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CNN Saturday Morning News

Tucson Safeway Store Reopening Amid; Gun Show Today in Pima County, AZ; A History of Tunisia; Current Turmoil Continues in Tunisia as Interim Leader Sets New Presidential Elections in Two Months; Reince Priebus New RNC Chairman; Solving the Child Obesity Problem

Aired January 15, 2011 - 09:00   ET

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

MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN ANCHOR: Two developing stories this morning.

The scene of Tucson's horrific shooting about to get back in business but not without paying respects to those shot during last week's attack. We're there live with a preview of this morning's emotional ceremony. And then the latest on the plans to hold a gun show today just a short distance away.

And in Tunisia reports of a revolution getting bloodier and nastier each hour; the prison's reportedly been set on fire. The president has fled and it's unclear who is in charge. The latest live from inside the country in chaos.

From CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is January 15th. Good morning to you. I'm Martin Savidge.

We have been telling you about an important event in Tucson, Arizona this morning. Right about now, the Safeway Grocery Store is scheduled to reopen for the first time since that shooting one week ago. The store served as the backdrop for that tragedy.

Our Thelma Gutierrez is there live right now in Tucson. Thelma, do they have anything special planned for this reopening? Good morning to you, by the way.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Marty. As a matter of fact, the stores are now just opening. Right now, you can take a look at the doors. The first customers had just walked through.

You can see the two managers are wheeling away those baskets. The baskets were in front of the doors here of that Safeway with this large sign that said "Temporarily Closed." And Martin, if you look right over to my right, you can see a memorial that's set up at the front door, flowers, ribbons, that kind of thing in memory of all of those people who were injured and those who were killed right here in front of the Safeway.

SAVIDGE: Thelma it's been obviously a very difficult week for the people of Tucson and actually for a lot of people across the country. I'm just wondering how are people there, in Tucson, doing now? GUTIERREZ: It's really interesting Marty. We talked to one of the young men who was involved with trying to subdue the gunman right out here last week. And he said that it's been very difficult as he looks back on the week's events, you know, having to re-live it, that kind of thing. He said he actually that it was harder now once this reality is starting to set in.

You talk to some of the other folks here in Tucson. They say they are still in shock over what happened. A lot of time for reflection. The people now ready to move on. Very, very encouraged by the progress being made by the congresswoman.

SAVIDGE: And we listened to your interview you did with that young man. It's remarkable how very candid he was in his emotions, his feelings. Tell us about this gun show going on a short distance away from where you are.

GUTIERREZ: Yes, there's a gun show going on. It's at the Pima County Fairgrounds, Mary. It's one of the largest gun shows in the country. Of course, we're talking about Arizona. There are gun shows here routinely. I mean, this is not something that is unheard of. But, you know, there were some criticism that came down as to whether or not the gun show ought to be held. Was it insensitive to hold a gun show of this magnitude just a week after this terrible tragedy.

And we talked to the organizers. They said look, this thing was planned. It's a planned event. There were people who are already coming to the show. We were not about to move it. They have asserted time and time again that this was the work of a person who is disturbed. It had nothing to do with people who legally carry weapons and who are responsible. And so they said they are moving forward with the gun show. Thousands of people expected to attend today, Marty.

SAVIDGE: Thelma Gutierrez, live in Tucson, Arizona where they have just opened the doors of the supermarket where that shooting took place a long ago. Actually, it seems a long ago, it's just a week ago. Thanks very much. We'll be in touch, Thelma.

To another story. Tunisia is a nation with a long history, it is not often though Tunisia finding itself the focus of international attention. Our Michael Holmes brings us up to speed on how Tunisians have risen up against the western leading leadership.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

MICHAEL HOLMES, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Before the deadly protest broke out, Tunisia was considered generally safe and stable country, popular with European tourists. It's a former French colony that gained independence in 1956. Located on the northern coast of Africa, Tunisia is a close ally of the United States especially when it comes to anti-terrorism methods and has a mostly secular culture.

But discontent in this country of more than 10 million people, mostly Suni Muslims, have been brewing for a very long time. The population has been living under authoritarian rule since President Zain Ul Abadeen Gillani came to power in a bloodless coup 23 years ago. Since then, he's won five terms in office. (INAUDIBLE) has a close relationship with western governments because of his opposition to Islamist extremists.

