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American Morning

Scout Home Safe; Interview with Beth Holloway Twitty; 'Surviving the Game'

Aired June 22, 2005 - 07:31   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: It's a little past half past the hour on AMERICAN MORNING.
Coming up in the program, a live report from Utah, condition report on the 11-year-old, Brennan Hawkins, back home now after his four-day ordeal in the Utah wilderness, waving dismissively to the reporters there.

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, he's tired and hungry.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: He wants to be left alone.

M. O'BRIEN: He wants to do a video game or something, right?.

S. O'BRIEN: He doesn't want a press conference.

M. O'BRIEN: No.

S. O'BRIEN: He wants to go play video games.

Also this morning from Aruba, Natalee Holloway's mom, Beth Holloway Twitty, is our guest straight ahead. She's got the latest on the search for her missing daughter.

M. O'BRIEN: But first, a check of the headlines. Carol Costello is here with that, looking wonderful in green this morning.

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Green seems to be the color, except you guys aren't wearing green.

M. O'BRIEN: I didn't get the message, I'm sorry.

COSTELLO: I'm telling you, everyone else is.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: Exactly. Good morning, everyone.

"Now in the News."

House Republicans are set to release a new Social Security measure. The proposal does away with President Bush's push for private investment accounts for younger workers. Sources say the bill does not mention cutting benefits or increasing taxes or raising the retirement age. We're expecting to learn exactly what's in that plan some time today.

Former Ku Klux Klan member and preacher Edgar Ray Killen could face up to 60 years in prison. Killen was convicted Tuesday of manslaughter in the 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. The murders were dramatized in the film, "Mississippi Burning." Sentencing is set for tomorrow. Killen's lawyers say they plan to appeal.

A California father and son accused of involvement with al Qaeda have pleaded not guilty. The two men appeared Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento. They are accused of lying to federal authorities about alleged involvement with an al Qaeda terror training camp in Pakistan. A judge is set to rule later this week on evidence in the case.

And more details this morning about the so-called runaway bride. Jennifer Wilbanks apparently wanted to disappear because she was worried she would not be the perfect wife. That's according to reports by the FBI and the Georgia Bureau of Investigation. She says she picked Austin, Texas, as her original destination, after seeing actor Matthew McConaughey talk about it on television. And she said she was suicidal on the day she boarded the bus. In fact, she said she had pills when she boarded that bus. And, of course, she ended up in New Mexico.

Remember, you can view more CNN reports online. Just visit cnn.com, click on to watch, and you can check out the most popular stories.

S. O'BRIEN: Who is aiming to be the perfect wife? I'm sorry. I mean, come on!

COSTELLO: I watched the interview last night. I could only watch it for 10 minutes.

M. O'BRIEN: You stayed up?

COSTELLO: Ten minutes of it.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

S. O'BRIEN: What did you think?

COSTELLO: I just wasn't that interested, frankly. And she just was smiling too much for me or something. I don't know. I just didn't get a feeling that any of it was real.

S. O'BRIEN: Jennifer, set a low bar, and you'll never be disappointed. Aim for like a fair to middling wife, and you'll do just fine. That would be my advice.

M. O'BRIEN: Do you think they'll ultimately get married?

S. O'BRIEN: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: You do? COSTELLO: I actually do. And if you watched the dynamic between the two you would say why yes.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. OK. All right. Thank you, ladies. Try for perfection. It's OK. It's OK. We won't mind a bit if you try.

Doctors in Utah sent 11-year-old Brennan Hawkins home overnight, just 12 hours after he was found on a mountain trail. He was taken to a Salt Lake City hospital, hungry, wet and cold, a little cranky maybe. But despite some bumps and bruises, he was pronounced in remarkably good condition.

Peter Viles is live outside the Primary Children's Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

Peter, these are the kinds of stories we like to cover, right?

PETER VILES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: This is a great story, Miles. What an amazing story. Not only does this boy survive four days in the wilderness and get rescued, but he's in such good shape when he comes out of all of this that he comes to the hospital and doesn't even really have to stay a full night. He checked out about four hours ago.

