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Pope Promises Action; What are Derivatives?; State of Our Schools; 'South Park' Creators Threatened by Radical Muslim Group

Aired April 21, 2010 - 12:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Top of the hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, where anything can happen. Here are the real people behind today's big stories.

Pope Benedict ends an uncomfortable silence. He promises the Church will confront the sexual abuse scandal.

Plus this --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

YOUNES ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, REVOLUTION MUSLIM: The Koran says very clearly in Arabic language (SPEAKING ARABIC). This means terrorize them. It's a command from Allah.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A radical Muslim group threatens the creative team behind the TV comedy "South Park" after the producer pokes fun at the Prophet Mohammed.

Let's get started right now.

Let's begin with the pope making a vow to sexual abuse victims. For the first time, Pope Benedict XVI is publicly promising Church action against pedophile priests. Speaking today during his weekly public audience in St. Peter's Square, the pontiff recounted his tearful weekend meeting in Malta with eight men who say they were abused as children by priests in a church-run orphanage.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

POPE BENEDICT XVI (through translator): After the mass, I wanted to meet some victims of abuse. I shared with them their suffering and was deeply affected by it. I prayed with them and assured them that the Church would take action.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So neither Pope Benedict nor the Vatican have explained what the actions are that are being considered.

CNN Senior Vatican Analyst John Allen is at the Vatican.

So what might your sources be saying? What would those actions potentially be?

JOHN ALLEN, CNN SR. VATICAN ANALYST: Well, first of all, we need to remember what the pope said was -- in his audience today -- is he assured the victims that the Church is taking action. So, I think in part, he's talking about things they've already done, largely a set of reforms that then-Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict, instituted in 2002, 2003 to speed up the process of weeding abuser priests out of the priesthood. I think he's also talking about the fact that the Vatican is currently considering additional reforms that would move in the same direction, but would take, to some extent, the tough policies in the United States, the so-called one strike and you're out policy, and give them a kind of global force.

Now, there certainly are things that some of the pope's critics think that the Church ought to do in addition to that. They would include holding bishops who covered up the sex abuse mess accountable by making sure lose they their jobs, and all the reforms in Catholic teaching that have been proposed, probably, at least to some extent, those things are not in the cards.

WHITFIELD: So then how would that square with the allegations that even the pope as cardinal didn't do enough? He's saying right now he is deeply affected, but how sincere is this believed to be?

ALLEN: Well, I mean, sincerity is in the eye of the beholder. But I can tell you as somebody who has followed the arc of this story over the last 10 years, the idea that Benedict XVI would himself become the global symbol of the sex abuse problem is perhaps the clearest possible index I have ever seen of the Vatican's communications problem. Because the truth is, that at senior levels of the Church, nobody did more to try to move the ball on this crisis since 2001 than the man who is now the pope. I mean, whatever one might think of how insufficient the Church's response to this problem has been, I can assure you that in many ways, it would have been infinitely worse if it were not for the fact that Benedict XVI got his hands around this problem and broke the Vatican's wall of silence on the issue.

WHITFIELD: And perhaps that may have precipitated this, that this Irish bishop, James Moriarty, has offered his resignation after admitting that he did not challenge the Dublin Archdiocese's past practice of concealing sexual abuse complaints from the police. Now, the pope has not necessarily made it official. That's expected to come tomorrow, but there are sources that are saying that the pope will be accepting this resignation.

What do you know?

ALLEN: Well, that's right. That's what we're hearing. There's been no official confirmation of that.

But there are a number of Irish bishops who were named in the government-sponsored Murphy Commission report quite recently as having been involved in this practice, which certainly was, to the Church's shame, its practice for many decades of moving priests to other assignments rather than tackling the charges that had been leveled against them. A number of those bishops had offered their resignations to the pope.

The way the Church works is that a bishop can't walk away on his own. It's up to the pope to decide whether to accept it. We do understand that in short order, at least one of those resignations may be accepted, and there may be others to come.

