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Feds Interview Anti-Islam Filmmaker; 2 U.S. Marines Killed in Afghanistan; FBI Investigators Heading to Shattered Benghazi Compound
Aired September 15, 2012 - 19:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon. Thank you for joining us. Let me get up to speed on the day's headlines.
More rallies in Chicago as a teacher's strike entered its sixth day. This rally was held in the streets this afternoon as both sides say a tentative deal has been reached. Union officials are meeting tomorrow. They'll be voting on the terms of a rework contract.
Parents are hopeful students will be back in the classroom come Monday morning.
The Taliban say they are responsible for the deaths of two United States Marines. It happened in Helmand Province. And overnight, assault at a joint U.S. and British base where Britain's Prince Harry is stationed. Taliban have threatened to capture or kill Prince Harry during his deployment. Coalition says all the Taliban fighters except for one were killed.
New graphic video today out of Syria. At least 145 people were killed across the country today. That's according to an opposition group.
Syria's president, Bashar al-Assad, says he's committed to resolving the crisis as long as peace efforts are conducted in neutrality and independence. He met today with a new international envoy from the United Nations and Arab League.
Meanwhile, special envoy for the U.N. refugee agency, Angelina Jolie, is speaking out about the Syrian crisis.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELINA JOLIE, SPECIAL ENVOY, U.N. REFUGEE AGENCY: I share in everyone's concerns about the winter approaching. With the violence and conflict showing no signs of easing up and the numbers growing as people are crossing the borders and -- it is a very large concern for all of us and I hope we can all work together to make sure that, of course, you know, to be blunt, nobody freezes to death in this very, very frightened time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Jolie visited a Syrian refugee camp in Baghdad today.
Pope Benedict is calling for religious freedom in the Middle East. Crowds in Lebanon cheered for the Pope on the second day of his visit there.
The Pope praised Lebanon as an example of how Christians and Muslims can coexist peacefully. The marriages between Christian and Muslims are not uncommon there. But the area has seen violence. Police killed one person yesterday after armed men stormed a restaurant during protests in Tripoli.
Throughout the Arab world, voices are still raised in anger against the United States. But the protests in Libya, Tunisia, and in Egypt today were smaller in size and lower in volume. A mob started to form near the U.S. embassy in Cairo but security forces broke it up. The U.S. made film that's considered insulting to Islam lit a deadly fire among Muslim protesters this week.
And these protests aren't just happening in the Muslim world. In Sydney, Australia, protesters clashed violently with police.
Look at the scene -- the angry scene outside of the U.S. consulate, things turned violent when police moved in to push the -- some 300 protesters back. Authorities used tear gas and police dogs to disperse the demonstrators, six people were hurt.
We are getting our first glimpses of the suspected creator of the anti-Muslim film that has ignited widespread protests throughout the Muslim world. Los Angeles deputies paraded the man out of his southern California home early this morning. Authorities say the man wrapped in a towel is Nakoula Basseley Nakoula. They wanted to question him about possible probation violation. Nakoula served prison time for bank fraud and is banned from using a computer.
The film "Innocence of Muslims" was uploaded to YouTube. Investigators say the man is not in custody or under arrest.
To shed some more light on the man behind this controversial film, we're joined by CNN's Miguel Marquez.
So, Miguel, why take him in for questioning now? What's with the timing in all of this?
MIGUEL MARQUEZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is all part of the federal government's effort to investigate his parole -- his -- the terms of his parole and probation. He's on five years supervised probation after being convicted of bank fraud in 2010.
One of -- there are 26 conditions that go along with that probation and one of them is that he's not allowed to use any devices or access the Internet without first informing his parole officer, or at least having his parole officer sign off on that device or in way he's using the Internet. I mean, there are certain things like banking and other things that one needs to do in order to survive or paying bills. But that's something that his parole officer has to sign of on.
It is not clear given all of the activity in undertaking in making this film that Mr. Nakoula lived up to the terms of that parole. So, he was taken in yesterday, voluntarily, went in to talk to parole officers in Los Angeles. Apparently, he may have been taken to another location now but he's out. He's free.
