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Ground Zero Mosque Protests; President Obama's Religion; How to Turn Your Hobby into a Job; Islamic Center Debate Heats Up in NY; Egg Problems & Salmonella; Iran Unveils New Combat Weapon

Aired August 22, 2010 - 16:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: A heated debate reaches a boiling point in New York. Hundreds of people rally for and against an Islamic center near Ground Zero. A live report just moments away.

And defriending frenemies, two new words in the "Oxford Dictionary of English." Wait until you hear what other words made the cut. That's in today's chat room.

And then at 5:00, a pole dancing like you've never seen before. We'll show you the tape along with other videos that have simply gone viral.

Hello, everyone. I'm Fredricka Whitfield and you're in the CNN NEWSROOM where the news unfolds this Sunday, August 22nd.

All right. Bringing news out of Chile, President Sebastian Mineros says 33 miners who have been trapped for two weeks are actually alive. "Reuters" news agency quotes him saying that the miners attached a message to a drill that had been lowered into the tunnel. The small gold and copper mine is in the northern part of that country. The cave-in happened August 5th. And as we get more information, we'll of course pass that on to you.

All right. Meantime in this country, a face-off near Ground Zero. Opponents and supporters of a planned Islamic center staged dueling rallies today. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti was there and she joins us live now from New York. Susan?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Fredricka. You know, this controversy shows no signs of dying down, not yet, anyway. Yet, both sides, even though they're on opposing viewpoints, have opposing viewpoints were peaceful and kept their distance from each other and both rallies went on without any arrests, no problems whatsoever. On the one side, you had about 450 protesters, those who are against the proposed Islamic center and mosque. Located that would be located about two blocks away from Ground Zero.

They said it is simply too close to Ground Zero to be respectful. And should not be permitted there. Among the people who were at this particular rally included 9/11 family members as well as first responders. And others, including one man who is organizing hard hats to get them to agree not to participate in any union jobs at the propose Islamic center. And this is what some of those folks said.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ANDY SULLIVAN, ANTI-ISLAMIC CENTER ACTIVIST: I got a real problem that the mayor, the president and the founder of Hamas are all in consensus with putting up this mosque. That, I got a problem with. Can you hear me, Obama? This is Andy from Brooklyn, forget about it!

SIMON DENG, HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVIST: This is an insult to those who died. Building a mosque is a slap in the face of America and a victory to Islam. The imam said destroy America and build the mosque. Please New Yorkers, join me when I say no to the mosque. No to the mosque, no to the mosque, no to the mosque.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: So he was saying no to the mosque. About a block away you had people who were supportive of the Islamic center site and the mosque, which remember, has been operating as a prayer center, anyway, since last fall. These people are saying this is all about the constitutional right to practice whatever religion they want or whatever religion anyone wants.

And that it is about the freedom to express that religion. They feel that they agree with the developers of the site, who say that they're trying to, to promote better understanding and better tolerance among all religions. And here's what some of those folks had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LT. COL. CHRIS DZUBEX, PRO-MOSQUE ACTIVIST: Certainly the right and the ability to do whatever they would like and that's what I like about the country. Is the ability for people who disagree with one another to hash it out without guns.

RUTH MASSIE, PRO-MOSQUE ACTIVIST: It would be giving in to bigotry and intolerance to demand that it be moved. And I think in the end it makes us, it makes us less safe. Because I think we need to show the world that we are a tolerant, open society.

ALI AKRAM, PRO-MOSQUE ACTIVIST: There are many Muslims who lost - Muslim family members at Ground Zero. So when they come to visit Ground Zero as a memorial, they should be able to walk two blocks down and pray for their loved ones.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Now at this point there's no timetable for building this Islamic center. And in fact, the organizers say they have not even begun fundraising yet. Back to you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Susan Candiotti in New York. Thanks so much for that.

All right. Now to the egg recall that's sweeping across the country. Health officials are trying to pinpoint the exact source of the bacteria that has so many people sick. Half a billion eggs from two companies have been recalled in at least 17 states. And we're learning more about one of those companies. Our Sandra Endo is in Washington. So what have you uncovered, Sandra?

SANDRA ENDO, Well, Fred, we're learning a lot. The massive nationwide egg recall is growing and this weekend, another Iowa-based egg farm is under investigation for possible Salmonella contamination.

Now the $6 billion industry is being hit with a recall on half a billion eggs. Now although that's less than two percent of the total 80 billion eggs produced in the nation each year, the outbreak has spread to, as you mentioned, 17 states since may according to the Center for Disease Control. With triple the average reported rate of Salmonella poisoning.

Now the Iowa-based company at the center of the investigation is one of the nation's top 10 egg producers, Wright County Egg and it's privately owned, but it has a long list of legal problems. Spanning more than two decades, ranging from a sexually-hostile work environment to animal cruelty.

