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Craigslist Adult Services Censored; Children from Sperm Donor Meet; Jumping on the Social Band Wagon

Aired September 04, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TOM FOREMAN, CNN ANCHOR: Adult services censored on Craigslist, but not a pip from the company about why. Our Amber Lyon digs for answers.

Unique family ties. Modern technology creates a family reunion like you have never seen before. Two sets of twins, one in California, one in Georgia, bound by the same sperm donor. And you don't know about Facebook or twitter, but you're too embarrassed to admit it. Maybe what you need for your family, for your job, for your friends is a social media make over. We'll take a look at everything you need to know to join the digital generation.

A major change today on the popular online classified service Craigslist which has been hammered by accusations that it promotes prostitution and child trafficking. Users across the U.S. were founding the link for adult services dead replaced with the word "censored." No explanation yet from Craigslist for this change but this is an earthquake in cyberland make no mistake about that. We do know that last week, the attorneys general in 17 states called on Craigslist to take just such an action. Connecticut Attorney Generally Richard Blumenthal led that charge and he says, Craigslist took this action on its own.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICHARD BLUMENTHAL, CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL: Craigslist either cannot or will not effectively screen out the ads. And so, Craigslist really did the right thing as the result of our jawboning and talking to them. But I think that it can be a model for other sites that may either enable or encourage prostitution ads.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: And leading CNN's investigation into these matters has been Amber Lyon. Amber, you join us now, what can you tell us about what is happening today? Certainly millions of Craigslist users all across the country are noticing.

AMBER LYON, CNN ANCHOR: Well, Tom, something you noticed physically about Craigslist is if you live anywhere in the U.S. and you go to your local Craigslist page and scroll down to where the adults services section used to be, you are now met with this big black bar that says "censored." And you can no longer access the adults services section, I have been on the phone all day trying to get a hold of Craigslist, also e-mailed them for some type of response to see if this is permanent. We haven't heard back from them yet. But one thing's for sure. Is this section Craigslist has definitely caused controversy in the past? People saying that Craigslist isn't doing enough to protect women and children that victims advocates say, were being sold like sex slaves under this portion.

So, in May, 2009, Craigslist said, they are going to start screening these ads manually to protect the women and children. So, for our investigation, we put Craigslist to the test, keeping them honest to see if they are doing what they're saying they are doing. And we created this ad. And in this ad, it violates all of Craigslist's rules. We wrote in here, sweet, innocent, new girl indicating this girl could be a minor. We also clearly put a price on here, $200 an hour. Craigslist posted this ad online anyway. And we brought our findings to the founder of Craigslist, Craig Newmark.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LYON: One of the big things going on with Craigslist right now is they are saying that they are monitoring all these ads to come through on adult services to check, to see if any these girls are underage or young. So, we put some words in here -- sweet, innocent, new girl. We're going to see what happens, we'll see if Craigslist is going to let our ad post. We'll also see, you know, what kind of calls we get.

(phone ringing)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I saw your ad on Craigslist.

LYON: Hello?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes. What's your donation for an hour?

LYON: So, what is that now? We have had 15 calls. And the ad's been up only three hours, 15 calls in three hours.

Craigslist says that staff manually screens all of these adult services ads and will reject any if that make it look or sound like you're selling sex. That may not be easy. But when we looked through the ads, most of them are pretty blatant. The fair fund investigates juvenile trafficking.

ANDREA POWELL, FAIR FUND: And most of the young people that we have worked with have been exploited online. They talk about Craigslist. They'll talk about the other side. Craigslist is like the Walmart of online sex trafficking.

LYON: So, we're here at George Washington University. And we just found out that Craig Newmark, he's the founder of Craigslist, he can be speaking here today at a tech conference. He doesn't know we're coming. He's been very media shy lately about all these allegations against him. This guy is the Craig in Craigslist. It's his list. So, can people trust that children are not being sex trafficked on Craigslist?

