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Weather Goes to Extremes; Obama Administration Handles First Natural Disaster; Volunteers in Fargo Hope for the Best, but Prepare for the Worst; Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich Debuts on the Air; U.S. Troops Take Financial Classes to Help Battlefield Performance

Aired March 28, 2009 - 17:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Extreme weather all across the country today. In the upper Midwest, historic flooding along the Red River. Fargo and other communities are holding their collective breath that the levees don't give out. And farther south, springtime in the Midwest. And the Plains buried beneath two feet of snow. At least two people there have died. And to the East, rip roaring storms tearing up parts of North Carolina. More twisters could be on the way.

Hello everyone, I'm Don Lemon. We begin though in Fargo. Three million sandbags all up and down the Red River. And now, fingers crossed. A few hours ago, anxious people on both sides of the river got word that the water might not go much higher than it is.

We certainly hope that that happens. It is just shy of 41 feet right now. A wall of sandbags 43 feet high is the only thing holding back all that freezing water. Now while everyone is hoping the worst is over, some were not so lucky. I want you to take a listen to our i-Reporter, i-Reporter Peter Frei.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PETER FREI, I-REPORTER: We kind of knew that there's a good chance we would lose the house. So we decided to stay one more night and run the pumps and stuff and see if maybe they would lower the crest the next day. So I was up until 5:00 in the morning that night and we ran the pumps and levees. We were keeping up with them. Things were looking good. And then I went to bed at like 5:00. And then I woke up with my dad yelling. And I ran outside to the balcony, inside overlooking my downstairs to see water rushing in. There was like a wind tunnel type effect and there's wind rushing everywhere in the house. The house was shaking, making this low vibrating noise because what happened is our front -- we had a wood adhered to it and it just snapped.

For a minute, the whole house was filled. It was eerie. It had a creepiness to it. I mean just knowing that I was there sitting watching TV like an hour or two hours ago before this happened. And then all the sudden walking through water. The breach was at 6:45 in the morning. And we called 911 to say that we needed help to get out because the current was too strong to walk and way too high. So they said, they tried doing boat rescues but they couldn't get through because the current was too strong for the Coast Guard. So they called us later and said they would be in the helicopter in a half hour. And this was probably around 8 when they said this. They didn't get there until noon. So they came, circled around and sent down a basket and one by one, took us away.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: CNN i-Reporter Peter Frei, an amazing story there. You know, CNN's reporters and high-tech resources are monitoring the situation minute by minute. Our Jacqui Jeras, our meteorologist, is right here in the CNN Severe Weather Center. She's checking on it all. But we want to go to the ground first. Let's go to the ground and our Ted Rowlands, who is in Fargo. Ted, we'll begin with you. Ted, the water, it might not be getting any higher for now, but it is certainly not going away any time soon.

TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, that's the problem, Don. And that's the anxiety you were talking about. It's still very much in play here because people are concerned about the integrity of the dike system while well built, if you will, it is relying on those sandbags. And it is trying to hold back the Red River, which is at record levels.

And it is still at a record level, even though it has dropped just a hair. The headline is that it hasn't gone up any. But the fact is that it is still at this record level and officials say it may be at this level for up to five days.

So imagine living around this area or living next to the river knowing that the only thing keeping this river away from your house is this man-made dike system. And you have to sit there white knuckled for up to five days. And it's a horrible existence for the people here, but there's not much they can do.

That said, the National Guard is in place. You hear a helicopter over ahead. They are going around checking the dikes. And if they hear anything wrong, they're in right away along with crews and volunteers and they're in there repair dikes. We have been getting some incredible stories. You just heard the i-Reporter earlier. We talked to another i-Reporter, John Kenney. He sent us some incredibly photos. You know, a lot of people have lost this battle against the Red River. We're talking generically about the dikes holding back the main river from the city. But there are a lot of homes that did lose out. And the photos here that we see from John Kenney show that they did lose a house. Basically there were a bunch of guys in there, they were working 24 hours and a dike burst open and sent water flying into the house. We talked to him earlier today about the experience.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN KENNEY, I-REPORTER: As I started to run upstairs, the water was already pouring in the main floor. And within probably three minutes, they was three and a half feet of water on the main floor. The basement was already filled. And it was completely flooded.

