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Embattled Bishop Addresses Church Members; New Controversy Over BP Oil Leak; Defense Department Purchases, Destroys 10,000 Copies of Book Containing Classified Information; Israeli Settlement Ban on West Bank Expires; Buying Organic: Weighing Benefits; Check in at Your Farmers' Markets
Aired September 27, 2010 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, guys. Hello. And here is what we're working on this morning for you.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Down. Stay down. Heads down. Stay down.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Cell phone cameras catch the fear during an emergency landing. How a pilot saved the day for 64 people.
Tackling Arizona politics. A protester confronts Senator John McCain and ends up on the ground. You'll see the entire video.
And if you're digging into breakfast, is your cereal organic or not? How about those eggs? We're looking at the difference in price, taste and health benefits as we kick off a week of -- and a long focus on food.
9:00 a.m. on the East Coast, 6:00 a.m. out west. I'm Kyra Phillips and you're live in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The leader of one of the nation's most influential black mega churches says he is ready to fight against allegations that he preyed on four young men using his influence to force them into sexual relationships.
Eddie Long stood at the pulpit during Sunday services defending himself in front of thousands of cheering parishioners at Georgia's New Birth Missionary Baptist Church.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BISHOP EDDIE LONG, NEW BIRTH BAPTIST CHURCH: As I said earlier, I am not a perfect man. But this thing I'm going to fight.
(CHEERS)
LONG: And I want you to know one other thing. I feel like David against Goliath. But I got five rocks and I haven't thrown one yet.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP) PHILLIPS: That was the first time Long spoke publicly about the accusations fired last week.
Martin Savidge has been digging deeper into Long's background.
And, Marty, what did you make of yesterday's sermon?
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, by his own admission, Bishop Eddie Long said that the past week has been the most difficult experience that he's ever had to endure.
And in fact, most of his parishioners would say exactly the very same thing which is why they were so anxious to hear what their pastor had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Standing before an overflowing crowd of congregants in the mega church he built, Bishop Eddie Long was in no mood to back down.
LONG: There have been allegations and attacks made on me. I have never in my life portrayed myself as a perfect man. But I am not the man that's being portrayed on the television.
(CHEERS)
LONG: That's not me. That is not me.
SAVIDGE: It was Long's first public comments since four young men filed lawsuits accusing him of using his spiritual position and the church's wealth to coerce them into sex.
So many came to hear what Long had to say traffic was still snarled as the service began.
(On camera): What do you hope to hear?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The truth. The truth.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Inside parishioners waited an hour for their embattled pastor to appear. When he finally did, walking hand in hand with his wife, the crowd came to its feet.
Clearly feeling at home, Long acknowledged those listening went far beyond his usual Sunday morning crowd.
LONG: Good morning, New Birth. And good morning to all our other guests.
SAVIDGE: When Long eventually turned to the scandal itself the levity was gone.
LONG: I've been accused, I'm under attack.
SAVIDGE: And his intentions became clear, describing a legal battle of biblical proportions.
LONG: I am not a perfect man. But this thing I'm going to fight.
(CHEERS)
LONG: And I want you to know one other thing. I feel like David against Goliath. But I got five rocks and I haven't thrown one yet.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SAVIDGE: Interesting analogy there. Afterwards we spoke to a number of parishioners as they were leaving, and it was quite clear that many of them felt relieved. In fact, they said that as a result of what they heard Bishop Eddie Long was innocent, even though the bishop himself never used those exact words.
And because of that fact -- that he did not definitively say it -- there were a few parishioners who said they weren't quite sure what to think -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: Yes, and it was interesting, right, when he said, I've never claimed to be a perfect man. And he said that a couple of times.
SAVIDGE: He did.
PHILLIPS: I think a lot of people were thinking, wow, what's next. What is he going to say?
SAVIDGE: It perked up our ears.
PHILLIPS: Sure. So what's next? Will he keep preaching every Sunday? Do we know what's next in the legal battles?
SAVIDGE: He will. In fact that was one of the very first things he said before he even got to the point of the accusations, was I've been here and I will be here next Sunday. So that was a clear indicator he was not going to step down even temporarily as some people had surmised he might.
The next question is or -- could there be other suits? Could there be other young men who come forward? Or do we simply wait until this ends up in a court of law. And that is exactly where it appears it's headed.
PHILLIPS: Yes. Martin Savidge. All right, thanks for joining us this morning.
