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Bangladesh Typhoon; Holiday Travel Season; Florida Kidnapping
Aired November 17, 2007 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Welcome back, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM. The news is unfolding live on this Saturday the 24th day of February. Good morning everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm T.J. Holmes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the touchdown folks!
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Severe weather strikes, tornados, rain, ice and snow. We are tracking it all.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to beef up patrol and have more patrol units out roaming the areas, the bus stops in the hours the kids go to school.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Also, the hunt for an armed kidnapper continues after a brazen bus stop abduction.
HOLMES: Also, you may remember this moment or at least be aware of it, but have you seen this new tape? This is new home video of the JFK assassination. It's now been released. You'll see more of it. Stick around, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's the touchdown, folks!
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: This tornado in McLean, Texas could just be the beginning. A major weather system is moving through the nation's midsection. Forecasters are warning residents east of the storm line to prepare themselves.
And blizzard and winter storm warnings are out for Colorado, East Michigan, these are new pictures of hail in Kansas. Whiteout conditions are reported in the northwest part of that state, portions of Interstate 70 there are closed.
NGUYEN: And the situation is a large one, in fact, a lot of areas affected by this storm.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: Florida police looking for a kidnapper today. The victim, a 13-year-old boy safe at home this morning, after getting out of a tight spot. Here's reporter Peter Bernard in Manatee County, he's with Tampa affiliate WFLA.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PETER BERNARD, WFLA (voice-over): Five hours after being abducted at gunpoint from his school bus stop, a Manatee sheriff deputy gave a relieved looking Clay Moore a ride back to civilization and the people who care for him. Deputies say a man who looks like this is responsible for this crime. They say he's likely from this area, judging from the remote location where he took Clay.
DAVID BRISTOW, MANATEE CO., FL SHERIFF'S OFFICE: When he took the child, Clay, out to the remote area, it appeared he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew the area.
BERNARD: While deputies won't confirm it, Clay's aunt tells our coverage partners at "The Sarasota Herald Tribune," his abductor used duct tape and some of Clay's own clothes to tie him to a tree by his feet and hands. The aunt says the man stuffed Clay's sock in his mouth. He says her nephew used a safety pin to work the binds loose, then walked some distance to flag down a farmer for help. Students at the bus stop who saw the armed abduction say they ran behind a house to hide.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Some guy just pulls up in a red truck and tells the kid to get in the truck or else he's going to shoot, pulls out a gun, the kid gets in the truck and they take off.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He told him to get in the car and then he had a gun in his hand and he wouldn't get in the car, so they were like, Clay looked like he was ready to cry.
BERNARD: At a quickly set up command post, Clay's frantic parents waited on every development, fearing they would hear the worst. But around 1:30 in the afternoon, Sheriff Charles Wells told everyone --
SHERIFF CHARLIE WELLS, MANATEE COUNTY, FLORIDA: Well we got good news, Clay Moore is ok and he's with my deputies right now out in East County.
BERNARD: After a checkout at Manatee Memorial, Clay returned to his Kingsfield Estates home. His family asked the media to let them be for now.
BRISTOW: They've been through by far the most traumatic day they've ever been through and hopefully will ever go through.
BERNARD: Looking ahead to Monday, if the attacker isn't caught, residents will see more activity around this area. MAJ. CHUCK HAGAMAN, MANATEE COUNTY, FL SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We are going to beef up patrol and have more patrol units out roaming the areas of the bus stops in the hours the kids go to school.
BERNARD: Because cases like this so many times end in tragedy, everyone is relieved this one didn't.
MAJ. CONNIE SHINGLEDECKER, MANATEE COUNTY, FL SHERIFF'S OFFICE: We're all feeling very happy that this child is sleeping in his own bed tonight and that he's safe and that he's unharmed.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: The Manatee County Sheriff says the kidnapper is in his 30s. Take a look at this sketch, he has dark skin, with short hair. He drove an older model red pickup truck. You can call the number on your screen at the bottom of it if you see the suspect or that truck. Let me tell you that number, it's 941-747-3011.
