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Big Stage For Democrats' Rising Star; Paul Ryan Stumps In Swing States; I'm Not a Bump In The Road; Democrats Tackle Tough Topics; DMC Delegates To Adopt Platform Today; Chrysler Posts Huge Sales Increase; DNC Kicks Off Today; Clinton's China Visit; Yippee Ki-Yay, Traffic Violator; Prince Harry Does Damage Control; Organic Versus Conventional Produce; SEAL's Book on Bin Laden Killing in Stores; "Harold & Kumar" Help Promote DNC; Democrats Tackle Touch Topics; Rain Possible for DNC in Charlotte

Aired September 04, 2012 - 10:00   ET

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

ZORAIDA SAMBOLIN, CNN ANCHOR: Stories we're watching right now in the NEWSROOM.

It is the Democrats' turn in front of the cameras. Day one of their national convention kicks off in Charlotte with a visit from the first lady.

And if you see organic on the label, do you think that it's healthier for you? That may not be the case. Why researchers say regular fruits and vegetables may be just as healthy.

Toy shopping can be expensive. Ask any parent. And it's hard to find the money for the hottest items on your kids' wish lists. Now Toys"R" Us is making a change to help you and your pocketbook.

And it's his first public appearance since his wild trip to Las Vegas. Now Prince Harry is back in the spotlight, and he starts to rehabilitate his image a bit. NEWSROOM starts right now.

Good morning to you. I'm Zoraida Sambolin sitting in for Carol Costello. Now it is the Democrats turn. Just hours from now, the curtain goes up at the Democratic National Convention in North Carolina.

The president, meanwhile, remains on the road to Charlotte. The campaign is winding its way to the DNC by stumping in key battleground states. Ohio yesterday, Virginia today.

And he's hammering away at the GOP message from last week's convention. He says it's out of touch, out-of-date and targeting the middle class.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: Despite all the challenges that we face in this new century, we saw three straight days of an agenda out of the last century. It was a rerun. You might as well have watched it on black and white TV with some rabbit ears on there. (END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: And this is the Democrats' not so secret weapon. First Lady Michelle Obama is delivering a primetime address tonight. Her job, fire up the party faithful and reach out to women in both parties.

Mrs. Obama will have to share the spotlight with a rising star in the Democratic Party. Julian Castro will deliver the keynote address just as Obama did eight years ago.

Castro is the mayor of San Antonio and tonight, he becomes the first Latino to deliver the convention's signature primetime address.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is at the DNC and she joins us with a closer look. Suzanne, this is a plum assignment, right?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's a lot of work, too. It's a plum assignment and a lot of work here. We're looking at a lot of things here, Zoraida, to kick off the DNC.

First of all, people are watching the weather, clouds, and possible thunderstorms. It's been back and forth. First two days are going to be inside, but the last day is going to be an outside arena.

So they're going to figure out whether or not they have to move it from the stadium. The second thing is, of course, what you mentioned before. Michelle Obama, she is going to be addressing the crowd, a lot of anticipation around what she's going to say.

We expect that it is going to be very personal, very much about the president and their family and what it's been like for the last four years inside the White House.

And third, of course, what you mentioned and that is, of course, the keynote speaker this evening, who essentially could make history.

A lot of comparisons to Barack Obama of eight years ago when he was the keynote speaker. This is a guy who essentially is young, he's handsome, and he has a very compelling life story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's been my pleasure to serve as mayor --

MALVEAUX (voice-over): Meet Julian Castro, the popular Latino mayor of San Antonio, Texas and a darling of the Democratic base who will deliver the keynote speech at the national convention in Charlotte. Democrats have a long tradition of rolling out the parties' rising stars for such an honor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The keynote speech is to set the tone for the entire convention. GOVERNOR MARIO CUOMO (D), NEW YORK: We will have a new president of the United States, a Democrat born not to the blood of kings, but to the blood of pioneers and immigrants.

THOMAS BASTILE, POLITICAL SPEECHWRITER: Bill Clinton gave the keynote speech. Barack Obama has given a keynote speech.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Julian Castro --

MALVEAUX: Castro knows the burden is on him to appeal to Latinos as well as inspire a broader audience of voters.

MAYOR JULIAN CASTRO (D), SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS: The choice that we have to make in this election is whether to continue to invest so that everyone can reach the American dream or whether we're going to scale back from that.

