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Harrisburg Bucking the Trend in Unemployment Crisis; The Guardians of the Free Republic: Who Are They and What Do They Want?

Aired April 02, 2010 - 14:02   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Ali is off today. Here's the "Rundown."

What's behind those seemingly threatening letters sent to 30 of America's governors? The FBI and homeland security certainly want to know. We investigate, too.

Well, think you have to jump through hoops to get through the airport already? New rules could make lines way longer, security more stringent. Many fear it's an invasion of privacy at the least, and at most racial profiling.

And try to keep your head from exploding, will you? It's just a new gadget, right? Or is it a life-altering tool like the PC?

I'm talking about the iPad. It looks like an iPhone on steroids. It's the next big thing.

But we start with this story. A domestic extremist group has sent letters to more than 30 U.S. governors demanding they resign. An FBI and Department of Homeland Security note dated on Monday says the letters told governors to vacate their posts within three days.

CNN has confirmed that these are some of the states that received threatening letters. Pay close attention. It could be one of your states -- Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Utah, Arkansas, Maine, Colorado, Rhode Island, Michigan, Georgia, Virginia, Louisiana, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas, Minnesota, Iowa, Ohio and Nevada.

And the chief of staff for Nevada Governor Jim Gibbons said Gibbons received one letter on Monday, three more two days later. One of those faxed to him.

Gibbons spoke to CNN affiliate KTNV. He did that just yesterday. Look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GOV. JIM GIBBONS (R), NEVADA: The FBI has been working with our office, working through our Department of Public Safety, giving us advice. And we take their advice very seriously, as everyone should.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Let me tell you a little bit more about this group. It calls themselves the Guardians of Free Republics who want to "restore America" by peacefully dismantling parts of the government. The group's plans call for, among other things, establishing bogus courts and issuing so-called legal orders to gain control of states.

Now, DHS has no information that the removal of governors refers to a specific plan for violence. Their note said, "Law enforcement should be aware that this could be interpreted as a justification for violence or other criminal actions."

I want to bring in now Jeanne Meserve, who has been following this story from our Security Desk in Washington.

Jeanne, thanks for joining us.

What's the very latest on this?

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Well, I'll tell you, looking at this bulletin that was sent -- not a bulletin. I should say, an intelligence note -- what's notable here is they are not underling any threat. In fact, it says, "The FBI is not aware of any immediate threats to specific governors from these sorts of groups. We are concerned, however, that unidentified individuals could attempt to follow through with this call to action through violence and criminal means."

And this note is not telling the governors or state governments to take any sort of specific security actions, although, as you mentioned, some have done so on a case-by-case basis -- Don.

LEMON: All right. So, Jeanne, so can you put this in some context, into some perspective for us? Because they said a lot of unorthodox things in their memos and in their letters. So give us some perspective on this.

MESERVE: Well, you know, there's been a tremendous growth in the number of extremist groups. We're told by law enforcement that the growth has been on both ends of the political spectrum, although we've been hearing a lot recently about those on the right.

This particular group is one of these sovereign citizen groups, so-called, and as you mentioned, they're very much against the current government. They object to the IRS. They object to licenses and all sorts of regulation that's imposed by government. They want to impose an alternative sort of government that they say is justified by God.

But, once again, the Southern Poverty Law Center has said it's seen a growth in these extremist groups. They believe, because of the economy, also because of changing demographics in this country -- they call it a rage on the right that they're seeing.

But let me tell you, law enforcement who we talked to said they have to tread in this area very, very gingerly, because there is, of course, a right to free speech in this country. People can say what they like, even if they don't like the government. What they have to look out for is when they cross that line, when they step over into violence. This group does not appear to have done that with these letters to the governors.

LEMON: They say they're doing this, they are protecting -- you know, extra security just in case. So, really, what is -- looking back in the past, how much violence, how much of these groups are responsible for violence, if at all? We know it's a concern, but how much violence and how concerning?

MESERVE: Well, according to this note from the FBI and DHS, "Sovereign citizen extremists have been implicated in the deaths of several police officers" -- I'm quoting here from their note -- "including one in which a sovereign citizen extremist shot to death three officers in two separate incidents." However, it says, "In general, they have pursued nonviolent means to reach their goals."

