Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

President Obama and First Family Visit Gulf Coast; Financial Expert Gives Advice on Student Loans; Oil Spill Clean-Up Workers Find Messages in a Bottle; New Technology Allows Disabled to Play Video Games; New Device Shuts Down Cell Phone Service While Car is On, Barring Texting While Driving

Aired August 14, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: Paying for college -- it is tougher for ever as tuitions sky rocket. A financial expert joining us this hour with tips on getting the most bang for your buck.

And the Old Spice guy a huge hit on the internet, but he isn't alone. Top viral videos of the year are coming up at 3:00 eastern.

And then at 4:00, a growth in a man's lung turns out to be a pea plant. We'll get the details of this bizarre medical case.

Here's the CNN Newsroom, where the news unfolds live on this Saturday, August 14th. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Fredricka Whitfield.

And helping the Gulf coast recover from the oil disaster is President Obama's mission this weekend. He's visiting the Florida gulf coast with his family. These comments last hour after his arrival in Panama City Beach.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And that's why I made a commitment in my business here that I was going to stand with you, not just until the well was closed, not just until the oil was cleaned up, but until you have fully recovered from the damage that's been done. And that is a commitment that my administration is going to keep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: CNN Senior White House Correspondent Ed Henry is with us live now from Panama City Beach. And, Ed, I know that you got a chance to speak to the president, not only about his visit here to the gulf, but also about his recent decision to back this idea of putting a mosque and Islamic centers just a couple blocks from ground zero.

ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right, a very tough decision for this president. As you know for a couple weeks Robert Gibbs, White House spokesman, told us this was a local issue and the White House was not going to comment on it. It was, obviously, very thorny politically.

And for the president or anybody in the White House to weigh in a couple months before this contentious midterm election, obviously, could be a very explosive. We have seen a lot of Republican reaction now to the president speaking out last night.

In fact, I'm told by senior officials that the president decided to finally come out at the White House last night at a celebration for Muslim Americans because it was a good forum discussion, and he didn't want to duck it at that point.

But, also, he feels that Mayor Bloomberg has now weighed in in support of building this mosque near ground zero, and, so, in terms of a local issue, it's been spoken for by the mayor, and now it was the right time and place for him to weigh in.

I pressed the president on that, as he ended this event here at the coast guard center. He's in Panama City and, obviously, trying to promote the gulf coast. But this controversy could end up overshadowing this trip a bit. I asked him what he thought about some of this explosive Republican reaction.

We'll get that sound turn, we literally just got it, but I'll give you a quick bit. The president said, he wanted to make clear to me that he was not commenting on the wisdom of that particular project, he said, near ground zero, but rather trying to uphold the broader principal that the government should "treat everyone equal, regardless of their religion."

So that's what the president told CNN exclusively, explaining why he decided to weigh in now.

As you mentioned, he also had some comments about the Gulf coast and now having lunch with his family, and he, basically, I pressed him on whether he is going to go swimming on a much lighter note. He said he'd go tomorrow but I will not let your camera take pictures of me, because last time I did that, he was talking about Hawaii, of course. It was on every front page newspaper and I got teased a lot about it.

But he said he will get in the water, which the locals thinks is important beyond the joking whether he will take his shirt off or not, because they think that will be a very powerful symbol to show people all around the world that the water is clean and safe here in the Gulf coast, number one.

And number two, the president was also making clear in his brief comments to me, but also to the wider audience, as you know, he basically said, look, this is an important milestone now that it looks like the oil has been stopped. But this is not over by any stretch, this crisis. He vowed this and his administration will stay here and continue to help.

KEILAR: Ed, we will check in with you if he does go swimming, even if it's not on camera. Let's be honest, that will definitely steal the White House's message there. And you can let us know if you took a dip, as well. Ed Henry there for us on the Gulf coast.