CRAIG NEWMARK, FOUNDER, CRAIGSLIST: I think we explained that thoroughly on our blog.

LYON: That's where Jim Buckmaster says that you will immediately contact law enforcement if you suspect any...

NEWMARK: Jim does a great job showing that we do more than anyone in this area. Pretty good for a community of 50 million people.

LYON: This is inspector Brian Bray with the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department, he's also in charge of the Prostitution Enforcement Unit. In Craigslist blog, they say that they're going to immediately contact law enforcement any time they see a suspicious ad. And you say, you have never been contacted by them?

BRIAN BRAY, D.C. METROPOLITAN POLICE DEPARTMENT: That's correct. If they're notifying, I'm not sure if they are notifying the right people because we're not getting a call.

LYON: What are you guys doing to protect these girls? (video gap) You guys say in the blog that you will remove any ad that looks like the person might be suggesting they're going to offer sex. Look at this ad. It says young, sexy, sweet and bubbly. Clearly here, she writes $250 an hour. I mean, what do you think she's selling in a bra and underwear, a dinner date? And she's in her bra and underwear.

NEWMARK: Have you reported this to us?

LYON: What are you guys doing? But you guys say you screen on these ads manually in your blog.

NEWMARK: I don't know what this is.

LYON: And Jim Buckmaster...

NEWMARK: Have you reported this to us?

LYON: Why do I have the responsibility to report this to you when it's your website? You are the one posting this online. I just want to know -- I mean -- OK.

We have run into a lot of victims and a lot of advocates that pretty much call your site the Walmart of child sex trafficking.

In 2008, Craigslist agreed to report any suspicious ads to the center for missing and exploited children which works with police to find and rescue trafficking victims. Two years and hundreds of thousands of sketchy ads later, the center says Craigslist has reported fewer than 100.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: So Amber, the action today is that Craigslist seems to have shut down at least with some portion, part of what we're talking about here. But after that confrontation, after your investigation which clearly drove this whole story, has Craigslist ever reached out to you and explained anything more, asked any more questions? What have they said? LYON: Well, I think Tom, I kind of look at it as the kill of the messenger effect. I think Craigslist was very upset that the interview didn't shed Craigslist in a positive light. So, rather than kind of focus on the real issue here and that's the fact that this victims' advocates and attorneys general are saying, Craigslist isn't doing enough to protect this woman and children, they have been kind of coming out, and blasting me and CNN. Here's one of Craig Newmark's blogs. He calls it, "Amber's ambush," and says that we ambushed him for that interview. And that's just not the case. In fact, Craig was in town giving a speech called "Trust is the New Black" on restoring public trust in internet websites.

We asked Craig inside after he had given the speech for the interview beforehand. He said, OK, I'll talk with you. You're with CNN. He casually walked outside to talk with us. He could have ran away at any time. As you say, at one point he walked away, and then came back and where I continued to ask him more questions. In addition to that, Craig kind of says, you know, why did CNN come and talk to me? Why didn't they go and talk to Jim Buckmaster? And Tom, frankly, Craig Newmark is the Craig in Craigslist. He founded this site. He continues to profit from it. He's a self-described board member and customer service rep. and here at CNN, we felt comfortable approaching him with these questions -- Tom.

FOREMAN: All right, Amber. I don't have any doubt and we'll here more about this story and that you will stay on top of it. Thanks so much Amber for all of that.