He had arrived here yesterday afternoon and was, all things considered at that point after four days in the wilderness, in pretty good shape, suffering from dehydration and sunburn. But doctors say it was pretty clear once they got a look at him in the hospital yesterday that he would not have to stay here for very long.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ED CLARK, PRIMARY CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL: Brennan has just been so happy to be with his family that we've not pressed him for the stories. That will come out over the next days and weeks. Our focus here was assessing his medical condition, treating the medical problems that he had, which was sunburn and dehydration, and making sure that he could eat and tolerate food. And that went very well over about a 10-hour period here.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VILES: Now, Dr. Clark, who you just heard from there, said he looked in on Brennan at one point in the hospital last night, and what he saw was an 11-year-old boy surrounded by his family, talking on the cell phone, and watching cartoons on television.

So, Soledad and Miles, I imagine a video game is in this child's future. He's home in Bountiful, which is about 20 minutes from here, and probably happy to be back in his own bed.

One footnote from that doctor. They said they were real lucky that it hadn't rained much up in those mountains, because if there had been heavy rain, the boy would have been soaked. That's a way to lose body temperature real quickly, and there would have been a fear of hypothermia. But another of the miraculous blessings, if will you, in the story, it was pretty dry in those mountains after having a very wet spring up there.

So, Miles, a wonderful story here.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, Peter Viles, thanks very much.

In the next hour, we'll have the full interview with Brennan Hawkins' doctor -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: In Aruba, Natalee Holloway's mother is not saying much about a meeting that she had with the parents of one of the suspects in her daughter's disappearance. Beth Holloway Twitty says she was handing out prayer cards and fliers in the neighborhood where Joran Van Der Sloot's parents lived. She says the parents invited her into their home, and then they spoke for about 90 minutes.

I asked Beth Twitty about that meeting.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BETH HOLLOWAY TWITTY, NATALEE HOLLOWAY'S MOTHER: I really don't want to disclose any of the specifics of the conversation.

S. O'BRIEN: I understand that.

TWITTY: I think what I walked away with -- I think what I walked away with was what I needed.

S. O'BRIEN: Give me a sense -- and I know you don't want to tell us what happened and I completely understand that. But did you walk away feeling more hopeful? Do you walk away feeling like some questions of yours have been answered?

TWITTY: I think I walked away with the confirmation that, you know, we still have some individuals that we need to pursue. And, you know, I've been verbal about my feelings and instincts from the moment I was on this island, and during those early morning hours of May 31, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. -- I mean, 1:00 to 4:00 a.m. I just still keep going back to those feelings, and I still have them as strongly as I do today. So, I think I needed that. I needed confirmation again.

S. O'BRIEN: I know you've been vocal. At the same time, I know obviously you're often very careful about what you say in order to not jeopardize any part of the investigation. Do you feel, when you keep going back to those hours that you're focusing on, that the four people who are now in custody are the people investigators should be focused on? Are there more people they should be looking for?

TWITTY: Well, I think that there are other individuals that they need to pursue, and I know that the FBI and authorities are well aware of that. So, I know that they are actively pursuing all of those other individuals.

S. O'BRIEN: Often they'll tell us, under Dutch law, things are different than in the United States. So, when things seem confusing, well, you know, Dutch law is a little bit different. But there are some things that seem almost obvious to me that should have been done under any country's law, frankly. Like, why haven't they impounded the computers at the Internet cafe where all of these guys were? Why did they not impound the boat where this deejay was working 300 yards from the hotel where your daughter was staying? Why did they not impound his car? Do you have these same questions? Have you asked authorities about these things?

TWITTY: Oh, absolutely. And I think that's a huge reason, part of the reason why we've hired a local attorney for Natalee. And, you know, she will be so instrumental in being a navigator and a facilitator through the legal system. And, you know, we'll answer a lot of questions.

S. O'BRIEN: The charges for the four suspects that are now being held, unofficially they've been charged with murder and kidnapping. Had the prosecutors told you that they have any evidence that Natalee is not alive, that they have something that supports a murder charge?

TWITTY: I have no evidence whatsoever.

S. O'BRIEN: Well, then that's good news at this point. Beth Holloway Twitty joining us this morning. Good luck in your search. Thanks for talking with us as always. And we're glad to see you're holding up OK. Get some sleep, all right?

TWITTY: OK. Thank you.

O'BRIEN: Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: Still to come on AMERICAN MORNING, a Snapple snafu on the streets of the Big Apple. The world's largest popsicle becomes a smoothie.

And access denied. Claims that a chic Paris shop refused to let Oprah in. And, Oprah, come on! Now the queen of talk shows and the queen of media, she's fighting back. And, boy, she's got a big megaphone. Stay with us for more AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: So, what do you do if your son or daughter begins to excel in a sport? You quit your job, right? Because that's your retirement plan. Well, actually, how can you help them deal with the pressure to be great? How can you avoid becoming one of those parents whose enthusiasm spoils the whole thing? In other words, ruins the scholarship? That's our focus today in our special series, "Surviving The Game."

