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Strauss-Kahn Returns Home; Recession-Proof Budget; Tiger Woods Takes on Child Obesity; Sunday Morning Talk Highlights; No Prison Time for Hot Sauce Mom; Factions in Gadhafi's Family; Tropical Storm Lee Drenching Southeast

Aired September 04, 2011 - 16:00   ET

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

ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody. Thanks for joining us, I'm Alina Cho. Fredricka Whitfield is off today. Here's what's happening. Three big stories we're watching this hour.

Gadhafi's son speaks out from his hiding place, revealing new information about ceasefire talks. Could his father be ready to surrender? That exclusive report is just seconds away.

Tropical storm Lee is picking up speed and putting parts of the Gulf Coast under water. CNN reporters are positioned in towns right in the storm's path. We'll take you there live.

Then we'll head to an area still reeling from Hurricane Irene. President Obama pays a visit to New Jersey, a live report is just ahead.

But first, to Libya, an exclusive development right here on CNN. Moammar Gadhafi and his influential sons appear to be running out of options. That's according to CNN's senior international correspondent Nic Robertson. That's Nic right there with Moammar Gadhafi's son, Sadi, earlier this year in Tripoli. That was before the capital city fell to rebel forces.

The whereabouts of Moammar Gadhafi are still unknown. But Nic has spoken with the younger Gadhafi in the past few hours, mostly about the dwindling chances for a ceasefire. And take a look at this map, south of Tripoli is Bani Walid, considered one of the few places remaining in Libya where the Gadhafi's find any support. That support may not even exist anymore. A short time ago I talked to Nic by phone in London. And I asked him if Gadhafi's son had any idea about the whereabouts of his father?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (ON THE PHONE): I asked him specifically where his father was, where his brother, Saif al-Islam al Gadhafi, the heir apparent really to Moammar Gadhafi, where they were. He told me he hadn't seen them in two months. I asked him where he was. And he told me he was a little way outside Bani Walid. He told me that he had been moving a lot around but hadn't been able to watch television very much, but he was relatively safe but still in a dangerous situation. He told me then that he's been negotiating with the national transitional council, rebel military commanders. They've also confirmed this.

He's been negotiating to try and get a ceasefire for the town of Bani Walid. However he said on Thursday when his brother, Saif Gadhafi, gave what he described as a very aggressive speech on television, urging his supporters to keep fighting, Sadi Gadhafi told me at that point the national transition council, the rebels essentially said the ceasefire talks are off. If your brother is going to talk like that. And right now, according to Sadi Gadhafi, he believes there's no point in negotiations that the national transitional council is amassing troops to move into Bani Walid. He did however say and this is very significant that he clearly has differences with his father and his brother, Saif al Islam. There are clearly divisions emerging in this family. He said that he is neutral. He is neither in the rebel camp nor his father's camp and is merely trying to negotiate a ceasefire. The divisions are significant because until now, Gadhafi's family have been the power brokers, the main people that have run the country. They've always stuck together and now that cohesion is falling apart. Alina?

CHO: Nic, as you well know, the rebels have set a Saturday deadline for Gadhafi to surrender, and now this development. How do you see things playing out in Libya over the next few days?

ROBERTSON: Well, they've even talked about extending that ceasefire. There has been some discussion about it certainly from political leaders, the one senior military commander on the rebel side told me that he wasn't comfortable with that extension that the political leaders had given, this extension of another week, until next weekend.

So it seems that the military commanders really have the initiative right now and it does seem that they will go into Bani Walid and probably will see a scene slightly reminiscent of Tripoli where the rebels will quickly take control over perhaps small, fierce skirmishes. But the majority of those who are loyal to Gadhafi will run away. This seems set to be a great protracted campaign, the national transition council, the rebels have said that their key aim is to catch Moammar Gadhafi. It's beginning to look like this could take some time, it's beginning to look like an Iraq-type scenario where the Iraqi and U.S. forces were tracing Saddam Hussein for a very long time. It hasn't gone that far yet. But the next few days in Bani Walid will really give us an indication if that is that lies ahead for Libya right now, a long chase for Moammar Gadhafi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Some headlines from overseas now, a long brewing protest movement in Israel reached a tipping point last night. Just look at what may be the country's biggest ever public display of anger at the government. That's an estimated 400,000 people, according to media reports, rallying last night in Tel Aviv. They're protesting against Israel's high cost of living, high taxes and high unemployment. Organizers call the turnout the march of a million.

