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Queen Elizabeth II In Jamestown; Troops' Mental Health; GOP Face-Off; Gerri's Top Tips; Landfills Using Methane; Protests Against Racist, Sexist, and Violent Lyrics in Rap and Hip-Hop
Aired May 04, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
HEIDI COLLINS, CNN ANCHOR: After their first side-by-side appearance.
TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: The lyrics are sometimes racist, sexist or just plain vulgar. Now civil rights activists hit the streets calling on music companies to clean up hip-hop.
It is Friday, May 4th, and you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
At the top this hour, the British coming, again. Queen Elizabeth II expected to arrive in Jamestown, Virginia, just moments from now. Her visit marks the 400th anniversary of the first permanent English settlement in America. Live coverage of the queen's arrival and remarks by Vice President Cheney coming up in the NEWSROOM. And who better to cover the royal visit than our own Richard Quest. There he is, live from Jamestown.
Richard, good morning to you.
Set that scene for us, if you would, please, sir.
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, you might think that I'm now standing in some sort of picnic area. And you'd be right. I am. But this is no ordinary picnic area. This is the Jamestown settlement where her majesty will be arriving in just about 10 minutes from now. And the reason we are showing you this particular angle of the picture is because we're just seen a few moments ago one motorcade going in. I suspect that might well have been the motorcade of the vice president, Dick Cheney. I'm not sure. And don't take that as being authoritative.
HARRIS: OK.
QUEST: There were a lot of cars and there was an ambulance and that's often a good indication of somebody important.
But in the next 10 minutes or so, we will see another motorcade go past. It will be touch and go whether you're talking to me at that particular moment. If we are, we'll show it to you. If not, well, you paid your money, you take your choice, Tony.
HARRIS: You take your chances.
QUEST: But you take your chances. This is live television. And as such we're going to roll with it. Now, what the queen's coming here for is to see the Jamestown settlement and historic Jamestown. What's the difference? One is the amusement arcade and the amusement park and the recreation of the ships. The duke will look at the ships. The queen will look at the artifacts. They will see some of what they call the interpreters, which is basically people dressed in costume and reenacting things.
Then they will go to the actual site of the ruins, which were only discovered 14 years ago. It had been thought they were washed away, Tony. So it's going to be a very interesting day for her majesty. She's going to see -- and to put it into perspective.
HARRIS: OK.
QUEST: It was her great grandfather to the times 10, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great, great grandfather, James I, who founded and gave the authority for the Virginia colony back in 1706. That is the direct lineage between then and now. So the queen will have very much that feeling of history and being related.
And what you're looking at now is pictures of the Jamestown settlement. That is the -- I think I'm being a little derogatory if I call it an amusement park. It's a re-enactment. It's what it was like. It's where many tourists come here to watch them fire muskets, see how they made bread, blow glass, all the usual sort of things.
HARRIS: Hey, Richard, I know we're going to hear from the vice president, and that's well and good, but are we going to hear some remarks from the queen, her majesty, in just a couple of minutes this morning?
QUEST: Oh, no. Oh, no, no, no, no, no. No, no, no. Remarks from the Queen are few and far between. You had your lot yesterday when she spoke at the Virginia Assembly. I mean, I'm looking at the schedule. I think there's a couple of toasts planned at lunch in Williamsburg at the governor's palace. She goes to William and Mary College where she'll be meeting students and academic alumni. What else would you meet at a university. But she'll be meeting -- what, you know, true.
And then she -- ah, now, this is interesting. She rings Wren bell. Now what's that significance of ringing Wren bell. That signifies the end of term. Now I'm just trying to think. It is, what would be the end of term. It must be getting close to that.
HARRIS: Sure. Absolutely.
QUEST: Absolutely. So she'll get the honor of ringing -- or maybe I should put it another way, William and Mary College will have the honor of the queen ringing Wren bell. And I don't think the students care who got the honor. It merely means that they're out of term for this semester.
She will also get an award and then she and the duke go their separate ways. That's quite normal on major visits. He goes off to Norfolk. She continues with other duties.
