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CNN Sunday Morning
Conservatives Eye Midterm Elections; Mudslides, Flooding Kill Dozens on Resort Island off Portugal; Odd Jobs Help Unemployed Make Extra Cash
Aired February 21, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's February 21st. Good morning, everybody. Thanks for being here. I'm Betty Nguyen.
ROB MARCIANO, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for T.J. Holmes. It's 6 a.m. in Atlanta; 5 a.m. in Little Rock and 3 a.m. in Seattle. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Well, just last year, he was driving in his car listening to Rush Limbaugh give us CPAC keynote address. But this year, it was time for conservative talk-show host Glenn Beck to take the mike, and shockingly enough...
NGUYEN: Uh huh.
MARCIANO ...and he actually ripped his own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, TALK-SHOW HOST: I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I screwed up my life six ways to Sunday, and I believe in redemption. But the first step to getting redemption is you got to admit you got a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, he goes off a little bit, challenging the Republican Party and giving his take on a lot of different topics, including O.J. Simpson. More of the speech straight ahead.
MARCIANO: And take a look at this unbelievable video. Massive flooding on this island southwest of Portugal. My goodness. (INAUDIBLE) deadly mudslides. Dozens are dead.
Military and medical teams are headed to the area. We'll have more on this story in about 10 minutes.
NGUYEN: First though, our top stories from overnight.
Three teenage girls were killed last night when they were hit by a train on central Florida's eastern coast. They were talking across a trestle bridge in Melbourne. A male friend with them had already crossed and tried to warn them, but it was too late. MARCIANO: And major fiscal problems top the list of concerns at the National Governors Association meeting, which got under way in Washington. As governors grapple with the rising tide of red ink in their respective budgets, first lady Michelle Obama asked them for their help in her battle against child obesity.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: Let's stop wringing our hands and talking about and citing statistics. Let's act. Let's move. Let's give our kids the future they deserve.
Look, I look forward to working with all of you in these efforts over the months and years ahead. I'm going to need you. I'm going to need you championing these causes, giving me feedback, giving me direction and guidance. It will not work any other way. And our kids can't afford for us to get this wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: The first lady says nearly one in every three kids in the U.S. is overweight or obese.
NGUYEN: Well, the NAACP elects its youngest chairman ever. Roslyn Brock has been picked to replace civil-rights leader Julian Bond. He's held that position since 1998.
Brock, who is currently the vice chair, is just 44 years old. And coming up next hour, we'll talk to her about the appointment and the new direction the NAACP is headed.
All right. So starting with this though, we wanted to delve into this issue. Oh, what a difference a year makes. Last year, you know, conservatives, they were reeling from Barack Obama's victory over John McCain and gains by the Democrats in Congress.
Well, this year, a little different.
MARCIANO: Yes, the American Conservative Union's three-day Conservative Political Action Conference wrapped up in Washington. They're heading home to gear up for the congressional midterm elections they hope to use as a springboard to take back the White House in 2012.
Former presidential candidate Ron Paul said he's optimistic for America, while talk-show host Glenn Beck had a warning for the Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I screwed up my life six ways to Sunday. And I believe in redemption. But the first step to getting redemption is you've got to admit you've got a problem.
I have not heard people in the Republican Party yet admit that they have a problem. And when they do say they have a problem, I don't know if I believe them. I haven't seen the come-to-Jesus moment of the Republican Party yet.
I voted Republicans almost every time in - every time I've gone. I - I don't know what they even stand for anymore, and they've got to recognize that they have a problem. Hello, my name is the Republican Party, and I got a problem. I'm addicted to spending and big government.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: This is a different year than anything we have ever experienced before, and I am optimistic to believe that a lot of good is going to come out of what is happening in this country today, whether it's the CPAC meeting or the "tea party" movements or the recent victories in the - in the elections.
But believe me, by the end of this year, I think this country is going to be a lot better off.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Ron - Ron Paul won the conference's annual presidential straw poll. The former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney placed second, so that was a big upset, followed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, this is our topic today on our Facebook and Twitter sites. Let us know, if Ron Paul were to run in 2012, would you vote for him?
E-mail me on Facebook and Twitter, or you can hit me up at bettynguyencnn, or you can hit up Rob at robmarcianocnn. Send us your comments. We'll read them on the air.
All right. Let's get to this: More than eight in 10 Americans believe there is something wrong with the government. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll finds 86 percent of those polled saying "yes" when asked, "Is the government broken?" Eighty-one percent of the people polled say it can be fixed. Only five percent say it's broken and cannot be fixed.
The same question was asked in 2006, and 78 percent said the government was broken that year. The poll was taken Feb. 12-15, and has a sampling error of plus-or-minus three percent.
So, "Broken Government" - the right, the left and everyone in between agree on one thing: The government is broken. All this week, CNN digs into the mess to find out what can be done to clean it up. No more politics; it's time for answers.
"Broken Government," all this week on CNN.
MARCIANO: Turning now to that deadly plane crash in Austin, Texas. As crews work to remove the wreckage, we are hearing for the first time from the suspect's former account, Bill Ross. He says Joseph Stack never threatened him or the IRS, despite what was found on a Web site.
Investigators say an online suicide note believed to be from Stack rails against the government, and blames Ross for - quote - "representing himself and not me."
A spokesman for Ross says he is working with the FBI, and he says Ross doesn't feel like he's in danger. But he is taking precautions.
NGUYEN: Well, more snow for many parts of the country. Let's check out the latest with meteorologist Reynolds Wolf.
Good morning, Renny.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys.
You know, snow in parts of the Rockies can be a great thing. But across parts of the Midwest, where we might have had snowfall that may encourage some power outages and all kinds of issues for people, it's not always that great.
Coming up in a few moments, we're going to let you see where this wintry blast is going to take place, how many it may affect. That's just a few moments away.
MARCIANO: And Reynolds, I don't know if you saw this video, but it's amazing stuff. We'll have your comments on it later.
Flooding and massive mudslides killed dozens and caused all sorts of damage. More on these dramatic pictures coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Talking severe weather today, and for that, I have two meteorologists. Hey.
WOLF: Two. Two for the price of one.
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE). Exactly.
MARCIANO: For your weather pleasure.
NGUYEN: Boy, have you seen this video coming out...
MARCIANO: Yes, this is dramatic.
NGUYEN: ...of Portugal. My goodness. Thirty-eight people have been killed.
But look at this massive flooding. You can see why, 100 people were injuled (ph) - injured, I should say. An unknown amount of people still missing after heavy rains yesterday spawned some deadly mudslides.
MARCIANO: Yes, this river of mud. Just a - an island just off of Portugal, and obviously, a tremendous amount of rain coming through. And boy, Europe has just said an amazing winter, as - as we have had, as far as cold and snow is concerned. But this rainfall, Reynolds, coming through western parts of Portugal, certainly a dramatic (INAUDIBLE).
