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Colbert at the Capitol; Illegal Immigrants & Jobs; Mideast Peace or Consequences; $10 Million to Change the World; Woman Writes Skinny Jeans Songs; Congress Passes $40B Small Biz Bill

Aired September 24, 2010 - 11:00   ET

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

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7 at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta, big stories for Friday, September 24th, everyone.

Comedian Stephen Colbert tells Congress about his day as a migrant farm worker. In the downturn, he says it's a job Americans won't take.

The military Special Ops weather team in action, a critical unit when war depends on the battlefield forecast.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: And what does this have to do with weather?

TECH SGT. ERIC GILLILAND, U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: Well, you have to be alive to be able to report the weather.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And home after more than a year in an Iran prison. Freedom American hiker Sarah Shourd sits down today with CNN.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SARAH SHOURD, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Nothing in life can prepare you for something like this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Good morning, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Tony is off today.

Those stories and your comments right here, right now in the CNN NEWSROOM.

But up first, Mr. Colbert goes to Washington. Comedy Central funnyman Stephen Colbert brings his satirical spin to some serious issues: farm labor and immigration. He testified moments ago before a congressional subcommittee.

Here's his comedic take on a day spent picking beans and packing corn. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN COLBERT, COMEDIAN: I started my workday with preconceived notions of migrant labor, but after working with these men and women picking beans, packing corn, for hours on end, side by side in the unforgiving sun, I have to say, and I do mean this sincerely, please don't make me do this again. It is really, really hard.

For one thing, when you're picking beans, you have to spend all day bending over. It turns out -- and I did not know this -- most soil is at ground level. If we can put a man on the moon, why can't we make the earth waist high? Come on! Where is the funding?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: All right. There you see Dana Bash. She is our senior congressional correspondent, and she joins us now from the Hill.

So, Dana, I'm looking through the prepared notes here, statement for Stephen Colbert. And I didn't see any of that. Was this a surprise? What was the reaction from the people in the room?

DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know, I was just going to say to you, Don, I'm not sure what you could see on television, but I was in the room, and you saw faces of shock from Democrats and Republicans. To be honest with you, they were trying not to laugh, many of them, at certain parts. But shock.

And the reason is that you just said, is because Stephen Colbert put in this statement that was rather milquetoast. It was very short and just a quick citation of what he had done being up with farm workers, migrant workers, some of them in New York, and said that's the reason why he was invited to be here.

This is controversial. I know that probably goes without saying, but it is controversial. And part of the question is for the subcommittee chairwoman, Zoe Lofgren, who invited him here.

When she walked in this morning, I asked here, "Is he going to be in character, the satirist that we all know, or is he going to come as a serious expert witness?" As she said, "Well, if you look at his statement, it seems serious, but to be honest with you, I don't know."

So, the fact that this is continuing to go on back and forth, he is continuing even in his Q&A to be the Stephen Colbert that we know, talking to Republicans about the fact that he supports all of their policies, is certainly interesting and not anything that we've seen here. ON the controversy, it's not just Republicans who question this. The actual chairman of this subcommittee, John Conyers, at the beginning, said he appreciated Stephen Colbert's attention to this issue, the celebrity he's bringing to the issue, but he said, "Please leave."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) REP. JOHN CONYERS (D), MICHIGAN: I'm not asking you not to talk. I'm asking you to leave the committee room completely and submit your statement instead.

COLBERT: I'm here at the invitation of the chairwoman, and if she would like me to remove myself from the hearing room, I'm happy to do so. I'm only here at her invitation.

REP. ZOE LOFGREN (D), CALIFORNIA: That is correct.

CONYERS: Well, thank you very much. That's fair enough.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BASH: I just emphasized, that is the Democratic chairman talking to the Democratic subcommittee chairwoman who is holding this hearing. She was not very happy about that afterwards. Mr. Conyers, that chairman, said that he took that back after he heard the opening statement of the Republican witness.

