks, an aide said she was unavailable.
BACHMANN: That's a highly offensive statement to make.
ACOSTA: As for Bachmann's take on the controversy surrounding the tea party movement --
ACOSTA: Will you not appear at any more of their events?
BACHMANN: That's really not the issue. The issue what are we going to do at Congress at the tea party caucus, and what we will do is invite real people in and listen to them and get their great ideas out.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: As a sign of the new influence this tea party caucus is already being taunted by Democratic leaders. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says he is anxious just to see how many Republicans adopt the tea party agenda. But Bachmann notes it is open to Democrats, too. But I'm not sure she should hold her breath at this point, John and Kiran.
ROBERTS: It is always, Jim, in Washington proximity equals power. So now that they are inside the halls of Congress, expected to have even more influence?
ACOSTA: That's right. And, you know, there are rumblings inside the tea party movement they are not too excited about this, because when you talk to tea party leaders, this is what they don't want. They don't want to be inside the halls of power and don't want to be corrupted by the people who were in power.
They like to be on the outside keeping, they say, the people who are in power in check. So it will be interesting to see how this develops.
And on the Senate side you have Paul running for the Senate in Kentucky. He would also like to see a tea party caucus in the Senate. You can't really have that kind of caucus in the Senate. But, you know, it's not going to be a big surprise if he gets in to find like- minded Republicans to organize with him.
CHETRY: Did you also find Michele Bachmann condemning Mark Williams and the controversial statements that led to him being ousted by the federation?
ACOSTA: You know, I asked her about that. And she proceeded to point the finger at Sheila Jackson Lee and that comment that Sheila Jackson Lee makes in our piece. You know, I asked her, is she going to stop attending tea party express events, is she concerned about some of the signage out there.
She said well, her priority right now is to get the caucus up and running and she really didn't want to talk about it.
CHETRY: So a non-answer on that issue.
ACOSTA: A non-answer on that. That's right.
CHETRY: Jim Acosta for thus morning. Thanks.
ACOSTA: You bet.
CHETRY: Still ahead, the top secret business of our intelligence community, a look at life inside one of them. It pumps billions into the local economy. But does anyone really know what's going on?
ROBERTS: And viewers weighing in on the Shirley Sherrod controversy. We will read some of your comments after the break. It's 38 minutes now after the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBERTS: It is like a scene out of "Star Wars." The U.S. Navy is announcing it has successfully used a laser to shoot down four unmanned drones. The controlled test off the coast of California marks the very first time a laser has been used effectively to take out a moving target.
CHETRY: The technology was developed by the Raytheon Corporation. It is not going to be ready for combat they say for a few more years. But a Raytheon spokesman calls the successful test, quote, "a good day for lasers and a bad day for drones."
ROBERTS: Fire the laser.
And the secrets next door across the country -- top secret intelligence communities, transformed many areas giving a big boost to some local economies.
CHETRY: Earlier on AMERICAN MORNING, we spoke with Washington Post reporter Bill Arkin about the investigation by the paper which reveals how little we know about what's going on in the communities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WILLIAM ARKIN, REPORTER/COLUMNIST, "THE WASHINGTON POST": It 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 good job in 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.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: "The Washington Post" series "Top Secret America" is the result of a two-year investigation.
ROBERTS: We have been covering the story of Shirley Sherrod, the U.S. Department of Agriculture official who was fired because of what appeared to be according to a very heavily edited piece of videotape some racist comments she made at an NAACP meeting in March.
Here's what Scott writes us this morning, the NAACP saying it was originally snookered by all of this. He says "The American public at large are the ones being snookered. If oil is an addiction we must kick, so is YouTube. The story is a perfect example we are a reactive, combustible society more interesting in the heat that the story generates than any potential light it may shine."
CHETRY: Interesting. Carl also writes -- "I appreciate CNN's news about recent coverage of the NAACP and discrimination. My heart goes out to anyone falsely accused of discrimination by narrow-minded, high-profile editors and bloggers. Thank you for keeping them honest."
