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McCain Gaining Ground?; Randy Pausch Dies at 47; Historic Anniversary: U.S. Military Desegregated 60 Years Ago; Housing Rescue Plan; Interview With 'Wild Ocean' Cinematographer; Single Black Women: Relationships and Marriage
Aired July 26, 2008 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. This is the CNN NEWSROOM. It is Saturday, July 26th.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Such a pleasure to sit next to you.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Alina Cho. Betty has the weekend off.
So glad you're with us today.
A hundred days to the election, and we have got some new proof that the race is a lot closer than you think. Brand new poll numbers from some key swing states straight ahead.
HOLMES: Also, if you make $50,000 a year, do you think you would qualify for a $560,000 loan?
CHO: We're going to find out.
HOLMES: Well, somebody did. What in the world was the homeowner thinking, what was the mortgage broker thinking? You're going to hear from both of them.
CHO: And look at this photographer. Yes, it's a photographer dressed in camouflage and under arrest from sneaking around the Pitt- Jolie estate.
We'll explain.
HOLMES: Always -- whatever they've got to do to get the picture sometimes.
CHO: That's right.
HOLMES: All right. We turn to the election though. A hundred days now before you need to be voting.
And Barack Obama is in London. He's scheduled to leave for home, however, next hour.
CHO: That's right. He's wrapping up a weeklong overseas tour today. He met with British Prime Minister Gordon Brown at 10 Downing Street earlier this morning. He also talked with former prime minister Tony Blair.
Now, Obama didn't appear at a big event like the one in Berlin Thursday, but he did speak today, responding to criticisms from his rival, John McCain.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. BARACK OBAMA (D-IL), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: It's hard for me to understand Senator McCain's argument. He was telling me I was supposed to take this trip. He suggested it, thought it was a good idea. Although, I've got to admit, we had it planned before he made the suggestion.
John McCain has visited every one of these countries post-primary that I have. He has given speeches in Canada, in Colombia. In Mexico he made visits. And so it doesn't strike me that we've done anything different than the McCain campaign has done, which is to recognize that part of the job of the next president and commander in chief is to forge effective relationships with our allies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And while Senator Obama has been meeting with world leaders, Senator John McCain has been trying to get some attention here at home. He's taking shots at Obama over Iraq and Afghanistan. Here's some of what he had to say during his radio address today.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: My opponent advocates the deployment of two new combat brigades to Afghanistan. In other words, a surge. We're left to wonder how he can deny that the surge in Iraq has succeeded, while at the same time announcing that a surge is just what we need in Afghanistan.
I'll leave all of these questions for my opponent and his team of 300 foreign policy advisers to work out for themselves. With luck, they'll get their story straight by the time the Obama campaign returns to North America.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
CHO: Ouch. All right.
Let's get back to the countdown now. One hundred days until the November election.
Can you believe it?
So where do the candidates stand right now?
HOLMES: Well, earlier this morning, our Josh Levs showed us the latest CNN Poll of Polls. We'll show it to you once again.
You can see a slight lead there for Senator Barack Obama over McCain. But how are they doing in those key battle ground states?
We get more now on that from our senior political analyst, Bill Schneider. He is, of course, part of the best political team on TV.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice over): Where does the presidential race stand? Quinnipiac University has just come out with four new polls of battleground states. They all show some movement toward McCain since last month.
Wisconsin, Obama's lead has shrunk slightly, from 13 points to 11. Wisconsin continues to lean Democratic.
Michigan is still close. Obama up by six in June, four in July. Still a tossup.
Colorado, a five-point Obama lead has shifted to a near tie. Also a tossup.
The biggest shift? Minnesota. Last month, Obama led McCain by 17 points. Now the race is virtually tied. Minnesota shifts from leaning Democratic to tossup.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Minnesota is a very unpredictable state. They elected Jesse Ventura to be their governor. You know, we have a competitive Senate race right now. We have the Republican Party pouring a lot of money and a lot of resources in there.
SCHNEIDER: The Pew National Survey of Latino shows Obama leading McCain by nearly three to one.
PRESTON: New Mexico is heavily Hispanic. And really, Hispanics traditionally have voted for the Democratic nominee. So, now that we have the Democratic primary over, we don't have a split in that vote.
SCHNEIDER: New Mexico moves from leaning Republican to tossup. With those two changes, the electoral vote count gets a little closer: Obama, 221; McCain, 189, with 128 electoral votes in tossup states. Both candidates well shy of the 270 electoral votes needed to win.
(on camera): Most of the interviews for these polls were done before Senator Obama's trip abroad. A national poll by NBC News and "The Wall Street Journal" finds that voters nationwide see Obama as a riskier choice than McCain.
Of course. Obama calls himself the candidate of change. And change always means risk.