But this is going to be a very interesting ride. It already is. And it is about a serious topic, there's no question. And that topic is about legislation that has been talked about here for years, and that is whether or not there should be legislation passed for illegal immigrant workers, migrant workers who work on farms to allow them to be here legally, because many people, including many people on that panel, say that they are doing jobs that people in America simply won't do. And that's why it's critical to allow them to be here legally -- Don.

LEMON: Dana Bash on the Hill.

Dana, thank you very much.

And that leads us to this question: Legal immigrant workers, how big a problem is it in this country?

Josh Levs is here with a breakdown for us -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Look, I mean, we're talking about a comedian who is apparently helping bring attention to an issue today on Capitol Hill.

What we want to do is take a moment here and look at some hard facts for you. What do we know about the challenges that our country is facing with illegal immigrant workers specifically on farms?

Well, there is a pretty good study out there from Pew Hispanic Center. Take a look at this.

They're saying that 13 percent of the agriculture workers in this country -- that's almost one out of every seven agriculture workers in America -- they're saying is an illegal immigrant to this country. And it goes up a little bit more.

If you're looking at construction workers, they're saying 14 percent, which is, again, roughly one in seven. If you're looking at hospitality workers, 10 percent, one in 10 hospitality workers in this country, an illegal immigrant, according to this.

Also, try to keep an eye on how many illegal immigrants that we believe there are. We never have hard figures on this. As we know, the government doesn't officially know, and doesn't know. But there is this unit from the Department of Homeland Security that keeps an eye on this, and they believe that in the latest numbers, actually, illegal immigrants in American have dropped a little bit, down to 10.8 million illegal immigrants in this country.

All right. Let's talk about migrant workers and farm workers again. I know we have a little bit of video here.

There's an interesting challenge that the country faces when it comes to how to handle this, and I'm going to tell you, any time you see video, we can't tell you for sure who is here legally and who is here not legally. But it is something happening on U.S. farms.

And when we're looking at what's going on here, the U.S. Civil Rights Commission did a study recently, and they tried to look at how immigrants, and illegal immigrants especially, taking low-wage jobs, and in many jobs -- cases -- jobs that require low training, how that's impacting other Americans. They found that it does disproportionately affect black men in America because for a whole set of other reasons, a lot of black men are taking also these low-wage jobs and low-skill jobs.

But that same commission that focuses on civil rights in the U.S. says that it would not be a panacea. It would not be a solution to purely stop all of this illegal immigration, because what that could actually do -- or illegal immigrants taking these jobs -- they say what that could actually do is force some of these jobs overseas.

So the challenge that we have, Don, involves huge numbers of people, and it involves so many parts to try to tackle this. Keep the jobs in the United States while doing something about illegal immigration, that's what we face as a country.

LEMON: Josh Levs, thank you very much, sir.

LEVS: You bet.

LEMON: You know, celebrities often take their causes to Capitol Hill, and we'll look at some other stars who have testified before Congress and the impact of celebrity on politics. That's in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

We want to update a story now for you. It's coming out of Coral Gables, Florida. The police department there is working on a bank robbery situation.

There was a device that we are told is currently inside the bank, along with one person who is in contact with police hostage negotiators. That is according to police. A hostage negotiation team has been in contact with the bank. The employees are all out of the bank, along with the customers. That's what police are saying.

Again, this is in Coral Gables, Florida. We'll follow this developing story for you right here on CNN.

Some other big stories to tell you about. This one live from Capitol Hill.

The House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, will soon respond to the new Republican strategy called a "Pledge to America." And we are awaiting her weekly news conference. The blueprint would make Bush-era tax cuts permanent. The Senate has decided it won't vote on renewing the tax cuts until after Election Day.

Colombia says FARC's number two man is dead. Colombian troops attacked a camp used by the leftist rebels, killing several of them, including deputy leader Jorge Briceno.

CNN's Karl Penhaul has been following the fighting.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARL PENHAUL, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I would say that this is the biggest battlefield defeat that the FARC have suffered since its foundation in 1964.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Fans are remembering 1950s teen idol Eddie Fisher.

(MUSIC)

Fisher hit the top 40 more than two dozen times and hosted two TV shows, but he's probably best known for his five marriages. The first ended when Fisher left actress Debbie Reynolds for Elizabeth Taylor back in 1959. It was a major scandal for the time. Fisher died at his California home following complications from surgery.

