Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Senator Larry Craig to Announce his Resignation Today; A Healing Season for Virginia Tech; CNN Heroes
Aired September 01, 2007 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is the CNN NEWSROOM that you're in now.
It is Saturday, September the 1st, 10:00 a.m. here in Atlanta.
Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning. I'm Melissa Long, in today for Betty.
Thank you for starting your long weekend with us.
This morning we are focusing on a sex scandal and a distinguished political career. Senator Larry Craig of Idaho is announcing his resignation just over two hours from now. We have a live report coming up on the latest.
HOLMES: Also, it's the new football season at Virginia Tech, where a game means much more than friendly competition.
But we are going to start with that politician's fall from grace playing out on the public stage. Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig announcing his resignation today. Craig's June arrest in a Minneapolis airport bathroom landing him in the center of a Capitol Hill controversy.
And now we want to go live to our congressional correspondent, Dana Bash, who is live for us in Boise, Idaho.
An extraordinary and awfully quick fall from grace that we've watched this weekend, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Very much so. And really, and a quite bizarre way, T.J.
And in about two and a half hours here at the historic Boise Train Depot, that is where Senator Craig is going to announce that 27 years -- after 27 years of serving the people of Idaho in the United States Congress, he is going to resign in a way that he never, ever would have expected he would have left a political career, that he did -- where he did have, as you said, a really distinguished record of helping the people here in Idaho with some of the issues that they care most about. For example, land and water use and other issues.
That really kept him on the map and kept him re-elected over and over again by wide margins. But it was the fact that, of course, this scandal that rocked -- rocked his political world, what happened in a Minneapolis airport bathroom back in June, the fact that he pleaded guilty to disorderly conduct but then came out just four days ago and said he didn't really mean it, he was really innocent, that all left a very bad taste in the mouths of people here in Idaho, and even more so with his colleagues, Republican colleagues, on a national level. And that really is what ended his political career.
It is the reaction from Republicans, the very Republicans he served with for years in the United States Senate. They publicly and privately pushed him as hard as they possibly could to resign, because this is the kind of scandal, this is the kind of tabloid, controversy that they simply are trying to get away from, the kind of thing that hurt them in the last election.
So, it really is a stunning fall from grace. And he was pushed ironically by his very own Republican colleagues, who just want to put an end to this very soon.
HOLMES: And they have, I guess, or about to put an end to this real soon.
Do they think that they have limited the damage and this will go away?
BASH: Well, they certainly hope so. The goal in talking to Republicans back in Washington was for Senator Craig to just not come back. Of course, Congress has been on recess all August and they come back into session on Tuesday.
Now, what Senator Craig is going to announce, we understand, in just a couple of hours is that he's going to resign effective September 30th. We'll probably hear why September 30th.
Somebody -- a Republican in Washington said, well, that just sort of gives him time to wrap some things up. But it's going to be interesting to see, T.J., if he does actually come back to the Senate. Just as somebody who covers the Senate and watches senators interact, it really is a club. And this is the place where his fellow colleagues, fellow club members, if you will, made it very clear that they consider him a pariah.
I mean, look, they hold him that he was going to be the subject of an ethics investigation, he wasn't going to have any of his top slots anymore. So if he does come back, it is certainly going to -- some of the controversy will continue. At least the spectacle will for at least a little while.
HOLMES: Yes. Can't imagine him being let back in that club right now or anybody wanting to be photographed with him right now, if you will.
Dana Bash for us in Boise, Idaho.
Dana, thank you so much.
LONG: Idaho's Republican governor will choose Craig's immediate replacement. Three contenders being mentioned right now.
First, Idaho Representative Mike Simpson. The front-runner, probably Republican Lieutenant Governor James Risch. Former Idaho governor and current secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne is also considered to be in the mix.
And then on the Democratic side, former Congressman Larry LaRocco was already in the race for Craig's Senate seat. Now he says he represents the change people are looking for.
HOLMES: And please do stay right here with CNN for coverage of the senator's statement, live from Boise, Idaho. We will have that when it happens today at 12:30 Eastern Time.
Former Durham North Carolina district attorney Mike Nifong is going to jail for a day. He was sentenced on Friday for lying to a judge during the Duke lacrosse rape case. He's already been disbarred.
