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Hurricane Earl Hugging East Coast; Miami Airport Scare; Students Have the Answers; Tour Guides Tips Help Kids; Fast Forward to 2012; Best Online Fitness Tools; Hawaii Human Trafficking Charges; Interactive Wonderland
Aired September 03, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning, everyone. Live from Studio 7 at CNN world headquarters, the big stories for Friday, September 3rd.
Hurricane Earl hugging the East Coast today. The big storm swiping North Carolina overnight and taking aim at Cape Cod.
Students in other countries routinely outperforming their American peers. We compare education here and abroad and get opinions from students.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Their schools start at the top and then they work themselves down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Fresh off his bus tour, we are talking live with President Obama's education secretary, Arne Duncan.
CNN NEWSROOM wrapping up a weeklong look at the ways to fix our schools.
Good morning, everyone. I'm Tony Harris.
Those stories and your comments right here right, now in the CNN NEWSROOM.
A lucky break for North Carolina. Only minimal damage as Hurricane Earl brushed past the Outer Banks, but this storm is far from over.
CNN is your hurricane headquarters, and we've got reporters up and down the East Coast as Earl tracks north. Rob Marciano is in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina. Brianna Keilar in Ocean City, Maryland.
First, the latest advisory just out, and Reynolds Wolf has it -- Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS CORRESPONDENT: That's right. This has now been downgraded.
Earl was a Category 2. It's hard to believe that just 24 hours ago, it was a Cat 4. Now take a look at the magic number.
You've got a Cat 1 storm. Winds are at 85 miles per hour, gusts at 105.
Tony, we actually saw this actually unfolding just over the last, I'd say, two or three hours. We saw some dry air intruding into the western half of the storm which is really causing it to weaken. There's still some deep convection right towards the center, but the center of circulation, although you still have it, the eye is almost impossible to see at this point.
What I can tell you is that as the storm continues to make its way to the north, it's going to be moving into an area where you have much cooler water, very cold water, or at least colder compared to what it had in the southern half, especially off the Outer Banks. So, as it moves in that area, also with the upper level winds, the strong shear, both of those will continue to weaken the system.
Now, the storm still a force to be reckoned with. It is still expected to make its way to the north. As it does so, it is going to make its way just off Long Island, possibly just off Cape Cod, bringing in some heavy surf conditions, heavy rain, and of course some strong winds.
Let me show you something very quickly. Right here you can just make out the Maryland coast, just at this area. And right below those clouds and dealing with that wave and some of those waves is Brianna Keilar.
Let's send it over to Brianna. She's live along the coast.
Brianna, what's the latest you have for us?
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Reynolds, winds have been picking up steadily over the last few hours. But here in Ocean City, Maryland, the worst is still ahead of us.
We're awaiting those tropical storm winds. We have got a little bit of rain, but what we could be seeing as this system is off the coast and rotating, we're really waiting for the back end of it, where we could see some really heavy rain and some winds that we'll have to be bracing ourselves for.
But this is really the concern. Take a look.
This is the surf here, pretty rough seas. And while the beach itself is not closed, and people have been strolling along the beach and strolling along the boardwalk, getting in a little fun before they may have to take shelter, the water is closed because of dangerous -- obviously, the surf, but rip current conditions.
So, no surfing, no swimming. And we just talked with a lifeguard who said a lot of people are just kind of coming out here to get a look. They're getting too close, maybe they're just wanting to get their feet wet, but there are a lot of unpredictable waves.
We even saw this yesterday ourselves. And they are warning people to get back because they could easily be swept in.
So while we are awaiting the brunt of this, let's head south to Rob Marciano. He's about 200 miles south in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina.
Rob, the worst has passed for you.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It is, and heading your way, I'm afraid, Brianna. I can tell you this -- once the storm does pass you, the waves will continue to churn in the ocean. And that's what we've seen today.
Even though the worst of the weather, the last of the heavy squalls really moved through about two and a half hours ago, the churning ocean behind me continues to pound this coastline. And it's done some damage down a little bit further to the south, washing over some of the roadways.