I'm sounding like a pushy parent. I'm really not, Kelly Wallace. But the truth is...

KELLY WALLACE, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Miles, you keep saying all the wrong things.

M. O'BRIEN: I know.

WALLACE: All of the positive things we keep talking about. M. O'BRIEN: A textbook of what not to do.

WALLACE: Exactly.

M. O'BRIEN: Don't do anything I do.

WALLACE: I should have done my series on you.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, you might have. If you had just come to the O'Brien house, you could have seen the, 'Get in that pool.' All right, anyway...

WALLACE: All right. So, you're not one of those parents that push, push, push, push.

M. O'BRIEN: No, I'm not. I'm not. But, you know, you have to nudge every now and then, though. You really do. Because kids left to their own devices, you know, on the Xbox, right?

WALLACE: Right, exactly. But here is what we're talking about. It's almost when a coach or a parent goes over the line, does so much, so much pressure that the athlete, a top athlete might say what, you know what? I don't want to play anymore. Well, that almost happened to a young softball star in New Jersey. Lucky for her, her mom knows a thing or two about dealing with pressure.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WALLACE (voice over): Fourteen-year-old Brittany Perri can throw fast --real fast. Her dream? To pitch in college someday. But that dream was nearly shattered by, of all people, one of her former coaches.

BRITTANY PERRI, 14-YEAR-OLD SOFTBALL PLAYER: It's hard enough when you're making errors and you're trying to do your best, and then you have to come in the dugout and have a coach say, if you have one more error I'm going to take you out.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's go!

WALLACE: She says her coach was not only tough, but never let her pitch. And so, after playing softball since she was a little girl, Brittany thought of giving it all up, and might have had it not been for the encouragement of her mom, a high school athletic director and a former softball coach and player herself.

KATHY PERRI, BRITTANY'S MOTHER: You really have a choice to make, you know. Are you going to just deal with it for one summer and teach your kid to get through these hard times? Or are you going to have confrontation every time you go to the field? Or are you going to have your kid quit? And we're not about quitting.

WALLACE: But now, Kathy Perri does her homework, checking out the coaches before Brittany joins any team. She says it's something all parents should do.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Victory, victory, victory.

K. PERRI: If it's all about winning, you know, that kid could be in for a long summer, a negative summer and may end up, you know, never playing again.

WALLACE: Brittany travels around the country to play, but doesn't have to leave her living room to practice.

K. PERRI: I put this up, like, five or six years ago. It's never come down.

WALLACE: It may seem an extreme step, but it's a delicate balancing act for the parent of a top athlete, trying to make sure she has what she needs to excel, but don't overdo it.

K. PERRI: It's all about balance. So, you know, we don't saturate her with pitching four times a week and really overextending herself so she does burn out.

WALLACE: Child psychologists say parents also should deliver this message to their kids:

ANDREA CORN, CHILD PSYCHOLOGIST: We want you to really enjoy whatever sport you're playing, but it's got to be because you enjoy it, because you want to do it, not because it's going to make me feel proud.

WALLACE: Brittany says her mom is always checking on her to make sure she isn't stressed and that she's playing for the rights reasons, and then she turns the tables on her mom.

B. PERRI: I make sure that her as a parent isn't being burned out, because she's the one that has to drive me places and she has to give up stuff in her schedule, too. And I have to respect that.

WALLACE (on camera): And you're aware of the sacrifices your mom is making.

B. PERRI: Yes.

K. PERRI: I remind her.

WALLACE: You remind her.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

Because, after all, not just the athlete, but the parent is making some sacrifices as well. And Brittany and her mom show how important it is to talk to your kids. Make sure they are having fun and not playing the sport to please you or a coach. Also, check out the coaches. For a top athlete, as we've seen, this can be critical. Make sure you know the coach's approach and philosophy. And finally, don't overdo it. Remember, a top athlete and the parents need to find balance. And that means not practicing 24 hours a day.

You know, I asked Kathy Perri, isn't balance a little bit of an issue when she's got that net in the middle of her living room? You know, they don't have a yard. So, she also says, though, it's optional. She doesn't have to do it. It's there if she wants it. But it does sort of play that role of...

M. O'BRIEN: It's tough one.

WALLACE: ... how do you find that right balance.