And we may be seeing the next -- days to come full-on parole hearing or probation hearing so that his status can be either left as it is, updated, or changed completely.
LEMON: Yes. And, Miguel, it seems that the more you investigate, the more you look into it, the more you find out about this man. He certainly does have a checkered pass.
MARQUEZ: Oh, he does indeed. The bank fraud from 2010, he did it for several years. He developed several -- about 17 different aliases that we can count. He had documents of all stripes with different names, birth dates and the like, represented himself as Israeli American and it turns out he is Egyptian and Coptic Christian.
He was basically -- putting these -- those bank cards, those credit card bank cards into fictitious bank accounts, withdrawing cash, using an ATM card, and then abandoning the accounts. He did this in the tens of thousands of dollars. By the end of it, he was ordered to pay merely $800,000 by the courts.
LEMON: So, I know you have been, again, digging into this. I saw a story where you spoke to one of the actresses in the movie. Anybody else? Any of the other actors in the movie talking?
MARQUEZ: They are beginning to talk. There is a lot of nervousness and concern about being too public because they have concerns for themselves and their families especially. But the more they see, the reaction, what's happened in the Middle East, they feel like it is -- they feel like they have to speak out because they want the world to know that they did not know what they were getting into. They were playing bit parts. It was small movie. These are young actors trying to get going.
And they wanted as much experience as possible. They thought it was cheesy movie while making it, but didn't realize the implications they were getting involved in. Actors now telling me that their actual voices were dubbed by someone else, it's not even their voice that says some of the more controversial things in that 15-minute clip -- Don.
LEMON: All right. Miguel, thank you very much. We appreciate it.
The Taliban now claiming responsibility for killing two U.S. Marines in a strike on the U.S./British military complex in Afghanistan. The attack focused on the British-run Camp Bastion where Prince Harry is stationed.
Anna Coren has more from Kabul.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: There's serious questions being raised amongst U.S. and NATO forces, is to how the Taliban could infiltrate the heavily fortified Camp Bastion in Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. Twenty Taliban members armed with small weapons, suicide IED, were able to get through the perimeter. Killing two U.S. marines and wounding several others. The Taliban says this attack is in response to the inflammatory video that's outraged much of the Muslim world.
Other Taliban members say that Prince Harry was the target. Prince Harry, of course, is based at Camp Bastion, but officials say he was nowhere near the assault and was never in danger.
He's in a four-month rotation here in Afghanistan as a gunner on an Apache attack helicopter.
In other big news, there's another green on blue attack. This time, an Afghan police officer turning his weapon on NATO soldiers killing two of them. That takes this year's death toll up to 47. It's a huge concern for the coalition who are in the process of transferring power to the Afghan armed forces.
Anna Coren, CNN, Kabul.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right. Anna, a chilling look inside of the U.S. consulate that was attacked in Benghazi.
And more details on how that attack was carried out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: Currently you cannot control these groups, currently?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are not far from the truth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The outrage in the Middle East and Northern Africa all over you a YouTube film. We're asking why the Arab world is so easily offended.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: FBI investigators were expected to arrive today at the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, where attackers killed a U.S. ambassador and three other Americans. But they postponed the trip until the volatile region is safer.
CNN senior international correspondent Arwa Damon went inside the battered compound and shows us firsthand how the attack occurred.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Amid the ash, soot and debris, remnants of a life that was and what it meant to those stationed here. Scrawled on this sheet, "Libya is so important." Traces of blood stained the walls. What is now a blackened ruin was a pleasant compound in an upscale Benghazi neighborhood. Libyan officials say Tuesday night's attack was planned by Islamist militants and quickly overwhelmed the Libyan and American guards. The compound's first line of defense easily breached.
(on camera): According to one of the Libyan guards who was stationed at the gate, armed with only a radio, the assault happened simultaneously from three different directions. He says that he initially heard chanting growing increasingly louder and then, suddenly, the gunfire, the rocket-propelled grenades and other heavy machine gunfire all began attacking the compound.
He is so terrified of repercussions he is refusing to appear on camera. He says at one point the masked men came over and threatened to kill him at gunpoint for protecting the infidels. He only survived because another individual within their ranks intervened and managed to lead him away.
