again in 2012. and there are also questions about whether or not mitch daniels will run for president. he's starting to earn the nickname "the hoosier hamlet" to run or not to run, that is the question for mitch daniels. he had an event last night in indianapolis, carol, where he also hinted that he is thinking about running for president, but no firm decisions yet from mitch daniels. >> i'm still laughing about "the hoosier hamlet." that's a good one. >> i didn't come up with it, but it's out there. >> thanks, jim. now it's time to toss it over to suzanne malveaux. i'll join you in ten minutes or so to talk about whether politicians have lost their dignity by revealing too much of their physicality. >> oh, really? >> yeah. >> that should be fun. >> it should be. >> okay. can't wait to see the photos, too. i know there are photos involved. >> yes, there are. >> thanks, carol. live from studio seven, i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed on this friday the 13th of may. the taliban call it retaliation for the death of osama bin laden.

suicide bombers, one on a motorcycle, one on foot, targettarget ed cadets in northwestern pakistan. that happening today. the two explosions killed 80 people. the academy is near the border with afghanistan. now, sources say that bin laden's widows, they're not giving up a lot of information. the three women are described as hostile to their american questioners. the interview took place with pakistani intelligence officers in the room. and a source says only the oldest wife spoke. defense secretary robert gates says he is going to pump up security around the navy s.e.a.l. team that took out bin laden. gates says that the s.e.a.l.s are concerned about their safety and the safety of their families because details of the raid have been made public. rain today across the mississippi delta is only adding to the flood misery. the national weather service says the mississippi river is at the highest level ever recorded

at natchez and the second highest at vicksburg. the river is expected to rise another six feet over the coming week. well, up river, farmers were just getting their spring crops in the ground when the floods rolled in. this illinois farmer says that the season is over before it even began. >> we had some corn planted that's history, that's under water. it bothers me because it's going to be a tough year. high water may force workers to shut down the waterford 3 nuclear plant in taft, louisiana. now, if the mississippi river reaches 27 feet at taft, flooding would overrun the water intake system that cools the nuclear turbines. it will be close. the crest right now is expected to be just inches shy of 27 feet. we rarely see this in taiwan. amateur video showing a tornado

near taipei, the capital, on the northern end of the island. the twister picked up a van and dropped it on a motorcycle. reports say the tornado was 20 stories tall, lasted about two minutes. libyan opposition leaders are due at the white house in just a couple of hours. the delegation does not expect it to meet with president obama but rather the national security adviser. the opposition wants to be recognized as the legitimate government of libya and wants also access to frozen libyan funds. well, the official field for the republican presidential nomination, it doubled today from one to two. two candidates now. texas congressman ron paul formally announced that he is running for the white house in 2012. he follows former white house speaker newt gingrich who jumped in earlier in the week. >> and i am able to announce in this state, a very special state, because there is so high respect for the spirit of liberty here, so i am very, very

pleased that i am once again able to say that i am a candidate for the presidency in the republican party primary. here's your chance to talk back on one of the stories that got all of us talking. today's question, are politicians revealing a little too much? tmi, as you like to say, huh, carol? >> yes, way too much tmi. once upon a time when you heard from a member of congress, it was strictly about policy like taxes, foreign affairs or defense spending. are those days gone. dignity seems to be out the window. welcome to the era of tmi. check out this tweet from missouri senator clare mccaskill. i'm tired of looking and feeling fat. maybe talking about it publicly will keep me on track as i try to be more disciplined. off to the gym. it worked for new york senator kristin gillibrand.

they took to "vogue" to show off her slimmed-down figure. it's not just a woman thing. male lawmakers also seem obsessed with their political body, so to speak. take aaron shock, proud owner of these six-pack abs on the cover of "men's health." and while we're at it, do we really need to know that barack obama is stinky and snory in the morning or that he hates picking up his dirty socks? it's hard to believe when there was once a time that americans did not know that franklin delano roosevelt was in a wheelchair. we didn't want them to be like real people and certainly not sex symbols. but now it's a topic that carries a lot of political weight and one we can't get enough of because, frankly, they won't let us. so the "talk back question" today, are politicians revealing too much? facebook.com/carolcnn. i'm eager to read your comments later this hour. >> if you have six-pack abs, i think you ought to show them until you lose them. come on! because they disappear.

they go away. >> okay. so if you had six-pack abs, suzanne malveaux, would you pose on the cover of "women's health" magazine in a bikini? >> well, no, i would not. those days are over. i wish i could. let's just say that. all right. i'm looking forward to the responses. >> me, too. here's a rundown of some of the stories that we are covering in the next two hours. twin bombings in pakistan are now killed, dozens. the taliban says it's payback for taking out osama bin laden. also, a tennessee man loses everything to flooding, and it's not even the first time. plus, walmart says most of its products are now made in the usa. well, some industry insiders, they're not so sure about that. and finally, don't you hate it it whthis happens? >> meanwhile, other livestock owners -- >> [ bleep ]. >> get it out. >> oh, no. a reporter deals with the

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training. about 140 people were injured. i want to bring in our cnn national security contributor fran townsend, former security adviser for the bush administration, and her firm owns u.s. military production company. and fran, thanks for joining us. first of all, you see these attacks being launched in pakistan, the taliban claiming responsibility. they say it's a retaliation for killing bin laden. is this our new reality, the war on terror now turning into a war of revenge? >> well, suzanne, let's remember, these sort of attacks against police recruits and miss recruiting stations were going on long before the american success in killing bin laden. and so this is not really anything new. they've just now taken to using this as the latest excuse to target these innocent recruits who are trying to protect the country of afghanistan and the afghani people. >> do you think that we are going to start to see americans targeted, whether or not it's in pakistan, afghanistan or even potentially on u.s. soil? >> you know what? i agree with what cia director

leon panetta said, and that is, look, we ought to expect that. we ought to plan for it. we ought to try and prevent it. but i think you are going to see attempts at retaliation. remember, that was the statement zawahiri issued, al qaeda issued, after bin laden's death is that they would take revenge. and i think we've got to assume they'll be true to their word, if they can, if they can put together the plans and the capability. >> i want to turn the corner here and talk about the safety of the navy s.e.a.l.s that were responsible for killing bin laden. there has been, fran, amazingly what we have seen an active debate that has spilled out into the public about all of the information being released about these. and this is coming from spokespeople from the administration, the white house. there is concern now that this has put them at risk. i want you to take a listen to what secretary gates said. >> frankly, a week ago sunday in the situation room, we all agreed that we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin laden. that all fell apart on monday. the next day.

