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European Terror Plot; Increase in Drone Attacks in Pakistan; Web Campaign Targets Student Body President; What's So Super About "Super Foods"?; Honoring Britney Spears on "Glee"
Aired September 29, 2010 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: But for now, my goodness, look what the network dragged in -- Ali Velshi.
ALI VELSHI, CNN ANCHOR: T.J., I have such fun watching you do the show, that I don't feel like coming back some days. T.J. Holmes, you have a fantastic afternoon.
And as T.J. says, I'm Ali Velshi, in case you're forgotten.
I'm here with you for the next two hours today and every weekday. I'll guide you through the maze of information coming your together. We're going to learn what's going on at home and around the world. I'll give you access to the folks who can explain best what it means today and the impact beyond today. I'll showcase the best ideas in innovation, philanthropy and public education.
My mission is to help you figure out how what's going on around the world fits into your life.
Let's get started right now. Here's what I've got on the rundown:
For six months now, a personal Internet campaign has been waged against a young man, the openly gay student body president of the University of Michigan. What is really surprising here is the person who's waging it. A top state official who helps enforce laws.
Plus, it's a sign of just how bad the recent recession was. Among the biggest cities in the United States, only one saw a rise in median income -- only one. What was that city doing right? Well, we'll find out.
And the way you browse the Web could be changing dramatically. Instead of looking down at your Smartphone, you might be looking through it.
But, first, a major terror plot uncovered in Europe triggering concern around the world. A German counterterrorist official tells the U.S. -- tells us to focus on economic targets like banks and stock exchanges. At the same time, developments on the battlefields in Afghanistan and Pakistan that are linked to the plot, apparently.
Now, here are key points: Authorities say a German citizen of Afghan descent is in custody spelled out the terror plan. He says it would like the terror strike in Mumbai, India that killed 164 people two years ago. Osama bin Laden apparently approved the plan. So far, no word if threats were also made against the United States.
Now, to the war zone in Afghanistan and Pakistan: NATO says an air strike killed a top al Qaeda commander in northern Afghanistan along its border with Pakistan. The U.S. recently increased the number of drone attacks in Pakistan, and this may be due in part to information on the terror plot. Drone targets in Pakistan include Taliban and al Qaeda forces and militants linked to al Qaeda.
And the Taliban denied claims made by the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General David Petraeus, that the Taliban wants -- was in contact with Afghan government officials about possible peace talks.
There's a lot going on, and we've got the story covered on all fronts. Ivan Watson is in Kabul, Afghanistan; Fred Pleitgen in Islamabad, Pakistan; Nic Robertson is in Abu Dhabi; and terrorism analyst Paul Cruickshank joins us from London.
Let's first go to Kabul and Ivan Watson.
Ivan, tell us what you know about this.
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, there's an air strike that took place on Saturday, according to U.S. and NATO spokesmen. Usually, we're hearing about raids that target Taliban commanders, Taliban operatives, this time identifying two Arab al Qaeda operatives. One by the name of Abdallah Umar al-Qurayshi. He's believed to be a Saudi who is helping bring foreign fighters into Afghanistan, according to ISAF spokesman, and another, Abu Atta al- Kuwaiti, a Kuwaiti explosives expert.
This took place in Kunar province. It's near the border with Pakistan, in a bloody corner called Korengal Valley. That's an area U.S. forces recently evacuated after spending five years fighting there and losing at least 40 American lives.
And sad piece of news: A NATO ISAF soldiers killed by a roadside bomb in southern Afghanistan, we're just getting news of that today. This has been the bloodiest year yet for NATO and ISAF forces here in Afghanistan -- Ali.
VELSHI: OK. Ivan, stay with us for just a moment.
I want to go to Fred Pleitgen.
Fred, there's been an increase in drone attacks inside Pakistan. Tell us the significance of this. Why is that happening? And what's different about what's happening?
FRED PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, one of the reasons, Ali, what's happening, because there's so much cross-border transition between Taliban and al Qaeda from Pakistan into Afghanistan. Of course, a lot of Taliban and al Qaeda leaders are using Pakistan as a safe haven, especially the North Waziristan area. Look, the U.S. has been telling the Pakistani army to go in there and clean that place up for a very long time. In some places, the Pakistani army has. In others, it hasn't. The Pakistanis are saying now their army is too far stretched and with the flooding going on here in Pakistan, they can't launch any more operations.
And so, it seems that the U.S., for its part, is now stepping up drone attacks to keep the pressure on al Qaeda and Taliban, and to try and prevent these fighters from getting into Afghanistan and threatening American soldiers, Ali.
VELSHI: All right, Fred, stay there as well.
Nic Robertson joins us now.
Nic, this terror plot that was uncovered in Europe -- tell us what we know about this, how it unfolded, and where we stand with that investigation.