Now new to the recall list, a 170 million eggs produced by Iowa's Hillendale Farms since April. The FDA is investigating both Wright County and Hillendale Farms looking for any common list. Now, the recall list involves a long list of egg brands, and consumers should check the date and plant codes on each carton to see if the eggs are included in the recall. And the FDA plans to have some results back by next week. Fred.

WHITFIELD: And so Sandra, any reaction coming from these companies accused of violations?

ENDO: Well, we haven't heard much from Wright County. We understand they are cooperating with the FDA in terms of their investigation. But we also heard from Hillendale Farms, the new player in all this. They're saying that both companies do share some of the same suppliers and we're talking about where they get their young chickens and feeds, so that may be the possible link in all of this.

WHITFIELD: All right. Sandra Endo, thanks so much for that update from Washington, appreciate that. Of course, If you get sick from eating contaminated foods, symptoms could include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and stomach pain.

Those at the greatest risk of serious or even fatal infections are young children. Also frail or elderly people and others with weakened immune systems are at greatest risk of Salmonella exposure.

So for more information on the egg recall, including packaging numbers, go to cnn.com/health

All right. New trouble in the tropics, forecasters are keeping a close watch on what is now tropical depression number six in the central Atlantic region, Jacqui Jeras is tracking all of this for us.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Have a name, right? JERAS: No. It doesn't have a name yet.

WHITFIELD: Not yet, but it would.

JERAS: (INAUDIBLE) tropical depression. If it gets a name, it will be Danielle.

WHITFIELD: Danielle. OK.

JERAS: And it looks like it will probably happen down the line. There has been some more favorable conditions ahead of the system right now that is encountering a little bit of wind shear, but we could see this become Danielle even in the next 24 hours or so. Right now, it's in the middle of nowheresville. So that's some good news. It's not impacting any land, not really bothering anybody out there.

You can see a little bit of convection taking place, kind of blowing up on the north side of the system right there. So who knows, we've go a new advisory coming out, we'll probably get it in about 35 minutes or so from now. So we'll bring that along to you, of course and break it, if necessary if it does become Danielle.

Now, here's the forecast track, what we're expecting with tropical depression number six. You can see the intensification, when it's got the hole in the middle. That means it reaches tropical storm status and gets a name. Where the winds are at least 39 miles per hour and all the models really intensifying this thing into our second hurricane of the season.

But notice this curvature in line that we expected to start to take a turn on up to the north. And that would be some good news if that all follows through. Because it means that it would steer clear of the U.S. and there you can see the clustered computer model forecast really coming together. And looking very similar.

So that's some good news. One other thing by the way. I just want to mention we've got a tornado warning in the Philadelphia area, south side of town near the airport right now. You need to be seeking shelter, we'll have more details on that and the rest of the nation's forecast, coming up in just a little bit.

WHITFIELD: OK. We'll look for that. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

All right. Meantime, overseas, U.S. military combat troops pulled out of Iraq, plenty of U.S. troops remain in harm's way in that country and in Afghanistan. Today, four U.S. troops were killed in Afghanistan. And NATO officials say, the Americans were killed in three separate incidents.

Another American service member died in Iraq and is the first U.S. troop to be killed there since the last U.S. combat brigade left the country on Thursday. The military said the soldier was killed while conducting operations in Iraq's Basra province.

The top U.S. military commander in Iraq says he could imagine a scenario where American troops are in Iraq beyond 2011 but on CNN's "State of the Union" today, General Ray Odierno said the country is on its way for being ready for next year's planned withdrawal of remaining U.S. troops.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN ANCHOR: I want to read you a quote from Lieutenant General Zabari who is the chief of staff of the Iraqi Joint Forces. I'm sure you know him, something he said in the "Daily Telegraph," "If I were asked about the withdrawal, I would say to politicians: the U.S. Army must stay until the Iraqi army is fully ready in 2020." Can you foresee a scenario like that where there would be some U.S. military presence albeit much smaller in 2020?

GEN. RAY ODIERNO, COMMANDER, MULTI-NATIONAL FORCE-IRAQ: I don't know. I think it depends on what kind of presence you're talking about. If the government of Iraq requests some technical assistance in fielding systems that allow them to continue to protect themselves from external threats, we could be here. I mean, you know, we have agreements like that in Saudi Arabia. We have agreements like that in Egypt. That continues to help them to develop their infrastructure and security architecture. If that's what we're talking about, potentially, we could be there beyond 2011.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Odierno told CNN's Candy Crowley that Iran is fueling instability in Iraq by funding and training extremist groups in that country.

Iran proudly, by the way, unveiled a new weapon it calls "the ambassador of death." We'll ask an expert what it could mean for America's security.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Tehran unveiled some dangerous new technology today. The first long-range unmanned combat drone made in Iran. Iran's president called it the "ambassador of death." It is said to be capable of carrying out bombing missions across long distances at high speeds and just yesterday, Iran began fueling its first nuclear energy plant.

