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U.S. Midterm Elections Near; Haiti Suffers Cholera Outbreak; Financial Adviser Discusses Bad Spending Habits; YouTube and Guggenheim Hold Contest For Most Creative YouTube Videos; Website WikiLeaks Releases Hundreds Of Thousands of Classified Documents Pertaining to Recent Iraq War; CDC Warns Percentage of Americans With Diabetes Set to Increase Dramatically; Winners of This Year's Gubernatorial Races Will Help Determine Congressional Redistricting

Aired October 23, 2010 - 14:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The seven deadly sins of money management. Big no-no's that could get you in big financial trouble.

And check this out, flying food. It's one of the viral videos we'll be showing you this hour.

And a frantic pace on the campaign trail just ten days before the midterms. You don't want to miss CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" from 3:00 to 6:00 p.m. eastern time.

You're in the "CNN newsroom" right now where the news unfolds live this Saturday, October 23rd. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

Ten days and counting, that's how much time is left until Election Day in the critical midterm elections. Today we're keeping an eye on a couple of the bigger campaign events. In Florida, Sarah Palin is teaming with RNC Chairman Michael Steele as a fundraiser.

And they're also there to support Senate candidate Marco Rubio. In Minnesota President Obama takes the stage with gubernatorial candidate Mark Dayton. It's the president's last stop on his five- state, four-day western swing.

So the president has more campaign stops scheduled for next weekend, but is the president still moving the needle at all for Democrats? CNN deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is in Washington this afternoon. So Paul, how much does the president's appearance really matter?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, the president, Fred really matters a lot in this election. People ask me, wait a minute. President Barack Obama is not on the ballot. So why does he matter?

Fred, here is why. The Republicans are trying to make these midterm elections all about the president and what he's done at the White House, his agenda, how he's worked on the economy and are tying Democrats to the president.

Take a look at this. This is our most recent CNN Poll of Polls. We put it out yesterday. We compiled the most recent presidential approval ratings. It appears Americans are divided on Barack Obama and the job he's doing, 47 percent thumbs up, 48 percent thumbs down. So Americans appear to be divided on the president.

And Republicans again are trying to tie Democratic candidates to the president and say what the president is doing is wrong, and if Democrats are supporting him, you should not vote for them. That's their strategy.

And you can see a lot more about the president at CNN.com/politics, a brand new article by Ed Henry, our senior White House correspondent. Fred?

WHITFIELD: Since we're still talking about the president, what about his popularity and what it means for the next two years?

STEINHAUSER: Yes, because, you know what, the second these elections are over in ten days, myself and a lot of others, we focus on the battle for 212.

A Gallup poll out this week, only four in ten people in the Gallup poll nationally said they think Barack Obama deserves to be reelected in 2012. You would think that's not so good, only four in ten. But President Bill Clinton at around the same time in 1994 had a similar number. We know of course two years later, President Bill Clinton was reelected. And his approval rating around this time in 1994 was pretty similar as well. You can see right there, 48 percent approval.

Remember, two years from now is a long time away. So the next battle for the presidency will evolve and who knows what the conditions in the country will be two years from now.

WHITFIELD: Long time away, but it's going just like this.

Let's talk about the battle for Congress. You were in Virginia earlier today. Why is the race there so important?

STEINHAUSER: Just got back from Annandale, Virginia's 11th congressional district. There was a parade out there, an annual fall festival and parade. Both candidates, Democratic freshman Congressman Gerry Connelly and his Republican challenger Keith Fimian both marching in the parade talking to voters, a great place to do it.

This is a district where Connelly voted lockstep with the president and with Nancy Pelosi in the House. His Republican opponent says, listen, that's not right. But this is a district where a lot of people work in Washington and work for government.

Republicans, Fred, think, here's the big picture. If they can win back the Connelly district, Virginia, and others like it, they will have a good shot at getting the 39 seats they need to reclaim control of the House of Representatives. We'll find out in ten days, won't we?

WHITFIELD: We sure will. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Polling station workers in Connecticut now are now the fashion police. The Connecticut secretary of state says poll workers are allowed to ask voters to cover up if they happen to be wearing World Wrestling Entertainment gear.

That's because former WWE executive Linda McMahon is running for the Senate in Connecticut, and wearing WWE anything could be considered campaigning attire. McMahon trails Democrat Richard Blumenthal in the latest CNN opinion research corporation poll by 13 points. Republicans say the clothing crackdown could keep some supporters from voting at all.