Obama's trip is intended to reassure voters that the risk is minimal. Is it working? We'll see in the next round of polls.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And be sure to tune into a very special CNN "LATE EDITION" we have coming up for you tomorrow. Both candidates will be on. Wolf Blitzer talking to John McCain. Also, you can catch Barack Obama, who will be speaking live at the Unity Conference in Chicago.
Again, that's "LATE EDITION," your way, tomorrow, 11:00 Eastern.
CHO: Right now in the Philippines, investigators are taking a very close look at a nine-foot hole in the side of a Qantas jumbo jet. That hole is actually the size of a small car.
Investigators at this early stage have ruled out terrorism. The plane, carrying nearly 350 passengers, made an emergency landing in the Philippines yesterday after the hole opened up in the fuselage.
Earlier this morning, we talked to Rob Henshaw. He was one of the passengers on board that flight.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROB HENSHAW, PASSENGER: You know, it was such a quick event, we had a -- you know, a large explosion, and it really rocked the plane. It actual lurched to the left, where the left wing went down a bit. There was a really strong wind, there was lots of dust, and, you know, papers and things flying around.
There was -- the hostesses, stewardesses, actually ran to their seats on the captain's orders, and, you know, within a short space of time we couldn't breathe. And the oxygen masks sort of flew out of the ceiling, and we didn't know what was happening.
We really didn't know what was happening. We just sort of thought that, you know, something major is going on, and, you know, you could hardly breathe. And you know, the air (ph) started getting painful. So it was very dramatic.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Now, the investigation is just getting started, but Australian transportation officials say it appears at this point that a section of the fuselage separated in the forward cargo compartment.
And slow-going along the Mississippi River this morning. The Coast Guard has started allowing some ships through the muck near New Orleans. The river was closed for most of the past two days or so by a 400,000 gallon oil spill.
Well, now some of the ships are being allowed through, depending on the importance of the cargo. Petroleum tankers were the first to move. Losses at the Port of New Orleans, by the way, were estimated at $275 million a day.
Wow.
HOLMES: Well, the Olympic torch relay run continues through China today. The torch bearers on this leg of the route are 22 rescuers who helped the victims of China's killer earthquake back in May. We're not too far from the start of the games.
CHO: Two weeks.
HOLMES: And photos of Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt's newborn twins, everybody wants to see these little...
CHO: Well, you may not, but I do.
HOLMES: Are they boys or girls?
CHO: Twins. A boy and a girl.
HOLMES: A boy and a girl. OK. Didn't even know that.
Well, that has a lot of paparazzi scrambling for, of course, that money shot.
CHO: That's right.
HOLMES: But a pair of photographers may have taken this a bit too far.
CHO: Listen, I mean, they could get millions for the shot. But according to Brad Pitt's management office, two photographers were caught sneaking around the Jolie-Pitt estate in France.
You can't tell in that shot, but if we can show the other one, you can tell that they're dressed in camouflage. There you see it.
Police say when security confronted the pair, a scuffle broke out. Did you hear about this? The security guards say one of the photographers repeatedly bit them, even wiped blood on them. Those guards are being examined at a local hospital.
Yes, incredible.
Meanwhile, one of the photographers says, well, it was the other way around -- the security team attacked him.
HOLMES: They go to great lengths to get those money shots, and they are, like you said, money shots. They get a lot.
CHO: They certainly do. They are. Oh, this one is going to be worth millions.
HOLMES: All right.
CHO: Whoever gets it.
HOLMES: Whoever gets it.
Well, he was hardly a household name, yet his death has affected millions.
CHO: Yes, an incredible story of Internet sensation. Josh Levs is here with more on that. Hey, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there.
It's one of the top stories we've got at CNN.com right now.
People all over the country are mourning the loss of this man who delivered that last lecture. We're going to show you what Randy Pausch said about death.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, the name Randy Pausch may not ring a bell to you, but it's certainly familiar to a lot of people, and it might be worth your time to stop and find out what this man is all about.
CHO: Yes, I would think it would be.
Randy Pausch became famous through the Internet as the author of "The Last Lecture." That's because when he gave that lecture, he knew he was going to die.
CNN's Josh Levs here to explain how he became larger than life in his final year.
And he most certainly did.
LEVS: Yes. It's so interesting. You know, this is a guy who kept talking about his own death being on the way. And we all knew it was going to happen at some point.
Still, people feeling this all over the place. And you still can't help but feel a little bit of a shock having followed this man's story so closely.
You know, let's go back on who he was.
First of all, an expert at virtual reality, he taught at Carnegie Mellon. And we all found out about his death yesterday, after this battle he had with pancreatic cancer.
He will be remembered though as the guy who delivered "The Last Lecture." We had reported on this several months ago. It's been all over YouTube. It's been an Internet phenomenon, that hour-long speech he gave, racking up millions and millions of hits.
Now, when he gave it, he knew he was dying, and he was incredibly open about it, but his message was all about hope, inspiration, humility and optimism.
