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British Man Kidnapped in Iraq Kills Himself; Men Set Sail on Boat of Bottles for the Environment; Bad Economy Makes it Tough on Charities; SCLC President Describes Effect of Economy on Donations

Aired July 20, 2008 - 17:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, ANCHOR: Meantime, in Baghdad for us is our CNN's Frederik Pleitgen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Still no word on when exactly Barack Obama plans to come here to Iraq, but already, this leg of his visit to the Mideast and Europe is sparking a lot of interest both here in Iraq as well as in the United States.

At the center of the attention are Obama's plans to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq here, in a very short period of time. Obama, of course, says that if elected president, he would pull U.S. combat troops out of Iraq 16 months after having taken office.

And when he comes here to Iraq, he's going to be talking to top U.S. commanders on the ground and they will be giving him a reality check of those plans, first of all, telling them if this is at all logistically possible in that period of time, and also what that could mean to the stability of this country here in Iraq.

Of course, the security situation here in Iraq has been improving. The Iraqi security forces have been improving. Nevertheless, many Iraqis tell us, they feel that, of course, U.S. troops should leave their country at some point in time but many fear if the United States forces leave too fast, this country could descend back into violence.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Baghdad.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Meantime, John McCain stayed in the States this weekend. Today, he spent some time focusing on the national pastime. The venue, Yankee Stadium. Rudy Giuliani, McCain's former rival in the GOP primaries was the actual host. McCain talked sports with reporters and left the hardball politics to Giuliani.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

RUDY GIULIANI, (R) FMR. PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I think, if you look at Senator McCain's record on Iraq, I don't see how you can fail to elect him president. I mean, he was right on Iraq when almost everybody else was wrong. Now, it turned out that if we had caved in the way Barack Obama and the Democrats wanted to do, we'd now have a defeat. America would have a defeat rather than a possible victory, and I think the fact that Barack Obama is kind of making his first tour, in essence, of the world gives you an indication that John McCain is the man with the experience.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And when Giuliani is criticizing the senator, he's talking about Senator Obama, by the way. As for McCain himself, his position on Iraq is clear. No U.S. withdrawal until Iraqis can safeguard the country themselves.

Here now is CNN's Jonathan Mann.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This may have been John McCain's most famous visit to Iraq, a walk through Baghdad's central market on April 1st last year. McCain said the stroll proved that Iraq was getting safer.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have been here many years, many times over the years, never have I been able to drive from the airport, never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today.

MANN: Some Iraqis and Americans suggest that he was able to go out because he was protected by more than 100 soldiers and attack helicopters patrolling overhead. From the outset, John McCain has consistently looked forward to victory in Iraq.

When the U.S. first invaded and even after the occupation turned bloody, he supported the Bush administration's goals. He did not support the way it fought the war though, openly calling for more troops long before the administration announced its troop surge.

Now, McCain says the surge has succeeded, and it's proved something.

MCCAIN: In war time, judgment and experience matter. They matter. In a time of war, the commander-in-chief doesn't get a learning curve. If I have that privilege, I will bring to the job many years of military and political experience, experience that gave me the judgment necessary to make the right call in Iraq a year and a half ago.

MANN (on camera): McCain says the right call now is to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until Iraqi forces can safeguard the country themselves. He says it's best for the United States but something more as well. McCain says it's a moral obligation.

Jonathan Mann, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: All right. Well, now let's talk about Pakistan. A U.S. military leader say the terrorist's safe haven there posed a clear and present danger to U.S. troops in Afghanistan.

White House correspondent Elaine Quijano joins us now from Washington.

And so, Elaine, is the White House revealing in any way a change in strategy, or changes in diplomacy with Pakistan?

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, certainly, Pakistan continues to be a concern, and Afghanistan, of course, feeling the direct effects, as you noted, of what's taking place in Pakistan but nearly seven years after the U.S. went ahead with military action in Afghanistan, a resurgent Taliban is trying to tighten its grip on the remote region border in Pakistan.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO (voice-over): In the region where terrorists plan the 9/11 attacks, the threat is gathering again, and the Pentagon's top military officer worries that threat, growing steadily along the Pakistan/Afghanistan border, could emerge stronger than before.

ADM. MIKE MULLEN, JOINT CHEFS CHAIRMAN: They are joining a syndication of various extremists and terrorist groups which provides for a much more intense threat, internal to Pakistan, as well as the ability to flow greater freedom to flow forces across that porous border.

