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CNN Saturday Morning News
Heavy Winds Expected for East Coast; Indonesian Volcano Erupting
Aired November 03, 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: Hello, everybody. Just noticed I had mine.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: You're an employee. I think we know that.
HOLMES: I just want people need to know sometimes. I'm TJ Holmes, as my ID says and this is the CNN center. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for November 3rd. Hello to you all.
NGUYEN: Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for starting your day with us. Take a look at this picture. Do you recognize that little girl? This is the composite sketch of the baby girl that they're calling baby Grace. There's a look at her face right there. Her remains were found in a box this morning. Police are still pleading for your help in identifying her.
HOLMES: Also an adoption scandal with a terrible twist. Are these orphans? Not really orphans. The kids actually kidnapped according to police, kidnaps from their own families. This morning we're learning they may never see their real parents again.
NGUYEN: And happening right now, one of the most dangerous and difficult spacewalk repairs ever attempted. Look at this live picture right here. We are going to be bringing you live coverage in fact all morning long. You want to keep it here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
But just in to us right now, one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes began erupting today. Seismic readings showed that Kelud was erupting and said that a leading scientist with Indonesia's volcano center has been watching this. Now, the mountain was put on high alert several weeks ago and tens of thousands of people have been forced to evacuate. Of course, we're getting information and as soon as we get more on this, we'll bring it straight to you.
HOLMES: We're going to turn now to some extreme weather. We are watching several potentially disastrous issues going on around the country, around the world. Noel heading up the east coast right now, coastal areas getting ready for heavy winds. New England, it's not just the wind but the rain, Massachusetts and Maine expected to get some major downpours. Also on the west coast, on the lookout for return of the Santa Ana winds. Those strong winds whipped up the deadly wildfires in California. Forecasters say more of that hot, dry wind is likely to move through this weekend. And things are just desperate for the people of southern Mexico right now. Extreme flooding has forced hundreds of thousands of people from their homes. Some are still stranded on rooftops.
NGUYEN: Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf joins us now live in the hurricane headquarters. I know you've been watching this very closely. What do you have for us this morning?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: We've got a full plate for you in terms of weather stories. Let's start off with Noel. Noel at this point is no longer a hurricane. It's what we refer to as an extra tropical storm (INAUDIBLE) hurricane or a tropical storm. This one actually is going to have a cold core center, losing some of its tropical characteristics. The last update we have from the National Hurricane Center was actually at 2:00 a.m. and they're not going to issue anything else. The path of this area of low pressure is going to continue to drift its way farther to the north, just east of New York and Boston.
But what it will bring to those shores, especially places like the Jersey coast, heavy, heavy rainfall, some incredible surf and at the same time, you're going to have some beach erosion up and down much of the coast. So that is one thing you certainly want to watch out for. I would fully expect delays today in Boston and New York.
Now we go from where you have plenty of water to places where is you have very little. We're talking about parts of the southeast as well as the southwest. In the southeast, you know we've had a drought here in Georgia, in Alabama, parts of Tennessee and even into the Carolinas. Today, not much of a change, very dry conditions, also a big fire danger in parts of the southeast. We've been talking about the drought. We've got some video for you that's been showing some of the issues we've had here in the Atlanta area. Dry as can be. Parched is really putting it lightly.
And then when we talk about dry conditions, we still have them out on the west coast where it's typical in parts of the west coast and the dry conditions. But when you have those Santa Anas really begin to develop, the strong winds in the southwest and very warm conditions, all things considered for LA and even into San Diego, temperatures mainly into the 80s, you're going to have more threats for those wildfires. So, certainly we've got a lot to watch today, a lot to cover, and for the very latest, make sure you stay tuned right here to CNN. Let's send it back to you at the news desk.
NGUYEN: We're not going anywhere. We'll be watching. Thank you Reynolds.
WOLF: Stay put.
NGUYEN: Want to show you now some remarkable pictures of what once was hurricane Noel coming in from our I-reporters. I want you to take a listen to this as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VIDEO BY WILLIAM BERNSTEIN, NAGS HEAD, NC: You're looking at more beach erosion. You can see -- whoa. Oh, my goodness. I just got -- I almost got swept away by the surf. (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Surges of power there. That's William Bernstein in Nags Head, North Carolina. This happened yesterday. He does weather shows on the Internet and came to the island to cover the wind and beach erosion which he got a really good dose of it there. He says highway 12 was pretty much covered with sand when he was there.
HOLMES: Also, here are some photos from I-reporter Marcia Erickson. She's from St. Paul, Minnesota. She took these pictures (INAUDIBLE) a couple of days ago in southern Haiti. You can see roof tops in some of these pictures just visible above the water, but you see some of the other areas, people there just been devastated by a lot of this rain and floodwaters. If you like to track tropical storm Noel or view I-reports, you can logon to cnn.com's hurricane headquarters. The address is cnn.com/hurricanes.
NGUYEN: All right. Just picture this, young children, babies, taken away in an alleged adoption plot, but these are not orphans. They actually have families.
HOLMES: This morning, a group of charity workers and journalists in court facing kidnapping charges. Now, what's so disturbing is word that some of the kids may never get back home to their parents. Senior international correspondent Nic Robertson has been covering this story from the beginning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NIC ROBERTSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Chinese authorities have now transferred the French aid group, the French journalists and the Spanish aircrew to the capital in N'Djamena. They have now passed from the jurisdiction of the regional courts in the eastern town of (INAUDIBLE) to the supreme court here in the capital in N'Djamena. The president of Chad has expressed his hope that perhaps the Spanish aircrew and the French journalists may be released soon. Chadian officials say that now they're going to follow the legal process under the guidance of a supreme court. But for the aid workers who are now left with a very, very tough job of trying to get those children back to their homes and back to their families, they say for some of the children, sadly, they may never be able to get them back to their homes.
One particular child gives them the most concern. That is a one- year-old baby girl. She has no brothers and sisters in the group of 103 children and the aid workers say they have no real way of knowing who she is or where she came from. What the aid workers are doing at the moment is photographing all the children, talking to them, building dossiers about their background, asking them if they can remember who they are, where they're from, who their parents might have been. The aid officials will then take this information out to the villages where they believe the children came from, pass it among the tribal leaders there, among the village elders and among the families, hoping that they will then get some leads that may establish the links between these children and their families and finally get those children back home. But at the moment, aid workers are very concerned if they can't get accurate information about where the children came from and the younger the children, the more problematic and this baby girl is giving them the biggest worry. If they can't get that information, then perhaps some of those children may just never be reunited with their families. Nic Robertson, CNN, in N'Djamena, Chad.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And we actually do have our Nic Robertson on the phone with us now. Nic, that's tough words to hear there in that report that possibly some of these kids never get reunited with their real parents. I know you've been following this story. This story is changing often. So, what is the late that we do have now on this crisis?
