Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Newsroom

Eighty-Three Arrested in Pittsburgh; Homegrown Terror Probes; Plot Suspect Buys Chemicals; Southern Flooding; Reforming Health Care; Embryo Mix-up; Game System Helps Heart Health; Options for Afghanistan; Radicals Among Us; Paying Through The Nose; Celebrating The Hispanic Heritage; It's Raining Beer

Aired September 26, 2009 - 11:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From the CNN Center, you are in the CNN NEWSROOM for this Saturday, September 26. Hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yeah, hello, everybody, good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 11:00 a.m. in the East, 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast. Let's get started with some headlines for you. A deadly start, in fact, to the weekend in Pakistan, 15 people killed in three bomb explosions. There are three suspects in custody. Also a Denver man now in New York where he is accused of planning to bomb a target there. Najibullah Zazi set to be in court on Tuesday.

And this, a warning to Iran over its nuclear ambitions. In his weekly address, President Obama says Tehran will face consequences if it does not reverse course.

HOLMES: All right, and listen to this now. We've got another and a pretty serious twist in the Iran nuclear story this morning. The country's semiofficial news agency, so take it with a grain of salt here, but they are quoting a senior Iranian official as saying the new uranium enrichment plant that was just disclosed, saying it'll be operational soon, and, quote-- "will blind the eyes of the enemies" -- end quote.

NGUYEN: Well, that flies in the face of what Iran's president has been claiming that this new plan is for peaceful civilian purposes and will not be operational for about another year and a half. Here's what President Ahmadinejad told CNN's Larry King.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, HOST, "LARRY KING LIVE": Y ou told the editors of "Time" magazine that it would be a mistake for Obama to bring up this newly revealed nuclear plan. Why is this a mistake for him to bring it up?

PRES. MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, IRAN (through translator): Well, I believe he's made a mistake. It's very clear. We informed the agency even before we were required to about the facility's operation. So how can he possibly accuse us of secretly engaging in an activity that did not take place? This is a big mistake, accusing us of an action that did not take place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Well, CNN's Elaine Quijano live at the White House for us this morning. I'm sure around the White House, just like the previous White House, everybody's scratching their heads. Just what exactly do you do with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? What do they do besides making strong statements and talking about sanctions again? It sounds like what we've been hearing for years.

ELAINE QUIJANO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yeah, well, T.J., you know, first up, President Obama very much wants to have an investigation into this second nuclear facility. But you're absolutely right. The United States and other countries have long suspected Iran of trying to develop a nuclear weapon. Well, now President Obama is saying that Tehran needs to open itself up and allow international inspectors to come into this facility. In fact, on the heels of the G-20 summit in Pittsburgh, President Obama said that he believes the world is more united than ever when it comes to the issue of Iran and he vowed that there will be consequences if Tehran does not cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Here is now the president put it this morning in his weekly radio and internet address.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: All of the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council and Germany have made it clear that Iran must fulfill its responsibilities. Iran's leaders must now choose. They can live up to their responsibilities and achieve integration with the community of nations, or they will face increased pressure and isolation and deny opportunity to their own people.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUIJANO: Now, Iran, insists that its nuclear activity is simply for peaceful civilian peaceful purposes. But President Obama has said that looking at this facility itself, its size, its configuration that it does not look like this is the peaceful purpose that the Iranians claim it to be. Now, these developments are all coming at a very critical time. On Thursday, there's going to be an important meeting in Geneva Switzerland. That is when the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council as well as Germany are going to be sitting down with Iranian officials to talk about their nuclear program. And, of course, T.J., President Obama is saying a lot is riding certainly on those talks-- T.J.

HOLMES: Oh, and moving forward, certainly, the president wants the backing of the international community. We saw him certainly with-- in making the statement about Iran, he had leaders of France and also of Great Britain standing there with him, but also critical will be Russia.

QUIJANO: That's exactly right. In fact, this is huge really. President Obama briefed Russia's president, Dmitry Medvedev, earlier this week about this second facility. And it was interesting because after that, Russia softened its stance really when it comes to sanctions. In the past, Russia and China, which have economic and energy ties to Iran, have really been reluctant to go ahead with tougher penalties for Iran. Well, now Russia's president after that briefing said that sometimes sanctions are inevitable. So, definitely a shift there from what we've seen in past statements by the Russians when it comes to Iran.

HOLMES: All right, we'll see if we see a follow-through down the road though. Elaine Quijano for us from the White House, thank you so much.

