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American Morning

Bail Granted Strauss-Kahn; Pushing for Mideast Peace; Mississippi Floods Claim First Victim; $40,000 Cash Stash Found In Atticj; High-Tech, Green and Mobile

Aired May 20, 2011 - 08:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: The former head of the IMF swapping a jail cell for house arrest.

I'm Ali Velshi.

We are live at Rikers Island where Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be released at any moment.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Warning signs of a disturbed mind.

I'm Kiran Chetry.

Hundreds of college emails released about Jared Loughner. He's the suspected gunman in the Tucson rampage. People are calling him creepy, with no behavioral inhibitions. Other classmates worried about going to class. But why did none of that get out the in time?

Our experts will weigh in -- on this AMERICAN MORNING.

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is Friday, May the 20th. Christine Romans is off today.

A lot of big stories we are following right now.

CHETRY: That's right. At any moment, former IMF boss, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, could get out of Rikers Island released on bail. A judge agreed to free him on bail yesterday. That was the same day that the grand jury ruled to indict him.

VELSHI: That wasn't easy. In order to be released, Strauss- Kahn will post bail of $1 million cash, plus a $5 million insurance bond. He'll also be forced to wear an electronic monitoring bracelet and will be guarded around the clock by guards that he is paying for.

Susan Candiotti is here. She is following this closely.

When are we expecting him to get out? Is he likely to get out? Is there anything that creep this up?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we expect him to get out today. But, as you indicated, the judge has to make sure everything is in place. He can't just let him out with a promise that, don't worry, it will be ready.

VELSHI: Right.

CANDIOTTI: They have to be sure that all those armed guards are in place, that the cameras are ready, that he has a place to go. Until that happens, he is not leaving Rikers.

CHETRY: What about the atmosphere in the court when this all went down yesterday?

CANDIOTTI: You know, it was highly charged. You have to understand, of course, what it was like. It was quiet. You could hear a pin drop in there. And everyone wanted to see what he looked like when he walked into the room.

For once now, he was clean-shaven, wearing a suit.

(CROSSTALK)

CANDIOTTI: That's right. Would he be wearing a jail jumpsuit? No, he wasn't. He was cleaned up.

And he immediately flashed a smile to his wife and daughter who was sitting there in the front row. But he heard very serious charges against him. And then the defense explained briefly to the court why it was so important they release him. They said, Judge, he's not going to teleport himself to France. Here's part of what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM TAYLOR, DEFENSE ATTORNEY: He is an honorable man. He will appear in this court and anywhere else the court directs. He has only one interest at this time, and that is to clear his name.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Of course, if the state has its way, it is going to try to prove that these allegations against him, including attempted rape, very serious charges that a grand jury came through yesterday. That might not clear his name.

VELSHI: The prosecution was big on the idea that this is a man of means. And he needs to be kept in jail in order to -- I mean, the arguments for being in jail, that you keep society safe and you don't escape, you show up for court. Were their arguments just not strong enough?

CANDIOTTI: I think the state would say that it did the best job that it could trying to present to the court that they are gathering evidence, that they believe that the victim is very compelling, that her testimony is, and that the evidence is continuing to mount against this man.

And they tried to make that case before the judge. He listened, but ultimately decided the other way. But here's how the prosecutors tried to put it.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN MCCONNELL, ASSISTANT DIST. ATTORNEY: The proof against him is substantial, it is continuing to grow every day as the investigation continues, and it should be considered by the court when evaluating the issue of bail.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now, keep in mind, he faces seven counts, four of them are felonies. And if found guilty, he could face up to 25 years in jail. And he's got a long legal road ahead of him. It could take six months to come to trial.

CHETRY: And what are we looking ahead? What are some other key things? I know the grand jury made their ruling. We are probably going to see other court dates, other appearances.

CANDIOTTI: That's right. Coming right up, June 6th is when he will be officially arraigned and, of course, he will have to be escorted to court back-and-forth with his own armed security force. And he has to foot the bill for all of this. And the judge told him before he left, "You, sir, better be here."

CHETRY: And the other interesting thing, I mean, his lawyer saying he's going to spend all of his time and all his energy to defend himself. It doesn't sound like any type of plea here.

CANDIOTTI: Well, I mean, that's far too early I think in the proceedings because at this point, the defense doesn't even know what evidence there is. And part of that, of course, they will be learning as each step goes along.

VELSHI: We might be getting a bit of it today.

OK. Susan, thanks very much. We'll keep our viewers up to date with all that.

Breaking news right now, we are getting several reports of Syrian security forces opening fire on protesters in the city of Homs. The gunfire erupted after Friday prayers. No immediate word of casualties.