HENRY: I will. KEILAR: Now to Buffalo where a shooting outside of a restaurant has left four people dead, four others wounded. This happened around 2:30 this morning in downtown Buffalo. Police say the victims had just attended a wedding party. One of the people killed was the groom. He's from Texas and was supposed to be married this afternoon. Police are looking for a suspect or suspects, as well as a motive.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MICHAEL DEGEORGE, BUFFALO POLICE SPOKESMAN: There was a party at that location, a private party and some of these victims are, obviously, from that party. We're checking in to if something precipitated it from inside or some member from the party were outside, we don't have that information yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Now, one of the people injured remains in serious condition. Witnesses say as many as 100 people attended the formal reception at the restaurant.

And in Alaska, the NTSB is moving forward with its investigation into the plane crash that killed former senator Ted Stevens and four others. They've moved more of the wreckage to Dillingham, Alaska. That's the plane's wing being airlifted there.

NTSB agents talked to two of the four survivors. No one reported anything out of the ordinary before the crash. Meanwhile, crash survivor Sean O'Keefe seems to be getting better. The former NASA chief's condition has been upgraded from critical to serious.

And in parts of the Midwest, some rough weather over the last few days. This tornado here -- unbelievable pictures here. It swept across farmland and highways near Hayfield, Minnesota. No reports of any injuries or major damage there but multiple tornadoes were reported in Minnesota and North Dakota a day earlier.

(WEATHER BREAK)

KEILAR: In other news, Pakistan canceled Independence Day celebrations today because of the massive flooding across the country. The prime minister says 20 million people have been affected and more than 1,300 are dead. A second wave of flooding is expected to wash through southern Pakistan this weekend, putting hundreds of thousands of more people in immediate danger.

And in southwestern China, at least 38 people were killed by flooding in Sichuan Province, the main highway there under 13 feet of water. Just to the north is Monso Province where mudslides killed more than 1,100 people last weekend. Nearly 600 people still missing seven days later now. Tomorrow will be a national day of mourning.

Paying for college -- it's a daunting challenge for millions of Americans, but there are ways to lower your tuition and pay off those student loans quickly. We have that ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Millions of Americans rely on loans to pay for college and many are struggling to pay them back after graduating. So how bad is this problem? Well, new government figures show Americans now owe more on their student loans than they do on their credit cards.

So how do you pay for college without drowning in debt? Joining us now with some answers is financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz. And Mark, the first thing you advise people to do is to apply for financial aid even if you don't think you're going to qualify for it.

MARK KANTROWITZ, PUBLISHER, FASTWEB.COM: The federal need analysis formula is very complicated and it's hard to predict whether you'll qualify unless you apply, and many families do not apply and lose out on the Pell Grant because of that. And 2.3 million families would have qualified for a Pell Grant if they had only applied and 1.1 million of them would have qualified for a full Pell Grant.

KEILAR: And the web really here, you say, is one of your greatest tools because, I mean, obviously, if you want a scholarship, that's great. You're not having to pay it back. You say to people, search for scholarships online on websites, for instance, like yours, fastweb.com. What can they find?

KANTROWITZ: There are millions of scholarships available online, and free sites like fastweb.com will match your background characteristics against the prerequisites for the scholarships, showing you a list of just the scholarships for which you are eligible.

A good tip is to complete the scholarship matching profile as completely as possible, including all the optional questions. Students that complete the optional questions in addition to the required question match about twice as many rewards.

And then if you're maybe not qualifying for scholarships or that's not going to pay the entire cost, of course then you're looking at loans. And you say to students, check federal loans first. Why is that?

KANTROWITZ: Well, the federal loans are cheaper, they're more available, and they have better repayment terms. They have fixed interest rates where most private loans have variable rates.

So even though a variable rate private student loan might have a lower interest rate right now if you have excellent credit, a few years from now when they return to historic norms, we'll see a much bigger interest rate on these loans, and that will make the loan much more expensive over the life of the loan.

KEILAR: There's also something you can do to tell students to check out, look into AmeriCorps. Maybe this can help you pay some of your school costs.

KANTROWITZ: AmeriCorps is a government volunteering program where you can earn up to the maximum Pell grant, which is $5,550 this fall for each year of full-time community service that you perform. It's a good way for paying for college ahead of time, or if you've already graduated and you don't have a job, you can volunteer for AmeriCorps and use the money to pay don't your loans.