And while the world's leading industrial nations met for the final day at the G-20 in Pittsburgh on Friday, some protesters spent the closing day of the G-20 in jail.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Move! Freeze?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Yeah, some 83 people were arrested between Wednesday and yesterday. President Obama says the protesters were relatively peaceful compared to some of the past world summits. Some 4,500 marched for miles through downtown. The main message was a demand for solutions to the planet economic and environmental problems.

NGUYEN: All right, we're going to move on to another story really quickly. Federal authorities are wrestling with three homegrown terrorism cases which may have been on the verge of being unleashed on the anniversary of September 11. Jordanian National Hosam Smadi is under arrest in Dallas, Texas, nabbed in an undercover FBI sting operation. Smadi is accused of trying to take down a skyscraper with a truck bomb.

Federal agents say they foiled a separate but similar terror plot in Springfield, Illinois. Michael C. Finton is charged with trying to detonate a truck bomb outside a federal courthouse with a cell phone. The phone was actually a decoy device supplied by the FBI.

And Afghan immigrant, Najibullah Zazi is now in a Brooklyn jail. He was flown in from Denver yesterday. Zazi's accused of planning to set off a bomb off in New York.

HOLMES: And Zazi there, as you were just mentioning, he's headed to federal court next week. His lawyer says there's no evidence that Zazi was making bombs.

NGUYEN: Well, but store surveillance tapes show Zazi allegedly buying large quantities of chemicals which could be used to make explosives. Here's CNN's Susan Candiotti.

SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., Betty, the surveillance video obtained exclusively by CNN Thursday matches court documents that puts a terror suspect in a beauty supply store twice in July and August. The store's owner says the FBI approached him during a canvass of businesses last week, looking for unusual sales of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used to make a powerful explosive called TATP. In the first video, a man to be alleged plotter, Najibullah Zazi, wearing a baseball cap backwards, walks up to a counter in Aurora, Colorado with six bottles of a cheap peroxide hair product. He throws in a few more items including a shower cap. A few weeks later, the FBI says Zazi goes back to the same store and buys a dozen more bottles and a makeup bag. He puts the bottles into a shopping cart and moves it down the aisle. The store's chain CEO says that is an odd amount but employees were not alarmed. The customer joked that he was buying it for a lot of his girlfriends.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

KARAN HOSS, CEO, BEAUTY SUPPLY WAREHOUSE: There was some small talk and specific to the product. I believe one of the employees actually asked what are you using all this stuff for and he jokingly said, "Oh, Ii have a lot of girlfriends."

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CANDIOTTI: The store voluntarily turned over to the FBI the videos and two receipts that coincided with purchases on those dates. He paid cash. The bottles are cheap. In all, 18 bottles for about $3 each. In court documents, prosecutors say Zazi and others bought other large quantities of chemicals intending to make a bomb. So far, no chemicals have been found and no other helpers arrested-- T.J., Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, so just hours after Vice President Joe Biden's tour of flood-ravaged North Georgia, more federal help is being made available for storm victims. But that assistance won't help them with a more pressing matter, which is happening today.

HOLMES: That happens to the forecast. Our Catherine Callaway meanwhile is live in one suburb of Atlanta where everybody is watching and waiting but they're also working-- Catherine.

CATHERINE CALLOWAY, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is so loud in here right now. I'm sure that you told everyone that this is one of those stories we love to tell. It is about strangers helping people. And that's the case here in Hiram, Georgia. This home, the Sosebee (ph) home in Hiram was a complete loss in the flood. And an organization called Samaritan's Purse has come here to help demolish this home so that it can dry out and be rebuilt.

And Dan Bennett here is a team leader. And he didn't even want to stop working while we were doing this live shot. Perhaps we can get him to talk to us for just a second.

Dan, you're one of about 20 volunteers-- 13 volunteers here at this house alone. And you said you don't even know each other. You just all came together to do this.

DAN BENNETT, SAMARITAN'S PURSE: Right.

CALLAWAY: And you do this a lot? Tell us what you do.

BENNETT: As the Lord opens the door, I come and help. CALLAWAY: Yeah, and you are basically ripping this house apart, which looks like a total loss.

BENNETT: No, it's not a total loss. The Lord will put it all back together. We're just ripping it down to the studs.

CALLAWAY: To dry it out, to hopefully be...

BENNETT: To dry out so they can rebuild or reform the walls and everything and put it back together.

CALLAWAY: This is a complete volunteer organization. You're not paid to do this. You leave your families and your homes. Why do you do this?

BENNETT: For the Lord. We're just his hands and feet working in the community.

CALLAWAY: And what's the reward for you?