WHITFIELD: Interesting.

All right. John Allen, thanks so much for joining us there from the Vatican.

All right. A Senate committee in this country takes up the debate over financial reform. The legislation is aimed at cracking down on Wall Street to prevent future meltdowns and taxpayer bailouts.

And today's hearing could provide a framework for a deal on financial reform. Republican senators who oppose the legislation now say a compromise is possible. The measure before the Senate panel would impose regulations on complex trades known as derivatives.

And before the financial crisis, many of us probably never even heard of derivatives. National Political Correspondent Jessica Yellin explains how they work and how lawmakers want to regulate them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Derivatives are a lot like buying an insurance policy. It all started with crops.

Let's say you grow green beans. You spent money planting and raising them, and you hope they stay healthy and make you money. But just in case there's a cold snap or a problem, you take out an insurance policy. If your green beans go bad, your insurance pays up and covers your costs. If the beans go to market, the bank pays you nothing, and that insurance policy is a derivative.

Basically, it's a bet on your green beans.

Now, creative finance executives said why stop at green beans? Let's do the same thing for other products -- oil, gold, even mortgages. You can buy this type of insurance protection for just about any product.

OK. So here is what made them so popular.

The finance guys saw in all of this a new way to make money and they said you don't have to own the green beans to bet on them. So I can bet the bank that your crop price will go up. If it does, I make money. If it doesn't, I lose money.

In a way, it's like gambling on other people's business. That's the derivatives market in a nutshell.

So, what is Congress trying to do to change things? Well, right now most of these deals are done privately in what's called a shadow market. In the U.S., it's usually done through one of the big five banks.

The problem with keeping it private is a company like AIG was taking tons of bets on whether other people would be able to pay their mortgages. When the housing market crashed and AIG was supposed to pay up, it didn't have enough money to cover its bets.

Hello government bailout. Because it was all private, no one had any idea that AIG was gambling so much.

Well, now, Congress wants most of these derivatives traded publicly like stocks. Then investors and everyone can see how many bets each company is placing, and regulators can step in and order changes if a company is taking on too much risk.

Jessica Yellin, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And finally something to cheer about for stranded air travelers around the world. Europe's major airports are reopening a week after they were shut down by the volcanic eruption in Iceland. The shutdown cost airlines at least $1.7 billion through yesterday. And its peak, it impacted almost one-third of global aviation and it affected 1.2 million passengers a day.

Across Europe, airports are filling up fast as jetliners take to the skies again. Some stranded passengers from Atlanta are among the lucky ones who have now made it back across the ocean.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Exhausting, yes.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But exciting.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: But it actually kind of turned out nicely because we got a better plane coming home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The first time I've been to Paris, so I was happy to have a few extra days in Paris, because originally we only had two days. So, to have four or five days in Paris, at least I got to see it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now we're home.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And we don't believe we're in Atlanta.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How does it feel to be home?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It feels great.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It feels great.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to head to Willy's (ph) Burrito.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Already making those dinner plans.

Well, the backlog of stranded passengers is huge, and it could be days, perhaps even weeks, before the situation is back to normal.

A frantic search is on right now for missing oil rig workers. You're looking at video of a Coast Guard chopper rescuing someone after a fire explosion in the Gulf of Mexico. And we're tracking this story for you right here in this CNN NEWSROOM.

First, though, our "Random Moment" in 90 seconds.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Take a look right now. Lots of people who are gathering there in Springfield, Illinois, the state capital. Why? They are protesting major budget cuts affecting education and other areas.

You have seen this kind of scene all across the country. This time, Springfield. Organizers are calling it a "Save Our State" rally.

We'll continue to update you on the rally and what it actually accomplishes throughout the day.

All right. Meantime, school districts across the country have been hit hard by deep budget cuts and increased costs.

Ines Ferre joins us to take a look at the state of our education system right now.

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fred.

Well, we've seen teacher job cuts, after-school programs ending, in some cases shorter school weeks and increasing class sizes. Here's where we're at right now nationally.

