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Indiana Stage Collapse; Tim Plawlenty Drops Out of Republican Race; William Bratton to be New Police Chief in Britain?; Perry Makes Iowa Debut; Beam Up Your Ideas; Canceling Retirement; Returning to the Workforce; "The Help" Opened this Week
Aired August 14, 2011 - 17:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Our top story this hour, a search for answers after a tragedy at the Indiana state fair. A powerful gust of wind swept through a grand stand where hundreds of people were attending a concert. At least five people were killed and dozens more hurt in this dramatic video from one of our Ireporters on the scene. Investigators are trying to determine exactly how it happened.
And another view now of those terrifying moments before the collapse. Concertgoers had about a four-minute warning from officials there to seek shelter because severe weather was on the way.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. DAVE BURSTEN, INDIANA STAE POLICE: In Indiana, the weather can change from one report to another report. And that was the case here. It really wasn't the issue of the weather as it was with the high gust of wind. What's remarkable about this is virtually throughout the rest of the fairgrounds, the midway particularly, there were no damages to structures there. Which is continuing to lead us to believe this was an isolated, significant wind gust that resulted in what occurred.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So, on the phone now from Indianapolis, Reporter Eric Halvorson with our affiliate WISH.
So Eric, anything more to be learned about perhaps the investigation of the actual structure and how it was put together?
ERIC HALVORSON, REPORTER, WISH: There's just within the last few hours, there has been a timeline provided by some of the investigators out at the state fairgrounds. And as part of the timeline and the release associated with it, they've said investigations and I'm just reading this as it appears word for word. "Investigations of this nature can take weeks or months to complete. And there will be no information released related to specific aspects of this ongoing investigation".
So I think at this point we'll keep looking at some of the video that you have of the stage coming down. And have to go with a lot of the speculation or theorizing that it was all related to the wind. But what you heard from sergeant David Bursten, the state police spokesman you had just before I came on saying that the rest of the midway was just fine, there was a statement released early this morning from the people who are running that part of the fair saying that they didn't have much more than a banner or two being torn down.
So they came through it just fine which confirms what Sergeant Bursten is saying that it was an isolated incident. But as you're looking at the video from the storm coming across the track there where the stadium stage is set up, it's coming across an open field with a dirt track around it heading right toward the grandstand. So there's a good, large open area for a breeze to come in within underneath the canopy that holds the, the stage rigging and pick it up and then just let it come falling down, crumbling down on top of the people in the immediate area around the Sugarland stage.
WHITFIELD: So, Eric, the five people, right now the death toll stands at five and dozens more who were injured. The majority of those deaths and injuries were those people who were actually working on stage?
HALVORSON: That's the way it sounds right now. I think I'm trying to remember exactly, the first two deaths that we had confirmed, I think, were of people who were working there. And then a third one was somebody who succumbed to injuries overnight and died from, from those injuries. But I believe he was also a worker there. I'd need to double-check the status of the other two. But I believe that to be the case with the majority of the, the fatalities.
WHITFIELD: OK. Eric Halvorson thanks so much of WISH for that report.
And one of our iReporters captured the moments leading up to the lapse and the terror that spread through the crowd as that stage fell. I talked with Jessica Silas earlier by phone about what she saw.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Jessica, as we're watching these images and moments before that collapse, there were people who were screaming in the background. So was there a sense that something very terrible was about to happen moments before the stage collapsed?
JESSICA SILAS, CNN IREPORTER (via telephone): I don't think anyone actually expected for the stage to collapse. But when you hear the people screaming, it was because of the wind and the dust.
In the beginning images of the video, you can see that the dust starts coming in. That's why I actually started recording in the first place because I had saw the people standing up and screaming and I saw the dust start coming. No one - I can't imagine anyone expected the stage would actually fall down.
WHITFIELD: And apparently some representatives of a radio station got on stage, told people that they've got about a four-minute warning before they may want to seek shelter? That's what one of the other eye witnesses we talked to at the beginning of the hour said. Do you remember that kind of instruction? If so, what were you and the people you were with planning to do?
SILAS: I remember that the person got on stage and said that there was severe weather in the area, and that they were going to try and continue with the concert. And if the weather got bad they were going to try to evacuate everybody and try to resume it afterwards. But I don't really remember him telling us we were supposed to start evacuating. He said we were going to keep going with the concert and see how the weather ended up. And then Five minutes later is when the stage fell.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: If you were at the Indiana State fair last night, we want to hear from you. Send us your video, pictures and your stories to ireport.com.