(voice-over): A rocket-propelled grenade took out the power and set the main residence on fire.
Here, the bedroom where U.S. ambassador Chris Stevens stayed. Part of a small suite. We are told this is where the ambassador, after being separated from his guards in the chaos, smoke and darkness died of smoke inhalation.
(on camera): What we're being told is that the ambassador's security detail brought him into this location, shutting the door, trying to ensure his safety. And then we are being told when the situation finally calmed down the ambassador's body was then taken out through this window by a group of Libyans.
(voice-over): Other consulate staff were evacuated to what was supposed to be a safe house, but then it, too, was targeted. That's where two more Americans died.
Libya's government has vowed to bring the perpetrators to justice, but the country's president touring the site admitted that would be difficult.
MOHAMED MOGARIAF, PRES., LIBYAN GENERAL NATIONAL CONGRESS: We'll do our utmost. Whether we succeed or not, God help us. But we expect help from our friends.
DAMON (on camera): Currently you're not capable. Currently you cannot control these groups, currently?
MOGARIAF: They are not far from the truth.
DAMON (voice-over): The question is whether the United States underestimated the threat from hostile groups here.
(on camera): One Libyan security official told me that he met with American officials in Benghazi three days before the attack took place. He says he warned them not for the first time that security in Benghazi was deteriorating. He said, quote, "We told the Americans the situation was frightening. It scares us." The ambassador, too, seems to have been aware of the general threat from Islamist militants, but no one anticipated the terrible violence that would take his life and the life of three other Americans on Tuesday night.
Arwa Damon, CNN, Benghazi, Libya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: So the attack on the Benghazi consulate was the deadliest incident this sudden blazing fury towards the United States. But look at this, Lebanon, Sudan, India, and Palestinian territories, Tunisia, Yemen, and, of course, Egypt, violence and destruction to embassies, American schools and even fast food restaurants -- all of this anger exploding from the Arab world over an amateur hour video clip posted on the Internet, that the government had nothing on do.
I want to talk now to Professor Fouad Ajami, excuse me from that. He's a senior fellow at the Stanford University Hoover Institution. He's former director of Middle East studies at John Hopkins University.
Thank you, professor, for joining us. Your fascinating opinion piece in "The Washington Post" is titled "Why is the Arab world so easily offended?" So, let's hear it. Why is the Arab world so easily offended?
FOUAD AJAMI, HOOVER INSTITUTION: You know, Don, I wish I could give you a succinct answer. I think we know what we know about the Arab world today. We know that anti-Americanism is almost like the standard diet particularly for the young people. When you talk about a world which is angry, when you talk about a world with mass unemployment, political dictatorships, it's not, you know, not unexpected. We have seen these things before.
And anti-Americanism is the default of the -- sentiment of the people in the streets. So here you have this primitive film, as you rightly describe it, causes protests in 20 countries that countries you mention and even ironically all the way to Australia.
LEMON: So Americans are -- let's just say Americans are offended by something that is done by the Arab world. But we don't take to the streets or blow up embassies because we are offended by it. So what gives here? So, what -- what do you do?
AJAMI: I think it's very interesting question. I think when you take a look -- I think what you have the here, a lot of people talk about it, it is a clash of civilizations, clash of values. In the West, we adhere to freedom of expression. We allow a filmmaker to make a vulgar film.
LEMON: Mr. Ajami, if I could interrupt for a second. You said it is a clash of civilization. When we look at these protests and we look at the deaths of four Americans, we don't look at that here as civilized. This is uncivilized behavior to us. AJAMI: Absolutely. When you even to -- to increase, if you will, the pain for the American people as they look at the world, when you realize that Benghazi in particular, that Benghazi was rescued by the United States, Gadhafi was on his way to Benghazi, he announced even to the people of Benghazi that he was coming, that is forces were coming to slaughter them, house by house, street by street, alley by alley. When you realize that Ambassador Stevens was a force in rescuing the city of Benghazi from the terror of Moammar Gadhafi, you can see the pain of ingratitude and you can see what exactly the vulnerable American position in that tormented Muslim world.