Dramatic pictures out of New York (video gap). This is the scene on Pier 97 on the Hudson River where a Fire Department spokesman says, garbage caught fire and spread across the pier. No injuries reported. No signs of any hazardous materials. The smoke has attracted a lot of attention. We have a couple of iReports from Eric Grant. Look at this. He lives in Manhattan, a few blocks away from the fire. Again, no injuries reported but we are told the wind is making this blaze a challenge for firefighters. A lot of smoke blowing around there. Quite a scene. A state of emergency and cleanup continued today in Christchurch, New Zealand following that powerful earthquake there, magnitude seven. Buildings crumbled smashing cars. No one was killed but two people has turned out were seriously hurt. Police reported some looting before order was restored and the early morning quake certainly rattled some nerves. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I have never felt an earthquake like that before. I mean, you see it on TV. You see, you know, the sort of destruction that happens from an earthquake. So when it's happening and you're just braced in a doorway.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: We've got no power, we've got no water.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Well, it's very noisy and it moved around a lot. It shook very hard. And it seemed to take a heck of a long time to stop.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: The long holiday weekend is no doubt much needed by employees at the Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Maryland where newly released 9-1-1 tapes revealed just how tense that stand-off was with a gunman there earlier this week. The harrowing ordeal happened Wednesday when the lone man took hostages in the building lobby, holding a pistol, and saying he had bombs. It lasted several hours before a sniper shot and killed the man. Then the cleanup went long into the night as you can see there. Now police had released the emergency calls from the first moments after the gunman entered that building.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: OK, sir, now, the man that saw him fire the shot, did he say what he looked like?

(Sirens)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: What was he wearing?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He was wearing a black bag pack.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: A black bag pack?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Are the police...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: He's coming out of the building. He's waving his gun at the people. He just waved his gun at the people. He's wearing like -- like -- I don't know if it's explosive. I don't know if it's explosive. I think he's wearing a suit. But the cops are on the scene.

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: OK, sir. Now are there cops there with you?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Yes. The cops are at the entrance of the building. Because he came out of the building and waved a revolver at the people and tell them to move.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Amazing. About 1,900 people were working in the building when that all started unfolding. None of them hurt.

Coming up, Earl is now a tropical storm causing problems up in Canada. The northeast U.S. was spared much of the major damage, but did not escape entirely unscathed when Earl blew by.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Did you not see the high water here?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: You can't see nothing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: We will have the aftermath when we come back.

And a mountain of debris crashes down on a village in China. The death toll is rising.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Evacuations and warnings. The U.S. braced for the worst, but Hurricane Earl turned out to be kinder to the east coast than predicted. Now downgraded to a tropical storm, Earl is in Canada, blowing into Nova Scotia this morning. It caused blackouts and knocked down some trees there. So far, there is no word of any severe damage though or injuries. This iReport shows the power of the winds hitting the province up there. Back here in the states, this Labor Day weekend won't be a washout like a lot of people feared all along the coast. CNN's Susan Candiotti has more from Cape Cod where some are now asking if the governor there over prepared.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not at all. In fact, he's saying, all the agencies that were involved worked very well together. Doesn't have a price tag for all of this yet. Says that will come maybe in a week or so. In the meantime, he's saying that residents in particular did the right thing by buying their hurricane supplies ahead of time, staying at home and not clogging the roads by trying to evacuate. You know, one of the people that we met along the way, 88- year-old Georgia Silliman. In fact, she decided to ride out the storm at her house on Nantucket Island which came the closest to travel the storm Earl passing by. She said that she spent the evening eating burritos and having a few Margarita. She said, she did just fine.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGIA SILLIMAN, NANTUCKET RESIDENT: We just stayed here. I took the dog out for a long walk in the rain. And I thought it was probably the nor'easter we had ten days ago gave us more rain. But it wasn't bad.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: She seemed to have pretty good time after all. After the fourth of July, this is the biggest weekend for hotels on Cape Cod. So, how do you think the storm is going to affect them?

CANDIOTTI: Oh, there is no doubt about it. They took a beating here. And in fact, the hotel owners are saying that they will just have to get through this. They're trying to trick it in stride.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TOM MOORE, GEN. MGR., RED JACKET BEACH RESORT: About 60 percent of the business is in here today. We're at about 40 percent occupancy. And we would normally expect to be sold out for this weekend. This is a very big weekend for us to end this summer with a bang. But we'd rather be having like this than cleaning up debris.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: That's for sure, Tom. And, you know, the last time that New England took a direct hit from a hurricane was back in 1991, Hurricane Bob. And that mile post seems to be in place right now. This one didn't change anything.