Don.

LEMON: All right. Our homeland security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, on top of the story.

We'll be watching. We'll get back to you if you get more information. Thank you so much for that, Jeanne.

You know what? If you need a job and you can't find one, the unemployment crisis continues regardless of the numbers out of Washington. But we do have new numbers. And I'll tell you what they mean just after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC)

LEMON: All right. I already danced once today. I'm not going to do it again. So don't ask me.

All right. So I'm going to channel Ali Velshi now just for a little bit to tell you when it comes to the economy, that the recession, the recovery, it's really all about jobs. That's what Ali would tell you.

So when payrolls grow, everybody gains. And today, we learned that payrolls grew in March by the largest amount in three years.

Take a look at this.

Employers added 162,000 jobs, but the unemployment rate didn't move. It's still 9.7 percent -- 9.7 percent. That's partly because some job seekers who had given up, well, they reentered the market. In fact, the long-term unemployed now make up more than four in 10 of the jobless population.

So check out who's hiring right now. Forty-eight thousand, last month's new jobs, they were Census workers. Those aren't permanent gigs, remember that. So neither, obviously, are 40,000 hires in the category of temp jobs. Health care and manufacturing did add permanent positions, about 44,000 between them.

So here's the trend right now. March becomes the third month in the past five with a net gain in payrolls.

But here's something else I learned from Mr. Ali Velshi. It takes about 150,000 new jobs each and every month just to keep the labor market stable, to keep the unemployment rate from rising.

President Barack Obama went to Charlotte, North Carolina, today to talk about tech jobs boosted by the stimulus. It's not so easy finding similar growth in the had-hat sector, but our Poppy Harlow did, and she joins us today from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, where they're building a stronger economy.

I see her. I just want to look -- and that's beautiful. I can actually see it better here.

Hey, Poppy. It looks beautiful there. A little bit chilly though.

How you doing?

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, it is. I'm good, Don. Thank you. It's a beautiful day.

You see the city skyline over me, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. And the reason we came here was because this is a city that is bucking the trend when it comes to the unemployment crisis.

Yes, unemployment figures got a little bit better, jobs added in March, but in Harrisburg you've got 8.4 percent unemployment, lower than the national average. And what you have is a city where construction, just a few months ago, was actually leading. Across the nation, the most construction job growth was in this city, so we had to come here and figure out just what is going on, what's happening here.

Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: This is, like, what, midway through renovation or so?

JESSICA MEYERS, OWNER, JEM GROUP: Yes, I would say we're probably two-thirds of the way through the project.

HARLOW (voice-over): Jessica Meyers started her construction company here six years ago, growing it to 18 full-time employees by expanding into property management, not just construction. That's allowed her to bring on three recent hires.

MEYERS: We had over 100 resumes for one position.

HARLOW: Justin White got one of those positions, but only after being out of work for almost a year.

JUSTIN WHITE, CONSTRUCTION WORKER: It was definitely a humbling experience, being out of work, no health insurance.

HARLOW (on camera): You said the first time you were unemployed was when?

WHITE: Last year was the first time ever. I mean, I've had a job since I was 14 years old. Never been without a job. I just didn't know how to react without one.

HARLOW (voice-over): But Meyers hired him just before the unemployment check ran out.

Another one of her employees, Feron Clouser, moved to Harrisburg back in the '80s for the job stability and stayed for the same reason.

(on camera): It's interesting when you look at the monthly jobs reports, every month, construction, one of the worst sectors. But not here.

FERON CLOUSER, SUPERINTENDENT, JEM GROUP: Yes, we're very lucky. And I just attribute that to -- you know, the local businesses. You know, the people who live here have a strong work ethic.

HARLOW (voice-over): But it takes more than that these days to find work, even here.

WHITE: We found jobs like this. People like me are standing in the unemployment line.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Well, fortunately, Justin's not standing in the unemployment line anymore. Just over my shoulder is the new baseball stadium, Don, that they're building here. And that's why he has a job now.

But what's also interesting is that this city is the state capital, so you have a lot of government jobs. It's surrounded by universities, we found out, so you have those education jobs. And you have health care jobs because there's major pharmaceutical companies and hospitals here.