But at home, a growing resentment of his policies and frustration over the distribution of wealth has been steadily building. Although (INAUDIBLE) has been credited with ensuring political stability and economic growth, critics accuse him of human rights abuses and ignoring democratic values.

Tunisia has a significant middle class and a large number of educated youth. A month ago, anti-government protest began as a demand for jobs quickly turned into a violent call for political, economic and social reforms. The use of social media to organize the protest helped fuel the rage that led to Friday's shift in power.

Michael Holmes, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

SAVIDGE: And as you just heard Michael say, unrest and uncertainty in the north African nation of Tunisia this morning. There are reports right now of several fires in prisons across the country and several deaths as a result of those fires. A nighttime curfew is in effect in the capital after weeks of anti-government protest. The country's president has quit. He has fled to Saudi Arabia.

Our Ben Wedeman joins us on the telephone from Tunis, that's the capital. Ben, what's the situation on the streets right now?

BEN WEDEMAN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, in central Tunis, it's relatively calm. The police and army are firmly in control. There are no cars essentially allowed into the middle of the city. People are just - on all stores are closed, people are walking around, trying to find food. The bakeries aren't open. Most grocery stores aren't open. People selling, for instance, eggs and vegetables by the side of the road.

The worry at the moment, Martin, is chaos is spreading. There are reports of gangs of looters across the country. People stealing cars, breaking into stores. This morning, we saw an electronics store that was completely ransacked by looters overnight. The owner told me, as it happened, the police simply did nothing to stop it.

So really, that's the mounting concern at the moment. After they exited the scene, the joy of the demonstration yesterday and the news that the long-serving dictator Ben Ali had left the country. Now, that's been replaced by profound concern about the law and order. Martin.

SAVIDGE: Well, you're right. There was a sense that people were feeling very happy about things. But clearly, the mood is starting to change. Do we know, Ben, who is really in charge? WEDEMAN: We don't, at this point. The speaker of Parliament has assumed the power as interim president. He declared that according to the Tunisian constitution Article 57 that there would be presidential elections within the next two months. Walking around Tunis, what is clear is that the civilians aren't really in control. It's the army and the police who have clamped down, at least in central Tunis and certainly it looks a bit like the old Who song "the new boss looks a lot like the old boss." Martin.

SAVIDGE: Ben Wedeman reporting on the telephone line to us from Tunis, in Tunisia, where a revolution is underway and we will continue to get updates from Ben. Thanks very much.

A complete check of some changes ahead in your forecast. When we come back, Reynolds is here to tell us what areas may soon see some flooding.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: There was some pretty rough weather across parts of the country this past week. Reynolds Wolf is here to tell us, well, if it gets better. Reynolds.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: It looks like it may be getting a little bit worse especially in parts of the Pacific Northwest. Actually, a lot of these began just over the last couple days. Yesterday it was really a crucial day in terms of this weather story that's been unfolding in parts of the northwest. A lot of it has to do with the record warmth they have had in parts of the region. In Yakima, Washington, 62 degrees was the temperature that beat the record of 60 degrees set back in 1999. Some other records, Salem, 59 degrees. 58 in Hillsboro, mainly just some mid to upper 50s and those low 60s. And that is going to make a tremendous difference to what is happening up in the Pacific northwest. We've got warm conditions.

At the same time, we got plenty of moisture which continues to stream in from the northern Pacific. There is the combination of the warm conditions, the additional rainfall and, of course, the melting you will have, of course, from the snow pack and the high elevations, to coastal range and also into parts of the Cascades that you are going to have a lot of runoff. Many of your creeks, small tributaries, your smaller rivers are going to feed into some areas where you have low lying areas, the possibility of ponding is going to exist on many side streets as well as parts of I-5. And that can cause a lot of headaches.

We are talking about the record warmth we had yesterday. At this point, we got very warm conditions in Seattle with 50 degrees. 45 degrees in Tacoma. 39 degrees in the other side of the Cascades and everything you see that happens, the bright green or dark green, those are flood warnings and watches that will remain in effect through a good part of the weekend.