FOREMAN: Between this and the oil spill in the gulf, it's been a tough year for beach tourism, Susan. Thanks for joining us. Susan Candiotti up in Cape Cod.

Well, the storm may have passed but swimmers this holiday season will still feel Earl's rip in the ocean waters. Meteorologists Jacqui Jeras is live in the weather center with more on that, Jacqui.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGISTS: Yes.

FOREMAN: OK. I accept, you said, you got the prediction right about what where the storm is. But some people thought, it would be worse.

JERAS: Well, you know, it was a good warm-up, I think, for everybody to prepare and get ready for hurricane season. The impact wasn't great in terms of getting any damage in the U.S. but, you know, the big deal and this is what I'm concerned about today is that right now, you know, look at Earl. It's a strong tropical storm. It's way up here into the Gulf of St. Lawrence and moving up towards Newfoundland. So, it's far away from the U.S. already. But we are still feeling it. And that's in the sense that we still have rip currents. It's gorgeous up and down the eastern seaboard. Everybody wants to get to the beach. But if you go to the beach, getting in the water is still not a good idea.

Here you can see some pictures from West Palm Beach earlier in the week where someone got caught into a rip current and a rescue had to take place. Literally, hundreds of them last weekend from Hurricane Danielle. This weekend we are dealing with that from the remnants of Earl. And we have also got some pictures to show you out of Massachusetts where a lot of people have been trying to get in the water here today because the weather has really cleared out. But there is a high risk of rip currents all the way up and down the east coast. We're talking not just New England, not just the Mid-Atlantic States but all the way down to Florida where advisories continue to be in effect. So, you know, go ahead. Go outside. Enjoy the sand. Just not so much the water. Why don't you try the pool?

All right. This is the heart of hurricane season. We've got a couple other areas that we are watching, the remnants of what was tropical storm Gaston as it moves toward the Leeward Islands. Conditions becoming more favorable for it to redevelop. And then we've got another tropical wave here off the African coast. We'll talk a little bit more later about what the rest of the holiday weekend forecast is. But overall, it's good. The water just not so great.

FOREMAN: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui.

Legendary Tennis Champ Martina Navratilova is opening up about the biggest battle she has ever faced on or off the court -- breast cancer. We will have her story ahead. Stick around.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: The U.S. open tennis championship is under way in New York, but many of the sports fans have their eyes on one of the greatest players of all time this weekend. Martina Navratilova is opening up and talking to CNN about the toughest opponent she has ever faced -- breast cancer. Extraordinary frank conversations about the disease are captured in a special documentary for you coming up at 7:30 Eastern. But as a way of setting the stage, Navratilova tells our Fredericka Whitfield while she went public with her private battle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA, BREAST CANCER SURVIVOR: My life has been an open book. And years past, I wasn't about to change that although I do guard my private life a lot more closer than I ever did before. As I get older, I'm keeping that circle a little tighter but if felt that I owed it to the women of my age to really be honest and, you know, again, be true to myself. And if I can make a difference, I just felt obligated to do that. I just couldn't walk away from it. But I didn't know how much of an impact it was going to have. Initially nobody wanted to talk to me. You know, like, I won't name publications but they were like, oh, it's not that big a deal.

Like, yes, right. Oh, because it's not happening to you. But it's not because of me. It's because of the women that it was a big deal. And you know the numbers have been going down. And you know, I remember 20 years ago it was one out of 12 women was going to have breast cancer. Now, the numbers turn like one out of seven. I mean, those ads are going down because of all the stuff that's up in the air that we are drinking, eating, etc., the stresses of everyday life. So, you know, if we are not affected by it, we'll certainly will know somebody that's affected by it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: For all the daughters, mothers, sisters, friends you may know, you want to see this tonight, Martina Navratilova at 7:30, a CNN special documentary. "Martina: My Toughest Opponent." It follows the tennis legend in London and Paris as she faces her battle with breast cancer. Do not miss this, whatever you do.

