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Canadian Girl Swam Across Lake Ontario; Clock Ticking Over Rape Comment; Obama Campaigns In Ohio; GOP Spells Out Abortion Position; Akin Says He's Staying; Diana Nyad's Journey Cut Short; The Help Desk; Hispanic Enrollment in Public Schools, Colleges Soar; Michael Ealy Talks New Movie Role, Quest for Mentors; Kid Recipe Winners Honored at White House; Symptoms of Heart Attack, What To Do

Aired August 21, 2012 - 13:00   ET

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

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: A Canadian girl made history when she swam across Lake Ontario over the weekend. Fourteen-year-old Annaleise Carr became the youngest person ever to make the journey. It is a 32-mile swim. She did it just under 27 hours. Good for her.

I'm Suzanne Malveaux. This hour in the CNN NEWSROOM, the president is speaking to voters in Columbus, Ohio.

Plus, Republican leaders asking embattled Congressman Todd Akin to bow out of Missouri's Senate race because of comments about rape.

And Diana Nyad gives up her dream to swim from Cuba to Florida.

I want to get straight to it. Taliban insurgents fired rockets at the main NATO air base in Afghanistan today. Now, shrapnel damaged the C-17 plane used by joint chiefs chairman Martin Dempsey. He was not on board at the time. He was not harmed. Dempsey left on another aircraft but he was in Afghanistan for talks with NATO and Afghan commanders.

The clock ticking now for a Congressman under fire over his comments about rape. Representative Todd Akin, he is running for the U.S. Senate seat in Missouri. And fellow Republicans urging him now to drop out of the race. He has until 6:00 tonight Eastern to do it voluntarily without much difficulty. But as early as today, Akin, he was still saying he's seeking redemption with this apology ad. Take a look.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. TODD AKIN (R), MISSOURI: I'm Todd Akin, and I approve this message. Rape is an evil act. I used the wrong words in the wrong way and for that I apologize. As a father of two daughters, I want tough justice for predators. I have a compassionate heart for the victims of sexual assault, and I pray for them. The fact is rape can lead to pregnancy. The truth is rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: I want to bring in correspondent Dana Bash. And Dana, first of all, that ad, how is it being received? Is that good enough for a lot of the Republican leadership who are publicly and quietly asking him to step down?

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Definitely not. In fact, we have, I would say, breaking news on this issue. We just got an e-mail from really a list of heavyweights in the Missouri Republican party. The current Republican senator from Missouri, Roy Blunt, and four former Republican senators who are basically -- you combine them, they're like Republican royalty in the state of Missouri. All calling on Todd Akin to step aside.

And what they are saying is, we do not believe it serves the national interests for Congressman Todd Akin to stay in this race. The issues at stake are too big and this election is simply too important. The right decision is to step aside. And specifically, the statement comes, Suzanne, you'll recognize all these names, from the current senator Roy Blunt, former senators John Ashcroft, Kit Bond, John Danforth and Jim Talent. So, that answers your question.

Last night, I was getting some hints from sources that the Missouri -- some members of the Missouri delegation might really sort of close ranks around him. This is probably, I would say, far more significant because of the weight of the names. The history of the Republican party in the state.

MALVEAUX: Yes. It really doesn't get much higher than that when you list those names and those folks who have a lot of influence in Republican circles there, and, of course, in the state. Do you get a sense now that this is something that he would abide by this deadline? I know you've got a 6:00 deadline today, but you also have another way that this can be done, a much more difficult way, and, perhaps, those Republicans might use that window of time to either way try to get him to step down.

BASH: You know, what you're talking about is, for our viewers to be specific, is the fact that, yes, by 6:00 tonight, he can voluntarily come off the ballot without any kind of penalty for the Republican party or for himself. But he does have until September 25th to officially get off, but he would have to appeal to the state, to the secretary of state in Missouri, who happens to be a Democrat and would have to financially pay to remove his name for the ballot. So, it gets more complicated.

What I'm told, from some Republican sources who are trying to figure out -- read the tea leafs inside the Akin camp, is that they believe that September 25th is really the deadline for them. And procedurally, in terms of presses, yes, that's true, but politically that makes this nightmare for Republicans go on and on and on into really, what, six weeks before the general election. That is the worst case scenario for Republicans.

