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President Obama Returns to Wisconsin; Protesters Condemn Attack on U.S. Consulate; Family Begs Iran for Levinson's Return; Hostage Taker Was Facebooking; Obama & Romney's Defense Plans

Aired September 22, 2012 - 17:00   ET

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


(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Don Lemon, thank you so much for joining us. Top of the hour, of course, we'll going to get you up to speed on the day's headlines.

Outrage over the anti-Islam movie, not dying down. This is the capitol of Bangladesh today, police firing tear gas trying desperately to break up the crowd. But they took out their anger on those officers torching police van. Several protesters were arrested. That was only one demonstration, and we'll have more on the protest straight ahead here on CNN.

We're seeing totally different kinds of protests in Benghazi, Libya, the counter protesters are trying to get rid of extremists, they say are responsible for the attacks on the U.S. consulate that killed four Americans.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: The demonstrators began taking the situation into their own hands and storming various headquarters of known extremist militia in the city of Benghazi including the headquarters --

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Counter protesters took over one militia building without firing a single shot. And militia members fled.

The counter-protesters were met by some resistance. Four people were killed, and dozens injured last night in Benghazi. More from the scene, 12 minutes away.

At least 166 people were killed today in Syria, with government forces shelling Aleppo and Damascus suburbs. This comes as leaders of the rebel free Syrian army are moving from Turkey into Syrian territories its fighters have seized. It is a milestone for the group which has many former soldiers who defected from President al-Assad's army to fight the regime. Its leader says, the next step is to start liberating Damascus.

The wife of the missing retired FBI agent hopes to meet with the president of Iran to plead for her husband's safe return. Robert Levinson disappeared on Kish Island of Iran's coast, it was back on 2007 while investigating cigarette smuggling for a private company. Now billboards with his picture are up in New York's Times Square, and hopes Iran's President Ahmadinejad will see them when he attends the U.N. general assembly next week. His wife is pleading with Iran's president for a meeting and she has a message for her husband.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CHRISTINE LEVINSON, WIFE OF MISSING RETIRED FBI AGENT: We'll never, ever, ever, stop looking for you. I miss you every day. Love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The Levinson family received a video of a much thinner and sicker Bob about two years ago, but they have not heard from him since.

The White House hopefuls, out in force this weekend. We're going to start with the running mates.

That is Vice President Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, they are in New Hampshire on the second day of a two day swing through that state.

And republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan spending the day in Florida, and just a few hours ago, he held a town hall in Orlando, this morning, he held a rally in Miami's little Havana neighborhood. Mitt Romney is on the trail as well but out of sight he is holding fundraisers in California.

Meanwhile, President Obama is in Wisconsin this hour, a state he won handily four years ago, but it is also a state he has not visited since February. So why is he there now?

Let's bring in Athena Jones, she is in Milwaukee. Athena, hello, is the President's visit today has show a strength or it is a sign of concern?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, don, well, you know that is a very good question. You know, Republicans are saying, that fact that he's here now shows that the President has a quote, "Wisconsin problem" because he's ignored the state for 220 years. But for the White House, yes, he did win back in 2008 by 14 points. But campaign spokesperson Jen Psaki said, they always knew that the state would going to be closer than it was last time around. That could have something to do with the surge in republican activity here, the activity among Republicans, republican groups regarding the recall fight for Governor Scott Walker, which he was able to survive.

So they were able to see a sense of the Republicans ground game, that is also something that campaign manager Jim Messina has touched on. I will say that three recent polls show that the President is ahead of Romney here in our CNN poll of halls, which averages those polls, has him up 52 percent to 43. So this is certainly a state they want to keep in the blue column. And that is why they're here, Don.

LEMON: All right. Hey, listen, I hear the President is hanging out with a sports legend in Wisconsin, right? JONES: That is right, you know he just wrapped up two fundraisers with Hank Aaron, the Hall of Fame baseball player, there was two separate events. One was a lower dollar fundraiser, $250 about 550 people. The other was a much higher dollar fundraiser, $25,000, about 20 people were expected. So, all told, they will probably going to be bringing in more than $630,000 at that event. He is on his way here now, just stopped for some bratwurst we're just learning at a local joint here in Milwaukee -- Don.