Coming up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Who does this?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Relax. This is how everybody's doing these days.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Shouldn't that be cleaned or something?

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I'm messing with you.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Knock that off. (END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Movies like "The Switch" are shedding a whole new in somewhat strange light on sperm donation. But now kids born from the same donor are finding each other online. An amazing story. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: I don't know if you have noticed this but when it comes to the movie box office, this could be called the summer of the sperm donor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: A party for insemination?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Only Cassie would do it like this.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm Roland, the donor.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I'm Cassie's best friend.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Oh, that's OK.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Several movies have come out including this one called "The Switch," that spotlight mother who use sperm donation. The technology has created a new kind of family tie. The sperm donor sibling. Kids born from the same sperm donor are finding each other online and in the best cases, they are becoming part of each other's lives. That's how it turned out for two sets of twins shown together here with their parents.

Jayme and Jesse Clapoff is on with us from Agoura Hills, California. The Clapoff's are the half siblings of Hilit and Jonah Jacobson who join me here in Atlanta. All four of you came from donor 1096. You all went through the website, DonorSiblingRegistry.com. Hilit, I want you to tell me about the first time that you ever saw the Clapoffs because this is a very unusual circumstance.

HILIT JACOBSON, BORN FROM SPERM DONATION: We were at my track meet in 6th grade. And I remember I just ran my race and they came up and it was a little awkward at first, but there's no point in making and feeling the awkwardness because you just have such a bond. And it's like an instant connection.

FOREMAN: You grew up in totally separate circumstances from these other folks. Jayme, let me ask you something, what was your reaction when you first heard the voices of Helete and Jonah?

JAYME CLAPOFF, BORN FROM SPERM DONATION: When I first heard the voices of Helete and Jonah, I wanted to know more about them, what they looked like, if we had anything in common with them. I was just really excited, first to know we had half siblings who are the same age as us and like shared common interests. So I was just -- like Helete said, it was a little awkward at first, but I just really wanted to get to know them more.

FOREMAN: Well, I have to tell you. Right now everybody in America, including me is looking at the four of you and saying, do you look like you are all part of the same family? Jesse, talk to me about how you behave. Describe the relationship among four of you. We have pictures of you all vacationing together in Hawaii. You also have messages there on Facebook. It would have been quite easy for you to all say, hello, nice to meet you, now let's move on and forget about it. Why not? Why have you not done that?

JESSE CLAPOFF, BORN FROM SPERM DONATION: Well, personally, I think our relationship is probably one of the best brother and sister relationships that anyone could ever ask for. I mean, we're all similar in the same ways, you know, we have the same sense of humor. We're all athletic in our own ways. We're creative. And we just all kind of click together.

From the first time we met each other, we just said, wow, this is going to be a great relationship. We should definitely just keep on keeping in touch really.

TOM FOREMAN, CNN GUEST ANCHOR: Really?

JESSE CLAPOFF: Never let this relationship end.

FOREMAN: Jonah, talk to me about this. These are people you had never met before. You felt when you were around them they were more like family than strangers?

JONAH JACOBSON, BORN FROM SPERM DONATION: Oh, absolutely. Right when we met, of course it was awkward. We had never met in person before. You definitely feel a bond right away. Your siblings -- I think of it as a combination between a best friend and a cousin. That's how it feels to me.

FOREMAN: We have a photograph with another donor sibling, Jesse Bogden (ph). I think that's how we pronounce it. How many others are there from this donor that you are aware of?

JONAH JACOBSON: Right now there are 15 including Helete and I. We have only met, I think, eight in person.

FOREMAN: Do you keep in touch with them as you do these folks in California?

HELETE JACOBSON, BORN FROM SPERM DONATION: We keep in touch mostly with Jayme and Jesse. But there are others around the country we do Facebook with, call sometimes, e-mail back and forth. It's different for -- I think some other siblings talk to each other different amounts than we do. Yes. Everyone has good communication.

