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North Dakota Residents Relieved at Red River Flood Level; Unemployment Continues to Be On the Rise; Volunteers Still Sandbagging in Fargo, North Dakota; President Obama Plans to Send More Troops to Afghanistan and Pakistan; Interview with Janet Napolitano

Aired March 28, 2009 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: All right, new developments with those record flood waters threatening cities along the Red River. The news for now is good.

An internet marketing experiment turns into a humanitarian mission, helping one homeless person at a time.

And party at Ben's house? A man opens his doors to those in need. Steak, anyone?

I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM.

Our top story we continue to watch throughout the day, extreme weather this weekend, from the upper Midwest to the southern plains and into the deep south. North Dakota and Minnesota could see record flooding, depending on what the Red River actually does next. For days now, we've been watching thousands of people frantically filling sandbags.

A major spring blizzard has brought parts of the southern plains to a standstill, as you see right there. At least two people have died in accidents on the icy roads.

And tornadoes threaten the deep south. Late yesterday, this one tore through North Carolina. There was damage, but, thankfully, no serious injuries.

First to the flooding threat. No one is saying for certain the Red River has crested, but it's clear the river has leveled off. It's even falling in some places. And the National Weather Service is no longer predicting the river will reach 42 feet. It hit a record 40.82 feet over night and has dropped slightly since then. So will it keep dropping?

Here's what Greg Gust of the National Weather Service had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GREG GUST, NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE: We're at high water and we're up there. We expect the official crest, which is what it actually ended up being, something that we'll be able to look back in a day or two and say, oh, OK, there it is. But we expect fluctuations still of half a foot to a foot. So we could be right up here tomorrow at this time at 41 and a half feet. With all the things going on in the system now, that river we still expect to bump around quite a bit.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. While no one is letting their guard down, a lot of people are breathing a bit easier today. CNN's Susan Roesgen is in Fargo. Susan, we can only imagine the relief in the air, at least right now.

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes, Fred. It's a beautiful day here in Fargo. I'm in front of one of the most beautiful bridges in the Midwest. This is the Veterans Memorial Bridge that separates Fargo from Moorhead, Minnesota, right across the Red River behind me. Don't know if you can see here how high the river is. But when you talk about whether it is going to crest officially, as the weather person put it, at 40 and a half feet or 41 feet or 42 feet -- Fred, inches makes all the difference between relief and disaster.

So that's what people are watching here. I did see a couple walking their dog today. I saw a woman jogging today. At the emergency meeting that they've been having one or twice a day, Fred, with the Fargo city officials, there was a lot of joking. People were in a good mood. Let's just all cross our fingers with the city of Fargo here. Let's give it a big, national -- hey, Fargo, hang on. Hang on, Moorhead, Minnesota. And hopefully they'll be OK.

Besides the bridge that's here, Fred, off to my right what you can't see is the train track. And I just checked. The water is right under the train trestle. There's a lot of freight trains that go through. It could affect everything, everything from interstate commerce, with the train travel, to people just getting around to people's homes. So let's hope that this thing really has leveled off.

WHITFIELD: That would be nice. We need that good news for the folks there. Thanks so much, Susan Roesgen there in Fargo, North Dakota.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: We're also being informed by the pictures of viewers having been sending us from the flooding telling 1,000 words. You're looking at iReporter Kyle Martin's image right here, wading in waist- deep water in his living room. Martin says the levees broke in his neighborhood south of Fargo after a long, hard night -- there he is right there -- he and his family waited for hours on the roof of their home for a helicopter to eventually rescue them.

And across the state line in Moorhead, Minnesota, or across the bridge, as we saw in Susan's shot, this iReporter Jennifer Sundai (ph) shows how the sandbags are protecting a home from the rising river. But her friends' family was actually forced to leave anyway.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Today, they are working on packing up their basement and moving as much as they can upstairs, because in 1997, our last big flood, the water came up to about here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: President Obama is keeping an eye on the flooding this weekend. Fargo's mayor says the president actually called him to make sure that the city is prepared. In his weekly address, the president notes how mother nature can change our priorities in a hurry.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Even as we face an economic crisis which demands our constant focus, forces of nature can also intervene in ways that create other crises, to which we must respond and respond urgently. For the people of North and South Dakota and Minnesota who live along rivers spilling over their banks, this is one such moment.