Since the start of the recession, at least 29 states have cut spending on K through 12, and 39 states cut funding for public colleges or hiked up tuition. And in some cases, both -- a widely unpopular move. You may remember the hundreds of protests, marches, students and teachers across the country came out in force for what -- the so-called Day of Action.

Front and center in this discussion was California. At issue there, budget cuts for the state university system totaling $1 billion.

Now, some 22,000 teachers in California are at risk of losing their jobs. In Illinois, some 17,000 could be let go. And in New York, 13,000.

And if schools haven't tightened their belts already, Fred, well, many plan to do so. A survey by the American Association of School Administrators shows that 90 percent of respondents expect to cut positions this coming year -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: Oh, boy. That is really frightening stuff.

All right. Thanks so much, Ines. Appreciate that.

All right. Take a look at this. Can you call a tornado beautiful? A pretty dramatic image right there of a tornado at sunset.

So where did it hit exactly? Jacqui Jeras tracking the weather for us straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

WHITFIELD: All right. Same-sex couples have been fighting for the legal right to marry, but now they may be fighting just as hard for the right to get divorced.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Another look at our top stories right now.

At least a dozen people are missing after an explosion on an oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico. Seven others were critically injured. It happened about 52 miles off the coast of Louisiana.

And President Obama is getting feedback from Senate leaders on his upcoming Supreme Court nomination. He met this morning with leaders from both parties. Justice John Paul Stevens is retiring at the end of the court summer term. The Senate will have to confirm the president's nominee.

And funeral services get under way this hour in Memphis for Benjamin Hooks. The civil rights leader died last week after a long illness. He was a former lawyer, judge and NAACP director. Hooks was 85.

More top stories in 20 minutes.

And we're keeping a close watch on your money. CNNMoney.com is the source for your latest financial information.

And let's take a look right now at the Dow. Take a look at the Big Board right now.

And see that? The Dow is down just 3.5, 11,113. We'll keep a close watch on the numbers for you throughout the day.

All right. General Motors appears to be back on its feet. The automaker repaying all the bailout money it received just last summer. And that's ahead of schedule.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ED WHITACRE, GM CHIEF EXECUTIVE: As of today, General Motors has repaid in full and with interest --

(APPLAUSE)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Oh, no lack of excitement there at GM's plant in Fairfax, Kansas. The CEO said $5.8 billion has been wired to the U.S. and Canadian governments. In all, GM received $50 billion in federal help. In return, the government gained stock and shares in GM.

A same-sex couple gets married in a state where it's legal, but they break up in a state that doesn't recognize gay marriage. Can they get a divorce? That's the issue in a case before an appeals court in Texas today.

The state attorney general argues that because Texas doesn't recognize same-sex marriage, there can be no divorce. The couple in the case got married in Massachusetts. Same-sex marriage is also legal in Connecticut, Vermont, New Hampshire, Iowa and the District of Columbia.

And they say TV satire crossed the line, but what about their threat? Did it cross the line?

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SR. LEGAL ANALYST: Certainly the comment on this Web site is very ugly, but it is certainly not specific enough to get anyone arrested.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: "South Park" angers a Muslim group, drawing a harsh response.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: One person's satire is another's insult. The episode of "South Park" has roiled radical Muslims, prompting a warning to the show's creators.

Here's Special Investigations Unit Correspondent Drew Griffin.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Revolution Muslim says, despite their provocative posting, complete with the photo of a murder victim, the group says it's only issuing a call to protest, not violence.

Contacted by CNN, the creator of the posting said Revolution Muslim only wants those offended to be able to voice their opposition by letters to the show's creators.

TOOBIN: Certainly, the comment on this Web site is very ugly, but it is certainly not specific enough to get anyone arrested at this point.

YOUNES ABDULLAH MOHAMMED, REVOLUTION MUSLIM: Hi, Drew. How are you?

GRIFFIN (on camera): Good.