KEILAR: It is good experience on one hand and also the great added benefit of taking care of that cost, which could be not fun later.

And the other thing you talk about, Mark, if you save and save early, and I know this is something that a lot of us Americans struggle with because we kind of want that instant gratification and we don't always love saving our money, but you say there's a huge benefit. Can you break this down for us?

KANTROWITZ: It's cheaper to save than it to borrow. If you save $200 a month for ten years at 6.8 percent interest, you'll accumulate with interest about $34,400. If instead of saving that money you were to borrow it, you'd pay it back $396 a month for ten years at 6.8 percent interest.

The difference is that when you're saving, you're earning the interest while when you're borrowing you're paying the interest. So you can save a certain amount before college or pay twice as much after college.

KEILAR: And Mark, stand by for just a moment because we're going to talk to you about some other questions. We just covered what to do to get a loan, how to pay for school. But the other issue is maybe you have already gotten a loan and you're trying to figure out how to get out from underneath that heap of student debt. We're going to tell you how to do that after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Top stories now. A suspected serial killer has agreed to return to Michigan to face charges. The man who was arrested in Atlanta is a suspect in 18 stabbings in Michigan, Ohio, and Virginia. Five of the victims died.

And the medical examiner's office in Alaska says the five people killed in a plane crash earlier this week could not have been saved, even if rescue teams had reached them immediately. Former Senator Ted Stevens was among those killed.

And the chair of the South Carolina Democratic Party is urging U.S. Senate candidate al Alvin Greene to resign. The surprise winner of South Carolina's Democratic primary has been indicted on obscenity charges. Greene is accused of showing computer pornography to a female college student. He tells CNN that his lawyer is dealing with the charges. Greene faces Republican Senator Jim DeMint in November.

KEILAR: So you took out college loans and you got your degree, and now you're stuck with a huge mountain of debt, but maybe no high- paying job to pay those loans back. What is the fastest way, you're probably wondering, to get rid of that debt? Financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz is back now with some critical tips. And, Mark, you say the first order of business should be signing up for what's called an "auto debit billing plan." Explain to us what this means.

KANTROWITZ: Well, the auto debit discounts give you a small break on the interest rate, 0.25 percent or 0.5 percent if you agree to have electronic billing and you give the bank permission to direct the monthly payments from your checking account. So this could save you a little bit of money and make sure you're not going to be late with any of the payments.

KEILAR: What is that savings again?

KANTROWITZ: It's a 0.25 percent, sometimes it's 0.5 percent.

KEILAR: That's really good savings. That's really something to think about. The other thing you can do is look at tax deductions. How can this help you, and what can you do in this arena?

KANTROWITZ: Well, the student loan interest deduction allows you to deduct up to $2,500 in interest on both federal and private student loans each year on your federal income tax return as an above the line exclusion from income. That means you can take it even if you don't itemize on the income tax return.

KEILAR: And that's really something to consider because you could really be throwing money away if you're not considering those first two tips. Those are great savings. The other thing you say is that all debt isn't created equal and that you should be paying off some debt before you pay off other debt. It's the high interest stuff, right?

KANTROWITZ: Right. The high-interest debt is the most expensive debt, and if you have after you make the required payments on all your loans, if you have a little bit of extra money, you can save more money in the long run by paying off the highest cost debt, the highest interest debt each month instead of dividing it evenly among all the debts or paying off the smallest loan first.

KEILAR: And there's this thing that it seems pretty new here. We've heard of peer to peer lending, but there's peer to peer lending for education costs. Tell us about that.

KANTROWITZ: There are several firms, some of the existing peer- to-peer lenders have moved into education lending, and there are some new lenders that are specifically for peer-to-peer education loans that let you borrow money from small investors like you.

The main problem with peer-to-peer education loans is that it's very small right now. Most of these loans don't get funded. About one in ten get funded. And often, if you ask for a lot of money, you're either going to get partially funded or not funded at all. So this is best if your need just a small amount of money, say $1,000 to finish your education.

KEILAR: Peer-to-peer an option if I guess parent to child isn't an option for you.