LEMON: Yes. It is a contradiction, when you have people that are fighting to be from under the fist of a dictator who want democracies. That's not what a democracy looks like. If you have something that offends you in a democracy you go -- take the proper channels. You don't -- you know, it is not an eye for an eye in a democracy.
AJAMI: You know, Don, it's -- will is a question that's being raised, if you will, about the Arab spring and liberation of these countries from the group of the dictators, I understand that. This is a very important question to ask about the harvest of this autumn spring. But let's go back and imagine what the dictators did, Hosni Mubaraks and Gadhafis and so on -- 9/11, it came to us, 11 years ago, was really about the harvest of dictatorships. We had a pact with the dictatorships and it would allow the terrorists, turn a blind eye to them so long as they hit America and hit outside the borders of these regimes.
LEMON: Many people have a hard time believing that it was just this film that caused so much uproar. Anyone can make a decision in this society, anywhere in the West, to do some silly movie or some silly spoof or something, and it's going to happen again in the future.
What do you do to stir up such -- to stop stirring up some violence? A lot of people don't believe it's just a movie. That vaguely, the movie was just an excuse.
AJAMI: Yes, absolutely. The movie is a pretext. The movie is an excuse, you are exactly right. The movie was -- it came as a gift, if you will, a terrible gift, to these people sitting and waiting to be offended.
That's the piece you were kind enough to mention, that I wrote in "The Washington Post." It's about the eagerness to be offended and take to the streets and commit an act of violence and waiting for this.
So some Danish newspaper draws cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad, you go to the street. Now, this stupid film, ridiculous film, vulgar film, is -- there is even no film. There is just the trailer.
LEMON: Right.
AJAMI: So this trailer of a film becomes a big excuse as well.
LEMON: Fouad Ajami, I appreciate talking to you. Thank you.
AJAMI: Thank you. Thank you very much.
LEMON: Thank you.
So how much money in the U.S., in U.S. aid, goes to the Middle East and North Africa? Well, last year alone, nearly $10 billion in foreign assistance was given to the region, about $2 billion of that to countries in North Africa. Israel, Afghanistan, and Egypt are the largest recipients. Money goes to everything from peace, security, and government issues to health and economic initiatives.
The United States is the world's largest donor of foreign aid, given as -- giving as much as $50 billion every single year.
A programming note for you tomorrow on "STATE OF THE UNION," Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks to our Candy Crowley about Israel's escalating tensions with Iran and strength of the U.S./Israeli relationship. Plus, an exclusive interview with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi. That's on "STATE OF THE UNION" tomorrow, 9:00 Eastern and again at noon Eastern. Make sure you watch that.
LEMON: Public breast-feeding battles have been waged for years now, for decades really. But one feeding that just happened has raised quite a few eyebrows.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Breast-feeding 101. It is not a class offered at many universities. However, when one proposer began breast-feeding her child during class, it did more than stray from the syllabus.
CNN's Lisa Sylvester reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LISA SYLVESTER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Assistant Professor Adrienne Pine is starting her fourth year at American University. The single mom normally leaves her daughter Lee at a Washington daycare while at work. But on the first day of fall classes, her 11-month-old daughter woke up with a slight fever.
ADRIENNE PINE, AMERICAN UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR: I didn't have any emergency daycare. And I couldn't bring her to the regular daycare. And so, I was faced with this really difficult choice of being there for my students, which to me as a professional the most important thing for me to do. Or -- you know, or taking care of my daughter. And the only way I could do both of those things was to bring my daughter to class.
SYLVESTER: During her class of 40 students her daughter began getting fussy. She was hungry. So, Pine, who says she has nursed her daughter at other public places, including parks and airplanes, even several locations on campus, breast-fed her daughter during class.
PINE: I very discreetly fed her. I don't believe that any part of my breast really was showing. I don't think my nipple was showing. And in any case, the most important thing for me was feeding her and, you know, within a couple much minutes, she fell asleep.
SYLVESTER: One student, Jake Carias, was shocked. Later tweeting, quote, "Sex gender and culture professor, total feminist, walks in with her baby. Midway through class, breast-feeding time. WTF."
Carias spoke exclusively to CNN.