Syria is now accusing the United States of meddling after President Obama said Syrian President Assad should lead his country to democracy or get out of the way. We'll get more information on that for you and bring it you as soon as we have.

CHETRY: Meanwhile, to Libya, where NATO is launching an attack on Moammar Gadhafi's warships. An airstrike hit eight of the Libyan leader's ships this morning. NATO justified this attack saying that the government's forces were stopping humanitarian aid from coming in through Tripoli seaport. Libyan officials say they blame the U.S. for the attacks.

VELSHI: And now, two allies at odds over the shape of a Palestinian state. In just a few hours, President Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House.

CHETRY: Yes. This meeting is expected to be tense especially when you take a look at some of the comments that the prime minister has already publicly.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: But this is after the president called for Israel to basically give up land that it won in the 1967 war, something that Netanyahu rejected outright. Still, the president will use the meeting to remind the Israeli leader of this. Here's a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Ultimately, it is up to the Israelis and Palestinians to take action. No peace can be imposed upon them, not by the United States, not by anybody else. But endless delay won't make the problem go away.

What America and the international community can do is to state frankly what everybody knows. A lasting peace will involve two states or two peoples, Israel as a Jewish state and the homeland for the Jewish people and the state of Palestine as the homeland for the Palestinian people, each state enjoying self-determination, mutual recognition and peace.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: Joining us now from Washington, Candy Crowley host of CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION."

Thanks for joining us, Candy.

So, this is interesting because the mood at the White House today, what it's going to be like when he meets with the prime minister, given that Netanyahu has already made public statements saying that, you know, this plan, if it is were to happen, would actually leave Israel, as he put it, quote, "indefensible"?

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CHIEF POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, a couple of things. When the president talked about a return to pre- 1967 borders, that is before the Six-Day War when Israel took some territory, he also said, with mutually agreeable land swaps. And I talked to a lot of people who said this is not that far from what George W. Bush said.

It is the timing of it. And that is that Netanyahu is coming to the White House today. It is the verbiage, the 1967 pre-war borders. It hasn't been stated quite that explicitly before.

So, a lot of folks think that President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu both have constituencies that they play to, that some on the more conservative side of Netanyahu's party, had thought that he's gone to far in not defending all the settlements, just defending sort of the major settlements.

So, let me put that out there and let me also say that when everyone I talked to said, look, the U.S. and Israel are still very firm allies. But President Obama and Netanyahu are not very good friends. They don't get along. They haven't gotten along.

Do we expect fireworks? Who knows? Because we won't hear that there are fireworks. But, certainly, there have certainly been tensions in previous meetings. And I expect there will be more today.

VELSHI: Right.

The idea of the pre-1967 borders and the swaps, which are an important part of this, the exchange of land where some of these settlers are going to Israel and then Palestine getting other land that's part of Israel in exchange for that, again, like you say, not new. Those maps have been worked out. We've all actually seen them.

But the Republicans -- some Republicans didn't miss a beat in criticizing President Obama's handling of Israel. In fact, former Massachusetts governor, potential presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, said that President Obama, he used these words, "threw Israel under the bus," Candy.

CROWLEY: Right. Right. Well, listen. With the base of the Republican -- the base of the Republican Party is very pro-Israel. Christian conservatives tend to have very like-minded views with Israel. And so, it's a good campaign issue.

I thought, probably, you had Mitt Romney going really the farthest. He's thrown Israel under the bus.

And then you had Jon Huntsman -- and I thought his reaction was really interesting when I was up in New Hampshire yesterday. He did criticize the president, but he criticized him for saying, you know, when you are talking to a friend, you probably ought to do that behind closed doors. And, yesterday, that's actually the criticism I heard from both people who support the administration and people who don't, who said, you know, it's on the kind of thing where on the eve of this visit, he probably should not have done.

VELSHI: Because he is going to get a chance to do it in person later on today.

CHETRY: But the interesting thing is, you're right. I mean, there didn't seem to be as much of a ruckus when President Bush in 2004 said something similar, but then he did go on to say, "But consideration has to be given to conditions on the ground." So, it seems as, though, at least from President Bush said it, he was viewed as a huge ally of Israel, that he couched it a little more perhaps.

CROWLEY: Right. Except for conditions on the ground is almost the same thing as land swaps, mutually agreeable land swaps, which is to say you recognize that there are huge Israeli settlements that can't just be pulled back.

CHETRY: Right.

VELSHI: All right. Candy, thanks for that.

CROWLEY: Thanks.

VELSHI: Don't miss Candy on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION," Sunday morning, 9:00 Eastern, right here on CNN.

