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President Obama Blasts Paul Ryan's Medicare Plan; Syria's Vice President Farouq al-Sharaa is Missing; 1,400 Kids Suffered Malnutrition in South Sudan; U.S. Schools Face Budget Problems

Aired August 18, 2012 - 15:00   ET

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

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: The presidential campaigns are hitting hard at each other today with stops in Florida and New Hampshire. President Obama is in New Hampshire right now. This is the president's third campaign stop in this key swing state this year, and he went after the Romney campaign on two issues in particular, taxes and Medicare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have a very different plan. What they want to do is they want seniors to get a voucher to buy their own insurance which could force seniors to pay an extra $6400 a year for their health care. Again, this is not my estimate. Remember those guys who analyze these things for a living? That's their assessment. That doesn't strengthen Medicare. That undoes the very guarantee of Medicare. That's the core of the plan written by Congressman Ryan and endorsed by Governor Romney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: CNN's Athena Jones is at the White House right now.

So, Athena, this is the president digging in his heels really on -- I guess he's on the defensive since there has been so much said from the Romney camp already on what he has done to take away from Medicare.

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good afternoon, Fredricka.

That's exactly right. He's playing a little bit of offense and a little bit of defense out on the campaign trail today. And he is trying to respond to the charge that you just mentioned coming from the Romney campaign. We've seen it on the stump just this morning with Paul Ryan in Florida and also in ads. This idea that the president will make deep cuts to the Medicare program. $716 billion in order to fund the affordable care act, his owned health care law. That's the charge coming from the Romney campaign.

And the president isn't directly taking it on head-on, but he's talking about Medicare and saying, you know, my plan will actually -- this is what the Romney plan will do is they will change it into a voucher system, change Medicare into a program that won't be recognized as what it is now. He also went in to take off on what he's done to strengthen Medicare as he says like extend the life of the personal by a decade. He's said he has given seniors prescription drug discounts and also all giving them free access to preventive drug screenings. So, he is trying to answer those charges on Medicare albeit a little bit indirectly, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: And now, what about on the tax issue?

JONES: Well, that's the other issue that we've been seeing a lot these days from the Obama campaign. And also, you know, dating back all of the way to the last campaign, this idea that Republicans, in this case Romney, the Romney campaign, they will have plans that will benefit the rich at the expense of the middle class and let's listen to what he had to say about that in New Hampshire.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: The Governor Romney's tax plan would actually raise taxes on middle-class families with children by an average of $2,000. As Governor Romney and his running mate, when they're here in New Hampshire on Monday, they'll be coming here on Monday, ask him if that's fair. Ask him how it will grow the economy. Ask him how it will strengthen the middle class. They have been trying to sell this trickledown snake oil before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

JONES: And so, of course, that's just another way of repeating a theme that we have been hearing about, whether he calls it trickledown economics that America tried for years that didn't work.

And so, we expect to hear more of that in the coming stops. I should mention, Fredrick, that of course, President Obama won New Hampshire back in 2008, but the current polls show it's pretty tight and this town he went to, Wyndham, this first stop, it was in a county that he won barely, but in this town he actually lost to McCain. And so, it shows he's trying to maybe make moves along the margins as well, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Athena Jones at the White House. Thanks so much.

All right, now to Paul Ryan and his campaign stop a few hours ago in central Florida. Mitt Romney's running mate entered the country's largest retirement community called the villages with his retired mom there getting a big hug and as CNN's Paul Steinhauser reports Ryan got right to the number of people his mom's age and that would be Medicare.

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Hey, Fred.

We not only had Paul Ryan today. We had his mother as well. I guess you could say there were two Ryans on the stage behind me at this major retirement community in central Florida known as the villages.

Paul Ryan who one week ago today was named as Mitt Romney's running mate, he was here to talk about Medicare which as you know is in foreign issue among retirees and those nearing retirement age.

And Paul Ryan introduced his mother to this crown, his very fellow Republican crowd and he used her as an example to talk about how he and Mitt Romney will protect Medicare and he used her as an example to talk about how, he says, President Obama is weakening the important popular government program. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PAUL RYAN (R), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: You've heard the president has been talking about Medicare a bit lately. We want this debate, we need this debate and we are going to win this debate.