MALVEAUX: With an estimated 12 million Latino voters expected to cast ballots in November, both campaigns are fighting hard for their attention.

MAYOR ANTONIO VILLARAIGOSA (D), LOS ANGELES: You can't just trot out with a brown face or Spanish surname and expect people are going to vote for your party or your candidate.

MALVEAUX: That's why Rodolfo De La Garza, a professor at Columbia University says the choice of Julian Castro to deliver the keynote was smart.

RODOLFO DE LA GARZA, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY: Castro brings as a speaker a number of important characteristics. He is smart. He is well-educated. He is politically literate. He has a vision and he has ambition. He's raised in a highly political family in San Antonio. He understands the limit of ethnic politics.

MALVEAUX: Now, he'll have to add persuasive speaker to his resume.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: Zoraida, you might have seen that last photo there. We do have something in common. He has an identical twin. I also have a twin as well. Joaquin is his twin, also interested in politics.

And I understand that Joaquin is actually going to be introducing his twin brother, so that should be kind of a fun moment on stage there.

And of course, as we mentioned, Michelle Obama, the first lady, everybody is going to be watching to see what kind of tone she actually sets here. We have seen Ann Romney over the last couple days take some pretty hard hits against President Obama.

We are told that Michelle Obama will not go after the Romney family, but rather will talk about her own family and about her husband. And we're going to be here for the rest of the week.

We're doing our show live here. We're very excited, Zoraida. We've got a couple folks who we're going to be talking to the mayor of Charlotte. He's going to be here, Anthony Fox.

We've got former Congressman Barney Frank as well as actor, Hill Harper. All those guys we'll be talking to about how this is playing out, but a lot of anticipation about these speakers coming up later today -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: I was glad that you put a picture up of his twin because earlier Ed Lavandera said that his twin actually filled in at an event. And personally, I don't think they look exactly alike.

MALVEAUX: No, they don't look exactly alike. But being a twin myself, it's nice to have that person who can fill in every once in a while. You never know. It's fun and it's confusing, but it's good to see the two of them together. They're very, very close like a lot of twins are.

SAMBOLIN: You know, we're making a lot out of this being the first Latino, and I believe that's at the DNC convention because we did a little checking here. In 1984 at the GOP convention, the first Latina to deliver the keynote address was Kathryn Ortega.

And she was treasury of the United States, 38th treasurer of the United States so just a little fact-checking there because he's the first Latino, but we do have the first Latina with the GOP.

And we have images. All right, thank you, Suzanne Malveaux. We're looking forward to all your coverage. Appreciate it.

All right, CNN coverage begins today at noon with Wolf Blitzer. Submit your questions and get answers in real-time live chat, just log on to cnn.com/roundtable to participate.

And just as the Obama campaign during the Republican National Convention, the GOP ticket is returning the favor. Vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan visits West Lake, Ohio that's at lunch time and travels on to Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Those battle ground states could prove critical in the election.

And Ryan is embracing a strategy that succeeded for Ronald Reagan when he beat the incumbent president in 1980. Both men are asking, are you better off than four years ago?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REPRESENTATIVE PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The president has no record to run on. In fact, every president since the great depression who asked Americans to send them into a second term could say that you were better off today than you were four years ago except for Jimmy Carter and for President Barack Obama.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: And Republicans are rolling out a new ad, seizing on the sluggish economy and the everyday Americans who are out of work.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: There are always going to be bumps on the road to recovery.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm an American, not a bump in the road.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: The ad plays off of Obama's comments that many see as dismissing the plight of struggling Americans. Today, its powerful imagery is lighting up political discussions on the internet as well.

And the employment crisis has hit minorities, particularly hard. The latest labor stats show the jobless rate is disproportionately high, 14.1 percent for African-Americans, 10.3 percent for Hispanics.

Yet, these groups are key targets of this week's Democratic National Convention. Senior congressional correspondent, Dana Bash in Charlotte and Dana, how skeptical are minority voters of the Democrats' promises?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard to imagine that they're not skeptical. Given what you just showed, and frankly, given how skeptical can every American, no matter what their ethnic background is of politicians and big institutions these days.

But with regard to these two particular minority groups, Hispanics and African-Americans, there's no question that they prefer Barack Obama to Mitt Romney vastly.

