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Freed American Hikers Speak On Experience, Saudi Women Get New Public Rights
Aired September 25, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And just moments ago, two freed American hikers made their first public appearance since returning to U.S. soil. Earlier today, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer told reporters they were held for two years in an Iranian prison, not because they crossed an unmarked border but because they say they are Americans. We'll have much more on their first public statements in a few minutes.
In Saudi Arabia, a historic decision expanding women's rights. King Abdullah says Saudi women will be able to vote and run for office in future municipal elections. That doesn't however include elections coming up this Thursday. A prominent women's rights advocate in Saudi Arabia says women's voices will finally be heard. She says now it is time to remove other barriers like not allowing women to drive cars.
And stay right there, more on this story including reaction in women's rights groups, other ones in Saudi Arabia. Ralitsa Vassileva from CNN International will be joining me in just a few minutes from now.
President Barack Obama is due to arrive at the paramount theater in Seattle, Washington, this hour. He's visiting the west coast to push his plan for creating more jobs and to raise money for fellow Democrats. We expect to hear from the president before he heads to California later on today.
All right, the president also delivered his message personally to the congressional black caucus in Washington last night in the nation's capital, Washington, D.C., that is, and it was straight talk.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I don't know about you, CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. With patient and firm determination, I'm going to press on for jobs. I'm going to press on for equality. I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. I'm going to press on for the sake of all of those families who are struggling right now. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: All right, again, that's President Barack Obama at the congressional black caucus last night in the nation's capital. Now, he is in Washington state and then on to California and then later on to Colorado, pushing his jobs plan.
All right, meantime, live pictures of Capitol Hill now. Why? Because U.S. lawmakers have five days and seven hours left to come up with some type of spending plan. If they don't, we could see federal agencies shut down. The current budget ends at midnight, Friday. The big sticking point, money for disaster relief and there was more finger pointing this morning on CNN's "state of the union."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. MARK WARNER (D), VIRGINIA: There is a group and I do believe it is mostly senate in the house and terms of some of these tea party Republicans who say on every issue we're going to make this a make or break. We saw it on the FAA when they shut down the federal aviation administration. We're seeing it now on this debate about FEMA. We should be able to have legitimate debate about emergency aid. Why link that into a government shutdown or not?
SEN. LAMAR ALEXANDER (R), TENNESSEE: I'll give the Senate democratic leader most of the credit. He manufactured a crisis all week about disaster when there is no crisis. Everybody knows we're going to pay for every single penny of disaster aid that the president declares.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Lawmakers are supposed to be in recess this week, but Senate majority leader Harry Reid ordered a Monday session for a possible vote on a compromise package.
All right, you've come to know the name Diana Nyad and you've come to know her dream. Well, she says, it does continue but her third attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida was not the charm. The 62-year- old endurance swimmer ended her latest quest earlier today. She was about two-thirds of the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DIANA NYAD, ENDURANCE SWIMMER: I trained so damn hard for it. I deserve it. It is a hard thing to let go of, you know.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: It is a hard thing to let go of, she says. She had to let go of it because of painful jellyfish stings and strong currents. She did attempt this before, twice before, 1978 and then last month.
All right, we have just heard from the U.S. hikers that were held in Iran for two years. Moments ago, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer held a news conference in New York. They denied Iran's espionage charges and condemned the Iranian government and then told reporters that they believe they were only held because they were American.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) SHANE BAUER, FMR. IRANIAN PRISONER: Sarah, Josh and I have experienced a taste of the Iranian regime's brutality. We have been held in almost total isolation from the world and everything we love, stripped of our rights and freedom. You may ask us, now that you are free, can you forgive the Iranian government for what it has done to you? Our answer is this, how can we forgive the Iranian government when it continues to imprison so many other innocent people and prisoners of conscience? It is the Iranian people who dare the branch of this government's cruelty and disregard for human right. These - there are people in Iran who are imprisoned for years, simply for attending a protest, for writing a pro democracy blog, or for worshipping an unpopular faith.
Journalists remain behind bars and innocent people have been executed. If the Iranian government wants to change its image in the world, and ease international pressure, it should release all political prisoners and prisoners of conscience immediately. They deserve their freedom just as much as we do.