QUIJANO: Already in Afghanistan, the Taliban have stepped up the fighting with deadly results for American troops. A week ago in the remote eastern province of Kunar, nine American troops were killed by insurgents firing machine guns, mortars and rocket-propelled grenades.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs, Admiral Mike Mullen acknowledged violence is up, but he stopped short of saying the U.S. was losing the fight.

MULLEN: I would say the progress is mixed there, but I am not concerned at all at this point that we're losing in Afghanistan.

QUIJANO: For the presidential candidates whose campaigns have differed sharply on Iraq, both men agree on the need for more help in Afghanistan.

SEN. BARACK OBAMA, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe U.S. troop levels need to increase, and I've -- and for, at least a year now, have called for two additional brigades, perhaps three.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

MCCAIN: Our enemies are on the offensive and it's precisely the success of the surge in Iraq that shows us the way to victory over the Taliban.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Complicating the picture, Pakistan -- where extremists continue to find sanctuary. (END VIDEOTAPE)

QUIJANO: Now, U.S. officials say Pakistan's government is working to rein in the terrorists but say more needs to be done, a point that the two candidates agree on as well -- Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Elaine Quijano in Washington, thanks for that update.

And, of course, checking our Political Ticker, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice says that she has made her pick for president, but she's not saying who it is. But she does tell our Wolf Blitzer that she agreed with her predecessor Colin Powell that the success Barack Obama has seen so far is a good thing for America.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, CNN'S LATE EDITION)

CONDOLEEZZA RICE, U.S. SECRETARY OF STATE: I think it's great and I think it's great for our country and I do think it says that we've come a long way. But it's interesting that's from Colin Powell, he's knocked down a few barriers of his own. He knocked the barrier, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he knocked down the barrier of first black secretary of state -- yes, I've knocked down a few, too. It just shows that our country has been doing this for a while and it's great that this last barrier perhaps has also come down.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN HOST: Have you decided who to vote for?

RICE: Wolf, yes.

BLITZER: Do you want to tell us?

RICE: No.

BLITZER: OK, you don't have to.

RICE: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: In a word, short and sweet.

All right. Senator Joe Lieberman says, if asked he would speak at the Republican National Convention. The self-described independent Democrat is a strong supporter of John McCain. In an interview today, Lieberman said he wouldn't use the speech to bash Barack Obama but to explain why he backs John McCain.

Well, check out our ticker for all the latest campaign news. Just log on to CNNPolitics.com -- your source for all things political.

And now, this is also your source for all things weather. Our Jacqui Jeras is in the weather center and we've got a few named storms in which to keep track of, although you say a couple of them, forget about them. Who cares about Bertha, who cares about Cristobal -- let's talk Dolly. JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, Bertha long gone, we don't have to worry about that one, unless you live in Iceland and have friends and family there, then you might want to think about checking out the latest on Bertha.

Cristobal was still, you know, have some concerns yet here today. It's kind of moving parallel here with the outer bank as it pushes up to the north and east and you see that we still have showers and thundershowers and this could dumb some brief heavy rainfall. You've got the gusty winds beyond 20 miles per hour, maybe up to 30 at times out in the outer banks, and you've got the rough surf. So, you don't want to go to the beach today.

You'll play it smart, Cristobal is not a problem for you, but it is heading up towards the north and to the east and could have an impact on the Canadian maritime. So, if you've got friends up there, you might still want to keep track of Cristobal. Otherwise when it gets to the outer banks today, it's just going to move back over the open water, 45 miles per hour, that's a maximum sustained winds.

Now, Dolly, that's a different story certainly here. This is a tropical storm and it was upgraded toy and maximum winds the exact same as Cristobal but the difference here is we're likely going to see a landfall and we're likely going to see some gradual strengthening. Now, this is starting to get itself much better organized today and this is also a much bigger storm system.

Let's show you the forecast track here for Dolly and you can see those winds start to increase a little bit. It is going to be making landfall tonight, we think, over the Yucatan Peninsula and all the models are amazingly in agreement -- each and every model, believe it or not -- brings it over the Yucatan Peninsula. So, we have very good confidence here that that's what's going to be happening.

Heavy rainfall looking on the range of maybe four to six inches. That's what can be expected when it makes landfall in Mexico. Dolly then will move into the Gulf of Mexico tomorrow, strengthening is expected. It could become a hurricane and second landfall then will be expected mid to late week, possibly in northern Mexico, possibly in Texas, still a lot of uncertainty down the line, but Dolly is certainly one that you all want to be aware of if you live in the western gulf.

