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Obama School Speech Controversy; Arson Blamed for California Wildfire; Jobless Numbers Jump

Aired September 04, 2009 - 10:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Here's some of the other stories we're watching right now. A pair of astronauts finished up their space walk early this morning, installed a new cooling tank on the International Space Station. Meanwhile, NASA is watching a piece of space junk the size of a car headed their way. It's expected to miss the station by about two miles.

And do you know anything about the deaths of Virginia Tech students Heidi Childs and David Metler? The university says it will pay $10,000 to anyone who has evidence leading to an arrest and a conviction. The students were found shot to death off campus a week ago yesterday.

And British Prime Minister Gordon Brown says he has no plans to pull his troops out of Afghanistan. Brown has been defiant this morning in the face of mounting criticism over strategy and the rising death toll for British troops in Afghanistan. 75 British soldiers have died there this year.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. BERNARD DUBRAY, SUPERINTENDENT, FORT ZUMWALT, MO. SCHOOL DISTRICT: It's a unique opportunity to hear from the president of the United States speaking directly to students. But I also think that not everyone elected him to be president. A lot of people were not happy with that decision made by the country, and consequently there are two sides to every story.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: It's a speech President Obama won't deliver until Tuesday. The White House is not releasing it until Monday, a copy. But conservatives are already blasting the president's nationwide address to students. The biggest target a lesson plan to accompany the speech that suggests students write about how to help the president. The White house has since revised the lesson plan but that hasn't stopped conservative criticism.

Our Ed Henry is following the story from the White House. So, Ed, how does the administration respond to this charge?

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, they're baffled that this has sort of blown up into the controversy that it has. The flames have clearly been fanned on conservative talk radio in particular, saying the president is trying to indoctrinate young students. The White House says that's nonsense. The president all along was planning to just give a very simple address, urges kids to study hard and stay in school and kind of the very basic things and in fact they acknowledge that as you say the lesson plan was "inartfully worded" as they put it now. But they say that should not distract from what they believe will be a very straightforward address for back to school next week.

In fact, they point to the fact that in 1991 the first President Bush gave a very similar address right here in Washington, D.C. from Allis (ph) Junior High School, where he basically said, you know, study hard, don't use drugs. Same kind of apolitical message that the White House insists President Obama will delivering next Tuesday.

And they say, on Monday, the day before the address parents across the country can decide for themselves when the White House posts online the president's remarks and they can see whether they believe it crosses a line or not and if it does, they have a choice to not send their kids to school, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Interesting. And this presidency has always been talking about transparency but now something new.

HENRY: That's right. For the first time ever, this White House is going to post the visitor logs online of people coming through the White House gate. This has been a sore subject for a long time, especially in the Bush White House, when they would not release those logs of who is coming in to meet Vice President Cheney on his energy task force, oil and gas lobbyists, for example.

This White House faced the same controversy early on when they were refusing to release records of which health care lobbyists they were talking to, which health care executives they were talking to. They eventually released those records, however, and now the president just put out a statement a short time ago, saying that he believes that he's making history here in terms of transparency. Within 90 to 100 days after meetings, it's going to be posted online.

So, you can see if a health care lobbyists comes in and meets with the White House chief of staff or someone else. It will all be posted online for the world to see, Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right. Ed Henry at the White House. Thanks so much. Appreciate it.

Of course, we want to hear from you. What do you think about the controversy being made now of the president addressing students come Tuesday? Well, send us your comments, your thoughts at CNN.com/fredricka and we'll try to get them on the air.

An overnight air strike in Afghanistan now under investigation. NATO forces launch the attack on a pair of coalition fuel trucks hijacked by Taliban fighters. At least 90 people were killed. NATO admits it's possible civilians are among the dead. Meanwhile, the Pentagon has announced that about 3,000 troops will stay in Afghanistan an extra two weeks or two months depending on their unit. They are staying longer so their replacements have more time at home. On Monday, September 7th, Anderson Cooper takes you inside Afghanistan, live from the battle zone. An "AC 360" special, of course, starting Monday, only on CNN, the worldwide leader in news.

What many have suspected is apparently confirmed. North Korea's official news agency reports it has reached the final stages of enriching uranium. That's another way of making nuclear bombs. North Korea says it's pushing ahead with its nuclear program because the United Nations has imposed tougher sanctions. At the same time, U.S. representatives are in Beijing. They are working to restart stalled nuclear talks with North Korea.