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: We know that an Afghan-German living in Hamburg moved to the tribal border region of Afghanistan and Pakistan, joined the terror training camp there sometime in 2009. Plans were being laid there for this multiple Mumbai-style attack. That's like an attack where you got coordinated attacks on different hotels or places where a lot of people, or soft targets, with men -- this was 10 men in the Mumbai attack, using automatic weapons and small explosives, hand grenades and the like.
And this plot not only coordinated around a couple of hotels in one city but was planned for Britain, was planned for France and planned for Germany. Officials say that they've interrupted this as such a stage that it had not got beyond Pakistan. It was still being planned and none of these potential attackers had come back to Europe.
But this was all information that this -- that this German-Afghan provided, Ahmed Sidiqi, when he was arrested in Kabul in July of this year, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Nic, thanks very much.
Paul Cruickshank, I want to ask you -- Paul is in London. Paul, when we hear about this, obviously, these two things are -- have a connection. But when we hear about these top al Qaeda commanders or even lieutenants who are captured or killed, mostly killed these days, what does this do to the structure of al Qaeda? I mean, there are obviously great resources and effort and intelligence and strategy that go into killing or capturing these guys.
What does it do? Does it create a hole in the al Qaeda structure? Are they able to fill that? Or is al Qaeda operating at cells independently around the world?
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Well, it does hurt al Qaeda, you know, these strikes, when they take out top leaders, especially when they're very experienced. They're difficult to replace. But Al Qaeda is being very resilient in recent years, even to these drone strikes in the tribal areas. They've decentralized their operations there. Fighters live in smaller groups. They train in smaller groups. They live in shacks up in the mountains.
So, they've been able to survive this onslaught and survivors we've seen plotting new attacks against the West. I mean, we just saw the plot in New York in September last year to bomb New York subway, Najibullah plot. Al Qaeda is still there. It's still in business. It's still have a safe haven in the tribal areas of Pakistan, and that area, not just Yemen and not just Somalia are still causing counterterrorist officials a lot of concern, Ali.
VELSHI: Nic, let me ask you -- obviously, the attention has been focused in that tribal area in Pakistan, in the border with Afghanistan, for so long. If those areas were to one day be secured, is that enough of a hit to al Qaeda that they really can't operate as effectively?
ROBERTSON: It will be in the short term when you take out those camps, but let's look at the bigger picture here. You've got al Qaeda operating out of Yemen. They've got a franchise there. That was the franchise that sent the underpants bomber Abdulmutallab at Christmas Day on that flight to Detroit.
You've got the al Qaeda group operating in Somalia, rather --
VELSHI: Right.
ROBERTSON: -- drawing recruits from the United States. You've got al Qaeda groups working in the north of Africa.
So, you can wrap them up in Pakistan, but they're elsewhere, too, Ali.
VELSHI: All right. Nic Robertson, thanks very much. Paul Cruickshank, thanks very much. We'll continue this conversation in the next hour.
When we come back, we're off to Michigan where a student body president is learning a tough lesson in sexual politics.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: OK. This story is fascinating. It's the assistant attorney general versus the student body president. It's not a court case. However, it may end up that way, but in reverse.
But hold on, I'm getting ahead of myself. Andrew Shirvell is an assistant attorney general in Michigan who's made it his mission to oppose -- and by the way, that's putting it mildly -- to oppose the elected president the student assembly at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.
Let me say that again: A top official in a government office in charge of enforcing state laws undertaking a personal campaign, one that borders on a vendetta, against a college student -- a student who hasn't broken any laws, nor accused of, even suspected of breaking laws.
Chris Armstrong's defense to, quote, "Andrew Shirvell's inflammatory blog is advancing" -- his offense, I'm sorry -- "is advancing a radical homosexual agenda." Those are his words.
Now, Chris Armstrong isn't doing interviews and we understand he's considering his legal options.
But Shirvell had no problem defending his views, his blog, and his actions, last night on "AC 360." This is the assistant attorney general from Michigan. I want you to hear a chunk of his interview with my colleague, Anderson Cooper.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDREW SHIRVELL, MICHIGAN ASST. ATTORNEY GENERAL: Basically, if you've been involved in political campaigns before, you know all sorts of stuff happens, and this is just another tactic bringing awareness to what Chris really stands for.
ANDERSON COOPER, HOST, "ANDERSON COOPER 360": This is not some national figure. This is a guy who's running a student council.
SHIRVELL: Well, Anderson, as a private citizen and as a University of Michigan alum, I care because this is my university, and I wasn't the only first person to criticize Chris. In fact, long before I started the blog, a couple of weeks before that, the Alliance Defense Fund of well-known legal Christian foundation, put out an alert about Chris.