In prison, every time we complained about our conditions, the guards would immediately remind us of comparable conditions at Guantanamo Bay. They would remind us of CIA prisons in other parts of the world and the conditions that Iranians and others experience in prisons in the U.S. We do not believe that such human rights violations on the part of our government justify what has been done to us. Not for a moment. However, we do believe that these actions on the part of the U.S. provide an excuse for other governments, including the government of Iran, to act in kind.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll have more from the hikers out of New York a bit later on in this hour.
And in overseas, it is good-bye to bullfighting, at least in one part of Spain. The people spoke and ended a 600 year tradition. The reason, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, some headlines making headlines from around the world, that is, bullfighting.
In one region of Spain, it is now history. This was the final day of bullfights in Barcelona, the capital of Catalonia. The parliament there voted to ban the 600-year-old sport, claiming its brutality was harmful to the Spanish culture. Bullfighting is still legal, however, in other parts of Spain.
In a small plane filled with people on a tour of Mount Everest crashed today in Nepal. Everyone on board died 19 people in all, two of them American tourists. Witnesses say the plane was on approach to land at Kathmandu's airport.
And the U.N. Security Council meets tomorrow to discuss a controversial request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. He wants full U.N. membership for the Palestinian authority. Abbas made the request in person on Friday at the U.N. general assembly. He got a warm welcome when he returned to the West Bank today.
Let's talk more about something we have been telling you all afternoon on the king of Saudi Arabia making history today with a surprise announcement. It involves women in the kingdom. Their rights and their voices in the ultra conservative society where women are not allowed to drive, let alone vote, and run for office. Well, some of them that just is on the verge of training. Ralitsa Vassileva is here from CNN International with more on that. Should we bury that lead?
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And why should we bury that lead? It is a great lead.
WHITFIELD: This is a big happy anniversary to Ralitsa as well because it is 20 years here with CNN.
VASSILEVA: That's right. 20 years ago.
WHITFIELD: A milestone.
VASSILEVA: Twenty years ago today, I remember that I left the Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria, my native Bulgaria, to come for this incredible job, my American dream at CNN. It was supposed to be one year. That's me at the airport.
WHITFIELD: And you looked the same. This is 20 years ago.
VASSILEVA: I paid Fred to say that by the way.
WHITFIELD: No. I felt it as soon as I saw. That's incredible.
VASSILEVA: Yes. But it was supposed to be for one year and here we go.
WHITFIELD: And 20 years later.
VASSILEVA: I've done some work covering the fall of communism in Bulgaria for CNN. That's how they got to know my work. And I was very lucky, the right place at the right time. That was the biggest story at that time.
WHITFIELD: Incredible. And so, on this big milestone, and history- making moment for you, a history-making moment that we're here to talk about as well about what is taking place in Saudi Arabia.
VASSILEVA: That is historic. We talked to activists, we talked to women in Saudi Arabia and they thing that this is really history- making even though they won't be allowed to vote in this week's election. This week they're holding election on Thursday. But they won't be allowed to do it. They say in the next election. However, they will be able to, not only to vote, but also run for office and also be on the highest advisory board, advising the king.
WHITFIELD: Why? Why now? What happened? VASSILEVA: We don't know exactly why this is happening now, but we do know that Saudi women have been making a stand, a public stand. For example, there was a group a few months ago that you might remember, they publicly defied the driving ban. So they went out driving in front of the police, nobody stopped them. But I wanted to run some sound from an interview we did with an activist who actually defied the driving ban. Her reaction to what the king announced today. Let's listen.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's check it out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MANAL AL-SHARIF, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST, SAUDI ARABIA: It is thrilling. We weren't expecting. (Inaudible) they send a recommendation that women can vote and we were expecting King Abdullah to come up and say, women can vote. Then he surprises us and says you can vote, he can stand for election and you can even be a member in the council, which is the legislative body in the country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VASSILEVA: So, you see her excitement and she said this is even bigger than being allowed to drive. She said that will come later. The important thing, she said, this is going to allow us to be part of the decision-making in our country. So once we are there in the system, we can make not just the driving changes, lift that driving ban. We can do so much more including most important point was to change the guardianship system. Under that system, women cannot work, they can't study. They can't marry without permission of a male relative. So -
WHITFIELD: Wow. An incredible sea change. Thanks so much for bringing that to us and incredible milestone for you personally today.