A wildfire near Los Angeles is now a crime scene. Investigators say the 220 square mile station fire was deliberately set. It is now a homicide investigation because two firefighters died while battling the blaze.

Our Rob Marciano is about 400 miles north of Los Angeles at the scene of another destructive fire. He's following investigators there as they search for clues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think every fire is different.

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST (voice-over): Days after a fire swept across Auburn, California, wiping out 63 homes, investigators still don't know how it started.

RON HALL, FIRE ANALYST: It started from the area where the fire is furthest away and work their way back following the various burn patterns to the area where we determine to be the area of origin.

MARCIANO: Fire analyst Ron Hall and his team of investigators are trying to figure it out.

HALL: It's a fire, and it has its own earmarks, and it has its own character and you work with it.

MARCIANO: They comb the torched landscape for clues -- measuring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How far you got?

MARCIANO: Mapping. They're looking for the source.

HALL: We identify each and every potential ignition source.

MARCIANO: Nothing goes unnoticed.

HALL: You'll see the burn on this side. Now, w e also look at ground litter. What I mean by that is debris that's laying on the ground. This looks like what remains of a plastic gas cap. You just created the ultimate crime.

MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE) HALL: Fire can burn prints off, yes. As you look at the needles or leaves in this case on this vegetation, you can see how they're all curled in this direction.

MARCIANO (on camera): So now, what goes through your mind as you begin to zero in on what you presume to be ground zero?

HALL: Well, as you start to move into the area of origin, you've been all along the way looking at something inconsistent. Fire moving in a different direction or maybe multiple points of origin. In this case we only have one area of origin and that's in this corner.

MARCIANO:: It may have started in this corner but they still don't know why.

HALL: It's all a challenge. It's trying to figure out the truth, what really did happen.

MARCIANO: Rob Marciano, CNN, Auburn, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our Jacqui Jeras again in the weather center. Boy, you're very busy this holiday weekend. We're talking about how is the weather for the West Coast and for fighting of the fires and then you're in the hurricane headquarter. So we're watching that, too.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, a lot going on. Again, a big holiday weekend. The good news with the fire conditions is that they are kind of status quo today and even cooler temperatures on the way for the weekend. So that's even better. We'll get onshore flow which will help bring in higher humidity. Now, we got some rain in some areas. Just, you know, Texas needs it, too. We got a very extreme drought taking place especially down near Austin and San Antonio.

The Dallas-Ft. Worth area getting in on some of this action particularly on the western and southern sides of town. We've been getting some of those spotty showers moving into the Houston area. Now, none of this is severe but we could see some real heavy downpours with, you know, maybe a little bit of urban flooding or some of those streets having some ponding taking place.

Now, travel today, of course, big travel day. One of the top travel days of the year and we've had a ground stop just lifted now in Nashville and this is due to some fog. We're still reporting visibility though about a quarter of a mile at Nashville International. So, hopefully we won't see an extension on that one. Delays at Newark due to volume and Washington, D.C.. That's at National, Reagan National reporting that 30-minute delay.

Across the country today, the focus of the showers and thunderstorms, Texas, through parts of the plains we've been getting some heavy rain, south of Kansas city as well. And then we'll also be watching the Gulf Coast and much of Florida as you can see here and that's going to be the rule as we head through the weekend. Temperature wise if you're heading to the beach, it's going to be warm enough for you across the southeast but it might be a little chilly at the pool up in Minnesota, say up towards Chicago and even into Boston.

The southwest - that heat is there today. But as I mentioned, it's going to be suppressed a little bit by the weekend with a big cold front is going to be moving into the Pacific northwest, bringing in some rainfall here. And yes, we might even see some snow into the higher levels of the elevations of the mountains. It will look pretty any way.

WHITFIELD: Right.

And you know what, Labor Day weekend, holiday weekend, people don't care whether it is cold or hot. They're still going to do their thing.

JERAS: Yes, they are - for the most part. Just be safe doing it, right? If there are thunderstorms out there, go inside.

WHITFIELD: Well, then you go inside. All right. Jacqui, appreciate that.

All right. We're now seeing the highest jobless rate in 26 years. New numbers just out this morning show a jump in August unemployment to 9.7 percent. That means 216,000 more jobs were lost last month. A greater breakdown shows that unemployment among African-Americans has now topped 15 percent. The rate for Hispanic is up to 13 percent.