SAVIDGE: You're welcome
PHILLIPS: Well, Eddie Long's scope of influence touches tens of thousands of people. But it's been a two-decade climb to reach the status of religious powerhouse. He came to New Birth in 1987 when the congregation was just a few hundred strong.
By 1995 the church was producing Taking Authority TV broadcasts which reach 170 countries. Five years later Long's congregation topped 25,000 members. And by 2005, the "Atlantic Journal Constitution" reported that Long was worth millions of dollars.
Salary, benefits and all of the property paid from the nonprofit tax exempt charity he established for the poor. Then just two years later he was on one of six -- or he was one of six subjects, rather, of a Senate investigation on lavish spending using church funding. But that investigation just went away.
Much of that wealth was amassed through sermons that God wants people to be wealthy, that men are the spiritual bedrock of the family, and that homosexuality is wrong.
Coming up next hour we're talking to Reverend Carlton Pearson, a pioneer in black televangelist, who knows Bishop Long very well. Pearson fell out of favor after preaching the controversial gospel of inclusion. The idea that heaven is open to everyone even homosexuals.
He'll be here in the studio next hour in the CNN NEWSROOM.
Severe weather in the Midwest and a levee along the Wisconsin river has started to fail threatening up to 10 homes in Portage, Wisconsin. Flood waters could endanger many more homes further downriver if the levee completely gives out.
The levee called a relic by state officials, by the way, was built mostly from sand 120 years ago. The levee's failure comes after a week of heavy rainfall hitting the region. Emergency crews have been urging residents to evacuate. One homeowner says it's flooded around there before but nothing like this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KEITH BYLEWSKI, HOMEOWNER: My main concern is as long as the levee don't break how much damage we're still going to have. If the levee breaks how much damage are we really going to have.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Our Rob Marciano is in the weather center with the latest on that flooding.
And, you know, a lot of people are saying OK, well, Portage isn't that big but it's what can happen further down the pike, right?.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN METEOROLOGIST: A lot of this is going to filter into the Mississippi. You've got it on several fronts, southern and central Minnesota saw the brunt of the heavy rain last week. And also parts of central Wisconsin saw it.
(WEATHER REPORT)
PHILLIPS: All right. Keep watching Wisconsin. Thanks, Rob.
The consensus on Capitol Hill is that no vote will be taken on extending the Bush tax cuts until after the November elections. Democratic leaders now said that they don't have the votes that they need to pass the measure right now.
Yesterday on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" Senator Dick Durbin actually said that Democrats will come together to take the tax issue up by December 31.
A busy week for President Obama. He's going to travel the country campaigning for key Democrats and his message -- priority one is getting millions of Americans back to work. The president spoke just a short time ago on NBC's "Today" show.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We're actually seeing more job growth so far in this recovery than we did in the last recovery that we had back in 2001. The problem is we just lost so many jobs because of the crisis that we got a much bigger hole to fill.
And that means we're going to have to accelerate job growth. And we've got to do everything we can to focus on that. And that means making sure that anything we do we're spending that money wisely.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: And later today President Obama is slated to sign a $42 billion bill designed to help small businesses spur job growth. It comes on the heels of last week's proclamation by economic experts that the great recession, as it's been called, actually ended last summer.
But that's not the sentiment of nearly three-quarters of those polled by CNN Opinion Research last week. Take a look. Only a fourth of respondents think that we're not in a recession and sharing the experts' view.
Then there's this. Answering the question, have the president's economic policies done any good? Only 36 percent of those polled say yes.
The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percent.
Terrifying moments for passengers on a Delta jet. A flight attendant shouts out directions as the plane comes in for an emergency landing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Down. Stay down. Heads down. Stay down. Heads down. Stay down.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: How the pilot saved the day for 64 people.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Frightening moments for passengers on board a Delta Airlines flight this weekend all caught on tape from inside the plane. The pilot had to make an emergency landing at New York's JFK airport because the plane's landing gear got stuck.
A passenger on board actually shot this video out the window with their phone as the plane touched down.
Take a look and listen to how it all played out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Stay down. Heads down. Stay down. Heads down. Stay down. Heads down.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Sparks flying with 3,000 gallons of fuel inside as the wing tips scraped the runway. Sixty-four people were on that plane. Luckily everybody is OK.