(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: And John and his friends in the house all had to be rescued by a helicopter. They lost that battle. But the overall war continues here, Don, and really it's a wait and see game to see if the dikes will hold over the next few days.

LEMON: Hey Ted, you're standing right there in the middle of it. We would like to see it. What's going on around you? Where are you standing?

ROWLANDS: We're standing right on the banks of the Red River and you can see this is the main average bridge which separates Moorhead, Minnesota, from Fargo, North Dakota. And normally the river would be many, many feet down below. And you would see the area underneath the bridge. And you can see that there is absolutely no area underneath the middle of the bridge. That said, it has dropped a little bit. And we were here yesterday. And you can tell that it has dropped just a hair, less than a foot, but still significant in the minds of the people that are watching it very patiently, with a lot of anxiety. That leveling off, as they're calling it, the real headline here.

LEMON: And hopefully Ted, it stays that way. Man, for the people in that area. Thank you, Ted. We're going to turn now to our meteorologist Jacqui Jeras, who has been standing by. Jacqui, good news that it's not going any higher, but still there's a ton of water there and they're having to deal with it.

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: Of course, weather is the news today here in the CNN NEWSROOM. We want to take you down South now where days of torrential rains have caused flooding along the Gulf Coast of Mississippi and also in Alabama. The flood waters washed out roads all along the coast. Five to 10 inches of rain fell in the Buloxi area. And about 100 roads across southern Mississippi were temporarily impassible. One driver involved in this accident near Mobile, Alabama, describes what happened.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, it was dark, you know what I'm saying? It just happened. We didn't see the road. We just ran over it and then we went and ditch, that's about it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So really quick?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah. Then we got out. Well, the car started smoking, and we got out of the car. And then that one truck was behind us. And after that truck was behind us, it was trying to dodge us and went into the ditch too.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well you know what, it is not the rain but it is snow that is causing problems in the Plains. And at last two deaths are blamed on that storm. Look at these blizzard conditions in the Texas panhandle. Well don't tell people there that it's already spring. Blizzard conditions have closed highways and forced people indoors with winds blowing up to 30 miles-per-hour.

Next door in Oklahoma, there's more than a foot of snow on the ground and the governor has declared a state of emergency in 50 counties.

A state of emergency is also in effect in Kansas where the southern part of the state has snow drifts of up to six feet tall. At least nine counties have reported two feet of snow and the Kansas City, Missouri, airport had to be closed temporarily for snow removal.

You're not going to believe this next story. A tornado sweeps a woman right from her home while her husband looks on. You won't believe it and you're going to hear from them.

Also, they were racing to the hospital, trying to reach a loved one before that loved one died. Well the sirens came first, and then a whole lot of outrage. It's all caught on dashboard cam.

We also want to hear from you tonight. We you to be part of the team here on CNN, right here in the CNN NEWSROOM. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com. We'll get your responses on the air.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: You know what, people in North Carolina are cleaning up after a pair of tornadoes tore right through several counties. Several houses were damaged and trees were uprooted. It all happened late yesterday. No serious injuries were reported. But one man says his wife had a very close call. Listen closely.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I busted it open and when I busted it open, I saw her flying in the air and just set her down to the field. And luckily, because where you see that stick sticking up, that box in front landed, she landed and then that stick landed right next to her.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Man, she is lucky to be alive. Can you imagine seeing your loved one being pulled away by a tornado? Again, lucky to be alive.

We want to turn to the flood emergency though in Minnesota and the Dakotas for you right now. And we want to show you some images we received from i-Reporter, his name is Wade Baird, he is of west Fargo. He took these photos around midnight and he wanted to document the way so many volunteers were working through the night to save their community and their homes. These were taken in Moorhead, Minnesota, folks working through the night there.

We want to get some of your responses on the air now because we know the weather is causing a problem across a lot of the country. Here's what boredcollegekid says. "Getting snow down here in Tulsa, eight to 10 inches in areas. Better than the ice we usually get." Jubydoo says, "Well, I'm literally snowed in. There's a three foot drift right in front of my house, and I can't even open the front door."

Hope you have lots of supplies and food there, mister. And another viewer writes, "To assist those in need because seconds count in this kind of serious situation."