CHETRY: All right. Disturbing e-mails give sort of a picture, new details, how concerned students at that community college in Arizona were about Jared Loughner. He's the man accused of going on in that shooting spree that killed six and wounded Congresswoman Giffords. Were there warning signs? And even if there were, could authorities have done anything about it?

VELSHI: It's a good question. We'll give you some of that information.

Also, governor of Mississippi, Haley Barbour, he's among the people flooded out there. One of his homes is under water. Now, some homeowners have taken to building their own levees. We'll tell you if they're working.

CHETRY: Also, Sean Astin, he is a movie star. We know him from many films spanning the decades. But, now, he's a little bit entering into the fray of politics as well. We'll tell you why he is so passionate about it, coming up.

Eleven minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: I got a pile of document.

CHETRY: I know.

VELSHI: This is unbelievable. These are troubling documents released about the suspected Tucson gunman, Jared Loughner.

Pima Community College turned over more than 250 emails, many of which appear to raise some red flags. One of Loughner's instructors in this pile of emails said, quote, "I could tell he had emotional problems."

CHETRY: Yes. I mean, just sifting through them and knowing the aftermath. It really makes you cringe a little bit.

A writing professor wrote, quote, "I'd like to do everything we can to have him removed from class."

The commander of the college police force weighing in at one point, saying, quote, "While the student has not made overt threats, it's apparent that his behavior is being noticed."

And, also, the college program manager said, professors complained that Loughner had, quote, "poor insight, poor judgment, no behavioral inhibitions, and students reported concerns with his behavior, and he scares them."

So, we're joined right now by clinical psychologist, Dr. Jeffrey Gardere and senior legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin. So, as far back as September 2009, I want to ask you, Jeff, about the legal part of this. Students and teachers both expressed some concern about his behavior, saying that they were scared. One student said he brought a knife to class and set it on the desk, and she was concerned about that. Would there be more the school could have done at that point?

JEFFREY TOOBIN, SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: I found myself sympathetic to the school reading these e-mails.

CHETRY: Me too.

TOOBIN: Because, you know, this was weird behavior. He was a creepy kid, but you know, the world is full of eccentric, unpleasant people, who don't do anything that is threatening to other people. I mean, it was definitely weird, but it was not, at least it seemed to me, the kind of red flag that would make you think this guy was going to go out and kill people.

So, you know, is there more they could have done? Frankly, I supposed, there is more they could have done. They could have gotten the police more involved, although, they did check whether he had any sort of weapons. I think the answer is yes, but I found myself sympathetic to the school.

VELSHI: Jeff, the problem is bigger than this, though, because we, all in our lives, may encounter people who do things that we think are weird and could get weirder. What are you supposed to do about it? You suggest that the school have some moral responsibility to do more, but what more is there to do?

DR. JEFFREY GARDERE, CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, I have to agree with Jeff on this. I think the school did a lot of things. Finally, they expelled him and said to his parents the only way that he can come back is with a psychiatric evaluation.

VELSHI: Right.

GARDERE: And I guess, that is the way that they had informed the parents, hey, your son has some real mental health issues, but, you're right. We see this all the time. People, perhaps, who we don't think are homicidal but who are very eccentric or even psychotic. The psychiatric hospitals won't accept them, because they're able to talk their way out of it, the patients are.

CHETRY: That's right.

GARDERE: And this is a real problem for parents because they don't know how to get treatment for these kids as perhaps the school didn't know how to get the treatment.

TOOBIN: Our legal system tries hard to figure out what happened in the past.

VELSHI: Yes. TOOBIN: You know, who did it? What happened?

CHETRY: That's right.

TOOBIN: Imagine how difficult it is to try to figure out what's going to happen in the future.

CHETRY: I know.

TOOBIN: Take information about some kid, some adult and figure out how they're going to behave?

CHETRY: Here's the thing. I think that, you know, it's unfair to say that the school didn't do it, and no one is saying that. I mean, the school, really, did try. It seems like, you know, as you said, the whole psych evaluation, they tried to address the concerns of the student, but in a broader scale in life, I mean, great, he wasn't at Pima Community College, but clearly, he was somewhere else.

I mean, he's now stand accused of, you know, this shooting, this massacre of people. So, I know it's not a minority report situation. You can't predict what people are going to do in the future. But what recourse do you have if you fear and if your gut tells you that somebody is dangerous? They haven't done anything.

GARDERE: I would like to have Jeff answer that, because, I mean, I think it's really hard.

(CROSSTALK)

GARDERE: I get it all the time. Here's the dilemma. Parents are in denial about their children's mental health issues. Any parent would be. Any parent watching this show knows that you don't want to believe that your child could be so destructive.