The main highway, Highway 12, that connects the southern part of the barrier islands has been overwashed. Not cut, but overwashed, but temporarily cut off. And these waves will continue to pound this beach right on through the next few days, so rip currents are certainly going to be an issue.
Now, inland we had flooding as well. Take a look at this.
You know, you've got the Sound on the other side, so you can get a storm surge on both the ocean side and the Sound side. And we had inland flooding from some of the Sound pushing over, and also the heavy rain.
We had a lot of heavy rain last night and a lot of wind. Boy, it was a rough night and early this morning. Tough to get around if you were just going for a stroll on the beach. Don't advise that necessarily.
Winds got to about 70 to 74 miles an hour in gusts, Tony. So that's certainly getting close to hurricane strength.
Folks here are very, very grateful that they didn't feel the full brunt of Earl, but it was well forecast by the National Hurricane Center, and it pretty much did just what they thought it would do, and that's good news here. Minimal power outages and minimal damage, and we will say good-bye to Earl, and hopefully it will miss the rest of the Northeast coast.
Back to you.
WOLF: OK, Rob. Great job there, tough guy.
Let's show you what's next up for the storm.
The storm is still surging its way to the north, Tony. What I want to show you over here is the next area that might be under the gun could be Cape Cod. You see the area shaded in that really vibrant, pinkish color. We still have a hurricane warning that is in effect for this region all due for that Category 1 storm. Again, a Category 1 hurricane.
I know it's not as strong as it was yesterday. We're talking about a major hurricane. It has lost quite a bit of punch, but still strong enough to provide heavy rainfall, some incredible surf, and at the same time, some heavy -- really some heavy, strong winds, especially along parts of Cape Cod, including Martha's Vineyard.
So it is weakening, but certainly not over yet -- Tony.
HARRIS: Terrific stuff. Reynolds, appreciate it. Thank you so much.
CNN is, of course, your hurricane headquarters. And you will want to stay with us through the hours ahead as Hurricane Earl moves up the East Coast.
Take a look here. We have got reporters all over the region to bring you live, up-to-the-minute information. Stay right here.
Other big stories we're following for you this morning in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Unemployment for August -- the jobless rate edging up to 9.6 percent last month. The government says overall the economy lost 54,000 jobs last month, but the private sector added 67,000 jobs.
Here is the president last hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's positive news, and it reflects the steps we've already taken to break the back of this recession. But it's not nearly good enough. That's why we need to take further steps to create jobs and keep the economy growing, including extending tax cuts for the middle class and investing in the areas of our economy where the potential for job growth is greatest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So we'll do this -- we will dig deeper on today's unemployment report with a financial expert in just a couple of minutes, Georgia Tech economics professor Thomas "Danny" Boston, only in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Two suicide attacks in Pakistan north and south killed 44 people today. Dramatic images show the moment of the deadliest explosion.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He was in my face.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HARRIS: Boy. OK, the worst blast in the southern city of Quetta. Heavy gunfire, and panic followed. The bombing occurred during a rally to support the Palestinians.
Hear from students on what they need to succeed in the classroom, insights into what you can do for your teenager, part of our weeklong focus on "Fixing Our Schools."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: We want to get some breaking news just in to CNN.
We told you about a scare at Miami's International Airport. We believe things are operating normally right now, but John Zarrella has some new information.
John, what do you have for us?
JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tony, well, it is operating on -- everything is operating fine at Miami International Airport right now. That certainly wasn't the case last night and into the early hours this morning, when the airport had to be evacuated and the bomb squad called in.
And there was apparently some very good reason for why authorities from the FBI, Homeland Security, Miami-Dade, Metro Dade Police, were taking this very, very seriously. Here's what we know happened.
About 9:00 last night, screeners at the airport found in someone's luggage at the international terminal in the Customs area what looked like a canister. So that's when the bomb squad was called in.
They did not find any explosives in that after examining it at the airport. It has been taken away for further examination.