All right. A boy who cries blood. A mother's fight to find a cure.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: So earlier this week we brought you the story of a young boy in Tennessee who apparently cries blood. Take a look at the images there. Calvino Inman suffers from a rare condition that doctors think may be haemolacria. Hopefully, we'll get the doctors to better pronounce it than what I just said. But doctors don't really know a lot about what causes this. The boy and his mother are on a campaign for a cure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CALVINO INMAN, CRIES BLOOD: I thought my eye were coming out like a tear. I felt my eyes watering. Sometimes it will burn as it comes out.

TAMMY MYNATT, MOTHER: More than anything I just truly want somebody to say I have seen this. I can help this family. I don't care where we have to travel. I will go wherever we need to go. I'll do whatever I have to do. I just want somebody to help my baby.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So they're now joining us live from Knoxville, Tennessee. Calvino Inman and his mother Tammy Mynatt, good to see both of you. OK.

So Calvino, I want to begin with you because when this happened, what was it last May? When you just simply were coming out of the shower and you noticed this blood and then tell me what happened?

INMAN: Well, I ran to my mom and I asked her what was going on. I started freaking out.

WHITFIELD: So there was no pain involved?

INMAN: No, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: OK. And then Tammy when you saw this, what were you to say to Calvino?

MYNATT: I pretty much did the same thing as him. I grabbed my phone and dialed 911. I didn't know what to say or what to do.

WHITFIELD: Did you end up going to the hospital?

MYNATT: We did.

WHITFIELD: And what did they say?

MYNATT: Well, by the time we got him to the hospital we had cleaned his face and stuff up and they looked at me like we were kind of crazy because there wasn't no signs of no blood coming from nowhere.

WHITFIELD: And then Calvino, give me an idea of just how spontaneously does this just happen? Just out of nowhere or is there anything that actually causes it? Any kind of behavior or any habits that actually makes the bleeding begin?

INMAN: It just comes out of nowhere.

WHITFIELD: OK. Well, we've got a doctor with us now. Dr. Barrett Haik because I know Calvino and Tammy, you all have spoken with doctors, a number of people about what do we do with this. Let's talk about this. Whether this is indeed, haemolacria, is it, doctor?

DR. BARRETT HAIK, DIRECTOR, UNIVERSITY OF TENESSEE'S HAMILTON EYE INSTITUTE: Yes, every indication is truly is blood pouring through the tear film and basically overwhelming the tear drainage facility of the eye and allowing the bloody tears to roll down the cheeks along the nasolabial folds.

WHITFIELD: And there's no pain involved?

HAIK: And the children that I have seen, pain has not been a component at all.

WHITFIELD: So it is unusual but because it has a name makes me want to think that there is a prognosis. You know exactly how to treat this perhaps? HAIK: Well, the interesting thing about this is that there are about 100 causes of this particular problem. And although, you know, we're talking about very rare situation with this fine young man, there's only a handful of people in the world that have what he has. There are hundreds of others that have blood in their tears related to tumors, cancer, injuries, certain types of blood dyscracias, hemophilia, bleeding abnormalities.

All of those sorts of things. And generally we can find the cause and those we can then directly focus our treatment on. What's been so unusual for him is that pinpointing the exact cause of where the blood is coming from and why it is coming at these intermittent periods with no premonitions or warnings. It has been the real complex thing.

WHITFIELD: And Dr. Haik, you feel pretty confident that a treatment, you know, can help Calvino?

HAIK: I'm very hopeful. Having not seen him yet and I look forward to seeing him in the next several days, I have seen several other children with this condition and in most cases we have been able to find a group of abnormal blood vessels hidden away in the lacrimal sac, an area that is adjacent to the nose where the tears kind of come across the eye.

If you look at this model, we're looking at the lacrimal gland which sits above underneath the brow of the orbit and this where the tears are made. And the god's design for the tears is so complex. It's not just water. It's mixed with special oils and mucopolysaccharides so you can get a perfectly smooth surface on the eye. So if you get abnormalities in the lacrimal glands and the glands of the eyelids themselves, which you can see on the underside of this or of the surface of the eye. They can all bleed and if we can find those causes, we can treat them with a laser or various other types of devices.

WHITFIELD: And it really is fascinating. Of course, Tammy and Calvino, I'm sure you don't find it very fascinating. You want an end to this. So what kind of questions might you have for the doctor here? I know you all will be meeting soon. But you have an opportunity to ask some questions right now. Do you have any?

MYNATT: No. I really can't wait to see him face to face. I'm sure I have a million of them by then.