Nifong is scheduled to report to jail next Friday morning. He could have been sentenced to as many as 30 days.
HOLMES: A family vacation ends in tragedy. Federal aviation authorities looking into a plane crash that killed a family of six last night in southern California.
The plane was attempting to land at the Kern Valley Airport near Bakersfield. An FAA spokesman says the plane burst into flames after it crashed and that started a grass fire. The airport manager describes what she saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JELTJE NELSON, MANAGER, KERN VALLEY AIRPORT: I went in and he landed -- tried to land on (INAUDIBLE). Too high. He went around. He took off and went that way.
And I turned my back to tell him what the wind was doing. And I heard pop, pop. And that's it. And I saw smoke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Officials say the family had flown from Santa Monica for a camping trip.
LONG: In Utah, more disappointing news for the families of those six coal miners trapped for almost four weeks. Federal safety officials have indefinitely called off the search to find the men. That decision comes after a robotic camera that was dropped into the mine didn't provide any new information. The camera actually got stuck in the mud and officials left it there.
(NEWSBREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, we are going to turn to some college football now. It's kicking off, of course, this week.
Well, football and healing, usually not the two words we put together right about this time of year, but they certainly do apply right now. Virginia Tech and their football fans getting ready for the first game that they have had there since that deadly -- really the deadliest mass shooting in U.S. history.
CNN's Larry Smith here with more on this.
Good morning.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: And good morning to you.
You know, I was really impressed. Talked to a couple of orientation leaders there. They asked the freshmen, you know, any questions about the shooting last April? And they said no. They said really, it really has not dampened the spirit there in Hokie Nation.
The football team -- Virginia Tech's football team is ranked ninth in the nation. They have some realistic dreams of winning their conference championship, perhaps even the national title. But to a man, the Hokies understand their higher responsibility is one that extends beyond the football field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice over): Virginia Tech football has always been a source of school pride, but the Hokies opened this season with a different purpose -- a rallying point for a campus still healing from the April 16th tragedy when 32 people were killed in the worst school shooting in U.S. history.
BRANDON ORE, VIRGINIA TECH RUNNING BACK: Everything we are doing right now as far as our season, pretty much anything we do in football, we are doing it in memory of those people that lost their lives on 4/16.
VINCE HALL, VIRGINIA TECH LINEBACKER: People say it might be a burden on us or something like that. It is nothing like that. We look at it as, like, a chance to bring something back to the Hokie Nation in general.
DERICK STACKPOLE, VIRGINIA TECH SOPHOMORE: I think Saturday is going to be kind of a solemn day. But at the same time, you know, it's Virginia Tech football. And, you know, we live and breathe it, but I don't think we are -- I don't think we are ever going to forget that we are not going to have 32 people there cheering with us.
SMITH: A campus memorial silently honors the victims. Gone but never forgotten, their deaths have strengthened the bond within an already tight-knit community.
JENNY NAKAMURA, VIRGINIA TECH JUNIOR: The things that happened on April 16th has made our community stronger, it has made us support one another more. But I feel that it has always been like that.
FRANK BEAMER, VIRGINIA TECH HEAD COACH: I think Tech people have been waiting to get together as a -- you know, in a stadium and show how much we care about each other and how strong we are and how strong we are going to be. I mean, I think they have been waiting for that.
SEAN GLENNON, VIRGINIA TECH QUARTERBACK: People still remember it every day. There's ribbons and a memorial, and people wearing T- shirts and stickers on their car. I mean, 4/16 is everywhere around us. And so, although it is, you know, three, four months away from when it happened, I think that stadium will strongly remember what it felt like on that day.
SMITH: The unity is felt and seen everywhere. "We will prevail." "We are Virginia Tech," the strong and soothing words of renowned poet and Virginia Tech professor Nikki Giovanni have been adopted as a motto of perseverance.
O.J. BROWN, VIRGINIA TECH SENIOR: This is the first time that the university has ever best tested in a situation like that. So, to really come back for the students and to have the chance to respond to something like this, you know, we can kind of see what the school is really all about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Yes, tragedy on a beautiful campus there, tucked right against the Blue Ridge Mountains in Virginia.
Game time is noon Eastern today. And by the way, they will release 32 orange balloons in the air to symbolize the 32 victims.