Now, something you might not have heard is when he spoke at the Carnegie Mellon graduation and ceremony. This was this past May.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RANDY PAUSCH, FAMOUS FOR "LAST LECTURE": So, I think the only advice I can give you on how to live your life well is, first off, remember it's a cliche, but I love cliches. It is not the things we do in life that we regret on our deathbed. It is the things we do not.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Well, his attitude in the face of death was infectious to so many people, so we're hearing from people all over the world about his death today.
I want to share just a couple responses with you that we got at CNN.com.
First, this one now from Michael, who says, "Computer scientists worldwide lost a truly incredible brother today. We will never forget you and your contributions. Live long and prosper wherever you may be Randy."
Now from Laura, "Shame on me. I have been so consumed lately with how to save money and feeling guilty about all the joy I have each and every day with my husband and my life. It was very liberating and inspiring to hear this man's perspective. My condolences to all who have been touched by him. I will think of him the next time I punish myself with guilt and feel joy for the gift that life is."
Really interesting from here, because that's so much of what he talked about, guys. You know, talking about people should appreciate, no matter what they're facing, don't feel guilty about enjoying your time.
And we want to let you all know you can all weigh in -- CNN.com or ireport.com. Videos, photos, whatever you've got if you want to share your feelings about the death of Dr. Randy Pausch. Send it to us.
CHO: I'm just reading the obit in "The New York Times" here. He said, "I always thought every day was a gift, but now I'm looking for where to send the 'thank you' note."
Poignant.
LEVS: Wow.
CHO: Ten million people saw this on the Web. It's really incredible. I think he got a bit on "Star Trek," in one of the movies.
LEVS: Did he?
CHO: And got to play with the Pittsburgh Steelers, which was a dream of his.
LEVS: I missed that.
CHO: So, he got to do lots of wonderful things in his final days.
LEVS: Yes. And obviously while taking care (ph) of his wife and his kids.
CHO: Thank you, Josh.
HOLMES: Josh, we appreciate that.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: A landmark, a military moment, really, that we're going to acknowledge here. And it wasn't on the battlefield, necessarily.
CHO: That's right. The day the military opened its doors to generations of African-American soldiers. These stories are incredible. And those troops are still making their mark today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
Millions of you tuned in this week for CNN's groundbreaking documentary, "Black in America." But, if you missed any of Soledad O'Brien's reporting, or you want to watch it all again, tonight's your chance. CNN presents an encore presentation of both parts, back-to- back, of "Black in America," tonight, starting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time, only on CNN.
HOLMES: Well, 60 years ago today, history was made when President Harry Truman ordered the U.S. military desegregated. Well, retired warrant officer Lawton Jackson was there. He joined the Army in 1941, served for 31 years -- World War II, Korea, also Vietnam. And because he and others like him served when and where it mattered, the doors to all the armed services opened to all men and women of all backgrounds, including people like Lieutenant Colonel Kirsten Brunson, who is also joining us this from Raleigh, North Carolina.
I will bring Ms. Brunson in here in just a moment.
But I will start with you, Mr. Jackson.
When this happened 60 years ago, you were in the military. A lot of people were worried about whether or not black and white soldiers could serve out together and get along. Did you have those same concerns?
LAWTON JACKSON, RET. WARRANT OFFICER, U.S. ARMY: I didn't have that concern, not really. That was my personal opinion. I thought that we certainly had more in common than we did difference.
HOLMES: So were there issues? You said you weren't really worried about it, but did it certainly happen?
JACKSON: It certainly happened, and there certainly was issues about that. However, it went very smoothly in my area (ph).
HOLMES: Now, were more of those issues in the barracks and living together, or were there issues also when they got out there on the battlefield together?
JACKSON: More issues I think were in the barracks and that sort of thing.
HOLMES: Did you see what was happening, the integration in the military? Did it kind of mirror what was happening in all of society, or was it any different?
JACKSON: It was virtually the same.
HOLMES: Virtually the same. Tough times, and like you say, they had a hard time, I guess, at times like we saw, people being desegregated against, and people being desegregated and discriminated against. But that was happening in the military just as bad as it was as the pictures we were seeing on TV?
JACKSON: Absolutely. Absolutely.
HOLMES: All right. Well, I'll bring in Judge Kirsten Brunson here now, who serves as well.
We'll bring you into this conversation.
Now, I'll pick up on kind of that last point. You, of course, came into the military after the integration happened, but still, you have been -- certainly benefited over your years, you wouldn't argue, I'm sure. But today, would you say the military still has a way to go and can still make some improvements in how women and how minorities are treated, and also how they are up for promotions?
LT. COL. KIRSTEN BRUNSON, U.S. ARMY: In my opinion, I mean, the military doesn't have any further to go than the rest of the country does. I mean, the military and this country has actually led the way for social change a lot of the times.
One of the things that really draws me to the military that I'm especially happy about is that it's a system -- it's a meritocracy. You're actually promoted and given positions because of your merit, because of how you perform and what you do, not what you look like or who you are.