Expect another war if the current round of Mideast peace talks fail. That dire warning from Jordan's King Abdullah. He says if the issue of settlement building in the West Bank is not resolved, the latest push for peace is likely to collapse.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KING ABDULLAH II, JORDAN: The discussions that we had in Washington started out better than any of us could have expected. Both sides have made a lot of ground. And if the issue of settlements is still on the table on the 30th, then everybody walks away.

And if they do, how are we going to get people back to the table? And I don't see that happening in the near future. So if we fail on the 30th, expect another war by the end of the year.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: And President Barack Obama has made the Mideast peace talks a high priority.

So let's bring in White House Correspondent Dan Lothian in New York.

Dan, is there any reaction from the White House to the king's comments?

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House did not react directly to those comments, but this is something obviously that they believe is important, and that's the moratorium and extending that moratorium. The administration, the president in particular, here at the U.N., has talked about how important it is to extend that moratorium in moving the peace process forward.

And the president also laying out in sort of what lies ahead if the two sides can't get together and hammer out a peace deal. The president saying, "More blood will be shed. The Holy Land will remain a symbol of our differences."

So, clearly the administration realizes there's more violence ahead, and that this moratorium is one way, by at least extending it, to hopefully prevent that -- Don.

LEMON: What is the level of optimism then, Dan, at the White House that a peace deal is even possible?

LOTHIAN: I think as you talk to administration officials, it's really a case of cautious optimism. You heard the president in his remarks here at the U.N. talk about how there have been peaks and valleys, but more valleys than peaks. But they do feel like progress has been made in this past month, over the last few weeks.

You have the Israelis and Palestinians coming to Washington for face-to-face talks. You have direct negotiations taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh and also Jerusalem.

And so, to use this phrase that the White House will throw around, they feel that there's a huge window of opportunity here that both sides are very close in moving forward on a peace deal, but, clearly, there are the skeptics out there who say that many presidents have gone down this road before. How will this president be able to resolve such a difficult, thorny issue? But the president says so much is at stake here, that progress has to be made.

LEMON: White House Correspondent Dan Lothian in New York.

Dan, thank you very much.

They are warriors who know their weather, but they're certainly not geeks. We'll meet a group of American soldiers whose weather expertise is a vital tool on the battlefield.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LEMON: An elite Air Force unit goes into battle with the likes of the Green Berets, Army Rangers, all the Special Ops forces. Jumping out of airplanes is just part of their skill set. Believe it or not, CNN's Rob Marciano has one thing in common with these guys. He's a meteorologist.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the N4 Carbine.

MARCIANO (voice-over): They're just like any other soldier showing off their guns.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let the slide go forward.

TECH SGT. ERIC GILLILAND, U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: It's what the guys like to use when they're in southern Afghanistan, where there's big, wide open spaces, and they really need to reach out and touch somebody.

MARCIANO (on camera): And what does this have to do with weather?

GILLILAND: Well, you have to be alive to be able to report the weather.

MARCIANO: That's a good point.

(voice-over): These guys are members of an elite unit -- Special Operations Weather Team, SOWT.

MASTER SGT. MIKE MARSTON, U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: The science of what we do, of what you and I do, is pretty much the same. The application of it is a little bit different.

MARCIANO: Yes, much different. It's environmental recon, commando style. Today is rapids training day. Get a fully loaded C- 130 on the ground and off loaded quickly.

This is the 10th Combat Weather Squadron -- dirt bikes, ATV, Humvees and SOWT personnel. When they need to get out into a hostile environment, they do it out of the back of a plane, and they do it in a hurry.

(on camera): These Special Ops weather guys aren't the weather geeks I went to school with.

(voice-over): No, sir. And on the ground is when they go to work.

(on camera): Of course the main objective for the SOWT is to gather weather information. So that means you've got to get out there, you've got to get out there quickly, and you've got set up whatever equipment you're using to take your data observation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Temperature, 23. SGT. EVERETT CARSON (ph), U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: Temp, 23 Celsius.