We do know that if you are homicidal or suicidal, you can be committed, and we call it a 2 PC, but you have to have two psychiatrists in most states sign an order saying that you are dangerous to yourself or others. The problem is with the parents being in denial, they do not do this.

VELSHI: What if they are not? What if they're not? What if the parents were not in denial? How do you do that? Who books the appointment? Who gets this person to the psychiatrist?

GARDERE: It's a great question because what you end up doing is because your kid will not want to go to the hospital.

(CROSSTALK)

GARDERE: Of age. You have to call the police to come in. And when you're left with that option, and it can get really, really messy and traumatizing to everyone involved, then you try not to do that and you try to convince your adult child to go in, and it doesn't happen.

VELSHI: If we go for these piles of e-mails, Jeff, and I go to the police and say, there is stuff in here that's weird and creepy and potentially dangerous and harassing, do I have a reason for the police to pick this guy up?

TOOBIN: I doubt it. I don't think there was enough in there to get him locked up. They debated how long, whether there was enough to get him thrown out of school, which is a heck of a lower standard.

CHETRY: But they did contact the ATF at one point, and they also did have a police report on file in there because he was causing some disturbance. He was verbally abusive and people were getting scared, but at the end of the day, you're not going to be held in a jail for that.

GARDERE: And you know what we saw in these e-mails, is this guy really mentally disturbed or just a real pain in the whatever?

VELSHI: Right.

GARDERE: Because he just kept asking questions for clarification over and over again, criticizing his professors. So, they didn't know whether he was a troublemaker or whether just someone who was obsessive compulsive, but at the end, they figured out that this kid had real -- this young man had real mental health issues, and that's why they banned him from the school and said he needs a psychiatric report in order come back.

TOOBIN: And unfortunately, the history here isn't like in the 1970s and before, we used to lock people up all the time who made us uncomfortable, who were not, you know, what we considered normal. And it was a horrible scandal that we were unjustly locking people up.

GARDERE: We have to remember that mental illness is not a crime. It's an affliction.

VELSHI: Right.

GARDERE: And the needs of society outweigh the needs of the individual, but you have to look at the rights of the individual.

VELSHI: Great and complex discussion, guys.

GARDERE: Yes.

VELSHI: Thanks very much for joining us, Jeff Gardere --

GARDERE: Thank you.

VELSHI: And Jeff Toobin.

CHETRY: Good to see you this morning.

VELSHI: All right. What are the top high-tech jobs of the future? We've been talking a lot about jobs this week and today. Coming up, we'll name something for you.

CHETRY: Also, Sean Astin is here. He has a new political role, not in the movies, but, actually, going door-to-door trying to get people excited about Congress again. Coming up, we'll talk to him. Twenty-one minutes past the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: Twenty-five minutes after the hour. Watching your money this morning. How low can it go? AAA reports the national average price for a gallon of gas, $3.89. That's a penny less than yesterday, and the eighth straight day at the price of gas has dropped.

Breakfast is going to cost you more. Wheat and corn prices are up more than 10 percent in just the past week. That likely means higher prices for bread and cereal.

Wall Street open for business in a little over an hour. Stocks may start the day in the red. Dow futures are negative right now ahead of the opening bell saying (ph) for the NASDAQ and the S&P.

So far, so good for LinkedIn's public face. The first day that the social networking site went public, its stock more than doubled in price. The initial public offering was 45 bucks a share. The stock went over $122 a share in its first day of trading closed back down at $94 a share.

And maybe you've noticed, hotel bathtubs are going the way of the mint on the pillow. The tubs have disappeared from hotel across the country. Many chains are freeing up the space to install more luxurious showers. The cost, of course, trickles down to you. AMERICAN MORNING back after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: Crossing the half hour right now. Devastating floods in Mississippi now turning deadly. A 69-year-old man from Vicksburg drowned yesterday in the water. Entire neighborhoods still submerged. Over 2000 people forced to flee their homes. And experts are now saying it's going to be weeks before they can return. Even Mississippi's governor was affected. His lake house near Yazoo City is under water.

VELSHI: Some homeowners in low-lying areas are taking it upon themselves to build their own levees. Take a look at that. One home owner tells us that his home is surrounded by 12-foot high levees. He's staying there, and he's been using a boat to get back and forth from the highway.

CHETRY: Well, (INAUDIBLE) of the local economy and slowly, casinos in Tunica County, Mississippi are now reopening after being flooded out. Three of the areas nine casinos are set to take bets again this morning.