HOLMES: And I think if I heard you right there, you certainly say the military is doing better, if you will, than all of society in terms of how -- and again, you said you're judged there more so on your merits than maybe -- of course we know we have issues in society, but you would say the military is doing better than society?
BRUNSON: In my opinion, I think so.
HOLMES: And we're looking at a picture here. I assume -- can you see this picture of your family here?
BRUNSON: I cannot.
HOLMES: OK. Got two young ladies here with you, and a gentleman dressed in a military uniform here as well.
What direction do you think the military needs to go now to continue to improve?
BRUNSON: Well, I think we just need to do the same things that we've been doing. I can speak specifically for the JAG Corps, because I actually go out to law schools -- and I've done this off and on for the last 10 years -- interviewing law students who might be interested in pursuing a career in the JAG Corps.
One of the things we do, we go to all the minority job fairs and that sort of thing. I think something we might be able to do better is, you know, send somebody who looks like them.
It's one thing to send a white male to a minority job fair and say, we really, really want you to come. And I think that speaks volumes. I think it's something else to send someone who looks like them so that they can say, oh, wow, you did it. Why don't you tell me what it's like from your perspective?
HOLMES: Mr. Jackson, I'm going to wrap up with you here. And that young lady, I know you couldn't see -- hear what she was saying, but you see here there.
She's a judge in the military. And you -- what happened with you, when you were in the military, that integration paved the way for others that came after you like her.
JACKSON: Absolutely.
HOLMES: How does that make you feel, to see the success now, to see a young woman like that, who has seen so much success and made her way up through the ranks these days? How do you feel to see that these days?
JACKSON: I feel very good about that. It's parallel with my son, who also was a JAG officer, a colonel in the service, and was in Desert Storm. He was a colonel.
So it parallels very much with my way of thinking. And also, the -- I feel that many of my other nephews came into the service because of me, and they have benefited by the integration of the service.
HOLMES: They have benefited from what you have done. Like you said, members of your family, your son and your nephews. You paved a way for a lot of folks, including the ones right under your own roof.
JACKSON: Absolutely.
HOLMES: And it was you who raised him.
Lawton Jackson, thank you so much.
Again, 91-years-old now. And been through so much over the years. Sixty years now, the anniversary of the integration.
And again, I want to thank Lieutenant Colonel Kirsten Brunson for being with us again.
Ma'am, congratulations to you and all of your success in the military. And thank you so much for being with us this morning.
BRUNSON: Thank you.
CHO: Ninety-one years young. That's some good stuff.
Coming up, keeping your home, staying out of foreclosure. The Senate taking action today to help struggling homeowners. They are working on Saturday.
Will this bill help you? We're going to break it down in a live report coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. You're going to like this. A great story for you drivers out there.
CHO: That's all relative.
HOLMES: Gas prices are plummeting. You understand me? Plummeting.
CHO: Don't believe a word he says. It's not exactly a bargain.
Gas, though, has fallen below $4 a gallon, and we haven't seen that in a while.
HOLMES: That's a big deal.
CHO: AAA says the national average for a gallon of regular gas is now $3.98.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHO: A bargain. And the Auto Club says it could be -- this is interesting -- it could be 25 cents cheaper by Labor Day. That's pretty incredible.
HOLMES: Plummeting, like I said.
CHO: Well, OK. All right.
Still, gasoline is more than a dollar higher than it was a year ago.
HOLMES: Well, this certainly isn't good news here now. More bank failures to tell you about this morning.
Federal regulators closed First National Bank of Nevada. Also First Heritage Bank, which also operates in Nevada, Arizona, as well as California.
Now, come Monday, the banks are scheduled to reopen as Mutual of Omaha Bank branches. Federal regulators say depositors in failed banks will have access to all of their money. But in the meantime, if that doesn't give you any comfort, over the weekend the account holders can get their money by writing checks or using the ATM.
CHO: Well, this may come as no surprise, but the number of Americans facing foreclosure is going up. In fact, new data shows it more than doubled in the second quarter compared to a year ago.
Nationwide, almost 740,000 homes received at least one foreclosure-related notice during the quarter. That's one in every 171 American households. And that's up 121 percent from a year ago. Those figures, by the way, coming to us from RealyTrac.
HOLMES: Now, of course people are hurting right now in the middle of this housing crisis. The Senate is listening and the Senate is working on Saturday.
CHO: How about that?
HOLMES: They're working to pass a bill they hope will help struggling homeowners pay their mortgages and avoid foreclosures.
CHO: That's right. Kate Bolduan joining us from Washington, watching it all, with what's going on.
So, Kate, when could we see a vote on this?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, we're expecting it in about -- probably about in a half an hour from now, Alina. The Saturday session is under way right now. The vote, all but certain to be final passage of this housing bill, where as I said, we're expecting a vote in about 30 minutes from now.