Amateur video now shot on Friday in a suburb of Damascus, Syria. Take a look at this, a human rights group says at least 14 people, all demonstrators, died today in clashes with security forces in several cities. The United Nations reports that more than 2,200 people have been killed in anti-government protests in Syria since February.

And Iran says it is now producing commercial electricity from a nuclear power plant. According to a government Web site, reactors went online yesterday and joined the country's power grid. The U.N. has heavily sanctioned Iran, claiming its nuclear program is designed to build weapons.

We have this dramatic video just in to CNN, it's from 9/11 but it's just now surfacing. Nearly 10 years after the fact. It was taken just minutes after United Airlines flight 93 crashed into a Pennsylvania field by a man who lived a few miles away. You're going to hear the voice of that man calmly narrating what he saw. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The remains of an airplane crash over on the road, and probably a terrorist bomb on board, blew up. Don't know anything more than that. That's what I heard on the scanner. I just saw the smoke come up and the explosion shook the house clear over here. And we are, what, 15 miles from Lambertville. And it shook the heck out of the house.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Incredible and eerie to watch. The man you heard from is now deceased. His family wishes to remain anonymous. This is believed to be the first known video that shows the smoke cloud from the flight 93 crash.

We here at CNN will bring you special 9/11 coverage beginning next Sunday morning at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time. Anderson Cooper and Candy Crowley are among the many people who will help us remember the tragic events of September 11th, 2001, and honor the lives that were lost in 9/11 10 years later.

Along the central gulf coast of the United States, flooding rains as tropical storm Lee makes a move toward the Tennessee Valley and the northeast. Right now, Lee is over southern Louisiana, where 10 parishes have issued emergency declarations. And the storm is starting to pick up speed, its impact felt over a wide area. Torrential rains have been falling in Mississippi, Alabama, and the Florida panhandle. Tonight, Atlanta right here in Georgia will be under a flash flood watch.

And we begin with Ed Lavandera. He is in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana. So Ed, tell me how bad is it where you are right now?

ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, the wind has not been an issue at all today. And the rain has been - when it does fall, it kind of comes in bands. They've been much more sporadic today. We had a significant rainfall this morning. But since then it's been a little bit like this. But the problem here, Alina, in this town, this is just south of New Orleans, if you look over here, all of this is water and this is say common scene around as you drive through the main road coming into town.

And the reason all this is happening is if you look in the distance where that orange barrier is over there, that is the intercoastal highway, the waterway, that takes water from the Gulf of Mexico and winds its way back in towards New Orleans. All of this is being caused because the winds are pushing towards the north. That is pushing water through that waterway and up through these canals and back and it's spilling out into these neighborhoods in Jean Lafitte, Louisiana, just south of New Orleans.

What's happening is, it seems typical like this, water is threatening to go inside of homes. We've only had a handful of homes that have taken on water. Mostly what we've seen and we've driven up and down, you'll see areas where you can see the water just kind of creeping up to the door steps of these homes. There is some concern in all of this fluctuates dramatically with high tide and low tide. Crews around here in Jean Lafitte have been going and setting up little makeshift levees and sandbags and other kind of ways to control the water and trying to salvage what they can.

For the most part, everyone holding up very well, doing what they need to. They hope as soon as the winds shift towards the south, that will happen as tropical storm Lee moves further north, that it is just a matter of time before all of this starts disappearing. Alina.

CHO: All right. Ed Lavandera, thank you very much.

We want to go now to Alabama. The Alabama Gulf Coast, another area feeling the impact of tropical storm Lee. Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us by phone now from Gulf Shores. So Reynolds, the last hour when we spoke, it was a bit windy where you were but there was certainly no rain. Has the situation changed, has it gotten worse? What are you seeing where you are right now?

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I would say, Alina, it has changed considerably. We had one (INAUDIBLE) band that came in Friday, quite a bit of rain. As I'm speaking now, it's really dwindled to just a sprinkle more than anything. It has been the first significant rainfall that we've seen since we've been in this location. That being said though. It did rain here quite significantly in the last several days. It had - really where from, the locals anywhere from seven to eight inches of rainfall. That very thing, the idea there had been rainfall had a lot of people who are here on vacation taking shelter inside their condominiums and hotels.