I want to also -- 99 percent according to our buddy Derek who mans the blogs said they were mostly in support of Shirley. But there was one that disagreed. I saw both versions of the video and I was still disheartened to see she used both race and class struggle in her decision to refer the poor farmer to some other individual or organization."
We love for you to weigh in as well. Head to our site at CNN.com/amfix.
ROBERTS: Also, tropical action in the Atlantic, and very troubling as to where the storm if it turns into one may be headed. Jacqui Jeras is tracking it for us. She joins us next.
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CHETRY: Good morning. Nashville, Tennessee this morning, waking up to mostly cloudy weather outside, 81 degrees, a little later 93 for a high and some thunderstorms in your forecast. A little Brad Paisley, as well.
ROBERTS: There you go. Jacqui Jeras tracking the extreme weather for us across the country; we've got some flooding in parts of the nation and a potential storm brewing down in the Caribbean. What's up?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes. Well, a little bit of good news in that storm system really didn't organize itself overnight. In fact, a lot of the thunderstorm activity has quieted down.
So the hurricane hunters have decided they're not going to fly into this system today. They're going to wait until tomorrow when it has a better chance of getting organized.
So we're still kind of watching and waiting to see how this is going to develop. But the computer models -- a pretty good consensus bringing it towards to the Bahamas tomorrow and to tomorrow and then potentially into the Gulf of Mexico.
But a lot of wind shear here and lot of obstacles in its way. So we're going to have to wait and see as the thing really continues to progress.
Now, let's talk about some of that flooding. Amazing pictures and really high water in parts of Arizona from yesterday afternoon, there have been some recent wildfires burning in the area. And then torrential downpours as the Arizona monsoon season has kicked-in.
One 12-year-old girl, unfortunately, was killed in the rising water. We've also had a number of rescues take place just in the overnight hours in parts of Kentucky. Northeastern Kentucky and West Virginia has seen high water rise through the overnight hours as a result of the heavy rain consistently here over the last couple of days.
We'll be watching other parts of the country today, guys, for heavy rain and severe weather. Particularly the northeast can see some nasty thunderstorms late this afternoon and those temperatures just, you know, baking. It's really been a long time and, unfortunately, no big breaks for the heat in much of the south.
CHETRY: Oh, yes we can feel it up here as well. Jacqui Jeras thanks so much.
Well, trading up. How this 17-year-old Craigslist -- a Craigslist swapper got an old phone and ended up turning into that sweet ride of a 2000 Porsche. How did he do it?
We'll talk to him coming up.
Forty-seven minutes past the hour.
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ROBERTS: Well, new developments in the Shirley Sherrod case coming to us from the White House.
The President initially had supported Secretary Vilsack's decision to ask for her resignation. However, an official tells CNN this morning, quote, "We are not sure what the ultimate result will be but it's clear that with new information through the full speech," -- which is now out there -- "a longer look need to be taken. The White House contacted the Department of Agriculture last night about the case and agreed based on new evidence that it should be reviewed."
The White House official told CNN that President Obama had been fully briefed after Secretary Vilsack's original decision. But it looks as though much of the official Washington now taking a big 180- degree turn and coming back and saying -- maybe -- maybe the original decision wasn't made considering all the facts.
CHETRY: And when we talked to Shirley Sherrod earlier this morning she told us that even if she was offered the job back she doesn't know if she will take it.
ROBERTS: Yes, she thinks that maybe the well has been poisoned too much. You could see her point too.
CHETRY: Well, two and a half million Americans are a step closer to getting their jobless benefits restored. The senate could vote as early as today to extend federal help through November.
Yesterday the Democrats with the help of two Republicans voted to end debate on the bill and the House is expected to approve that extension.
ROBERTS: Well, this is no cheesy magic trick. A California teen has pulled off what many think is impossible trading an old iPhone for a Porsche. How did the 17-year-old do it?
CHETRY: Well, it all started two years ago when Steven Ortiz traded the old cell phone for an iPod. I don't know how that happened. Unless somebody needed his old phone model. Then he kept trading up and eventually acquired a dirt bike and then a MacBook Pro and then he traded in that laptop for a Toyota 4-Runner. A few trades later, voila a 1975 Ford Bronco.