VASSILEVA: Thank you. Still happy to work here after all these years.
WHITFIELD: That's fantastic Ralitsa. Happy 20th, you young thing.
VASSILEVA: Oh, yes. Dave, our producer said to say I was 11 years old in that picture.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: Well, you are timeless. You look great, then, now and forever. Ralitsa Vassileva thanks so much.
VASSILEVA: My pleasure.
WHITFIELD: All right, in this tough economy, most people are doing all they can to stay employed, to guard your job security. Monster.com, actually says there are ten things not to do on the job.
Coming in at number ten, pointing the finger at everyone except for yourself. Number nine, alienating your co-workers, forgetting to double-check your figures, especially if you work with numbers, becoming romantically involved with the boss, that's number seven. And then number six, surfing the web excessively while on the job.
So, what are the top five actions to avoid while on the job? I'll tell you right after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, we are talking job security now. Monster.com said there are ten things not to do on the job. Before the break we went over five on that list. Well now, here is a look at the other five actions to avoid. Coming in at number five, drinking at work. Doesn't say what you're drinking but OK, drinking at work. Number four, taking too many personal calls. Gossiping at work, number three on the list. And letting everyone know about your job hunt is at number two. Don't do these things reminder. And number one action that could get you fired, lying on your job application or resume.
Now even if you're not worried about being fired in this economy, you could be laid off. And every week we focus on ways to get a jump start in the workforce. So in today's reclaim your career, we are talking about empowering yourself by preparing for the worst.
Felicia Joy is the author of "Hybrid Entrepreneurship," have the middle class can beat the slow economy, earn extra income and re-claim the American dream. Felicia, good to see you.
FELICIA JOY, FOUNDER, MS. CEO INC.: Hey, good to see you. How are you?
WHITFIELD: I'm doing great. Excellent. OK. So, how can we prepare for the layoff? Because these days, if you have a job, you're very grateful to have one but at the same time, you're a little nervous about what may be around the corner.
JOY: Right. You need to empower yourself with information so that's knowing the details up front. Number one; know your company's severance policy. A lot of times we know if our employer has a severance policy but we don't look into the details. Usually it's based on time and service. But you want to figure out how much you would be entitled to in severance if you were to be laid off.
WHITFIELD: Really? But that seems like you're anticipating. You're thinking about the worst that could happen.
JOY: Well, you know layoffs are part of the reality of the current workforce. So it is not that you're anticipating it, but you're just having a plan in case it happens.
WHITFIELD: So kind of don't kid yourself, never feel too comfortable.
JOY: Exactly. Face reality.
WHITFIELD: All right, and then, know what the state benefits may be as it pertains to unemployment, et cetera. JOY: Exactly. We hear Congress and the president talking about unemployment benefits. So we think of it as a federal program, but it is administered by states. So the benefits differ from state to state. So, for example, in Washington state, the range that you get weekly for unemployment compensation ranges from 183 up to $538, but in Texas for example, it starts at $60 a week and ranges to 415. So, it's very different state to state.
WHITFIELD: So, does it mean your eligibility may vary to from state to state depending why you're out of work, how you lost your job, if you quit that kind of thing?
JOY: Usually you to have been laid off. You cannot have been fired for a reason of your own or quit. So that's pretty uniform across states. But eligibility and definitely the benefits do differ state to state.
WHITFIELD: OK. And decide what you can live without.
JOY: Yes.
WHITFIELD: What do we mean?
JOY: So, you know if you have a job and you're doing well financially, you may have premium cable, the most minutes on your cell phone. You don't have to necessarily think that much about those things, but if you suddenly find yourself unemployed and without income, you immediately want to be able to reduce bills. But you sort of want to think about that in advance by having a list of your bills and knowing what you would cut and how you would cut if you need to.
WHITFIELD: Maybe then it also amazing including the saying that you know you can live without because if you do lose a job, you still want potential employers to be able to contact you. You still want to be able to have your e-mail, still want to be able to have that cell phone or that phone in order for someone to contact you.