Sort of -- those are the three sectors that grew most in the recession, so the perfect mix helping to boost this local economy -- Don.

LEMON: Listen, I don't want to put you on the spot here. When I lived in Philadelphia, Ed Rendell was the mayor then. Governor and one of the leaders in the Democratic Party.

HARLOW: Right.

LEMON: Have you heard anything about the stimulus? Because he's been touting that. And if it's helping with long-term jobs there?

HARLOW: That's a great question. You see signs all over this town, "Welcome from Governor Rendell." And talking about the business owner that I talked to, you saw in the piece, Jessica, I asked her, "Is stimulus money helping?" And she said, "Yes, it's helping when you look at construction of the highways and the roads around here." It's a major transportation hub, as you know, Don. But she said it's getting more and more competitive.

You have big businesses and small businesses like hers going after those stimulus contracts, and they're pretty tough to get. So it's helping. But the question is, are the small businesses getting those contracts? They're certainly drying to, Don, but stimulus money certainly a huge factor here -- Don.

LEMON: Great job. Enjoy it. Are you headed back for the weekend?

HARLOW: Tonight.

LEMON: Tonight?

HARLOW: And then to my hometown in Minnesota tomorrow. So, yes, all over the place.

LEMON: Say it right, Minnesota.

HARLOW: Minnesota.

LEMON: Minnesota. Thank you very much, Poppy. Good to see you. Safe travels to you. OK?

HARLOW: Good to see you, too.

LEMON: All right.

So up next here on CNN, a five-star hotel chef, he turns to a life of service in the streets of India. You're going to meet our hero.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right. Our CNN Hero of the Week was a successful chef, but gave that up to serve in the streets of his hometown in India.

Narayanan Krishnan hand-delivers food and cares for hundreds of India's most destitute people for free, and he does it three times a day, 365 days a year, without fail.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NARAYANAN KRISHNAN, CNN HERO: Because of the poverty India faces, so many people have been abandoned by their own family and left uncared on the roadside of the city.

I saw a very old man eating his own human waste for food. It really hurt me so much.

I was working for a five-star hotel as a chef. I had all the ambitions. I wanted to excel in what I was doing, but the old man changed everything.

My name is Narayanan Krishnan. I feed and care for the abandoned and mentally ill in my hometown, (INAUDIBLE), India.

I get up at 4:00 in the morning. Every meal has been prepared fresh. They go distribute.

People are waiting for us.

They totally rely on the food which we give. It is a continuous process, cooking, distributing, t hen again coming. We are feeding almost about 400 people, three meals a day, around the clock, rain or shine, no holiday.

I don't feel difficult to do this. I don't feel it difficult. My mission and my ideas are very clear.

The happiness I see in their faces keeps me going. I take energy from them. I want to save my people, and I feel that is the purpose of my life.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And since 2002, Krishnan and his organization have hand- delivered more than 1.2 million free hot meals to those in need.

To tour the home where he plans to house those he serves, or to nominate someone you think is changing the world, go to CNN.com/heroes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: All right. So, next, former members of the Church of Scientology say they have been disconnected from their families by the Church for speaking out. Church leaders deny it and say the accusers are out to destroy the Church.

The "AC 360" investigation coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All this week on "AC360," we've been reporting on allegations physical abuse inside the Church of Scientology. The allegations have been made by a number of former high-ranking Scientologists against the church leader, David Miscavige himself. But even some of those who make the allegations also admit they were involved in violent acts.

The church says they were the only ones involved in violence. In dozens of affidavits, current and former senior members of the church say, the allegations against David Miscavige are lies. The church says the accusers are bitter and are working together to destroy the church. The accuses, some of whom still consider themselves Scientologists, say they don't want to destroy the church, just change the leadership.

Right now we look at what some of these former scientologists say happened to them when they began to speak out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jeff Hawkins had been a Scientologist for 35 years. A member of the elite management branch of the church, the Sea Organization, Hawkins says he witnessed several incidents of violence perpetrated by church leader, David Miscavige, and says he was also attacked by Miscavige.

HAWKINS: One time he punched me in the gut, just with no warning as he was passing me.