CNN's "BALLOT BOWL" is back next hour. Hear with the candidates, President Barack Obama and former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin are saying about the race and the issues. We count down to those important political elections with the best political team on television. "BALLOT BOWL" starting at 3:00 right here on CNN.

All right, the death toll in Haiti from cholera keeps growing. It is now over 200, and health officials fear the deadly disease will find its way to Haiti's capital where thousands were left homeless from the January earthquake still live in squalid tent cities.

Imogen Wall is a spokesman for the U.N. Humanitarian Affairs Office. She joins us by phone from Port-au-Prince. Give me an idea how Port-au-Prince prepares itself for this cholera to spread to that major city?

IMOGEN WALL, SPOKESPERSON, U.N. HUMANITARIAN AFFAIRS, (via telephone): Yes, well, this is our major concern at the moment, obviously. Actually, I have to say, the most vulnerable areas of the city, are not necessarily the people in the camps. You have to remember that 80 percent of Port-au-Prince was effectively slums even before the quake hit. They don't have sanitation and the access to clean water many of the people in the camps have, and they don't have access to the systems we have now.

If they do find cases in camp, that information will reach us quickly and we'll be able to respond. What we've done is have large publications going on the past few day, hundreds going out into the most vulnerable areas and explaining basic hygiene techniques, how to treat the early symptoms of cholera, because the simple things are the most effective way of preventing and responding to any outbreak.

It's basically hand washing. It's making sure that people prepare food properly and only consume clean water, and if it's suspected case is identified, you can treat it quickly by getting fluid into people. If you do that early on, the survival rates improve dramatically.

WHITFIELD: And what are the symptoms? Clearly, there are a lot of people have no idea what the symptoms of cholera are there. They may not feel well, they aren't sure why they don't feel well. What are some of the symptoms they typically are showing?

WALL: Well, cholera manifests here as acute diarrhea and vomiting. It can set on very quickly, particularly in children. The period of onset of symptoms and death can be as quickly as four hours, dying mostly of dehydration. Dehydration early on is the issue.

Obviously, though cholera is not a common in the United States, we haven't had a case since 1960, unfortunately diarrhea is very common. The question is identifying what is cholera and what is normal diarrhea. That's the very big challenge right now. Though we have suspected case, it's very important that we investigation and confirm before we panic people.

This is why the public information matters so much. And to the houses as well, the basic principles such as isolation and the importance of quarantining people in cases that are put in hospitals is not something many are familiar with.

WHITFIELD: Imogen Wall, thanks so much with the U.N. Humanitarian Affairs. Appreciate your time, and all the best as you try treat and get to the aid of all that need it there.

WALL: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: Meantime, WikiLeaks has published nearly 400,000 classified military documents online. The whistleblower website says they revealed hidden truths about the war. Among the revelations, details about civilian deaths. WikiLeaks claims 15,000 of those deaths were never publicly documented before now. And we'll have a live report on the record and the Pentagon's response in about 20 minutes from now.

All right, the seven deadly sins of money management. Find out what they are and what they could cost you right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: I bet you haven't heard about the deadly sins, the seven deadly since of money management. Indulging in them can actually get you into some serious financial trouble. Here to tell us what they are and how to avoid them, Alfred Edmond, the editor in chief of blackenterprise.com. Good to see you. He's joining us from New York.

ALFRED J. EDMOND, JR., EXPERT ON BUSINESS AND ECONOMIC TRENDS: Hey, Fredricka. How are you?

WHITFIELD: I'm doing great.

Let's begin with anger. You really should not make purchases or do anything about your money, when it deals with anger. That's the number one sin on your list of seven?

EDMOND: Well, yes. Black enterprise -- posted on the home page of blackenterprise.com today. And actually anger is the biggest of the deadly sins to do with your money. Never, ever spend money when you're emotional when you're angry, distracted. It leads to impulse buying and you're not really conscience of what you're spending.

WHITFIELD: Then there's envy. We know sometimes people see something that somebody else has and says, oh, my gosh, I want that. And you say, do not indulge.

EDMOND: This is why it's important to have your own budget. We all have challenges keeping up with the Jones. If they have it, I must have it. It really means don't get caught up and being worried and jealous of what others have. Focus on what you have and what you can afford.

WHITFIELD: Gluttony, I feel that could be a little parallel with that, right? What do we mean by gluttony?