NGUYEN: Smoke in the sky over Baghdad this morning. Insurgents attacked an Iraqi police checkpoint near the Baghdad airport. At least eight Iraqi police officers and two insurgents were killed in the fire fight. Also at least nine Iraqi civilians were killed in other attacks in Baghdad today. And another incident in the Iraqi capital, officials say U.S. troops destroyed a bunker where weapon smugglers had taken cover. One dead child and two wounded children were found in the debris. One of the wounded children later died.
Meanwhile, in Washington, Democrats are looking for new ways to show their opposition to the Iraq war. Now that Senate efforts to pass a non-binding resolution have stalled, they've decided on another approach. CNN's senior national correspondent John Roberts has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN ROBERTS, CNN SENIOR NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's an audacious move, a measure to repeal and replace the 2002 authorization for war in Iraq. The original premise now null and void, claims co-author Senator Joe Biden.
SEN. JOE BIDEN, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The original mission, weapons of mass destruction, Saddam Hussein, compliance with the U.N. resolution, all been met. No weapons, Saddam's gone, there is compliance.
ROBERTS: So it's time to change the mission, says Biden. His proposal would limit the U.S. role to counterterrorism and training Iraqi forces and remove all combat forces not necessary for that task by March of 2008. Battling the insurgency and sectarian violence would become an Iraqi responsibility. The proposal roughly follows the recommendations of the Iraq study group, and carefully stays away from the politically poisonous issue of dialing back the war by cutting off funding for the troops. But even some fierce critics of the war feel it's far too early, that the troop increase should at least be given a chance. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It seems to me the logical thing is to wait four to six months and use that four to six months to evaluate the surge and then to develop some plan B proposals.
ROBERTS: The measure also sets a firm timetable for withdrawal, which some military analysts believe would only validate the insurgent and terrorist strategy.
BRIG. GEN. DAVID GRANGE, U.S. ARMY (RET.): To attack the length of a campaign because we're not good at long-term commitments and attack morale using the media as a tool and they're very savvy at it.
ROBERTS: Unlike the recent non-binding resolutions on the troop buildup, Biden's measure has teeth. He also admits it has no hope of attracting the 60 votes needed to pass. So why try to rein in President Bush with resolutions destined to fail?
GRANGE: To try to put pressure on him to stop. This is a process. We've got to keep coming forward. Whether or not -- whether or not we can pass it, it is a rational, logical next step.
ROBERTS (on camera): It also puts Democrats' names on a list of votes that they can take out on the campaign trail in 2008 and try to change the war knowing that they'll never succeed also means Democrats can't get blamed for anything that goes wrong. John Roberts, CNN, Washington.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, this corvette takes on a utility pole. Can you tell who won? The pole looks just fine. But actually, there is an amazing ending to this story. That's ahead in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: And it may look good on paper, but your car's mileage could be a lot less than what you've been told. We have those details here in the NEWSROOM. Plus this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm going after that truck.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know, I'm making this up as I go.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Which presidential candidate may seem himself like that, you know, just making it up as you go along. We're not making anything up.
NGUYEN: We're not. We are though, tracking a developing story in Florida. The manhunt for an armed kidnapper who is still on the loose. Take a look at this sketch. There's a phone number at the bottom of the screen if you recognize him. Our coverage continues right here in the NEWSROOM.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: New images of the insurgency to show you. This 56- second video was posted on a website that's been used to show similar videos in the past. It allegedly shows fighters, firing missiles at a U.S. base in Afghanistan last November. CNN cannot confirm the authenticity of this video and it is not clear whether the fighters being depicted are al Qaeda or Taliban members.
On the CNN security watch, how would the government respond to an improvised explosive device on American soil? That was a question to be answered during a cabinet-level exercise today, and CNN White House correspondent Elaine Quijano join us now from Washington with the latest on this test. And that's all it is, right, Elaine, just a test?
ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely Betty. The White House certainly doesn't want to panic people, but of course they want to make sure that government agencies are prepared just in case. So this morning, behind closed doors, members of the president's homeland security team are meeting to discuss how, in fact they would respond and their various agencies would respond, if there were to be a terrorist attack on U.S. soil involving IEDS, improvised explosive devices. Now the government calls this a quote unquote, tabletop exercise and it's being led by the president's homeland security adviser Fran Townsend. Also taking part, officials from various agencies including the FBI, the Justice Department and the Pentagon. Now, this is the fourth time in a little over a year that the Bush administration has held such an exercise. Other drills have focused on things like a pandemic flu outbreak, hurricanes as well as a smallpox outbreak. Now President Bush himself is not taking part in the drill, and the White House, Betty, really is trying to emphasize that this is a fictional scenario, only not based on any threats to the United States. Betty?