So we appreciate all of your responses, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace or iReport.com, that's how you can become part of our show and get your responses on the air. And if you have some video, if you have a Web cam, send us an e-mail here. We'll get you on as well.

Fargo is in the middle of a flood emergency, a disaster as President Obama recently declared for North Dakota and also for Minnesota. Now this is the first major natural disaster for the Obama administration. Our Kate Bolduan joins us now from Washington. Kate, it's been very interesting to see how the administration responded to this first disaster. How are they handling things so far?

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well Don, they'll tell you, so far, so good, as in also the forecast we're hearing may improve. So that is also working in their favor. But the president has a very full week ahead as he prepared to head overseas for the G-20. But he's definitely keeping an eye on the Midwest.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN (voice-over): On the eve of his first international trip and while continuing to grapple with the stalled economy, President Obama is also facing a potential natural disaster, Midwest flooding. Mr. Obama has signed federal disaster declarations for Minnesota and North Dakota, using his weekly radio and Internet address to pledge the full support of federal emergency aid.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'll continue to monitor the situation carefully. We will do what must be done to help in concert with state and local agencies, and non-profit organizations, and volunteers who are doing so much to aid the response effort.

BOLDUAN: President Obama is no doubt aware of how the response to a natural disaster like Hurricane Katrina can badly tarnish a presidency. So wanting to avoid repeating past mistakes, Obama has his acting administrator of FEMA on the ground and has personally reached out to local officials in the threatened flood zone.

MAYOR DENNIS WALAKER, FARGO: What he wanted to convey to the people that are fighting the flood on the Red River, that we did everything that was humanly possible and we do.

BOLDUAN: Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano calls it at least a 500-year flood, and despite a well-coordinated effort, says it's too soon to declare victory.

JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: 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.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BOLDUAN: Now the White House says the president is monitoring the situation from Camp David where he is this weekend. I'm told that he's being briefed throughout the day by senior aides who are in close communication, Don, with Secretary Napolitano as well as FEMA Administrator Ward along with the state and local officials in the region.

LEMON: Kate, we appreciate your reporting, thank you very much for that.

You know what, it's not just the lower 48 feeling Mother Nature's power today. Alaska -- Alaska's Mount Redoubt, Redoubt is erupting again and again. No doubt about it, we're going to fill you in on what's going on there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: "Discovery" is back on solid ground. The space shuttle landed a couple of hours ago at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It spent 13 days on a mission that included refurbishing the International Space Station so it can hold more astronauts. Joining the shuttle's seven-member crew on the flight home, astronaut Sandy Magnus, who has spent 129 days aboard the station. Wow, has it been 13 days already? It seems like it was just last weekend.

Meantime, there was a big eruption today from Alaska's Mount Redoubt. The volcano, 100 miles southwest of Anchorage, sent an ash cloud of 50,000 feet into the air, 50,000 feet. Can you imagine that? The ash is supposed to miss Anchorage and go north toward the Alaska Range. Mount Redoubt rumbled back to life. It happened last Sunday and since then, there have been about a dozen eruptions. But the last time the volcano erupted was in 1989 and 1990. Those eruptions lasted four months.

The lights are going down across the globe from the great pyramids to the Eiffel Tower to the Sears Tower. Take a look at this. This is Sydney, Australia, the wonderful bridge that we see so much that is one of thousands of cities and towns that are marking the second worldwide earth hour. Nonessential lights are being dimmed in buildings, landmarks and homes between 8:30 and 9:30 tonight to highlight the effects of climate change. Now here in the U.S., even the golden arches at hundreds of McDonald's will be dimmed. Hope you can find your way through the drive-thru. How many billions sold now? I'm not exactly sure. I'm going to look that up for you.

OK so we're looking at some of your responses here. Patrickthepoet says "It is a raining hard in North Carolina. That's not cool." RJH52 says "South Side of Chicago getting hit with heavy rain and blustery winds." Doesn't that happen all the time? At least the blustery winds part. Good luck in Chicago. 3D says "My house rattled this morning and now I feel like I need to build an ark." Probably need to get a boat or get to safety if things gets worse. We wish you all very well, good luck in this weather.

We're going to check in with our Jacqui Jeras in just a bit on all of this. Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com, you can be on the air. We want to hear from you, especially if you're in one of the weather stricken, storm stricken areas today.