COOPER: The church says Hawkins is lying and is out to destroy the religion. He supports a group called Anonymous which promotes an anti-Scientology movement. Hawkins concedes he never filed any criminal charges.

(on camera): Why not call the police? I mean, these are -- this is assault.

HAWKINS: It would never have occurred to me.

COOPER: It would never have occurred to you to file --

HAWKINS: No.

In fact, if the police had shown up and said, "We heard that he beat you up," I would have said, "No. No. No. I just fell down the stairs or something." It's like the battered wife.

You know, the police show up and say, "Why are you all bruised?" And she says, "Well, I just fell down the stairs." She defends the husband.

COOPER: And so people -- people who believe in the religion, people who have dedicated their lives to it and want to stay in it put up with it?

HAWKINS: They're not going to say anything. They're not going to say anything.

COOPER (voice-over): Though he says he had a lot of trying times in the church, Hawkins says leaving Scientology in 2005 was a very difficult decision.

HAWKINS: It is very hard to leave, and that's why people don't and why they tend to toe the line because here I was 58 years old when I left. I had no money. I had no job. I didn't know anybody outside of Scientology. I had no friends.

COOPER: And you left your wife?

HAWKINS: And I had to leave my wife. We -- in fact, we never even discussed it. She was presented with divorce papers. She signed them. I was presented with them. I signed them. We haven't spoken since.

COOPER: That's extraordinary.

HAWKINS: Yes.

COOPER (voice-over): Hawkins says he was declared a suppressive person, a church term for an enemy of Scientology or its principles. He says the church has a policy called "disconnection" which pressures church members to cut off all ties with anyone declared suppressive.

(on camera): The church denies that families are separated like this, that -- that people are told not to call other people who have left the church.

HAWKINS: They're always separated. If you have a family member who is -- who has been declared suppressive or who has been critical of the church, you cannot contact them if you're a Scientologist. If your son, daughter, father, mother has left the church and is critical or anything like that, you cannot talk to them, period.

COOPER: He says that when he was declared a suppressive person that was the last time you were allowed communication.

CATHERINE FRASER, EX-WIFE OF JEFF HAWKINS: That's a lie. That is an absolute, utter, total lie.

COOPER (voice-over): Catherine Fraser was Jeff Hawkins' wife. She continues to hold a senior role in the Sea Organization.

FRASER: He paid for the divorce. He knew exactly what was happening. This is astonishing. He's a liar to the core. That is so not what happened.

COOPER: Catherine Bernardini says she was never told to disconnect from her ex-husband, Mike Rinder, the church's former spokesman who left in 2007.

(on camera): You're saying there is no policy of "disconnection"?

CATHERINE BERNARDINI, SEA ORGANIZATION MEMBER: No. Absolutely. I did not at all disconnect from him. He was never told that. I said no. I'm not going to drop everything I've had for my entire life and what I believe in and what Mike believed in.

COOPER (voice-over): But Amy Scobee, another former Sea Organization member who once helped run the church's celebrity center in Los Angeles, says her mother was told to disconnect from her when she left.

AMY SCOBEE, FORMER MEMBER, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY: In fact, I was at her house when Scientologists came with the issue -- my suppressive person issue -- to tell her that she could no longer see me. I was in the back room. They didn't know I was there. And they showed her an issue, saying how I violated command channels (ph) and had sex out of wedlock and all this stuff and, you know. And that until I got back in good standing with the church, which I had no intention of doing, she could not be in communication with me. So she told me that she didn't have a choice. It was the worst day of my life.

COOPER: We asked church spokesman Tommy Davis and church attorney Monique Yingling about "disconnection", and they denied the church forces any Scientologist to break off communication with a family member or friend. They do say, however, that no Scientologist would want to talk to a so-called suppressive person.

MONIQUE YINGLING, ATTORNEY, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY: You don't want to talk to someone who's attacking your religion. That's your personal choice. I mean, if Tommy were my brother and I were a Scientologist, and he starts attacking the church nonstop, I might get to a point where I'd want to say, "Look, I don't want to talk to you anymore if all you're going to do is attack my religion." And that has happened in these situations.

But it isn't the church saying you can't talk to this person, but individuals make decisions that they don't want to have contact with someone who is attacking what is their life, essentially.