Today with the brief bits of sunshine, lots of people were flocking to the water, trying to get out of the water. Of course, they had the flags up telling people to stay out. It's kind of jocking this, it's a tennis match back and forth. People getting out of the surf, of course, lifeguards and, of course, law enforcement coming in and telling them to get out of the water. Also, the situation now, as I mentioned, we have some rain coming through. There's a potential for more rain later this afternoon into the evening, perhaps even tomorrow. It remains a very real threat for people living on gulf shores. Another threat, of course, is farther inland, certainly low-lying areas, (INAUDIBLE) poor drainage. If the rain comes down, it can pile up quickly before it has a chance to runoff and boom, that's when you get the flooding and of course, a big danger to many of the people who call this area home. Alina?

CHO: All right. Reynolds Wolf live for us along the Alabama gulf coast. We want to get a sense of where the storm is headed. Jacqui Jeras, obviously keeping a close eye on that. So Jacqui, what is the latest on the storm?

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, the storm is finally moving a little bit, Alina. So that's some good news. You know, it was stalled, it was moving at maybe like three miles an hour at most yesterday. Today we're up to eight. So that's good news. So the faster this thing moves, the less the rainfall totals are going to be. But we're still going to see significant onshore flow here across Louisiana into Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, even pushing into Georgia here and really Mississippi is probably getting hit the hardest today with these clusters of thunderstorms and bands as they move through with heavy downpours and rainfall totals as much as 10 to 11 inches already.

This is a 45 mile-per-hour maximum sustained winds storm. So there is going to be some spotty power outages. I don't think it's going to be too widespread but we already have tens of thousands of people who are without power. Now the storm system will move slow here over the next 24 hours. It will be gradually picking up forward speed and heading on up towards the Tennessee Valley. It will become what we call extra tropical. But it really doesn't matter what you call it, you call it a rainmaker and that's exactly what it's going to be here, the rainfall totals in addition to what we already have are forecast generally to be on the range of four to eight inches across the deep south.

A few places will get hit harder. For example, Jackson could see six to 12. You get over to Atlanta, maybe three to five. You get towards Knoxville maybe four to seven inches and we have a cold front which is coming in along with that and that's going to be bringing in about one to three inches across the northeast today. We are expecting an additional flood threat here across parts of upstate New York, even into Vermont where severe thunderstorm watches are in effect. Of course, those people still reeling from Irene. So we've got a big soaker in the southeast. This is going to be a long impact storm, Alina, with that cold front moving on through. It's going to be an ugly mess for millions of people trying to travel tomorrow.

CHO: Well, that's what I wanted to ask you about. I mean, what are we looking at in terms of flight delays? Because so many people are going to be -- like me. Trying to get home tomorrow from their holiday.

JERAS: yes, it's not looking good. In fact, we do think that there's going to be rain up and down the eastern seaboard, threat of severe thunderstorms in the southeast. So major metropolitan areas, the world's busiest airport in Atlanta will likely have delays, up to D.C., New York, Boston, everybody in the East really going to get in on that.

CHO: Thanks a lot, Jacqui Jeras. All right.

JERAS: Sorry.

CHO: We'll check back with you later. Thanks.

President Obama heads to an area still trying to recover from Hurricane Irene. Remember that storm? And Mr. Obama's message to overwhelmed residents is next.

This may be the biggest public anti-government protest in Israel's history. The issues, the anger, the demands. We'll have all the details, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Sixteen minutes after the hour. If you're just joining us, President Obama is vowing to help communities struggling to recover from Hurricane Irene. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti live in Paterson, New Jersey, is one of the two towns the president visited today, the other being Wayne. Susan, I see you're wearing a mask there. It's because of the smell. What's going on?

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: I'll take it down for obviously the purposes of this report. But the workers here, many of them, have been wearing these masks all day long. We're on the (INAUDIBLE) of Temple Street Bridge in Paterson. This is one of the bridges that remains closed. The workers have been doing their darndest to get it cleaned up and re-opened as early as this afternoon. They are wearing them because frankly there is so much dust in the air.

