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On Alert For Tropical Storm Isaac; Middle Class Shrinking; Mystery No-HIV AIDS Sickens Asians; Hanging On For Life Here; "Hanging On For Life Here"; On Alert For Tropical Storm Isaac; Anti-Obama Doc Is Fandango's Number One; Tips For U.S. Troops In Afghanistan; Tanks Explode In Syria Street Fight; Rainstorm Washes Van Off Road; Tanker Crash Under Investigation; Plane Lands On Highway Median; Brew-Ha-Ha Over White House Beer
Aired August 23, 2012 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: An already vulnerable Haiti is in the storm's path. It could devastate thousands of people who are still living in tents after the deadly earthquake in 2010. CNN's Gary Tuchman in Port au Prince right now for us.
Gary, how are people preparing should the storm hit?
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Don, a lot of concern here. And there should be a lot of concern, mainly because there are still an estimated 400,000 people who live in tents after the catastrophic earthquake two and a half years ago. So you have all these people who are just living outside. A lot of them have no knowledge whatsoever that either a tropical storm or a hurricane is expected to hit here tomorrow. They don't have TVs. They don't have the Internet. Most don't have radios. So there are people who we're talking to who are saying, what, there's a storm coming?
It's actually beautiful and sunny right now, and that's something we see time and time again when we cover these storms. But that's a lot of concern. This is a country, Don, that's been devastated from hurricanes and tropical storms over the decades, but there hasn't been a major tropical storm or hurricane since the earthquake that killed 300,000 people. So a lot of concern here in Haiti as Isaac starts coming close to this nation.
LEMON: So, Gary, you're talking about the people there. What about officials? Are they prepared for this?
TUCHMAN: You know, they've set up shelters. They're doing the best they can. And I have to make it very clear, you know, I've been here, I think, 12 times since the earthquake. Things are looking much better in Haiti right now. A lot of construction's been done. There's certainly still a lot of debris. There are people who live in the streets, but there used to be a million people who live in the streets. Now it's 400,000. So things look a lot better.
Nevertheless, there's no possible way of having enough shelters for the people who need shelters. So there's a lot of concern that this could be a very devastating event. Even if it's just a strong tropical storm, it could be devastating. Keep in mind, the earthquake was 7.0. In most places, a 7.0 earthquake wouldn't cause the devastation that it caused here. But because things aren't built well here, because there's lots of potential for an infrastructure that is just not developed, that's why in earthquakes, that's why in hurricanes you have this devastation here.
LEMON: Absolutely. All right, we'll keep watch. Thank you very much, Gary Tuchman.
I want to go now to our severe weather expert, Chad Myers. He's also tracking this for us.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
LEMON: Chad, this can become a hurricane soon.
MYERS: Yes. Probably tonight.
LEMON: Tonight?
MYERS: Yes, it's in very warm water. It's getting more organized. It's only 40 mile per hour, so it has a long way to go. Almost double the strength to get here.
Here's Haiti.
LEMON: Right.
MYERS: Here's the DR, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and Port au Prince. Fly you right into Port au Prince. And I'm going to show you these tent cities, because I don't think you're going to believe what you see. Obviously just a regular Google Earth. Here's the palace. These are all people. Every one of those dots, blue, white, or whatever color --
LEMON: Tent cities.
MYERS: That's a tent that's either canvas or plastic.
LEMON: Yes.
MYERS: Keep moving, Monica (ph), we have so much farther to go. There are literally -- the latest number that I heard this morning, 415,000 people still living in canvas or plastic.
LEMON: Goodness.
MYERS: And that's a small one. This is one of the larger ones. This is one of the ones that Sean Penn visits all the time. You see him on TV all the time. Looks at the number -- this looks like a regular neighborhood. These are only about 8 x 10 foot tents. And you think, oh, that's -- it goes from here to here. Almost every public place has a tent up somehow. Every public park, every soccer field has a tent city just like this.
LEMON: And, of course, the models are only for how long? We don't know how -- if it's going to hit Tampa, if it's going to hit Haiti, but it's showing -- it's tracking towards Haiti now, but it may not hit Tampa.
MYERS: You know, because we're so close to Haiti, it's going to hit something.
LEMON: Right.
MYERS: Right. That cone isn't very large here in Haiti. It may go over the DR border. It may go a little bit south. But that's really bad for Haiti anyway because the winds are going to be coming this way, right over the mountain and right into Port au Prince.