But what a source is telling CNN now, a source very close to the investigation, is that a 70-year-old scientist is the man who owned the luggage and whose canister it apparently was. And this scientist, it turns out, according to the source, served time in prison almost a decade ago for illegally transporting vials of bubonic plague.
I said that right, bubonic plague, which, from my understand, it will cause swelling of the lymph nodes, high fever. If it's not treated, you can certainly die within just a few days from it.
Now, it's not to say that this was in this cylinder. We don't want to say that at all at this point. It's being tested. But that's what this man, according to our source, was convicted of and served time for about a decade ago.
Now, the FBI did tell us during a news conference that this man has cooperated, is cooperating, was not arrested, has not been arrested. He was detained, but is fully cooperating and is still being questioned at this hour about what he was doing or what was in that vial.
But again, it's being taken to a lab here in Miami, the Miami area, to be tested. But again, the story on this was that really what ratcheted up the concern at Miami airport for very good reason, and why many of those that went in, went in hazmat suits, was because after they checked this man's background, they found out his criminal past and that he had served time for illegally transporting bubonic plague -- Tony.
HARRIS: What a story. I've got questions, but it's just hard to pull it all together.
ZARRELLA: Yes, it really is. And again, we have to emphasize and stress that at this point, it's something that happened a decade or so ago, he was convicted of. He served his time. And it just was certainly a red flag for a very good reason as to why authorities shut the airport down, or most of the airport, four of the six concourses, for about eight hours.
HARRIS: Wow. Appreciate it.
John Zarrella for us.
John, thank you.
Boy, the stories that come across this desk.
"Fix Our Schools." Those three words driving much of what you see on CNN this week, because as America's children return to school, CNN has a mission to document the nation's education crisis. Most importantly, we are shining a light on success stories that can empower us to offer our children much more than what they are getting right now.
Students themselves have given us some of the most revealing insights into what helps teenagers succeed in school.
Here are some of the highlights from their discussion with CNN's Carl Azuz.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CARL AZUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What makes a school good?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The teachers, the ones that push you harder.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would also include a caring administrative staff, because I think,, like, good schools start at the top and then they work themselves down.
AZUZ: What's more important to you, the school or the people in it?
GROUP: The people in it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Without good teachers, without that education, what is a school?
AZUZ: Think of your best teacher. Tell me what he or she is like.
Go ahead.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She had a way of adding humor to the class.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If it weren't for the dedication and the passion that my teachers have, we would all probably be failing in those classes.
AZUZ: What do you think students can do to make sure they get a better education?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to push yourself to learn as much as you can in whatever class you're in.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think just simply raising your hand in class and saying something, and taking an active role in just a single class helps you stay more involved.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Don't just put your education in a little box at school. Go above and beyond that.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My mom pushes me to do my best because I like to get good grades, but sometimes if I'm feeling lazy, I'll be lazy. But my mom is the one that really keeps me straight.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's great when parents are involved, but they have to realize that they need to let us spread our wings.
AZUZ: What one thing could help best fix American schools?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: At my school, they lessened (ph) up the teachers. I think that was the worst idea ever. I know we need to send money, but we definitely need to pay attention to education, because I think that's what comes first.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I also think if you cut education, you're really cutting from the future generation. I think it's a very selfish move to do in the first place.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
AZUZ: These students had a lot of suggestions for what could be improved in American schools. And we're going to have more on that coming up on CNN Student News, which you can hear about at CNNStudentNews.com.
But one thing I thought was really important was that these students actually did want more out of their education than they're getting. It's kind of troubling to think of that, Tony. But on the other hand, it underscores the urgency to fix our schools. HARRIS: You've got another big project. This was great. This is great stuff. And I know that there is some material that we didn't get to, but we can put it online and maybe you can tell us again where to find this material. And give us a heads-up as to what you're working on next.
AZUZ: Yes. CNN Student News is really the place where you can find these reports aired again. We'll be posting them in their entirety on our Web site over the next few days.
The next project that we have that I'm going to be looking at is the issue of bullying. And obviously this has been something that's in schools for probably as long as schools have been around. But we have a unique angle we're going to be looking at, Tony, and that's cyber-bullying, something that did not exist when you and I were in school.