EDMOND: Gluttony is often you go into a store and you went in for what you needed and then your eyes got big and you're seeing the word "sale" and you just buy because it's there. And your excuse, of course, it's on sale. It's on sale. It's on sale.

It's really important to go in with a clear idea what you're going to spend money on. Shopping with a list is very important no matter where you go, and go in for what you went for and come back out. Don't get excited about spending for the fun of spending.

WHITFIELD: How is that going to be different from greed, just wanting it all?

EDMOND: Greed is something that we wrestle with as a nation, because we are a wealthy nation. But sometimes you get caught up in rampant materialism. That's when want the shoes in every color they come in. We want to accumulate because we can.

When you look at credit card debt, we end up spending money we don't really have. That's about not really getting caught up in materialism that can be a big part of consumer culture here in America.

WHITFIELD: And then number five on the list is lust. All that glitters is not gold, right?

EDMOND: Here's how you can tell if you're shopping out of lust, just out of the love of shopping. If you feel guilty afterwards, and you know a lot of people get home, and the euphoria wears off, and they look at the price tag and the stuff they brought back, and often they will go back and return it.

If you're doing that, you're shopping out of lust, not out of a need or want. It's the euphoria of shopping, and that can be very, very dangerous.

WHITFIELD: At least it's good you might have the impulse to return it, then. You're responding to, I guess, that feeling?

EDMOND: Yes, but if the you're doing it over and over and over again, it's really an unhealthy cycle.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: OK. And then it boils down to pride. What do we mean by this?

EDMOND: Well, pride comes in two ways. One is not willing to admit to yourself that you're in trouble and reaching out for help, whether that means getting credit counseling, whether that means calling your credit card company and trying to negotiate a better rate or try to help you get out of trouble. You won't even admit you're in trouble.

The other side of pride is not being able to say to yourself I can't afford this now. A lot of people that have a hard time with has, because they feel somehow they're failing this way. They have to admit they can't afford something. Swallow your pride. Look at what you really can afford. Live within those means and don't feel bad about it.

WHITFIELD: OK, then you say number seven of the deadly sin of money management, people don't necessarily take into account all of their spending. And you say there is no excuse for that. That's pure lazy. That's being a sloth.

This is the one where even in good times we're have are have lazy about recordkeeping about not breaking down spending on a day-to-day basis or writing it down. We do it by memory.

In good economic time we kind of get away with it because there's a big margin for error. What we're finding is it's difficult coming out of the great recession, and we didn't have that margin for error. And it's very important to write down what you're spending, how you're spending it so you know where your money is going. That's the sin most of us are guilty of. We don't want to keep records, but do it by memory.

WHITFIELD: Also, to be really clear about these seven deadly sins. These are all things you can be held accountable for. You really can fix and correct yourself. It doesn't cost you anything, really, to try and figure out how do I get myself together? These are all things that are kind of, it's self-restraint, bottom line, isn't it?

EDMOND: Well, self-restraint and making yourself more conscience of what you're doing when you're doing it. So much of the spending we do is unconscious, habitual spending. That can be very dangerous. We're really telling people, repent, repent for your own financial good.

(LAUGHTER)

And, again, if you go blackenterprise.com to the homepage today, you'll see these seven deadly sins laid out. You can get your finances in order if you really focus in these areas.

WHITFIELD: Fantastic. Alfred Edmond, editor in chief of blackenterprise.com. Thanks so much for your time from New York today.

EDMOND: My pleasure. It's great being with you Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Thanks so much. We'll have you again, hopefully if your schedule allows it.

All right, tonight CNN anchor and special correspondent Soledad O'Brien examines how some people are fighting the financial crisis from the pulpit. "Almighty Debt," a "Black in America" special airs tonight and tomorrow 8:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

And something else we're also looking forward to, a special edition of "Viral Video Rewind" today. The winner of one of the biggest competitions ever in the world of online videos, we can't wait for this, Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes. We got the winners for you.

WHITFIELD: This was a real challenge.

LEVS: Yes, because they got more than 23,000 submissions for this thing, YouTube and Guggenheim. One of the winners, one that you and I know well, someone snuck into the hotel room of a music icon, got an interview, created a cartoon out of it. Now it is being name one of the most innovative videos ever. I'm going to show you this, tell you who the icon is.