Tehran said the power station will be used to generate electricity. But the U.S. and its allies are worried about Iran building nuclear weapons, so a lot to talk about here. I want to explore both of these things with the security implications as well as it pertains to the U.S. and beyond.

Let's talk with Jim Walsh about this. He's an expert on international security at M.I.T. and has testified before Congress about Iran's nuclear program, good to see you.

JIM WALSH, MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: Good to see you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. So before we talk about the nuclear program and what next, let's talk about this drone. This so-called "ambassador of death." How might Iran use this? Why would they have this? They made it all in Iran?

WALSH: Yes, well, a couple of things. One, it's not surprising that you get this sort of announcement this week. Because there's been a lot of talk about military strikes against Iran. And this is the way, at least in the battle of political rhetoric for them to sort of push back a little.

It remains to be seen how functional, how useful this technology will turn out. Whether it's any good or not. But you can understand why they would want it. Why do they want it? Because they don't have a good air force and if they are attacked by Israel. If they're attacked by another country and they want to retaliate and they can't do it with their air force, then drones are, in theory, one technology that would give them a retaliatory capability.

WHITFIELD: So you see it more in use as retaliation, not in terms of a preemptive strike that Iran might plan whether it be against Israel or anybody else?

WALSH: No, you know, when you look at the history of Iran since 1979, since the revolution, it has not been a country that has engaged in inter-state war by attaching other countries. It was attacked by Saddam Hussein. And it responded to that. But it hasn't really, you know, it may send the cuds force into Iraq, it may play with its intelligence services, but it hasn't started any wars.

WHITFIELD: And so apparently or at least reportedly there have been, I guess some Russians involved in helping to protect the technology, whether it pertains to the drone or perhaps pertains to the nuclear powers of Iran. How might this be a protection for Iran against Israel?

WALSH: Yes. Well yesterday, when they opened up this plant, they also on the same day signed an agreement that would have Russian technicians continue to working at that plant for the next three years. And I think that's probably a win-win for both the Iranians and the Russians. Why?

WHITFIELD: How?

WALSH: For the Iranians, it means that Israel is going to be very reluctant to attack that plant, which I don't think that they would do, anyway. I think that's, we're way off the trail on that one but if they were thinking about it, they wouldn't want to attack it if they were going to kill a bunch of Russian technicians who are inside the plant. And so Iran likes it for that reason.

I think the Russians like it because they get to have eyes and ears on the ground, watching the plant. And also they don't want this plant to run into problems, you know, to turn into a Chernobyl because that's going to hurt their ability to export nuclear plants in the future. So, both the Russians and the Iranians get something out of it. WHITFIELD: OK. Meantime, there was some things said by John Bolton who was a former U.N. envoy. And he talked about how Israel may be running out of time or may have already run out of time as it pertains to that nuclear plant. You take him to task on that. Why?

WALSH: Well, you know, these were impromptu remarks that I think were probably ill-considered. First of all, as I said before, there's no way Israel attacks a plant and kills a bunch of Russians. Why? For the past year, Israel has been trying to woo Russia because Russia is one of these members of the so-called P-5 plus one, the group of countries that has been dealing with Iran and Israel has been trying to get Russia to take a tougher position on Iran.

You kill their engineers, you probably are not going to get what you're seeking. Secondly, the implication here is this is a lost cause now, that there's no turning Iran around. That's not what the U.S. intelligence community has said and said repeatedly over the last several years. Their finding is that Iran has yet to make a command decision whether to build a nuclear weapon. It keeps building its capability. But it hasn't decided finally what it's going to do. And so I think that's wrong.

And frankly, the issue here is not the power plant. Lots of countries have power plants. It's enrichment. We need to keep our eye on ball here and not be distracted by this other stuff. The key when it comes to proliferation is the enrichment technology, which they are already operating.

WHITFIELD: All right. Jim Walsh, thanks so much.

So at this juncture you say it really is not a significant worry. These are kind of new cogs in the wheel but in terms of the U.S. and even neighboring countries, no significant worries need to take place as a result of the drone or even this nuclear plant.

WALSH: Well, I think we'll have to wait and see whether the drone is any good. But they're not going to use it for offensive purposes, they'll use it for defense. And the plant, again, let's stay focused on the core issue, the core issue is enrichments, the Russians are going to be on the ground, the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency is going to be on the ground. They're going to be watching that plant. The Russians are going to want to get the spent fuel out of there. So that they can re-process it. I really think it's small potatoes, it's a side issue.

WHITFIELD: All right. MIT, Jim Walsh, thanks so much. It's always good to see you.

WALSH: Thank you, Fredricka. Good to see you.

WHITFIELD: All right. Telephones with cords, wrist watches - apparently they're kind of ancient artifacts these days, especially for the class of 2014. We're bridging the generational divide in today's chat room.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) WHITFIELD: A look at our top stories right now.