HARRIS: No. No, that's for sure.
All right, Carl. Good stuff. Appreciate it.
AZUZ: Thank you very much, Tony. Appreciate it.
HARRIS: Thank you.
And how does the main man leading our education system feel about fixing our schools? I will have a conversation with Education Secretary Arne Duncan next hour. You don't want to miss that right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Learning doesn't have to end when recess begins.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did you build this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, we worked together, and first there was only this much. And then we just had to do more parts.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: A playground that stretches a child's imagination thanks to an "Empowered Parent."
And we're going to dig a little deeper into today's unemployment report. Where's the man? Where is Thomas?
There he is, economist Thomas Danny Boston, joining us to discuss what the numbers say about the overall economy.
We have got some numbers for you, Doc.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's get you caught up on top stories now.
North Carolina's governor tells CNN damage from Hurricane Earl isn't all that bad. The storm brushed the Outer Banks overnight. Wind gusts stayed under hurricane strength. Earl will be off Cape Cod later tonight.
A pair of suicide attacks in two Pakistani cities leaves 44 people dead today. This bombing took place in the southern city of Quetta during a rally to support the Palestinians.
And former Cuban president Fidel Castro rallying students today at the University of Havana. Castro has been raising his profile recently, years after turning over power to his brother because of poor health. That is raising speculation about his future role.
President Obama says the economy is adding jobs, just not fast enough. The president spoke last hour about the new jobless numbers out today.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: One thing we have a responsibility to do right now is to lift up our small businesses which accounted for over 60 percent of job losses in the final months of last year. That's why once again I'm calling on Congress to make passing a small business jobs bill its first order of business when it gets back into session later this month.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: So the economy lost jobs in August, but fewer than predicted. And the private sector added more jobs than expected.
What do we make of all of this?
Professor Thomas Danny Boston from Georgia Tech University, the Department of Economics, with us as usual.
OK. So what do you make of the numbers? 9.6 percent overall, and it goes up a tick, just a tenth of a percent.
OK. What do you make of the numbers?
PROF. THOMAS "DANNY" BOSTON, GEORGIA TECH UNIVERSITY: But 550,000 came back into the labor market. And so that's why we have that tick. And that's a good outcome.
HARRIS: Explain that to us. You said that to me in the past, that when things start to improve a bit, one of the ways we'll know is that people who have been disaffected, who have just jumped out of the labor force altogether and aren't even looking, come back..
BOSTON: Come back in.
HARRIS: Yes. BOSTON: When you drop out of the labor force, if you have not looked for a job within four weeks, you're not counted in the unemployment numbers. So when people come back into the labor market, even though they're searching for a job, now they're counted. And that often tends to push that unemployment rate up a bit. And so although it seems bad on the surface, underneath it's good, because people are more optimistic about their prospects.
HARRIS: And what on earth would lead to more optimism? Because everything we hear -- and I'm sending you notes all the time --
BOSTON: Right.
HARRIS: --- is doom and gloom, pessimism, and folks seemingly, in my mind, talking us down the road to a double dip.
So why on earth would anyone feel a little bit more optimistic and jump back into this labor force, or attempt to?
BOSTON: Right. Well, Tony, there's been so much stuff going on over the last couple of months. It's like we've been wandering around in the forest trying to find our way. And we really didn't know whether the picture was as good as it looked or as bad as it looked.
And what we're finding now is previous figures have been revised upward. And so things have not been quite as bad as we thought that they were. And so as a result, we see that individuals are more optimistic, consumer confidence has increased. And so those things play themselves out in their likelihood of finding a job.
HARRIS: Corporations are not investing the way that corporations normally, traditionally invest to expand jobs, opportunities in this economy. Am I right about that or am I wrong about that? They're sitting on cash --
BOSTON: Right.
HARRIS: -- that they could be investing and would be investing under more normal circumstances, and operating in the way that we would expect businesses to be operating.
What's going on?
BOSTON: Right. That is the issue. When we solve that problem, we will begin to grow.