And then, finally, Mark, if you can just tell us a place where you can find a list, sort of an aggregated list of the different places where you can apply for student loans.

KANTROWITZ: Well, if you go to my Web site, finaid.org/loans you'll find lists of private student loans and lists of loan calculators that can let you pick the best loan for you, as well as guides to paying back your loans. And we have a quick reference guide on repaying student loans that has become quite popular.

KEILAR: And, again, you emphasize those federal loans first.

KANTROWITZ: Yes. Borrow federal first because they're cheaper. You'll say more money in the long run.

KEILAR: So we helped out the people looking for loans and the ones trying to pay them back. Financial aid expert Mark Kantrowitz, thank you so much for being with us. Really great information.

KANTROWITZ: Thank you, Brianna.

KEILAR: And 75 years ago today president Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Social Security into law. On this anniversary, polls show a growing pessimism about the stability of the program -- 60 percent of Americans surveyed in a CNN opinion research poll said that they don't believe Social Security benefits will be available when they retire, 39 percent predict they will collect benefits.

Now, the president is back on the Gulf Coast today. This is his fifth visit since the oil disaster started, and this time he brought along the family. We'll be filling you in on what they're up to, right ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Let's get now to the Gulf Coast. The president, first lady, and the youngest Obama daughter, Sasha, are spending part of the weekend there. First stop, the coast guard station in Panama City where Mr. Obama heard from people directly affected and praised those who had been by their side leading the cleanup effort.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: My job is to make sure that we live up to this responsibility and that we keep up our efforts until the environment is clean, polluters are held accountable, businesses and communities are made whole and the people of the gulf coast are back on their feet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: And this hour, as well, the president's point man on the disaster has been talking about what is going on at that ruptured undersea well. Our Reynolds Wolf is in Gulf Shores, Alabama. And Reynolds, what was the latest we heard from Admiral Allen here. REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The latest we gathered moments ago in a tele-conference is basically the information that Thad Allen's long-term plan is to continue with the relief well, following up with the bottom kill. So that is going to be the end game strategy in this story.

I can also tell you that he plans on issuing an order to BP to conduct pressure testings for the pressure inside the well and, if there are sudden increases in that pressure, what exactly they would plan on doing then, what measure BP would have after that.

Once he is satisfied with that, the game plan is to continue with the relief well. And that itself is really an amazing feat, if you think about it -- 17,000 feet down, we're talking two and a half miles. And the target they're trying to hit is the size of a dinner plate. It is really an amazing endeavor.

They are going to finish the testing on Monday or Tuesday in terms of pressure, but then at that point it could take from four days to even 90 hours to continue the drilling procedure, and then they're going to have that injection and the mud and cement, and by that point, Brianna, they hope that the well will be killed off altogether.

KEILAR: And one of the big things as we watched President Obama there on the Gulf Coast today is that he and his family is trying to show people that the beaches are safe and they should come back because the tourism industry there has just take an tremendous hit.

You, Reynolds, have been there on the Gulf Coast, you know, for much of this entire disaster as it played out. And I know that you probably saw some empty beaches at the beginning, and I'm just wondering if you noticed any sort of pickup in people coming to the beach?

WOLF: We have seen an increase, no question about that. The problem is, we really missed the peak time of the summer, especially around the Fourth of July weekend when they make the bulk of their money here along parts of the Gulf Coast. We're talking about a multibillion dollar industry. So they needed all those people to come in during the peak season.

Unfortunately, the oil was here and many of the tourists were not. In fact, many of the hotels for the whole season were down anywhere from 30 percent to 50 percent.

Now, people are coming back. I can tell you last weekend we were over in Pensacola and many of the hotels were sold out for several weeks. We spoke to several of the restaurateurs in the area, and many said there were waiting lists and long lines, so things have been building back up.

Now coming up at the top of the hour, we are going to speak to the Mayor here in Gulf Shores, Alabama, and ask him how things have been this summer and how they've been over the last couple weeks and what he plans to do in terms of the long-term strategy to help this area rebound. KEILAR: Yes, because it may just be a matter that it's too late, Reynolds. It may just be.