JAKE CARIAS, STUDENT: She could have taken a sick day, stayed with the child. The T.A. would have come into class, read the syllabus, gave us an explanation as to why she was not there and our class would have level early and no one would have complained. There would have been no problems at all.
Pine lashed at the university student reporter in a scathing blog. She was writing an article about what happened. But Pine insists her intention was never to be what she calls a breast-feeding activist.
Student reaction on American University's campus was mix.
JANE MORICE, STUDENT: I didn't think she was trying to be, like, oh, look what I can do. I thought she was just feeding her child.
JAMES ADAMS, STUDENT: For the first day of class, I think it's probably a little inappropriate.
JULIA RICCH, STUDENT: I understand that it's like a natural thing and like part of human nature. But at the same time like, we're not used to that, especially as college students who probably never had a child.
SYLVESTER: Pine says there is a much larger issue here that there are tough choices, particularly for working mothers. Many who grapple with how to balance work demands with a sick child.
PINE: I had bottle fed my daughter, I would not have been attacked for that? If a male professor brought his child to class, the response would be how sweet, how cute. How fatherly of him. Whereas as a woman when I do that, you know, you know, I get attack.
SYLVESTER (voice-over): I asked Adrienne Pine if the situation were the same would she do it again. She says probably not. She just didn't expect this kind of backlash. She says, though, that she's learned people are still squeamish about public breast-feeding and hopes this begins a new conversation about the need for adequate child care options for working parents.
Lisa Sylvester, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: All right, Lisa.
We often hear about business owners selling their companies without any care or concern about their employees. Howard Cooper is not of those business owners. And this week, he made his mark by giving back to the staff that helped make his car dealership successful. Cooper gave all 89 employees $1,000 for every year they worked at his dealership. One employee had been there for 46 years, another for 30 years. At a thousand dollar as year, well, you get the idea. Cooper called in to a local radio show to talk about his big gift.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIOP)
HOWARD COOPER, DEALERSHIP OWNER: It was an emotional experience, but it was fun. (INAUDIBLE) for myself as well as the staff.
ANN COOPER, HOWARD COOPER'S WIFE: I think that he is a man that really admires loyalty and I think he had so many employees that were here for 20, 30, 40-some, almost 50 years, and I think he wanted to do something to -- something nice for them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: The final payout isn't known but Howard Cooper has certainly made his mark. That is a great boss.
New voter ID law threatens to take away a woman's vote all because she's autistic.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: She doesn't drive but she always votes. Now, an autistic woman in Philadelphia has hurdle to jump before casting a vote in November, the state's controversial new voter ID laws. Sarah met with her and her sister.
CNN's Sarah Hoye met with her and her sister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUZANNE WILLIAMSON, REGISTERED VOTER: This here is her birth certificate.
SARAH HOYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Suzanne Williamson is frustrated and spent the last several weeks trying to get her younger sister a voter ID card because of a new voting rights law.
S. WILLIAMSON: So this really bothered me because she's been voting. And why am I going through all of this?
HOYE: Pennsylvania lawmakers pass ad new voter ID law in march requiring voters to show a photo ID before casting their ballots.
This week, the state Supreme Court heard the controversial case that's on appeal following a lower court's August 15th decision to uphold it.
Supporters of the law say it will help curb voter fraud. But a comment in June by a top GOP legislator posted on YouTube raising concerns over the law's intent.
MIKE TURZAI, MAJORITY LEADER, PENNSYLVANIA'S STATE HOUSE: Voter ID which is going to allow Governor Romney, to win the state of Pennsylvania, done.
HOYE: Critics of the new law say the new requirement will disenfranchise voters during a heated election season.
WITOLD "VIC" WALCZAK, LEGAL DIRECTOR, ACLU OF PENNSYLVANIA: Given the vast majority of people impacted about by this law are poor, are uneducated, are of color, live in cities, i.e., Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, and are likely to vote Democratic, this law could have an impact on the presidential election.
HOYE: Williamson, who does not have a car, made several trips to the DMV to no avail, on behalf of her sister who is autistic and does not have acceptable photo identification.
S. WILLIAMSON: I feel as though it's taken away something from her because this is what she has been -- knew of my mother, she enjoys doing it and it gives her something, something in her life. A lot of things have been taken away from her -- a lot.