As Pakistan battles its worst natural disaster in history. Flood survivors are battling a host of communicable diseases. Global health experts say nearly one million survivors are ill, millions more need food and shelter and the death toll has risen to more than 1,500.

And the stream of U.S. troops leaving Iraq is expected to be steady through the end of the month. September 1st is the deadline for combat missions to end. President Obama is expected to give a speech on the draw-down when his vacation ends. He is scheduled to return to Washington on August 29th.

And some good news for credit card users. New rules that are part of the Wall Street reform bill are taking effect today. They ban huge late fees and penalty fees for not using your cards. Banks can charge fees in some cases but they need to justify them to federal regulators.

You know, it's been a while, hasn't it? It feels like a month now.

JERAS: It is a while.

WHITFIELD: Since we've had chat room where Jacqui and I have been here.

JERAS: Welcome back.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much.

JERAS: We missed you.

WHITFIELD: Well, I missed being here. But I was working, it was an interesting excursion I had. I got to experience being in China, in Nanjing, China, where at least by Chinese standards is a small town of eight million. It was a speaking engagement that involved a panel of journalists, including myself, American journalists invited there to talk with television journalists there in Nanjing, in that province.

A couple of television stations in Nanjing sponsored it. And it was a really fascinating experience. This is a tour of the Junsu (ph) Broadcasting Corporation, which is kind of the network of that province and they showed us the television studio, which is much like this one. Great, you know, technology and they were very interested in how to broaden, how to innovate the television news that they are doing right now. It was fascinating. I think I learned as much from them as they probably learned from us.

That's Steve Schwartz, who is a former senior producer for "Good Morning, America" and there was also a journalist from Fox as well, as well as a professor from the University of Missouri. So it was fabulous.

JERAS: What an exciting journey.

WHITFIELD: It was very exciting. I loved it.

JERAS: Things are a little different over there in terms of television and there's some regulation and -

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. There's a lot of regulation. And while the journalists, of course, respect that and have to abide by it and adhere to it, they're still very interested about broadening out the possibilities within those constraints. They realized there's a big difference. We realized there's a big difference that we have a constitutional right to conduct and gather news the way we do.

They don't have those protections, but they're still curious about how they can use the technology they have to do something in a more broad way.

JERAS: And their technology is amazing by the way as well.

WHITFIELD: It is. So it was fun.

JERAS: We missed you. You'll be back now here.

WHITFIELD: Yes, we got a lot of interesting things in our chat room. Time for a lot of fun.

What do we have?

JERAS: Well, every year you get the list of the new words that are put into the dictionary. And so we've got that list now finally for what we can expect as you head into 2011. And I think a lot of these words, you're going to recognize and know.

WHITFIELD: Frenemies?

Frenemies. We've come to be very familiar with frenemies. Can we look at the list?

JERAS: Defriending the frenemy.

WHITFIELD: Yes.

JERAS: That's removing somebody from your list of friends or contacts like on Facebook.

WHITFIELD: Right.

JERAS: I thought it was unfriend.

WHITFIELD: It's defriend.

JERAS: Now, I know.

WHITFIELD: So now you know.

Yes, chillaxing. Of course, evolved in saying chill.

JERAS: Chillax. WHITFIELD: And relax. So let's just blend the two.

JERAS: I used that one. Do you use that one?

WHITFIELD: Chillaxing. No, I haven't use it.

JERAS: This one, I didn't know.

WHITFIELD: Vuvuzela?

JERAS: Despite - yes.

WHITFIELD: You mean, you didn't know it before the World Cup?

JERAS: No, I didn't know it before the World Cup and I didn't know that's what they called it, either.

WHITFIELD: That's OK. You know it became kind of the new lexicon for World Cup -

JERAS: Right.

WHITFIELD: - viewers. And those who became viewers because you had to be. Because it was big.

Vuvuzela.

JERAS: Say it again.

WHITFIELD: Vuvuzela.

It sounds fun to say. It's harmonic and then frenemy. That's fun. Very interesting stuff.

And you know, I guess a new demarcation of the real generational divide would be these things that most of us have come, I don't know, grew up with. Coiling your finger on the telephone cord. Not the class of 2014.

JERAS: Right. These are things, a reality check that the Beloit College puts out every year so that their professors kind of get what the students, you know, the generation gap like you were talking about. So, yes, a few of them write in cursive.

WHITFIELD: I know. I'm not surprised.

And penmanship has gone down the tubes because of technology and texting and being on your laptop. People aren't taking their notes in class. Like many of us did.

JERAS: They probably have their laptops in there. Don't they?

WHITFIELD: That's right. That's right.

JERAS: No one writes cursive.

WHITFIELD: I know.

JERAS: So no cute little notes anymore. No cards.

WHITFIELD: You know, the stationary industry is not happy about this.

JERAS: Probably not.

But what else, you said the coiling there, your fingers around the wire because they all have cordless phones.

WHITFIELD: Wristwatches.