My mom has been on Medicare for over ten years and I'll tell you exactly how many years over ten years she's been on it. She plays tennis every week. She exercises every day. She planned her retirement around this promise that the government made her because she paid her payroll taxes into this program which she had promise with. That's a promise we have to keep.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

STEINHAUSER: The village is the largest retirement community in the United States and it's also very pro-Republican. I spoke to a lot of people in the crowd here and they told me a couple of things. A, Medicare is extremely important to their vote and b, they're very much behind the Ryan-Romney ticket.

Florida, of course, so crucial President Obama than running for the White House four years ago narrowly won this state. The poll is out right now indicated very close race with the president with slight advantage over Mitt Romney. Seniors, they make up about a quarter of the voting electorate here in Florida. That's why Medicare is such a big issue and that is when Paul Ryan was here today and he was showing off his mother - Fred.

WHITFIELD: All right Paul Steinhauser. Thanks so much, at the villages.

All right meantime, Ryan released his tax return for the last two years. His most recent returns shows he and his wife made more than $323,000 in 2011 and then paid close to $65,000 in taxes. That would be about 20 percent of his income. That 20 percent is a higher percentage than his running mate Mitt Romney paid in 2011. Romney paid 14.5 percent of his income in taxes that year and what about 2010? Ryan also paid a higher percentage of his income in taxes 16 percent to Romney's 14.5 percent.

All right. Now, to the wildfires burning out of control in the western U.S., there's something new that crews can use in this fight. Infrared cameras mounted on spotter plane. The cameras can help pinpoint exactly where the fires are even in heavy smoke. It's the same technology the military uses to plan battlefield strategies. California firefighters have already used the technology to direct aerial chemical drops, helping to put out a recent fire. Indiana police say weather is mostly to blame for a deadly crash that caused 16 cars to pile up this morning. One person is dead and two others are in the hospital with serious injuries. Police say fog plus smoke from a nearby building fire caused the chain reaction. Another crash involving six cars happened around the same time of this accident, but it was unrelated according to our affiliate WLS.

And in Syria, there could be a major development. The rebels say the country's vice president has defected. We'll get the latest.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Here's what's going on. Across the world today, the Philippines' interior secretary is among three people missing after a small plane crashed into the ocean off the Philippine coast. Jesse Robredo's family got the news while waiting for him to arrive at the airport. The pilot sent out a distress call just before the crash. Robredo's aide survived.

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan is ordering all troops in the country to carrying loaded weapons around the clock after a series of attacks by people wearing Afghan security uniforms. Thirty nine NATO troops have died in such attacks so far this year and most of them Americans.

North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un has a warning as the U.S. and South Korea get ready for joint training exercises and any violation of North Korean sovereignty will result in what he calls a sacred war. Those military exercises start on Monday.

All right, let's get to another big story that we're watching.

In Syria, rebels are saying the Syrian vice president has defected and they're trying to get him out of the country and into nearby Jordan, but Syrian state TV is contradicting those claims.

Jonathan Mann is joining now at CNN international.

So lots of conflicts here as to whether the vice president has defected, does he want to leave the country? What's going on?

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: The big question, where in the world is Farouq al-Sharaa and we have no shortage of answers and we just don't know which of them is true.

Now, if Sharaa looks a little bit familiar and we have been showing you his face, he has been the face of the Syrian regime since before even Bashar Al-Assad was in office, when Bashar Al-Assad was studying to be an eye doctor, when he was still giving eye exams.

Farouq al-Sharaa was working for his dad. He's been there 40 years. He's 74 years old. Would a guy like that really pick up and leave and claim I have no idea what I was going on. He was a loyalist before Bashar was there.

So, he has not been seen in days and the man who was for so long the public face for the regime, the man they put on television, the man they sent to talk to visiting Americans hasn't been seen.

And so, people are wondering and now there are these reports from the opposition saying the reason you can't see him is the reason he isn't around is he's out of there.

WHITFIELD: Wow. And so, what would be the relationship between he and any country, say like a Jordan or even a Turkey, places that might take him in.

