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CNN Saturday Morning News
Australia Charges UK Bombing Suspect
Aired July 14, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: From the CNN center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is July 14th. Good morning to you all. I'm TJ Holmes.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: And I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting the day with us. Terror alerts overseas. A doctor charged with helping a terror organization. We'll get you caught up.
HOLMES: Also, travel warning for Americans. Don't go to Gaza. If you're there, get out.
MALVEAUX: And a presidential candidate strapped for cash, still on the campaign trail saying he is not giving up. All this hour on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: We will begin with a terror investigation that's intensifying with an important court appearance in Australia this morning. A doctor related to two of the suspects in the British terror plot now facing charges himself. That makes now two doctors charged and six more medical professionals still in custody. We get more now from Kim Skubris of channel 7 in Australia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM SKUBRIS, CHANNEL 7 CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the moment of truth for Mohammed Haneef. He wasn't going home.
PETER RUSSO, HANEEF'S LAWYER: The police will just bringing my client over, Muhammad to be charged.
SKUBRIS: The doctor's hopes for freedom vanished at dawn as a Haneef officially became a test case for Australia's anti-terror laws accused of this offense.
MICK KEELTY, APF COMMISSIONER: That is to providing support to a terrorist group.
SKUBRIS: Detectives charge the Gulf coast doctor after a marathon 12 hours of questions at Queensland police headquarters overnight.
RUSSO: He's not very happy at the moment and one can understand that.
SKUBRIS: The ink was barely dry on the charge sheet when Haneef's defense team entered a not guilty plea and applied for bail before a new magistrate. So far the commonwealth is basing its case on a mobile phone sim (ph) card. It's alleged the 27-year-old doctor gave the card to his second cousins, UK bombing suspects Sabil and Kafil Achmed (ph) before moving to Australia. The prosecution claims the sim card remained in his name and was used to give the terror suspect a new identity. But (INAUDIBLE) during the total 24 hours police questioned Haneef, there was never any suggestion the card was used in the bombings. Federal authorities have defended the decision to detain Haneef without charges for 12 days.
KEELTY: There was a question of balancing human rights, balancing the needs of the community and the needs of the organization to establish the facts.
JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The anti-terrorism laws that this government has enacted are all to their very last clause needed.
SKUBRIS: The bail hearing was adjourned until Monday.
RUSSO: We just got to take one step at a time. And I'm trying to work our way through it.
SKUBRIS: Kim Skubris, 7 news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: More time, more patience, President Bush says that is what is needed for his so-called troop surge in Iraq to succeed. His comments come on the heels of a White House assessment on the war. It conceded among other things that not enough progress is being made in training Iraqi security forces. Despite the president's plea, top Republicans are demanding the president develop a new war strategy by mid October to start redeploying troops in Iraq. Meanwhile, as calls for a U.S. troop withdrawal grow louder on Capitol Hill, the Pentagon has a word of caution.
HOLMES: And commanders on the ground in Iraq says a pullout is a major task that could take years to accomplish. CNN's Jamie McIntyre reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE McINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): North of Baghdad where some of the surge battalions are engaged in the toughest fighting, U.S. commanders already have optimistic contingency plans to dramatically reduce forces beginning in January.
MAJOR GEN. BENJAMIN MIXON, CMDR, MULTNATL DIVISION NORTH: I currently have five or six brigades, depending on how you count the numbers of the tie ins, that given the enemy situation and as you move forward, after about an 18-month period of time you could probably reduce that by half.
McINTYRE: The Pentagon has a rule of thumb for moving forces in and out of Iraq.
GEN. PETER PACE, JOINT CHIEFS CHAIRMAN: The system itself is designed right now to be able to increase or decrease about one brigade per month.
McINTYRE: So with 20 combat brigades now in Iraq, that's at least 20 months to get them out. Add in all the support troops and it's well over two years. The U.S. could speed that up, but it would be tough. Consider the last Iraq war. In 1991 it took the U.S. military nearly a year to get all its troops and equipment out of Kuwait in a permissive environment, with some of the best sea and airports in the world.
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: You're talking about not just U.S. soldiers, but millions of tons of contractor equipment that belongs to the United States government and a variety of other things. This is a massive logistical undertaking, whenever it takes place.
McINTYRE: For now the Pentagon's post-surge planning is based on the hope the strategy will work, allowing for an orderly withdrawal. But that could change in September if General David Petraeus, who is known as being a straight shooter, concludes the surge is not working. Jamie McIntyre, CNN, the Pentagon.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The U.S. has issued a new travel warning for Israel and the Palestinian territories. The State Department is warning Americans to postpone trips to the west bank and avoid all travel to the Gaza strip. Visitors also being advised to exercise caution while in Israel. The department cites a threat to U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in these areas and increased violence.
MALVEAUX: And for the first time in nearly five years, UN nuclear inspectors are in North Korea. It is part of an international deal in which the north agreed to scale back its nuclear program in exchange for aid and political concessions. The first shipment of heavy fuel oil from South Korea also arrived as part of the deal. The UN inspectors will monitor North Korea's promise to shut down its main nuclear reactor.
HOLMES: Death threats this morning from drug traffickers working along the U.S.-Mexico border. The threats aimed at American journalists reporting on Mexico's drug trade. They appear concentrated around the violent border town of Nuevo Laredo. Late last night, the "San Antonio Express News" pulled its correspondent out of there. "The Washington Post" is reporting that sources have told several Texas newspapers that hit men may have been hired to cross into the U.S. to kill American reporters.
MALVEAUX: And it has been a rough week for John McCain. His campaign manager and chief strategist both bailed out and, come Monday, even more top staffers could be gone. Also gone is the money. All that seems to be left is the presidential candidate and his dog determination. We'll get more from CNN senior political correspondent Candy Crowley.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He is broke. His staff is skeletal. His poll numbers are sagging. But John McCain is standing.
JOHN McCAIN (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We go to the town hall meetings. We fix our financial difficulties and we win.
CROWLEY: In New Hampshire on his first campaign trip since the departure of top advisers, McCain signaled his presidential bid will go back to the future, the template of 2000 when his maverick campaign stunned the political world and he beat George Bush in the New Hampshire primary. Even close friends wonder if anything can save this campaign, but McCain says he's hard pressed to think of anything that will stop him.
McCAIN: Contracting a fatal disease.
QUESTION: Anything short of that?
McCAIN: Not that I know of.
CROWLEY: Even as he spoke, other top aides in the McCain campaign were preparing to leave and the details of second quarter fund raising and spending are about to be made public. McCain is down to his last quarter million, a campaign pittance. He hangs in with old jokes.
McCAIN: In the words of Chairman Mao, it's always darkest before it's totally black?
CROWLEY: Of all the changes that have and will take place in camp McCain, the one thing that hasn't changed is the candidate. He is in some sense, a man without a constituency. His positions on immigration and campaign finance reform infuriate conservatives who make up the core of the Republican primary vote. At the same time, independents so vital to McCain's 2000 campaign, have left him in droves over his hawkish stance on the war in Iraq.