LEMON: When you are up there, you're going to say, brats, just some brats, he stops the brats.

JONES: Brat. Brat.

LEMON: Thank you very much, Athena Jones. I appreciate that.

All right. Listen, meantime, members of Congress had left town and headed home to campaign for reelection. But they left behind a lot of unfinished business. The Senate approved spending bill around 1 a.m. today that will avoid a possible government shutdown. That's good. But the real heavy lifting comes when lawmakers return after the election. The so-called fiscal cliff that makes up tax hikes and spending cuts, they go into effect in January if Congress fails to act.

And if placing blame was an achievement, you could say Congress accomplished quite a bit before leaving town. But the fact is, grid lock still rules on Capitol Hill, even when it comes to the looming deadline that will force drastic spending cuts across the board, and could put the U.S. back into a recession, as we look at a live shot of the capitol now.

Our CNN Congressional correspondent Dana Bash has the report for you.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DANA BASH, CNN SENIOR CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The capitol parking lot full of cars, ready to whisk house members out of town. But not before both sides took final turns in the blame game that has voters fed up.

REPRESENTATIVE STENY HOYER (D), MINORITY LEADER: This is simply irresponsible and Republicans ought to come back and finish their work not cut and run and walk away from the American people. Shame on them.

REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER (R), HOUSE SPEAKER: President Obama won't work with us to find common ground or urge Senate Democrats to take action. Why? It's because Democrats have failed to lead.

BASH: The list of unfinished business is seemingly endless. The farm bill, a five-year measure governing everything from farming to food stamps and runs out at the end of this month, it includes disaster relief for drought-stricken farmers.

Many issues both parties want to address are trapped in partisan gridlock, cyber security, postal reform, even extending the violence against women act, which expires at the end of the year.

Never mind the really tough stuff, namely the so-called fiscal cliff. When the Bush era tax cuts expire and some $100 billion in spending cuts kick in on December 31st.

Anyone who may wonder why Congress has a remarkably low approval rating should watch and listen. Watch the bipartisan exodus to go campaign and listen as each party scours the other.

SENATOR MITCH MCCONNELL (R), MINORITY LEADER: Never before, never, have a president and a majority party in the Senate done so little to address challenges as great as the ones our nation faces right now.

SENATOR HARRY REID (D), MAJORITY LEADER: It's a wonder we've gotten anything done at all considering the lack of cooperation Democrats have gotten from Republican colleagues.

BOEHNER: There are nearly 40 of our jobs bills sitting over in the United States Senate, all part of our plan for American job creators.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congressional Republicans want to run away, but, you know what? You can run, but you cannot hide from your record.

BOEHNER: They haven't passed a budget in more than three years.

REID: Time and time again Republican colleagues have stalled or blocked perfectly good piece of legislation to score points with the Tea Party.

MCCONNELL: They haven't passed a single appropriation bill. They haven't passed a defense authorization bill for the first time in a half a century. These things are usually about as standard as turning the lights on. They haven't done any of them. It's a disgrace.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BASH: There is one very important thing Congress is doing before leaving town, and that is passing a bill to fund the government for six months to make sure it does not shut down. But that is not exactly worthy of accolades, considering that the only reason they're doing this stop gap bill is that they never sent one of the 12 step spending bills they were supposed to, to the President's desk. Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.

LEMON: All right, Dana. Thank you, a dangerous new twist in the case of that anti-Muslim film that caused protests around the world. A bounty is now on the head of the man who made the movie, and the Taliban and al-Qaeda are encouraged to go for it.

And a bizarre stand-off in Pittsburgh to tell you about. A hostage taker talking not to police but to people on Facebook.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is a wanted man, the producer of that anti-Muslim film that has generated so much anger in the Muslim world, already in hiding now with good reason. The Pakistani government minister says, he'll pay $100,000 to ever kills Nakoula. He already has two groups in mind, the Taliban and al-Qaeda who could gladly do what he calls a noble deed. The minister made it clear to CNN that this is his own idea and it isn't the official position of Pakistan's government. He feels it is his duty as a Muslim to do this.

Counter protester growing in the Libyan city where U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, and three others Americans were killed. Pro- democracy demonstrators in Benghazi are fighting back against radical extremists that they blame for the deadly attack. CNN's Arwa Damon has more now, from Benghazi.