Now, as you get farther away, obviously, that cone gets larger and that Tampa name has been thrown around so much. Middle of this line, about 100 miles away from Tampa, could be in the Gulf of Mexico headed to New Orleans, could be in the Atlantic headed to the Carolinas. That's how many days we are away. Five more days to talk about this. Just keep watching. Be ready. It's all bad news. It is.
LEMON: Thank you very much, Chad Myers. We appreciate it.
MYERS: You're welcome, Don.
LEMON: You know, and he just talked about Tampa. With Isaac threatening to hit Florida, folks are preparing for the very worst. There are stores like this one that you're about to see in Miami, there it is, all ready in for a slew of customers who will be stocking up on the essentials that they need. And we're just four days away from the Republican Convention in Tampa and Florida Governor Rick Scott taking no chances when it comes to protection and security.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Florida has a lot of experience dealing with hurricanes. We're going to be prepared for Isaac in the event it does impact our state, in the event it does become a hurricane. Isaac's a unique storm in this regard. It has the potential to threaten a major convention, designate it a special national security event. That's why I have convened local, state, federal, and convention officials for a twice-daily briefing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Rick Scott. In addition to keeping folks aware of the situation, police on guard as the feds worn anarchists could try and use explosives to block roads and shut down the transit system.
Of course, CNN will have live coverage of the Republican National Convention. It will begin Monday in Tampa, Florida. Anderson Cooper, Erin Burnett, Candy Crowley will join Wolf Blitzer to lead coverage each evening starting at 7:00 Eastern right here on CNN.
More news developing this hour, so roll it!
A mysterious disease baffling doctors. AIDS-like symptoms, but no HIV. And the infection targets one specific group. It's been called the forgotten war. As the Pentagon reminds Americans, more than 80,000 troops are still in Afghanistan. From the candidates -- crickets (ph).
And, did you know the White House brews its own beer? And now some are demanding the Obama administration share its secret.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: All right. Well, you know people, I know people, we all know people who may have been comfortable once upon a time, but now are struggling to make ends meet, clinging to their middle class lifestyles. Today, the numbers are out to prove that America's middle class is shrinking. Take a look, my friends. Here it is. 1971. The middle class constituted 61 percent of America, 61 percent. Now fast forward to 2011. The middle class had shrunk to barely half the population, 51 percent. Middle class defined in this study by the Pew Research Center has incomes ranging between $39,000 a year to $118,000 a year for a family of three.
We're going to talk about this in just a moment. What does this mean for America? Are we truly becoming a nation of haves or have- nots? We'll have that conversation.
First, I want to briefly share one American's story. A woman trying to claw her way into the middle class, as so many Americans have before her. A woman in New York City. Let's watch and listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NYA BISHOP, DAYCARE PROVIDER: I watch children inside of my home actually making $26 a day because I watch two kids.
Daily rate is $13. Right now I'm in need of anything. So, to me, $561 could help me.
I get paid once a month. It feels like a lot when I get it, but it's gone within the second or third day.
My American dream? Being wealthy one day. Lavish houses, cars. That's it. Seeing my child do good in life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Since that video was shot August 6th, Nya Bishop left her apartment in the Bronx with her four young -- her four-year-old child, I should say. She was facing eviction. Joining us now from New York, Rick Newman of "U.S. News & World Report." And we call upon Rick to talk about all things money.
So, Rick, welcome. This study, though, shouldn't surprise anybody. Don't we all have a sense the middle class is shrinking?
RICK NEWSMAN, "U.S. NEWS & WORLD REPORT": You're right, Don. This study basically puts in one place a lot of details we've been hearing about in piecemeal fashion for the last three or four years, and it confirms what a lot of Americans already know. I mean a lot of people know that they're underwater on their mortgage and their net worth has fallen. They know that it's getting harder to get ahead. They know that their incomes are down. They know that they're falling behind in terms of inflation. So we now have a lot of data, all in one place, that says, yes, if you've been feeling this way, you're not imaging things. You're absolutely right.
LEMON: You know, both presidential candidates, Rick, have made the middle class a focus of their campaigns. I want to listen to both of them, but first let's listen to President Obama speaking this month in Orlando.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Four years ago, I promised to cut middle class taxes. That's exactly what I did. By a total of about $3,600 for the typical family. Now I want to keep income taxes exactly where they are on the first $250,000 of everybody's income tax. So if you're a family that makes under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families do, you won't see your income taxes increase by a single dime next year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right. You heard him, Rick, taxes, income taxes. He said the words a number of times. So the president's pitch to the middle class centered, is it not, on taxes?