It's a very packed day. You have to remember, put this into context, if I may, Tony. The duke's in his mid to late 80s. The queen's 82 -- 81, 82. It's a heavy schedule. She only crossed the Atlantic yesterday. And even though, you know, got a bed on the plane and all that sort of stuff, she doesn't exactly travel economy. It's still an ordeal to have to do this. And just look at these pictures. It's fascinating.
HARRIS: Yes.
QUEST: I mean if we look full at this picture of what is awaiting her when she gets to the Jamestown settlement, hundreds of people. Everywhere this woman goes, she has got hundreds if not thousands of people looking at her, watching her, seeing every movement.
HARRIS: Yes.
QUEST: Presidents have it for a maximum of eight years. She's had it for over 52 years.
HARRIS: Wow. That's great. That is great.
Hey, Richard, I know you're going to be there for us throughout the morning and the afternoon as well. We love that the queen is here. Equally as much, we love that you are enjoying it so much. Richard Quest for us this morning in Jamestown.
Richard, great to see you. Thank you.
QUEST: Thank you, Tony.
COLLINS: The mental health of U.S. troops. A Pentagon panel raising a red flag today. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr with details on this alarming report.
Barbara, what can you tell us about the findings here?
BARBARA STARR, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Heidi, some pretty serious indicators being released by the Pentagon within the next hour of the mental health of the troops on the front line in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. They are now reporting for those troops that have been in heavy combat up to one-third of them now reporting anxiety, depression, and acute stress. But this survey of the troops for the first time also looked at what the troops were saying about their morals and ethics on the battlefield.
Let's look at some of the findings. First, the report found that less than half of soldiers and Marines said they would report a team member for unethical behavior on the battlefield. Over a third of soldiers and Marines reported that they felt torture should be allowed to save the life of a fellow buddy. Less than half, about 47 percent of soldiers and 38 percent of Marines, said that non-combatants, that is civilians, should be treated with dignity and respect. And 10 percent reported mistreating civilians when it wasn't necessary. So some very concerning findings, Heidi.
COLLINS: And I wonder, Barbara, how the military brass will then respond to these findings. I mean, is there any chance of -- I don't know, changing something by way of training, at least for the unethical part of it, or by way of treatment for the mental part of it?
STARR: Right. You're absolutely right. Already for the last several months there has been additional train for troops on morals and ethical behavior on the battlefield. Things like torture, of course, are simply not allowed. And as for mental health, it's been a constant challenge for the military to get those mental health service out to the front line, out to these remote area where the troops are operating. What we are going to hear later today is how they have stepped up efforts to do that and how they are really trying to encourage returning troops to get help if they need it.
Heidi.
COLLINS: And, boy, imperative, that's for sure. CNN's Barbara Starr reporting from the Pentagon this morning.
Thanks, Barbara.
STARR: Sure.
HARRIS: Hate mail, huge crowds, and now new safety precautions. Democratic Senator Barack Obama is under the protection of secret service. Officials say they're not aware of any specific, credible threat to Obama, but we're told his campaign has received hate mail and other threatening materials. Some of the materials said to be racial in nature. The secret service provides protection to major candidates under certain guidelines, but this is the earliest a presidential candidate has ever been given a secret service detail.
COLLINS: Iraq, abortion, taxes, some of the top issues for the 2008 Republican presidential candidates in their first debate. They faced off last night at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in California. CNN senior political analyst Bill Schneider is part of the best political team on television. He's joining us now live from Los Angeles.
Bill, what do the candidates have to say about President Bush and his record?
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Not a lot. President Bush's name came up only a few times in the debate, compared to former President Reagan. It was at the Reagan Library. And they all identified themselves as Reagan Republicans. I never heard anyone call themselves a Bush Republican.
Towards the end of the debate, the moderator invited them to comment on President Bush's record. And that's where Rudy Giuliani made a strong point of saying that he was -- he praised President Bush's resolve in fighting terrorism after September 11th. My guess is he may have scored some points with the Republicans watching who were a little bit exasperated by the fact that there was so much rather unrelenting criticism of President Bush's record.