I'm told by them, that there are a lot of hazardous, potentially chemicals in the air. And so they're trying to protect eyes and their lungs as best they can. It is indeed, this is the place, one of the locations where President Obama was here today and we'd like to show you pictures of that. Where he played the role of comforter in chief. He was in here as well as in Wayne, New Jersey. He was shaking hands. He was hugging a lot of people, quite frankly a lost residents who lived here all of their lives who have lost their homes, who are evacuated from their homes or who have lost a lot of their belongings, as well as businesses that have also been closed due to the storm damage. So he's here to tell them that help is on the way. This is part of his message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The main message I have for all the residents not only in New Jersey but all those communities that have been affected by flooding, by the destruction that occurred as a consequence of Hurricane Irene is that the entire country is behind you. And we are going to make sure that we provide all the resources that are necessary in order to help these communities rebuild.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: In fact, the president made that statement while he was standing on this very bridge. You can see the Passaic River over my shoulder. He obviously could see as we do how strong the current remains. Now, much of the water has receded in the city but there's a lot of cleanup to do. One of the people who is part of the cleanup effort is Greg Glover. Gregory, you were here when the president was on the bridge. What was that moment like for you?

GREGORY GLOVER, CITY WORKER: It was amazing. President Obama came down, showed us support and we were thankful that he did that.

CANDIOTTI: You know he says that he's going to send money. Do you think the money will come quickly enough to help people?

GLOVER: I believe so. I believe so. He's a man of his word.

CANDIOTTI: All right. Gregory, thank you very much. We appreciate it and al the work you're doing to try to get this town back in shape. Alina, back to you.

CHO: All right. Susan Candiotti, live for us in Paterson. Obviously, the president's visit giving people there a much-needed lift, at least in spirit. Thank you very much for that report.

Meanwhile, so many people out of work right now, unemployment remaining at 9.1 percent. Now, if you're one of those people or you know someone who is, I want to get you ready to take some notes. We have some important information about how to get your resume in order. That is next. We're back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Every week at this time we focus on ways to get a jump start in the work force. In today's "Reclaim Your Career," with so many people looking for work how can you stand out from the competition? Well, it may come down to your resume. If you're thinking you know what a great resume looks like, think again. Fredricka Whitfield sat down with career and social media counselor Miriam Salpeter.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MIRIAM SALPETER, CAREER COUNSELOR: One thing that (INAUDIBLE) job seekers done realize is when they apply for jobs that aren't exactly suited then they're being screened out by computers before a human being even ever sees the resume. So applying for the right kind of jobs is really important.

WHITFIELD: So you need trigger words is that what you're saying?

SALPETER: Key words is important. And you find those keywords include a job titles. If you're applying for a particular job title that title needs to appear in your material, even if you never held that job before.

WHITFIELD: OK. So let's take a look at what, I guess, you would consider kind of the old style resume, one that you need to get rid of and we can compare it to the new updated version.

SALPETER: Yes. OK.

WHITFIELD: So let's take a look at old. This is what I guess most people are familiar with, their name at the top, their address, the objective, what they're looking for in their career, et cetera. What's the matter with that?

SALPETER: Well, number one is that the objective statement is very dated. Today it's more important to focus in on exactly what you have to offer the employer, not what it is you want to do. And here, the objective was showing a lot of dated words. Useless words that weren't descriptive.

WHITFIELD: Is it a case of too many words, too?

SALPETER: Not necessarily too many words but not just words that are descriptive enough to make an impact.

WHITFIELD: OK. Is this is the new one here?

SALPETER: The new resume -

WHITFIELD: It looks harder to read to me. No?

SALPETER: Well, it highlights the job seeker's online credentials and makes it easy to find them more about them online with the LinkedIn, and Twitter and Google Plus. Makes them look like they're ahead of the curve in terms of using new technology.

WHITFIELD: Being modern.

SALPETER: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Having that right at the top. Now let's talk about, you know, experience, because sometimes we're hearing from a lot of people who may have been in an industry for many, many years, you know, a few decades with maybe in their 50s or even their 40s and they're trying to, you know, find a job. But somehow, sometimes that experience becomes a detriment, perhaps it even ages potential applicant. Is there ever a case in which you want to eliminate some of that experience, try to conceal how old you are essentially?

SALPETER: I don't necessarily know concealing how old you are. But definitely in a resume you don't really need to show more than 10 years of experience. Because that's what's most relevant to the employer.

WHITFIELD: That and professional experience. This is the old resume, this is how you (INAUDIBLE) professional experience.

SALPETER: Some old style, bullets, you know, a lot of people have old style fonts. So you want to make sure that the resume, not only is visually interesting but also gives information that is useful to the employer.

WHITFIELD: How is this an improvement?

SALPETER: So the difference here is it includes specific figures, numbers, job seeker's impact on the employers' organization, 17 percent increase in page views, increased profitability from 15 million to 20 million. Definitely shows the key words in such as what kind of programs they were using to accomplish those results.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Coming up, Mitt Romney is courting Tea Party votes. And that's not sitting well with some in the Tea Party movement. So what's the big deal? We'll tell you, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Time for a CNN equals Politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the cnnpolitics.com desk. Here's what's crossing right now.