How classy is the student body of Virginia Tech? Well, they will cheer visiting teams this season as a gesture of thanks to the many campuses who came to their aid in the time of need.
HOLMES: That's such a neat part of this story to hear.
SMITH: Yes.
LONG: You have so much unity with the students, the staff, the faculty on the campus, but you also have unity and generosity from the competing teams as well.
SMITH: I was going to say, East Carolina is the opponent. I mean, they're, you know, not favored in this game. They are expected to lose. But they are donating $100,000 to the memorial fund.
Watching today some other signs as well there at the campus. One fan had a huge banner. It was saying "Thank you" with different logos of all different schools who pitched in at that time. It was really an effort.
Everyone coming in and just -- as we all remember, how heartbreaking it was to watch from afar, to be there and see the memorial, and even as a parent and as an American, it was really difficult to see that.
LONG: A really important game today though.
SMITH: It sure is. Yes.
HOLMES: Larry Smith, thank you so much.
SMITH: OK.
HOLMES: Thank you so much this morning.
LONG: Coming up, a story of a disabled Vietnam vet on a mission using martial arts to make a difference in the lives of injured soldiers.
He is our CNN Hero and we have his story coming up.
HOLMES: Also, take a look at this. Look at that.
LONG: Do you want to kiss the little thing?
HOLMES: Cute enough to be a pet. Rare enough to be endangered.
We will explain why I was gaga and goo goo over this cat coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Ordinary people doing extraordinary things. Meet a CNN Hero this morning.
A wounded veteran who knows what it is like to start over after serving his country, now he's helping injured servicemen and women get their lives back on track.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How did this start?
BOB KUNKEL, COMMUNITY CRUSADER: The newly injured had no idea how dramatic their lives have been impacted. And I have experience in that area. And I knew I had to do something.
I was with the 9th Infantry Division. My knee joint was blown out. So they took the bottom part and welded it to the top. I did not cope well. You name the self-destructive behavior, I did it, times 10. Now I view all that experiences as training for what I'm doing now.
My name is Bob Kunkel. I have the privilege and honor of being allowed to interact with the new injured at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. I function as a friend. I teach jujitsu, so that an injured person can become empowered in protecting themselves.
He went that way, so you step here.
There's a connection. They've been in combat, I've been in combat.
You're laughing, they know.
My purpose is to steer someone to make better choices in life.
If you're injured, you're still the same person.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: For me, I feel fortunate to have met somebody like Bob. You know, someone that can kind of understand the disability, but that can also teach me a skill that I can pass on to other people.
KUNKEL: I've taken soldiers out for coffee, out for a drive, and dinner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How are you?
KUNKEL: And you can just see how people relaxing. It's my way of showing my true appreciation for their sacrifice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Bob travels once a month from Buffalo to D.C. to help his fellow vets, and he does it all on his own dime.
If you would like to learn more about Bob Kunkel or his program, please go to cnn.com/heroes. You can also nominate a hero of your own.
You've only got until September 30th, however, to get your nominations in. Selected winners will be honored during a special live global broadcast on December 6th hosted by our very own Anderson Cooper.
LONG: A day at the doctor for the San Diego Zoo's new baby panda. I want you to take a look.
He's precious, huh?
The zoo's panda handlers still don't know if it's a little guy or a little girl. The puny panda is just 29 days old now.
And of course you can check in on the panda on your own. Just go to the San Diego Zoo's Web page and find the panda cam.
I did that this morning. They are fast asleep.
It is the world's rarest species of big cat. And this one is fairly new.
Precious, huh?
The zoo in Jackson, Mississippi, is welcoming this 6-week-old female, a leopard. The first surviving kitten for two leopards at the Jackson Zoo since 2004. It was Thursday that zoo visitors had the first opportunity to get a look at the rare baby cat. And that's why you were goo goo and gaga-ing.
HOLMES: Yes. You've got to do that when -- you can't do the story without doing all that stuff.
LONG: Well, you can do that. I just -- I was fascinated by that cat. I'm a cat lover.
Well, so are you.
HOLMES: Yes. I'm a cat lover as well. And that's why I was doing that earlier.
All right.