WOLF: Absolutely.

KEILAR: Reynolds Wolf there for us in Gulf Shores, Alabama.

Imagine the entire state of Florida being underwater. That is the situation that folks are facing in Pakistan where monsoon rains, mudslides, and flooding have left millions in peril.

As you can imagine, getting relief to the victims is no easy task. And with more flooding expected this weekend, even the country's Independence Day celebrations are affected. Our Reza is in Islamabad.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Independence Day celebrations canceled by the Pakistani government. Senior government leaders say they're going to take the money saved from those celebrations and contribute it to flood relief and recovery efforts.

In the meantime, the death toll from these floods is now up to 1,400. The prime minister of Pakistan, Yousaf Raza Gilani also saying the number of people affected is now 20 million, that's up from 15 million.

What's incredible is that these floods hit about 15 days ago. The Pakistan Navy still launching rescue and recovery missions for thousands of people still stranded in central Pakistan.

In the meantime, Pakistan's president Asif Ali Zardari continues his PR blitz to make up for what was a sharply criticized absence here in Pakistan when the floods hit. He visited northwest Pakistan, talked to some flood victims, passed out some care packages.

Of course, he was criticized widely for leaving Pakistan for Europe a couple weeks ago. Pakistan's interior minister says that criticism is unfounded, and he called it politics.

REHMAN MALIK, PAKISTAN INTERIOR MINISTER: It's a political game. Well, if there is a priest that did for the president, so he got to go. And he has gone there and brought something. I would like to tell you that the kind of help you have offered is great. And similarly other international communities are also coming forward.

SAYAH: In parts of Pakistan, heavy rains came down once again, and those rains will continue off and on for the next few weeks. Remember, monsoon season here in South Asia, not scheduled to end until September.

Reza Sayah, CNN, Islamabad.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Everyone knows that it's dangerous, but is there any way to stop teens from texting while driving? We'll look at one possible solution ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: Now a heartwarming story of a grieving mother. The British woman's son was killed fighting in Afghanistan. She wrote a note, put it in a bottle, and tossed it in the sea. Months later Gulf cleanup workers found it washed up on their shores. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH ADAMS, MOTHER: This is James', one of James' bags and Afghanistan dust, I think. I left everything as it was when it came back. It's James. I don't want to wash him away. He was a warrior driver for the second battalion, and he had only been in the army just over a year from training. He went over an IED.

I was just on the beach in Barbados looking out to sea and remembering holidays that we all had together as a family, and I thought it would be nice, really, to include him in some way, and chose to, I don't know, I just came up with the idea of sending him a message in a bottle.

We threw the bottle into the sea and said a little prayer privately, individually we did and never thought anything of it. Again, it wasn't about anybody finding it, it was just basically sending messages to James.

DOUG KIRCHOFF, CLEAN-UP WORKER: We were actually doing a scouting mission looking for oil, trying to find where we were going to work the following couple days. When we found, came across the message in a bottle.

And we didn't know what to expect at first. There were four individually wrapped letters inside the bottle. It was about a soldier who lost his life in the Afghanistan war. You know, the whole occasion turned real somber. And we really were taken back like, wow, this is a little more than we anticipated at first.

ADAMS: It was about 9:00 in the morning and they had found the messages in Mississippi by the cleanup guys of the Gulf oil spill. I was just completely shocked. It's almost like if I know them and known them for a long time and it's been over several week. They sent us a signed t-shirt that all of the crew signed for us. The way that they're feeling about it is exactly the way that we're feeling.

KIRCHOFF: It was like we knew James, like he was a friend of ours, because his friends said he touched so many lives and he was such a great person. Yet even though he's not here, he's still touching lives and still bringing people together.

ADAMS: I'm just absolutely astounded and amazed, and amazed that it survived, amazed the journey it's taken and amazed at who found it.

(END VIDEOTAPE) KEILAR: Time for a check now of our top stories.