ARWA DAMON, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This probably is one of the few countries where we are seeing that mass demonstrations, not just in support of the United States, but more condemning the attack that took place on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. People taking to the streets yesterday in the thousands, demanding democracy, but more importantly, demanding an end to the extremist militias, whom people anti-government here are saying, were in fact, behind that attack that took Ambassador Steven's life and the life of three other Americans.

What happened is that at night on Friday, hundreds of these pro- democracy demonstrators began taking the situation into their own hands and storming various headquarters of known extremists militias in the city of Benghazi, including the headquarters of the militia known as Ansar el-Sharia. And if you will remember the Libyan government has said that it has detained individuals who are a part Ansar el-Sharia, in association with the attack on the U.S. consulate. Although they say the group, as a whole was not behind that assault.

LEMON: Arwa Damon, in Benghazi. Thank you very much, Arwa.

Prejudice is bad for society, but is it bad for you, as in, can it make you sick? That is next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Prejudice, obviously is not healthy for any society. But is it healthy for you? Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, believe many cases of depression may be linked to prejudice.

Wendy Walsh, human behavior expert. She is here, she joins us all the time, she's in Los Angeles. So, Wendy, the study out of Wisconsin suggests that these two are fundamentally connected, prejudice and depression, explain to us how that is linked.

WENDY WALSH, HUMAN BEHAVIOR EXPERT: OK, Don. So, Dr. William Cox and his team looked at these two diversion areas, depression and prejudice, and discovered that some of the fundamentals are the same. In other words, they are involved negative thought patterns. The big difference of course is whether they're projected outwards to an out- group, or whether they're projected inward onto yourselves. So, obviously, people who are victims of prejudice, are prone to depression, but people who are considered to be just depressed might also have be prejudiced against themselves. They might not like certain things about themselves, as if they themselves are the out- group.

LEMON: Yes. You know when we hear those old sayings, those old quotes, sometimes that's true, that old expression, when you point a finger, you've got three pointing back at you. There is some truth to that.

WALSH: Well, there is, and for this, I like to go back to, you know, the old history books, the Carl Young's philosophy of the shadow. Which, you know, we always say that sometimes when we're thinking negatively about other people, it may be actually a part of ourselves that is intolerable, so we look forward in the environment and point fingers in that way. So yes, I think that sometimes people who are bigots or prejudice, may actually be feeling some of those things about themselves.

LEMON: Oh, very interesting. Is there anything here in the research that can help us move people away from prejudicial tendencies, even just saying, hey, look, you're hurting yourself but it's not, is it something that simple?

WALSH: Well, it's partly that simple but the point of the study is really for clinicians to understand that some of the interventions that are used to treat prejudice, may be now used to treat depression. And some that are used to treat depression maybe used to treat prejudice. So, it's sort of a convergence of what were considered before this two distinct areas or psychology.

LEMON: You know, this one got our eyes here on CNN. And as a sidebar to this one, the World Health Organization, Wendy says that, "By 20- 20, depression will be second to only heart disease as the top global health disorder." So the human race is getting more and more depressed. What is going on here?

WALSH: OK, let's break this down, first of all, about 50 percent of happiness versus negativity is biological. You're just born sort of happy or not, about 50 percent you can account is biology. Another ten percent might have to do with environment and money, and that's usually just people pulling themselves out of poverty. There is not a big difference in happiness between the middle class, the upper middle or the upper class.

But then you've got this big 40 percent area that has to do with our own behaviors. And the only proven natural anti-depressants are exercise, and that wonderful dopamine rush that can hit your brain. Also, healthy relationships with family, and loved ones and third, altruism, giving back community input. So, why are they predicting depressions going to be so big in the future? Look at the mobility in our modern capitalist society. So, we have more broken relationships, we have less connection to community. We're certainly exercising a lot less. So, all of these things are the environmental pieces that can contribute to depression.

LEMON: Wow, good advice, get moving, do good things, and you know, that will help. Thank you, Wendy.

WALSH: We all should do that every day. LEMON: Yes, absolutely. Absolutely, thank you.

WALSH: Thanks.

