Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

Investigation Continues Into Alabama Church Arson; Inside Fashion Week in New York City

Aired February 09, 2006 - 09:30   ET

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

MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: The opening bell just rang a few moments ago on Wall Street. Traders hard at work already. The Dow Jones Industrial average begins trading at 10,858, jumping up 108 points in yesterday's trading -- Zain.
VERJEE: Miles, in Alabama, investigators are turning to professional profilers to find out who is behind several suspected church arsons. Nine churches have been burned so far, and police fear there could be more to come.

David Mattingly's live this morning in Boligee, Alabama. David, good morning.

DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning, Zain. A collection of evidence is wrapping up at all the burned churches in west Alabama. That means it's time for the congregations to begin cleaning up and to begin working through some very difficult emotions.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY (voice-over): The Dancy Baptist Church has been a part of the landscape since the days of slavery. But no one can life at the time could ever think of something disturbing as this.

REV. WALTER HAWKINS, PASTOR, DANCY BAPTIST CHURCH: You never think it will happen to you, but I was in shock.

MATTINGLY: Members of the 100-plus congregation spend the day watching from outside crime scene tape, wondering why someone set their church on fire, burning almost everything inside the sanctuary.

A full day after the initial shock, tears still come easily.

Annie-Hedges Garner has been a member since 1946.

ANNIE HEDGES-GARNER, CHURCH MEMBER: I told my kids somebody treat you wrong, you supposed to treat them right. Because if they do you wrong, you do them wrong, you're no better than they are. So I don't want to say punish them. But I hope they can be caught, and maybe somebody can talk to them and find out what's their problem and help them, because they need some help.

MATTINGLY: Tommy Lee Simmons has arthritis so bad it hurts to stand, but he says he couldn't stay away. A fourth generation member of Dancy, he sits in his car a lone with his thoughts.

TOMMY LEE SIMMONS, CHURCH MEMBER: I constantly think why would whoever done this would do such a thing.

MATTINGLY: And yet there is far more hope than despair. Built just five years ago, the brick walls are intact. The new roof, courtesy of Hurricane Katrina, remains. And the church where everybody is somebody will not be fading into history any time soon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

MATTINGLY: The Dancy Baptist Church, turns out, was the only church targeted with an alarm system, something that congregation has to be thankful for -- Zain.

VERJEE: David Mattingly reporting. Thanks, David.

Well, the Morning Star Baptist Church was among those destroyed by fire. The church in Boligee, Alabama, was one of the four targeted early on Tuesday morning.

Morning Star's pastor is Reverend James Posey, and he joins me now from Boligee. Thank you so much for joining me, Reverend. How is your congregation coping?

REV. JAMES POSEY, MORNING STAR BAPTIST CHURCH: We are doing pretty good. I had a meeting with them last night and had prayer with them and tried to encourage them and uplift them.

VERJEE: African-American churches were attacked, white churches were attacked, in terms of the racial makeup and the congregation. It appears that the arsonist just trying to undermine, trying to target faith. You are a man of faith. How are you protesting this?

POSEY: I didn't catch the last part of your question, the very last part. How do I what?

VERJEE: How are you processing what happened to your church as a man of faith?

POSEY: Well, this is one man's opinion. I figure they could be a combination of either just plain hatemongers or it could be devil worshippers. Or if someone said on yesterday, Mr. Cavanaugh (ph), it could be thrill seekers. Whatever they are, they are in a terrible -- putting themselves in a terrible position. I would like to ask them what did you get from this? Why did you do it? If I was face-to-face with them.

VERJEE: What kind of clues have investigators been able to uncover about your church?

POSEY: I haven't learned much. Yesterday, I learned that my church and like other churches, nothing was taken out of the church, out of the churches. No one went in or broke in to rob or take anything. The motive was to destroy the church by arson.

VERJEE: What about the public, your local community? How -- are there plans, or how do they plan to help you rebuild and to help those who attended this church? POSEY: I have had so many offers of help from various people. And we have the faith that we are going to be able to rebuild.

VERJEE: And where are you going to hold services for your congregation this weekend?

POSEY: There's a church right up the road, the pastor has already made overtures that we could come and we are welcome at any time. And the name of that church is Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church. It's up the road about a mile and a half from us.

VERJEE: Thanks so much for joining us, Reverend. We appreciate it.

POSEY: Yes, thank you.

VERJEE: Reverend James Posey from the Morning Star Baptist Church. Thanks very much.

Miles.