BENNETT: Heavenly.

CALLAWAY: I know it has to feel good to talk with these families who so appreciate you coming here.

BENNETT: Yeah, I'm glad to be here. It's for the Lord.

CALLAWAY: I'm sure you are. And show us the mask. We want to tell you guys that it's-- these are toxic conditions in here. There is mold. There is mud. It is a very unclean, dangerous situation, and these are not skilled professionals. They're complete volunteers that come in here to help these families.

HOLMES: All righty. Well, Catherine, thank you so-- and I know it's loud in there. We won't ask you any more questions. So glad we got to talk to him and hear from him talking about why he does it.

NGUYEN: What a great attitude.

HOLMES: And he's ready to get back to work.

NGUYEN: He's like, "Can I go now because I got stuff to do?" All right, thank you.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: All right, well, a couple just had a big, healthy baby boy. The baby is not theirs, however.

NGUYEN: Yeah. We're going to get you some reaction and tell you the story behind this baby mix-up.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right. As if the health care debate needed to heat up anymore, it is heating up again on Capitol Hill. Democrats get additional support in the Senate. Our deputy political director and friend of our show here on Saturday and Sunday morning, Paul Steinhauser keeping track of all this for you. Something jumping out as a surprise here?

PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yeah, T.J., I tell you, it is slow going on the Senate Finance Committee. That's where the battle's going to resume on Tuesday. This is the last committee of the five congressional panels on health care. This is also kind of the last chance for any kind of bipartisan agreement. The Senate Finance Committee all this past week has been hearing-- dealing with a bill that the chairman and senator, Max Baucus, introduced. And it's been slow going. They voted not only on about 40 amendments with a heck of a lot more to go.

T.J., we saw some heated passions this past week. And we're going to see a vote this upcoming week on the public option, so expect more tough talk.

HOLMES: You said a vote there. What are the numbers looking like right now? They have people down there who are paid and in positions to keep account of the numbers. So what are they looking at if they did happen to have a vote today? Do the Democrats have the numbers they want?

STEINHAUSER: Yeah, the Democrats just got an extra number yesterday and that's going to help them. Massachusetts now has two senators, and the Democrats now have 60 senators in the chamber thanks to the swearing in yesterday of Paul Kirk. He replaces the late Ted Kennedy. This came from Ted Kennedy before he passed this summer. He urged that they quickly change the law and have a replacement for him so that his death wouldn't keep the Democrats short one crucial vote. So, yeah, there's an extra number there now, T.J.

HOLMES: All right, last thing here, speaking of the number, the Americans, where are-- I know we keep up with these numbers in polls and do a lot of polling, where are Americans right now on health care reform?

STEINHAUSER: They're divided on the Obama plan. So, our poll numbers from CNN (UNINTELLIGIBLE) Research Corporation and just about every other national organization, look there, right there. Fifty-one percent in favor of what Obama's proposing, 46 opposed to what the president's proposing. You see those kind of numbers elsewhere as well, T.J.

HOLMES: All right. Our Paul Steinhauser, friend of our show here, always good to see you. Appreciate you, buddy.

STEINHAUSER: Thank you.

HOLMES: All right, Betty.

NGUYEN: All right, we want to the tell you about this story that's really got a lot of people talking today. Here's the situation, a couple go into a fertility clinic to try to have a baby. Well, the woman was implanted with an embryo. It turned out not to be hers. But she went ahead and gave birth to a healthy boy and gave that child to its biological parents and actually, even offered a heartfelt congratulations to the other couple. Such a giving couple here especially a woman who went through nine months of pregnancy. And you're seeing the couple right there.

All right, and our question to you today, is that something that you could do? I mean would you be able to take on that kind of a sacrifice? And getting a lot of responses, you know, some people saying oh, they should just really sue the fertility clinic for mixing it up. And some others saying, you know, hey, what about the woman who got the baby, the biological parent? Maybe she should have the child for the woman who had the mix-up and went through with the pregnancy. But Steve Ewing says, talking about the lady, "She and people like her should run for political office. With her level of compassion, it would change our government much for the better."

HOLMES: Well, I'll just share one here. So when LindaLeigh at the bottom there-- LindaLeigh226, at the bottom of the screen, says, "That's an amazing story and a very compassionate act. She did the right thing, not sure if I could." We hear that from some folks, saying after carrying the child after nine months, that child is yours no matter what. And on another note, you mentioned some people think they should sue. Well, that is a possibility. The family has retained an attorney, looking at the possibility of at least holding that fertility clinic liable.