MALVEAUX: Dana, is there any sense at all, do we know whether or not akin has received the message from the powerful Republicans in his own state?

BASH: You know, it literally just -- I just got it on my e-mail from Senator Blunt's office as you were coming on the show. So, you know, if they're watching CNN, they have it. And I -- and I -- it's hard for me to imagine that these individuals have not in some way, shape or form also made this known to him privately in addition to publicly.

MALVEAUX: And Dana, finally, if you could, put this into context for us, because this really is a very significant race for the Republicans in their effort to overtake the Senate -- to get the Senate majority. What does this mean for them?

BASH: It means -- you just really laid it out beautifully, Suzanne. It is not just about one Senate race in Missouri where they really feel that they can potentially beat the Democratic incumbent, Claire McCaskill. This -- if you look at their math, and look at the map and you look at the way Republicans have reacted to this, this is really a pivotal race for them to ultimately retake control of the Senate on the Republican side.

So, that is a big reason why they want this over. Another reason is the narrative. What are we talking about? We're talking about Todd Akin. We're talking about issues of rape. We're talking about issues of abortion. These are not the issues that Republicans want to be talking about from Romney and Ryan on down, particularly going into their convention. So, they really want this to be over. They want to start talking about the economy or re-start talking about the economy which is where they obviously believe that they have the benefit.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dana, as you get more details, more e- mails, please bring them to us. We'll follow this developing story. Dana, always excellent reporting as always.

We want to go to President Obama who is in Columbus, Ohio, now, speaking before a campaign group.

(JOINED LIVE SPEECH IN PROGRESS)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: That's not just tough for middle class families that are trying to make it, and young people who are trying to get started, it's also painful for the entire economy because that means that money you might be spending on buying a new home or doing something else with it, it's going to that check that you're writing every single month. It's not going to local business.

And I have to say, this is something Michelle and I know firsthand about. You know, I'm not speculating on this, because we've been in your shoes. Neither of us came from wealthy families. Both of us graduated from college and law school with a mountain of debt. When we married, we got poorer together. We combined our liabilities into one big liability. We paid more for our student loans than we paid on our mortgage each month. And that went on for years. And then once we had Malia and Sasha, we need to start saving for their college educations, but we were still paying off our college educations.

Now, keep in mind, we were lucky enough to land good jobs. He had steady incomes. But we did not finish paying off our student loans until about eight years ago. Think about that.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You got an education.

OBAMA: I'm now -- I got an education, it worked out pretty good. But -- but -- the point I'm making is, I'm only standing before you because of the chance that my education gave me. So, I can tell you, with some experience, that making higher education more affordable for our young people, it's something I've got a personal stake in. It's something Michelle has a personal stake in. We believe in it because we've been there and we know that unless you provide those rungs on the ladder of opportunity, young people who are more talented than we are may not get a shot. That's why I made it a top priority of my presidency. And Ohio, that is something that is at stake in this election. That's part of the reason why November is so important.

And I say this because putting a college education within reach for working families just doesn't seem to be a big priority for my opponent. You know, a few months ago, just up the road in Westerville, Governor Romney said, if you want to be successful, if you want to go to college or start a business, you can just, and I'm quoting here, "borrow money if you have to from your parents." When a high school student in Youngstown asked him what he would do to make college more affordable for families like his, Governor Romney didn't say anything about grants or loan programs that are critical to millions of students to get a college education. He said nothing about work study programs or rising college tuition. He didn't say a word about community colleges or how important higher education is to America's future.

He said, the best thing you can do is shop around. The best -- the best thing I can do for you is to tell you to shop around. That's it. That's his plan. That's his answer to young people who are trying to figure out how to go to college and make sure that they don't have a mountain of debt. Shop around and borrow more money from your parents. Now, I've just got to say -- I want to make sure everybody understands, not everybody has parents who have the money to lend.

(END LIVE COVERAGE OF SPEECH)

MALVEAUX: President Obama in Columbus, Ohio. CNN.com slash live is carrying this live if you'd like to continue listening to the president.

Here's what we're working on for this hour.

(voice-over): The fourth time was not the charm for swimmer Diana Nyad. She had to quit halfway through her Cuba to Florida swim. Dr. Sanjay Gupta looks at why the 62-year-old was pulled from the water.