COLLINS: What were the candidate's views on the war in Iraq? I mean, are we hearing something very, very different from what the president has put forward or are some people in line? I mean, I imagine there's a little bit of both.
SCHNEIDER: Yes. Well, they are, in fact, echoing what President Bush has said. They're very defensive about the war in Iraq. They're not talking any longer about victory, about winning this war. They're talking about the consequences of failure, of defeat, of losing. And all of the candidates who have talked about Iraq, except one, Ron Paul, who does not support the war in Iraq, the other nine all said that the one thing that's unthinkable and unacceptable for them is for the United States to be defeated, because that would have catastrophic consequences throughout the Middle East. Take a listen to what the candidates had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I want to get our troops home as soon as I possibly can. But at the same time, I recognize we don't want to bring them out in such a precipitous way that we cause a circumstance that would require us to come back.
TOMMY THOMPSON, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe the al- Maliki government should be required to vote as to whether or not they want America in their country.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: If we withdraw, there will be chaos. There will be genocide. And they will follow us home.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SCHNEIDER: Essentially they were all arguing, as President Bush does, we are fighting in Iraq not to lose.
COLLINS: Yes. Was there any issue, though, that completely divided the candidates that you saw?
SCHNEIDER: Well, one of the -- a couple of issues that did was abortion.
COLLINS: Yes.
SCHNEIDER: Many of the candidates said that they would be pleased with the court overturning Roe v. Wade. But one of the candidates, Rudy Giuliani, was rather noncommittal on that issue. He answered it with kind of a shrug. Said that he could live with it either way. He has been, of course, pro-choice, continues to be. He said he would support strict constructionist judges, but that he was the one candidate who didn't take a firm position on the abortion issue.
One other issue that divides them, interestingly, was the issue of evolution. When the moderator asked them, do you support, do you believe in evolution, three of the candidates raised their hand and said they did not believe in evolution. So on social issues, you did not get unanimity among these candidates.
COLLINS: Yes. So then, did anybody stand out? I mean, was it Giuliani then for his comments on abortion or John McCain I saw a little bit -- quite a bit of animated behavior. I don't know. What did you think?
SCHNEIDER: Well, I thought, on a couple of answers, particularly about Iran, the threat from Iran, Rudy Giuliani projected a great deal of self confidence. He is sometimes described as arrogant. But he certainly seemed to be someone who is sure of what he believed in and ready to act. His leadership qualities, I think, showed up. That's what he advertises, his willingness to lead the country and the world in the fight on terror. And I thought that that showed up very strongly when he spoke.
One little risk, however, is that we have had a very self- confident president, President Bush, for the last seven years. That quality was once admired, but now a lot of Americans worry that this president doesn't listen, that he's become a bit stubborn, that he's unresponsive for the will of the people. So that could be a problem when they take a look at Rudy Giuliani as his successor.
COLLINS: All right, Bill Schneider, thank you.
SCHNEIDER: OK.
HARRIS: Her majesty in America, Queen Elizabeth II, in Jamestown, Virginia, honoring the first colony. And we've got live coverage throughout the morning. Stay with us here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Well, here we go again. Gas topping an average $3 a gallon and driving toward a new record. Fuming over prices, in the NEWSROOM.
HARRIS: Naming names. Tonight's the night. The alleged D.C. madam's phone records could be revealed on national television. That story ahead in the NEWSROOM.
CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: And, guys, it's one of those days. In fact, it's one of those weekends. Severe weather. It's springtime and the Plains are going to live up to the name tornado alley. Details coming up in the NEWSROOM right after this break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning again, everyone. I'm Tony Harris. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
The British are coming again. Queen Elizabeth visits the first English settlement in the U.S. British royalty, American history, live in minutes in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: People are getting excited.
And I'm Heidi Collins.
Hip-hop music hugely popular and sometimes hugely controversial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What bothers you about this type of music?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that that they keep calling you (ph) names and it's offensive because as a child growing up you want to hear music that is inspiring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
COLLINS: Now the target of anti-obscenity marches. Details straight ahead in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: All right. We are looking at Jamestown here. This is 400th anniversary. It's so old I can't say it. And guess who's going to be there. Have you heard?
