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American Morning

Displaced Family Wins Raffle Home; Tips For Parents Struggling To Communicate With Their Kids; American Music Awards

Aired November 23, 2005 - 09:30   ET

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

SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Sure does. Yes, my eyes are bad but not that bad yet. That is going to slow the commute for people today.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN ANCHOR: Oh, my parents got some snow. They live in Ohio.

RICK SANCHEZ, CNN ANCHOR: Ooh.

COSTELLO: Awful day yesterday.

O'BRIEN: Oh, man.

COSTELLO: Really awful.

SANCHEZ: At least in that picture though, traffic seemed to be going pretty smooth.

O'BRIEN: Yes.

COSTELLO: And they're used to it.

O'BRIEN: But it's early. It's going to get worse.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: The key is the tires. The key is the tires. Make sure you have good tread.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: Otherwise you're, you know ...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: That's a guy thing.

O'BRIEN: That's the key, folks. Glad you heard it here first. Let's get back to other stories making news.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Overseas really is your big focus this morning.

COSTELLO: Yes, we have a developing story to tell you about. It comes out of Iraq. A hearing in the Saddam Hussein trial will go on as originally scheduled for Monday.

Defense lawyers have threatened to boycott but a U.S. official close to the court now says the proceedings will continue. Threat of the boycott was made after the killings of two defense attorneys.

If you are traveling today, you have plenty of company. But you know that. Want to know the numbers, the specific numbers now? Well, AAA is predicting more than 4.5 million people will fly to their Thanksgiving day destination. One airline analyst says Americans just won't stay home, even though airfares have gone up about $40 a ticket since February.

Traffic backed up near the Washington, D.C. beltway, the Capital Beltway, due to a tanker truck fire. This is what it looked like earlier this morning. A tanker truck carrying gas completely engulfed in flames. It temporarily shut down parts of I-95. Flames are now out.

The driver apparently noticed smoke in the cabin. He pulled his rig over and he jumped out in the nick of time. Those two southbound lanes on I-95 have now reopened.

Will the time-out for T.O. be permanent? We are expecting to find out today if Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Terrell Owens will have to sit out the season. An arbitrator set to rule on the team's decision to suspend Owens for four games without pay for conduct detrimental to the team.

And some people are toasting a new law in the U.K. today. But approval of 24-hour pubs in England and Wales has other people really worried. They're afraid round the clock access to booze will add to drink-related problems. Supporters say no, the new law will actually cut down on problems by ending the scramble to drink as much as possible just before the pubs close. But I guess as they say, time will tell.

O'BRIEN: Yes. As they always say. Thank you, Carol. Appreciate it.

You know, for many people who evacuated out of Louisiana, certainly lots of bad news there. Many, many homes clearly lost. But then a little bit of good news for one family to tell you about. Got a raffle ticket, turned out to be the winning raffle ticket.

And what she won was just what she needed. Betty Wilturner-Zenon and her husband Golden Zenon are in their new house this morning in Lafayette, Louisiana. And they join us. Nice to see you. And you got your little one with you, as well. I believe that Golden IV, their small son. Congratulations.

GOLDEN ZENON III, WON HOUSE IN RAFFLE: Over here, Golden. Over here.

GOLDEN ZENON JUNIOR, KATRINA EVACUEE: Hey.

O'BRIEN: Good morning. G. ZENON JR.: Good morning.

O'BRIEN: So you've been inside and you only just got the keys. Brag on your house a little bit for us. How fabulous is it?

BETTY WILTURNER-ZENON, KATRINA EVACUEE: Oh, it's fabulous. It's just beautiful. It's everything I could want in the house from the color scheme, to the lighting, to the knob on the cabinets. The cabinetry is wonderful. The master bathroom, it's a dream come true.

O'BRIEN: Well, walk me through. Let's see there's a fabulous kitchen. I mean, I've seen some of these -- I mean, over the top, amazing, amazing kitchen. Can you cook? Are you a good cook?

WILTURNER-ZENON: I think I am.

G. ZENON IV: Absolutely. You look at me.

O'BRIEN: So you're going to be using that kitchen.

SANCHEZ: That's a beautiful house.

