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Back to School with President Obama; Tech Shop Throws Big Ideas Into Motion; CNN Equals Politics Update

Aired September 14, 2010 - 13:00   ET

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

ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: Tony, thank you so much. You have yourself a great afternoon.

Listen, the primary season is ending with a big bang today. Right now, tens of thousands of voters in seven states and D.C. going to the polls. On one side, old-guard Republicans slugging it out with upstart Tea Party activists. Most Democrats are breathing a little easier, except for a couple of incumbents who still face stiff challenges.

And as this political drama is playing out we are just minutes away from President Obama's second back-to-school pep talk. He's at the Julia R. Masterman Laboratory and Demonstration School in Philadelphia. We're going to bring you to that live just as soon as it begins. We'll get to the primaries, as well, in just a moment.

First, this message by the president to students. What a difference a year makes. You'll recall this time last year a whole bunch of people were up in arms over Mr. Obama's first back-to-school speech, accusing him of indoctrination, trying to ram his political agenda down kids' throats. Some parents even refused to let their kids go to school that day, so they didn't have to listen to the president. Look, Mr. President, stay away from our kids. That's a year ago.

But for the most part, that kind of outcry is not being heard today, largely because it's not very useful. This time around, the White House released the president's speech yesterday so everybody could get their head around it and they could read it in advance.

Now as you know, President Obama doesn't always stick to the script, but we have a general sense of what he is going to say. As we wait for the president to begin we're going to tell you about some of the focus points of his speech.

Now, joining us to talk about it, we've got some good people here who know a lot about education. First of all, our CNN education contributor Steve Perry over on the left of the screen. He is in Hartford, Connecticut. With me here no New York, Tony Mullen, who teaches at-risk students. He's here with me. He was the 2009 teacher of the year, national teacher of the year.

CNN's Suzanne Malveaux is with the president in Philadelphia, and our senior White House correspondent, Ed Henry, is at the White House. Let me start with -- with Steve.

Steve, what's your sense of what the president is going to say and what value this is going to bring to students and, of course, not just the students across the country who will hear him but their parents and their teachers, more importantly?

STEVE PERRY, CNN EDUCATION CONTRIBUTOR: Well, it's typical, what he's saying to the students is, can you do great things, and he's giving them encouraging words. Because kids know this. They get that. They understand that. They don't need another person to come in and tell them that, not even the president. What he needs to do is he needs to focus this speech on the grown people who are creating the conditions.

What I'd like to see him do is to come a little more focused and say, you know, "You guys go to a test school, a school in which you have to perform at a higher level to get accepted into it. How about this? All those other students who go to those other schools, we're going to promise you good schools, because the ones that you have are not working."

VELSHI: All right. Let's start with -- let's go to Suzanne.

Suzanne, you're with the president. Boy, it is a very different time than it was last year where he was really having to fight back as to why he should even be talking to kids when they're back at school. Very different tone right here. What kind of reception is the president getting on today's speech?

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Ali, I had a chance to talk to Jim Greer, just a year ago, really pressing him on this whole issue about what was the objection to begin with about the president speaking directly to school children?

Jim Greer, as you might remember, he used to be the head of the GOP in Florida, the state of Florida. And he was very dead set on this idea that there was some sort of radical ideology, socialism that the president was going to be spreading to America's schoolchildren; that he would pull his kids out. There were many other parents who did the same thing.

Well, we have since heard from Greer, who has told CNN that he's apologizing to the president in his words. He says that they're racist in his own party. We know that Greer is having quite a bit of difficulty with an investigation in terms of indictment of fraud and that type of thing in the state of Florida with the GOP, but I mean, if you look around here, there are not protests. There are not a lot of people who object to this.

And the bottom line is, it's the president just like last year, is saying a very simple message, straightforward message about kids taking responsibility for their own future, the importance of education.

The only thing that comes even close, Ali, to a reality check with adults is he does mention about the mood of the country, and he talks about, look, you know, to kids, "I understand that, you know, we have two wars that are going on. Times are tough in Afghanistan, and maybe one of your parents has -- is working a double shift or one is unemployed. You've got to be stronger and perhaps act a little bit more grown-up than you normally would, because you're a kid, because we're in tough economic times.

VELSHI: And Suzanne, he's just -- he's just taking the podium right now. Let's listen in to the president of the United States at the Masterman School in Philadelphia.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Hello. Thank you. Thank you. Well, hello, Philadelphia. And hello, Masterman. It is wonderful to see all of you. What a terrific introduction by Kelly. Give Kelly a big round of applause.

