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The Battle for Florida; Arab League Stops Work in Syria; Virtual Education; New Fitness Gadgets; Rainn Wilson Inspired by CNN Hero; Breaking "Foster Care" Stereotypes; Helping Foster Kids Flourish; Business and Society; Weather Predictions from Animals; Tribute to Etta James

Aired January 28, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

GARY TUCHMAN, CNN HOST: Hello. It's 3:00 on the East Coast, noon on the West Coast. I'm Gary Tuchman. Let's get straight to the news.

The Florida primary is looking like a two-man race for sure. Frontrunners Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney have fanned out across the state ahead of Tuesday's primary there. Supporters of both camps have released new negative ads, and both campaigns are courting the state's Hispanic vote.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

NEWT GINGRICH (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Now, we are very committed to having every American of every background come together. I - I talked about inclusion rather than outreach, and I remind people outreach is when five white guys hold a meeting and then call you. Inclusion is when you're part of that process.

We are working with the Hispanic community across the country to develop policies and issues.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Challengers Rick Santorum and Ron Paul have left the Sunshine State. We'll go live to Florida in just a few minutes for an update on the campaign.

The Arab League is out of the monitoring business in Syria for now. Too violent, too many people killed, too many people hurt. Here's one of the reasons why. Watch and listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Amateur video reportedly taken today in the town of Homs. Mortar explosions, automatic fire, Syrian security forces clashing again with anti-government fighters.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: An Arab League official says one condition of the mission was that they could travel and work in a safe environment. That is not the case.

Stay right there. We're live from Damascus in just a minute.

In St. Louis, Missouri thousands of people turned out for a welcome home parade to honor Iraq War veterans. Organizers say this is the country's first major homecoming parade. One of the organizers said he didn't want to wait around for someone else to do it, so he and some others planned the whole thing privately.

People lined the streets to see the war vets, plus floats, a Budweiser Clydesdales, and several high school marching bands.

Authorities in Maine say blood has been discovered in the home of missing toddler Ayla Reynolds. Ayla was reported missing by her father December 14th. He reportedly told police he put his daughter to bed the night before she disappeared.

Police aren't saying if they know whose blood was found in the house, but it's a terrible sad story.

Social media, including Twitter, played a critical role during recent historic events like the Arab uprising. But your tweets could soon be deleted depending on where you are. Twitter says it will now delete tweets if specific countries require it, but those tweets will still be visible to the rest of the world.

Saying good-bye to music legend Etta James with her signature song.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINA AGUILERA, SINGER: (SINGING "AT LAST").

TUCHMAN (voice-over): Christina Aguilera gave a powerful, emotional performance of the song "At Last" at the funeral service for Etta James just a few minutes ago. Stevie Wonder also performed. The Reverend Al Sharpton is presiding over the memorial service.

Etta James died earlier this month of complications from leukemia. She was 73 years old. We'll have much more of Christina Aguilera's rendition of "At Last" a little later in this newscast.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN: Now, for more politics. Many of those watching CNN's debate were scratching their heads this past week when Newt Gingrich started talking about putting a colony on the moon. But this Lego Man has beaten him to the punch, sort of.

Thanks to a couple Canadian students, hence the maple leaf flag, Lego Man soared 144 miles above earth, 144 miles, attached to a weather balloon. The cost? Just $400. Very affordable. Isn't there a lesson here?

Joining us now in Orlando, Florida, Joe Johns, who's covering Newt Gingrich. Hey, Joe. Maybe Lego Man could give Newt Gingrich, NASA, the rest of us a tip or two.

JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: You said it. You never know, Gary. Newt Gingrich, the headline I would say, for today, here in Florida is that he is in it for the long haul and that even - doesn't even depend on whatever happens on Tuesday in the primary.

Newt Gingrich had been very busy here in Florida over the last 24 hours, crisscrossing the state, expected to appear within the hour at a Latino church here in the Orlando area. Earlier today, in the Port St. Lucie area, we got a chance to catch up with the former Speaker of the House, and that was when he made it clear he's not throwing in the towel in this campaign even though here in Florida he appears to be outgunned in the polls. He doesn't have the ground game that the Romney campaign has. He also doesn't have the kinds of television ads or the money to put into them.