For the first time, Mitt Romney is headlining a major Tea Party event. The Republican presidential candidate is speaking at a Tea Party Express rally today in New Hampshire. But some in the movement aren't really happy about it. National Tea Party sponsor Freedom Works is protesting Romney's appearance, accusing the former Massachusetts governor of not being a true conservative.

A Tea Party favorite, meanwhile, is spending labor day in the granite state. We're talking about Sarah Palin. She speaks at a Tea Party Express rally tomorrow in Manchester. The former Alaska governor says she'll decide whether to enter the presidential race by the end of the month.

Six GOP candidates head to South Carolina tomorrow for a presidential forum. They are Rick Perry, Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Ron Paul, Herman Cain and Newt Gingrich. All will take part in the labor day event in Columbia.

Keep it here because the Republican presidential candidates will soon face off right here on CNN. They'll take the stage at the CNN Tea Party Republican debate co-hosted by the Tea Party Express. Catch all the action on September 12th, 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The former head of the IMF is back in his native France. So what kind of reception did Dominique Strauss-Kahn receive? In the wake of those sexual assault charges that have since been dropped? We're going to take you to Paris, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Half past the hour, top stories now.

Tropical Storm Lee is drenching parts of the southeast with flooding rains. Right now the storm is over Southern Louisiana, 10 parishes there under a state of emergency, and Lee is picking up speed. It's expected to move to the northeast and into the Tennessee Valley over the next few days. Today President Obama got an up-close look at the damage from Hurricane Irene. He toured Wayne and Paterson, New Jersey, towns hit hard by the storm's strong winds and heavy rains.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Obviously, visiting Wayne, visiting Paterson, many of these surrounding communities gives you a sense of the devastation that's taken place, not only here in New Jersey but in Upstate New York and Vermont and a whole range of states that were affected by Hurricane Irene.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: And a long, brewing protest movement in Israel reached a tipping point last night. Just look at these pictures, what could be the country's biggest ever public display of anger at the government.

An estimated 400,000 people, according to media reports, rallying last night in Tel Aviv. They're protesting against Israel's high cost of living, high taxes and high unemployment. Organizers call the turnout the March of the Million. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to form a government panel to seek solutions.

The former IMF chief at the center of an explosive rape case, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, is back in France. He arrived this morning after taking an overnight flight from New York's JFK Airport, the same airport, by the way, where Strauss-Kahn was arrested back on May 14th. His return comes less than two weeks after a judge dismissed charges in the case where he was accused of trying to rape a hotel maid.

We want to bring in our Jim Bitterman now from Paris. And Jim, I think it's safe to say it was a mob scene out there today.

JIM BITTERMANN, CNN SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely, Alina. In fact Strauss-Kahn came in an hour and a half earlier, perhaps thinking that he could avoid the press mob, but they were there anyway. And, as you can see, a big crowd that was gathered there around the - around the airport, and as well some well wishers.

We talked to one woman who got up at 5:30 this morning in order to be out there to support Strauss-Kahn. He actually received a brief round of applause for some of his supporters.

He went straight to his apartment. He hasn't said a word all day long.

At his apartment, one of his neighbors is a guy named Jack Lang, who's a former cultural minister of France, and he believes that Strauss- Kahn still has a role to play in politics. Here's what he had to say.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JACK LANG, FORMER FRENCH CULTURE & EDUCATION MINISTER: A man as him, with his fabulous qualities, his international competence, his knowledge of economy, of the question of society, could be - should be very useful for - for us, not only in France but also in Europe.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But do you think -

LANG: But he has to decide. I have not to decide instead of him (ph).

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BITTERMANN: Jack Lang, though, doesn't represent most French because there's - according to (INAUDIBLE) public opinion polls here, 80 percent of the French don't want to see Strauss-Kahn run for the presidency - Alina.

CHO: Jim I understand that you have some information about Strauss- Kahn possibly speaking out in the next 24 hours or so?

BITTERMANN: Well, in fact he said - before he left the United States he said that he wanted to speak out about the subject as - when he return to France. He's now returned. His spokesman said to journalists today that she didn't think that he was going to say anything today, that perhaps by tomorrow he might be ready to say something.