(voice-over): Last year, CNN interviewed one of the founders of this radical Muslim group on the streets of New York. Younes Mohammed chose his words carefully, telling us he saw nothing wrong with Americans dying in the 9/11 terrorist attack.

MOHAMMED: I don't think it was wrong. I think it was justified.

GRIFFIN: And then adding, he does not encourage any violence on U.S. soil.

It's a word game, federal officials tell us, that allows Revolution Muslim to post support of terrorists, like the alleged Fort Hood, Texas, shooter, while the Web site itself is protected under free speech laws of the United States.

Younes Mohammed told us he doesn't see anything wrong with his messages. He dislikes the United States. He yearns for a Muslim world.

MOHAMMED: We're commanded to terrorize the disbelievers. And this is a religion, like I said.

GRIFFIN (on camera): You're commanded to terrorize the disbelievers?

MOHAMMED: The Koran says very clearly in the Arabic language -- language (SPEAKING ARABIC). This means, terrorize them. It's a command from Allah.

GRIFFIN: So, you're commanded --

MOHAMMED: To terrorize them.

GRIFFIN: -- to terrorize anybody who doesn't believe?

MOHAMMED: It doesn't mean -- you define terrorism as going and killing an innocent civilian. That's what your --

GRIFFIN: How do you --

MOHAMMED: I define terrorism as making them fearful, so that they think twice before they go rape your mother or kill your brother or go on to your land and try to steal your resources.

GRIFFIN (voice-over): The clip on the site ends with the warning on a graphic directed at Parker and Stone that the dust will never settle down.

Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And here's a response to the threat from one of "South Park's" creators.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUESTION: Are you afraid that if the network allows you to unveil (ph) the Prophet Mohammed, that you will be bombed?

TREY PARKER, CO-CREATOR, "SOUTH PARK": It would be so hypocritical against our own thoughts if we said, OK, well, let's not make fun of them because they might hurt us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And now the view of a Muslim author. She spoke with CNN's Anderson Cooper.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

AYAAN HIRSI ALI, AUTHOR, "INFIDEL": I grew up as a Muslim, and growing up Muslim I learn you don't criticize Allah, the Koran, or the Prophet Mohammed. And you should participate in condemning and eventually killing anybody who does.

So that is just what the religion tells us. That's what scripture tells us.

There are some people who want to act on it and there are some people who don't. The majority of Muslims do not want to act on the scripture, but they're silent when fellow Muslims do.

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: But, I mean, in "South Park," this cartoon, whether you like "South Park" or not, they show Buddha snorting cocaine. You don't see death threats or warnings from Buddhists.

ALI: And you don't see death threats from Jews when Moses is depicted in an unbecoming position. And you don't see threats from Christians when Jesus Christ is made -- you know, is put in a satire position.

So it is only -- and this is the strong thing. The "South Park" episode of last weekend was not just funny, and it wasn't just witty, it was also -- it addressed an essential piece in the times that we're living. There is one group of people, one religion that is claiming to be above criticism. And I hope that in the aftermath of this that we discuss that.

When (INAUDIBLE) and I made submission, we wanted to address the position of women in this Islam and what the Koran said about Islam -- what the Koran said about women. Instead, we ended up in a discussion about, you know, are Muslims more vulnerable or not, shall we talk about protection, can they be offended or not? It became a side discussion.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: We're also taking you up close and personal to the volcano causing travel delays around the world. And we'll get to the bottom of talk about a second volcano possibly springing to light? That's a big old question mark.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Remember Greensburg, Kansas? That town devastated by a tornado just three years ago. It has since been rebuilt and now it's totally green. CNN's Tom Foreman shows us.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a community that really has had to build up in two distinct ways. First, they had to get over the enormous storm that laid waste to all the buildings that used to be here. And they had to do it when so many communities in this country are struggling just to survive.

(voice-over): The tornado that ripped through Greensburg three years ago was a swirling black cloud with winds exceeding 200 miles an hour. And it left this small town in ruins.