There is your stimulus. Corporations are sitting on almost $2 trillion of cash, 25 percent more than they normally would. And that extra 25 percent, $500 billion, would normally be invested. They're not investing that.
Banks are sitting on three times as much cash as they normally would. That cash needs to get into the economy. Part of the reason that's making it easy --
HARRIS: Why, why, why, why, why? Why are corporations and banks behaving this way?
BOSTON: Because they are hedging their bet. It's like shorting the economy. They are looking for whether or not the economy is going to go into another recession. And if it does, we're going to be prepared for it.
HARRIS: But hedging and sitting on the sidelines is almost guaranteeing that outcome.
BOSTON: Right, but they can do it because the interest rates are near zero. So it doesn't cost anything to short the economy. Something has to happen.
HARRIS: It's un-American.
BOSTON: It's un-American, right. Interest rates are near zero. That's not normal. That's not normal.
HARRIS: No.
BOSTON: Everything is out of whack, so it has to go up.
Now here's the thing. The Federal Reserve can't raise the interest rates, because that would send shock waves through the economy. What they should do is just simply sit back and allow the interest rates to adjust normally to market forces, and be a follower rather than a leader.
HARRIS: The Fed chief, Ben Bernanke, essentially said last week, last Friday this time, that essentially, the recovery is in your hands.
BOSTON: Right.
HARRIS: It is in the hands of the consumers. It is in the hands of corporations. There's only so much I can do. I'm prepared to do more.
But is he right in that assessment, that it really is in the hands -- this recovery -- if you want the recovery, there are some things you can do -- consumers start spending and corporations start investing.
BOSTON: Right, it is, except consumers don't have the capacity to spend. So much unemployment --
(CROSSTALK)
HARRIS: The savings rate is up what, at 6.5 percent or something? Even consumers -- not all of them, but even consumers are sitting on cash now.
BOSTON: Right, they are. But consumers also are hit by this unemployment burden. And so they're trying to, you know, recover their investment and their retirement and all of those things. That's expected. They don't have the money to do it. The corporations, that's the problem. We've got to get those corporations to begin spending again. And this is -- the problems that we're having right now, this is self-inflicted pain. We don't have to be where we are. We don't have to be here.
HARRIS: We don't have to be here.
BOSTON: Right. Right. Right.
HARRIS: Have a great weekend.
BOSTON: Likewise.
HARRIS: My man.
The jobs report has been the central focus on Wall Street all week. And from the looks of it, traders and investors can go into the long holiday weekend on a bit of a high note.
(STOCK MARKET REPORT)
HARRIS: Let's take a break. When we come back, we've got an update on Hurricane Earl. Hurricane Earl is weakening.
We're back in a moment. You're in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: This is perfect. So what we've tried to do with the storm is we've tried to treat it the way we treat breaking news, if you get anything, we don't care how big or small it is, just let's talk about it. You have some new information.
WOLF: The new news is great news. I mean, let's go back where we were 24 hours ago.
We were dealing with a major hurricane, it was a Category 4, now it's a 1. It's weakening. And we're going to show you what's happened.
Let's walk right over to the Magic Wall. What's funny with this, Tony, is with this imagery you can really see a whole lot happening. Obviously, you have the hurricane here, it's Category 1, winds at 85 miles an hour, but there's so much more to the entire picture than just this.
What we're seeing, out to the west, well, you get a frontal boundary right there. It's very hard to see, but that frontal boundary that brought some showers in parts of the Ohio Valley, is going to be driving its way to the east, that's going to help keep this off the coast, we hope.
The second thing we're seeing is some dry air that's moving into the western half of the storm. That's one of the things that's going to weaken. Something that you're not seeing is that this is moving -- think of like a giant boiling pot being on a stove and it's a kettle and it's boiling, well, the eye on the stove is just south of this point. We have warm water. Now it's moving just off parts of the Maryland coast. When it gets there, it's going to enter some cooler water and it's going to be away from its primary power source, that warm ocean water. So we do anticipate this is going to weaken.