NEWMAN: It's centered on taxes and on just trying to make everybody feel a little bit better, I think. Taxes clearly are a big battle in this election. And the middle class, polls show that Obama has a big edge among middle class voters. But he's also got a problem because as this recent report from Pew and other reports have pointed out, you know, everybody fell behind a little bit during the recession. That's no surprise. But the recession ended in 2009. And middle class people have continued to fall even further behind during this so-called recovery. So that's a big problem for Obama because he has to explain to voters why people really have not been doing much better under his policies, even though the recession supposedly ended three years ago.
LEMON: OK, let's listen to Mitt Romney, now, Rick, August 11th in Norfolk, Virginia. Roll it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: To strengthen the middle class, we'll provide our workers and our children with the skills to succeed. We'll cut the deficit, have trade that works for America, and champion small business. And finally, we'll unleash our energy resources to achieve North American energy independence.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: So, Rick, compare and contrast the two men's approach to us -- for us now. NEWMAN: Well, you heard -- we heard some generalities there from Mitt Romney. I don't think those ideas are getting a lot of traction with voters. The polls show that those ideas are not really catching on and that's why we're seeing Romney run against Obama's policy. And even more than that, running against Obama's record. And Paul Ryan in particular has been saying that for a long time and now he's saying, look, he's been -- he's put together a budget that is different and he says better than Obama's. So that's an alternative plan.
We're finally at least getting some alternatives to the Obama policies, which we haven't really had up until now. So that's something voters can think about. But I think a lot of people are scratching their heads here, Don, and saying, you know, we actually had policies similar to Romney's under President Bush for eight years, and now we've had Obama's policies, and nothing seems to be working. So maybe this really isn't a political problem. Maybe this is a problem that's more endemic to the nature of the economy and what's happening in the world right now. And maybe this is somewhat beyond the ability of any president to fix.
LEMON: Well, and -- but maybe there's room in there for the two candidates to hone their message -- messages and actually do something. Fifty-two percent, 42 percent, nobody has an overwhelming majority. So --
NEWMAN: Yes, that's right.
LEMON: You know, some may see that half full, half empty.
Rick Newman, appreciate it, sir. Thank you.
NEWMAN: Yes. Thanks.
LEMON: A mysterious disease with AIDS-like symptoms baffling doctors and impacting a specific group of people. We'll investigate, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: A new kind of AIDS baffling health officials. And when I say AIDS, I mean just what it standards for, Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome. Now, this mystery illness weakens immune systems just like the disease we all know about, but there's no virus, there's no HIV. The other huge difference here, it is not contagious.
And right now doctors have mainly seen it in Asian people. The "New England Journal of Medicine" reports on what it calls adult onset immunodeficiency in its latest issue. I'm going to turn now to Dr. Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, which collaborated in researching this phenomenon.
Doctor, welcome. Does this mystery -- what does this do, this mystery illness? And it looks like HIV, but it's not.
DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATL. INSTITUTE OF ALLERGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES: Well, what -- the similarity to HIV is that the people who are afflicted with this disorder get these complicating infections that are very similar to some of the infections that people whose body's defenses are destroyed by HIV get. So that's where the similarity is.
The difference is that it is not caused by an underlying virus like HIV. It's a very interesting phenomenon that was a puzzle for a while, but then investigators at the NIH and elsewhere were able to study these individuals and find out that interestingly their body makes a protein, an anti-body, against a particular component that is very important in protecting you and me from infections. And the body makes it for reasons we don't understand. It's called auto-immunity. Namely making an inappropriate, aberrant response against a protein that you need to protect yourself against infection. And that's the reason why these individuals who were studied in Thailand and in Taiwan are actually getting these infections that very closely resemble the complicating infections of HIV infection --
LEMON: OK, doctor, Thailand and Taiwan, and it's been mostly Asian people, but that's not a certainty?
FAUCI: No, it's not. I mean, this is where the cases were first recognized. And because it was such a puzzle, we were asked here at NIH, some of our scientists, were asked to help study those individuals. It's pretty well confined to Asian people in those countries, even though most of the people in those countries obviously are of Asian background. So there's a strong likelihood that this is a combination of a genetic component, as well as an environmental component. The next thing to study, obviously, is Asian people who live in other countries.