TOMMY DAVIS, SPOKESMAN, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY: Who a Scientologist chooses to be in communication with or not is the choice of that individual Scientologist, whether they're a member of the Sea Organization, whether they're a parishioner or otherwise. It is absolutely and completely their choice.

COOPER: Tommy Davis has said this before. Here's an interview last year with CNN.

DAVIS: Anything that's characterized as disconnection or this kind of thing, it's just -- it's just not true. There isn't any such policy that -- in the church that's dictating who people should or should not be in communication with. You know? It's -- it just doesn't happen.

COOPER: That denial and other disagreements with the church prompted Oscar-winning director Paul Haggis, a Scientologist for 35 years, to resign.

In a letter to Tommy Davis, he mentioned the CNN interview.

"You said straight out there was no such policy, that it did not exist," he wrote. "I was shocked. We all know this policy exists. You might recall that my wife was ordered to disconnect from her parents because of something absolutely trivial they supposedly did 25 years ago when they resigned from the church. To see you lie so easily," he wrote, "I'm afraid I have to ask myself, what else are you lying about?"

Christy Collbran, another former senior Scientology member, says she was declared a suppressive person after leaving the church four years ago. She still believes in Scientology but says her parents, who remain in the church, refuse to have any contact with her.

(on camera): Now, Tommy Davis, who's now the chief spokesman for the church, has said to us that there is no policy of "disconnection".

CHRISTY COLLBRAN, FORMER MEMBER, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY: Well, he's kind of put a little bit of a twist on it. Because the truth of the matter is, it is your own choice to disconnect. You don't have to. You can say, "No, I'm not going to disconnect."

But then what happens to you is that you can't go into the church and other people won't speak to you. So there's ways of enforcing this. It's kind of a manipulative way.

Yes, you don't have to. My parents could have said, "We're not disconnecting from our daughter." And then, you know, they would have had the repercussions of it from the rest of the Scientologists.

And they want to have something to do with this organization, that their spiritual salvation is at risk and they don't want to lose that. They don't want to lose, maybe, their jobs if they're working for as Scientologists. So they decide, well, I'm not going to go there. I'm just going to follow, you know, the orders and the commands and the things I'm being told to do so that I cannot have my life messed up.

COOPER (voice-over): Despite being labeled liars and being cut off from family members and friends, Christy and many other former Scientologists who have now come forward to tell their stories say they do not want to destroy the church. Their problem, they say, is with the man who runs it, David Miscavige.

Over the course of several months, we have repeatedly asked the church for an interview with Mr. Miscavige, but he has declined.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: And over the last few days we've heard the allegations and counter-allegations of violent incidents among the current and former senior leadership of the church. Without physical evidence, it is impossible to prove who is telling the truth, but the seriousness and similarity of those allegations also make their stories impossible to ignore. The public is entitled to ask, why has there been no proper police inquiry in to what happened inside the Church of Scientology.

And once again, we'd like to point out that we have invited the leader of Scientology, David Miscavige, to appear "AC360," to talk about the accusation from the former scientologists, but through his spokesman, he has declined that offer. He has declined, but that offer still stands.

Tonight on "AC360," three former members of the church respond to accusations from the ex-wives, who remain in senior leadership positions in the church.

Moving on now, are happy pilots safer pilots? After break, I'm going to tell you about an FAA regulation you probably never knew existed and how it's about to change, in a big way.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All right, everyone, this hour's top stories.

The FBI and Homeland Security are tracking new apparent threats against most of the nation's governors. Lately, more than 30 governors have gotten letters from a group called Guardians of the Free Republic, telling them to step down in three days. DHS, FBI, well, they both say there's no specific threat of violence, but it cannot be ruled out.

A lot more people found jobs last month. The nation's payrolls grew by 162,000, not a blockbuster number, but the most in three years. March was the third month in the past five to show a net employment gain instead of a loss, but with 8 million lost jobs since the start of the recession, there's still miles to go.

Would you want a depressed pilot? Neither would I and neither, apparently, does the FAA. It is lifting a long-standing ban on pilots who take anti-depressants. Starting Monday, pilots with mild to moderate depression will be allowed to fly if they are taking one of four approved drugs and have been stable for a year.