Record number of Latinos are enrolled in U.S. colleges. We'll look at why that is.

Also, actor Michael Ealy joins me here in Atlanta to talk about his new movie "Unconditional." He hopes it will inspire people to mentor at-risk kids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: In the middle of the fallout over Congressman Akin's comments, Republicans spell out their position on abortion. They had just voted on their platform ahead of next week's GOP convention. I want to bring in Peter Hamby, who's joining us live from Tampa.

First of all, Peter, explain to us exactly what is the platform position regarding abortion? What's the language they settled on?

PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: Yes, Suzanne, I mean you and Dana were talking earlier, at the moment the whole Republican universe wants to get away from abortion and talk about the economy. Today it just so happens, and this is just a coincidence, that the Republican Party was drafting its official position on abortion and they ratified this language just a few minutes ago. I'll read it to you here.

It says, "we support a human life amendment to the Constitution and endorse legislation to make clear that the 14th Amendment's protections apply to unborn children." That's basically recommending a constitutional ban on abortion. It makes no mention of exceptions for rape, incest, the life of the mother. It's important to point out, Suzanne, that this is basically the same language that was in the Republican Party platform in 2008, in 2004, in 2000. But, again, at a moment when the Republican Party would rather be talking about the economy and their plans for the convention next week, this is not what they want to be the headline coming out of Tampa.

MALVEAUX: It is a consistent platform there. And the president is talking about the economy. And as you mentioned, that's a very important point, this is not something they would be like -- they would like to be discussing today. How do you square this? Mitt Romney said he would allow abortions in cases of rape. How does he square that with the party's platform?

HAMBY: Yes, you're right, this might be the most important point of contention today. In the wake of those Todd Akin comments about legitimate rape and abortion, Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, who was an ally on issues like this with Paul -- excuse me, with Todd Akin in the House, Romney came out and said that under a Romney presidential administration, they would allow exceptions for rape.

However, the party that he's going to officially assume control of next week in Tampa is saying that there is no official exemptions. They're not going to put it in the platform. Social conservatives that I've talked to say it would be a mistake for Romney to do that. It would only aggravate the Republican base. So it is somewhat at odds of what the base of his party did here today in Tampa, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: And, Peter, I know there's a process where the party has to officially adopt its platform. There's going to be the convention that's coming up, of course, in less than a week or so. But was there any way that they could have avoided this from happening, that they would have to adopt this today? Could they have put it off for another couple days or not possible?

HAMBY: Probably -- I mean, this was always on the schedule. Monday and Tuesday was when the Republican Party platform committee, which is charged with drafting the party's official positions, was supposed to meet. The Romney campaign was in the room for this. There were several top Romney advisers in the back of the room. A Romney ally, Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell, chaired the committee. Romney advisers, like Jim Bopp and Jim Talent, were on the committee. They effectively had a lot of control over this process.

But at the same time, they let this language go through. Again, they'd rather not be talking about abortion. But they're making a choice here. Do they want to unnecessarily aggravate the Republican base and drag this story -- and also drag this story out for another few days? So, they're hoping that they can just get this out of the way. And I can tell you they're also hoping that Todd Akin is not the Missouri Senate candidate by this time next week when the convention starts, Suzanne.

MALVEAUX: All right, Peter Hamby. Thank you, Peter. Appreciate it.

She's wanted to swim from Cuba to Florida since she was eight years old. It's not going to happen. Diana Nyad, she had to give up her amazing dream earlier today.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Diana Nyad has ended her fourth attempt to swim from Cuba to south Florida. The 62-year-old endurance swimmer, she's been pulled from the water about halfway through the journey. You're looking at exclusive pictures here showing the end of her quest to become the first person to swim 103 miles from Havana to Key West without a shark cage. You can actually see she suffered from severe sunburn, as well as swollen lips from jellyfish stings.

Now, the last time I spoke to her, and she tried this, this was about a year ago. You're going to hear her talk about the problem that she faced back then. That was just jellyfish. It also plagued her this time as well.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DIANA NYAD, SWIMMER: So, you asked me, would I do it again? Not with the jellyfish in the water. And I want to live big. I want to dream big. And I will continue to do that my whole life. But I can't -- I can't -- I can't beat these guys. They're too much for me.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MALVEAUX: We're going to talk to Sanjay Gupta and Chad Myers about this. But first, I want to bring in some breaking news here from our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash. Dana, I understand you have more information about Congressman Akin and whether or not he is going to stay in the Senate race. What do we know?

DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, he is currently on Mike Huckabee's radio show. He -- Mike Huckabee has actually been a supporter of Todd Akin through this. And he, Todd Akin, made very clear just now that despite the mounting pressure, he is intending to stay in the race. This is what he is telling Mike Huckabee as we speak on his radio show. We're going to continue to listen to see if there's any more information about his reaction to what we just reported at the top of the hour, the fact that the current Republican senator from Missouri and four former Republican senators from Missouri all say that it's time to go. As of now, he is saying, as we speak, he's not going anywhere. Staying --

MALVEAUX: Dana, it might be a little bit too early to know this. Do we know if he's given a reason why he's insisting that he's going to stay in the race?

BASH: I don't know the reason -- I don't know if he's giving a different reason in this radio interview than he has in the past. In the past he has said point blank that he feels that he is the best person to run. He feels that this is his calling. He is, by all accounts, a very religious person and this is something that he feels that he is, again, called to do.

And, you know, just a little bit of background on his personality. Covering Congress, you see that there's a lot of comrade. There are different cliques, if you will, not unlike junior high, I have to say. He's a loaner. He is somebody who, by many accounts, is not super close to anybody in the Missouri delegation. He certainly has some friends who are like-minded in terms of his conservative ideology. But there's a lot of palling around and he's not somebody who tends to be one of those people. He marches to his own drum and it's very clear he's doing that right now.

MALVEAUX: And, Dana, he's also made some comments. I think he's apologized for his remarks, or at least he's tried to explain his remarks. Can you tell us what his thinking was behind that?

BASH: The way he explains it, and he did it in about a 30-second television ad that they released -- his campaign released before dawn today, by saying that he misspoke, that he believes that rape is evil and awful and that he didn't mean to say what he said. It's very clear from the way that his fellow Republicans continue to try to shove him out, they don't buy it. They don't buy that it was -- that he misspoke. And, more importantly, whether he misspoke or not, it's become so intense and it has become so divisive that it almost doesn't matter politically.

MALVEAUX: All right. Dana bringing us the breaking news, as always. Thank you. Really appreciate it.

BASH: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: And, of course, we'll be following the developments as it happens throughout the day.

Want to go back to a story we were covering about Diana Nyad, a 62-year-old who's trying to make this swim, 103 miles.

Sanjay, Chad, obviously she faced a lot of difficulty here. One of the things that she faced was bad weather. How did that impact her ability to swim in these waters?

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: You know, it's unfortunate because Diana sat in Key West for months waiting for good weather and then she got in the water. She was talking to me. We were e-mailing back and forth. She has a whole team on her crew for weather. And the winds were going to be at her back. (INAUDIBLE) following seas, according to, you know, if you're a sail boater. And it was a perfect situation.

But those following seas, those winds off of Cuba, pushed a thunderstorm off Cuban coast and right into her swim. And she had thunderstorms both nights. You just can't predict that thunderstorms are going to fire off the mountains like they did here in Cuba.

So here's where she was. Right in the middle. Right in between. Still 57 miles to go to Key West. And let me show you what the radar looked like from last night. Look at the lightning going right over her position right there. Here's Havana. The winds are nice and calm. She had to wait for what we call the doldrums. No real thunderstorms, no real wind during the day. But when these things popped up yesterday afternoon along the coast of Cuba, they rolled with the wind right across and right over Diana and she had to get out of the water. It was literally just too rough.

MALVEAUX: Sanjay, tell us a little bit about some of the other physical conditions. Because you and I had a chance -- you followed her very extensively last year. We had a chance to talk to her after her failed swim that go around. What happened this time?

SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, some of it was the same sort of thing. Obviously just from a physical standpoint, because I think that gets lost in here a little bit. But, you know, simply swimming, you know, she's burning so many calories. I think we calculated, you know, literally 40,000 calories burning. So she has to try and get that back as she's swimming. You lose about a half a liter of fluid every half hour. So that just almost goes without saying, though, for Diana. She's tried this four times, as you mentioned.