LEMON: Well, there had been people here in the U.S. --
FAUCI: So is there something about that area of the world?
LEMON: Haven't there been people here in the U.S., Asians here?
FAUCI: Right. We've not -- oh, we have many, many Asians, obviously. We've not seen this in this country. That doesn't mean that it might not occur. It likely will be not -- certainly not a public health phenomenon in the sense of a threat the way HIV was. This is acquired. And it's not transmissible and it's not an infection. But I would not be surprised if we --
LEMON: So, doctor --
FAUCI: Yes?
LEMON: There have been no cases here? Am I wrong? I thought there were at least a handful or a couple of cases of Asian Americans. No? Not at all?
FAUCI: Yes -- yes -- well, they have not been reported in that study.
LEMON: OK. FAUCI: So the question is, if there are in this country, then we need to investigate them in the same way that we investigated the people who were, in fact, from Taiwan and from Thailand.
LEMON: Gotcha. OK, so, listen, then should there be some concern about it -- you know, people getting it from other countries and it coming in, cross-communication or what have you? Is there any concern with that, that it's going to spread beyond Asia?
FAUCI: No. There's not any concern that this is a communicable disease that could spread the way an infectious disease would spread. This is an acquired disease that is not infectious and not communicable. So at this point in time, there's no reason to believe that this is going to be a threat, certainly not in the United States. We certainly want to monitor and see if Asian people who live in the United States wind up with cases such as this, but that's not something that currently is a threat at all and we don't anticipate it to be a threat.
LEMON: I have to run, but no -- you have no clear number on the people who have died, right?
FAUCI: No. No. No clear number.
LEMON: All right, Dr. Anthony Fauci, thank you so much. Appreciate your time.
President Barack Obama touts a green energy plan. Early in his administration, he met Bill Keith (ph), who has a small business making solar fans. Now Keith needs help from the White House and all he's hearing is silence. A CNN investigation is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Here's a story that is both maddening no matter which side of the political aisle that you're on. Any day now Bill Keith could lose his small Indiana business. How he got here, after being something of a poster boy for the White House and its green energy policy, well, it's a story of politics and international intrigue. Here's CNN's Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATIONS UNIT CORRESPONDENT: Basically we're in your garage.
BILL KEITH, PRESIDENT OF SUNRISE SOLAR, INC.: Right. Yes, this is where I started.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Bill Keith was just a roofer 10 years ago when he got the idea for this -- a solar-powered attic fan that he dreamed up and actually made in this northwest Indiana garage.
GRIFFIN (on camera): And that just pumps hot air out of your attic.
KEITH: It just pumps hot air out of your attic. So if I take it out in the sun --
GRIFFIN: Let's do this. Yes.
KEITH: As soon as it starts sensing sunlight -- so it doesn't even have to be right in the direct sunlight. As soon as it starts sensing it, it starts going.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Drawing hot air out of your attic, lowering your cooling bills, and using only the sun's energy to do it.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Sales have been good, obviously?
KEITH: Yes. I think my first year we did $39,000 in sales. And it wasn't enough to cover all the expenses and it kind of grew to where, you know, we probably our peak was a little over $2 million.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): He's one of those small business all- American stories, developing green energy jobs that a new administration pushing green energy just couldn't resist.
KEITH: I got a call from the guy from the White House on a Saturday night at 7:00 on my cell phone saying, you know, this is Greg Nelson from the White House. And I was like, yeah right, who is it really, you know? And he said, no, we'd like to invite you to Obama's town hall meeting.
GRIFFIN (on camera): That's where you asked a question?
KEITH: Yes. When I asked the question --
Thank you, President Obama. I'm Bill Keith from Sunrise Solar. I manufacture a solar-powered attic fan right here in Indiana.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): With that one town hall appearance, Bill Keith became a White House solar superstar.
KEITH: Can you come to Washington, can you come to Philadelphia, Vice President Biden is doing this?
GRIFFIN: Each time asked to talk about his green energy business. But now the half-dozen jobs Bill Keith created out of this garage are about to be lost.
KEITH: This is the good stuff here.
GRIFFIN (on camera): Uh-huh. And this has been working for how long for you?