M. O'BRIEN: She sounds appreciative of her mom, which is good. I'm glad to hear that.

WALLACE: Very much so.

M. O'BRIEN: All right, thanks, Kelly.

WALLACE: Sure.

We'll see you tomorrow -- Soledad.

S. O'BRIEN: Did you guys see that stuff in New York City in Union Square yesterday? A frozen dream basically became a big slush pile. Andy Serwer has got that story this morning. What a mess.

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Yes, and I love slush pile stories. Don't you? I mean, this thing...

S. O'BRIEN: Who doesn't?

SERWER: Who doesn't? Right. This is a story about Snapple, which is trying to promote a new brand of ice pops called Snapple On Ice. And what they decided to do was create the world's largest ice pop. They wanted to break the record. And they set this thing up in Union Square. Now, it melted. Now, there is some serious melting going on there. It was over 80 degrees yesterday here in the city, Soledad. They needed this thing to stand upright to officially break the record. It had to be over two tons and actually stand upright.

S. O'BRIEN: Why wouldn't do you this in the winter?

SERWER: No. You know, they...

S. O'BRIEN: It's hot out there.

SERWER: They just weren't thinking.

Now, here's what happened, though. There the guy from "Guinness Book of World Records." He's going, if it's not standing upright, it's not going to break the record. A pedestrian slipped. A woman had to go to the hospital. She sprained her ankle. Bicyclists wiped out. The fire department was called and was there for 45 minutes hosing this thing down. Snapple, of course, has said they will reimburse the city for the costs of the cleanup.

S. O'BRIEN: And, of course, there is all of that sugar and sweet stuff, which the animals will come out. I mean, come on, it's New York City. All right. Andy, thank you very much for that important...

SERWER: You're welcome. Slushy goo story.

S. O'BRIEN: ... slushy goo story. Appreciate it -- Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: The full panoply of news coverage in business from Andy Serwer. You know, it probably seemed like a great idea in some PR meeting. I don't know. I guess it's not so...

SERWER: Do it in the winter.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SERWER: Do the same.

M. O'BRIEN: Idea number one.

All right, still to come on the program, she's one of the world's wealthiest women, known by millions, billions in the bank. Well, I don't know about billions, but, yes, pretty close, I guess. Fame and fortune apparently couldn't help Oprah last weekend in Paris, however. We'll tell what you went down that has the talk show queen seeing red. That's ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

M. O'BRIEN: Yes, it makes you want to answer the phone just to shut the dang thing up, right? Another edition of "90-Second Pop". Starring this week with B.J. Sigesmund from "Us Weekly." Karyn Bryant, co-host of "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT." And Andy Borowitz from the borowitzreport.com.

Good to have you all with us. Appreciate it.

Let's talk about Oprah. Oprah apparently goes up to Ermes (ph), where they have handbags there for 5,000, 6,000 buck, right? And that's like the change on her dresser is 5,000, 6,000 bucks, right? And they won't buzz her in. And they're saying, well, we had a little problem with North Africans.

B.J. SIGESMUND, STAFF EDITOR, "US WEEKLY": Right.

M. O'BRIEN: This is kind of an ugly scene, isn't it?

SIGESMUND: Yes. No, it is a little bit ugly.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SIGESMUND: And this is not the first time that Oprah has fallen prey to this kind of racism. She's talked in the past about how it happened to her on Madison Avenue here in New York as well. But there's a new turn in this screw this morning. The "New York Daily News," a paper here in Manhattan, has a gossip item that says that it wasn't that they didn't recognize her. They did recognize her, and they still didn't let her in.

M. O'BRIEN: I don't buy that for a minute. Do you?

SIGESMUND: So, yes, I am very skeptical about this item. But whoever the source is had some good details in there...

M. O'BRIEN: Yes.

SIGESMUND: ... that Oprah was there to get a watch for Tina Turner, who she was going to have dinner with that might. And that Oprah had just bought a dozen Burkin (ph) bags. So, they did have some good information. And Oprah herself has not yet commented about this.

KARYN BRYANT, CNN CO-HOST "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT": And the story, too, is that she canceled the order for the Burkin (ph) bags, which are $6,500. She had ordered a dozen of them.

M. O'BRIEN: Cha-ching (ph).

BRYANT: Wasn't the story also, though, that she wasn't fully made up, and that's why they didn't recognize her?

SIGESMUND: Well, yes.

BRYANT: One of the stories.