MARCIANO (voice-over): Sergeant Everett Carson (ph) has been deployed eight times.

CARSON: Overcast, 180. How copy?

MARCIANO: Most have served multiple tours, and all of them, including Sergeant Bryce Howser, have war stories.

SGT. BRYCE HOWSER, U.S. AIR FORCE SOWT: The IED goes off, we've got guys hurt on the ground. And it's my job to let the MedEvac birds know exactly what to expect. I suggested a flight path for them to take through a specific pass. At that point, they were able to get in and get the two wounded guys off the LZ (ph).

LT. COL. JOE BENSON, COMMANDER, 10TH COMBAT WEATHER SQUADRON: This is an M4.

MARCIANO: Lieutenant Colonel Benson commands the SOWTies and knows how important this training is to keep all forces on mission.

BENSON: Earlier on the Iraq campaign, we had guys up in northern Iraq who were taking weather observations and passing them back to 16 aircraft which were about to deliver 1,000 paratroopers. Weather cleared up for just a brief period of time, 1,000 guys were able to exit the aircraft and land up at a place called Bashir (ph) Airfield, and on with the mission they went.

MARCIANO: So don't refer to them as just the weathermen.

HOWSER: To be called just a weatherman definitely gets under your skin a little bit, but once you're put in a situation where you have to prove yourself, and the weather call is on the line, that's whenever they realize, hey, this guy isn't just the weather guy. He's a Special Operations weatherman --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ready to transmit.

HOWSER: -- and he's a soldier.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MARCIANO: Don, you know how upset I get when you refer to me as just a weatherman, but the difference is I'm not out there protecting our country and doing all the things that these guys do, which is Special Ops.

You know, because there's such a small number of them, less than 100, they have one of the highest deployment rates in the entire military. And since they've been doing this since World War II, they have yet to lose a man. So that's a pretty amazing stat.

LEMON: Good for them. But the truth hurts sometimes.

MARCIANO: Yes, it does. (CROSSTALK)

LEMON: How do these guys deploy?

MARCIANO: Well, you know, interestingly, they go out in one-or- two-man teams and they get sent out with a small force like Navy SEALs or Green Beret or Army Rangers, guys who have been working for months, if not years, together as a cohesive unit. And then they're thrown into that mix, sometimes solo, having to bond with them and work with them. And that alone for the first few days is a bit of a chore, but time and time again they prove themselves and prove to be worthy.

LEMON: Thanks, Rob. They're heroes.

MARCIANO: Yes, sir.

LEMON: Thank you, sir.

We're going to talk more about heroes. The "Top Ten CNN Heroes" have been chosen. Meet a remarkable woman who reinvented herself and now works tirelessly to help other women change their lives.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So all year here on CNN we have introduced you to some incredible everyday people, people who are changing the world for the better. Here we go. We call them the top ten finalists for the CNN Hero of the Year. They have been announced, and now you can vote on CNN.com.

Here is actress Ricki Lake with a look at a "Top Ten CNN Hero." Her name is Susan Burton.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RICKI LAKE, ACTRESS: Hi. I'm, I'm Ricki Lake.

For the last two years, I have had the honor of helping to recognize the great works of everyday people changing the world at "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." As a supporter of the 2008 "Top 10 CNN Hero" Marie DeSilva (ph) and the Jack Randa (ph) Foundation, I am committed to building schools, providing education, and preventing AIDS in Malawi, and I'm thrilled to help CNN introduce one of this year's top ten honorees.

Now more than ever, the world needs heroes.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN BURTON, CNN HERO: We all leave prison saying, I'm going to get my life on track, and you end up getting off a bus, downtown Los Angeles, Skid Row. People know who you are when you come off that bus, and you're targeted. Many times you don't even make it out of the Skid Row area before you're caught up into that cycle again. My name is Susan Burton. After my son died, I used drugs. I just spiraled into a pit of darkness. I went to prison six times. Finally, I found rehab and I thought, I can help women come home from prison.

I pick them up, bring them back to the house.

Do some jeans.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She (INAUDIBLE) like a real family. She made me want to change my life.