So, I'm not the only person that has criticized Chris and I'm not the first person to criticize Chris.
(CROSSTALK)
COOPER: But you are the only person running this blog which is putting Nazi swastikas on this guy. You're a grown adult. Does that seem appropriate to you?
SHIRVELL: Like I said, this is a political campaign. This is nothing personal against Chris. I don't know Chris.
COOPER: What do you mean it's nothing personal? You're outside his house. You're videotaping his house. You're shouting him down at public events. You're calling him Satan's representative on the student council.
You're attacking his -- his parents, his friends' parents. I mean, you can't say it's not personal.
SHIRVELL: Well, Chris and any political campaign, you have to raise awareness and issues, and that's one way of doing it, is by protesting.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: OK. So, Andrew Shirvell calls it a political campaign. What does Andrew Shirvell's boss think of all this?
Mike Cox is Michigan's attorney general and unsuccessful candidate for the GOP nomination for governor. In a statement to CNN, he says and I quote, "Mr. Shirvell's personal opinions are his and his alone and do not reflect the views of the Michigan Department of Attorney General. But his immaturity and lack of judgment outside the office are clear," end quote.
So, what now? Shirvell says he has a First Amendment right. Apparently, he does. But we also have libel laws, slander laws, and privacy laws, and nowadays, there are such things as cyber bullying, and then there's politics.
Joining me on the phone to help sort this out is CNN senior legal analyst, Jeff Toobin.
Jeff, address that last point. First of all, it just doesn't seem fair or good, but put that aside. What are the laws say about this? Andrew Shirvell says he's got the right to say what he wants to say. Where does that interfere with this subject, Armstrong's right to not have somebody have this smear campaign against him?
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST (via telephone): Well, I think there are two issues here, Ali. The first is that Andrew Shirvell certainly has the right to engage in political speech under the First Amendment. He does not have the right to be an assistant attorney general.
There is a long line of Supreme Court cases that says, if you work for the government, you give up certain First Amendment rights, and you can lose your job if you express them in such a way that may be legal but may be offensive in some way.
So, the real question here is, what is Mike Cox going to do about this? Because for Mike Cox to say, "Well, my subordinate has his First Amendment right and there's nothing I can do about it" -- that is not true.
And the question is whether this hateful speech will allow to be -- will continue to be allowed while the taxpayers are paying this guy's salary.
VELSHI: You know, Andrew Shirvell is trying to make a point that this is him on his own, and that he's got a legitimate argument. It's not just -- it's not just -- he doesn't think it's hate speech.
Let me just play you a little more of Andrew Shirvell, the assistant attorney general of Michigan, on talking to Anderson Cooper last night about whether this is his job or not.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIRVELL: I am doing this as a private citizen off work time, as a University of Michigan alum. We're quibbling over tactics. We're not quibbling over substance.
The substance of the matter is, Anderson, Chris Armstrong is a radical homosexual activist who got elected partly funded by the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund to promote a very deeply radical agenda at the University of Michigan, and he wants to do that by --
COOPER: His biggest issues were extending the hours of the cafeteria and lowering tuition, as well as some gender housing issues.
SHIRVELL: No, that's not correct. No, that's not correct. Anderson, his biggest issue is gender-neutral housing. What we're talking about is anybody, any man or woman, wanting to choose to live together. That's a radical redefinition of gender norms.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Jeff, let me ask you this, does that change the matter? If he can say that there's actually something of substance that he's trying to discuss that has something to do with Armstrong's sexuality -- does that change the fact that what he's doing might be deemed hateful?
TOOBIN: Not necessarily. I mean, we start to get into areas here where lawyers certainly will disagree. But if you are putting swastikas on people's faces, if you are disparaging people at the level that Shirvell is with this college student, I think Mike Cox would be well within his right as attorney general for dismissing -- dismissing Shirvell from his job.
The harder question is: does Shirvell have any -- I'm sorry, does Armstrong, the student, have any right to sue Shirvell for some sort of harassment, cyber bullying, as you said? I don't know. I don't think the laws are entirely clear on that.
VELSHI: Yes.
TOOBIN: It's my understanding that Armstrong has retained a lawyer --
VELSHI: That's right.
TOOBIN: -- and is looking into that possibility. And I certainly think it's wise to look into it. But I don't think there's a clear answer to whether there would be a legal remedy for Armstrong at this point.
VELSHI: Remarkable story nonetheless. Jeff, good to talk to you, as always. Thanks very much for being with us.
TOOBIN: Sure thing, Ali.
VELSHI: Jeff Toobin is our CNN senior legal analyst.