FOREMAN: Let me start with the two of you in California with this question. Do you want to know who Donor 1096 is and would you like to meet him? JAYME CLAPOFF: I personally would like to see who the donor -- or my biological father just because I have never had that father figure but I would love to see if we have any similarities. But I love the life I have right now with my mom and my brother and having -- I would like to meet him, but it's not really a big priority in my life that I want to seek and find him further than just see a picture or know about him through the Donor Sibling Registry web site.

FOREMAN: Let's get the other answer from California. What do you think?

JESSE CLAPOFF: Well, I think it would be cool to meet him. As Jayme said, it would be nice to see the similarities we share. But if we don't meet him in our lifetime it's not the biggest deal to me. I love my mom. I love Jayme. I love Helete and Jonah and their family. To me, they are just what I need. But if it turns out we do meet our biological father it will be a great experience.

FOREMAN: Jesse, as you said that, Helete and Jonah were nodding. How do you feel about it?

JONAH JACOBSON: I don't personally feel like I really want to meet him. But definitely to see a picture, to see if we have similarities and what kind of features we share with him.

FOREMAN: Helete, you get the final word. What do you think? Is this a good idea to meet the original donor of this?

HELETE JACOBSON: My personal opinion, I don't have any -- I don't feel any bond with our donor, but I know other siblings feel differently. I think a picture would be cool to see the similarities like if we look alike. That would be interesting. I don't have any interest in meeting him.

FOREMAN: It's been fascinating meeting you all. This is the sort of thing that frankly we were debating 25 years ago what will families be like when this happens? You seem to be like a family.

Thank you, Helete, Jonah, Jesse and Jayme.

(CROSSTALK)

FOREMAN: Just ahead, the United Nations' desperate plea for more aid in Pakistan.

Plus, our "CNN Hero" of the week used tips from her job as a tour guide to help educate hundreds of children in her country, turning a little change into big changes, when we return.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Let's check out some of our top stories. B.P. plans to install a new blowout preventer atop the plugged well in the Gulf of Mexico. Everything appears to have gone as planned yesterday when crews removed the original blowout preventer and began lifting to the surface for analysis. B.P. plans to complete the relief well and execute a so-called bottom kill to seal the well for good.

In southwest China a devastating mudslide killed more than a dozen people in a remote village. At least 43 others are reported missing, according to the official Chinese news agency. Part of the mountainside gave way after the area was hit by torrential rains.

The United Nations is appealing for more international aid for people suffering from the incredible flooding in Pakistan. More than 1700 people have died. Millions more displaced across the country. 800,000 people have had to flee their homes in just the past few days.

You know, it's easy to look at problems like that and think it has nothing to do with us. it's on the other side of the world. That's not the case. But kids across the United States are headed back to school, many with new clothes, backpacks and school supplies. But in Cambodia, the cost of the most basic supplies often keeps children from attending class.

This week's "CNN Hero" is a survivor of the Khmer Rouge regime who uses her tip money to help the poor.

(CNN HEROES)

FOREMAN: Her organization has helped more than 2,000 children receive an education. You can find out how to help by going to CNN heroes.com.

We have much more still coming up. Is Pittsburgh quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger, getting off for good behavior? That story is ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: We seem to have a lot of stories tonight about the Internet. If you're looking to keep fit on weekends, if you're one of the weekend warriors and that's when you do a lot of workouts, there are tools online to help you meet your goals.

Dr. Sanjay Gupta gives us the rundown in today's "Fit Nation."

(FIT NATION)

FOREMAN: Coming up, jumping on the social media bandwagon.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KATIE LINENDOLL, TECH EXPERT: Log on. Upload a photo. I say to upload the best photo even if it doesn't look like you. That's what everybody on Facebook does.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: Tips from our Katie Linendoll on getting savvy with social media next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: You know, here at CNN, we're always asking you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We realize for some of you it's like we are speaking Greek. We're sorry about that. We don't want to leave you out of the conversation.