So listen to what Newt Gingrich said earlier today in Port St. Lucie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GINGRICH: I will - I will go all the way to the convention. I expect to win the nomination. You just - you just had two national polls that show me ahead. Why - why don't you ask Governor Romney what he's going to do if he loses since he's behind in both national polls?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JOHNS: Closing arguments starting now as the primary is on Tuesday. I've talked to some of Gingrich's supporters. They say anything could happen in the last 24 hours of this race, so let's just wait and see.

Gary, back to you.

TUCHMAN: Closing arguments. Sounds like you're in a courtroom, Joe, and the voters are the jury, right? Joe Johns, thank you.

JOHNS: I think that's just about right.

TUCHMAN: That's exactly right, Joe. Thank you very much. Good talking to you.

You can also watch a replay of Thursday night's debate tonight, 5:00 P.M. Eastern. It's a great way to see the candidates one more time before the Florida primary on Tuesday.

And keep it here on CNN for the coverage of the primary Tuesday night. Our special coverage begins at 6:00 Eastern time.

Too dangerous in Syria. Outside observers call it quits.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Arab League shuts down the monitoring mission. We're live from Damascus with fallout and where that leaves chances for a ceasefire.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) TUCHMAN: The street violence across Syria has not let up. The clashes and killings have not stopped. That's the reason the Arab League announced today that its international monitoring mission is now over.

This video shot today in Homs shows a city like many others in Syria, deserted except for security forces battling opposition fighters from rooftops and windows. It's very dangerous. At least 50 people reportedly died just today in clashes across the country.

On the phone now is Arwa Damon. She's in Damascus. Arwa, thank you very much for joining us.

The Arab League says it is too dangerous for them to work. What does this do to any hopes for an end to the fighting and the violence in Syria?

ARWA DAMON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, it certainly does not bode well for it, and the Arab League is basing its decision on the spike in violence that we have really been seeing in recent days. Thursday and Friday recorded amongst the highest number of casualties since this uprising began. Even the head of the mission inside Syria itself was saying that the spike in violence was something that was unacceptable.

But what's concerning is that if this means that the monitors are then withdrawn, the Arab League is going to effectively lose its eyes on ground, and even though this mission has come under much criticism by both sides the only thing worse would be for perhaps the mission to end.

We are continuing to see this increasing violence even for ourselves, and we're seeing the Free Syrian Army, the opposition's military that's mostly made up of defectors, although some civilians have now joined their ranks, increasingly gaining ground by the day. The clashes in some cases are taking place just 15 minutes outside of Central Damascus.

The crisis, the sticking points when it comes to Syria, is that no one really has a solution. The activists do not have any faith in the Arab League or the United Nations. They believe that they have been abandoned. The Syrian government continues to stand defiant, refusing to accept the peace plan that has been put forward by the Arab League.

Diplomats right now are struggling to try to put together some sort of resolution that Russia is not going to veto, but most certainly when one looks at the picture of Syria as a whole, the outcome is definitely not a good one - Gary.

TUCHMAN: Arwa, was the Arab League making any progress?

DAMON: Well, the Arab League had been putting forward this initiative, this peace plan that was going to be seeing the president hand over powers to the vice president, the formation of a national unity government that would then pave the way for some sort of free and democratic elections. The thing is that the Arab League is effectively a toothless organization, although we have been seeing it taking positions when it comes to the Arab spring, as we call it, that have been much stronger than any positions taken by the Arab League in the past. The head of the Arab League, Nabil al-Araby, meeting with members of the United Nations over the weekend. He's expected to be presenting to the United Nations early in the week.

So it is, on the one hand, trying to do something, but at the end of the day its hands could end up being tied because the Syrian regime still believes that it is in a position of power. As long as the Russians don't change their position, the Syrian government, many people will tell you, is going to continue to remain defiant, knowing that it has international support in Russia and in China, and of course knowing that it has the very, very strong support of a regional power house in Iran.

And many people will tell you that when it comes to Syria the dynamics that are surrounding this are not just polarizing the population to a point where the window of any sort of reconciliation may already be closed, but to a certain degree it is also polarizing the region and the entire international community. So it's making resolution very difficult on every single level.

TUCHMAN: Arwa Damon, thank you for your reporting. To you and your crew, please stay safe in Syria.

Well, it's now time for everybody to get up. Come on, off the couch if you're on the couch. Is it working? Are you up? Well, either way, if you are or you aren't, at least I tried.

But, if you want to be more fit - that's what we're talking about, getting fit. Stick around. We have some more effective, high tech ways to get off the couch and back in shape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Kids are skipping school and enrolling online, but are virtual classes as effective as classroom studies?