Well, we've got to go back to this other story that just is not going away. But it looks like it is about to conclude today, the senator and the bathroom bust.
LONG: And all the fallout, of course.
Who wants Idaho's Larry Craig out and why?
HOLMES: Plus, we're going to be talking about Katrina's terrible toll, the difficult recovery two years after that storm.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: My nephew told me that my house was gone. "You have got to be kidding? I have not received any notification from anybody." And he said, "Auntie (ph), it is not there."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: What the storm didn't wash away the city is tearing down.
That story straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(NEWSBREAK)
And we're just about two hours away now from a news conference in Boise, Idaho. Republican Senator Larry Craig is expected to announce his resignation.
Craig is accused of trying to solicit an undercover police officer in an airport men's room in Minneapolis back in June. Craig says he's done nothing wrong.
Now, Craig's decision to step down may have been heavily influenced by a lack of support among his own Republican colleagues.
CNN's Carol Costello reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: ... Senator Craig to resign.
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: He should resign.
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Calls for Senator Larry Craig to resign are deafening. But now, days after the scandal broke, there is a voice wondering if there has been a rush to judgment. And it's the voice of Tom DeLay, who himself resigned from Congress after being accused of violating campaign finance rules.
TOM DELAY (R), FORMER CONGRESSMAN: It's really unfortunate that people rush to judgment like they have. And I'm not defending Larry Craig. I have great sympathy for what his wife and his family is going through right now. But the decisions that Larry Craig need to make are up to Larry Craig and his constituents in Idaho.
CRAIG: Viciously harassed.
COSTELLO: Craig insists there's a media witch-hunt to get him.
And on that point DeLay agrees, as he told "The Today Show" on NBC.
DELAY: The double standard in the media is amazing. The feeding frenzy, the sharks in the water that's going on right now because of a Republican.
COSTELLO: Delay launched into the media, accusing it of not shining a light on the peccadilloes of Democrats like Congressman Barney Frank. In 1989, he admitted to a sexual relationship with a male prostitute.
REP. BARNEY FRANK (D), MASSACHUSETTS: I'm not going to resign because I think resignation is acknowledgment of a very, very serious breach of duty and I don't believe that the stupidity I showed in hiring a prostitute and reacting as I did to the pressures that I didn't handle well reaches that level.
COSTELLO: Frank received a reprimand for the House Ethics Committee. But one of its members voted for the more serious punishment of censure, then House member Larry Craig.
Conservatives insist that President Clinton's conduct in the midst of the Lewinsky scandal was no more credible than Craig's today.
BILL CLINTON, FORMER PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I did not have sexual relations with that woman.
CRAIG: I am not gay.
COSTELLO: The difference?
Democrats did not desert Clinton, who was also determined to fight for his job. JONATHAN HARRIS, POLITICO.COM: Bill Clinton said I don't care a wit about the conventional wisdom. I don't care what anyone says. I am going to fight and save my career.
COSTELLO: So why is Senator Craig more vulnerable than other politicians caught up in sex scandals?
HARRIS: This is harder for a Republican politician to withstand because Republicans -- their coalition includes a lot of social conservatives, who are genuinely offended by homosexual conduct.
Carol Costello, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And Senator Larry Craig said he wanted this whole thing to just go away. But that story in Washington's "Roll Call" made that impossible.
And joining us now on the phone is John McArdle, the writer of the "Roll Call" article.
Mr. McArdle, sir, thank you for being with us.
Tell me when you were writing this story, did you imagine that we would end up where we are today and that Senator Craig would be about to step down?
JOHN MCARDLE, "ROLL CALL": No. It's been a pretty a wild week so far. I mean, even on -- on Tuesday we were talking about, you know, how much is this going to affect his re-election plans for 2008, for next year. And, you know, here we are, by the end of the week and you have party members calling for his resignation. And here we are, expected in two hours, it's going to come.
HOLMES: Now, why didn't you think -- I mean given how things are and the scandals in the past and scandals related to the homosexuality, even, with lawmakers, given all of that, you still didn't think that this story was going to blow up and be what it has become?
MCARDLE: No. I mean we knew -- we knew it was a big story when it came through at the time. I remember, you know, when the police report fist came through on our -- on the fax machine. We had to read it five or six times to figure out, you know, because we didn't quite believe it ourselves and we were watching it.