MANN: You know, you wonder because the key thing for him is that he was viewed as potentially the man who might succeed Bashar Al-Assad because he hasn't been tied to the worst of the massacres. We haven't seen him defending the worst of the carnage so, he was viewed as a transitional figure if indeed there was a change in Syria he could lead it and never keeping about him.

Bashar Al-Assad is Alowite. That's the minority community in Syria. They have other Alowites very close to them, but the army is Sunni. Some of the key figures in the air force are Sunni. The pilots are Sunni and Farouq al-Sharaa is a Sunni. So, he could rally the majority of the country around a transition, a good man to have on your side, if you can forgive what he's been doing for the last 40 years.

WHITFIELD: Wow! That's incredible. Thanks so much. Keep us posted on that.

Jonathan Mann, appreciate it.

All right, a major crisis now. In Afghan nation, the newest nation of south Sudan, I'll tell you why as many as four children die there every day.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A major crisis is going on right now in south Sudan. More than 10,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Batil and other camps in south Sudan. We are told as many as four children die there every day.

I spoke by phone with Sarah Hjalmarson who is at the camp. She's an emergency coordinator and nurse for doctors without borders.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SARA HJALMARSON, EMERGENCY COORDINATOR (via phone): The conditions are very disastrous. We are seeing every day in our clinic the consequences of the difficult living conditions inside the camp. We have to see a lot of patients with diarrhea, linked with the patients in the camp, and we are seeing increased cases of diseases like malaria and also one of our main diagnosis is malnutrition and this is one of the most difficult situations at the moment is by the camp where we have more than 1,400 children already severely malnourished with doctors without borders' nutritional program.

WHITFIELD: And what's your understanding as to how long so many people have traveled from Sudan to south Sudan to seek refuge that help explain the malnutrition and malaria and all these ailments?

HJALMARSON: Well, people that are talking to our patients are explaining that already where they came from there was a lack of food. So probably already before they started to flee there was a hunger and then what people talked to us about is that they were fleeing for days and sometimes a week before they arrived and even along the way there was no food and no water.

So even before they arrived in this refugee camp where we are now in Batil, they were probably very affected by the malnutrition. But inside the camp at the moment where the recipes have been now for even more than a few weeks already, the situation is also very difficult with access to the proper food and especially for the children who need specific food and specific type of nutrients to grow.

WHITFIELD: What is the biggest obstacle besides the weather?

HJALMARSON: I think at the moment we are facing a huge emergency. The people are dying in the camp every day. They are getting more and more sick. There is sure a need of the all organization working and additional organization to set up their emergency response to cover the need of this population.

Sara Hjalmarson, thank you so much for your time, all the best and to your continued efforts and a colossal undertaking.

HJALMARSON: Thank you very much.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And if you'd like to help the people of south Sudan, for more information go to CNN.com/impact.

All right first in this country, the aerial spraying and now the waiting game. Will they help stop the outbreak of west Nile virus in the Dallas area? Right now it's too early to tell.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: We're now just a month away from the Malibu triathlon. It's where CNN viewers will compete alongside our very own Doctor Sanjay Gupta after seven long months of training.

Today, we get to see how things are coming along for a truck driver who is one of those lucky seven.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOCTOR SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: How are you?

GLENN KELLER, FIT NATION PARTICIPANT: Doing great.

GUPTA: This is your home away from home.

KELLER: Far away from home, the command center.

GUPTA: Can I get to take a ride in this?

KELLER: Yes, you do.

GUPTA: Awesome. So, I have to ask, how have you been doing with the training?

KELLER: We've been doing pretty good because in spite of my schedule, recently I had a chance to set up something with Baltimore because I was getting to Baltimore every week and I only go the in to swim just when I was home. So now that still make this a little rain from here, I practice where my both ends now.

GUPTA: A lot of people, at busy lives, and you just drove 800 miles. Is that right?

KELLER: Yes, sir.

GUPTA: And just getting in time to exercise must be challenging.

KELLER: It's challenging. It's kind of a thing where I really can't wait to find time and I've actually got to make time and not stop the truck and stop the fuel when I go to bed because by the time my day gets going I don't even know where I'm going to end up or where I'll stop and what the situation will be. This is an opportunity. I have to do something.

GUPTA: You know, when we're in Hawaii, swimming, you guys talked about this briefly and we said look, if you don't feel comfortable or safe by the time the triathlon comes around we don't want you to swim.