So we thought with the kids going back to school, this is a great time to have our tech makeover whiz, Katie Linendoll, here to give us a lesson.

Katie, you've taken on the project of educating all of American with all of this. Tell us how it's going?

LINENDOLL: Yes. I'm certainly trying. We are giving digital makeovers. Yes, it's easy to assume everyone is on Facebook and Twitter and Linkedin and MySpace. But it can be overwhelming for some users.

As a matter of fact, while 74 percent of us do rely on social networking, that leaves a quarter that don't. You're going to see digital makeovers from two individuals. We have profiled a New York City actress and the father of one of our fabulous CNN producers. Have a look.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LINENDOLL: Facebook, for many people, means different things. People have to reconnect with friends from high school. People love it for connections and reconnections. But for you, which blows my mind, is you're an actress.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Yes.

LINENDOLL: This is a real networking opportunity.

It's as much or as little as you want. I think that's what's cool about it. If you want to sign on once a week, stay in touch with family and friends, you have that option.

I want to get you going and at least try it.

Would you be open to creating an account?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sure.

LINENDOLL: Let's do it.

Log on. First things first, you need to upload a photo. I like to say upload your best photo, even if it doesn't look like you, because that's what everybody on Facebook does.

I also tell people when they're signing up for this, they're going to ask for profile information and for things like religious and political views. Share as much or as little as you want.

If you don't want to put your year and your birthday, I don't think that's a bad thing.

Anything you're putting out there, just assume you're putting it out to the world. If you don't want it on a billboard in Times Square, don't share it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That means no pictures.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: There's a lot of stuff I can cut and paste from my web site.

LINENDOLL: Perfect. Do it.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Interested in --

LINENDOLL: I leave those blank.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Is that it?

LINENDOLL: I think that's a great start.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: OK, it's a great start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save changes?

LINENDOLL: Save changes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Save changes.

LINENDOLL: Now here is like the moment of truth. This is view my profile. This is big. OK.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Hey.

LINENDOLL: Really exciting.

Holy cow! You just had all these friend options pop up. Are these people that you know?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More than half, but not all of them.

LINENDOLL: Is that cool? Is that interesting? Is that weird?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is interesting. I wasn't planning on spending the afternoon looking at this, but I see the temptation now.

(LAUGHTER)

LINENDOLL: Now I want to show you how to add friends, because I think this is fun.

What I like to do is use this search bar at the top and I just type in somebody's name. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: OK. I'm going to --

LINENDOLL: I know. It's like overwhelming.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When I add someone as a friend, do I need their permission to do that?

LINENDOLL: When you put that add friend button, they will get a request and they can turn it down.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, OK.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Oh, look, it's my brother. I could just add my brother first, because obviously he comes up. I have to send a request first?

LINENDOLL: Exactly. And you can add a message with that request.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: OK.

LINENDOLL: I think he would know who you were.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I suppose, as I navigate through the friends of friends, I can find other people who --

LINENDOLL: Exactly.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- I may know.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Search for my band.

LINENDOLL: Ooh, are they on?

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Yes.

LINENDOLL: So your band is on Facebook but you're not on Facebook.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Is that wrong?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What is a wall?

LINENDOLL: Your wall is like what people can write on it and your updates take place like, hey, she's uploading new photos, for example. How cool is that? So you get to see her photos.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: I clicked on them.

LINENDOLL: OK, so now it's add them.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: To add them I like them?

LINENDOLL: Exactly. UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Oh.

LINENDOLL: Are you going to do it later?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I might. I might.

LINENDOLL: In the last 20 minutes, you've grown immensely.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Oh, well, thank you.

LINENDOLL: Well done.

UNIDENTIFIED ACTRESS: Great. I hope I get a couple of jobs out of this.

(LAUGHTER)

LINENDOLL: Fabulous. Another one sucked into the Facebook portal.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you very much. Are you going to friend me?