O'BRIEN: What an amazing living room we're looking at. I think that's a marble fireplace and it looks like marble floors. Am I right?

WILTURNER-ZENON: You're right. Extravagant (ph).

G. ZENON JR.: You got that right.

SANCHEZ: You got that right. Is that Golden Jr.? You're cool.

O'BRIEN: Yes, Golden, now you also have ...

(CROSSTALK)

G. ZENON JR.: Hi.

O'BRIEN: Hi, golden. Listen, tell me something about your bedroom, Golden. Have you -- I'm sure that's the first thing you checked out. How fabulous is your bedroom?

G. ZENON JR.: My bedroom looks so fine.

O'BRIEN: It does?

G. ZENON JR.: And it has a double closet. And has a double closet, and it's like, it's like my cousin's closet, because she has one like me but it's like all full of art.

SANCHEZ: Get this kid a job on TV, he can talk. Hey dad, Golden Senior, I got to ask you. I got to ask you a question, OK?

G. ZENON IV: Yes, sir. Good morning.

SANCHEZ: And this is just going to be between us, all right? When your wife came home and she said, honey, I know we're having a tough time making ends meet, but I just paid $100 for a raffle ticket, what did you say to her?

G. ZENON IV: Well, Rick, I only found out, I'll be honest with you, and so I don't know. We'll talk about that off camera. No actually, I'm delighted. I'm absolutely thrilled for all of us and certainly yes, big surprise for us.

SANCHEZ: You didn't -- but had she come to you and asked, your recommendation would have been, icksay (ph) or nicksay (ph), yes or no?

G. ZENON IV: It would have been a go. You know, I'll be honest with you. We were in the Lafayette area looking for housing and things were not developing for us, and you know, hey, this is a community effort that, you know, we certainly would have enjoyed participating in. So it was a go. Betty likes the new home so ...

O'BRIEN: Because you've been looking for awhile. I mean Lafayette is tough to break into. It's a tough market. I know they bid on a couple of homes and had been outbid or the contract sort of fell through. This lottery was from the Acadian Home Builders Association. It's their very first lottery. Give me a sense of how you're feeling today, all of you. I mean, you must just feel utterly blessed after having such a tough time.

WILTURNER-ZENON: Oh, yes. Well, before I found out, I was kind of like down in the dumps because we had lost our fourth contract on a house, a bid. And my son was at a birthday party at the realtor Julie Brown (ph) who was working with me. And I didn't stay past the birthday party.

They had something else going on. I kind of felt sad because she just gave me the news that the contract fell through. And on my way home, my son was talking to me, Golden, and he said he had fun at the party, but that's when I was informed that we won the house. And I just start thanking God for this miracle. Because I've been looking since August.

O'BRIEN: Yes, bad news turned into good news. Well, Betty and Golden and little Golden, congratulations.

G. ZENON IV: Yes, he wants the interview to finish so he can go in the backyard and play ball.

O'BRIEN: It looks like a fabulous house. Thank you for taking us on the tour. Congratulations on your new house. We appreciate you sharing with us.

WILTURNER-ZENON: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Great luck, yes?

Here in New York, we're preparing for the Thanksgiving -- he did? He said Happy Turkey Day. Did you hear that?

SANCHEZ: Yes, that kid doesn't stop. Just wind him up.

O'BRIEN: Golden, thank you so much. Happy Turkey Day right back at you, man.

G. ZENON JUNIOR: Thank you.

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: I like him.

O'BRIEN: Oh, you know, they're preparing for Happy Turkey Day right here in New York, because we've got the Thanksgiving Day Parade, obviously, put on by Macy's every year. What's the weather going to be like for that parade, Jacqui? Good morning.

(WEATHER REPORT)

SANCHEZ: We're following up on a story now that we've been telling you about over the past couple of days. It took place in Pennsylvania. An 18-year-old dating a 14-year-old.

Now according to police, the 18-year-old went to the girl's house, argued with her parents, and then shot them both so say police. She then got in the car, so say police, and went with them. Now, this is an interesting story because it talks to the relationship that a 14-year-old girl could possibly have with an 18-year-old boy, and is that, in and of itself, where the trouble began? Let's talk about this.