Now the question is where is it going to go. That's a great question. The latest forecast we from the National Hurricane Center indicates that it is expected to continue that northeasterly trajectory moving -- actually, increasing speed. It was earlier 18, it's now at 21 miles an hour.
It should stay east of New York. It should be very close to Cape Cod, perhaps a little bit off that area, bringing still some heavy surf, some heavy rainfall, perhaps some mop industrious waves to parts of Cape Cod and Martha's Vineyard, but just due east to that area. As we get to Friday evening, it's going to be due east of long island.
Now speaking of Long Island and speaking of an area on Long Island, we're talking about Montauk, we've got one of our friends, Allan Chernoff, he is standing by live.
Allan, can you give us an idea what's happening from your vantage point?
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Reynolds, I've been looking out at those waves behind me. Check them out. I mean, these are very, very powerful waves that are banging, banging out there, probably about 50, 60 yards they're breaking. Look at that power of the waves. And, of course, the storm isn't even close to us just yet.
We've had a little bit of rain earlier today. It's eased up now. Very little wind right now, but the people here, the authorities, they are very, very prepared. In fact, Long Island Power Authority has brought in extra crews from as far away as Detroit, Michigan. So they've got 1,700 extra linesmen and people to chop trees if necessary. So they have triple their regular staff.
Now about the regular businesses here, some folks have boarded up their windows, some people have bought extra supplies, but a lot of folks in the area who live here year round, they haven't.
We met one gentleman earlier today who just went fishing this morning, he says he prefers the stormy weather for fishing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The rougher it gets, the better the fishing gets.
CHERNOFF: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know.
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody that says they know, they're lying.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHERNOFF: He did pretty well this morning. He caught five striped bass but they were all smaller than the legal limit of 28 inches, had to throw them back in.
Said the fishing apparently is pretty good, but on a serious note, people are definitely getting prepared here. Although I mention, there are others who are being very nonchalant about it -- Reynolds.
WOLF: Allan, great report as always. Be safe, we're going to check back in with you very soon.
Folks, let me show you something else that is just a tremendous concern to us. Let's say this storm moves out to seal, let's say it just goes right by and goes deeper right into Bay of Fundy and moves out and into history. We still have lots to deal with in terms of this system, because I'll tell you, we've got remnants of Earl, we have this, this area right here which, of course, that is our next system that will be coming up.
We're talking about again, our E storm, and then further back in parts of our Intertropical Convergence (ph) and we see potential development over the next couple of days.
But what we have with these two systems here is we're going to be dealing, Tony, with some heavy rip currents, no question about it, up and down the eastern seaboard from all the way from Florida, clear up to Maine through the holiday weekend.
So anyone who wants to venture out into the water, they're going to be dealing with rip currents, some big waves, certainly dangerous conditions for anyone going out in the water, Tony.
HARRIS: Good stuff. Good information, as always. All right, Reynolds, appreciate it.
WOLF: You bet.
HARRIS: I'm going to tell you, you never, never, never ever know how far your tips can get you. In the case of this week's CNN hero, they are helping kids in Cambodia find their way to school.
Have a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PONHEARY LY, CHAMPIONING CHILDREN: In the countryside in Cambodia, some children, they come to school but not very regular because the family needs to have them on the farm. The school is free, but they don't have any money. How can they have the money for uniforms and supplies? My name is Ponheary Ly, I help the children to go to school.
The education is important for me because my father was a teacher. During the Khmer Rouge time, my father was killed. If we tried to study, we could be killed.
My soul, always go to school.
TEXT: Ponheary Ly is a tour guide who started using her tips to help children in rural Cambodia get an education.
It only costs $20 per child to help for a whole year.
LY: At the beginning I got only one girl. After that, 40 children and now 2,000. After several years, I see the change because they know how to read and write and they borrow the books from our library to read for their parents.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Because when we study we gain knowledge and understand other issues and it leads us to a good future.
LY: I need them to have a good education to build their own family as well as to build their own country.