Other severe weather to talk about today, we've got watches in effect across the northeast, real nasty thunderstorms move to the Syracuse and were pushing east of there at this hour with some damaging winds. And the heat, my goodness, it is nasty hot out there, Fredricka.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: It is. I was going to ask you about that. What about that heat wave?

JERAS: Well, take a look at this. It's starting to cool down with that front. That's why we've got the storms moving through the northeast. We'll see relief for places like Philly and D.C. on Tuesday.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Yes, and when it's hot in Philly and D.C., I mean it's hot with a capital "H." It's like, unlike any other place with all these brick row houses, temperature (ph) just contains it all.

JERAS: Stay inside, watch CNN if you can.

WHITFIELD: I speak from experience.

(LAUGHTER)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks a lot, Jacqui. Appreciate it.

All right. Well, straight ahead, this is a gruesome, I mean, really disturbing story. A pregnant teen found dead, her baby taken, and now police have enough to move forward on the case.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. To say this is disturbing really is an understatement. A pregnant teen was killed. Her baby was actually cut from her uterus, and Kia Johnson's body was found in another woman's home.

So now today, that woman who owns the home was charged in the crime, and police are revealing details about how these two women may have met.

Our Jim Acosta is live in Pittsburgh with these details -- Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fredricka, police say there may have been a connection between the victim and the suspect in this case, a suspect investigators say, who has a history of kidnapping.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA (voice-over): Using dental records, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office identified the body of 18-year-old Kia Johnson. Police say the pregnant woman was found inside the suburban Pittsburgh apartment building with her arms and legs bound, her mouth gagged. Investigators believe she was drugged before her baby was cut out of her womb.

DR. KARL WILLIAMS, ALLEGHENY CO. MEDICAL EXAMINER: And her abdomen had been open with a sharp weapon. The uterus had been opened. The uterus appeared to be what we say is gravid meaning that there had been a baby there.

ACOSTA: Police say the apartment where the body was found belongs to 38-year-old Andrea Curry-Demus. Investigators believe the two may have known each other.

SUPT. CHARLES MOFFATT, ALLEGHENY CO. POLICE: We have information that they met one another. How far it goes back we don't know at this time, but we do have evidence there was contact between the two of them.

ACOSTA: Last week, authorities say Curry-Demus took a baby to a Pittsburgh hospital and claimed it was hers, then she said she bought the infant from a local woman. Curry-Demus, who has now been charged with one count of murder, told reporters after her arrest, quote, "I didn't do nothing."

That stunning news put a renewed focus on the whereabouts of Kia Johnson who had recently gone missing. Before Johnson's body was identified, relatives were beginning to worry.

SHAKEEA WASHINGTON, VICTIM'S SISTER: We don't where she's at, she's pregnant. It's not like her, she's been gone for three days. It's not like her just to be missing. She would have called somebody she does not go home.

ACOSTA: According to the "Pittsburgh Tribune Review," Curry-Demus suffered two miscarriages at ages 12 and 21. In 1990, she was accused in an alleged plot to steal a woman's baby, and in a separate incident, of kidnapping an infant from a hospital. She was sent to prison after pleading guilty to various charges from both incidents.

ARDANA IRVIN, FRIEND OF SUSPECT: Why did she do that? Why did she do that? Why?

ACOSTA: Flash forward to this year, friends and relatives say Curry- Demus had told them she was pregnant, and went so far as to attend a baby shower.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She would never like let you touch her stomach, pregnant women do things like that. They are happy because they are pregnant but she would never do none of that. She won't let me do that at all. She just kept a distance from me.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

ACOSTA: And authorities say the baby boy that was brought to the hospital by Curry-Demus is doing fine, although the child has not been definitively linked at this point to Kia Johnson. As for Andrea Curry-Demus, she is scheduled to appear in court later this week -- Fredericka.

WHITFIELD: Absolutely horrible.

All right. Thank you, Jim Acosta.

This is just pretty hard to comprehend. Instead of getting married this weekend, a Florida mother is in mourning. Mirlande Baptiste's son died after he was somehow left inside a hot SUV while she was in a salon getting her nails done.

However, police say she may not have known that the child was actually in the car. Baptiste had dropped off several kids with the relatives before some pre-wedding errands and somehow the four-year-old ended up in that same car for more than two hours in 90-degree heat.

So, it's still unclear if Baptiste will actually face any charges.

New video said to be from Iraqi kidnappers, outraging the British prime minister. Why he says the tape adds to anguish of the hostages' families?

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: Forget about "Spiderman," the "Dark Night" rules. Jacqui Jeras and I do a little bit of bat chat. We'll dissect the "Dark Knight" phenom in today's chat room. And if you think you're watching the NEWSROOM, well, for a moment, see me in the chat room.