So don't expect the rain to abate anytime soon. The temperatures remain very mild. Seattle with 56 degrees. 75 in San Diego. Over to Minneapolis, 15, 49 degrees in Dallas. A few scattered showers, maybe a boom of thunder in Austin maybe as far south as San Antonio. Atlanta, rain will not be an issue. We still have ice in the roadways but by the afternoon, much of it is just a memory. Into New York, 35 degrees will be your expected high temperature. We were talking earlier about delays in the place where we have them obviously in the Pacific northwest. And of course, might have some near the Great Lakes where snow will be a possibility in Chicago and back over to Detroit, even into Cleveland and Eerie, Pennsylvania before the day is out. (INAUDIBLE) Buffalo, New York, snow is expected there today as well. Back to you, Martin.

SAVIDGE: Were you a good eater as a kid?

WOLF: I eat everything. If it's a food product and it's somewhere within 10 feet of my mouth, it vanishes.

SAVIDGE: OK. I'm not sure it's a good eater. It's a voracious eater.

WOLF: Absolutely.

SAVIDGE: Eat your fruits and vegetables. Parents have been saying that to kids forever. We'll tell you who is now joining that push to get kids to eat properly.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Uncle Sam is playing mom. It wants school children to eat their veggies. The government is proposing new tougher guidelines for school lunch programs to tackle an epidemic of childhood obesity. Here's what the USDA wants to do, increase the availability of fruits, vegetables and grains. Set strict calorie guidelines and cut the amount of sodium and saturated fat.

Here is why. According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost one-third of American children, ages six through 19 are obese. That poses an increased risk for a variety of health problems like high blood pressure, high cholesterol and, of course, diabetes.

Dr. Howard Shapiro is the co-author of "Eat and Beat Diabetes" and he joins us this morning. Good morning to you, sir.

DR. HOWARD SHAPIRO, CO-AUTHOR "EAT AND BEAT DIABETES": Good morning, how are you?

SAVIDGE: Fine, thanks.

We're just saying this book is for more than people who are diabetic.

SHAPIRO: Right. It's a book that says you can eat and beat diabetes. Because most of the time when people are diagnosed with diabetes, they think they can't eat anything. We are showing you, you can eat. It's pretty simple for everybody. Anybody who is overweight is at risk for diabetes. The guidelines in this book and the information of this pertains to anyone wanting to lose weight. SAVIDGE: All right. Let's talk about the government's guidelines and this new outline that they have put out there. What do you think of this?

SHAPIRO: Well, it's a great idea, and especially for kids. Because kids are pushing the curb up for diabetes and kids are obese. Obesity is the problem. If you get diabetes before the age of 40, you're going to lose 11 or 14 years of your life. Kids are getting it at 11 and 12 years old now.

Here's the point, you're saying eat more fruits and vegetables. It's great because fiber fights diabetes, (INAUDIBLE) nutrients, fight diabetes. They are saying eat heart healthy fat. Get away from the saturated fat. That's great. And they're saying to lose weight. Lose weight is the first tactic against diabetes. So it's really a good idea to do this and it's about time.

SAVIDGE: All right. You have a wonderful layout of food here. Let's take a look at some of the food you think is good for (INAUDIBLE).

SHAPIRO: These are some of the demonstrations that I have in this book. And what we're showing you is food saboteurs today. Things that you think are great for a diet and they suck you in and they are wrong. For example, sugar free cookies.

SAVIDGE: Right. I would think good.

SHAPIRO: You think great because they are sugar free and why not have instead of six, seven, eight or 10 because they are sugar free. But in those six sugar free cookies, you have six teaspoons of starch. It acts just like sugar. You have three pats of butter, which is in the cookies. That much fat, that much starch in the cookies, sugar free doesn't mean a lot there and you are in trouble. Snacks. OK. 100 calorie snacks.

SAVIDGE: Can I just back you up on the cookies?

SHAPIRO: Sure.

SAVIDGE: Would I be better off eating regular cookies?