I was saying back stage that when I was in high school I could not have done that. I would have muffed it up somehow. So we are so proud of you, and everything that you've done. And to all the students here, I am thrilled to be here.

We've got a couple introductions I want to make. First of all, you've got the outstanding governor of Pennsylvania, Ed Rendell, in the house. The mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, is here. Congressman Chaka Fattah is here. Congresswoman Alison Schwartz is here. Your own principal, Marge Neff, is here. The school superintendent, Arlene Ackerman, is here and doing a great job. And the secretary of education, Arne Duncan is here.

And I am here. And I am -- and I am thrilled to be here. I am just so excited. I have heard such great things about what all of you are doing, both the students and the teachers and the staff here.

You know, today is about welcoming all of you, and all of America's students, back to school, even though I know you've been in school for a little bit now. And I can't think of a better place to do it than at Masterman, because -- you are one of the best schools in Philadelphia. You are a leader in helping students succeed in the classroom. Just last week you were recognized by a national blue ribbon -- as a national blue ribbon school, because of your record of achievement. And that is a testament to everybody here: to the students, to the parents, to the teachers, to the school leaders. It's an example of excellence that I hope communities across America can embrace.

You know, over the past few weeks, Michelle and I have been getting Sasha and Malia ready for school. And they're excited about it. I'll bet they had the same feelings that you do. You're a little sad to see the summer go, but you're also excited about the possibilities of a new year, the possibilities of building new friendships and strengthening old ones, of joining a school club or trying out for a team. The possibilities of growing into a better student and a better person and making not just your family proud but making yourself proud.

But I know some of you may also be a little nervous about starting a new school year. Maybe you're making the jump from elementary to middle school, or from middle school to high school, and you're worried about what that's going to be like. Maybe you're starting a new school. You're not sure how you like it. Trying to figure out how you're going to fit in. Or maybe you're a senior, and you're anxious about the whole college process, about where to apply, and whether you can afford to go to college.

And beyond all those concerns, I know a lot of you are also feeling the strain of some difficult times. You know what's going on in the news. And you also know what's going on in some of your own families. You've read about the war in Afghanistan. You hear about the recession that we've been through, and sometimes maybe you're seeing the worries in your parents' faces, or sense it in their voice.

So a lot of you as a consequence, because we're going through a tough time, as a country, are having to act a lot older than you are. You've got to be strong for your family while your brother or sister is serving overseas, or you've got to look after younger siblings while your mom's working that second shift, or maybe some of you who are a little bit older, you're taking on a part-time job while your dad's out of work. That's a lot to handle. It's more than you should have to handle. And it may make you wonder at times what your own future will look like, whether you're going to be able to succeed in school, whether you should maybe set your sights a little lower, scale back your dreams.

But I came to Masterman to tell all of you what I think you're hearing from your principal and your superintendent and from your parents and from your teachers. Nobody gets to write your destiny but you. Your future is in your hands. Your life is what you make of it, and nothing, absolutely nothing is beyond your reach. So long as you're willing to dream big, so long as you're willing to work hard, so long as you're willing to stay focused on your education, there's not a single thing that any of you cannot accomplish. Not a single thing. I believe that.

And that last part is absolutely essential. That part about really working hard in school, because an education has never been more important than it is today.

I'm sure there are going to be times in the months ahead when you're staying up late doing your homework, or cramming for a test, or you're dragging yourself out of bed on a rainy morning and you're thinking, "Oh, boy, I wish maybe it was a snow day." Let me tell you: what you're doing is worth it. There's nothing more important than what you're doing right now. Nothing's going to have as great an impact on your success in life as your education, how you're doing in school.

More and more the kinds of opportunities that are open to you are going to be determined by how far you go in school. The farther you go in school, the farther you're going to go in life. And in a time when other countries are competing with us like never before, when students around the world, in Beijing, China or Bangalore, India, are working harder than ever and doing better than ever, your success in school is not just going to determine your success. It's going to determine America's success in the 21st century. So you've got an obligation to yourselves, and America has an obligation to you to make sure you're getting the best education possible. And making sure you get that kind of education is going to take all of us working hard and all of us working hand in hand. It takes all of us in government -- from the governor, the mayor, to the superintendent, to the president -- all of us doing our part to prepare the students, all of them for success in the classroom and in college and in a career. It's going to take an outstanding principal, like Principal Neff. And outstanding teachers like the ones you have here at Masterman, teachers who are going above and beyond the call of duty for their students. And it's going to take parents who are committed to your education.