ROBERTSON: Well, TJ, the very latest is that the defendants, the people who have been arrested, the aircrew, the people from the (INAUDIBLE) guard, have just appeared in court here in the past couple of hours, just quite literally two minutes ago saw the head of the (INAUDIBLE) guards come out of the main courtroom, go to the bathroom, go back again. He was absolutely silent.
But a little earlier, one of the Spanish air hostess came out to use the bathroom as well. She was asked by a journalist, how is the situation, was it going well? She hook her head and then after that said you have to do something for us. Oh God, we're in totally inhumane conditions. We're in a very bad situation, she said. She was also asked if the Spanish consular officials here were doing anything to help. She said, no, they're not doing enough to help. From what we've heard from at least the Spanish aircrew, the female aircrew involved in this case, that they feel that they're not getting enough help, that their situation is desperate and they're appealing to journalists outside of the courtroom today in N'Djamena, the capital of Chad appealing for help, TJ.
HOLMES: And they are still, again, maintaining that they were just trying to do right by these children, even though they admit they might have been breaking some rules. They were still trying to get the children help and this was not some kidnapping plot and adoption plot.
ROBERTSON: That's what the members of the (INAUDIBLE) team have been saying. It is clear (INAUDIBLE) that the leader of that organization today, as we saw him outside the courtroom, it is clear that he is under huge pressure, that he realizes that he is in a tremendously difficult situation, perhaps facing a long prison term here. However, the aircrew, the president of Chad has said that perhaps the air stewardesses should be released soon. Nevertheless, after an hour and a half in the courtroom today and listening to the proceedings against them, they said that they were in a very bad situation. And the air stewardesses it appears perhaps of all the people involved, along with the handful of French journalists, perhaps completely unaware of what they were getting into, of what was being expected of them and the laws that they were breaking. But certainly, for the (INAUDIBLE) members they're fully aware of what they were doing and they haven't changed their story, that they're innocent in all of this, TJ.
HOLMES: All right, senior international correspondent Nic Robertson on the line for us. Nic, thank you so much.
NGUYEN: All right. So, how in the world are caseworkers going to reunite these children with their parents? Let's find out now by joining us on the phone from London is Leila Blacking with the International Committee of the Red Cross. We want to thank you for being with us. I guess the first question I want to ask you is most of these children say yes, indeed, they do have families. So, how do you go about finding those families, especially in a war zone?
LEILA BLACKING, ICRC SPOKESWOMAN: Well, as you say, when it's a war zone -- I mean, Chad has 120,000 people displaced internally due to those problems, plus all the people arriving from Sudan. They were in Sudan. So when people displaced, very often there's confusion. They lose all their references to the things they know, to the places they know and you're also dealing with young children who might not even remember names of people, names of where they were. So you try, as your correspondent was mentioning, using photographs, going back to anything they remember, trying to work out what language they speak, maybe going to a community, to other people who might help. Now, in this case, because the case is a little bit more high profile, obviously we're hoping that, you know, people may -- other people may come forward with more information that would help us. But there is no doubt that this is a very difficult issue. You also have to verify, you know, whether people claiming that these are their children or whether there's a true claim.
NGUYEN: Right.
BLACING: BUT this is absolutely our priority right now is to find the families or the extended families of as many of these children as possible.
NGUYEN: Well, you have a very tough job on your hands because these children range in age from, what, one to 10 years old?
BLACKING: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: So, some of them are too young to tell you their names let alone their family information. So, what do you do then?
BLACKING: Well, this happens, very unfortunately, in many countries at war. I, myself, was in Liberia, and it was absolutely heartbreaking to see children where sometimes we simply could not find the people. We could not find anyone. And then you work with the authorities because they at the end of the day, the authorities in the country are at the end of the day the people responsible to help you look for what we would call durable solutions. And then that is when you start discussing when all other attempts have failed to find relatives, you start discussing the possibility of adoptions and so on. But what I would say, that in general, especially for countries in conflict, as the international Red Cross tracing them (INAUDIBLE) worldwide, we would always recommend that the best place for a child is with the family or the extended family. NGUYEN: Right.
BLACKING: And that adoption, especially out of the country, is really one of the very last options when all other efforts to reunite the child with his family have failed.
NGUYEN: All right. Leila Blacking with the International Committee of the Red Cross and we do appreciate your time. Also want to let our viewers know that in our 10:00 a.m. Eastern hour, we're going to be speaking with an official to talk to us about adoption, especially international adoptions, and what you can do to make sure that the children really are orphans and just to be safe in doing that adoption, so that's all legitimate and you do have a child that you really want in your family and it's a child that doesn't have a family of its own. So, stay tuned for that.
HOLMES: A rally now in support of a woman who was allegedly kidnapped and tortured.
NGUYEN: They say it was a hate crime, and now they want justice. We're going to have that just minutes away. Also, take a look at this. Do you recognize this little girl? Police call her baby Grace and they say her body washed ashore in Texas. Now, they need your help.
HOLMES: Also, to space now and live pictures where a risky spacewalk is happening right now. You're seeing a live picture of it taking place. You see one of the astronauts there on the bottom right of the screen. Our Miles O'Brien is going to be along to explain this mission to us and tell us what's making it so dangerous.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: The astronaut love triangle case, well, it is changing shape. A Florida judge has thrown out some of the key evidence against former astronaut Lisa Nowak. Remember, she was accused of driving halfway across the country in diapers to confront her romantic rival. But a judge now says police overstepped their bounds. The judge tossed out Nowak's initial statement and some of the evidence police say they found in her car. That includes those diapers. Well, let's stay on the topic of space, shall we?
HOLMES: Without the diapers.
NGUYEN: Minus the diapers. A risky operation, though, is under way in outer space. Look at this video. At this hour, an astronaut is trying to fix the international space station.
HOLMES: This is the fourth spacewalk of this mission, but it is certainly the most dangerous one. CNN space correspondent Miles O'Brien joins us now to walk us through this spacewalk. He's in New York. Help us was this one. This is some complicated stuff they're trying to accomplish up there.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: TJ, this may be among the more hazardous spacewalks ever in the history of human space flight. We're now a little more than an hour into it. The astronauts are making their way very far away from the pressurized living modules of the international space station. There you see -- you saw briefly in the foreground of your screen there Scott Parazynski. This is his view right now. You're looking at his gloves there. And we'll get a view of it a little bit later. His entire suit has been rigged up to make sure there's no metal contact with the suit and the solar array, which he's headed out to repair.
Take a look at the damage that he is setting out to take care of right this morning, happened a few days ago. They were unfurling this solar array. There you see it. That's about a 2 1/2-foot crinkled up hole. It's like a pleated blind. And as they were deploying it, unfolding it, the guy wires got all crossed up and caught up and caused this tear. Well, the problem is they can't fully extend it like that, and if they can't extend it, get it rigid and get it ready to go, they'll ultimately have to jettison it and that could cause some serious problems down range on the space station because they won't be able to provide enough power for laboratory modules which are coming up.