SHAPIRO: Yes, you would. You know why? Because you would eat one or two. You knew you had something that was high caloric and (INAUDIBLE) this allows you to eat some in the morning, some in the afternoon. And you eat them because you think they are good.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

SHAPIRO: 100 calorie snack foods. That is the portion for 100 calorie snack. That's not a lot. These muffins, these are tiny. Each of these plates have 100 calories. If you have 100 calories there, that may not be enough. So why not have another little bag and then another one later during the day. And the point here is that if you have one package of 100 calorie cookies every day, you're going to add 10 pounds to your body a year. SAVIDGE: So it's the same thing as the cookies.

SHAPIRO: Exactly. And now we're in fat-free, sugar free, fat free muffin, this is 520 calories. You have that much sugar in it. It's fat free. You got sugar, you got starch, it's not healthy. In place of it, you can have this entire meal. This entire meal is 200 calories less. It has whole grain waffles, it has the fruit, soy sausage, much healthier, much better and you are saving yourself a couple hundred of calories.

SAVIDGE: All this. Wow.

SHAPIRO: A fifth of a bacon cheeseburger. 210 calories. Or a whole veggie burger for 210 calories. If you had that whole burger, it'll be over 1,000 calories. So you're better off having the veggie burger. It's healthier and it's better. That's why you could have (INAUDIBLE) the other way.

And my favorite is the carrot cake. It's 820 calories. That piece of cake, 820 calories. Have a cup of coffee, you eat that piece of cake, (INAUDIBLE) the size of a brownie (INAUDIBLE) that much starch. 16, 16, 16 teaspoons of starch. And that much fat, nine and a half pats of butter. Let me just show you something. This has 13 teaspoons of sugar. That is what it looks like. In that one piece of cake. If you think you are getting a bargain with a carrot cake, you are wrong.

We got a quiz for you.

SAVIDGE: All right.

SHAPIRO: First thing on the quiz is, I think we have it on the screen. Pizza.

SAVIDGE: Yes.

SHAPIRO: Pizza on the left and pizza on the right. The one on the left has cheese, a little pepperoni, the one on the right has a lot more, it's bigger, which one do you think is the lower caloric pizza?

SAVIDGE: OK. Well, I look at vegetables, that's a good thing, so I'll go with that one. The one on the -

SHAPIRO: The one on the right is larger, has vegetables, it's healthier, has fiber nutrients, and it is 300 calories less. It's one of the recipes in the book. Because we are showing people how they can eat soy on the pizza. There's lots of vegetables and it's healthier, the second one. A lemon square, three lemon parfaits. This one is just a little tricky. Just don't go with what you think it might be -

SAVIDGE: Well, I'm looking at volume. I guess, the three lemon parfaits, I'm thinking, is going to be bad.

SHAPIRO: OK. You are wrong. The parfaits better. SAVIDGE: I'm wrong?

SHAPIRO: Because you have - the lemon parfait is - I'm sorry, the lemon cake is about 400 calories. The parfait, you could have four of them equaling the piece of cake. And that is in the book. It's another recipe that's in the book. So you are saving a lot of calories there.

And third one is you can have three donut holes or a French toast with fruit and light cream cheese. Which do you think?

SAVIDGE: The smaller selection with just the fruit.

SHAPIRO: Well, the smaller selection is the doughnuts.

SAVIDGE: There we go.

SHAPIRO: First of all, they are equal, 210 calories for the doughnuts and the French toast has whole grain, has a lot of fruit and syrup. It's good for kids. There are a couple of do's and don'ts for kids, for parents. One is don't make food a bargaining chip because we don't want you to bargain with your parents. Don't question kids about their appearance and don't judge your children. And there are a couple of do's - set the time limits for the video, set an example in your own home because that's the most important. Listen to your kids. They will come home and they will tell you, if somebody called them a nickname, that's the time to step in.

So we are addressing kids today. This book is about everyone. Parents shouldn't think that baby fat is cute. It's not. So this is a great idea for parents and for everybody.

SAVIDGE: Name of the book again?

SHAPIRO: The name of the book is "Eat and Beat Diabetes" with picture perfect play list. And I think it's one of my best books, actually. It was actually number eight on the -

SAVIDGE: Well, it's certainly a cause we definitely believe in. Doctor, a pleasure.

SHAPIRO: My pleasure.

SAVIDGE: Good morning to you.