Athena Jones takes a look at getting a virtual education.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Katerina Christhilf is training to become a ballerina, dancing four days a week, up to eight hours on Fridays when most seventh graders would be at school. That's why Katerina goes to school here, online.

KATERINA CHRISTHILF, VIRTUAL SCHOOL STUDENT: Sometimes I'll study in the morning and I'll do a few classes, and then I'll go to ballet for maybe like three, four hours. And I'll come back home and I'll do some more.

JONES: We sit in on her algebra class, led by a teacher a few miles away. JESSICA HENRY, K12 TEACHER: Select your best answer - A, B, C or D.

JONES: Jessica Henry has taught math for 12 years, the last two online.

HENRY: C was the correct answer. Fantastic.

I'm always trying to check for understanding, saying do you agree with me and they can put a certain emoticon next to their face, yes I agree. Thumbs up I - you know, I agree. Thumbs down, I disagree. Smile, confused face, that type of thing.

JONES: Students use their keyboard or a mic to ask questions. Teachers hold monthly phone conferences with students and parents.

(on camera): An estimated quarter of a million students in kindergarten through 12th grade were enrolled in full-time online schools last year, a 25 percent increase over the previous year.

Some parents choose online schools because their children are struggling in ordinary ones. Others do so for their flexible schedules.

(voice-over): K12 Inc., a for-profit company, runs many of the programs, contracting with school districts to receive state aid for online education.

RON PACKARD, FOUNDER, K12 INC: Five years ago we were about on fifth the size we are now, and I would expect that - you know, we've grown fivefold over that period, that we would probably grow fivefold again over the next, you know, five to 10 years. I mean, this is a movement that's just beginning.

JONES: In 2010 the U.S. Education Department said more study was needed to determine how effective online education is for K through 12 students. The National Education Association, a teacher's union, supports using online content in traditional schools but questions whether learning online full-time is the best approach.

DENNIS VAN ROEKEL, PRESIDENT, NATIONAL EDUCATION ASSOCIATION: There's so much more to learning than just content acquisition. There's socialization, there is discussion in classroom. You have to be able to look at their face and know whether they need a push or maybe a hug.

JONES: State testing data shows Virginia Virtual Academy students, that's Katerina's program, didn't perform as well as kids at brick and mortar schools. K12 says many of the academy students were behind grade level when they joined.

Supporters and critics of online schools say how well they work often depends on the child. For Katerina, a highly motivated student, it's the right choice.

CHRISTHILF: I always wanted to be like a mouse in "The Nutcracker." I also wanted to be a fairy in "Sleeping Beauty." JONES: Athena Jones, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: Athena, thank you very much.

OK, now I'm going to try this again. This is our fitness thing. It's time to get up, get off the seat, get off the couch, get off the bed, get off the floor, get off wherever you are. Get out of the bath tub.

Is it working? Are you up? Well, either way, if you are or if you aren't, hey, at least I tried.

But, if you want to be more fit, stick around. We have some other more effective, high tech ways to get of the couch, or the bath tub or the bed, and get back in shape.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: It's 28 days into the new year. Are you still sticking to your New Year's resolution? If your goal was to slim down and stay healthy, there are some high tech ways to keep you on track.

Joining us now on the phone, our tech expert Marc Saltzman from Toronto with some health and fitness gadgets. Marc, thanks a lot for joining us.

So let's start with a small device. It's called the Striiv. What exactly is the Striiv?

MARC SALTZMAN, TECHNOLOGY WRITER: Right. So the Striiv is a small, two-inch gadget that you can clip onto your clothes or attach to your keychain, and it's really a three part product. One is it's a pedometer, rather, so it measures your steps, whether you're walking, running, even climbing stairs.

The other part is it's a game. So you're unlocking rewards in this game called My Land as an extra incentive to exercising.

And the third part is basically a fitness motivator. Along with games, it has unlockable trophies for reaching certain milestones, and the more that you exercise the more money that is sent to charity, says the company. So - not out of your pocket.

It does cost $99 for the product, but they say that once you reach certain goals money is donated to various organizations. So really just trying to give you extra motivation for - for staying fit in a very lightweight and small device.

TUCHMAN: And that's Striiv, S-T-R-I-I-V, but it's pronounced "strive." Now -

SALTZMAN: That's right.