DANIEL WALLACH, GREENSBURG GREENTOWN: It was a 1.7-mile wide tornado. And the town is 1.5 miles wide. So there was just very little on the peripheries that survived.

FOREMAN: But the storm of rebuilding that Daniel Wallach and others have led since is proving just as powerful, only this one is green.

WALLACH: And so this town knew they had to have a unique identity.

FOREMAN (on camera): And that's what you set out to do with this plan?

WALLACH: Yes.

FOREMAN (voice-over): With the strong backing of the local government, this town is being rebuilt as a model of environmental sustainability. At the new school, drainage systems capture and conserve rainwater to feed the landscaping, salvaged wood covers the walls, cabinets are made of wheat harvest leftovers and natural light pours in everywhere. Superintendent Darin Headrick is expecting much lower power bills.

DARIN HEADRICK, SUPERINTENDENT: During the day, we won't even turn lights on here to have classes and activities during the day. Our classrooms are the same way. We really don't know if we'll have to turn a light switch on during the day in the classrooms.

FOREMAN (on camera): That's a big savings.

HEADRICK: Well, we hope. FOREMAN (voice-over): One of the town's many new wind turbines generates up to 30 percent of the new hospital's electricity, while power and water saving utilities dominate. Mary Sweet runs the place.

(on camera): Were you skeptical of this idea to begin with?

MARY SWEET, KIOWA COUNTY MEMORIAL HOSPITAL: Initially I was, yes. At first I thought it was a gimmick. It was a way to build back and have people help us. But like I mentioned, it's a road map of a way to follow in construction.

FOREMAN: And you think it's working now?

SWEET: It's working wonderfully, yes.

FOREMAN (voice-over): And all over town, houses are springing up with eco-friendly designs. Like this model made of concrete, filled with smart utilities feeding off solar cells, a machine that pulls drinking water from humidity in the air, and so much more.

(on camera): What's going on up here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So up here we have the rooftop garden.

FOREMAN: You're going to grow food for the house right up here?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, absolutely.

FOREMAN (voice-over): The payoff? By most accounts, this was a small dying town before the storm. But with each new stage of the green comeback, it is being reborn. And every day, fewer folks are looking back.

WALLACH: With a name like Greensburg, you know, it was a natural fit.

FOREMAN (on camera): There are still plenty of empty lots around town, but what they're hoping here is that eventually they will rebuild the entire town and what they will rebuild will actually be economically stronger and more viable into the future than the town they lost.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, pretty hard to believe something this beautiful has caused so many problems for so many people. And up close look at Iceland's most famous volcano.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

A huge rescue operation in the Gulf of Mexico. The U.S. Coast Guard helped evacuate workers after an explosion aboard an oil rig. Seven people are critically injured and another 12 are missing. Planes are taking off and landing again in Europe. It's been a week since flights were grounded because of thick ash from a volcanic eruption in Iceland. And now a lot of stranded international passengers are trying to get to their destinations.

The airlines have lost almost $2 billion because of all of this, not to mention tourism. And now there's concern over another volcano. Here is what CNN's Gary Tuchman told me last hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's the volcano that we affectionately call E-15. E for the first letter of the volcano, 15 for the next 15 letters are very hard for English speakers to announce.

But here's the other story that's very interesting. Just to the left of this volcano is another one in the distance. It's called Katla. Katla is a much more powerful volcano historically when it erupts. And the president of Iceland caused some controversy this week when he said that this volcano currently is just a dress rehearsal for Katla. It angered tourism officials because they're afraid it will scare people from coming.

But Katla has had eruptions much more frequently over history than this one. And coincidentally, we're not sure if it's a coincidence or we're not sure if they cause each other to erupt, but they've happened at the same time several times over the last few centuries. So there are some people who are concerned that Katla could ultimately erupt because of the eruption of this one. And if Katla erupts, in a worst case scenario, they're saying there's so much glacial water inside, that's six times the amount of water in the Amazon River, and would cause immense flooding.