NGUYEN: When we talked about this earlier too, some people think, because she knew about the mix-up 10 days in, so she very easily could have terminated this pregnancy. And some people say, "You know what, I can't go through with it if it is not my child." But she decided to go through with it and then give the child to its biological parents. It's quite a story, really. And we do appreciate your responses today. And of course, there'll be another question tomorrow, so, stay tuned for that.

In the meantime though, the new X-factor in medicine. What is it?

HOLMES: Yeah, a video game console helping to keep you healthy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, I got some developments here about Iran's secretive nuclear program, some breaking developments here. According to Iran state-run television, the Islamic Republic, says it will allow international energy inspectors into its newly revealed uranium enrichment facility. More details as they develop. Stay here with us in the CNN NEWSROOM.

NGUYEN: Well, friends amend family of Yale graduate student, Annie Le gathered today for one last good-bye. The 24-year-old pharmacology student was found strangled and stuffed inside of a wall in the university's medical lab on the same day that she was supposed to be married. A lab tech is charged with killing her.

And more help is on the way for flood victims in Georgia. Vice president Joe Biden says 20 counties would qualify for federal relief. Fourteen disaster declarations have been issued so far. Biden toured the flood zone yesterday. This is a little glimpse of what he was able to see. More rain, though, expected for the area today. We're going to have another check of your top stories though in 20 minutes.

All right, a lot of folks out there, maybe you, play video games, and a lot of them. And we know these gaming systems, they can provide hours and hours of fun, distraction, whatever you want to call it. But now some people will say it has a medical purpose, as well.

HOLMES: And Josh Levs keeping an eye on this for us this morning in something we're calling "Levs on The Lookout."

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Okay, our camera guy is laughing, too. We just premiered that this morning. I can't remember the last time I got so much mail about something that isn't the story. All right, anyway, let me tell you all about this. This is great. It's really interesting. I like to keep an eye on technology stories for you. And at CNN.com/technology, we have a lot of great ones. And take a look at this headline. It was linked to this at "Time" magazine, "How Xbox Can Help Fight Heart Disease." So I called the researcher.

I'm going to explain what's going on. It's pretty amazing. Heart disease is the number-one killer in America. And in order to explain, what I needed here was a 3-D image of a heart. So I got one from 3Dscience.com. Let's zoom in to this image. This is what's going on. Cardiac researchers these days create heart models. And what they do is they zoom way in to one little, tiny part of a heart and they say, "Okay, let's imagine that a few cells here go bad or a few cells here or a few cells here. What would happen? And then they run these animations and that helps them predict things like arrhythmia or heart attacks, very serious heart problems, all with this. But here's the challenge, they can't often do it in a lot of places because you need these massive, very expensive super computers until now.

Check out this video of the Xbox. What happened is this researcher discovered that this little chip inside the Xbox will let you do all that way faster, way cheaper, and this can help researchers all over the world do this critical research to help predict things that could ultimately kill people. There's this economic incentive in the gaming industry to come up with faster, cheaper, better chips and now they found a medical purpose for it. Here's a quote from the researcher himself, Simon Scarle, take a look at this. And he tells these game consoles are literally the most powerful computing hardware you can get for the money.

And "Time" magazine puts it this way, they say, "The new tool has the potential to revolutionize the entire medical industry." Now, we've posted some more info for you here at -- you can see it in my blog and also at the Facebook and Twitter, JoshLevsCNN, CNN.com/Josh.

So Betty, T.J., we got a lot of info there but the basic idea here boils down to the medical industry will now have reason to look more and more at the gaming industry, maybe copy that technology and start to use it a little bit.

NGUYEN: Well, any chance or any indication as to when these researchers will start using this type of technology?

LEVS: Yeah, the people I talked to said that they believe that within the next year people, we'll see people start to grab this and start to use some of these chips, even literally taking one out of an Xbox. But what they're pushing more toward is for that industry to looking at the kind of technology they have in gaming and say, "You know what, let's look there more." He told me that sometimes there's a snobbish attitude about game machines and this might help break that down. He says, "You know what, we'll start looking more at that technology, copying it for ourselves." And that in the coming years is where he thinks there could be a real movement.

NGUYEN: All right, thanks, Josh. We appreciate it.

LEVS: Thanks guys.

HOLMES: Well, there has been talk of more troops. And the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan meets with his boss, the joint chiefs chairman.

NGUYEN: Yeah, and we're going to review the options as Washington seeks a winning strategy.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: All right, there's a new audiotape reportedly from Osama bin Laden. It threatens European nations, demands they cut ties with the U.S. and pull troops out of Afghanistan. So far, there's no confirmation that this tape is authentic. It was posted yesterday on a website.