Now, that's what we have to do for you. That's our responsibility. That's our job. But you've got a job, too. You've got to show up to school on time. You've got to pay attention in your class. You've got to do your homework. You've got to study for exams. You've got to stay out of trouble. You've got to instill a sense of excellence in everything that you do. That kind of discipline, that kind of drive, that kind of hard work is absolutely essential for success.

And I -- I can speak from experience here, because unlike Kelly, I can't say I say I always had this discipline. See, I can tell she was always disciplined. I wasn't always disciplined. I wasn't always the best student when I was younger. I made my share of mistakes.

I still remember a conversation I had with my mother in high school. I was kind of a goof-off. And I was about the age of some of the folks here. And my grades were slipping. I hadn't started my college applications. I was acting, as my mother put it, sort of casual about my future. I was doing good enough. I was smart enough that I could kind of get by, but I wasn't really applying myself, and so I suspect there's a conversation that will sound familiar to some students and some parents here today.

She decided to sit me down and said I had to change my attitude. My attitude was what I imagine every teenager's attitude is when your parents have a conversation with you like that. I was like, you know what? I don't need to hear al this. I'm doing OK. I'm not flunking out. So I started to say that, and she just cut me right off. She said, "You can't just sit around waiting for luck to see you through." She said, "You can get into any school you want in the country, if you just put in a little bit of effort." She gave me a hard look and she said, "You remember what that's like? Effort?"

Some of you have had that conversation. And it was pretty jolting. You know, hearing my mother say that. But eventually her words had the intended effect, because I got serious about my studies, and I started to make an effort in everything that I did. And I began to see my grades and my prospects improve. And I know that, if hard work could make the difference for me, then it can make a difference for all of you.

And I know that there may be some people skeptical about that. Sometimes you may wonder, if some people just aren't better at certain things. You know, "I'm just not good at math. Or I'm just not really interested in my science classes." And it is true that we each have our own gifts. We each have our own talents that we have to discover and nurture. Not everybody's going to catch on in certain subjects as easily as others.

But just because you're not the best at something today doesn't mean you can't be tomorrow. Even if you don't think of yourself as a math person or a science person, you can still excel in those subjects, if you're willing to make the effort. And you may find out you may have talents you never dreamed of, because one of the things I've discovered is excelling, whether it's in school or in life, isn't mainly about being smarter than everybody else. That's not really the secret to success. It's about working harder than everybody else.

So don't avoid new challenges. Seek them out. Step out of your comfort zone. Don't be afraid to ask for help. Your teachers and your family are there to guide you. They want to know if you're not catching onto something, because they know that, if you keep on working at it, you're going to catch on.

Don't feel discouraged. Don't give up if you don't succeed at something the first time. Try again and learn from your mistakes. Don't feel threatened if your friends are doing well. Be proud of them, and see what lessons you can draw from what they're doing right.

I'm sort of preaching to the choir here, because I know that's the kind of culture of excellence that you promote as Masterman, but I'm not just speaking to all of you. I'm talking to kids across the country, and I want them to all hear that same message. That's the kind of excellence we've got to promote in all of America's schools.

That's one of the reasons why I'm announcing our second Commencement Challenge. Some of you may have heard of this. If your school is the winner, if you show us house teachers and students and parents are all working together to prepare your kids and your school for college and a career, if you show us how you're giving back to your community and your country, then I will congratulate you in person by speaking at your commencement.

Last year I was in Michigan at Kalamazoo and had just a wonderful time, although I've got to admit, their graduating class was about 700 kids, and my hands were really sore at end of it, because I was shaking all of them.

But the truth is, an education is about more than getting into a good college. It's about more than getting a new job when you graduate. It's about giving each and every one of us the chance to fulfill our promise and to be the best version of ourselves we can be. And part of that means treating others the way we want to be treated: with kindness and respect. So that's something else that I want to communicate to students, not just here at Masterman, but all across the country.

Sometimes kids can be mean to other kids. Let's face it. We don't always treat each other with respect and kindness. That's true for adults, as well, by the way. And sometimes that's especially true in middle school or high school, because being a teenager isn't easy. It's a time when you're wrestling with a lot of things. When I was in my teens, I was wrestling with all sorts of questions about who I was. I had a white mother and a black father. And my father wasn't around. He had left when I was 2. And so there were all kinds of issues that I was dealing with.