You're family (ph), Ms. Burton.

BURTON: Sure. You came a long way.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is getting nice.

BURTON: That's what it's all about.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Miss Burton is like a mother to all of us. She offers you a warm bed, food, like a real family.

BURTON: I want to see you shine.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She made me want to change my life.

You proud of me, Miss Burton?

BURTON: Sure. You came a long way.

I want the women who realize that they have something to contribute. This is giving life. That's what it's all about.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So, we want you to vote. Go to CNNHeroes.com, and that's where you can vote. You can vote as many times as you want until Thursday, November 18th. You can also find information on "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute." It's hosted by Anderson Cooper. Make sure you join us Thanksgiving night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, when the 2010 Hero of the Year will be announced.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: This is like deja vu all over again.

Lindsay Lohan back in a Beverly Hills courtroom this hour to answer for a failed drug test. A judge revoked her probation earlier this week and ordered a bench warrant for her arrest.

CNN Entertainment Correspondent Kareen Wynter joins us now from Los Angeles.

You know, if it wasn't so sad, it would be funny. But it's, again, here we go. KAREEN WYNTER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: It's like a bad ending of a Hollywood movie and you're just replaying it, replaying it, replaying it all over again, Don. And I just have to let you know, I'm going to do my best to hear you this morning. It is a madhouse outside this Beverly Hills superior courthouse where Lindsay Lohan showed up just a short time ago.

The frenzy, I can't even put into words what it was like here. You have press, you have spectators, law enforcement.

She walked through the doors, the entrance, so she's upstairs now. We're not sure if the hearing has started.

We have one of our colleagues up there, but they're not allowing any cameras in the courtroom. They had to turn off all BlackBerrys, all electronic devices. So we're basically waiting for word as to what happened this morning.

And we are where we are because Lindsay Lohan apparently failed her recent drug test last week, testing positive for cocaine and also the stimulant Adderall. And that was the basis of her being out on probation.

The judge released her early from rehab after spending just 23 days of a 90-day rehab, Don. Remember that?

LEMON: Yes.

WYNTER: She was let go. Apparently, the doctors at UCLA said she wasn't as bad off, and they let her out early.

(CROSSTALK)

LEMON: Yes, but her probation though was for -- Kareen, her probation was for a 2007 drunk driving conviction. So this goes on even before that, right?

WYNTER: Absolutely. Right. Oh, absolutely, a 2007 DUI conviction, and she violated the terms of that.

And she had to serve 90 days in jail. She only served a fraction of that. And then only a fraction of rehab. At the end of the day, she was released early, and the judge said that if you violate the terms of your probation, you will be back here in court.

So this is where we are today -- Don.

LEMON: Our Kareen Wynter is in Beverly Hills today following the Lindsay Lohan trial. A failed drug test and she is now -- has to see a judge now.

Thank you, Kareen Wynter.

Waist-deep water in parts of the upper Midwest. Days of heavy rain have soaked the region, forcing hundreds of people to leave their homes. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

LEMON: You know, it is the largest, largest school in the world, it is online and it is free and it's expanding. We'll talk to the founder and winner of a $2 million prize from Google.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: So it was two years ago today that Google announced Project 10 to the Hundredth, the goal was to change the world by helping people. Google got 150,000 entries and today the company announced five winners. One is the Khan Academy, which is a nonprofit that lets the world learn for free through its 1,600 online video.

Now the man behind the Kahn Academy is Salman Kahn and he joins us now live from Google headquarters in Mountain View, California.

Happy day for you?

SALMAN KHAN, FOUNDER, THE KAHN ACADEMY: It is. It's pretty exciting.

LEMON: Listen, so tell us, what do you plan to do with the Google money?

KHAN: Well, as you mentioned, Khan Academy right now it's actually pushing close to 2,000 videos. They have all been produced by me. We are going to do two things with the money. We're going to, one, translate a lot of the content into the some of the world's major languages -- Spanish, Mandarin, Arabic, Hindi, Portuguese -- I could keep going on and on; and we're going to build out the software part of what we did, I built out the first version.