All right, turning now to presidential politics and the latest Republican to enter the race, Texas Governor Rick Perry, one day after declaring his candidacy in South Carolina Perry campaigned today in first primary state of New Hampshire. Tonight he makes his debut in the first caucus state of Iowa speaking at the Republican Lincoln day dinner in Waterloo.
Also taking the stage right at that same event Michele Bachmann, fresh off her victory in the Iowa straw poll. The Minnesota congresswoman beat rival Ron Paul by just a few hundred votes. Bachmann says her win was a message to President Obama that voters want a big change in leadership.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN, (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Issue after issue after issue, I've been at the tip of the spear and I've been a champion for people on these issues. I've been the fighter. So people want to know, who can we trust? Who can we believe? Who's going to fight for us while they're in Washington? They see that I've demonstrated that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Today Tim Pawlenty became the first presidential candidate to drop out of the race. The former Minnesota governor finished a distant third in the Iowa straw poll. He says his poor showing would have prevented him from raising funds to keep his campaign running.
All right, it's back to school this week for students in Joplin, Missouri, particularly on Wednesday for them. The town's main high school was severely damaged when a tornado hit the area may 22nd. Joplin high school will temporarily hold classes at a local mall. Yesterday I talked to the Joplin, Missouri, school superintendent and he said the community is cautiously excited to start the new year.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
C.J HUFF, SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT, JOPLIN, MISSOURI (on-camera): We had 54 percent of our students after the tornado that didn't have a place to go to school. So we had to build out about half of our district and find location was definitely a challenge. We did find about 95,000 square feet of space at the local mall and we built that out. We built out some warehouse spaces at two other locations. Brought some modular units in as well as combining some of our schools to make room for other schools. We've been successful in finding all of space for our students to start school on August 17th.
WHITFIELD: And Dr. Huff, how are the students doing? Are most feeling like they are ready to go back in school? I mean so many lost their homes and feel a little detached in that respect, just as many of the school buildings were destroyed. So were so many, you know kids' livelihoods at home.
HUFF: We're really being cautious as we go into this next school year. Our kids have been through a lot. Our families have been through a lot. Our teachers have been through a lot. But overall the general tone right now is that everybody's excited. You know we see this as a tremendous milestone for our school district and our community. Getting everybody back on track and ready to start school is an important part of getting back to that sense of normalcy and feel very good about where we're at. Kids are excited. The teachers are excited. Obviously our administration is excited. We're just really proud of what we've been able to accomplish as a team this year.
WHIFIELD: I understand if people want to they can actually adopt a student or adopt a school. Tell me how that works?
HUFF: We have two programs that we've been running. The adopt an eagle program where you can actually adopt a student to help meet their needs. We had 3,000 kids that lived in the path of that storm. And we have so many children we know that are going to come back and be missing a lot of things. So we're trying our best to take care of our kids and our families.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, Superintendent C.J. Huff there. Once again, if you want to adopt a student, a classroom or help in the rebuilding of Joplin schools, just go to joplinschools.org.
Rioting, burning, looting and fighting. Cities in the UK still in shock still in shock from an entire week of riot in Mayhem, British officials have plans to help beef up the police force. Details, next.
And we have a really pricey love story coming up for you. You won't believe what this 85-year-old woman gave up for the man she loves. Let's just say her kids stepped in to protect the family's assets.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The sudden and mysterious kidnapping of an American development expert in Pakistan. There's still no claim of responsibility for the abduction of Warren Weinstein. Men with guns stormed Weinstein's house in Lahore before dawn yesterday and drove away with him. Warren Weinstein is an international development expert who works for a consulting firm headquartered in Virginia.
Police in Norway got a firsthand re-enactment of last month's deadly terror attack. The man that you will see in red right there, also with the vest on, that's Anders Breivik accused of setting off a bomb in Oslo, July 22nd and then shooting dozens of people to death at an island youth camp. You see him here apparently pointing and gesturing. We're told he is retracing the steps and actually demonstrated for police how and where he opened fire on the camp. Police say Breivik did not express any remorse on his return to the shooting site.
And the president of Venezuela is said to be home again following a second round of chemotherapy in Cuba. These pictures are from President Hugo Chavez's last public appearance earlier this month. Chavez acknowledges that he has cancer. He just hasn't said what type.
In Birmingham, England, today, two men appeared before a judge on murder charges. They're accused of driving a car into three people during last week's wave of street clashes and fiery riots. It's much quieter today in London and Liverpool and Manchester, cities that endured a week of chaos. Ralitsa Vassileva is here from CNN international with more on all this.
So, what changed in this scene?