M. O'BRIEN: So, you can't have it both ways. You know, either they did or they didn't recognize her.

SIGESMUND: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: If they recognized her and didn't let her in, they are really stupid. If she was just unmade up, they're racist. So either way they're...

(CROSSTALK)

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: You know, I can understand turning away, like, Wynona Ryder, for example. But I just don't -- but Oprah?

M. O'BRIEN: He's going to assign a detail to her.

All right, let's talk about this cell phone ring tone. Let's listen to it one more time if we must. Do we have it? Oh, come on. Ring the phone, will you? All right. Well, it's this stupid, you know...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, you've got to hear the ring.

M. O'BRIEN: ... "Beverly Hills cop" thing. We'll try to get it to work. Mercifully it won't work. So, Andy...

BOROWITZ: That's entertainment, Miles.

M. O'BRIEN: You know, Ermes (ph) not letting Oprah in, and now this silly ring tone coming out of Europe. We just don't understand the Europeans, obviously. I have no idea what's going on over there.

BOROWITZ: It is the number -- this ring tone from "Beverly Hills Cop" is the number one song in England for four weeks in a row. It's called "Frog." And people are going crazy. I am into ring tones personally. I download them all the time into my phone. The one I have now, which is great, is I have the theme song from "MONEYLINE" with Lou Dobbs, which is...

M. O'BRIEN: That is really good.

BOROWITZ: Yes. It is awesome.

M. O'BRIEN: It is really awesome.

BOROWITZ: It's awesome.

SIGESMUND: You know, the thing is it's not just a popular ring tone. It's actually become a single in the U.K. right now.

BRYANT: It's a song.

SIGESMUND: You can hear it, you know, in dance clubs. It's sort of become "The Macarena," if you will, of 2005. It's sort of a novelty. You either love it or you hate it. You can't get away from it.

BOROWITZ: So, the next song will be a song based on the car alarm. That will be the next song.

BOROWITZ: That would be good.

M. O'BRIEN: A real winner.

All right, Karyn, let's talk about DVS.

BRYANT: Yes.

M. O'BRIEN: DVD. It seems like the timeframe between movies being released, DVDs coming out behind them, it's all shrinking. We're not going to movies anymore.

BRYANT: That's right.

M. O'BRIEN: Pretty soon it's all just going to go straight to DVD, isn't it?

BRYANT: Well, I'm not crying for the movie studios. They are still making a lot of money. But for the 17th week in a row, compared to last year, box office receipts are down. Home videos now, the DVD comes out three months, sometimes barely three months after it's in the theater. They're trying to capitalize on the fact that they promote the heck out of these movies. If it tanks in the theater, let's jam it onto DVD really quickly, so we still have that support, the money that we spent initially to promote it.

People will still go to the theater, I guess, but it's expensive. There are commercials you get. You get there early and you get your seat.

SIGESMUND: Yes.

BRYANT: People are enjoying watching it at home more.

M. O'BRIEN: All of the things that you don't have to do at home, incidentally, right?

SIGESMUND: People are recognizing, too, the value of DVDs. Like, Russell Crowe, who, you know, doesn't do anything for anyone, he actually voiced a commentary for "Gladiator." Sharon Stone voiced a commentary for the 10th anniversary of "Casino."

BRYANT: Right. But people are saying that most people don't necessarily watch the extras. They'll put DVDs out with all of these bells and whistles to make people think they have to have it. And guess what? For $16 to get a DVD, you can get one-and-a-half tickets here in Manhattan for a movie.

SIGESMUND: Right.

M. O'BRIEN: Yes. So, if you've got a family of four, you're doing the DVD.

BRYANT: Yes.

SIGESMUND: Right.

BOROWITZ: Or you can get eight ring tones.

BRYANT: Really? See? That's a good idea.

BOROWITZ: That's a real bargain.

M. O'BRIEN: All right. And, by the way, it's not U.S. weekly. I knew that.

SIGESMUND: It's "Us Weekly," Miles!

M. O'BRIEN: I read it every day, week, month? OK, I got through the first "90-Second Pop," kind of. All right, B.J., Karyn, Andy, thank you very much.

Don't forget, Karyn and "SHOWBIZ TONIGHT" weeknights on "HEADLINE PRIME," which I, of course, watch all the time.

BRYANT: All the time.

M. O'BRIEN: On the U.S. weekly network. Their series, "Inside the Paparazzi," continues tonight at 7:00 Eastern with two photographers telling the secrets of how they operate.

AMERICAN MORNING will be back in a moment.

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