You almost need a road map to keep up with this extreme weather that we've been talking about. From flooding along the Red River to heavy snow in the Plains and severe storms in the Southeast. Jacqui Jeras, keeping an eye on all of the hot or I should say cold spots happening today. Seconds away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Yes, I'm joined here by Jacqui Jeras in the Severe Weather Center. We're going to talk to her in just a minute. But in case you're just joining us, we want to tell you, there is Severe Weather happening all across the country. The Red River, you know, it is just shy of 41 feet and might not go higher, we hope. That's great news for residents of Fargo, North Dakota and other communities if the 43 foot high sandbag levees can hold back the freezing water. Communities in North Carolina are recovering today from two tornadoes. And there are storms and bad weather all over the country. It's not just rain, it's snow, it's blizzard, everything is going on. What is happening, Jacqui?

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Got a lot of different extremes, some of them related to the same weather maker, some of them not. You're looking at video out of Amarillo, Texas. They had 11 inches of snow yesterday. Today, Don, the heavy winter weather is now into parts of Oklahoma, into Kansas, and into parts of Missouri. Kansas City International Airport was closed for a couple of hours because they couldn't keep up with the heavy snow and the icy conditions. Good news, that's been opened back up but a lot of flights have been canceled and delayed. And that heavy snow will move into eastern Iowa, make its way up to Milwaukee and even into Chicago land area.

Now on the other end of the storm, we've got severe weather. Here you can see a tornado watch in effect across parts of Tennessee, including Nashville on up into much of eastern Kentucky. A number of tornado warnings in effect at this hour, Hopkins, Christian, Caldwell, Lyon, Trig Counties, all under a tornado warning, as well as one just north of the Hopkinsville area.

Onto the flooding now, that's going to continue to be a concern. We've had dry weather up north the last couple of days. But a new storm front is going to be moving on in. The river has crested but it's going to stay at a very high level for another three to seven days. So now is not necessarily the time to be cheering.

So now we're going to bring in one of our preparedness experts. This is Lieutenant General Russel Honore. You probably remember him from leading the military effort from Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. General Honore, what do we still have to worry about?

LT. GEN. RUSSEL HONORE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): Well first of all, the crews that have done the sandbag mission have done an outstanding job. First responders, National Guard, Coast Guard, great team effort. What we have to worry about now is that the worst may yet to be come. We may have not seen the worst yet.

JERAS: Right, we haven't topped a levee, but that doesn't mean the levee can't be breached.

HONORE: Those levees have been tested. The normal flowing there is about 14 feet. It's been running at 30 feet plus for several days. So what we may see in the expos, those turns in the river, as we call them expos.

JERAS: Let me flip my map over so people can see what you're talking about. There you go.

HONORE: As the water hits those expos and its turns, it creates a turning sensation and it stresses the levee and or dike. So there's a lot more water yet to flow, another seven to eight days flow is what most of the estimates are. And this levee is going to get weaker, not stronger as we look to the next seven or eight days. So people that have been protected, we haven't had a disaster yet because of the good work of the people to protect this city.

JERAS: Yes, amazing volunteer efforts so far. What about FEMA though? They came in ahead of time as well as the Red Cross. Are we doing things right this time around?

HONORE: Well, I think they always attempt to. In this case, you're about 2,000 National Guard on the ground. FEMA had over 300,000 meals, a collaboration with the Corps engineers, they provided millions of sandbags. The Corps has another 10 million on the way. The army's northern command has provided some 15 helicopters. The Coast Guard is there, Health and Human Services there, Small Business Administration. There's a big team effort to try to help the people.

FEMA is clearly focused on a worst case scenario. The worst case scenario is that levee breaks and 100,000 people could be displaced. Now thanks to the good work and a little cooperation from Mother Nature, that hasn't happened. But the caution to people is don't sleep behind those levees or dikes. Move out as the local government officials, when it's time to move, move.

JERAS: So so far so good on the government officials. It's the people like those i-Reports we saw today that are trying to stay in their homes and protect their places that need to get out and get out.