TUCHMAN: Now, unveiled last week is a new fitness gadget from Nike called the FuelBand. And what is that? SALTZMAN: Right. So this as similar product in - in concept. However, it's a high tech bracelet opposed to a small, Tic Tac-sized Striiv. And when you wear the bracelet you are also - it's measuring your activity, whether you're running, you're playing basketball, whatever you're doing.

There is a pedometer and accelerometer, so it measures movement and - so it shows you your step. It shows you how many calories you're burning. And yet that information is actually shown on the bracelet itself, and it wirelessly, through Bluetooth, synchronizes with a free app for smartphone users. So you can monitor your results and set goals for yourself, you know, look at your progress on a smartphone or on a computer. There's also a USB option to connect it with a cable.

So along with seeing the information on the wristband itself, Nike has also added this color coded, you know, theme to it. So you've got yellow, red, or green with how close you are to reaching your daily goals, and you set that up ahead in advance.

So this is brand new. I - I haven't seen this one yet as opposed to the Striiv, which I have been using, and it's called Nike FuelBand and it's about $150.

TUCHMAN: OK, now there's this new bathroom scale. Now, bathroom scales normally don't sound high tech, but this is the first Wi-Fi enabled bathroom scale. Now, firstly, why do you need a bathroom scale with Wi-Fi?

SALTZMAN: That's right. So this is really for convenience's sake. What this Wi-Fi bathroom scale does - and it is from a French health technology company called Withings. What it does is it automatically uploads your information to a password-protected website or to an app.

So it measures your weight, your body mass index. And you also can set goals. So, again, it's not just showing you this graph or chart, which it can do, but you can set goals for yourself and - and monitor your progress.

So that's how it works, and if you want, depending on the type of person you are and how open you are with your friends, you can also have this information such as your weight loss uploaded automatically to social networks like Twitter or Facebook. So you're essentially broadcasting your - your progress as an extra incentive, if that's the kind of person you are.

Again, some people find weight loss or - or getting fit a very personal goal that they want to keep those numbers to themselves, but we are in a very socially networked age. If you find that is extra incentive, the Withings Wi-Fi body scale will do that for you. And that's about $159.

TUCHMAN: Let's all go posting our weight on Facebook. A new trend. Somehow I don't think that'll be a trend, but -

SALTZMAN: We're sharing everything else. Why not -

TUCHMAN: Well that's - that's very true, Marc.

I think the stuff you just told us about is really cool, and I - I really appreciate you joining us. Marc Saltzman, thank you.

SALTZMAN: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

TUCHMAN: Now, for more high tech ideas and reviews, just go to CNN.com/tech and look for the Gaming and Gadgets tab. Or follow Marc Saltzman on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. He will tell you his weight when you look at those things. Maybe he won't, but he said he would.

Well, are you ready for some inspiration? I've got the story of a young woman who made it out of a really tough past to create her own success story.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Fans of the NBC comedy "The Office" know actor Rainn Wilson as the egomaniac but hilarious Dwight Schrute. But, unlike his character, Rainn Wilson is committed to helping others.

In 2007 he saw a story about one of our CNN Heroes, an every day person changing the world, and was so moved that he decided to lend a hand.

Well, fast forward five years later, he's still involved and inspired.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RAINN WILSON, ACTOR, NBC'S "THE OFFICE": I was literally sitting in my trailer at "The Office" and I was looking at the CNN website and the CNN heroes, I think it was the first year and I saw this story on this guy Aaron Jackson. This is a young kid from Florida, grew up on a golf course. You know, didn't really have much direction in his life.

And then he went traveling in the third world and he saw poverty and he decided to just devote his life to making the world a better place.

AARON JACKSON, FOUNDER, PLANTING PEACE: Today we've dewormed an estimated maybe a little over a hundred people.

WILSON: It's been great to be able to help out Aaron Jackson and Planting Peace by doing some fundraisers. I've got to introduce him to people and help raise money and just help his organization really get moving. He's the amazing guy who is doing all the really hard work and, you know, give him the cash and just let him go do what he does best.

They have four or five orphanages in Haiti and I also went out when they distributed the deworming medication out in the rural villages and towns.

We're distributing food, aid all around the country. So many kids can be, you know, eating their fill but because they're so filled with worms they're unable to digest and process that food so it's really just kind of a waste.