Also, the al Qaeda leader was the mastermind behind the terror attacks of 9/11, of course, but U.S. troops have been in Afghanistan where bin Laden was believed to be hiding ever since. The top U.S. general there wants tens of thousands of more U.S. service members. But that idea is not exactly being embraced by the White House. Here now, CNN Pentagon correspondent Chris Lawrence.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHRIS LAWRENCE, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A secret meeting at a secure military base in Europe that could help decide the fate of up to 40,000 American troops. CNN has learned General David Petraeus and the chairman of the joint chiefs flew to Ramstein, Germany, for a face to face meeting with their Afghanistan war commander. The goal, to better understand the troops and equipment General Stan McChrystal needs in Afghanistan. But those added troops are based on fighting President Obama's current strategy, a counterinsurgency against al Qaeda and the Taliban. Officials tell us the administration was taken aback by General McChrystal's assessment of Afghanistan's problems and the sheer number of troops needed to fix them.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There is a discussion taking place about whether it should continue to be the strategy or whether adjustments should be made. LAWRENCE: President Obama says he'd only support expanding the counterinsurgency if it's proven to ultimately defeat al Qaeda. Another consideration is a more limited goal of ensuring al Qaeda doesn't operate in Afghanistan.

Analyst Michael O'Hanlon monitored the recent elections in Afghanistan. He says there's a third option on the table besides immediately sending more troops or scaling back the mission.

MICHAEL O'HANLON, ANALYST, BROOKINGS INSTITUTE: I think the leading alternative contender is a blend of trying to negotiate more with the so-called moderate Taliban, trying to await improved Afghan government performance before we add more resources, trying to do some of what Senator Levin is saying and trying to think of how we can use the Afghan security forces a little more assertively and American forces a little bit less.

LAWRENCE (on camera): O'Hanlon says holding off on the troops could give the U.S. more time to pressure the Afghan government to say, "Look, we're not going all in here until you clean up your own corruption."

As for negotiating with the moderate Taliban, the problem is a senior defense official told me the Taliban believe they're winning and a lot of Afghan people believe they're winning. So he thinks it's going to be hard to co-op them right now because who wants to jump ship if you think you're already on the winning side.

Chris Lawrence, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Well, not all threats come from afar. The terror arrests this past week suggest there are radicals among us. And earlier, I spoke in detail with Clark Kent Ervin, the former inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security. The topic, this week's trio of arrests, soft targets and homegrown terror.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CLARK KENT ERVIN, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, HOMELAND SECURITY: It's really striking that, Betty, we have amazing similarities between the cases in Springfield and Dallas. Aside from the timing of course, neither Springfield nor Dallas is typically considered a top terror target even though Dallas is a very large city.

NGUYEN: Right, so why these cities? You would think, you know, these large-scale cities with mass transit, mass casualties and what not. Why these particular cities?

ERVIN: Right. Well, it appears to be opportunistic. It appears that both these fellows lived in Springfield and Dallas respectively so they took advantage of where they were. It just underscores that every city in the United States no matter how big or prominent can be a potential a terror target. That's an important lesson for us to take away. NGUYEN: But is that part of plotting fear throughout the U.S., targeting places that some people wouldn't even suspect?

ERVIN: Yes, you know, I have often thought that if there were to be a successful terror attack, God forbid, somewhere in the middle of the country not in New York, not Washington D.C., not Los Angeles, but everybody thinks of as a terror target, but in a place like Springfield, even in a place like Dallas, it would arguably have an even bigger psychological effect for precisely that reason.

NGUYEN: But why are we seeing this now? I mean is it just coincidence or are we seeing an increase in homegrown terrorism?

ERVIN: Well, you know, we-- I think it's really too soon to tell. It is striking that all of this is happening apparently all at once. We're right around the anniversary of 9/11. It appears that at least in the Zazi case in New York and Denver, and in the case in Dallas, that these attacks may have been planned for 9/11 itself. That certainly appears to be the case in Dallas one.

And so, here we are eight years after 9/11 and it just underscores that we remain under potential attack here. And there are vulnerabilities that remain in the country that need to be shored up.

NGUYEN: And it doesn't seem like it's the same group. Let's go through these three different ones, the Zazi case, the one out of Denver and also connected with New York. How does that one differ from the other two?