HARRIS: Queen Elizabeth II. That's what I'm told.
COLLINS: Yes.
HARRIS: The only reason I know it is because the lower third said so.
COLLINS: Yes, that's right.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: And look it, those people are all lined up waiting for her to come around the bend there and visit Jamestown. That's going to be exciting. People are excited.
HARRIS: The vice president's going to be there, Lynne Cheney going to be there.
COLLINS: Yes. And later on tonight, the state dinner, of course. She's 81 years old now. So it's interesting to watch her travel around the world. We'll be doing that later on in the show.
HARRIS: Still no power for tens of thousands of people in north Texas this morning. Wednesday's thunderstorms knocked out power to more than 300,000 homes and businesses. Utility officials say some 60,000 customers are still in the dark. The lights should be back on by Sunday.
Officials say a lightning strike set off this house fire in Bellaire near Houston. The severe weather is blamed for 10 deaths in Texas in less than two weeks. Most recently, two people struck by lightning and a third stuck in a submerged car.
Let's go to check of weather now. Where is this headed? COLLINS: Chad Myers.
HARRIS: Chad Myers there in the Severe Weather Center for us.
Good morning, Chad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
COLLINS: You've got questions about money? Well, our Gerri Willis has answers. Gerri's here now with today's e-mails.
Hi there, Gerri.
GERRI WILLIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Heidi. Happy Friday.
COLLINS: Thank you. You, too. Let's get straight to it, huh?
WILLIS: Absolutely.
COLLINS: The first one says, question number one, "what is the best way for me to invest in my grandson's future? He is five years old and my daughter says his college is already taken care of." Kay from Florida.
WILLIS: Wow. He is lucky, that child. Let me tell you. You may want to consider a regular custodial investment account. You can contribute up to $12,000 per person annually to the account and it gets taxed at the child's rate, which is a good thing. The money is then transferred to the child at 18 to 21 years of age. And if you're talking quite a lot about money, think about opening up a trust fund to do this. Go to an estate planning attorney. I've got to tell you, though, Heidi, it's going to cost you about $2,000 to set it up. A lot of dough.
COLLINS: OK. Yes, a lot of dough.
All right. Well, the second one says, "if I ask for rate reduction on my credit card, will it affect my credit score?"
WILLIS: No. That's the good news. It will not affect it. Issuers don't report interest rates to credit bureaus. And if you do have good credit, it is a good idea to ask for a rate reduction. Look, a five-minute phone call could save you hundreds, even thousands of dollars in interest charges over time. Just call your credit card company and ask for a lower rate.
Now you may have to threaten to close your account to get it. If you are denied, call back later in the day, you could get a different customer service rep and that can make all the difference.
COLLINS: Yes. All right. Well, the third one says, "I lost my job in mid February and have no idea what to do with my 401(k). I have $22,000 in the account. Please help me to determine where to put the money. I'm 53 and this is all the money I have." Mary Jane in Florida. Scary. WILLIS: All right. This is tough. You know, this is a toughie. You can keep the money where it is. But I suggest that you roll it over into a Roth IRA where you can manage it yourself. Ask for a trustee-to-trustee to transfer the funds. That's critical. This means that you don't touch the money yourself until retirement and therefore you avoid penalties and income taxes. You want to find a mutual fund company or brokerage house that you're comfortable with to place those funds. And you should know, Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price are low-cost alternatives.
Next up, you've got to save like heck. You're a little behind here. But take heart, not all is lost. You're probably still years from retirement. If you save just $250 a month earning an 8 percent annual return, in 10 years you'll have over $46,000. And that's going to help you get through that retirement.
If you have questions, of course, we want to hear from you. Send us an e-mail to toptips@cnn.com. We answer your questions right here every Friday. And we love to hear from your smart viewers.
Heidi.
COLLINS: Yes, we love them, too.
All right, Gerri Willis, thanks so much for that.
WILLIS: You're welcome.
HARRIS: Her majesty in America. Queen Elizabeth II in Jamestown, Virginia, honoring the first colony. We've got live coverage throughout the morning. Richard Quest is on location.