RALITSA VASSILEVA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, what they did was they more than tripled the police force. They kept it through the weekend even though there's been no rioting on the weekend. They still kept this beefed up police force. They have arrested a lot of people. The courts are full of people. They're looking at cases, 24 hours and they've been hope this whole weekend, more than 2,200 people have been arrested, 1,400 of them in London.
The prime minister has said this is going to be a case of zero tolerance. That courts are meting out tough sentences to the people they're convicting and charging. So they've really taken measures, very tough policing measures to make sure that those who committed those riots and looting are held accountable and think twice before they do something like that again.
WHITFIELD: And these policing measures are now reaching across the pond to a rather familiar face to some folks in the United States, L.A. in particular.
VASSILEVA: Very interesting. Prime Minister David Cameron told parliament last week that he is open to considering outsiders to help advice the British police which is suffering from a corruption scandal also suffering from allegations of incompetence.
So he is recruiting the former L.A. and New York police chief, William Bratton, who's known for innovative police tactics. He took on both those police departments when they were really in deep crisis and turned them around. So he's asking him to come and advice him on gang violence and social unrest. And he happens to be, which I didn't know, the best known U.S. law enforcement official in the UK because he has cooperated with British authorities since the '90s. The queen has awarded him a special award for developing relations between British and American police departments.
WHITFIELD: So is it unreasonable to think that perhaps the Brits have something else in mind for Mr. Bratton? Something bigger, maybe a little bit more permanent there?
VASSILEVA: There is speculation, ever since Prime Minister Cameron mentioned that he is open to a non-British national heading Scotland's yard that Bratton could be considered. And Bratton has made no secret that he is interested and he has ideas how to take that on. He is very familiar with the problems in Britain.
He'll be facing enormous challenges because the home secretary has ruled that out. She says no matter what the prime minister says, the next top cop of Britain will be a British citizen.
However, we know of these relations. We know that Bratton for sure is going to be an adviser. And I wanted to play a little bit of sound of how he believes that he can turn around things and help in Britain. Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM BRATTON, CHAIRMAN, KROLL: Really policing isn't about the numbers. It's rather about the partnerships that the police form with the community as force multipliers, working with the community to prioritize the problems that are causing fear in individual communities. It allows for an innate breakdown of cities into individual neighborhoods. The issues of those neighborhoods are then addressed on a priority basis with partnership with the police.
(END VIDEP CLIP)
VASSILEVA: Those have been his tactics. He's been very tough on crime. Zero tolerance. But he's also been about crime preventions in the first place working with communities which he called force multipliers. You don't need a lot of police. But you need to work with people. And once you gain their confidence they work with you and crime is prevented.
WHITFIELD: We'll see what the future holds for Bill Bratton as well as the UK.
Ralitsa Vassileva thanks so much. Appreciate that.
How much would you be willing to give up for love? How about $5 billion? For this woman that is not a rhetorical question. Her story is ahead in the chat room.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: OK, time to enter to chat room right now. Just for a little bit you know, we like to look at those stories that are kind a off the radar. We can wish we are on radar. At least Jacqui and I, you think so. (LAUGHTER)
WHITFILED: Let's have a fun little potpourri.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: What would you give up for love? Anything? Everything?
WHITFIELD: Five billion dollars?
JERAS: Five billion dollar?
WHITFIELD: That's the question they asked the duchess, the Spanish duchess, duchess of Alba. She is willing to give up everything for her new love.
JERAS: She's 85 years old.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
JERAS: Her new beau is 60 and her children apparently not so excited about the marriage.
WHITFIELD: Well, they stepped in quickly to say, OK, before you say I do, mom, let's make sure the family assets are fairly distributed, equally distributed, which the majority of you know which were. So they feel fairly protected. She's going to ride off into the sunset with her young beau.
JERAS: Yes. She's got palaces, castles, all kinds of property. She's got documents Christopher Columbus wrote.
WHITFIELD: And apparently the sentiments of Winston Churchill.
JERAS: Yes, and Queen Elizabeth. So, all right.
WHITFIELD: Yes, that's right. So you know it's all about love.
JERAS: Apparently she gave up everything for love.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
JERAS: Good for her.
WHITFIELD: I guess so. OK. You saw the movie "Top Gun," right? Hugely popular, a lot of people apparently remember the beach house, the cottage.
JERAS: Do you remember that? He rides up on his motorcycle. He goes and knocks on her door.
WHITFIELD: All I remember is that beach volleyball scene. Sorry. That's all I remember.
JERAS: That's a good one. He has to come in and take a shower, remember? Well, the house kind of dilapidated down, not it good condition. But now they are going to restored. This is an ocean side California.
WHITFIELD: That's right.