JOY: That's right. You need a cell phone, but if you have a Smart phone and you have a data plan, maybe don't serve the web anymore. You just need to just get dial tone.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: OK. Of course, we're wishing the best for everybody. If you got a job, we certainly want you to keep it. Just in case, just like mom always said, you got to have that rainy day fund, right? Think ahead.
JOY: It takes away the anxiety to know what you would do just in case.
WHITFIELD: All right, Felicia Joy. Good to see you first time on the air with us.
JOY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: Hope to see you back.
JOY: Yes. Thank you so much.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.
JOY: All right.
WHITFIELD: All right, a life changing operation turned an amputee into a self-sufficient woman. She did amazing things that she's doing a year after her double hand transplants.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Each week our Chief Medical Correspondent Doctor Sanjay Gupta profiles an extraordinary person in a segment we call the human factor. Today he introduces us to Sheila Advento, the first woman in the U.S. to receive a double hand transplant. A year has passed since she got her new hands and Sanjay Gupta reported on her amazing progress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine having to learn how to use someone else's hands as your own.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Pinch, pinch.
GUPTA: That's the reality for Sheila May Advento, the first woman in the United States to undergo a double hand transplant.
SHEILA MAY ADVENTO, DOUBLE HAND TRANSPLANT RECIPIENT: I just remember being rushed to the hospital and in ER and that's it. I was out.
GUPTA: Advento's hands and feet were amputated eight years ago after she contracted a bacterial infection.
ADVENTO: They were so lifeless you know and so black.
GUPTA: She got prosthetics for her hands and feet, but the idea of a possible future hand transplant was always on her mind. When the opportunity came from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, she went for it.
ADVENTO: I'm amazed by my own progress. I had no expectations.
GUPTA: It has been a year since she got her new hands and already Advento has hit several milestones. She can feel temperature, pain, she can feel various textures. It is the result of a lot of hard work. She undergoes six hours of physical therapy five days a week.
ADVENTO: For me to finally feel these things again, my hair, my face or even, you know, my jeans, that's something big for me.
GUPTA: Advento says her ultimate goal is to live as independent a life as possible.
ADVENTO: This is actually my very first painting.
GUPTA: She draws, she paints, she drives, she puts on makeup, finds a way around her kitchen, even clips her nails.
ADVENTO: I'm not able to pinch the nail clipper. I was able to figure out how I would do it for myself. That was my other way of figuring out how to be independent.
GUPTA: The last eight years have been difficult. But Advento says she's overcome so much by believing it all happened for a reason. No matter how painful she tries to always be positive.
ADVENTO: I don't give myself much of a choice but it keeps going despite whatever obstacles I encounter in my life.
GUPTA: Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And in addition to her physical therapy, Sheila actually works one day every week and she hopes to be able to display her art work at a local gallery soon.
All right, coming up in Afghanistan, a growing concern. We'll bring that to you after this.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Check our top stories now. President Barack Obama is getting ready to talk to supporters in Seattle, Washington, about how Americans can create more jobs. That's the first stop on his trip out west. The president heads for California later today, and for another fund-raiser and tomorrow he has a town hall meeting and then on to Colorado on Tuesday.
Last hour, two freed American hikers made their first public appearances since returning to U.S. soil earlier today. Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer told reporters they were hostages, not prisoners in Iran, held in solitary confinement for two years.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BAUER: Every time we complained about our conditions, the guards with immediately remind us of comparable conditions at Guantanamo Bay. They would remind us of CIA prisons in other parts of the world and the conditions that Iranians and others experienced in prisons in the U.S. we do not believe that such human rights violations on the part of our government justify what has been done to us. Not for a moment.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Italian prosecutors in the Amanda Knox murder appeal trial asked the court to keep Knox behind bars for life. The American woman is already serving a 26-year prison sentence after being found guilty of killing her house mate two years ago. Her appeal trial is in its final stages. And in Saudi Arabia, a historic decision expanding women's rights. King Abdullah says Saudi women will be able to vote and run for office in future municipal elections. But that doesn't include elections coming up this Thursday. A prominent women's rights advocate in Saudi Arabia is celebrating the decision. She says women's voices will finally be heard.
In Afghanistan, militants have turned to a new way to hide suicide bombs. They're placing them under turbans and they've already had deadly success.