The bill is a massive housing assistance package targeted to boost confidence in the housing market and also offer some relief to struggling homeowners. It's a Democratic proposal that has broad Republican support. And here's a little bit from the debate this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SEN. DICK DURBIN (D), ILLINOIS: One can certainly argue that when the United States is facing a serious issue, that we should be at work, whether it requires our being here on Saturday, Sunday, or all of the days of the week. That's what we were elected to do. And certainly the housing bill which is before us now is a matter of grave concern to many of us who see across America foreclosures that are taking away the homes of many American families and affecting the value of millions of other homes.
SEN. JIM DEMINT (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: Folks, this bill needs to be aired out for weeks, if not months. They want to rush it through. We kept them here until Saturday so the American people could find out a little bit more about what's in it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: That's Republican Senator Jim DeMint. He opposes this legislation. In part, he's concerned people aren't aware of everything that's included in this. As he says, a 700-page bill. And also, the risk that it imposes on the American taxpayer.
The main provisions of this bill include a program that allows up to $300 billion in government guaranteed loans for homeowners facing foreclosure to refinance to more affordable mortgages. There's also about $15 billion in tax breaks, including a credit of up to $7,500 for first-time homebuyers. The bill also gives the government new authority over mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, as we have been talking about them a lot in the past few months -- Alina, T.J.
CHO: CNN's Kate Bolduan.
Kate, thank you.
Well, this next story is a perfect example of what went wrong with the U.S. housing market.
HOLMES: Yes. Everybody here, including Gesille James, agrees. She could not afford a $560,000 house. So, how did she get that house with not one, but two loans, to cover that entire purchase price?
CHO: That's what we want to know. And CNN's Allan Chernoff investigates.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN SR. CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Gesille James hasn't paid her mortgage in a year. She received a foreclosure notice in November, but she's fighting to stay in the two-family home.
Gesille, a librarian, was earning $50,000 a year when she bought this house two and a half years ago. So she took out two mortgages to finance the entire purchase price of $560,000.
(on camera): Did you think you could afford this house?
GESILLE JAMES, HOMEOWNER FIGHTING FORECLOSURE: No. No.
CHERNOFF: You never thought you could afford it?
JAMES: Well, the price that was quoted -- and I kept getting back, "Don't worry about it. They'll work with what you have. There's the financing."
CHERNOFF: Who said that?
JAMES: Anthony.
CHERNOFF: Your broker?
JAMES: There's the financing.
CHERNOFF: He said don't worry about the price?
JAMES: Don't worry about the price.
CHERNOFF (voice over): That broker is Anthony Brown, who has his own real estate company nearby.
(on camera): Obviously she couldn't afford it.
ANTHONY BROWN, A PLACE FOR EVERYONE REALTY: Yes, that's true. But...
CHERNOFF: So why did you sell the home?
BROWN: No, I don't control her mortgage, you understand? I control the actual sales between her and the developer.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Brown claims the developer, Home Master Development Group, arranged Gesille's financing with Alliance Mortgage, which is no longer in business. Home Master says Mr. Brown arranged the financing. Gesille says the same.
(on camera): Did he say you could afford it?
JAMES: He did. He did.
CHERNOFF: He did?
JAMES: He did.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Gesille rented one of the two apartments in the house, but even with the income, she still couldn't cover the mortgage payments.
(on camera): You see how much she earns. How could you sell her a home that was so way out of her price range?
BROWN: That's what she -- that's from her choice, that was her choice.
CHERNOFF: Well, it was your choice to sell it, no?
BROWN: I don't control what a person chooses to do. If they want to get the home they get a home.
CHERNOFF (voice over): Alliance Mortgage quickly sold Gesille's loan to Morgan Stanley, who told us they have no comment since the loan has since been sold off to other investors buying mortgage securities.
Gesille's lawyer argues she was misled, and therefore has a right to fight foreclosure.
JEFFREY BENJAMIN, ATTORNEY FOR GESILLE JAMES: The goal is to keep the consumer in her home, where she should belong. But at a reasonable monthly burden.
CHERNOFF: Gesille admits she bears much of the responsibility, but says she can't imagine what she'll do if she has to leave her home.
JAMES: But I'm fighting it, because I need somewhere to live. I -- you know, I have to live somewhere. I can't live in the car.
CHERNOFF (on camera): Attorney Jeff Benjamin says he's hopeful of renegotiating Gesille's loan on this home, especially now that banks are being more flexible since so many of their mortgages have gone bad.
Allan Chernoff, CNN, The Bronx, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: And of course, the economy, it's issue #1, and the CNN money team is working overtime to keep an eye on your pocketbook. It's the info you need on the mortgage meltdown, the credit crunch and so much more.
"ISSUE #1," noon Eastern, weekdays, only on CNN.
HOLMES: Well, we've got a couple shark attacks to tell you about. If you're in Florida or Hawaii, you might want to listen up.
CHO: That's right.
HOLMES: But they did. They happened thousands of miles apart.
