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Sarah Shourd Leaves Middle East After Release in Iran; Afghans Vote Despite Attacks; WSJ Ranking Show Public Schools Favored; Survey Says College Should Teach Real-World, Ground Education; Chile Bicentennial Focuses on Trapped Miners; Mexico Hit By Hurricane Karl, Bermuda Braces for Hurricane Igor

Aired September 18, 2010 - 17:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Right now on CNN, chances are, if not you, then someone you know is using drugs illegally. And the economy has a whole lot to do with what kind. We'll explain why drug consumption is up this year.

Pope Benedict caught his followers off guard today with comments on the sex abuse scandal rocking the Catholic Church. Is it an official apology?

Why did the baby cross the road? Better question. Why didn't anybody stop?

And this just in, the new darling of the Tea Party suddenly cancels all of her Sunday talks show appearances. We've got the old TV clip that just might explain why.

Hello everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thanks for joining us. An American woman is on her way home after spending more than a year captive in Iran. Sarah Shourd today left Oman where she was staying following her release on Tuesday. Shourd is one of three American hikers detained by Iran after they allegedly crossed over the border from Iraq in July of 2009. And as our Nic Robertson reports, her journey home is somewhat bittersweet.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sarah Shourd looked a little more relaxed than when she arrived here four days ago. She appeared to have caught a little sun. She said, she had been to visit the Grand Mosque, something she'd enjoyed and found a peaceful place. She was introduced by her uncle but, again, her words were very carefully chosen. Thanking the country's leader, thanking the U.S. ambassador. But also saying that her visit was unfortunately brief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHOURD, AMERICAN FREED FROM IRAN: I also want to extend my gratitude to the American Ambassador Richard Smear (ph) and his wife, Sandy, for hosting my family and I during our unfortunately brief stay. I have a deep appreciation for Dr. Salem Smelly (ph) for bringing me from Tehran, for the honor of his friendship, and most importantly for his continued engagement in my life, in the life of my fiance, Shane Bauer, and my dear friend Josh Fattal during the past 13 and a half months. It would be a pleasure to return to Oman and it is my deepest hope that I would be able to show Shane and Josh the Grand Mosque soon, one of the most peaceful and powerful places of worship I've ever seen. I will always associate your country with the first breath of my freedom.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERTSON: Very clearly there, her thoughts with her fiance and her friend who are still in jail in Tehran. She's flying back to New York, but it's clear from what she says, she's almost torn, torn because she has to leave Oman. The Oman is playing a key role in winning her release, likely playing a role in negotiating the release of her fiance and her friend from jail. So for her, her words and her emotions during this brief statement, an indication that although she is now going home, that it is hard for her to leave Oman where she is found and tasted freedom for the first time knowing that she leaves her fiance and friend still locked up in a Tehran jail. Nic Robertson, CNN, Muscat, Oman.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: We go now to Afghanistan where the polls are now closed. Despite a spike in bombings, rocket attacks and ambush shootings by the Taliban, millions of Afghans turned out to pick a new parliament. Counting begins tomorrow.

CNN's Ivan Watson joins us now live from Kabul. Ivan, what's the mood there? Did the violence keep a lot of people from voting?

IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's really a good question. According to Afghan election organizers, Don, 3.6 million people voted, more than 3.6 million people, they say that's 40 percent of the electorate. Let me give you another statistic, however. At least 20 percent, around 20 percent of the polling stations across the country never even opened on election today because of the threats from Taliban insurgents. There were more than 160 various types of attacks, rocket attacks, grenade attacks, roadside bombs. At least 11 civilians killed. I've been trying to ask officials here, diplomats, Afghan officials, how many people could have been disenfranchised if 20 percent of the polling stations across the country weren't open and nobody can't really give me a straight answer on that -- Don.

LEMON: Listen, Ivan, this is the fourth election in the post Taliban era. How important is it and when will the final results be known from this election?