>> and fran, you know, the secretary of defense goes on to say, you know, people are worried. the s.e.a.l.s are worried, they're worried for their safety, for their families. when i covered you in the bush administration, you guys ran a pretty tight ship. there was little information coming out of the white house unless you wanted to release it. does this white house, this administration, have a problem on its hands now that it's released this information? >> well, suzanne, while i'd like to take -- i'd like to take credit, as you suggest, for having had it tighter in the prior white house, i will tell you, we were befuddled and frustrated by leaks of classified information. and as you'll recall, president bush was outspoken about it. do i think they've got a problem? absolutely. do i think too much information is out there about the tactical details of the operation? yes. but i think we've got to be careful. this is very difficult for the white house to control. there are now enough people in enough different agencies who have some measure of detail, not all of it, but some. and it's very difficult to get control of it.

and we thrive on it. we look for the people willing to talk to us. and it's a real challenge for the white house. i understand secretary gates's concern for the navy s.e.a.l.s. i share that. but some of this, the stealth technology left behind in pakistan, that was out of our control. and the talking about it, all of the concern about it, once we had to leave it behind, i'm sure the administration understood they were going to have to deal with it. >> and fran, the navy s.e.a.l.s, even their families, do you believe that they potentially are in danger? >> look, as long as their identities, their names, are kept secret, there is not a real discernible to me direct threat against those s.e.a.l.s, right? so there's no question that the taliban, al qaeda, are going to look for special forces and try to take revenge. but the particular s.e.a.l.s who are responsible for the operation, the anonymity of those people is their greatest protection. >> and we're just getting information from our pentagon correspondent, barbara starr, u.s. sent this saying that those

s.e.a.l.s were wearing those helmets with mounted digital cameras, and officials describe the digital recording as grainy and fast moving, poor lighting. would it be a problem to have that kind of video released, or is it in the best interest of the pentagon, the administration, to simply old n hold on to that? >> they ought to hold on to it, use it for understand the tactics that were used, what was successful, what could be improved on. but under no circumstances should the videotape from the actual raid be revealed because, of course, our enemies could use it to understand the tactics and the methods of our special operators. >> all right. fran townsend, thank you very much. have a great weekend. >> thank you. you, too. more now on the u.s. finally getting a chance to interview three wives of osama bin laden. the women, they were left behind after bin laden was killed in the raid on the compound in pakistan. i want to bring in our nick paton walsh live from islamabad. nick, first of all, an official

describing these women as hostile towards the american questioners, these interrogators. what do we know about what came out of the interview and how it was conducted? what have we learned? >> reporter: well, actually, we don't know really anything about what they said. what we do know is that pakistani officials accept these meetings did happen and that the process, they say, were a number of meetings, these separate meetings will be ongoing. u.s. officials giving more details. they're talking about how these interviews were conducted. the three women all interviewed together, and the oldest one of them, a 29-year-old yemeni, speaking on behalf of all three of them through pakistani interlocutors. the spies in the room helping the americans communicate with these women. u.s. officials also present, not exactly ideal interrogation conditions. i'm sure for the americans who would have obviously have liked to have spoken with them

separately and tried to work out inconsistencies between their stories, put greater pressure from them. what we know so far, the process is still going on, but they haven't learned anything particularly new. >> so we don't know about any information coming out of the interview, but what makes them hostile? how do we know they were hostile? were they quiet? frowning? cursing? what do we know about that? >> reporter: i think you can imagine, obviously, the atmosphe atmosphere. their husband has been shot dead by u.s. forces. clearly they'll have their own emoti emotions, their own grief, but they were there with pakistani officials, the people keeping them in custody and also perhaps the people who may be in charge of their future. traced back to their homelands and then agents of the government who killed their husband in that particular room. clearly a frosty atmosphere. >> do we expect perhaps they'll get a little bit more

information out of them? >> reporter: we are led to understand that it's a process that is ongoing. there should be more meetings. we're not sure what period of time these will be allowed to continue in the future. at one of the worst points imaginable after the bin laden raid and a little light in cooperation might be what helps bring back some sort of future cooperation. >> nick, thank you very much. appreciate your insights. going from made in china to made in the usa. walmart says that it has made the switch. but is it true? and what might that mean for you? a live report from the new york stock exchange.

take a look at cnm money.com's lead story. biggest money losers among fortune 50 0 companies. one of them that they mentioned, fannie and freddie. worst on the list in a second year in a row, who lost the big bucks. a also, checking out the markets, the dow jones industrial average down 61 points or so. we are also following an interesting story about walmart. walmart now says that it's returned to its buy-american roots. but industry experts doubt that. our alison kosic joins us from the new york stock exchange. should we believe it? >> reporter: you know what, suzanne?

walmart is selling more american-made goods, and it's less about patriotism and more by default because the mix of goods it's selling is changing as americans' buying habits are changing, too. this chart shows just how much stuff walmart sells. it sells a lot of stuff. we all know if you walk through the stores. but the biggest chunk of what they sell are groceries and household goods like detergent, toilet paper and toothpaste. and those products happen to be produced locally. those other items like electronics, toys and clothing, that stuff is produced overseas. and it looks like shoppers are buying less of those items and focusing more on necessities. it really is by default that walmart is selling more american-made goods. suzanne? >> alison, tell us what this means for folks buying at walmart. they count on low prices. does this mean that you're going to see higher prices now? >> reporter: it doesn't necessarily mean that. those low prices will probably stick around because the reality is walmart still depends on

those overseas products. so the china factor will still be in the mix. just because those products are much cheaper. and pricing for walmart, it's really a major focus because their typical consumer is low income, so they want to keep those prices down. and they've had a rough couple years with sales. as far as sales go. so that's why walmart has even been cutting prices even more. so no worries. those china products will still be on the shelves at walmart, suzanne. >> all right. thank you, alison. have a great weekend. >> reporter: okay. you, too. every day in vietnam, an estimated 23,000 children are living and working on the streets. they face a daily struggle just to survive. and that's where this week's "cnn hero" comes in. he's an australian who moved to vietnam and now gives street kids a chance for a brighter future. >> here in hanoi, kids come to the streets hoping that it will be better than living in poverty in the countryside. but often they find things are

much worse for them here. you can actually identify kids who are living and working on the streets. they may get detained by the authorities. they may get beaten up. there are ng ga gangs selling h. we find kids being tricked and sold into prostitution. it was just a case of i can help, so i should help. my name is michael. i work in vietnam with street kids, trying to get them back into school, off the streets and into safe homes. when we started out, our goal was to just to get them back to school. to do that, we realized we would have to take that place of providing an income, food, providing the shelter. our center is where the kids know to come. this is where they feel safe. they can join in our activities. they can talk to the staff. and then we've got to make sure they're working towards education or getting a job or improving their health. we've also got to be careful that if the child has a family,

the family is as involved as possible. it's an amazing feeling, getting to watch these kids go from being malnourished and just completely lacking confidence to wanting to make a change. i grew up in poverty. and i often used to think i could do something with my life. if only someone would come and give me that chance. now i'm the guy who can help these kids and give them a chance. >> since 2004, michael and his blue dragon children's foundation have helped more than 350 vietnamese kids get off the streets and into safe homes and schools. remember, "cnn heroes" are chosen from people you tell us about. so to nominate someone you think is making a difference in your community, go to cnnheroes.com. a record flood moving slowly down the mississippi. we'll check in live with our own rob maurs yarciano in greenvill.