KEITH: Five-plus years now.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): This is the customized solar panel Keith needs to power his fans, but they are put together in Hong Kong. It is the only part of this fan that is not made in the USA. The plastic is from Indiana. The motor is from Chicago. The wires from New Jersey. The steel brackets, they're made just down the street.
KEITH: South Bend.
GRIFFIN (on camera): OK.
KEITH: You know, see, even my boxes are made here. And, you know, I -- the only thing that I can't get made here, and I've tried for 10 years, but the only thing is, is the panel.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): And that is suddenly a big problem. His customized solar panel assembled in Hong Kong is now part of a big business, big-time trade dispute between the U.S. and China. The Obama administration is trying to protect big U.S. solar panel companies from having to compete with cheaper solar panels made in China. And President Obama has placed a 250 percent tax on the very solar panels Bill Keith needs to keep his fans and his business running. This notice from U.S. Customs advised him the solar panels he imported in May will face the full import tariff.
KEITH: Let's just take the small one. Let's say 250 percent, right? So 2.5 -- that's $270,000 that I would have to come up with out of my pocket to pay customs and border. These guys are going to put me out of business. And I don't have any help. I've been trying to get help. No one can -- no one will help me.
GRIFFIN: Last month Keith decided to play his political card, writing to what he thought was his personal contact at the White House, Greg Nelson at the Office of Public Engagement. Under the subject line, "hanging on for life here," Keith asked, "can you help me before I have to close my doors and let everyone go? Please. I'm pleading with you." The response from Gregory Nelson at the White House, Office of Public Engagement, "Thanks for bringing it to my attention. I don't know what is possible, but let me talk to a few folks ASAP. Will circle back soon." It's been nearly a month.
Late this afternoon, CNN did receive this e-mail from the White House basically stating the tariff highlights the degree to which solar panel manufacturers have faced unfair competition from countries like China.
And the president's move to impose a tax on Chinese-made goods is a way to establish a level playing field with china for American businesses and workers. The e-mail did not address how it was going to help Obama's former solar superstar to save his business.
(on camera): This is the kicker.
KEITH: Yes.
GRIFFIN: You were the star?
KEITH: I know. It's a little disheartening. Actually, it's hard for me to look at it. I thought about taking it down. I got swept up into this parade around Washington, D.C., invited multiple times. I was like, why am I getting invited?
I'll show you tickets I get, invited to events, I get White House Christmas cards, and even a letter from the White House. I don't have my glasses on, Drew, but that last line there, what does that say?
GRIFFIN: Please stay in touch with suggestions that will help us, help you win the future. That's the guy, I think, that hasn't talked to you in a month.
KEITH: Yes. Yes, disheartening.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Keith says he once believed President Obama was on the side of small business and understood what it took to keep garages like his open. Now on the brink of having to close his doors, lay off a half dozen or so workers, he can't even get anyone in the White House to answer an e-mail.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: There he is, Drew Griffin joins me now. Why can't Bill Keith, that's his name, right? Why can't he get those panels made here in the U.S.?
GRIFFIN: You know, he's tried, tried time and again. In fact, when he started out his business, Don, he had a maker in Michigan. But that solar panel maker said, Bill, we're not going to make these small custom jobs anymore, go elsewhere.
So he went to New York, got a company in New York. They were garbage. He couldn't keep the fans working. So he eventually got hooked up with this company in Hongkong, which for five years has been making just what he needs and they work.
LEMON: Why can't he import it without taxes?
GRIFFIN: Well, that's what we're caught up in. The Obama administration wants to make a fair playing field, right, for the large solar panel manufacturers here in the U.S.
The government feels like we're unfairly competing with China, which is subsidizing the market, flooding the market, has cheap labor costs over there.
So the Obama administration is trying to give the American big solar panel market a leg up. The problem is, the big solar panel market isn't what we're talking about.
He needs this one little part to put the power on his 95 percent American-made product so he can finish it. And he just can't find anyone to make it here.
LEMON: And of course, these days when you talk about solar energy or green energy, you know what comes to mind.
GRIFFIN: Yes.
LEMON: Solyndra.
GRIFFIN: Solyndra.
LEMON: But unlike Solyndra, he wasn't getting any government loans or grants.
GRIFFIN: And this is what is so frustrating. Here's a guy who basically mortgaged his house, started his business, got going, he gets no subsidy, no tax break. He says his tax rate really is about 40 percent.