CHO: And one of them is described as a mammoth, a 16-footer. We'll have the story when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Shark attacks, two of them to tell you about this morning. Apparent shark attacks.
CHO: Yes, that's right. What are the odds?
In Hawaii first. Officials say a woman was snorkeling off Makaha when she was bitten by a 16-foot shark. Paramedics say the woman made it to shore on her own, incredibly, then they got some help from bystanders.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANTHONY CHAPMAN, AIDED SHARK VICTIM: When I was putting on the tourniquet, she said, "You have to release this every five minutes." And I kind of gave her a look like, how do you know that? You know, she informed me she was a doctor.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: It's a good thing. Lifeguards posted warning signs and closed a two-mile stretch of the beach.
HOLMES: So, in Florida now, a teenager there got a little nibble on the foot by a shark.
CHO: More than a nibble.
HOLMES: The 17-year-old -- yes -- now recovering. This took close to 30 stitches. So as you say, Alina, this was a lot more than a nibble.
CHO: Yes.
HOLMES: Police say he was surfing with friends when this shark attacked.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRUCE FULTON, INJURED TEEN'S FATHER: He had just finished riding a wave in and had jumped off the board to turn around and go back out. So I'm assuming his feet were on the ground and was bit from the bottom of his heel.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And this incident happened yesterday off New Smyrna Beach. That's about 15 miles south of Daytona Beach. This is the 15th shark bite they've had in that county in the past year.
CHO: Well, it's one thing for swimmers and sharks to run into each other accidentally, but there are actually people who swim with sharks, and whales and dolphins, for that matter, on purpose. And if you take a look at this video here, you can see why. Or maybe not.
Cinematographer D.J. Roller, capturing these images off the coast of South Africa, it's just another day at the office. Not a bad office.
D.J. joins us this morning to tell us more about the movie that features his work. It's called "Wild Ocean," and it's playing in select IMAX theaters across the country.
Welcome. Glad to see you here.
Now, I know that you worked with "Titanic" director James Cameron. You've been diving since you were 12. Clearly, you're a pro.
But don't you get scared doing this? I mean, looking at the video, it's incredible.
D.J. ROLLER, CINEMATOGRAPHER, "WILD OCEAN": Well, the video there I guess that you're seeing is probably more sharks than we've ever seen, or I've ever seen in one place.
CHO: Yes.
ROLLER: A lot of parts of a lot of the oceans around the world, a lot of sharks have been disappearing.
CHO: So I know you called it the Super Bowl of feeding events. Tell me more about it. What exactly -- I mean, because so many people don't get to do this. Most people don't get to do this.
So what's it like to be down there with that 250-pound camera?
ROLLER: It's pretty exciting. The camera that we use is a 3D camera, so it's different than traditional cameras. So it really gives the audience a sense of what it's like to actually be down there when you see...
CHO: And what is it like to be down there? I mean, it's silent, I would imagine, right?
ROLLER: It's silent. There's a lot of bubbles. But there's actually a lot of noise, and you can hear it in the film.
CHO: Really?
ROLLER: The directors of the film recorded the actual sounds that we hear under water, so there's not only the sharks coming in and the crunching that's going on.
CHO: I mean, how did you come up with ideas to do this? How did you end up in South Africa? And what's the message? Because there's a larger message in this documentary.
ROLLER: The idea for the film was originally created by the directors, Luke Cresswell and Steve McNicholas, the creators of "Stomp."
CHO: "Stomp," which I've seen in New York.
ROLLER: And it's something that they had a passion for.
CHO: How do you get from "Stomp" to this?
ROLLER: They are both divers, and they both have a passion for the ocean and the environment. So I think the film has a good message about the oceans, and I think it comes across well in the film.
CHO: Well, it's incredible video, an incredible peek at something that most people don't get to see. And we look forward to seeing it.
D.J. Roller, cinematographer, we thank you for joining us.
ROLLER: Thank you. Glad to be here.
HOLMES: Well, she says a lot of black men are intimidated by her success.
CHO: That's right. And she's not the only one who feels that way.
Why are so many black women staying single? We'll explain.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Well, millions have seen it, but in case you missed it, an encore presentation tonight of our groundbreaking documentary, "Black in America."
HOLMES: And successful, professional black women all too often are single, and sometimes finding few prospects for husbands.
CNN's Soledad O'Brien looks at the reason behind this growing trend.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Kriss Turner is a successful Hollywood screenwriter and part of a growing phenomenon in America today.
KRISS TURNER, SCREENWRITER, "SOMETHING NEW": I've had some major discussions with people that say, "Your lifestyle is intimidating." But if it's between living the life that I want to live and getting married, I don't know.
O'BRIEN: She's educated, financially independent, black and single.
ANGELA BURT-MURRAY, EDITOR-IN-CHIEF, "ESSENCE": There certainly is this concern that I've done all these things, I've checked off all the boxes, and, you know, where's my partner?