Listen, a Census report says only one state and one metro city's income went up last year -- the people in that city, by the way. What are they doing right and what's everybody else doing wrong? We'll find out on the other side of this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Here's a treat for us. It's time for "Your Money." Normally, it's Christine. Today, it's Josh Levs.
And we love Josh because he's the explainer. He's got something that caught my attention. He's talking about some new numbers that have come out in the Census. I posted this on Twitter.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
VELSHI: That only one state and only one city saw personal income, household income, rise, in the last year.
LEVS: Yes. Isn't that wild? Because the whole country, there's only one state.
We'll start with the state. Look at this. I mean, this is the information that just came out from the Census Bureau yesterday.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEVS: So, income down. It's down in 34 states. It's flat everywhere else, except one state. That one state where income went up?
VELSHI: Right.
LEVS: North Dakota.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEVS: Does that surprise you?
VELSHI: It doesn't, only because that string of states, North Dakota, South Dakota --
LEVS: Right.
VELSHI: -- mountain states down from there, have done very well over the last few years.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: They got relatively well. That's right. They have a lower unemployment. They seem to have good diversity of industry. They've actually survived better than most.
LEVS: But even in that area, there were flat in general. This one, North Dakota, 5 percent.
VELSHI: That's right. Yes.
LEVS: Actually, John King was out there, talked with some people why are things getting better. Here's what one of them said. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Because of the industry that's here, are you shielded from some of the national dynamics sometimes?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, certainly, an economy here is more influenced by agriculture than any other single source. While there is manufacturing here, it's not to the extent of a Michigan or an Ohio, and agriculture continues to roll on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: So, that's part of it. Agriculture.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEVS: But they've also got oil, fishing and hunting. A lot of these industries that just kind of weather the storm. They're not changing. They don't have them very high either.
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Right. It's been much steadier.
LEVS: Right.
VELSHI: Now, the one city that has increased nowhere near North Dakota.
LEVS: No. It's (INAUDIBLE). So, what happened was our people took a look at biggest metro areas.
VELSHI: Yes.
LEVS: If you look at 52 of them, incomes down --
VELSHI: Wow.
LEVS: -- in 51 of them, right?
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: And it's slightly up in one.
LEVS: Slightly up in one. San Antonio, Texas, up half of 1 percent.
So, when it's down everywhere else, what's San Antonio doing right? And this is something we look into.
Well, the idea behind San Antonio, is again, they're not getting some of the big booms, right, that are out there. But, then again, not means they're not getting hit by some of the same busts as well. We talk about diversifying their economy, right? They've managed to have a lot of tourism and biological and financial services, and military has a big presence there, which has kept people.
And what we've been seeing is that the costs have stayed low. And within this economy, there's been a bunch of jobs available in the San Antonio area.
VELSHI: Right.
LEVS: So, people have been moving in.
VELSHI: Right.
LEVS: They've been wanting the cheaper goods while they're there.
VELSHI: Right.
LEVS: So, it's been attractive. And that's kind of kept this economy moving while it's been hurting everywhere else.
VELSHI: What do you got about household median income?
LEVS: OK. I'm just -- we're going to end on this, because the highest median income for --
(CROSSTALK)
VELSHI: Which is the income, means half of everybody earns more, and half of everybody earns less.
LEVS: Right. The highest of any city in the country, Washington, D.C., at $85,000. This is the metro area. So, you're talking about the suburbs in Maryland and Virginia. But what we're seeing is the highest of any major city in this country, that's what making the most money, the D.C. general area, $85,000.
VELSHI: Very interesting stuff.
LEVS: Yes.
VELSHI: All right. Josh, thanks very much for this. Love when you do money stuff with us.
By the way, if you want more on your money, tune into "YOUR $$$$$" on CNN, Saturdays 1:00 p.m. Eastern, Sundays at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
OK. Blueberries, sweet potatoes, salmon -- we've been told over and over again we should eat them. But why are these super foods so super? Guess what, "Paging Dr. Gupta" coming back with a special "Eatocracy" report right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: Let me bring up to speed with some of the top stories we're following right now at CNN. Europe is said to be a prime targets of al Qaeda linked terrorists. That's according to a German citizen captured in Afghanistan. German authorities say he attended the same Hamburg mosque as one of the 9/11 hijackers and ran in the same circles. Still, both they and U.S. officials say there's no evidence of an imminent attack in Europe or in the United States.
Former President Jimmy Carter is still recuperating in a Cleveland hospital. He'll stay there overnight. He was admitted yesterday after having stomach pains en route to the city for a book signing. President Carter, who turns 86 on Friday, is said to be in very good spirits.
And President Obama has just held his third backyard chat on the economy in two days. Today, he spoke to families in Des Moines, Iowa, talking about hard choices that got to be made to power the country's economic growth. The president said Republicans have not been honest about those choices.