But I mean I guess it's just -- things have developed very quickly this week and maybe it's because Congress kind of wants to deal with this before they get back in session next week and, you know, kind of want to cut this off and move ahead next week.
HOLMES: Now, of course, as reporters, it's our job to get the story and to get the facts out. But at the same time, a story that you have written, a story put out there by "Roll Call," has ended up leading to the demise and the downfall -- the fall from grace for a man who a lot of people say has done a lot for his state and has a long history of service.
Does any of that creep into your mind as a reporter here, that, you know, you put something out there that ended up leading to this fall from grace from a guy -- as guilty as he may be of any wrongdoing -- but does some of that kind of pull at you just as a human being, that what you -- what you did led to this man's fall from grace?
MCARDLE: Yes. I mean there's been a lot of that thought this week. But like you said, our job is to report the facts. And, you know, the police report was out there and it was hanging out there for two-and-a-half months, you know?
We just happened to be the folks who found it and put it out there first.
You know, I had said it before, you know, I can't imagine being Larry Craig and -- when the incident happened two-and-a-half months ago, you know, wondering when it would drop or, you know, if somebody was going to pick it up. And, you know, I can't imagine him waking up every day sort of thinking about it or if he did. And, you know, I don't want to speak for him and I'm not in his mind. I haven't talked to him personally about it.
HOLMES: Yes. And the tapes, as well, that came out, that we've been seeing on the air the past few days, now, I'm sure you've heard those by now. But the tapes of the exchange between Craig and the police officer who had busted him, were you surprised to hear some of that stuff and to hear that he was still defending himself?
I mean he was defending himself and saying that it didn't happen the way the officer said.
What did you think about those tapes?
MCARDLE: You know, again, the tape was interesting to listen to. But I -- the only thing I know from what was going through Larry Craig's mind at the time is what he said back in his news conference on Tuesday night, was, you know, he said he was pleading guilty. He knows now, he said he overreacted. He said he was stressed out because some of the police reports -- or these, I'm sorry -- some of the news reports in his hometown newspaper.
It's, you know, you can -- I can't imagine the different things that were going through his mind as he was going through this. But it was a -- it was a surprising -- I felt toward the end of conversation, it almost got -- they got a little heated back and forth, which was surprising to me.
HOLMES: Yes.
All right, well, the article that started it all was in "Roll Call".
John McArdle the reporter on this story.
Like you said, you couldn't imagine it would have led to this, but it sure did. It's been a heck of a week. I know it's been a heck of a week for you. We appreciate you giving us some time this morning.
Mr. McArdle, thank you.
MCARDLE: Thanks, T.J.
LONG: Now, Congress will be back in session, of course, on Tuesday. So many people enjoy that long weekend, of course, for Labor Day.
HOLMES: And, yes, and we are laboring here this weekend.
LONG: We are laboring. Others, perhaps, are sitting on the Lazy Boy.
HOLMES: Yes. Or the beach, even.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Exactly. This is not one of the weekends where you want to be cutting grass. You want to be taking it easy. And we'll be watching college football or grilling out or eating or doing both at the same time.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: Yes.
HOLMES: All that stuff.
WOLF: Preferably.
LONG: It's been -- you brought the conversation back to football every time we've spoken with you.
WOLF: Is it obvious where my mind is?
LONG: Yes.
WOLF: There's no doubt. It's a special time of year.
HOLMES: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: So, two years here now after Katrina. Hundreds of storm- damaged homes are set for demolition in New Orleans. The problem here -- many of the owners don't it. And some who do, don't want their houses torn down.
CNN's Anderson Cooper reports time and the system are not on their side.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN ANCHOR (voice-over): IdaBelle Joshua spent most of her 79 years living in this house in New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward.
IDABELLE JOSHUA, LOST HER HOME: I had three kids here. It meant my life.
COOPER: After Hurricane Katrina flooded her home, IdaBelle says she spent more than $5,000 on repair work, and then went to city hall to make sure her home wasn't on the demolition list. She says two city employees assured her it wasn't. Two days later, however, she got a disturbing call.
JOSHUA: My nephew told me that my house was gone.
I said, "You've got to be kidding? I have not received any notification from anybody."