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plans for brain surgery. and a revealing interview with chas bono. he talks about his sex change and his engagement. cnn in depth, troubled waters. mississippi governor haley barbour is calling out the national guard as his state copes with its worst flooding in decades. louisiana, a plea from governor bobby jindal for people likely in the path of the flood to get out while they can. our cnn's rob marciano is with us from greenville, mississippi. rob, tell us what is happening where you are. >> reporter: well, the rivers continue to rise here. as a matter of fact, it's not going to crest until monday, and we're not even halfway down the state of mississippi as we continue our journey along with the floodwaters that are historic with this event. behind me, a familiar scene that we've seen especially on the eastern banks of the mississippi river.

another casino that's submerged in water. so this town, the economy once again somewhat paralyzed because of the closing of these casinos. this used to be the normal river bank of the mississippi until they made all she's shortcthese. but now the river goes where it wants toug except where we've built these really big levees. look at the size of this levee that protects the city of greenville. it can take waters up to 75 feet high, and the crest of this river, come monday, is expected to be 65 feet. so we're hoping that -- we expect the city to be okay, but there's been a number of leaks. there's been sand boils that bubble up on the other side of levees. so the army corps of engineers, constant monitoring and fighting these floods. of course, there's the victims. over that way is a community submerged under water much like the tunica cutoff we visited across northwestern parts of

mississippi. the red cross, they have mental workers that come in and talk to and counsel victims of the flood. and we caught up with one yesterday. here's what he told us. >> i think the immediate reaction to these disasters is first off, shelter and support, physical support, and the shock of what was going on and reacting to that. i think they've started -- they've gone through that stage. and they're at the stage now, as i said, where they want information. >> reporter: so they want that information. they want to get out on boats and check out their homes. they're still not able to do that. but as a long-term event, suzanne, for these folks, they've been out of their homes for a couple weeks. it will take a couple weeks just for these waters to get down to the point where they can see their homes, let alone where they can go back in them. many of them are not going to move back to where they were because they don't want this happening again.

regardless whether it's a 100, 200 or 300-year flood which is where we're ranking it now, their nerves are a little frayed. you can imagine just why. suzanne? >> thank you very much. and we'll get back to you as it warrants. but we wish everybody the best in trying to get through this really difficult time. thanks, rob. here's what cnni-reporters and affiliates are capturing on camera. first stop, arkansas. that is where a man in oneida is trying to protect his home from flooding. he built his own levee. ricky davidson says it took him 36 hours to build and 12 hours to drain 2 1/2 feet of water from around his home. now to memphis, tennessee, where i-reporter bethany harrell sent in this individuvideo of t mississippi creeping closer to home on mud island. now, those trees are in a park that is sitting under all of that water. in middleton, tennessee, it's one of those you've got to be kidding moments. danny moore's house flooded last

year. he lost all his furniture. two weeks ago he was afraid his house would flood again so he put everything he owns into a storage unit. >> you come back and your house is still dry. you go check and the storage unit's flooded. there's nothing in the world like it. you think, my goodness, what else can go wrong? i felt secure by putting it in the storage unit. we put everything in it you could. what you see here is stuff that we didn't have room for in there. you do cwhat you've got to do, just keep praying and -- sorry. >> flooded storage unit. > moore lost things back in 2009 from a fire. heavy rain that could produce flash flooding. i want to check in with reynolds wolf. this is flooding on top of flooding. >> well, it's a little different area, but it is threatening parts of the same region, still the southeast. what we've been dealing with,

obviously, over the last couple days, we've been following flooding on parts of the mississippi river, even parts of the ohio river. now the threat pushes towards the east, still in parts of mississippi but also pushing into tennessee and alabama. and it is moving where you see some of the heaviest thunderstorms. what is the different between flooding and flash flooding? they are two entirely different types of animals. to be more specific, when you have a flood, it's basically the rise of a river or stream out of its natural banks. but when you have a flash flood, it's the rapid rise of a river or stream possibly due to heavy rainfall, flow of high water in normally dry area. but one of the key components, too, happens to be this word "flash." talking about how it can develop very quickly, very, very rapid flooding situation. it happens a lot of times also in areas where you're away from streams, away from rivers where you have a great deal of rainfall that falls and the ground doesn't have the time to absorb that moisture. then you have the runoff. and that's where you have your flooding. again, that could be a big threat today in parts. to be more specific, it's mainly

going to be in the southeastern u.s. this shaded area, parts of the mississippi valley, back into tennessee, alabama, even the carolinas. two areas where we have a slight risk of strong storms into the afternoon hours. already we have some through alabama, mississippi and tennessee at this hour. later on into the carolinas, certainly a distinct possibility. here's the reason why we've got that good chance of storms. we've got this area of low pressure. not one but two. one down in the eeastern half o the great lakes. you see that extending boundary. also another one moving into parts of the mississippi valley. it's going to be those areas moving through an area with an unstable air mass that could give us strong storms into the afternoon. that's where you have that possibility of seeing the flash flooding. of course, the flooding issues along the mid-mississippi valley. that's the latest on your forecast. back to you, suzanne. >> thank you, reynolds. >> you bet. if you're not personally affected by flooding, chances are you will be over your lifetime. now, this is according to fema. flooding is the number one natural disaster in the united states in terms of lives lost and property damage. floods cost the u.s. $2.7

billion annually over the past ten years, and floods happen in all 50 states. 25% occur in areas the government designates as low to moderate risk flood zones. but get this. only 4%, 4 prosecuti%, of homeo flood insurance opinion mary tyler moore planning to have elective surgery on her brain. [ woman ] welcome back jogging stroller. you've been stuck in the garage while i've been sneezing from the dust in here, and the pollen outside.

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mary tyler moore plans to under undergo brain surgery. her representative says the actress has a slow-growing tumor in the tissue that covers the brain. it is fairly common and benign, but moore's doctor is recommending removing it after monitoring the tumor for years. moore became famous in the 1960s for her role in "the dick van dyke show." she was later known to turn the world on with her smile in her hit "mary tyler moore show." chas bono is talking about his sex change and his engagement. cher's daughter-turned-son appears on "piers morgan tonight" in a revealing, candid interview. here's a quick look. >> will you get married? have you talked about it? >> i'd like to. >> would you? >> will we, piers? will we get married? >> chas? how about you? there's a gauntlet that's been

thrown down. >> we've been engaged for two years and have kind of had to put things on hold a little bit. i think the other thing is, you know, we both have been real -- >> i think the lady would like you to. >> no, she would. >> now that you're a man, you don't have any excuse. >> no, we don't. the one thing we have talked about a little bit is how we're big supporters of, you know, marriage equality. and that's kind of weird now to be able to do that. >> are you legally now able to marry as a man and wife? >> we are, yes. >> yes. >> and would you choose to do that? >> i think that we -- you know, we probably will and hopefully people will understand that, you know, that's something we want to do. >> your mother, of course, is one of the world's most fa sex symbols, kind of embodiment of female beauty. >> it was difficult in that i think as a mother and during that time period, she had

expectations of how she thought i was going to be, and there was friction between us because of that. but i don't think it really mattered to me one way or the other that, you know, she was a sex symbol or any of those things. last week mucho macho came in third at the kentucky derby, and his trainer made history. she had the derby's second best finish for a female trainer. it is remarkable when you consider what she had to overcome to get there. here's dr. sanjay gupta with today's "human factor." >> reporter: kathy's heart was racing during the kentucky derby. well, not her heart, but the one that she received in a transplant two years ago. she made it to her first run of the roses as the trainer for mucho macho man, but it was she, not the horse, that was the long shot in this race. >> it would take forever to get

over my colds. any time i got sick, it seemed like i had to go to the doctors. it seemed like my system was always weak. >> reporter: diagnosed with cardio myopathy in 2001, she had to stop training horses for nearly six years as her condition deteriorated. >> tiredness. i was sick to my stomach. everything hurt. my feet hurt. my head hurt. i was miserable. i was miserable to be around. >> reporter: and there was no rest and sleep. >> i would sleep mostly like with my knees on the floor leaning over the bed. because it was too uncomfortable to lie flat because i would cough too much because my heart was not good at all. >> reporter: she watched the 2008 kentucky derby from her hospital bed waiting for a heart transpl transplant. it took seven months in which her doctors didn't think she would survive. >> it was a poor quality of life that i was living, and i wanted to stop what i was doing to my

family and either, you know, have a chance of living a good life or, you know, just stopp g stopping. >> reporter: she left the hospital seven days after her transplant and returned to work six months later. she says while she is extra careful around the dirty barn and unpredictable horses, her only real alteration is taking some 30 pills a day. >> i am surprised. i'm surprised that i can do everything, you know. i really have a normal life. >> reporter: a life she hopes others with her condition can see is just bursting out of the starting gate. >> i hope that they see it and say that not only did i get a heart transplant, but i held on. >> reporter: dr. sanjay gupta, cnn, reporting. >> kathy says mucho macho man remains on course to race the preakness. that is happening may 21st in baltimore. she'll be there as well. ron paul makes it official. he's running for president again. he's doing it as a republican,