Television stars are making headlines off the set. Charlie Sheen, what a shock there, leading the pack. He's followed closely by former "Frazier" star Kelsey Grammer. We'll take a look at what's making these Hollywood actors tabloid fodder.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIMMY KIMMEL, HOST "JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE": I mean, after the 19th time this happens, what do you say? What kind of statement do you put out? Fortunately, we were able to find video of how it works.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. No. This incident was not Charlie's fault. It was caused by - hold on. An adverse reaction to medication. Thanks.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

SAVIDGE: All right. That was Jimmy Kimmel's take on how Charlie Sheen's publicist may try to control the star who seems out of control. This is why the actor is topping our trending list today. Sheen made headlines last week for holding up in a Vegas hotel with a porn star. His escapades have been front and center in the media over the past few months. But the network that airs Sheen's show "Two And a Half Men" has been silent until now.

Sandra Endo joins me now from Washington. And Sandra, what is CBS saying about his recent spate of bad behavior?

SANDRA ENDO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Marty, this is really nothing new. It's trending today. Of course, Hollywood's bad boy, Charlie sheen, he's making a ton of money, as you know, Mary, starring in "Two and A Half Men" making $1.8 million an episode. But as you mentioned, Marty, he's frequently running into the law, known for his party boy lifestyle and his bad boy reputation.

Well, as you mentioned, CBS hasn't commented about Sheen until this week when the network's entertainment chief Nina Tassler said CBS has "high concern over his personal life. Since he's a father of two and has a family." But she also added, get this, "he's a professional and he comes to work and does a good job." So bottom line, she said, "it's complicated."

Marty, another Hollywood star you were talking about is also trending. And that is Kelsey Grammer. He is going through a very public divorce. And his wife, Camille, she's been dishing about her personal life because she also stars in the "Real Housewives of Beverly Hills." She's talking about what's going on and how she is a real partner with Kelsey Grammer. But he is engaged to be married to another woman. And he plans to marry her perhaps before even his divorce is finalized. Well, the actor was on the David Letterman show to promote the Broadway show Kelsey Grammer is starring in. And Letterman asked him about the situation. Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID LETTERMAN, HOST "THE LATE SHOW WITH DAVID LETTERMAN": It's a difficult time, always regardless of circumstances and especially with kids and the kids and everybody all right?

KELSEY GRAMMER, ACTOR: The kids seem to be OK. We have been spending quite a bit of time with them. Kate and I, Kate is my new girl. We are planning to get married soon.

LETTERMAN: How old are the kids? You're getting married soon.

GRAMMER: Sometime in February. LETTERMAN: Good for you. And what are the kids up to?

GRAMMER: Thank you.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ENDO: All right. Marty, well, kind of awkward there.

SAVIDGE: A little.

ENDO: Kelsey Grammer's situation could probably be filed under the, it's complicated category as well, right?

SAVIDGE: You know, I'm a big fan of Charlie Sheen. His personal life, I guess, is his personal life. But I hope he does well. Thanks very much, Sandra.

ENDO: You got it.

SAVIDGE: All right. When we come back, we'll have a quick check of the top stories making headlines this morning. Stay here.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

SAVIDGE: Checking top stories in Tucson, Arizona. The Safeway grocery store where 19 people were shot has opened again. The reopening took place one week after six people died there and another 13 were wounded. These are live images, by the way. The wounded included Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords.

Michael Steele, he is out as chairman of the Republican National Committee. Steele's tenure was plagued by controversy and criticism. Even though he presided over the retaking of the House. Wisconsin GOP chairman Reince Priebus was elected as the new chairman.

Moving overseas, civil unrest leads to a startling power shift in Tunisia. The country's parliamentary speaker has been sworn in as interim leader after the president quit. He's gone to Saudi Arabia. Violent protests over poor living conditions and accusations of government corruption apparently triggered the change there.

We will be back at the top of the hour with more news and these stories. Detroit thinks American drivers, actually thinks that they are finally ready to commit to electric cars. Before you buy, we'll answer some of the common questions so you can decide if those cars are worth the pretty steep price tag.

And a rat on the run in the subway? He climbs on a sleeping passenger and other riders just laugh. It's one of those videos that went viral this week. We have plenty more, our next hour.

Thank you for joining us. We'll see you in 30 minutes. "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" starts now.