WOLF: And, you know, a few weeks ago, Rob, you were in Southern California in an area that had been ravaged by wildfires. And this is the reason why. This is the big fear that we have, is seeing the heavy rainfall. And then, of course, you have the - the mud that continues to come down, the heavy water, the flooding. And this is a - a - it's a big killer. There's no question about it.
MARCIANO: And some of these - what you're seeing here in some of these debris basins, basically, like they have in California, are designed to kind of stem the flow or at least direct it away from harm's way.
But at - at some point, some of that stuff gets jammed up, and it can overflow. So unbelievable stuff.
NGUYEN: Goodness.
WOLF: Goodness.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: OK. So yesterday, Josh showed us some unusual ways to earn a few bucks.
Well, he got a great response, and he's back to give us even more tips. I'm almost afraid to ask him what are some of these other tips.
MARCIANO: I'm kind of excited to hear about.
Hi, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes, Betty, was interested in the ones like, you know, plant sitting. Just the - the...
NGUYEN: Well, that's an easy one. That's why, right?
LEVS: Yes, exactly. (INAUDIBLE) - well, it sounds like. But, like, you and I are both plant killers. I can't even keep the plants alive in my house.
NGUYEN: Yes, no one would hire me. I mean, nobody.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: I think I look at a plant, and it dies.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: So here's the thing: There's this Web site that is really catching on online that lists 24 ways to make some extra money, especially if you're got time and are one of the many suffering from unemployment.
Coming up, I'm going to show you that list, and some of your suggestions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, DONNA SUMMER, "SHE WORKS HARD FOR THE MONEY")
NGUYEN: All right. Talk about working hard for your money, OK?
Why wouldn't you just want to make some extra cash, if you can, right? Well, there's millions...
MARCIANO: Times are tough, you know?
NGUYEN: ...of Americans who, you know, are having a hard time getting a job.
Well, not to fear, because we have a few ways that you can make some cold, hard cash this morning.
MARCIANO: Yes. We have the creative juices flowing. And there's Josh Levs. He's going to share his thoughts and some ideas on how you can make some cash.
LEVS: Yes, well, it's not necessarily mine. But I'll tell you, they're catching on online.
And you guys are liking this list. Let's show everyone what we're talking about here, because this is it.
It's from a Web site - I like this Web site. It's called couponsherpa.com. And generally, they're giving you ways to save money. But in this case, they're talking about 24 ways to make money while unemployed. And they list some interesting things here, like dog walking - doesn't require a lot of training. And apparently, people are still hiring dog walkers, so it can pay pretty well.
They also talk about selling your hair. Apparently, the market for selling your hair still - still pretty good there.
So let me - what we have are some fun graphics. Our graphics department went a little wild with this. And I'll talk you guys through a few of the examples. Some of them are really interesting, and might be some good work.
Let's go to this first one. You can teach English to adults. Apparently, that is a growing industry inside the U.S., and it can pay pretty well. So that's something right there.
You can also rent out a room, if that's an option, if you got one there in your house or in your apartment that you can rent out. Apparently, more and more people having trouble in the housing crisis right now, people are willing to rent out a room from somebody. A little bit of money there.
OK. This one's interesting to me. The next one they put: Give blood.
Now what it says is that there are plasma banks that will pay up to $35 per pint, and there are limits about how much you're allowed to give. But apparently, some people in desperate situations selling their blood. Now, you want a little extra cash, this also happens to be a good thing to do in a lot of ways.
OK. Now, I think we can get to some of the more fun ones. The human billboard, and Rob and Betty, you guys know what we're talking about here. This is when you're driving along the street, someone's dressed as a hot dog or a chicken or a Statue of Liberty. Whatever it is, businesses struggling in this economy, trying to get noticed even more. Apparently, they're hiring even more people to dress up like some crazy thing.
And I'm getting the wrap, so let's do this - let's come back to me at the screen here, and I want everyone to see that you all weighed in on this yesterday.
Here we got Facebook. Chris Murphy wrote us, "If one has the ability, in-house cook is a pretty good quick-cash job." Apparently, more and more people not taking the time to cook, and you can do that.
And I got one more for you here that - well, you guys wrote us. Diane: "You can also make cash doing someone else's yard work."
Look, I got the whole list up for you online. Let's see what everybody wrote up with (ph) the whole thing. It's all up at the blog, CNN.com/josh. Facebook and Twitter: joshlevscnn.
So Rob, Betty, what do you think? Anything good thing on that list?
NGUYEN: Yes. Yes, I think there's plenty of ideas out there.
LEVS: Something.
NGUYEN: You just got to be creative about it.
MARCIANO: Yes. And if - you know, if it means, like, holding on to my job here at CNN, I'll get on the highway wearing, you know...
NGUYEN: One of those billboards? Those (INAUDIBLE)...
MARCIANO: Watch CNN. Watch CNN.
LEVS: Yes, you just said that on the record. You are so going to be in the call (ph) right now.
NGUYEN: How about we just tattoo "CNN" right here on the forehead (ph).
LEVS: The red phone's ringing. MARCIANO: I know where my bread's buttered.
(LAUGHTER)
MARCIANO: That's for sure.
All right. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: Watch out for Rob on the street.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: Well, ever wonder what happens behind the camera? I'll tell you what, Reynolds - nobody does it better than him.
NGUYEN: Man, you got to see this. Reynolds Wolf in the middle of a blizzard. He gives us the back story.
(MUSIC, TINA TURNER, "SIMPLY THE BEST")
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So Washington finally digs out from that record snowfall.
MARCIANO: Yes, it was crazy, both behind the camera and in front of it.
Covering a blizzard can be a challenge.
NGUYEN: Oh yes.
MARCIANO: But our Reynolds certainly makes it look like fun, and - and less complicated.
So let's check out what he sees behind the scenes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: I'm meteorologist Reynolds Wolf. I work for CNN, and one of my jobs is to go to some of the roughest places you can ever imagine on the planet.
This particular story happens to be a blizzard in Washington, D.C. It's actually the second blizzard we've had in less than a week.
I'll tell you, one of the biggest things we have to do during a blizzard like this, behind the scenes, is to stay warm. And that can be very tough when you got temperatures that are below freezing, the wind that never seems to end. You just got to stay warm. And one of the best ways to do that is hanging out with good people and having some good laughs.
It's very important to have a good team like our photojournalists here. This is Chris Turner.
Chris, how - how do you stay warm in times like this?
CHRIS TURNER, CNN PHOTOJOURNALIST: Usually running around chasing you during live shots...
WOLF: Yes.
TURNER: ...is pretty much how I stay warm.
WOLF: That's a lot of running.
TURNER: That's a lot of running. I just try not to fall.
WOLF: Yes. But you manage to look good the whole time, don't you?