KELLER: Exactly.

GUPTA: What are you thinking? We're about six weeks out. What do you think?

KELLER: At the time I was thinking, wow! To have gone through all of this and to get to Malibu and not be able to swim, that would have been the biggest letdown. So, it kind make me to really kind start concentrating and start asking people questions.

GUPTA: By right now, do you think you want to do the swim?

KELLER: Think I'll be ready to do the swim, but without a doubt.

GUPTA: A lot of people don't know this about you, but you were displaced after Katrina.

KELLER: Yes, sir.

GUPTA: And you made your life there after that.

KELLER: I did, yes, sir.

GUPTA: There is a church in the lower ninth ward I believe, they have asked you to come back and be their pastor.

KELLER: Yes, sir, they have.

GUPTA: I mean I heard that today. That's really -- I'm sure it's very flattering. It's quite an honor.

KELLER: And I feel really honored. It's been quite an experience. We had a chance to have the first service there.

GUPTA: It's still being rebuilt.

KELLER: It's in the process of being remodeled.

GUPTA: So, you did the service outside.

KELLER: We actually did the service inside and I have it in my truck and I got an extension cord and ran into the breaker box and all the lights came on, the ceiling lights and the wall sockets.

GUPTA: You're the messiah now.

KELLER: Let there be light!

GUPTA: It's always great to see you and I feel good about my job when I get to talk to you. I feel like we're actually making an impact. I appreciate that.

KELLER: I feel great to be associated with you and the team, sir.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: The feeling's mutual there. If you'd like to follow Glen and the other teammates' progress as they lead us to the big race day, go to CNN.com/fitnation.

All right, mosquitoes are spreading the west Nile virus across the country. What are the chances of you getting it and do you know the warning signs? We'll talk with an expert.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: The men on the presidential campaign trail are putting the spotlight on Medicare, both President Obama and Mitt Romney's new vice presidential pick, Paul Ryan are stumping today.

Ryan took the GOP campaign to the country's largest retirement community called the Villages in central Florida. And he was there alongside his mom and he headed straight to the number one concern of people his mom's age and that would be Medicare.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RYAN: It's what Mitt Romney and I will do. We will end the raid of Medicare. We will restore the promise of this program and we will make sure that this board of bureaucrats will not mess with my mom's health care or your mom's health care.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Turning to what President Obama's campaign is up to today, the president is making two stops in New Hampshire this afternoon and he's hitting hard at the Romney-Ryan Medicare plan.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

OBAMA: Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan have a very different plan. What they want to do is they want seniors to get a voucher to buy their own insurance which could force seniors to pay an extra $6400 a year for their health care.

Again, this is not my estimate. Remember those guys who analyze these things for a living? That's their assessment. That doesn't strengthen Medicare. That undoes the very guarantee of Medicare. That's the core of the plan written by Congressman Ryan and endorsed by Governor Romney.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: This is the president's third campaign stop in the swing state of New Hampshire since the beginning of this year.

A White House reporter in education says schools are headed for tough times. It says budget cuts will force teacher and staff layoffs. That, in turn, will lead to larger classroom sizes and in some cases shorter and fewer school days. The report finds 300,000 education jobs have been lost since the end of the recession in 2009. Schools are also seeing lower graduation rates and falling achievement levels.

All right. Nasty weather has postponed aerial spraying for mosquitoes that spread west Nile virus in Dallas County, Texas.

Affiliate WFAA says three flights did not go off today because ever unfavorable weather conditions. This flight should resume on Sunday. The mosquito born disease has killed more than two dozen people around the country already this year, ten in Dallas alone.

There's a large area to spray and bad weather grounded the planes last night as well. Nationwide, only five states have not reported west Nile cases.

Take a look at the map. Earlier I talked with Dr. Jesse Jacob, an expert in infectious diseases. First question, how do people get it?

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DOCTOR JESSE JACOB, EMORY UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Mosquitoes bite infected birds and then bite humans and that's how the disease is transmitted.

WHITFIELD: Why is it spreading? Why are we seeing such a huge number right now of cases?