But again, it was in part the weather that Chad was talking about, and also these jellyfish stings. And, you know, you look at those pictures and I think we have a couple showing just how -- how much her face was sort of torn up by these jellyfish stings. But it doesn't just look bad. It's also potentially medically problematic because, you know, you've got to breathe through your mouth. You're doing it under challenging conditions. You can get swelling due to the jellyfish stings on your lips and on your tongue. And so it can be a problem.

But I think, you know, she was pulled out of the water Sunday night the first time because of weather.

MALVEAUX: Right.

GUPTA: And she was on the boat for a while. Got back in. And then 12:55 this morning, the same thing, she got out of the boat, but this time they waited a few hours. At sunrise they said, you know what, it's just going to happen.

MALVEAUX: The last time she need, what, you said it was like four liters of an IV.

GUPTA: Yes.

MALVEAUX: What is it going to take for her to recover this go around?

GUPTA: That was -- last time she had four liters pretty quickly after the swim. So, you know, it's probably -- you know, it's ongoing right now. I mean she's still sort of recuperating even as we speak right now on a boat heading back toward Key West. So I think they just give as much fluids as they can to get the blood pressure back up, the heart rate back down. And I don't know exactly what it's going to be, but you lose an inordinate amount of fluids despite how much she -- you know, she drinks even during the swim.

MALVEAUX: You've got to love her spirit, really. I mean her undying spirit.

GUPTA: Yes.

MALVEAUX: But let me ask you this. She's going to be 63 tomorrow.

GUPTA: Tomorrow, yes.

MALVEAUX: Her birthday is tomorrow. Can -- can she physically do this? A 63-year-old woman. Is it possible to do this swim?

GUPTA: You know, they calculated that she would be swimming for 60 hours if she were to do it and not get blown off course and have good weather. From beginning to end, she was about 63 hours. Again, she got on the boat a couple of times in the middle of all this. But, you know, I think at this point, from a physical standpoint, she's proven something, I think, very important. Is that a woman in her 60s has come very close to doing this now a few times. I think it's mental in her case.

Now, she talked to us last year and said it wasn't happening again. And I will tell you, Suzanne, the rest of that story was a couple weeks later she called and said, it is happening again. And here we are. So, you know, we'll have to wait and see.

MALVEAUX: Yes, she said she was retiring and then she jumped back in the water. And the message she sent us last year, she said, be your best self. Be the best you can be. So we still take that with us.

GUPTA: She's truly one of the most inspiring people I know. MALVEAUX: Yes.

GUPTA: And I come across, as you do, come across a lot of people. But it's just remarkable what she -- what she does, what she stands for. And every time I walk away, I feel a little bit more like a slacker when you're hanging out with Diana Nyad.

MALVEAUX: And think how I feel next to you, Sanjay Gupta, me, a slacker as well.

Thank you, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: She inspires us all.

GUPTA: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Good to see you.

GUPTA: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Here's some free money advice from the CNN "Help Desk."

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALISON KOSIK, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Hi there. Here on "The Help Desk" today we're talking about what to do with extra cash. A real big problem to have, right? With me now, Liz Miller and Doug Flynn.

Liz, this is the first question.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My husband and I are six months away from paying off our house. What's the best thing to do with that extra money that we'll have every month?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KOSIK: Good for her, right?

LIZ MILLER, CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST & CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER: Congratulations. Well, the first thing I do have to say is, paying off a home is not for everyone. It can let you sleep better at night, in which case that's great. But for a lot of people, financially, it makes sense to always maintain that mortgage.

Since you are going to have this extra moneys and at the age you are, it's a great chance to start putting more away for retirement. And I would start with a tax free municipal bond kind of investment fund with that extra money.

KOSIK: And what about -- what do you think, Doug? DOUG FLYNN, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER, FLYNN ZITO CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: The first thing I would to is take the exact amount of the mortgage payment that you were used to making and save the exact dollar amount to the penny.

KOSIK: That's an idea.

FLYNN: Set up an automated deduction out of your bank account. Don't let one or two months go by.

KOSIK: You won't miss it.

FLYNN: Nope. If you do, it's going to be hard to come back once you get a couple months into that. So capture it right away.