That's why on Tuesday I granted a major disaster declaration request for the state of North Dakota, and ordered federal support into the region to help state and local officials respond to the flooding. This was followed by an emergency declaration for the state of Minnesota. And we're also keeping a close watch on the situation in South Dakota as it develops.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: The president says FEMA and the Department of Homeland Security are on top of the federal response. In fact, later on this hour we'll be talking more about the president's commitment to the flood zone by having a conversation with Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, joining us to talk about the situation in Fargo. That comes your way 2:30 p.m. Eastern, less than 30 minutes from now.

There are a number of organizations that are providing volunteers, food and supplies for the residents in the flood's path. You'll find the links to them on our impact your world page. That's at CNN.com/Impact.

And some information we're getting in; there was a delay, a weather delay of the earlier scheduled Discovery Shuttle landing after the seven astronauts did quite a bit of work, construction on the International Space Station. Now, we're getting the OK from NASA that they have been cleared for a landing at 3:13 p.m. today. Earlier, they were trying for a 1:15 or so landing, but because there were a lot of clouds and wind, they didn't see that that would be the right kind of condition for this.

But you're seeing some images right there. The landing officially back to Cape Canaveral, Florida, taking place 3:13 p.m. We'll keep you posted on that and hopefully also carry it live. All right. From flooded neighborhoods to flooded unemployment centers. What's it like to be among the jobless but not hopeless? We'll talk to some people who are holding their heads high coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The recession is taking a toll on the Magic Kingdom. Sources inside Disney say the company has laid off a large number of employees in the past three weeks alone. Salaried employees at Walt Disney World in Florida reportedly have been hit the hardest. A Disney spokesman would not comment on how many are actually losing their jobs. State records show Central Florida's unemployment claims have more than doubled from the same time a year ago.

A Phoenix, Arizona man responds to the job losses and foreclosures affecting so many people by actually throwing a dinner party. Ben Barkley decided to host a free dinner for people going through tough times.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BEN BARKLEY, OFFERING FREE MEALS: I thought, look at all the foreclosures, look at all the jobs that are being lost. I thought, why don't we have a foreclosure party.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And so he did. Barkley posted an ad for the party on Craigslist. He's not sure how many people will show up today, but he says he'll be ready to feed them.

The numbers have been absolutely staggering. Five million people have lost their jobs in the past 12 months nationwide. In today's jobless not hopeless series, we look at what's often the first step to recovery. Many know it as the dreaded unemployment office, simply the place to get money while you look for work.

But don't call it an unemployment office in Georgia. It is now a career center. And there are 53 of them in the Peach State.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD (voice-over): The doors don't open until 7:30 a.m. But lines start forming at this suburban Atlanta career center sometimes an hour before, even in the rain.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning to you, sir. Good morning to you.

WHITFIELD: Nationwide, it's at centers like this where that road back to employment often starts. First, there's the request for benefits. Not always a guarantee.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Will my claim start as of today?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes. UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK. If I choose to walk out the door now and wait until the severance pay comes back, that's when my claim starts?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After the severance ends.

WHITFIELD: And in Georgia, where the unemployment rate was 9.3 percent for February, in some cases, no benefits allowed unless you attend seminars and workshops geared toward finding work, even if that means a new career.

That's OK with Don Sanders. He's already learning something new. Sanders was laid off after 17 years with the same company. He's now studying to become a Gwinnett County police officer.

DON SANDERS, LAID OFF AFTER 17 YEARS: It didn't bother me much, because I think I had been -- 17 years for me was long enough. It was motivation for me to do what I wanted to do, not what I -- we could say what I needed to do. And I guess because I wasn't very happy at that job, you know. But I'm pretty excited about becoming a law enforcement officer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many would you say you filled out?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I would say about 20, using some of the job sites that people know. And there are some new ones that I had never heard of that are more local. Hopefully, that will be good.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any positive feedback or call backs?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Not as of yet.

WHITFIELD: First day in the center for a very nervous Dominick Renata (ph), laid off two weeks earlier after 16 years with a telecommunications firm. That nervousness, he says, is for his two daughters.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Toughest part is not for you. I could live on peanut butter sandwiches. The toughest part is for the kids. It's just they haven't seen tough times. So it's a bit of an adjustment for them, but they're resilient.