Really, what this is going to allow us to do is become more than just me. We're going to be able to hire a team and turn into an all- out virtual school --

LEMON: Yes, so that --

KHAN: -- for free.

LEMON: Yes, that's what people are wondering. That's what -- I mean, that's the obvious question. How do you do it? How do you do school online and is it actually viable, does it work?

KHAN: Well, you know, there's two parts of school. One is the learning part and one is the credentialing part; we're tackling the learning part first.

And I think it does work. I think when people go to the site, they'll see that there's a lot of testimonials from a lot of people who are not just using this as a supplement, they're using this as kind of their substitute sometimes for what maybe should go on in the classroom. So there's -- you know, we get hundreds of letters a day from learners all over the world who use it as their primary way to learn.

LEMON: So listen, you were -- can we say that you were one of the tech guys, right? Did you do that before -- I know that you worked in money and business. I think you were a hedge fund -- you worked in hedge funds, right? So how -- did you just -- how did you just decide to change and say, you know what, I'm going to deal with education. I'm going to deal with education and teaching online?

KHAN: Well, you know, there was always a part of me that wanted to do something in education. About five years ago, I had a family member in New Orleans, I was in Boston at the time, who needed help with math. So I started tutoring her remotely. And then, I started tutoring her brothers and it started going really well, but it became hard to schedule time.

So I said, let me do our lectures on YouTube so that we can -- we don't have to schedule our time. And their feedback immediately was that they liked me better on YouTube than in person because they got to pause and repeat, and I guess there wasn't the stress of a live interaction with their cousin. And also I made it free for anybody else and I started to get letters from random people all over the world saying that these videos allowed them to pass algebra or these videos are the reason they didn't drop out of school or why they're able to go back to college and I just got excited about it.

I was doing it part time, really as a hobby while, as you mentioned, working at a hedge fund. And then the site kept growing until last year where it got too exciting for me to be able to focus on my hedge fund job. So I quit and I lived off of savings for a little bit. We got a few donations earlier this year that allowed me to take a small salary. This Google award really allows us to take into a real free virtual school.

LEMON: what was your reaction when you got the Google award. I'm sure you were ecstatic, cause this -- I mean, this really helps things, helps move things along.

KHAN: Oh, yes. It's super exciting. You know, obviously, the money is huge, we'll be able to build out a team, we'll be able to internationalize the content so that more than just English speakers -- you know, we can start addressing the other 5 billion people in the world.

And I think probably the biggest thing is that it's, you know, the Google people are pretty serious thinkers and they wouldn't be throwing around $2 million for just any effort. So I think this is a pretty strong validation for what we're doing.

LEMON: I want to ask you this, you know, the move '"Waiting for Superman" opened today and it's about education and everyone is trying to figure out how do we fix the American educational system. Do you have any advice from what you are doing that we can learn from for our schools, the brick and mortar schools?

KHAN: Yes, you know, I think people have been talking about technology being a major factor for awhile now. I think the problem is is that all the attempts so far using technology have been kind of to mold the technology to the traditional academic model. What we're trying to is really just rethink how you learn now using technology and maybe we should mold the traditional academic model to how we use technology.

But I could go on and on about that. But I think you will see some major chances in the next five to ten years.

LEMON: Salman Khan from The Kahn Academy, congratulations and we'll be watching to see what you see are doing with that money and how it helps your effort there.

Thanks again, OK?

KHAN: Thank you.

LEMON: Time now to check your top stories here on CNN.

The Justice Department is objecting to a request for an immediate halt to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy towards gays. The White House says it is committed to a repeal but ending it now could put service members at risk.

A single mom from Brooklyn whose been homeless and bankrupt is a $54 million lottery winner. Can you believe that? Her name is Garina Fearon. She bought last Friday's Mega Millions winning ticket. She tells "The New York Post" she wants to keep her job as a prison guard on Riker's Island. We'll see how that part works out.

A 1950s pop idol Eddie Fisher has died, his family says, from hip surgery complications. Fisher was married to Debbie Reynolds, Elizabeth Taylor and Connie Stevens. He was 82 years old.