They just can't wait, can they? Oh, you know what I'm talking about. The people are already lining up outside the Apple store in New York City. These folks, many others all across the country, they want to be among the first to get the iPad. It's new, it's coming out soon. Is it worth all the hype? We'll ask someone who knows.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: What is that? It's Friday. OK. "Somebody Told Me You Had a Boyfriend" and there is Ed Henry. OK?

We normally do "The Ed Henry Segment" right here, but he's off this week. He is taking some much-needed vacation. So don't worry, he'll be back next week.

All right, gadget time. Gadget lovers, we're less than 24 hours away from the much-anticipated iPad going on sale. The touch-screen computer is the latest Apple craze that has the tech-savvy crowds drooling with anticipation.

Errol Barnett, come on in here. He joins us now with more on this high-tech toy.

So, Errol, is it worth it? Is it just this on steroids? What is it, like six times --?

ERROL BARNETT, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There you go. There you go, an iPad touch or an iPhone. Yes, some people are saying it's just an oversized version of that. But the bottom line, though, is that this is an overpriced device.

There is something called early adopters. These are the people who want the new technology first, and they don't mind digging deeper into their pockets to get it. So a lot of these early adopters are willing to pay the price for this new device, which starts at $500, gets up to $800.

And we also don't know about the bugs just yet. So you wonder, is the hype worth it. Apple did send out a few of the iPads to tech writers earlier this week and they've been testing them out. And we were actually able to connect via webcam to one of them. Her name is Xeni Jardin and she works at boingboing.net, she's one of the editors. And so via webcam, she showed us one of her favorite new applications on her new toy.

Let's take a look.

LEMON: All right, let's take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

XENI JARDIN, TECH CULTURE JOURNALIST, BOIGBOIG.NET: You see this sort of rotating video. Now, this is a book. This is available in print and hardcover and these guys make posters and things, too, but look at that. You have these elements that you can -- let's see if I can hold this and do this while I talk. So, I'm rotating that specimen, with my finger. And I can even do -- some fancy footwork here, right? -- two at a time. These are all examples of things that contain copper. And if we want to look at --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right, so, Errol, iPhone battery, you have to be really careful with the battery. And here's the thing, I was talking to someone at Apple, because I've been researching -- I love gadgets -- they said on an iPhone you kind of just consume the iPhone, consume things on it. You can actually create things on the iPad and that's what makes it different. I don't know, though, about that.

BARNETT: Slightly. That is one of the assets. What we've seen from these tech writers is that display, that interactive color display is really something that makes it stand out.

But there are a number of downsides to this. You cannot multitask with an iPad. So let's say you want to jam out to a bit of music while you're surfing the web, that's not possible in its current form. Also, there's no camera on this device.

LEMON: Bad. That's a bad thing for me, yes.

BARNETT: There's no camera, there's no recorder. They do actually have something you can purchase, an accessory for an additional $30, but that's a downside to the device by itself.

But a lot of people say it's a good device, indeed, but it does have a number of shortcomings, not least among it, it doesn't support flash. Flash is this kind of a web tool that allows you to watch certain kind of videos and graphics online. So, display is cool, but it does have some limitations. No port, no place to plug into a USB port. Again, they have an accessory you can add on to it, but it has a number of shortfalls.

LEMON: But guess what? You know, it's going to be just like the iPhone. Oh, this one doesn't do it, and then next one will get progressively better or different and they'll add more things.

BARNETT: Indeed.

LEMON: What time -- it's tomorrow, right?

BARNETT: Tomorrow, 9:00 a.m. Eastern time is when they start to be sold from the stores.

LEMON: Just in the U.S.?

BARNETT: Just in the United States. Later in this month, Apple will make it available to our friends and family in Canada and Japan and around the rest of the world. But tomorrow 9:00 a.m., you saw some of the video, I think we have it too, people already in New York City lining up outside of the flagship store there, comfy and cozy, apparently a lot of free time. But that's the kind of fanaticism that follows an Apple product.

LEMON: Yes. And this thing is, it's weird. You know, sitting here in the news, you don't want to be a commercial for the iPad or for Apple, but really this has sort of changed -- not sort of -- changed the way that we do business, the way that people consume their news. So it's actually a big deal for a lot of people, it's not just a gadget for gadget-loving people.