LEMON: A former FBI agent disappears, his wife has a message.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEVINSON: Well never, ever, ever stop looking for you. I miss you every day. Love you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: The bold moves this man's family is making to bring him home.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LEMON: Don't forget you can stay connected. You can watch CNN live on your computer, you can do it from work, just go to cnn.com/TV.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: Two thousand seven was the last time Robert Levinson's family saw him, until they received this chilling video three years later. A much thinner Levinson saying his health was failing and begging the U.S. government to help free him from his captors.

CNN's Susan Candiotti spoke with the retired FBI agent's wife about her tireless fight to bring him home.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LEVINSON: This is my husband, I have to take care of him, I have to get him home.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: But after disappearing more than five years ago, Christine Levinson's husband Bob is a long way from home where he once cuddled his newborn grandson.

ROBERT LEVINSON, FORMER FBI AGENT: I'm not in very good health. I'm running very quickly out of diabetes medicine.

CANDIOTTI: This video showing the much thinner retired FBI agent being held hostage was sent to the family two years ago. The State Department says, it's unclear who is holding him.

LEVINSON: When we received the video, we had high hopes, because we e-mailed back a number of times in order to get whoever is holding him to let us know what we need to do to get Bob home. Unfortunately, that hasn't happened.

CANDIOTTI: Levinson disappeared on Kish Island off Iran's coast in 2007, where his family says he was investigating cigarette smuggling for a private company. FBI billboards are now up in New York's Times Square, in hopes that visiting delegates to the U.N.'s General Assembly will see them.

(on camera) What makes you think that he is still alive?

LEVINSON: I just believe it in my heart. I know that, from the video, that he has lost weight and hopefully all of his health problems are at least at bay, and he will be able to get home safely to us. I can never lose help.

ROBERT LEVINSON: Please help me get home. Thirty-three years of service to the United States deserves something.

CANDIOTTI: What gives you hope when you look at that video and see how he looks?

LEVINSON: I know when he looks determined. And he looked very determined to make it home safe and sound.

CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Her husband has missed walking one of his daughters down the aisle. Another daughter's wedding is in February.

LEVINSON: His closet is still full of his clothes that I know will not fit him anymore. And I haven't even touched his dresser. So, every morning, I'm reminded that the nightmare continues.

CANDIOTTI: If he is able to see this, what do you want to say directly to him?

LEVINSON: We will never, ever, ever stop looking for you. And I miss you every day. Love you.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CANDIOTTI: The U.S. has offered no new information about where Levinson is and who is holding him. I spoke with a source with knowledge of the investigation who says, quote, "There is every reason to believe, based on all the evidence, that Levinson is alive and well." Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.

LEMON: Susan, thank you. Coming up on half past the hour right now, we're going to look at your headlines. The filmmaker behind the movie that exerts so much anger to the Muslim world now has a price on his head. The $100 thousand bounty offered by a Pakistani government minister. The producer of the film, Nakoula Basseley Nakoula is said to be in hiding. The death threat is not backed by the Pakistan's government, but the minister is inviting the Taliban and al-Qaeda to commit what he calls a noble deed.

(SPEAKING ARABIC)

Little doubt that the minister is the only one who wants Nakoula dead.

This was Lebanon today, a protests by thousands of people organized by one of America's fiercest enemies, Hezbollah. One Hezbollah politician said Nakoula's film was made to be released to a wide audience in the west. And at least 166 people were killed today in Syria, with government forces showing Aleppo and the Damascus suburbs. This comes as leaders of the rebel free Syrian army are moving from Turkey into Syrian territories its fighters have seized. It is a milestone for the group which has many former soldiers who defected from President Bashar al- Assad's army to fight the regime. Its leaders says, well, the next step is to start liberating Damascus.

A man jump into a tiger den at the Bronx Zoo yesterday and now he is in critical condition. A tiger bit the man several times after he leaped from the zoo's mono rail car into the tiger pit. Rescue crews used a carbon dioxide extinguisher to move the tiger away from the man. The zoo's director says, the tiger will not be put down because the tiger didn't do anything wrong.

Some of the biggest names in country music jamming at farm aid 2012. Willie Nelson, Dave Matthews, they're among the headliners for the day long concert at Hersheypark Stadium in Pennsylvania. The concert doesn't end until 11:00 tonight. The annual event has raised more than $40 million for the nation's farmers.