JERAS: They are trying to make a beach resort out of this area and that house were hoping to use as a coffee shop perhaps or some other kind of retail.
WHITFIELD: That's incredible. OK. So, this will be part of a $100 million beach front you just said that renovation project. I think they would pull in the tourists. People would kind a -
JERAS: I could see myself sitting on that beach. You know on that porch and drinking a coffee.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Icon movie, let's move on to another icon, Farrah Fawcett. Everyone loves Farrah Fawcett. I love Farrah Fawcett always and forever. Well, she has been immortalized in plastic now. That is a Barbie doll. That's just look exactly like that iconic image of her. The poster that I guess every teenage boy in America had hanging on their wall?
JERAS: Right.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Well, now if they still are in love with that image, they can get it in Barbie form.
JERAS: $35 at Barbiecollector.com.
WHITFIELD: And the proceeds going to her foundation, The Farrah Fawcett Foundation to help out and the research efforts of alternatives of cancer, treating cancer.
All right, we got it all in. It was quick.
JERAS: That's the way we roll here in the chat room.
(LAUGHTER)
WHITFIELD: All right, we'll check back with you later on, Jacqui. Thanks so much.
All right, have you heard about the five Hs? Our CNN hero explains next in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Have you ever looked around your neighborhood and seen people who need help? Well, that's the spark behind Helen Ashe. At age 83, she is still busy in the community kitchen that she founded 25 years ago. And she is our CNN hero of the week.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HELEN ASHE, CNN HERO: Daddy worked hard for what we got. He taught us not to take the last piece of bread from the table. Somebody may come by the home. My name is Helen Ashe and I am the happy founder of the love kitchen.
We address the needs of the five Hs, I say. The homeless, the hungry, the hopeless, the homebound and the helpless.
ELLEN ASHE, SISTER OF HELEN ASHE: Do you have the coffee and the cups out?
HELEN ASHE: My sister Ellen is a blessing to me.
ELLEN ASHE: How about those small tomatoes, Helen?
HELEN ASHE: The lord sent two because there's so much work to do for one. We went to nursing school. Back then, segregation was truly rampant. I just saw the black people that was having a problem with transportation and food.
So what we going to start on with this morning?
Every day on our way home, I will tell my sister, one day, I'm going to do something about this.
We get ready to open the line.
The first day we served 22 meals. That was in 1986. Since that time, we've been growing, growing, growing, growing.
Everybody here is a volunteer. They enjoy doing what we are doing. We deliver 1,400 to 2,200 meals every Thursday to our homebound people.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's my buddy.
HELEN ASHE: We worked hard to work for what we got and to share what we do here. And we help so many people. That's what keeps us going.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And if you know someone who deserves special recognition, just go to CNNheroes.com.
All right. Time to check stories. Our affiliates are covering as well. In Shreveport, Louisiana, a memorial service in honor of slain Navy SEAL, Robert Reeves. Reeves was among the 30 Americans killed in last weekend's helicopter crash in Afghanistan. Hundreds of people turned out.
Prayers for rain were answered in north Texas. About an inch fell yesterday. The wet weather was a welcome relief from the relentless heat. But it did little to help end the drought conditions plaguing the state. High temperatures returned today.
And rain elsewhere is triggering a new worry for pet owners. Veterinarians say animals are getting sick from toxic wild mushrooms. One man says his puppy got sick on a family camping trip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DAVID LYNN, PUPPY'S OWNER: We're sitting around the campfire when we noticed that our 13-week-old puppy was just acting really strange. It scared the heck out of us. Feet were going out from under him. He started drooling. At that point we knew obviously we needed to make a trip to a vet.
DR. DAVID ROBINSON, MEDICAL DIRECTOR, EVERGREEN ANIMAL HOSPITAL: We're seeing it fairly frequently, almost daily.
(END VIDEO CLIP) WHITFIELD: Vets say time is of the essence in treating poisoned animals. If you suspect your pet has ingested toxic mushrooms, contact your vet or a local pet hospital immediately.
All right, some pretty terrifying moments at the Indiana State fair.
A powerful wind gust sweeps through a grandstand during a concert, killing five people. We'll have an update.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Top stories now. The death toll in last night's stage collapse at the Indiana State fair has climbed to five. More than 40 other people were hurt. The stage crumbled during a powerful wind burst. Hundreds of people were in the grandstand when the stage collapsed. They were getting ready for a concert by Sugarland.
JENNA GIOE, WITNESS, STAGE COLLAPSE (on-camera): One of the radio stations that sponsored the concert, they had gotten on the stage, one of the radio talents. And they had said that there was some severe weather in the radar and it was coming our way. They weren't sure what was going to happen with the concert, but in case of emergency, they told us where to go and what buildings to head towards and how to evacuate.