WATSON: Well, it's going to take a long time before we know who's been elected to the lower House of Parliament. According to the election commission here, they say, the final results won't be ready until October 31st. Why? Because the road network in this country is awful. You're carrying ballot boxes on donkeys through the mountains of the Hindu Kush. It really takes a long time. And there's another factor here that's going to complicate matters. A lot of the people going to the post, a lot of the candidates who are running for parliament have already been accusing each other and the system of widespread fraud.

So I anticipate a lot of arguing over the vote count in the weeks and perhaps months ahead. As far as how important this election is, it is the fourth election basically since the Taliban was overthrown nearly nine years ago. The problem is, last year, there was an awful lot of cheating. More than a million ballots thrown out of last year's presidential elections. So, really, this is a real test for what's left of the credibility of this electoral process here in Afghanistan.

LEMON: All right. Ivan Watson joining us from Kabul, Afghanistan. Ivan, thank you very much.

We turn to news about the pope. Pope Benedict XVI today expressed his deep sorrow to victims of abuse by catholic clergy. He made his remarks during mass at London's Westminster Cathedral. Benedict also meets today with five abuse victims according to the Catholic Communications Network. Abuse victims and protestors who don't agree with the church's stand on gays and women priests lined the streets outside Westminster Cathedral. Inside, the pope talked about what he described as the immense suffering caused by abuse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CARDINAL JOSEPH RATZINGER, POPE BENEDICT XVI: Above all, I express my deep sorrow to the innocent victims of these despicable crimes. Along this, my hope that the power of Christ's grace, his sacrifice of reconciliation, will bring deep healing and peace to their lives.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Well, the pope did not make any changes to his plans scheduled today despite the arrest of six men yesterday on terror charges. Police won't confirm if the arrests are directly related to the pope's visit.

In the Gulf of Mexico right now, the end of the end for the BP oil well, a pressure test is under way to see if cement pumped today into the bottom of the well is holding. This so called bottom kill procedure is expected to permanently seal the well. Final authority to declare the well dead rests with National Incident Commander Thad Allen. The drilling rig blew up and sink back in April, causing a mass of oil spill that wasn't stop until July. Eleven people were killed in that accident.

Thirty three men buried 2,000 feet underground are a step closer to freedom tonight. Ahead, why it still could take weeks to rescue them, though.

And the new darling of the Tea Party movement has some explaining to do. How witchcraft has become an issue in a race for the U.S. Senate.

And don't just sit there, make sure you're part of the conversation. Send us a message on twitter or Facebook or check out our blog. CNN.com/Don. Also you can check in with us on Foursquare. We want to hear from you.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: And it's time right now for a CNN equals politics update. We're keeping an eye on the latest headlines on the cnn.com Political Ticker. And here's what's crossing right now.

Indiana Congressman Mike Pence wins the annual straw poll at Values Voter Conference in Washington. It's considered an early test of possible 2012 presidential candidates among socially conservative voters. Mike Huckabee came in second followed by Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich and then Sarah Palin.

Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski is launching a write-in campaign after losing her Republican primary to Joe Miller. The Tea Party express which did a lot of campaigning for Miller says, this just proves that Murkowski doesn't get it.

Senator Jim DeMint tells CNN that if the GOP wins control of Congress, it must keep its promises to voters or the party is dead. South Carolina republican is calling on his party to unite around common causes, but DeMint has angered some of the GOP by supporting the Tea Party backed Christine O'Donnell over establishment candidate Mike Castle in the Delaware Senate race. Candy Crowley will have DeMint's full interview on tomorrow's State of the Union, tomorrow. And for the latest political news, go to cnnpolitics.com. We have another political update in our 7 p.m. hour right here in the CNN Newsroom.

So, let's talk a little bit more politics now, especially the Tea Party and its success at the ballot box.