McCAIN: Democratic candidates for president will argue for the course of cutting our losses and withdrawing from the threat in the vain hope it will not follow us here. I cannot join them in such wishful and very dangerous thinking.
CROWLEY: McCain, just back from a fourth of July trip to Iraq, went to New Hampshire to deliver a tough, no retreat speech, criticizing what he called defeatism. He asked voters to give the surge a chance. He asked them to give him one, too.
McCAIN: I will stand where I stand today and trust you to give me a fair hearing. There's too much at stake in this election for any candidate to do less.
CROWLEY: John McCain will play the hand he dealt himself.
(on-camera): McCain and those around him still hope that voters, even if they disagree with the candidate on certain issues will none the less stay with him because he is willing to stick with positions regardless of the political winds. Candy Crowley, CNN, Concorde, New Hampshire.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Candy Crowley, part of best political team on television. We're on the trail with John McCain in New Hampshire this morning and we will bring you parts of his morning speech in Clairmont (ph) later in the show. It is scheduled to get under way in about 90 minutes.
HOLMES: Amber alert out this morning for three children missing in Arizona. Police in Kingman (ph) say Marcel, Krystal and Brittany Shaffer are believed to be with their mother. Police think she was headed to Oregon. The mom, Sandra Shaffer, was denied custody of the children last year by a court there in Oregon. The sheriff's office believes Shaffer is driving a green Pontiac Grand Am with the Arizona license plate 915-XBT.
MALVEAUX: And high waves and wind, a typhoon tears through Japan's southern islands.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We're watching the typhoon Man-Yi as it bears down on Japan and we're also watching wet weather and dangerous flooding conditions in the U.S. Your complete weather forecast is coming up on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: Also, a hidden camera investigation uncovers cardboard being used as a meat substitute. Hmmm, sounds delicious. More food fears from China on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We're keeping tabs on that powerful typhoon this morning as it races across Japan. Right now sustained winds from typhoon Man-Yi are 100 miles per hour on Japan's southern most island. Flights have been cancelled, train services halted and highways closed. Thousands are being evacuated. It is not clear yet whether Tokyo will take a direct hit.
HOLMES: Our Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on this thing for us. This typhoon Man-Yi.
SCHNEIDER: That's right.
HOLMES: You got that right, bonnie. What's it doing I guess and I guess what's the difference? We look at it, it looks awfully like a hurricane sometimes.
SCHNEIDER: Exactly, yeah, you're right, TJ. It's exactly a hurricane, different name, different part of the world. And Man-Yi is going to affect Tokyo. We can see on our satellite perspective, areas that you see colored in the clouds here, that indicates higher cloud tops where we're getting the rain and precipitation. There's the wind-up of the storm as it comes in over areas to the south of Tokyo and it looks like this storm is weakening a bit. At one point it came in as a super typhoon, which is as strong as a category five hurricane. Right now the movement is to the northeast at 17 miles per hour, so it has picked up speed. On our scale this would be classified as a category two storm. Sustained winds are now at 105 miles per hour. You can see the storm breaking apart a little bit as it interacts with the islands of Japan at this time, but still powerful and a pretty well defined eye earlier on as it came over the ocean waters.
TJ was asking the million dollar question. What is a typhoon? A typhoon is actually a storm system with sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or greater. I mentioned that this storm came in earlier as a super typhoon. That means an intense storm with sustained winds greater than 150 miles per hour. You compare that to a category five hurricane. Unfortunately this storm started off powerful. It's not completely weakened, but it is going to bring about some tough changes for areas in Japan including wind and rain and unfortunately flooding.
Back to the U.S., we're also tracking flooding here, a stationary front just to the south of Texas and Louisiana tapping into that Gulf moisture. We are seeing some heavy rain right now, real time lightning for you across Louisiana and Texas. It seems like this one part of the country just can't catch a break in terms of getting rid of the rain. We have flood watches and warnings that extend all the way into Mississippi and northward towards Arkansas. So if you're driving through this region, you may have to encounter a heavy downpour or a frequent lightening strike or two throughout much of the day. Critical fire danger out west and dangerous heat once again. Not record breaking heat, but temperatures above normal, 108 in Las Vegas and 109 in Phoenix. Suzanne, TJ?
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie, keeping an eye on all kinds of stuff. Fire, danger, throw in a typhoon and heavy rain down south.
MALVEAUX: Extreme weather, for sure.
HOLMES: Thanks so much Bonnie, we'll see you again shortly.
Well, again, return to those rising temperatures out west, it could actually renew wildfire fears. The crews out there across the area have been gaining the upper hand on dozens of fires but now this disturbing report about one devastating wildfire. Emergency officials say 911 operators dismissed fearful calls delaying the response to the Lake Tahoe fire. That fire destroyed more than 250 homes. We get more now from Mark Headland (ph) from affiliate KXTV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CALLER: We can see smoke coming off the mountain to the west of us.
MARK HEADLAND, KXTV CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The first 91 1 call comes at Sunday at 2:02 p.m. Yet CHP dispatchers are nonchalant.
DISPATCHER: Yeah, yeah, they're doing a control burn there.
HEADLAND: But it was anything but controlled. Even nine minutes later at 2:11 in the afternoon, two CHP dispatchers blowing off reports of fire several times.
DISPATCHER: Up the hill, yeah, that's a control burn. CALLER: We're coming down Echo Summit and I'm seeing white smoke on the side of --
DISPATCHER: Is that the airport? That's a control burn.
ASST. CHIEF SAL SAGURA, CALIFORNIA HIGHWAY PATROL: It appears from our review, that a total of five calls were dismissed initially by the CHP dispatchers as control burns.
HEADLAND: And a gap of precious time, a gap of seven to nine minutes before CHP dispatchers (INAUDIBLE) even decide to check it out.
CALLER: We saw a lot of smoke.
DISPATHCER: It's aDISPATCI control burn. I'm pretty sure, so we're checking on it.
HEADLAND: The highway patrol investigating and obviously upset at what appear to be serious mistakes.
SAGURA: We're always concerned when we find our employees fail to handle something or apparently at this point in time fail to follow proper protocol. They dispatchers are temporarily relieved of their dispatching duties.
HEADLAND: Two experienced dispatchers on the hot seat. it's more than embarrassing. These delays coming to light now could have made a critical difference in this devastating wildfire.
SAGURA: A lot of those people are friends, neighbors, and we feel very badly for the individuals that may have lost property.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A report from Mark Headland of affiliate KXTV. The two dispatchers had a combined total of 44 years experience.
MALVEAUX: It's a popular snack in China, but people are asking where's the beef? It turns out these dumplings often contain chopped cardboard instead of meat. Yuck!