HONORE: And I predict it's going to get worse before it gets better. Remember that weather radio. Keep it by, because if it's flood, we're going to lose power. Right now many people are just inconvenienced, the majority of the people. Take into account some people have lost their home. But the majority of people are still safe and sound. They have plans for FEMA and Red Cross to have shelters for about 90,000 people. Buses are on standby for people that need rides. Notifications, local sheriffs and mayors are doing a great job. But people have information now. If the power goes out, CNN goes out, radio stations go out. Have the radio. Be ready. Be Red Cross ready.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEORGOLOGIST: Great advice. Thank you very much, Lieutenant General Russel Honore. Thanks for being with us. Some great advice.

Not out of the woods just yet, Don, but if you play it smart, hopefully you're going to come out of this one OK.

LEMON: All right, Jacqui, and General Honore, thank you both.

Meantime, volunteers are working hard in Fargo, hoping for the best, but preparing really for the worst.

One of the volunteers, we know him well for his efforts in disaster recovery because he's a "CNN Hero." His name is Tad Agoglia and he joins us tonight from Fargo. He and his team are there now but have not yet been deployed. They're on standby. That could change at any second.

Tad, how is team? How are you guys doing? Have you gotten any orders yet?

TAD AGOGLIA, FIRST REPSONSE TEAM OF AMERICA: We're all doing well, Don. We're on standby 24 hours a day for any breeches that might happen in these levees.

LEMON: So you're still on standby. I guess it comes as good news, it doesn't appear right now the water will go higher. This is unprecedented. So, again, as I said, you're on standby. Tell us about the equipment just in case the worst happens. And we hope it doesn't. What you have deployed and how you're going to help out?

AGOGLIA: Well, the weather reports are changing rapidly. We're expecting snow an hour early next week. The reason why we brought in the hovercraft is it's a boat that can basically work with any type of situation that comes our way. Whether it's snow or ice or rivers that are giving us a tremendous amount of currents. We are here to be on standby if these levees might breech. We have quite a few days ahead of us here, possibly three to seven, where the water will stay at this level.

LEMON: I want to tell people about you again. This is one of the reasons you're one of our heroes. This is full disclosure and it's good stuff. The funds from your company come by reallocating all of the profits from Disaster Recovery Solutions to the humanitarian aid taken by the First Response Team. You don't take a salary. You're really relying on people donating to you in many ways in order to keep doing what you're doing and helping out. How can folks help out if they need to?

AGOGLIA: Essentially, we are a people helping each other. Americans helping each other. That's what my team does. I have taken the profits and resources from my own company to develop the First Response Team. Now we're carrying on the work for -- this is our third year. People can go to our web site, firstresponseteam.org, to show they're support and donate to keep us out here. We would appreciate others to join us.

LEMON: You have a Twitter link. What is it?

AGOGLIA: FirstResponse.

LEMON: FirstResponse at Twitter. They can find out Tad Agoglia and how you can help Tad in the efforts and also help the people who are in the storm areas.

Tad, we really appreciate what you do. Come back if you get some orders. Give me a call, shoot me an e-mail and let me know and we'll bring you right back on, OK?

AGOGLIA: Thank you, Don.

LEMON: Thank you, sir.

It's the outrage story of the week. I don't know if you've seen this. It's amazing. A cop stops a family at a Dallas area hospital while they were trying to visit a dying relative. The officer refuses to let the driver go inside. Inside -- I'll give you a hint -- somebody was dying. You won't believe what happens next. All caught on dash cam.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROD BLAGOJEVICH, FORMER GOVERNOR OF ILLINOIS: Good morning. This is former Governor Rod Blagojevich. How are you?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: We're not sure if talk radio is ready for this. Probably is. But Rod Blagojevich, he's back. And the airwaves probably will never be the same.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: OK, Michael Steele made news this week when he sat down in an interview with me. He made history last January when he became the first African-American to chair the Republican National Committee. I asked him a number of questions, one of which was the question that came off the top of my head, have you ever considered running for president? Check out what he said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: You have never thought of running for president?

MICHAEL STEELE, CHAIRMAN, REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE: No. I'm looking you in the eye and telling you that without blinking, without hesitation, straight up.

LEMON: Would you consider it?

STEELE: If the opportunity were there and it was right. God has a way of revealing stuff to you and making it real for you through others. If that's part of the plan, it will be the plan. Maybe in eight ten years you'll play the tape back. It's because that's where God wants me to be at that time. Honest to God, you cannot plan this. Too many moving parts to plan this. You just cannot plan it.