HOYE: Williamson turned to the Pennsylvania voter ID coalition, a group of volunteers working to educate people on the new law for help out of fear she won't get her sister a voter ID card in time for the presidential election.
JOE CERTAINE, PENNSYLVANIA VOTER ID COALITION: People like her who have the determination to get it done regardless of the cost or regardless of the number of obstacles that are put in front of you will inspire anybody to keep up the work.
HOYE: Williamson says her sister voted in every election for as long as she can remember. And Mattie isn't shy about who she is casting a ballot for.
MATTIE WILLIAMSON, NEEDS PENNSYLVANIA VOTER ID CARD: We are voting for President Obama because he's the man.
HOYE: Williamson says she will stop at nothing to see Mattie vote this November.
S. WILLIAMSON: She should be able to vote. I'm going to see that she does.
HOYE: Sarah Hoye, CNN, Philadelphia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: Well, we have an update on this story. Mattie was able to get that photo ID, allowing her to cast a vote in November.
It's a little half past the hour now. I will get you caught up the headlines.
First up, this.
Outrage over austerity was on display today in Madrid, Spain. Tens of thousands of protesters rallied in the capital, venting their anger over sharp budget cuts. They say the cuts will hurt them more than the wealthy. Activists say they'll protest until their voices are heard.
Thirty-five thousand people attended the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's funeral in South Korea today. Moon was the founder of the Unification Church and controversial religious leader. He claimed that Jesus Christ asked him to finish his work on earth. His followers believed Moon was the messiah. Moon died of pneumonia complications last week, 92 years old.
Right now, Florida A&M University is playing its first home football game without a marching band. It's part of the punishment for last year's hazing death of drum major Robert Champion. Twelve former band members pleaded not guilty to hazing charges.
Champion's parents are suing the school. This week the school filed court papers saying it cannot be blamed for Champion's death. And Champion should have refused to participate in the ritual.
Hundreds of students rally for injured Tulane football player Devon Walker. His neck was broken when he collided with another player last week. Quarterback Ryan Griffin is pulling for house teammate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RYAN GRIFFIN, TULANE QUARTER: Devon is a great guy, started off as a walk-on. And he earned a scholarship, really a testament to the kind of guy he is. He loves to play the game and he loves being out there and gives 100 percent every time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEMON: Students videotaped the rally and plan on mailing it to Walker who are still recovering from surgery.
Starting today, Californians who buy anything on Amazon will pay sales tax. In fact, shoppers in most states are supposed to pay the tax as part of their annual tax bill. Few states enforce that. Amazon has tried to avoid collecting it. But as stats wrestle with budget cuts, more are forcing Amazon to help.
Teachers and community leaders spend another day marching in the streets of Chicago. This even as their union and the school board say a tentative deal has been reached. Union officials are meeting tomorrow. They are voting on the terms of the reworked contract.
Parents are hopeful students will be back in the classroom come Monday morning.
Drought conditions across much of the U.S. have been compared to the famous dust bowl. With both men running for the White House planning to cut federal aid to farmers, the timing couldn't be worse.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: In our 2012 issues series, as farmers across the country deal with the aftermath of a major drought, it's important to note that some swing states are farm states. So we are taking a look at what President Obama and Mitt Romney want to cut from the federal farm bill.
Here is CNN's Martin Savidge.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Mitt Romney launched his campaign on a farm.
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: And this really is what New Hampshire is all about, isn't it? A day like this and a farm like this.
SAVIDGE: President Obama spent three days on a bus tour in Iowa.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Today, we are here at the Macintosh family farms.
SAVIDGE: Most of the key battleground states are farming states and yet --
(on camera): What have you heard from the candidates regarding issues of farming?
GLENN HEARD, FARMER: Very little. Very little.
SAVIDGE (voice-over): Glenn Heard's family has been farming in Georgia for generations.
HEARD: I'd like to hear that they support the programs that would help us in our bad years.
SAVIDGE: To understand farm politics, first, a little on farming.