HAIK: Well, I can share one little anecdote with you. Yesterday there was a beautiful young girl that I saw with this problem maybe 10 to 12 years ago and when I was a professor of ophthalmology at the Tulane University before taking the position as chair at the Hamilton Eye Institute, at the anniversary of Tennessee. And that young lady went through almost an identical course of action and despite the most elaborate workup we were unable to find an etiology or cause.

It disappeared. I happened to talked to her yesterday just to check on her and see how she was doing, and she sent me the most beautiful picture of her holding her baby and she's grown up and never had another problem with bleeding.

WHITFIELD: That's great hope, Calvino, don't you think?

INMAN: Yes, ma'am.

WHITFIELD: So give me an idea, Calvino, what has this been like when you go to school trying to explain this spontaneous, you know, tearing up of blood. That's got to be pretty awkward for you at school. What do your fellow students say and then what do you say in return?

INMAN: Mostly everybody is praying for me and crying because they're feeling sorry for me. Honestly, I don't want to see them crying or nothing but I'm happy that they're praying for me.

WHITFIELD: Well, it sounds like Dr. Haik and his team might have some great solutions for you. And that latest example he just gave of the young lady, great outcome for her. So likely a great outcome for you, too, Calvino.

Calvino Inman and Tammy Mynatt and Dr. Barrett Haik, thanks so much. And good luck to all of you as you meet in the coming days.

HAIK: God bless you. Thank you.

MYNATT: Thank you.

INMAN: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Well his parents, children, brothers, sisters, bid Michael Jackson goodbye. Once again his final resting place among some of Hollywood's greatest legends.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, 20 minutes past the hour.

In less than two hours a former soldier is expected to be sentenced to life in prison without parole. Steven Green was convicted earlier this year of the gang rape and murder of a 14-year- old Iraqi girl three years ago. He was also found guilty of killing her parents and younger sister.

A pair of astronauts finished up their space walk early this morning but they'll be back out there tomorrow for the last planned walk of this mission. Right now NASA is watching a piece of space junk which is the size of a car. It's expected to pass relatively close to the station about 40 minutes from now. By close, we mean two miles.

President Obama plans to keep a campaign promise about having an open and transparent administration. Officials say the president plans to announce that the White House will release its visitor logs on a regular basis. This comes on the heels of criticism the president has refused to release some of the logs and after a group sued the administration for access to the logs. A final goodbye to the king of pop. It was an emotional largely private service for family and friends only. Michael Jackson is now interred at the renowned Forest Lawn Cemetery, near Los Angeles.

CNN's Randi Kaye takes us inside.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It sprawls 300 acres and is home to nearly a quarter million people, all of them dead. This is Forest Lawn Glendale Memorial Park. The king of pop's final resting place. Far beyond the entrance gates believed to be the largest wrought iron gates in the world, Michael Jackson's secret crypt. It is inside the Great Mausoleum, in the Memorial Court of Honor which houses exact reproductions of Michaelangelo's greatest works. Seen here in pictures obtained by CNN.

The mausoleum overlooks majestic rolling hills. Its main entrance marked by a gothic tower more than 100 feet high. Scott Michaels owns Dearly Departed Tours in Los Angeles and has been inside.

(on camera) What is it like inside the Great Mausoleum?

SCOTT MICHAELS, DEARLY DEPARTED TOURS: The Great Mausoleum of Forest lawn is like a Gothic church almost. When you walk in, it has enormous ceilings probably 20 feet tall, big archways and goes off into different hallways where the A-listers are. You know, like Gable and Lombard and Jean Harlow and those types of people.

KAYE (voice-over): On Forest Lawn's Web site, pictures of the main attraction at Jackson's mausoleum. The Last Supper window. A life size stained glass recreation of Leonardo Da Vinci's masterpiece sitting since Jackson reportedly once commissioned his own Last Supper painting. It hung over his bed at Neverland Ranch.

(on camera): From what you can see, nobody will get near Michael Jackson's crypt?

MICHAELS: No, not without passing the crypt's keeper. They're very strict about how they allow in. Now that Jackson is going to be in there, there's absolutely no way you'll be able to wander around there.

KAYE (voice-over): Tight security may be why the Jackson family decided to bury the singer here. Every entrance has a buzzer with guards posted throughout. Michael Jackson will be surrounded by celebrities. Celebrity web sites say his good friend, Sammy Davis Jr., is buried here. So is Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, Jimmy Stewart, Nat King Cole, George Burns, Gracie Allen and Walt Disney, just to name a few.