NGUYEN: But important lessons can be learned and that's why they're doing it. Elaine Quijano, thank you.
Stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news about your security. T.J.?
HOLMES: And Betty, of course we've been keeping an eye on severe weather or Reynolds has been keeping an eye on it for us. He's over in the severe weather center with something else popping up.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: And some other stuff happening across America this weekend, corvette in a hurry, a utility pole minding its own business then, hey, how ya doing? Incredible pictures here of this pole that's literally sitting in the middle of this -- this disintegrated corvette.
NGUYEN: How'd it get there, that's what I want to know?
HOLMES: Actually more incredible thing here is that the driver survived. He didn't have too severe of injuries, but he did have to be cut out of that car. But again, a mystery there. Looks like the car was split in half and the pole is sitting right in the middle of it.
NGUYEN: Well here is a smooth operator at work. Watch this thief walk over to an unattended baby stroller. The mom's purse hanging on the chair, you see it right there. The guy takes the baby blanket, covers the purse and takes it with him. He even has the gall to take the baby out of the stroller.
HOLMES: Wow!
Well, Faith was lost, now she's found. This is not a story about religion, it's a story about a two-legged dog that was misplaced at an airline during her flight from Oklahoma to Florida. The hound was found at Orlando's airport. Kind of funny looking here, ok? But it is strange, you don't see that every day. Faith was actually born with three legs. One of those legs never developed and the dog actually has a myspace page.
NGUYEN: Well we are tracking a developing story in Florida. The manhunt for an armed kidnapper who is still on the loose.
HOLMES: And in times of high gas prices many people are buying hybrid cars. But what if you found out they don't get as many miles per gallon as you were led to believe? New numbers in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: And on this Oscar weekend, we ask you this --
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
(END OF VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Which presidential candidate's favorite movie is "Casablanca"? A kiss is just a kiss, here in the NEWSROOM. But nobody's kissing anybody, just to let you know.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ: And which former vice president might actually win an Oscar this year. We'll take a closer look online. I'm Veronica De La Cruz and that is coming up next from the dotcom desk.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: From Ronald Reagan to Arnold Schwarzenegger, from Mr. Smith goes to Washington to all the president's men, the world of politics has long held a fascination for Hollywood. With final preparations under way for tomorrow night's Oscar ceremony, we decided to find out whether the feeling is mutual. Here now CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILL SCHNEIDER, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): It's Oscar time, so we asked the presidential candidates the question of the moment. What are you wearing? No. What's your favorite movie? John McCain, the champion of campaign finance reform, his favorite movie is "Viva Zapata."
MOVIE CLIP: Elections are a farce, the people have no voice in the government.
SCHNEIDER: Hillary Clinton said one of her favorites is "Casablanca", where in the end public commitments trump private concerns.
MOVIE CLIP: But it doesn't take much to see that the problems of three little people don't amount to a hill of beans in this crazy world.
SCHNEIDER: Rudy Giuliani's pick, "The Godfather", a lesson in leadership.
MOVIE CLIP: I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse.
SCHNEIDER: "Dr. Strangelove," John Edwards' favorite movie reveals the candidate's interest in civil military relations.
MOVIE CLIP: Now, it appears that the order called for the planes to attack their targets inside Russia.
SCHNEIDER: Bill Richardson likes "Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid", it's about getting the job done.
MOVIE CLIP: Well that ought to do it.
SCHNEIDER: What does "Raiders of the Lost Ark", Mitt Romney's favorite movie say about his campaign?