(on camera): Farming is full of all kinds of risks. First and foremost, you got to rely on something that's totally unreliable, the weather. Then you can spend a fortune growing your crops only to harvest and find out the bottom has fallen out of the market.
(voice-over): So the federal government helps by crop insurance to protect against natural disasters and pays farmers when the price of their crops drop. This all rolled into something called the farm bill.
Why does the government subsidizing farming?
(on camera): Because along time, it realized that outsourcing the growing of food to another country wasn't a good idea. In other words, keeping farms going and growing is in the national interest.
(voice-over): So where do the candidates stand on the farm mill. Based on budget proposals advanced by Obama and Romney's running mate Paul Ryan, it would appear both want to cut it, and by nearly the same amount, between $32 billion and $33 billion over 10 years. It's what they want to cut that makes it interesting.
First there's something else you need to know.
(on camera): Years back, members of Congress that represented rural districts, they had a problem. They couldn't get members of Congress that represent urban areas interested in supporting any kind of farm legislation. So what do you do? That's how food stamps became part of the farm bill.
(voice-over): Today roughly one of every seven Americans uses food stamps, the program's political dynamite. Democrats want to limit cuts to food stamps by instead chopping subsidies to farmers. Republicans want to spare farmers instead making most of the cuts to food stamps.
But farming economist Joe Outlaw says it may not be as dire as the campaigns make it sound.
JOE OUTLAW, TEXAS ASM AGRICULTURE & FOOD POLICY CENTER: Depending upon which candidate wins, obviously, each party is going to say that there will be dramatic differences, but from an objective look, standing back, there will be differences quite certainly, but I don't say that they're going to be that dramatic.
SAVIDGE: Regardless of who wins, cuts are coming. The only question is whether they'll be felt by low-income families mostly in cities or rural families down on the farm.
Martin Savidge, CNN, Brinson, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: CNN is taking an in-depth look at this year's drought and major toll it has taken on parts of the U.S. To read more including comparisons between now and the famous dust bowl period of the 1930s, logon to CNN.com.
Remember Levar Burton of "Star Trek" and "Reading Rainbow" fame? Well, he's the next celebrity in the hot seat answering your iReport questions about his career and life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LEMON: Generations of people grew up with this next man coming into their living rooms, either with "roots," "Star Trek" or "Reading Rainbow."
Tonight, LeVar Burton answers your iReport questions.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVAR BURTON, ACTOR: The "Reading Rainbow" fans are really -- it's like an army. They're legion.
Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high, friends to know, ways to grow, the reading rainbow, reading rainbow. Hi. I'm LeVar Burton and I'm answering your questions on CNN iReport. But you don't have to talk my word for it.
ANDY CLINTON, IREPORTER: Hi, LeVar. You helped a lot of kids get turned on to reading. When you were a kid, who helped you?
BURTON: Andy, my mother was my first teacher, Irma Jean Christian (ph). Whenever I get the opportunity I mention this woman's name because I am who I am because she is who she is. My mother taught me how to read. She couldn't wait to get me out of the house. She sent me to first grade early.
PIERCE FREELON, IREPORTER: Hi, LeVar. Jodie LaForge is one of the most important black characters in science fiction, at least, in my upbringing. So, Justice has a question for you.
JUSTICE FREELON, IREPORTER: Who is your favorite science fiction character?
BURTON: I love Worf. I love Captain Benjamin Sisko. "Star Trek" has been responsible for some serious heroes of color. One of the things I love about Gene Roddenberry's vision, always have. It has always been a part of Gene's vision for the future.
KATHI CORDSEN, IREPORTER: When you played Kunta Kinte in "Roots" in 1977, and you were only 20 years old when you played that role, did it change your perspective in life at all?
BURTON: In almost every conceivable way my life was changed by "Roots." And so it is in -- first half of my life, the defining moment, I believe, for me. The whipping scene in "Roots" when they cut him down and -- bathing his wounds and washing his face and just cradling --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There will be another day. You hear me.
BURTON: "There will be another day," that line Lou ad-libbed. There's going to be another day. That stands out in my mind, as one of the most powerful moments certainly in, you know, in my career. But I also think it's one of the most powerful moments in television history.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It certainly was.