JERAS: Fergie. Oh, that's a big one.

WHITFIELD: Yes. Because you're using your phones. Your phones. Your blackberries or any kind of other technology to tell time.

JERAS: I can't imagine not having my watch.

WHITFIELD: Very bizarre.

JERAS: Seriously, always, it's jewelry. It looks like a bracelet. Why wouldn't you wear it?

WHITFIELD: A watch is like a piece of jewelry. So you know, don't let that go.

JERAS: Oh, well. We don't have time -

WHITFIELD: We have our watches forever

JERAS: Let's talk about Brett Favre, but we don't have the time in our "Chatroom.'

WHITFIELD: Oh, you can say a little something because you're probably the biggest or one of the biggest fans of Brett Favre ever.

JERAS: Vikings, purple, it's about the Vikings for me. So they have their preseason game tonight at 8:00 if you're interested in watching that. But that will be his first game, we didn't know if he was coming back. Here we go, is he coming? Is he going? The question every year. He's here.

WHITFIELD: He just can't stay away from the game. What can we say? All right.

Thanks so much. Lots of fun in the chat room. Missed you, Jacqui. Missed the "Chatroom." I missed everybody.

Good to be back. All right. Thanks so much.

All right. Here's a question that has dogged Barack Obama since before his presidency. Is he Christian? Is he Muslim? Well, a reporter had an in-depth interview with him as he was encroaching upon the U.S. Senate seat and she shares some very interesting findings. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Rallying cries on the streets of New York.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED MALE): That's a lie.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Supporters and opponents of an Islamic center near Ground Zero stage dueling demonstrations today. Hundreds of people showed up on both sides of the issue. Critics of the project say it's an insult to 9/11 victims and families. Supporters argued it's a matter of religious freedom. Well for the most part the rallies were peaceful. Although there were few skirmishes between the protesters.

And one of the leaders of the proposed Islamic center appeared on ABC "This Morning" and was asked if they would consider moving the project.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you think you will move it?

DAISY KHAN, EXE. DIR, AMERICAN SOCIETY FOR MUSLIM ADVANCEMENT: We want to meet with all the stakeholders who matter who are the New Yorkers. The community board has overwhelmingly supported this. So have all the politicians, Scott Stringer, Mayor Bloomberg. We have the Muslim community around the nation that we have to be concerned about. And we have to worry about the extremists as well. Because they are seizing this moment. We have been very careful and deliberate in when we make any major decision.

AMANPOUR: Is moving on the tables?

KHAN: We right now it is not until we consult with all our stakeholders.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Daisy Khan is heading the development of the project with her husband.

President Obama has weighed in on the Islamic Center project. Saying that they have the right to build it. But doing so triggered more questions about his own faith. Is he Muslim or Christian? Many Americans, 18 percent in a recent Pew Center Poll said they think he's Muslim. This despite repeated comments from the president that he is Christian. Religious columnist Cathleen Falsani sat down with Barack Obama before he was president. Here's a portion of my interview with her.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Back in 2004, Cathleen, you sat down with then-about-to-be Senator Barack Obama and you talked to him about his faith. And you asked him right off the top about his faith. And he said this, after you asked, what do you believe?

He said quote, "I am a Christian. So I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith. On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of eastern influences. I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world between the ages of six and ten. My father was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled as agnostic his father was Muslim. And I would say probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any or faith.

He goes on to say, so I'm rooted in the Christian tradition, I believe that there are many paths to the same place and that is a belief that there is a higher power. A belief that we are connected as people that there are values that transcend race, culture, that move us forward. That there's an obligation for all of us individually as well as collectively to take responsibility to make those values lived. It's a very long quote. But right from the very top of the bat, you believe he offered some real clarity on his position on religion?

CATHLEEN FALSANI, RELIGION COLUMNIST: Well, he was very genuine and authentic and didn't hesitate in answering any of the questions I asked him back then. He came alone to the interview, he didn't have any notes with him, and he didn't have any handlers with him. And he gave me, as much clarity as I think somebody whose mind and spirit worked the way his do, could.

He didn't give easy answers; he didn't give label-related answers. And he, even went back to clarify a few things that if left alone, might have made his spiritual biography, if you will, easier for some people to understand and get their minds around. But that's not how he actually is. So to me it was a marvelous portrait of this man of really humble faith.

VELSHI: Why do you suppose he was so willing, if not eager to do this?

FALSANI: I don't know if he was eager. But at the time I was, I was doing a series of these spiritual profiles of politicians and I was interviewing him and Jack Ryan, who was then running against him in the Senate race and our sitting Senator from Illinois Dick Durbin and later Alan Keyes who came in after Jack and dropped out and I remember asking all of them and there was a lot of hesitancy among some of them and Barack was the first one to say yes and seemed to have no problem talking about it and knew what he believed and knew what he wanted to say and how he wanted to say it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You can read more about Cathleen Falsani's interview with Barack Obama. She has it in her book, the "The God Factor" inside the spiritual lives of public people. Even though the president is on vacation in Martha's Vineyard right now, it will still be a very busy week ahead in politics. Shirley Sherrod, remember her name? She was forced to resign from the Agriculture Department; she'll be meeting Tuesday with agriculture secretary Tom Vilsack. She'll discuss a job offer that apparently he's extending to her. She was forced to resign in July after parts of a speech she made was misrepresented and posted on the Internet.