Here now is CNN's Reza Sayah.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): July 14th, a suicide bomber kills a senior afghan official at a funeral for President Hamid Karzai's slain brother. July 27th, a suicide bomber assassinates the mayor of Kandahar city. August 19th, a suicide bomber targets a government building in Helmand province. September 20th, another suicide bomber assassinates Burhanuddin Rabbani, the man leading the peace talks with the Taliban.
Four suicide bombings in a little bit more than two months, all of them targeting some of the most important leaders in Afghanistan and they all had one very unusual thing in common.
In all four attacks, assailants hid their bombs underneath their turbans.
TABASAN ZAHEER, ISLAMABAD POLICE BOMB SQUAD: If he's coming here to embrace you, the turban can certainly kill both of them.
SAYAH: Tabasan Zaheer is head of the police bomb squad in Islamabad, Pakistan. His office decoration, decapitated heads of suicide bombers, pictures too graphic to show. Zaheer says turban bombs seem to be the newest weapon in the fight for Afghanistan because asking to search the Islamic head dress is often viewed as disrespectful.
Would you be comfortable asking tribal elders to remove their -
ZAHEER: Of course, it's that not that easy.
SAYAH: It's not that easy.
ZAHEER: Of course not.
SAYAH: With powerful explosives like the C-4, turbans bombs can weigh as light as a tissue box and nearly impossible to detect.
You're telling me all you need to make a bomb that fits in the turban is this little bit of C-4, this detonator and this cord. That's it?
ZAHEER: That's it.
SAYAH: The power of those explosives on display in this police training video. Last month, President Karzai called on clerks to condemn turban bombings, calling them an affront to Islamic values.
The bomber was not a follower of God, says this man.
I condemn all bombings, says Malik Mohammed Rafi (ph), whether they're in shirts, trousers or turbans. Explosives experts say the Afghan government will have to use more metal detectors, search people in clothing they may not have in the past. Until then, they say, turban bombs could remain the Taliban's most effective new weapon.
Reza Sayah, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)\
WHITFIELD: And back in this country, a tale of true sportsmanship. A runner stops and carries an injured rival during the race. We'll have it next in the chat room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Car crashes are the leading cause of death for children three to 14 years old. But car seats can go a long way in saving lives. Reynolds Wolf shows us a new car seat design inspired by race cars in this "technovations".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first children's car seat was introduced in 1921, but by today's standards, early versions didn't offer much safety. Ninety years later, an Indiana division of Dorel industries is looking to the Indy 500 for ideas to create what they believe is the safest car seat yet.
MARRY MAHAL, DOREL INDUSTRIES: Being close to Indianapolis is what inspired us to work with them.
WOLF: The answer is in a material similar to the one used in the race car seats. It's a foam called air protect. It reduces the impact by spreading out the force of the collision and air protect has been put to the test.
MAHAL: We have concentrated on side impact crashes primarily because they are the most dangerous. All the advancements of automotive safety, a lot of that is up in the front of the vehicle. But when you talk about side impact crashes, you basically have about 18 inches of distance between the side of the vehicle and the occupant.
WOLF: Developers say they the key is protecting the child's head and upper torso.
MAHAL: The design of the seat itself, how we have larger wings out the side, we're dealing with and addressing the intrusion that happens in a side impact crash.
WOLF: Air protect is on the road now and investors hope crash statistics will be the only thing taking a hit. Reynolds Wolf, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, got to keep them safe. OK. You know what, we're going to leave the newsroom for a second and then we're in the chat room. Kind you know a new little location.
JAQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know.
WHITFIELD: Jaqui and I talked about this (inaudible).
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: Happy news today in the chat room.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that's right.
JERAS: My favorite story of the day which I founded and picked it out because it is from my home state.
WHITFIELD: I know. Plus you're a runner. I'm a runner. We can relate to this. It is a cross country run competition. And a competitor gets - one of the competitors gets injured and it is OK that a rival from another school decided to step in and help him out.
JERAS: Yes. It was a pretty serious injury too. I guess there was a big cluster of runners and one guy fell down. He had a big gash on his leg. He ended up needing 21 stitches. So you know, the spikes that they use for runners apparently somebody's spike got on his leg when he had fallen. So the other runner, what was his name? He's name is Josh Ripley. He's from Andover High School. He picked up the runner that was injured and ran with him for half a mile.