Karen Binder-Brynes is joining us now. She's a psychologist. She's also a mother of two teenage daughters, which probably gives her a little more information on this as well to help us out with.

Let's talk first of all about the age difference. She's 14, he's 18. To parents out there, is that too big of a spread?

KAREN BINDER-BRYNES, PSYCHOLOGIST: Well, it's hard to make a universal statement about that.

I think what's important for parents to understand, though, is any time there's an age difference, probably over two or three years, there is a power differential between the two children.

SANCHEZ: So what do you do if you're a parent and perhaps you have a child who is starting to date and she's now dating someone who's older? What are the things that we need to do as parents to make sure that things are OK in this relationship and it doesn't turn dangerous?

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

Well, I think the most important thing, and this is preemptive, is to always have open communication with your children. The more you open dialogue with your children and keep in communication with them, the more you're going to always be a little bit more cognizant of what they are doing and what they're going through.

SANCHEZ: We talk about this all the time, but I guess it's all about observing. And you've given us a list of things to observe. And I'll list them off and you can comment when you want.

Personality and behavior.

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

SANCHEZ: Appearance, friendships and school performance.

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

SANCHEZ: Why are those so important?

BINDER-BRYNES: Because when you know your children, and you know how they typically behave, how they typically dress, how they typically act, you're very sensitive if you're aware of changes.

And when children are getting in to dangerous situations that begin to feel out of control, usually what changes first is their behavior, their temperament. They -- one of the things that typically happens when children are getting in to relationships that are probably maybe heading toward the dangerous point is that they begin isolating. They isolate from you. They isolate from their friends.

SANCHEZ: But, you know, kids go through periods of rebellion as well. What do you do to help them in this situation without being too consuming?

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

What you're asking is how do you know when behavior is typical behavior? And how do you know where it's getting over the line of that?

And again, it's about open communication with your children.

SANCHEZ: No, I mean as a parent, though. I mean, you know, you don't want to over react either.

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

SANCHEZ: And as they say, "Don't freak me out, Dad."

BINDER-BRYNES: Right.

SANCHEZ: You just want to make sure that they're doing the right thing. So if they're not doing the right, do you ground them; do you talk about it; what do you do?

BINDER-BRYNES: Well, that's a very good point to make about overreacting. Because if you overreact to minor transgressions in your child's behavior, they will stop talking to you. They will stop being open.

So it is important to differentiate when you really need to react and when you need to sit back and just keep observing your child.

SANCHEZ: But the key is to be tuned in.

BINDER-BRYNES: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: If you're tuned in, you'll see the problem coming before it develops.

BINDER-BRYNES: Absolutely.

You know, you -- it's very, very important to have open dialogue with your children, to be aware of what they're doing, and if you're concerned, to know what to do.

SANCHEZ: Is it appropriate to ask them specifics about the relationship?

BINDER-BRYNES: Yes, it is appropriate to ask specifics about the relationship.

SANCHEZ: Do you check their diaries?

BINDER-BRYNES: That's a very controversial issue.

SANCHEZ: Yes. Do you have a right to snoop if you suspect there's something going on? It's your child living in your home.

BINDER-BRYNES: When it's your child living in your home and you have real reason to suspect that something is going on, I do think that you can step over the line in some areas.

Violating their privacy in terms of a diary I think is very touchy.

But certainly talking to their friends, calling the school, talking to them, are things that I believe that you have the right to do as a parent if you really believe that there is something to be concerned about, the behavior has changed drastically, the temperament. Then it's up to each individual family to decide how far over the line to step.

Certainly, parental controls on the Internet are important.

SANCHEZ: Good information.

We appreciate you coming in and sharing that with us.

BINDER-BRYNES: OK. Thank you.

SANCHEZ: Psychologist Karen Binder-Brynes joining us.

And now back over to Soledad.

O'BRIEN: All right, Rick, thanks.

Andy's "Minding Your Business" just ahead on AMERICAN MORNING.

What do you got?

ANDY SERWER, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: We're going to talk about shopping pretty much any time you want to this holiday weekend, Soledad.

Some of those crazy new store hours coming up on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SERWER: Senator Schumer and Bruce Hornsby.

O'BRIEN: Who knew they shared a birthday?