Stay with us right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Well, ladies and gentlemen, she has arrived.
HARRIS: Yes.
COLLINS: Look at this. Jamestown, Virginia, now. Queen Elizabeth II arriving. And you can't quite see her yet, but she's going to come right through that gate. This is the video that happened just moments ago in that beautiful royal blue.
HARRIS: Is that what that is?
COLLINS: Now that is my favorite color, I have to say.
HARRIS: OK. OK.
COLLINS: She looks fantastic. You know, as we mentioned before, she is 81 years old. She looks phenomenal. Going over to greet the crowd here and pick up some more flowers. You've got to love it.
Richard Quest is standing by. Richard, tell us all about it.
QUEST: Well, now, interesting. She's at Jamestown settlement, which is the recreation and the re-enactment of the original 400th arrival in the colony. The queen is picking up flowers along the way. This is a well trodden path. The queen will take the flowers. When she has sufficient bunches in her hand, she will turn around and she passes them off to her lady in waiting. In this case, the Countess of Early (ph).
The pictures you're looking at now, the queen is walking into the main square. And what she is seeing as she's walking around is various houses that have been built in the style and reconstructed, pretty faithfully, to how they were during the settlement period. This is one of the key points of this visit to the United States.
You can just -- you have to look carefully. You can just about see the hat.
COLLINS: Yes.
QUEST: All right. It's gone behind. Now there you are. There we are. That's one of the reasons she wears a hat (ph). Now there's her majesty. And this is where she will now wait for a few moments. Of course, Vice President Dick Cheney accompanying the queen, along with the rest of the royal party. She is moving on to the diet (ph) and it is here that Vice President Cheney -- for give me if I'm looking off, but I'm looking at the pictures at the same time that you are. It is here that Vice President Cheney will address some remarks to the queen, which in many ways will be a response to what she said yesterday in her speech before the Virginia assembly.
Have we reached an agreement on what color that dress is?
COLLINS: Well, I think it's royal blue, don't you?
QUEST: No, it's not. Absolutely not. No question in my mind.
COLLINS: OK. Silly me. What was I think?
QUEST: I've got a lawn chair out here that's royal blue. That is -- that is turquoise. Turquoise blue.
COLLINS: All right. Periwinkle, would you go with that? No.
QUEST: Well, whatever color it is, it doesn't match the vice president's tie. That much is clear.
COLLINS: That's true. All right. Richard, thank you so much for the color commentary on all of this. We appreciate it.
HARRIS: Yes. Yes.
COLLINS: And as we listen in here just a little bit to some of the festivities that are going on, as Richard said, Jamestown, Virginia. It's fun to watch this. HARRIS: Yes, it is. It really is.
COLLINS: We haven't seen her come for quite some time. Vice President Dick Cheney, as you mentioned, sitting beside her. Lynne Cheney, as well is. I'm not sure if she's on stage. But I did see her walking amongst the crowd as well. Some of the re-enactments here now.
HARRIS: Oh, that's great to see. You're right. You're absolutely right, Heidi. And I think we can see -- we were talking to Richard a little earlier. Maybe it was last hour. We were asking him as to whether or not we might get some remarks from the queen. And he was most emphatic, as he usually is, no, no.
COLLINS: No.
HARRIS: It's few and far between. But he did mention the remarks before the Virginia general assembly yesterday, some touching moments there. The queen acknowledging the great loss to this country April 16th, Virginia Tech. Maybe we'll talk about those a little later. But let's listen in to the proceedings here for just a moment.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: More and more of these people came, transforming my rivers, my forests, my fields. They brought another people too. They brought them by the tens of thousands. These people came enslaved against their will. Their labor made my fields lush with new riches.
The son and daughters of Africa brought their own traditions, and here among the first people and the English, along my fertile shores and among my plants and animals, all my people created a new culture. The new people spread across the fields and forests --
COLLINS: Some of the proceedings that we saw going on here at Jamestown's 400th anniversary. They do this every day. Maybe not the exact scenario that we're watching now, but certainly taking you back to the beginning of Jamestown. Fabulous.
HARRIS: And I believe we will bring you back to the proceedings this morning once the vice president is ready to make his remarks this morning.