Take a look at this animation. There you see in the upper left- hand part of your screen, that's animation of what Scott Parazynski will be doing at the end of this nearly 100-foot robot arm, the space station robot arm, 50 feet and then another 50-foot extension which comes from the shuttle. They'll move him over and be quite a ride, all the way to the far end of the space station and the far left solar array to accomplish this repair.
Now, there's about 300 watts of juice flowing through those solar arrays. There's no on/off switch, so if the sun is shining there is current there, so they have to be very careful. Take a look at what happened during suit-up today. That kind of translucent Siena (ph) tape, capped-on tape, covers everything that is metal -- all the tools and all the metal rings on the space suit so that there's no inadvertent contact causing a circuit and the possibility of a shock or perhaps even worse. A series of tools all wrapped up that way are at the disposal of Scott Parazynski. They're not exactly sure how this repair will be accomplished. He has to get there, take a look at it and we will look at it with him over his shoulder with his camera that is on his helmet. TJ, we'll keep you posted on this spacewalk. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly. But this is something that's never been tried before.
HOLMES: How long before we know something, we know if they got a success or not?
O'BRIEN: Well, it's going to be a couple of hours. But they're going to move out there very slowly and deliberately. They do all these things kind of slowly. We'll just watch it over the next hour and a half, two hours and as he gets closer to the site, we'll get a much better sense of how difficult it's going to be. There he is right there. That's Scott Parazynski all latched into that robot arm. He'll begin to make his way out to the far end of the space station.
HOLMES: All right, Miles O'Brien, we're glad we got you this morning. We're going to hear from you again hopefully here in the next couple hours and we'll know something more about how this thing is going. Miles, we appreciate it.
O'BRIEN: All right.
NGUYEN: It's pretty incredible nonetheless and we'll be watching it all morning long for you. So let me ask you this, what happens if a shuttle astronaut gets in trouble? Who are you going to call? Well, we have a close-up look at a special rescue team just for the astronauts.
HOLMES: Also, kids being used as political pawns. You've seen them in the forefronts of campaigns recently. Is this a new tactic? That's coming up on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You remember this sickening story. A young black woman allegedly held hostage for days by six white people in rural West Virginia. Police say Megan Williams was tortured and sexually assaulted. But state prosecutors say they'll have a hard time proving that the alleged crimes qualify as hate crimes. Today a rally in Charleston to ramp up the pressure and CNN's Kathleen Koch is there for us. Good morning to you, Kathleen.
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, TJ. Right now, obviously, as you can see, it's very quiet here, but organizers do hope that by certainly 10:00 a.m., when there's supposed to be a rally held here, that hundreds will be gathered for the rally and march against hate crimes and racism. And as you pointed out, certainly the focus of the event today is young Megan Williams, 20-year-old resident of Charleston, West Virginia, who back in September was allegedly held for at least a week in a trailer home some 50 miles from here, brutally tortured, sexually abused. Now, six people are still in custody, have been charged in that case. And last night, a prayer vigil was held at the site.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MALIK SCHABAZZ, MEGAN WILLIAMS' ATTORNEY: Brothers and sisters, we've come here to this vigil so that we can get an idea what Megan went through.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: People, including Williams' mother, attended the prayer vigil here in West Virginia last night and they were praying not only for her but for all victims of hate crimes. And they are, indeed, asking that Federal and state hate crimes be brought in Williams' case. Right now, Federal and state authorities have declined. The six suspects in the case do face a variety of very serious charges -- kidnapping, which in West Virginia carries a penalty of up to life in prison, sexual assault, a maximum penalty of up to 35 years, whereas in the state of West Virginia, at least, hate crimes charges only carry a penalty of 10 years. And again, so we're expecting hundreds to rally here at about 10:00 a.m. and then march to the state capitol at noon, TJ.
HOLMES: All right, Kathleen. We know you'll be watching this for us. Kathleen, thank you so much this morning.
Also, black Americans flexing their economic muscle by not spending. Tonight at 10:00, music and fashion mogul Russell Simmons talks about the so-called blackout. Did he do it and does he think it works?
NGUYEN: A new bombshell in the OJ Simpson memorabilia case. Turns out the FBI knew about plans to retrieve personal items.
HOLMES: The FBI says they were tipped off back in August when co- defendant (INAUDIBLE) told them about the plans to recover what he said was stolen Simpson memorabilia, but the FBI says they did not know where or when or that a crime was going to be committed.
NGUYEN: We are watching the weather very closely. In fact, Reynolds Wolf is doing that as well right now in the hurricane headquarters. What's the latest on this storm Reynolds?
WOLF: Well, it was hurricane Noel. It's now an extra tropical storm, but it really doesn't matter. What it's doing is just wreaking all kinds of havoc along parts of the northeast. In fact, take a look at Chatham, Massachusetts. The wind continues to roar, this shot compliments of WCVB. We'll tell you how long these conditions will deteriorate and let you know what to expect around the rest of the nation coming up.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, sir. And Mr. Reality himself, Joshua Levs, he's here keeping it real for us as he always does in the mornings. Good morning to you sir.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning and hey TJ, it's good to have you back. Hey everybody. Here's the deal. We're looking today at whether kids are being used as political pawns in Washington. We've got the White House and Laura Bush piling on the Democrats about this, but President Bush has his own record of citing kids to make some political points. We are going to take you on a little tour through that coming up right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning and welcome back, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Well there is panic Indonesia this morning. They are watching a massive volcano erupting right now, lets take a look at this video. According to seismic readings, this volcano has indeed erupted. But it's really kind of hard to tell because, as you see right there, there's a lot of dense fog in the area.
Still though, news of the eruption has sent fearful residents running. Volcano monitors are also clearing out. The area was put on high alert for possible eruption several weeks ago. More than 100,000 people were evacuated back then. And an eruption there in 1990 killed more than 30 people, so you can see why we're watching this very closely.
HOLMES: I got a few quick hits for ya here now. Instead of writing lines, they may be walking picket lines. Hollywood writers and producers will take one last stab at a deal when they meet with the federal mediator tomorrow. If talks still stall, the Writers Union says it will strike.
NGUYEN: Did a forgotten cigarette cause the fatal beach house fire in South Carolina? Well the house was so badly damaged, investigators say they may never be able to pinpoint the exact cause. But they also say they've ruled out just about everything else except smoking materials.
HOLMES: Also a court hearing has been set for Monday for a former matron accused of abusing students at Oprah Winfrey's South Africa school. Winfrey plans to make a public statement after the hearing.
NGUYEN: Downgraded but still dangerous, Noel is no longer a hurricane, but the extra tropical storm, as they call it, is still expected to do some damage today in the New England states. Heavy rain, rough surf, and beach erosion expected up through Massachusetts and Maine, and don't forget that wind. Gusts could hit 85 miles per hour later today at Cape Cod.
HOLMES: All right, we know the term hurricane. We know the term tropical storm. But a what?
NGUYEN: Extra tropical.
HOLMES: Extra tropical.
NGUYEN: Extraterrestrial storm? What?
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And folks, you need to know this, a good thing for us all.