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ron paul is making it official. he is running for president, and he's doing it as a republican, not as an independent. mark preston, part of the best political team on television live from the desk in washington. good to see you. ron paul, the second republican to announce this week. tell us what this means. >> yeah, you know, it means that the republican presidential field is finally starting to gel. you know, back in 2007, suzanne, almost everybody was in, right? we already had some presidential debates where all the candidates were appearing. everybody was in, the field has been very slow to gel this time. ron paul up in new hampshire today making it official. the 75-year-old congressman from texas ran in 2008 unsuccessfully. he also ran as the libertarian for president back in 1988. but he says that his supporters, his republican supporters, are enthusiastic, and he is in it to win it. he's very successful at raising money, and so is michele bachmann, the minnesota congresswoman, also considering

running. she just put an e-mail out a couple hours ago. i got my hands on it. let's take a quick look at what she says in this e-mail. michele bachmann who is considering run aning for president. i'm reaching out to you for help because the liberal media credits me with being a conservative stalwart who routinely leads the opposition to president obama. that's why the most radical supporters of president obama's agenda are so committed to defeating me regardless of which office i decide to seek. now, what's interesting about this e-mail, in addition to that, is she asks her supporters, are you satisfied with the current field of potential republican presidential candidates? she asks them to take a little bit of a quiz and then asks them for a donation. we're waiting to see if she's going to run. at least she seems to be asking for money from supporters if she does run. >> a lot of clues perhaps she is moving in that direction, huh, mark? >> yeah. >> another democratic senator retiring now, i understand. >> yeah, herb kohl, a very quiet senator, a three-termer from wisconsin. he'll announce today he is not

going to run for re-election. you know, this is now the sixth democrat who has decided to step aside in 2012. there are two republicans who will not run for re-election. and you know, suzanne, what's interesting about herb kohl, not only he has been a u.s. senator, but he's also the owner of the milwaukee bucks basketball team. kohl on his way out. probably throughout the day we'll have names of democrats and republicans who might want to succeed him. >> great. thank you, mark. appreciate it. for the latest political news, go to ccnnpolitics.com. we're having a lot of fun talking about today's "talk back question." we asked, are politicians revealing too much? carol costello is back with your responses. this is our advisory board. our field research team. and our product development staff. we know military lives are different. we've been there. that's why our commitment to serve the financial needs of our military, veterans, and their families is without equal. and why, we'll always be there for you... both here...

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being fat, to showing off rock-hard abs, politicians these days let it all hang out and it gets us to the "talk back" question today with carol skos tell low. what are people saying? on a friday, too. >> it is a fun friday. isn't it? absolutely. "talk back" question, are politicians revealing too much. this from megan -- if they want

to pose for magazines in their spare time who's it harming? as long as the job they're hired to do is the first priority. it is an added bonus if they're hot. >> it is a way of keeping attention off the real issues. >> spanky -- we don't care how he looks, we care he voted against the bill that would get us money in our warehouse district in peoria and how aaron is being a puppet for the republican an tea party. joe -- i sure hope michelle bachmann shows some skin. this from arthur -- carol, close one eye i'm going to take off my shirt for this topic. oh, no, the blinds were open and lady was walking her dog. she just passed out. so did the dog. facebook.com/carolcnn. >> if you have rock-hard abs, why not? you know? he's doing his job. >> i personally think there should be some dignity associated with the office of politician. i'm old-fashioned that way. i don't want to see my

congressman half-nak. especially mine. >> i'm not going to even ask who that would be. stick around. you and i i'm sure have had our moments, our bad tv blooper moments. but i want you to see this. check this out. if you've ever been attacked by a camel, take a look at this. two of the dogs are in isolation at hanover animal control. other livestock owners -- get it out! >> she thought he was cute at first. oh, the cute little camel. no problem. ouch. that's reporter tara morgan from wwbt in richmond, virginia. she was able to laugh about this attack afterwards. i guess it is just one for the blooper reel. have you ever had a camel moment. >> no, but a penguin attacked me on camera once. a penguin. a cute little penguin. i reached out to pet its little

head and it bit me zblimplgs. >> on air? >> on air. >> i want the tape. >> no. >> monday we're taking a look. we promise you, we're going to bring that tape to you. >> it was in the days before tape. >> you've been around too long. >> exactly. how about you? >> no animals but we could have a couple riot situations where people are throwing trash on us, crazy stuff like that. >> that's old hat. >> i didn't have a penguin. listen, have a great weekend, carol. we'll have much more fun an news right after this break. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible. yoo-hoo. hello.

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>> reporter: a senior u.s. official saying george mitchell, the president's special mideast envoy is now planning to step down. we expect the president to put out a written statement about that shortly. the most interesting part of this is the timing. next week is a huge week for this president in terms of dealing with mideast policy. the table will be set tuesday when he welcomes the king of jordan here to the white house. then on thursday, we've just confirmed as well, the president will be laying out that speech that we've been talking about, about mideast policy, about what is his reaction, what does he think the u.s. role is, trying to bring stability to the northeast and africa in light of

all the nuimult in egypt. for george mitchell, the president's special mideast env envoy, to be leaving right on eve of all of that suggests some real problems right now with the mideast peace process. jay carney just had an off-camera briefing with reporters in which he was pushing back on the notion that this was a problem. he said, "this president's commitment remains as firm as ever" in terms of a commitment to the mideast peace process. but you'll remember, suzanne, you were here the first week of this new administration in 2009, president obama with great flair rolled on senator george mitchell and said this shows how committed we are to bring mideast peace. for george mitchell to exit now is a pretty poor sign for the prospects of peace. >> talk a little bit about george mitchell's own frustrations within the administration. i know recently you have hamas,

then you have the palestinian mainstream organization, fatah, talking to each other trying to move the peace process forward. you have egypt now talking to hamas as well. the administration saying this is a terrorist group. we don't think that any of this is progress. certainly seems as if the administration has been put in a position now where it doesn't really know what to do next or what kinds of steps are appropriate at this time. >> reporter: yeah, and how exactly to bring the key parties together given the added confusion you just mentioned. i mean, look -- it should be underscored that george mitchell has long been a public servant beyond the senate, spending many, many hours flying to northern ireland to broker that peace, and has spent many, many hours over the last two years flying back and forth to that region, as has secretary of state hillary clinton. so there's a commitment to try to get something done from this administration. nobody should misunderstand that. but as you lay out some of the challenges -- for decades and