It's also sort of being made clear that he's not going to talk about the details of the affair in the United States because there is still the civil suit pending in the United States. And one of the things I should say, too, Alina, is that there's still legal action here pending. There's a young lady journalist here who claims that Strauss-Kahn raped her or attempted to rape her eight years ago, and there's a prosecutor looking into that.

At the moment it's just at the complaint stage, but he no doubt will want to question Strauss-Kahn to get his side of the story before he decides whether or not charges will be laid against Strauss-Kahn in that case - Alina.

CHO: And - and yet, Jim, you talked about the well wishers who came out, one woman waking up at 5:30 in the morning to - to greet him when he arrived with his wife, Anne Sinclair.

So, you know, there's that old saying there's no such thing as bad publicity as long as they spell your name right. I mean, who's to say that he couldn't make a political comeback? I mean, are there people there who believe there's a chance that he still could run for president?

BITTERMANN: Well, I think right now, given what we know, I don't think he could run for president in 2012, which is the next election here, just because there are so many negatives. And the leader of the Socialist Party, his party, said the other day that she agreed with most of the women in France - and, by the way, most of the women are opposed to what they are hearing about Strauss-Kahn - that she agrees with their opinion about Strauss-Kahn. So basically distancing herself and the Socialist Party from him.

So if did he try to make a run this time around, it would have to be almost surely as an independent. He might try to do that. I doubt it. I think rather he'd probably try to play some influential role in the political campaign, as an adviser or counselor to whoever is the presidential candidate, then hope for maybe something down the line.

But in politics memories are very short. People revive their careers in amazingly short time. So anything could happen, Alina.

CHO: You're absolutely right, and it is a story that has captivated France and captivated the United States.

Jim Bittermann, thank you for joining us from Paris.

Well, it seems every day we hear about how we are inching toward a double dip recession. So next, in our "Financial Fix," how to recession-proof your family's budget. Easy tips you wouldn't want to miss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: It's the number one issue in American homes - getting your financial house in order. Well, yesterday I talked to financial planner Karen Lee, and she gave me some tips on how to make your family budget recession-proof.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

KAREN LEE, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: We used to say that we needed about three to six months of an - of what your expenses are every month for emergencies. We've upped that to about 6 to 12 months.

CHO: Why?

LEE: Well, because we're finding that people are taking much longer to find work than in the past, and this recovery is taking so long. So if your bills are, say, $4,000 a month, now we're looking at - six -- $24,000 to $48,000 safe money.

CHO: Yes. The next thing on your list here is evaluate spending. Is that something everybody should do right now?

LEE: Again, we should always be doing that. But what I like to see people do is sort of break their expenses into two - three columns. Column one, obligations. You've got to hit those every month. Number two, you're going to set - have some wiggle room, like utilities and food. And number three are discretionary.

So try to keep that first column as small as possible. And if you have a two income family, try to live on one income.

If you are lucky enough to have equity in your house right now, go get an equity line, while you still have a job, because later, if you lose your job or your income goes down, you're not going to qualify.

CHO: And that means keep credit cards open, right?

LEE: But don't spend - CHO: But don't use them.

LEE: Exactly.

CHO: Right, right, right. My mom used to tell us that. Still does.

LEE: Right.

CHO: So the next thing on your list here, get benefits independent from your company. What are we talking about?

LEE: Well, most of us -

CHO: Life insurance?

LEE: Most of us are extremely reliant on our company for all of our insurance health, disability and life insurance. So I absolutely encourage people, go get maybe not health, but disability and life insurance separate from your company. If you are let go, you'll already have it in place, and you would be shocked how often we find people can buy more inexpensive term life insurance outside their company.

CHO: But how do you do that, though? I mean, if you're really trying to keep a tight budget?

LEE: Well, term insurance is so inexpensive, and if - in times like this, a premature death of the breadwinner, that's worse than anything. So it's still really, really important.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Karen Lee, with some great tips. And you can catch "Financial Fix" every Saturday at 2:00 P.M. Eastern, and Sundays at 4:00, right here on CNN.

Tiger Woods facing challenges on the golf course. He certainly faced challenges in his personal life. But one thing that's near and dear to him, helping kids with their challenges.

We'll talk with Tiger about a cause close to his heart, next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Tiger Woods may be struggling with his golf game but, get this, he's still the sport's number one attraction, and this week he helped raise a half million dollars for a cause very close to his heart. It's a charity founded by his long-time friend and fellow golfer, Notah Begay III.