BARNETT: Absolutely, and other tech companies -- we should mention some of the other big e-readers out there. There's Amazon, I believe it's the e-reader.

LEMON: Kindle.

BARNETT: The Kindle. Barnes & Noble has the Nook. Sony has the Reader. So there are competitors and we should note that this is kind of the new section of technology we can all enjoy.

LEMON: Good to see you. Thank you very much.

BARNETT: Good seeing you, Don.

LEMON: Next time you pack your passport, I want to tell you, if you are going for a trip abroad at least, heads-up, the security checkpoint rules are going to change and we'll tell you what to expect and why some people aren't happy with the new protocol.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Listen, this is just in. It's going to come as some sad news to all -- everyone. It came as sad news to me.

Remember -- remember Blake Carrington? That's really what he's well known for. John Forsythe died yesterday. We're told he died yesterday in California. Again, he was the oil magnate -- remember? -- '80s hit show, TV show on ABC "Dynasty." Also, that did "Bachelor Father" that was him back in the 1950s. And he was the voice of Charlie on "Charlie's Angels." Remember that, "Angels, I have an assignment for you."

Again, John Forsythe died. He had been suffering from cancer for about a year. He died from complications from pneumonia. Again, voice of Charlie, Blake Carrington we always like to call him, but his name was John Forsythe. Three children, six grandchildren, five great grandchildren. He will be missed. Of course, our best goes out to his family.

OK now, let's move on and talk about the rules for airline security checks. They're going to change again, soon. The new policy could mean fewer screening headaches for innocent travelers, but it's also raising fears of racial profiling.

Now, here's what's changing. The Department of Homeland Security is throwing out an emergency order that meant extra layers of screening for every single passenger headed to -- to the U.S. from 14 high-risk countries.

Now, that measure was put in place following the Christmas Day bombing attempt on the jet headed for Detroit. Instead, officials say they'll use real-time intelligence to identify passengers who may have links too terrorism. Flags will be raised based on family name, age, nationality, travel patterns, personality traits and partial passport numbers. So, for example, if the U.S. has intelligence about a possible threat by a Nigerian man who is college aged and travels to Asia, then anyone matching that description could be stopped for extra screening.

These protocol changes are the result of a -- of a months-long review of security at international airports following the Christmas Day incident. President Barack Obama said the government had enough information to stop the suspect, but, quote, "failed to connect those dots." So, now officials say intelligence agencies could use visas, visa applications, records of previous trips to the U.S. and a database unknown as a passenger name record to collect information. Right now, that database of travel patterns and habits is used almost exclusively by customs and border protection.

The new screening checks start today. It could take a while to implement fully. And a senior administration official says because the system uses only fragmentary information, it doesn't add up to racial profiling.

We're reporting -- reported on plenty of job numbers all day today, but I want to talk about real people now, because behind every new hire and every layoff, a face and a name. It's my "X-Y-Z," and it's next.

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LEMON: All right, it's time now for "The X-Y-Z of It."

All the stories we've reported this week, the fight over the health care bill, the GOP strip club controversy and on and on, clearly for me the most important one, the one you should demand we give you more than enough information about, the unemployment numbers, because beyond the numbers are real people. Viewers like many of you who have been waiting for months, even years to find a job.

So, when you hear 162,000 jobs added, you might think, not for me. I'm still not working. Then you hear unemployment was unchanged at 9.7 percent while neighbors and friends and family and co-workers are being let go right and left. So, what gives? With the help of my colleagues the at CNNMoney.com, let me explain how the government comes up with these numbers.

The jobs numbers and the unemployment rate are based on separate surveys. Job numbers come from a survey of employers. Unemployment, from a survey of households. By the way, economists consider the employer survey the most reliable one.

So, here's the reality. For a time, things were so bad that many of you just gave up looking and weren't even counted. OK, finally, the good news. The report says some of you have started looking again and you are finding work. Let's hope that's true. And if it's not, will you let us know? It is our job to hold the government, the economists, the surveyors accountable, and we take that very seriously around here.

That's my "X-Y-Z." Here's "RICK'S LIST."