TURNER: If this is looking good.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Someone who looks a lot better than us is our producer. Our producer always has to give us some really good ideas, has to keep us in live. Because we always have these live shots we have to do.
And that's where Kelly Marshall comes in.
Kelly - now, you are a desert rate. You're used to the warm temperatures.
KELLY MARSHALL, CNN PRODUCER: I am a desert rat. I grew up in Arizona.
WOLF: And if you could explain to your friends around the world, what - what exactly do you do to stay warm during awful blizzard conditions like this, when we're out - out on the beat?
MARSHALL: There's a lot of hand warmers in pockets and in shoes. And stay in the live truck. Running around. I find running works the best probably.
WOLF: Absolutely.
MARSHALL: Running up and down the streets, staying in the satellite truck. The satellite truck's a good spot.
When we were in Virginia the other day, we went into...
WOLF: Sure.
MARSHALL ...the coffee shot, got hot chocolate. Got lunch.
But otherwise, staying out of the cold as much as possible.
WOLF: You know, and one of the ways we stay out of the cold - I mean, think about it, a lot of people work at desks, they work at cubicles. Out in the field like this, we don't have that advantage. So what we do is, we go to things like - well, these trucks. We do keep trucks on hand with us. The heaters are on all the time.
But the thing is, you get into something like this, you get nice and comfortable. And by the time you warm up, by the time you're finally thawed, it's time to go right back out and to do a live shot. So when you do, you have to freeze up again. And you face the cold and you face all that nature throws at you.
The thing is, too, when you're walking around in these conditions, it does tend to get icy. So you really have to watch your footing, because if you don't, you tend to fall. And over the last couple of days, we have seen people fall. Photographers even fall. We've got video of stuff like that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: And then as you get over towards this area, you see it change a little bit, where its not really snow, but rather, it is some black ice, which at times can be a very slippery thing, let me tell you, as our photojournalist can tell you.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Did he just fall?
WOLF: Certainly some slippery times. He's OK.
BALDWIN: Oh no!
WOLF: He's OK. Are you OK? Are you OK, man?
BALDWIN: Is he OK?
WOLF: That's Tony (ph). That's Tony (INAUDIBE) - is he - is OK?
He's OK, but - but even more importantly, he looks good. But that's really a testament of what's been happening out here.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: I mean, people will slip and fall, and you have to be careful out there on the roadways, to tell the very - to tell you the truth.
BALDWIN: Oh my goodness. Is he OK?
WOLF: Very quickly. Very quickly, a couple things. He's fine. He's smiling. And he's kind of laughing, too, which is a good sign.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: But all of this is an effort, part of an effort to put together a great story to share with people. But to get that story out, you have to have the photographers. You also have to have a live truck that boosts the signal that carries out to space.
So let's go be (ph) your live-truck operator for just a moment. We're going to take a peek in. I'm going to let him introduce himself to you, and as he does so, get a nice look at his fancy-shmancy truck. We're going to open it right here. Again, ice is on everything. It's just what we do here.
All right. There he is. Sir, can you do me a favor and introduce yourself to the world?
CHRIS NOVAK, CNN TRUCK OPERATOR: I am Chris Novak (ph), a truck op.
WOLF: And what is - what - what are we eating today? We also keep food here in the live truck.
What do we have? Pizza?
NOVAK: It looks like a lot of pizza, courtesy of Kelly Marshall, your producer.
WOLF: You know, it's hard to believe that a crew can actually subsist on this kind of stuff. I'm going to bring this outside so we won't wreak havoc with the lighting.
But we've got two pieces of pizza left. Looks delicious.
But, you know, it's that kind of nutrition that's really important, that keeps the body good, keep things going on a time like this. You have to have nutrition; there's no question about it.
Well, this - I hope you enjoyed this very brief look at what we do. We're going to step back out here and close things up. But as we do so, we're going to walk right over here, and I want to show you one last thing: our other shooter, Jeremy Harlan (ph), who happens to be right here.
Say goodbye, Jeremy.
JEREMY HARLAN, CNN CAMERA OPERATOR: See you later.
WOLF: All right, guys. Signing out. That's a wrap.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: My goodness, Reynolds. You can handle anything, can't you?
WOLF: Well, the thing is though, it - it - there was a lot of fun, but every single story we do - and it doesn't matter if it's snow. It can be a fire; it could be the blizzards...
NGUYEN: Yes. Hurricane. Whatever.
WOLF: ...it can be anything. And Rob - and Rob can account this: The crews that we have in the field are far and away...
NGUYEN: Amazing. WOLF: ...the best people in the network. I mean, they're the ones who make this happen. Bozos like us, that stand here in front of the camera, tiny pieces of - of the puzzle. It's everybody behind the scenes who makes it happen.
NGUYEN: That's absolutely true.
And - wow, so your photographer kept falling. Just...
WOLF: Yes. We didn't - we - yes with - I think they had a scoreboard in the D.C. bureau, where it was Reynolds 2, photographers 0. We had two guys take a - take a slip, so...
MARCIANO: Well, you - you do make them work for their money.
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: ...very active live shots that take you over a lot of acreage, so...
WOLF: We - we move around quite a bit. I'm like one of those little wind-up monkeys that dances around. That's me. I'm - I'm - I'm the monkey guy.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Well, you (INAUDIBLE), especially in a blizzard, to stay warm, you got to keep moving, right?
But where were your earmuffs? I kept worrying about your ears out in that piece.
WOLF: Again, as Rob will attest, basically, after day one, you can't feel your ears.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: So, I mean, it - you know, if you can't feel them, you're not going to be hurting. So that's always a good thing. So it's still kind of numb right now.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Oh yes, I was going to say. Can you hear me? Can you hear me?
WOLF: Huh?
MARCIANO: You're good.
WOLF: Thanks, guys.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Great job. Thanks.
MARCIANO: Thanks, Reynolds.
All right. Well, you've heard of matchmaking agencies. You've seen the commercials. People sign up, take a survey, they're matched up with a compatible partner.
NGUYEN: Yes, no problems there - unless it's pairing up middle- school and high-school students.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome back to CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm Betty Nguyen.
MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get you a quick check of the top stories from overnight.
Three teenager girls were killed last night when they were hit by a train on Central Florida's Eastern Coast. The three were walking across the trestle bridge in Melbourne. Now, a male friend with them had already crossed and tried to warn them, but it was too late.
MARCIANO: Your state could be in financial trouble with the worst yet to come. The National Governor's Association says while the national economy has reported growth, most state's economies have not. A report from the group says states face combined budget gaps of $134 billion over the next three years.
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the governors' meeting yesterday about another pressing issue, her initiative to fight obesity in children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: Let's stop wringing our hands and talking about it and citing statistics. Let's act. Let's move. Let's give our kids the future they deserve.
