[Collins:] If you head out to Cape Cod this Labor Day weekend, you may have to settle for just a tan, maybe not a swim. The water is off-limits because of these. Look at that, four massive great white sharks swimming around the shoreline. Yes, the shoreline. Shark sightings are common, as you probably know, in Cape Cod, but four great white sharks can obviously be rare, even in New England.
[Ian Bowles, Secretary Of Energy And Environmental Affairs:] It's a common occurrence for these sharks to be in our waters. Swimmers should be aware of that and they should use appropriate caution.
[Collins:] Yes, appropriate caution. A marine expert managed to tag two of the great whites to help monitor their movements. This is a good idea. It's the first time great white sharks have been tagged in the Atlantic. Hitting the beach is not a bad way to spend this Labor Day. In fact, that's exactly what our incredibly hardworking Rob Marciano is doing. He's in Cocoa Beach, Florida, at the annual NKF pro-am surf festival. And yes, wipeout, baby. I have seen so much video this morning, it's sad. It's border line pathetic, my friend.
[Marciano:] Um, well, yes. But you didn't quite get all of my successes on tape. As a matter of fact...
[Collins:] Oh, the cameraman out of batteries?
[Marciano:] That's true too. I will show you that in just a second. Good morning, everybody. I am laboring on this Labor Day at the beach. That's a pretty good deal. Loving my job today for sure. Here at the national kidney foundation, the Florida version, their surf festival that's happening for the 24th year. They've raised millions of dollars for kidney transplant recipients. All right, the kids are lining up. We've got amateurs, we've got professionals. Here are some of the amateurs, long boarders. Look at the size of that board compared to that kid. Are you going to hang ten for us out there, you going to make it happen? All right. Over here we've got the well, the ladies are about to go out. That's the pros side. Hundreds, maybe even thousands of people out here enjoying the sights. This got started 24 years ago by a retired surfer, and he has a special connection, certainly, to the kidney transplant foundation. Take a quick listen to his story.
[Rich Salick, National Kidney Foundation Of Florida:] In '74, '68, '99.
[Marciano:] Three kidney transplants?
[Salick:] Yes, and add on three years of intensive cancer therapy, and there I am.
[Marciano:] How about that? Three kidney transplants, plus having gone through surgery. He and his twin brother are here today and they're excited about this. It's taken to its 25 year.
[Unidentified Male:] Three, two, one!
[Marciano:] All right, the heat is starting. There go the kids. Go tear it up. Some gnarly waves coming in, dude.
[Collins:] All right, you're scaring me a lot. You're scaring me a lot. I know you're really actually a skier, so I guess I thought maybe I was setting the bar too high, but I thought with all of your adeptness in the snow that we would see the same sort of thing in the surf. But we have some video to prove otherwise. You want to narrate this or should I do it for you?
[Marciano:] Listen, I never surfed before. I'm a bit of a landlubber, certainly some skills on the snow, but certainly not on the water. I got a lesson from my friend Ryan yesterday on a long board, which I'm told a cow could get up on, it's got kind of training wheels on it.
[Collins:] Yes, that's all right, though.
[Marciano:] One, two, three attempts. On the third attempt, I took out some kids.
[Collins:] Yes, good, sounds great.
[Marciano:] CNN lawyers, be aware, you may be getting a call today. And on the fourth attempt I kind of did you see how big those waves were?
[Collins:] Yes.
[Marciano:] That one wave was totally curling over the top my head. I was shooting through the tube.
[Collins:] Certainly, just like in the bathtub.
[Marciano:] It was sick. I was ripping it, shredding off the top. It was gnarly, dude.
[Collins:] Wow, you are a rock star.
[Marciano:] Come on, Heidi, you know you're jealous. You know you want to be out here. This is a great way to spend a Labor Day weekend.
[Collins:] Yes, I would rather be there than here, that's for sure.
[Marciano:] Maybe for the 25th year, I'm going to enter myself in the competition. I feel the skill set is coming in the next 12 months.
[Collins:] OK. You work hard on that. I think you're going to need all the video instruction and professional help that you can get. Rob Marciano, take care. Beware of the very large waves out there.
[Marciano:] See you.
[Collins:] Thanks so much. Obviously, we do have a lot going on this morning, even though it has Labor Day, news to get to you. Our CNN crews are working hard to bring it to you. Let's check in now beginning with Ed Henry at the White House.
[Ed Henry, Cnn Senior White House Correspondent:] Good morning, Heidi. Conservatives still fired up about the president's back-to-school speech tomorrow and whether it will be too political. The White House is about to release a text of the speech to try and douse the flames. I'll have that story at the top of the hour.
[Brianna Keilar, Cnn Congressional Correspondent:] And I'm Brianna Keilar in Washington. Congress returning to town after a month-long recess. I'll tell you where the debate on health care stands at the top of the hour.
[Reynolds, Wolf, Cnn Meteorologist:] And Heidi, we're going to take a look at what is going on in the tropics. We may have a main storm, maybe not, but we're seeing a little bit of activity there. Plus we're going to take a look at your holiday forecast coming up. Heidi, we're going to have the complete picture for you coming up at the top of the hour.
[Collins:] All right, very good. Thanks so much, guys. We will also a closer look at President Obama's speech tomorrow to school kids. As you herd Ed mention, we're going to talk to parents on both sides of the argument and a school official who is searching for common ground.