Some of you might be working through your own questions right now and coming to terms with what makes you different, and I know that figuring out all of that can be even more difficult when you've got bullies in the class, or try to use those differences to pick on you or poke fun at you, to make you feel bad about yourself.

And in some places, the problem is even more serious. There are neighborhoods in my hometown of Chicago, and there are neighborhoods right here in Philadelphia where kids are doing each other serious harm.

So what I want to say to every kid, every young person, what I want all of you, if you take away one thing from my speech, I want to take away the notion that life is precious, and part of what makes it so wonderful is its diversity; that all of us are different, and we shouldn't be embarrassed by the things that make us different. We should be proud of them. Because it's the thing that makes us different that makes us who we are, that makes us unique.

And the strength and character of this country has always come from our ability to recognize, no matter who we are, no matter where we come from, no matter what we look like, no matter what abilities we have, to recognize ourselves in each other.

I was reminded of that the other day when I read a letter from Tamara Robinson. She's a 12-year-old girl in Georgia. And she told me about how hard she works and about all the community service she does with her brother. And she wrote, "I try to achieve my dreams and help others do the same." That, she said, is how the world should work. That's a pretty good motto: "I work hard to achieve my goals, and then I try to help others to achieve their goals."

And I agree with Tamara. That's how the world should work. But it's only going to work that way if all of you get into good habits while you're in school.

So, yes, each of us need to work hard. We all have to take responsibility for our own education. We need to take responsibility for our own lives, but what makes us who we are is that here, in this country, in the United States of America, we don't just reach for our own dreams. We try to help others do the same.

This is a country that gives all its daughters and all of its sons a fair chance, a chance to make the most of their lives and fulfill their God-given potential.

And I'm absolutely confident that, if all of our students here at Masterman and across this country keep doing their part, if you guys work hard and you're focused on your education; and you keep fighting for your dreams; and then you help each other reach each other's dreams; then you're not only going to succeed this year; you're going to succeed for the rest of your lives; and that means America will succeed in the 21st century.

So my main message to all of you here today, I couldn't be prouder. Keep it up. All of you, I know, are going to do great things in the future, and maybe sometime in the 21st century it's going to be one of you that's standing up here, speaking to a group of kids as president of the United States.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. Thank you.

VELSHI: OK. Second time the president has given a speech on the day back to school for many of America's students. He's at Masterman School in Philadelphia.

Let's try and find out what that was all about. Steve Perry joins us. He is our CNN education contributor. He's in Hartford, Connecticut. Ed Henry is with us at the White House. And I've got with me Tony Mullen here. He was the teacher of the year last year. He's still a teacher here in the United States.

I want to start with you, Tony. Tony, the president was addressing this to students. That's the bottom line. He was talking to students, but we know that there were students across the United States who weren't listening to him. So there's another audience there. There were teachers. There were parents. There were politicians, because education, public education is a bigger deal today in terms of our national discourse than it even was a year ago and certainly was a few years ago. What do you take from what you heard the president saying?

TONY MULLEN, 2009 TEACHER OF THE YEAR: Absolutely right. The discourse we're seeing right now in this country about public education is huge. But what I took away from the president's speech was so important. You know, he talked about the responsibility government has. He talked about the responsibility teachers and schools have. He talked about the responsibility parents have. But most important, he talked about the responsibility that students have. And that's very key. That's a discussion that's not always in play.

VELSHI: I've actually had Facebook posts and Twitter posts saying how interesting, because we haven't really necessarily always brought students into this discourse.

Stay with us, Tony. Stay with us, Ed and Steve. We're going to take a quick break. We're going to come back. The president, helping students kick off another year, absent the protests that we saw last year when he tried to do this. We're back in a second with our panel of tough graders.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: All right. You're looking at live pictures. The president in Philadelphia. He is at a school. He has just finished his back-to-school address. Something that's becoming a bit of a habit with him. Second year in a row. Last year he did it to a great deal of protests and objection. This year not the case.

Ed Henry is at the White House. Tony Mullen is with me. He's a teacher, teacher of the year last year, national teacher of the year. Steve Perry, our educational contributor in Hartford, Connecticut.

Ed, let's start with you. Nothing really you can poke sticks at in this particular conversation. It was -- it was a message to students to do well and possibly to their parents and teachers to support them.

ED HENRY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's exactly why the White House aides sort of laugh off this idea. You know, last year Republicans made a big deal out of this and thought that kids were going to be indoctrinated into some sort of agenda for the president, some sort of politics.