(NEWSBREAK)

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: Andy is "Minding Your Business" -- what do you have?

ANDY SERWER, "FORTUNE" MAGAZINE: Zain, how much did your boss spend on his new house? Now you can fine out. We'll tell you how, coming up next on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: I don't get that.

O'BRIEN: That's Harrison Ford, once again playing a guy named Jack whose family is in jeopardy and it's a tense thriller. And of course you know what happens in the end, don't you?

VERJEE: He saves them.

O'BRIEN: Well, I didn't want to spoil for it anybody. But yes, there is that.

VERJEE: Oh, sorry.

O'BRIEN: In any case, I had a chance to meet Harrison Ford the other day. I don't get impressed by movie stars. But you know, he's got that genna se quios (ph), that gravitas, that thing.

VERJEE: Intense.

O'BRIEN: And he's a pilot. So let's listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) HARRISON FORD, ACTOR: I can be accused of having played almost everything at this point, and often am playing -- doing the same role over again. But, you know, it's what, apparently, I mean I do hope people are interested in seeing.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

O'BRIEN: He likes the work. What do you think about the earring for me? I was thinking if I could do that, a little goatee. Would that work?

VERJEE: No.

SERWER: A mohawk, maybe.

O'BRIEN: A mohawk and a earring.

SERWER: Could you imagine being flanked by men with mohawks.

O'BRIEN: I'll be blonde. You be the redhead.

VERJEE: Well, I have been surfing a very interesting Web site. I'm a bit worried about this whole thing, frankly. So why don't you share it with everyone else so they can join in my concerns.

SERWER: This could be the new national obsession or past time, a pastime zillow.com. We will get to that in one second, Zain.

Let's check out what is going on on Wall Street. First of all, stocks trading this morning. The Dow is up eight points in early action. GM, however, is down two percent to $21. Problems in union negotiations with Delphi, it's former parts subsidiary that is closely tied to.

We have some updated information on Oprah Winfrey. We told you earlier about her and a deal with XM Satellite radio. It's not just a show, it's a whole channel we are learning now that will begin in September of this year, a $55 million deal. This is "Oprah and Friends," it is called, so it will be all Oprah all the time, 24/7. She and her cohort Gayle King will do a weekly show on that program. So if you don't have enough Oprah, there's more Oprah practice to come.

Now I want to tell you about the Web site, Zillow. It's a brand new site, just rolled out this week, a startup by the same guy who founded Expedia. And what it does, it allows you to find the value of your home on this Web site. You simply type in the address and the zip code, and it will tell you either the tax-assessed value or the market value.

Now, of course, you don't only have to do your home, you can do your boss' home, or your coworkers home. In fact, there was a story in a paper today talking about one person who did every one on her Christmas card list. Now that's a friend.

O'BRIEN: So happy holidays, your home is assessed at blank, and I'm insanely jealous, I'm very happy for you, whatever the case may be.

VERJEE: It's quite accurate, though. I typed in my address on this thing, and they are very, very accurate about how many rooms, how many bathrooms.

O'BRIEN: The specs.

VERJEE: Yes, square foot, when it was built.

SERWER: And it was -- the site is just swamped. At one point yesterday, it actually stalled out. And now it's back up and running. But you can see just people just fiddling and diddling with this.

O'BRIEN: Fiddling and diddling.

But we should point out, this is publicly available information already, just aggregated in a way that makes it easier to find. So it's not like there's a secret that's been released. It's just stuff.

SERWER: But it's still pretty cool.

O'BRIEN: It's just easy to get.

VERJEE: What's your address?

SERWER: Never mind.

VERJEE: Let's go over to the duchess of Atlanta, Daryn Kagan.

Hi, Daryn.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: The duchess was just looking up her castle to see how it is doing.

Good morning to you, Zain.

We do have a busy morning ahead. President Bush gives us an update on the war on terror. It'll be in just a few minutes. We'll bring that to you live.

Also a developing story. You may have been following the Entwistle murder case. Well, just a short time ago Neil Entwistle was arrested in Britain. He's accused of killing his wife and his baby girl near Boston. We'll hear more from police right after President Bush's speech.

For now back to you in New York City.

VERJEE: Thank, Daryn.

Coming up, all the big names are at New York City's Fashion Week. There are plenty of up-and-comers too. Ahead the struggles of a young designer trying to make a name for himself.

Stay with us on AMERICAN MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Sure you know Giorgio Armani and Donna Karan, but we can't really afford those all the time. So what about the smaller designers, the ones that are trying to break through in a really expensive business? They have to put their best look forward, but they also have to do it on a budget.