WHITFIELD: Could you get possibly to those locations with that crowd looking at how many people were there?
GIOE: You could get there. Not in the manner that they want you to. You could get there. But in the four minutes, I'm not sure. What they did state to us was that the concert was trying to go on. They did say that they would let us know if we needed to evacuate and then he closed it and said the Sugarland would be on in just a couple of minutes.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: The Indiana State Fair is closed until tomorrow.
And it's back to school Wednesday for students in Joplin, Missouri. The town's main high school was severely damaged when a tornado hit the area May 22nd. Joplin High School will temporarily hold classes at a local mall. The school's superintendent says the community is cautiously excited to start the new year.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) C.J. HUFF, JOPLIN, MISSOURI SCHOOLS SUPERINTENDENT: We're really being cautious as we go into this next school year. Our kids have been through a lot. Our families have been through a lot. Our teachers have been through a lot. But, overall, the general tone right now is that everybody's excited. You know, we see this as a tremendous milestone for our school district and our community, getting everybody back on track and ready to start school.
So it's an important part of getting back to that sense of normalcy and feel very good about where we're at. You know, kids are excited. The teachers are excited. Obviously our administration is excited. We're just really proud of what we've been able to accomplish as a team this year.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: Ten Joplin schools were damaged or destroyed in the tornado.
In Stamford, Connecticut, a candle light vigil in honor of slain Navy SEAL Brian Bill. Bill was among the 30 Americans killed last weekend when an insurgent attack brought down their helicopter in Afghanistan. The vigil was held at Bill's old high school.
And this man will receive the highest U.S. Military Award for Bravery. Marine Corps Sergeant Dakota Meyer ran through the hails of enemy fire in Afghanistan to recover the bodies of several fallen comrades. President Barack Obama will present him with the Medal of Honor in a ceremony at the White House. Meyer will be just the third living Medal of Honor recipient from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
All right. Turning now to the presidential race and the game changing events this weekend. It started in South Carolina where a new candidate entered the race and ended in Iowa where one campaign bit the dust.
Let's go live now to Waterloo, Iowa, where CNN Political Reporter Peter Hamby is standing by live. So, Peter, first, let's talk about the candidate who dropped out of the race today because of his performance in the Ames Straw Poll. We're talking about Tim Pawlenty.
PETER HAMBY, CNN POLITICAL REPORTER: That's right, Fredricka.
We're entering an entirely new phase of the presidential race. Tim Pawlenty finished third in the straw poll after staking much of his campaign on doing well right here in Iowa. It was a distant third place finish and he had a conference call with supporters this morning saying, you know, he can't see how the campaign moves forward, how they -- how they can keep raising money. And so he stepped aside out of the race today.
He lost to Michele Bachmann, who kind of entered the race not too long ago and surged to the front of the polls. So she got a big burst of momentum. She's coming right here to Waterloo to speak today.
But Rick Perry, who as you said joined the race yesterday in Charleston, South Carolina, is making his Iowa debut here along with Michele Bachmann. But I want to show you this, Fredricka. This is a brand-new "Perry for President" sign. All the campaign, political junkies inside were snatching these up because we're all anxious to see how Rick Perry is on the stump as a candidate.
You know, we haven't really seen him yet. He was in New Hampshire last night. But Iowa will be a key state for him in this early nomination strategy. So he'll be here in a couple hours facing off with Michele Bachmann in her hometown, Fred.
WHITFIELD: And that's going to be interesting, because the two of them, perhaps not side by side, but they are going to be at that same event. And both will likely be, you know, vying for the spotlight. It'll be interesting to see what kind of dynamics there may be between the Michele Bachmann and the Rick Perry.
HAMBY: Yes. You know, that's exactly right. I mean, they are occupying a little bit of the same space in the Republican Primary contest. They both have an appeal to Tea Party activists, social conservatives, evangelicals. You know, Republicans who are backing Rick Perry think he's a little bit more of an electable alternative to Michele Bachmann. So we'll see tonight.
They're facing off head to head. They each have half hour speaking time here in Blackhawk County, Iowa, to a GOP dinner here. And we'll see if they try to draw any contrast with each other and try to make an impression. Perry clearly came out here today to kind of step on any momentum that Bachmann was going to get out of the straw poll victory yesterday. And Bachmann isn't going to let him steal the spotlight so she came up here to speak, too, Fred.