So, once again, we want to emphasize that because this one's erupting does not mean necessarily Katla will erupt, but historically they have erupted at the same time. So there's a lot of tourism officials here that are a little angry at what the president said. But the president said, hey, it's just important to be honest about history.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right. Our Gary Tuchman there.

Jacqui Jeras is here in the weather center. And so the ash is still up there, but he made it very clear, Gary did, that the chances of that other volcano erupting or that people would be able to predict it, he gave me a big old zero here.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, there really is no way to tell. But if history tells you anything, then, yes, maybe this could happen. And, you know, the volcanoes above sea level, you know, above ground, are about 12 miles apart. But underneath, apparently, they may be connected by some magma channels. And so that's why when one goes off, maybe the other one does. And it would likely be a much worsen scenario because I'm hearing the eruption could be twice as powerful. And you heard Gary talking about that glacial on top of it, which is about twice as thick.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

JERAS: So flooding would be, yes, a much greater concern. So, you know, we're not necessarily out of the woods altogether with this. We just, unfortunately, don't know a lot about these things. You know the last time it erupted, back in the 1800s. Before that, it was like in the 1600s.

WHITFIELD: Yes, tough to predict.

JERAS: It is. And, you know, so are the weather winds, you know, because at the surface, they've been relatively light. The upper air jet stream tends to drive storms from one place to another. It also helps that ash to travel. But it's not getting up in the jet stream any longer and so it kind of -- the winds here going different directions.

So this is where the ash is being detected, below 20,000 feet as of this morning. And now the forecast for this has it all lifting a little further on up to the north as we head into tomorrow. So look at that. Look at western Europe. Everything's looking really, really good, except for northern parts of the U.K. and then on over towards Greenland and into parts of Canada. So the outlook, as long as there's no additional eruptions, is certainly looking good.

And just to kind of put this in -- compare and contrast for you, what we've seen over the last couple of days and just how much better it actually has gotten. Here you can see Iceland and there you can see that big ash plume. And this is for Monday. So we still had a lot of problems, a lot of flights not taking off on Monday.

This is Tuesday. You can still see some of that ash plume in there. It's still hazy. You can certainly pick it out on this visible satellite. As we look at the image from this morning, I've got to zoom in for you. It's much harder to see. You can see that light gray or that light haze just in this area.

So dramatically reduced. And that's a lot of good news and hopefully encouraging a lot of people. And we have a lot more flights which are flying. Look at all those planes in the air. Every one of those little yellow dots.

WHITFIELD: (INAUDIBLE) improvement.

JERAS: Yes. A lot of happy travelers getting home today.

WHITFIELD: Oh, good, because I think the patience was wearing thin.

JERAS: Yes, it is.

WHITFIELD: And the cash was running out for a lot of people, too. You know, it was expensive. JERAS: It is, yes. Yes, they're saying three years now, I think, before they can make up from this economic loss. Three years.

WHITFIELD: Ouch. All right, thanks, Jacqui.

OK. Well, how about this scenario. You're still in college. You have no experience and you want to make it in the business world. So, what do you do? We have found some kids who have an answer.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, let's face it, if you're working toward a college degree now, it's probably coming with a lot of uncertainty these days. After all, jobs are scarce and career paths are unclear. But you won't hear any gloom and doom from the Kairos Society. It's a student organization that's proving (ph) the young businessperson is still very much alive and well. CNNMoney.com's Poppy Harlow is in New York.

So tell us more about these young movers and shakers and what their outlook is.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: Yes, this is really inspirational. I mean you look at how many people are without jobs, how hard it is graduating from college, not being able to find a job right now. But this is student funded. It's a non-profit organization. Their goal, it's a big one, take on the world's challenges through entrepreneurship.