A bizarre stand-off in Pittsburgh. A hostage-taker talking not to police but to people on Facebook. That story straight ahead. But first --

With more than 12 million people still out of work, switching careers may be the way to get a job. But some opportunities out there are more than the usual nine to five job.

In this week's "SMART IS THE NEW RICH," Christine Romans looks at the trucking industry. There are jobs there if you are qualified.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Help wanted, must love the open road, sleeping in tight quarters and 26,000 pounds beneath your feet. Sounds good for Wade Brumet.

WADE BRUMET, HIRED TO BE A TRUCK DRIVER: I got hired into a driver truck for prime.

ROMANS: Out of work for a few years, Brumet went from home building to trucking, the reason, it is where the jobs are.

BRUMET: I have been through several recessions before, and was building homes when Jimmy Carter was president, for crying out loud. Things were bad then, but they're terrible now in that industry.

ROMANS: Movies like "Convoy", and "Smokey and the Bandit" were the image of truck drivers in the past. But a weak job market has brought out a different applicant.

JOAN MCKINSEY, PRIME TRUCKING RECRUITER: I do get people from all walks of life. I've had, you know, ex-teachers, ex-lawyers, ex- accountants. ROMANS: The money is there, nearly 38,000 a year for heavy long-haul truckers. And the top 10 percent make more than $58,000. It's supply and demand. A rebounding economy means more freight to move and more jobs to fill. About 200,000 long haul trucking jobs are open nationwide, to add to the 1.5 million drivers on the road now. Like health care jobs and retail sales, truck driving is an occupation that's growing. More than 300,000 long haul trucking jobs are expected to be added between 2010 and 2020.

Prime Trucking is hiring.

JOHN HANCOCK, DIR. OF RECRUITING, PRIME INC.: I could put a couple of hundred people to work next week. The demand is there.

ROMANS: Christine Romans, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

DON LEMON, CNN ANCHOR: Pittsburgh police investigating now an unusual hostage situation. It took place in a downtown office building on yesterday. We reported it here to you on CNN. A gunman took several people hostage in a scene that lasted more than five hours.

They're not sure yet why the 22-year-old man picked this location. But as police tried to talk to the hostage-taker, he was talking to people on Facebook. He's posting status updates. He raised concerns among friends and family by saying that they'd never have to worry about him again, and that he lost everything.

He wrote on Facebook that he couldn't take it anymore, and I'm done.

That's disturbing.

Criminal defense attorney Holly Hughes is here again.

You know, Holly, no one got hurt. That was good news. It didn't really make any demands. Criminal suspects have called friends or family before and during a crime -- during a crime. But this is a conversation that we could see -- we can all see. It is interesting.

So what? I don't know, is this conversation protected online? Can it --

HOLLY HUGHES, CRIMINAL DEFENSE ATTORNEY: No, it is not legally protected. It's out there, it's public. And you know I read this story and I read it a couple of times, Don, because I wanted to make sure I was getting all the facts. And it sounds to me like this man just really wanted to be caught. He did what he did publicly.

So it was not just, oh, there's witnesses in the building. He then goes on to Facebook, which is not protected and admits what he is doing and he's putting it all out there.

LEMON: OK, this defense team, he has to go to court obviously. Anyway they can use this and say, listen, this is the state of mine. Look what he was posting at the time? Can they use this?

HUGHES: Well, they're going to have to try to spin it. Both sides will use it, because the state will say he clearly knew what he was doing, because he was very clear, very logical, knew how to use the electronics and posted it on Facebook. The defense is going to say this is a cry for help. This is a person who clearly is not wanting to be a criminal, because he is saying what he is doing.

And again when we read the facts of the case, he didn't make any demands whatsoever. He didn't hurt anybody, he is talking to his friends saying, you know, I'm done. I'm sort of like I'm checking out, almost like either let the police shoot me or take me to jail. And somebody take care of me.

So the defense is absolutely going to have a psychological done on him.

LEMON: So correct me if I'm wrong, if someone goes into my e-mail, that's a crime, right?

HUGHES: If they hack in, correct.

LEMON: OK. So, what if police or someone, lawyers or whatever, wanted to go into his email at the time when he is doing this -- I mean, into his Facebook. Can they go into that, and change?