(on camera): But if you come here for their graves, good luck. The memorial park does not provide a map of the celebrity's graves. In fact, it won't even confirm who is buried here. A spokesman for Forest Lawn told me "it's inappropriate to market such a thing." (voice-over): Forest Lawn attracts more than one million visitors a year. Even Pope John Paul II toured the grounds during a trip to Los Angeles. No doubt Michael Jackson's burial here will inspire even more star struck visitors who refuse to let the king of pop rest in peace.

Randi Kaye, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And tomorrow night at 8:00 Eastern, CNN's Don Lemon takes an in-depth look at Michael Jackson's life and legacy. Don't miss this "CNN Presents" special, "Michael Jackson: Man in the Mirror." That is Saturday, tomorrow, 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

All right. Move over, fellows. Girls are close to ruling in the workplace. You can blame it on the bad economy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: For most Americans this recession comes down to one thing. Jobs. Today the government confirmed that more people are losing them. Susan Lisovicz is at the New York Stock Exchange with more details on that -- Susan.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred. I mean, when you talk about the ravages of recession really comes down to people and the job losses that come with recession and unfortunately we have an unemployment rate now that has jumped to 9.7 percent. But that alone doesn't tell the full story here - the underemployment rate. Those of us working part-time jobs because we can't get full-time work is nearly double that.

In real numbers, about 26 million Americans are unemployed or underemployed. That's more than the population of Texas.

But a lot of us have been prepared for these numbers to go up. In fact, most economists expect the unemployment rate to hit 10 percent or higher before it goes lower unfortunately, Fred.

WHITFIELD: So, we talk about the unemployment rate rising. We also talk about the number of job losses declining. So, a mixed message here, or is it not?

LISOVICZ: It is a mixed message. The bottom line is that the U.S. economy is still weak. It's not as weak as it used to be.

These two sets of numbers are coming from two separate reports. One is a survey of employers. The other is a survey of households. Some discrepancy is normal. I think most people are focused on the numbers of jobs that are lost. There were 216,000 positions eliminated in the month of August. That's a high number, but it is the smallest in a year.

Check out this chart. The losses in the first part of the year, the first three months of the year, averaged, Fredricka, nearly 700,000. The next three months, about 400,000. Now we're talking about 200,000. So, you know, this is a trend that we like to see. It is unfortunate for anybody who has lost their job, but the fact is that job losses are declining steadily.

And that's really of some comfort here. That's why you see a rally, even though the unemployment rate has risen. You see the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 higher, and finally, there are some sectors, Fredricka, that have continued to create jobs during this recession. Education and health care. We saw it absolutely -- same thing.

WHITFIELD: Health care is a constant, isn't it?

LISOVICZ: It is. You need it in all economies. You know, the population is graying, getting older, and thankfully we have the world's best health care system. Of course, how we get our health care is another story. I'll let other reporters handle that, but it is growing.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much...

LISOVICZ: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: Appreciate that.

So, rising unemployment translating into more jobs for women. Yesterday, we got word of a new Labor Department statistic showing that women now make up nearly 50 percent of the workforce, and it's the economy.

Here with her perspective on this growing trend, April Nagle, founder and chief executive officer of First Pro Staffing and executive search incorporator. Good to see you. So we're talking about women, which really women who are dominating the workforce. Why?

APRIL NAGLE, FOUNDER AND CEO, FIRST PRO STAFFING: Well, a lot of it is because something we term the "man-cession." Eighty-two percent of the jobs lost have been men. But I think the industries that have been hardest hit are traditionally male dominanted. Construction industry. The manufacturing industry.

We're finding women are much more adaptive and flexible about what position they're taking when they have been laid off and they're out there looking. They're more adaptive -- they're willing to take an interim position.

I talked to a woman the other day, a cashier in Target. Had had a high-level executive administration job for 15 years. Was laid off. Had two kids in college. Took the position as a cashier in the interim. You're not finding that with men. It requires such a mindshift change, this economy, that we're just finding men have a large difficulty doing that.

WHITFIELD: So, this really is by chance. It's not necessarily by design that women are now making up 50 percent of the workforce and likely the numbers will go higher. NAGLE: They will go higher in the next month or two. We may well get over 50 percent. But I think over the last 50 years, yes, there have been a shift. More women in the workplace. More college educated women. But as a whole, it's really peaked in the last year because of the economy.