Plus, a man famous for moon-walking long before Michael Jackson, Buzz Aldrin, joins us live.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

WHITFIELD: All right. Thirty-nine years ago today, the world came together for one brief moment, to celebrate one small step. Mind you, there were no cell phones or laptops back in 1969. Technology was absolutely archaic by today's standards, yet, America set its sights on the moon and Apollo 11 helped us accomplish what no other nation could. A remarkable mission that so many of us remember.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, NASA)

ANNOUNCER: Forty seconds away from the Apollo 11 liftoff. Ignition sequence start.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It kind of looks like you're well on your way now.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ED ALBIN, ASTRONOMER: I had a telescope and I had gone out and looked at the moon and just once again, you know, just, you know, seeing these guys. To me, they were heroes. You know, they were supermen who were traveling to the moon.

WHITFIELD (voice-over): Like millions of others around the world, Ed Albin saw the future on July 20th, 1969. He was only eight years old as he watched astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins go where no human had ever gone before.

Today, Albin is an astronomer.

ALBIN: I think the lesson we learned from going to the moon is that if we set a goal -- that we can achieve that goal.

WHITFIELD: Michelle Sebag was 12 years old and living in France in 1969. Her memories of watching these images 39 years ago on TV are still vivid today.

MICHELLE SEBAG, NATIVE OF FRANCE: You feel that, any minute they could discover something unbelievable. There was this voice... ANNOUNCER: The eagle has landed.

SEBAG: ... not very understandable, scratchy in the ears. So the appearance was very moving (ph), and we're impressed (ph). And I had a feeling that United States was important even though I didn't know exactly why.

ANNOUNCER: It's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

WHITFIELD: Thirty-nine years and so many missions later, Americans, young and old, continue to explore Apollo's lessons.

Monica Alicea teaches a summer space camp. She thinks that one step in 1969 speaks to the challenges America faces right now.

MONICA ALICEA, TEACHER: Never stop learning, never stop exploring, especially with all the problems we have today with the gas crisis and water shortages, and we always have to find new ways to do things.

ALBIN: People said that it couldn't be done and to see that, you know, our country had developed this program that actually fulfilled, you know, the dream of John F. Kennedy to put astronauts on the moon, was just awe-inspiring.

(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

JOHN F. KENNEDY, THEN PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. It will not be one man going to the moon. We make this judgment affirmatively. It will be an entire nation.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

ANNOUNCER: Apollo 11 signing off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

WHITFIELD: And Apollo 11 indeed fulfilling President Kennedy's goal of putting a man on the moon before the end of that decade.

Well, Buzz Aldrin was a huge part of that mission along with Neil Armstrong, making the first steps on the moon. Well, there he is, joining us now from Los Angeles on this very special day. Happy anniversary, happy 39th anniversary.

BUZZ ALDRIN, APOLLO 11 ASTRONAUT: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: Well, does it feel like it was just yesterday, or does it feel like light years away?

ALDRIN: Well, I was 39 when that mission took place, so it's sort of doubling my age now, and I can't help but marvel, again, just how fortunate 24 human beings were, Americans, in being given the opportunity to journey to the moon and participate in the fulfilling of such a stirring commitment that we made and how we dealt with things following Sputnik back in those days.

And I think we can compare that transition from not having a human space flight program starting in Sputnik and then ending up landing on the moon, we can compare that to the end of the Apollo program and going into the space shuttle program where we perhaps didn't make quite the right great decisions and we ended up not flying for almost six years between Apollo Soyuz and the space shuttle flying.

And today, now, we're facing another critical transition from the shuttle space station back into exploration and we're facing another gap, and I think we need to question exactly whether we are being flexible enough in our considerations.

WHITFIELD: And I wonder, does that really worry you? You know, those wrinkles in the program then and the wrinkles that we're seeing, you know, today -- do you worry about the future of the NASA, this space exploration program as a whole?

ALDRIN: I hope not, I really do, because it's such a critical time now, and it's going to affect our leadership in the world in 20, 30 years, and that's why I'm trying to be a catalyst for a space transition advisory team that can put together an analysis of let's say maybe three different and distinct options that the candidates can consider, and we can refine somewhat. And then after the election, we can work expeditiously with the elected president to expedite the embarking on a space program that...

WHITFIELD: Well, included in that program, would that be that whole notion, this whole thought of -- by 2019 actually having another exploration to the moon, and it would be in part to colonize the moon? Do you like that idea?