Well, it's Eatocracy Week on CNN. That's our special coverage focused on food and all the different ways our food choices affect our lives. Now, this hour, we're looking for some fresh info on those so- called super foods. Not just what they are, but how they actually make you healthier.
Time to hit the market with chief medical correspondent, my friend, Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: You've probably seen the lists, super foods. The 10 foods you should eat every single day.
What is it about super foods? What makes them so super? Can they protect you? Will they prevent you in some way from getting sick?
Let's take a look. Come on.
Hi, Ann.
ANN DUNAWAY TEH, REGISTERED DIETITIAN: Hi. How are you, Sanjay?
GUPTA: Thanks so much for meeting us.
TEH: Thank you for having me.
GUPTA: So, I see you hanging out by the fruit, the berries. If you had -- if you had to pick one fruit out of all these here, what would you say is sort of the ideal super food and why?
TEH: Blueberries are definitely the ideal super food. And it's because of their dark, rich color. And that just means it's got a lot more antioxidants in it and it's really great for memory, also, for eye health, and might also help lower bad cholesterol. GUPTA: OK. So, definitely put berries on the list of super food.
Leafy greens is what we talk about all the time. What about leafy greens?
TEH: The dark green color, I'll let you know, again, it's got a lot of nutrients in it. It's a great source of calcium and fiber.
GUPTA: I mean, there's a lot of foods that are good for you. What makes a food super?
TEH: A super food is what we call a nutrient dense food. It's going to do a lot more for you with less calories expended.
GUPTA: Can it erase some of my other bad eating habits?
TEH: Well, if you -- if you start replacing some of those bad eating habits with more fruits and vegetables, then it can certainly help. But if you're going to be loading it down with other really unhealthy foods, it's probably not the best choice. At least you've got them on the plate.
GUPTA: Can these foods in some ways act like medicines in the sense they can decrease inflammation, decrease your cholesterol, things like that?
TEH: Yes. There are some studies that show that some of these foods can do that. But it's also part of our lifestyle that we want to get as well.
GUPTA: Sweet potatoes I know are on your list.
TEH: Yes. Sweet potatoes are great. The Center for Science and the Public Interests calls this one the healthiest vegetables that you can eat. And that's because they're so packed with nutrients. Their deep orange color, there's vitamin A in there which is really great for eyes. Also, there's vitamin E for our skin.
GUPTA: Fish is, I know, very much on your list.
TEH: The fatty cold water fish that have mega 3 fatty acids, which is the good healthy fat that helps fight inflammation. And those are salmons, halibuts, mackerel, tuna, sardines and herring, are all great fish that have a lot of omega 3s in them.
GUPTA: Now, hearing all that about super foods, you might think, great, but I don't have a market like this in my backyard. Good point. A lot of people don't. But you can get a lot of these foods frozen. You can even get them canned.
And keep in mind -- eat those super foods with a healthy diet in general. Every now and then, you may get a little bit of exercise.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: All right. Sanjay.
Our special series "Eatocracy: Mind, Body and Wallet" continues online. Just head to CNN.com/Eatocracy for all kinds of stories from soup to nuts and beyond, and a little video special of what I like to eat. It's a section called "Five at Five." It's a blog. Check it out.
Some major strikes causing disruptions across Europe now. Workers are voicing their anger over proposed government budget cuts. We're going Globe Trekking right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: As the big wall says behind me, time now to go Globe Trekking, as we do every day. Strikes are causing major disruptions across Europe today. It's a call to action for workers who are protesting proposed government spending cuts. Some of the biggest demonstrations are taking place in Spain and Belgium. An estimated 100,000 people took to the streets in Brussels. In Spain, unions called for general strikes shutting down public transportation. Several European governments are facing crippling budget failures so they want to cut wages and pensions as part of the plan to get out of the hole.
In Haiti, nearly a million people still have no permanent place to live nine months after the deadly earthquake struck that country. Now we're hearing reports that more than $1 billion promised by the U.S. government for reconstruction still hasn't been sent. It's tied up in Congress with no plan approved on how to actually spend it. The money would be used to remove the millions of pounds of rubble and build permanent homes. Millions of dollars pledged by other countries also haven't arrived. Let's be clear. The U.S. has already spent more than a billion dollars on humanitarian aid building shelters, getting up health care, and rehabilitation services and for food.
North Korea seems to be planning for the post-Kim Jong-Il years. The ruling party wrapped up a rare meeting of delegates. The last one was more than 40 years ago. The 68-year-old dear leader was re-elected general secretary of the party. No surprise there. But the ascension of his youngest son, that's the one that made the most news. Kim Jong-Un promoted to four-star general, named vice chairman of the central military commission and was appointed to the central committee. That sets him up to follow his father as leader of North Korea. His grandfather, Kim Il-Sung led North Korea from 1948 until he died in 1994.