Submit your question for our next celebrity on the hot seat, go to CNN.com/interview and then ask away. You can watch all the iReport celebrity interviews at iReport.com.
And, of course, right here on CNN every Saturday evening, 7:00 Eastern.
While Prince William and his wife tour a Malaysian rainforest, readers of an Italian magazine are about to see even more of a topless Kate.
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LEMON: The duke and duchess of Cambridge, William and Catherine, are exploring the rainforest in Malaysia, as the scandal about some revealing photos threaten to overshadow their entire Asian tour. The couple walked high in a tree tops of a forest canopy as a royal palace back home announced plans to take legal action against a French magazine.
Earlier this week, "Closer" magazine published topless photos of Kate sunbathing in France. The palace called it grotesque and an invasion of privacy. Despite that, the Irish "Daily Star" has also decided to publish the photos. And an Italian magazine says it is going to publish the images as well.
As the controversy gathers steam, Will and Kate will travel to the Solomon Islands tomorrow. The capital city is buzzing in anticipation and perhaps the visit will be a welcome diversion for the newlyweds.
Royal correspondent Max Foster reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: The atmosphere really is building here in the Solomon Islands. This ice cream store offering free ice cream to William and Kate if they're passing by. We weren't offered the same deal, unfortunately, just two free potential will ice creams.
Now, the couple are going to come here. They're going to come to the capitol. They're going to experience this hubbub. They're also going to go off to an idyllic paradise island as well.
Half of the population are going to turn out tomorrow?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, (INAUDIBLE) very you man. Yes, we want to see him.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we're happy to see them. It's the first time ever.
FOSTER: On Saturday, though, they're headed into the jungles of Borneo, climbing high up into the canopy, experiencing all of the wildlife there, extraordinary scenes really and well out of the communication loop as well, which will be a huge relief because the world is buzzing still about those images of Catherine on holiday, topless.
The palace is taking legal action against the magazine in France that published those photos. William is clearly very angry about this. Catherine is upset. But the tour continues, they're still dedicated to this cause. We'll see them here on Sunday.
Max Foster, CNN, Honiara, the Solomon Islands.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: It was a moment to make comedian Ray Stevens proud, the streaker is back and this one had some pretty good getaway moves.
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LEMON: Three men in China had absolutely no margin for error today. They set a world record by simultaneously walking almost a mile over the Han (ph) Canyon, even performing some amazing stunts like stepping over each other. Had they fallen, it would have been a thousand-foot drop to the ground below. Jeez.
Streaking -- the '80s fad at sporting events is back. But this runner didn't bite the dust. He had a getaway car.
Here's CNN's Jeanne Moos.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The reviews are in. A masterpiece we will be talking about for years. Watch this magic.
(on camera): But those aren't reviews of some blockbuster movie. Those are reviews of a streaker.
(voice-over): There's Spiderman goes at the Seminole high school homecoming game in Florida, crossing the 20.
But usually they don't do it so perfectly. After jumping the first fence, naked Spiderman jumped a second fence and then the cherry on the cake, a getaway car pulls up, and off he goes, leaving security peering through the fence.
No wonder the Seminole Streaker is feeling the love on his Facebook fan page.
So much of this deserves an instant replay. For instance, when the announcer suggests we watch Pinellas County's finest give chase.
ANNOUNCER: Let's watch Pinellas County's --
MOOS: The security guy bit the dust, but he did manage to get up and scale the fence. Imagine doing that naked.
"He's lucky he didn't injure his seminole," posted an admirer on Youtube.
Back when streaking was at its peak in the '70s, it had its own anthem.
(MUSIC)
MOOS: Still, how many streakers have had getaway vehicles?
(on camera): But the car gave him away. The police got a partial license plate number and arrested the student. His identity withheld because he's underage.
SGT. DAVID DISANO, PINELLAS COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE: Two charges that he's been charged for exposure of sexual organs and obstruction of justice.
MOOS: We feel guilty of obstructing the view of Spiderman's backfield in motion.
ANNOUNCER: It's always nice to be someone that does that.
MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEMON: I'm Don Lemon at the CNN world headquarters in Atlanta.
"ROMNEY REVEALED" begins right now.