And then there will be primaries on Tuesday in four states, voters head to the polls in Florida, Arizona, Vermont and Alaska.

And then on Thursday, there will be a hearing to establish the timing of a trial, retrial for former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. He was convicted of lying to federal agents last week. But jurors deadlocked on 23 other more serious charges.

Turning a personal passion into a money-making venture. We'll tell you the pros and cons of a hobby-preneurship. And give you tips on how to boost the chances of success.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Welcome back. A look at our top stories right now. Rescuers retrieve a note from 33 trapped miners saying that they are still alive. They are inside a shelter according to Chile president; he says the news, quote, fills us with joy. The miners have been trapped since a cave-in 17 days ago. Families of the miners celebrated after getting the word. Authorities say they hope to make contact with them today.

And Iran has unveiled its first long-range military drone. Reports from Tehran say the unmanned aerial vehicle can carry out bombing missions against ground targets and fly long distances at a high speed. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attended the unveiling.

And health officials are still trying to pinpoint the source of that salmonella outbreak responsible for the massive egg recall in this country. More than a half-billion eggs have been pulled from stores. The eggs have been distributed in at least 17 states by two producers in Iowa. At least 1,000 cases of salmonella have been reported across the country.

So perhaps you've thought about turning that hobby into a business. If you are considering becoming a so-called hobby- preneurship, you need to listen up. We've got some critical tips for you right now. Beyond the fact that it's a new term that I've now come across, Debra Shigley is the author-of-"The Go-Getter Girls Guide" she is here in our Atlanta studio today to talk about this hobby preneurship. So kind of new we've got to get use to it. It has been around forever, meaning you go after your passion, but now it's got a name.

DEBRA SHIGLEY, AUTHOR, "THE GO-GETTER GIRLS GUIDE:" It's a buzzword, turning something that you already love into something that makes money.

WHITFIELD: All right. So how do you identify, this is a great hobby, or no, this is a new can career.

SHIGLEY: Well the first thing you need to think about, is it going to be a job or is it going to be a hobby and people are often shocked to realize just how much time it takes to monetize something you love. So if you're just looking for a creative outlet, maybe keep it on the side, but don't try to make it a 9-to-5.

WHITFIELD: OK, because a lot of times you think if you're starting a new business, you are actually doing something that someone isn't doing already. You've got to present a new product or an idea that's just simply innovative.

SHIGLEY: Yes, you do need to find your niche. But a common misconception is that you need to think of something new or take up something new in order to make money. But hobby preneurs that are more successful, they stick with something they've already been doing, they already know and love. Whether you're someone who bakes cookies on the side or does jewelry or designs t-shirts, you want to look for something that you're passionate about, have skills and talents in, but they can also produce revenue. Those are the three factors you need to look for to find your sweet spot.

WHITFIELD: All right. What is the sweet spot, how do you identify it? You're saying you know what I love this, I love it, and that means everybody else has got to love it, too. Not necessarily the case.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. Well the first thing you can do is just start brain-storming, again what are some areas that you love to do. Where are your interests? And also where you have skills and talents that's a big factor because you don't want to spend lot of time or money learning something new if you're just trying to make a little extra money on the side. And then finally how are going to make revenue doing this.

WHITFIELD: Now this is where the ego part comes in. Because you say to yourself, I make the best angel food cake there is out there and so that constitutes a business right there. You say you've got to check your ego. How do you do that?

SHIGLEY: Well you take a step back. You say I'm venturing into something new. Because a lot of people who switch careers, particularly after they've had a certain amount of success in their previous careers are a little shocked to get out there and maybe their family is not sure what they're doing, and other people are not accepting it as a legitimate business venture. There's really no way to get over that except to just get out there and keep putting yourself out there. Failure leads to emotional resilience and you just kind got to do it.

WHITFIELD: So you do have to have a plan. How do you start with the plan besides the light bulb going off and saying, I can do this or I want to do this?

SHIGLEY: Well writing down really helps. You want to start a maybe a simple outline, even a one-page concept of your idea. Talk about it with anybody who is going to be impacted. For example your family, you don't want to talk about it with your employer necessarily right up front. But you'll want to think about how you are going to strategically fit this new hobby in with your day job, until it reaches a point when you can actually either do it full-time or you decide you just want to keep it on the side.

WHITFIELD: You don't quit your day job right now, you do this kind of on the side, and you're working around the clock to make it work. Because you need to test-drive it, first, right?