WHITFIELD: So, there are a couple ways to look at this. A lot of women might way, yay. Might this mean that a woman's 77 cents to a man's dollar earned might see some hope that maybe it will catch up to that one dollar (INAUDIBLE) or dominate the workforce. But then the flip side is, a lot of women maybe looking at this and say, where is the growth? What are the jobs? Does it necessarily mean upward mobility?

NAGLE: Well, yes. Fifteen percent of the corporate board positions and corporate office positions -- it's still only 15 percent still held by women. But I think this is a time to progress. A good visual for discrepancy in salaries is it takes the typical woman 16 months to make what the typical man makes in 12 months. A good thing to think about.

But it's two sides of a coin. Some women are forced back into the workplace because they were one breadwinner family. The male is no longer working, and they're forced to go out and work. And they're not exactly happy about it. A lot of women don't want to juggle breadwinning with caregiving.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

NAGLE: So, it's hard to say.

WHITFIELD: Because it still means a woman working outside of the home with a family -- they still are tackling two jobs. Two full-time jobs.

NAGLE: Absolutely. Statistically, a man looking for work spends his whole time looking for work. A woman laid off usually assumes more responsibility around the house.

WHITFIELD: April Nagle, thanks so much. Good to see you.

NAGLE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Let's talk Cash for Clunkers now. The program may be over, but the cars that got scrapped will have a whole other life as everything from handbags to high rises? Really? Stephanie Elam has our "Energy Fix" from New York. I might be wearing that Volkswagen?

STEPHANIE ELAM, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you just never know where it may end up. In fact, you may be able to soon drink a glass of wine made from a clunker. It'll be all over the place.

When a car gets junked, about 85 percent of its parts get recycled. Glass, metal, plastic and even fluids like motor oil. Check out these wine glasses from uncommongoods.com. You can see what they look like. The online retailers sells these along with beer glasses and punch bowls. They are made in Columbia from recycled windshield glass, and yes, they do have a slight green tint you may see there.

The company tells us that these glasses are a top seller. The Web site features purses and belts made from recycled tires. They're created by a Boulder, Colorado artist. You can see those here as well. And, of course, they are all black, but you don't have to worry about getting skid marks from them, Fred.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: I hope not. Black is always in. So, what about the other car parts. We're not talking about tires, but we're talking about maybe parts of engines, etcetera?

ELAM: Oh, yes. When we're talking about clunkers, everything is pretty much fair game. Those get stripped from the vehicle for reuse in other cars. That usually includes the engine, but that's not the case for the clunkers. As part of the program, the engine had to be destroyed by pouring a solution of so-called "liquid glass."

But it still gets recycled. The Automotive Recyclers Association tells us that the destroyed engine -- I know, that's just so painful.

WHITFIELD: It is. Ouch.

ELAM: It gets shredded into bits, as you can see it's broken down and then melted down for new steel. Those engines could find new life as cans, refrigerators and even structural beams in buildings. Pretty much the only thing that cannot be recycled is the stuffing used in car seats. The material is too complex to be broken down easily, and some countries like Japan don't allow it into landfills anymore.

So, for more on what happens to clunkers after they're junked, you can check out this story on CNNmoney.com. But it's true. Once they said they were clunked, they couldn't come back in any other parts, and so now they're finding ways to recycle them.

WHITFIELD: All right. So, what's old is new again.

ELAM: Exactly.

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Stephanie. Appreciate that.

They're mad at big government, and they're not going to take it anymore. The group Tea Party Express protesting and taking their message across Texas.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. This just in right now. Eight (ph) security guards at the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan are out of work. They were fired in the wake of allegations of hazing and drunken orgies by private contractors hired to protect the embassy. CNN's foreign affairs correspondent Jill Dougherty has more on this story from the State Department. Jill?

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN FOREIGN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, you know, there's a big investigation -- there are several actually -- but a big one going on at the embassy in Kabul by the inspector general of the State Department, and in that investigation, they looked at those photographs that we've been showing you this week, identified the people. And eight of them are terminated, two resigned, and all of those ten are on a plane -- or will be -- today out of the country.

A statement by the embassy that just came out a few minutes ago said that the entire senior management team of the company, Armored Group North America in Kabul is being replaced immediately. The embassy security office continues these interviews with people who are associated or who might know something about what was going on in the embassy.

And they have talked, we understand, to 120 people so far. Sixty of them today. And then finally, this team, the inspector general team, is in Kabul continuing their investigation.