And Pastor Eddie Long's accuser is speaking out. He's one of the four young men who have filed suit.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAMAL PARRIS, FILED SUIT AGAINST BISHOP LONG: While the media and press and the rest of the people around the city and around the country look at us like, how can a grown man let another man touch him, what you have to understand is that this man manipulated us from childhood. This was our father and we loved him.
I cannot get the sound of his voice out of my head. And I cannot forget the smell of his cologne. And I cannot forget the way that he made me cry many nights when I drove in his cars on the way home, not able to take enough showers to wipe the smell of him off of my body.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VELSHI: Bishop Eddie Long of Atlanta. denies the allegations. He says he will fight back. His attorney today says the case is being unfairly tried in the media.
OK. It's the age-old question, what's for dinner? Well, there's a high-tech kitchen counter out there that can actually answer that question. We'll look under the surface straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
VELSHI: This Edge of Discovery stuff is candy to me. I'm going to show you something really cool. A kitchen counter that can actually identify your food and tell you how to cook it. I need one of these. It's a smart surface an it's on the Edge of Discovery.
Here is Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Researchers at Intel Labs Seattle are cooking up something new. 3D technology that turns your kitchen counter into an interactive touch screen surface. It's called OASIS.
RIDER ZIOLA, RESEARCH ASSISTANT, INTEL LABS: The oasis system using depth cameras to turn an everyday work space into an intelligent space where objects that come in get recognized and give you access a whole word of digital information.
TUCHMAN: Just put an item on the counter, a camera and computer work together to identify it.
BEVERLY HARRISON, SENIOR SCIENTIST, INTEL LABS: There's nothing special about the objects we're using. There's no bar codes or special tags on these.
TUCHMAN: Then projector creates a touch screen display right at your fingertips. Put two items together, like this steak and pepper, and OASIS gives recipe suggestions, timers, and cooking instructions, all appearing right on the countertop. When you're finished you can store what you've learned in a virtual drawer. Researchers are also taking oasis out of the kitchen to see what else it can do.
ZIOLA: It's exciting to take this unit we built and drop it down in a million different environments and just see what happens.
TUCHMAN: Chess, anyone?
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
VELSHI: OK. Let me bring you up to speed with some of the top stories we're following here at CNN.
Tropical storm Nicole is now churning in the Caribbean, threatening Cuba and the Cayman Islands approaching south Florida where flood watches and warnings are now in effect. Forecasters are not sure if the storm will make landfall there or skirt the state. But either way, at least eight inches of rain are possible in some areas.
Support for the war in Afghanistan keeps on slipping. We'll have the results of a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll that says nearly six in ten Americans surveyed now oppose the war. 44 percent of those surveyed believe the war is going well. That's down 11 points from March.
This story just in from Capitol Hill. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says there will not about vote about extending the Bush- era tax cuts until after the midterm elections. President Obama, for one, has campaigned against extending tax cuts for the wealthy, but Democrats who are facing angry voters don't want to risk raising taxes on anybody. If Congress does nothing, the tax cuts will expire for everybody by the end of the year.
The way you surf the web is changing drastically. I know you know that already, but imagine combing your typical web browser with the technology used in Google Earth? The details, this is fascinating. You've got to stay for this one. So if you were going to the bathroom or going for more coffee, forget it. I've got something big coming for you after the break.
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VELSHI: OK. I like to think that all of you watch me the entire show every day. I know that's not true. I know some of you come in and visit. So you may not know every day I do something called "The Big I," stands for idea. Things that changed the world and an explanation of how you can take part in that, how you can take advantage of it maybe even profit from it.
I've a great one today. This is actually something that I think is going to come in really handy. These two gentlemen with me are from Georgia Tech. And you've got in your hand, Alex a phone. That's an iPhone, like a fourth generation iPhone?
ALEX HILL, POSTDOCTORATE FELLOW, GEORGIA TECH: Yes, iPhone.
VELSHI: This is not available to the public just yet. Can you imagine taking a phone that has a camera, pointing it at something and then having information about that something that you're pointing it at actually pop up on your screen. This is a form of augmented reality.
Blair Macintyre is an associate professor at Georgia Tech. Blair, talk to me about augmentative reality.
BLAIR MACINTYRE, DIRECTOR, AUGMENTED ENVIRONMENTS LABS: Augmented reality is the idea of putting information out in the world around you. In the case of Smartphones, what we do is we take the video from the camera, feed it in, add graphics. So you get this feeling like you're looking through the phone at this world that's a mixture of video from the camera and information.