CNN contributor John Avlon joins me. John, first, let's talk about this story. It is developing right now. I want to talk to you about Tea Party favorite and now Republican nominee for Senate in Delaware, Christine O'Donnell. Last night on HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Bill played this unaired 1999 clip of her from his old show Politically Incorrect. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE O'DONNELL, DELAWARE SENATE NOMINEE: I dabbled in witchcraft, I never joined a coven.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Wait a minute, you were a witch?

O'DONNELL: I was a witch.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Wait a minute.

O'DONNELL: That's exactly right.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: How can you be a witch?

O'DONNELL: Because I dabbled into witchcraft. I hung around people who were doing these things. I'm not making this stuff up. I know what they told me they do. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: What did they do?

O'DONNELL: And one of my dates...

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I want to hear the...

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

O'DONNELL: One of my first dates with a witch was on his satanic altar and I didn't know it and I mean, there is little blood there and stuff like that.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Your first date was a satanic altar?

O'DONNELL: Yes, we watched a movie and had a little midnight picnic on the satanic altar.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: OK John, so I said it was unaired. It did air. O'Donnell has now canceled two appearances on a Sunday talk shows. Bill Maher says, he's got more clips that he's going to release until she comes on his show. And he said he's going to do it in drips and drabs until she comes on. Is she in trouble here?

JOHN AVLON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. Look, there's a reason the libertarian magazine "Reason" called her a crack pot of the first order. And I think that we've got a...

LEMON: Keep talking. We can hear you.

AVLON: All right. Good. So, I think in this case, you are seeing that a lot of the controversies from her past have come -- are coming out and they're going to keep coming out in drips and drabs. I think you may see more about her past talking about gay conversion therapy. But this is a real issue for her campaign, it's a real issue for her candidacy, it's a reason a lot of responsible Republicans and conservatives were very concerned about her winning the nomination, not just about electability and the broader sense but also just about the skeletons in her closet. Being a professional social conservative activist on a lot of talk shows during the 1990s.

LEMON: Yes.

AVLON: So expect more where this comes from.

LEMON: So, listen, do you think this clip is the reason she canceled yesterday? I mean, obviously you're not in her campaign, but do you think this clip had something to do with it?

AVLON: Probably. Because she was on a surge, giving a speech at Value Voters just the other day, talking about how, you know, some people out there call us wing nuts but we represent we the people, and getting a very positive reception at the Values Voters forum. So, you know, news that this was coming down the pike is what causes campaigns to go into massive defensive mode. And when you're booked for the Sundays shows and then you've go into retreat, that is a sign of a candidate in panic mode, usually for good reason.

LEMON: Yes. Well, she's saying, she had, you know, some things have been previously scheduled but then you would wonder why she accepted them in the first place if she had something scheduled. So, it's very, you know, to call people wing nuts and say we're not wing nuts and then say you're part of a coven, that may not bode well. So, we'll see how this plays out.

Let's move on here to talk about, you know, Bill Maher is a comedian, he has a talk show?

AVLON: Yes.

LEMON: So are, you know, Jon Stewart, right? And Steven Colbert. What do you make of this thing that they're having on October 31st in Washington, these rallies?

AVLON: The restore sanity rally? I love it. You know, I have long dreamed about the day when people take to the streets and yell, "be reasonable." And it is a good pushback in some of what we've seen and Colbert's competing rally is called "Keep Fear Alive" which itself is pretty inspired. I mean, we are living in a time where sometimes satire is the only way to tell the truth about our politics because the spin cycle is so insidious, it so extreme. And it also does speak to the way that media is playing a really dominant role in our politics, it is informing the conversation, it is driving the conversation. And so, this is just another step in that direction. And from my point of view, a centrist point of view, an independent point of view, that's a hopeful sign because we do need to restore some sanity in our politics.

LEMON: Yes. You can look at people like Christine O'Donnell, you can look at the early, you know, beginnings of the Tea Party movement and what Glenn Beck did and what's happening now with Jon Stewart and Steven Colbert, you can really call them outsiders I guess. So, do outsiders have more power than in the past?