ALDRIN: I certainly do. I think we need to work out the details of living off the land on the moon as soon as we can, combine that with the resource visits to some asteroids and then go to the moons of mars and commit to a permanent, permanent colonization on mars.

WHITFIELD: Wow.

ALDRIN: It's so expensive to send humans to mars that we have to really understand what it means to do like the Mayflower did when it brought the first colonists here to our country. They didn't expect to come back. They expected to live here in whatever conditions they find and that's what I think we should do in the future.

WHITFIELD: Well, Buzz Aldrin, what an honor to talk with you, and, you know, I guess, one of my favorite little notes of trivia about you is how you got your name Buzz, how your little sister couldn't quite say brother and would call you "Buzzer" and you were like, "I kind of like that," it sticks and so, you officially became Buzz Aldrin then and forever.

ALDRIN: Well, that goes along with my mother's maiden name which was Marion Moon.

WHITFIELD: Oh, wow. It all comes full circle. It was just meant to be, Buzz Aldrin.

ALDRIN: Well, I'm one that lucked out on all of that.

WHITFIELD: Well, so did we, because we got a chance to witness history because of your efforts, and it's my pleasure to talk with you as well. Happy 39th anniversary. I can't wait for the big 40, because we're going to have to make big plans on our next meeting then.

ALDRIN: Well, you're right there. Now, Disney did pretty well with "Buzz Lightyear" and there's a new animated movie about "Fly me to the Moon"...

WHITFIELD: Oh, cool.

ALDRIN: ... where three flies stow away on Apollo 11 and go to the moon and help solve some problems. And it's a very...

WHITFIELD: Oh, that's cool. That sounds like another date.

ALDRIN: Oh, it's a wonderful one and it opens up nationally August 8th.

WHITFIELD: OK. I'm marking the calendar. Oh, that's the start of the games as well. We've got a lot to talk about come August 8th.

ALDRIN: You're right, it is.

WHITFIELD: Buzz Aldrin, thanks so much, a pleasure talking to you. Happy 39th.

We'll be right back with more in the NEWSROOM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN NEWS ANCHOR: One of five British hostages captured in Iraq more than a year ago reportedly has killed himself. and the kidnappers blame the British government for his death.

Owen Thomas has the latest from London.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

OWEN THOMAS, CNN NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In what is said to be the kidnapper's video, this is the man they say committed suicide about two months ago. He's identified as Jason. CNN cannot independently verify any of the video's claims as reported by the "Sunday Times of London."

The video also features another of the five British men who have been held captive for more than a year. "The Sunday Times" identifies him as Alan. Alan makes no reference to the reported suicide. He does call on the British government to speed up its efforts to free them.

ALAN, KIDNAPPED BRITISH MAN: I would like for the British government to please hurry. I'm appealing for you to please hurry to try and get this received as soon as possible.

THOMAS: The five British men and two Iraqis were kidnapped last May from the Finance Ministry Building in Baghdad. The group that claims responsibility calls itself the Shiite Islamic Resistance in Iraq. And the tape was passed from a journalist from "The Sunday Times" who tells CNN it's believed the group is linked to Muqtada al-Sadr's Mehdi army.

At state attributed to the captures accuses the British authorities of foot-dragging and procrastination. It blames them for the men's fate.

The British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, who was in Baghdad on Saturday, says he discussed the hostage-taking with the Iraqi prime minister, and they are working with the Americans to find a solution.

In the reaction to the video, Mr. Brown called it abhorrent.

GORDON BROWN, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: These men have suffered enough, and I call on those people who are the militias that have taken them captive to release them immediately.

THOMAS: The only fully identified captive is Peter Moore, who said his name in a video released in February, again, pleading with the British government to negotiate the hostages' release.

In the past, the militants have demanded that all British forces be withdrawn from Iraq and that Iraqis held in jail be freed.

There's been little publicity on the men, their surnames withheld at their families' requests.

(on camera): The British government says they are working hard to release the hostages. But this video release increases the pressure on the prime minister, Gordon Brown, and news of this apparent suicide only increases the anguish of the captives' families.

Owen Thomas, CNN, Downing Street, London.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WHITFIELD: Our "News Across America" now begins with a disturbing story out of central Florida where authorities are looking for a 2- year-old girl now missing for five weeks. And it was only reported to police, however, this week. The mother says she hasn't seen her daughter since leaving the child with a baby-sitter last month. The mother charged with child neglect and criminal obstruction. Police have not ruled out the possibility that the little girl is still alive.