WHITFIELD: OK. And, Peter, you know, while you're talking, we're showing a rather darkened kind of images there. But that's in the location where that dinner will be taking place. We understand that Rick Perry is there kind of in the center of that mosh of people right there, so believe it when we say that he is there. That taking place in Waterloo, Iowa.
Of course, we'll continue to watch the developments throughout the evening. Peter Hamby, thanks so much.
HAMBY: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: All right. Coming out of retirement to enter the workforce. It's a decision many of you are making right now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JACKIE BOOLEY, CANCELED RETIREMENT: I don't believe in my heart I will ever be able to retire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: One woman tells why she canceled her retirement and why she thinks she'll die working.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Magicians use magic hats to pull objects out of thin air. But a new invention could give everyone a similar power.
Gary Tuchman has this "Technovation."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Imagine shopping online, seeing something you like and then just printing it out. It might sound crazy, but a new invention called the MakerBot could change the way you think.
BRE PETTIS, INVENTOR, MAKERBOT: Normally, when you need something, you think, OK, where am I going to shop for that? When you have a MakerBot, you just think, oh, maybe I'll just make it myself.
TUCHMAN: It's a personal 3D printer that makes actual three dimensional objects.
PETTIS: When you have a MakerBot, you just make anything. You can -- your imagination can go wild (ph).
TUCHMAN: Objects are made by melting plastic into thin spaghetti-like strings. Then, layer-by-layer, it's built into the desired object like this comb.
PETTIS: People who like to cook, they're going to make spatulas. People who like to fix things around the house, they're going to make coat hooks and replacement parts. It's really limitless what you can do with this.
TUCHMAN: You can create your designs or download others created by users around the world.
PETTIS: It's about the closest thing you can get to teleportation like that, but physical objects over the internet.
TUCHMAN: Turning visions into reality.
Gary Tuchman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Stock market turmoil has many Americans worried about their savings. Some are rethinking their retirement plans.
Allan Chernoff looks at one retired woman who went back to work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BOOLEY: Thank you for calling Customer Service. This is Jackie. How may I help you? ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SENIOR CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jackie Booley never thought she'd still be working at the age of 66. In fact, she retired from her job as a call center manager for AT&T back in 2007. The next year, the stock market plunged and Booley's investments suffered a devastating blow.
BOOLEY: It hit me hard. I lost about 50 percent of what I had and now I have not recovered from it since.
CHERNOFF: Her nest egg, a 401(k) and individual retirement account, was chopped in half. Social Security didn't cover all her expenses, so Jackie had no choice but to go back to work as a customer service agent.
BOOLEY: I don't believe in my heart I will ever be able to retire. I will die working. It's as simple as that.
CHERNOFF: That simple truth is a reality for many Americans who, like Booley, are seeking work after retirement or even postponing it. More than a quarter of American workers now say they are not at all confident about retirement. According to the Employee Benefit Research Institute, that's the highest level in the two decades the institute has been asking that question. The awful job market has been especially harsh on older Americans.
LORI PARHAM, AARP SENIOR ADVISER: When we talk to our members and in our latest polling, they tell us that their financial security is one of their biggest concerns. And at the moment they don't feel like they have what they need to retire.
CHERNOFF: Though Booley is still invested in stocks, she has little faith the market will jump back.
BOOLEY: It would take me another 10 years to amass any kind of 401(k) to even look at retiring.
CHERNOFF: So instead, she's doing her best to enjoy her new working life. Rather than dreaming of retirement, Jackie Booley dreams about being a rock star.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And in today's "Reclaim Your Career," it's more than laid off people who are looking for jobs these days. Business owners who can't stay afloat as well as stay-at-home moms are searching for jobs.
Earlier, I talked to life coach Valorie Burton and she gave us some tips for getting back into the career game.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
VALORIE BURTON, LIFE COACH: When I wrote my most recent book, "Where Will You Go from Here?" I get these five commitments. And the first one is I will not feel sorry for myself. And so, you know what, mourn your losses. I know this isn't the way you planned it. This isn't what you -- where you want to be right now.
WHITFIELD: Pick yourself up and figure out a way to move on.
BURTON: That's right. But you've got to be able to move forward. You need that energy to look for a job. You don't have room for that negative energy.
WHITFIELD: And you need that energy, because when you look at the crowded job marketplace, "crowded" meaning there are a whole lot of people who are vying for that, you know, one or two or just a handful of jobs, you've got to be in it, I guess, and try not to get discouraged by that crowd.
BURTON: So you can't look -- you can't be deterred by the crowded job market. If you are needing a job right now you can't focus on what you don't have. Focus on what you do that and that's just an attitude shift. It does not help you to focus on, oh, my goodness, I'm not going to get a job. At some point you are going to get a job and just make that determination now.