But in the meantime --
COLLINS: Good morning, everybody. I'm Heidi Collins.
HARRIS: And good morning, I'm Tony Harris. Welcome back everyone to the CNN NEWSROOM. Republican presidential candidates face off over the war in Iraq and abortion rights. Ten GOP candidates took part in their first debate last night. It happened at the Ronald Reagan Library in California. The shadow of the former president loomed large. The candidates invoked his name 19 times.
On the war in Iraq, Arizona Senator John McCain reiterated his support for the latest troop build up. He warned pulling out of Iraq would lead to chaos in the Middle East and attacks at home. On the abortion issue, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani says he is personally opposed to abortion but he respects a woman's right to choose.
COLLINS: Florida flare-up, new wildfires prompt a state of emergency. The governor says 15 wildfires ignited just yesterday. In all, more than 90 fires are now blazing across the parched state. The fires have burned more than 11,000 acres so far. No reports of injuries, though. Some 90 percent of the state is in a drought.
HARRIS: Pointing fingers, and naming names, we could learn who's on the alleged D.C. Madam's client list tonight. Deborah Jean Palfrey gave 46 pounds of phone records to ABC News. Tonight, the network plans to air a program from what it learned. Palfrey says she ran a legal escort service. Prosecutors say it was a prostitution ring. Already, a prominent Bush official and a military consultant had been linked to the escort service. Palfrey faces racketeering and money laundering charges.
ROB MARCIANO, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I'm Rob Marciano, live on the LaGrange, Georgia, on top of this capped (ph) landfill. Normally, it would be emitting a potent greenhouse gas. Here, they're actually tapping it and using it as a clean energy source. A live report is coming up in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: Let's take you back now to Jamestown, Virginia, as you watch retired Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor speaking. Queen Elizabeth II in Jamestown this morning.
All of this, the festivities, to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. When the vice president speaks, remarks due in just a couple of minutes, we will bring those to you live right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Modern alchemy -- a Georgia town turning garbage into gold, so to speak. CNN's Rob Marciano has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARCIANO (voice-over): Mounds of garbage decomposing. Landfills produce huge amounts of methane. It's the second most abundant greenhouse gas at a whopping 20 times more potent than CO2. But here, at this capped landfill, methane gas is taking on the sweeter smell of success.
(on camera): I look around, all I see are pipes being drilled into the ground. Tell me what processes are happening underneath the dirt here.
DAVE GUSTASHAW, INTERFACE, INC.: Yes, they -- an anaerobic digestion that's occurring in the ground that the microbes are basically eating the garbage in very simple terms. And as a result of that, in the absence of oxygen, it's generating methane.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Methane David Gustashaw uses to run his carpet factory. And methane, the local utility is happy to sell.
PATRICK BOWIE, CITY OF LAGRANGE, GEORGIA: We pull the landfill gas in, clean it up, condition it, compress it and pipe it about nine miles to the customers.
MARCIANO (on camera): So here we are nine miles away and the methane is being pumped into your factory.
GUSTASHAW: That's right. This line has two energy sources, it has both electricity and natural gas or a gas requirement for processed heat to help us run the process. This is a direct -- what's called a direct gas use of landfill gas.
MARCIANO (voice-over): Which is not only good for the environment, it's good for the bottom line.
(on camera): You're saving 30 percent by using the methane from the landfill gases?
GUSTASHAW: Correct.
MARCIANO (voice-over): And with the town owning the utility, the added revenue helps the community. So everybody wins.
GUSTASHAW: It's a small business in a small --
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COLLINS: Rob Marciano is joining us now live from Lagrange, Georgia. Rob, are there other landfills that are going to be doing this, too?
MARCIANO: Yes, for sure there'll be more going online. There's already about 400, believe it or not, scattered across the country. Big companies like General Motors will tap some of the bigger landfills and use that gas for their factory.
Behind me is the capped (ph) landfill. It looks like an open prairie. It's actually sinking a little bit because once you tap the gas, that actually allows the dirt and the land to compress and settle.