AVLON: Absolutely. We are in a time when people are energized about politics, they are engaged and they are anxious, because of the economy. And that's good to the extent that it keeps the political establishment on its toes. Just today, the fact that Mike Pence, a conservative congressman but not somebody who is frequently mention in our top straw poll presidential candidate. The fact that he won the values voters straw poll, I think also shows a continuum of that attitude. And so that makes it an exciting time, a fluid time.

It does reinforce though that in particular, I think, the Republican Party is in sort of warlord status with a lot of competing leaders but no clear one standard bearer. But if you care about democracy in the deepest sense in terms of citizens engaging, even if it can be informed by fringe groups, which help boil up and stir up the grassroots, that's a good thing. It is good to see outsiders engage our politics, the truth is we just going to make sure we're holding all the candidates accountable and keeping them honest.

LEMON: And John Avlon, nice concentration, you know why I'm talking, had a little hiccup with the camera and you kept going. So, good job, we'll see you soon, OK?

AVLON: Thanks, baby. Yes, take care.

LEMON: All right. Our Jacqui Jeras is in the CNN hurricane headquarters. People in Bermuda are bracing for the worst and we'll tell you where hurricane Igor is headed now.

And a high school football player collapses and dies on the field. What doctors are saying happened to him.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time now to check our top stories this hour. Deputies in West Odessa, Texas have arrested a man who forced them into a standoff that lasted nearly 24 hours. It started late Friday when the gunman shot two deputies and a civilian who are expected to survive. The Odessa American reports, suspect Victor White set fire to his home, which was surrounded by officers. He's now at the hospital with burn injuries.

Staying in Texas, a community is mourning the death of a high school star quarterback who collapsed during a game on Friday. Local media report that Reginald Garrett crumpled to the ground moments after throwing his second touchdown of the night. He was rushed to a hospital but he did not survive. The team's coach said Garrett had a history of seizures and autopsy has been ordered. Tonight at 7:00 p.m. Eastern here on CNN, we will talk to his coach.

A spokesman for Toyota says, the car company has settled with two families over a deadly crash. Four people were killed last year when their Lexus Sedan accelerated uncontrollably on a freeway near San Diego and crashed over an embankment. Lexus is a division of Toyota. The company says, both parties wish to keep the amount of the settlement private. As part of the deal, Toyota is not admitting liability.

For nearly 40 years, the federal government has asked people from all states if and how much they use illegal drugs. Well, this year, the national survey on drug use and health isn't the worst researchers have seen, but it is worse than last year. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports that drug use is up.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Illegal drug use is higher than it has been in a decade. According to a new government survey, usage among Americans 12 and over rose from eight percent in 2008 to 8.7 percent in 2009. With an upswing in the use of ecstasy, Methamphetamines and particularly marijuana. Among teenagers, Marijuana use jumped from 6.7 percent in 2008 to 7.3 percent in 2009, that would still less that it was in 2002.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) GIL KERLIKOWSKE, OFFICE OF NATIONAL DRUG CONTROL POLICY: Young, heavy marijuana users are much more likely to report getting ds and fs than as and bs, are more likely to be in trouble with the law for crimes like theft.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The survey shows a change in teen attitudes towards using marijuana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Marijuana has a very low risk compared to other things, I'd say.

MESERVE: Like?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Like alcohol for example.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: The nation's drug czars says, fewer teens see marijuana as dangerous because of media coverage of current policy debates.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KERLIKOWSKE: Absolutely cannot rule out that this constant discussion of so-called medical marijuana, marijuana legalization and the down playing of marijuana harms that is prevalent in the media.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE: With California voting in November on a ballot measure legalizing marijuana, that debate has picked up tempo. Earlier this week, former heads of the Drug Enforcement Administration urged the Obama administration to take a strong stand against the measure. But supporters of legalized marijuana say the new survey numbers illustrate the failure of current government policy, criminalizing marijuana.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MIKE MENO, MARIJUANA POLICY PROJECT: We need a legal, regulated marijuana market.