LINENDOLL: Absolutely.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(LAUGHTER)

FOREMAN: Katie, I have some teenage daughters who do this like breathing, and yet the older you go up the food chain, the harder.

LINENDOLL: Yes.

FOREMAN: Where do you see the break-off where it becomes harder for adults to do it if they haven't before? What age?

LINENDOLL: It's interesting to know that the largest growing number of Facebook users is 50-plus and in social networking as well. 65- plus has seen 100 percent growth in the last year. Really remarkable.

I have to tell you Tom, it was interesting in working with James as an older user. He has seen people he hasn't seen for decades. and he's going on, having a more calculated, methodical approach. The older users ask a lot more questions as opposed to a younger user who dives right in and says we're going to figure it out as we go.

FOREMAN: That's one of the things I hear from older users a lot, a sense of, yes, I can do it, but what's it for? They want a real meaning as opposed to just killing time.

LINENDOLL: Right. For jenny, this is a good example. She's an actress in New York City, a very talented one. We talk about social media and social networking, who is it critical to be used by? Jenny is a perfect example. Here she is, in the city, spending thousands of dollars on head shots, trying to reach casting directors, connect with people get them to her events, where she could be using a free resource like Facebook or Twitter to connect with people. Take it, use it to your advantage, especially if you are a business. And Jenny, as an actress, she is, at the core, a business.

FOREMAN: Katie Linendoll you make it look easy. You make a good point.

(LAUGHTER)

Everybody, you have to get into it, even if you don't want to.

Thanks, Katie. Good having you here.

LINENDOLL: OK.

FOREMAN: I have heard some odd 911 calls in my time, but nothing quite like this one.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

911 CALLER: I just need a hug and, you know, a warm cup of hot chocolate with some marshmallows in it would probably be pretty nice.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: What would prompt anyone to call the police for a hot chocolate and a hug? We'll have that story next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FOREMAN: Before we wrap up this hour, we want to bring you interesting news items you may have missed during the week, just as we do every weekend.

The National Football League has reduced the suspension of Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to just the first four regular season games. Roethlisberger was suspended for six games in April for violating the league's personal conduct policy. A 20-year-old Georgia woman accused him earlier that month of sexually assaulting her but Georgia prosecutors decided not to file charges.

Another NFL star's hair is now ensured for $1 million. Procter & Gamble took out the policy with Lloyds of London to protect the hair of -- there he is -- Troy Polamalu. The all-pro safety is featured in commercials for Head & Shoulders shampoo. And says he has not cut his hair for years, although, in many games, it's a wonder it's not yanked out.

Here's one of the scariest stories we've seen in a while. A scooter slamming into a pickup truck in Iowa City. The cyclist was Josh Koeppel, an offensive lineman at the University of Iowa Hawkeyes. Incredibly, he was not seriously hurt, released from the hospital a short time later. He was held out of the season's opening today victory over eastern Illinois.

And a naked homeless man sneaked into a community hot tub and called 911, asking for towels, hot chocolate and a hug. He didn't get much comfort. He said he was the sheriff, too, but that didn't help. Police in Beaverton, Oregon, say neighbors had already called, complaining about the man yelling in the hot tub. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARK ESCALIN (ph), ARRESTED: I cannot get anybody to stop and let me out --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

FOREMAN: Well, we can't hear him. Mark Escalin (ph) claimed he had been in the water about ten hours. He was charged with trespassing and misusing the 911 system. Who would imagine?

You knew this day would come. First, there were same-sex marriages so it follows there would be same-sex divorce. But not in Texas. Two men married legally in Massachusetts in 2006 had sought to sever their union in Dallas but now an appeals court there says a district judge in Dallas had no authority to hear the divorce case because same-sex marriage is not permitted in Texas. So what goes around doesn't always come around.

We'll be back in a bit. I'm Tom Foreman at the CNN Center in Atlanta. Stay with us all evening for all the late breaking news. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins right now.