When it comes to Hispanics, Latinos in particular, Obama has 72%. Romney 25. And African-Americans -- Barack Obama has 94 percent. So the issue is whether or not Democrats can get them excited about the president. Get them out to vote.

They did a pretty good job, particularly in the African- American communities in swing states four years ago. And it's going to be a big question mark whether that enthusiasm is still there for the exact question that you just started this segment with, Zoraida.

Are they -- do they feel that the president answered their call, answered their quest for him to do something different for them.

SAMBOLIN: Yes, economy and jobs is always what we're talking about, right? So you have to wonder about that. Another part of the platform focuses on immigration reform.

It says, quote, "Democrats are strongly committed to enacting comprehensive immigration reform. Immigration overhaul would include bringing undocumented immigrants out of the shadows, requiring illegal immigrants to get right with the law, learn English and pay taxes to get on a path toward citizenship." How important is this plank in the platform?

BASH: It's critically important because that language was very similar language to what President Bush, of course, a Republican, was pushing for, for a while.

I remember covering him back in 2004 when he was running for re-election. He was very much in favor of a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. And that really hurt President Bush with fellow Republicans.

And it hurt other Republicans in particular who were running for re-election within their own party. That has -- that whole idea has really shifted over to the Democrats because of that. Because Republicans -- at least the base rebelled against the whole idea of a path to citizenship.

Still, even though it has shifted, the Latino community has been very, very disappointed in President Obama because he hasn't pushed for that kind of immigration reform, which you have to do legislatively.

You have to do it through Congress and he didn't send up any legislation. I talked to so many Latino leaders over the past several years since President Obama has been in office and they were frustrated he didn't do enough to really push their agenda and push their issues to get these laws passed.

It's tough. There is no question about it, but they wanted him to at least show leadership.

SAMBOLIN: Absolutely. And that's a platform he ran in 2008, as well. So all right, Dana Bash, live for us, thank you very much. We appreciate it.

It's 12 minutes past the hour. New this morning, Chrysler is reporting the best August sales in five years. The automaker says sales increased 14 percent over last year's numbers. It's the 29th consecutive month of sales gains.

CNN's Felicia Taylor joins me now for a closer look. And Felicia, these are pretty good numbers, right?

FELICIA TAYLOR, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, there's no question about it. But actually before we get that, get to those numbers. GM has just announced its sales number for the month of August.

They were up more than 10 percent on the year. Basically, they're attributing a lot about to the advertising that they saw at the Olympic Games. That seems to have helped sales of the Chevy as well as sales of the Cadillac brand were also strong.

Now to those numbers about Chrysler, it too is having great numbers, as you mentioned, 14 percent gain, and that beat analysts' expectations. The major driver of that growth, the Fiat, may I point out, the Fiat was my first car. SAMBOLIN: I love that car.

TAYLOR: I know, I love the little Fiat. I mean, this is going back a long time. They used to say fix it again. Clearly that is no longer the age of the Fiat. It sales were up 34 percent compared to last August.

Fiat did buy out Chrysler out of bankruptcy three years ago and they made the decision to bring back that little Italian car to the U.S. market, which I think was a great decision and obviously appears to be paying off.

Another good sign, overall the gains were pretty broad based with all of Chrysler's brands showing sales gains in August. That includes the Jeep, Dodge, Ram Truck and of course, the Fiat, which I also mentioned.

We have about 20 percent increase for the month, most overall on track for another year of growth, but still well off the 2000 numbers industry wide. And of course that's a big concern as the industry is still involved with a debt crisis in Europe and that naturally is affecting sales overall.

But of the big three, Chrysler has the least exposure to Europe so clearly their numbers will probably outpace that for GM and Ford, but, again, GM posting pretty well.

Interesting, the stock didn't react very much. Ford stock right now is up just fractionally, though -- Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Felicia Taylor live at the New York Stock Exchange, thank you.

It is Prince Harry's first public appearance since pictures surfaced from his Las Vegas blowout. We'll hear what he said about all of that coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. It's 17 minutes past the hour. We're checking top stories. The Democratic National Convention set to kick off in a few hours in Charlotte, North Carolina. Tonight's speakers include First Lady Michelle Obama and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, who will deliver the keynote address.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Beijing this morning on a visit likely to revolve around Chinese territorial tensions. Over the past year, territorial disputes have broken out between china and its neighbors over islands in the South China Sea. The U.S. is pushing for a peaceful code of conduct with regard to these territorial conflicts.