WHITFIELD: So you may have to kind of sell yourself a little differently. You have all this experience, perhaps. And now you've got to figure out a new way to reframe it to kind of sell yourself. How do you do that?
BURTON: Yes. So you must reframe the experience. Particularly for business owners, because, you know, it's not about that you ran the company and you started it from scratch. You've got to say, well, you know what, I've got a lot of great management skills, perhaps it's budgeting skills. You also need to be clear about how you let them know, how your experience translates for that employer. And begin to paint the picture for them so they can actually envision you being their employee.
WHITFIELD: And when you say tap on your personal network, meaning, yes, let everybody know?
BURTON: Yes.
WHITFIELD: I'm looking for work.
BURTON: That's right. And you know what? It's better to ask people for advice than to ask them for a job. So, you know, tap into that network. Let them know what it is you're trying to do, but then ask for their advice. Because if people don't know of jobs, they kind of get a little bit, I think, anxious when people are asking them do you have a job? Is there a job for me? Instead ask their advice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right. Valorie Burton, great advice there.
Two strong Republican presidential candidates meeting at the same event tonight in Iowa. Texas Governor Rick Perry, as you see right there in the center and Iowa Straw Poll winner Michele Bachmann, they are both in our "Political Ticker," next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: All right. Time for a "CNN Equals Politics" update. We're keeping an eye on all the latest headlines on the CNNPolitics.com desk. And here is what's crossing right now.
Tim Pawlenty is no longer in the presidential race. The former Minnesota governor dropped out today citing the results of the Iowa Straw Poll. Pawlenty finished a distant third behind Michele Bachmann and Ron Paul.
And in just about two hours from now, Michele Bachmann addresses the Republican Lincoln Day Dinner in her hometown of Waterloo, Iowa. She will share the spotlight with her newest GOP rival, Texas Governor Rick Perry, who declared his candidacy this weekend. It's the first of several appearances Perry will be making in Iowa over the next three days.
And tomorrow, President Barack Obama kicks off a three-day multi-state bus tour. He'll focus on job creation and the economy during stops in Minnesota, Iowa and Illinois. Candidate Obama won all three states in 2008, but Iowa and Minnesota could be up for grabs come 2012.
And for the latest political news, you know exactly where to go, CNNPolitics.com.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: The movie "The Help" had a solid debut this weekend coming in second with $25 million in ticket sales. The film is based on the best-selling novel of the same name set in the Civil Rights era of Mississippi. Oscar nominee Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer play maids in the new movie and they say its historic location gave them perspective.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIOLA DAVIS, ACTRESS: Filming in Mississippi, which is two miles from the Tallahatchie River where the body of Emmitt Till was found in Money, Mississippi six miles down the river, 12 miles from Indianola, the birthplace of the White Citizens Council, and then being in a movie that is set in 1961, yes, you're swallowing some pretty heavy duty emotions on a day-to-day basis.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: So yesterday I talked to film critic Gray Drake and she gave Viola, Octavia and the movie excellent reviews.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GRAE DRAKE, FILM CRITIC, FANDANGO&MOVIES.COM: I loved this movie -
WHITFIELD: Wow.
DRAKE: -- more than women in the 1960s loved their beehives. I got to tell you. I mean, there's -- you know, a lot of people are talking about this film, because -
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DRAKE: -- like you've said it's an adaptation, and I was really scared that they were going to screw it up, because I'm a big fan of the book. And the good news is they nailed it.
WHITFIELD: Really.
DRAKE: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And sometimes that doesn't always happen.
DRAKE: Absolutely.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DRAKE: Oh, my gosh, I know, I was so nervous. And the thing about it is that you've got really heavy hitters in this movie like Sicily Tyson and Sissy Spacek up against performers that we don't really know so well like Octavia Spencer, who you saw in that clip.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DRAKE: She said more with an mm-hmm than most actresses can say in an entire monologue. They really do such a great job performing the story.
Now, the plot is not about subtlety. And I can see why Viola Davis may have been, you know, had some reservations about being in the film at first.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
DRAKE: But the performances are so spectacular in this that they bring the subtlety. And they bring the nuance to it. And I just couldn't rip my eyes from it. I really was -- I thought it was heart- warming and I thought that it -- it touched me a little bit. I got confirmation from my boyfriend, he got misty, just saying.
WHITFIELD: OK, OK. That good.
DRAKE: That this movie got (ph) everybody.
WHITFIELD: So what was your grade?