HUGHES: Well, Facebook is public. So they can se any and everything that he is posting on his wall.

LEMON: Except for private messages, right.

HUGHES: Correct, right. And that would be subpoenaed after the fact. They can subpoena those records but you've got a safety exception. And you've got what we call exigent circumstances. Sort of like when there was police chase, if a criminal goes in your house, the police aren't going to stop and get a warrant before they chase the criminal.

So when you got a hostage situation, it's what we call exigent circumstances, they're going to hack into whatever they need to, to save the life of the hostage. And that's going to be protected. That's OK.

LEMON: So, it's Facebook or Twitter, or whatever, social media.

HUGHES: Right.

LEMON: They can do it to protect the --

HUGHES: Absolutely, it changed the face of the court system. Even lawyers now when they're picking a jury, Don, you know what they do? They sit there with the laptop, they get the juror's name. And type it in, and they see what type of chats you're having, what you're posting on your Facebook.

You know if you say I'm not in the gang, I'm a law-abiding citizen, and they pull up your Facebook, and there's a picture of you holding AK, and gang symbols, guess what? You're not on the jury.

LEMON: Yes, it's a whole new world out there.

HUGHES: It has changed the face, yes.

LEMON: Thank you very much. Appreciate it, Holly.

HUGHES: Absolutely.

LEMON: Two candidates, two different plans when it comes to the future of the U.S. military. Should troops and spending be trimmed or do we need more women in uniform? We'll look at that straight ahead, but first this.

Each year on CNN, the heroes, we bring you the stories of extraordinary individuals working every day to find solutions to major problems. Now the top 10 CNN heroes for 2012 have been revealed. You can help decide who will get the Hero of the Year award. Here is CNN's Anderson Cooper to tell us how.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Anderson Cooper.

All year, we have been introducing you to everyday people changing the world. We call them CNN Heroes. Well, now, we announce the top 10 CNN heroes for 2012.

The honorees are in random order:

Connie Siskowski, who's helping children who are caring for ill or aging loved ones to stay in school and hold on to your childhood.

Pushpa Basnet saves innocent children from growing up behind bars with their parents in jail.

Thulani Madondo organizes his Kliptown community to educate hundreds of their next generation.

Mary Cortani enlists man's best friends to give fellow veterans a way to move beyond PTSD and into life again.

Malya Villard-Appolon has turned personal trauma into a fight for justice for thousands of rape survivors in Haiti.

After using sports to find his own addiction, Scott Strode now helps former addicts to stay fit and sobert.

Wanda Butts brings water safety and swimming lessons to those most vulnerable, black and Latino children.

Catalina Escobar ensures healthy deliveries and solid futures for Colombian teens already facing motherhood.

Leo McCarthy's tragic loss of his daughter sparked his mission to end the culture of underage drinking. And where terrorists stop at nothing to keep girls from being educated, Razia Jan fearlessly opens her school each and every day.

Congratulations to the top CNN heroes of 2012. Tell us who inspires you the most. Go to CNN.com online, or on your mobile device to vote for your CNN Hero of the Year.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: So who will it be? You decide, meet the top 10, and vote for the ones who inspired you the most at CNNHeroes.com.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: All this week, CNN is going in-depth, exploring the issues that impact voters. Today, a look at President Obama and Mitt Romney's plans for the military.

Here's our Pentagon correspondent, Barbara Star.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How many troops and just what weapons are needed to defend the nation? President Obama and Governor Mitt Romney each are making a different case.

Governor Romney has said he wants to significantly add to our conventional forces.

MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL NOMINEE: We must have a commitment not just to more ships and more aircraft, but also in my view, to more members of our armed forces.

STARR: President Obama wants a smaller conventional force, and $500 billion in pentagon cuts over the next 10 years.

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: And so long as I'm commander in chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known.

STARR: Let's start with the Romney plan. The candidate says he favors a larger force of naval ships and aircraft but has not said how he'd pay for it. Romney has also said he wants to add 100,000 troops to the current force of 1.4 million.

Now for a look at Obama's plan. As part of $500 billion in spending cuts, President Obama says he wants to get rid of older ships and delay buying new ones. He also proposes cutting the Army by some 66,000 and reducing the Marine Corps by another 20,000. Obama envisions continuing use of small Special Forces teams and unmanned drones, a signature weapon of the last decade.