O'BRIEN: Angela Burt-Murray is editor-in-chief of "Essence," a top-selling magazine for black women.
(on camera): Why are so many black women not getting dates and not getting married when they want to be?
BURT-MURRAY: What we're hearing from women is that they're just not meeting men at their workplaces, in their neighborhoods, that there are fewer men in school.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SOMETHING NEW")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Valentine's Day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Happy Valentine's Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP, "SOMETHING NEW")
O'BRIEN (voice over): If the film "Something New," screenwriter Kriss Turner proved art can imitate life.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, "SOMETHING NEW")
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm just tired of being classified as a victim -- a single, black, professional woman destined to be unhappy and alone. I mean, I just have to keep believing I'll find the one.
(END AUDIO CLIP, "SOMETHING NEW")
TURNER: Thank God for my experiences, because it forced me to write that movie. That movie had to be written.
O'BRIEN: Kriss based the movie on her own life, and like her film's main character, she feels a tug-of-war between waiting for her ideal black man and dating outside her race.
(on camera): Is dating white men on your list now?
TURNER: You know, I don't know if it's on my list. I think what it is, is like, if a great, nice white guy comes, I'm going out.
Am I picky? I probably am, but, you know, life is good. So if somebody comes to the party, you know, it's just going to make the party better.
O'BRIEN (voice over): Relationships and marriage are often a hot topic on Michael Baisden's popular radio talk show.
MICHAEL BAISDEN, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Why is there a breakdown in marriage in the black community?
O'BRIEN: Baisden's issued a challenge to black men.
BAISDEN: Until men start reading, start broadening their own life experience, you're not going to have an experience to share with that woman who has been overseas, who's read a book, who started a business.
O'BRIEN: Kriss Turner feels the solution lies in this advice: Don't just date black men, given to her by a superstar comedian.
TURNER: Chris Rock is like, "Listen, brothers have been exercising their options forever, I don't know why sisters don't."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: One way to put it.
(LAUGHTER)
CHO: Well, even before this special aired, CNN received a huge number of iReports from people who wanted to share their experience of being black in America.
HOLMES: And Josh Levs looking through all this for us.
Good morning to you again, sir.
LEVS: Good morning to you.
And actually, a video iReport we got fits right in with that package from Soledad. I'll tell you about that in a second. But first, let me tell you what's going on.
This section of CNN.com getting a ton of traffic, "Black in America." And over at our iReports, folks, we've gotten more than 1,000 iReports just about this experience of "Black in America."
What I want to do is show you a couple of examples.
Let's look at what we received here from Alana Strother, who wrote us this: she wrote about her own fears. She says, "My fears run so deep. My fears are that my daughter will fall victim to my failures, and will fall prey to the streets and the 'glamour' of what music videos and TV portrays a black woman to be."
"I fear that I have failed my child. Probably the same fears that my parents felt with me when I strayed my path as a teen."
Now another one from Sherman Crockett, Jr., who says, "Prejudice and racism are conditions of the heart which can only be cured when those involved are willing to honestly examine themselves and are then willing to change. We all know that the color of money is the reason behind the past and present racial atrocities in this country and the world."
A lot of people weighing in on this. Serious sides of the discussion as well.
What I want to do now is bring you to something we got from George Daniels (ph), who pretty much gives us two messages. One, is that he thinks this is something all of America needs to pay attention to. And the second one, he kind of takes an opportunity to send out a message about himself.
Let's take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We also understand how it is important to have all of America deal with all of the issues that were raised tonight. Not just black Americans, but all Americans.
And oh, by the way, about those single women who claim there aren't enough professional single men to go around, there's at least one in Tuscaloosa, Alabama.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: That's George Daniels (ph). I wanted to get in that lighthearted moment, because those lighthearted moments are happening as well.
You can join in the discussion any time at ireport.com. Send us your photos, your videos, whatever it is you think.
And guys, I'll tell you, coming up ahead in the noon hour, we're going to talk specifically about reactions we're getting to the "Black in America" special on both sides, positive and negative, running the whole gamut. So join us then for the noon hour discussion, "Black in America."
CHO: Well, yes. And we asked a lot of our own CNN journalists to write their comments on blogs on CNN.com, and one got a lot of attention, 930 comments and counting.
That's from T.J.
HOLMES: I was not expecting that. Like you said, they just asked you to write your thoughts.
CHO: Yes. You think it's just going to go into the ether maybe and not get a lot of attention, and there you go.
HOLMES: And there it is. And it's titled, "No, I Don't Play for the 49ers."
CHO: Yes. And explain that. It's just such a great story.
HOLMES: An experience I had in San Francisco, where a guy saw me in a nice expensive vehicle just washing my car, and he came up to me, a white guy who was nice enough. He said, "But man, I've got to know, what do you guys do to drive nice vehicles like that?"
CHO: And what did you take from that?
HOLMES: I took from that -- and we ended up having a discussion about race.
CHO: Oh, you did?