Let's go ahead and head over to Seattle, now, where investigators are trying to determine what caused a water taxi to slam into a sea wall pier yesterday. The Coast Guard said the 78 passengers and crew were on that boat when it rammed the pier. At least five people were taken to the hospital. Their injuries not believed to be serious.
In Washington, the fallout over the nation's worst oil spill. There's a new theory about what caused the spill. A Stanford University geophysicist says that BP's design of the well may be behind the failure. He serves on the National Academy of Engineering. It's a panel that's investigating the cause of the disaster. BP has blamed its contractor, Halliburton, for the well's failure.
The Defense Department upset with one of its own. The DOD says it purchased and destroyed thousands of copies of a memoir written by an army reserve officer about an undercover operation in Afghanistan. The military contends that the book "Operation Dark Heart" could damage national security. The author, a lieutenant colonel and Bronze Star recipient, calls it retaliation. Live now to Barbara Starr at the Pentagon. So, Barbara, what upset the Defense Department so much about this book?
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, they wanted this book, the first run copies destroyed because, they said, there was classified information in it.
When's the last time we heard about the US government ordering the destruction of a book in this country? But here it is. "Operation Dark Heart." This is by Lieutenant Colonel Anthony Shaffer. And if you open, now, the second-run edition because the first-run's been destroyed, you can see the blacked out, censored passages that the Pentagon has now ordered the publisher to work off of.
They destroyed about 10,000 copies of this book at military orders, saying that the classified information could not be published. Some of it, perhaps, very sensitive. Some of it, fairly innocuous, such as the name of the CIA training facility in Virginia. That's something you can look up for yourself right on the internet.
Here's a little bit more of what Lieutenant Colonel Shaffer had to say about the government action against his memoir.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY SHAFFER, LIEUTENANT COLONEL, US ARMY: There are some things that the army felt they did not want in it. I automatically -- I just took them out. There was no argument. If they felt it was sensitive or something couldn't be referenced properly, it's out. And then, that process was completed by January of this year. And from there, after I received written permission, the written documents went to the publisher, and we moved forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STARR: So, if he got written permission how did all of this happen? How did it get to the point of the Obama administration basically ordering the destruction of 10,000 copies of a book? Well, by all accounts it did not get authorized at the higher military intelligence levels of the Pentagon. Once those folks saw it, they got concerned and said that, indeed, there was classified information in it, and they had to cut up and destroy the initial run of this book. Kyra.
PHILLIPS: So, any worries that an original copy of the book could just still surface?
STARR: Yes, I think there's big -- as you say, there's big worries about that. This is the internet age, you know. Things go up in cyberspace, and there's really no such thing as permanent destruction of knowledge. So, there's a lot of concern that there still are copies floating around out there. Kyra?
PHILLIPS: All right. Barbara Starr, live at the Pentagon. Barbara, thanks.
Taking control of your health. Elizabeth Cohen is going to introduce us to parent who is trusted their gut and saved their daughter's life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Checking top stories. Construction was started today in an Israeli settlement in the West Bank following a 10-month band. New building threats the latest round of Middle East peace talks.
President Obama sign the Small Business Jobs Act today. That bill expected to create a half a million jobs and give tax breaks to small businesses and pump money into banks that lend to those businesses.
Experts say a 120-year-old sand levee along the Wisconsin River will collapse. Up to 100 homes could flood, and more homes downstream could be at risk. Heavy rains have triggered that flooding.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
TEXT: The Empowered Patient. Elizabeth Cohen.
PHILLIPS: As the nation focuses on how to improve health care, one of the recurring themes has been that patients need to take more control. Our Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen actually has a special this weekend. It's called "The Empowered Patient." She joins me, now, to talk about the first of four powerful lessons to save your life and the lives of those that you love. It's right up your alley. It's the perfect subject matter for you.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's the perfect subject matter for all of us, because all of us need to learn the lesson of this particular piece -- and I'll be with you all week on these pieces -- and this lesson is, you have to trust your gut. I have the story of a family from Ohio, where they were told their daughter was OK when they brought her to the emergency room. They knew that she wasn't. We cooperated with our friends at the animation studio at Turner Studios to help us bring this story to you.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN (voice-over): One spring evening, Don McCracken was playing ball with his kids in the front yard. He meant to hit a fly ball to his son, Matthew but, instead, it socked his seven-year-old daughter, Morgan, on the head. She knelt to the ground in pain.
Morgan had quite a bump on her head. Her parents iced it down, and she seemed fine. Two nights later something changed.