NGUYEN: Especially for us, we have to get up really early. HOLMES: Really early. We're going to this video but I need to tell you about daylight-saving time. Yes, there it is, when you go to bed tonight, you need to set that clock back an hour. You get an extra hour of sleep, a lot of people who will be very happy to know that.
NGUYEN: Looking forward to it.
HOLMES: Some of us here I'm sure will be early to work.
NGUYEN: No!
HOLMES: Somebody will forget, as always. But yes daylight-saving time. You need to set the clock back an hour before you go to bed this evening.
Also turn you back now to another major weather story, the video we were just showing you extreme flooding in Southern Mexico reminding folks of the Katrina disaster. That-some of these pictures look kind of familiar from that, but these folks were not hit by a hurricane but around 16 inches of steady rain has left hundreds of thousands under water in the Tabasco region. 80% of the region flooded. 80%. Mass evacuations were carried out by helicopter, boat, bus, but many are still stranded on rooftops and they have no food. Now there are fears the standing water could lead to an outbreak of cholera and some other water-borne illness we'll bring you a live report from Mexico, coming up at the top of the hour.
NGUYEN: Are President Bush's opponents unfairly using children to score political points, or is it just politics as usual? Our own Josh Levs is here. Keeping them honest this morning, So which is it? Have you found out?
JOSH LEVS, CNN REPORTER: Easy yes or no?
NGUYEN: Right.
LEVS: You know what it is? It's one of those times one side in Washington complains about the other side and you're watching it and you're like come on. And it's time we just got a jump on and show you even just some stuff from recent history, you know, just to get a little bit of this whole reality check thing going. What's going on is pretty much just about this health insurance for kids. The white House has accused some of the people who are pushing against President Bush's plan on this, they're saying there's distortion going on if you are against his position. Well now even the First Lady has weighed in. But really the President himself has quite a record of sometimes using kids as props when it serves his purposes.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
LEVS VOICE OVER: In the now-daily battle over the state children's health insurance program, democrats accuse the president of --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Opposing health insurance for 10 million children.
LEVS: Democrats had 12-year-old Graham Frost tell his heartbreaking tale followed by a plea to the White House.
GRAHAM FROST: I just hope the president will listen to my story and help other kids be as lucky as me.
LEVS: As democrats ratcheted up their campaign over the bill Bush vetoed, White House spokesman Tony Fratto complained the democrats are exploiting the image of children. White House spokeswoman Dana Perino accused the dems of demagoguery a charge the first lady repeated.
LAURA BUSH, FIRST LADY: And it's just a perfect issue to demagogue.
LEVS: Demagogue to obscure or distort with emotionalism or prejudice, something often done in politics, particularly when it involves children. Though sometimes as democrats say here, citing children is about reminding the country what's at stake. Either way, the president has his own record of citing children in controversial issues, like the troop buildup in Iraq.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Failure in Iraq would have serious consequences for the security of your children. and your grandchildren. And so, I made the decision, rather than pulling out of the capitol, to send more troops in the capital.
LEVS: Or renewing the No Child Left Behind act.
BUSH: Through this law, our nation has made an historic commitment to America's children and we have a moral obligation to keep that commitment.
LEVS: Or rejecting efforts to ease restrictions on funding embryonic stem cell research.
BUSH: We should not use public money to support the further destruction of human life.
LEVS: The truth is children have been used plenty to make political points on both sides. Who could forget the 12-year-old at the 2004 democratic national convention?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When our vice president had a disagreement with the democratic senator, he used a really bad word.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
LEVS: Everybody remembers that. In fact, I hear they're trying to get her involved in the next one. This is an internal political reality. Politicians factually, they do it they use kids to tug at the heart strings of voters, but when one side accuses the other side of demagoguing guys, that's when it's time for little a tour through some recent history.
NGUYEN: Well you know one of the most famous, perhaps infamous instances when they're using children here is that daisy ad, was it President Johnson that used that?
LEVS: Johnson back in 1964 against Barry Goldwater. There you go we have a little video of it. You know what? This thing? It aired only one time. September 7th 1964, but those were back in the days when everyone was watching T.V. at the same time. It was during "Movie of the Week", it's one of the most famous ads in all of political history in the United States, and it's all about using a kid.
We see her pick the petals and all of a sudden there's this nuclear explosion, and the very not subtle suggestion was that if you support Barry Goldwater then you could be leading toward a very belligerent path, potentially nuclear war, very divisive, to this day people have debates about it. but that is a perfect example of how memorable it can be to use children in politics.
NGUYEN: And the power of that as well. Look at that, that vision right there, just that shot. All right, Josh, thank you for that, we do appreciate it.
LEVS: Thanks, Betty.
HOLMES: Well, The Focus, The Explorer, and what not, still gonna be rolling off the assembly lines it appears, for now. It looks like Ford workers may be staying on the assembly line instead of walking those picket lines. United Auto Workers union says it reached a tentative contract with Ford just a few hours ago. About sixty thousand union members still have to sign off on that deal, however.
HOLMES: Well, we always enjoy this time when we get to speak to Rick Horer. I know you're a sports person.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: A lot of sports stuff going on right now if you are we got your number this morning. The Sox, of course, they rock. Torre has left New York.
NGUYEN: Yes, yeah.
HOLMES: And he has landed in Los Angeles. Also, Hingis says it's time to hang up the racquet.
NGUYEN: That's quite a story.
HOLMES: You gotta, yeah there's more to this one, folks. Sports analyst, Rick Horrow he's bringing it for us next.
NGUYEN: And in Flagstaff, Arizona, one substitute bus driver plus one shy kindergartener equals a major panic. We're gonna tell you all about that. CNN Saturday morning, has the story.
HOLMES: And this just in to you-to us here. And we're passing it along to you. But a teacher and a student have been apprehended in Mexico. The teacher is a 25-year-old sixth-grade math teacher and basketball coach at Lexington Middle School in Lexington, Nebraska, by the name of Kelsey Peterson.
She disappeared along with a 13-year-old student after she had been, questions had come up about a possible intimate relationship between the teacher, and this student. Well now the two have been apprehended and arrested in Mexico. The teacher here is now facing charges of kidnapping and child abuse and also contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
But the police had been investigating whether or not there was some kind of relationship between the two. They disappeared, and now they have turned up in Mexico and the teacher now under arrest. So, that has just happened. So we will keep an eye on that story for further details as it develops.
NGUYEN: 25 years old. He was just 13.
HOLMES: 13 years old. NGUYEN: We'll stay on top of that story for you. In the meantime, though a toddler's body washes ashore in a plastic container. Now Texas authorities desperately need your help identifying this little girl. Here's a sketch of her. They're calling her baby grace. The child was 2 or 3 years old and probably the victim of repeated abuse, according to authorities. She had multiple skull fractures.