What this group did is they held their global summit here in New York over the weekend at the New York Stock Exchange, of course, and they showcased about 100 of the most innovative student founded businesses. And I was pretty impressed. Take a look for yourself.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANKUR JAIN, FOUNDER, KAIROS SOCIETY: There's 100 companies being showcased today. And every one of these companies has been founded and is run by students.

PATRICK MURPHY, PRESIDENT, POWERFLOWER SOLAR: The PowerFlower, which is portable, durable, low-impact solar technology. A lot of people like the look of it, would love to have one of these in their backyard.

SHAAN PURI, CO-FOUNDER, WASABI SUSHI: We tried sushi for the first time a year ago and we just realized that we love it and we want to bring it to the masses.

JAIN: We started Kairos in 2007, which was right at the peak of the whole recession. And Kairos actually means "the right moment." And the premise was that there's no better time for these students to pursue the path of entrepreneurship, to take on their own risks and take control of their own destiny.

DUNCAN NIEDERAUER, CEO, NYSE EURONEXT: It shows you what the art of the possible is. Anything's possible. And to see what these kids are doing with the tools that are at their disposal, they're able to create businesses on the back of an idea much faster than we ever could.

ENRICO PALMERINO, CO-FOUNDER, THINKLITE: The easiest way to get a job is to create your own. And that was the whole entrepreneurship thing. That's why we're here at Kairos. The best way to stimulate the economy is to go out and make jobs for other people.

BENJAMIN GULAK, FOUNDER, BPG-WERKS: And we had a friend from back home, we started this all-terrain extreme sports company. It's essentially a skateboard with two snowmobile tracks underneath it. It can go do sand, snow, mud. You can take it off the side of a mountain. If you really have something that you believe in or that you see potential, you should go out there and just figure out a way to make it work and not let other people tell you what you can and can't do.

BEN LEWIS, FOUNDER, GIVE: Everyone drinks water. Everyone has causes they care about. Give is a beverage brand on a mission. We donate 10 cents for every unit we sell to charity.

NIEDERAUER: I just want them to promise me that if and when they IPO, they do it here at the NYSE and they give me a call, even if I don't have the job, so I can join them.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARLOW: Pretty inspiring, those college kids, Fred, already running their own businesses. Got to tell you, the only two complaints that we heard, a, it's pretty hard to get loans from banks. No shocker there, especially if you're in college. And a lack of sleep. They're up all night working on these projects.

WHITFIELD: That's right. But as we see from those kids, it eventually could all pay off.

HARLOW: Absolutely. Exactly.

WHITFIELD: Thanks, Poppy. Appreciate that.

HARLOW: You got it.

WHITFIELD: All right, actress Jessica Alba is taking a lead role in the fight against global poverty. She's on Capitol Hill with Congresswoman Nita Lowey of New York and they're pushing education for every child in the world as the way to end poverty. They joined me last hour to discuss the efforts.

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JESSICA ALBA, U.S. HONORARY CO-CHAIR, 1GOAL: I think to really make the systemic change that everybody wants is truly about coordinating those efforts so people who, you know, NGOs and people who are working tirelessly on education need the support of government to fully realize and see true tangible results. WHITFIELD: And how did you get involved in this, Jessica? Why was this kind of tugging at your heart strings?

ALBA: Well, after I had my daughter, everything sort of put -- everything got put into a completely different perspective. And my priority lies with children and women. And that's where my heart has always been. And Queen Rania of Jordan invited me to join in this campaign to make sure that every child has access to an education. You know, most of the children who don't have access are women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, lawmakers in one state want presidential candidates to prove where they were born. We've got the story and the White House response.

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WHITFIELD: All right. Golden, Colorado, got its name because of its role in the gold rush. But these days a land of gold has gone green. And that's where scientists are going as the demand grows for clean energy. D.C. photojournalist Jeremy Moorhead gives us an inside look at their research.

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BARB WARDEN, WEB MASTER OF GOLDEN, KS: Golden is right down here kind of at the very end of the Great Plains. It's right before the Rocky Mountains start. We can get a lot of snow.