CONNIE MCCRACKEN, MORGAN'S MOTHER: She started crying.
COHEN (on camera): Tell me what you heard.
MCCRACKEN: She goes, "My head, it's hurting." She was holding it, saying, "My head's hurting. My head's hurting."
COHEN (voice-over): The McCrackens rushed Morgan to the emergency room.
COHEN (on camera): When the doctor showed up, what did he say?
MCCRACKEN: "I'm sure it's just late, she's tired. She probably has a touch of the flu."
COHEN (voice-over): Connie and Don say the doctor told them to take Morgan home and put her to bed. But they knew better. Their instincts told them this was no flu virus. They pushed the doctor for a CT scan of Morgan's brain.
COHEN (on camera): What did you think the results of that CAT scan were going to be?
MCCRACKEN: There was something definitely wrong. You could feel it in your gut.
DON MCCRACKEN, MORGAN'S FATHER: In my heart, I thought I knew there was a problem.
CONNIE MCCRACKEN: And he came back and said, "I was surprised." He goes, "I'm surprised. There's something there."
DON MCCRACKEN: There was a leakage of blood into her skull.
COHEN (voice-over): Medics rushed Morgan by helicopter to nearby Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital in Cleveland, Ohio.
ALAN COHEN, DOCTOR, RAINBOW BABIES AND CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: This is a big blood clot inside the skull, outside the brain, called an epidural hematoma. That's what we had to remove to take out the blood clot and stop the bleeding.
ELIZABETH COHEN (voice-over): Today, Morgan's just fine.
ELIZABETH COHEN (on camera): Do you feel like a lucky girl?
MORGAN MCCRACKEN, PATIENT: Yes.
ELIZABETH COHEN (voice-over): Lucky because her parents followed their instincts.
ELIZABETH COHEN (on camera): In the emergency room the doctor said she had a virus and she just need to get some rest. If you had listened to that advice and brought her home, to go to bed and rest, what would have happened?
DON MCCRACKEN: She probably wouldn't have woken up the next morning. And we would have lost her.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: Gosh. You hear stories like that, and you get so angry and frustrated with your doctor. Thank God the parents went with their gut and said, "No, I insist on a scan."
COHEN: That's right. They certainly did. And it is a really good thing. You know what? It plays into what the surgeon in the story, Dr. Cohen -- he said in medical school, they teach the students mother knows best.
And I think we as parents, and even if you're not a parent, you need to know that. You know your body best. If something is wrong, don't just take an "Oh, you're OK. Go home, rest, you'll be fine. Don't take that as an answer. If your instincts tell you something's truly wrong, push it.
PHILLIPS: So, then, what can we do as parents to kind of help encourage our doctors to listen to us and get the diagnosis right?
COHEN: Right. There are a couple of things that you can do. First of all, you can say to the doctor, "Look, I think this is something extremely serious. I wouldn't want us to miss this." And that may make the doctor sort of worried enough that he will pause. Another way to get the doctor to pause, which is what you're really trying to do, because everyone -- doctors are busy these days -- is to ask one crucial question. And that is -- and I talk about this in my book -- "Doctor, what else could this be?" Slow him down and say, "OK, I know you think it's the flu, but what else could it be?" And that will rejigger his thinking and cause him to rethink his conclusion.
PHILLIPS: That's good advice. Thanks, Elizabeth.
COHEN: Thanks.
PHILLIPS: All right. And just a friendly program reminder. "Taking Control of Your Health Care" with our CNN Senior Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen, it airs this Saturday and Sunday, 7:00 PM Eastern, right here on CNN. You don't want to miss it.
Time has run out. The ban on expanding Jewish settlements in the West Bank ended today. What about the prospects for advancing peace between Israelis and Palestinians? We're live from Jerusalem next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: It's Monday on Wall Street. Investors have several major deals today, including Southwest's purchase of AirTran. Alison Kosik is at the New York Stock Exchange with all the details.
That's the one thing we've been talking about all morning.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Oh, yes. Something to pay attention to. We've also got other major moves among individual stock today, including AirTran. A flurry of corporate deals in the news this morning, totaling almost $9 billion is catching investors' attention.