HOLMES: We want to give you a closer look at the shoes that she was wearing. They're white with little purple flowers reportedly purchased at Wal-Mart. Aren't very many clues in this case right now, so police certainly appealing for your help.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RAY TUTTOILMONDO, MAJOR, TEXAS SHERIFF DEPT.: We've Adopted the name of Baby Grace because there again, that's part of the emotional part of this case for us. We -- she's more to us than just a case number, more to us than just an unidentified body. She is very much a human being. She is someone's child, someone's grandchild, someone's cousin, someone's best friend. And to us, that's the most important part about this case. But in looking at this box that she was found in, this is not a way for her to end her life.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Oh my goodness. Okay, so here's what you can do. If you have information, please contact the Galveston County Sheriff's Office. We're gonna put those numbers up for you right there. Area code 409-766-2222, or 866-248-8477.
HOLMES: And also, a little later this morning, we're going to speak to one of the investigators. They're going to join us here live. We'll get the latest on this case when we do get a chance to talk to him.
Also go another one here, return to Arizona, Flagstaff, Arizona, outrageous story. A 5-year-old kindergartener stranded by a substitute bus driver six miles from his bus stop.
NGUYEN: All right. So, as you can imagine, the little boy's mom became hysterical when the bus arrived and her son was not on it. She did eventually find him but only after a frantic search.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM FIGUEROA, MOTHER: I said what are you doing? Why did you get off the bus? Hysterically crying. He just mentioned that the bus driver had told him this was his bus stop.
MATTHEW FIGUEROA: We can't just accept that, oh, that person was having a bad day. I mean, that's our son.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Oh, the parents certainly upset about this. They have now decided to just buy the kid a car and -- no. The 5-year-old is actually going to be drive to school now by the parents to and from so that won't happen again.
NGUYEN: Yeah, that's frightening though. Can you imagine? Only 5 years old. He doesn't know where his bus stop is. HOLMES: Yeah. Right after this, now, we'll tell you about an ugly end to a career for a much beloved former tennis champ accused of taking to the grass on something much stronger than grass, marijuana, yes, we'll tell you about this coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Why in the world would anybody walk away from a $250 million contract? Well, maybe because he thinks he can get a $350 million contract. Is any baseball player worth that? Also, we often hear about performance-enhancing drugs in sports but cocaine? Sports business analyst Rick Horrow, Pretty Ricky is what you call him. He's live from west Palm Beach, Florida this morning, sir good to see you.
Is this just getting out of hand? A Rod -- $350 million. Are you serious?
RICK HORROW, SPORTS ANALYST: Yeah. I got a lot to cover. It's getting out of hand, the Pretty Ricky stuff we don't have time for this. So we'll just get right to the answer, okay?
HOLMES: Yes.
HORROW: It's not getting out of hand if the market can bear it. And you notice the parity in baseball. He left $90 million dollars of an option contract and his option on the table to search for those dollars. We know the White Sox, The Padre, The Tigers, The Marlins, flipped it around overnight, won the world series the next year and a 30% increase in value. So if a team is willing to pay that money, it's worth it.
HOLMES: You know, -- should he be embarrassed, though? Doesn't he just come off looking bad, hey, you've got $250 million, here you're going for $350 million, doesn't it look bad for A Rod?
HORROW: Does tom cruise look bad if he parlays his prior success into a mega dollar next movie contract? It's all about what you can get. You know, you're not going to turn down a raise because you think it looks bad, huh?
HOLMES: Well, it depends on who's offering and how big the raise is.
HORROW: Yeah, right.
HOLMES: All right, let's move on the Yankees, the most coveted job probably in baseball, the Yankees manager job, they traded in one Joe for another Joe, Joe Torre.
I swear sports is the only thing you can lose a job one day and have a new job the next. But Joe Torre, switching posts, going to The Dodgers. How big of a deal is this for people who maybe not follow baseball all that much but to get a new skipper in the Yankees dugout?
HORROW: Well The one Joe left New York for a lesser contract, but his q score celebrity status put him as a Bruce Springsteen, Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Buffet like celebrity taken to L.A. The other Joe, a $3 million dollar(sic)-- a 3 year deal, at 2 million a year, that ain't bad.
The bottom line for managers is baseball is about $2 million average, football at $3 million, basketball at $4 million. These deals change the curve. It's going to be a higher value for manager, by the way, T.J., is worth about 10, 12 wins a year, so if that's true, we're looking for the Dodgers to better this year.
HOLMES: All right, lets move quickly now, Martina Hingis, beloved former tennis champ. She is stepping away. She has retired now after she came out in front of a story that she tested positive for cocaine. This shouldn't be a performance enhancer, is it?
HORROW: No I don't think so. But I think you've got to have to look at her collective, kind of, body of work as the people in the political arena like to say. She is a tremendous champion, she's had her endorsements very well, at the $60-70 million dollar a year range. She's stepping away not just because of that but because she can't play with the big girls anymore and I think that's the memory we've got to keep.
HOLMES: 27 years old and retiring. Boy, that's a pretty good gig.
HORROW: Well, but she made a lot of money, so she can do it.
HOLMES: All right, I wish we could have gotten to some of the Boston stuff, the Boston-
HORROW: All right, how's this, Boston college, okay, Red Sox, big-time deal, big parade, Celtics big, hey, Bean town is on the right -- moving in the right step, don't you think?
HOLMES: They are, they got a lot to celebrate. And Rick, always good to see you, Rick Horrow, Pretty Ricky, what they call him, we'll talk about that next week maybe?
HORROW: All right, next week, maybe. All right, see ya, bye.
NGUYEN: Our own John Zarrella goes to extreme lengths to show that he can hang with an elite rescue squad. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Halfway up. Bottom of the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 20 feet.
NGUYEN: Man dangling from that rope, can you believe it? So, what's the mission? Well, we are going to explain that next.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, this just in to CNN -- we have a large beef recall to tell you about this morning. In fact, over a million pounds of ground beef to be exact from Cargill Meat Corporation. They have done a voluntary recall because some of the meat may be contaminated with e. Coli. Just a short list of some of that meat in question, They're under the brand names Century Farms, Giant Eagle, Shop Rite, Stop & Shop, Wegmans, Premium Meat, again over a million pounds of ground meat, beef that is.
The ground beef products were produced between October 8th and 11th of this year. Now if you have more questions, as I'm sure you do, and you're going to check that meat in your freezer, here's what you can do. You can go to the U.S. Department of agriculture website at usda.gov. That can provide you with a list of all the products involved here. But again, over a thous-a million pounds of ground beef have been voluntarily recalled because they may be contaminated with e. Coli.
HOLMES: Well, one of the most dangerous spacewalks maybe ever is under way right now. Pictures here from NASA T.V. Going to be following this story, this walk all morning. Did you know that one of the most dangerous parts of space travel, not really the spacewalks? CNN's John Zarrella has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: three, two, one.
JOHN ZARELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT, VOICE OVER: Every time a space shuttle leaves the ground --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And liftoff of Discover.
ZARELLA: Millions of people are watching, among them a group of men who just might be called upon to save the astronaut's lives.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's in the water first PJ is down, PJ is down.