My father, he has to be proud of me here in heaven and in my heart.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HARRIS: If you want to learn more about this foundation and the work being done to help kids get an "A" in education, just go to CNNheroes.com.
We're back in moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: CNN is the place for politics, and we are breaking out a brand-new poll from CNN and Opinion Research Corporation.
A bump for President Obama -- 50 percent of those asked say they approve of the way the president is handling his job, that's up from 47 percent in August; 49 percent disapprove of his job performance, down two percentage points.
Pollsters attribute the bump to President Obama's decision to pull combat troops from Iraq. The poll was taken Wednesday and Thursday, just after his Iraq address.
And this political oddity, a Chicago man is buying ad time in four major media markets to push his presidential candidate for 2012. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
TEXT: She has more experience working in and with the White House than most living presidents...
She is one of the most admired women in our nation's history...
Let's make sure the president we should have elected in 2008 will be on the ballot in 2012...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: Yes, Dr. William DeJean paid to make the ad and put it on television. Unfortunately for him, Hillary Clinton has said several times she will not be a candidate.
The new dollar amount to clean up the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, are BP's pockets deep enough?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: All right, top stories now.
BP says it has spent $8 billion so far in response to the Gulf oil disaster. The company says the figure includes the cost of containment and killing the well, along with grants to states and claims paid out.
The Coast Guard says it found no evidence of an oil sheen from that fire on an oil and gas platform in the Gulf. The fire, yesterday, forced 13 crew members into the water; all 13 were rescued and suffered no serious energy. Mariner Energy, which owns the platform, says the fire started in one of the active wells.
Toshiba is recalling about 41,000 notebook computers. The company says the computers can overheat and cause burns. Toshiba has received 129 reports of problems, including two reports of minor burns and two reports of property damage.
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HARRIS: Trying to stay in shape? Well, have you thought about, considered a virtual nutritionist? In today's "Fit Nation" report, CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta show us all kinds of online tools to help you reach your fitness goals.
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DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): We live our lives online these days, we buy plane tickets, we pay bills, so why not fitness?
ROBERT DOTHARD, FITNESS EXPERT: When people want help the internet is the best way to search for it. And if you can get that help immediate l immediately online, that's great.
GUPTA: So we put some of our "Fit Nation" experts on the hunt to look at some of the latest and greatest online fitness tools.
Check out the Fit Orbit, a real-life fitness trainer online. DOTHARD: I love the fact that you can pick the type of activity level you're in, whether you have a desk job, whether you're a frequent traveler.
GUPTA: Your Fit Orbit trainer can adjust your fitness gels on a daily basis and keep track of your nutrition. The biggest down side?
DOTHARD: Once it's online, that intensity can be removed a little bit.
GUPTA: Next, if you're in the mood to run, GMaps pedometer, it's a cool free tool from Google.
DOTHARD: For a business traveler, it's great. As you travel, you map out your course, you see the distance and I guess, once you check the weather, you're good to go.
GUPTA: If nutrition is more your focus, check out a new online meal plan tool called Sensei .
CHERYL WILLIAMS, CLINICAL NUTRITIONIST: Users have the option of choosing from frozen dinners, fast food, home cooked meals and each of those meal-type options, there's an emphasis on healthy food choices.
GUPTA: The plan comes complete with recipes, shopping list and cost-per-meal calculator.
But if all you need is a little inspiration, a free healthy tips e-mail service called Healthy Mondays may be your one-stop shop.
WILLIAMS: It really focuses on promoting small, sustainable changes.
Overall, I think Healthy Mondays is a great program when used in conjunction with other wellness initiatives.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
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HARRIS: And for more on living a healthier life, just go to CNN.com/FitNation and be sure to watch "SANJAY GUPTA MD" this weekend at 7:30 Eastern Saturday and Sunday morning.
An empowered patient's creation could make recess a whole new ball game. His interactive playground put a child's imagination in overdrive.
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HARRIS: This just into CNN. The FBI calls it the largest illegal human trafficking operation ever in the United States; listen to this.