JACKSON: You deworm a kid and the worms shoot out within usually 24 to 48 hours. It's amazing. And you see a kid that's highly anemic, not alert at all and once you rid them of worms they come back to life, and that's what to me is amazing. You see just an immediate impact.

Since the Hero segment in 2007, we've actually raised enough money with Rainn's help to deworm every child in Haiti, all 3.2 million kids.

WILSON: Anyone can be a hero. It just takes a little bit of work.

OK. All right. Au revoir.

If there's one thing I could take away from my experience with CNN Heroes is these stories are incredibly inspiring. They inspire me to step up my game and try and do more to help the world.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: He's a great actor and a very good man, Rainn Wilson.

If you know someone who's making a big difference in the lives of others, go to CNNHeroes.com now and tell us about them. Your words might just change the life of someone working every day to help others. Nominate a 2012 CNN Hero today.

How does an abused and neglected child go from foster care to becoming a high achiever who's headed to law school? You may be shocked by what Caroline James had to endure and you'll be inspired by her courage and her determination.

Julie Peterson has her story.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JULIE PETERSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Caroline James earned a Master's Degree from the school of hard knocks long before she ever got to the University of Alabama.

CAROLINE JAMES, FORMER FOSTER CARE YOUTH: I have a bruise right now that persists for years and years and it's on my leg. It's very long. It's from a heated belt. He put the belt on the stove and it took the skin off just like that.

PETERSON: The college senior says the bruise is a reminder of her father who died when she was 16.

JAMES: My father was, because he was a drug addict, oftentimes he wasn't at our home so he would just go off for weeks on end and my mother had left us when we were very young. And so during those times I would just take care of my brothers. I would do anything from gathering food from neighbors to fixing food in the house.

PETERSON: Because they missed so much school James taught herself and her younger brothers many of the basics like how to read. Finally, she got help.

JAMES: I remember at 11 when I actually got us into the foster care system, because I had to gather information on my father. I was taking crack and marijuana to the school to show my teacher, look. My father is a drug addict. We're not - we're not able to live in our own household. And so I was stepping up to be a mother just to raise myself at an age where most children are jumping rope.

PETERSON: She was taken in by a foster family. Then her big break came in ninth grade. A Magnate High School recruited her. It was a place that recognized her potential. Later at 18, she aged out of the foster care system.

Success at the Magnate School led to a college acceptance leaving her past behind.

JAMES: As soon as I got to the University of Alabama, I did not want to discuss it. I said, you know what? I'm not going to be that kid who needs another handout. I am sick of it. I'm sick of being ashamed. I'm sick of everyone knowing what has happened to me. I'm embarrassed. I don't want to be that kid put on display anymore.

PETERSON: James has a 3.8 GPA, carries a double major and is a member of Mortar Board.

JAMES: So this is my home.

PETERSON: She's proud of her first apartment.

JAMES: I'm very excited to have things that are of my own, excited to have something to bring into a space that's my own.

PETERSON (on camera): Where did you get your couch?

JAMES: I got my couch at a thrift store. It was $15.

PETERSON: Very nice.

JAMES: Yes.

PETERSON (voice-over): Even so it's not easy.

JAMES: There is a crisis point after crisis point continually. And most of it stems from the lack of a support both financially and emotionally.

PETERSON: She says these aren't the only hurdles. So are the stereotypes.

JAMES: I think that many people perceive foster students to be purposefully under achievers. I think that they think given the background that we've come from we don't want to achieve. We don't want to do anything with ourselves. We have the tools yet we don't really want to work with them. And I think that what they're missing out on is oftentimes foster youth don't have the tools and furthermore they don't know what to do with the tools when they get them. PETERSON: As the self-starter pursues law school and nonprofit work, she is knocking down those foster child stereotypes every step of the way.

Julie Peterson, CNN, Tuscaloosa, Alabama.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TUCHMAN: So what does it take for foster children to make that leap to overcome a troubled past and build a future where they cannot just succeed but thrive? Here's one crucial element - a support group.

Cynthia Moreland is Executive Director of the nonprofit NSORO Educational Foundation here in Atlanta. Her group is all about providing a circle of support for foster kids who want to attend college. The organization provided college scholarships support for Caroline whose story you just saw and Sean who we profiled last hour.

And Cynthia, thank you for joining us first of all.

CYNTHIA MORELAND, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NSORO EDUCATIONAL FOUNDATION: Thank you.

TUCHMAN: Congratulations on your great work. Tell us how you chose these two fine young people.