Rapper DMX is back in jail. Police in Phoenix arrested him yesterday for alleged identity theft. He's accused of giving false information to get out of paying a doctor's bill. DMX, whose real name is Earl Simmons, has been arrested four times in the past three months.

And everything is not bigger in Texas. A murder suspect is on the run after escaping jail by counting calories. Waller County deputies believe Darryl Norris' dieting goal was to slim down enough so he could shimmy through an exhaust vent. Apparently, it worked.

Setting sail for Hawaii on a boat made full of bottles. It's being done, not fantasy. Two men are on a mission for the environment.

Here to tell about their extraordinary story -- this one floats -- Josh Levs.

JOSH LEVS, CNN NEW CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, Fred, I like that. These are two marine biologists and they have put together a boat using part of a Cessna and 15,000 bottles. Right now they are in the middle of the Pacific trying to make it from California all the way out to Hawaii. And I managed to speak to one of them.

I guess we're having a little trouble getting that to the interview. I'll just tell you about it quickly.

This is their web site behind me. It's junkraft.com. And let's close in on it a little bit right here. This is what it looks like. You can get the basics. They have the Cessna and even made the sail part out of trash that they found. and below it, they got the 15,000 bottles which keeps it steady basically. They tell me there's so many bottles out there in the ocean as they are traveling around that they are actually able to get more, if they ever need them.

Let me show you two more things. These people are hilarious.

This is Joel Paschal on the ship. And right now we'll hear from Dr. Marcus Eriksen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DR. MARCUS ERIKSEN: We've discovered a rather large accumulation of trash in the mid Pacific Ocean and most of it comes from land. We thought what a great way to get the nation paying attention to plastic waste and to build a boat out of the plastic waste itself and go across the Pacific.

LEVS: How long do you expect to be on this boat?

ERIKSEN: That's funny because we began this June 1st. And I told everyone and my girlfriend six weeks, that's all it's going to take. And then seven weeks later we've still got six weeks to go.

The ocean has a tendency to twist caps off the bottles, and when the caps come off, the bottles fill with water and the boat begins to sink so the crew came out way lot of glue and helped us glue the caps back on, empty the water out of the bottles. and then it still took us a moment to get south of the island and away from the coast north America.

LEVS: Do you have enough to survive?

ERIKSEN: Yes. We just made last week about 15 pounds of fish jerky from three mahi mahi that we speared.

LEVS: Marcus, how seasick are you getting on that raft? You are in a raft made out of plastic bottles in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. There is not enough Dramamine in the world to get me to set foot on that thing. Are you seasick, you getting a little crazy?

ERIKSEN: We brought with us tons of Dramamine and patches. We've have everything we can think of to keep from being seasick. We haven't gotten seasick once. Our boat is so stable and it's so low in the water that we ride the waves rather gently.

(CROSSTALK)

LEVS: Hold on. I'm hearing a danger ere. You're telling me you are now proving that if you make a boat out of lots of plastic bottles, it can be a very smooth ride. What if other people love this idea and start making their boats out of plastic bottles?

ERIKSEN: I guess that's one alternative to recycling. You can you reuse them to make a boat? It works for us.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LEVS: I love it. Now there is some more information you should know which is they do have technology on board to help them avoid the bad weather and there's other ways to communicate with Coast Guard and others if they need to.

But pretty much, Fred, they are out there on their own on this giant heap of plastic.

And if you want to, you can sponsor them $5 and they will put a message in a bottle and will deliver it to some people when they get to Hawaii. And that is the goal. From California over to Hawaii, how long will this take? We'll see. We'll keep on this.

WHITFIELD: It's funny and clever but also so sad that that means that all this trash is floating around in the ocean, in these waterways, putting all this marine life in danger because people are just careless, right?

LEVS: A lot of it is carelessness and a lot is structure. If you're at the beach, you leave something out, a lot of times people leave something out, and if you put something in a recycling bin or the trash can at the beach because you're trying to be good. But they overflow, get washed away. Rain washes them away. It's unfortunate. And there's a lot ending up there and that's what they are bringing attention to.

WHITFIELD: You bring your trash to the beach; you take it away. It's as simple as that.

Thanks so much, Josh. Appreciate it.

LEVS: You've got it. Thanks.

WHITFIELD: Times are pretty tough money-wise for lots of people, that we know. And that's really having a ripple effect in so many ways. A look at the challenges straight ahead. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(ON THE GO)

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WHITFIELD: The sluggish economy is tough on everybody. And that includes organizations that depend on a basic human instinct -- generosity. When times are tough, people have less to go around. And that means non-profit charitable organizations are struggling as well, just like the rest of us.