The Notah Begay Foundation fights childhood obesity and Type II diabetes among Native American children, and it sponsors a golf tournament each year to raise money. Now, Woods played in the Second Annual Notah Begay Golf Challenge two years ago, and this week he returned for the Fourth Annual Challenge.

Our Fredricka Whitfield spoke with Tiger and Notah Begay. Watch.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Now, 2009 was the last time you played. How meaningful will this time around be for you?

TIGER WOODS, PGA TOUR GOLFER: Well, it's extremely gratifying to be a part of Notah's event. What Notah's trying to do for the Native American community, what he's trying to do for all the kids with Type II diabetes, it's - as he'll explain, it's totally preventative. And that's one of the things that we don't realize is obesity and - and Type II diabetes can all be prevented.

And, you know, what he's trying to do for - for a lot of young kids who don't really understand, they don't have the knowledge for what their - what life and - what life is. And what he's doing is - and, as I said, there's no one out there doing this, and being a friend, knowing him since we were kids, to see what's he's doing, I'm just so - so proud.

WHITFIELD: So Notah, why are you taking the lead in this? What was the inspiration for you?

NOTAH BEGAY III, FOUNDER, NB3 FOUNDATION: Well, just visiting a lot of the Native American communities in my - my philanthropy and community outreach week over the last few years really demonstrated to me that there was a lack of - lack of programming and a lack of well researched, evidence-based programming. And that's what we're after.

I mean, we've got partners, like Johns Hopkins University, that helps us design our research, implement our studies, process our data. And we are really taking a focused and targeted approach on this epidemic to push back and actually prevent Type II diabetes.

And one of the interesting things that I come across in - in doing a lot of these motivational talks with these kids is that most of them don't understand that Type II diabetes is completely preventable.

WHITFIELD: And Tiger, you know, I know you and Notah have been friends for a long time and you have been involved on so many different levels in various philanthropic efforts. But what is it about this effort, tackling childhood obesity in the Native American community, that really connects with you?

WOODS: I - I can relate to it because I dealt with it. You know, my father had prostate cancer, but he also developed Type II diabetes. So I know what it can do. I know the damage that it can do. I know the devastation that it can inflict on a family.

And to see kids have to go through this when they don't have to, you know, that's - that's the thing, is it is totally preventable. And it's about understanding, it's about knowledge, and a lot of these kids don't understand that yet. And that's what Notah's bringing to the table.

He's giving these kids the tools to understand what they need to do with their lives and how to do it. And that's what's just phenomenal.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Tiger Woods, in his own words.

Meanwhile, tough talk this Sunday. A union leader takes on a corporate giant.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT: Are you questioning the patriotism of Apple for sitting on money rather than hiring?

JIM HOFFA, PRESIDENT, INTERNATIONAL BROTHERHOOD OF TEAMSTERS: Yes, I am.

CROWLEY: Are you?

HOFFA. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. What is it with a company -

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: Up next, the best of the Sunday talk shows. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: The economy, unemployment and remembering 9/11 - all issues today on the Sunday morning talk shows. Here's a look at the highlights.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOFFA: I think businesses are sitting on money. Look at Apple. They have $76 billion in their checking account. And they're not spending it.

CROWLEY: Which they're allowed to have.

HOFFA: And - but they're not doing anything with it. And instead of investing here, everything they do is in China or is in Asia somewhere.

CROWLEY: Are you questioning the patriotism of Apple for sitting on money rather than hiring?

HOFFA: Yes, I am.

CROWLEY: Are you?

HOFFA. Yes, I am. Yes, I am. What is it with a company that makes 76 - and they sell most of their products here in the United States. I mean, they're the biggest - Apple, you got Apple Stores everywhere else.

They've been sitting on that kind of money, and every time they do something, they do it in China, they do it somewhere else. There's something wrong with that. Don't they have an obligation -

CROWLEY: They would tell you that the -

Just on a purely sort of helping people basis, isn't extending unemployment something that you would support?

SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: We have to have unemployment, but the - the longer you make it, the more perverse incentives you create.

Candy, I've talked to a lot of businesses in South Carolina who can't get employees to come back to work because they are getting unemployment and they're getting food stamps and they say call me when unemployment runs out.

REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CALIFORNIA: We do pay lip service to education. We don't really invest in it, and that's got to change.

But, let me just say this. Americans want to work. This joblessness is not only hitting the middle class, but it is hitting all classes. It is absolutely unconscionable what is happening in the minority communities.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does that mean that there will be no deduction for interest on mortgages, Governor? Does it? That's what it means?

