Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Al Qaeda Picks New 'Caretaker'; Worried Wait for Mississippi River to Crest; Gabrielle Giffords Prepares for Next Step; Air Force One Misses Approach; Obama Speaking at Coast Guard Academy Commencement in Connecticut; Rude Awakening for Young Workers
Aired May 18, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: Live from Studio 7, I'm Suzanne Malveaux. I want to get you up to speed for Wednesday, May 18th.
A temporary replacement for Osama bin Laden. A source with detailed knowledge of al Qaeda says he is Saif al-Adel. He's a former member of the Egyptian special forces.
The United States links al-Adel to the American Embassy bombings in East Africa. That happening in 1998. The U.S. has a $5 million bounty on him.
Calls are mounting for Dominique Strauss-Kahn to give up the top job at the International Monetary Fund. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner says that Strauss-Kahn is obviously not in a position to run the IMF. Strauss-Kahn is accused of sexually assaulting a hotel housekeeper.
Here's the woman's attorney.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY SHAPIRO, ATTORNEY: Since this has occurred she's not been able to go home, she can't go back to work. She has no idea what her future is going to be in any respect. So this has been -- aside from what took place in the hotel room, the trauma that has taken place in her life is extraordinary.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The Mississippi River is heading for an historic crest at Vicksburg over the next 24 hours. It is expected to peak a foot above the 1927 record across Mississippi and Louisiana. Now, 9,000 people have had to abandon their homes already, but this man plans to stay put.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Do you have a Plan B? I mean, if for some reason, the levees broke, what would you do?
RODERICK MAXWELL, MISSISSIPPI RESIDENT: I'd hook my GPS up and leave out on the levee. That's it.
SAVIDGE: Well, it's very peaceful.
MAXWELL: Yes, it's very quiet. That's why I'm getting a vacation right now, really.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: A Syrian newspaper reports the country's president admits that security forces have made mistakes in response to anti- government demonstrations. Bashar al-Assad did not specify what those mistakes were, but the president is facing international criticism for his brutal crackdown on peaceful protesters.
In Dublin today, Queen Elizabeth honored Ireland's World War I soldiers with a wreath of red poppies. She's also remembering the 14 Irish who died on Bloody Sunday. That is the day in 1920 when British troops opened fire on a crowd, igniting Ireland's drive for independence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Standing by for contact and capture.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Endeavour parked at the International Space Station for the final time today. The astronauts' main job, to anchor a physics experiment to the space station's exterior. It's going to look for the origins of the universe, the Big Bang. One more shuttle mission is planned this summer before the fleet is retired.
Well, we want to take a closer look now at this new caretaker appointed as an interim replacement for bin Laden. His name is Saif al-Adel, and he has a long history of militant and anti-American involvement.
Our Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence is joining us live.
And Chris, what do we know more about this guy and his background?
CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, this is a man who is known to defense officials and to the intelligence community because his trail goes back decades. And he's been involved in militant activity in a range of countries.
You mentioned that he's Egyptian. He's also around in his mid- 40s. He used to be a special forces officer, but he sort of started some of his militancy with the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group. That's a group that was affiliated with al Qaeda.
Back in the 1980s, he fought against the Soviets in Afghanistan. And then, after the fall of the Taliban in 2001, it's believed he went to Iran, where he was sheltered there for a while. And some of the sources overseas are saying right now, best guess, is they believe that he is hiding out in the federally administrated tribal areas of Pakistan, right along the border there near Afghanistan -- Suzanne. MALVEAUX: Chris, do we have any idea if he has any kind of American training, American military training, any connection at all to the United States?
LAWRENCE: Well, no definite proof of that. You know, back in the 1980s was when the U.S. first started to start its program of training some of the Egyptian military and working with some of the Egyptians. So, by his age, you know, he may not be in that age range where, you know, that program was just getting off the ground back when he was in Egypt. So no proof of that right now.
MALVEAUX: And how do we know how al Qaeda actually decided to choose this guy? It's not like they can hold a meet and hold an election or something.
LAWRENCE: No, that's a good question. Basically, it's been presumed that Osama bin Laden's number two, Ayman al-Zawahiri, would eventually take over for him. But the thing is, remember, bin Laden was a Saudi. He came from this area of the Arabian Peninsula that is considered most holy to many Muslims, the area of Mecca and Medina, very holy sites in Islam.
There may be some pushback in terms of an Egyptians taking over. So there is some thought out there that al-Adel is being put out there to see what the reaction is going to be to an Egyptian, to sort of an outsider, taking over al Qaeda. And if he's well received, then maybe that's a signal that Zawahiri could then step in and take over once al-Adel's caretaker role is sort of done.
But, again, the reason why he's been chosen now, there was starting to be, you know, a little bit of a void there. Some of the jihadist communities around the world wondering who's going to fill this void now that bin Laden is dead.
MALVEAUX: All right. Chris, thank you very much. Appreciate the details.
LAWRENCE: You're welcome.
MALVEAUX: Here's your chance to "Talk Back" on one of the big stories of the day. President Obama is going to deliver a speech tomorrow detailing his policy on the Middle East and North Africa.
So, today's "Talk Back" question: Should the U.S. play a major role in the Middle East in the first place?
Carol Costello, with that question in mind.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's not like we've had late of success, right?
President Obama, like many presidents before him, says it's time to bring peace to the Middle East.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Because of the many changes that are taking place in the region, it's more vital than ever that both Israelis and Palestinians find a way to get back to the table and begin negotiating a process whereby they can create two states that are living side by side in peace and security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Oh, but we've heard this before, haven't we? President Carter had Camp David. President Clinton, the Oslo Accords. Then the Mideast roadmap for peace from President George W. Bush. And then the secretive Geneva Accord between Israel and the Palestinians.
Four major plans, but none has led to a permanent solution.
In the meantime, a Pew Research poll shows that the Muslim world continues to have a very low opinion of the United States, as Arab- American comedian Dean Obeidallah told me.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEAN OBEIDALLAH, ARAB-AMERICAN COMEDIAN: America's like the cool kid in high school, and the Arab world wants to sit at our cafeteria table with us and be our friend. And they see Israel sitting with us all the time. They want to sit down. They want to swap the falafel and apple pie and have a good time together, and sometimes I think that they feel that they're kept at arm's length.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COSTELLO: Left out of the picture.
Now, don't expect President Obama to break any new ground on Israel in his speech tomorrow. And some say it couldn't have come at a worse time.
Israeli forces have clashed with protesters crossing its borders. The Palestinian Authority has joined with the Islamist militant group Hamas. So, at what point should the United States take a step back?
So, today's "Talk Back" question: Should the U.S. play a major role in the Middle East?
Facebook.com/CarolCNN. I'll read your comments later this hour.
MALVEAUX: Great arguments on both sides. Some folks say this is exactly the time in the Middle East. With all the revolution that's occurring, that this is the time that bin Laden is gone --
COSTELLO: But President Obama wasn't more supportive of those democratic uprisings. That's also angered the Arab world. So you have to throw that into the mix as well and wonder, is it really the best time?
MALVEAUX: Can't wait. Can't wait to hear what folks have got to say. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Yes. Sure.
MALVEAUX: President Obama, he's going to give an address tomorrow on the recent dramatic developments, as Carol had mentioned, in the Middle East, and the future of U.S. policy in the region.
We want you to tune in for our special coverage. It's on CNN NEWSROOM. It's beginning at 11:30 Eastern. That is tomorrow.
CNN's Wolf Blitzer is going to join us. We're going to have expert analysis, live coverage of President Obama's address. You're not going to want to miss that.
Here's the rundown for some of the stories that we are covering in the next two hours.
Flooding along the Mississippi, how it's going to affect the rest of the nation.
Also, a milestone for Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, the latest step in her recovery.
Plus, tracking last month's deadly tornadoes. Satellite images tell a devastating story.
And the infamous perp walk. Jeanne Moos, she finds the best ones to show us.
And finally, the millennial generation hits the job market.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These kids have been told that they're the most amazing thing on the face of this Earth from the day they were born.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: The millennial generation. You're going to find out how these new American workers are doing.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Focusing now on the flood disaster you've been watching almost in slow motion now. And the worry today is, will the levees hold against the swollen Mississippi River?
About 9,000 people in Mississippi and Louisiana have been forced to evacuate so far. The river still hasn't even crested in many areas. Louisiana's governor says the record water levels could last more than a month.
Our John King is deep in the disaster zone.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KING, CNN CHIEF NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: As you can see, we're about chest deep here. The Department of Homeland Security, this would be the United States Coast Guard. This is the Natchez Station, Natchez, Mississippi, Station of the United States Coast Guard.
This is the outdoor parking lot. Obviously, you see the water up here, about chest high. So you're looking at about 3.5, 4 feet. You start coming over this way through the parking lot, it's slow-going, trust me.
Right under here somewhere -- I'm going to find it in just a second -- you drive to work, you have to punch in your code. Here's the keyboard, right down here. Here's the top of the console right here.
You can see, the Coast Guard, this is not the way they normally go to and from work, coming out in a little rowboat.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The only way to get out.
KING: The only way to get out at the moment.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(BUSINESS REPORT)
MALVEAUX: Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords prepares for another milestone. Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen talks with her doctor about the next step in her recovery.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here are today's choices for "Choose the News."
First, looking for a job. The CIA has launched an unprecedented effort to recruit people with diverse backgrounds.
Second, from multi-room hotel suite to one-person prison cell, days are quite different for IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn as he awaits the next step in his sexual assault case.
And third, a mayor in Indiana has replaced 80 percent of his town's traffic lights with something he says it making traffic move a lot smoother. Will it work in bigger U.S. cities?
Well, vote by texting 22360. Text 1 for "CIA: Help Wanted"; 2 for "Life at Rikers"; or 3 for "Relieving the Traffic." The winning story will air in the next hour.
Well, some good news. Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords prepares for her next step in her recovery. Giffords is in rehab in Houston, recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, and the next milestone will be a procedure to reinsert part of her skull.
Our senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen spoke exclusively with the doctor who will perform this surgery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SR. MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): When Congresswoman Gabby Giffords was shot in the head she defied death. Not only did she live through this traumatic injury, she can walk -- that's her at the top of the stairs -- and talk, and even traveled in an airplane to watch her husband, Mark Kelly, take off in the shuttle Endeavour.
And now, more than four months after the shooting, another huge milestone, an effort to make Gabby Giffords whole again. After the shooting, doctors in Arizona cut a hole in her skull like this one to give her brain space to swell. Now the swelling is gone and her skull can be repaired.
In a CNN exclusive, I sat down with Giffords' neurosurgeon, Dr. Dong Kim, who will be performing the surgery at the University of Texas.
(on camera): Is this a big step in someone's recovery?
DR. DONG KIM, GIFFORDS' NEUROSURGEON: Yes, it is a big step.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Kim will implant a piece of synthetic bone made especially for Giffords.
KIM: It will just fit in, and then it fits in perfect, as you can see. Then we take these little plates and screws. We went to put in generally one here, there and there.
COHEN (on camera): So this is holding the implant and the real skull together?
KIM: That's right. It really is a significant step. And more than just getting the bone back, it's a marker for where we are.
COHEN (voice-over): Dr. Kim told me patients like Giffords often need another procedure. This one, to get rid of a buildup of fluid in the brain. He inserts a tube to drain excess fluid from the brain to the abdominal cavity. Patients wear this internal drain called the shunt forever.
(on camera): So people walk around with this tubing all their life?
KIM: Yes. Very small. It's elastic tubing. It can last for the rest of their life. And at some point, patients can almost forget that they have it.
COHEN (voice-over): For Gabby Giffords, it's the end of one stage and the beginning of the next, trying to get back to the life she once knew.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Elizabeth Cohen joins us live.
Elizabeth, that's just a fascinating story when you take a look at this.
I guess the question that I have is, how is it that she was able to move, to even around get around, without a large piece of her skull?
COHEN: Right. She flew to Florida, she did physical therapy. I mean, she flew to Florida twice, actually. And it really is amazing, because you'd think if you're missing that big of a gap, that's a problem.
MALVEAUX: Sure.
COHEN: But what people do is they usually put helmets on people like this. Doctor Kim was explaining to me that when people who are missing a piece of their skull need to move around, they wear this helmet. So, God forbid, if they did fall, they would be protected. And the great thing about this upcoming surgery is that she won't have to wear this helmet.
MALVEAUX: And is this a permanent fix, to have this skull implant once that happens?
COHEN: Is it a permanent fix. I mean, most -- the vast majority of the time, this is it. You put it in, the bone actually grows into the implant.
So she's getting an implant, a synthetic piece. You see it right there. The bone of the skull actually grows into the implant and it just becomes a part of her skull.
MALVEAUX: That's absolutely fascinating. And you see he's just kind of pinning it on there.
What's the procedure to actually get that thing on?
COHEN: What he does is he puts four screws on, just like you see here, and that's it. And that holds it on there. So he's showing us exactly what he does when he does this type of surgery.
MALVEAUX: Unbelievable. Well, we wish her the very best.
COHEN: Absolutely.
MALVEAUX: And amazing reporting, talking to the doctor.
COHEN: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Elizabeth.
A programming note. Sunday night on CNN, Senator Ted Kennedy's son, Patrick Kennedy, comes clean with Dr. Sanjay Gupta about addiction, what he learned from his father and his new dream of curing brain disease. "Dr. Sanjay Gupta Reports: Patrick Kennedy Coming Clean," CNN, Sunday night, at 7:00 Eastern.
Well, we are closely monitoring the flooding disaster along the Mississippi River. A live report from Morgan City, Louisiana.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's a rundown of some of the stories we're working on.
First, high anxiety in Morgan City, Louisiana. That is where residents are waiting for the waters to rise.
Then, the ground splits open in New York State, putting homes in harm's way.
And 30 minutes from now, is the new generation of American workers too high maintenance to make it in the world? That question.
And right now, we want to go live to the deepening disaster in the Mississippi River Delta.
Our Sandra Endo joins us from Morgan City, Louisiana.
And Sandra, what is the flooding situation where you are? I know a lot of people are very concerned.
SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Suzanne.
We've been here since the morning, in front of this house in Morgan City. And so far, we've seen the water rise about five inches since this morning.
And this boat is normally parked in the back yard of this house. The owner says they're going to tie it to a telephone pole to make sure it doesn't wash away from the rising waters.
And take a look, Suzanne, at some of the extreme measures some homeowners are taking. They have raised this entire house, this two- bedroom house, on stilts, basically lifting it eight feet in the air to make sure the property is protected. It's 140 years old, and they want to make sure the water doesn't seep into it.
Let's bring in right now Mario, whose dad owns this house.
And you've been working long days, Mario, to make sure this stays high and dry. Why are you deciding to stay here?
MARIO GROSS, STEPSON OF HOMEOWNER: I grew up here. And we love the place and we love the property, and we want to protect it. And we just enjoy it here.
ENDO: What has the effort been like? Because you literally had to jack this up eight feet.
GROSS: It's been hectic. It took us 17 hours to come in with a crew and jack it up. And it's been endless hours.
We'd get maybe three or four hours of sleep a night and get back to work the next morning. And it's paid off so far. We're pretty much ready for the flood. We've just got to wait for the flood to come and crest and go away.
ENDO: Other than your house, it's pretty much a ghost town around here. Your neighbors must think you're crazy.
GROSS: Yes, most in the city think we're crazy for staying here. It's not ethical to stay here, I guess, but we're doing it. We love the place. And nobody can stop us.
ENDO: And you said before, you're hoping to fish off your porch.
GROSS: Oh, yes. We're definitely going to throw some chart (ph) lines out, some jug (ph) lines, and try to catch some fish and just have a good time while the flood is there.
ENDO: Are you worried at all though, seeing all this water rise? So far, five inches since the time we've been here.
GROSS: Not too worried. We have a history of a little flood and everything. This will be a little more -- well, a lot more. And it will be all right with us.
ENDO: All right. Well, good luck.
GROSS: Thank you.
ENDO: Because, Suzanne, the worst is yet to come for people here in Morgan City. They're expecting water levels to rise a few more feet at least when it fully crests right here.
And Louisiana officials say they anticipate 25,000 homes will be flooded when all is said and done. So, certainly, they have a lot to protect still, and a lot more days of flooding to come -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Sandra, I'm sure officials don't recommend that folks actually stay there. I mean, you can see, they've raised the house. And that's good for them. But obviously people have been evacuating.
We know that officials dealt with two other major disasters, Katrina, the BP oil spill. How do people feel like they are doing this go-around? Are they getting the kinds of warnings that they need? Are they getting the kind of support that they need?
ENDO: Well, two things going for the state here, Suzanne, is that this whole flooding situation has been slow-going. We've been counting the days, watching the water rise very slowly, but steadily. It's been relentless.
So people have had a lot of warning to make sure they pack up their belongings if they do want to evacuate to higher ground. And people like the Grosses have been able to make plans to elevate their home, perhaps, if they want to stay. So, they have had some warning. And also, officials want to really get ahead of this whole situation. They've put in place plans to divert the water. That's why they opened up Morganza Spillway for the first time in nearly 40 years. And that diverted a lot of the water away from major cities like Baton Rouge and New Orleans. So they certainly think they're taking preventive measures of biggest disasters had they not acted sooner.
MALVEAUX: All right. Sandra, thank you so much. Be safe.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MALVEAUX: It is time to go cross country for CNN affiliates. Our first stop, California. Wet weather in the San Francisco Bay Area has made its way to the Sierra Mountains and has now turned into snow. No major problems have been reported. But a ranger in Truckee says that campers are waking up kind of cold and annoyed.
Well, across the country in New York, rain has caused the ground to crack and shift beneath this mountain side home. This is in Keene Valley. Now, experts say the crack is moving three inches a day. They're worried it could eventually trigger a mud slide.
And in Michigan, a woman near Grand Rapids was on Facebook Tuesday when she heard a loud crash in her basement. Then she found this guy wandering around. She called her husband home from work to remove the wild turkey and he used a fishing net. Unbelievable.
Suspect's in handcuffs do a lot of things to being recognized. Can you blame them? All the cameras around. Jeanne Moos tells us and shows us some memorable perp walks.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Want to bring you some breaking news here that we are following. The president was traveling to Connecticut when Air Force One actually missed its approach. I want to go to our White House correspondent Dan Lothian. He's in New London, Connecticut. He was traveling ahead of the president. He wasn't on Air Force One but he does have information about what happened with the president's plane.
Dan, if you can explain for us, go ahead.
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, Suzanne, you know, both the White House and the FAA confirmed that as Air Force One was arriving here in Connecticut this morning, that the pilot executed a missed approach. Essentially, the weather was bad, according to the FAA. And I'll tell you, we were seeing rain on and off here. The cloud cover was quite low and so the pilot decided to circle back around.
Take a listen to some of the chatter that we picked up from air traffic control.
(AUDIO CLIP) LOTHIAN: The Air Force pilot circled around, came back in. Second time was the charm, landing at about 10:05. President Obama also joined by Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano. Were greeted by a number of folks there, 20 to 30 people, some of them in uniforms.
And then they took the one-hour commute over here to the academy, the Coast Guard academy. They were initially supposed to take Marine One here, but obviously, the weather, as I pointed out led them to go via motorcade. The president arriving here just a short time ago. The weather also impacting the venue itself. This was -- this graduation was supposed to take place outside but it was moved indoors.
As to what the president will say here today, we're told that he will touch a bit on national security. White House spokesman Jay Carney said that the president will point out the role that the U.S. Coast Guard plays in keeping the U.S. safe but that this will be in a true sense, a commencement speech, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right. Dan Lothian, thanks for the latest report there. Obviously good news, the president is fine, as well as the plane, and he will go ahead, forward with that commencement address.
Well, a new study shows that almost half of Americans say that they'll never be able to afford retirement. We've got some Top Tips on what you can do right now to prepare for life after work.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: One of the world's most powerful bankers was supposed to be delivering a keynote at the Brussels Economic Forum today in Belgium, but instead, Dominique Strauss-Kahn is on suicide watch in a Rikers Island prison cell, charged with sexually assaulting a housekeeper in a New York hotel.
Well, pressure is building for him to resign as head of the International Monetary Fund. Strauss-Kahn was considered a top presidential candidate in France. And a new poll shows that most French people believe he is the victim of a conspiracy.
Well, images of Strauss-Kahn in handcuffs have outraged a lot of people in France. Here in the United States, seeing a suspect's walk of shame from police station to squad car, no big deal, right?
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a scene seen by Americans all the time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Nicolas, did you strangle your girlfriend?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Why did you do it?
MOOS: But you tend not to look innocent, even when no one shouts a single incriminating question. It's what's called --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The perp walk.
MOOS: Perp as in perpetrator. And some in France are outraged over the treatment of the head of the IMF accused of attempted rape. France's former culture minister called it a lynching that provoked horror and aroused disgust.
MOOS (on-camera): French laws bars the media from showing suspects in handcuffs before they're convicted.
MOOS (voice-over): Some say the perp walk goes against the presumption of innocence.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It is done, probably, some would say to humiliate the suspect, and they give off an aura of guilt.
MOOS: Though, sometimes, the aura doesn't fit the alleged crime from the smiling accused Somali pirate. To the JFK terror plot suspect. Others bend down or cover up to conceal their identity.
MOOS (on-camera): Suspects use anything that's handy, and we do mean anything to hide from the cameras during a perp walk.
MOOS (voice-over): Amy Fisher, the Long Island Lolita used her own hair to keep her face out of sight. The Perp walk is a perennial, always popping up even as cameramen pedaling backwards are falling down and suspects are falling forward. And every once in a while, you get an apparent confession.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Something came over me.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you regret it?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Of course, I do. No matter what I did, you know, you can't justify that.
MOOS: He's been charged with using an axe to murder a man. Sometimes, a perp walk leads to perpetual cursing.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You (EXPLETIVE DELETED) (EXPLETIVE DELETED) get (EXPLETIVE DELETED) out of my face. (EXPLETIVE DELETED) I break your (EXPLETIVE DELETED) and smack you (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: And finally, there was the armed robbery suspect who managed to escape in mid perp walk. It happened in Staten Island last year. The suspect took off down the street with police in hot pursuit. They recaptured him quickly. Check out how he slipped out of the loose handcuffs to make his break. Now, if only they could cuff this guy's mouth.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I kick you in your (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN.
(EXPLETIVE DELETED) MOOS: New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Your options for today's Choose the News winner. Tell us what story you'd want to see by texting 22360.
Text one for CIA help wanted. The spy agency is looking for a more diverse workforce.
Text two for life at Rikers. IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn goes from swanky hotel to isolated cell.
Text three for relieving traffic. Why driving around one Indiana town is a lot easier these days.
Winning story is going to air the next hour.
Well, the goal after a lifetime of hard work, right? Live comfortably. But it seems many people are not saving enough for retirement. Carmen Wong Ulrich explains how you can beef up your savings.
CARMEN WONG ULRICH, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Suzanne. Well, if you're worried you're never going to be able to relax in your golden years, you are far from alone.
According to the report by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, 40 percent of working Americans say that they feel like they'll never be able to afford retirement. Another 55 percent say they don't even know how much they need to save for retirement. Well, if you want to supercharge your retirement savings an you can make room to do so now, there's no better time than now to double up on those savings, whether you're 25 or 45.
Now, first, if you get a company match from your employer, always contribute as much as you can in the 401(k) to get that match. That is free money, so don't turn it away.
If your company doesn't match your contributions, take a look at the investment options in that 401(k). Ask are they diversified enough and how much are you paying in fees. Now, if there's not too much diversity in terms asset allocation and you have high fees, keep contributing a portion of your savings, because that's pre-tax money, which is very powerful, but as consider opening up additional savings that is better in options and lower fees, especially a Roth IRA.
If you qualify under income requirements, a Roth IRA takes your post-tax money, grows it tax free, then allows you to withdraw it tax free in retirement. Now Roth even have a flexible option of allowing you to take out your principal -- what you've invested, not your earnings -- out of the account after five years without penalty, as long as you meet distribution rules as well. For more information on the rules of Roth, head to IRS.gov.
And finally, before you go mega-charging your retirement savings, make sure you're on track with all your other financial needs such as an emergency fund of six months to a year of living expenses. Your mortgage is on time and on track. Your rent and your credit card debt is being paid off ASAP.
Back to you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Thanks, Carmen.
We're getting a lot of responses to today's "Talk Back" question. We asked, "Should the United States play a major role in the Middle East?" Carol Costello is back with your response.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Don't forget to vote for today's "Choose the News" winner. Tell us which story you want to see in the next hour by texting 22360.
Text 1 for CIA help wanted. How the job market for secret operatives has never been more open. Text 2 for life at Rikers. A look what the it's like behind bars for IMF Chief Dominique Strauss- Kahn as he awaits the next step in his legal battle. And text 3 for relieving traffic. Could one small town's solution work in big cities?
The winning story will air next hour.
President Obama to deliver a speech tomorrow detailing his policy on the Middle East and North Africa, and that brings us to today's "Talk Back" question and our Carol Costello -- Carol.
COSTELLO: The question about Middle East peace. Will it ever happen? Should the United States play a major role in the Middle East?
This from Katie, "Yes, the U.S. should play a major role in the Middle East by allowing and encouraging the Middle East to run its own affairs."
This from Tony, "No, they have hated each other for hundreds of years. There will never be peace in the Middle East."
This from Jim, "How about playing a major role in our own country?"
This from Matthew, "We should show the Arab world that we do not want to change them or control them, but rather support their attempts at achieving their goals for peace which we share so deeply with them."
And this from Tom, "As long as we are dependent on Middle East oil, do we have a choice?"
Please continue the conversation, Facebook.com/CarolCNN, and I'll be back with you in about, oh, 15 minutes.
MALVEAUX: OK. Thank you, Carol.
COSTELLO: Sure.
Tune in for special coverage of President Obama's address on CNN NEWSROOM, that is starting at 11:30 Eastern. CNN's Wolf Blitzer is going to be joining us as well, going to have expert analysis as well as live coverage. You're not going to want to miss that.
Everyone was a winner and everyone got a trophy. So how does that upbringing translate to the work world for recent graduates? We're taking a look at high-maintenance millennials.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Here's now a look at today's "Choose the News" candidates. Tell 22360 for the story you'd like to see.
Text 1 for CIA help wanted. The agency's all out push to recruit a diverse workforce. Text 2 for life at Rikers. What it's like behind bars in New York's main jail complex. And text 3 for relieving traffic. A small-town effort one mayor says has produced big-time results.
Winning story will air next hour.
This week, CNN "In Depth" focuses on America's job hunt. We are collaborating with CNNMoney.com and "Time" magazine to look at where the jobs are, how to get them, how to keep them. Watch our week-long coverage and log on to CNNMoney.com and Time.com for more reporting on America's job hunt.
Well, hardworking, determination, perseverance -- for decades, right, that's what the recipe at the success at the office. But is the latest generation of America's workers up for the challenge?
Allan Chernoff looks at the great expectations of recent graduates in the real world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Public relations executive Alison Brod surrounds herself with young employees, mostly in their 20s, so-called millennials. She says they are energetic, tech savvy, collaborative, but they can also be needy and have a sense of entitlement.
ALISON BROD, FOUNDER, ALISON BROD PR: These kids have been told that they are the most amazing thing on the face of this Earth from the day they were born.
CHERNOFF: Even after the gut-wrenching recession that threw millions of Americans out of work, many millennials expect favored treatment from employers, just as their coddling parents may have provided.
LAUREN BISHOP, EMPLOYEE, ALISON BROD PR: My parents have pushed that for me, told me that I was the best at whatever I did. And as a result, I think millennials crave that attention. They crave that craze.
CHERNOFF: Their skill in being able to tweet and talk in the same moment never has there been such a generation of talented multi- taskers and networkers who are able to build business with a few keystrokes on Facebook.
But such talents can come with side effects. Employees say millennials they have short attention spans and often communicate as they tweet, in quick sound bites.
BROD: They live in a world where everything is 140 characters. They don't want to read more than a few sentences and they don't read more than a few sentences.
CHERNOFF: They also believe work is not their entire life. The most important factor for them in choosing a new job is a good work- life balance, according to a survey from a PR firm Euro RSCG; salary came in second and work atmosphere third.
None of which is to say the millennials are slackers, many are ambitious. Three-quarters believe hard work is the key to achievement. To bring out the best in young workers, bosses need to manage to the millennial style -- give lots of feedback, set concrete goals and, consultants say, think of yourself more as a T-ball coach and not a boot camp instructor.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: CNN's Allan Chernoff is live in New York with more.
So I guess they call them the millennials, Allan? And what happens with the needy guys, they are not getting all the attention, the recognition they feel that they are entitled to? Do they drop out, do they do well? CHERNOFF: Well, you know, a lot of them are very willing to jump ship. Look, they have role models like Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, who became an instant billionaire, so a lot of them do want to achieve success but they want to do it very, very rapidly. And, of course, the reality for most of us is that you have to gradually climb that corporate ladder. Sp there is a bit of an adjustment there.
MALVEAUX: Allan, do you think, in speaking to some of these young folks, that they have an ambition, the drive to start their own business and say, I think I'm going to do something on my own here?
CHERNOFF: Yes, absolutely. There certainly is much more of that than you have maybe in prior generations simply because you've seen so many Internet startups. Many fail, but certainly this is a very entrepreneurial generation. And those folks, generally speaking, are absolutely not slackers.
MALVEAUX: Well, we've got a lot of not-slackers here on our team here at CNN, we're very happy our millennials, so -- CHERNOFF: That's true. Very much so here.
MALVEAUX: Doesn't apply to everybody.
All right, Allan, thank you.
For more CNN "In Depth: America's Job Hunt," Time.com and the all new CNNMoney.com, powered by CNN, driven by you.