Instead, what I thought was interesting was how he tried to make a personal connection with students, talking first of all about how his mom pushed him when he was a young student. Important for young people to hear that from the president of the United States saying -- he even used the word "goof-off." "At one time I was a goof-off," and his mom pushed him. We've all been down that road one way or another, No. 1.

No. 2, he was also talking about how, look, these are middle school students, high school students at that particular school. He's also talking to students around the country. And some of them have identity issues. They're pushed around.

VELSHI: Right.

HENRY: They're struggling with who they are. And he said, "Look, I had a white mom, a black dad. Dad wasn't around a lot." There are kids who can relate to that, obviously, in cities all across America. And it's important for them to hear that. And as you said, you, too, 30 years from now, maybe one of you will be president of the United States. So yes, pretty non-controversial, pretty nonpolitical.

VELSHI: Let me get Steve Perry in here.

Steve, you said in the beginning of this thing, interesting message. You said probably going to be a good message. Not everybody really needs to hear it from the president. Anything that stood out to you that was worthy of hearing from the president, if you're a student, parent or teacher?

PERRY: This is the same speech that students typically get. People call me up on a regular basis and ask to speak at the school, business leaders and the like. And this is the same speech they give. And the kids sit there, and the faces look like they're coming off their skulls, because they're saying, "Who brought my mom in to talk to me?" This is the same speech.

He's the president of the United States. In Philadelphia, a city that has posted, in some cases, as low as a 40 percent dropout -- I mean, graduation rate. He passed by a lot of failed schools on the way there.

VELSHI: Right.

PERRY: Kids are far more sophisticated than he gives them credit for in his speech. They understand the nuances of the conversation. They may not get the three "R's," but what they do know is there's a group of students there, about 20-year-olds, who want to do something. And that's the group that pushed hard to get him elected. They want a leader. They want somebody to make a decision and say something that's going to inspire them to do something. That's not it.

VELSHI: But do you think this president in the last year has done some of that, though, with things like Race for the Top with a lot of intervention by the federal Department of Education, more than some people think is appropriate.

Do you think this president has put his money where his mouth is on education?

No doubt. I think the Race to the Top is a phenomenal, phenomenal effort on behalf of the president and Secretary Arne Duncan. I think that's what the students want to hear more about. I think that's what the families want to hear more about. I think that's what we want to hear more about.

We get it. Just study hard. But it seems disingenuous to say to a student who goes to one of the lowest performing school districts in the state and country -- just study hard and that's all you need. They need a good school. They need solid teachers who are going to work hard and the conversation needs to shift.

The kids get it. They understand they're supposed to eat vegetables and go to bed early and be nice to their friends. They understand that. That's not the issue. They need access to quality education right now.

VELSHI: We share that belief that lots has to be done. That's why we talk about it every day here on Chalk Talk and Fix Our Schools at CNN.

Thanks to all three of you. Steve Perry, our education contributor; Ed Henry, at the White House; and Tony Mullen, last year's teacher of the year, a teacher now of at-risk students here in New York.

OK. The other big story today, those primaries. Another Tea Party favorite hopes to teach an old school politician a lesson in the last round of primaries before the November midterm. I'm going to bring in the Best Political Team on Television after this break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK. Seven more states and the District of Columbia are holding primaries today, after which all eyes will be on the general elections in November. Now, I'm going to show you the map but land mass does not tell the story here. With the exception of New York, these are all small states and one city with a big impact on the national landscape. Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Wisconsin, New Hampshire and the District of Columbia.

The Best Political Team on Television is here to cover them. Senior political analyst Gloria Borger joins me this hour from Washington; and from Dover, Delaware, CNN national political correspondent Jessica Yellin.

Wow. Two of my favorites and now I got to pick who goes first.

Well, Jessica, you're on the ground in Delaware. First of all, tell us what is going on in Delaware?

JESSICA YELLIN, CNN NATIONAL POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: There is a bitter internal fight with the Republican Party here in Delaware, Ali, that nobody in the state has ever seen the likes of before.

You have Mike Castle, a nine-term Republican Congressman from the state who was also formerly the governor, beloved and well known, running against a Tea Party insurgent Christine O'Donnell, who is so disliked by her own state's Republican Party that today they did the unthinkable.

The Republican Party in the state has launched a robocall against one their own candidates targeting likely Republican voters and it says in part, it has a woman who says she used to be Christine O'Donnell's former campaign manager and says that the woman is no conservative, that she used campaign donations to live off of and was just out to make a buck. It is bitter here, Ali.