Plus, flying food, the syndrome of being shy, a kind of eerie stop motion animation, and all of the videos projected on the outside of a major landmark in New York. All of that is coming up in viral video rewind.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

All right, very soon we're going to have the hottest videos on the Internet. We'll find out what they are straight ahead. But first, a look at top stories.

In Juarez, Mexico, another horrific crime. Gunmen opened fire on a house party last night, killing at least 11 people. As many as seven others were wounded, the victims all young people. No word on a motive. Juarez is at the epicenter of Mexico's battle of drug gains.

And two Georgetown University students and another person are under arrest after the discovery of a suspected meth lab inside a dormitory. Police say chemicals were found at the scene but no illegal drugs. The dorm was evacuated for a couple of hours.

And in California, a deadly shark attack. A 19-year-old college student was killed right in the surf off of Vandenberg Air Force Base. He was boogie boarding with a friend when a shark bit off his left leg and pulled him under, reportedly. The beach is about three of them in the area have since been closed.

And off the coast of Louisiana, 32 sea turtles impacted by the Gulf oil disaster are back in the wild. They were released earlier today, about 50 miles south of Grand Isle. The turtles were rescued after the oil leak and treated for exposure. Nice to see happy picture there's of the turtles.

And now something else to make you very happy, our "Viral Video Rewind." We told you about a huge international video competition a while back on YouTube, and Josh Levs now with the results. Winners announced.

LEVS: So YouTube and the Guggenheim got together and they announced they are looking for the most creative, most innovative videos ever on the planet online. More than 23,000 videos were submitted from more than 91 countries.

This jury picked the top 25. It was going to be 20, but they said they were so amazed they wanted to go with 25. Look how they announced them. Take a look at this video. It was projected onto the exterior of the Guggenheim.

So if you were in New York, anywhere in that area, this is a technology you and I talked about it, called video mapping. It's not the same as lasers but a similar idea where it projects these images on the outside of a building.

WHITFIELD: That's a favorite museum in New York. Gosh. It's beautiful, a kind of circular thing as you see in that video.

LEVS: And you and I talked about a lot of these videos are like modern art. That's what's they're celebrating.

We'll start with one that's flying food. What they're celebrating about it is just how impressive it is physically. Look. Go ahead and take a look at what it looks like. Take a look at that video, and it is -- there you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: Keep watching. This is by Eric and Matthew Huber, and the jury talked about this as just beautiful in that. It's high quality. It's actual video. It's not fake. It's not enhanced. And they talk about how they got every pixel, every frame, every color to just be so incredibly strong and pure.

WHITFIELD: Of course I want to know how they did it. Initially I'm thinking upside down. No, it's all stagnant for a moment.

LEVS: Super -- apparently they took super high quality video and slowed it down big time.

WHITFIELD: They jolted the table --

LEVS: Exactly. The jolted the table and the food goes flying. You can see how far digital videos have come. WHITFIELD: It makes me hungry.

(LAUGHTER)

Bottom line.

LEVS: So the next one a video you and I talked about which is an interview no one knew about with John Lennon. Back in 1969, this 14- year-old kid snuck into his hotel room in Toronto, got an interview with him. Four decades later, almost, he and a few other people animated it. Here's how it turned out. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN LENNON: Many ways of promoting, do everything for peace. Smile for peace. Go to school for peace or don't go to school for peace. Whatever you do, just do it for peace. It's up to the people. You can't blame it on the government and say they're going to put us into war. We put them there. We allow it. We can change it if we really want to change it, we can change it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: A deep conversation with a 14-year-old at the time.

LEVS: And it says a lot about the time. These days, no one could sneak into a star's room for an interview, which is a good thing. In '69, times were different. Who knows what was going on? That was up in Toronto. Yes, he says, I'm at the Walrus.

All right, another one to check out here. Look at this imagery in the next video. It's another example of -- watch what this guy does.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(MUSIC)

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: This is "Seaweed," by grisly man, "Rocket to the Sky" in London. He holds on to the freeze frame image where he put his arms and then keeps going and put all of those images together and created this one big picture. This is the kind of thing you're looking at.

WHITFIELD: Those arms are moving. This is very freaky.

LEVS: Yes, because he held on to the video. I know. Incredible.

WHITFIELD: Oh. Brilliant, what brilliant ideas.

LEVS: This is the kind of thing we're seeing in these videos. Just fascinating artistry that took time. Some took week, months.

WHITFIELD: What was this called again? LEVS: It's called "Seaweed."