Here's one of the pipes that they use. They basically just stick a pipe in the ground like a straw and let that methane come out and then they pipe it to the conditioning plant, which is actually over here -- conditioning skid, I should say. They compress it, they cool it, get some of the moisture out, get some of the dirt out and then they pipe it down to their customers.
Set up cost for this -- it should take about five to seven years to recoup. After that, it's all gravy. And a capped landfill like this should -- will last about 20 years. It will pump out methane for that long. And the town here, Heidi, is getting about $300,000 in revenue they wouldn't have had. So, the community is improving as well.
So, hopefully this is a model that will continue to catch on as we try to curb greenhouse gases across the country.
COLLINS. Good, it's very interesting. How's the smell, Rob?
MARCIANO: You know what? Methane -- real natural gas, which is mostly methane, has no smell. But when you incorporate rotting garbage, it does have a bit of a pungent stink to it. But it's for folks around here, they're putting it to good use.
COLLINS: We'll see you when you come back after you've washed the shirt.
All right, Rob Marciano, thanks so much. Great story.
HARRIS: Speaking of gas, here we go again, gas topping an average $3 a gallon and driving toward a new record. Fuming over prices in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: A dateless teen, petitioning to go to her own prom. Bureaucracy blocks the big dance, in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And once again, Jamestown, Virginia. Queen Elizabeth II in Jamestown this morning -- greeted, welcomed by the vice president and Lynne Cheney. All to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America. The vice president due to speak any moment now. When he does make his remarks, we plan to bring those to you right here in the NEWSROOM.
COLLINS: Want to give you some information that we are just learning now here at CNN about the coast guard and coming up on a capsized vessel. Let me read some of this to you.
Coast guard officials working for Operation Bahamas. This is Turks and Caicos now in particular that we're talking about. Came up on a Haitian vessel that had flipped over while being towed by Turks and Caicos police.
Apparently, the police boat immediately recovered 63 people from the boat, but they quickly learned that there are about 150 people on board originally. They did find 20 that were dead and apparently reported seeing another 10 that were sort of clinging to the hull of this ship.
So now, the coast guard searching for nearly 60 people, undocumented migrants, that were on this vessel. So, that is what's happening right now off the Turks and Caicos islands. And we'll keep you updated on the situation.
HARRIS: To business news now. We have been hearing for some time that the economy is slowing and now confirmation that it is reaching the labor market.
Felicia Taylor is at the New York Stock Exchange with details of the latest jobs report. Felicia, good morning to you.
(BUSINESS HEADLINES)
HARRIS: Right now, let's quickly get you to Jamestown, Virginia, and Vice President Dick Cheney.
DICK CHENEY, VICE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: ...to America as a sovereign, you were given a very warm welcome. A half century has done nothing to diminish the respect and affection which this country holds you. And we receive you again today in that same spirit. You honor us by returning for this anniversary of Jamestown settlement and we deeply appreciate your presence this morning.
Four centuries ago, more than 100 colonists aboard three small ships were just days from reaching this shore. They had been at sea nearly five months and great hardships awaited them on the banks of the James River. Yet, from the time of their arrival here, the world would never again be as it was.
Inside a little three-sided fort in this corner of Virginia, large events were set in motion and great to noble traditions were introduced to America. So, we pay homage to the first English settlement on the North American shore and we mark the 14th of May, 1607, as a providential moment in the life of this nation.
Jamestown began as a commercial venture, yet within a generation, Virginia was a colony of the crown. In time, those colonies would number 13 and they would become the United States of America. The beliefs and ways of life observed here were vital in shaping the character of the nation we know today. And these traditions, liberty and law, private property, the spirit of enterprise and commerce among peoples all came from the island nation that the colonists of Jamestown had called home.
Here at this first settlement named in honor of the English king, we are joined today by the sovereign who now occupies that thrown. She and Prince Philip are held in the highest regard throughout this nation, and their visit today only affirms the ties of trust and warm friendship between our two countries. Your majesty and your royal highness, all of us feel very privileged and we'll certainly remember this day that we shared your company.
So, on behalf of President Bush and the people of this land, I'm proud to say thank you for joining us and welcome to the United States of America.