LEMON: But if the opportunity presented itself then you would run for president?

STEELE: I would think about it. I would have to have a long conversation with the wife and kids. This is not a fun thing. Our politics today does not insight or inspire someone to make that sacrifice. The way our politics is played out, in all honesty, is ugly.

LEMON: Has anybody approached you and asked you to run?

STEELE: I have a lot of folks out there I run into and say...

LEMON: In the party?

STEELE: Oh, officials in the party? No, no. They look at me and scratch their heads and go, OK, what is this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: That was just a little bit of our conversation. What else did I ask him about? I asked him if he ever felt uncomfortable because there were so few African-Americans in the party. He answers that. I asked if he thought he was on the wrong side of the history when it came to the election of the first African-American president. I asked if he would have that same position if he were white. He answered that as well.

So at 7:00, the chair of the Florida Republican National Committee. His name is Jim Greer. He's a supporter of Michael Steele along with the outspoken commentator radio host, Michelangelo Signorelli, who is not at supporter of Mr. Steele. They're going to join us to talk about this. We're going to go over the entire interview, no holds barred, 7:00 p.m. here on CNN. Stay tuned for that.

Meantime, this guy is back. Remember him? The hair and everything. Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He's out of one job, but he's picking up another. Here to explain it all is Jeanne Moos.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine being asked...

ANNOUNCER: WLS News, time 7:04.

MOOS: ... to do host -- clear your throat -- a radio show for the very first time.

ANNOUNCER: Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich filling in for Don, Wade and Roma on the Big 89.

MOOS: It was enough to make Blagojevich twitch with nervous energy as he prepared to go on.

BLAGOJEVICH: Ready? Good morning, this is former Governor Rod Blagojevich. How are you?

MOOS: The "former" part of governor seem to stick in his throat, not once, but twice.

BLAGOJEVICH: This is former Governor Rod Blagojevich.

MOOS: Like any radio rookie, he was a little hesitant.

BLAGOJEVICH: We're turning it over to commercials.

MOOS: His studio sidekicks got their kicks.

UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: Are those head phones going to mess up your hair? That's my concern for you.

BLAGOJEVICH: I brought my brush.

MOOS: Blagojevich chatted with guests like comedian and a CNN contributor D.L. Hughley.

BLAGOJEVICH: Yes, I'm writing a book. I'm on page three.

D.L. HUGHLEY, COMEDIAN, FOX NEWS CONTRIBUTOR: You're probably four pages further than George Bush is on his.

(LAUGHTER)

MOOS: They kept coming back from breaks with Blagojevich's favorite singer.

(SINGING)

BLAGOJEVICH: If you just tuned in this is not Elvis. This is Rod Blagojevich.

MOOS: Very (INAUDIBLE) for a guy accused of pay for play.

(SINGING)

BLAGOJEVICH: Hi, this is Rod Blagojevich.

MOOS: They were a few slow moments. At one point, a microphone picked up snoring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's acquitted himself very well, but I think...

MOOS: As for the high point, perhaps it was the interview with the guy who plays Blago in a musical called "Rod Blagojevich Superstar."

(SINGING)

MOOS: The actor in his wig and former governor posed.

BLAGOJEVICH: I feel like Lawrence Olivier meeting Hamlet.

MOOS: Senator Roland Burris, appointed by Blagojevich, is portrayed in the musical.

(SINGING)

MOOS: The real Blago's radio show performance got good reviews.

UNIDENTIFIED RADIO HOST: You're doing great.

BLAGOJEVICH: You think so?

MOOS: Though you would fumble with your headsets, too, if you had that hair to protect. Late night just hadn't been the same without the woman-eating hair jokes.

Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Well, U.S. troops -- I'm not even going to comment on that. U.S. troops have to keep an eye on their finances in the economic downturn while they're on the battlefield. We'll check out this video and see how they're doing.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, a lot of service members are to do this. They're having to serve overseas, but then they're worried about the financial situation at home. Troops in Baghdad are learning how to fight a different sort of battle now.