This is -- right now, I posted as always all the links on my Facebook, JoshLevs@CNN. Go and see them for yourself. And we'll have more tomorrow on the 5:00 hour, to continue to look at these, and it's just what you are and I talk about. We're busy in the news world and in our lives and there's artists out there. And some of them are choosing YouTube as their easel, right? And that's what we see.

WHITFIELD: And using their own bodies, and their creativity. That's fascinating. Of course, that was soothing, but I also look forward to that tranquil moment you often bring on a Sunday.

LEVS: Yes, that moment of Zen. All pressure is on the 5:00 p.m. eastern hour.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: Josh, appreciate it. Thank you.

The web site WikiLeaks is calling it the largest classified military leak in history. Thousands of secret war documents published online. We'll tell you what's in them and how the Pentagon is now responding, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, setting the record straight by revealing the actual records. That's what WikiLeaks said it is doing by publishing nearly 400,000 classified military documents on the Iraq war. The whistleblower website says the papers revealed hidden truths about the war, including evidence showing coalition and Iraqi forces that may have committed war crimes.

The records also detail thousands of additional civilian deaths. The antiwar group Iraq Body Count says that information will help families who never knew how their loved ones died.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JULIAN ASSANGE, FOUNDER, WIKILEAKS: The first casualty of war is the truth. The attack on the truth by war begins long before war starts and continues long after a war ends.

In our release of these 400,000 documents about the Iraq War, the intimate detail of that war from the U.S. perspective, we hope to correct some of that attack on the truth that occurred before the war, during the war, and which has continued on since the war officially concluded.

JOHN SLOBODA, IRAQ BODY COUNT: Based on our careful estimates, when fully analyzed these will bring to the public 15,000 previously unreported civilian deaths to add to the 107,000 which are already in the Iraq Body Count data base. And 15,000 is a huge number. It's equivalent to five 9/11s or nearly 300 7/7s.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So what are military leaders saying about all this? Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence has been talking to people there. And what are they saying to you?

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN SENIOR PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, bottom line, Fred, one difference one official told me, this makes the U.S. military more vulnerable today than it was just a few months ago. In fact, he says it's a treasure-trove of information that reveals not only military tactics but also information on how the U.S. military cultivates its sources.

Now, the Pentagon spokesman says it also reveals information about Iraqis who cooperated with Americans and puts their lives in danger. The thing is, that's the same thing they claimed in July when WikiLeaks released the information about U.S. documents in Afghanistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LAWRENCE: And yet both a NATO official and someone right here in the Pentagon have told us that there is not one case of an Afghan being identified by WikiLeaks being harmed? Are you demonizing WikiLeaks for no reason?

GEOFF MORRELL, PENTAGON SPOKESMAN: I don't believe so. I think -- remember, this is an organization that induces peep to break the law, leak classified information, and then exposes that information to the world for everyone to potentially take advantage of, including our enemies, those we're currently fighting and those we may one day be in conflict with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LAWRENCE: His argument is the military of say, China or Iran now have about a half million classified documents in which to build a manual, he says, on how to fight the U.S. military. His argument is potential enemy, not just the ones the U.S. is fighting now, could use these field reports to decipher information on U.S. military tactics.

WHITFIELD: So what about these documents revealing anything new about Iran and its role, perhaps, in the Iraq war?

LAWRENCE: You'll remember for years President Bush was criticized for exaggerating Iran's role in Iraq to sort of support his get tough policy with Iran. Well, a lot of what's in these documents sort of validates President Bush and show really a longstanding pattern of Iranian aggression in Iraq.

You know, Iraqi insurgents going to Iran to be trained as snipers, Iran helping insurgents plan certain attacks. In fact, one even dames altercations at actual firefights between U.S. and Iranian forces right along the border there. So, again, you're talking about a lot more involvement by Iran than what we originally believed.

WHITFIELD: And so anything more about you know, claims of Iran crossing into the Iraqi border to arrest even the three American hikers, one who is now back home?

LAWRENCE: Yes. You know, sort of called the Iranian hikers, but, really what these documents seem to show, if you believe these U.S. military reports, is that these three Americans were clearly on the Iraqi side of the border when they were seized by Iranian agents and brought into Iran. Now, one has since been released, but two are still being held there in Iran.

WHITFIELD: Chris Lawrence, Pentagon correspondent. Thanks so much from Washington. Appreciate that.

LAWRENCE: You're welcome.