Look, I look forward to working with all of you in these efforts over the months and years ahead. I'm going to need you. I'm going to need you championing these causes, giving me feedback, giving me direction and guidance. It will not work any other way, and our kids can't afford for us to get this wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Michelle Obama says one in three children are either overweight or obese.
NGUYEN: Well, the NAACP elects its youngest chairman ever. Roslyn Brock has been picked to replace civil rights leader Julian Bond. He's held the position since 1998.
Brock, who is currently the vice chair is just 44 years old. Coming up next hour, we'll talk to Brock about her appointment and the organization's new direction.
MARCIANO: Taliban fighters in Afghanistan are putting up stiff resistance in their battle for their last remaining stronghold in Helmand Province.
Our Atia Abawi is embedded with a group of Marines and joins us on the phone. Atia, what are you seeing there today?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Rob, I've been out with the U.S. Marines 16 Alpha Company as well as the Afghan soldiers as they're making their way more west in the city of Marjah, trying to gain a stronger footholds in different parts of the city. This is taking longer than expected because they have to go slowly because of the major IED threat, with the improvised explosive devices that they're finding.
In fact, while we were on patrol during this route clearing, they were able to detonate an IED that they found on the same road that we were actually patrolling on. It had - basically, it was - if - if the troops themselves did not detect it, it would have caused max casualties. It is expected that it's around 50 to 100 pounds.
Another thing that we were able to witness today were the civilians in Marjah. We were able to go to a - through a neighborhood with the Marines with the Afghan soldiers, talking to the Afghans about what they wanted, and right now it has been around nine days now since the operation, Operation Moshtarak began, and it's been nine days since the bazaars have been closed.
This is an area, a city that basically relies on the bazaar. People come from all over to get food, to get the necessities for home life, and that has been closed for some time. The Afghan people are saying that they do not see (ph). We want to go back to the bazaar, and they have been cut off from that because of all the fighting.
That being said, the Taliban is still showing resistant. There's still gun battles throughout the city of Marjah. It is going to take time, in fact it may take weeks, if not months - Rob.
MARCIANO: Atia, you mentioned the IEDs being - being a huge problem, a big priority, I know, for the armed forces has been to limit the civilian casualties. Earlier in this offensive we heard reports of women and children being used as human shields.
How frustrating has that been for - for American soldiers?
ABAWI: It's been very frustrating, and that's another reason why the operation is taking longer than many people thought it would have ever - many people would have wanted it to take because they have to be very careful when it comes to civilian casualties.
One thing that has been clear in the last eight years is any support that has dwindled within the Afghan people is because of these civilian casualties. The Afghan people, they're tired of war. They're tired of seeing their family members dying and the U.S. troops are trying to make sure that they prevent these civilian casualties by - preventing these civilian casualties (ph).
That is the factor that has been giving the Taliban some kind of upper hand because they're using the civilians as human shields. They're using their home, they're using their stores, they're using their compounds to target the U.S. troops because they also know about General Stanley McChrystal's tactical directive which states that no NATO force can attack any compound if it is believed that a civil exist in that compound, even if he suspects the a Taliban fighter is there, shooting at them - Rob.
MARCIANO: Atia - Atia Abawi reporting live for us, embedded with the Marines in Afghanistan. Thank you, Atia.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, we're going to be getting the latest from the Dalai Lama. I know he's speaking with Larry King. They're talking about a number of different things, including his meeting with the president.
And then, of course, we heard on Friday, you know, Tiger Woods saying that he's kind of strayed a little bit from his Buddhism roots. Interesting to hear what the Dalai Lama is saying about that, weighing in on that particular portion of - of Tiger's speech Friday.
MARCIANO: Tiger certainly had a lot of things to say and that was one of the things that came out of came out of the blue for many. So we're going to hear comments, not only from the Dalai Lama at some point, but in the 8:00 hour of CNN SUNDAY MORNING we'll be talking with a - a Buddhist scholar, what he thinks this - this leaves in the way of Tiger's future, at least spiritually.
NGUYEN: Yes. Definitely. OK. Looking forward to that.
And also, it's the day families with loved ones in Iraq have waited for.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Dismissed!
NGUYEN (voice-over): A homecoming for hundreds of Marines. Pictures you just don't want to miss.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: In the middle, underneath the yellow sign inside a building...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Checking our top stories, a Pennsylvania high school accused of spying on a student. The FBI is investigating claims that an assistant principal tapped into the web camera of the school-issued laptop and watched a student at home.
That's according to a law enforcement official with knowledge of the case. The school is denying the allegations and says it only uses webcams to track stolen or lost computers.
NGUYEN: Well, a newly-released Senate report gives a scathing critique of drug maker GlaxoSmithKline and it says its diabetes medication Avandia has been linked to tens of thousands of deaths.
The report alleges the company knew about the drug's potential health risk but withheld the information from consumers. The company, though, rejects the assertion, saying seven clinical trials proved it is not linked to heart attacks.
MARCIANO: Well, the weather may be an issue, but the space shuttle Endeavour is going to try to head home after undocking with the International Space Station. Endeavour is scheduled to land tonight at 10:16 Eastern, but NASA says that that time is iffy because of low clouds and rain forecast over the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NGUYEN: Well, a special report from the CNN Special Investigations Unit now. A commander in Afghanistan has growing suspicions about what is happening on his base.
MARCIANO: Yes. Somehow the Taliban have been able to ambush his troops with some success.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: For hundreds of Marines who served on the frontlines in Iraq, these orders never sounded so good.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Enjoy your time with your families! You are dismissed!
MARCIANO (voice-over): Oh, yes. Hugs, joyful tears as family members welcomed home their loved ones. The 500 marines from the St. Louis base platoon returned Saturday from the war zone.
Stars and stripes waved under a bright blue sky as buses dropped off the Marines into the arms of their awaiting families. This was their second tour of duty in Iraq.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, inside the war in Afghanistan, U.S. troops targeted by Taliban spies. Not one or two spies, but a dozen at a base where two NATO troops are dead and 30 wounded.
MARCIANO: Yes. The U.S. commander in charge roots out the saboteurs only to face his biggest challenge yet, finding the evidence to hold them.
Under NATO rules, the commander has just 96 hours - that's just four days - to gather enough evidence.
NGUYEN: And if he can't, they go free, returning to the Taliban armed with more information and perhaps deadlier than ever.
MARCIANO: It's called the 96-hour rule, the controversial policy already under review at the highest level of Defense Department.
CNN's Abbie Boudreau has our story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ABBIE BOUDREAU, CNN INVESTIGATIVE UNIT CORRESPONDENT (voice- over): Roger Hill was the commander in charge of Wardak Province in Eastern Afghanistan for much of 2008.
ROGER HILL, FORMER ARMY CAPTAIN: It's deceivingly beautiful because there is quite a bit of treachery and - and barbarism that occurred in this very valley.