WHITFIELD: - which is amazing.
JERAS: And brought up to the coaches.
WHITFIELD: Oh, my gosh which is amazing. The other runner from Lakeville High School, so that runner wasn't just thinking about himself, getting across the finish line, but instead saying, you know what, I'm going to do the sportsman-like thing and take that other runner.
JERAS: Isn't that great?
WHITFIELD: Yes, it is. I can't say that's repeated that often.
(CROSSTALK)
JERAS: But you know what, he actually got up and he finished the race after he dropped him off.
WHITFIELD: I know. That's great. Super, I like that. OK. Favorite toys of all time because you know there's a toy hall of fame.
JERAS: There's so many go - and the holidays right around the corner so people are thinking - what's out there? What are the hot toys? But the classic sometimes are - WHITFIELD: Twister, a classic, which I will forever love. I haven't done it lately, you know, forget it. But I did like twister. And look, Rubik's cube.
JERAS: Right. Every year apparently they induct a couple of new toys into the hall of fame.
WHITFIELD: I could never do that.
JERAS: Which was that? The puzzle? What in the pogo stick?
WHITFIELD: The pogo stick. No, I can never do that.
JERAS: These are just being considered.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: There are 12 finalists. Those are some of them.
WHITFIELD: I love Jenga.
JERAS: Do you love the Jenga?
WHITFIELD: Yes. We play that at home still.
JERAS: Transformers as always.
WHITFIELD: I should say still. We do that. We resume Jenga because of my 6-year-old. Now, we're having another plan of doing it for a long time.
JERAS: It's not as terrible game.
WHITFIELD: No, it's great, very thumps up.
JERAS: Two of those will be selected. In November, they will make that announcement.
WHITFIELD: OK. What's your guess?
JERAS: I don't know. You know what, I remember Simon. That's one I remember, Simon, the electronic game and you had to do the codes or whatever to follow the music.
WHITFIELD: I can't believe I don't remember that one.
JERAS: I got it when I was eight. There's a picture of me like, oh, the best.
WHITFIELD: Since we're talking about memories, El Debarge, do you know some of the songs?
JERAS: I know a couple of the songs. I know that you can sing a couple of the songs.
WHITFIELD: I was trying to quiz people in an audience Friday night. I was in Washington, D.C. at the essence evening of excellence, which was an event to honor three people who have done outstanding things to help others, Tom Joiner, Donna Richardson, and Doctor Regina Benjamin.
And so, I was quizzing the audience, like do you know these songs? And then I felt compelled that I had to sing this song to let them know which artist is coming.
JERAS: We have a tape. We have time for this
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: I call your name girl
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: I know that was Don in the background. I'm no singer. But you know what I don't know what it was. Because it was a - I think it was an intimate group there. And I was feeling at home. Washington, D.C. is home for me. And I was feeling comfortable. But little did I know that it would be recorded.
JERAS: What an honor.
WHITFIELD: Yes, it was a wonderful honor, fantastic event and you know the people who received the honors, well deserved. They do so much for so many people in health, medicine and in media. It was nice to be part of it. There I'm grooving to El Debarge there.
JERAS: Feeling the beat of the rhythm of the night.
WHITFIELD: Thank you, Jacqui.
JERAS: OK, I'm not going to sing it, but I remember it.
WHITFIELD: OK. In the garden, remember that Quincy Jones and Don here in the background, he wants to sing. He remembers. There he goes. Go ahead.
DON LEMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Keep your day job, Fred. Keep your day job.
WHITFIELD: I know.
JERAS: It wasn't that bad.
WHITFIELD: Thank you. All right, cool stuffs.
All right, thanks so much Jaqui. It's fun being in the chat room. We'll see you again weather, because we have got some potentially severe stuff.
JERAS: Yes. Tornado warning now in West Memphis. Its radar indicated but dangerous situation, take cover now. Have more with the severe weather expected this evening coming up.
WHITFIELD: You won't sing it? JERAS: I won't. It is way too high, out of my range.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much.
All right, also republican Rick Perry, he did not do so well as he might have hoped in two key straw polls this weekend. Is the Texas governor in trouble? What does it all mean?