JACOB: Well, it's a complicated question, and probably has to do with interplay of several different factors. One is weather conditions. So, we've been experiencing drought and now it's summertime, this is where mosquitoes breed and there's been a lot of rain. So, the mosquitoes are breeding in stagnant pools of water and there have been changes over the last several years of how much west Nile we've been seeing in terms of disease.

WHITFIELD: All right. I have lots of mosquito bites just like everyone who spends time outdoors. But then, how will I know whether I've been exposed to a mosquito that's been exposed by the west Nile virus.

JACOB: The interesting is that most people won't know they've been infected by the west Nile virus. About -- only about 20 percent of the people will get infected with west Nile developed symptoms and those symptoms can range from fever to swollen glands and fatigue and only a very small proportion develop disease that affects the nervous system.

WHITFIELD: And there's no real way for a layman to identify. You know, they see a mosquito. They slap it, you know. You can't know whether this is one that's affected, can you?

JACOB: No, there is no way of knowing. And if you're having symptoms that last for longer than a few days or if you're concerned you should see your physician.

WHITFIELD: OK. So, flu-like symptoms, something you might get a few days later, for example?

JACOB: Right. It can happen as early as three days but it can be up to 14 days after mosquito bite that you can develop symptoms.

WHITFIELD: And what do you do? How do you know whether, you know, maybe you are not getting the flu-like symptoms but you may have the other, I guess, extreme of that exposure. There may be some brain swelling? How would you know if it's associated with headaches? How do you know if it's time to go to a doctor?

JACOB: Sure. Some of the red flag symptoms would be things like headaches that are more severe as usual or lasting for a longer period of time. Confusion, weakness and tingling, all of those could be symptoms that you have to seek medical attention sooner than later.

WHITFIELD: Eradication, is that an option or they just too widespread at this point?

JACOB: Well, I think there have been a lot of efforts to the local level to control mosquitoes since they're transmitting between birds and humans and so efforts at killing the mosquitoes will transition.

WHITFIELD: And I guess cooler weather is ultimately going to be the best remedy.

JACOB: Absolutely.

WHITFIELD: All right, Dr. Jesse Jacob, thanks so much for your time. Appreciate it.

JACOB: Thank you for having me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Even though the centers for disease control and prevention called the spraying safe some, have argued against it, experts suggest young children and the elderly should avoid exposure to the spray.

All right, teenage moms and their babies facing huge challenges in Colombia. Meet a CNN hero trying to help.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. The Curiosity rover has only been on mars a few days now and it's already getting a new upgrade. The process should take four days.

Meanwhile, we are getting a new look at the surface of the red planet. This 360-degree color image was created from smaller pictures taken by the mast camera on the rover.

Helping teen moms create a better life for themselves and for their babies, that's what this week's CNN hero was doing in Colombia. It's a nation where one in five teenage girls is either pregnant or already a mother. Meet Catalina Escobar.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CATALINA ESCOBAR, CNN HERO: Teen pregnancy in Cartagena is a very big issue. When you go to the slums, it is unbelievable what you see. Many of my girls live here. It's just so wrong. You see these girls, they're babies holding babies.

About 10 years ago I was volunteering at this maternity hospital and I was holding this baby, and he passed away with me. The teen mother failed to raise the money for our treatment. Four days later, my own son passed away in an accident. I realized I didn't want any mother to feel the same grief that I went through.

My name's Catalina Escobar, and I'm helping teen moms get a healthy and productive life for them and for their babies.

When we first started at the maternity hospital, we reduced dramatically the infant mortality rate. But the real problem, it was much bigger than that. My girls end up being pregnant because they don't have sexual education and many of my girls are sexually abused.

When my girls come, they drop their babies in the daycare center. We have different workshops so they can develop their skills.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My dream has always been to have my own restaurant. Now I know to never give up in life.

ESCOBAR: We are changing the lives of these girls, if you give them the right tools, they're capable of moving forward.

(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Remember, CNN heroes are all chosen from people you tell us about and time is running out for this year. You've got only a few more weeks to nominate someone, so go to CNNheroes.com today.

All right. She's only 8-years-old and she's already an author. This little girl will tell us about her book on coping with hearing loss.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: A museum is stunned to find out that it has had an original Picasso tucked away in storage for 50 years now. A curator at the Evansville, Indiana museum misidentified it as just some stained glass piece. She says she was told it was inspired by a Picasso oil painting. It turns out it is one of Picasso's finest works of art called seated woman with red hat.