BOUDREAU: He was assigned just 89 soldiers to cover an area the size of Connecticut.
HILL: The enemy seemed to kind of know where we were.
BOUDREAU: Hill fear the Taliban was tracking his every move. He suspected an inside threat, maybe a spy.
HILL: Out of a 90-man company, you know, we - we had 30 wounded, to include two killed in action.
BOUDREAU: Hill says his headquarters sent a team to the base to weed out possible spies. It screened cell phone activity to find out which Afghan civilians working on the base were really working for the Taliban.
HILL: It turned out that it wasn't just one, two or three, but we actually had a full dozen, 12, infiltrator spies on our FOB.
BOUDREAU (on camera): They were all Afghans hired as contractors. They were janitors, heavy equipment operators, some of them worked on the cell phone tower. And there's one man, one alleged spy who Roger Hill knew well - his very own interpreter, Noori.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Hill had trusted Noori. For six months they fought the Taliban side-by-side. Hill even helped Noori begin to apply for a U.S. Visa.
HILL: I don't know what to say other than it was a huge heartbreak. You know, we were so short-handed that we just - we were forced to depend on each other, you know, in a very intimate level. He wore one of our uniforms.
BOUDREAU: He had no idea Noori might be the one sabotaging missions. Angry and frustrated, Hill detained all 12 men in a small building on the base. That's when NATO's 96-hour rule went into effect.
BOUDREAU (on camera): What you may not realize is that nearly half of the U.S. troops serving in Afghanistan are not actually serving the U.S. Military. They're assigned to NATO, and NATO has very different rules when it comes to detaining the enemy.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): Because Hill's unit served under NATO, his men have only 96 hours to provide the evidence required for the Afghans to lock up detainees or the NATO soldiers have to release them. The rule is designed to give the Afghan government control over detainees and to avoid abuses like what happened in Iraq at Abu Ghraib.
Hill says the NATO rule simply does not work, and many times dangerous suspects are released because there's not enough time to gather evidence.
But Hill was not just up against the clock. He says he had another problem. The evidence against the 12 men was too sensitive to hand over to the Afghans.
Hill was ordered not to share classified intelligence with the Afghans for fear it could be used against U.S. soldiers in future battles. Sharing it was just too risky.
HILL: We're in this catch-22 where they're saying, hey, you know, we'll take these guys off your hands, but give us - give us the evidence, and I'm saying I can't do that. Well, if you can't give us the evidence, then we can't take these guys off your hands. So the clock continues to tick.
BOUDREAU: Wade Barker was a force protection officer who worked on Hill's base. He says most evidence collected on the battlefield is considered classified, including intelligence information like thumbprints and retinal scans, and even some witness statements.
WADE BARKER, FORMER FORCE PROTECTION OFFICER: If you pass off too much information, you're - you're giving back what we know potentially to the enemy, so you have to classify things. You have to be careful about - you have to be so careful about what you give away.
BOUDREAU (on camera): It's almost like you're protecting your information more than you're protecting soldiers, if everything is classified.
BARKER: We have certain rules that we have to follow. We have to protect our soldiers and we have to protect the soldiers through protecting the information.
BOUDREAU: But how does that protect the soldier if you are releasing people who had been shooting at them or planting...?
BARKER: Oh, it doesn't. It puts the soldier right back in harm's way. It's -- it's just a vicious cycle. It goes round and round. It - it drives me absolutely up the wall. It's the most frustrating thing I've ever - I've ever seen.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): If Hill were going to convince the Afghans to lock up the 12 suspected spies, he would need evidence that was not classified and he needed it before the 96 hours were up.
What he really needed was a confession, so at the 80th hour, Hill came up with a plan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO: When we come back, what happened to those suspected spies.
Abbie Boudreau's report continues after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: A former U.S. Army captain in Afghanistan had lost two soldiers in an IED attack. Dozens more have been seriously injured in other missions.
The enemy seemed to anticipate where Captain Roger Hill and his soldiers were headed.
NGUYEN: Yes. As it turned out, 12 Afghans working on his military base were suspected spies, including Hill's own interpreter. Hill now face an impossible choice - violate orders and give the Afghan government classified evidence against the 12 suspected spies, or let the men go.
MARCIANO: Under NATO rules, he had just 96 hours after the men were detained to - to figure it out. Well, at the 80th hour he came up with a plan.
NGUYEN: CNN's Abbie Boudreau picks up the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOUDREAU (voice-over): As the clock ticked toward the 96-hour NATO deadline, the 12 suspected spies were held in this small building on base.
HILL: I decided that I needed to break protocol and interrogate them myself. I took three gentlemen outside, sat them down, walked away, fired my weapon in the ground three times, hoping that the men on the inside, left to their own imagination, would think that they really needed to talk.
BOUDREAU (on camera): Meaning that maybe you killed these men?
HILL: Or - or hurt them. I really did not consider what they would think. I just knew that it would gain a reaction.
BOUDREAU: You thought it would scare them?
HILL: Yes. And that's all I was concerned about, because I needed that intelligence.
BOUDREAU: So what happened?
HILL: Fired three rounds into the ground, walked back inside, and, sure enough, some of the detainees started to talk.
BOUDREAU: How nervous were they? Were they crying? Were they scared?
HILL: They were frightened. I think it would be safe to assume that, you know, some of these guys thought that, you know, the - the gentlemen that were outside were, you know, no longer breathing.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): What the detainees told him inside this building was ultimately enough to convince the Afghans to take all 12 suspects into custody, including Hill's interpreter, Noori.
Hill felt he'd done the right thing, that he'd protected his soldiers.
HILL: I broke protocol and more or less took matters into my own hands out of necessity, out of self-defense.
BOUDREAU (on camera): But the Army saw it differently. Hill was charged with detainee abuse. He accepted a plea deal and received a general discharge last year. His military career was over.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): NATO spokesman James Appathurai announced the 96-hour detention rule in 2005 after talks with both U.S. and Afghan military commanders. He told CNN, quote, "We have to balance the requirement for protecting our soldiers with the reality that Afghanistan is a sovereign country, that there must be limits on the time we can detain Afghans before handing them over to Afghan authorities."
U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham says cases like Roger Hill's are the reason NATO needs to change the rule.
SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: The one story I hear told over and over and over again, Senator Graham, this policy makes no sense. It is putting our folks at risk for no higher purpose.
Quite frankly, here's what's going to start happening. We're going to take less prisoners, they're going to start shooting these folks.
BOUDREAU: Graham has seen the problem first hand. He's the only U.S. senator who serves in the Air Force Reserves. He's a colonel and was in Afghanistan just last year.
GRAHAM: Who the hell made this rule up? Why did you pick 96 hours versus 80 hours or 100 hours? I can't get anyone to tell me how this thing was formed, whose idea it was, and how it became policy.