They're calling him South Korea's die-hard cop. This officer turned into an action hero when a suspect tried to flee the scene. The officer, take a look, jumped on the car's windshield and held on -- you can see him there it, for over 20 minutes.

When the car finally stopped, the hero cop chased the suspect into the subway before finally slapping the cuffs on him, (inaudible) title there.

And Prince harry is in the news again, this time for poking fun at his Vegas antics. The prince was trying to do a little damage control at the Well Child Awards in London yesterday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRINCE HARRY: All of you children, families, nurses, doctors, careers, volunteers, are quite frankly, too remarkable for me adequately to describe with mere words. Never one to be shy in coming forward, I'll give it a go.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: Prince Harry seemed to be referring to his less than fully clothed escapades in Las Vegas last week.

And coming up next, organic foods, they definitely cost more than the regular stuff. But are they better for you? We're going to find out.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. It's 22 minutes past the hour. Go to any grocery store, and you will see organic products all over the shelves. And most people think organic means it is good for you, but it's bad for your wallet.

Some new research suggests foods labeled organic might not be any more healthy than conventional foods. Boy, do we have a lot of questions.

CNN medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen joins us from Atlanta. I've got to tell you, Elizabeth, this raises a lot of questions, because now you're going to wonder, should you buy organic? What did this study find?

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: I know, all these people out there who are buying organic, thinking that they are making themselves healthier. Mostly, there you go, you and your family, right.

Mostly, probably you're thinking you're getting fewer pesticides and so let's take a look. Right now, I have some organic produce right here and I have some conventional produce over here.

And there's no question that the non-organic -- what some people call conventional is much more expensive. This was a couple dollars -- four, five, six dollars more than this group of produce, somewhere in that range.

So there's no question that it's more expensive. Here's what the study found. I'm going to go really slowly, Zoraida, because this study is confusing and then bottom line it for you. Does that sound like a good way to go?

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

COHEN: So the organic produce, according to this study, when it looked at this study, organic produce has a 30 percent lower risk of pesticide contamination, right? So, you know, you're less likely to get pesticides when you eat organic.

And when they look at urine, they can see that organic eaters have fewer pesticides in their body. That also sounds good, right. So you would think it would stand to reason then that it would be healthier to eat organic.

But what this study said is that there is no science out there saying that having fewer pesticides in your body is better for you. That you're going to be healthier, less -- I know. It sounds crazy, right?

But there is no science out there saying people who eat organic are less likely to get cancer or less likely to have heart attacks or whatever kind of health measure you want to use. So that's basically their finding.

You'll have fewer pesticides in your body, from what we know, but it doesn't necessarily mean you're going to live longer or be less likely to get terrible diseases.

SAMBOLIN: My gosh, OK, so personally, I don't want any more pesticides in my body. So I've heard that if you buy organic, buy it if you are eating the skin of the fruit or vegetable. If not, that conventionally grown is fine. Did this study look at that at all or not?

COHEN: This study didn't look at that, but that tactic that you're talking about many people use and it makes sense in a lot of ways. But let me get back to something you just said. I want fewer pesticides in my body.

If you feel that way, then you should spend the money to eat organic. Now, there are other people who will say, look, if there is no science telling me that fewer pesticides in my body is good for me, then why should I eat organic, why should I pay the extra money?

So this really becomes a personal decision about what you want to do. If just the thought of more pesticides in your body makes you squirm, then go buy organic. If you think, yes, there is no science out there saying it's good for me, don't.

SAMBOLIN: And what about women in particular, women potentially who are pregnant? Should they be concerned? Aren't they more vulnerable to the toxins and the baby?

COHEN: Right, pregnant women are sort of in a different category because there are some studies showing that pregnant women who had had high levels of pesticides in their body, when you measure the urine, that their children were more likely to have lower IQs and lower birth weight. So that is a separate category.

SAMBOLIN: I don't know, Elizabeth. If it affects a baby like that, I would think that somehow those toxins and those pesticides are going to affect us, as well. But you know, that's me, a layperson talking here.

COHEN: Right and I totally understand that. Scientists like to be very specific. They say we want proof and they're not seeing the proof.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Elizabeth Cohen, thank you, live for us in Atlanta. We appreciate it. For more about making the decision, organic versus non-organic, head over to cnn.com/empoweredpatient.