MOVIE CLIP: I'm going after that truck. I don't know, I'm making this up as I go.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): What would be the favorite movie for political reporters covering the 2008 campaign? That would have to be "From Here to Eternity." Bill Schneider, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END OF VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: You know the story continues online as well and Veronica de la Cruz joins us now from the dotcom desk. Hi there Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: Hey there, Betty. Speaking of the Oscars, politics. Here's a question for you, could Al Gore's road to the White House actually begin in Hollywood tomorrow night? Now as you know, his documentary "An Inconvenient Truth" is up for two Oscars, best original song and best documentary. The movie has thrust the former vice president back into the political spotlight and has a lot of people wondering will this lead to Gore throwing his hat in the ring for the race in '08? In the words of his producer Lawrence Bender, he was right on Iraq, he was right on global warming. He has an issue that is so formidable and has tackled, so I would have loved to see him run. Sure, but I don't see that in the cards. So what do you think? Do you see it in the cards for Al Gore? In our quick vote today we're asking you, do you think winning an Oscar would persuade Al Gore to run for president? Looking at the results right now, about 77 percent think that it will not change Gore's mind on running, while about 23 percent do believe it would. More than 45,000 people have voted so far in our unscientific poll. And you can vote too, all you have to do is log on to cnn.com. Betty what do you think?
NGUYEN: I kind of agree. I don't think he's going to run. I mean he said in the past that he's not going to.
DE LA CRUZ: You never know.
NGUYEN: Who knows, if he wins that Oscar, he gets onstage, he may be compelled to say hey, I'm in the game.
DE LA CRUZ: And that's what I was thinking too.
NGUYEN: Thank you Veronica.
Well don't miss our special preview of the big night. CNN is live from the red carpet at the Academy Awards. That is tomorrow night, 7:00 eastern, and after you've seen the big show and all the winners, CNN is your all-access pass to the big parties, the winners and all the Oscar action. CNN Sunday at midnight eastern.
HOLMES: Well, how is that gas mileage looking for you? Might not be what you think. We have some new calculations coming up in the NEWSROOM.
NGUYEN: A new film this week of another angle of the JFK situation and the assassination. Will it quiet the conspiracists though, that's the question. We'll look at that film very carefully. The curator of the sixth floor museum is in the NEWSROOM.
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now in the news, severe weather possible today in the Midwest and south. Tornado watches posted now for parts of Oklahoma, Arkansas, Louisiana and Texas. Behind the cold front, blizzard conditions for the plains. Late storm developments here on CNN throughout the day.
NGUYEN: Well police south of Tampa Bay still trying to track down a kidnapping suspect today. Take a good look at this sketch. He's described as a man in his 30s, dark skin, about 5'7". Thirteen year-old Clay Moore he is safe after freeing himself from duct tape. The boy was grabbed as a bus stop Friday morning.
HOLMES: Investigators getting a look at train wreckage in England. The focus, one particular set of switches. One person was killed, nearly two dozen hurt, five critically when the London to Glasgow train jumped the tracks. Some cars rolled down an embankment.
NGUYEN: U.S. and Iraqi troops carrying out raids in the northern city of Mosul today. Six suspects arrested. The military says troops found large amounts of Egyptian and Syrian currency along with phony passports and fake IDs. Six other suspected terrorists picked up in other operations across Iraq.
HOLMES: An attack on a checkpoint near Baghdad's airport to tell you about now. Eight Iraqi police and two insurgents killed. Witnesses say two vehicles sped toward the checkpoint. The gunmen jumped out, opened fire and tossed grenades. The U.S. troops heard the battle and helped out the Iraqi police.
NGUYEN: Well, we are keeping a close eye on the weather, and you can see why. This tornado hit McLean, Texas yesterday. A large weather system is bringing warnings of tornadoes, hail, snowstorms, even floods over a wide region stretching from Colorado all the way to Michigan.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DE LA CRUZ: The death toll in Bangladesh rising sharply today. More than 1,700 killed in a monster cyclone. Relief agencies are gearing up to feed hundreds of thousands displaced by the storm.
HOLMES: Also, hundreds of Maryland parents in court this morning. A judge told them, get their kids vaccinated or they're going face fines, possibly even jail time.
DE LA CRUZ: And a Capitol Hill police officer reportedly will be charged with arson next week. Investigators think she set small fires in Senate Office Buildings.
HOLMES: All right. Gas prices may seem high enough to give you a bit of indigestion, but that's not going to keep you from that turkey. AAA predicts 31 million Americans will travel by car for Thanksgiving. It's a tad bit more than last year. Drivers will pay a lot more, however, roughly $1 more than a gallon than they did last Thanksgiving, really?