BOUDREAU: To find out, we tracked down Cully Stimson. In 2006, working for the Pentagon, he advised then-Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, on the 96-hour rule.
BOUDREAU (on camera): Did you have concerns at that time?
CULLY STIMSON, FORMER DEPUTY ASSISTANT SECRETARY OF DEFENSE: I did then, I do now, in certain circumstances, but I do believe the policy works, for the most part. There is no perfect system. There is no magical number in terms of hours or days or weeks, and so I think it's a healthy compromise.
BOUDREAU: Was that a concern then of yours at the time that soldiers would be turning detainees, dangerous alleged terrorists, over to the Afghan government only to be released?
STIMSON: Yes.
BOUDREAU (voice-over): At CNN's request, NATO compiled data on what happened to detainees. Turns out, four out of every 10 were released, with the rest turned over to Afghan authorities. But we've also learned NATO does not track what happens from that point on.
General David Petraeus is the commander in charge of all U.S. forces in the region. He's the one who would know best if the 96-hour rule really is working on the ground. After a public appearance, we asked him about the detainee rule.
BOUDREAU (on camera): I'm with CNN. We just have one quick question.
So is 96 hours enough?
GEN. DAVID PETRAEUS, U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND: Ninety-six hours is not enough if you are going to ensure that they stay behind bars, obviously. Again, there has to be a process by which the individuals that need to be detained are detained, or that, if they're handed over to Afghan officials, that there's confidence in the system working.
BOUDREAU: OK.
PETRAEUS: OK?
BOUDREAU: Thank you.
PETRAEUS: Good. You bet. That's a big concern of mine, personally.
BOUDREAU: Big concern of yours?
PETRAEUS: Yes.
BOUDREAU: Now, CNN has confirmed the 96-hour rule is being reviewed at the highest levels of the Department of Defense.
A spokesman for Defense Secretary Robert Gates told us, quote, "We are currently reviewing the 96-hour rule, but have yet to make decisions about how we wish to proceed in light of some of the obvious problems associated with it."
BOUDREAU (on camera): So what happened to the 12 suspected spies that Captain Roger Hill turned over to the Afghans? According to army investigators, despite the confessions, all 12 men were released.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It is February 21st.
Good morning. Thanks for being here. I'm Betty Nguyen.
MARCIANO: And I'm Rob Marciano, in today for T.J. Holmes, taking a little bit of time off, getting ready for his nuptials.
Six A.M. here in Atlanta, 5:00 A.M. in Little Rock and 3:00 A.M. in Seattle. Thanks for starting your day with us.
Well, it was just a year ago, he was driving his car, listening to Rush Limbaugh give that CPAC keynote address speech, and this year it was time for conservative talk show host Glenn Beck to take the mike and shockingly enough, he kind of ripped his own party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE TALK SHOW HOST: I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I screwed up my life six ways to Sunday, and I believe in redemption. But the first step to getting redemption is you got to admit you got a problem.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, he went off and challenged the Republican Party to give his -- and he also gave his take on a lot of different topics, including O.J. Simpson. Yes, we got more on that -- straight ahead.
And then, there's this: a new chairman for the NAACP this morning. Roslyn Brock is the youngest chairman of the 101-year-old organization. She's going to join me live in just a few moments to discuss her new job and the direction of the NAACP.
But, first, top stories.
Three teenager girls -- they were killed last night when they were hit by a train on central Florida's eastern coast. The three were walking across the trestle bridge in Melbourne. Now, a male friend with them had already crossed and tried to warn them, but it was too late.
MARCIANO: Your state could be in financial trouble and it could get worse. The National Governors Associations says while the national economy has reported growth, most state economies have not. A report from the group says states face combined budget gaps of $134 billion over the next three years.
First Lady Michelle Obama spoke to the governors yesterday about another important issue for her. It's her initiative to fight obesity in children.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: Let's stop wringing our hands and talking about it and citing statistics. Let's act. Let's move. Let's give our kids the future they deserve. Look, I look forward to working with all of you in these efforts over the months and years ahead. I'm going to need you. I'm going to need you championing these causes, giving me feedback, giving me direction and guidance. It will not work any other way, and our kids can't afford for us to get this wrong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Michelle Obama says one in three children are either overweight or obese.
Well, space shuttle Endeavour is heading home after undocking with the International Space Station. Endeavour is scheduled to land tonight at 10:16 Eastern. But NASA says that the time and place actually is iffy because of weather. Low clouds and rain over Kennedy Space Center may be a problem in Florida.
NGUYEN: Well, what a difference a year makes. Last year, conservatives were reeling from Barack Obama's victory over John McCain, and gains by the Democrats in Congress. But this year, it's a little different.
MARCIANO: Yes. The American Conservative Union's three-day Conservative Political Action Conference wrapped up in Washington yesterday. They are heading home to gear up for congressional midterm elections they hope to use as a springboard to take back the White House in 2012. Former presidential candidate Ron Paul said he's optimistic for America while talk show host Glenn Beck had a warning for the Republican Party.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BECK: I'm a recovering alcoholic, and I screwed up my life six ways to Sunday, and I believe in redemption. But the first step to getting redemption is you got to admit you got a problem. I have not heard people in the Republican Party yet admit that they have a problem. And when they do say they have a problem, I don't know if I believe them.
I haven't seen the "Come to Jesus" moment of the Republican Party yet. I voted Republicans almost every time I've gone. I don't know what they even stand for anymore, and they've got to recognize that they have a problem. Hello! My name is the Republican Party and I got a problem! I'm addicted to spending and big government!
REP. RON PAUL (R), TEXAS: This is a different year than anything we've ever experienced before, and I am optimistic to believe that a lot of good is going to come out of what is happening in this country today, whether it's the CPAC meeting or the tea party movements or the recent victories in the elections -- but believe me, by the end of this year, I think this country is going to be a lot better off. As well as I will not vote for one single penny --
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MARCIANO: Well, Paul won the conference's annual presidential straw poll. That's a huge upset over former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. He placed second but has won in years past, and followed by Alaska governor -- former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.
Well, that's our Facebook and Twitter topic today: Would you vote for Ron Paul in 2012? E-mail me or Betty on Facebook or our Twitter pages and we'll let you know what they're saying.
A couple comments on my Twitter, we got a couple notes with no explanation. One from JP56, he says, "I am behind President Obama, will vote for him, but I would vote for Ron Paul over the other CPAC names." A little bit of a crossover over there.
All right. More than 10 -- eight in 10 Americans believe there is something wrong with the government. A CNN/Opinion Research Corporation Poll finds 86 percent of those polled saying yes when asked: is the government broken? Eighty-one percent of the people polled said it can be fixed. Only 5 percent say it's broken and can't be fixed.
This same question was asked in 2006 and 78 percent said the government was broken that year. The poll was taken February 12th through 15th and has a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percent.