SERWER: I did not know that.

O'BRIEN: Who knew?

SERWER: I don't think they knew it.

(LAUGHTER)

O'BRIEN: Until now.

SANCHEZ: They may even be going shopping together for all we know, because stores are going to be pulling out all the stops to try and start the holiday shopping season.

And with that, let's go to Andy Serwer and find out what's going on and what those stores are doing to make it happen this year.

SERWER: Rick, you are going to need an alarm clock to get up early to beat the early shoppers this year. It's truly unbelievable.

Let's go to the Big Board though, first of all, want to see how Wall Street is faring. Up 2 points. You know, this would be five days in a row if we hold. It's only a small gain and it's very early in the trading session.

O'BRIEN: He's backing off already.

(LAUGHTER)

SERWER: I really am backing off...

(CROSSTALK)

SANCHEZ: Aren't most of the traders gone though? Don't they always cut out, these guys? SERWER: No -- well, by late in the afternoon they will. Of course the market's closed on Thanksgiving, and half a session on Friday because they don't like to keep the exchange closed four days in a row -- only three days.

Anyway, let's talk about the shopping situation, because that's what most people are going to be doing after they have their turkey -- right after they have their turkey.

Stores are opening up earlier and earlier and earlier. A lot of this has to do with online shopping, which, of course, is 24/7. The stores have to compete.

And the black Friday hours are expanding. Check this out -- KMart, OK, 6:00 a.m. in the morning on Friday, but look at that, 7:00 to 9:00 on Thursday. Yes, that is Thanksgiving.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

SERWER: So you can go Thursday night after you've had your meal. Say someone in your family wants to watch football, I think there's the Pitt-West Virginia game on that night, you can stay home; other people in the family can go to the mall.

Disney Store, 1:00 a.m. -- hello? Chicken Little toys are that important?

O'BRIEN: What's the 5:00 a.m.?

SERWER: Well -- or 5:00 a.m. Some of the stores...

(CROSSTALK)

O'BRIEN: Some employees laughed hysterically when they said come in at 1:00 a.m.?

(CROSSTALK)

(LAUGHTER)

SERWER: OK. Let's look at some of the other stuff.

And this is typical nowadays -- Wal-Mart, Best Buy, K.B., these are all the 5:00 a.m.'ers. And of course people line up because they know there's some specials that they only have, you know, let's say 300 units of -- people line up and those things are gone by 7:00 in the morning.

O'BRIEN: It's good to know we could go shopping before we come to work in the morning, you know?

SERWER: I didn't think about that, but you're right.

O'BRIEN: That's helpful.

(CROSSTALK) SANCHEZ: 1:00 a.m., yes, yes.

O'BRIEN: Absolutely.

SANCHEZ: You got to get here by 2:00 though.

O'BRIEN: Well, no -- 5:00 a.m., I'm still working.

SERWER: Sounds like a 24/7.

(CROSSTALK)

SERWER: I think we're going back to online.

O'BRIEN: Exactly. Absolutely.

SERWER: You know, it's a lot of stuff.

O'BRIEN: All right, Andy, thanks.

SERWER: You're welcome.

O'BRIEN: CNN's "Live Today" is coming up next.

Let's get right to Daryn Kagan for a look at what she's working on this morning.

Hey, Daryn. Good morning.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Happy Thanksgiving to you.

A look at stories that we're covering.

It is get-away day for millions of travelers trying to make it to their destinations for Thanksgiving. Whether you're going by train, plane or automobile, we will keep you updated along with the latest travelers forecast. Also, it's the largest fishbowl in the world.

It's right across the street from us here in Atlanta, CNN. It's formally opening its doors today. We will take you inside the Georgia aquarium live to show you what everybody is talking about.

We'll see you at the top of the hour.

O'BRIEN: All right, Daryn, looking forward to it. Thanks.

Meanwhile here on AMERICAN MORNING, "AM Pop" is straight ahead -- more on last night's American Music Awards. Everybody's talking, of course, about this: What Mariah Carey wore, or, maybe more accurately what Mariah Carey did not wear.

She wasn't the only big winner of the night. We've got that story coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) O'BRIEN: It's time for a Wednesday edition of "AM Pop."