MORELAND: Well, I think they speak for themselves. They really left us no choice. Students who emancipate or age out of the foster care system simply submit an essay to the foundation's Scholarship Committee, which is led by one of our board members but compiled of communities leaders from our partner organizations and we also have a NSORO scholar alumni who's a recent graduate of the University of Georgia who helps us make decisions on which students receive an NSORO scholarship.

TUCHMAN: Now, Cynthia, a lot of the stories of these foster kids are very similar. Absent father, abuse in the house. Is that something you see all the time?

MORELAND: Absolutely, absolutely. They experience abuse with their biological families and, unfortunately, a large percentage of them also experience abuse in their foster care placement.

TUCHMAN: So your group offers all kinds of support, scholarship money. Tell me what else, in addition to financial means what else do you do for these kids.

MORELAND: Certainly. Well, we try and really provide a comprehensive approach to supporting students.

Many of our scholars, and we ask them what we can do to serve them better, many have told us that while they're in high school they're not groomed to go to college, so no one is telling them you need to take the advanced placement courses. You need to make sure you're doing something constructive with your summer. They're actually being told that they're not college material. So we partner with places like the University of Alabama where we take a cross section of students who are currently in high school and foster care and they live on the University of Alabama's campus for a week during the summer. They hear from students like Sean and Caroline. They hear from college administrators so that they can see what college life is like.

And as Caroline mentioned our students need the same support that their peer group with loving families need. So we send them care packages. I call on a regular basis. And thanks to the support of the AT&T foundation, we also match each of our NSORO scholars with an AT&T volunteer mentor who not only - AT&T not only invests in our student scholarship fund but they also invest the time of their associates.

TUCHMAN: Cynthia, your heart though must break on a regular basis. There must be so many sad stories that you deal with.

MORELAND: Actually not at all. My heart is lifted because as you heard from Caroline, our students have experienced abuse that no adult should have to endure. But they are still driven to succeed. And my job is to make sure that I support them, that we are there for them, we make a commitment to our students once they enter college and we stay committed until they graduate.

TUCHMAN: I guess what I meant is when you first hear these stories your heart must break.

MORELAND: Absolutely.

TUCHMAN: And then you get involved with these kids and it lifts your heart because you do so much. So the final question I have for you, you've led into it perfectly, Cynthia, is how rewarding is this job for you?

MORELAND: It is immensely rewarding. We have a benefactor who founded us in 2005. He runs the NSORO Company which is a mass tech company. They give us office space. Our work is so well supported. We can always use more. But the results that we're getting are insurmountable. We are breaking generational cycles of broken families, which of course leads to poverty and under achievement.

TUCHMAN: Cynthia Moreland, I love talking to people like you because you're so inspirational. So thank you very much for coming up.

MORELAND: Thank you so much for having me.

TUCHMAN: Nice meeting you.

MORELAND: Very nice to meet you as well.

TUCHMAN: And congratulations on the great work.

MORELAND: Thank you.

TUCHMAN: Well, the economy is struggling to get back on track and lots of people are still struggling to find work. Could businesses be to blame? And is there a solution?

Ali Velshi will break it down for us coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

TUCHMAN: Now for some top stories. British troops will stay in Afghanistan until the end of the NATO mission there. That's according to Prime Minister David Cameron, who promised the Afghan president today that his troops will remain until the planned pullout of all NATO forces, which is still set for the end of 2014.

But no such promise from the President of France. Nicolas Sarkozy announced yesterday he intends to have all French troops out of Afghanistan a year earlier than the rest of NATO by the end of 2013. France has fewer than 4,000 troops in Afghanistan, the U.S. and the U.K. combined have nearly 100,000 troops.

The Pentagon is preparing to send a floating Navy base to the Middle East. The Navy is converting the aging U.S. Ponce into a staging base for Navy Special Operations Forces. A Defense Department official says the base will support missions in areas where ground access is not available.

The U.S. economy has been struggling to recover and some experts say that's because business interests have not been in line with the interests of society as a whole. Ali Velshi breaks down the problem and offers up some solutions in this week's "Fortune Brainstorm" - Ali.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Two weeks ago we began focusing on capitalism on trial here in this country. And on that show Arianna Huffington said one of the biggest problems with American capitalism was that the interests of business are misaligned with our social values.