Millions of us will fly, of course, over the holiday. And as usual, the airlines want you to get to the airport early. Experts at cheapseats.com say flyers are playing $20 to $45 per ticket more this year. And they say Christmas will be costlier if oil prices keep bubbling up.
Here now a CNN fact check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (voice-over): If you want to get an idea of how many Americans are on the move this Thanksgiving holiday, passenger traffic is expected to increase by 4 percent this year over last. That's more than a million more people crowding onto airplanes.
The travel bug swings into high gear around November 16th. The Air Transport Association says some 27 million passengers will jam airports in the dozen days that follow. The Wednesday before turkey day and the Sunday and Monday after are peak travel days as well. Industry officials anticipate some 2.5 million passengers to be flying each of those days. That's 400,000 more than on an ordinary day and there's a warning for air travelers.
Most flights are expected to be about 90 percent full, which means if you miss one you could have serious problems booking a timely alternative, even with airlines adding hundreds of extra workers, travel experts say expect delays and they advise pack some patience in your bags.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Of course, we know flight delays pretty much routine these days, but why? Why?
DE LA CRUZ: The question is always why. And our Josh Levs has been taking a look at that and are "Keeping Them Honest." Hello.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. It's not why you think. It's not why you think. You know that you're always hearing that it's about weather, and weather, weather, weather. Uh-uh.
DE LA CRUZ: No?
LEVS: Virtually never is it really to be blamed on the weather. And that's something that we're pulling together for you all today. We want you to understand what's really going on. This has been the worst year for flight delays ever recorded. So today, we're taking a look at what officials have said and what they have to show for it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice-over): The fastest form of travel comes with ridiculously frequent delays. The government knows it has a problem.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The skies are too crowded.
MARION BLAKEY, FMR. FEDERAL AVIATION ADMIN.: As we look at it annually, over the whole year, it's a $10 billion problem for the United States.
LEVS: But for all the talk, we're not seeing the problems fixed. 2007 is the worst year for flight delays on record. One of every four flights delayed. Why?
BLAKEY: Well, I can tell you right now that the biggest problem is always the weather.
LEVS: Not exactly. The Department of Transportation says nearly half of flight delays can be linked to weather, but the department says many of those could be avoided with corrective action by the airports or the federal aviation administration. So if a better system were in place, many delays currently blamed on weather just wouldn't happen.
The number of delays due to extreme weather that prevents flying? Just 1 percent of all flights for the year. What about security concerns? Are they causing many delays? Nope. The government says less than a tenth of 1 percent of all flights were delayed because of security. So what are the biggest reasons for delays? Aircraft arriving late, the national aviation system and air carrier delays. Why is this happening? Airlines acknowledge they have work to do when it comes to organization and efficiency.
And the FAA itself says this...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: More people are flying than ever, and more, smaller planes are carrying them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: And there are now talks under way about reshaping the aviation system, but, guys, the thing is, so far there's no reason to expect any serious changes in the short term, so we can't say if it is going to be any better next year.
DE LA CRUZ: Well, the president is doing something about it, right, with opening up more airspace?
LEVS: Well, he is, but we're talking about temporarily. Yes, the president just a few days ago, on Thursday, announced he'll take a few steps. He wants to open up some military airspace to allow that to commercial travel. He wants to decrease some of the maintenance projects, to get planes moving more. He also wants to increase the bump fees which means that if you get bumped, you get more money, which could discourage the airlines from overbooking so much.
All that said, it is just temporary measures that they're trying for the holidays. We don't know if it will work. And the head of the Air Traffic Controllers Association says it won't because the biggest problem is that there aren't enough people on the ground dealing with air traffic.
So guys, even if they get the planes into the sky, there aren't enough people making sure they can land safely. So they just fly around for a while.
HOLMES: Did he say you were coming back with something more encouraging? Because you put us through this earlier.
LEVS: Oh, I have some positive news for you.
DE LA CRUZ: Oh, bearer of bad news, Josh Levs.
LEVS: So are you really into college football?
HOLMES: Yes.
LEVS: Well, today is the game.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness.
LEVS: It's the Yale-Harvard game. It's the game. President Bush has weighed in. So of course Yalies everywhere are very excited for the next...