Some of music's biggest names turned out for the American music awards last night last night. CNN's Sibila Vargas takes a look at some of the winners.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SIBILA VARGAS, CNN ENTERTAINMENT CORRESPONDENT (voice over): From country to pop to rock to hip-hop, a who's who of who's hot on the music charts came together in Los Angeles for Tuesday night's American Music Awards.

While things were hot outside on the red carpet, all the action was on stage inside the Shrine Auditorium.

(LAUGHTER)

Cedric the Entertainer may have held center stage.

CEDRIC THE ENTERTAINER: You saw me come out. This was the first iPod.

(APPLAUSE)

VARGAS: But the night really belonged to the ladies.

KELLY ROWLAND, SINGER: I miss my girls Beyonce and Michelle, wherever you are. I love you so much. Thank you.

VARGAS: Destiny's Child's Kelly Rowland accepted two awards for her girls, who received honors for both favorite soul and R&B group and favorite R&B album.

MARIAH CAREY, SINGER: Thank you so much for the warmth and the love.

VARGAS: Mariah Carey, who led the nominations with a total of four, surprisingly only picked up one for favorite female R&B artist.

GWEN STEFANI, SINGER: What did I win?

VARGAS: That would be the award for favorite pop female performer for Gwen Stefani and her "Love, Angel, Music, Baby" CD.

Shakira was named favorite Latin music artist.

SHAKIRA, SINGER: When people from different countries relate to a song in a language that they don't even speak, that means so much.

VARGAS: But the boys weren't left out in the cold by any means. White-hot Tim McGraw was named favorite male country artist and his "Live Like You Were Dying" was chosen favorite country album.

TIM MCGRAW, SINGER: I'm proud to be a part of an industry, the country music industry, that carries itself with character and has respect for other people.

VARGAS: Green Day's "American Idiot" won favorite pop rock album.

And Will Smith was named favorite male pop performer.

WILL SMITH, SINGER: I made a commitment a long time ago to my grandmother -- the type of person I was going to be, the type of music I was going to make, the type of movies I was going to make.

I made a commitment to my grandmother and y'all supported me in that. And I want to thank you for that.

VARGAS: Sibila Vargas, CNN, Los Angeles.

O'BRIEN: Other winners included Eminem for favorite male, rap or hip-hop artist. And also -- I thought this was a surprise -- former American Idol Kelly Clarkson won as favorite Adult Contemporary Artist. Huh?

SANCHEZ: Is that different because of the title, "Adult..."

O'BRIEN: No, but Kelly Clarkson?

SANCHEZ: ... you thought she was more pop?

O'BRIEN: Yes, I don't know. I was surprised, that's all.

SANCHEZ: Do you know the dress that we just saw in that report moments ago?

O'BRIEN: What? Whose dress? Mariah's? Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't notice. The one where she's sort of falling out of?

SANCHEZ: That dress. She's not the first to wear something quite as revealing. In fact, at the Grammys, you'll recall, it was J. Lo who came out wearing this little number. Remember?

O'BRIEN: A testament to the hard work of stylists everywhere with the tape holding it all up and all in.

SANCHEZ: We dug in to the archives for all of that. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Be sure to join us tomorrow for a special Thanksgiving edition of "American Morning."

Did you know that the Macy's Day Thanksgiving Day Parade will go right under our window here?

SANCHEZ: Wow.

O'BRIEN: At Time-Warner center. And we have got the best view possibly. SANCHEZ: Throw them a drumstick.

O'BRIEN: Well, you know, we're going to get down there and take a close-up and personal look at the parade. We've also invited some of the folks who've shared their stories, some of the victims of Hurricane Katrina.

Some of the heroes, too, will come and talk to us and be here in the studio with us as well.

SANCHEZ: Wow.

O'BRIEN: And celebrate their Thanksgiving with us here in New York. So, that's happening tomorrow on "American Morning."

We look forward to seeing you then.

SANCHEZ: And we're going to eat "turducken (ph)."

O'BRIEN: Apparently.

SANCHEZ: Except I'm not going to be here.

O'BRIEN: Well, thank you for helping is out, by the way.

SANCHEZ: It's a pleasure to be here.

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