VELSHI: Free money. A man in Utah moves into a house and finds $40,000 in bags hidden in the attic. So, what does he do? He doesn't keep it. He tracks down the right full owners. The cash was stuffed into eight boxes stashed away by the home's previous owner who died last year. The money is going to be split amongst the former owners six surviving children.

CHETRY: You know, a lot of us say he did the right thing. Some people say he did not.

VELSHI: At least half of us do.

CHETRY: Well, there is the son. He wanted to set a good example for his kids, but we want to know what you think? What would you do? What would you really do if you found the money? E-mail us at CNN.com or send us a tweet. Tell us on Facebook, which is CNN.com/AmericanMorning. We will be reading some of your e-mails.

VELSHI: Crossing the half hour, your top stories. Former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been granted bail and could be released from Riker's Island at any moment. He is facing seven sexual assault charges. He has agreed to remain under house arrest and will be monitored around the clock by armed guards at his own expense.

A live picture from the White House where President Obama is set to immediate with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The president angered him with Israel's call to return to the pre-1967 borders.

Queen Elizabeth is wrapping up her historic four-day visit by the Irish Republican, and by all accounts she has broken significant diplomatic ground calling Ireland and Britain so much more than neighbors and describing the two countries as "equal partners." Her visit to Ireland is the first by a reigning British monarch since the creation of the Irish free state.

And Arnold Schwarzenegger putting his movie career on hold to focus on personal matters. His film projects are grounded for now. The plans for a comic book and TV series based on his life have been scrapped.

CHETRY: For the first time in Cannes film festival history a famous director is actually asked to leave, gets booted out. It is Lars von Trier. He rattled off a string of Hitler jokes. I don't know if you can call them jokes.

VELSHI: It made his melancholy stars sitting next to him squirm in their seats. He's since apologized, but listen to a bit what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARS VON TRIER, DIRECTOR: I really wanted to be a Jew, and then I found out I was really a Nazi, because my family was German, which always gave me some pleasure. So I'm kind of a -- what can I say? I understand Hitler.

But I think he did some wrong things, yes, absolutely, but I can see him sitting in this bunker in the end. There will come a point at the end of this. There will come a point. I am just saying that I think I understand the man. He is not what you would call a good guy. I understand much about him. But I am not fort Second World War and I am not against Jews. That was also a joke. I am, of course, very much for Jews, not too much because the Israelis are a pain in the ass. But still, how can I get out of this sentence?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VELSHI: Wow. Wow.

CHETRY: You can see.

VELSHI: Look at her body language. It became, where do I go? Will this chair just disappear?

CHETRY: She is in his movie. It is so awkward.

VELSHI: He has been banned from the festival. The film is still in the running for the grand prize.

CHETRY: We understand some of the distributors said they weren't going to distribute it anymore.

VELSHI: He just kept going around and around in circles. Weird.

CHETRY: He helped save Middle Earth in "Lord of the Rings," but actor Sean Astin will tell you that he did his best work campaigning for Dan Adler who just lost a special election for Congress in California. Astin learned a lot and said he talked to people that said their biggest concern right now are jobs. Sean, up nice and early in Los Angeles. Nice to see you.

SEAN ASTIN, ACTOR: Thanks very much. Good morning.

As we said, you are famous for your roles, "Rudy," "Lord of the Rings," many others in a lot of other ones will we will get to in a second. You also dipped your toe in politics, 2004 with John Kerry, 2008 with Hillary Clinton. Why are you passionate about politics?

ASTIN: Probably the way I was raised. My mom was president of the screen actors guild and both my mom and dad had big ideas and instilled in me a love of government. When you are involved in the entertainment business and you become visible, it makes it useful to other people. So I think that's why.

CHETRY: You were trying to help out your buddy get that seat in the special election. You said when you talked to people, jobs, jobs, jobs, kept coming up. What were people's biggest concerns?

ASTIN: Well, you know, in our area when Dan was walking around, we talked to people. One guy in particular worked on a water treatment plant. He was really upset. He had a company with 150 employees and 125 of them he just said to work in Texas. We had a congressional code to go to Texas to try and figure out, what are they doing that's so great to be able to attract those jobs? That's one thing. A lot of the other business owners they just want to make sure there is a healthy, thriving economy so people can come into their businesses and spend money. Individuals, you talk to individuals and they are trying to figure out how to improve their resume and how to make sure they are competitive. It is a really specific way to focus on the importance of growing the health of our economy.

CHETRY: California is going through a tough one. California is certainly not a vibrant economy right now. They are having a lot of trouble. What did you find about why they are losing jobs, besides the tax issue you, to states like Texas and others that are more business friendly?