You know, we're talking about all these tax rates in the presidential race. His is about 40 percent. He sees Solyndra, a company that gets a half billion dollar government loan that just takes the money and goes under, and it infuriates him.
All he wants to do is be left alone, let him import his little product that no one in the U.S. will make so he can continue to be this home grown business.
LEMON: We just did the story about the middle class shrinking, I want to talk about helping the middle class, may want to start there, right. Thank you very much, Drew Griffin. We appreciate it.
OK, let's move on and talk about Florida, because this is more politics because this thing could hit Florida. The state of Florida along with Haiti on alert as a tropical storm comes barrelling north. Chad Myers, where do we stand now? What's the latest?
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: The latest, Don, is that it's still a 40-mile-per-hour storm and it is not getting more organized, yet. It's in very warm water, not much shear, which means not a lot of wind blowing it apart and it will get bigger tonight and will make a run for Haiti for tomorrow.
And that is a city, a town, a country that's in ruin from an earthquake, 400,000 people still living in the streets in tents, plastic and canvas. There's Port-Au-Prince right there. Moving west- northwest at 15 miles per hour.
It will continue in that direction and eventually turn over Cuba, and days away, Don, I understand, but the cone centered over probably the keys and that eventually anywhere from the Carolinas back over towards Louisiana, that's a number one.
That means a Category 1 hurricane. If, in fact, this storm does not spend so much time over land down here, especially Cuba, this will be a much bigger than Category 1 hurricane as it makes its approach to the U.S.
LEMON: And of course, we're keeping an eye on Haiti and Tampa, but Haiti, of course, more vulnerable. Thank you, Chad Myers. We appreciate that.
Just a short time ago, Mitt Romney talked about his energy plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I will set a national goal of America and North America, North American energy independence by 2020. North American energy independence by 2020.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: How he plans to do it? Well, that is next. Plus, fan Fandango, the internet company that sells movie tickets says the top seller right now is a movie that President Obama's probably not going to like.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Mitt Romney, out on the campaign trail today, offering up an energy plan a few hours ago in New Mexico. Romney revealed his plan for energy independence, but I want you to listen closely. This isn't the for U.S. Independence, it's for North America energy independence.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROMNEY: Number three, I'm going to establish an energy partnership with Canada and Mexico. We need to work together with these guys, work collaboratively. And we need to have a fast track process to make sure that infrastructure projects are approved. And particularly we're going to get that Keystone pipeline built as one of those first infrastructure projects to take advantage of their resources.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Romney's plan has little in terms of renewable fuels, like wind and solar, which are major parts of President Obama's energy policy. Of course, we know the convention is coming up.
CNN will kick off its coverage of the Republican National Convention Sunday night, 8:00 p.m. Eastern, with a profile of the presumptive presidential nominee, "Romney Reveal: Family, Faith, And The Road To Power."
It will be followed by a preview of the convention itself at 9:30 p.m., and on Monday, live coverage of the Tampa, Florida convention begins at 7:00 p.m. Eastern, of course, right here on CNN.
All right, let's talk Fandango, shall we? You know the web site where you can buy film tickets. Why mention movies in our political block?
Because right now Fandango's top seller is a conservative documentary critical of President Obama. It's beating out action heroes and animated flicks for that spot.
According to the web site, "2016: Obama's America" aims to answer the question, if the president wins a second term, where will we be in 2016.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For a long time, I sat between the two graves and wept. The pain I felt was my father's pain. My questions were my brother's questions, their struggle, my birth rights.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama has a dream. A dream from his father, that the sins of colonialism be set right and America be downsized.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: All right, so as of this afternoon, "2016" was 35 percent, 35 percent of Fandango's ticket sales. And one place with a reported huge turnout is New York City.
So why am I mentioning that? Because that makes some industry watchers wonder if people are mistakenly thinking they're seeing a pro-Obama film, since they're assuming that New Yorkers are pro-Obama, I guess.
Insider attacks on the rise in Afghanistan, and the Pentagon giving some troops advice on being ready to fight.
Plus, a man who turned his knee to get around into a business, helping others.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: U.S. troops have a paper weapon to help defend themselves against insider attacks from Afghan security forces, those so-called green-on-blue attacks. It's a pamphlet called "Inside the Wire Threats: Afghanistan Green and Blue."
According to a Defense Department official, the pamphlet advises U.S. and coalition troops to keep their weapons within arms' reach at all times even meals.