MESERVE: And that will lead to less teen use of marijuana?

MENO: It has for alcohol, it has for tobacco.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MESERVE (on camera): In fact, the rate of teen alcohol and tobacco you state essentially the same during the past year. Other trends, the abuse of prescription drugs is up, but the use of cocaine has declined 30 percent since in 2006. Don, back to you.

LEMON: Oh, wow, 30 percent since 2006.

MESERVE: Yes.

LEMON: So, in the '80s and '90s, cocaine was the drug, it was raising especially on Wall Street when the people were doing well. So then, what's the reason behind the drop in cocaine use, could it be money? The economy?

MESERVE: Well, at this press conference, officials said what they thought the reason was with education, simply the people had become more aware of the hazards, particularly of crack cocaine, and that was leading more people to stay away from it -- Don.

LEMON: All right. Good report. Thank you, Jeanne Meserve.

You get what you pay for, right? Well, that may not be true when it comes to colleges. Wait until you hear what new study -- a new study on higher education found. This is good news for parents who pay the bills. You want to stick around for that.

And look at this video. We saw it today in the Newsroom and we were shocked by it. It's a toddler crawling in traffic. How did that happen?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Well, there is a reason that private colleges are so expensive and so hard to get in. They're supposed to be a pathway to a better career, right? But the "Wall Street Journal" this week released a list of the top 25 universities that employers recruit from. And the results might actually surprise you.

Jennifer Merritt is the careers editor for the "Wall Street Journal" and she oversaw this particular survey. Jennifer, first of all, thanks for joining us. Tell us what you looked at and what you found.

JENNIFER MERRITT, CAREERS EDITOR, WALL STREET JOURNAL: Well, what we did was we surveyed recruiters from the biggest companies, public, private, also non-profit, government organizations and we asked them which schools they recruit at and which schools produce the best graduates overall as far as being prepared to work in their companies, succeed, academic prowess, leadership capabilities, et cetera. And so what happened was, the list that we came up with, the top 25 out of the almost 500 companies who responded was primarily made up of state schools. And so, what we found was that they really liked these graduates who had all this academic preparedness and also, were sort of well rounded in other ways.

LEMON: So, Jennifer, that leads me to this scene. I want to pop this up, the top ten, so our viewers can take a look at it, all of them except one which is Carnegie Mellon are publicly funded. Tuition at Carnegie Mellon this year is about $42,000, but it's only $15,000 at number one rank Penn State. So, what's making these cheaper public schools more attractive to recruiters?

MERRITT: You know, there's a couple of things that are going on. First of all, companies know, people who can really understand their business, so you could be brilliant and come in with a great marketing idea. But if you don't know marketing analytics, that company is not going to get as much out of you. Same for engineering, you could have a great strategy for building the next great thing, but if you don't know actually how to do it, that's a problem. So companies are starting to reach out to schools that they can partner with on research and what they found is, wow, these faculty come in, they go back to their classroom are they are teaching these folks real world grounded education that can work in our companies. So then, they start recruiting these people and find that they really like them...

LEMON: So, even -- I hate to cut you off, but even the expensive universities, the private universities, maybe they need to evolve a little bit and figure out what recruiters and what jobs, what employers want and maybe they're not doing them, maybe they're just relying on their name and on history, their reputations.

JENNIFER MERRITT, CAREERS EDITOR, WALL STREET JOURNAL: So companies are reaching out to schools they can partner with on research. And what they found is these faculties are teaching these folks a real- world, grounded education that can work in our companies. So then they start recruiting these people and find they really like them.

DON LEMON, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: So even -- I hate to cut you off. But even the expensive universities, the private universities, maybe they need to evolve a little bit and figure out what recruiters and what employers want. and maybe they're not doing that. Maybe they're just relying on their name and history and their reputations.

MERRITT: There is a little bit of that. Some of the elite schools will tell you, they don't have those bread-and-butter classes. Actually, I just heard, after we published a report, from a few elite schools that said they're working on this. They're trying to mix the liberal arts with that base, foundation of skills.