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. And a lot of people that are successful they literally start with the ratio. They work their day job and two hours a night. As you begin to monetize the new thing, as it creates money, you might drop down to part-time at work and do the hobby two or three days a week full time and gradually shift so you're not putting out too much money while you test the waters.

WHITFIELD: You want to advantage of some free marketing which means get people to start talking about you, friends, family, et cetera. To kind of test-drive this product as well.

SHIGLEY: Absolutely. Facebook, twitter, particularly for do it yourselfers, there's a great website called XE, which can help you set up an online store, it has millions of users now a days. It is really to get the word out but don't forget the offline, if you're making jewelry, wear it to a party. Be your best ambassador for your product and people will start to notice it.

WHITFIELD: Oh, that is very smart. OK hobby-preunership something we have to get use to, people have been doing it forever but now it has a new name.

Debra Shigley thanks so much. Good to see you and all the best of luck to those who are inventive enough to come up with a good idea that's outside the box. Thanks so much.

All right on to Britain now, where the government is cutting costs just like some would say the U.S. has to do, right? And it has asked the public for suggestions. You won't believe some of the ideas that came pouring in.

Plus some thoughts on those cost-cutting measures that should be taken right here in the U.S.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Remember within this hour we're talking about the little tropical disturbance out there that could be something? Now Jacqui Jeras is here to say it's something.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, how about that? Danielle is out there. The Hurricane Center issuing their advisory a little bit early and letting us know that the intensity has increased enough to qualify the storm to get a name. So tropical storm Danielle, about 750 miles away from the Cape Verde Islands, so not impacting any land right now. Packing winds around 40 miles per hour. It is moving west-northwesterly and is expected to continue on that track and eventually curve on up towards the north. The information so new it hasn't updated in our computer system yet. But I don't expect that this track is going to change a whole heck of a lot as the computer models are showing quite a consensus curving it northwest where it eventually hopefully bringing it northward, away from the U.S. It's too soon to say for sure whether or not this will impact the United States. We will have to see down the line but it will be at least a week from this time.

A couple other weather-makers for today, we've been watching some really wicked weather moving through the Philadelphia area, a severe thunderstorm warning in effect to the south of you now. There was a tornado warning issued earlier that's been allowed to expire and I haven't seen any reports of damage. Lots of rain across the northeast for today and it's been kind of a dreary weekend for you I know. If you've been trying to travel or get out for tomorrow, you business travelers, ground-stops and lots of delays, so make sure you call ahead if you have those flights, that lows is going to linger too by the way Fredricka and it looks like a real dreary week head for folks in the northeast.

WHITFIELD: Oh boy it is going to be tough getting around. Pack a lot of patience as they say. All right. Jacqui thanks.

The United Kingdom like so many countries is having money problems, too and yesterday we told you about how the conservative-led government asked the public for help in saving money. They want the suggestions and the answers have been pouring in. And some were kind of funny. Josh Levs gave us a little preview of some and then you also offered a challenge, didn't you?

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. We said look, America's got debt, too. We wanted your ideas. Let's recap what the ideas here. Her majesty's treasury, the treasury of Britain reached out and said, OK, everybody, what should this country do to save money. They got tens of thousands of ideas that were submitted. I went through some. Let me just show you some of the hot examples people sent in some really practical ones like this, like buildings, let's use fewer buildings, next one, street lights, someone said, hey turn off every other streetlight. Next one, have fewer managers, the two-minute managerial workers inside the government.

Then you get the crazier things, like this one; sell the queen's swans for meat. And get prisoners to get on treadmills and generate energy. And finally my favorite one of that list, cheap booze from someone in Britain who said if booze was cheap, and people would be drunk all the time and wouldn't realize what a bad job the government was doing. So we reached out to you and we said, hey, America's got tons of debt, what do you think we should do.

Let me just show you a few of the responses we got here. Facebook from Patrick, "Abolish the Department of Education, agriculture, commerce, labor, HHS, HUD, transportation, energy and create an opt-out system for Social Security. Craig Nelson, "Stop acting like we're the money lenders of the world." A couple more here, M.J. Kamonerer (ph), "No tax breaks or incentives for oil companies or any company that out sources jobs. And flat tax, tell Congress to buy its own doughnuts and bottled water." One more facebook from Michael, "Raise taxes and cut spending, although we don't have the political will to do it the math doesn't lie. The only way to stop these record budget deficits."

Here's how you can weigh in on this discussion, you've got my page, Joshlevs@cnn. We got Twitter, facebook going. Fred I can be reading you responses all day we got so many of these.

WHITFIELD: I knew people would respond. It was a great challenge. And folks get a little inventive when it comes down to money.

LEVS: I like the one about the doughnuts.

WHITFIELD: That was clever.

LEVS: They should be eating egg whites.