Unless -- no. I don't know. It was a bronco that he ended up trading for the Porsche. So what's next for Ortiz?
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN ORTIZ, TRADED PHONE FOR PORSCHE: I was thinking about selling this and buying a house for my parents. You never know. Well, I don't know, maybe another truck. So we will have to wait and see.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: So exciting that the 1975 Ford Bronco.
ROBERTS: I still don't know why somebody would trade a 2000 Boxter for a 1975 Bronco unless it was -- CHETRY: Unless it was --
ROBERTS: -- a highly collectible Bronco. Or gosh knows.
"Building up America": kids in Mississippi rebuilding their communities after hurricane Katrina.
Tom Foreman jumps aboard this CNN's Express and he's coming right up.
Stay with us.
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CHETRY: Well, no place -- maybe not even New Orleans -- had a longer road back from Katrina than Waveland, Mississippi. The coastline was nearly wiped off the map by a 30-foot high wall of water.
ROBERTS: But the community stayed and is now weathering recession and the oil spill and believe it or not, maybe stronger for it.
Tom Foreman takes a look at how they are "Building up America." He is live in Waveland this morning. Good morning Tom.
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning John and Kiran.
You know, you're both absolutely right about this. This place was hammered by Katrina. They lost all of their businesses, almost all of their homes. And places like this are so a reminder of just how bad it was.
But through it all, they focused on one group of citizens here that owned almost nothing of any real value except the key to their future.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN (voice-over): The children are riding the waves again around the battered shores of Waveland. No community was hit harder by Katrina and none has been more mindful of the fact children suffered just as much as adults.
Caroline Collins can attest to that. She remembers her father staying through the storm and returning to find him amid the wreckage.
CAROLINE COLLINS, YOUTH LEADER: Coming home and like seeing him when I walked through the door. I remember him kissing all of us on the head.
FOREMAN: So from the start this town has focused on the recovery of children as much as the return of adults because as Mayor Tommy Longo puts it, more than business, more than government.
MAYOR TOMMY LONGO, WAVELAND, MISSISSIPPI: The families are the heart and soul of the community.
FOREMAN: As a result, some of the earliest recovery projects here were family-oriented: baseball fields and parks, a community center, a new library, new schools, and safe places for children and their parents to retreat from the devastation and debris.
It is an ongoing process. At St. Clair's church, still in a temporary building, a new youth group has been started. Beth Gruzinskas is an organizer and she's never had any doubts about staying.
BETH GRUZINSKAS, PARENT LEADER: I lived here my whole life. This is where I belong. This is where my children belong and my family. And there was no question that we were going to rebuild.
FOREMAN: And plenty of young people are fully committed to helping.
COLLINS: We want the best for the community because we love it just as much as all the adults do.
FOREMAN (on camera): Still it is an ongoing process. Convincing adults to deal with terrible things like a great storm or catastrophic oil spill is one thing. Persuading them to expose their children to it is something else.
(voice-over): But this town made that a priority and it still is. As a parent, what do you want other parents to know about your town?
LONGO: That it is -- it is safe. It is a safe environment. I want them to know they need to come home.
FOREMAN: He should know. He has seven children all still growing up right here in their hometown.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
FOREMAN: We just can't say strongly enough what a huge victory it is for Waveland. All of the families that they have lured back here, they really had to bring people back to a battle zone and say for everything that happened, all of this is going away. Your town is coming back.
And it really is, John and Kiran. I tell you, of all the stories we have seen in "Building up America" this is absolutely one of the most inspirational. It makes you want to live in Waveland. I will tell you that.
CHETRY: It's wonderful that they were able to rebuild after it just looked like everything was gone, everything was lost. Amazing Tom. Thanks.
ROBERTS: Thanks, Tom. Resilient group of people, no question.
Continue the conversation on today's stories. Go to our blog at CNN.com/amfix.
That will wrap it up for us. Thanks so much for joining us. We will see you again tomorrow.
CHETRY: The news continues. "CNN NEWSROOM" with Kyra Phillips starts right now.