HOLMES: Also a frantic search to tell you about, a missing mom and daughter in Alabama. The woman's husband not called a suspect in the case, but under arrest. Got a bizarre story here to tell you and that's ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Parents, listen up. Got an issue with some baby food need to tell you about. Gerber is voluntarily recalling nearly half a million packages of baby cereal. The company says some clumps in their organic rice and oatmeal cereals may not dissolve in water or milk causing a choking hazard. So far, however, no injuries reported in this. Gerber says call the company for a refund. MALVEAUX: And a major crack down is under way in China as the government tries to get a handle on the country's growing food safety problems, not only on food products sent overseas but also being sold on street corners throughout China. CNN's John Vause takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN VAUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On state-run national television, viewers across China watch the latest food horror story unfold. An undercover investigation exposing small roadside stores in Beijing which use cardboard instead of meat as the main ingredient in a snack known as (INAUDIBLE). They're like dumpling and are as popular here as hot dogs in the U.S. Most people can't taste the difference. It fools the average person, this man says. Authorities have announced a citywide crack down on illegal food vendors because many fail to meet the lowest of health standards. But the communist government has a much bigger problem than bad street food and is struggling with an international crisis from tainted pet foot to toxic toys. In the past week, Beijing announced an immediate ban on diethylene glycol, a solvent found in anti-freeze from being used in toothpaste. Small food producers must improve hygiene or be shut down. And from September, all food exports will have an inspection and quarantine symbol to guarantee safety. The U.S. has warned standards had better improve.
CARLOS GUTTIEREZ, COMMERCE SECRETARY: I believe that what they do now will determine whether they continue to be a growing exporting country, a country with future growth viability or they stop their growth.
VAUSE: And state media reports the people's liberation army is now insisting food suppliers pass hygiene and safety tests. To strengthen food safety is to guarantee that PLA's combat capacity, said one official quoted in the China daily newspaper. And with the Olympics a year away, a food quality monitoring system will be trialed next month.
(on-camera): Despite all the controversy the mounting evidence of widespread problems one high ranking Chinese official says it is, quote, the malicious stirrings of foreign media which is to blame for this crisis. John Vause, CNN, Beijing.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A court hearing today in Australia in connection with terror attacks last month in the UK. Coming up, the link that led to new charges in this case.
MALVEAUX: And a challenge on Capitol Hill after another call for U.S. troops to be withdrawn from Iraq. Now the president attempting to buy some time.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We're told al Qaeda has been gaining strength, but just how big is it? I'm Josh Levs. I will have a look at the numbers. That's coming up in the reality check here on CNN, the most trusted name in news. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, certainly no summer vacation for al Qaeda. The training and the threats are happening right now. We sort out fact from fiction with one terror expert coming up. Welcome back. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And I'm TJ Holmes. Thank you so much for being here. President Bush meanwhile and Congress increasingly at odds over the war in Iraq. He wants patience. He's appealing to Congress to give his so-called troop surge in Iraq more time to work. But more top members of his own party are joining Democrats saying it's time for a change. CNN's Dana Bash reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Two of the Senate's most influential GOP senators unveiled legislation demanding the president give Congress a new war plan by this fall to start redeploying troops from Iraq. The bill would require the president to deliver the plan by October 16th and be ready to implement it by the end of the year. However, the measure by Senators John Warner and Richard Lugar would not mandate the president actually put this plan in place. In the face of GOP rebellion, the White House has been intensely lobbying lawmakers for patience to give the surge more time.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: This September, as Congress has required, General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker will return to Washington to provide a more comprehensive assessment.
BASH: Lugar said he and Warner are "attempting to ensure that U.S. military and diplomatic policy is prepared for change when General Petraeus' report arrives in September.
It is a direct challenge to the president's war strategy from two prominent fellow Republicans who have been increasingly outspoken about the need for change. But by waiting until this fall to require plans for a new Iraq policy, Lugar is giving up on his high profile urgent plea just last month.
SEN. RICHARD LUGAR (R-IA), FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE: A course change should happen now while there is still some possibility of constructing a sustainable bipartisan strategy in Iraq.
BASH: The Republicans' legislation also calls on the president to seek a new authorization for the war because the 2002 authorization, which talks of weapons of mass destruction and toppling Saddam Hussein, is obsolete.
(on camera): It is important to emphasize this Republican bill may challenge the president to come up with a new war plan, but not until the fall. In fact, at the end of a week when the White House was trying to head off an all out GOP revolt, most Republican senators say they are willing to give the president one thing he wants, and that is just a little bit more time.
Dana Bash, CNN, Capitol Hill.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
MALVEAUX: And fresh anxiety this week over Al Qaeda. A new report finds the terrorist group is at its strongest since the aftermath of September 11th.
But what does that mean?
Our CNN's Josh Levs joining us with a reality check -- and, Josh, we heard from the president this week. He says we're safer now, but we understand that Al Qaeda is actually stronger.
JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes.
And don't you feel like over the years you hear a lot of different assertions and you get to feeling that Al Qaeda is getting bigger or smaller, or bigger or smaller. It's really hard to follow. And sometimes it can feel like the scary monster in the closet.
So what we wanted to do today was try to give you a sense of what's actually going on. It is true, I mean Al Qaeda, as you've heard, has carried out attacks in countries all over the globe. But that can leave the impression that it has tens of thousands of numbers.
Well, we looked at the numbers. It turns out the reality is very different.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LEVS: (voice-over): There are nearly daily bombings in Iraq, many of them blamed on Al Qaeda. And there have been attacks in recent years in London, Morocco, Jordan, Kenya. So many bombings believed linked to Al Qaeda it sometimes seems the group is a worldwide organization.
How big is it really?
There's no way to know for sure because Osama bin Laden's terror network is decentralized. But the non-partisan Council On Foreign Relations says estimates range from just several hundred to several thousand members.
CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen has found similar figures in his research. He estimates the number of Al Qaeda members who have sworn allegiance to Osama bin Laden in the low hundreds and those in affiliated groups, like Al Qaeda In Iraq at several thousand.
More have gone through training camps, as many as 20,000 before the September 11th attacks, according to the 9/11 Commission. But many are not selected to join Al Qaeda.
BUSH: Al Qaeda is public enemy number one in America.
LEVS: Critics say the Bush administration is often too vague in describing Al Qaeda. The 9/11 Commission complained of an amorphous picture of the enemy that lowers expectations of government effectiveness. The administration has used some figures to dramatic effect. For example, in 2004, CIA officials said that of about two dozen at the top of Al Qaeda at the time of the 9/11 attacks, three quarters had been captured or killed, an estimate the president expressed this way.
BUSH: of course we're going to find Osama bin Laden. We've already got 75 percent of his people.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEVS: Now, Al Qaeda also has connections to numerous other terrorist groups. So, in that sense, it is part of a larger terrorist network that involves a lot more people in places like Indonesia. And the number of Al Qaeda affiliated militants has pretty much almost certainly grown, Suzanne, under the Iraq War during this time.
MALVEAUX: So, Josh, this week we heard the president. He said the same people that attacked us on September 11th are the same people we're going after in Iraq. But I don't think that is necessarily true --
LEVS: Right.
MALVEAUX: -- because these are people who don't receive direction from bin Laden but are inspired by him?
LEVS: A really important distinction, and I'm glad you asked that. Let's talk about that for a minute.