WHITFIELD: We can talk a little bit more about those eggs, right? Whether it's raw eggs, sunny-side up, egg white omelet, all that, all of that something scrambled up as they say today. But this Minnesota family, they're not going to be eating them that way or any way any time soon. We'll bring you their encounter with bad eggs.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Minnesota is one of the states where people have gotten sick from eating bad eggs. Reporter Renney Testman (ph) with affiliate KARE, looks at what a family of five went through.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RENNEY TESSMAN, KARE: Healthy enough now to bug his sister -- Jackson Danielson never again wants the bad bug he got a couple of weeks ago.

JACKSON DANIELSON: Cramps in my stomach.

TESSMAN: It also sickened his sisters, mom and dad.

TODD DANIELSON, FATHER: Everybody had diarrhea that was kind of the first thing and then headaches and then throwing up. And then it was body aches, couldn't even move. It was like in your joints. It hurt so bad, I mean -- it was worse than any flu I've had.

UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: We thought we had the flu. But then we saw the egg recall and we figured that's what it was, because my dad read off the symptoms from the computer and all the symptoms were what we had.

TESSMAN: Symptoms of salmonella poisoning from tainted eggs. But it wasn't until the recall was expanded on Friday that their suspicions were confirmed. The Hillandale egg these bought at Walmart was recalled.

T. DANIELSON: I checked your website and sure enough, here it is p- 1636, one of the processing plants that are on the recall. UNIDENTIFED FEMALE: When I did find out, I was angry. A virus is one thing, but when it can be prevented, it's a different story. When you watch your children go through that, it's horrible.

TESSMAN: They threw out their carton, but --

T. DANIELSON: I'm on the phone with a friend of mine and he's checking his eggs from Hillandale and sure enough, it's up on the list, part of the recall.

TESSMAN: Friend Rob Strong is throwing away his recalled eggs, despite the fact his family did not get sick.

ROB STRONG: No ailments from us, we cook them real good.

TESSMAN: Scrambled the is the way they eat eggs. But the Danielsons used to eat theirs sunny side up.

T. DANIELSON: And that's the way everybody likes them, to dip their toast in their egg yolk.

TESSMAN: They won't be cooking them that way any more. And the good eggs still in their fridge not in the recall? Well, they probably won't eat those, either.

T. DANIELSON: You know, everybody's kind of leery now about eating eggs.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right, the Danielsons are among more than a thousand people who have become sick from contaminated eggs. Half a billion eggs have been recalled by two of the nation's largest egg suppliers, and one of them has a history of problems.

Our Sandra Endo is in Washington. Sandra, what can you say to bring us up to date on this?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Fred, this is all really interesting. This egg recall started a couple of weeks ago and is only spreading nationwide. Now, while the Food and Drug Administration is investigating the cause of the salmonella outbreak, there are far more questions than answers at this point. The Environmental Protection agency says the farm at the focus of the investigation has a clean record when it comes to air, water and waste records, but other legal actions paint a different picture.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ENDO (voice-over): The massive nationwide egg recall is growing. This weekend, another Iowa-based egg farm is under investigation for possible salmonella contamination. The $6 billion industry is being hit with a recall of half a billion eggs. Although that's less than 2 percent of the total 80 billion eggs produced in the nation each year, the recall has spread to 17 states since May, according to the Center for Disease Control. Some states are reporting triple the average rate of salmonella poisoning.

The Iowa-based company at the center of the investigation is one of the nation's top 10 egg producers, Wright County Egg. It's privately owned, but it has a long list of legal problems spanning more than two decades, ranging from a sexually hostile work environment to animal cruelty. The company paid out millions to settle cases involving unpaid overtime to thousands of workers and for hiring more than a hundred undocumented workers on the company's Iowa farms.

This disturbing undercover video obtained last year by the animal rights group Mercy for Animals shows how hens were treated at the company's egg farm in Maine. The owner agreed to pay more than $130,000 in fines after facing 10 counts of animal cruelty. The Egg Safety Center, an industry advocate for egg farmers, says they feel confident there are enough regulations in place to ensure egg safety.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is an extremely rare occurrence. The FDA has done a wonderful job at putting rules and regulations in place. I think we just need to give time to watch those regulations work.

ENDO: New to the recall list, 170 million eggs produced by Iowa's Hillandale Farm since April. The FDA is investigating both Wright County and Hillandale Farms, looking for any common links.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Now, both companies may share some of the same suppliers when it comes to where they get their young chickens and feed. Health experts say the best way to avoid getting sick is to make sure you cook your eggs thoroughly. And the recall involves a long list of egg brands, so consumers should check the date and plant code you see right there on those cartons to see if those eggs are included in the recall -- Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right, Sandra Endo, thanks so much. Really important information everybody needs to pay attention to coming from Washington. So what about the small egg producers? What do they have to say about the recall? We'll hear from one in Washington state a little bit later on in this hour.

And for more information on the egg recall itself as a whole, including packaging numbers, go to CNN.com/health.