WHITFIELD: All right, words of warning for Americans now. We're not just getting fatter, we're getting sicker. A new report could be a wake-up call about your chances of getting diabetes.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: In a moment, an alarming new report on diabetes and how it may soon be an epidemic across America. But first a look at our top stories.

Typhoon Megi slams into China sending hundreds of thousands fleeing as it makes landfall in a southeastern province. So far 270,000 people have been evacuated. It is now losing strength as it heads inland but will bring heavy rains in the next few days.

And more distressing news out of earthquake ravaged Haiti. A cholera outbreak has killed more than 200 people, and the illness is spreading with more than 2,300 people sick. The outbreak comes after recent heavy rains while Haiti still tries to recover from January's major earthquake.

And Google admits it failed badly by inadvertently collecting private information sent across wireless networks in more than 30 countries including right here in the U.S. On a blog the company admits private e-mails, URLs, and passwords were collected and stored why its street use service was documenting roadway locations.

And this medical news out this week warns Americans that we're not only getting fatter, we're actually getting sicker. Here's the headline from the CDC. In 40 years, by the year 2050, one in three American adults will have diabetes, one in three.

So what can we do to avoid this health crisis? Well I asked registered dietitian Julie Schwartz.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE SCHWARTZ, REGISTERED DIETICIAN: There's a lot of things, genes we can't control, some of our environment. But we can control what we put in our mouth, and we can control moving through the day.

WHITFIELD: Non-medical methods in which to, you know, keep or stave off diabetes?

SCHWARTZ: Right. And there's an abundance of research of programs that have worked, with millions of people, actually.

And what we do in the programs that worked, people eat more fruits and vegetables, eat less fat, and move more throughout the day. Even ten minutes of walking here, ten minutes of walking there, just trying to add up to about 150 minutes of any kind of activity throughout the week make as huge difference.

WHITFIELD: So should we really be that alarmed at these stats in 40 years? You look around right now, more than half Americans are deal with a weight problem or obesity right now, and everybody knows there's a correlation between obesity and diabetes.

SCHWARTZ: There is. And I believe a lot of that correlation also comes down to lifestyle as well as the fat cell. But the lifestyle is what we can control.

So it's not about making drastic changes, giving up your favorite food, like a diet would do. A diet tells you stop eating this, stop eating that, and then tells you how you fail. And then if you take a lifestyle approach, you can figure out, what did I need to eat? What can I add to my day instead of deprivation?

WHITFIELD: So help me understand what I should be eating. I know you said more fruits and vegetables, but sometimes we reach for things and maybe the fat content is a little higher than we might want it to be in an optimal way, but that's what tastes good and works on my plate here.

SCHWARTZ: Right. And it's not about giving those things up. It's balancing those higher fat foods with lower fat foods. And really, the balance idea is important, because when we give health recommendations, it's also the same basic recommendation for people to be satiated or satisfied with their meals.

So it may have had that little bit of high-fat food, maybe dessert. But balance that out with lower fat foods throughout the day. And again, the fruits and vegetable message, we hear that over and over and over, yet most Americans have one serving or less a day.

WHITFIELD: You want to have how many serving a day?

SCHWARTZ: Five to seven, at least.

WHITFIELD: Five to seven.

SCHWARTZ: Yes.

WHITFIELD: All right.

SCHWARTZ: And just try and incorporate it more into the day. Not being afraid of fruit because it has sugar. It's natural sugar. There's plenty of really highly other sought after --

WHITFIELD: That's going to suppress that urge to go for the candy bar when you go for the natural sugar-type things?

SCHWARTZ: Right. And your body often is craving that natural sugar, and our brain says go get the candy bar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Dietician Julie Schwartz. Perhaps you need more encouragement? Here's another number to consider. Right now nearly six million Americans have diabetes and they don't even know it.

A message from above for a thief who stole air conditioners from a Florida church. We'll tell what you god says to the thief in our water cooler segment straight ahead.

But first, imagine flying through the sky in an airplane that maneuvers more like a sports car. CNN's Gary Tuchman got the chance to check out this hot new plane. Here's this week's "Edge of Discovery."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Soaring over these California canyons is the Icon A5, an example of the FAA's newest class of plane called light sport aircraft.

KIRK HAWKINS, ICON AIRCRAFT: They call it the biggest change in aviation in 50 years.