Four people were shot to death early today outside a restaurant in Buffalo, New York. The victims include a man who was supposed to get married today. Police don't know what sparked the gunfire or whether there was more than one shooter. The "Buffalo News" reports there has been one arrest so far in connection with the case.

And President Obama is weighing in to support that Islamic mosque project near ground zero. He says Muslims have the same right as other Americans to practice their religion. Some families who lost loved ones in the 9/11 attacks are against building an Islamic center so close to the site of the World Trade Center.

New York Congressman Peter King accuses Mr. Obama of, in his words, "caving in to political correctness."

And more health worries for Zsa Zsa Gabor. The 93-year-old actress returned to a Los Angeles area hospital yesterday for more surgery, this time to remove a blood clot. Her publicist says the clot was a complication linked to her recent hip replacement surgery.

Texting while driving, of course, it can be extremely dangerous and many states have banned it, but some say that is not enough, especially when it comes to teen drivers who just cannot resist the temptation to text.

Some parents now are turning to technology for help. Ines Ferre takes a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

INES FERRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Christin Grulke is your typical 16-year-old who loves texting.

CHRISTIN GRULKE, TEEN DRIVER: I text pretty much all day. In a month, I might send like 4,000.

FERRE: In Georgia, she's not allowed to text behind the wheel. Still, her parents want to make sure she never does. Soon they plan to install a new technology in their car that cuts off cell service when it's in drive. We went for a ride with them to test it out.

PAM FISCHER, MOTHER OF TEEN DRIVER: Now that we're driving, I can't send any texts and I can't receive any texts and I can't even make a phone call with this phone. Right.

FERRE: The technology is called Tech Stopper, and it's wired underneath the dashboard. Cell service is active only when the car is in park.

FISCHER: This way there is no temptation, there's no "I'll do it just this once." Really it's a safety thing.

FERRE (on camera): How much of this is for your peace of mind, as well? FISCHER: It's totally.

FERRE: The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says drivers under the age of 20 have the highest rate of distraction- related fatal crashes. Georgia is now one of 30 states that ban texting while driving. And 16-year-old Alex Thorhan was one of the biggest advocates behind the new law.

ALEX SOROHAN, BROTHER DIED TEXTING WHILE DRIVING: And that's his prom picture.

FERRE: Her 18-year-old brother Caleb died in a car crash last December. He was texting behind the wheel.

SOROHAN: If me and my family had to go through the pain of losing someone for texting while driving, and it's such a foolish reason to die, no one else should have to go through that. If I could do anything to stop that from happening to anybody else, then I really should try my hardest to not let anybody else go through that pain.

FERRE: Whether bound by law or new technology, Christin says it won't be easy.

GRULKE: In the end it will help, but at the beginning it will probably be hard because, like, you just know your phone's right there.

FERRE: From now on that next text will just have to wait. CNN, Atlanta.

Ines Ferre, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Doctors discover something growing in a man's lung, and you will not believe what it turned out to be. That story is just ahead.

And controlling sports cars with your breath, or slaying dragons with a click of a mouse -- there's a group out there that wants to make the virtual world accessible to everyone. Gary Tuchman takes us to the edge of discovery.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Steve Spohn is an avid gamer. He's also disabled.

STEVE SPOHN, DISABLED GAMER: I have a form of muscular dystrophy, called spinal muscular atrophy. Right now I can move my hands and that's about it.

TUCHMAN: Using only a mouse and an onscreen keyboard sometimes limit his gaming experience. So he looked online for help and came across an organization founded by Mark Barlet. MARK BARLET, THE ABLE GAMERS FOUNDATION: The Able Gamers Foundation is a non-profit that helps gets disabled people into gaming.

TUCHMAN: The Web site's forums encourage people to share game recommendation and useful tips.

BARLET: The able-bodied see the wheelchair and crutches, and they don't always see the person. Gaming allows you to shut all of that.

TUCHMAN: The foundation also works with developers to create modified equipment like this device that controls a game almost entirely by blowing in and out of a tube, or this controller, built with larger buttons for easier access. As for Steve Spawn, he stays busy as associate editor of ablegamers.com.