It's a big break for the museum, but they also say that the Picasso was simply too valuable to be put on display there. Listen why.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN STREETMAN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EVANSVILLE MUSEUM: The value of the piece makes it prohibitive for us to ensure it and we would have all sorts of socio-considerations about staffing and all sorts of electronic additions to what we do with our facility that just makes it impossible to keep it and we are so sad about that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: So now the art work is headed to New York to be sold privately. Experts say it will probably go for millions.

This week on the human factor Doctor Sanjay Gupta introduces us to the youngest person ever featured on human factor. She's eight and her name is Samantha Brownlie.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

GUPTA (voice-over): Samantha Brownlee is 8-years-old and she's already a published author.

SAMANTHA BROWNLIE, 8-YEARS-OLD, WROTE A BOOK ABOUT HEARING LOSS: I wear a hearing aid. I wear in my left ear.

GUPTA: Her book which she wrote at the ripe age of six is about how she copes with hearing loss.

SAMANTHA BROWNLIE: Some people have problems that they have in life but they don't really want to share it. So, I like it share it.

GUPTA: Samantha and her 11-year-old brother Sean were both born with damage a nerve in the inner ear, permanent damage in both ears. But at an age when taunting from their peers could shatter their self- image, Samantha and Sean are undaunted.

LISA BROWNLIE, SAMANTHA AND SEAN'S MOTHER: We never saw it as a disability. It's just a factor. I mean, I wear glasses. I don't have a sight disability. I just need help with my vision.

GUPTA: Without the word disability weighing her down, Samantha found it in her to write and illustrate this book.

SAMANTHA BROWNLIE: It helps me hear better because it makes the sound loud.

It's called Samantha's fun FM book. Her name is on the cover.

LISA BROWNLIE: I just thought it was wonderful, you know, project at first. And then it sort of took on a life of its own.

GUPTA: A life of its own including sales of Samantha's book on amazon.com.

SAMANTHA BROWNLIE: Did you know people in this country have hearing loss.

GUPTA: And this PSA for the hearing health foundation and though she has many years ahead of her, Samantha has advice for children and adults about how to overcome.

SAMANTHA BROWNLIE: No matter what happened I just try, try, try. You can help someone out with it.

GUPTA: Doctor Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Again, if you're looking for that Samantha Brownlie book, it is available on amazon.com.

All right. That infamous tomato meter on rottentomatoes.com, ever wonder how they came up or how they come up with those numbers, fresh or rotten, all that good stuff? Our movie critic Grae Drake is here in Atlanta and she'll take us behind the scenes in California coming up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right, perhaps you don't feel like heading out to a movie and said you rather bring one home.

We are back this hour with Grae Drake of rottentomatoes.com. There are couples of DVDs out and Grae ultimately going to take us behind the scenes and Rotten Tomatoes to see how it all works.

But first let's get started on the DVDs Grae.

So, you have "Hunger Games" and the "Raid Redemption." But let's talk about "Hunger Games" because I think most people are familiar with that they're very anxious about owning it.

GRAE DRAKE, SENIOR EDITOR, ROTTEN TOMATOES: Absolutely. People were ling up like crazy and this is one of the most popular DVDs out. And no, normally they come out on Tuesday and this one was Friday because it's that special.

WHITFIELD: OK.

DRAKE: And everyone's going to love it. On rotten tomatoes, it's an 85 percent certified fresh which means the tons of critics liked it and our top critics also really liked it.

WHITFIELD: OK.

DRAKE: Everyone loves this film.

WHITFIELD: Everyone likes this one. I haven't seen it.

DRAKE: You have to.

WHITFIELD: No. It's something about kids killing kids or some are targeting. I don't know, maybe I misunderstood it, but it seems harsh.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I can't do it. OK. "Raid Redemption," can I do that?

DRAKE: I don't know. It's also another really intense movie and this is the one that people don't know anything about. It was very limited in its release a now that it is on video, everyone needs to be watching this film.

WHITFIELD: Really?