"Broken Government." The right, the left and everyone in-between agree on one thing: the government is broken. All this week, CNN digs into the mess to find out what can be done to clean it up. No more politics. It's time for answers. "Broken Government" -- all this week on CNN.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, school officials say it was supposed to be fun, but a fundraiser for Elwood community schools in Indiana is causing a bit of an uproar. Here's how it works: students pay a buck to fill out the survey. Then the computer matches up girls and boys in grades sixth through tenth, sort of like an online dating site. Well, the school superintendent says it's harmless, but at least one mom is upset.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE EVERETT, PARENT: A tenth grader matched with a sixth grader. And the school promoting it is inappropriate.
THOMAS AUSTIN, SUPERINTENDENT, ELWOOD COMMUNITY SCHOOLS: I approve this fundraiser on February 1st. I knew about the content of the survey and it's just a good way for kids to have a little bit of fun. It's a voluntary survey.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes. Well, school officials say they have been using this fundraiser for some 15 years. They say they were willing to cancel it if enough parents complained, but that's interesting though. I mean, she does have a bit of a point there. A sixth grader with a tenth grade?
MARCIANO: There's a little bit difference in maturity, I'd say in development.
Well, more snow for parts of the country. We're going to check in with Reynolds Wolf.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, guys. You're absolutely right. I mean, if you look at this national map, you see a lot of numbers up there. Especially like the big batch of 30s from, say, Chicago to Kansas City and Minneapolis.
But on the other side, you see some 60s in places like Memphis and then into Dallas. Then right between this, separating this two, you got chance of some ice, some snow and all kinds of problems. Coming up, we're going to talk all about that in just a few moments.
Let's kick it back to you, guys.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds. Thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Everybody loves a good dog story, right? Well, this little pup that we are about to show you right there, do you see him? He's kind of covered in that white cloth. Well, he got a little rescue that you have just got to see.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: You know, there's one thing that I really look forward to, and we do it well and probably up to the bar --
WOLF: Yes.
MARCIANO: -- here in the weather center, drinking coffee and water always. But when you were -- thank you, a little bit of hand --
WOLF: Here you. I mean, you can never have enough.
MARCIANO: That's always wise actually when you're at the weather center. Definitely when leaving, take some hand sanitizer. It's a nice scent.
Hey, guys. Do you see these pictures of this dog?
WOLF: It's a compelling story.
MARCIANO: A chow mix was, I guess, stuck in a storm drain of sorts.
WOLF: Indeed.
MARCIANO: And a life-threatening issue there. So, the Prince George's County folks there in Maryland, the rescue crews and the fire department got out there, and got this guy out of there. And authorities think a snowplow used after the blizzard may have closed the drain over the dog or moved the drain and that's how the dog fell. WOLF: Well, easy to see that can happen. I mean, you got so much snow there. And, you know, the plow comes through and moves everything as well as the, you know, the top of the drain and the dog gets stuck. But, see, you have a happy ending.
MARCIANO: You got a lot stories like these when you were covering that blizzard the last few weeks.
WOLF: Very much. You like to see rescues. You like to see rescues of people. You like to see man rescues of chow mixes, even snack mix is good rescue, especially when you are hungry in a morning like this.
MARCIANO: Next time I'm over, may be a little snack mix and we'll lose the hand sanitizer.
WOLF: You got it.
Let's go right to the forecast. Let's show you what's happening out there.
I think we got a great shot of Atlanta, maybe we can take that. And the sup is coming up. It should be beautiful here in the southeast.
And there it is. My goodness, what a beautiful day it's going to be. Almost spring-like, if you will, with a high of 64 degrees here in Atlanta. It should be a wonderful day out there. Rain-free, too, for much of the Mid-Atlantic States.
However, the situation changes the farther west you go. You're going to run into more cloud cover, let's say, for example, if you're taking a drive, maybe going back along parts of I-20 going through Birmingham, conditions will be fun. When you get into Mississippi, a few more clouds. Then you're going to run in some rain.
But if you're going to make that turn north up towards, say, St. Louis, you run the colder weather, the north of St. Louis, a lot of snowfall. Here's the reason why, this area of low pressure pulling that moisture in from the Gulf of Mexico, right behind it, a lot of cold air.
And this particular area, you can see some heavy snow in places. When I say heavy snow, we're not talking rocky-mountain style. We're talking about six to eight inches of snow fall, maybe some icing on trees and that'd be some bad news.
Let me show you what we got in terms of temperatures in that part of the world. You see that dividing line right there, where you happen to see blue or even some green popping up on the screen -- well, that indicates places where you have that rain and a little bit of that freezing rain and sleet where you have the pink.
But then on the other side of that situation, well, you see white, well, that's where you have your snow, like in Concordia where currently 24 degrees or so, in Pratt, about 26 or so. But then when you get down towards parts of, say, Arkansas, mainly some 40s well above the freezing point. So, certainly, something to watch out for today.
Very quickly, high temperature is 48 degrees in Washington, D.C., 33 in Kansas City, 66 in Phoenix. And we're going to wrap it up in Los Angeles, chance of rain there today, 61 degrees is the expected high.
All right. That's your forecast. More coming up in a few moments. Back to you at the news desk.
MARCIANO: Thank you, Reynolds.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, for an organization that is 101 years old, the NAACP is looking younger than ever this morning. They got a new leader at the helm. Roslyn Brock is her name and she's been elected to chair the 64-member board. She takes the helm from civil rights leader Julian Bond, a picture there on the far right and in the center is Ben Jealous, president of the NAACP.
But the lady of the hour, Roslyn Brock, she joins me now live from New York.
And, Roslyn, first of all, congratulations on your new seat there -- fourth woman to serve as chairman. What kind of perspective are you going to be bringing to the table?
ROSLYN BROCK, NAACP CHAIR: I've been active in the NAACP for more than 25 years. And so, I've grown-up in the organization and been fortunate to have been mentored by some of the legendary civil rights icons. My goal and mission as chairman of the board of the NAACP is to ensure that our policies, our programs and our politics are relevant to a new generation of human and civil rights advocates.
NGUYEN: Well, how do you that? And how you make it relevant?
BROCK: And also to get more young people involved.
NGUYEN: Yes, Roslyn, how you do make it relevant? Because, you know, there is that criticism out there, some people say that now that President Obama is in the White House, is the NAACP relevant any more?
BROCK: The NAACP is relevant. We do not live in a post-racial society. And that's why it's so important that we have a dialogue and a conversation about race in America. The NAACP is concerned about people who are falling through the cracks and feel that they are locked out of a prosperous society.
NGUYEN: All right. So, what's the first thing that you want to do now that you are chairman?
BROCK: I want to be able to get the word out that the NAACP is live and well and that we are a multi-cultural, multi-racial organization. And it is our goal to extend a broader net to encourage all Americans who believe in life, liberty and a pursuit of happiness to come and join us.