VELSHI: Gloria, let's move it over to a little bit west and south there to D.C., where you are. This mayoral race in D.C. We were just talking - we were just listening to the president talking about education.

Is the D.C. mayor's race becoming sort of a referendum on this federal government's race for the top?

GLORIA BORGER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST: Yes. I think so in many ways. Adrian Fenty has Michelle Rhee, regarded by many as a very innovative educator. She's been praised by the Obama administration and there are lots of folks, including the Teachers' Union who don't like they are very much.

What you also have in D.C. is a story of a young man who wins, shakes up the establishment, who makes enemies on both sides, and ends up now fighting for his life. Adrian Fenty, 39 years old, opposed by an incumbent councilman Vincent Gray. So that should be a really interesting story here too, as well, because, of course, Fenty was the young insurgent when he was first elected and he could lose today.

VELSHI: Yes. Well, there's a bit of a theme of that. Right? The people from the outside coming in and then all of a sudden being baited as insiders.

Which one of you guys wants to talk about Charlie Rangel right here in New York City? Is he going to win and will it matter?

BORGER: Well, I'll start. It's hard to know whether he's going to win. He's been endorsed by former President Bill Clinton. He is beloved in his district. He's clearly had some ethics issues. Lots of folks, lots of Democrats, in fact, thinking that he could be a problem for them. The chairman of the Tax Writing House Ways and Means committee having problems on his own taxes? Sounds like a poster child for a general election campaign when you talk about ethics. So it's a problem for the Democratic Party if he wins.

VELSHI: A whole lot of people running in that district.

Gloria, good to see you in Washington. Thanks very much.

Jessica, you know, there's tax-free shopping in Delaware. Right?

YELLIN: I wouldn't know. We're working.

BORGER: She's too busy, Ali!

VELSHI: I know. You guys --

YELLIN: Yes, there is tax-free shopping.

BORGER: She's got the best race. She's got the best race tonight. You know, this could determine, you know, the result of who controls the Senate. Right, Jess?

YELLIN: Control of the Senate.

VELSHI: We will be watching it very closely.

YELLIN: Fewer than 40,000 people might vote and decide it.

VELSHI: Interesting. All right. Very nice. Good to talk to you both. Real pleasure.

At least, freedom for American Sarah Shourd. She's on her way home after 14 months in an Iranian prison but her fiance and another friend remain behind bars. Wow, that's sad. We're going Globe Trekking straight ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VELSHI: OK. Time now for Globe Trekking to Iran. For the first time in 14 months, American Sarah Shourd is enjoying freedom. She was released from a Tehran prison today and is now on her way home.

These new pictures just in to CNN shows Shourd walking towards a plane just before it took off to Oman. That's the first leg of her much-awaited trip home. Now here's the sad part. Her fiance and another American friend arrested with her remain behind bars accused of spying after all three allegedly strayed into Iran while hiking across the border in Iraq.

CNN's Mary Snow is following developments, she joins us now. Mary, where is Sarah Shourd right now and what's going on?

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, just a short time ago we did get confirmation from an airport official that she has arrived in Muscat, Oman. And for the first time we have her first public comment since Sarah Shourd was released from Iran. Before she left Tehran, she spoke with the state-run media, the television network there.

Let's take a listen to what she had to say.

BVC

SARAH SHOURD, FREED FROM IRANIAN PRISON: I want to really offer my thanks to everyone in the world, all of the governments, all of the people that have been involved, and especially, particularly want to address President Ahmadinejad and all of the Iranian officials and the religious leaders and thank them for this humanitarian gesture. I'm grateful and I'm very humbled at this moment.

EVC

SNOW: There she is thanking Iranian authorities for the humanitarian gesture, for her release.

Her mother Nora Shourd released this statement earlier saying, I'd hoped and prayed for this moment for 410 days and I cannot wait to wrap Sarah in my arms and hold her close when we are finally together again. I urgently appeal to Iran to the delay granting Shane and Josh's family the same joy and relief that I now have in knowing Sarah is finally free.

VELSHI: Interesting, because obviously she's got her fiance and a friend in there. So that may not have been acting, thanking Ahmadinejad and the Iranian authorities, because Ahmadinejad is the one who announced that she was going to be freed and one of his opponents sort of held the process up? She ended up having to pay bail, $500,000 bail?

SNOW: No. According to the prosecutor on Tehran, earlier today, he said that she had posted bail through her representatives. But the State Department just had a briefing, and the State Department is saying, you know, we don't know about the direct circumstances, but they are making clear that the U.S. did not pay any money to gain her release.