GOV. JON HUNTSMAN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: That - that means no deductions. That means no deductions.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What about - what about no child tax credit? I guess it means none of that?

HUNTSMAN: None of that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No earned income tax credit.

HUNTSMAN: We're sitting kind of a little bit fat, dumb and happy, as still 25 percent of the world's GDP, without having made the steps necessary to get us back in the game. So I'm calling for that which is bold. I know it's going to be politically controversial, but I think it is absolutely needed at this point.

CHRIS WALLACE, HOST, "FOX NEWS SUNDAY": You and the president had earlier discussed rules of engagement for taking down a hijacked airplane, but you are the one who gave the direct order to shoot down a plane that you were told, as it turns out incorrectly, was headed for Washington.

DICK CHENEY, FORMER VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Right. What I did was pass on the president's approval of the basic proposition that we would in fact authorize our people to shoot down aircraft that had been hijacked and refused to divert. So I saw it as part of my responsibility. But I - I did it quickly, because we had a lot of other things we were doing at the same time.

SEN. JOE LIEBERMAN (I), CONNECTICUT: I don't think anybody on September 12th, 2001, would have predicted that in the following 10 years there would not be another major terrorist attack on our homeland, and there has not been.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: Hard to believe it's been 10 years.

Meanwhile, the Republican presidential candidates will soon face off right here on CNN. They'll take the stage at the CNN Tea Party Republican Debate, co-hosted by the Tea Party Express. Catch all the action right here, September 12th, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time.

Well, you don't want to fool with college football fans during the game, especially the opening game of the season. So I'm told.

These fans were told to clear out, clear out now. Look at those pictures. They did clear out. And that hasn't happened in that stadium in 100 years, until now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHO: Time to go cross country and check stories our affiliates are covering today.

What should have been a short flight from Las Vegas to L.A. turned into a long delay after complaints of a suspicious passenger forced the plane to return to Vegas. The TSA isn't giving any details.

The passenger was apparently removed and handed over to law enforcement. The rest of the passengers had to get off the plane and then get rescreened before the plane was cleared to fly to L.A. What a pain.

Listen to the pounding surf off the coast of Southern California, and take a look at those pictures. A huge winter storm down under is sending 12-foot waves to surf meccas like Malibu this Labor Day weekend. And when you have waves like that, surfers aren't far behind.

And watch this. That lightning strike hit the football stadium at Notre Dame last night during the Irish season opener. It prompted a first ever evacuation, not once, but twice. Getting fans to leave took some convincing.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First time they've used that code so there must be pretty bad lightning in the area. So I -

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they going to -

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'll get back in.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Are they going to suspend the game?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) though. We've already been told they'll play this sucker till midnight if we have to.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: With the rain and lightning causing long delays, it took six hours to finish the game. And, in case you're interested, Notre Dame lost to South Florida.

There will be no jail time for the Alaska mother who disciplined her seven-year-old adopted son by squirting hot sauce into his mouth. Prosecutors claim that she videotaped her actions to get on the "Dr. Phil Show."

Yesterday I talked to our legal guys Avery Friedman and Richard Herman about the case, and they both disagreed with the verdict.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

AVERY FRIEDMAN, CIVIL RIGHTS ATTORNEY: It's outrageous that she didn't do - do time. A hundred and eighty days, suspended? Come on. That's not the appropriate sentence.

And the motive was to get on television. For goodness' sakes. That woman should be in jail, and that child should be in foster care right now.

CHO: Richard, how do you defend a woman like this?

RICHARD HERMAN, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: I - I just relate to when I was a kid, I would have loved a little hot sauce instead of the belt. Trust me.

CHO: Come on.

HERMAN: A little chicken wings and some hot sauce.

CHO: Come one.

HERMAN: No, Avery - I think Avery - Avery hit it. It's the motive of the woman.

CHO: Right.

HERMAN: That's what the real problem here is. It wasn't just to discipline the child, it was to get on the "Dr. Phil Show."

CHO: Right.

HERMAN: I mean, it was ridiculous. And for 180 day suspended sentence, three-year probation. You know, this poor kid is adopted from Russia. It makes us look real bad over here. I don't know. I think the judge was pretty lenient with her. Her lawyers did a great job for her. Really.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CHO: And you can catch our legal guys every Saturday at noon Eastern right here in the CNN NEWSROOM.