Yes, it's true. I mean, first of all, I mean the actual people who carried out 9/11 died in 9/11. But what we're seeing in Iraq -- this is a important distinction -- you are seeing a group that, as Peter Bergen tells us, did not directly pledge allegiance to Osama bin Laden but is inspired by him. And that inspiration goes to a lot of other places, as well.
For example, remember the train bombings in Madrid?
In Madrid, what happened there is not officially by the authorities in Madrid blamed on Al Qaeda. It's not. But it is blamed on militants who they say are inspired by Al Qaeda. So, in a way, Al Qaeda is now a symbol of what a lot of Islamic militants around the world want to be. So, the actual size of Al Qaeda is, you know, one factor. Then you've got who are they inspiring around the world.
MALVEAUX: So, Josh do we have any sense of how big Al Qaeda really is, then?
LEVS: Yes, we don't, I mean just in terms of these numbers. But one thing we looked at is whether Al Qaeda claims any numbers. And we wanted to know that. So I had some folks here -- we pieced through all of the Web sites that we know Al Qaeda uses to make all sorts of claims on a regular basis. They spent a while at this, and they could not find a single claim of any numbers by Al Qaeda. Keep in mind it helps Al Qaeda to have that kind of ambiguousness, because then it can feel larger. And, in a way, anybody can benefit from that vagueness.
MALVEAUX: Josh, thanks for the reality check.
LEVS: Thanks a lot.
Good to have you here.
MALVEAUX: Well, thank you.
LEVS: Yes.
MALVEAUX: It's a pleasure.
And another person charged in connection with the attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow. Dr. Mohammed Haneef appeared in Australian court this morning. He is charged with providing support to a terrorist organization. Two of his cousins are among six suspects being held in Britain. Haneef is the second person charged. An Iraqi trained doctor suspend of being in that Jeep that attacked the airport in Glasgow was charged last week.
HOLMES: Well, searchers are back out in northeast Alabama looking for a missing mother and daughter, 26-year-old Kim Whitton, and her daughter, 11-year-old Haley Culwell were last seen June 21st. The missing woman's husband, Barry Whitton, was arrested Thursday on unrelated charges. State and local federal officials swarmed over the family's property this week looking for clues.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL DAYMOND, FBI: People may be scared. They may be uncomfortable with the situation. They have no need to be. They can remain, again, remain anonymous when they call. All we're looking for is their information.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Again, Whitton has not been charged in the disappearances. Authorities say, in another twist here, the body of Whitton's first wife was found buried in nearby hills 10 years ago. Her death ruled a homicide, but no arrests were ever made.
MALVEAUX: And a powerful typhoon pounds Southern Japan -- high winds and high waves.
Is the worst over or yet to come?
HOLMES: Also, honoring Lady Bird Johnson. After the public pays its respects, a private final farewell later today for the former first lady.
Stay here. You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, ATS METEOROLOGIST: I'm CNN meteorologist Bonnie Schneider with a look at your Allergy Report for Saturday.
Well, things are looking a lot better across the country than they did just a few weeks ago. Most places are reporting moderate to low counts of allergens in the air, though we do have higher counts in areas of the Northern Plains and parts of the Rockies.
That's a look at your Allergy Report for Saturday.
I'm meteorologist Bonnie Schneider.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We want to get into this strength of Al Qaeda issue a little more.
For that, we're going to turn to Farhani Ali. She's an expert on Jihadist networks and religious extremism with the Rand Corporation and she joins us now this morning from Washington.
Ma'am, thank you so much for being with us.
Help people understand this. We've got a report out there that's saying that Al Qaeda is gaining strength. The president tells us that we're safer and they're not as strong.
What is the case?
FARHANI ALI, RAND: Well, I have to agree that Al Qaeda remains a formidable force and is a threat not only for U.S. interests and other Western countries, but also remember, Al Qaeda is a threat, also, to Muslim countries, including Pakistan.
I would have to agree with the -- you know, we've heard just the director of intelligence say that Al Qaeda has been able to regroup in countries like Pakistan, with more training and money and communications and operating in areas such as the tribal regions.
We -- although there's two ways to measure Al Qaeda. You have to look at capability and intent.
Is Al Qaeda capable and do they have the intent?
To the first question, yes, they certainly are capable of striking the homeland and other countries. But in the recent foiled attacks in Scotland and the U.K. Indicate that they are less sophisticated. So, you know, they're less capable. But have --
HOLMES: So it was fair for the president, when the president does say that they are not as capable, not as strong as they were at 9/11, would you say that is the case?
ALI: Absolutely. I think that Al Qaeda is capable of launching an attack, but small scale attacks, not to the size or -- that we have seen in the 9/11 attacks. I mean we have not seen, since 9/11, Al Qaeda's ability to launch simultaneous attacks.
HOLMES: How long do they need?
Given the war on terror now, which the whole point was to crush Al Qaeda, how much time would you say they need, given that they're at least gaining strength, maybe not as strong as they were at 9/11, but if they're gaining strength, how much time can we let this thing go the way it's going before they are capable of launching those large scale attacks again?
ALI: You know, time is such a tricky issue to judge. What we have seen is that the Al Qaeda organization, though it's been weakened, it is a movement. And that movement continues to inspire other groups worldwide.
And so what you have are Al Qaeda affiliates or homegrown terrorist networks that may be loosely connected to Al Qaeda.
I just think that, you know, in order to really mitigate this threat, we need to continue our best counter-terrorism cooperation efforts, not only with the U.S. law enforcement and intelligence agencies, but also our cooperation with foreign liaison services is critical, as we've seen, in countering this threat.
HOLMES: And you talked about it there as being a movement. The war in Iraq was supposed to help in the war on terror. It's a part of the war on terror. But in a way, do you think -- and others have made this assertion -- that the war in Iraq has, in fact, helped Al Qaeda in terms of at least a recruiting tool?
ALI: Oh, Al Qaeda has certainly been able to link the war in Iraq with the war on terrorism. And if you look at the Jihadi communiques and other statements that have been made by the Al Qaeda leadership, they certainly use -- they propagate the war in Iraq in order to replenish their recruits.
So they are certainly determined to strike U.S.-coalition forces, in Iraq and elsewhere. So, yes, it is an impetus.
HOLMES: Now, Pakistan -- what is happening there?
Is that going to be the new problem, the new area, the new Afghanistan, even, if you will, in some ways, in that it's reported that Al Qaeda has now been able to find safe haven there and it is -- that's a big part of where they're recruiting?
ALI: Pakistan --
HOLMES: Or recouping, rather.
ALI: Yes, it continues to be a problem. We have seen enormous support from Pakistan's President Musharraf, although latest events, particularly with the siege of the Lal Mosque, we know has -- is going to have social and political repercussions and implications. While Pakistan remains, you know, America's best ally, there are Jihadi groups. And let me just say here that, you know, mapping the terrorist terrain in Pakistan is really quite complex because you don't just have Al Qaeda. Whenever I talk to my sources on the ground in Pakistan, they really put it in perspective.