VELSHI: What about her health? Her mother was talking about her health situation What's that?

SNOW: This has been a big concern because she had had a preexisting condition, pre-cervical cancer cells. But also what we found out from her family is that she had found a lump in her breast. And her mother has been very concerned about her health and she also expressed concerns months ago about depression. She had been in solitary confinement let out about 30 minutes at a time.

Of course, the big question now is what will happen to these two other young American men who are still being detained?

VELSHI: Her fiance and her friend.

Mary, thanks very much. Mary Snow on the story. We'll of course keep you posted as we learn anymore about this.

Top stories now. The last round of primaries now before the November election is happening right now. In Delaware, Republican Congressman Mike Castle battling Tea-Party backed TV commentator Christine O'Donnell for the GOP Senate nomination. It's one of several big races this year with Tea Party newcomers trying to knock out well-known Republicans.

New help is being offered today to victims of last week's natural gas line explosion in San Bruno. The utility that owns the line, Pacific Gas and Electric, says its setting up $100 million fund to help rebuild the devastated neighborhood. At least four people died, 37 homes were leveled.

A drug resistant super bug that's raising fears around the world has arrived in the United States. The "Boston Globe" reports a patient at a Massachusetts hospital has one of three cases in the U.S. The others were in California and Illinois. All three patients had been to India where the bug is well spread. All three survived. The super bugs are created by a gene that attaches itself to many types of bacteria, making them immune to most antibiotics.

Thomas Edison invented the light bulb. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone. Wilbur Orville Wright invented the first engine-powered airplane. Now, these folks in Menlo, California, are inspiring a whole new generation of Edisons, Bells, and Wrights. This is a great story you won't want to miss. You're going to meet these two guys when I come back from a break.

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VELSHI: Every day on this show, we feature a segment called "The Big I." The I, by the way, stands for idea. It's all about new ideas and innovations. Today, in collaboration with my good friends with whom I work every day at CNNmoney.com - you got to go to this site, it's fantastic -- we want to tell you where some of these big, new ideas are born.

It's called Tech Shop in Menlo Park, California. A 15,000 square foot inventor's paradise full of drill presses, welders, laser cutters, sand blasters, grinders, industrial sewing machines. All used to turn an inventor's dream into reality.

And today, we have the fonder of Tech Shop, Jim Newton and CEO Mark Hatch live from San Francisco. Guys, when I was a kid, my father had a workshop. It was the place where you tinkered. A place things could fail. It's the place that could break, fall on the floor. It's the place you can get the right tools and experiment. You don't have one of those, you're less inclined to build stuff.

When you talk about all the tinkerers, Alexander Graham Bell and Edison and the Wright brother, they were tinkerers and had a place to tinker. You set up a place where people who don't have that space can tinker and go and create and invent. Tell me about it.

Mark, let's start with you.

MARK HATCH, CEO, TECH SHOP: Well, Ali, as you just hinted at, tools are absolutely the most important component of being able to build a business of some kind. And essentially that's what Tech Shop is doing. Providing people access to tools.

We believe that the largest untapped resource in the U.S. is the spare time, creativity and disposable income of the American. And if we can take a small portion of what they're spending on frappuccinos and McMansions and other things and get them to spend some time actually building, building their dreams, we can really help drive the economy. That's essentially what Menlo Park does, we helps innovators --

VELSHI: We share your view on that. I have to tell you, this is just very impressive. I hope it catches on.

Jim, tell me how this works. It's very simple. This is simpler than a gym membership.

JIM NEWTON, FOUNDER, TECH SHOP: It's exactly a gym membership. You pay a hundred bucks a month, come in and use all the tools to make your inventions and creations.

VELSHI: Tell us about some of the stuff, Jim, that people have come up with. In some places, you can just use this to build something you wanted to build. May not be a life-changing invention, but there are things that have come out of here.

NEWTON: Yes. There's hundreds of inventors there, hundreds of people making things. I don't know, Mark. What are some of your favorites?

HATCH: Well, one of my favorites, the world's fastest electric motorcycle, was partially built on-site. We've got a guy working on a lunar lander. We have remote-controlled telepresence robot. We have another team that is -- has designed a $25 phase changing polymer blanket to help neonatal children fight off the cold or the heat. We have another team that has built one of the world's lowest-cost water delivery systems. They have those in trials in China and India. We have another guy who has built a desktop diamond manufacturing device. You heard me right.

And then people are doing fun things. Little doilies and stuffed animals and T-shirts. "Build your dreams here" is our tagline. It may be something small or it may be world changing.