And some users are calling the new timeline feature on facebook a little creepy. That's the word they're using. I'll tell you what these facts are all about, coming up?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right, time for a CNN equals politics update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNNpolitics.com desk.
So, with us now from Washington, CNN Deputy Political Director Paul Steinhouser.
Paul, Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry had a tough weekend. For a second, it was considered that he was part of the two- man race. Not the case if you look at the Florida straw poll numbers.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Florida and then also as well Michigan this morning, Fred. Let's start in Michigan, the mackinaw island conference, a Republican activist up there, look at the results we got them early this morning.
At the top there, Mitt Romney with 51 percent of the delegates voting for him. Now, we knew Romney was going to do well, the former Massachusetts governor was born in Michigan. His dad was a popular governor. Romney won the Republican primary there. The republican primary when his running for president last time around. But Perry way down in, look at that way, way, way back there. And Perry did go to Michigan of course to campaign for this but not so well in the results.
Let's go to the one out of Florida that he mentioned. This came out yesterday. This is the Florida presidency five. And the winner was not Rick Perry, which a lot of people thought he would be. It was Herman Cain by a long shot. Look at that, Herman Cain is 37 percent, the former godfather. There is Rick Perry at 15 percent, Romney at 14 and so on.
And, Fred, this is interesting because maybe these results are a reflection of the uneven debate performances we have seen from Rick Perry, of the last two debates which were both in Florida, could be troubling. He's still the front-runner but this is troubling for Rick Perry, Fred.
WHITFIELD: So then straw polls, how important are they really?
STEINHAUSER: Yes and no. They're important because they're a test of a campaign outreach to activists. These are important Republicans. But, no. Listen if it was all about straw polls, I guess either Herman Cain or Ron Paul who does well in these straw polls could be the nominee. Most people don't think that's going to happen, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Interesting stuff. All right. Paul thanks so much. We'll check back with you throughout the week. It's going to be a busy one.
All right, much more of the newsroom straight ahead. Our Don Lemon is here. You heard his melodic voice in the background, chiming in with a little El Debarge.
Come on. You know you want to sing.
LEMON: Want to sing a duet like peaches and herb?
WHITFIELD: You mean off the air?
LEMON: You know it is funny that you should talk about politics because we're going to be talking a lot of politics. The fallout from the Florida GOP straw poll, Herman Cain won. Will he ride the momentum and what about Texas Governor Rick Perry who didn't fare so well? I don't know if you see "SNL" last night, they did a number on all of the candidates. It was really funny.
WHITFIELD: Ouch.
LEMON: And also, Fred, I spoke with, you know the CBC, Congressional Black Congress, the president spoke there last night.
WHITFIELD: Right.
LEMON: I asked the leader there, He's like the head of that congressional bi-congress. Is it difficult for black leaders to criticize a black president and he answered me very candidly. You'll see it today. So, we're always talking politics when we talk about that.
Also, there is a video of the president and the first lady there last night. Also Fred, a wild ride on Wall Street, how the markets respond this week. Everybody wants to know. Plus, and when we're talking about the state of entrepreneurship in America, the bad job market forcing a lot of people to come up with their own thing and some people are succeeding.
WHITFIELD: Some are great ideas.
LEMON: Yes. Others not so much. We are going to talk about that. Also a preview of this week's big trial in Los Angeles, Fredricka. We're going to look at the case against Conrad Murray. You know it starts on Tuesday. I'm going to be in L.A. for opening statements, I'll be there all week. I've been speaking to some people involved in the case and it is very interesting to hear the kind of pressure he was under.
Also, I'll be connecting with the relatives of James Byrd, remember him? WHITFIELD: Yes. Who could forget?
LEMON: He was the man who was dragged to death in Texas back in 1998. His killer was executed this past week in Texas. I'm going to talk to Byrd's sister and his daughter about how they are dealing with this. And have we learned anything? That got overshadowed by the Troy Davis execution, both very important.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And the very unusual request that was made on death row and then kind of a dismissal -
LEMON: No more last summer.
WHITFIELD: That request, yes.
LEMON: And final meals, whatever they call it.
WHITFIELD: That's right. That's right. Thanks so much, Don.
LEMON: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: We'll see you again.