HOLMES: It's Michigan-Ohio State, a lot of people talking...
LEVS: No, no, no, it's "the game." And everybody is very excited. Go, bulldogs. I got it in.
(CROSSTALK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, next here, this is a story that will have you scratching your head a bit. She promised to love and honor him, but what about his new girlfriend?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You see him with this other woman and they're holding hands. I mean, I would think -- you know, it must be hard to see that. Is it hard?
JUNE SCHNYDER, THOMAS' WIFE: In a way, but not totally because I understand his condition.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes. It's an Alzheimer's love story. You don't want to miss this one.
DE LA CRUZ: And to the rescue, a boy jumps into action after his mom passes out behind the wheel of their van.
But first, it's not just homeowners who are going green these days. Some business owners want to be eco-friendly too. Gerri Willis now takes a look at one company in today's "Green House" report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, HOST, "OPEN HOUSE" (voice-over): You may know the songs of Jack Johnson, but you may not know his record label, Brushfire Records has gone green from its recording studio to its tours and CD packaging.
EMMETT MALLOY, BRUSHFIRE RECORDS: When given the opportunity to go out and make his own decisions and to go out and tour the world to amazing results every night, playing in front of most of the times 20,000 people and upward, he thought it was his responsibility to do so. And that's what we've done around him and, you know, when the guy up top, that's what he's wanting, it kind of trickles down and resonates to everything that you do.
WILLIS: Brushfire has outfitted its recording studio with everything from recycled doorknobs and wood floors to LED light bulbs.
MALLOY: One of the biggest things we have here that I think makes the biggest impact on a daily basis is our solar panels. We traded in our luxury rooftop party zone for, you know, a whole roof full of solar panels.
WILLIS: And despite the high cost of production, all of Brushfire's CD packaging is made from 100 percent recycled materials.
MALLOY: It would be completely hypocritical to be going out saying all that we're saying around Jack, this building, and then put out the record in a plastic case that's not recycled.
WILLIS: That's this week's "Green House."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We've got a new top 10 list to tell you about this morning and one that shows the impact of Hispanics in this country. It's the U.S. Census Bureau's 10 most common surnames. Smith remains the most common last name in the U.S., followed by Johnson, Williams, Brown, Jones, Miller, Davis. But kind of a surprise to some here, for the first time, two Hispanic names made the top 10 list, Garcia at number eight, at number nine, Rodriguez. Wilson finishes off the list at number 10.
DE LA CRUZ: No Holmes, no de la Cruz, no?
HOLMES: No.
DE LA CRUZ: Not making that list. Not many of us around.
HOLMES: Yes. I'm in the same boat. New love, new ties found among Alzheimer's patients, and their families are happy for them. Former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor is a living witness.
Here is CNN's Gary Tuchman to explain.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN (voice-over): Thomas Schnyder and Josephine Scalzo (ph) are both in advanced stages of Alzheimer's Disease. They live in an Alzheimer's group home in Las Vegas, and they like each other a lot.
(on camera): My name is Gary. You're Josephine. Hi, Josephine.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK.
TUCHMAN: And you're Thomas. Hello, Thomas.
(voice-over): Eighty-year-old Josephine does most of the talking.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, thank you.
TUCHMAN: We asked the owner of the group home about Thomas.
CHRIS TAM, LAS VEGAS ALZHEIMER'S & MEMORY CARE: He kissed everybody to say good-bye. And then, you know, he likes to be touched. He likes to joke with our people. But he cannot even speak, you know.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Josephine is behind you. That's his girlfriend, right?
TAM: Josephine, right here, yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But there's another woman in Thomas's life.
J. SCHNYDER: Hello, Thomas. Hi.
TUCHMAN: His bride of 54 years, the woman who takes care of him, is devoted to him and still loves him.
J. SCHNYDER: Keeping him calm?
TUCHMAN: Her name is June, and she regularly visits her husband, who no longer knows who she is.
(on camera): You see him with this other woman, and they're holding hands. I mean, I would think, you know, it must be hard to see that. Is it hard?
J. SCHNYDER: In a way, but not totally, because I understand his condition. And if he can find someone to make him laugh or talk to, that's fine.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): This is the husband of former Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. He, too, is an Alzheimer's patient who is romancing a fellow patient.