You have Al Qaeda, you have Jihadi groups, you have sectarian affiliated groups, you have Kashmiri groups. It's really quite complex.
But, yes, you do see growing numbers of pro-Taliban elements, particularly in the northwest frontier province. And you've just recently seen now the Pakistani Army deployed to southern Waziristan and other areas to fight those groups.
HOLMES: All right.
And like you say, very complex issues.
But we do appreciate your time and expertise in helping explain this to us a little bit.
ALI: Thank you.
HOLMES: Again, Farhani Ali, we appreciate your time.
ALI: Thank you.
MALVEAUX: And right now, a powerful typhoon is striking Japan on what is supposed to be a long holiday weekend. Not much of a holiday for the thousands forced to evacuate their homes or for travelers stranded when hundreds of flights were cancelled.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, people are gathering in Austin, Texas this morning for a chance to pay their last respects to an American icon. Lady Bird Johnson lying in repose right now at the LBJ Museum. You see someone there standing paying respects. People have doing this all evening, even into the wee hours of the night and the morning, people have been stopping through to pay their respects.
Lady Bird Johnson died Wednesday at the age of 94. First Ladies Laura Bush, Barbara Bush and Rosalyn Carter are all expected to attend the funeral today, along with former Presidents Carter and Clinton.
MALVEAUX: And preserving history -- a lighthouse built more than 100 years ago -- voters are finally getting a chance to see it up close.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
I'm Veronica de la Cruz of the Dot-Com Desk. They surfaced on the Internet, but regardless, she was able to keep that crown. Miss New Jersey's dilemma -- we'll show you some of the photos that could have cost her that title, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, cnn.com, the spot is always a busy place to be.
DE LA CRUZ: It's always the spot.
HOLMES: The happening spot -- Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: It is always the spot.
HOLMES: Good morning to you.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning to you.
HOLMES: What have you got going on?
DE LA CRUZ: It's nice to see you.
Well, you know, we've got those pictures of Miss. New Jersey.
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Have you seen them?
HOLMES: I haven't seen all of these. No.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Well, you know, they're burning up the Web right now.
HOLMES: OK.
DE LA CRUZ: I want to show you, because my thoughts -- and maybe T.J. 's thought -- is they're, what, PG-13 at best?
HOLMES: Well --
(CROSSTALK)
DE LA CRUZ: OK. That one. That one is definitely not lady like. That's definitely what PG --
HOLMES: Oh, come on.
DE LA CRUZ: Come on. Come on. But it just goes to show, T.J. how personal stuff on Internet can come back to haunt you. Like, you know, an anonymous person copied these pictures from Polumbo's Facebook, sent them to pageant officials.
But what do you think, PG-13?
HOLMES: What's going on right there, anyway?
What is that?
DE LA CRUZ: Well, she's -- she's wearing a swimsuit or a bra top. But I -- you know, I would go as far to say that we probably saw the same thing during the pageant. She was probably wearing similar.
HOLMES: Wearing less. DE LA CRUZ: Right. A swimsuit, right?
HOLMES: Right.
DE LA CRUZ: A bikini.
Anyways, so the board --
HOLMES: I don't think that happened during the pageant but --
DE LA CRUZ: -- carefully studied these pictures, conceded that they weren't very lady like, but they ruled that Miss. Palumbo can keep her crown anyway. So, there you go. And there are the pictures.
All right, let's get on to the next story, shall we?
HOLMES: You sure you don't have any more pictures to show us?
DE LA CRUZ: (LAUGHTER).
That's it for now.
HOLMES: OK. All right. By all means, let's move ahead.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Take a look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID BECKHAM: Thank you to everybody that's made this happen, made my dream come true.
I'm looking forward to this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Well, the Galaxy now has a superstar -- the L.A. galaxy that is. International soccer icon David Beckham's arrival in the United States to play professional soccer is number two this morning. It took a huge contract worth an estimated $250 million over five years to lure Beckham to Los Angeles.
So is it enough to make American sports fans crazy for soccer?
What do you think?
HOLMES: It is enough to make women crazy for soccer.
DE LA CRUZ: That's for sure.
HOLMES: That'll work.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, the team says it's already sold 250,000 Beckham jerseys at $80 apiece. Beckham's first U.S. game is next Saturday.
All right, also on that list this morning, check this one out. Several circus elephants decided to make a break for it in Toronto. And they ended up in a nearby neighborhood. But it really was the landscaping there that took the brunt of their abuse. They didn't get too far. The elephants' handler was eventually summoned to escort them back to their pens.
This reminds me of that movie, "Madagascar."
Do you remember?
HOLMES: I didn't see that one. I didn't see that, I'm sorry.
DE LA CRUZ: Trying to make a break for it.
HOLMES: Trying to make a break for it. It makes sense.
DE LA CRUZ: They didn't get too far. In the meantime, pretty interesting.
HOLMES: And they had to wake the handler up?
Shouldn't he know that the elephants are gone? He had to get summoned?
DE LA CRUZ: You know, they made a break for it in the middle of the night, as you can see by these pictures.
HOLMES: All the pictures. And that Miss. New Jersey (INAUDIBLE) --
DE LA CRUZ: Can you imagine, though, walking down the street and seeing something like that?
HOLMES: Yes.
Well, let's get back to Miss. New Jersey, who got to keep her crown. Those were the naughty pictures.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes, those --
HOLMES: I was curious again them.
DE LA CRUZ: -- those were the naughty pictures.
HOLMES: OK.
DE LA CRUZ: But, you know, there could have been more. I think that's it, though.
HOLMES: OK.
DE LA CRUZ: I think that's it.
HOLMES: Or that's all you can show.
DE LA CRUZ: F No. That was it. And PG-13 at best.
HOLMES: All right. Veronica, thank you so much. We'll see you soon.
MALVEAUX: T.J. Is having a hard time letting go of that story, I mean really.
HOLMES: I'm sorry.
MALVEAUX: A startling discovery has caused quite a buzz at an assisted living facility in Arizona. And here's what they're saying. Experts were called in to deal with a little bee problem, but it turned out to be anything but a little problem.
How about a 400 pound plus hive?
We're talking 400 pounds. That is about a quarter of a million bees.
And now the question is, T.J. What are you going to do with all that honey?
(LAUGHTER).
HOLMES: Put it on your cardboard dishes that you get from China, right?
No. We're not going to do that. Just kidding.
Moving on here, we're going to talk about the last standing lighthouse in Chesapeake Bay. It's open for public tours since the first time it was built in 1875, and we are going to take you there.
MALVEAUX: And at 8:00, how safe are we from the threat of a dirty bomb?
What we found out might surprise you, ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Terror alert -- Australia. We are following new details this morning. A doctor has been formally charged with helping a terror group. The investigation into last month's failed attacks in the U.K. Intensifies.
HOLMES: Plus, take a look here. We've got an interesting picture to show you. You know, besides diamonds and rubies and -- we have some scorpions to tell you about -- a kind of unusual but effective security system. Those stories and more in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. But we're going to stay with this for now before you head out the door for a busy day of errands and chores, stop a minute for a mini vacation, possibly.