HOLMES: Yes. "I see black men, so how do you guys have that?" He said, "Do you play for the 49ers? What do you do?"
He went into all these other scenarios besides, you went to college, you started a career, you make a decent salary. Everything else came to mind except this is an educated brother who knows -- who has got his stuff together.
CHO: Yes.
HOLMES: So that was the experience. I explained it there on the blog, and 930 responses right now.
CHO: And have you been reading -- I mean, I've been reading some of the comments.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHO: It's incredible, right, on both sides?
HOLMES: On both sides.
CHO: Yes. HOLMES: Some people thought I was being a bit too sensitive, and some people thought that I jumped to conclusions. But no, it was in fact -- and he admitted it was about race.
CHO: I was reading one that somebody said, you know, "I saw an incident just like this in a movie. I didn't think it really happens."
HOLMES: It really happens. Even some people are surprised that, what, you? Look at you. Nobody would think you are anything other than what you are. People see me in a suit right now, and some people say, well, you're a light-skinned brother. That doesn't happen to you guys.
Seriously. I mean, but that starts the conversation. That's being honest, that's being frank, and that's supposed to be the point here.
CHO: Well, and we've got this four-hour documentary. Soledad sort of spearheading the effort, a two-year effort, really. Sixteen months of shooting. And you can see what everybody is talking about tonight.
CNN presents an encore presentation of both parts, back-to-back, of "Black in America," staring at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Then again, the second part, at 10:00 p.m. Eastern, only on CNN.
We're going to switch gears here.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHO: Because this is a story that's been getting a lot of attention from us.
Having second thoughts about getting married?
HOLMES: All the time. No, sorry. You weren't talking to me. I'm sorry.
CHO: Well, backing out can be expensive. The woman on the left there, the blonde, well, she got dumped, and her former number one squeeze now has to pay the price. You'll hear the story when we come back.
HOLMES: Goodness.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All you engaged fellows out there, listen up.
CHO: That's right.
HOLMES: This is blowing my mind this morning.
A man gets engaged to a woman. He breaks it off. She sues. She wins. Something has gone terribly awry. CHO: Well, she quit her high-paying job to get married.
HOLMES: He didn't tell her she had to.
CHO: But anyway...
HOLMES: She had the choice.
CHO: He did write a good-bye note two days before the wedding and left a $5,000 check. In terms of stories, this is really the gift that keeps on giving.
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: I mean, you have to wonder if he had maybe broken up with her in a different way, if she would be...
CHO: Probably not.
LEVS: People are just feeling so bad for her that they're giving her the money. But the short version is, the jury awarded her -- what is it, $150,000?
CHO: And the ring.
LEVS: And the ring.
CHO: Which she'll sell.
LEVS: Plus, he had given her that check, and that's not part of the $150,000.
So we, as we can admit here, were a little disturbed by this as guys.
CHO: But she tore up the $5,000 check.
LEVS: Well, yes. I mean, she certainly cleaning up in this sense, after whatever mess happened.
All right. So here's the deal.
We're already getting flooded with e-mail, which is why I'm back up here. Check this out.
We asked, "Is it justified?" And you can weigh in on this, weekends@cnn.com.
Karen writes us, "Yes, it is justified." And she says, "It works both ways. When two people make a commitment and the other one drops out, basically it's serious and it should be backed up," in her view, with cash.
Someone else -- Marlon (ph) writes us...
HOLMES: That's romantic. LEVS: Yes, I know. That's what I'm thinking.
All right. From Marlon (ph), "This case opens up a can of worms. Watch what happens in the near future. Every Tom, Dick and Harry will be suing each other over breakups."
That is something to think about. I like that one.
HOLMES: You have to take it to engagement, boyfriend, girlfriend? Can you sue?
CHO: You know, I'm not actually fighting with you guys about this.
HOLMES: You are.
CHO: I mean, I was saying, a promise is a promise. I don't actually believe it. I mean, listen, she got $150,000. Incredible.
LEVS: She did. Yes, I mean, it's just certainly amazing to a lot of people. And I'm glad you're not disagreeing with us. Another reason we love you.
All right. From Terry (ph), "I think suing for this disaster will be another major disaster for the courthouse. Courts in general cannot handle all the cases they already have pending, now we're supposed to toss this one in as well."
And finally, this last one from Nina (ph). "Every case is different, but in this one, the jury made the correct decision. I'm surprised that one of the jurors later on regrets...
(CROSSTALK)
CHO: It's funny how it breaks right down gender lines. Isn't it?
LEVS: At least the people choosing to weigh in.
Keep -- we're going to talk about this all morning tomorrow.
HOLMES: OK.
CHO: Yes, we are.
LEVS: Weekends@CNN.com. We'd love to hear from you.
And that's the question right there: Is financial compensation justified if an engagement is broken?
HOLMES: We're dedicating an hour to it tomorrow.
The next hour of CNN NEWSROOM starts right now.