DRAKE: Fifteen floors of an apartment building, the SWAT team is called in to get a bad guy, right?

WHITFIELD: Watching the film.

DRAKE: Exactly. Already, you're captivated by it. It turns out that --

WHITFIELD: No. Can't see that one. That did it for me right there, that moment. OK. Go ahead though.

DRAKE: Listen, the whole building is filled with bad guys who are trying to kill the SWAT team members. The fighting in this and the martial art are unparalleled. This movie is spectacular. I thought that the apartment building I went to college in I thought that was bad. No. My dorm was nothing compared to this place. The movie is spectacular.

WHITFIELD: Oh, my. OK. I appreciate you bringing that to me. I kind of like happy, feel-good stuff.

DRAKE: That's not this.

WHITFIELD: I'm boring. I know. But that's why I enjoy your reviews because I'm living I have vie curiously through. I can check out some of these movies just by your reviews. DRAKE: I'll see everything that's not happening for you.

WHITFIELD: That's right.

All right. Happy, though, is your work environment, rottentomatoes.com. How all you do what you do? How do you rate something as fresh, rotten, et cetera? So kind of take us behind the scenes. This is a great privilege for us.

DRAKE: Well, for me as well, I am so excited to be here because it's a very intricate, delicate process at Rotten Tomatoes that I'm getting familiar with. Now, we aggregate reviews. So, we take all of these critics.

Now, they're sources that we have verified, OK? It's not just anybody and we take them. They, oftentimes, will rate their own movies and their reviews, rather, OK? So, they'll say whether they think it's good, fresh, or bad, rotten, and then the score on the site is their percentage of positive reviews that a film has gotten. So like I said, "Raid Redemption," 84 percent fresh.

WHITFIELD: So you lifted the curtain. You, you know, pulled back the veil for us. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DRAKE: My first day as senior editor of Rotten Tomatoes and I have no idea what it means so Matt Atchity, the editor-in-chief, my boss, is going to tell me what is going on here. Come on. Please tell these nice people what the tomato meter is.

MATT ATCHITY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, ROTTEN TOMATOES: The tomato meter is simply a measure of positive reviews out of the entire pool of reviews for any particular film. If a movie is above 60 percent we call it fresh. If it is less than 60 percent, we call it rotten. For movies that are reviewed, at 75 percent fresh or higher, with a minimum number of 40 reviews, five from top critics, we call it certified fresh.

DRAKE: Sounds legitimate enough, beardo. So where is my desk? What do I do?

ATCHITY: Well, before we sit you at your desk there is one thing you have to do.

DRAKE: Rotten tomato, Hollywood! I hold your future in my tomato hands.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: You are sick. They did not make you do that. That's very cute.

DRAKE: No one makes me do anything.

WHITFIELD: You volunteered for that. OK, very good. DRAKE: Best job ever.

WHITFIELD: And that is so fun. I know it's been - you know, you're a great attribute to rottentomatoes.com.

DRAKE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: I know you have a blast.

DRAKE: I have a present for you.

WHITFIELD: You do?

DRAKE: I do.

WHITFIELD: What?

DRAKE: I brought you a rotten tomato stress ball.

WHITFIELD: I like.

DRAKE: So, if you ever get stressed out you can squeeze it and remind yourself how fresh you are.

WHITFIELD: Fresh Freddy. All right. Thanks so much.

Great, Grae. Always good to see you even better in person.

DRAKE: This has been great. Thank you for having me.

WHITFIELD: Lots of fun. Thanks so much. I hope you come back.

DRAKE: You won't be able to get rid of me.

WHITFIELD: I'll be thinking about you all the time because I have the little stress meter now.

DRAKE: I like that.

WHITFIELD: All right. Love it. Check. Thanks so much, Grae

All right. Remember, you can get all of Grae's movie reviews at rottentomatoes.com. How could you forget? Then always have this every Saturday to kind of remind you just in case.

All right. I also caught up with Grammy award winning artist Macy Gray, distinctive voice, distinctive look, would you not agree?

All right. She just keeps proving that there is more to her than just the label musician as if that were like, you know something small.

Anyway, you'll hear what's next for her in our one-on-one.