MALVEAUX: Come along with us for a boat ride in the Chesapeake Bay.
Our destination?
The Thomas Point Lighthouse, a historic lighthouse being restored by volunteers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
EVELYN FRIEDMAN, LIGHTHOUSE LOVER: I live on the Chesapeake Bay and I am very thrilled to be here because this trip is a birthday present from my daughter.
TOM STALDER, ANNAPOLIS MARITIME MUSEUM: The Thomas Point Lighthouse is the only screw powered (ph) lighthouse that's operating as an aid to navigation in its original location on the Chesapeake Bay. The only one out of originally 40, 41 lighthouses that served that purpose. Thomas Point is the only one left.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I consider the Thomas Point Light my personal lighthouse. And I consider that it's been mine ever since we've lived there, which is about 25 years. And it's a wonderful sight.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my favorite. I've been going by it for about 40 years in my boat and drooling every time I go by it.
FRANK WELCH, ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND RESIDENT: I used a lot of lighthouses. They were my friend. They were my aid to navigation that got me, you know, overnight from one point to another.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: From the CNN center in Atlanta, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm Suzanne Malveaux in for Betty Nguyen.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: And I'm TJ Holmes. Thank you so much for being here. A pleasure to have you. (INAUDIBLE) everything you got going.
MALVEAUX: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Thank you for being here and thank you all for being with us here. Coming up on this SATURDAY MORNING.
This is just a simulation, but the threat of a dirty bomb is not only real, but would you believe real easy?
MALVEAUX: Plus more food warnings about products from China. Just what is safe? We investigate.
HOLMES: We're going to start with new developments in the British terror plot investigation. Another doctor charged. In court this morning in Australia, accused of aiding the attempted terror attacks in London and Glasgow. We get more now from Kim Skubris of channel 7 in Australia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KIM SKUBRIS, CHANNEL 7 CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This was the moment of truth for Mohammed Haneef. He wasn't going home.
PETER RUSSO, HANEEF'S LAWYER: The police will just bringing my client over, Muhammad to be charged.
SKUBRIS: The doctor's hopes for freedom vanished at dawn as a Haneef officially became a test case for Australia's anti-terror laws accused of this offense.
MICK KEELTY, APF COMMISSIONER: That is to providing support to a terrorist group.
SKUBRIS: Detectives charge the Gulf coast doctor after a marathon 12 hours of questioning at Queensland police headquarters overnight.
RUSSO: He's not very happy at the moment and one can understand that.
SKUBRIS: The ink was barely dry on the charge sheet when Haneef's defense team entered a not guilty plea and applied for bail before a new magistrate. So far the commonwealth is basing its case on a mobile phone sim (ph) card. It's alleged the 27-year-old doctor gave the card to his second cousins, UK bombing suspects Sabil and Kafil Achmed (ph) before moving to Australia. The prosecution claims the sim card remained in his name and was used to give the terror suspects a new identity. But (INAUDIBLE) during the total 24 hours police questioned Haneef, there was never any suggestion the card was used in the bombings. Federal authorities have defended the decision to detain Haneef without charges for 12 days.
KEELTY: There was a question of balancing human rights, balancing the needs of the community and the needs of the organization to establish the facts.
JOHN HOWARD, AUSTRALIAN PRIME MINISTER: The anti-terrorism laws that this government has enacted are all to their very last clause needed.
SKUBRIS: The bail hearing was adjourned until Monday.
RUSSO: We just got to take one step at a time. And I'm trying to work our way through it.
SKUBRIS: Kim Skubris, 7 news.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And new developments out of Iraq this morning. Iraq's prime minister publicly responds to the White House progress report on Iraq. Nouri al Maliki telling reporters the Iraqi army and police are ready to take over security in the country, that is, if U.S. troops leave. But the prime minister admits the forces need more weapons and training. Al Maliki also said his government needed time to put in place the political benchmarks Washington wants.
The U.S. has issued a new travel warning for Israel and Palestinian territories. The State Department is warning Americans to postpone trips to the west bank and avoid all travel to the Gaza strip. Visitors also being advised to exercise caution while in Israel. The department cites a threat to U.S. citizens and U.S. interests in these areas and increased violence.
And death threats this morning from drug traffickers working along the U.S.-Mexico border. The threat aimed at American journalists reporting on Mexico's drug trade. They appear concentrated around the border town of Nuevo Laredo. Last night, the "San Antonio Express" news pulled its correspondent out of Laredo. "The Washington Post" says sources have told several Texas newspapers that hit men may have been hired to cross into the U.S. to kill American reporters.
HOLMES: Just how hard would it be for someone to get enough nuclear material to make a so-called dirty bomb? Apparently, not that hard. Here now is CNN's Brian Todd.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The panic of a dirty bomb attack. A blast of radiological material designed, as seen in this simulation, to inflict mostly chaos and moderate harm. Who can pull it off?
GREGORY KUTZ, GAO INVESTIGATOR: We were able to beat the system with a basic ruse.
TODD: Congressional investigators say that earlier this year they conducted a clandestine operation, created a bogus company, used it to get a real license for radioactive material from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. They doctored up that license, then used it to at least start to buy enough material to make a moderate-sized dirty bomb.
KUTZ: We bought from public sources that anyone can buy from.
TODD: They say aside from a couple of phone calls and faxes, no one at the NRC checked to see if they were legitimate. The NRC says it's plugging the gaps.
EDWARD McGAFFIGAN, NRC COMMISSIONER: We have to have greater defense and depth in our system. We are going to have to do a better job with these manufacturers and distributors to make sure that they're not putting the dollar ahead of the American people.
TODD: NRC officials also say the amount of dirty bomb material the investigators were after would have only had the radiation equivalent of a CAT scan to the chest. The investigators say that's not the point. They say they could have kept right on buying material until they had enough to do some real damage. And homeland security expert David Heyman, who's done several exercises on radiological attacks, adds this.
DAVID HEYMAN, CTR FOR STRATEGIC & INTL STUDIES: Any amount of stuff will be considered dangerous in the public mind. If you have a dirty bomb that goes off, that's a large explosion with a little bit of radiation in there. Once we start detecting radiation, people will get scared.
TODD: An even greater threat according to Heyman, radiological material in the former Soviet Union and elsewhere, much of it, he says, still not secured. And the small amount needed for a dirty bomb could easily be brought across U.S. borders. Brian Todd, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: John McCain is campaigning in New Hampshire this morning, but there are serious questions about the future of his presidential bid. The campaign is racked with money difficulties. Two top staffers walked out this week and there may be more departures coming by Monday. But McCain, who's just about out of money, says he is going to press on. We're going to bring you parts of his morning speech in Claremont, that is, Claremont, New Hampshire, later, that event getting under way in about 25 minutes. You can see the room where they're setting up for the announcement in the speech that he is going to make. There was a lot of speculation over the week, TJ, that maybe all of this was going to fold. It looked like between the scandals and the resignations and the money gone, that he just wasn't going to pull through. We heard from McCain this week who said look, shy of some fatal disease -- he was joking, of course -- that he was going to move on and continue here. But not a lot of support from him. So he definitely has an uphill road to climb here.