And today bookstores across the country are now able to sell the controversial book "No Easy Day." It details the Navy SEAL mission to get Osama Bin Laden, but it could bring a sea of change at the Pentagon. We'll explain.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Welcome back. It's 29 minutes past the hour. We are checking top stories.

We have a live look now at Air Force One. President Obama will board that plane soon to head to Norfolk, Virginia, his last campaign stop before going to the Democratic National Convention.

He will speak at a rally at Norfolk State University about two hours from now.

And closing arguments begin today in the trial of Drew Peterson. The former Chicago area police sergeant is accused of murdering his third wife, Kathleen Savio. Investigators reopened the Savio case during the search for Peterson's fourth wife, Stacy. That's a picture of her there. She went missing five years ago, has never been found.

And in money news, "Toys 'R'Us" is offering free layaway on a variety of products for holiday shoppers. Can you believe that? Holiday shoppers. The deal is good through October 31st. After that date, layaways will come with a $5 service fee. Customers will have to put a 20 percent down payment on the item and pay in full by December 16th. So not good for procrastinators there.

Actor Michael Clarke Duncan has died at the age of 54, Duncan was nominated for an Academy Award for his role in the 1999 movie "The Green Mile". Duncan suffered a heart attack back in July and sadly he never fully recovered.

Well, the memoir of a former Navy Seal who was part of a team that killed Osama bin Laden goes on sale today. Pre-orders of "No Easy Day" have rocketed the book to number one on Amazon's best-seller list. Last week, the Pentagon threatened legal action against the author, accusing him of violating secrecy agreements.

This book regarding the Osama bin Laden mission could be costly for Mark Bissonnette, the author of "No Easy Day". Retired General James "Spider" Marks is a CNN contributor. And he is joining us now via Skype. General very nice to have you with us. We appreciate it.

MAJ. GEN. JAMES "SPIDER" MARKS, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Thank you.

SAMBOLIN: So my -- my first question to you is did Mark Bissonnette violate any military codes by writing this book?

MARKS: Well, I think he violated a nondisclosure agreement and I think that's the essence of the issue right now, in that you not only have a security clearance, but in his case, he also signed an NDA that said you will never talk about this operation.

Also bear in mind, that this operation was classified by the CIA. This was a Navy SEAL, SEAL Team 6 deployed from the SoCom the joint special operations command within the special ops command to CIA for the implementation of this operation.

So fundamentally CIA owns this thing. Therefore, they own the authority to declassify it or turn it -- or to release what it is they want to release. He has no authority to do that. And that's the rub.

SAMBOLIN: So why is the Pentagon just threatening legal action now? You would think that they would have jumped on this as soon as they heard about it.

MARKS: Well, absolutely. And in fact, recall that he released this, indicated that he had a publisher and it was going to be released without any preview or review in advance by the CIA or the Department of Defense, which was his obligation to seek before he went to publish it.

And then for the publisher and the author, albeit the author, this Navy SEAL is an incredible patriot. He put himself in harm's way, no question about that. But I think he broke the rules, and that's what the investigation will determine. Is he went forward and said I'm going to write this story probably to set the record straight in terms of what his recollection of what occurred on the night that bin Laden was killed, an operation that he was intimate. He was a part of. He was in the building. He was in the house.

So he wants to set that record straight, I'm certain. But he didn't have the authority to do that. That's the concern. And the Department of Defense, along with CIA, will do investigations. They've probably exchanged a lot of information. Their findings will probably go to the Department of Justice, I'm guessing.

SAMBOLIN: So do you think that Bissonnette put himself or any of his fellow SEALs in danger by actually writing this book?

MARKS: Well I think what he has done -- the short answer is yes. He has identified himself as one of the SEALs that was participating in this operation. And he's a private citizen now and so that enhances his risk. I don't think he is worried about that, and there's very little he can do about that, other than to be very cautious. And he certainly will. But the concern is that he still has very dear buddies. You know his -- his folks that were with him that he has trained with are still in harm's way. They haven't been identified by name, but tactics, techniques and procedures have been identified. And that certainly could enhance the risk that they put themselves to.