WHITFIELD: People like Renata are getting help through centers like these nationwide, offering things like resume critiques, interviewing tips, free access to computers and copying machines.

And help comes in several languages. This was also the first day at the career center for Rone Tucker (ph), laid off in January.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And did you apply for unemployment immediately after that?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. I didn't apply for unemployment until the middle of February. I thought for sure I could find a job within a month.

WHITFIELD: His plan didn't work. Now, he, too, needs help from the Department of Labor.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm 40-years-old. I do have a college degree. But to go back and relearn something is something that I don't know if it's -- right now, I'll do what I have to. But I would prefer not to.

WHITFIELD: And he might not have to. Georgia has been recognized by the U.S. Department of Labor as one of the more efficient in the nation. Innovative projects like the Georgia Works Program allows businesses to try out an applicant for up to eight weeks. It's the state of Georgia doling out the paycheck.

That's right. The business pays nothing for up to eight weeks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What's really exciting about the program is that the success rate for individuals who participate, 80 percent of them lead to full-time employment with the employers with which they train.

WHITFIELD: Kimberly Cowen say the program is so popular that their offices are fielding calls from other states asking for more information.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Thanks to producers Eddie Williams and Jason Reid. That was the voice that you also heard in the piece. A lot of folks who were out of work, they're thinking about going back to school, going back to college or maybe even training schools or vocational schools. But how in the world do you afford that?

In our 4:00 p.m. hour today, we're actually tackling tuition 101 and we're taking your questions as well, your e-mails. Weekends@CNN.com. Also on Facebook, Fredricka Whitfield CNN. We want to hear from you. We're also receiving your iReports. We want your questions and concerns about how in the world do you afford going back to school or sending your kids back to college for the first time, in the first place.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Some good news we're able to report on the Red River there, that is shared by parts of Minnesota as well as North Dakota. We understand that the cresting -- we're using that term kind of loosely -- maybe at about 40 feet, which is about three feet shy of the greatest fear leading into this weekend. That's sort of some good news.

However, you're seeing evidence right there of the kind of sand bagging that is still taking place around houses along the river. Well, among the volunteers and the first responders that are there in that region trying to help out as best they can, Tad Agolia. He has been honored as our CNN hero once before. He's joining us now from Fargo.

Tad, you and, what, three other colleagues making up a four- person crew that actually moves in to areas like this when they are deluged with natural disasters. You help clear areas. You help in emergency aid. Is that what you're doing here now?

TAD AGOLIA, CNN HERO: Yes. Right now, what we are doing is we're on standby. The river seems to be changing constantly. And there are a lot of expectations that the river might rise some more tomorrow. And there's a tremendous amount of people that live here in this community. And if the dikes made out of sandbags fail, there's going to be a lot of people that need to be evacuated.

WHITFIELD: Are you concerned about those sandbags? Because Jacqui Jeras and I were having a discussion earlier about the concerns of what this cold -- what the cold temperatures -- what the cold water and how it may affect the sand bags. No one is really quite sure.

AGOLIA: Well, for me, a couple of the concerns are that this water might stay at a high level for three to seven days. Obviously, dikes made out of sandbags are not necessarily meant to last a long time. But we are hoping that they will last.

One challenge that we're facing here, that we don't normally see, because floods oftentimes happen, you know, in the spring and summer, is the frigid cold temperatures of the water. And if water rescues do need to continue to happen over the next few days, I am concerned of potential hypothermia for those who need to be rescued and might --

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I know that ...

AGOLIA: Yes.

WHITFIELD: I know that you participated in rescue operations last year in Arkansas, as well as in Iowa when there was flooding there. So how do you compare the elements, the experience in Arkansas and Iowa to the frigid conditions that you just described there in North Dakota?

AGOLIA: Well, like I said, it's a great concern that the water is so cold.

WHITFIELD: But how are you better prepared? How are you prepared, in terms of what kind of equipment and what are you able to do, given that there's a huge difference between this year experience and last?

AGOLIA: Well, what we brought with us here is a hover craft that can go over ice. Because we can go from watery conditions to icy conditions to roads and fields -- we're not just dealing with warm waters like we normally see. So the hover craft is meant for all these various needs that might rise.