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WHITFIELD (voice-over): The sour economy is hitting many non-profits with a double whammy. The needs are greater, but donations are down. Companies big and small are tightening the reins on giving. and private citizens, often the backbone of charitable work, are cutting back on their donations and their volunteer work.

Here's a good example. Meals on Wheels programs across the country are seeing a decrease in funding and fewer volunteers. "We're in a bad crisis right now," is how Enid Boarden, chief executive of the Meals on Wheels Association of America, told "USA Today" earlier this month. A recent survey found that 58 percent of the group's local chapters have lost volunteers to high gas prices. Meals on Wheels' volunteers usually foot the bill to fill their gas tanks when they deliver meals to seniors. Some say they no longer have money for gas.

All across the country many charities and other non-profit organizations are feeling the pinch of record gas prices and a sluggish economy.

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WHITFIELD: And among those feeling the pinch, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, the SCLC, one of the nation's oldest civil rights organizations founded by the late Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and the Reverend Abernathy as well.

Joining me right now is the SCLC president, Charles Steele.

This is one of the toughest times. What services are being impacted, you know, by a lower number of donations being made?

CHARLES STEELE, PRESIDENT, SCLC: Basically, all of our services are being threatened, Fredricka. We are very fortunate as well as being blessed in terms of the fact that, even though there are tough times, there are people who know the cause and the significance and the importance of SCLC being around. So they are struggling hard and still making contributions but we still have to cut back. You can't go to the beach and just put your head in the sand. You have to continue to help people. Particularly, we work with folks who are less fortunate than others.

WHITFIELD: Reverend Abernathy, as well as Dr. King, of course, you know, were -- founded this organization because it was the height of the civil rights movement and there were vital services that were needed at the time. Fast forward now, a lot of folks will still wonder, what's the purpose? What are the services that the SCLC renders and why is it my donations are need?

STEELE: First of all, we'll get it into application of job training. And we're also are looking into the possibility of establishing real soon a credit unions right there in our building. But the fact is that the economic development.

Just prior to Dr. King being assassinated, that's where SCLC was going, and internationally. we're talking about the fact that we have curriculums that we're developing in high schools as well as we have a degree program at the college level talking about the conflict reconciliation aspect of our organization.

All over the world they are asking to teach this concept of philosophy of non-violence and particular life our great fallen leader, Dr. Martin Luther King.

WHITFIELD: And the SCLC, in a new building on same historic street of Auburn Avenue. It's debt-free, which is a huge undertaking. And I know that you, as president, have been receiving great credit for having bringing the SCLC to that debt-free status.

However, it costs money to have these job preparedness kind of outreach programs that you have, and that's why you still rely on donations. You still are non-profit.

STEELE: Most definite. We have the core or the thrust of our organization in terms of survival built upon relationships. Many people don't understand that. It's all about relationship-building, and the by-product of that is trust. People knowing that you're going to do the right thing, and they don't mind going the extra mile. They don't mind digging a little harder because ultimately we're going to be back where we are. And we have the community exposed to the opportunities that's adhered to in terms of five to ten years. Even next year we're looking to be very optimistic.

WHITFIELD: When you talk about digging harder, we're also talking about digging deeper in this economy, issue number one. People are having a hard time paying $4.09 as the average regular gas price and that's why they can't give as much anymore.

STEELE: And one project that we have, in that you mention that, is we have a rolling out boycott of the top five oil and gas industries that made a profit last quarter, $36.9 billion. So I was in Houston and Dallas at the corporate headquarters, and we still must realize that SCLC must still take to the streets to make sure that everything is all right in the streets.

WHITFIELD: And as the president of SCLC, Charles Steele, thanks so much.

STEELE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: A pleasure and nice to meet you in person as well.

STEELE: Thank you.

WHITFIELD: And all the best in your continued endeavors to receive these donations to keep the SCLC going. Thank you.

STEELE: Thank you so much.

WHITFIELD: Well, what it's like to be "Black in America". CNN presents a huge rolling out of this special. It's taking place next Wednesday and Thursday night at 9:00 eastern. Learn more about this year-long project at cnn.com/blackinAmerica.

We're going to talk films and movies coming up as well. "Batman" crushes Spider-man. "The Dark Knight" shattering his fellow superhero's box office record.

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WHITFIELD: Welcome back to the "NEWSROOM."

But for three minutes, it's the "Chatroom." We had so much fun, Jacqui and I did, last week. So we decided to bring it back.