But these are incredibly talented, very cautious and very aggressive folks. So I think the short answer is yes. He's in harm's way. Yes, he probably put some of his buddies in harm's way. That's going to happen. That's going to happen anyway, only because of the nature of the fight that we've been a part of over the course of the last decade.

SAMBOLIN: And what do you make about this competing book, "No Easy Op" that was released yesterday?

MARKS: Well, I think what you have is a bunch of guys now jumping on a wagon, trying to beat him to some revenue stream. Clearly, Mark Bissonnette, this former SEAL has done -- by all accounts -- done a remarkable job of being very factual and objective about what took place. The issue is, he didn't have the authority to release some of this information, and that will be determined through investigation.

Clearly, there will be competitors that are out there that are publishing documents that probably don't have the same degree of veracity, but that will be determined by the public if they want to buy it and if they want to get into it.

SAMBOLIN: I suspect that there are going to be a lot of changes that are going to happen in light of this. General "Spider" Marks, thank you for joining us today. We really appreciate it.

MARKS: My pleasure.

SAMBOLIN: It is 35 minutes past the hour. She could be the Democrats' golden girl. We'll tell you about a new campaign to recruit her. Betty White for the DNC. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Thirty-eight minutes past the hour. It is official, former NFL star Michael Strahan is Kelly Ripa's new co-host on the ABC show "Live." The retired New York Giants replaces Regis Philbin who left that show back in November. Strahan had some tough competition before landing in that sit.

Since November, the show has been a revolving door of sorts in search of someone to sit beside Kelly. Neil Patrick Harris, Seth Myers, Josh Groban, have co-hosted in recent months.

And you may have seen "Harold and Kumar go to White Castle". Well, now it's "Harold and Kumar go to the White House." Kal Penn a.k.a. "Kumar" from the hit film worked briefly for the Obama administration in 2008. And now he is set to host the web broadcast of the Democratic National Convention this week. CNN's Nischelle Turner joins me from Los Angeles. Really? Is all I can say.

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN SHOWBIZ CORRESPONDENT: Yes, really. You know what, though, he is very tuned into politics. And so the Obama campaign announced on Monday that Kal Penn will be hosting the convention official live stream prime time coverage on Thursday leading up to President Obama's acceptance speech.

And they made the announcement in a new video that features the President, Penn and his "Harold & Kumar" co-star John Cho. Check this out.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Just remember that I'm trusting you on this. And I'll see you then.

JOHN CHO, ACTOR: Who is that? He sounded intense.

KAL PENN, ACTOR: The President.

CHO: Sweet.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Kal Penn hosts the 2012 Democratic National Convention --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TURNER: And you know --

(CROSSTALK)

SAMBOLIN: Oh boy.

TURNER: -- this is the first time the Democratic convention has involved live stream coverage. Yes, right. Oh, boy. Penn's live web cast will apparently involve a Hollywood heavy line up of show guest including singer Marc Anthony, actress Elizabeth Banks, Aisha Tyler, Olivia Wild, Fran Drescher, Zach Brass (ph) along with Obama campaign officials. So a lot going on there.

But I'm sorry, I still -- I love "Harold and Kumar" movies. And so that just cracks me up.

SAMBOLIN: You know, I was reading this morning, that it's Michelle Obama who is the one that's hip at the White House. So I wonder if she had a hand in -- in making that happen. But --

TURNER: Oh I'm sure.

SAMBOLIN: Yes no doubt, I also heard there is a campaign to get Betty White involved, as well? I'm a big fan of this.

TURNER: Yes, me too. And who doesn't want Betty White involved in whatever they're doing, right?

SAMBOLIN: Right.

TURNER: But the big question is, can she be the Democrats' Clint Eastwood? Now there is a growing online drive to get the beloved Betty, who is a supporter of the President, to speak at the DNC this week. Now fans want the 90-year-old actress to introduce President Obama on Thursday. And an online petition reads, "Governor Romney can have Clint Eastwood and his improvisational skills because President Obama has the one and only Betty White." It's been signed by more than 6,000 supporters on Change.org and on Facebook, more than 26,000 have liked the page titled "Bring Betty White to the DNC.

And you know, Zoraida, it's not that far-fetched, because you might remember, Betty White responded to a similar social media push about two years ago.

SAMBOLIN: Yes.