But Romney's surrogate and former DOD comptroller, Dov Zakheim, says not so fast. DOV SAKHEIM, FORMER DOD COMPTROLLER: There's no objective, no ideological objection at all, to having drones, unmanned aerial vehicles, unmanned subsurface vehicles, unmanned surface vehicles, all kinds of unmanned vehicles. The issue is to what extent do you rely almost exclusively on drones and on Special Forces?

STARR: For President Obama, secret CIA drone attacks against militants in Pakistan and Yemen have had results without risking putting U.S. troops on the ground. He told CNN's Jessica Yellin --

OBAMA: It has to be a situation in which we can't capture the individual before they move forward on some sort of operational plot against the United States.

PETER SINGER, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: I don't think whether Obama or Romney wins we're going to see this technology go away or see any greater minimized use in it because of their own approach. I think we've seen the -- President Obama's most definitely willing to utilize these, actually been a signature part of his counterterrorism agenda. And it would be very hard for Romney to roll that back, even if he wanted to.

STARR (on camera): Whether it's Romney or Obama in the Oval Office, the bigger problem with drones may be the international pushback from governments and human rights groups increasingly voicing their opposition.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LEMON: All right, Barbara.

For election coverage just go to CNN.com.

When you look at the names of this year's Emmy nominees -- well, you may see those who wouldn't think of working in TV before suddenly finding it cool. We'll look at the Emmy's A-list.

And don't forget, wherever you go. We go, too. You can watch CNN live while you're at work and even on your smartphone. Head to CNN.com/TV.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

LEMON: It was the unwritten Hollywood rule, big screen actors never appeared on the small screen. But as CNN's Nischelle Turner reports, this Hollywood stigma is becoming a thing of the past.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NISCHELLE TURNER, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT: Academy Award nominee Julianne Moore, Academy Award nominee Don Cheadle, Oscar winner Nicole Kidman. These actors rose to fame in major Hollywood movies. Now they've made the movie to television and may soon be adding Emmy Awards to their trophy shelves.

Whether starring in a cable TV movies like Moore and Kidman, or signing up for sitcom like Cheadle, A-list Hollywood stars are jumping from the big screen to the small screen.

MAGGIE FURLONG, WEST COAST EDITOR, HUFFPOST TV: Everyone wants to be on TV. I think that's the thing.

TURNER: Maggie Furlong writes about TV for the "Huffington Post." She says the career stigma movies stars used to face if they took a TV role has faded.

FURLONG: For so many years, people would say, "Oh, I don't want to do this. You know, I'm a movie star. I can't be doing TV."

But then you realize that TV stars have more recognition with the public. These people are in your homes every single week. People get attached to these characters.

JEFF DANIELS, ACTOR: That's what you wanted me to do.

TURNER: Character is exactly what attracted Jeff Daniels to his role on HBO's "Newsroom".

DANIELS: I remember back in the '70s where the Redfords and De Niros and the Hoffmans and Pacinos, you never mixed film with TV. That's changed and the writing is so good now on television. That that's all actors want is good writing.

TURNER: Top Hollywood talent is not only starring on your flat screen, they're creating the shows behind the scenes. Writer/producer Aaron Sorkin won four Emmys for his work on "The West Wing" before striking Oscar gold with "The Social Network" screenplay. Now he's moved back to television as the executive producer of "Newsroom" and says writers these days, TV holds a different kind of appeal than film.

AARON SORKIN, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "NEWSROOM": I don't count myself (INAUDIBLE), I think that the best writers in the country are flocking to television. You can tell a different kind of story here. I think the best theater in America is on TV right now.

TURNER: And the American audience seems to agree. One reason for a decline in movie theater ticket sales this summer? More to watch at home.

FURLONG: You can't turn the channel without seeing something you want to be watching, whether you love Broadway, whether you're super into comic books or zombies. Whether you really like a good period piece like "Boardwalk Empire." They're truly is something for everyone on TV right now.

TURNER: Super stories with superstars.

Nischelle Turner, CNN, Hollywood.