ZARELLA: PJs or Para rescue jumpers, are part of the 308th rescue squadron, part active duty, part reserve, Patrick Air Force Base their home not far from where shuttles leave the earth. Most have seen combat duty in Afghanistan and Iraq, saving downed pilots and missing soldiers.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Very satisfying feeling because you brought them home back to their loved ones as I would want somebody to do for me, you know, so it's very gratifying to look them in the eye and know that they're okay.
ZARELLA: Since the "Challenger" disaster, their mission is as guardians of the astronauts. If a shuttle gets in trouble in the first few minutes after liftoff and the astronauts are forced to bail out, this elite team would find them in the ocean and bring them back.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A terrible thing would be if somebody was to survive the ejection and then they died in the water later on because no medical treatment. So that's what we're there, to make sure that if it's at all possible for them to survive, that we're right there, we give them the best medical care we can.
ZARELLA: Since the beginning days of the space program, Para rescue jumpers have played a role. They were first on the scene when capsules splashed down, pulling the astronauts out to safety. To see just how the PJs would handle rescuing a shuttle crew, I'm left floating in a life raft. The PJs are on their way in two H-60 helicopters.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (inaudible)
ZARELLA: Within seconds, a 3 man team, is in the water, swimming to me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) the cable, and then going for a ride.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Beautiful.
ZARRELLA: As the helicopter hovers overhead, PJ Mike Ziegler gets the harness around me.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) Hover. Slack -- slack's out. And they're out of the water. How's your power?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Power's good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) You're halfway up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Good.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Bottom to the door.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: 20 feet.
ZARRELLA: There is a strange sense dangling at the end of a cable that even though you are safe. And if they are ever called upon to rescue downed astronauts, this is just how they want it to end. John Zarrella, CNN, at the Kennedy space center in Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Good morning, everybody on this Saturday from the CNN center right here in Atlanta. We want to welcome you to the show. It's November 3rd.
TJ HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR, SATURDAY MORNING: Almost Christmas.
NGUYEN: Can you believe it? Almost Thanksgiving. And the clocks will be turning back this weekend, so don't forget that tonight. Hey there everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. HOLMES: And I'm TJ Holmes. So glad you could be with us this morning. First, devastating flooding in Mexico, entire towns under water, at least 300,000 people trapped. We'll have a live update from the ground.
NGUYEN: Also want to tell you about a bizarre twist in the latest OJ Simpson saga, the one involving that alleged armed robbery in Las Vegas. The FBI actually knew about it weeks before the alleged crime.
HOLMES: And new this morning, a volcanic eruption in Indonesia. Mt. Kelud is hidden by dense cloud right now, but scientists say seismic activity shows an eruption is underway right now. One observer said lava and ash are spewing from the center. People living on the mountainside have fled and people monitoring the volcano were ordered to leave as well. Mt. Kelud was put on high alert several weeks ago due to increasing seismic activity. Police began ordering people away from the area on Thursday. Mt. Kelud historically is one of Indonesia's deadliest volcanoes. It erupted there in 1990, killed more than 30 people and more than 5,000 died when Mt. Kelud blew up in 1919. You stay right here with CNN for the latest as we continue to gather information on the eruption of Mt. Kelud.
NGUYEN: Something else pretty dangerous is happening right now. In fact, a risky operation is under way in outer space. At this hour, an astronaut is trying to fix the international space station.
HOLMES: It's actually the fourth space walk of this mission, but it is easily the most dangerous that they've attempted, maybe the most dangerous ever attempted. Miles O'Brien, our space correspondent, joins us now from New York walking us through this tricky, tricky procedure.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tricky to say the least, TJ, take a look at these live pictures from space, truly remarkable images, as you get a real sense of the scale here. That's Scott Parazynski, the astronaut, veteran space walker. He's 6'2", they call him too tall, which is good. He may need that extra height before the end of the day on this spacewalk. About 6 1/2 hours budgeted for this spacewalk. He is making his way to a piece of the solar array on the international space station that was torn as it was being deployed a couple of days ago. If that can't be fixed, it has some serious consequences for the international space station.
There you see the tear right there, about 2 1/2 feet in length. His goal today is to do two things, first of all, insert some so- called cuff links, which are kind of like a butterfly bandage, which will repair that gash and give it some rigidity and depending on what the guy wires look like in there, possibly cut the guy wires so that it can be deployed without causing any further damage.
If they can't deploy it fully and make it rigid enough, ultimately, they'll have to jettison it and that will cause some serious implications for future additions to the space station, cause some delays in the shuttle mission. Look at that orange tape on that, TJ. That orange tape is called capped-on tape. Anything that is metal has been wrapped in it for this spacewalk because you can't turn off solar arrays. They're photovoltaic cells and they generate current when they're exposed to light and there's no on/off switch. So, there is a scenario where if metal touched metal and there was a hot wire or live wire in that broken area, could cause a shock or even worse to Scott Parazynski.
Now, they're guarding against that any number of ways. I just want to show you. There he is, OK. Oh, they switched shots on me. That's the shot from his helmet cam. That's what Scott Parazynski is seeing now with all of the hash that we're seeing of course. This is the good wide shot here. And you can see exactly where he is in context at the end of this 100-foot boom. In any case, all kinds of precautions being taken since there's no metal on metal contact and a circuit is not completed which could give him a very serious shock. There you see them taping up the metal rings which attach the gloves to the suit, the metal rings at the waist, all covered with that Capton (ph) insulating tape, a lot of precautions taken. This is a spacewalk, TJ, that will test his abilities, but they say -- they call Parazynski, who's already had 20 hours of space walking experience before this, he is the perfect guy for this job because not only is he experienced, TJ, he's got a good reach and that's good to have, in addition to calling him too tall, they call him Long Bow.
HOLMES: What was that last name there?
O'BRIEN: Long bow, you know, like a --
HOLMES: Oh, yeah.
O'BRIEN: Long arms, you know what I mean? He drags his knuckles as he walks, that kind of thing.
NGUYEN: This is really fascinating. We're going to be talking to you a little bit more about it, Miles, because there are lot of questions regarding what he's doing and will it really work and how long will it work if it does?
O'BRIEN: We'll see pretty soon won't we?
NGUYEN: We'll be watching it. Thank you, Miles.
Back here on the earth, it was a killer in the Caribbean. Today though, Noel is expected to batter the New England coast. Wind gusts from the storm could reach 85 miles an hour. CNN's Jim Acosta is live in Chatham, Massachusetts and he joins us where it looks like the storm is already starting to roll in.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Betty. And we are in Chatham, Massachusetts, which is, if you look at the map, the elbow, the tip of the elbow of Cape Cod. And this area has already been battered by storms in recent years. This barrier beach behind me was split in two back in April during that powerful nor'easter that rolled through this area. As you mentioned, this is no longer a hurricane, but this area is bracing itself for hurricane-force wind gusts this afternoon somewhere in the neighborhood of 85 miles per hour somewhere after 2:00 p.m. We're going to see some major hurricane-force wind gusts coming through this area. And this is a storm, mind you, that is about 100 miles off of the Cape. And so, if you could just imagine being in the middle of that storm, the folks here on the Cape are very fortunate that that is not the case here.