And he said, "Auntie, it is not there."
COOPER: Today, a concrete slab is all that's left. Idabelle has joined others who say their homes were demolished in a class action suit against the city.
KAREN GADBOIS, COMMUNITY ACTIVIST: These are all on the list.
COOPER: Community activist Karen Gadbois spends her days photographing many of the 1,700 homes on the city's imminent health threat list, and she tries to notify their owners.
GADBOIS: Our first pass-bys of these properties, we were truly -- we were shocked.
COOPER: Karen says the list includes many homes with little damage. She also says that the notification process is ineffective. Basically, the city posts the addresses in the local paper, online and mails a notice that the house will be torn down in 30 days. But many people have moved and, because the mail isn't certified, they never receive it.
GADBOIS: I'm just looking for these people and trying to help them navigate this system, which is an injust system.
COOPER: The city attorney, however, insists the system does work.
PENYA MOSES FIELDS, NEW ORLEANS CITY ATTORNEY: Homeowners do have a responsibility to understand the law. We're two years after the storm, and it's a public health risk that's at stake. And so they need to immediately take action.
COOPER: But even those taking steps to rebuild say getting their property off the list is nearly impossible.
Terry Dicarlo has been fighting to save her 92-year-old mother's historic home.
TERRY DICARLO, TRYING TO SAVE HOME: It's beyond frustrating. It's heartbreaking. It's like going through a maze and you don't know which way to go. There's something very sinister going on here.
COOPER: There could be motivation to speed up the process. STACY HEAD, NEW ORLEANS CITY COUNCIL: FEMA will stop picking up for the Corps of Engineer's work to demolish houses in September. And so, yes, the city wants to get all of the properties that need to be demolished, demolished right now.
COOPER: The city attorney denied the FEMA deadline is a factor and insists changes have been made to improve the process, including a revetting of the entire list and written confirmation of the status of a house.
But for Idabelle Joshua, it is far too late.
JOSHUA: It was home to us and we were very proud. And as a senior citizen, I'm struggling and starting all over again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, dump your SUV. Help the environment.
LONG: Well, drivers are slamming the brakes on that idea. Ahead, the top 10 reasons people don't want to give up their SUV.
And also from the Dot-Com Desk.
JOSHUA LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, guys.
Yes, you know, four winning tickets that major lottery yesterday. And we know T.J. didn't get one of them because he's here today, by what he was saying he'd do if he won. But here's the deal. We hope that everyone who has won is watching CNN because coming up from the Dot-Com Desk, we have got some information for you and also for everyone who has ever wanted to win a lottery. So, basically, for everyone.
That's coming upright here at the Dot-Com Desk and here at CNN.
And I think back to you guys -- T.J., Melissa.
HOLMES: You think?
Thank you, Josh.
Thanks for looking at the rundown, Josh.
Yes.
You're tossing it back to us.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, we're going to be talking about this, as well. Diamonds on the mind. This diamond skull fetched a ton of cash, teeth and all, taking a big bite out of somebody's bank account.
Stick around.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ERIK TORKELLS, EDITOR, "BUDGET TRAVEL": The U.S. Department of Commerce says that 8 percent of outbound travelers are adults with kids.
But what's the right age for children to start traveling internationally?
Although it depends on your kids, experts generally agree that there's not much point in taking children under the age of three abroad. They're just not going to get much out of the experience and you'll end up with more hassle than you'd like. And if it's a big ticket, once in a lifetime trip, you're better off waiting until the child is 10 or so.
Also, to make sure kids find a trip engaging, get them involved in the planning. They'll be less likely to complain about an activity if they help choose it. This will mean making some compromises, as most kids prefer excitement and action to beautiful views and art museums. The fact that other countries have their own cultures won't mean that much to kids who have yet to learn about their own culture. Still, as soon as you think your kids will be ready, go for it. There's nothing like broadening a child's horizons as early as possible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Just about everybody out there says that they'd like to win the lottery and, well, we mostly mean it when we say it.
LONG: A lot of people make lists of what would you do.
HOLMES: Yes.
LONG: But what should you do?
Josh Levs of the Dot-Com Desk has been looking into that for us.
LEVS: Yes, and people get that wrong. People get that wrong all the time, what to actually do when you win that money.