KOSIK: That's great advice. Thank you.

If you have an issue you want our experts to tackle, upload a 30- second video with your "Help Desk" question to ireport.com.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MALVEAUX: More Hispanics than any other minority group are enrolled in college now. That's a first. We're going to take a look at why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: The number of Latinos in public schools and colleges is now soaring. That is according to a new study by the Pew Hispanic Center.

Rafael Romo is joining us with details.

Rafael, tell us what we're talking about here and why such big numbers now.

RAFAEL ROMO, CNN LATIN AFFAIRS CORRESPONDENT: It's truly a fascinating study. I was taking a close look. The number that really caught my eye is the fact if you go back to 1972, the percentage of Latinos in U.S. colleges was only about 3 percent. Compare that to now, actually last year -- the last year for which statistics are available. It's 17 percent. So that's more than fivefold that we have there in increase.

And this is happening because of mainly two reasons. Big immigration wave in the '90s, and now the children of those immigrants are going to high school, are going to college. And all of a sudden, we have this percentage, 16.5 percent, which, by the way, Suzanne, it reflects the percentage of the Latino population in the United States as a whole.

MALVEAUX: So folks are going to school. There's a great deal of immigration going on. Tell us about in elementary school, in kindergarten, because you are talking about funding. You're talking about politics. All the stuff wraps up into seeing this group. ROMO: I think we can talk about a population boom, because when you go to not only those grades, but also elementary schools, when you go to high schools, you're talking about a quarter of the entire population. So one out of every four students, particularly, when you talk about public schools, is Latino. So that means that the next generation of college students is probably going to be the same as we're seeing right there. Look at those numbers, 25 percent and 24 percent. So that means that in a decade or two, colleges in the United States are going to be 25 percent Latino, if not more.

MALVEAUX: Now, we talk a lot about the power and the reach of the Hispanic vote, Latino vote, when you talk about this election, this cycle. I imagine the next time around, when you have this group, they're growing up, they're educated, that that voting bloc is going to be even more important.

ROMO: Exactly. This time around, we're talking about swing states like Colorado, like Florida, like New Mexico, where the percentages of Latino registered voters could actually make a difference. Now, if we go four years down the road, eight years, that impact is going to be much more significant. So, yes, it's definitely a number to consider.

MALVEAUX: All right. Rafael Romo, good to see you as always.

ROMO: You, too.

MALVEAUX: Thank you.

Those fans can't get enough of him. We're talking about the talented Michael Ealy. You saw him in "Barbershop" and "Think Like a Man." He's joining us to talk about his new role and his quest for mentors.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: A lot of us can relate to this, the search for true purpose in our lives, trying to find meaning of unconditional love. Yep. That's right. There's a movie coming out that talks about all those things. It is called "Unconditional." It hits theaters next month. One of the actors in the movie is Michael Ealy.

Michael, good to see you again.

The last time you and I were chatting, you were "Thinking Like a Man." How did that work out for you?

MICHAEL EALY, ACTOR: It's going good. It's going good. Still adhering to the 90-day rule.

MALVEAUX: 90-day rule. That's a good one. Tell me about this movie. This is really different than the other one. This is really about unconditional and development and helping folks out.

EALY: Yes, you know, this is kind of a feel-good movie that's about hope. You know, if you're having kind of a rough time, this is a great movie for you to see because, at the end of -- you know, at the end of that tunnel, there is some light. You know, there really is some light. It's a film that matters. You know, there's issues of redemption and forgiveness and how you can really impact your community.

MALVEAUX: Tell us a little bit about the story line without giving it away. We promise we'll go see.

EALY: OK. I play a character by the name of Papa Joe Bradford, and he has accidentally run into an old friend of his named Sam. And he -- they're both kind of forced to help each other out by default, and at the same time try and catch up on their past. In catching up with their past, they learn so much more about each other and, you know, the hard past they both have had to go through.

MALVEAUX: Is there anything from your own personal life that you drew from in bringing to this movie?

EALY: One of the things that Joe does really well, and I admire him for it, is he helps out the kids in his neighborhood. He helps them with their homework. He gives them food. He's like an after- school program.

MALVEAUX: Sure.