NGUYEN: Is there a specific program that you have in mind? What do you tackling first?
BROCK: I'm a health care executive. And I'm most concerned about the 46 million people in this nation who are uninsured. I would hope that our Congress, working with the administration, would recommit themselves to ensure comprehensive and affordable health care for all Americans.
NGUYEN: All right. And, Roslyn, you know, the youngest chairman, the fourth women, Ben Jealous is the youngest NAACP president, both of you, in fact, too young to have experienced legalize segregation. And so, that being the case, what is your approach to leading people who have experienced that and who have gone through significant change?
BROCK: I became active in the NAACP as a college student on the campus of Virginia Union University. I didn't march with Martin or protest with Malcolm X in the '50s and '60s. But I did understand that I had a responsibility to give something back to my community for the many faceless and nameless individuals who gave their lives for the benefits that I enjoy today.
NGUYEN: And when Barack Obama ran for president, civil rights leaders like Andrew Young, like Congressman John Lewis, said he was too young, it wasn't his time, but he ran on change. What kind of change are you trying to bring to the NAACP and maybe that old guard mentality?
BROCK: It's really important for us at the NAACP to not only share with America what we are against, we really need to be more crisp in terms of our policy statements and advocate for a specific policy legislations that move forward a progressive agenda.
NGUYEN: Like what?
BROCK: On health care, on education reform, particularly on the issue of the jobs question that has come up over the last several weeks. We're concerned that Americans -- all Americans -- should have access to a livable way so that they can take care of their families. And the question that we believe that's on the mind of Americans, they have to consider how do I go to work when I'm not healthy, how do I identify a doctor who will see me, and how do I make the decision of whether or not I need to pay my rent, my mortgage or my student loan. And even if I have to pay back a payday lender.
NGUYEN: Yes. And --
BROCK: We are most concerned about those individuals who are vulnerable in American society. And we'll be a strong advocate for them.
NGUYEN: And as at the helm of the NAACP now, just give us an insight on your leadership and your vision for that. I mean, you know, given some of the history there, you are at the helm of an organization that has a lot of people that have experienced, like I said, you know, segregation, that has gone -- seen this country change. What is your idea of reaching out to not only the old guard but perhaps the new guard as well?
BROCK: The NAACP is an intergenerational organization. We are the only organization that reserves seven seats on our governing board for young people under the age of 25. And so, we are looking to capture the spirit and the hearts and minds of those young people who are involved in the presidential campaign for President Obama. We are looking to cast a broader net and to exploit the value proposition of why it's important to move forward in a progressive agenda around equal access in American society.
NGUYEN: All right. Roslyn Brock, the new chairman of the NAACP -- thanks so much for spending a little bit of your time with us today. We appreciate it.
BROCK: Thanks so much.
MARCIANO: Well, when you think of listening to an orchestra, you don't really think about hip-hop. I mean, that's fair to say.
NGUYEN: It's not in front of mind. Yes.
MARCIANO: But maybe you will now. Josh?
NGUYEN: OK. Josh?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: All right. Your call, guys. What do you think? Do these two things go together like peanut butter and jelly, or like toothpaste and orange juice. Take a look.
(VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Hip-hop orchestra -- coming up for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
(CROSSTALK)
MARCIANO: (INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: Not exactly. But we do have something that may merge the two -- two things that you wouldn't generally think of as going together, you know, classical music and hip-hop.
MARCIANO: It was a bit of an experiment, but you can hear for yourself. Our Josh Levs is "On the Lookout."
(MUSIC)
LEVS: Yes. In this segment, I get to take a look at some of the really cool things we have for you online that you might have missed, and one of them is the hip-hop orchestra. Now, here's where this idea comes from.
A lot of orchestras around the country are trying to reach out to younger people and get them involved and get them interested in classical music and learning about classical music. Well, here in Atlanta, the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra hooked up with some young hip- hop producers, including a rapper. And right now, I'm going to give you a minute of what happened when the two came together.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm singing and rapping in front of the orchestra while, you know, the conductors s conducting the music. Wow.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was -- that's fascinating -- fascinating piece of work. Whether it's -- whether it will last as a real art form or genre, or just an experiment, I can't tell. But it was fun to do it.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: It was very fun and (INAUDIBLE) people like to dance a lot.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: Very fun.
UNIDENTIFIED KID: I really enjoyed it.
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Thank you so much.
(CHEERING)
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LEVS: So, there you go, you have it. And, by the way, props where they belong, our producer Amy Chillag put that together for us. She went over to Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, talk to those young people. And I'll tell you, the question now is: does it catch on? Does it become something that other orchestras doing? You're going to see more and more of these two worlds coming together musically.
I posted a link of the whole thing to you as you can see a lot more of it. CNN.com/Josh. Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN on the lookout for you.
So, Rob, Betty, what do you guys think? Do you want to see a little more of it?
NGUYEN: I don't know. It was all right. I'm not sure I'm going to download it, you know, on my MP3 player but --
MARCIANO: Yes, it is tough to visualize. You need to be there --
NGUYEN: Yes.
MARCIANO: -- to see the combination and to hear it as well. It's definitely kind of cool.
NGUYEN: But the merging of the two, hey, it's progression of some sort.
LEVS: It's interesting.
NGUYEN: Yes, no doubt. All right. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: So, the Dalai Lama weighing in on the Tiger Woods sex scandal. As we reported, Woods says his Buddhist faith will be a big part of his recovery, in part, because it emphasizes self-discipline.
MARCIANO: Well, according to the "Associated Press," the Dalai Lama agrees. The Dalai Lama reportedly said, quote, "All religions have the same idea when it comes to adultery, and that self-discipline with awareness of consequences will be very important."
Well, coming up next hour, we'll talk with a well-known American Buddhist who just so happens to be the father of the actress Uma Thurman as well. He'll talk to us about his faith and how it may help the pro-golfer.
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NGUYEN: I know. Up early on a Sunday, so you need a little pep in your step in here's Melissa Dawn Johnson with your Sunday motivational minute.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA DAWN JOHNSON, MORNING MOTIVATIONAL MINUTE: Right now, get in your mind your biggest, boldest dream. Can you picture it? Now, what if I told you that you are not dreaming big enough? I know you might say, "Melissa, you are crazy."
Well, listen, living the life that is outside of the limits is as simple as daring to take the leap. So maybe you need a little confidence, a little energy boost -- well, let me give it to you today. I dare you this week, make the phone call. Write the vision board. Start the plan.
Whatever you have to do -- crawl, walk, run in the direction of your dream.
All right. This Melissa Dawn Johnson, your global branding and personal transformation strategist with brandmelive.com, make sure you make this week brandastic.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MARCIANO: Well, more top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
NGUYEN: But, first, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins right now.