VELSHI: I split my time between Philly, Atlanta and New York. When do I get one of these close to me?

HATCH: We'll be at the Maker Fair in New York at the end of the month and make a very nice announcement there. VELSHI: Very good. Look, I know you guys got some franchises in -- where you got, San Francisco, you got San Jose. Where else?

NEWTON: We're opening the corporate store in San Francisco in a couple of months. We're actually announcing San Jose today, and we'll be open by the first quarter of next year. We'll be in Detroit next year. And we have a current partner location in Raleigh, North Carolina.

VELSHI: That's great. All right, guys. Thanks very much for coming and telling us about this. I'll make it out to one of these Tech Shops and maybe stop being a frustrated inventor and actually --

NEWTON: Come out and learn how to weld, Ali.

VELSHI: Very good. Jim Newton, Mark Hatch. Thanks very much. Listen, to read up on Tech Shop and to get a link to the Tech Shop Web site, go to my blog, CNN.com/ali.

Also, CNNmoney.com. I cannot tell you enough about this site. It has the story up on its page, and while there learn everything you need to know about your money.

Listen, Bill Clinton back on the campaign trail today. Plus, Democrats launching a brand-new attack on their favorite Republican target. The latest headlines, hot off the CNN Political Ticker, up next.

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VELSHI: It is time for our "CNN Equals Politics" update. It's primary day. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser and senior political editor Mark Preston are in Washington with the hour's latest headlines from the CNN.com Political Ticker.

This is crazy. I get to talk to Jessica and Gloria and you and Mark. Paul, it's like being spoiled. What is crossing the ticker right now?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: It's like Christmas in September, right, Ali? I mean, let's talk about it. Let's start with what's going on on the CNN Political Ticker.

You talked about the primaries. Other stuff going on right here. Check it out. If it's Tuesday, it must be Ohio. Who are we talking about? Bill Clinton. He's become pretty much a rock star for the Democrats on the campaign trail this cycle. Today, he's in Ohio helping out Ted Strickland, the Democratic governor there who faces a pretty tough re-election.

And I also just learned -- I spoke to the Democratic Governors Association. Bill Clinton is not done with Ohio. He moves on to Minnesota later today where he'll fundraise up there with the Democrat's nominee up there, Mark Dayton, the former senator. So, Bill Clinton, a rock star on the campaign trail.

Let me send it over to Mark Preston. He's got more stuff on the Ticker.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Ali. You know, national Democrats want voters to know who John Boehner is. Well, who is John Boehner? A lot of people don't know who he is. He is an Ohio Republican. And if the Republicans were to take back the House majority, he would be the new speaker. They want people to know about him so much they are running TV ads. In fact, they just released another ad today. Let's take a quick listen to it, Ali.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Pass out campaign checks from big tobacco on the House floor. Team up with Wall Street to block reform.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does he have a lot of relationships in this city? Yes, absolutely.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PRESTON: There you go, Ali. John Boehner, he's an Ohio Republican. What Democrats are trying to villianize him, saying he's too close to lobbyists here in Washington, and that he'd rather side with big business than the working man. Much like Republicans are trying to villainize Nancy Pelosi, the current House speaker, Republicans are trying to villainize John Boehner (sic).

Let me throw it back to Paul, Ali.

STEINHAUSER: Hey. Seven weeks to go, Ali, til the midterm elections, but you know what? We're already looking ahead to the next race to the White House. Our Peter Hamby reporting on the political ticker today about Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania, who we think is a possible -- somebody who has his eye on running in 2012 for the Republican presidential nomination. Tomorrow, Rick Santorum is going to be in South Carolina, one of the important, early primary states. He's already been in Iowa and South Carolina and New Hampshire. We're keeping an eye on all of those guys, Ali.

VELSHI: Can you do one of those cool camera moves again? I'm loving this. Steinhauser, Preston -- it's like a cop show.

STEINHAUSER: We have Dave Jenkins with us here. He's doing a great job. And yes, he can do the camera move again. Back to Mark, right?

VELSHI: Let's do that.

STEINHAUSER: Back to Mark.

VELSHI: Yes, he's not participating in this.

There we go. There we go!

All right. I love this. I love this! We are not going to let this die because that is so much fun. I like that camera move. You two are excellent. You should get your own show, and it should be about cops.

OK. So, what we're going to do is we're going to take a quick break. And we're going to come back and play with those camera moves again because I'm going to get more on today's primaries from Mark Preston after this short break.

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