She also suggested that if we want the best ideas to fix the U.S. economy we should speak to Roger Martin, he's a Dean at the University of Toronto Rotman School of Management. He's also the author of "Fixing The Game, Bubbles, Crashes, and What Capitalism Can Learn from the NFL."

He joins us now. Roger, you say businesses have focused on maximizing shareholder value at the expense of their products and of their customers. Now, why should - why do you think customers should be focusing on their communities as well as their shareholders?

ROGER MARTIN, DEAN, ROTMAN SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT, UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO: Well, I think those are the things that make a company succeed long term. And if they succeed long term in serving their customers well, being good to their employees and their communities, the shareholders will do just fine, but if they focus on the shareholders without thinking about the customers or their communities or employees, then shareholders wouldn't do very well. VELSHI: How far do you go with this? The issue right now in the United States is this competition between Washington and businesses about whose responsibility it is to be hiring people, to bring jobs back to America, to open factories. Is that a company's responsibility?

MARTIN: Well, I think the company's responsibility is to produce great products and services that get them customers. You know, the Great Management Guru Peter Drucker said the first job of a company is to acquire and keep a customer, and I think if they were doing that and focusing on that then the jobs would follow. They'd need to have employees to be able to do more of that.

VELSHI: All right. CNNMoney's Poppy Harlow was in Davos for the week for the World Economic Forum and she had a chance to speak to CISCO's CEO John Chambers about this idea of aligning business goals with social responsibility. Here's what he said.

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JOHN CHAMBERS, CEO, CISCO: You've got to be a company successfulyou're your shareholders, but you've also got to create jobs and give back. That's something I'm deeply committed to and I think it's something that all American corporations have to do a better job on.

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TUCHMAN: And that was Ali Velshi with today's "Fortune Brainstorm."

Well, predicting the weather is simple, right? So simple that even an animal could do it. You may laugh but I am not kidding. In this studio as we speak, we have a groundhog and we have other amazing animals that will tell us about predicting the weather.

They wouldn't actually talk but you're going to learn how they predict the weather, including one of the animals we have here is a tarantula. There's no way you can turn off your television set when you know there is a tarantula and an owl in the studio with us. So don't go away.

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BILL MURRAY, ACTOR, "GROUNDHOG DAY": This is pitiful. A thousand people freezing their butts off waiting to worship a rat. What a hype?

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TUCHMAN: That is Bill Murray and the amazingly great movie "Groundhog Day" about Punxsutawney Phil. He's of course that Pennsylvania groundhog - not Bill Murray - the groundhog who predicts the weather every year.

But he's not the only animal who predicts weather. Jacqui Jeras is here along with Thom Benson from the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, Tennessee and he's brought some interesting guests with him. Jacqui, take it away.

JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, Gary.

We also have Susie Grant here, by the way, who is the animal expert and the handler as well all from the Tennessee Aquarium. This is Chattanooga Chuck. That's kind of a tongue twister in and of itself, isn't it?

And, of course, meteorologists like to think that rodents cannot predict the weather, but we've heard this over and over that certain animals actually can predict things, like maybe storms coming, rain coming. Even we've heard earthquakes as well.

So we'll start with the groundhog, because, of course that is what's coming in a couple of days, right? February 2nd. And how did this all get started? Can groundhogs really predict the end of winter?

SUSIE GRANT, ANIMAL EXPERT/HANDLER, TENNESSEE AQUARIUM: Well, groundhogs really cannot predict the end of winter. It kind of started with the European holiday centered around Candlema. It's halfway between the winter equinox and spring.

And they were using a different type of animal there. The badger or the hedgehog, there is kind of some confusion you see which one.

JERAS: It wasn't even a groundhog.

GRANT: It wasn't even a groundhog. And then when German settlers came here and they continuing that tradition, they didn't necessarily have the same animals and so they looked at something that was similar, something that they might tame about the same time. And that's where this groundhog or woodchuck, the same animals came into play.

JERAS: OK.

GRANT: And the folklore is that if it sees his shadow and we'll have six more weeks of winter, because he'll go back into his den. What's really interesting about that is he's not very interested in predicting the weather, because they are an animal that's a true hibernator and that means that they go to sleep in the winter time. They eat meat during the spring and fall. They put on lots of weight. And then they go to sleep and they survive on that stored fat until the spring.

And so in many parts of their range, they would be sound asleep on February 2nd and they have no interest in coming out and telling us.