Our Nic Robertson, our senior international correspondent, shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIKE JONES, U.S. ARMY CHAPLIN, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: You can get $1,000, right? We went over that, how we can do that.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN NEWS SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Chaplin Mike Jones is preaching a different message to his usual Sunday sermons.

JONES: The stock market is second wind, brother. I mean, it is hurting. It is absolutely hurting. ROBERTSON: From his chapel at a base outside Baghdad, he's teaching soldiers a new fight, how to battle the global economic downturn.

JONES: If our fighting force is hobbled financially, then we're not going to be able to fight properly. If things are not right back home, the soldier's state of mind to be able to accomplish the mission is not going to be as good.

ROBERTSON: Troop commanders are so concerned soldiers learn to manage their money, they gave 80 free places on a commercial course, at a cost to the Army of $7,000.

Chaplain Jones volunteered to run it.

Sergeant Emily Berlow came saddled with debt.

SGT. EMILY BERLOW, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: I have enough to worry about being over here and my husband is deployed as well.

ROBERTSON: Others, worried about the recession back home.

SPEC. ANNA-MARIA GREENFIELD, 10TH MOUNTAIN DIVISION: The economy has been awful right now. I help my mother with finances. My friend has gotten laid off.

JONES: Just because we're wearing this uniform does not mean that you'll be in the military forever.

ROBERTSON: Part of Jones' effort, to cut through the complacency that can lull soldiers into believing a military career is insulation enough against the woes of the world.

(on camera): Although officers have been joking about it a little bit tongue in cheek, the financial class has been proving more popular than some of the Sunday services. Almost every seat in the chapel here has been filled.

JONES: I hate to admit it as a chaplain, but that's absolutely the truth. In times of financial straights, people are going to seek help in any fashion they can.

ROBERTSON (voice-over): So important has been the troop when troops graduated, a general came to hand out certificates.

When the same course was offered two years ago, barely 5 percent of the participants passed. This time, it's being 90 percent.

Nic Robertson, CNN, Camp Victory, Iraq.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: More people turning out for that than his services. Amazing.

A day after Barack Obama announced his revised strategy for Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai is praising the new U.S. strategy. At a new conference in Kabul, Mr. Karzai said, quote, "This was better than what we expected." He says President Barack Obama has Afghanistan's full support. Mr. Obama's plan includes 4,000 more U.S. troops in addition to the 17,000 he announced earlier.

We have a reminder for you. President Barack Obama's foreign policy will be the focus on tomorrow's "State of the Union" with John King, both the military and the diplomatic perspectives. Catch that tomorrow morning, 9:00 eastern on CNN. Sunday morning, 8:00 eastern on CNN, John King's "State of the Union."

There was a big night for "CNN Hero" Jorge Munoz. He was presented with the City Spirit Award at the New York Knicks basketball game last night in Madison Square Garden. CNN named Mr. Munoz a hero just last week for his work feeding the hungry every night in Queens while keeping his day job as a school bus driver. Congratulations to him. We salute him.

And you can find out more about Mr. Munoz or other "CNN Heroes" in "Impact your World" on how you can impact your world by going to CNN.com/impact.

See that video? That's dash cam video. It's an outrageous story, probably the outrage of the week. A cop stops a family at a Dallas area hospital why they were trying to visit a dying relative. The officer refuses to let the driver go inside. The officer, even though the guy explained it, didn't believe it, didn't let them go. Dash cam video, moments away.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: We have a story for you yesterday on CNN, but you may not have seen it. It's about an overzealous cop that had one thing on his mind when he pulled over an NFL player. His name is Ryan Moats. It happened just north of Dallas. Never mind that Moats' mother-in-law was dying.

Ed Lavandera now.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ED LAVENDERA, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is Police Officer Robert Powell's view, chasing down an SUV that he just saw slowly pass through a red light. The car has flashing hazard lights turned on, and inside is NFL running back Ryan Moats, who's rushing to the hospital to see his dying mother-in-law. When Moats pulled into a parking space, police say, Powell draws his gun and the confrontation quickly gets heated.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT POWELL, POLICE OFFICER, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: Get in there! Get in there!

RYAN MOATS, NFL PLAYER: Excuse me?

POWELL: Let me see your hands. Get in there.

MOATS: My mom is dying.

POWELL: Put your hands on the car. Do you understand?