DRAKE: I gave this movie an "A" for Abeline, played by Viola Davis, who needs to start doing bicep exercises so she can hoist her Oscar trophy into the air in February.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: Grae Drake, always telling it like it is on the Movie Reviews. She said go see it.
All right. Coming up at the top of the hour, more of the CNN NEWSROOM with our Don Lemon just back from Ames, Iowa. Good to see you.
But you've got to work the next, too.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Yes. I'll do that.
WHITFIELD: Yes, she did that.
LEMON: Oh, we'll talk about the Ames. I'm exhausted, by the way. Fred, but I want to get to some serious stuff and then we'll get to that.
We have an update on an outrage story involving a "kids for cash" conviction. Here's what caught our attention. A woman named Sandy Fonzo confronting the judge who's at the center of the case. Listen.
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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ma'am.
SANDY FONZO, MOTHER: My kid is not here. He's dead because of him. He ruined my [bleep] life. I would like him to go to hell and rot there forever.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ma'am, come on.
FONZO: No, you know what he told everybody in court, they need to be held accountable for their actions. You need to be. Do you remember me? Do you remember my son? An all-star wrestler. He's gone! He shot himself in the heart! You scum bag!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: She joined us, Fred, right after that and she's going to join us again. We're going to check in, now that that judge has been convicted, and is going to serve some time, and all the boys that went to jail under him are going to be released. This is a very interesting story. We're going to check with her.
And now we can talk politics. Oh, my God. You've been there before.
WHITFIELD: This is the big -- I have. Ames is very quaint and cute.
LEMON: Oh, it's great.
WHITFIELD: And, of course, it's the centerpiece of presidential politics this time of year and beyond.
LEMON: Got to go to Ames and the fair, the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. I got to eat some food. I did not eat the fried butter, but I ate about just about every other fried thing that was there.
I got to hang out with a lot of the candidates at the Straw Poll. I talked to Ron Paul. I talked to Herman Cain. I got to spend some time with Rick Santorum. I saw Michele Bachmann and Sarah Palin.
WHITFIELD: That's right. LEMON: Sarah Palin -- Sarah Palin, I spent a little time with her.
WHITFIELD: She talked quite extensively. She's been rather tight- lipped lately and she gave you a lot.
LEMON: She gave me a lot. She actually kind of focused on me while we were there and she and her husband and they were very gracious.
A lesson, we're going to do that at 10:00 about no talking points, because that's what she said a candidate should do. But I talked to her about people comparing her and Michele Bachmann. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FMR. ALASKA GOVERNOR: Just because there may happen to be two women in the race that they would, you know -- as Michele put it once, get in the mud and engage in cat fighting, that's ridiculous. It's kind of even a sexist notion to consider that two women would be kind of duking it out. No. If I want to duke it out, I'm going to duke it out with the guys.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: That sounds like you. If I'm going to duke it out, I'll duke it out with a guy.
WHITFIELD: What's your problem with that?
LEMON: You can duke it out with a guy, right? You can duke it out with anyone.
And also, I asked her if Todd said don't run, what would she do? And she said he would never do that. He's standing right next to her. And you'll see it. We'll play it for you.
WHITFIELD: It's clear that's not the kind of relationship that they have.
LEMON: Yes. No, not at all. Not at all.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. All right. We'll be watching.
LEMON: All right, Fred.
WHITFIELD: At the top of the hour. Don Lemon, thanks so much.
All right. Let's check in with our Jacqui Jeras for one last time on people who have been very relieved about a lot of rain, but then the northeast got a little too much.
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Oh, man. The total is so impressive, Fredricka. And many of them are records. Some for the day, some for the month, believe it or not.
Lido Beach had more than 10 inches. New York City, JFK, LaGuardia and Central Park, all had records today between five and seven inches. Philly had a record, almost five inches; four in Newark, Bridgeport Airport in Connecticut also having a record.
And we've got flood watches and warnings still out there. So there was a lot of high water, especially this morning. Be aware of that if you're traveling around for today. And the rain still coming down, so we'll watch those numbers go up as we head into the evening. This is the same system that caused the severe weather and the damage in Indiana late yesterday.
Severe weather today here across the Carolinas, as well as into Virginia. We do have one tornado warning. This is in Pender County, North Carolina. Law enforcement recording a tornado right now near St. Helena. This is moving to the east in places like Moretown (ph) and Edgecombe are included and this is going to be crossing I-40.
So lots of travel delays there across the northeast because of those storms, and they're going to stick around for tomorrow as well -- Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much, Jacqui. I appreciate that.
I'm Fredricka Whitfield. Thanks for being with me this afternoon.
Don Lemon up next with more of the NEWSROOM after this.
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