But if you look behind me, you can see that there are still some commercial fishing vessels sitting in this area right behind me. They're moving around quite a bit. And we are seeing the white caps in the water. So, you can see things are starting to churn up out here. Winds are approximately in the 40-mile-per-hour neighborhood at this point and that will increase as the day goes on out here. And just out of a precaution, local officials are getting this area ready to brace for this storm. They're expecting power outages and they're opening up shelters across this area to make sure people have a place to go in case things go really bad. Betty?
NGUYEN: All right, Jim Acosta joining us live. Thank you, Jim. And Reynolds Wolf is live in hurricane headquarters. Reynolds, let's talk about Noel, because we see it coming ashore, but where is it right now, specifically?
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right now it is actually just off the mid-Atlantic, right off, let's say, near the Maryland shore moving northward to Jersey. It's still a very big system. Even though it is no longer a hurricane, I don't want folks to get a false sense of security from this because it is still really going to pack a punch in parts of the northeast. We're talking hurricane-force winds, winds in excess of 74 miles per hour are going to batter the coast, heavy rainfall. That's going to be an issue not just for today but for parts of tomorrow as well. As we speak, the heaviest rainfall is from Washington, DC, northward up off the coast of New York but Boston and southward into places like Hyannis and back over to Newport, even into Cape Cod, the rain is really going to be coming in and the surf is battering the coastline. That is one real big area we're going to focus on today.
On the other coast, we're talking about an entirely different story, not in terms of rain but rather dry conditions and those Santa Ana winds are expected to kick in today. As that wind flows from parts of the great basin and through those mountain passes, it's going to compress, warm up. We're going to have that critical fire danger in effect once again for a good part of southern California. You have the dampness and you have the fires, a huge story, no question. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right, Reynolds. We thank you.
HOLMES: Well, massive flooding in Mexico and hundreds of thousands of people forced from their home and now the fear of disease is spreading through southern Mexico. Our Harris Whitbeck there in the Tabasco region that's been hard hit. He joins us now on the phone and what's the update? Are there still many people in need of rescue?
HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, TJ, Mexican authorities say between 69,000 and 100,000 people are still trapped in their homes by the waters that have yet to recede. They are describing this as the worst natural disaster in the history of the state. Nearly one million people displaced by flooding. Relief workers on military helicopters and boats continue to take people -- pluck people off the roofs of their homes and take them to shelters. Federal and state authorities are rushing to open more shelters for all of those who have been forced from their homes.
So far, the death toll still remains at just one, but some fear that as floodwaters begin to recede, they might reveal the true magnitude of the disaster. There is, however, no official mention of people being missing or having been reported missing at this time. The (INAUDIBLE) river exceeded its banks after days of rains in the area and flooded large parts of this regional capital and hundreds of other communities on Friday. The airport (INAUDIBLE) was being used as a staging center for Mexican military and Federal police who have been brought in to rescue survivors, deliver supplies and now to maintain order. Local officials in (INAUDIBLE) say that at least 100,000 people are wandering the streets of the capital with nowhere to go and they said that they would prevent looting at all costs. TJ?
HOLMES: Where is the help Harris coming in from? Several other countries, I assume? Neighbors trying to get help and get aid to this tiny little - this tiny region or does the government there have - I guess have what it needs, have all the resources, the -- and the manpower to get the help to its people?
WHITBECK: Well, the Mexican government and the Mexican army have a long-standing program called the DN-3 program in place. It is an emergency response program. They have been able to gather supplies in several parts of Mexico. A lot of people in the country have also donated food, water, medicine and such. But apparently, the problem is in actually airlifting the supplies to the area. The airport is very, very busy and the roads from the airport to the center of (INAUDIBLE) for example, were very difficult to navigate yesterday because of the high floodwaters. So while people are responding and a lot of people are donating what they can, the problem is in distribution at this time.
HOLMES: All right. Harris Whitbeck for us there in the Tabasco region. Harris, thank you so much.
WHITBECK: OK.
NGUYEN: New this morning, a family's nightmare coming to an end in Mexico. Their 13-year-old son has been recovered. A 25-year-old female teacher from his Nebraska school, though, is now under arrest. Kelsey Peterson, you see her here, is facing kidnapping and child abuse charges. She also faces Federal charges for taking the teen across the boarder in Mexico. The pair disappeared last week when police began investigating their relationship. We'll have much more on this story throughout the morning.
Also want to tell you about this, a super streak, right? That came after a horrible accident. How good Samaritans actually lifted a car off of a baby.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TERROND HAMMONS, SAVED CHILD: The baby was up under the engine, so once we lifted, we slid it out and the baby was still in there, smiling and grinning.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A rescue at a dangerous corner. That is right after this.
HOLMES: Also, do you recognize this little girl? Police are calling her baby Grace, saying her body washed ashore in Texas. Now they need your help.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Convicting a former astronaut of attempted assault and kidnapping charges just got a whole lot harder.
HOLMES: A Florida judge says police did not follow procedure when they searched Lisa Nowak's car and got her to make a statement. Some evidence has been ruled admissible. Nowak is accused of stalk a romantic rival. Her trial is due to start in April.
NGUYEN: What did the FBI know about OJ Simpson and when did they know it? That is the question. Sports memorabilia dealer Thomas Riccio says he tipped off FBI agents on August 21st and said Simpson planned to confront a collector who was selling Simpson's memorabilia, but Riccio didn't share details about where or when the meeting was taking place.
HOLMES: Late-night comedy may be the first casualty in a (INAUDIBLE) war of words if writers and producers can't come to agreement tomorrow on a new contract. The writers union says its members will walk out. Might want to get used to some reality shows.
NGUYEN: Well, this is a really sad story. In fact, want you to take a look at this. See that plastic box? A toddler's body washed ashore in a plastic container just like that one. Now Texas authorities desperately need your help identifying this little girl. They're calling her baby Grace. Take a look at these sketches. The child was two or three years old and probably the victim of repeated abuse because she had multiple skull fractures, according to authorities. I want to give you a closer look at the shoes she was wearing. Little purple flowers reportedly purchased from Wal-Mart. Now, there aren't many clues right now. That's why we're giving you all we know. But police do need your help. So if you have any information, please contact the Galveston County sheriff's office. Here are the numbers, area code 409 766-2222 or 866-248-8477. A little later this morning, we are going to talk with a detective who's going to join us and get the latest on the case.
HOLMES: Listen to this story, sounds like it's going to end tragically. When a car smashes into a stroller leaving a baby pinned under the vehicle.
NGUYEN: Here's the thing. What happens next is really incredible. Here's Karen O'Leary of affiliate KIRO in Seattle.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KAREN O'LEARY, KIRO CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It was this Ford Focus now parked in the neighborhood that witnesses say rammed into a stroller being pushed across busy 23rd Avenue.