ASTIN: Well, I mean, there is -- we could sit for days and try and figure that out. What I try to do is focus on what is working, you have the aerospace industry and a defense industry that is trying to adjust and adapt and preserve the technologies and the business they have there. So that's one -- it is so hard. The real estate economy is depressed. You have got -- there are so many reasons that people are suffering.

CHETRY: I know you were passionate about your friend, Dan. You wanted to -- he ended up only getting about 300 votes. What was it like when he lost?

ASTIN: He got 355. We are very proud of each of those votes. My campaign manager career may be pretty short-lived based on that.

(LAUGHTER)

Dan is a good man. He worked hard. The one thing that an anchor on another station said in the morning of the election that he was one of the most interesting candidates. The fact is, Dan is really smart. He would be a great member of the House of Representatives. What we realized in five weeks, five and a half weeks, he got in on the last day of the filing deadline, it is really hard to establish a direct connection with voters.

CHETRY: It is not easy.

ASTIN: I also love, I mean, you are known for "Rudy." Teachers love to show it. Principals talk about it, coaches. You reprised your role a little bit, tongue and cheek for your role. Take a look at this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ASTIN: Hey, are you supposed to be out there campaigning?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I just don't know anymore, Rudy.

ASTIN: You just don't get it. You are five foot nothing, 100 and nothing without a speck of political experience. You have hung in there with the same politicians year after year since you got into this campaign. In this life, you don't have nothing to prove to nobody except yourself, and the voters of the 36th district. (END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: That was cute, by the way. Did you know when you took that role years and years ago how that character was going to endure?

ASTIN: That spoke to me personally. I wasn't the biggest kid on the team and I tried really hard. When I read that script, it spoke to my spirit and something deep in me. I don't know. That and "Lord of the Rings," I don't think you gauge what you think is going to happen afterwards. You just try to role with it when people respond to it.

Dan was the "Rudy" of candidates in the 36th district congressional race. He had a lot of heart. He fought a valiant fight.

CHETRY: Hey, there is always the next campaign. That's the beauty of congressional races. They come up rather quickly.

ASTIN: And based on a lot of the news coverage and how he performed in the debates and the candidate forums and how he connected with people that he actually did meet, he will be a great candidate going forward.

CHETRY: You are really rooting for him. He has a good guy in his corner. Sean Astin, great to talk to you as always. Thanks so much for joining us.

ASTIN: Thanks very much.

VELSHI: He says his days as a campaign manager are over. I think it is the guys who run the tough campaigns like that that are more interesting. Anybody can run a leading campaign.

CHETRY: Good for them. Good luck next time.

VELSHI: We are doing a lot of in-depth stuff on jobs. I want to talk to you by the high tech jobs of the future. We will speak to somebody from fast company. They know a lot about this on the other side of the break. It is 40 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's soupy out there.

VELSHI: That is not New York city. I can't see building. That's New York?

CHETRY: Yes.

VELSHI: We are expecting your, surprise, surprise, thunderstorms later on. I am looking at this shot out the back of Columbus circle. It looks kind of sunny. I think we have a disputed weather situation.

CHETRY: That is not sun.

VELSHI: Look at the water. There is sun reflecting off the water in Columbus Circle.

CHETRY: We are going to go out and find out for ourselves.

All this week CNN has been taking an in-depth look at America's job hunt. The technology revolution really has a pretty dramatic effect on the job market, how you get a job once you graduate.

VELSHI: The landscape today is a whole lot different than it was ten years ago. We talk a lot about tech jobs. What are they? What kind of tech jobs can you he expect to see now and in the future? John Abell is the New York bureau chief for Wired.com. While we sit and talk smack about it, John, you can actually tell us. Graduates in technology-related jobs are getting jobs, their unemployment rate is lower than everybody else's, and they are earning more right out of school?

JOHN ABELL, NEW YORK BUREAU CHIEF, WIRED.COM: Yes, we're in a renaissance right now. That's actually, absolutely true. We had a terrible time ten years ago in high-tech, boom-to-bust. We had a terrible global recession which affected everybody. But you can see just what's based on what's going on in Wall Street with IPOs it is a very hot time to be in high-tech.

CHETRY: Well, it's interesting that you're saying that. And you mentioned the boss, because we had this IPO that everybody went crazy over, LinkedIn --

(CROSSTALK)

ABELL: Yes.

CHETRY: It went public.

ABELL: Right.

CHETRY: The biggest since Google in 2004. So are we back in terms of tech stocks?

(CROSSTALK)

ABELL: Yes, we might be a little bit too back. There's a big debate right now about whether --

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Right, it takes you back to sort of 2000.

CHETRY: Yes.

ABELL: Yes -- well, it's yes, it's -- but as I say, it's a living memory, what happened the last time things got this hot.