LEMON: OK. Final question to you. So anyone who is applying for college, kids that are applying, parents that are listening, what is the most important information to take away from this survey?

MERRITT: You know, one of the most shocking things we found, I guess maybe surprising more than shocking, is that internship recruiting is the new full-time hiring recruiting for college grads. You need to actually call the career services office. The head recruiter at G.E. recommended this. Before you decide on where to go to school, call career services, find out who recruits interns and full-timers, and how many they recruit. Even if you don't know what you want to do, you can get a feel for who comes to the school and who appreciates those school's grads. It's critical to get a great internship, so you need to know those things before you decide.

LEMON: This is a very interesting survey.

Thank you for coming on, because I think our viewers got a lot of out this, especially people looking forward to going to college soon.

Jennifer Merritt is careers editor with the "Wall Street Journal."

Appreciate it.

MERRITT: My pleasure.

LEMON: A woman held in an Iranian prison for more than a year is free. What Sarah Shourd said today as she boarded a plane to come home.

It's almost over a year over in the gulf -- excuse me, it's almost over in the gulf. We're watching that Deepwater Horizon well that could be sealed for good this weekend. Fingers crossed.

Sometimes it's the little things, like a holiday barbecue or a letter from home. We'll have positive news for those 33 trapped miners in Chile.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Chile is celebrating its bicentennial today. The 33 miners trapped underground marked the occasion with a rousing chorus of the Chilean national anthem. They were in high spirits after work finished on the first phrase on the one plan to recuse them.

But as Carl Penhaul reports, engineers have their work cut out for them.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mid morning, and a breakthrough in the rescue efforts.

BRANDON FISHER, DRILLING COMPANY PRESIDENT: Communications started happening with the miners. They were a big part of that process, letting us know how far we were from them. They were able to pull the plug out and what we call sound or measure, where our bit is so we could mark the point on the drill pipe and break through.

PENHAUL: Fisher's U.S.-based company owns the drill bit that's punched a 12-inch or 30 centimeter shaft through almost half a mile of rock down to where the 33 miners are trapped.

The rig, known as plan B, is owned by a Chilean company. It is one of three trying to save the miners. It began drilling just two weeks ago.

FISHER: We deemed it the rabbit. We got a late start. We've come out of the gate rather fast. PENHAUL: But the hardest job may still lie ahead. Rescuers must drill down again to make the hole more than twice as wide, to get the men back to the surface.

(on camera) The million dollar question is how long is it going to take to make it a big enough hole?

RICHARD SOPPE, DRILLING COMPANY EXECUTIVE: Oh, man, how high is up? That's hard to predict.

PENHAUL (voice-over): Chile's mine minister, Laurence Golborne, said it could still take at least six weeks.

LAURENCE GOLBORNE, CHILE MINE MINISTER: You can imagine this as we are eating here donuts and, in this part, we are eating the center part of the doughnut, which is smaller. And now we have to eat the whole part of the doughnut. So it's a lot of more material that we have to remove. It will take more time.

PENHAUL (on camera): But it's far from clear that plan B will be the plan that rescues the miners. Over there, an oil rig, now known as plan C, that, in theory, can drill much faster than the other two options. But it's unlikely to be fired up until probably Monday.

(voice-over): As the drills grind away, families camped out at the mine are preparing a cookout for Chile's independence day celebrations this weekend.

But for the trapped miners, chefs prepare a treat with enfanadas (ph), pastries stuffed with meat, onions and olives. They'll get a barbecue steak underground, too.

Minister Golborne says he's bet rescue workers another barbecue, depending which team can pull the miners back to earth quickest.

GOLBORNE: No matter which arrives early, I will be very happy if we can pay that as soon as possible.