TERROND HAMMONDS, SAVED CHILD: She didn't hit brakes. She just lost control of the car.
O'LEARY: And this was the result -- a smashed baby carriage. The one-year-old boy inside was pinned under the car. Fortunately, construction worker Terron Hammond and his co-workers were right across the street. They lifted the car off the baby.
HAMMOND: It pushed the baby bug all the way down to the ground, but the baby was up under the engine, so once we lifted, we slid it out and the baby was still in there, smiling and grinning.
O'LEARY: The baby and his mom were transported to Harborville (ph) medical center. We're told the baby was unhurt. As for the 47- year-old driver of that Ford, police say she will be cited for negligent driving.
HAMMONDS: So she panicked. I guess she hit the gas.
O'LEARY: Other neighbors tell us this is a dangerous corner. David Armour walks his dog Mattie (ph) here regularly.
DAVID ARMOUR, NEIGHBOR: In the 18 years that I've been here, I've seen at least 20 accidents on this corner.
O'LEARY: Look at how another mother with two babies in a carriage treats this same intersection. Annemarie Scov has to run to beat the traffic. She told us she was horrified when she learned about this morning's accident.
ANNEMARIE SCOV, MOTHER: I think it's tragic and I really feel strongly that we need more pedestrian friendly crosswalks, especially on busy streets.
O'LEARY: At least in this case, the tiny victim should be fine.
HAMMOND: We're all praying for the mother and family.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Yes, can you believe that one?
NGUYEN: No. That is still just remarkable.
HOLMES: Well, according to the report that you heard the reporter wrap up, the baby was admitted for an overnight hospital stay and is said to be doing, after all that, just fine.
NGUYEN: They do say when you're in those cases, those emergency situations you do get that rush of adrenaline and you do have super human strength. I need some of that in a bottle sometimes, you know? Well, we're talking about something that a lot of us have, right?
HOLMES: Pet peeves.
NGUYEN: I have tons of them.
HOLMES: Joshua Levs is here to tell us about his, not that we really care what bothers you Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Tell me about it. That's not really why I'm really here. Americans really want to hear me whine first thing in the morning? By the way, Betty, the bottle you were talking about is called Red Bull. It exists. As for the pet peeves, you got to see this list. I can't believe what is topping the list of American's pet peeves in the office. I think there actually might be a little bit of hypocrisy there. We're going to take a look at it and even do a little bit of a reality check about it. That's s coming right up, guys.
NGUYEN: Also, Dr. Sanjay Gupta has a preview of today's "House Call."
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thanks. From the country that brought us tainted pet food and lead paint on toys, China is now sending us large amounts of prescription medications.
Then simple things you can do right now to stop stress at work. How do you do this? Finally the no-period pill. Is it safe? We'll take a closer look at the latest generation of birth control. All that's coming up on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are talking about pet peeves in the office. This is one a lot of people can relate to. It drives me crazy when people are sitting just right across from you but they send you a message. They send you one of those instant messages or they send you an e-mail. You drive me crazy. You're sitting right here and you'll send me a message.
NGUYEN: You're one to complain.
HOLMES: Drives me crazy.
NGUYEN: We can go into that after the show. But, here's mine. You know when people send you those chain e-mails and at the bottom it says if you don't send this to 10 people in five minutes, something bad will happen to you.
HOLMES: You'll die.
NGUYEN: That would make me so upset because I kind of want to send them just to make sure but then I don't have time to do it.
HOLMES: Of course, we got a lot of company from people that have pet peeves around the office. Maybe those - we'll have the staffing firm - of what is that?
NGUYEN: Ranstad (ph).
HOLMES: Is that spelled correctly there? It's compiled --
NGUYEN: That's a pet peeve.
HOLMES: Misspelled words. Josh Levs from the dot com - let's do this now, the top list of pet peeves.
LEVS: They do the survey across America.
NGUYEN: Are we in them when it comes to our pet peeves?
LEVS: You mean like watching CNN and being annoyed by --
NGUYEN: No, not like that. The chain letters and the --
LEVS: yeah, actually. Take a look at the number seven. We're going to do the countdown right now. Number seven is abuse of e-mail, like when you do this reply all kind of thing and when you spam your co-workers with multiple e-mails. In a way, it touches on what they're both talking about. Let's go on to number six. This is people who overuse their personal devices like blackberries and cell phones and laptops during meetings.
NGUYEN: Guilty.
LEVS: You stop in the hallway, you talk to someone and they're like uh-huh. That's me. Number five, loud noises like ringing cell phones. You know people with, like, the annoying really loud ringing cell phones or like some obscure song, that kind of thing. Number four is office odors. Despite what TJ is thinking, this is actually a reference to like to perfume and popcorn or people who bring in their food and it's like very pungent.
HOLMES: Like rosemary chicken, maybe, for breakfast.
LEVS: I forgot about that.
NGUYEN: You hate that, don't you?
HOLMES: It is rank.
NGUYEN: It's a healthy meal. Lean Cuisine.
LEVS: I'm telling you, they could go at it all day. I just sit here and let them go. All right, let's have the list, number three, messy break room or other communal areas. That surprises me because I couldn't care less if it's a mess. (INAUDIBLE) Two, co-workers goofing off or wasting time instead of getting done what they're supposed to get done. And number one, gossiping by co-workers. This is what I don't get. So 60 percent of people surveyed said this is their biggest pet peeve in the office.
NGUYEN: Yet they do it. LEVS: I was looking on cnn.com and that was the story from careerbuilder.com. About 60 percent of people admit that they gossip. So come on people, are you your own pet peeve? What's going on?
HOLMES: That's a good one. We're off the topic of somebody gossip, but (INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: We'll be talking about you later.
LEVS: Don't flatter yourself, TJ
HOLMES: All right, Mr. Reality, we appreciate
NGUYEN: Thank you.
HOLMES: Coming up, one of the creepiest custody battles ever. In fact, you might want to hold off on the breakfast for just a minute.
NGUYEN: Take a look at that bag right there. There it is, an embalmed body part and it took a syndicated TV judge to figure out the rightful owner.
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NGUYEN: All right. Let's talk about a Halloween scare now. Want you to take a look, because a prankster in a mask tossed a lit canister of fireworks on a floor of a shop in England and then ran out. Look at that.
HOLMES: And you see what happens in just a couple seconds here. The store looked, sounded like a battlefield, screaming rockets blowing up all over the place. Now the store owner here, shopkeeper made a pretty gutsy move, went over and shoved the exploding fireworks out of the door.
NGUYEN: Get that out of here.
OK, do you remember this story of a man who bought a meat smoker at an auction only to discover a human leg inside? The embalmed limb had once been attached to man who lost it in an accident. Both men claimed the leg to belong to them.
HOLMES: This is the silliest thing.
NGUYEN: It's bizarre.
HOLMES: TV's Judge Mathis has settled this dispute now, ruling the leg rightfully belongs to the original owner.
NGUYEN: Do you think?
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) He also said the guy who bought it deserves $5,000 in compensation.
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