WHITFIELD: And now we have the image there. I saw it earlier and I didn't know what the heck I was looking at. But now that I've heard your description -- I have seen of traditional hover crafts but I haven't seen anything that could possibly go over icy water. Tad Agolia, thanks so much. I know folks there are thanking you as well for your volunteer efforts to help out as best you can.

AGOLIA: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Police say that some 35,000 protesters now -- I'm taking you overseas -- hit the streets of London today in advance of next week's G-20 summit. Demonstrators called it a march for jobs, justice and climate. Trade unions organized the march with support from other groups, including environmentalists and the Salvation Army. The leaders of the world's top industrialized and emerging economies begin meeting in London on Thursday.

America's new plan for fighting terrorism overseas has the support now of Afghan President Hamid Karzai. Yesterday, President Obama announced plans to send more troops into Afghanistan and Pakistan. That's in addition to the 17,000 that he has already approved. The president is also urging more civilians in Afghanistan to help rebuild. Mr. Karzai says this new push has his full support.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

HAMID KARZAI, PRESIDENT OF PAKISTAN: I am in full agreement with the new strategy announced. It is exactly what the Afghan people were hoping for and were seeking. Therefore, it has our full support and backing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: As if to underscore the ongoing violence in Afghanistan, today three Afghan army commandos were killed when their patrol vehicle hit a roadside bomb. Four others were wounded.

All right. The Red River may be leveling off just for a bit, for a moment. But the fight to hold back the floodwaters is far from over. We'll take you back to Fargo in just a few minutes from now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, now 29 minutes after the hour. Here's what's happening right now. States of emergency are declared across the southern plains. A spring blizzard has paralyzed parts of Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas. Colorado is still digging out.

And along the Red River, between Minnesota and North Dakota, people are staying alert. That's even though the river seems to have leveled off, at least a bit, for now.

So here's what we know. A dose of good news for the residents of Fargo. The Red River may have crested overnight. The National Weather Service says the river is expected to remain below 41 feet and slowly decrease.

Still, a note of caution; ice flows could lead to periodic rises in the river. Fargo's mayor says that they're going to have to wait at least eight more days, because significant storms could change the water height. Meantime, more National Guard troops were called up just in case the levees and the sandbags actually don't hold. All right. So we want to get the latest now from that region with CNN radio reporter Steve Kastenbaum, joining us from Fargo. Steve, what are you seeing?

STEVE KASTENBAUM, CNN RADIO CORRESPONDENT: I'm seeing a lot of people breathing a sigh of relief and feeling cautiously optimistic here today because of that revised National Weather Service forecast for the river. The latest reading of the height of the water right now, 40.65 feet. That was taken at a quarter after 12:00 in the afternoon. So we should be getting another reading shortly.

But officials expect the river to more or less waver around this level for the next day or two, before it starts coming down. People here are sort of in a monitoring mode right now. They've got some rapid response teams put together to address any problems that may arise, so they can get to problem areas on the dike quickly. Homeowners who are electing to stay at their homes between the primary and secondary dikes, they're manning their sump pumps 24/7. I have checked in with a few in one residential area and they're telling me. so far, so good.

Again, everybody breathing a sigh of relief when they learn that the river actually went down, not up.

WHITFIELD: OK, that's good for now. Steve Kastenbaum, thanks so much.

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: So just two months into the new administration and already a second weather-induced disaster. Janet Napolitano is President Obama's Homeland Security Secretary. She is joining us right now from Washington. Good to see you, madam secretary. Give me a list of priorities where the Midwest floods are, because there's a lot going on. You had a tornado in North Carolina. You've got severe snowy weather in Texas, Oklahoma, et cetera.

And I realize that early this year it was Kentucky, those ice storms that you had to deal with. So how do you tackle this? And which one first?

JANET NAPOLITANO, HOMELAND SECURITY SECRETARY: Let's not forget the volcano in Alaska either, which had a plume yesterday and they've had to shut the Anchorage airport from time to time this week. So a lot going on around the country. And what we've done is backing up the mayors in Minnesota, in North Dakota. Backing up the governors there. We're in constant touch with them.