PENHAUL: Carl Penhaul, CNN, San Jose Mine, Northern Chile.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Hurricane Igor could make a direct hit on the island of Bermuda. Our Jacqui Jeras is tracking the storm. The forecast for the tropics and your area when we come right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Let's check your top stories right now, shall we?

An American woman held captive in Iran for more than a year is on her way home. Sarah Shourd today left Amman where she was staying following her release on Tuesday. Shourd is one of three American hikers detained by Iran after they allegedly crossed over the border from Iraq in July of 2009. Iran let her go for medical reasons. The other two Americans are still in prison. Expectations are high that B.P.'s Macondo Oil Well is finally dead. Official word may not come for a day or so. Cement was pumped from this drilling rig into the well deep underneath the ocean floor, a procedure known as bottom kill. Pressure testing will confirm where the plug is holding. Once national incident commander, Thad Allen, announces the well is dead, crews will pack up and abandon the site. The last boat is expected to leave the area in about a week.

Not one, but two tornadoes, two of them, hit New York City on Thursday night. Imagine that. The National Weather Service confirms one twister touched down in Queens and another in Brooklyn. This video was shot immediately afterwards by CNN iReporter, Nina Larocca (ph). One storm related death was reported in Queens when a tree fell on a car. Also in Queens, officials say the storm caused a sudden spike in wind, called a microburst. It was clocked at 125 miles per hour.

Also, more weather news. The remnants of Hurricane Karl are dissipating over Mexico, but authorities worry they're not out of the woods yet. Forecasters warn that the rain could cause life- threatening flash floods and mudslides. Karl left two people dead in its wake and damaged highways across Mexico. While Mexico has seen the worse from Karl, Bermuda is bracing for Igor.

LEMON: Jacqui, talk about that and those two tornados. Can you imagine that in a city that big? It was 125 miles per hour, called a microburst.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLGOIST: Yes, two tornadoes. Incredible damage in New York City. A fast-moving system that caused quite a bit of damage, hundreds of trees down all over the place. One person was killed unfortunately.

And things are very busy in the tropics. We saw the pictures of what was going on with Karl there. Karl has pretty much dissipated and moved out now, but take a look at this. This is in the Gulf of Mexico. Here is Texas and northern Mexico. We have this upper level disturbance. This is not a tropical wave. There's no organized rotation with this system, but it will be bringing in torrential down pours. We're talking about flooding rains for the Texas coast through the weekend. We could see as much as two to five inches of rainfall. This is so close to the shore that we don't think there's time for this to organize into a tropical depression or storm. But either way you slice it, this is going to be a flood maker. And that's a real concern.

Let's move on to Igor. Igor is a huge hurricane. This thing spans nearly 700 miles across. When you take a look at the island of Bermuda, what is it, like 20 miles across? There's no way you're going to get a miss on this. The eye wall might move to your west, which is our best estimate at this time, but either way, you're going to get lashed with tropical-storm-force winds any time arriving now. We're talking about that's going to last for almost 48 hours. Like a day and a half, two days of that. And landfall is going to be probably late tomorrow night and into early Monday morning.

Here's the forecast track, a category 2 storm with 100 mile-per-hour winds. Little change in strength is going to be expected. Curving up to the north, a hit or near hit, Bermuda, and then curving off to the northeast. The U.S. will continue to see big swells along the Atlantic coast as a result of that.

As we look at the Bermuda radar, thanks to the Bermuda Weather Service for giving us permission to use that, there you can see that first outer band, which is about 25 miles away. One of our producers, Mike Avers (ph), was there and sent us a couple of photos. People aren't heeding the water warnings and they're getting out in the water. It looks like that's just off the picture unfortunately. That's a kite surfer. There he is. There is the kite surfer. There's the kite. And look at some of those waves.

Hotel owners and workers here are taking the lights down, trying to prepare ahead of this storm. And people are also digging sand bags, getting prepared. So a big storm and it will cause a lot of damage unfortunately for folks in Bermuda.

LEMON: All right, Jacqui. Jacqui's got an eye on that.

Thank you very much, Jacqui.