SPOHN: I think the community will always exist. For me it was a place where I fit. I often say that I found the place in Able Gamers where I needed them and they needed me.

TUCHMAN: Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: When a Massachusetts man found out he had a growth in his lung, he really expected the worst, but it turned out the growth wasn't any kind of tumor, it was a vegetable. Doctors found a pea had sprouted in Ron Sveden's lungs. They suspected it went down the wrong way while he was eating.

And Sveden, who's already suffering from emphysema, says he never felt anything growing in his chest. Doctors discovered it when Sveden came in with a collapsed lung.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RON SVEDEN, PLANT GROWING IN LUNG: It's probably about half an inch. And that is a pretty big thing. Whether this would have gone full term and I'd be working for the Jolly Green Giant, I don't know.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

KEILAR: At least he has a sense of humor about it.

Doctors, they removed the pea plant and Sveden said he just had to laugh after the first meal after surgery included, you guessed it, a healthy serving of peas.

And they're calling her a mini Susan Boyle -- 10-year-old Jackie Evancho is wowing the crowds and the judges on the TV show "America's Got Talent." Here's why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) (SINGING)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: A big sound coming out of a very little girl there. Some people actually doubted that a 10-year-old could sing like that and they took to the Internet claiming that she was lip syncing. But this week the show's judge addressed the controversy and asked Evancho to sing a note on the spot, and she did in that same amazing voice.

And the young phenom has advanced to the semi-finals. You can see why she's now in the running to win $1 million.

To California now, where a surfer caught more than just waves on Tuesday, he captured these amazing images of this shark circling really just yards from shore. Chuck Patterson said the sharks were swimming around him before and he decided to try to take some pictures of them. Patterson said the sharks were just curious and capturing them on tape was a dream come true.

But I understand, Jacqui Jeras, before you tell us about weather, that he knew that they were kind of out there, so he came back with the camera. And I talked to someone who said, oh, that's so brave. And I say, no, that's so stupid.

(WEATHER BREAK)

KEILAR: You know when times get tough, people eat out less. So a restaurant in the nation's capital is trying to make up for lost business by hiring new staff and offering more than just good food. CNN's Kate Bolduan reports.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Talk about a family business. Pietro Polles owns Sorriso, an Italian restaurant in Washington's trendy Cleveland Park neighborhood.

PIETRO POLLES, OWNER, SORRISO: From 2007 to now I have seen about a 20 percent decrease in business.

BOLDUAN: Polles says the tough economy forced him to find creative ways to boost business and save his bottom line, including hiring his entire family.

PIETRO POLLES: I'm the chef and owner, and my wife she's the office, and my son is my manager and the pizza chef, and my daughter now, she also waitresses.

BOLDUAN: His son head Stefano, head pizza chef, says the economy has even changed customers' eating habits.

STEFANO POLLES, MANAGER, SORRISO: In the past, people would order an entree each, maybe a bottle of wine for two, and finish that off with a dessert. But nowadays people they tend to split main courses and they perhaps get a glass of wine or two. BOLDUAN: So Stefano Polles, who attended school in Venice to learn the pizza-making trade, now shares his expertise, doing his part to bring in extra revenue with weekend pizza-making classes.

STEFANO POLLES: You put too much yeast the worst thing that is going to happen is it is going to blow up.

BOLDUAN: Students learn the art of authentic Italian pizza- making and pick up tips on ingredients and technique.

STEFANO POLLES: They learn how to make the pizza that you find in Italy from Rome all the way through up north. And I teach you the formula and you learn the formula and you learn the ingredients, and you learn the purpose of each ingredient, which I think a lot of pizza chefs don't know.

BOLDUAN: Polles now hopes to follow in his father's footsteps.

STEFANO POLLES: In terms of my dream, I would definitely like to continue in this business to keep it up and running.

BOLDUAN: And while they're happy to teach the secrets of pizza- making to boost business, not even a bad economy could convince this family to hand over all their kitchen specialties. Those will remain family secrets for a long time to come.

Kate Bolduan, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: Coming up, President Obama shows his support for the Gulf and its residents. And CNN's Ed Henry has an exclusive interview with him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)