VELSHI: It's a combination basically. You're taking the video and you're using this technology that we talk about. Alex is doing it now. He's pointing this video around our studio right now. That's what you're seeing. By the way, we plugged this iPhone -- we've got a video output so that you can see it. Normally, you don't need the video output. But, as you go by things it's telling you what they are. This is a -- this is how this would work.
MACINTYRE: Yes.
VELSHI: This our cube. This is our weather cube they're looking at over there.
MACINTYRE: So, Alex, do you want to say anything about the demo?
HILL: What I want to say is that this content here is regular content from the web and it's just set on my web server in contrast to some other techniques where you have to really build an application and deliver it. This stuff is created the same way we create content on the web.
VELSHI: OK. So, give me an example. I'm outside. That Ali, by the way, my great floor director you just there for saw for a second. What you do is, you'll be looking at something and it would combine this GPS technology, the same sort of thing that goes into Google Earth. Here's an image that you've taken. Tell me how this is working?
MACINTYRE: So, some of our students went outside Centennial Park this morning --
VELSHI: This is right across the road from us. This is the CNN building,
MACINTYRE: Right. And created a little demo of what a tourist might see in visiting Atlanta. Here, the content that's overlaid is information about the buildings, about the places around Centennial Park.
VELSHI: Right.
MACINTYRE: All of this information lives on a web server.
VELSHI: OK. So the idea is what? You're looking at -- you've got the camera up and you're looking at the CNN building. What is it likely to tell you?
MACINTYRE: So it depends what you want to put. At Georgia Tech we've created this web browser called ARGON. It's an augmented reality web browser. It uses all of the same technology as the current web, except you would say modify your server to send down whatever you want. If it's CNN, you might send down the nearby iReport.
VELSHI: Tell me what. Tell me what We're dancing around.
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VELSHI: What am I getting?
MACINTYRE: You're getting images, sound, interactive content, just like you would get on the web. These are all bits of HTML, just like the web browser that are being put out in the world.
VELSHI: And you are combining that with the technology, the GPS technology which is called?
MACINTYRE: Google Earth using KML. We basically take little bits of HTML, in this case you see some tweets that have been formatted from Twitter and encapsulate them inside KML, which is the thing Google Earth uses to describe where things are on the earth.
VELSHI: Right.
MACINTYRE: Where the little place marks and elements of --
VELSHI: OK. So what does the Twitter stuff tell me? What's that?
MACINTYRE: This is another example of how you can take, say, other consent, like Tweets. In your server, reformat it how you want, send it down. Here we see a bunch of tweets nearby and the content of one of them.
We're also working on more advanced kinds of ways you could use this. In this example that we're working on with (INAUDIBLE), we're trying to integrate with web services, so, for example, maybe you know this person, you could click to call them when you see a Tweet by them.
VELSHI: I see. OK.
So bottom line is you are integrating the visual with data?
MACINTYRE: Yes. Anything you could imagine putting on the web in 2D, if it's appropriate, you can put it around you. So maybe when you're looking at a detailed bit of text, just want to look at it on the screen. When it's something relevant to you, or me, or a building we're looking at, we would want to put it on, maybe by that building.
VELSHI: Theoretically -- I like architecture. I could be looking at the building through my phone and I formatted it to tell me -- to give me information on architecture. It'll tell me that's such and such a building and whatever I would get on the internet?
MACINTYRE: Yes. So maybe the architectural society of America has a web site where augmented it with the necessary technology to feed this information down. You love architecture. You go there. When you look around, you see information about the buildings around you. And it's up a to the people at the architectural society to create their web server.
VELSHI: So the apps here, how does that work? This depends on people participating? Would it be one app on my phone?
MACINTYRE: Exactly. ARGON is an app. It's a free app we're going to have available in the next few weeks. And once you have it on your phone it's just like a browser. You can type in the URL, www.CNN.com, and if CNN has enabled their web server to understand it's ARGON calling, then they can feed down information like this.
VELSHI: I see.
MACINTYRE: Right? so --
VELSHI: That's very interesting. So you can build anything into this. The idea is you have your ability to capture video or an image and combine it with pretty much all the data available out there?
MACINTYRE: Right. There are all kinds of little apps that are available on the iPhone.
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MACINTYRE: Yes. For me right now the big question is how do we start understanding what AR is good for? Right? We need to get all of these people with great ideas and who can create things and be able to get them experimenting, which we can do with this. Because building these little apps is hard.
VELSHI: All right. Mark, you look at this. Alex, point your camera at me. I'm going to tell viewers something here. There we go.
If you want more information on this, this very cool. As you know, there's no information entered on me right now. Go to my blog, CNN.com/ali. I'll have more and you can link to it and find out more about it. Blair, thanks very much. Alex Hill, thanks very much.