Unarmed troops at meetings or dining halls have been vulnerable in the past. Also, it says troops under attack should not wake for backup, just resolve the situation.
General John Allen talked about green-on-blue attacks in today's Afghanistan briefing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GENERAL JOHN ALLEN, COMMANDER, U.S. FORCES, AFGHANISTAN: We think the reasons for these attacks are complex. Some of them, we do believe, are about infiltration, impersonation, coercion, but some of them, and we think that's about 25 percent or so.
But some of them are about disagreements, animosity, which may have grown between the individual shooter and our forces in general or a particular grievance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Defense Department officials say the U.S. believes 40 percent of recent attacks by Afghan security forces are due by Afghan members' own combat or emotional stress. Fifteen percent stemmed from insurgency recruiting or intimidation. The civil war in Syria is as bloody as ever today. Another 155 people were killed as Syrians fight against a government that's shown the world it will murder its own people to stay in power. Most of the deaths, 68, took place if Damascus, the capital. And to the north, five people died in the violence in the suburbs of Hama.
Anti-government fighters blew up several tanks and armored carriers after attacking a military base. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video. The uprising against the Assad government is now in its 18th month.
In today's "Human Factors," a true made-in-America success story. Ralph Braun was told he wouldn't live past his teen years. Well, he defied those odds, started his own company in his hometown, and today has clients all over the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta has his story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Each day you'll find Ralph Braun at the headquarters of the company he founded in the 1970s, the Braun Corporation.
He's been in business 40 years and he has clients around the globe. But such a successful future seemed unlikely when he was diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in 1946.
RALPH BRAUN, CEO/FOUNDER, THE BRAUN CORPORATION: My parents were told that I would probably not live past my teens.
GUPTA: Braun grew up in rural Winnemucca, Indiana. He says back then there were no sidewalks and people like Braun were not welcomed.
BRAUN: The disabled people were looked at in the '40s and early '50s or whatever, as most the time they should just be sitting in a closet or whatever.
GUPTA: His way of becoming successful was born out of necessity. By that time, Braun was unable to walk, but he needed to be able to get to and from work. So he tapped his love of engineering, cobbled together random parts, and created a scooter so he could get on the road. The year was 1963.
BRAUN: The 3-wheel scooters that you see today in the supermarkets and where ever were not -- there wasn't such a thing. So I built the first four-wheeler, which I call Frankenstein, then I built the second one, which was the three-wheeler, which was the bride of.
GUPTA: Today his company manufactures several thousand wheelchair-accessible vehicles and lifts every year and Braun is improving the lives of many people just like him, all over the world. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE) LEMON: Rescue crews work quickly when heavy rains cause flash flooding. And the president has a secret and some people are demanding some answers. They want to know what it is. One clue that has to do with beer.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Going to tell you what's happening around the country. Right now, heavy rain pounds parts of Arizona causing flooding that swept this van right off the road this morning. That's Scottsdale, Arizona.
Two people were trapped inside that van. Water continued to rise after rescuers arrived, reaching 3 feet high. Look at that. They're in a backhoe, getting people out.
Emergency crews used a cherry picker to reach the driver and the disabled passenger and pull them out of a window, luckily, to safety. That's a lot of water.
And there's a giant mess on the interstate in Louisiana. Whoa! Baton Rouge fire crews deliberately set off that explosion to deal with a tanker leaking flammable liquid.
It sent a huge fireball right into the air. The controlled burn was a success. All lanes of Interstate 10 now reopened after being shut down for almost 24 hours.
Rush hour in Florida ends with a small plane turning a highway into an emergency runway actually, the median of that highway. The single-engine plane was carrying three people when it started losing altitude over Hillsborough County.
The plane was losing oil pressure and the pilot couldn't do anything, but put it down along Interstate 75. Guess what? Nobody was hurt, nobody.
All right, remember President Obama's beer summit? Now the commander in chief has his own brew and some are the demanding that the White House cough up the top-secret recipe. I want to know.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Is this a national security secret? Not sure, but the White House has a secret beer recipe. And thousands of people want the brewer in chief to give it up!
The home brew is called White House honey ale, the White House honey ale. President Obama reportedly first served it as his 2011 Super Bowl party. Several groups have filed freedom of information requests, demanding the White House release the recipe.
So the brew controversy bubbled up during today's White House briefing. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Does the White House have any plans to release its beer recipes?