You can see how quickly the State Department is mobilizing its forces. It was highly embarrassing when that whistle-blower watchdog group came out, POGO, earlier this week with a report about the misbehavior and, in fact, dangerous situations that those -- potentially dangerous situations that were created by those guards. So, this is a result so far. But it's not the end of it.

WHITFIELD: Jill Dougherty at the State Department. Thank you.

President's Obama planned nationwide speech to students on Tuesday getting pushback from conservative critics. An initial lesson plan to accompany the speech suggested that students write about how they could help the president. Conservatives called that pushing a political agenda. The White House revised the lesson plan to suggest students write about how to make short- and long-term goals.

So, we want to get your feedback on all of this. You have been giving us your feedback on our blog. Responses have been pouring in.

This from Chris, who said: "As a future educator, I think the fact that schools would push away such a valuable opportunity is a shame. I really don't understand the fuss about Obama expressing the value of education to our students. Frankly, that's good leadership, no matter which part of the political spectrum you fall."

And this from Jean, who said, "Why is the White House waiting until Monday to release the text of this speech for parents to review? My husband is a teacher at a high school and was told yesterday that he is required to show the speech in class. If the White House would like to ease some minds of parents, inform us of the content of the speech and the lesson plans ahead of time. As a teacher, it is a concern that he is having to use lesson plans that are being sent from the Department of Education with little time to review them." And this comment coming from Joe. "It is a sad day when any school teacher would be scared to air a presidential speech aimed at children for fear of controversy. Truth of the matter is, they will be able to see it later on the Web."

Thank you for your comments on our blog.

All right. The president's recent slip in the polls hasn't made the Republican party more popular than the Democrats. That's what we're learning from the latest CNN/Opinion Research poll. A slight majority of those polled feel the policies of the Democrats will move the country in the right direction while 43 percent of those polled think GOP policies are the best for the nation. Specifically, the poll shows people think Democrats would fare better than Republicans when it comes to handling the economy, Medicare, health care and Afghanistan.

President Obama is not gaining popularity points with a group called the Tea Party Express. They're traveling around the country, protesting his health care plan as well as big government. Our all- platform journalist Jim Spellman shows us the passionate group's stop in San Antonio, Texas.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you ready for a tea party?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I see things that the Obama administration and Democratic Congress are doing is really threatening the future of this country.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I believe he's trouncing the Constitution.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Question everything our government is doing.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's something happening. We don't know quite what it is, but it's happening, and people who wouldn't ordinary turn out to the streets to protest are turning out to the streets to protest.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We're the sleeping giant that's been awakened.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Afro-Leninism! (ph) Coming to you on a silver platter! Barack Hussein Obama. He ain't right president people (ph)!

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How dare they give trillions of dollars to banks.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels very grassroots to me. I love that quality.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some are feeling that they're losing control of the government. That government is taking over control. That we're headed toward socialism. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't want this to be a communist, socialist nation. That's what our troops died for, so we won't be enslaved by Nazis or communists.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the right for the government not to control my health care.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I have the right to disagree with you, sir.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm, like, the person they're going to say, take a pill and go die.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mr. President, Mr. Reid, Ms. Pelosi, support our troops in the United States military.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I sang it all night long. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog, Obama, telling us all these lies."

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WHITFIELD: OK, Jim Spellman is joining us from Dallas where the Tea Party Express is scheduled to stop today. We're seeing you via broadband, which is why it looks like your underwater. But you know what? You're doing it all. You're reporting and shooting, so give us the latest.

JIM SPELLMAN, CNN ALL-PLATFORM CORRESPONDENT: As you can see from that piece, there's a lot of passion and excitement among those showing up. The real questions, though, for organizers is where is this going? Will it become more of an organized political movement?

And, you know, this tour is being put on by a conservative PAC, but what they're looking for in a lot of ways is a political leader, and when I've been polling people out in the crowds and even amongst organizers, the person they're really interested in is Sarah Palin. The organizers have been in touch with her and they've been relaying the enthusiastic response. People are chanting "Sarah, Sarah," and they invited her to come to the big rally in Washington on September 12th. Who knows if she'll come or not. But that's kind of where -- at the moment -- that's where some of the energy is directing itself. (INAUDIBLE) Alaska. Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: I see. A little bit of everything. Okay. Jim Spellman, thank you so much from Dallas.

So, there are also pro health care reform rallies happening. A bus tour has been going on the past two weeks by Organizing for America, which is an arm of the Democratic National Committee.