The biggest is Wal-Mart. It put a $4 billion bid for a South African retailer called Mass Mart. It's just an offer at this point, but we also have a couple of deals that have already been agreed to. The biggest, Unilever, which makes Dove soap and Suave shampoo is buying Alberto Culver, the maker of Tres Semme and VO5, those hair products, for $3.7 billion. And finally, Southwest Airlines is buying AirTran for almost $1.5 billion. And for Wall Street, Kyra, this really shows that companies are willing to spend some of the cash they've been hoarding and take some risks and grow their company at this point -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: And so what does the Southwest/AirTran deal mean for all of us, the flyers? Is it going to impact what we pay?
KOSIK: It could. But at this point nothing is going to happen until the deal closes next year. But generally speaking, Kyra, airline mergers mean less competition which could lead to higher prices. But we'll have to wait and see because there's talk that the opposite could happen, as well, that prices could fall.
I mean, think about it. Southwest, it's the biggest discounter, and now it's getting bigger so if it holds prices where they are, Southwest could prompt other carriers to match its lower fares. One thing we know for sure though, the deal is going to mean a bigger presence for Southwest. It's going to be able to expand further into cities including Atlanta, D.C., Boston, Baltimore, New York, and some other smaller markets. Right now AirTran shares are soaring 60 percent.
As for broader market, the Dow Industrials, down 15. The Nasdaq in positive, off by 4. We'll keep an eye on the numbers and the merger Monday activity for you, Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Alison, thanks.
Also developing this hour, Israel's 10-month band on expanding settlements in the West Bank, expired just hours ago. Our Paula Hancocks is live in Jerusalem.
Paula, as we understand it, building has resumed around at least two settlements, right? Tell us about that.
PAULA HANCOCKS, CNN CORRESPONDEN: Absolutely, Kyra. These are the two settlements that CNN saw with a camera crew and producer this morning, so you can't drive around the hold (ph) of West Bank. This is just what we saw in a very short amount of time.
According to monitors around the place, it is happening everywhere. This is really what we were promised on Sunday by the settlers when they were celebrating what they saw as a victory that this settlement freeze had not been extended, they had a rally, a groundbreaking ceremony. And they released balloons, 2,000 balloons to signify 2,000 houses that they intend to build in one settlement alone in the West Bank.
We heard from the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Remember, he said if you carry on building settlements we'll walk away from the peace talks. What he now said in a press conference in Paris within the last hour was he was calling on Israel to give it another three or four months to extend the settlement freeze and he also said that he'd be going to an Arab league meeting in October the 4th, to try and decide on a joint response from all of the Arab nations. So really deferring the decision until then -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: All right. Paula Hancocks, appreciate it.
Up next, returning to war. We follow Sergeant Randy Shorter's emotional journey from home to Afghanistan, as he heads out for his third tour of duty.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: For the past year our Jason Carroll followed a number of young boys who have become men. We've watched these budding soldiers from high school graduation, to enlistment, to boot camp, to the battlefield. This morning, we once again catch up with Sergeant Randy Shorter and his unit on an emotional journey from home to Afghanistan. Jason Carroll joins us live from New York. Hey, Jason.
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Kyra. I know you follow the Military closely. I think there are a lot of civilians out there that might assume when a soldier is deployed their unit goes straight from the United States, to the assignment overseas. But now that the troop surge is under way it can really be a drawn out process, one that begins with good-bye. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SGT. RANDY SHORTER, U.S. ARMY: Hi, sweetie.
CARROLL (voice-over): It's Sergeant First Class Randy Shorter's last night at home.
R. SHORTER: All right. This is the last time in the states.
CARROLL: But his daughters Maylanie and Arianna (ph) aren't ready to say goodbye before dad leaves on his third deployment to Afghanistan.
R. SHORTER: I know it's really difficult for you.
MAYLANIE SHORTER, DAUGHTER: I just don't want you to go.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Say cheese.
CARROLL: The next morning --
SHERYLL SHORTER, WIFE: You can't explain the emotions, you know. You can't convey the feelings we're going through. It's hard to explain it. You can't put it in words.
R. SHORTER: Whether it's one week, one day, it doesn't matter. Saying goodbye is hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What you go through here, you're going to pick up your stuff.
CARROLL (on camera): What's happening right now is the first aids are checked it. All the soldiers that you see here have an SRP packet in their hands, a soldier's readiness package. Medical, dental records, paperwork to make sure their will is in order.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you're scared, and you should be, so trust your training. Trust yourselves. Trust your buddy next to you.
CARROLL: So basically right now, everyone is boarding the flight. It's a chartered plane that's usually what the military does in these situations. Does it feel more real now when you're boarding or when you finally get there?