Golden was established in 1859. It started during the gold rush. People started to come out to Colorado when there were rumors of gold. And Clear Creek is really what put Golden on the map. They found gold in Clear Creek. This is what the miners followed to get into the mountains in the first place.

Coors Brewery has been here since 1873. A long time home of the Colorado School of Mines. But over time, we've, you know, gone into other things. We are the proud home of the National Renewable Energy Lab.

RON JUDKOFF, PRINCIPLE PROGRAM MANAGER FOR BUILDINGS AT NREL: Golden started with gold mining, but now we're mining another kind of gold, from the sun, converting gold to green, and (INAUDIBLE) the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. We're completely dedicated to green, sustainable technology.

If you want to test their efficiency of solar cells outside, you have the sunlight available all the time. It is a very good location to have the laboratory.

We're in front of what's called the RSF, or Research Support Facility. This is going to be a zero energy office building. Zero net energy means that over the course of the year, we'll produce more energy than we actually take from the grid. The building itself is designed to be fairly thin in its wings and sections so that we can bounce daylight 30, 40 feet into the space.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Giving a tour of the research support facility. This is going to be the lead plat of the building.

There are no ceilings in the offices. That will help to allow the daylight through the space as well. It's one of the requirements, we have a certain percentage of recycled material, the beetle kill, but it's pined from the Colorado forests that have been decimated by the pine beetle.

JUDKOFF: You learn a lot about the technology when you have humans interacting with it on a day-to-day basis. We would like now throughout the nation and the world people to understand that this is possible and that they can apply it as well.

WARDEN: It's just a wonderful place to live. I know somebody in every coffee shop I go to.

MARY BLOCK, GOLDEN RESIDENT AND BUSINESS OWNER: We live here. We work here. We have held on to our traditions. We still have that small town feel, but we're progressive thinking. Sustainability, eliminating as many footprints on our planet as we can is incredibly important. We're always looking at the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And in observation of Earth Day, CNN photojournalists are looking at solutions to environmental issues and the people who are trying to make a difference before it's too late. The award- winning In Focus team tells the stories of these people and the impact that they are having in their neighborhood and beyond. Watch it unfold on "Green Solutions In Focus" Saturday, this Saturday, April 24th, 3:00 p.m. Eastern.

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WHITFIELD: If President Obama runs for re-election, some Arizona lawmakers want him to prove he's an American citizen. The Arizona house has voted to require presidential candidates who want to be on a ballot in that state to fork over their birth certificates. White House Spokesman Bill Burton told CNN, quote, "this is a question that has been answered exhaustively. I can't imagine Arizona voters think their tax dollars are well served by a legislature that is less focused on their lives than in fringe right-ring radio conspiracy theories," end quote.

The full Arizona legislature has cast the strictest anti- immigration bill in the country. It makes it a state crime to be in the U.S. illegally and requires police to question anyone about their status with or without provocation. Critics say it will mandate racial profiling, but an Arizona sheriff defends the measure.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHERIFF JOE ARPAIO, MARICOPA COUNTY, ARIZONA: I was a director in Mexico City with the U.S. drug enforcement. I spent 14 years at the border.

Everybody talks about the border. That's a cop-out because no one wants to talk about enforcing the illegal immigration laws in the interior because of politics. They want amnesty. So it's always secure the border.

But we have criminals right here in Maricopa County in our jails. We have over 50 people charged with murder that are illegals, violence and everything else. So we have to hit this problem on all levels. The border, yes. But how about inside the United States, too?

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WHITFIELD: So on our blog we've been asking what you think about Arizona's new bill cracking down on illegal immigration. Here's what you're saying.

This from Al. "Yet another case where simply walking, driving while brown is a crime. Outrageous. Remind me never to go to Arizona."

And Wayne says, "immigrants are not the problem, illegal immigrants are. I am extremely pleased that Arizona has the guts to do what the federal government should have done a long time ago."

And Gee writes this. "This bill will only promote racial profiling and more lawsuits for the police department."