ERVIN: Well, I think the biggest difference is that Zazi apparently had a direct tie to Afghanistan and to Pakistan. He was trained apparently by al Qaeda Central, we call it, in the heartland there, to carry out an attack on the United States. And also, I believe this is the first time someone from Afghanistan, people from Afghanistan, all three, have attempted to attack the homeland. But this really just shows the nexus between the war in Afghanistan and here at home. You know, a number of people are asking whether that war in Afghanistan is worth fighting. And I think the answer is yes, because it has direct implications here at home.

NGUYEN: Okay, what about the Smadi case?

ERVIN: The Smadi case is interesting. In that case, we've got -- it's arguably homegrown or it's arguably not. It's homegrown in the sense that this person was already here. But he actually came to the United States from Jordan illegally. We don't know quite how he came illegally, whether he came with fraudulent documentation and was admitted or whether his documentation was proper, it's just he overstayed his visa. My bet is it's the latter. And if so, that's important because even though we have a process now to check who comes into the country after 9/11, we still don't have a process to check out people, people who are supposed to have left and determine whether they've done so.

NGUYEN: And as the case where Smadi in Dallas tried to set off a fake bomb, in fact. And then Finton out of Springfield, Illinois, how does that one differ?

ERVIN: Right. Well, arguably, that's the most worrisome one, Betty, because this fellow I would call a classic homegrown terrorist because he was born in this country. He is a classic Anglo-Saxon American, an archetypal American. He was a convert to Islam. And therefore, he is the kind of guy who could be walking down the street and probably most Americans would not even suspect that he would be tied to terrorism. He was inspired by al Qaeda. He wanted to carry out a terror attack. He was particularly inspired by John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban, caught after 9/11 on the battlefields of Afghanistan.

So we have to be particularly vigilant against people who don't fit the terror profile.

NGUYEN: All right, so we got three different scenarios here, all, you know, allegedly homegrown terrorists. As the general public, as officials trying to prevent this, what can be done?

ERVIN: Well, I guess I'd say two things. As far as the government is concerned, we really have to give huge kudos to the FBI. They have done exactly the right thing post 9/11, to not wait until something happens so you're absolutely certain that you catch everybody and that you have an airtight criminal conviction but instead to act quickly. And sometimes so quickly that you don't completely disrupt and know everything you need to know because the number-one priority is preventing another attack. And we need to continue that.

Secondly, as far as we average citizens are concerned, this see something, say something campaign that you see in Washington where I am, cities around the country, we need to take that seriously. When an average citizen sees something out of the ordinary, it's incumbent upon them to help the law enforcement officials by being additional eyes and ears. This is a big country and every one of us has a role to play in securing the home...

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: Well, health care reform, most people agree that it's needed, but who will pick up the tab?

NGUYEN: Yeah, well, we're going to tell you why some people worry it could be your kids and your grandkids.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, the student murdered at Yale University earlier this month is being laid to rest this afternoon. Services for Annie Le will be held in her home state of California. She was found dead in a Yale research building on a day that she was supposed to be married. Lab tech, Raymond Clark, is charged with her killing.

HOLMES: Crews in Southern California say they hope to have a huge fire in Ventura County under control today. Right now, they got it pretty much contained, 85%. The fire started Tuesday. It's burned some 17,000 acres, mostly ranch and farm land. No homes have been burned to this point.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Go! Move! Freeze!

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HOLMES: Now, this is pretty much wrapping up. This is marking the end of the G-20 economic summit with some confrontations between police and protesters outside the University of Pittsburgh. Police say those groups of demonstrators did not have permits.

NGUYEN: Well, critics of health care reform argue that the cost is too high and say that young people will end up shouldering an enormous bill for decades to come. But how realistic is that assessment? Well, our Carol Costello has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT(voice-over): It's certainly a valid concern.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're taking our kids' future and driving it right into the toilet.

COSTELLO: It is a figure that is incomprehensible for most Americans. Take a look at the national debt clock in Manhattan. It reads more than $11 trillion, just saying. If health care reform passes, will our kids pay through the nose?

MICHAEL TANNER, CATO INSTITUTE: Yeah, that's something I think we haven't talked enough about.

COSTELLO: Some, like Michael Tanner of the libertarian Cato Institute, believe young adults are likely to bear the brunt of reform's cost.

TANNER: Certainly, those young people who don't have insurance today are going to be required to go out and buy insurance. Some of them, of course, will receive subsidies, but those who don't are going to have to pay something that they're not paying today.

COSTELLO: Right now, about 10 million young Americans, ages 19 to 26, don't have health insurance. Janos Marton is one of them.