TURNER: In 2010, she hosted "Saturday Night Live" after a Facebook campaign encouraging the appearance went viral. So who knows, but her -- her -- we should say, her reps are telling CNN entertainment, that she has no plans to be at the convention. But that's not stopping her fans. So, you know, you never know what a little pressure can do.

SAMBOLIN: Oh, you never know. It could still happen. And partisan politics aside, she is just a whole lot of fun. So you never know what will happen.

TURNER: Isn't she fabulous? She is fantastic.

SAMBOLIN: Yes. All right. Nischelle Turner live for us in Los Angeles.

We're going to take a quick break and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: 45 minutes past the hour.

And you are looking at a live picture of the Time Warner Cable Arena. This is in Charlotte. It's going to be a big night for Democrats attending their national convention which gets under way officially today. Speakers tonight include former president Jimmy Carter, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro and First Lady Michelle Obama.

And Representative Chris van Hollen of Maryland is among those attending that convention. The chairman of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee joins us now from Charlotte.

Very nice to have you this morning. Thank you.

REP. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN (D), MARYLAND: It's great to be with you this morning. SAMBOLIN: So the convention will be adopting the party platform today, and that platform uses new language to express the party's views on a lot of controversial issues. Can you talk to us about that?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, the core of the platform is to invest in middle class America, to make sure that we build this economy from the middle out and the bottom up, rather than the Republican theory, which crashed in the past, which is to provide another round of tax breaks for people like Mitt Romney and expect it all the trickle-down and lift the boats up.

We know that didn't happen. And so we lay out very clearly in this document the fact that we want to empower middle class Americans.

We also deal with lots of other issues. We want to make sure we preserve a woman's right to choose. You know, Republicans keep saying they don't want the government to have any role in the economy. They didn't want to help the auto industry. But they're more than happy to have the government intrude on people's decisions when it comes to some of these social issues. So we lay out those issues, as well.

SAMBOLIN: And one question that Republicans are asking voters. And this came out of the RNC. Are you better off than you were four years ago? Because of the economy, many Americans are not. How can the Democrats defend themselves on this point?

VAN HOLLEN: Well, first of all, their argument relies on the American people having a collective case of amnesia. After all, the day President Bush left office, we were losing 800,000 jobs every month in our economy. We've now had 29 consecutive months of positive, private-sector job growth. We need to build on that. And the President has put forward a plan to do that.

We know that the plan put forward by Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, they didn't want to talk about it last week. They just wanted to talk about the President. But their plan is nothing more than a rerun of the ideas that crashed the economy.

This theory that somehow providing another round of tax breaks to people like Mitt Romney will help everybody else when, in fact, if you can do the math -- if you're not going to ask for one more penny from the very wealthiest and you want to reduce our deficit as we need to do, then you're going to whack everybody else in America harder. Seniors on Medicare, students who rely on our investment in education, in our national infrastructure and things we need to power the economy.

And so the math is pretty clear. If you say from the beginning, Mitt Romney and folks at the very top don't have to contribute one more penny to reduce our deficit, you are going to get everybody else. And so the President has said we're all in this together. We need to make some tough cuts. But we also have to ask folks who have done very well to pitch in.

After all, when Bill Clinton asked the very wealthy to help contribute and take a balanced approach, we saw 20 million jobs created. We actually balanced the budget. So let's move forward with a balanced approach and an approach that empowers all of America. Not this trickle-down theory that was a bust.

SAMBOLIN: All right, Representative Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, thank you for joining us. And good luck this evening.

CNN's prime time coverage of the Democratic National Convention kicks off tonight at 7:00 Eastern with Wolf Blitzer, Anderson Cooper and the rest of CNN's political team setting the stage for tonight's speakers.

Then during the 10:00 p.m. jour, First Lady Michelle Obama addresses the delegates. And at midnight, Piers Morgan wraps up the first night of the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

More evacuations in southern California as hundreds of firefighters battle a growing wildfire. We'll have the latest on this story, just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAMBOLIN: Officials are keeping a watchful eye on the Pearl River along the Louisiana/Mississippi state line today. The river is expected to crest at more than five feet above flood stage. And this is straining weakened lock on an adjoining canal and could result in more flooding in that area.