R. SHORTER: Now.
CARROLL: Now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hello, welcome aboard. CARROLL (voice-over): The flight takes us from Fort Campbell, Kentucky, to Shannon, Ireland for refueling.
R. SHORTER: Long, drawn out.
CARROLL: Hours later, more refueling. Next stop, Manas Transit Center, Kyrgyzstan.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good morning. Welcome to Manas.
R. SHORTER: Getting settled in, finding out where we're going to sleep.
CARROLL (on camera): From the sort of psychological point of view, where do you think you and the rest of the men are at this point?
R. SHORTER: Right now, we're kind of still got the feel of home. But in a few hours these guys, you know, they'll actually put their game faces on. Once they get that uniform on, then the reality kind of sinks in. Now it's time to do business.
CARROLL (voice-over): On day four, since leaving the states, we board a C-17 military aircraft to Bagram airfield, Afghanistan.
(on camera): Everyone's packed in pretty tight. Everyone's tired, but we're finally on our way.
(voice-over): Heavy fighting in the region stops the fifth leg of the trip. Our flight to Sharana in Eastern Afghanistan aborted midair.
R. SHORTER: We're never leaving this place.
CARROLL: The last wave of the troop surge to Afghanistan creates a bottleneck on flights.
(on camera): Waiting like this for someone like you on your first deployment. Does that help with your nerves? Does it make you more --
SPC. ADAM BOYETTE, U.S. ARMY: It makes me almost a little more nervous. I mean, like I said, you've got to get psyched up. And it's hard to keep psyching and psyching yourself up.
R. SHORTER: The longer they stay here, the more stories they hear about what's going on. And then that just builds more -- you know, it just makes them more nervous only because they don't know what to expect.
CARROLL (voice-over): Finally, a flight opens. On to our final destination.
(on camera): Just a few minutes ago, we arrived here at Sharana, finally. So at this point, Sergeant Shorter is checking his men in, making sure that all the paperwork is squared away. Then they can finally get on with their mission.
R. SHORTER: It's probably good to get here. I'm tired of waiting.
CARROLL (voice-over): The wait would not be much longer. Shorter's mission would soon take his platoon outside the base to confront the threat of IEDs.
R. SHORTER: Praying that nothing happened down there. But you know, the word is, some children got injured.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CARROLL: Well, we thought Sharana was supposed to be Shorter's final stop. But then, Kyra, his orders were changed. He was then moved to another forward operating case, a much smaller one, called Fob Rushmore, located just few miles away. So the journey continued even more. And we'll be following him along the way -- Kyra.
PHILLIPS: We look forward to the next level in his life.
Jason, thanks.
A Protester tries to get into the face of Senator John McCain and winds up face down on the ground.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: John McCain has to go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
Next hour, more on the post debate pushdown.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
PHILLIPS: Steven Colbert back in New York City today, after facing what may have been the toughest audience -- Congress. As we mentioned last week the Comedy Central host testified Friday, about conditions facing America's undocumented farm workers. And as you'll see, he stayed in character nearly the entire time.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STEVEN COLBERT, HOST, THE COLBERT REPORT: 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)
PHILLIPS: Time now to see what's crossing the political ticker besides Colbert. Deputy political director Paul Steinhauser in Washington.
So, what you got, Paul?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: I can't top Colbert but I'll try. Let's start with tea, Kyra. Let's talk about some tea. It's the morning. I'll talk about the Tea Party Express. They're one of those national Tea Party groups. You remember those cross country tours, they did those bus tours. We are waiting and today we expect the Tea Party Express to announce their upcoming fourth national tour.
Last week I learned it would be a two-week tour and it would go cross country and it would end on Election Day, November 2nd, and it would end in Nevada, the home state to Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader. Tea Party Express really gunning after Reid, trying to take him down.
Check this out, too, this is a new poll from CNN, the Opinion Research Corporation, a national survey. We asked how Americans feel about the Tea Party movement, whether it's too extreme or not. See right there at the bottom of that screen, 43 percent say the Tea Party movement is too extreme, but that's pretty close to the 42 percent who said that the Democratic Party is too extreme. Listen, the Tea Party has had a lot of success in the Republican primaries. The big question will be, how will they do in the general election with a more moderate electorate?