(COMMERCIAL BEAK)

WHITFIELD: You probably recognize her one of a kind sound or this smash hit.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

WHITFIELD: Now, Grammy award winning singer Macy Gray is touring the U.S. She is quite busy you know, as she is in a movie coming out later on this year alongside Nicole Kidman and Matthew McConaughey and has a new album where she covers bands like radio head.

(VIDEO CLIP PLAYING)

I spoke with Macy about her new album and what's next for her.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: You really seem to drive your own ship as it pertains to music. You have a distinctive style and when you say, you know, I want to depart and try something new and different, I want to compile an incredible arrangement of music from Metallica to Radiohead, Eurythmics, you do that. So, why this come about? Because that really does show case the latest album.

MACY GRAY, SINGER: Yes, I've always wanted to do a cover album and so I was actually listening to all these where she would take like rock 'n roll songs and turn them into these incredible songs and so it's my own challenge. We did all of my favorite rock covers and then I turned them into a real solo album.

WHITFIELD: How did you pick these selections? Were these songs that make you feel a certain way, a message about them? Or it is the artist behind these selections of music?

GRAY: Yes. I definitely wanted to pick a style of music far away from what I do. I didn't want to do solo R&B. So, we got in collide, you know, that Metallica, Radiohead, way far away from me. And then - but, I'm also a big fan of those artists and their music and ultimately though it was the lyrics, you know, like songs that I felt I could sing and I could mean it. You know, it would sound honest coming from me. So really that was the main thing. Something I could put my heart into lyrically.

Very comfortable onstage and in music. It's kind of the only time I really feel completely at home and comfortable in myself.

WHITFIELD: This seems like a big year. You have yet another album production coming out. Tell me about that.

GRAY: Yes. We're doing a remake album so we did the covers and now we have this idea to actually make an album. Actually, it was Hall's idea the guy who produced the cover. We were going back and forth. One of my favorite albums in the world is talking book by Stevie Wonder and it just so happens to be the 40th anniversary of that album, made in 1972. So, it was perfect to do. We actually just finished it last night.

WHITFIELD: And that is a bold move to touch anything Stevie Wonder.

GRAY: I know.

WHITFIELD: Intimidating at all?

GRAY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Nerve-racking?

GRAY: Yes, completely. I feel completely inferior every time I listen to his records.

WHITFIELD: Have you heard from him or reached out to him to let him know that you're doing this?

GRAY: I know. I called a couple times. He's not the easiest guy to get in touch with. Hopefully he'll hear then he will find the time to call me back.

WHITFIELD: Then you have a movie coming out.

GRAY: Yes.

WHITFIELD: Nicole Kidman. Big names. Matthew McConaughey. You are not new to movies. We've seen you in "for colored girls" and "training day."

GRAY: Right.

WHITFIELD: What is different about this one, "paper boy?"

GRAY: It is the new lee Daniels movie which is really exciting. He is an awesome person and director and the story is incredible. It's a story that no one has ever told before and it takes place in the south and the '70s and is very different. You know? It is very dark and interesting, a lot of sex and love and mystery and murder in it. It's pretty awesome.

WHITFIELD: What do you like about your character? How do identify with your character?

GRAY: Well, she is very -- I play a housekeeper and one thing I learned in this role is that the people that work in your home are very observant because they see everything. They hear all the arguments, you know. They know what your underwear looks like. You know what I mean? So, she is someone who knows everything without telling everybody.

WHITFIELD: It seems as though you're able to be very loyal to, you know, who you are. You're being -- you are being very loyal to the Macy Gray that first came, burst onto the scene as a very unique voice and image.

GRAY: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: You've been able to hold on to that and it is very hard in the industry of Hollywood whether it's music, or movies.

GRAY: Right.

WHITFIELD: Is there a secret behind how you're able to do that, how you're able to hold on to Macy Gray?

GRAY: Oh, I really don't know any other way. That is the first time I've ever even thought about it. So, you know, I just -- I love what I do and I really don't know how to be anyone else. You know what I mean?

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: And we're glad she's not anyone else but her, Macy Gray. Besides making records and acting Macy Gray is also an activist. Recently she performed for children getting treated at St. Jude children's research hospital. She also helped raise money for victims of hurricane Katrina and she has taken part in live earth a concert series bringing awareness to environmental issues.