TUCHMAN: To fly it, you'll need a sport pilot license that typically costs less and requires less training than beginner pilots needed before. But the license also comes with more restrictions. Pilots can't fly a light sport aircraft at altitude higher than 2,000 feet, in bad weather, at night, or in congested airspace. Designers say this bad boy is made for fun, not commuting or long distance travel.

HAWKINS: This airplane is designed to take you and get you out, let you explore the planet in a very visceral inner active way in a way to blow you away.

TUCHMAN: It's still a prototype. In addition to being able to take off land in the water, engineers say the final version will have folding wings and a sports car-inspired cockpit, all for a cool $139,000.

Gary Tuchman, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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WHITFIELD: All right, time for a little water cooler action. The bible says "Thou shalt not steal," right? Somebody didn't get the message and actually stole three air conditioners from a church in Jacksonville, Florida. The congregation responded with a sign, and it says, "To whomever stole my air conditioners, you're going to need them." It's signed, god.

And hailing a cab is so 20th century these days. In San Francisco, you can summon a limousine with a tap on your iPhone these days. Once you sign up with uber cab company you get a special iPhone app than shows you where the limos are and allows you to actually contact the driver of your choice.

You can follow the driver's progress as he or she heads to your location. The trip is automatically billed to your credit card. So, so easy these days. You don't have to do this -- anymore.

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WHITFIELD: Just ten days away, hard to believe, until midterm elections. So we want to get you caught up with the developing stories from the campaign trail. Here's what's crossing right now on the CNN Political Ticker.

President Barack Obama is facing criticism over his campaign stops. In the GOP weekly address, Republican Senator John Thune says the president should be spending more time at the White House creating jobs for the American people instead of trying to save the jobs of Congressional Democrats.

And Florida gubernatorial candidate Rick Scott is being praised now by his former rival in the Republican primary. State attorney general Bill McCollum says he will now vote for Scott against Democrat Alex Sink. The two face-off in a debate Monday live right here on CNN. CNN's John King actually moderates that debate, 7:00 p.m. eastern time.

And Republicans are upset at a closing decision in Connecticut. The secretary of state says poll workers can ask voters to cover up any merchandise from World Wrestling Entertainment because it can be considered as campaigning. Former WWE executive Linda McMahon is the Republican candidate for Senate.

So this election year, 37 governorships are up for grabs, and one politician called those races the main event. Here now are Josh Levs with an explanation.

LEVS: Fred, some are calling this election of a decade. And there's a reason for this, and things people should understand how huge it can be, what happens when you vote in the gubernatorial races this year.

Let's zoom in on the map from CNN.com which talks to you about the state of the governorships in America today, where you see red is a Republican governor, blue is a Democratic governor. I'm going to switch to the house. Watch what happens. This is the current makeup of the House.

What you might not have thought about is the way the governor's race could change this. And that's because we've just completed a census. The way the law works, when the results start to come in it is expected that lawmakers will reorganize the districts in states all over the country.

And who has influence on what those districts look like? You have the legislatures and the governors who in many states have some influence on what those districts look like.

In fact, let me show you the districts that come up a lot when we talk about this. Zoom back in. This is Iowa. Iowa gets a lot of the phrase. The reason is, Iowa has an independent and they make a lot of sense. Not so much in other states. For example, in Pennsylvania, some all over the place, this blue one that twists around if referred to as an incumbent protection district.

In New York, lots of blue. Right above the red section, an area, one district, referred to as the earmuffs. It was designed basically to help one party. Florida comes under discussion as well.

There's a Web site, redistrictingthenation.com. Look at this. They put together what they think is some of the craziest looking districts in America. Zoom in one last time. You don't need to know where they are. See all the various shapes. It's ridiculous when you look at it.

The idea is the people who gain power in your state legislature, and your governor, whoever becomes the governor will ultimately have real influence over what the districts are for the entire next decade, another reason to pay a lot of attention and pay part in that vote, Fred.

WHITFIELD: Some of those look like just long squiggly lines. It' funny a district will be shaped like that.

LEVS: Unbelievable.

WHITFIELD: Josh Levs, thanks so much. Appreciate that.

I'm Fredricka Whitfield at the CNN center in Atlanta. Much more of politics to come, and that's why we've got "BALLOT BOWL" coming your way -- Ed Henry, Jessica Yellin. We'll have live speeches from President Obama and Sarah Palin and much, much more coming up just minutes from now. "BALLOT BOWL" is back, right after this.

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