You know, if you need music to rock towards your goal weight, a California woman is orchestrating what she calls chick empowerment songs to help. Who is on the case? Dr. Sanjay Gupta on how she overcame the weight loss blues.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For Silicon Valley entrepreneur Heidi Roizen, the days were long and nutrition was the last thing on her mind. But when she stepped on scale on her 50th birthday --

HEIDI ROIZEN, CREATOR, SKINNY SONGS: I hit this number and it was a real wake-up call for me, and I realized that all those years of being in the fast lane, working hard, not taking care of myself had taken its toll.

GUPTA: So she did what she does best, she started a company. A music company, of all things.

ROIZEN: I wanted, you know, chick empowerment music, some upbeat stuff about you go girl, you're going to get in your jeans and you're going to wear leopard print again someday. But I couldn't find anything about that, so one of the of the things I decided to change my life is decided music like that needed to exist and started writing music.

GUPTA: Along with the help of music producers George Daily and David Malloy, Heidi created "Skinny Songs."

ROIZEN: The song I get the most fan mail about is one called "You Da Boss."

GUPTA: And the songs have been a success.

ROIZEN: As somebody said to me, you could sing songs about lowering your cholesterol, but that wouldn't be very motivating. But talking about fitting into your skinny jeans, that's motivating.

GUPTA: Roizen is practicing what her songs preach. She's lost more than 40 pounds and is very much in charge of how she looks and how she feels.

ROIZEN: It was really about permanent changes that I could live with day in and day out.

GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: Imagine you have a disease and you could die but no one, not even your doctor, can tell you what it is. Where do turn? Well, we want you to meet the doctors turned detectives who try to solve the toughest medical mysteries. Watch "SANJAY GUPTA MD" weekend mornings 7:30 a.m. Eastern.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Time right now for our "CNN Equals Politics" update. Mr. Mark Preston, "The Best Political Team on Television," joins us now live from D.C. I'm sure he's in shirt sleeves, he's ready to tell us what's crossing right now -- Mark.

MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: I'm here for you, Don. I'm here for you.

Terrible news for President Obama. A new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll just released as we speak right now shows that the president's approval rating has hit an all-time low. It's at 42 percent right now, Don. CNN had it previously at 50 percent. Terrible news for President Obama, probably worse news for congressional Democrats as we head into the midterm elections.

Let's just compare that to past presidents during their midterm stay when they were in office. President Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter all at 42 percent at this same time. So again, terrible news for President Clinton (sic).

Staying on the midterm elections, out in West Virginia, a seat that was held by Robert Byrd, quite frankly one of the most famous if not one of the most famous senators ever to serve in the United States Senate, Republicans think they have a shot at that seat.

Of course, Byrd died earlier this year. Right now, there is a place holder. The popular governor, Joe Manchin, is running for the seat, but the National Republican Senatorial Committee is spending more than a million dollars over the next two weeks to run radio and TV ads against the governor. They're trying to couple him to President Obama, trying to play off the president's really low approval rating.

And let's close out with this, the CNN 100. This really is your roadmap to the midterm elections. We're picking the 100 top House races. Today, we're taking a look at North Dakota. Earl Pomeroy, he is a veteran from North Dakota, a democrat. Republicans think they have a shot at that seat -- Don.

LEMON: All right, Mark Preston in Washington. Mark, thank you very much, sir, appreciate it.

Your next political update in an hour, and for the latest political news, you can go -- you know where to go, go to CNNPolitics.com, of course.

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LEMON: What do you say we talk money right now and Wall Street? First, let's go to CNNMoney.com to get all the information we need to know.

This is what the big story is on CNNMoney.com, interesting, "The Bulls Are Back: Stocks Surge." You know, we say stocks surge because the Dow is up right now 170 points. Remember the good old days when we'd say, it's up 170 points, wouldn't be that excited about it? But you know, as things are lately, exciting. Dow up 170 points, the Nasdaq up 41 points at the moment. We're going to get to Wall Street and check in on that a little bit more in just a second here.

But help for small businesses really on the way to the tune of -- get this -- $40 billion. Last week, the Senate passed a new piece of legislation and last night the House signed off on it. And on Monday, the president says he'll sign it as well.

Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange with the details. Alison, how would this help small business?

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, the whole idea with this bill is to make small businesses stronger and then hopefully, help the broader economy. It would look to do this in two ways, you know, help small businesses create about a half million jobs and then, give them access to credit as well, because if you give them money, you also give them the confidence to spend it.

Now there are several standouts I want to go over with you about this bill. Number one, it looks to create a $30 billion fund to give some ultra cheap loans to community banks and it looks to target these community banks because most small banks get their loans from these community banks and by pumping capital into them, they then can get that money to Main Street.

It also gives about $12 billion in tax breaks. This keeps cash in businesses pockets. It would encourage these businesses to buy new equipment and also to hire. It would really motivate people, also, to start their own businesses and we can see job creation here as well.

Finally, it also gives $1.5 billion in grants for states that have lending programs for small businesses.

You know, Don, bottom line with this, it looks to grow these small businesses, get them to expand and hopefully, hire. And ultimately, help the economy as a whole -- Don.

LEMON: OK, so Alison, experts are saying the recession is over, the recession is over. Then why is this bill even necessary if that's indeed true?

KOSIK: True. I mean, the recession is over, but the fact of the matter is, Don, the economy has not yet recovered yet.

Take a look at how hiring has been for small businesses in the past few years. I want you to look at this chart, the top line shows smaller companies, the bottom line shows bigger companies, you know, companies with more employees.

The bottom line with this, they both have the same theme running through them, business hiring has fallen off tremendously in the last few years. And this is important because small business really created the most jobs in this economy, something that we need to give a huge boost to the economy.

Keep in mind, some Republicans oppose this bill because they say that businesses at this point, they don't need credit, they need customers. It's kind of the demand side of the equation that people forget about. But I don't think they'll get the customers if customers don't have jobs in the first place -- Don.

LEMON: Alison Kosik, thank you so much. Really appreciate it.

You know, farm labor and immigration, it's taken the spotlight today for a House subcommittee. CNN's Gary Tuchman is going to show us what it is like to work a full day in the grape fields of California. That's in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM.

Plus, this week, a group of economists declared the great recession officially ended in June of last year, but it doesn't feel that way to a lot of out-of-work Americans. Poppy Harlow is going to take a look for us.

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LEMON: We watched forever as this story unfolded and they were held captive. We're talking about Sarah Shourd and her friends, two of them. Well, Sarah Shourd is hoping to meet with Iran's president while he is in New York this week. She wants to ask him to free her two companions. Iran held Shourd for 14 months. She and her friends were arrested while hiking near the Iraq-Iran border. Shourd talked today with the team at CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN ROBERTS, CNN ANCHOR: President Ahmadinejad is here this week and I know that you have wanted to try to get in touch with him. He was on with Larry King on Wednesday talking about whether or not Shane and Josh would ever get out. He said that's in the hands of the judge, you know, I've made my appeal.

Do you think you'll have a chance to meet with him? What kind of indications are you getting from the Iranians?

SARAH SHROUD, AMERICAN RELEASED BY IRAN: Yes, I don't see why he wouldn't want to meet with us. You know, I've made it really, really clear that I have no animosity towards him or towards the government. I just want this to be resolved and I want it to be finished. And I think that it would be a really good opportunity to, you know, push this forward for us, to meet each other. I don't know what's going to happen.

KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: What would you say to him?

SHROUD: I would just ask him to release my fiance and my friend for the same reasons he released me, you know, as a humanitarian gesture. This is not about politics and it's not about governments and we don't deserve to suffer any longer and neither do our families.

ROBERTS: What do you think of this idea that he has floated about a prisoner swap, eight Iranians being held here in the United States in exchange for Shane and Josh? Would you support that?

SHROUD: Well, you know, I am not a politician. I -- honestly, this is not my area of expertise. I don't know how this should be resolved, I just know it should be resolved. And I just want to continue to emphasize that this is a humanitarian issue and I hope that it ends in a way that, you know, can move us forward, our country and Iran, and create some kind of a better relationship between us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Sarah Shourd on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING."