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Senate Rejects Reid Bill; Debt Deadlock in Washington May Effect Ordinary People; Students Dependent on Loans and Grants May See Cuts; Margaret Cho Interviewed; War in Somalia Worsening Famine; Some Companies Track Internet Users; Race Wealth Gap Widens in Recent Recession

Aired July 30, 2011 - 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: You're in the CNN Newsroom where the news unfolds live this Saturday, July 30th. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.

We're keeping an eye on the U.S. Senate and House chambers where lawmakers are in session this afternoon trying to end a tense political standoff over the debt ceiling. So far, we have only been hearing more contentious remarks from both sides. We'll take you there live in a moment.

And many of you are expressing frustration with the debt impasse in Washington and with members of Congress who have yet to reach a deficit reduction deal. Our reporter Vernon Hill says he wants lawmakers to get the U.S. out of debt or resign.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

VERNON HILL, IREPORTER: The United States of America is about to go broke. We're about to lose our credit ratings. The people of the world are looking at us and wondering what the hell is going on with the greatest nation in the world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Well, if you want to share your video on the debt showdown, logon to CNN.com/iReport.

Along the Texas coast, a lot of disappointment after what was once tropical storm Don making landfall. It came ashore as a tropical depression, but it wasn't the rainmaker folks were hoping for. Much of Texas is in a severe drought and the rain could have helped them a lot.

A top U.S. official says Iraq is more dangerous today than it was a year ago. Stewart Bowen is special inspector general for Iraq reconstruction. He made the assessment in a report to Congress today. Bowen noted that U.S. troop deaths in Iraq hit a two-year high in June. U.S. troops are scheduled to leave Iraq in five months.

And a plane that originated in New York crashed at an airport in Georgetown, Guyana, early this morning. The Boeing 737 split in two. No one was killed, but several people were injured. The Caribbean airplane -- airline's plane was carrying more than 160 passengers and crew.

And back to Washington now where lawmakers are scrambling to pass some kind of debt limit plan by Tuesday. CNN's Joe Johns is on Capitol Hill. So, Joe, the house has been debating a plan from Senate majority leader Harry Reid. Where does that stand?

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Quite frankly we did have a development here just a little while ago. Senate Democrats apparently do not have the votes to pass the Harry Reid plan in the United States Senate.

Now this is not that big a surprise. In fact, we always knew he was going to have problems passing the bill. However, the wrinkle comes when the Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell puts out a letter just a little while ago essentially telling the world that he had 43 Republicans assigned on opposing Senator Reid's bill.

There you see it, part of the text, "Given the nation's enormous future spending challenges, it will be irresponsible to gift president this unprecedented additional borrowing authority without requiring the enactment of significant spending reductions and reforms."

So 43 Republicans say they will not vote for the bill as it is written. And McCain -- I'm sorry, McConnell is pressing this point by saying he would like to see a vote now on the Senate floor. However, Republicans would like a little time to work on the language and perhaps scare up some more support. Let's listen to what McConnell said a little while ago on the Senate floor.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MITCH MCCONNELL, (R-KY) SENATE MINORITY LEADER: So we have the astonishing development here that my good friend, the majority leader, is delaying a vote on something he wants to pass. We were prepared to have this vote last night. We're prepared to have this vote momentarily. We're prepared to have this vote at any point.

And I want to disabuse my good friend of the notion that somehow it is going to pass. We just -- he hasn't seen it yet, but we just delivered a letter to his office with 43 of my colleagues on it saying they're not going to vote for it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Now, without making this too complicated, the deal here is that Democrats need 60 votes in order to get this bill passed in the United States Senate. And with 43 Republicans opposing it, it looks like it would be a very hard climb to get that 60 votes. The Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont, who is also the chairman of the Judiciary Committee here, was out on the floor talking about that just a little while ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SEN. PATRICK LEAHY, (D) VERMONT: At no time were any of those presidents prior to president Obama was there ever a request for a 60- vote -- a 60-member vote to raise the debt limit ceiling. Certainly with a number of times we raised the debt limit, under President Ronald Reagan, not one single Republican suggested we need 60 votes. Not one senator, President George H.W. Bush, is not once under president George W. Bush did a single Republican say it is so important, we must have a 60-vote margin.

And yet, all of a sudden, with President Obama the whole -- the whole criteria changes. Suddenly the rules that were good enough for Republicans with a Republican president are suddenly to be changed with this president.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: This is one message that Democrats have been stressing again and again and again, and that is that out of all of the times the United States has increased the debt limit, it's pretty much has been noncontroversial on both sides. But now because we have an addition of new members who are very concerned about government spending it becomes a huge issue and we have a deadline of August 2nd. Fred, back to you.

WHITFIELD: So, then, Joe, I wonder, will there be any revising of the Senate plan, the Reid plan, or will there be any reworking of Boehner's plan so that at some point as the clock keeps ticking this weekend it will be one plan that both sides can assure a vote and that would go to the president for a signature?

JOHNS: Absolutely. That, and Fred, you hit the nail on the head. That is the way it is supposed to work, the question is whether everybody's going to get together in the same room and figure this thing out. Senator McConnell has said he doesn't want to sit down with the Senate Democrats unless there is a representative from the White House involved because, in his view, you know, the Democrats do not have the authority to sign off on something that the president can veto. So he wants to have everybody back in the same place and do some serious work and try to come up with some resolution.

But the message coming from the Republicans right now is that the Reid plan, as it stands, is probably not going to happen.

Joe Johns on Capitol Hill, thanks so much. Keep us posted throughout the afternoon.

All right, some real behind the scenes maneuvering also going on at the other end of Pennsylvania avenue at the White House. CNN's Athena Jones is there. What is president Obama doing to try to get lawmakers on the same page?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, it is interesting, you heard Joe Johns say Senator McConnell wants to see someone from the White House involved. Well, from the White House's standpoint they may not be on camera. The action on camera may be taking place down the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue on the Hill. But the White House is involved. The president, the vice president, and senior administration officials have been talking to members of Congress. And from the standpoint down here, they say the president is ready to play whatever role is necessary.

So it isn't as though people don't know where both sides stand. The real question here is whether or not they're going to be able to reach a compromise quickly enough that can pass both houses of Congress. And, you know, the president has taken to the airwaves, had a speech on Monday, again on Friday, and he spoke this morning in his weekly address about the consequences if Congress fails to reach a deal. Let's listen to what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We need to reach a compromise by Tuesday so our country will have the ability to pay its bills on time, bills like security checks, veterans benefit and contracts we have signed with thousands of American businesses. If we don't, for the first time ever we could lose our country's AAA credit rating, but because we didn't have the capacity to pay our bills -- we do -- but because we didn't have a AAA political system to match it.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And the president made one more point of saying, once again, as they have been saying all along this vote to raise the debt ceiling, it is not about allowing Congress to spend more money, additional money. It's about allowing the country to pay the bills that it already owes, bills that Congress racked up already. So they're insisting on making that point over and over again to make sure people understand but also keeping the pressure on Congress also.

WHITFIELD: All right, Athena Jones, thanks so much from the White House. We'll check back with you as developments hopefully take place. Thank you.

Well, as the debt clock ticks toward Tuesday, many of you are voicing your concerns about the inability of Congress to reach a deal to avoid default. An iReporter from Decatur, Georgia, asked people on the street to describe it in one word.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Powerful.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Gridlock.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Chaotic.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Uncooperative.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Disaster.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Disaster. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's a situation of stubbornness.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Unrealistic.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Politics -- I think they're playing politics.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So if you want to share your video on the debt showdown, logon to CNN.com/iReport.

All right, a programming note. Republican Senator Mitch McConnell will be on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow morning at 9:00 a.m. eastern time.

So just what is it going to take to find a solution to the debt crisis? Wolf Blitzer and Don Lemon break down all the hurdles and options. Don't miss "GET IT DONE - COUNTDOWN TO DEBT CRISIS" Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern, only on CNN.

Lavish yet low key -- highlights from the latest royal wedding, including details about that dress.

And later, comedian Margaret Cho tells us face to face what it was like to compete against Bristol Palin on "Dancing with the Stars."

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MARGARET CHO, COMEDIAN: They're like the Alaska Kardashians. They're really kind of a weird hybrid of, like, entertainment and politics, and not really so much politics anymore. I would say it is much more entertainment.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Plus, the difficulty of practicing in between her stand-up comedy acts. Face to face with Margaret Cho.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A low key royal wedding tops our look at international stories. Queen Elizabeth's granddaughter Zarya Philips married rugby player Mike Tyndall in a private ceremony in Scotland's capital today. The bride wore an ivory silk gown by Stewart Parvin, one of the queen's favorite designers.

A 10 hour interrogation of the Norway terror suspect shows he planned to attack other targets. Investigators are not saying what the other targets were.

In Italy, DNA evidence came under scrutiny today at the appeal trial of Amanda Knox. She's the American student convicted of the 2007 murder of her British roommate. Court appointed forensic experts say two key pieces of evidence to convict her should not have been admitted. And in Somalia, fighting between the government and insurgents is continuing to slow down aid to famine victims. In the country's capital of Mogadishu there is a refugee camp where people have not eaten in days. Nima Elbagir has more from the camp as they wait for relief.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIMA ELBAGIR, CNN International CORRESPONDENT: In the center of Mogadishu town, many here haven't eaten for days. Barely surviving the trek up through the territory held by militants, they're desperate not to be left out. Across Mogadishu, camps like this are springing up, the new arrivals pitching their tents wherever they can.

(on camera) The World Food Program says that it is currently feeding 1.5 million people here in Somalia. Many of those here in this town have made that desperate trek up through south and central Somalia through the areas held by the Al Shabaab militant groups into Mogadishu where aid can reach them. But for those 1.5 million that aid is reaching, the world food program estimates there are further two million that agencies are unable to get to.

The African Union forces are fighting to secure the capital. They're trying to ensure that the militants, these people fled, cannot follow them into the safe havens. A job the deputy chairman of the au says his people are succeeding at. Now he says it is time for the international community to do more.

ERASTUS MWENCHA, DEPUTY CHAIRMAN, AFRICAN UNION: This camp alone is having 1,000 people and there are 150 such camps in Mogadishu. You can see the people helping them is the UNSCOM forces. UNSCOM are not trained to give humanitarian assistance. The aid agencies need to move in here with the medicine, water, with the food to help these children.

ELBAGIR: WFP is telling CNN they are scaling up their humanitarian assistance to Somalia. And the African Union says it will hold a pledging conference in August to drum up more international support. But as more and more Somalis flood the capital, desperate for help, every day they wait is another day of suffering and uncertainty.

Nima Elbagir, CNN, Mogadishu.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we all know the recession affected different people in different ways. But you may be surprised to know just how big those differences are. A race and the wealth gap, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: There has always been a wealth gap between white families and minority families in America. But a new study shows that gap increased significantly during the recession. Mary Snow takes a look. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: When Edgar Andretti opened this hardware store nearly three years ago in Brooklyn, he planned on getting it up and running and then handing it over to his parents for their financial security when they retired. But the recession changed everything. His small business is struggling. He's had to lay off workers and now taking in relatives who are out of work themselves.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I wanted to get a business running, being an owner of a business. That was my dream. And basically this dream has become not a nightmare, but basically really hard.

SNOW: For minorities like Edgar, the recession has taken a particularly heavy toll. They have fallen further behind in the wealth gap behind whites. The Pew Research Center found that the median wealth of Hispanics fell by a staggering 66 percent. For blacks, the drop was 53 percent compared to a 16 percent drop among White Households. Senior researcher Rikesh Coacher says the study was done between 2005 and 2009 and finds the main reason for the huge drop in wealth among Hispanics is due to the housing crash and the loss of home equity.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hispanics are much more likely to live in areas such as Arizona, California, Florida, and Nevada where the housing downturn was much more severe. So as a result there were very directly and very strongly impacted by the housing downturn.

SNOW: Blacks were also hard hit by the housing downturn, says Coacher. But he says they were also hurt by larger increases in unemployment. Now the median wealth for a typical black household is just under $6,000. It is slightly higher for Hispanics. Compare that to the typical White Household where the median wealth is estimated to be $113,000. It's the widest wealth divide between whites and minorities since 1984 when this kind of data was collected.

And for Edgar Andretti, while he once dreamed of financial security and owning his a home, and now he's working to survive.

(on camera) How far has this set you back?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Probably, you know, all the way back to the drawing board.

SNOW: As far as how much damage has been done, the Pew Research Center has some sobering projections. It estimates that wealth levels for whites has been set back roughly a decade. But for minorities, it may be as much as two decades.

Mary Snow, CNN, Brooklyn, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: It is the number one issue American homes -- getting your financial house in order. Today in our weekly financial fix, let's take a closer look at that wealth gap. Eric Amado joins us from Dallas, CEO of Amado Consulting. So in Mary's report, she mentioned net worth, so let's start there, how this recession has affected Americans.

ERIC AMADO, CEO, AMADO CONSULTING: Absolutely. It has been staggering how this affected most Americans across the United States. Let's look at the numbers of some of the things Mary talked about. Whites, of course, have lost about 16 percent of their net worth. But you look at blacks, they have lost about 53 percent and Hispanics about 66 percent. What is staggering about the numbers is whites have 20 times more net worth than most minorities and this is very, very staggering.

WHITFIELD: That was a huge, huge disparity, $113,000 versus $6,000 in wealth for blacks.

AMADO: Yes. Yes. It is very, very staggering. A lot of people have made progressions of getting degrees and houses but it's still a very big gap and still very worrisome.

WHITFIELD: So why is, you know, net worth, you know, such a key indicator for measuring wealth?

AMADO: That's a great question. It is very, very key because it takes everything on your personal balance sheet into consideration. Let's say you have a $1,000 dollars in assets what are your assets, stocks, bonds, your house. Take your liabilities, $500, that's credit card debt, house and so forth, $1,000 minus $500 -- $500 is your net worth. This is a key indicator of where you stand. The net worth and the salary you make from your business is a financial picture of where you stand.

WHITFIELD: OK, so the main reason for this wealth disparity, are we talking about the property ownership?

AMADO: Absolutely. Some of the main reasons -- in 2006 we had the housing bubble, and we're still feeling the effects of that now. Now, to be honest, more whites have more stocks, bonds, they own hedge fund companies, a lot of companies, and this is one of the main reasons why they have such a big gap on minorities right now.

WHITFIELD: So what is the advice you would give your clients, black, white, Hispanic, anything else?

AMADO: Yes, first of all, we're going to get this debt ceiling passed, so hopefully everybody knows about that and don't freak out about that.

WHITFIELD: You're feeling confident, huh?

AMADO: They have to do something.

WHITFIELD: You're the only one. You're feeling confident.

(LAUGHTER)

AMADO: I know. Something is going to happen. But pay cash for items. Also try to have a six to eight month emergency fund, because we're in a state of emergency in the United States. And stop using credit cards if you can. Your credit card balances are low since we come out of the recession, but they're still pretty high. Be very prudent about your investments and stay positive and we'll get through this. The stock market will do better over time. Over the last 112 years, the stock market averaged about 12 percent. So over time, the stock market will come back.

WHITFIELD: But the real concern, especially if this nation goes into default, stock markets will take a hit and people worried about their 401(k)s, and they are worried about those stocks and any other measures of wealth that you underscored.

AMADO: That's so true. If something is going too far, it will have a big effect on the 401(k)s, military people getting paid, housing prices as far as interest rates going up. It is going to be a lot of devastating things. But in our government I do think things will get better. But in the meantime, hopefully six months from now, we won't have this conversation and the economy will get better and things will start getting better.

WHITFIELD: Eric Amado, I love your optimism. Let's hope that rubs off on everybody else. I appreciate it. Thanks for coming to us from Dallas. Good to see you again.

AMADO: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And of course you can get more information from Eric, but go to his Web site at amadoconsultingllc.com.

A debt impasse in Washington could hurt car dealers and their customers as well. One dealer has some advice for politicians.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm saying to Washington, let's get it together, let's realize the impact it is having on the American people. Get out of your vacuum. Get off your butt.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, tough words there. The debt ceiling interest rates, car loans, all of that, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, a look at our top stories. The House of Representatives was expected to vote shortly on a Senate plan to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. The House is expected to reject that measure, putting the nation one step closer to possible default on Tuesday. Yesterday, the Senate blocked the House plan to raise the debt ceiling. Stay with CNN for all the latest developments.

As the August 2nd debt deadline draws near many Americans are increasingly concerned about the possibility of a U.S. default and are angry about Washington's inability to reach a deal. An iReporter from New York says lawmakers aren't listening to what most Americans want.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ZET HARRIS, IREPORTER: Ninety-eight percent of the American people out there do not hold the same financial weight as the top two percent. They pay for these campaigns, they pay for lobbyists to push their agenda. And because of that, our voices aren't heard.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And if you want to share your opinion on the debt crisis, upload your video at CNN.com/i-report.

All right, many college students are worried about the possible fallout of the debt ceiling crisis. If their financial aid is held up or dries up, then what? CNN National Correspondent Susan Candiotti joins me now from New York. Susan, I know a lot of people are worried about that.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: They sure are, Fred. About $800 billion could be at stake ranging from direct student loans to federal Pell grants that help low income students. Now, many students are starting to show up for the fall semester, not knowing if the money will be dispersed on time because of this crisis going on Capitol Hill.

Jose Moreno, who is 18 years old, will be starting his sophomore year at Syracuse University and relies completely on student aid. He's a journalism major and he's watching closely what is happening. Take a look at some of the money he's been awarded. He has a federal Pell grant for $5,500. He gets $2,000 from the supplemental educational opportunity program, and Syracuse University gives him a tuition grant of $34,000. He qualifies for student aid totaling more than $54,000 for tuition, room and board at Syracuse. Wow. If his federal aid gets slashed, Moreno says he'll remember which politicians played a role when this youngster goes to the polls.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOSE MORENO, SYRACUSE UNIVERSITY STUDENT: It is not just about, you know, trying to get a bid for reelection, making yourself look good as a political figure. It is about who -- what person this is going to affect, who will be affected by this. And you can look at me. You can look at a 50-year-old working. It has a big impact on everyone. And that's what they should take into consideration, who will be impacted by this and how will they impact future generations.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: Students getting Pell grants could be among the first to feel any impact. Pell programs have been on the chopping block since Republicans took over the House. A recent round of cuts slashed Pell grants for summer school, Fred.

CHETRY: So what are, you know, the student aid agencies actually saying about this, those who are actually giving out grant scholarships, et cetera?

CANDIOTTI: Fred, administrators say they simply don't know that is going to happen. And we talked to the department of education and they're telling us they're trying to work out the details about what might happen. So at this time big question mark about what's next.

WHITFIELD: A whole lot of waiting and seeing. All right, thanks so much, Susan Candiotti in New York.

With Democrats, Republicans, and Tea Party supporters still debating, the debt ceiling, many business owners around the country fear a new downturn in the economy. CNN's Sandra Endo introduces us to one businessman who calls the debt debate a financial civil war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RON WHEELER, GENERAL MANAGER, SALES BUERGE CHRYSLER AND JEEP: We have been in business since 1915 and we have seen a lot of ups and downs in the automotive industry, but nothing, nothing anywhere near what we're seeing today.

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: A sagging economy, higher gas prices, a tighter supply of parts and paints from tsunami-stricken Japan, now a stalemate in Washington over raising the debt ceiling. That could lead to higher interest rates and fewer car loans.

WHEELER: Our pace is off. So we need to make sure that we catch up.

ENDO: Los Angeles auto salesman Ron Wheeler is closely following the political fight, knowing an impasse would serious affect his bottom line.

(on camera) What would you say to lawmakers in Washington who are duking it out, standing their ground, not coming together on a deal. What would you say to them?

WHEELER: I'm saying to Washington, let's get it together, let's realize the impact it is having on the American people. Get out of your vacuum, get off your butt, make a decision, make the tough decision, make the hard decision, because it's affecting everything we do and the American people at the ground level.

ENDO: You describe this fight as what type of feud?

WHEELER: As of -- as a civil war, a financial civil war. It is a battle over who gets what, you know, for their team. And supposedly we're supposed to all be one team. We have a lot of sacrificial lambs out here.

ENDO: Like car shoppers who will have to make hard decisions if rates do go up.

TIM MCNULTY, CAR BUYER: We'll probably have to lower expectations a maybe even delay what we're doing until things settle down, after the implosion in Washington. TONY MILLS, CAR BUYER: A group of people that aren't able to work together, and it is punishing the whole country.

ENDO: Whether or not lawmakers come together on a deal in time, the political wrangling is already leaving a strong impression in voters' minds, especially if the public ends up paying the price.

Sandra Endo, CNN, Los Angeles.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And this programming note, Republican Senator Mitch McConnell will be on CNN's "STATE OF THE UNION" to discuss the debt debate, tomorrow morning, 9:00.

All right, just what is it going to take to find a solution to our debt crisis? Wolf Blitzer and Don Lemon break down all the hurdles and options. Don't miss "GET IT DONE -- COUNTDOWN TO DEBT CRISIS," Sunday night, 9:00 p.m. eastern only on CNN.

All right, there is a new lineup for "Dancing with the Stars." And one former contestant has some advice for the newcomers.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: It just became really cut throat. And so I don't know what it was like within the couples in the end, but I do know it became very tense for me back there.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: All right, so watch out. Margaret Cho face to face about her experience with the Palins and the "Dancing with the Stars," the rehearsals, the rejection, all of that next in the Newsroom.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Face to face with Margaret Cho. She's a comedian, an actress, activist, and, yes, a dancer. Cho strapped on her dancing shoes to participate in the hit show "Dancing with the Stars." And in my exclusive face to face interview, she talks about the competition spotlight and the struggles.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Every now and then you surprise us and try something different. So "Dancing with the Stars".

CHO: Yes.

WHITFIELD: You took a few steps in that. What was that experience like? It looks like every contestant loves it so much, so much fun that they're sad when it ends.

CHO: Yes. Well, it is really hard. It is really fun, kind of terrifying. It's kind of like being thrown into the Olympics, really, you're competing. There are judges, numbers. There is like a minute and a half.

WHITFIELD: Millions of people watching.

CHO: Millions of people watching. And for me, I am a dancer, so I come from dance, and I understand a lot about it and I feel like that is so -- it is such a powerful experience to do. It is a physically transformative experience.

And I just -- I don't know. I loved it. It was very scary. I wish I could compete longer but it was an interesting time. It was an interesting to meet the Palins. It was interesting to meet all of the different competitors and, of course, all the wonderful dancers.

WHITFIELD: Was that strange too, though, you talk about the attention that may be focused on some of the contestants, you mentioned the Palins, where you got entertainment and politics kind of coming together in a different way.

CHO: Or politics as entertainment. That's what they are. They're like the Alaska Kardashians. They're really kind of a weird hybrid of entertainment and politics and not really so much politics anymore. I would say it is much more entertainment.

It's really, you know, when you're around people who are like front page news, every day was really very surreal. Something would happen at work and then you go home and read about it. And you're like it didn't happen that way, but it is really intense.

WHITFIELD: Yes. So what was the competition like with the other contestants?

CHO: It becomes competitive. I wasn't competing early. I was disqualified early on. So then I became kind of inert, that my energy and my presence became inert, I was like a safe zone. So I think, like, towards the end of the competition, as I would go afterwards, after I got voted off and nobody he would speaking backstage. Everybody would be like -- until I got there and then everybody would talk to me, plug in the power strip, and then unplug.

(LAUGHTER)

CHO: It just became really cut throat. So I don't know what it was like within the couples in the end, but I do know it became very tense for me back there.

WHITFIELD: What was the most fun about that experience?

CHO: I think the most fun is, like, right when you're finished competing and then you're with your partner and you're like, oh, we did it, didn't make a mistake.

WHITFIELD: Your partner is Louie.

CHO: The wonderful Louie van Amstel who is so terrific. I was on tour. We were just practicing like in my tour bus and not sleeping. We would drive all night to get back to the tapings for "Dancing with the Stars." It was so hard. The funnest was when it was done and we could relax in a little bit.

WHITFIELD: And you made a statement, a few statements. You made a statement with one of your routines being very comedic. The judges didn't get or didn't appreciate the comedy.

CHO: We worked hard on it. It was very hard. I was used this technique, which is something I do in belly dancing, and it was very hard. What I was doing was very, very hard. But they don't like it when you make fun of what the art form is.

WHITFIELD: Was that your intent?

CHO: No, but that's what the whole show is about. You try to present the art form back to them because these are experts in this incredible field. And so you do your interpretation of it. That's what it is all about.

WHITFIELD: And then once you realize their interpretation, making fun of this art form we take seriously, how did that make you kind of change your approach to the competition?

CHO: I think it just made you -- it made me work in a different angle, like let's work harder on technical things and get better at that.

WHITFIELD: The other statement you made with you rainbow dress.

CHO: Yes, I wore a gay pride rainbow dress. We were dancing to Barry Manilow with my awesome gay partner, and when we were being judged, I was like this is the gayest thing that ever happened, so I don't care what the outcome is.

(LAUGHTER)

And I wanted to make a statement my whole night that night was about reaching out to gay teenagers. And there have been four suicides in the last two weeks before that. It was an intense time and so I really wanted to focus on that.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our face to face -- next hour, Margaret Cho really gets personal. She talks about how she was bullied in school and the heartbreak of so many teens committing suicide.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: This is such a terrible thing and you want to reach out to kids making sure they don't harm themselves. I know how much you feel like, you know, so hopeless.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: Plus, the one event that made her leave school and head for the stage. Face to face with Margaret Cho next hour in the Newsroom. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You know what, there is a lot of disappointment in Texas today after tropical storm Don fizzled overnight into a tropical depression. I know that sounds strange, but, Don was hopefully going to be a big old rainmaker. That's what people were hoping for. It has been so hot and so dry across almost every inch of Texas that conditions are worse right now than they were during the dust bowl years of the 1930s.

(WEATHER BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You'll be along to talk about this very funny thing. A dog with a unique way of playing with other dogs, or maybe we should not really playing with other dogs. You're going to see what it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: You're going to love this one. We love it. It is going to involve an animal. Whenever viral involves an animal, it is going to be good.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Right.

WHITFIELD: It is going to be good. This is a pooch with a very unique way of playing. Look at the video.

JERAS: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Watch. There jumping around, OK, everything is cool. I want to play with you.

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The other dog looks like -- what are you doing? What's going on? Plays dead and runs away.

JERAS: It's a defense mechanism, right? If you can't beat them, lay dead.

WHITFIELD: That's Rosie playing dead.

JERAS: I love it.

WHITFIELD: Very cute. So cute. I've never seen anything like that one before. Dogs are playing. Usually it is dog playing with human, I'm going to play dead.

JERAS: Maybe. I know. But they're having a good time.

WHITFIELD: So cute. We're going to have more good stuff coming our way. Surfing the web -- you just might be surprised to know that some companies are actually keeping track and storing information about you. That's not a viral thing. Just information you need to know. And how many websites the average person visits per month, next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: It is mid-afternoon for most of you, and you probably have already been online. Do you know how many Web pages you have probably looked at this month alone? Here is the answer how about 2,646? That's the average according to VisualEconomics.com.

So we leave fingerprints on just about everything we touch, even those online, we leave something they call digital fingerprints. Chad Myers tells us more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Did you know that companies you've never heard of track every website you visit and keep a record of everything you do online? That's right, everybody who visits the internet has a digital fingerprint, a unique profile that is built by the specialized companies.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We actually don't really know who their clients are. So they may be selling this technology to banks. They may be selling it to online advertising companies. And that's the bigger concern.

MYERS: Peter Eckersley is a technologist with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a digital civil liberties group that defends people's rights on the Internet. He says digital fingerprinting is a violation of every aspect of your privacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You should have the right to read what you want in private without someone looking over your shoulder reading along with you, without -- as you pick up a magazine to read it, you don't want it to be reading you.

MYERS: Last march a Senator John Rockefeller introduced a bill to stop companies from track your online movements, part of recommendations from the federal trade commission. What it would require is that Internet browsers would have an option up here to say "do not track." Do not track me. Eckersley say this is already there. The technology exists. All we need is congressional action.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the scary thing is people don't understand what is out there about them personally linked to their online digital fingerprint.

MYERS: Don Jackson, the director of threat intelligence for secure works says it is used for personal marketing and advertising campaigns and customized political messages. He says there is also a danger that they will be used with malicious intent.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're doing is we're trusting these companies with the security of that information. We're entrusting that to guard that information. We don't want anyone to be able to break into that system and use it but unfortunately when companies aggregate too much information in one spot, it makes them a target for hackers. MYERS: What if I'm at a wireless place like this and people are everywhere and people are logging in, can that guy right there be tracked?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. He's being tracked now. Everything you do online, if you're using a public website, or any kind of online service, they're tracking everything you're doing.

MYERS: Can data be wrong. Can people get something incorrect and is it a big deal?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Your fingerprint can be manipulated by criminals. That is one way it can be wrong. Another way it could be wrong is that it's been cross linked. There is really no mechanism to correct that. You can't remove the information. There is currently no channel, no way to file a complaint.

MYERS: Security experts are concerned that right now there is no practical way to stop companies from using this technology and that as scary as that is, the best defense is to aware everything you online, you're being watched.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Keep your anti-virus up to date, keep your computer up to date. But for most part, once the information leaves your computer, at least one person, that's the Web site you're visiting, can track it.

MYERS: Chad Myers, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)