FEMA is on the ground. The Coast Guard has done 80-plus rescues in the Red River area. That's probably our number one concern right now. This is at least a 500-year flood. And, yes, you're right, it looks like there's been a little bit of a break just yet. It's far too soon to declare victory. There's a lot of work yet to be done.

WHITFIELD: More National Guard troops have been called into the Fargo, North Dakota area. What will they be doing exactly? NAPOLITANO: One of the things the National Guard will be doing will be policing those sandbag dikes, because as they spring leaks, they immediately want to be able to repair those leaks and keep those dikes operative through the coming seven, eight days, as long as these flood waters are ...

WHITFIELD: So you're very concerned about the dike's vulnerabilities?

NAPOLITANO: I think we need to be. These are sandbag dikes. As you yourself have noted, these are cold weather sandbags. This is not a warm weather flood, which is what you typically have. And so now that all the residents out there have been working with us to get those sandbags in place, the National Guard and Customs and Border Protection is even up there, policing those dikes, making sure as soon as there's a leak, that that leak is plugged.

WHITFIELD: There have already been a handful, as we just laid out, natural disasters that this administration has had to handle. But, of course, when people think national disasters, they can't help but think about Katrina and how what did and didn't happen during the Bush administration, certainly tainted that administration for a long time. Talk to me about the pressure that is on this administration to make sure that the response is there, that it gets it right.

NAPOLITANO: Well, the FEMA administrator actually has been on the ground in North Dakota, in Minnesota the last couple of days. And we've had, I think, very good linkage with the mayors, the governors, the members of the Congressional -- all of those who are concerned, the Red Cross getting shelters up, getting meals, water, everything in place.

At the same time, however, myself and the secretary of HUD were just in New Orleans several weeks ago. We want to make sure that recovery continues. That was a storm of a dimension that's really hard to describe on television. But there's still work to be done there in terms of recovery. We want to get it done.

WHITFIELD: As it relates to the Midwest floods, we know the best case scenario would be the water recedes, not one structure is damaged, no one hurt, et cetera. But talk to me about the worst-case scenario that you're preparing for.

NAPOLITANO: Well, obviously, the mayor there has made the decision not to order a mandatory evacuation. That's, of course, within his prerogative not to order a mandatory evacuation. But, obviously, we want to be ready if the worst-case scenario occurs, if we have to evacuate a lot of people very quickly.

WHITFIELD: Is that worrisome to you, that there is not a mandatory evacuation in place?

NAPOLITANO: Right now, that appears to be a good decision. Again, we're dealing with Mother Nature here. We're dealing with water levels that can be impacted by other snowstorms coming across, by ice in the river. So, again, we're all working together. We're supporting the people of North Dakota, the people of Minnesota. And we're supporting them through this very serious flood.

WHITFIELD: All right. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, thanks so much.

NAPOLITANO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: There are a number of organizations providing volunteers, food and supplies for the residents in the flood's path. You'll find links to them on our impact your world page at CNN.com/Impact.

All right, a new way of doing things. Forget newspapers. Forget TV. That's old media. This new president shows how he is plugged in.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: This week, President Obama turned to the Internet to tackle your questions and get his message out. The president held an online town hall meeting, fielding questions about education, health care, housing and jobs.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When can we expect the jobs that have been outsourced to other countries to come back and be made available to the unemployed workers here in the United States?

OBAMA: Let me talk more, first of all, more broadly about what's happening in the job market. We have had just a massive loss of jobs over the last several months, the kind of job loss we haven't seen at least since the early '80s, and maybe since the 1930s, in terms of how quickly we've seen the economy shed jobs.

A lot of that is prompted by the financial crisis and the locking up of the credit markets. That's why when we are -- when we talk about dealing with this credit crisis and the banks, I just want everybody to understand, it's not because we're overly concerned about Wall Street or a bunch of CEOs.

It's because if we don't fix credit, if we don't get liquidity back to small businesses and large businesses alike, who can have that -- use that line of credit to buy inventory and make products and sell services, then those businesses shrivel up and they start laying people off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Direct talk with the president. More than 104,000 questions were submitted to the White House Web site. Joining us from Washington, CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider. Good to see you, Bill. Something tells me we'll be seeing this again.

WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Oh, yes. This administration is trying to pioneer new ways of communication, particularly direct communication between the president and his supporters, without the news media, intrusive people like us intervening. So they tried out this virtual town hall this weekend. I think they think it was a pretty good success.

WHITFIELD: This really is fulfilling the promise of transparency, isn't it?

SCHNEIDER: It certainly is. He was asked some unexpected questions. There are some questions being raised now about who was in the room with him and how they got invited. But generally, anyone who wanted to ask a question could ask a question. They selected the questions the president would answer. Some of them were kind of unusual, including a question about legalization of marijuana, which I think took the president by surprise.

WHITFIELD: Oh, right. And I think he was a bit reticent on answering that question, because that debate has kind of been sparked all over again, the country hugely divided on for medicinal purposes, marijuana might be good. Others saying, wait a minute, are we talking about legalizing one drug, and not all of them, as it relates to violence, et cetera. Could it make an impact?

SCHNEIDER: That's right. He was asked about the possibility of legalizing marijuana if it were taxed, and the money would be used by state and local governments for public services. The question didn't want to answer that question. He sort of dismissed it. That made a lot of supporters of reform of marijuana laws very angry. Turns out the organization that supports that cause says their contributions went way up. They weren't too high to begin with, but they did spike as a result of people's anger.

So many of them -- the chairman, the president of that organization said so many of them had supported Obama and they were very disappointed with the president's answer. But I can tell you that CBS News recently asked Americans whether they favored legalization of marijuana; 63 percent said no. Then they said, suppose the money could be tax and used by local government and it barely changed; 58 percent said, no, even then, they wouldn't want to legalize marijuana.

WHITFIELD: Interesting stuff. You may have heard my interview with Homeland Security Secretary Napolitano, who said lessons were learned from Katrina. I'm talking about the weather and the disaster or the pending disaster that this government has to respond to in the Midwestern floods. Yes, lessons were learned from Katrina. This administration very cognizant of how the response can either taint an administration, the legacy of one. So they really need to get this right, don't they?

SCHNEIDER: They certainly do and they're very conscious of the mistakes made by the previous administration. I think, in many ways, Katrina was a turning point. Most of President Bush's second term, he never approached 50 percent approach. He never had a majority of people with him. I think the big shock was the handling or mishandling of Hurricane Katrina.

This administration doesn't want to make the same mistakes. What's important is, if, god forbid, there is something that looks like a disaster, people out of their homes, if the situation gets worse -- it looks a little better now but we're not sure. If it looks worse, the president has to you be there and he has to be on the ground.

WHITFIELD: I wonder when that might happen.

SCHNEIDER: I think they're monitoring the situation closely. But people want to see the federal government there, right there with them, because that's what government is for.

WHITFIELD: Yes. And what a clash potentially, because he's to head to Europe next week for the G-20 summit. So it will be interesting to see how he, I guess, tries to economize, for lack of a better word, the next couple of days.

SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, it's going to be a big test. But I can tell you the way Americans feel. If there's a disaster in this country, they expect the president to be there.

WHITFIELD: Right. All right, Bill Schneider, thanks so much. That's why we call you the professor. I'm sure the president calls and consults you, too. Thanks so much, Bill. Thanks for rolling with the punches. Appreciate it.

An Internet marketing ploy turns into a humanitarian mission, helping one homeless person at a time.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We hope you'll join us at 4:00 p.m., a special look at how in the world to you pay for college tuition. We are calling it "Tackling Tuition 101." We invite you to send your e-mails, your comments, your iReports, weekends@CNN.com, on Facebook, Fredricka Whitfield CNN and IReport.com.

It was a simple business idea, employing homeless people to pitch a Web site. But it turned into something quite different. Here is CNN's Ed Lavandera.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Tim Edwards says alcohol and drug abuse left him strung out and homeless. For the last five years, he's been a fixture on Houston's street corners begging for money. A life Edwards describes as dehumanizing and empty.

TIM EDWARDS, HOMELESS: I think one of the hardest parts is it's boring. It's very mentally unstimulative.

LAVANDERA: Then two months, father and son marketing entrepreneurs, Shawn and Kevin Dolan walked into Edwards' life. They came armed with a video camera and a plan to test out an Internet advertising strategy, using homeless people to create a viral buzz for their Web site. So the Dolans offered Tim Edwards 100 dollars a day to advertise PimpThisBum.com. He accepted. KEVIN DOLAN, PIMPTHISBUM.COM: We had to make it kind of edgy to get that exposure and have people talking about it.