After 18 years of captivity, finally home. What happens now for Jaycee Dugard? Her aunt is speaking out and talking about Jaycee's reunion with her family.

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WHITFIELD: More new information surfaces about the man suspected of kidnapping and raping Jaycee Dugard 18 years ago. Meanwhile, Dugard's family members are talking about their long-awaited reunion with Jaycee. Here's CNN's Dan Simon.

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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It happened 37 years ago, at this Antioch motel. It's where police say Phillip Garrido drugged and repeatedly raped another young girl. Authorities say the victim, 14 at the time, is now coming forward after seeing Garrido's image splashed on television, essentially saying there is more you need to know about this guy's past.

LT. LEONARD ORMAN, ANTIOCH POLICE DEPARTMENT: Mr. Garrido was charged in the matter. The details of that are very slim at this point with respect for records to rely on. But at some point, the prosecution was dropped.

SIMON: That's because the victim declined to testify against Garrido. It's not clear whether he ever entered a plea in the case.

(on camera): According to police, the girl and a friend met Garrido, then 21, and another man near the public library. They got in a car and were given drugs. Later, they wound up at this motel where the alleged rape occurred. Eventually the girl's parents came to pick her up and called police.

(voice-over): Word of the old arrest came on the same day we learned how the now 29-year-old Jaycee Dugard is coping since reuniting with her family. Dugard allegedly 18 years in captivity in Garrido's back yard. Tina Dugard is Jaycee's aunt.

TINA DUGARD, JAYCEE DUGARD'S AUNT: Jaycee and her daughters are with her mom and younger sister in a secluded place reconnecting. I was with them until recently. We spent time sharing memories and stories and getting to know each other again.

Jaycee remembers all of us. She is especially enjoying getting to know her little sister, who was just a baby when Jaycee was taken.

SIMON: Tina Dugard describes Jaycee as a remarkably resourceful mother.

DUGARD: Although they have no formal education, they are certainly educated. Jaycee did a truly amazing job with the limited resources and education that she herself had, and we are so proud of her.

SIMON: This is how Tina would have remembered Jaycee, more as a child than the 29-year-old woman she is today.

DUGARD: Not only have we laughed and cried together, but we've spent time sitting quietly, taking pleasure in each other's company. We are so very grateful to have her home.

SIMON: Jaycee Dugard was abducted outside her South Lake Tahoe home in 1991. The suspects, Phillip and Nancy Garrido have been charged with 29 counts, including rape and kidnapping. Both have pleaded not guilty. Today her aunt describing the bond that never ended between a mother and daughter apart for nearly two decades.

DUGARD: The smile on my sister's face is as wide as the sea. Her oldest daughter is finally home.

SIMON: Dan Simon, CNN, Antioch, California.

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WHITFIELD: A high school football player tackles a gun-toting student and grabs her loaded gun. Now he's being called a hero. Hear what he has to say in the NEWSROOM.

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WHITFIELD: Health care and dental care are out of reach for millions of people during this recession, but for some, free dental clinics have become a lifeline.

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THELMA GRAVES, UNINSURED: To the average person, as I said earlier, dental care is not a priority when you're trying to pay your mortgage.

We need adequate dental care for all people. All people.

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WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) The Ben Mesell (ph) Dental Clinic in Atlanta has been serving thousands of working poor who have no insurance. One hundred twenty-five dentists actually volunteer their time, and as you might imagine in these tough economic times, business is on the rise. I'll have more on this free dental clinic in the CNN NEWSROOM this weekend beginning at noon tomorrow.

A Mississippi high school football player is being called a hero for wrestling a loaded gun away from a girl on a school bus and potentially saving nearly two dozen lives. Now, Kaleb Eulls is telling his story.

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KALEB EULLS, DISARMED GIRL ON SCHOOL BUS: So, I just opened the emergency door and tell them to run out. As I tried to grab her attention, you know, to keep her from pointing it at anyone else on the bus. And I just tried to grab her attention, to get focus on myself. I guess she glanced out of the bus or blinked for one second, and I just lunged at her and got the gun away from her and ran out the door and just disarmed her.

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WHITFIELD: Take a look right there. School bus security video actually shows the 14-year-old girl pulling out a semiautomatic handgun. She appears that she threatened other students, and the girl now is in juvenile custody facing 22 counts, including attempted assault.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield. The CNN NEWSROOM continues with Tony Harris.