Having said that, LinkedIn has a real business model. They are in the social media area. They might be worth something. They're probably not worth $10 billion right now.

VELSHI: Right, they're also not about making friends. They are about really utilizing your contacts and relationships and getting jobs.

(CROSSTALK)

CHETRY: Get jobs.

VELSHI: So you know, so that -- that it caters to a different group.

We were just talking to the CEO of Siemens, USA and he says that our unemployment rate in this country is largely a mismatch. There are certainly a lot of unemployed people more than there are jobs but there are a lot of jobs available that that aren't able to be filled by the current crop of untrained, unemployed.

ABELL: You know, I'm not an expert but I -- I would say that's probably always true, there's -- there's always sort of a lag between what people are training up for and what they are learning in school and what industry needs today.

So I'm not sure if that's terribly new. But things are moving very, very fast. You mentioned Google, which was basically nothing 13 years ago.

VELSHI: Right.

CHETRY: Right.

ABELL: They're a garage project. And this was founded by a couple of college guys that turned out to be dropouts that were just computer science guys.

CHETRY: Entrepreneurs, yes.

ABELL: Yes and they had a couple of small ideas and it turned into something huge. That I think, is what's going to happen now for what's Generation E, entrepreneur.

CHETRY: Right, but you're -- I like this, Generation E, because you're giving people, you know, instead -- instead of just going on sort of a track you know. Instead of like you work your way up, you hope you work your way up down the road.

But the three of us, we are all liberal arts majors.

ABELL: Yes.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: You know, are we doing something wrong in the way that we're not necessarily encouraging college kids to know what they want to be to go to college with a plan to come out with a job? As opposed to --

(CROSSTALK)

ABELL: Yes. CHETRY: -- go to college and see what's interesting.

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: And find yourself.

CHETRY: Discover yourself. A lot of other countries do not do that.

ABELL: Yes, well, I mean this the age-old argument, too. I -- I believe in balance. And I think that you can't really go as far as you possibly can unless you have a balanced education.

Having said that, it's possible to get the skills that you need to sort of succeed in the high-tech engineering kind of space and also be able to sort of read literary criticism. I don't think they are mutually exclusive.

VELSHI: One of the things, you know, when you go to a magazine store and you look at different magazines, when you -- when you look at Wired and its competitors, it's a lot of positive stories, a lot of growth stories, a lot of stories of adventures, a lot of stories about companies maybe wanting to go public.

And by the way, a lot of these companies are fun places to work. There has been a real stamp that the growth of technology has put on the entire workforce. Will that remain? What are the best things that are going to come out of that?

ABELL: Well, I think the start-up mentality will always be there. And that is fun. It may not be fun for the founders and the people that are out there looking for (INAUDIBLE)

VELSHI: Right.

ABELL: But the idea that you get into a small place with like- minded people, that are very purpose driven, don't care what time of day it is.

VELSHI: Right.

ABELL: Don't care where the next good idea is from, this is what grows into the Googles of the world.

VELSHI: Right.

ABELL: And that will never stop.

CHETRY: Yes and I also love and you know, I also love the way that it's sort of changing corporate America to these tech companies. You can go to work without ever going to work, you know.

ABELL: Well, yes.

CHETRY: And the whole Google model as well. I mean it's a totally different environment to -- to I guess to fine-tune the creativity.

ABELL: Yes and some of it is silly, like all of a sudden we saw non-high-tech executives not wearing ties.

VELSHI: Right.

ABELL: But some of it's very smart.

CHETRY: Yes.

ABELL: Which is you know --

CHETRY: They are all wearing hoodies now.

ABELL: Well, we've got all sorts of like that but certainly open collars. But the idea that you're -- that great ideas come from anywhere in the place --

(CROSSTALK)

VELSHI: Yes.

ABELL: -- is a very high-tech idea.

VELSHI: Very good. John, great to talk to you. Thanks for being with us.

ABELL: My pleasure.

VELSHI: John Abell is the New York bureau chief for Wired.com.

CHETRY: Good to talk to you. Thanks.

ABELL: Thank you.

VELSHI: Now, if you want to find out where the jobs are and how to get them and how to keep them, we've got a lot of this information on the newly-revamped CNNMoney.com. We're focusing in-depth this week on America's job hunt.

It is 49 minutes after the hour.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHETRY: It's 50 minutes past the hour right now. Let's get a check of your morning headlines.

Reports that Syrian security forces have now killed at least one protester in the city of Homs. Gunfire erupted after Friday prayers. They have been going -- they've been having months of protesters -- anti-government protesters out on the streets. And a violent crackdown on it as well.