So it's not all lights and glamour, as Alina Cho found out at Fashion Week. Alina is live in Bryant Park, the home of Fashion Week here in New York City. Alina, good morning.

ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Zain, good morning to you.

Yes, when you see the looks come down the runway, it is easy to forget that putting on a show is a major expense. In some cases, hundreds of thousands of dollars. So how do they do it? Well, we spoke with newcomer Richard Chai to find out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHO (voice-over): From the music, to the lights, to the clothes, designer Richard Chai says every last detail is choreographed.

(on camera): It's like the ultimate term paper, isn't it?

RICHARD CHAI, FASHION DESIGNER: It is. It's a six-month term paper that lasts about 12 minutes.

CHO (voice-over): And it costs more than $100,000. That's just for one show. There are two a year. It's a make or break moment.

MARYLOU LUTHER, FASHION CRITIC: He has to put on a show that the press thinks is exciting. And he has to put on a show that the buyers think is saleable.

CHO: Chai launched his label 18 months ago, after working with big name designers like Marc Jacobs and Donna Karan.

(on camera): So you have seen how the big companies put on shows?

CHAI: Oh, yes. Definitely.

CHO: How does that differ from the way you put on a show?

CHAI: It's a much smaller team here, obviously.

CHO (voice-over): A small team that Chai hires during crunch time, weeks before he unveils the collection. Patternmakers, seamstresses, even people to cut fabric. Most are freelancers. Chai can't afford to have them on staff. He also can't afford to be frivolous with fabric. Double-faced cashmere, for instance, is expensive, so Chai makes this jacket in just one color, black.

CHAI: You don't have the luxury of having a million samples to put a show on. You really have to think about it and be far more creative.

CHO: That's just the clothes. The price tag for renting the space, $26,000. Designers also have to pay for models, hair and makeup. Chai, a darling of the industry, is lucky. He has sponsors that believe in him and donate their services.

(on camera): How much do you appreciate that?

CHAI: A hundred million, million percent. And it makes you work that much harder.

CHO (voice-over): Thirty minutes before show time...

(on camera): How are you doing?

CHAI: Holding up. I haven't slept in two days, but it's all right.

CHO: Of course not.

(voice-over): There's a dress rehearsal, then the show. Thirty- five looks in 12 minutes, over in a flash.

CHAI: Every day is a dream. That means I love what I do. I truly, truly love what I do.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

CHO: His work isn't done yet. He will be back in the showroom today, meeting with retailers. And if you can think about it, thinking about his next collection. He is a little more rested, though. I spoke to him just this morning. He said went to bed, Zain, at 4:00 yesterday afternoon and slept until 9:00 this morning.

VERJEE: Wow. Alina, I understand that they're different sizes of tents there at the show. Does he have dreams to move to the big tent? Tell us a little bit about that.

CHO; You know, interestingly enough, he says he doesn't. There are three different size tens. The smallest tent, where Richard shows, is called Atelier. The mid-sized tent is Promenade. The big tent is simply known as "The Tent." That's where people like Oscar de Renta, Carolina Herrera, Michael Kors, show. He says he likes the intimacy of the small tent, but as more and more people like the collection and want to see it, he may have no choice. He may have to move to the big tent.

VERJEE: The always glamorous Alina Cho...

CHO: You flatter me.

VERJEE: ... covering glamorous week here in New York City. It's the truth.

Miles. O'BRIEN: Thank you very much, Zain. The president of the United States is due to speak very shortly. There you see the setting. The National Guard Association is in Washington, and that's where he'll be speaking. He's going to be talking about terror and specifically focusing on a foiled terror plot in 2002. The plan was to use hijacked commercial planes to strike targets on the West Coast. The question is, will the president make a link to the domestic spying program as a way of thwarting that effort? You'll have to wait and see.

We will carry the speech for you live as it happens. Still haven't gotten the two minute warning. We'll break now. Back with more in a moment.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

O'BRIEN: Well, well, well. We are out of time. Daryn Kagan is standing by in Atlanta to preside over what is turning out to be kind of a busy news morning. The president about to speak, other things going on.

KAGAN: Oh, we have plenty of things going on. By the way, that Web site, way off on my house.

O'BRIEN: Yes, I agree with you. So far I've been disappointed.

VERJEE: The stats were accurate, but the tax assessment is all that they had on it.

KAGAN: Bad. All right, you guys have a great day.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com