LAVANDERA: This marketing experiment has turned into a mission to help one homeless person at a time. As web traffic jumped, the Dolans set up a donation section. Edwards gets all the money. People can buy him a cheeseburger or pay for him to get layer hair removal, among others things.

Some homeless advocates worry Edwards is being exploited. But Edwards says becoming an Internet sensation is something else.

EDWARDS: I'm drinking myself to death living under a bridge. I'm watching my friends die left and right. So what have I got to lose? So to everybody who thinks that I'm being exploited, I ask you to think again.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Look at that, baby. I haven't seen this in years. He's actually got skin under here.

LAVANDERA: The makeover of Tim Edwards on the verge of his 38th birthday is in full swing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You ain't getting this shaver back from me.

LAVANDERA: Fifty thousand dollars in donations. But most importantly, this drug and alcohol treatment facility in Washington State is treating Edwards for free. He hosts nightly web chats with hundreds of followers. That's where we caught up with him.

All right, Tim, thanks so much for doing this. Right now, you're dressed like you're on your way to a job interview.

EDWARDS: I think cutting off the hair and beard and everything was a symbolic act of change. I guess embracing the change and moving on to a new stage in my life.

LAVANDERA: When Edwards leaves the rehab center, he says he'll try to find a job and a home. Big steps toward feeling human again.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Wow, that's extraordinary! PimpThisBum.com has already started lining up help for another homeless person, a friend of Tim's back on the streets in Houston.

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WHITFIELD: A fugitive U.S. marshal apparently is one of the latest victims of the deadly violence in Mexico. The body of Deputy Marshall Vincent Bustamante was found in Juarez on Wednesday. A federal law enforcement source say Bustamante appeared to have been shot in the back of the head. He faced federal charges of stealing weapons and other government property.

Last year alone, more than 6,000 people were killed in drug- related violence in Mexico. That's more than double the previous year. The U.S. State Department's latest travel alert notes a rise in robberies, homicides, petty thefts and car-jackings in Tijuana, and northern Baja, California. The border town of Juarez, where more than 1,600 people were killed last year, is of special concern, being jut across the street, so to speak, from El Paso, Texas.

So a U.S. congressional delegation and Mexico say lawmakers want to provide the country with even more money to fight violent drug cartels. It comes on the heels of a two-day visit by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. On Thursday, she visited Monterrey, where she held a town hall meeting.

Clinton, who arrived in the Mexican capital on Wednesday, said the violence does not pose a major threat to U.S. security just yet. She did, however, sit down with CNN's Jill Dougherty.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: How dangerous to the security of the United States is the violence that's going on on the border?

HILLARY CLINTON, SECRETARY OF STATE: You know, it's not an immediate problem. It's a terrible law enforcement problem. We have some of our cities along the border where the violence has washed over and people are being killed and kidnapped. So we do have a law enforcement problem.

But this is more about trying to act proactively. Why would we want this to go on, especially when President Calderon and the Mexican government are doing everything they know to do to try to defeat this violence?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So here is what's in store for our next hour. The mayor of Fargo, North Dakota, is about to come out and update us on the flood threat to his city. We'll also take you to the front lines of the drug war along Mexico's border, just a little bit more of what you were hearing the secretary say. And a hip-hop star is heading to prison. Hear what rapper T.I. told our own T.J. Holmes.

All right. Let's get the latest now. Hoping and praying that the worst is over this hour. Along the Red River in North Dakota and Minnesota, nerves are certainly on edge. But in Fargo, they're breathing a little easier right now. The river has leveled off a couple of feet below the top of the levees. And while forecasters hope that means the river has crested, they say that there may be some fluctuation in the next few days.

We're waiting right now for the mayor of Fargo to update us on this situation and we'll have live coverage as soon as it happens.

All right. In the south now, a massive storm system is spinning off more tornadoes. This funnel cloud was caught on tape yesterday, right there, in Hope Mills, North Carolina. The storm caused property damage and uprooted trees. The National Weather Service says at least two tornadoes touched down in North Carolina. No word of any serious injuries.