HOLMES: We'll keep on eye on that and certainly bring you all those comments coming up a little later when they do happen.
MALVEAUX: And we get the announcements on changes made.
HOLMES: We will be watching, but like I said, when he gets in a corner, that's when he comes out fighting. So shouldn't be any different this time either but we'll keep an eye on that.
Meanwhile, another live picture to show you here, people gathering in Austin, Texas, this morning paying their last respects to an American icon. Lady Bird Johnson lying in repose right now at the LBJ museum. We've seen people file through here certainly yesterday, but even in the wee hours of the night and the morning, people have been stopping by to pay their respects. She died on Wednesday at the age of 94. First ladies Laura Bush, Barbara Bush and Rosalyn Carter, all expected to attend the funeral today as well as former Presidents Carter and Clinton.
MALVEAUX: And an amber alert is out this morning for three children missing in Arizona. Police in Kingman say Marcel, Krystal and Brittany Shaffer are believed to be with their mother. Police say she was headed to Oregon. The mom, Sandra Shaffer, was denied custody of the children last year by a court in Oregon. The sheriff's office believes Shaffer is driving a green Pontiac Grand Am with the Arizona license plate 915 XBP.
We are also keeping tabs on that powerful typhoon this morning as it is racing across Japan. Right now sustained winds from typhoon Man-Yi are 100 miles per hour. At Japan's southern most islands, flights have been canceled. Train service is halted and highways closed. Thousands are being evacuated. It is not yet clear whether Tokyo will take a direct hit.
HOLMES: Not clear, but our Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on this typhoon and what it's up to. So what is it up to right about now?
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now it's weakened. It's not as intense as it was on Friday but we've had two hits so far. One in Okinawa, another near the central islands near Kyosho (ph) and really, as we put this map into motion, you'll see the satellite perspective shows the storm is traveling to the north/northeast, so it is starting to interact with Tokyo. You have to realize we're talking about very small islands that are highly populated and it's certainly built vertically just like New York City, so a lot of high rises there too. The good news is, since this is such an earthquake prone area, many of the buildings are prepared for strong gusts of wind. Right now the storm is a category two with maximum winds at 105 miles per hour.
It's not quite as organized or intense as it was on Friday, where you could really make out the eye pretty well yesterday as it came up to some of the southern islands here of Japan. And as it gets closer to Tokyo, it's likely to be downgraded to a category one, but still producing those strong wind gusts that may cause problems in terms of mudslides and flooding.
All this talk about a typhoon in Asia makes a lot of Americans wonder what is a typhoon? A typhoon is a storm system, with sustained winds of 74 miles per hour or greater. And if this sounds familiar, it is. It's just like a hurricane. It's actually the exact same thing, just a different name in a different part of the world. We've also talked about Man-Yi being a super typhoon briefly on Friday. That means winds got stronger than 150 miles per hour, so equivalent to a category four or category five hurricane. So obviously, a very powerful storm at one point, but it looks like at this point it's a category two likely to weaken to a category one, still something to keep an eye on through the weekend for Japan. We're watching the tropics here in the Atlantic and in the Gulf. So far, so good, but it's still early in the season. Suzanne, TJ?
HOLMES: We'll take the so far so good. Thanks so much, Bonnie.
Well scorpions at work. A jewelry store owner takes a new approach to store security.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: I got a question for you. Is it krunk? OK. Is it? What does it mean? How about ginormous? Do you know what that means?
HOLMES: I think I know that one. I know krunk for sure.
DE LA CRUZ: We're going to take a look at a few new words in the Merriam-Webster dictionary. We're going to tell you all about their 100 new additions next on the dot com desk.
And cardboard recycling like you've never seen it before.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: These (INAUDIBLE) are kind of tough, not much taste.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is from the cardboard made in the big pot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Talk about the mystery meat. What in the world is cooking in China? Might be a bit tough for you to swallow. Stick around. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: China is trying to show the world it cares about the quality of its exports. Just this week it executed a former top regulator who admitted to taking bribes from drug companies. At the same time, another outrageous example of food contamination has come to light. CNN's Jason Carroll reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): An undercover investigation in a Beijing neighborhood reveals yet another problem with a Chinese product. This time, dumplings called bao zi (ph). Listen as a Chinese television reporter asks the dumpling maker about his ingredients.
TRANSLATOR: These bao zi are kind of tough, not much taste.
TRANSLATOR: That is from the cardboard made in the big pot.
TRANSLATOR: This stuff, after you cook it, can they taste the difference?
TRANSLATOR: Generally, no, they can't taste it.
CARROLL: The dumpling maker admits 60 percent of the filling is made of cardboard.
TRANSLATOR: Most people can't taste the difference.
CARROLL: Once again, this brings into serious question the credibility of some Chinese products, especially their exports. Intense scrutiny began in March after hundreds of dogs and cats in the United States died from eating pet foods containing toxic ingredients traced to China. Earlier this month, Chinese seafood was found to be contaminated with unsafe antibiotics. Certain toothpaste exported from the country were also tainted with dangerous chemicals. Defective tires and toys were recalled in the United States when manufacturers discovered safety violations. The U.S. government warned Chinese officials to improve their inspection system or risk losing the United States as an export market. CARLOS GUTIERREZ, COMMERCE SECRETARY: This is a watershed moment for China. And I believe that what they do now will determine whether they continue to be a growing exporting country, a country with future growth viability or they stop their growth. But this is probably the single biggest challenge they have had to their economic growth.
CARROLL: The Chinese government has cautioned U.S. importers not to overreact and say they are working to improve their inspection system. But consumer watchdog groups say, with the growing number of problems with exports from China and other countries, government agencies like the FDA need to keep an even closer eye on what's allowed into the United States.
URVASHI RANGAN, CONSUMER REPORTS: Well, I think our government needs to step up the number of inspections that we do as well. With only testing one or 1.3 percent of all the imported products that come into this country, we're really not taking a close enough look at what's coming in in order to ensure the safety of those products for the American public.
CARROLL: The FDA says there's no evidence the dumplings were shipped to the United States so there's no need for them to take any action. Jason Carroll, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: And the tennis hall of fame is getting a new member. Pete Sampras. We'll take you live at a look at his career and achievements when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.
Now a look ahead to "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. Well coming up on "House Call," they care for you when you're at your worse. They comfort you and your family. We're talking about nurses and how violence against them is on the rise. I'll have that story.
Plus what you need to know about Chinese products. Are they any safer today?
And Dr. Germ takes on cell phones. We'll tell you what he found on all those tiny little keys to make you sick. All that's coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Healthful eating can be a struggle. Page Love (ph), a registered dietician offers some simple solutions for managing portions and feeling full.
PAGE LOVE: Fresh produce is wonderful for us, but we often know that it doesn't fill us up.