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LEMON: It is the first day of fall. And to mark the occasion, we have a challenge for you, go outside, use your smartphone, take a picture. Then upload it to ireport.com by using one of CNN's mobile apps. The only requirement, are that the photo be horizontal and it be unfiltered. Here are a couple that we have received. Pretty cool.

Again, upload your photo to ireport.com. We're going to do that after the show. Put it up there.

Football, America's pastime -- America's favorite sport, I should say. Baseball is pastime. But something's rotten in the NFL and it's threatening the game so many people love. We'll tell you about that.

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LEMON: This next story really defines sportsmanship. A high school softball player scored the game-winning run with help from the opposing team. A player hit a grand slam to win the game. But as she rounded first base, she hurt her leg so badly she couldn't make it to home plate. The other team picked her up and carried her to each base.

The rules say a player must touch every base for the runs to count. But can't be helped by their own team.

Afterwards, the losing team didn't feel they'd done anything extraordinary.

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UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Didn't do anything out of the ordinary. We just did the right thing.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It would make us look bad if we just sat there and watched somebody crawling around the bases.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We were on the field. We played the game. And she needed the help.

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LEMON: The girl who was carried had her mom ask the other team to sign a ball for her. Good sportsmanship there.

You won't find many winners in the NFL's lockout of referees. The coaches are angry, the fans are angry. The players, angry as well.

In fact, the only people who don't seem worried are the owners and the commissioner.

CNN's Dan Simon explains what is at stake for all sides here.

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DAN SIMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Criticizing the replacement refs has become its own sport.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A product of what we're getting right now with the referees is an absolute atrocity.

SIMON: YouTube and social media filled with the rants of angry NFL fans.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a professional sport. We need the professional refs, not these secondhand refs from who knows where.

SIMON: "Sports Illustrated" writer Peter King tweeting, "The legitimacy of the National Football League is at stake."

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The ruling on the field has been reversed.

SIMON: Fans and commentators alike point to numerous blown calls, poor ball spotting, failure to control players' emotions and an all- around lack of confidence displayed by the officials.

JOE FLACCO, BALTIMORE RAVENS QUARTERBACK: The NFL and everybody always talks about the integrity of the game and things like that. I think this is kind of along those lines.

SIMON: The league and the referees union are at an impasse over wages and pension benefits. So far, the NFL is shrugging off the criticism saying, "Officiating is never perfect. The current officials have made great strides and are performing admirably under unprecedented scrutiny and great pressure. As we do every season, we will work to improve officiating and are confident the game officials will show continued improvement."

One former referee isn't holding his breath.

JIM TUNNEY, FORMER NFL REFEREE: The integrity of the game can only be protected by experienced people knowing what they're doing and the control of the game is vital and we're not seeing that today.

SIMON: Jim Tunney worked more than three decades as an NFL referee, officiating more than three Super Bowls along the way. He said it's unfortunate the attention is focused on the referees when it should be on the players and teams.

TUNNEY: As official, we don't want that notoriety. We don't want that attention. We want on the field, do the game and walk off the field when you heard them say, who are those guys?

SIMON (on camera): In fairness, none of the games thus far seem to have been decided by poor officiating. And going from high school football or division III college like some of the replacement referees would be a major challenge.

(voice-over): As they say to the knockdown rookies, welcome to the NFL.

Dan Simon, CNN, San Francisco.

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LEMON: Have you ever wondered how to walk with coffee and not spill it? Or why ponytails swings side to side when women jog? Some scientists recently won awards for figuring out the answers to those questions.

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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We think we have discovered one of the secrets of the universe.

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LEMON: OK. Well, those researchers created the Rapunzel number, and education that predicts what shape your hair will take. The IG Nobel Awards to Harvard University honor the sillier side of serious research. Actually, Nobel laureates hand out the awards.

And each year, the crowd throws paper airplanes on to the stage as part of a tradition. Other winners include a team who proved that leaning to the left makes the Eiffel Tower seem smaller.

All right. Got to have a little fun. Pretty cool stuff there.

Now you know. I'm Don Lemon at CNN world headquarters. See you back in an hour from now.

We want to let you know that President Obama is about to take the stage at a rally in Milwaukee. You can watch it live, CNN.com/Live.

"SITUATION ROOM" with Wolf Blitzer now.