You know, we've all introduced you to remarkable everyday people who are changing the world. We do that with our "CNN Heroes." In just one week, we'll reveal our top-ten "CNN Heroes" of 2010. It's been a year already. One of those ten will become the "CNN Hero" of the year.

First, let's check in with our 2009 Hero of the year to see how the recognition has helped him expand his extraordinary work.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(CNN HERO)

LEMON: Who will be the "CNN Hero" of the year for 2010? You decide. Next Thursday, we will be announcing the year's top-ten heroes on CNN.com at 1:00 p.m. That's when you can vote online for the "CNN Hero" who inspires you the most. All ten will be honored on Thanksgiving night at "CNN Heroes," an all-star tribute hosted by Anderson Cooper. But only one named "CNN Hero" of the year.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It's dinner time. Dinner time. We're talking about what to eat here after this show. Something healthy? Well, it means you don't have to spend a lot of money on that if you want something healthy. It requires smart shopping. Dr. Sanjay Gupta gets advice for eating right on a budget in today's "Fit Nation."

(FIT NATION)

LEMON: All right, Dr. Gupta.

"The Situation Room" is ahead.

Wolf Blitzer, what do you have for us?

WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUTATION ROOM": Coming up right at the top of the hour here in "The Situation Room," my wide-ranging interview with the filmmaker, Michael Moore. He doesn't hold back on everything from the mosque and community center near Ground Zero to what's going on with the Democrats in the tea party movement. That interview coming up.

Also, my special interview with Tony Blair, former British prime minister. He's got his memoirs out. We'll talk about U.S. presidents, his relationship with them.

And Darrell Issa, the powerful Republican Congressman. If the Republicans gain the majority in the House, will he launch investigations and subpoenas of top White House officials?

All that and a lot more coming up right here in "The Situation Room."

Don, back to you.

LEMON: All right, Wolf, looking forward to it. Thank you.

You know, you won't believe this next story. Take a look at the size of this gator. It's 1,000 pounds of nasty. We're not showing the nasty part of it. We'll show you the woman that captured the beast and tell you how she did it.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Every weekend we like to bring you some interesting news, I would say, you might have missed throughout the week.

Look at this one. It's a 13-foot alligator. It's nothing to mess with. Is this woman crazy? No one told the Massachusetts woman, who came to the swamps of South Carolina, to bag one. She hooked into the thousand-pound animal with a fishing rod. The battle was epic, over two hours. It took eight bullets to kill it. Never mind the gator outweighed her more than eight times and could have swallowed her whole. She plans to have the carcass stuffed, probably because no one would believe it otherwise. OK.

The Fountain on Locust is not a big place. It's an old-fashioned ice cream parlor and soda fountain in downtown St. Louis. I know it. But it has something no other place has -- the best restrooms in America. That is, according to online voting in an annual competition. Fountain on Locust had some serious competition, including major hotels around the U.S. and New York City's Bryant Park. But the hand painted art deco decor and posh fixtures made it the top crowd pleaser for folks wanting to go to the bathroom in style.

A bazaar twist in a Colorado wildfire that wiped out 166 homes near Boulder around Labor Day. Investigators say it started in a fire pit in someone's yard. Our affiliate KUSA reports that that pit belongs to a 20-year veteran of the area's volunteer fire department. KUSA says the man had set a legal control burn several days earlier to get rid of the brush -- to get rid of the brush on his property. You're not going to believe this. This is from southern Turkey. A very close call for a toddler who wandered onto a busy street. The little boy and his mother apparently had taken refuge in nearby bushes to take a nap. And she didn't notice when he woke up and crawled away. Fortunately, an alert truck driver stopped traffic until the mother could retrieve her baby. Can you imagine? Did you see how many cars went by and didn't stop? Crazy. They're lucky, though.

All right. We'll see you tonight at 7:00 p.m. eastern. I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta. "THE SITUATION ROOM" begins with Mr. Wolf Blitzer right now.