So welcome.

JACQUI JERAS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Welcome.

WHITFIELD: We have a lot of things to talk about. And we've got only three minutes to delve into big movie weekend.

JERAS: Huge.

WHITFIELD: "Dark Knight."

JERAS: Record.

WHITFIELD: I know, 100 and what?

JERAS: 155 I think...

WHITFIELD: Something like that.

JERAS: 155, from three to four. That's a lot of cash.

WHITFIELD: Opening weekend. The big, huge buzz is -- and it was the buzz even before this debut.

JERAS: Oh, absolutely.

WHITFIELD: Heath Ledger, this really might be his best work, but sadly he's not here to celebrate this.

JERAS: Are you going to go see it because I hate to...

WHITFIELD: Yes. JERAS: But I don't think I can do it for that very reason.

WHITFIELD: I'm not a huge Batman film fan, but because he's in it and because I heard so much about his performance, I have to see it.

JERAS: My husband saw it late night, by the way. Been planning for like a month with his buddies.

WHITFIELD: Really?

JERAS: Loved it. Said it was awesome. But he said I probably wouldn't like it because he said it was violent.

WHITFIELD: It looks dark, hence, "Dark Knight." But it's about the theater, right, the theatrical performances of these folks. But you know the sad part of this? We are talking about Heath Ledger. He is the star of the show, but it is a "Batman" flick. Who is playing Batman? Did you know?

JERAS: Chris what's-his-name.

WHITFIELD: Bale. I had to ask.

JERAS: I knew it. Half of it anyway.

WHITFIELD: He was kind of upstaging him. But we do have to mention, this is a Warner Brothers film and Time Warner, parent of -- our parent. Full disclosure. Moving right along.

JERAS: This one next is a little more serious and controversial. So "the gray wolf" was on the endangered list, was taken off of it in March of this year. And now a federal judge says he's putting it back on. This is in Montana, Idaho and Wyoming.

You know, some people are saying there's plenty of them now. We got the species back up and going, but a lot of cattle farmers and a lot of hunters say there's plenty of them. It's time to take them off. And they were planning to hunt this fall, which has now been stopped because of this judge.

WHITFIELD: And maybe indefinitely. This judge said, you know what? I don't know if I like the idea, even once the population is replenished, having this sort of hunt.

JERAS: Right.

WHITFIELD: So it is going to continue to be controversial.

JERAS: And I guess there are government officials in Montana who are not happy about it. They may possibly appeal. This will be something we will hopefully follow for you.

WHITFIELD: Yeah. .

This next story -- it made me chuckle. It's not a laughing matter for the man at hand, or the victim, if you will. We are talking about chi town -- Chicago, you Midwestern girl. This is kind of your town too.

JERAS: I know. I'd like to...

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: Don't go to the tattoo parlor.

JERAS: I know.

WHITFIELD: That's the problem.

JERAS: This guy gets the tattoo say this is what I would like. And the word tomorrow is spelled wrong. Two "M"s instead of one. Should be one "M" for those of you going which is it?

WHITFIELD: So he's suing this particular parlor, which has seen at least one other lawsuit before. Because, you know what? I guess before it was a different artist at this particular parlor in Chicago.

JERAS: This is the second one at the same place.

WHITFIELD: Yeah, in chi town.

JERAS: You know what, the chi town one i get, but is the tomorrow...

WHITFIELD: No, you don't.

JERAS: But it was a mistake.

WHITFIELD: He wasn't paying attention. He got them backwards, dyslexic.

JERAS: But the tomorrow thing, the guy went in and said, I'm not sure if this is spelled right. Make sure it's spelled right. The tattoo guy said, I just copied it off the paper. And they both had to go to the dictionary to actually see which way it was.

WHITFIELD: Except. Sadly -- I was going to say that's the sad part. Need to double check on that.

JERAS: One "M."

WHITFIELD: I know, one "M."

JERAS: And two "R"s.

WHITFIELD: The lesson there, when you go to get a tattoo, check your dictionary.

JERAS: Check your dictionary. Write it down verbatim and present it.

WHITFIELD: Jacqui, it's always fun to have you in the "Chatroom." Now it's back to the "NEWSROOM."

JERAS: Get serious again.

WHITFIELD: Thank you so much.

Meantime, I'm Fredricka Whitfield. I'll see you back here next weekend. Rick Sanchez, back in the "NEWSROOM." He will be covering headlines, including a solution to the soaring gas prices. Is it in your own hands? And we'll plug you into a do-it-yourself electric car. Enjoy the ride.

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