Let's talk about Joe Biden. Floyd, come on in to our Florida camera, come on and take a look at this brand new on the CNN Political Ticker, just up a few minutes ago. The Vice President is heading to New Hampshire today. He's going to be talking about the economy but he's also going to be helping out Democrats.
Paul Oats, Congressman Oats who is running for the Senate up there, that open Senate seat and Carole Shay Porter (ph) the Congresswoman who is running for re-election, this is a difficult climate up there in New Hampshire for Democrats. The Vice President was up last month to help them. Back up again.
And finally, guess who else is in New Hampshire today. A guy called Haley Barbour. The Governor of Minnesota -- I'm sorry, Mississippi, he's going to be up there campaigning with the gubernatorial nominee on the Republican side.
Now, no surprise because Haley Barbour of course, is the Chairman of the Republican Governors Association so this is what he's supposed to do. But wait, he also may be a candidate, may be a candidate for the 2012 GOP presidential campaign.
So going to New Hampshire, the state that kicks it off on the primaries may not be a bad idea.
Kyra back to you.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Ok, Paul thanks. And your next political update it'll happen in just about an hour. And a reminder: for all the latest political news, you can also go to our Web site CNNPolitics.com. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LINDSAY LOHAN, ACTRESS: I told you it was a mess in here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She should know.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She did it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You and you pack your bags.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPS: Remember that classic? The "Parent Trap", starring the adorable Lindsay Lohan. She was so sweet and innocent. Free of scandal.
But now this Disney darling has been deemed a disaster yet again. We watched her train wreck of a love life from Back Street Boys little brother Aaron Carter to her tumultuous tabloid love affair with famed Deejay Samantha Ronson. Then came all the run-ins with the law from mug shots to tears in court.
Now when you think it could get any worse comes the front page of the "Daily Mail Online" showing pictures of Lindsay Lohan allegedly shooting up something and lip locking with Paris Hilton. She's an international headline-grabbing mess.
So, why do we even pay attention to her? You know Shirley Temple was just as cute and talented but we never saw her sitting in court on drug charges painting "F-U" on her fingernails and strategically holding them up to the camera's or the judge.
Which brings me to the issue of the judge here in the U.S.; he threatened the troubled actress with 30 days in jail for each probation violation. Keyword, threatened. Why threatened, why not just do it? Throw her in the slammer and let her sweat it out. She is disrespectful to authorities, she doesn't bother to show up for alcohol counseling and now, she confirmed on her Twitter page that she's failed a court ordered drug and alcohol screening.
When is this kid ever going to face the consequences for her actions? Unfortunately, she has been, like it or not, idolized as a child actress. We've all heard about how hard it is to be a child star but do you think the current crop of young Hollywood is brattier than say the Brat Pack?
We need to all get past the addiction. Addiction to shallow drama and just hold these trouble kids accountable for real for once.
All right, here's what we're working on for you in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. We begin with Martin Savidge.
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: -- a week of gay accusations that have been made against mega church Pastor Bishop Eddie Long. He speaks out to his flock for the first time. We'll tell you what he said and also what his parishioners think. Coming up at the top of the hour.
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: A child suffers an injury: an emergency room doctor says it's no big deal, what parents can do to be empowered patients. I'll have that at the top of the hour.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Alison Kosik at the New York Stock Exchange where we're watching shares of AirTran soar more than 60 percent. The discount carrier agreed to be bought by Southwest. Kyra, we're going to tell you what it means for air travelers next hour.
PHILLIPS: All right, thanks to all of you.
Plus, Hollywood takes on the problems with our schools. The people who made the new movie "Waiting for Superman" hope it sparks debate and change. It's already sparking controversy. We're talking with the producer in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM.
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PHILLIPS: Well, CNN's taking a cross country food journey all this week and we've sent reporting teams to every corner of America and beyond. Our mission, to get fresh answers about how our food is grown, how the choices we make impact our health, our state of mind, our budgets and the pure joy of eating. This hour, is organic really better for you?
We actually sent CNN's John Zarrella to check out the difference in price and taste.
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JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (on camera): Take a look at this soil. It's rich in organic matter. Perfect for growing organic products and that's exactly what Dan Howard is doing back there. He's putting in his first crop of green beans. Howard has seven acres here. He'll get about 1,400 bushels of beans.
I imagine when you're farming organically, soil preparation is key.