decades now -- to try to get mideast peace but there are particularly new difficult challenges that have made it that much harder. final point would be last september, you'll remember president obama brought the israelis an palestinians here to the white house with then-egyptian president hosni mubarak and said let's give a deadline after year with some real process in the mideast peace process. mubarak now out of power, now the confusion in egypt and among the palestinians and hamas makes this an extremely difficult situation. >> ed henry, thank you at the white house for bringing that breaking news to us. appreciate it. top of the hour, i'm suzanne malveaux. want to get you up to speed on some other developing stories this hour. ambulances wail in pakistan. the taliban sayer that behind a double suicide bombing outside a military academy. that happened today. a spokesman calls it retaliation for the death of osama bin

laden. 80 people, most of them pakistani military cadets, lost their lives. another 140 people were wounded. defense secretary robert gates complains that there has been too much official chatter about the bin laden raid. so much so that he says the navy s.e.a.l.s who took out bin lo are worried about their safety. the safety of their families, and they're going to get increased security. >> a week ago sunday in the situation room we all agreed we would not release any operational details from the effort to take out bin laden. that all fell apart on monday, the next day. >> sources say the u.s. has questioned bin laden's three widows. none of them were forthcoming. the group interview took place in front of pakistani intelligence officers. the women's demeanor describe as hostile. louisiana governor bobby

jindal is warning people who live in the morganza spillway to get out. that area stretches from i-10 west, baton rouge to the gulf. the arnie corp of engineers may open the spillway as early as tomorrow to lower the flood risk to baton rouge and new orleans. >> our hearts go out to everybody downstream. this is monumental water. never been seen before. >> georgia gets a tough immigration law today modeled on the one that's adopted in arizona. with a handful of angry protesters outside, the governor signed the bill at georgia state capitol. that's happening this hour. this new law allows police to question certainly criminal sus secretaries about their immigration status. opponents now plan to sue. libyan opposition leaders are due at the white house in just a few hours. the delegation had heed by this man -- mahmoud jabril, is

scheduled to meet with president obama's national security advisor. the opposition wants the united states to recognize it as the legitimate government of libya. more than 800 libyan war refugees arrived on an italian island today and more are coming. they may the dangerous journey knowing that hundreds of others have died trying. our cnn's ivan watson now. >> reporter: this is the third boat crammed with my grants and refugees from north africa from libya that has arrived here just today. each one carrying more than 100 people. as you can see, they're crammed into woodenen fishing boats on perilous journey that takes at least 24 hours across the mediterranean sea. >> the video shows syrian women struggling to retrieve the

bodies of other women. unbelievably disturbing video that we are watching right now. today is being called the friday of free syrian women to honor women killed in the two-month-old uprising. this very disturbing. the united nations says the crackdown by syrian security forces has killed as many as 850 people since march and new violence is now reported today. more now on the safety concerns among navy s.e.a.l.s who took out osama bin laden. defense secretary robert gates says the department is looking for ways to pump up security for the s.e.a.l.s. want to bring in our pentagon correspondent chris lawrence. chris, give us a sense here. secretary gates is worried that too much information on the bin laden raid has now been made public. why were there so many operational details that were released in the first place? >> more than likely, suzanne, because they got osama bin laden

and lot of officials were proud of that fact and wanted to talk about it, and, not to be hypocritical, there's plenty of us in the media who kept asking those questions. we wanted to know more and people wanted to know more details about those raids, and people kept talking about it. before this happened, we didn't even know the u.s. had a stealth blackhawk. now we do. we didn't know some of the tactics that the mock-up, that compound that they practiced on, all of that has come out. i think now secretary gates is saying there is a real danger, not only from him but that some of the s.e.a.l.s feel there is a danger that their names could eventually become public. the secretary does not want that to happen. >> when i met with the team last thursday, they expressed a concern about that, and particularly with respect to their families. and so we're -- as you say, i can't get into the details in

this forum, but we are looking at what measures can be taken to pump up the security. >> obviously we're living in the age of wikileaks. you can probably expect that a lot of reports that go out on this will have names and equipment redacted, meaning they'll be blacked out, just in case some of this is ever, ever put out in the public. >> chris, i want to talk a little bit about the united states questioning osama bin laden's three wives who were left at the compound after he was killed. what have we learned about that interview? do we have any information on that? >> yeah. the first indications we're getting from some officials are that they didn't get much from this initial interview, but we're hearing from a pakistani official that the u.s. will be granted another chance to interview them. remember, u.s. officials wanted to interview these women separately to see if there was any discrepancies in their stories. they didn't get to do that. they were all in the room

together with pakistani officials and from what we understand it was the eldest wife who spoke for all three of them. >> all right. chris lawrence, thank you very much. here's your chance to talk back on one of the stheerz gfof got us talking a lot. are politicians revealing too much? >> we got pictures! once upon a time when you heard from a member of congress, it was strictly about policy, like taxes and foreign affairs or defense spending. well, those days are gone. dignity seems to be out the window. welcome to the era of tmi. check out this tweet from missouri senator clair mccaskill. i'm tired. i'm tired of looking and feeling fat. maybe talking about it publicly will keep me on track as i try to be more disciplined. off to the gym. hey, it worked for new york senator kirsten gillibrand. after losing baby weight she

took to voeg magazine to show off her slimmed down figure. it is not just a woman thing. male lawmakers also seem obsessed with their political body, so to speak. take illinois congressman aaron shock proud owner of these six-pack abs on the cover of "men's health." and by the way, do we really need to know that barack obama is stinky or snory in the morning or hates picking up h dirty socks? there was once a time americans did not even know franklin delano roosevelt was in a wheelchair! but now it is a topic that carries a lot of political weight and one we can't get enough of, because frankly, they won't let us! so "talk back" question today -- are politicians revealing too much. facebo facebook.com/carolcnn. i'll be eager once again to read your comments. >> come on, carol. don't you think it makes them more appealing? >> there's a line! >> you can kind of relate --

>> i don't want to see my lawmaker half-naked. i just want them to do their jobs. >> even if it is a six-pack? >> i'd rather they use this up here. that's just me, though. i'm old-fashioned. >> i don't think you're all that old-fashioned. i can hardly wait to hear what folks have got to say about this one. it is going to be a fun one. here's what's ahead on the rundown. first we are watching the water rise. we'll have a live report from greenville, mississippi. and new orleans, now in the crosshairs again. general russell honore tells y now how levees are holding up. danger in syria. could today's anti-government rallies invite another oppressive crackdown. and the sound of music encouraging school kids to play an instrument. finally, brain surgery for actress mary tyler moore. dr. sanjay gupta explains the type of tumor that is being removed. [ female announcer ] what if your natural beauty could be flawless too?

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there's an area of this town that's completely cut off and inundated with water. if you're on the unprotected side of the levee where we are, things are pretty wet. very wet. yet another casino, at least the non-floating part of it, that is under water and closed for business. another vital part of this area that is shut down economically. the mississippi eventually meets up with the yazoo river down around vicksburg. that's going to be interesting as those two rivers crest here, we could get another logjam as far as serious flooding down there in the next several days to come. want to show you the actual levee that protects greenville proper. here it is. it can take this river to go as high as 75 feet. the forecast crest is for 65 feet so we're confident that the city should be okay but there's a number of lakes and a number of weak spots, seepage, these sand boils that bubble up are constantly fighting that battle. you know what's interesting? wildlife has had basically to scurry away from these

floodwaters. just an hour ago just down near this levee this is what we saw. yet another deer swimming in the floodwaters. deer have been found in downtown greenville. wild hogs have been running around. all sorts of animals that normally would be living along the river now are forced to move a little bit closer to populate areas. not to mention what's floating in the river that's -- that i'm constantly keeping my eye out for which are those snakes we saw up the road in memphis. the water continues to move south, suzanne, but it is a slow and painful process and people that live just that way that are cut off an their houses submerged, they won't be able to get back into their homes for several weeks. we'll stay above flood stage here for about a month. it will take a full month before we go below flood stage here. so they sit and they wait and they hope an constantly fight the flood with those leaks occur in the levee. but so far most of the levee system is holding up according to plan.