JANOS MARTON, UNINSURED: I'm looking for private insurance right now. And I can afford some insurance. You know, I'm not broke or anything. I have income but right now, costs are just out of control.

COSTELLO: Last week, at the University of Maryland, thousands of students showed up to hear the president talk about reform.

OBAMA: Health care is about more than the details of a policy. It's about what kind of country you want to be. COSTELLO: Mr. Obama's words resonated. Despite the fact many here will be saddled with college debt and the prospect of a terrible job market, "The Washington Post"/ABC News poll shows 58 percent of young adults favor health care reform.

HEATHER SMITH, ROCK THE VOTE: More than any other age group, they believe that this is their right, that it's embarrassing that we in the United States are the only democracy that doesn't have universal health care coverage for its citizens.

COSTELLO: Under the latest Senate proposal, tax experts say a bare- bones, catastrophic policy for young people could cost as much as $200 per month. The president has promised he won't sign any reform that adds to the deficit. Critics say that just means higher taxes on something.

Marton is willing to listen though, despite concerns that such ideas will bankrupt his future.

MARTON: I'm just happy for any chance to participate in a more serious discourse about it than what we hear from these town halls.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Republicans are using their weekly address to focus on the cost of health care reform. Senator Johnny Isakson of Georgia says the government insurance option many Democrats want would be too expensive.

HOLMES: All right, well, get ready. I know you're a big fan, Tejano music.

NGUYEN: Yeah, it's all right.

HOLMES: Yeah, it's all right (laughter). Biblical costumes and hot tamales. You like hot tamales, right?

NGUYEN: Yeah, I like that, too. It's all great. Okay, but there is a serious message behind the celebrations. We'll take you there.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Well, Latino Americans are celebrating their heritage this month. And one of the biggest gatherings is, yes, in Georgia, held in the Atlanta suburb of Canos (ph).

HOLMES: Yeah, some of the thousands of folks on hand are there for the party and they reflected on their culture, health care reform, as well, also their hope for the Obama administration. Check it out.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think that the Latino community has gained a big presence. It's very visible in this society.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What we're expecting in 2010, to try to get representation, to try to get Latinos to be counted during the census, to be represented so their communities can get what it is that they need in the next decade. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The recession has affected the Latino community just because with the slowdown, especially in the real estate market and housing market, there's a lot fewer jobs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Health care reform is important for Hispanic families. The problem with Hispanic families is that we work a lot and sometimes we forget that we've got our health to take care of.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Obama used in his campaign, "Yes you can" or "Yes we can." And that's actually a Spanish saying, which is Si se puede.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You know, a minority president in the country and now, (UNINTELLIGIBLE), I think will be very good for Hispanic youth.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): I am a woman and I am proud that a woman could achieve this and that she represents us in this country full of opportunity for all Hispanics.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sotomayor's nomination for us Latinos is huge. It means that we're finally here. The goal in Hispanic heritage is that people understand what we are about. And we're a rich culture. We've got a lot to offer to this country.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The 16th of September is kind of like the Mexican Fourth of July. That's their independence day, and they come out in droves, as you can see, to celebrate.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE(through translator): This is marvelous to see all these people out in the weather. I am ready to sing to them. My music is an evolution of traditional Mexican music, one of many. Mine is very danceable. I jump around on stage. I love to dance. It's fusion of various rhythms. I spent all my life in this music.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): We celebrate with parties, with families. We make traditional foods. The special thing is to be with family and celebrate with family.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is a great time the year for all of us to come together and really celebrate what the Latino culture is in the United States of America.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And please note, that we are less than a month away from the debut of "CNN's LATINO IN AMERICA" on the nation's fastest growing minority is reshaping politics, business, schools, churches, neighborhoods. "LATINO IN AMERICA" airs October 21 and 22 right here on CNN.

NGUYEN: Well, something that we're also facing here in the Southeast, stormy weather and it's really not needed especially here in Georgia after all the flooding that we've seen this week. Folks trying to clean up from the storms.

(WEATHER REPORT)

HOLMES: It's now time in the show where we turn to all things fabulous.

NGUYEN: And that, of course...

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And you are just so excited that it's over.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: I know what this means really.

NGUYEN: We're so thrilled when you are finally up here talking to us about...

WHITFIELD: Because you're getting closer to the door. I know.

NGUYEN: You said that, we did not.

WHITFIELD: Okay, okay, if that's what you want. I am so glad to be with you. Good to see you guys. All right, coming up noon Eastern hour, we've got quite a few legal cases that have kind of turned heads and made a lot of folks pay attention, including one unfolding Bahamas but involving one of America's sweetheart couples. We're talking about Kelly Preston and John Travolta. This is a case that involves alleged extortion, extortion of $25,000 while they were grieving the loss of their son. And now, apparently, there is a videotape.