JEARS: Speed bumps. I knew it all along. And Punxsutawney Phil, of course, is the most well known groundhog and the accuracy rate, by the way, 39 percent, so there you go. All right. But thanks for Chattanooga Chuck, he's very adorable.

Now, we have heard some other animals are a little bit better predictors. This one scares me a little bit. I'm going to be honest. Tarantulas.

THOM BENSON, COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER, TENNESSEE AQUARIUM: Right. It's interesting because the head of the Signal Service back in the 1800s put out a national call -

TUCHMAN: I'm going to bring the tarantula in.

JERAS: Yes, bring the tarantula in because I don't want to touch it.

TUCHMAN: I think this is the way to get over the fear to actually (INAUDIBLE).

BENSON: That's definitely the way to do it. And this is one of the things that we do at the Tennessee Aquarium is get people up close to these animals so they don't have that fear.

But the head of the Signal Service, which later became the National Weather Service put out a national call in the 1800s and said, send us your stories about weather folklore. And it turns out that there are hundreds of animals that have weather folklore associated with them.

The tarantula maybe one people would least likely associate as a weather predictor, but those tiny hairs that you see on his body are actually used to sense movements in air currents.

TUCHMAN: Can I touch it?

BENSON: Probably not.

TUCHMAN: Oh, OK.

BENSON: They have what's called urticating hairs on the back and they'll flick those and that's one way they use as a defense mechanism. If a mammal comes up and tries to eating them, they'll flick those and it can cause very serious irritation, itching and so forth.

TUCHMAN: OK. I shouldn't touch it.

JERAS: I would not touch it.

BENSON: Probably you wouldn't want. It will be like a rash.

But those hairs on the body, sends air currents and also humidity changes. So the tarantula is actually one that reacts to weather changes and can be thought of as a walking barometer.

JERAS: OK. So if we see one walking during the day that means rain is on the way.

BENSON: That's exactly right, according to folklore.

JERAS: And how adorable is this screech owl that you have on your head there, Thom.

BENSON: Right. This is an Eastern Screech Owl and he is a very beautiful bird. One of the smallest owls in America. People may have some of these in their backyard and hear them at night.

Folklore on this one is a mixed bag. Some say that if you hear that hooting at night it's going to be a rainy day the next day. Some say if you hear a hooting, it's going to be clear weather. So certainly that's one that probably came into folklore because someone reported that. Someone else observed it and said, wow, that's true. And it became rooted in folklore.

But there are all kinds of stories about sharks, lobsters, parrots and many of them have truth, because of their adaptations that allow them to sense the natural world to help them survive.

JERAS: All right. Don't a lot of animals have a better sense of hearing? And that's one of the things they can predict? Perhaps they can hear thunder from a long distance away?

GRANT: Well, a lot of times animals do have heightened senses and maybe things that we're not aware because their survival simply depends on being aware of what's going on around them and what's happening. They don't necessarily have the fancy weather equipment that we do to tell them when storms are coming.

So in order to protect themselves they have to be able to know kind of what's happening and it also keeps them protected from predators and other things.

JERAS: Weather's been changing over the years. How does climate change play into all of this with animals?

BENSON: It's interesting, because some of the latest newsmakers that have been out there, there have been headlines just this last week about how the plant zone guide has changed. Plants now are finding them in locations farther to the north as the climate is changing.

Also albatross in the Southern Ocean depend on those wind currents. And because the climate is changing, winds are becoming stronger in the Southern Ocean around Antarctica and those birds I think are able to cover those large distances, 10,000, 12,000 mile in a shorter period of time gathering their food and feeding their young, so they may prosper up to a point that if the winds become too strong, they might not be able to fly at all. So it's something that scientists are watching.

TUCHMAN: Are tarantula and owls friends?

GRANT: No.

TUCHMAN: I'm just curious. By the way, you talk about sharks being predictors. Next time maybe you could bring sharks here?

JERAS: You know, maybe we'll go to the sharks in the cages. That's what I'm thinking. Can you hear this, by the way? Can you hear Chuck just chomping away? It's hilarious. But animals have a lot to contribute, a lot to learn from.

TUCHMAN: Sure do.

JERAS: All right. Thanks for coming today.

TUCHMAN: Thank you very much for coming. That's really fascinating.

GRANT: Thank you.

TUCHMAN: You can keep your job, though. We don't need animals to predict the weather.

JERAS: Thank goodness.

TUCHMAN: We'll be back with more right after this. Stay with us.

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