DR. GAIL SALTZ, WEILL-CORNELL SCHOOL OF MEDICINE: Because Alzheimer's affects one's judgment and memory, finding someone else isn't the same as actually betraying or stepping out on your spouse, whom you know, who you remember and who you have made a commitment to.
TUCHMAN: Do you talk, Thomas?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: Oh, there you go. OK. Well, it's nice talking to you. Do you like living here?
THOMAS SCHNYDER, ALZHEIMER'S PATIENT: Yes.
TUCHMAN: And do you like being with Josephine?
T. SCHNYDER: Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): June gets nostalgic.
(on camera): What was your wedding like?
J. SCHNYDER: Beautiful.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): She has not forgotten the words she uttered in 1953, to take her husband in sickness and in health.
(on camera): Here's what I think, that you're very generous, very unselfish. Isn't that what love is all about?
J. SCHNYDER: Oh, yes. Yes.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): The Schnyders have had a good life and raised two healthy children. But now, Thomas has two ladies in his life.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Las Vegas.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: Hmm.
HOLMES: She took the vows seriously. That is a story -- that's a good Saturday story. That's good way for us to wrap up today. Sickness and in health, wow.
DE LA CRUZ: No, I've got one more. I've got another good story for you. A mom blacks out behind the wheel. Four children in the car with her. Her two young sons taking control. What they did to save her life and theirs.
HOLMES: Yes, well, that's a good story as well. Also, they're showing you're never too old to score. We're talking about sports though here, folks. Older athletes proving they still got it.
DE LA CRUZ: T.J.
HOLMES: That's next in the NEWSROOM.
DE LA CRUZ: OK. All right.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Forty-nine minutes after the hour. Thanks so much for joining us on this Saturday morning. When mom slumps over at the wheel, her superheroes spring into action to save the day. This story now from Kristin Donnelly. She is with Buffalo affiliate WGRZ.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KRISTIN DONNELLY, WGRZ REPORTER (voice-over): Sandy Miranto is alive because of her two boys, 12-year-old Jamie (ph) and 7-year-old Jayden.
JODI HOFFMAN, SANDY MIRANTO'S SISTER: Anybody would have panicked, but they didn't.
DONNELLY: It started out as one of those routine moments in life, the devoted mother grabs her keys and puts her four kids in the car to drive her son Jamie to play street hockey.
JAYDEN MIRANTO, 7-YEAR-OLD: We back up and she puts her hand on her head and she just says, ow, and then her head just goes down.
DONNELLY: Sandy slumped over the steering wheel. The car was still backing down the driveway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And I put my hand on the pedal and turned off the car.
DONNELLY: Jamie says he didn't think. He just acted, climbing down and putting his hand on the brake pedal, shutting off the car, then telling 7-year-old Jayden to call 911. The boys eventually found a neighbor to get an ambulance and get their mother out of the car. Jayden took care of his 3-year-old twin sisters still strapped in their car seats in the back.
JAYDEN MIRANTO: So I had to get my sisters really fast out of the car.
DONNELLY: Paramedics worked on Sandy on the family's front lawn, shocking her heart that had stopped beating. She was rushed to the DeGraff Hospital (ph).
BRIAN MIRANTO, SANDY MIRANTO'S HUSBAND: The first word in the E.R. was there really wasn't any hope.
HOFFMAN: And I grabbed her hand and I started talking to her right away. And the nurses looked and said, do what you're doing because she's responding. And minutes later she grabbed my hand and started rubbing it. And right then I said, you've got to keep fighting.
DONNELLY: And Sandy kept fighting. Now she's responding to treatment, even talking and joking around, thanks to her quick- thinking sons.
B. MIRANTO: Every time I talked to them, I just couldn't help myself but start bawling and saying, what an adult he acted like and what he actually did in saving his mother's life.
HOFFMAN: That's right there two brave boys that saved mom's life. I owe them for saving my best friend.
DONNELLY: But the most important thing, mom's still around.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We love you. We miss you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: Doctors say a low potassium level sent Sandy Miranto into cardiac arrest. She was happy to learn Jamie got an A average on his report card this week.
It really is a great story, you know?