MOATS: My mother-in-law is dying, right now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: From the officer's dash cam video, you can hear Moats try to explain the urgency of the moment. His wife and another relative ignore the officer and go inside. The officer asked for Moats' insurance and says he's being ticketed for running a red light.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POWELL: I need your insurance.

MOATS: I don't know where it's at. I don't have insurance.

POWELL: You don't have insurance?

MOATS: Take it or whatever.

POWELL: Listen, if I can't verify you have insurance

MOATS: My mother-in-law is dying, right now.

POWELL: Listen...

MOATS: You're wasting my time.

POWELL: If I can't verify you have insurance, I'm going to tow the car. You need to find it, or I'll tow the car. Stop talking. Stop stalking. You're going to need to cooperate or I take you to jail.

MOATS: What'd you ask for? You asked for insurance and registration, so...

POWELL: Shut your mouth!

MOATS: There you go.

POWELL: Shut your mouth!

MOATS: Yeah.

POWELL: You can cooperate or I can take you to jail for running a red light.

MOATS: Go ahead.

POWELL: Is that what you want to do?

MOATS: Whatever. Go ahead. POWELL: OK, I can screw you over. I'd rather not do that. Your attitude will dictate everything that happens. And right now your attitude sucks.

MOATS: Yes, sir.

POWELL: OK. I turned my red and blues on as you're going over the bridge. This is where you stopped.

MOATS: Do you think I'm going to stop when my wife's mother is dying.

POWELL: You're required to stop. What you're doing does not matter.

MOATS: OK, yes, sir.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: That was Police Chief David Kunkle, ripped his officer's handling of the situation. Powell has been put on paid leave until an internal investigation is complete. He could be fired.

DAVID KUNKLE, CHIEF, DALLAS POLICE DEPARTMENT: I want to issue a personal apology and also an apology on behalf of the Dallas Police Department to the family of Jeanetta Callingsworth. I am embarrassed and disappointed by the behavior of one of our police officers, Officer Robert Powell.

LAVANDERA: And listen as another police officer and even a hospital nurse try to help get Moats inside.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SECURITY GUARD: That's the nurse. She says that the mom's dying right now. She wants to know if we they get him up there before she dies.

POWELL: All right. I'm almost done.

SECURITY GUARD: OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAVANDERA: After almost 15 minutes, Ryan Moats finally is allowed to walk away. But not in time to say good-bye to his mother- in-law. She died as Officer Powell finished writing the ticket.

(on camera): After all of that, the ticket has been dismissed and Dallas police leaders say in their initial conversations with Officer Powell, that he insists that he did everything right and acted appropriately.

Ed Lavandera, CNN, Dallas.

(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Boy, a lot of you are weighing in.

Here's what FrankBarberaJr says on Twitter. He says, "I feel bad for the dude stopped by the cop, considering mom-in-law passed, but he broke the law. The officer was doing his job."

There's more. One from meede says, "Not like an O.J. chase here, but the guy should be fired."

Share your opinion, Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, iReport.com. We appreciate it.

"The Situation Room" is straight ahead.

Wolf, what do you have?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Thanks very much, don.

Coming up at the top of the hour, we have an exclusive interview with the NATO secretary general. Are the NATO allies doing enough to help the U.S. in Afghanistan?

Also, an emotional interview with Congresswoman Debbie Wassermann Schultz. She tells us about her life and death struggle against breast cancer.

And Tom Sellick, the actor, he's here in Washington. He's also in "The Situation Room." He's honoring Vietnam War veterans. And he's also telling us whether there's going to be a new motion picture, "Magnum, P.I."

All that, Don, and a lot more coming up at the top of the hour right here in "The Situation Room."

LEMON: Thanks, Wolf. We'll be watching.

One viewer, who is a doctor, got tired of the bad stories we report and all the people he was treating, so he did something about it. Because of gun violence, he's a "CNN Hero."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Here's something you should pay attention to. Almost half of all the murder victims in the United States are black. And even those that survive a violent assault face a greater risk of receiving another violent injury. This "CNN Hero" is trying to change all of that.

(CNN HERO)

LEMON: To nominate someone, CNN.com/Heroes.

I'm Don Lemon. I'll see you back here at 7:00 p.m. eastern. "The Situation Room" with Wolf Blitzer right now.