And it's also a special birthday weekend for a young man. His name is Darius Williams. You may not know his name but perhaps you're familiar with his journey across country. He, with a number of other young kids, had really made a lot of people take notice because of their efforts to try and win some money in the form research but at the same time have really educated a lot of people, young and old, across the country. And it's a special birthday weekend because he turns 2. We'll try to fill you in on why that is a huge milestone.

And then we're asking this question in the 4:00 Eastern hour, are men happier than women? T.J.?

HOLMES: Well, if you just want to compare Betty and I, obviously, she's the angry woman here.

WHITFIELD: No, never.

(CROSSTALK)

WHITFIELD: That's right, look out. Well, there is a survey that's out that a number of women and American men were surveyed. And the conclusion, men were happier. And there were a lot of interesting dynamics that are involved there.

NGUYEN: Because we have to do all the work, that's why.

WHITFIELD: You are touching on part of it. That's actually what the root of it, in part, huge responsibility. So, we're devoting an entire hour on men's and women's happiness.

(CROSSTALK)

NGUYEN: That would be great.

WHITFIELD: Okay, good.

NGUYEN: Bring your boxing gloves.

WHITFIELD: You all have a happy day.

HOLMES: All right, we will. Wouldn't this make you happy if it's raining beer. Yes, raining...

WHITFIELD: For you , maybe.

HOLMES: Yeah, that's why men are happier. That's why that man right there, Reynolds Wolf, is happy talking about making beer out of rain water. Reynolds up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, well, apparently, it's raining beer here in Atlanta. Little did we know.

REYNOLDS WOLF: It's no umbrellas need. You know, it's funny, we have been talking about the heavy rainfall. Obviously, there's a bad side of it. There is one good side. Looking to the good side and that is there's a company in Atlanta that's actually using some of that rainfall in a very beneficial way, both economically and environmentally.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF(voice-over): At the 5 Seasons Brewery in Atlanta, they've been preparing for the perfect pour. They claim to be first brewery in the world to serve a micro brewed green beer.

CRAWFORD MORAN, 5 SEASONS BREWERY: Here we go.

WOLF(on-camera): Like this?

MORAN: Yeah. Just smack it.

WOLF(voice-over): Master brewer, Crawford Moran, gave me the honor of tapping the very first keg.

MORAN: Not only does it make the beer better, but it's a green oriented.

WOLF(on-camera): When people think green beer, most people think about that stuff you have on St. Patrick's Day or that six pack that you left in your car on a really hot day.

(voice-over): But here, the term takes on an entirely different meaning.

(on-camera): Crawford, what does green beer mean here? MORAN: It means something different than St. Paddy's day stuff. It means beer that is made with pure pristine rain water. We just harvest it straight out of the clouds and just the way Mother Nature intended it to be.

WOLF(voice-over): The beer is made with pure rain water. Now, the concept isn't new. People have been harvesting rain water for drinking, cooking and farming for centuries. But what is new is the brew pub has teamed up with Rain Water Harvest System to create a beer made from 100 percent rain water captured on site.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Basically, what you do is you put this big tank under your down spout and you're collecting water when it rains. The water comes off the roof, comes through the down spout and goes through a series of different filters and collects in the tank. And then, from there, we pump it through some more filtration into the brewery and that's where we start with the beer.

WOLF: The management here insists that the water is cleaner than city water and it's softer too, one secret of making better beer.

MORAN: As brewers, we really like to see soft water, so not a lot of mineral content in there. And rain water, that's what it is.

WOLF: But don't just take his word for it.

MORAN: There you go.

WOLF: The proof is in the drinking.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely has a smooth taste to it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's actually very smooth, very mild in flavor, really tasty.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The flavor of it's a little bit different. I actually like it a lot better.

WOLF: Now, beyond taste, there's a bonus in green beer for both the environment and the 5 Seasons Brewery. They could be trucking in the water from a far off mountain spring. Now, that would pollute the air and cost money. So they use nature's source rain water that is local and free. It's what the customers and owners of the brewery agree is a green, green, win, win.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

WOLF: Okay, so with all the heavy rainfall that we had just over the past week, they are guestimating about 200,000 pints of water they're going to be able to gather. With all the rainfall they were (UNINTELLIGIBLE). I know, that's what I'm saying, good times.

NGUYEN: All right, thank you, Reynolds.