DAN HOWARD, HOMESTEAD ORGANIC FARMS: Oh very important. In fact, the world of organic farming is soil building, the constant effort to increase the organic matter in your soil.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): Before beans, this field was for decades an orange grove. It's filled, Howard says, with left behind organic matter, but it takes more than just good soil to label a product organic.
HOWARD: They're getting a crop that is grown naturally without the use of chemicals, chemical fertilizers or chemical spray inputs. That's it in a nutshell. ZARRELLA (on camera): Dan's beans will start showing up just in time for Thanksgiving. Because of higher labor costs from hand weeding and restrictions on what Dan can use to control pests, his beans will cost a lot more.
You got a pound and a half of beans here and you have 12 ounces here and these are $1.96 and these are $4.99.
SONIA ANGEL, MEMORIAL HOSPITAL PEMBROKE: That's right.
ZARRELLA: That's a big difference.
ANGEL: It is, big difference. And that's the limitation for a lot of people to buy organic.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): We went with Sonia Angel, a licensed dietician to a local public supermarket.
ANGEL: Now, in terms of nutrients, there isn't really a significant difference between the nutrients of buying organic or non- organic, but it's the fact that these are safer because they don't have the pesticides in them. That's the big difference.
ZARRELLA: If you want organic, but budget is a limiting factor, Sonia's tip, buy spinach, blueberries, strawberries, tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables you don't peel.
ANGEL: The ones that you peel, not so much important.
ZARRELLA (on camera): Like the bananas. I mean --
ANGEL: Like the bananas.
ZARRELLA: You don't have to worry about so much pesticides on the bananas because you're peeling the skin.
ANGEL: You're peeling them up, correct.
ZARRELLA (voice-over): If you're wondering about flavor, we had chef Bill Mitchell saute organic beans and conventionally-grown beans. You should try a taste test too. I'll keep my opinion to myself.
John Zarrella, CNN, Plantation, Florida.
PHILLIPS: And as we focus on making better food choices this week, we are pleased to announce a partnership with the new social networks craze, Four Square.
CNN digital producer Derek Dodge with us now to tell us all about it.
DEREK DODGE, CNN DIGITAL PRODUCER: Hey Kyra. Well, there's over 6,000 farmers markets in the United States. You can see all these red dots represent all those farmers markets. We've partnered with Four Square, so if you go to foursquare.com/cnn and follow us on Four Square. And then go to one of these 6,000 farmers' markets, you're going to unlock the CNN healthy eater badge.
I went to a farmer's market Sunday at the Peach Tree Road. To check it out -- let's take a look.
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DODGE: We're at Peach Tree Road Farmers Market in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm going to demonstrate for you how we're using Four Square to promote healthy eating. If you want people to get out, eat local, farm-fresh food and support your local farmers' market.
You can check in at one of over 6,000 farmers markets on your phone when you go to Four Square. You find your location. You check in and you can download the CNN healthy eater badge.
And you said these ones are a little bit spicier.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are. They kind of -- sometimes, around the seeds there might be a little bit more heat to them.
DODGE: Seed. Let's try the (INAUDIBLE). That sounds good.
On your mobile phone, you come to a place like a farmers' market and you check in. It lets all your friends know online where you are. So what we did is, if you check in to a farmers' market like this one, you're going to get a CNN special healthy eater badge. It's a fun way for people to come out to farmers' markets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Have you checked in on Four Square?
DODGE: I have. I've checked in. There's my healthy eater badge.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Excellent. And with your healthy eater badge, you get your choice of several prizes today. We have a box of whole wheat pasta, some leafy mustard greens, a pumpkin, some pesto or (INAUDIBLE).
DODGE: thank you so much.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Absolutely.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
PHILLIPS: All right. Derek, anything else to add?
DODGE: Are you going to go to a farmers' market and check in?
PHILLIPS: Yes, I am. Now that I've seen this, absolutely, I love farmers' markets. I think it's the best way to go. And price wise, I seem to do better as well.
DODGE: We had a great time there. It was a lot of fun.
PHILLIPS: All right. Thanks so much. "Eatocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet" continues next hour. I'll be talking to an Atlanta chef about whether organic is truly worth the price and all of the time. Remember cnn.com/eatocracy for more stories on healthy eating. It's also where you can learn more about how to unlock the CNN healthy eater badge on Four Square.
And do you have questions about organic versus non-organic food? Just go to my blog, cnn.com/kyra. We'll read them on the air in the next hour of CNN NEWSROOM. And take them to our guests, as well.