EALY: I used to work as a camp counselor for years. There was nothing more rewarding than, you know, waking up -- not waking up, but, like, coming into camp and all the kids are looking at you like you're their hero. And that's the same feeling I got in the specific scene in the movie where the kids come off the school bus and they just think Papa Joe's a hero.

MALVEAUX: A lot of people wouldn't know this. One of your other passions besides acting is bringing awareness to pancreatic cancer. What is your personal draw to this? How did you get involved?

EALY: I know someone -- someone close to me has passed away because of pan pancreatic cancer. Just my standard actor connections, I was able to go to a fundraiser for the Lus Garden Foundation. And at that fundraiser, I made my way to the executive director and said, I'd like to get involved. I'd like to do everything I can to try and help find a cure for pancreatic cancer. And this fall, we're actually going to start a PSA campaign. I'm looking really forward to that.

MALVEAUX: And why is this important?

EALY: Well, the Lus Garden Foundation, you know, the good thing about them is they -- every -- their administrative costs are underwritten by Cablevision, so every single dollar goes to the research. And, you know, that's just the kind of organization you want to work with.

It's always important for me to give back. It's one of the things that, you know, you learn in this particular movie. You learn in "Unconditional," it's important to give back. This is just another way for me to do that. MALVEAUX: The last time you and I talked, everybody wanted to know about your dating life. So we want to know how you're giving back. Ladies want to know what's up.

EALY: I'm good.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm good. I mean, I'm good. I'm still around.

MALVEAUX: Still around.

EALY: You know what I learned about you, though?

MALVEAUX: What did you learn about me?

EALY: I looked at your Twitter feed.

MALVEAUX: Oh, OK.

EALY: You aspired to be a "Soul Train" dancer. Is that true?

MALVEAUX: That is true. I did.

EALY: Really?

MALVEAUX: So if you have a dancing part in your next movie, I'm up for it.

EALY: You want one?

MALVEAUX: Yes, of course.

(LAUGHTER)

EALY: We'll make it happen.

MALVEAUX: We'll see.

EALY: OK.

MALVEAUX: Michael, good to see you as always.

EALY: You, too.

MALVEAUX: In Israel, the zoo stocked with animals from Bible stories. We're going to take a look.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Several stories caught our attention today, photos as well. In Jerusalem, a Palestinian family looks at penguins at the Jerusalem Biblical Zoo. The zoo was created 72 years ago. The idea at the time was to collect all types of animals that are mentioned in the Bible. And Karachi Pakistan, a family enjoying a camel ride on the beach. It is tradition to plan family trips like this one during the Eid festival at the end of Ramadan.

When Rosie O'Donnell had the symptoms of a heart attack last week, what did she do? Well, she took an aspirin. That's it. She didn't call 911. We're going to talk to Sanjay Gupta about whether or not that was the right thing to do.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: Kids between the ages of 8 and 12 were honored guests at the White House. They were winners of a healthy lunch recipe contest.

Joining us from Washington, 9-year-old aspiring chef, Madeleine and her mom, Debra.

Thanks for joining us.

DEBRA STEPPEL, MADELEINE'S MOTHER: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Madeleine, congratulations, you and your mom. Tell us, what was your recipe that won you the trip.

MADELEINE STEPPEL, ASPIRING CHILD CHEF: Fish chowder with a feta salad.

MALVEAUX: How did you figure that out? What inspired you?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: I know I love soup, so I wanted to do a soup so I wanted to do a soup. When I went into a cook book called "Celebrate Virginia," I looked what the state beverage of Virginia was and it was milk and the first soup that came to my head that had milk in it was chowder.

MALVEAUX: Nice. Really nice.

Mom, what do you think of the chowder? Do you like it?

DEBRA STEPPEL: Her chowder is fantastic. We really enjoyed eating it in our own family and for guests we served it to as well.

MALVEAUX: Madeleine, tell me what was it like to be at the White House. Were you able to meet the first lady and the president?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Yes. And what was it like?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: It was really cool.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: Did she say she liked your recipe?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Yes.

MALVEAUX: Did you get a chance to meet other young chefs?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Yes, 53 others.

MALVEAUX: Did anybody else have any kind of chowder recipe or you're the only one?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: I was the only chowder, but there were a couple other soups.