JAY CARNEY, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: Not that I'm aware of. It's true that -- it's true I don't always bring water out here. I'm not aware of any plans at this time to divulge the --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The freedom of information act filed on this issue.
CARNEY: I'll have to take the question, examine it, and taste it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Mr. Obama, the people demand some answers. So White House correspondent Brianna Keilar, we sent her to find some. She has more now on this brewing controversy.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): -- the White House, President Obama has thrown back more than a few beers. There was the infamous White House beer summit, with a Harvard professor and the police officer who arrested him, a visit to a pub in Obama's ancestral hometown of Monigall, Ireland.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: I am very impressed. It is delicious.
KEILAR: This past St. Patrick's Day in Washington.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Cheers!
KEILAR: And most recently --
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Bud lights all the way around.
KEILAR: -- At the Iowa State Fair. Prompting the crowd to alter the normal four more years chant to this --
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Four more beers! It is ice cold and tasty.
KEILAR: On that trip to Iowa, the president told a voter his campaign bus is stocked with a special beer brewed at the White House. Now beer enthusiasts want the recipe.
They're urging its release on the White House website and one blog has even filed a freedom of information act request to get it.
(on camera): Do you think the White House should release its recipe?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Definitely.
KEILAR (voice-over): Jay Irizarry is co-founder of Chocolate City Beer Brewery, one of the few microbreweries in Washington, located just 3.5 miles from the White House.
(on camera): What does that mean if the recipe is released? What happens?
JAY IRAZARRY, CO-FOUNDER, CHOCOLATE CITY BEER: People will probably clone it, which will be fine. Everybody will be like, Mr. Obama, look what I'm drinking. Your honey ale or whatever he's drinking, I guess.
KEILAR (voice-over): There are three kinds of beer brewed at the White House. According to this blog, Obama foodorama, White House honey ale, White House honey blond, and White House honey porter, made with honey from the beehives on the south lawn. All this hoisting of suds is good politics too. It's supposed to make the president easier for voters to relate to.
IRIZARRY: It's good to see Obama drinking beer. You know like President Bush hunting, that relates to a lot of people this the one's pretty much across the board. From Washington State to Florida, Maine to California, everyone's drinking beer.
KEILAR: But not everyone's drinking the White House beer. And as the effort to uncover the recipes heats up, even the White House press corps has weighed in.
IRIZARRY: The white hops isn't bad. If it was a white beer, maybe he should go looking into more of a wheat beer style because then he could have bit house or something like that. That would be cool.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So standing right -- she's not on the White House lawn, but at the White House now with samples, I hope she's tried, live from Washington, Brianna Keilar. You know, we know the political spin on this. People want a candidate that they can drink a beer with like, regular guy or gal.
KEILAR: You know, I wish I had samples. Perhaps I should have stolen Jay Carney's cup from the briefing today. No, I mean, I think -- I think they kind of do it just sort of speaks to a person's universal appeal, and something like beer, which is obviously a very accessible drink and a lot of people drink it, it just kind of makes someone seem like an everyday kind of guy or gal, for a candidate, yes.
LEMON: All right. So what about the Republican side? What about Mr. Ryan, Mr. Romney and their beer etiquette or beer choice?
KEILAR: That's the thing. Mitt Romney, as you know, does not drink, but -- and we learned this not too long ago -- Paul Ryan does. Listen to what he told one crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PAUL RYAN (R-WI), VICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My veins run with cheese, bratwurst, and a little Spotted Cow, Leiney's, and some Miller.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: So cheese and Miller. So, I guess, you know, if Mitt Romney wins, then the question, Don, is, what would happen to this brewing operation, which we understand is probably -- it's pretty top secret, but we understand it's probably a pretty small operation.
Maybe it would go over to the Naval Observatory with Paul Ryan, and maybe he could continue the tradition.
LEMON: Yes. Miller. Remember the little Miller ponies?
KEILAR: I have to show you this too.
LEMON: What is that?
KEILAR: This is something that was actually invented -- invented -- made in 2008 during the Obama campaign by a company in Saint Louis. It's Baracktoberfest, which I think that's a pretty good name, Baracktoberfest beer.
LEMON: That's pretty cool. There's non-alcoholic beer too for Mr. Romney, just so you know. Thanks, Brianna. We appreciate it. We have got to run, and we have to get some hard news in here.