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: It is. It's uplifting. And we're going to talk to the kids and mom tomorrow actually, so you need to stay tuned to that -- sorry, and dad. HOLMES: OK. And hello, Fredricka.
DE LA CRUZ: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: Hello.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: How are you?
HOLMES: Doing well.
WHITFIELD: Good to see you guys. All right. Well, busy travel weekend, yes. A lot of folks heading to the airports, trains, automobiles, all that good stuff. So how comforting is this, that bomb-making materials are actually getting through some of the screening stations in the airports? We're going to be talking to a former inspector general about how in the world this could be happening.
And then Bangladesh. You've seen and heard a lot of the images all morning long. More than 1,700 people killed. Well, this is a place of great need on a good day. And now this, post the cyclone, we'll be talking to a Red Crescent/Red Cross representative about the need and how you can help the folks there in Bangladesh. All that and more coming up ahead in the hour.
HOLMES: And we saw that death toll shoot up this morning, way up.
WHITFIELD: Yes, 1,700 and counting, it's remarkable.
HOLMES: All right. We'll see you here in a few minutes. Thank you, Fredricka.
LEMON: Always good to see you, thanks, Fred.
HOLMES: Well, granny, she has got game. Take a look at these folks here. Senior shooters taking it to the hoop, that's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: A league of their own. Some, not I, but some may think older women should be weaving baskets, somebody like T.J.
HOLMES: But this group is actually scoring baskets. Check this out and see what you think. John Garcia (ph) of affiliate WLS has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN GARCIA, WLS REPORTER (voice-over): They are grandmothers and great grandmothers. Some have played organized basketball.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm a little rusty but it will come back.
GARCIA: Others not so much but they're all here to try out for teams in the granny all-star league.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Shoot! We got one! Yay!
GARCIA: The only qualification, they have to be older than 50.
(on camera): What do your friends and family say when you tell them you're doing this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You're crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I told friends and family, you know what the first thing they did? Laugh! Ha ha!
GARCIA (voice-over): The league will play six on six basketball based on a league that started a decade ago in Iowa. Barbara Lee Cohen got the idea after seeing a story about the league.
BARBARA LEE COHEN, LEAGUE FOUNDER: They were 50 to a hundred years of age so I went ahead and decided to find out who they were.
GARCIA: At the time, she was thinking it would be good halftime entertainment for a Bulls game. Instead, now she is starting a league. One of the coaches, 53-year-old Mary Kay Monaghan, had a brief basketball career for the old Chicago Hustle in 1978. The skill level here just a little bit different.
MARY KAY MONAGHAN, COACH: There are some women that are here that have no idea, have never played basketball, or touched a basketball.
GARCIA (on camera): The term "granny ball" is not actually a reference to the age of the players, but to the style of shooting. See in granny ball, you get two points for shooting it overhand, but three points for shooting it underhand, granny style.
(voice-over): The turnout on this, the second day of tryouts, is encouraging to organizers. They had no idea what to expect. But it turns out there are plenty of women, senior citizens, anxious to get out and play.
COHEN: To me, this is wonderful. This is what I dreamed of.
GARCIA: John Garcia, ABC 7 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: I applaud them.
HOLMES: I applaud them as well.
DE LA CRUZ: I applaud them. Can you do that, the granny shot?
HOLMES: I used to -- I like to go with the...
DE LA CRUZ: Three points.
HOLMES: With the jump shot. It's in the wrist here. And I go that way.
All right. Fredricka, will you please get us out of here?
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: I hope you're not doing underhand, T.J. Weren't you a ball player in college?
HOLMES: I was a ball player, yes.
WHITFIELD: OK. I know you were doing the real thing.
HOLMES: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. No granny shots for T.J.
WHITFIELD: OK. But I am totally inspired by the granny ball. I love that.
DE LA CRUZ: So am I. So am I.
WHITFIELD: I want to be that. That's going to be me.
HOLMES: You've got a little while, though, Fred.
WHITFIELD: Oh yes, I do have a while.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Later, later, later. All right. You guys have a great day.
All right. Veronica and T.J. probably heading home for the holidays coming up this week, so are a whole lot of Americans, all in time for Thanksgiving. It's about friends and family. And more Americans than ever are determined to get there despite high gas prices and the dreaded airport delays.
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