MALVEAUX: What was that like to walk into the White House?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: It was really amazing. Some of the people had Marine bands. The bands were playing on the side as we walked in.

MALVEAUX: Wow. Did you get a chance to see Bo, the dog?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Yes. He ran across the lawn.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: That's pretty cool.

Mom, how did Madeleine get involved in cooking here? Does she cook for the family?

DEBRA STEPPEL: She's been cooking since she was two and a half. She's attended several cooking camps. And every Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthday, the non-celebrating parent enjoys with both of our kids to celebrate the occasion with a special meal. We have the entire meal cooked as a surprise for Mother's Day, Father's Day and birthdays. That's a really fun cooking experience that our kids have always enjoyed.

MALVEAUX: Madeleine, I understand you went to a cheese camp where you learned to make mozzarella cheese.

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Yes, I did.

(LAUGHTER)

MALVEAUX: What did you tell the first lady when you saw her?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: I told her I was really glad to see her and I was really excited for that day.

MALVEAUX: OK. Madeleine, I know that you're taking Japanese lessons. Can you say anything to us, like good-bye?

MADELEINE STEPPEL: Sayonara.

MALVEAUX: Sayonara. All right, you got that right.

(LAUGHTER)

Nice to see you both. Thanks for joining us.

DEBRA STEPPEL: Thank you for having us.

MALVEAUX: OK.

Comedian Rosie O'Donnell says she is happy to be alive after a heart attack last week. She revealed what happened on her blog yesterday.

I want to bring in our Dr. Sanjay Gupta to explain this.

Wow. This was very surprising and a little shocking how this all came about, but what actually happened to her?

DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: It's an interesting and important story. She was walking to a parking lot, she says, and she heard someone calling out for help. It was a woman stuck in her help. In fact, Rosie went and helped this woman get out of the car. A few hours later, Rosie O'Donnell said she had some vague pain. She had pain in her arms and a bit in her chest. She felt clammy and nauseated.

She wasn't sure what was going on but she did decide to take an aspirin. That's something she learned about at some point along the way. She didn't call 911 and she reprimanded herself for that in the blog you just talked about. The next morning, she calls her cardiologist, goes into the doctor's office and gets an EKG, and they discovered she probably had a heart attack. At that point, they send her for a procedure known as a heart catherization to look at the blood vessels around the heart.

MALVEAUX: How serious was it?

GUPTA: It was potentially very serious in that when they did that catherization they found one of the major blood vessels that supplies blood to the heart was 99 percent blocked. They typically call this -- this speaks to the gender issue. They call this the widow maker because it would cause people to become widowed very quickly.

That, you just saw, is what he had done, a stint placed. They go in and open the blood vessel and place a stint in there to hold it open.

When someone says they had a heart attack there was some loss of heart tissue. The heart tissue died. But obviously, it wasn't significant to the point where she had to be further hospitalized.

MALVEAUX: Explain to us why she didn't exhibit symptoms that you normally think of with a heart attack. You're grabbing your chest and this sort of thing.

GUPTA: Right. I'll preface by saying, symptoms can be anything in anybody, man and woman alike. I always say, if you are at risk of heart disease, a family history or you think you're worried about heart disease because of your own physical attributes, then if you're having unusual symptoms, get it checked out.

Having said that, there are some things that more common. For example, in men, it's sort of what you described, usually more likely to be the crushing chest pain. Take a look, Suzanne, at the list for woman -- shortness of breath, nausea, vomiting, back pain. Back pain is so common. If it comes on all of a sudden, and you're at risk of heart disease, that's something you shouldn't ignore. Even flu-like symptoms could be a precursor.

MALVEAUX: Good advice.

Thank you, Sanjay.

GUPTA: Thank you.

MALVEAUX: Appreciate it.

We're going to have to go to a break.

GUPTA: OK.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

MALVEAUX: When it comes to Ireland's music scene, here is what is topping the charts.

(SINGING)

MALVEAUX: I love this. This is the group Monsters and Men. You have to love the video, too. Their new single, "Little Talk." The group is from Iceland. The song is at number one in Ireland. It's also number seven on the Billboard rock chart right here in the United States.

CNN NEWSROOM continues with Brooke Baldwin.

BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Suzanne, thank you.