>> rob, be safe. obviously a lot in that water, including these snakes that you do not want to come across. warnings, people should not be in the water if they can help it at all. thank you, rob. appreciate it. a lot of flooding along the rivers and streams that now flow into the mississippi. chad meyers is joining us. talk about the yazoo river, if you will. i know that that is a big deal. >> i don't think people realize how flat the land is there. people talk about kansas, how flat it is. i just found this. i went ton google earth. vicksburg, mississippi, we'll talk a lot about that in a second because that's where the yazoo river comes into the mississippi. baton rouge. 215 miles as the crow flies. at least 400 miles as the river goes. it only drops in elevation 32 feet. in two ii 00 miles, the land drops 32 feet. so that's why it's taking so very long for this water to move down river. and in fact, i'm going to take you to place where the water's

moving upriver, up the yazoo river -- there's vicksburg right there. just talked about it. up on a bluff, protected by the bluff from the river. there are some areas down here in the lowlands that are protected and they will flood. the mississippi river is getting so high now that it is actually higher than the elevation of the incoming yazoo river. so the water is going backwards. the water is literally in the yazoo river is flowing upstream and we know that by the river gauges and by the flow of the river gauges. mississippi river, yazoo river. the water here, mississippi, coming up. it is the bubble of water, what they call was a gopher in a steak? whatever the governor said? this is that bubble in a steak where subl wouomebody would eat. how flat this is all the way up into yazoo city, then the river gauge real quickly, just about out of time. river was in april moving

upstream from yazoo city down into the mississippi river. and then, few days ago it actually turned around. here's the zero line. it was flowing downhill. now when it gets below this zero the river is actually flowing uphill -- though not technically. the water in that river just can't go any farther south. it can't get into the mississippi. mississippi's too high. >> unbelievable situation. if you're not personally affected by the flooding, chances are you are going to be over your lifetime. according to fema, flooding is the number one natural disaster in the united states in terms of lives lost and property damage. floods cost the united states $2.7 billion annually over the past ten years. floods happen in all 50 states. 25% occur in areas the government designates as low to moderate risk flood zones. but get this -- only 4% of homeowners have flood insurance. it's one of the most ruthless states in the arab

world when it comes to beating back protest rallies. but the threat of violence is not scaring off activists in syria today. michael holmes has more on this very dangerous situation. call her. ok. [ cellphone rings ] hey. you haven't left yet. no. i'm boarding now... what's up? um...would you mind doing it again? last time. [ engine turns over ] oooohhhh...sweet. [ male announcer ] the chevy cruze with the my chevrolet app. the remote control car is finally here. well, now she's just playing with us. oh. [ horn honks ] two of the most important are energy security

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and the ideal life location. it's been a bloody week in yemen. violent crackdowns on anti-government protesters turned deadly once again today. security forces shot and killed four people on their way to a funeral for another fallen

protesters. 12 others were wounded in the gunfire. in egypt, president hoseny mubarak gone but protesters haven't stopped making their voices heard. today thousands gathered between cairo's lan mark landmark tahri. in syria, it's been billed as the friday of free syrian women. but today's rally against the government could turn into another brew it will crackdown. michael holmes is here to go beyond the headlines into the dangerous situation in syria. obviously, it looked like syria was immune to all of this sur moil. >> the funny thing is that the syrian leader bashar al assad literally said that his country was immune to such uprisings that we saw in egypt because his regime, to use his words, was in tune with the people. so much for that.

syrian protesters been taking some bold risks against their government. these pictures are just so dramatic to watch, too. heartbreaking in many ways. lots of people have laid down their lives to make these protests. so far as many as 850 people dead. thousands have been detained. many are missing, that's according to the united nations. let's talk about bashar al assad. he has at least made promises of getting more freedoms to people. he's pledged to drop the emergency rue. he's bumped up some pay scales. though a lot of people in syria doubt that those moves will amount to much in the big picture. syria does remain one of the region's most repressive regimes an these crackdowns we have seen since protests began in march, just another example of that ironclad rule. despite the threat of being locked up or killed, street demonstrations have continued over the past two months.

>> michael, it's really hard to just look at these pictures when you realize that these are women who are trying to get -- female bodies. this is not something that the administration is ignoring. we've heard from secretary of state hillary clinton at least trying to address the situation. >> yeah. words. we did hear her address the situation yesterday. she said in a statement that she promised to hold syria responsible for its human rights abuses. what she said you see there on the screen. there may be some who think that this is a sign of strength but treating one's own people in this way is in fact a sign of weakness. >> could we see a change here? i want to play this again. perhaps we can maybe even take a listen to what's taking place on the streets here for a moment. michael, it is so powerful and so disturbing. do we think that there's the

will of the international community, whether it's united nations or some other international body, to get involved as we saw in libya? >> that's the irony, isn't it? people looking in from the outside say you act in one way for one country and another way for another. it is, to be honest, very difficult to see that happening, a libya style sort of thing. the u.s. administration stands right now a tentative "no," not at least beyond the threat of greater sanctions and a little bit more diplomatic tongue lashing. but this is a country with a lot at stake for the west. it is the chief ally to iran. it is also the great supporter and sponsor of groups like hezbollah, hamas. it is a linchpin player in the middle east. if syria goes back, the region can go bad. and right now despite al asad's regime saying they have things under control -- they said that just yesterday -- you can clearly see that that's not the case. but it is a crucial nation in terms of what it can lead to if

things go bad. we've heard talk of potential for civil war, iraq style sectarian style civil war, about it bleeding into lebanon which has had its own history of civil unrest. a lot at stake in syria. >> michael, thank you very much. appreciate it. school budgets are being cut across the nation and music an arts programs are often the first to go. but three young musicians are trying to keep the spirit alive by inspiring students through their performances. today's "what matters." >> reporter: the williams cousins have been playing the strings together for seven years. >> all three of our moms played the piano. they thought it would be nice for us to play the violin. >> reporter: mira also knows the

vee viola. 19-year-old is the group's cellist. >> whenever i start a piece, i get really excited. a new piece, i'm going to have so much fun with it. >> i particularly love playing the violin because i feel like it's a part of me. when i'm feeling a certain mood, you know, it feels the mood, too. >> reporter: sugar strings perform professional and yet they still find time to bring music back to kids. >> with my experiences in public schools, the arts, there's no funding for it. i think our goal is just to show kids that you can still do music. >> reporter: they recently played at mira's alma mater on south's south side. >> it is amazing how they move their hands so fast. >> i think i might want to do violin. >> you just can't realize how motivational it was. the impact will be months and months and months later on, kids will continue to talk about it. >> we had a lot of people saying, like, oh, i used to

play, you guys inspire me. don't give it up. >> it doesn't even cross my mind to give it up, but it is good to hear that, that we're actually doing the right thing. >> reporter: cnn, chicago. will new orleans be spared record flooding? that's a question a lot of people are asking as the mississippi's floodwaters are headed that way. we'll speak leave with general russel honore who led the military's response to hurricane katrina. [ female announcer ] it's red lobster's festival of shrimp for just $11.99. combine two of our most tempting shrimp selections any way you like from favorites like crab-stuffed shrimp to special new creations like bbq-glazed shrimp or potato-crusted shrimp. create your own combination with unlimited cheddar bay biscuits all for just $11.99, during the festival of shrimp. get more of the shrimp you love in more irresistible new ways.