Six job recruiters have been indicted in federal court. The indictment, unsealed, in Hawaii, accuses employees of a California- based company of luring about 400 people from Thailand with false promises of lucrative jobs. Many of the imported workers ended up working on farms under substandard conditions, had their passports confiscated and had were threatened with deportation.
Once again, six job recruiters have been indicted in federal court in what the FBI is calling the largest illegal human trafficking operation ever in the United States. We will follow developments and there will be plenty on this story right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Let's get a quick market check here. We have still got a bit of a rally going. We are off session highs, but we are still in positive territory, as you can see. The Dow is up 61 points, and the Nasdaq is up 17 points. We're following these numbers throughout the day for you right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.
And fresh from his tour of schools, Education Secretary Arne Duncan talks to me next hour as he wraps up a week-long look at how we can all fix our schools.
Plus, superheroes and storm troopers preparing to descend on Atlanta. The annual Dragon Con bringing in huge bucks to Atlanta. I will talk with an actress you may remember from her sci-fi days, and she still looks gorgeous.
That and more next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
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HARRIS: "Fix Our Schools" -- those three words are driving much of what you see on CNN this week because, as America's children return to school, CNN has a mission. We have sent reporting teams across the country to document the education crisis in America. Most importantly, we will shine a light on success stories that can empower us to offer our children so much more than they are getting right now.
Ask a parent to fix our schools and some would say, bring back recess and while you're at it, make it a learning opportunity, but don't tell the kids.
CNN's Jessica Yellin shows us the Imagination Playground, the work of one empowered parent.
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JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): What do you think you're looking at? You're not sure, are you? Well, that's the point.
(on camera): What do you think it is?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It could be like a slide to put balls in it, and then it will go down. I was thinking we should put like water and stuff in it.
YELLIN (voice-over): There is some serious teamwork behind this.
(on camera): How did you build this?
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: Well, we worked together. And first, there was only this much, and then we just had to do more.
YELLIN: Kids can thank world-renowned architect David Rockwell. He usually designs hip hotels and restaurants, but a father of two, he decided to rethink the traditional playground. Over five years, he donated his time and worked with play experts to come up with this.
DAVID ROCKWELL, CREATOR, IMAGINATION PLAYGROUND: Look at this, it's like kids' world over there. You've got this kid moving the wheelbarrow with those pieces over, and all of these pieces are infinitely variable.
Traditional playgrounds are largely made from fixed equipment --
YELLIN (on camera): Right.
ROCKWELL: -- seesaw, slides, monkey bars, swings, that are organized linearly. And so they're fantastic places to build gross motor skills and to take your kids to burn off energy and develop.
YELLIN: Right, wear them down.
ROCKWELL: Wear them down.
Imagination Playground is a totally manipulatable environment in which every part of it allows kids to create their own constantly transformable playscape.
YELLIN (voice-over): For example, look what's happening by the water.
ROCKWELL: You can see those little wood pieces are dams. So kids can dam it, flood it, make little boats.
This is some sort of little raft community going on over there.
YELLIN: It's part of a bigger idea.
ROCKWELL: Think about the freedom as a kid to play here, run over there, get something and come back.
Look at -- she has made a little house since we've been here.
YELLIN: Susan Solomon is an expert in play theory. She says Imagination Playground fills a need in kids increasingly regimented, standardized test-filled lives.
SUSAN SOLOMON, PLAY THEORY EXPERT: They learn that not everything is already laid out in you in a way in which it's always going to be perfect. It's possible to fail, and that's so critical for how kids learn.
YELLIN: She thinks this is free and inventive, and that's better for kids. SOLOMON: They've, in fact, created -- it looks like their own sandbox.
YELLIN: But don't tell anyone here what they're doing is good for them. As far as they know, it's just fun.
UNIDENTIFIED GIRL: It's fun, because you do stuff that you never knew you could do over here.
YELLIN: They say it's better than their regular playgrounds.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Here, you can design like your own.
YELLIN (on camera): And that lets you do different new things.
UNIDENTIFIED BOY: Yes. It's pretty fun.
YELLIN (voice-over): Jessica Yellin, CNN, New York.
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