HARRIS: Remarks this morning from Vice President Dick Cheney at Jamestown, Virginia. Celebrations to mark the 400th anniversary of Jamestown, the first permanent English settlement in America.
The rest of the schedule for the queen and Prince Philip to visit the College of William and Mary before leaving for Kentucky where she is to watch the Kentucky Derby on Saturday. And then, to Washington for a state dinner with the president and the first lady, Laura Bush, all before leaving -- heading back to Great Britain on Tuesday.
There you have it, her majesty, the queen.
Still to come this morning in the NEWSROOM, hip-hop music, hugely popular and sometimes hugely controversial.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What bothers you about this type of music?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is that they keep calling names and it's offensive because as a child growing up, you want to hear music that's inspiring.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HARRIS: The music, now the target of anti-obscenity marches. Details straight ahead for you in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
COLLINS: Taking it to the streets. The Reverend Al Sharpton and hundreds of supporters protest racist, sexist and violent lyrics in some rap and hip-hop music.
CNN's Randi Kaye was there and this note of caution. Some viewers might find some of the language in this report offensive.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They say it's time for the record companies to face the music and listen to the chorus of protestors.
PROTESTERS: What do we want? Now!
KAYE: This march for decency in hip-hop and rap comes in the wake of the uproar over what Don Imus said on radio. His racial slurs against the Rutgers Women's Basketball Team.
Now, Imus's harshest critic, Reverend Al Sharpton, wants hip-hop to clean up its act. He led the group past three major record labels headquartered in New York City.
AL SHARPTON, CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST: We're not asking for censorship but there's a standard in this business. Where is the standards when it comes to --
KAYE: Imus's attempt on Sharpton's radio show to explain his racial slur brought music into the fray.
DON IMUS, FIRED TALK SHOW HOST: Why (ph) I listen to the same kind of outrage, let me ask you, in the black community, when rappers and other people in the black community, athletes in the black community, defame and demean black women?
KAYE: Sharpton was listening, and now wants a code of conduct for artists.
(on camera): These people say they are not asking for censorship, just accountability. Why not go after the artists themselves? Because, Sharpton says, it's the record companies that set the standards and make the money.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This has to go to corporate America. This has to go to radio stations, expose (ph) people who's behind the scenes.
KAYE (voice-over): People who can stop the nasty lyrics about drugs, violence, sex and disrespecting women.
(on camera): What bothers you about this type of music?
DIONNA THOMAS, AGE 15: It's that they keep calling you names and it's offensive because as a child growing up, you want to hear music that's inspiring.
KAYE (voice-over): But to those who say hip-hop is not to blame --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hip-hop is nothing but prison culture. Too many of our young black men are incarcerated, that pain has created a culture in the form of music that is self destructive for us.
KAYE: Even old-time rappers like Kurtis Blow say it's time for change.
KURTIS BLOW, RAP ARTIST: I've recorded over 150 rap songs and I've never used profanity. There is a possibility that you can have a career in rap music and totally, totally have some integrity with your music.
KAYE: Integrity, maybe someone should write a song about that.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD QUEST, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I'm Richard Quest in Jamestown, Virginia. The queen of England is now touring the settlement. We'll have those details, after all, here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HARRIS: And good morning, everyone. You're with CNN, you're informed. I'm Tony Harris.
COLLINS: And I'm Heidi Collins, hi, everybody.
Developments keep coming into the NEWSROOM on this Friday, May 4th. Here's what's on the rundown. The queen in America. This hour, Elizabeth II commemorates Jamestown, Virginia, founded 400 years ago. Her host, Vice President Cheney. Live coverage ahead.
HARRIS: Sizing up a Republican presidential candidate, 10 go side-by-side for a head-to-head debate at the Reagan Library.
COLLINS: (INAUDIBLE) look exactly alike at this one (ph). Gas prices top $3 a gallon again and head even higher with summer driving right around the corner. Feel the burn, in the NEWSROOM.
A reception fit for a queen. Britain's Queen Elizabeth II gets a warm welcome in Jamestown, Virginia. Her visit marks the 400th anniversary ...
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