I'm going to talk about politics when I come back. The Nevada Senate race is heating up. The challenger getting a celebrity boost. Our CNNPolitics.com update is up right after this break.
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VELSHI: Time now for a CNN Equals Politics -- why do I say that wrong? CNNPolitics.com. CNN senior political editor Mark Preston, deputy political editor Paul Steinhauser. You guys get me tongue- tied.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL EDITOR: Ali, I think you failed that test that, but we're going to give you a second shot, no doubt about it. Ali, here's a question for you. Is Sharron Angle going Hollywood? You're going to get this first, it's not even on the ticker yet, I'm writing it as we speak. Sharron Angle, we know she's the Senate nominee out of Nevada taking on Harry Reid. We know she's backed a big time by the Tea Party movement. Guess what? This Saturday, Dennis Miller, the radio talk show host, the comedian, the entertainer. He's going to be in Vegas hosting a fundraiser, actually the main event at a fundraiser for Sharron Angle.
No surprise there in a way because Miller has supported Republicans a lot over the last decade, including in the last decade John McCain. But catch this. Last week Pat Boone, another conservative entertainer was hosting a fundraiser for Angle and this Friday she's going to Los Angeles to team up with a lot of conservatives in the entertainment business for a fundraiser. So, is she going Hollywood? Well, we'll see. We'll keep an eye on that.
Check this out. Zoom right in here to the CNN political ticker. Up this afternoon, West Virginia. Ali, if the Republicans win back the Senate, one of the places they may do is it West Virginia. There is a battle going on there right now for the seat for the late Robert Byrd. He had that seat in Democratic hands for over 50 years but died earlier this year. There's a special election. And right now the two candidates are heating it up today with brand new attack ads, each after each other.
We've got Joe Manchin, the popular two-term Democratic governor. He's the Democrats' nominee. And on the other side businessman John Raese getting dirty down in West Virginia. We'll keep an eye on that race.
That's what I got. Mark, what have you got?
MARK PRESTON, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Ali. You know, file this under. Your past always catches up to you. We're waiting for the past to catch up to you, which should be very shortly. Down in Florida, we had that very, very competitive Senate race. Well, there's a new ad out right now by the Democrat Kendrick Meek. He's taking a shot at Charlie Crist, the former Republican governor who's turned Independent. In fact, Charlie Crist is trying to reach out to Democratic voters. He thinks that that could help him in his path to victory in November.
Well, this new ad strings together a bunch of different statements Charlie Crist has made touting conservative ties. It's so popular that the Republican nominee Marco Rubio's campaign is shopping it around. Obviously, a very competitive race down in Florida. We will have new poll numbers, new CNN/Opinion Research corporation poll numbers out, Ali, in just a few hours.
And don't forget on October 24th, down in Florida on "STATE OF THE UNION," Candy Crowley will debate a 3-way debate between those three candidates -- Ali.
VELSHI: All right, guys. I know it's CNN Equals Politics. Everybody knows that. We know you've got the political ticker. But then you guys are sitting at some desk called the CNN.com. It's all very confusing. Can't I just say that my guys, Paul and Mark have got an update for us? Something like that?
STEINHAUSER: Does that work for you?
PRESTON: Sure. It's us.
VELSHI: It's a good thing this is not a live show. It's a good thing it's a taped show because we'll just redo the intro and edit it in.
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VELSHI: Be sure to stay with CNN for complete coverage of the key races, the key issues heading into these critical midterm elections. Your next update from those guys and their team is just an hour away.
OK. Disco could be getting its due at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Finally. Nobody gave it no respect. The new list of nominees is out. We'll tell you who may be inducted coming up next.
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VELSHI: The list is out for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The nominees for induction in 2011. There's a name here for pretty much any fan. From Neil diamond to Alice cooper; Bon Jovi to LL Cool J; Donna Summer and Dr. John. These are just some of the 15 nominees that they will pick from.
Now, to be considered you have to have put out a record at least 25 years ago. The 2010 inductees included Abba, Genesis, The Stooges and Jimmy Clift. Since the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Foundation was formed in 1983, they've honored a total of 605 people, some of them more than once. Eric Clapton, for instance, has been inducted three times as a solo act, with the Yard Birds, and with Cream.
Well, the internet and CNN NEWSROOM are abuzz this afternoon after the Britney Spears edition of "Glee" last night. One of the characters on the FOX show is named Brittney S. Pears (ph). Last night they paid homage to the pop icon Miss. Britney Spears. Her dialogue is being called sheer genius. In a major production, the character on the show expertly combined several different music videos from the real Miss. Spears into one laughing gas-induced fantasy. The dentist was played by John Stamos. Britney Spears appeared several times on last night's show, as well, once in a video spoof as Madonna talking about good smelling breath, and again as a cheerleader. And that's what we've got for that.