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here's a rundown on some of the stories we are working on. saving new orleans from a record flood. we'll be speaking with general russel honore, the man who led the military response to hurricane katrina. plus, the education crisis in america. we're going to meet a young student who has big dreams but she might not get the education she needs to turn them into reality. and, we're also going to find out about actress mary tyler moore's brain surgery from our own dr. sanjay gupta. cnn "in-depth," troubled waters. there's still no decision on whether to open a spillway north of new orleans to divert floodwaters from the mississippi river. the flood is moving slowly in that direction. joining us now from baton rouge, retired general russel honore. he led the military's response

to hurricane katrina. general hon ray, thank you very much for joining us here. having dealt with new orleans flooding firsthand after katrina, you know the state of the levees in that area. how are they holding up? is new orleans going to see major flooding? >> everything's possible here, suzanne. a lot of work has been done on the levees in new orleans, to include the massive gates that prevent the high water from coming in to the city, as you saw on the 17th street canal and some of the other canals where the water came in from tidal surge. in this case, the water's coming from up north from extensive flooding this started in the midwest, and now is pushing its way through mississippi. but if we can get the morganza spillway open and we get the effect we need from it, and hopefully general walsh and colonel fleming will make that decision to open that morganza tomorrow.

that will reduce the pressure in new orleans immediately. >> and you think those levees will hold. >> we think the levees that have done the enormous amount of work on will hold. but between new orleans and about the ton rouge, there's a lot of danger area there, suzanne. we have enormous number of communities that have been built close to the levee, as well as enormous number of chemical plants and refineries, that if they get flooded, we could have a second or third order effect from that flooding. and all of that is dependent on the levees holding. right now we've got major sand bowel on between baton rouge and new road. this is my hometown, this is where i spent my barefoot years, as we say in louisiana. and there's a lot of danger right now where morganza is. so hopefully the corps will open

that floodgate and relieve that pressure on the parish in baton rouge. baton rouge should be first stage on the 22nd may, which is just a few days away. once it reaches flood stage, it will only have about four inches to spare before the water would come over the levee. so opening that morganza is key to all of this right now, suzanne. >> general hon ray, i know a lot of my family spent their barefoot years there as well. i want to bring in our shad meyers here who has a quick question for you. >> general, what's the plan if this boil turns into a breach? if this breach goes, water's going to pour out of that river faster than people can get out of the way. what kind of warning system is set up for those people who are still stuck behind that levee thinking everything's okay? >> well, let me tell you, the governor and the national guard -- i'm leaving this station right now to go do psas -- a lot of work has been done by the parishes, local governments and the state to get

the word out to people of who would be in the floodfloodplain. this is based on the morganza release. we've probably got to do more work on keeping people informed without getting them panicked on what is the possibility of the levee breaking either on the west baton rouge side or, god forbid, something happen just south of baton rouge. inside of baton rouge we got the big exxon fuel refinery. north of baton rouge, we've got a nuclear power plarnt. south of baton rouge is st. charles parish, we've got the water for the nuclear plant. i think we need to start turn our attention to those worst case scenarios and really showing people the worst ones in the worst case scenario. the state and corps has released that now, now we got to get people to listen, chad, and see if they're in that worst case ascenario. >> amelia, morgan city, other

people are in danger if you open that morganza floodway. what do you say to them? >> right now a lot of work has been done in morgan city. the national guard is giving them additional protection. but from 191 2, 1927, 1937 and 1973 this area has flooded. down to morgan city. that's one of the reasons why that floodgate was put in morganza to control that water and most of that area is agricultural area. until you get to morgan city which has a ring leavee around it to help protect it. the corps has done a lot of work but private levees have been built to protect homes. we're at a high-risk situation right now. >> general russel honore, thank you very much. we hope for the very best those in baton rouge and all along the mississippi river and those

areas that will be impacted by this ongoing flooding. it has been a tough disaster year in the last nine months, 32 states have had emergency or disaster declarations. check out this map from fema. the states in red have had either severe flooding, tornado damage, severe snowstorms or even tsunami wave damage from the japanese earthquake. building up our wireless network all across america. we're adding new cell sites... increasing network capacity, and investing billions of dollars to improve your wireless network experience. from a single phone call to the most advanced data download, we're covering more people in more places than ever before in an effort to give you the best network possible. at&t. rethink possible.

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and the ideal life location. high school senior in arizona wants to attend an elite university to become a solar engineer. but she attends a school where half the students can't pass standardized state tests.

cnn's special correspondent soledad o'brien has her story. >> reporter: suzanne, that girl is maria castro. she's representative of american students in lots of ways. first of all, she's latina so she's a part after growing population of american school children. also maria castro really didn't have access to high level math and science classes. most american students won't take a class like calculus, for example, either because they opt out or because it is just not made available in their school. but maria castro is different. when she was told the class wasn't available, she decided to take matters into her own hands. take a look. >> maria, what is the ratios of the 45? >> the one and one and radical two? >> reporter: maria wants a career that pays well and is pushing herself and her school to get it. >> i was like, well, why isn't anybody like challenging me? i would do a whole week's lesson and it was just like, okay, this is too simple for me. okay, like what's next? >> do you worry that when you go

off to college you're not going to be prepared to compete? >> yeah. especially like with just example, english. we're learning how to capitalize and when to capitalize. that's things that my little sister should be learning. you know? >> it's because more than half of the 2,200 students at maria's school don't pass statewide tests in reading, math. >> when they come to school, they come at the fourth grade reading level and behind in math so we really have a lot of catching up to do. >> it is just my little sister and i because everybody's older. >> reporter: she's the sixth of seven children. >> all of my brothers and sisters were straight-a students. >> they went from being a-students to dropping out. >> my sister got pregnant when she was younger. and everybody was kind of just expecting me to follow into their same footsteps. you know? >> everybody, including her father. she overheard him two years ago at her 15th birthday party. >> he's like, just a matter of

time before she fails. >> fails. >> yeah. he's just like, it doesn't really matter what she does right now. i mean she'll eventually give up. >> did it motivate you in any way? >> yeah, it did. >> it did? >> yeah. now it's like, okay, if i'm going to get straight-as, it is not just for you anymore. it is for me. >> clearly, there's lot of blame to go around. you can blame the parents for being uninvolved, the kids for being lazy, you can blame teachers, administrators, crumbling schools, blame, blame, blame. ultimately though we wanted to explore in our documentary what is working, what is inspiring kids to want to learn about science, technology, engineering and math, all the fields that they have to really understand in order to get the jobs that exist in the future. this particular documentary focuses on a robotics competition. maria is one of the young people who tries to build a robot that can win. back to you, suzanne. >> thanks, soledad. our cnn documentary "don't fail me" education in america,

examines the crisis in public education and why america's financial future is at risk if our students can't excel in math and science. don't miss the full report from our soledad o'brien when it remeers sunday at 8:00 p.m. eastern right here on cnn. [ male announcer ] myron needed an mba to turn his technology into a business. so he chose a university where the faculty average over 14 years of experience in their fields to help him turn a thesis into a business plan and accelerate the path between ideas... and actions. my name is myron sullivan, i'm developing a robotic system to clean oil spills, and i am a phoenix. [ male announcer ] learn more about the school of business at phoenix.edu.