COSTELLO: Try adding some bulk to your meal. LOVE: What really provides that in a meal is a balance of getting a lean protein, a grain to your produce component. Those three things together are really are what help us feel full.
COSTELLO: Love also says fruits are a little more sugar dense than vegetables and tend to have more calories. So monitoring portion size is important.
LOVE: We're talking portion control, have fruit about a baseball sized portion or a cup is what we call a serving goal on a fruit serving.
COSTELLO: Also, don't forget to drink plenty of water. It not only hydrates you, it fills you up too. Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: If tennis is your game, but Saturday is always a good day to get out and play a little tennis. But before you head out, take a minute to honor one of the game's best. In just a few hours, Pete Sampras will be inducted into the tennis hall of fame and CNN's Larry Smith looks at the swing that made Sampras king.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Pete Sampras burst onto the world stage in 1990 when he beat Andre Agassi at the U.S. Open, just days after his 19th birthday, making him the open's youngest male singles champion ever. His clashes with Agassi became instant classics. Five times they met with a grand slam crown on the line with Sampras winning four of them.
PETE SAMPRAS: It's hard to transcend the sport of tennis and we did that. We played the finals of a few majors that really got not only tennis fans watching, but all sports fans because of what he brought, what I brought.
SMITH: Their last meeting at the final of the 2002 U.S. Open turned out to be Sampras' last professional match. His record 14th grand slam singles title ended a brilliant career in which Sampras did everything except win the French open.
SAMPRAS: I don't know if it's a regret. It's more disappointing than anything. It's just what was one of those places where I second- guessed myself. I felt I thought too much out there, wasn't reactionary like maybe grass or hard court, and it just was one of those places where I just kind of got a little worse and worse as I got a little older.
SMITH: Today Sampras spends most of his time with his wife, actress Bridget Wilson and their two young sons.
SAMPRAS: I don't think I need a challenge in life. I think, when I played, I had enough challenges to last a lifetime. And today, you know, my challenge at times is trying to get my son dressed for school. You know, that's a challenge.
SMITH: Sampras has found his way to the court again, playing in world team tennis and in November playing a series of exhibitions in Asia versus world number one Roger Federer (ph), who is closing fast on Sampras' grand slam titles record.
SAMPRAS: I think we'd all like to have our records hold forever, but records are made to be broken, and this is one that I jokingly told him, I said, let me enjoy this for a few more years instead of, whatever, seven, eight years. But if there's a player or person I'd want to see break this record, it's someone like Roger.
SMITH: Seeing the legend on the court again might lead one to speculate on a possible comeback. Well, think again.
SAMPRAS: I'm not one of these athletes that I have to win at everything. I'm not extremely competitive and I have to be in the limelight. I love kind of my life. It's pretty low key and I get to spend time with my wife and kids and do that. I'm curious how I would do, say, at Wimbledon. That's just more of a curiosity than anything. But to realistically come back, it's not going to happen.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Now, Pete Sampras after his retirement back in 2003 in New York, his big announcement I should say, it's hard to believe that already here he is going into the hall of fame. Certainly his record no question speaks for itself.
HOLMES: Thirty six and retired. I went wrong somewhere. You remember when he was dominant. Was he always the man? Was he a phenom coming up? Did he just get better and better through the years?
SMITH: A little bit of both. He was the youngest male singles champion ever at the U.S. Open. He won just a day after his 19th birthday. He beat Andre Agassi in 1990. But he says the big moment for him was in 1992 when he lost in the finals to Stephan Edberg (ph) and that was that point he said, OK, either I could be a good tennis player or I could be a great tennis player. He went on then the next eight years, he reached 13 major finals and won 12 of them during that next eight years. So certainly he was almost automatic except at the French where he never reached the final. To this day, as he just said, it's still, one thing he's disappointed that he didn't do that.
HOLMES: We see folks dominant like that, and we think, man, nobody is ever going to do that again. Now we've got another guy who appears to be on even a greater course to tackle some of those records, Roger Federer. How does he feel really about his record being taken on?
SMITH: As he said, he kind of joked, hey, I'd like to hold on to this a while longer if I could, please. But in the same time, he said if there's someone -- Roger is so humble. He's done so much for the game. He'll be 26 soon, already 11 grand slam titles. Like Sampras, has never won the French but he still has a chance of doing that. But certainly, we look at that now, unless he's injured, he's going to break Sampras' record. It seems that Pete is fine with that. He's someone that really has never gotten caught up in his own celebrity or his own awards or things like that. Very comfortable with where he is right now in life. And that's part of the attraction that we have for him.
HOLMES: And to like him. He was a good ambassador of the game, one of those good guys. Appreciate you coming up, hanging out with us.
SMITH: All right, take care.
HOLMES: Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: We've all heard of guard dogs, but what about guard scorpions? A new way to keep the merchandise safe. Well, right ahead here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
HOLMES: And just for all you wordsmiths out there, about 100 new words made it into the dictionary this year and Veronica de la Cruz will be here to give us the lowdown.
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HOLMES: OK. At what point does slang become an official word? Well, when the word police say so.
MALVEAUX: Or when we put it in there. We can make up a word. Veronica de la Cruz from the dot com desk has been checking out some of the newest additions to the English language. So tell us what you have.
DE LA CRUZ: Merriam Webster, they've approved about 100 new terms for the next collegiate edition of the dictionary. So we put together a short quiz on some of these new terms so you guys put your thinking caps on. The first one is pretty easy.
REYNOLDS: OK.
DE LA CRUZ: The word is smackdown. All right, so what do you think, Suzanne?
MALVEAUGUPTA: See here.
DE LA CRUZ: That's an easy one.
REYNOLDS: It's both of the above.
MALVEAUGUPTA: It's both of those.
DE LA CRUZ: Exactly, yes. The first two definitions are correct. The answer is both of the above. It's also, Suzanne, what you need to do just in case T.J. gets a little out of hand.
MALVEAUGUPTA: Oh, yes, I've already done that, believe me.
DE LA CRUZ: You issue the smackdown. All right, the next word is gray literature.
REYNOLDS: OK, I don't know this.
DE LA CRUZ: And no, it's not books by seniors, T.J.
REYNOLDS: I don't know this one.
DE LA CRUZ: OK. Well, Websters defines it as literature that is not readily accessible. The next one is my favorite one, nocebo.
MALVEAUGUPTA: OK.
DE LA CRUZ: You guys know?
REYNOLDS: Don't know this one either.
MALVEAUGUPTA: Probably like a placebo.
DE LA CRUZ: A harmless substance perceived to have a bad effect. And this one's for you, T.J.
REYNOLDS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Crunk.
REYNOLDS: Know that one like nobody's business.
DE LA CRUZ: Crunk.
REYNOLDS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: And is it like a new dance move? What is that?
REYNOLDS: Crunk, it's to get excited, to get it live, to get it popping in here.
DE LA CRUZ: It's a hip-hop genre of music.
REYNOLDS: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, guys. The quiz is at CNN.com. See, Suzanne knew.
REYNOLDS: All right, thank you, Veronica.
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