LONG: Pay off debt first, right?
LEVS: Well, pay off debt. And you know all these horror stories, of course, about people who manage to lose money, you know?
HOLMES: Oh, yes.
LEVS: And it's not always just the lottery. Mike Tyson lost hundreds of millions.
But, anyway, here's the deal. We want to tell you about some information you can get off of Dot-Com if you're one of the winners -- one of the lucky winners out there, because no one knows who they are yet.
Let's start off with this story that talks you through what to do if you win the lottery. Now, this was originally written several years ago, just around 2001.
Do we have this here?
No. And if we don't, that's OK. But it was -- there we go.
What to do if you win. It was originally written several years ago. But we went through all the facts this morning. They still apply. It talks you through the breakdown of what to do with your dollars -- take the lump sum, where to put the money, very helpful.
Now, let's take a look at this. We have a story on CNN.money about a guy who took the lump sum instead of a giant jackpot and now he's investing it and trying to turn about $80 million into $1 billion. We here are showing you exactly where he put every dollar. This is from "Fortune" and CNN.money. It's interesting and it gives you that whole breakdown.
All right, and one more thing we want to show you here. Remember, one ticket doesn't mean one person. It could be 100 people in there. How to protect yourself in a lottery pool. Our editorial assistant, Yves (ph), spotted this this morning. It's from Lotterypost.com.
Keep this in mind. Sometimes you're in a pool, somebody comes along and says you know what?
I was supposed to be part of the pool. I should really get a part of that money. There have been lawsuits about this. That story will show you how to protect yourself. So take a look at CNN.com and Lotterypost.com.
Just a few seconds left. I want to tell you all, obviously, today we're following closely the story of Senator Craig. And we are looking for your responses as they come in today after his announcement, your I-Reports, your respects. Write to us at weekends@CNN.com. I'm going to stick around throughout the afternoon and we're going to keep popping in and sharing...
LONG: All afternoon?
All weekend.
LEVS: Yes, we'll be around for a while. Yes. And we're going to share with all of you some responses that we get from people across America to what Senator Craig has to say. That's today at the Dot-Com Desk, weekends@CNN.com.
HOLMES: I'm sure you will get a lot of them.
LEVS: Yes, we will.
HOLMES: Thank you so much, friend.
LONG: Thank you.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: And, again, we're talking about the lottery. We'll give you the numbers one more time -- 8, 18, 22, 40, 44 and the Mega Ball number is 11. Good luck to you all out there.
And, again, we're going to be talking about this diamond encrusted skull. We told you about this one a while back and now somebody has bought the thing. Right after this, we'll tell you how many millions -- yes, millions -- that somebody paid for it.
LONG: And I guess it's premature for Halloween. Very creepy. Before you reach for the insecticide, though, wait until you hear what these spiders have trapped inside this massive web.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Good morning.
Would you give up your ride because a politician says you should?
Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards suggests that SUV owners should give them up -- drive more energy efficient vehicles.
CNN's Jeannie Moos doesn't get too far test-driving this proposal.
JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Here's a shocker, not a single SUV driver we asked said yes to this.
(on camera): John Edwards wants people with SUVs to give them up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I don't think so.
MOOS: No?
(voice-over): So In light of Senator Edwards' suggestion that Americans sacrifice, we've compiled the top ten excuses for not giving up your SUV.
Excuse number ten, SUV what?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sacrifice?
I can't. I love my SUV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I can't give it up, I'm sorry. I love it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I love sitting up high, you know what I mean?
I love the space and the ride is smooth.
MOOS: Riding is a lot smoother than darting out in traffic.
(on camera): May I? (voice-over): Trying to squeeze in interviews.
(on camera): Can I ask a question?
Oh...
(voice-over): Before the light changes.
(on camera): I -- I'm sorry to scare you.
(voice-over): Excuse number nine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I put stuff from Home Depot in the car.
MOOS: Excuse number eight, blame the kids.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm going to keep it because it carries my nine kids.
MOOS: Number seven, blame the kids and the pets.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've got three kids. I've got a dog and three cats.
MOOS: Excuse number six, blame John Edwards.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Maybe he should give his up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Has he given up his?