Yesterday President Obama visited Laplace, Louisiana to tour Isaac's damage. Across the state thousands remain in shelters and tens of thousands still do not have power.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obviously, right now we're still in recovery mode. And that means that our biggest priority is helping to house people who have been displaced, making sure that they've got the resources they need to re-enrol their kids in school. Make sure that they're able to get to their jobs. Make sure that they can have the kind of support they need to get restarted.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: And wildlife also suffering. The U.S. Coast Guard reports three dead animals and three live animals were found covered in oil. They are searching for the source of that oil now.

And a wildfire in California San Gabriel Mountains is still burning, and only five percent contained. Residents and campers evacuated Monday as 400 firefighters tried to contain that blaze. Authorities are investigating a vehicle found in the area where they believe that fire started.

When Republicans kicked off their convention last week, they were worried about tropical storm Isaac and coping with the rain. Now Democrats face a possibility of wet weather in Charlotte, as well.

Meteorologist Rob Marciano joins me now. Rob, we're going to start with the Midwest. It could actually see severe weather today.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, threat for that today, Zoraida -- good morning once again -- from Green Bay back through Minneapolis, Omaha included and just northwest of Chicago is where we might see some damaging winds and hail. Maybe an isolated tornado or two.

Across the U.S., we've got a couple of interesting things going on. It's fall so a strong jet across the northern tier, some cool weather driving some of that severe weather but the heat across Texas, Oklahoma, through the central plains will be excessive today and still warm across southern California where they're battling the wildfire you mentioned.

They're getting a little bit of moisture from what's left of tropical storm John. So that may help just a little bit. But rugged terrain there as you mentioned. And winds will be erratic from time to time.

Back over towards the central -- the mid Atlantic, I should say, through the Carolinas -- here is Charlotte -- and for the past couple days, we've been in this kind of soupy, unsettled air mass and that's going to continue today. Pop-up thunderstorms from time to time. And when they drop, they'll drop some heavy rain.

The question is Thursday night, when the President is expected to give his speech, the big night, and that will be outdoors. That's where organizers are kind of scratching their heads, trying to figure out what they should do. We're going to see this consistent weather next -- consistently unconsistent next couple days.

And then Thursday we might start to see some clearing. But the timing of that is still questionable. So outdoor concerts and speeches in jeopardy.

Zoraida, back up to you.

SAMBOLIN: I know this morning when I was talking to John Berman, he said that they're going make that decision today, whether or not they move forward on Thursday.

And by the way, we are grateful to have you back indoors and safe. Great job on coverage of the hurricane. It was great. Thank you.

MARCIANO: Great to be back. Thanks, Zoraida.

SAMBOLIN: All right. Behind the scenes of the Democratic convention, we'll talk to the chief of event planning to find out what it takes to put on an extravaganza.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) SAMBOLIN: The national convention is 14 months in the making, and it involves thousands of workers and hundreds of millions of dollars, as well. CNN congressional correspondent Kate Bolduan sits down with the woman who (inaudible) the showcase event from plans to prime time.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is like event planning on steroids. It really is. How do you do it? You've got vendors, you need to connect with event spaces. How do you make sure the trains run on time when you've got security, you know, at its highest level?

MARY TRIBBLE, CHIEF OF EVEN PLANNING, HOST COMMUNITIES: Well, the key thing for us was preplanning as much as possible. Because once an event starts, you need to be flexible to be able to handle those kinds of things if something starts to kind of derail. So we put together a really talented staff of individuals, both from Charlotte and from all over the country that have been working on this for, as I said, 14 months.

BOLDUAN: And what kind of money are you talking about? And how many people are involved in these events?

TRIBBLE: Well, there are thousands and thousands of people who are being employed because of this convention. So it's making a big economic impact. We won't really know the final numbers until after it's over, after a study has been done. But we know that Denver had an impact of over $100 million on those four days so we expect something like that.

BOLDUAN: What does this mean to you, someone who has really had their hands in planning?

TRIBBLE: It's beyond my wildest imagination. We're hoping that people come into Charlotte and get to know this city for the first time. Because a lot of people perhaps haven't visited before. So we really have a clean slate that we can really project what it is that we want people to know about Charlotte.

And I think really Charlotte is -- it's kind of the new face of the new America, very diverse. It's very young and very up and coming and very -- you know, we've even got a funky edge to us that some people don't realize. So it's been fun to show that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAMBOLIN: I'm Zoraida Sambolin in for Carol Costello. Thanks for joining us. CNN NEWSROOM continues now with Ashley Banfield.