Meantime, a new test for the U.S./Israeli relationship. President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will be meeting today at the White House amid some exchange of words. The President angered that the Israeli leader -- angered the Israeli leader by saying that a Palestinian state should be based on borders that existed before the 1967 war. That's something that Benjamin Netanyahu who called for Israel "indefensible".

Former IMF chief, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, could be released from Riker's Island at any time today. The judge granted bail. As you know, he is facing seven sexual assault charges in connection with an alleged attack on a maid at a New York hotel.

Wall Street, open for business in just 45 minutes. And right now, all futures in negative territory ahead of the opening bell; the Dow down as well as the S&P and NASDAQ.

Now, you're caught up on the day's headlines. AMERICAN MORNING is back right after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: A little Bruno Mars to you wake you up in --

CHETRY: Atlanta, Georgia. This is the exact opposite of what it looks like here in New York.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: 68 degrees and sunny and later -- are you going there today?

VELSHI: I'm going there.

CHETRY: 86 degrees and sunny.

VELSHI: Yes.

CHETRY: You maybe be able to lose the vest.

VELSHI: I'm going to be the Centennial Olympic Park with my vest and my Speedos.

CHETRY: Yes but you lose the tie. The vest stays on. I'm sorry, you guys. You were eating.

VELSHI: We'll just change topics now.

A man in Utah moves into a house. He finds $40,000 hidden in the attic. He doesn't keep the cash, does what Kiran thinks is the right thing. He tracks down the rightful owners.

CHETRY: Yes. You think it is not the right thing?

VELSHI: I am just saying I'm an objective journalist. I am not putting an opinion.

CHETRY: You are not putting a value on whether or not you do it or not. Ok, well, fine. The cash was stuffed in eight boxes stashed away by the home's previous owner. He died last year. The money will be split among his six surviving children. So we wanted to ask, would you do that at well? Would you return it? What would you really do if you found $40,000 stashed in your new house?

VELSHI: All right. Somebody called ificouldtellyou on Twitter says, "Spend the money, tip waitresses $100 and help the American economy."

CHETRY: There you go. Luis Rodriguez writes, "In this case, he's married, he has children, a perfect opportunity to demonstrate dignity, integrity and honesty to your children. The traits are priceless."

Also, vacountrygirl36 writes, "Give it back. To keep it is stealing. What's wrong with people?"

VELSHI: Jennifer writes on our blog, "How do you know he did right thing? Who is to say there wasn't $80,000 in that attic?"

CHETRY: Yes. Exactly, right. Oh, that's mean.

VELSHI: Yes. A lot of very interesting responses today. Some of you are just downright dishonest people but we love you as our viewers.

CHETRY: 55 minutes past the hour. We will be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BECKY FAWCETT, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: I don't care how you become a mother. It's a miracle. One of them making the other one laugh is just the greatest noise ever. I waited a long time for that kind of noise. Jake and Brooke are both adopted. To adopt our two children, it was over $1,000 in after-tax money paid in full, paid up front.

Adoption in this country can cost between $30,000 and $50,000 depending on the situation.

You ready? There are plenty of loving homes out there and the only obstacle is this cost of adoption.

My name is Becky Fawcett. And I started an organization that helps people complete the cost of their adoptions by awarding financial grants. I mean it is always the same. As a little girl, I dreamed of being a mother.

Our applicants are hard-working, educated Americans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Emmy is the light of my life. She is everything to me.

The expenses were insurmountable and scary. The money that I received from helpusadopt.org took a lot of weight off of my shoulders.

FAWCETT: We helped to build 43 families since 2007. We are helping people bring their children home. We're helping all types of families. We believe in family, period. We believe in loving a child, period.

Where is Brookie?

My journey to adoption, it is the best thing that ever happened to me. Those seeking adoption, there is a happy moment at the end of your story. It takes us all a long time to get there but it is worth the wait.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHETRY: If you know somebody who is making a difference in your world. Tell us about them. Head to our AMERICAN MORNING blog; AMERICAN MORNING cnn/am/nominateahero.

VELSHI: That's it for us. Let's throw it over to Carol Costello with "NEWSROOM" where they're having beautiful weather in Atlanta.

Carol, we'll see you later in the day in Atlanta. You have a great morning.

CHETRY: Hi, Carol.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, I will.

CHETRY: Enjoy your last day on earth.

(LAUGHTER)

COSTELLO: I'm trying to think what I should do. It's a tough decision, isn't it?

CHETRY: So many options. Don't bother to cut the grass, though.

COSTELLO: No, I won't. But I will go out and enjoy the beautiful day regardless of what happens tomorrow.

Thanks to both of you, have a great weekend.