MOOS: Actually, Edwards drives a hybrid SUV, though the family keeps other less energy-efficient vehicles to occasionally haul things. Energy issues can dog candidates. Mitt Romney launched his campaign in front of an American car...
MITT ROMNEY: Here's the Ford Hybrid over here.
MOOS: ...to make a point about conservation and buying American. But when "The Boston Herald" went to the parking lot at Romney's campaign headquarters, the paper said it could be mistaken for a foreign car dealership, with all of those Mitt Romney bumper stickers on BMWs and Lexuses.
Excuse number five...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It isn't mine. It belongs to the company.
MOOS: Oh, we're very familiar with that excuse. News crews love SUVs.
Number four?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I guess it's my money.
MOOS: Excuse number three, who needs an excuse? UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I like it. MOOS: All this reminds us of the two Connecticut women who got so annoyed at SUVs that they penned this song.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALES: Ninety-pound suburban housewife driving in her SUV.
MOOS: The number two excuse...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't think it's his right to tell us what to do.
MOOS: And the number one excuse for not giving up your SUV?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a rental.
MOOS: This guy doesn't own a car and says why stop at sacrificing just SUVs?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Anybody that drives a gasoline vehicle should give up the gasoline vehicle.
MOOS (on camera): Whoa, never mind.
nothing like SUVs, obviously.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LONG: Boy, does she get in some possible trouble by interviewing so many people on the streets of New York.
HOLMES: And it's kind of dangerous for her out there, Jeanne Moos.
LONG: Especially with those ferocious dogs.
HOLMES: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Well, stay here. We've got something else that's just plain mean. Look at this closely -- surveillance video captures to young men destroying a giant sand castle. Next hour, this act is just malicious. It's damaging the hopes of some very sick kids.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Checking the stories around the Water Cooler right now, and we're not talking about the World Wide Web. We're talking about a web though, an enormous web. Creepy video to share with you out of Texas this morning.
We've got to roll that story and then you'll be able to see what is called a web of intrigue. Spider experts are kind of puzzled over this massive web. It's blanketing a tree in Wills Point. It's just north of Dallas.
HOLMES: Yes, visitors say there are so many mosquitoes and other things, bugs, trapped in there that you can actually hear them squealing and struggling...
LONG: Oh. Oh, oh, that's bad.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE).
LONG: This is a story we've covered before. A work by avant garde British artist Damian Hurst (ph) -- a real human skull encrusted with diamonds. Ooh.
HOLMES: Yes, a group of investors wanted it pretty bad. They spent $100 million for the 8,601 diamonds in this thing. It's topped off with 52-karat pink diamond in the middle of the forehead.
Well, it is (INAUDIBLE) and that time, as always, that time of the week where we check in with "AMERICAN MORNING'S" Kiran Chetry to find out what was happening last week -- of course, there was some breaking news actually, last week -- and also to find out what's coming up next week on "AMERICAN MORNING" -- hello there.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, T.J.
It's good to see you.
Yes, it certainly was a busy week. We started with Attorney General Al Gonzales' decision to step down. Also on Thursday, the revealing report on the Virginia Tech shootings and how students might still be alive if it weren't for some mistakes and missed warning signs by the school's administrators and teachers.
We also spoke with Virginia's governor four months later. They are clearly still learning their lessons.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. TIM KAINE (D), VIRGINIA: With respect to the notification, there was not a notice sent out to the campus community for nearly two hours. The report points out that that was a clear error, that the protocol for making a decision about how a notice would be sent out was too cumbersome. And under normal circumstances, it might have been fine. But under an urgent circumstance, it took too long.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHETRY: And it's certainly going to be a topic of conversation for a lot of parents and their college-aged children, what their school is doing to keep them safe, as they get ready to head back to school -- T.J.
HOLMES: You know, it is back to school time for a lot of folks. And we've got some other stuff coming up next week school-related, I guess.
CHETRY: Yes, that's right.
We're going to take you inside of an extraordinary controversy that's happening right here in New York over a school that's paid for with your tax dollars that will teach Arabic to every student.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP FROM CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The people who are so against this school, who, for me, seem more like the terrorists by terrorizing the community and making us feel that it's unsafe for our children to be there. They're the ones who are terrorizing us. Not the school, not the principal and not the administration.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.voxant.com