LEMON: We will sing in duet off the air.
WHITFIELD: Off the air, yes. I think they heard enough of my singing for now.
All right, let's talk about facebook, you like or don't like the changes?
LEMON: I don't like the changes. I don't like change.
WHITFIELD: You said it all right. Well, of 800 million users are having to deal with these new changes. Many are calling it kind of disturbing.
You're not just saying, like Don. They are calling it disturbing.
LEMON: Yes. Much of more, don's fix it.
WHITFIELD: That's right. Much more straight ahead. We are gaming and gadgets segments.
LEMON: One more cloche, what else?
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WHITFIELD: All right, facebook redesigned its pages and some users are not that happy about it. Earlier I talked to our game and gadget expert Marc Saltzman and he explained what is causing all the fuss.
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MARC SALTZMAN, WRITER, SYNDICATED TECHNOLOGY: Some of the new changes have provoked some strong reactions from its nearly 800 million users. And, you know, facebook is a very personal thing. So, anytime they tinker with the user interface, you are going to have a group of people unhappy with it.
The two biggest changes, Fredricka, are a news ticker along the right side. It is very much like tweeter. You see a real time update of what your friends are doing, what they are liking at that moment, what they are posting and uploading. So, it is a quick glance. It's a way to get a snapshot on what is happening now.
Then on the other end of the spectrum, instead of seeing what is happening now, the other change is called time line. It is what the facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg calls the story of your life. This is basically a long-term look at your facebook profile since you created an account. And it is creeping some people out because it is a chronological view. So, you can see what music you were listening to back in you know 2008. You can see what photos you uploaded. What comments you made. Your status updates and you can you know you will love it or loathe it.
Google has unveils its solution to turn your Smartphone in to an electronic wallet of sorts. Phones that are equipped with what's called NFC or near field communication allowing to make payments, at retail if you have one of those terminals. There are about 135,000 of them already you know set up across the U.S.
So, the Google wall app is only available at this time push note to Nexus S 4G Smartphone with Sprint. And app code Google wallet that lets you tap your Smartphone on one of those terminals at retail and soon vending machines and that's all you need to do to complete the transaction.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Mark Saltzman, always trying to help us figure out about that whole "tech" world.
Our Jaqui Jeras, something to clear out the weather world. Because there's a lot going on and some potentially severe weather right now.
JERAS: Yes. We are concerned with Memphis at this hour. There's really strong rotation on Doppler radar right now and the tornado warning I was telling you about for West Memphis has now been extended to the east and including midtown Memphis.
It is really you know maybe the northern half of the city or so that's going to be most affected or most likely to see the rotation. But everybody should be taking shelter right now. Very strong rotation on Doppler radar. Nothing on the ground but the other thing I want you to notice the purple in here is an indication of high reflectivity. There's a lot of hail in the storm and could be as large as tennis ball.
So, even if there is not an actual tornado on the ground, with this thing, that tennis ball-size hail will knock you out. So make sure, you stay indoors until this storm passes. The warning in affect until 5:30 local time and there is a tornado watch south of there including parts of Mississippi until 10:00 tonight.
So, things will be nasty for a while. North of there we have some rain showers, some isolated thunderstorms and this weather system has been caused by an upper area level of low pressure. Its cut-off from the main jet stream so this alone got nothing to move it which means it's going to sit here for a couple of days and impact your weather.
So, the great lakes down through the Tennessee River Valley is going to have this chance of rain, cooler than normal temperatures and kind of overall dreary weather that's going to stick with you until probably and so probably Thursday before it breaks.
So, ahead of it we are nice and warm. Across the Rockies, we're nice and warm but in between, we are going to stay on the cooler side for tomorrow and we expect the rain to go with it. So, tomorrow's forecast is looking very much like today but the front starts to sink to the south across Texas. So the winds should lighten. They have been strong and hot there today Fredricka. So we are concerned about the wildfire danger.
WHITFIELD: All right, thanks so much for keeping us posted on that. Jaqui, appreciate it.
All right, have a great evening too, Jaqui.
JERAS: Thanks. You too.
WHITFIELD: All right, we are going to have much more of the new room straight ahead. Don lemon is coming up. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Have a great evening. Great week. See you next weekend.
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