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thomasville, north carolina is known for its huge furniture industry. it is a challenging place to start a small business. but today in "building up america," cnn's tom foreman introduces us to a mattressmaker who not only outlasted the recession, but also survived a fire to keep people in work. >> reporter: amid the clatter of nail guns and sewing machines, 1,400 mattresses a day roll out of the carolina mattress guild. at least on a good day. but the owners of this small company, katherine and neil, have learned how to handle bad days, too. >> we had to, to survive. we lost half or more of our customer base. so to survive we had to be very proactive. >> reporter: ten years ago, just

after they'd opened in the heart of carolina's furniture belt, a devastating fire struck. wiping out their inventory, their life savings which they'd invested here, and leaving a huge question -- >> my god, what are we going to do? how are we going to overcome this? >> reporter: the answer -- rebuild. fast. moving into temporary space, they raced to repair. once again dropping as much money into their dream as they could scrape up. this is all highly specialized equipment. >> oh, absolutely. >> i'm guessing kind of expensive. >> very expensive. very expensive. >> reporter: then they had an inspiration -- they developed a groundbreaking product based on their experience. a fire resistant mattress. one of the first of its kind on the market. it took off with customers. >> it did gain us some new business, so there was a silver lining to that cloud. >> reporter: lessons learned about taking care of their staff, working hard and never giving up have helped them grow from a handful to 100 employees, despite the recession.

their mantra is simple. >> you can't retreat. you can't retreat. you have to keep moving forward. >> reporter: that doesn't guarantee success, but even in tough economic times, it helps them all sleep a little easier. >> tom foreman joins us live from thomasville, north carolina. hey, tom, great to see you. how does a small company like this end up competing against really big manufacturers? >> reporter: i think they do it, in part, suzanne, by being what small companies can be -- very nimble, very adaptable and emphasizing that one-on-one relationship with their customers that is often hard for a big company to manage that way. sure, they have individual people, but here the owners themselves speak directly to the people who are their clients if they need to to work out any problems, any product supply, they're fast, nimble and responsive. that's allowing them to be competitive even in these tough times. they'll say right up front, this is a tough business, success is

not assured. they're sleeping a little bit easier with the form that they've put together right in the heart of the furniture and textile making country. >> great story, tom. thank you. having a lot of fun with our "talk back" question today. we asked are politicians revealing too much? brian says it just goes to show you that what's on the outside has become more important than what's on the inside. carol costello has more of your responses. her morning begins with artitis pain.

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from tweeting about being fat to showing off rock-hard abs, politicians these days letting it all hang out and it gets us to today's "talk back" question and carol costello with your responses. >> good responses they are. are politicians revealing too much? this from zach --fy wanted my politicians to post provocatively in mag deens i'd have voted for and underwear model. we need to take these politicians to task for the poor job they are doing and unpopularize them over trivial matters. heidi -- no one cares if our leaders have a six-pack unless it is a pack of beer before they

get behind the wheel of a car. this pageantry is the last thing our leaders should focus on when our country has real problems. ben -- politicians are hard at work at recasting their image. they want americans to see them as most americans see themselves. sadly, this is not leadership. this is a desperate attempt to create a form of relatability for the common person. this from nicole -- i don't care if you're fat, stinky or snory. i care about fixing the nation's health care, the budget and jobs. tom -- i was watching the news with my 10-year-old when this came on and he said, way too much. more than i want to know. even 10 year-olds are weighing in. >> even the 10-year-old knows better. >> facebook.com/carolcnn. >> have a great weekend. sounds ominous. mary tyler moore decides to undergo elective brain surgery. our dr. sanjay gupta explains why the actress may have agreed to go under the knife. time for the help desk where we give answers to your financial questions and joining me this hour, a personal finance

author and a certified financial planner. we have our first question of the day. kathy in patterson, new york is saying, i'm having problems keeping up with the high mortgage on my condo. if i use my savings to pay for it, the money will only last two years. then i'll be broke. i can't sell it for enough to pay off the mortgage. what should do i? a lot of folks in this position. >> it is so true. the good news is that kathy realizes she's got her back up against a financial wall. she's actually a classic candidate for a short sale which is fancy speak for going to the bank and saying let's sell it for what we can and call it a day. reasons for short sale can include hardship, or also the fact that you're just underwater. sounds like in kathy's case there may be some hardship there, if she hae a job loss or income reduction. the key is short sales saer from lender to lender. kathy needs to talk to her lender and start the application process soon. in a good case scenario six to

eight weeks but often times carmen, as longing a three to four months to see if you're going to be accepted. >> it is going to take patience and fortitude. >> we've got ken -- i'm selling our second house and will make $100,000 off the sale. congratulations. now i want to save safely but also gain interest on the funds for my grandkids' college. what do you suggest? doug, lugky grandkids. >> yes. the first thing is to consider since it wasn't an investment property, it was a second home, whether there's taxes due on this. i don't know if that $100,000 is after taxes or not. you shurd first look at a 529, allowing the money to grow tax-free which was the specific goal here to be used for college. choose investments within the 529. if you look for something safe, can you do that if you want. you might want to look at something age appropriate for the child but if you want something safe that's an option. if that's the place you want to look. you can also give more than just the $13,000 per child in those

529s. can you do a couple of years at a time. >> and keep it in the grandparents' name. >> control it by keeping it in the grandparents' name but out of their estate at the same time. >> do you want a question you want answered? send us an e-mail any time to the cnn help desk@cnn.com. ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ you love money ♪ well, you know i love it too ♪ ♪ i work so hard at my job ♪ and then i bring it home to you ♪ ♪ i love money in my pocket

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mary tyler moore is having elective surgery on her brain. ♪ who can turn the world on with her smile ♪ >> many of you know her as the woman who could turn the world on with her smile. her publicist says the actress has a slow growing brain tumor that's fairly common and benign. so i asked our chief medical correspondent dr. sanjay gupta why the 74-year-old might have opted for surgery? >> well, suzanne, it's not that unusual for these tumors not to be operated on. at least immediately. the reason is because they're typically thought of as benign due mores. if they're also small, the discussion between doctor and patient may be, look, let's keep an eye on this, there is a chance you may not need to have any therapy for this in your entire lifetime.

so you get yearly scans, mri scans, and check to see is this tumor starting to change. the tumor may have been found incidentally. if someone goes in for an unrelated issue and they find this tumor, that's when this whole discussion starts to take place. the tumor really is a tumor sort of located on the outside of the brain typically. growing from the outside in, sort of pushing into the brain as opposed to growing within the substance of the brain. again it is found, has very characteristic look when you get an mri scan. now the big question a lot of people ask is why operate now? mary tyler moore is 74 years old. it really comes down to three basic reasons. or at least one compelling reason of those three. the tumor could have started to grow quickly. so year to year maybe it was unchanged or it was growing very slowly and all of a sudden on a scan you see a more explosive rate of growth. two is that the tumor may be changing to some extent. looked like a benign tumor, but none on scans som