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CNN Sunday Morning
President Obama Delivers Fiery Speech at Congressional Black Caucus; Affirmative Action Bake Sale; Herman Cain Wins Florida Presidential Straw Vote; Call for Action on Jobs; Fed Launches 'Operation Twist'
Aired September 25, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good Sunday morning.
President Obama tells a room full of African-Americans to stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying. A fiery speech from the president last night at the Congressional Black Caucus, where the president tells them he expects their support.
Also, take a look. You are seeing what is the actual price list for a bake sale out in California. If you're white, a cookie will cost you $2. If you're black, it will cost you 75 cents. We'll talk to the student who created this controversy and explained the point he's trying to make.
Also, when the collection plate comes around this morning at church, you're supposed to put money in, not take money out. But not at one church this morning. We'll talk live with the pastor who's feeling awfully generous on this Sunday.
From the CNN Center, welcome to your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. 6:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. in St. Louis, 3:00 a.m. in Berkeley. Wherever you are, we are glad you are right here. And, as always, a special good morning to our service men and women watching us right now on the American Forces Network. Thank you for being here, and thank you for what you do. I'm T.J. Holmes.
So let's start with politics and let's start with the president. He's headed out west today to Washington state, has a couple of re- election fundraisers on his schedule. Also has a social media town hall event on Monday. That will be talking about jobs, of course. But last night the president had this message for his supporters. This was during a speech to the Congressional Black Caucus.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I'm going to press on for jobs. I'm going to press on for equality. I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. I'm going press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling right now. I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on. I expect all of you to march with me and press on.
Take off your bedroom slippers. Put on your marching shoes. Shake it off. Stop complaining. Stop grumbling. Stop crying. We are going to press on. We've got work to do! CBC, God bless you and God bless the United States of America.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: You see the president there saying, take of your slippers, put on your marching shoes. Now the president's call was met with some enthusiasm by at least one caucus member.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. SHEILA JACKSON LEE (D), TEXAS: I really do think there is a recommit, an energized commitment to finding a way to power some (ph) parts of this legislation. You know, we've heard words like "dead on arrival." We've heard that it won't pass. But I think the president in his heart knows that the federal government cannot do it all, but they have to do something.
He asked the question, the Republican Party is the party of tax cuts, why won't they do it now? They're the party of building roads, why won't they join in building roads? So I think if you -- if I saw a difference tonight, I really saw the president rolling up his sleeves, using a lot of elbow grease and really getting in their face.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now the president has faced criticism from the Black Caucus and from others for his handling of the unemployment problem. Unemployment among African-Americans is nearly 17 percent. President Obama repeated calls for Congress to get to work on his jobs bill, but they have to get a new funding bill done first before the government runs out of money at the end of the week.
Also take a look. President Obama. This is before he headed to the Black Caucus awards dinner. Hit the links with -- can you make out who that is? That is the former president, Bill Clinton. They didn't give us a rundown of what they talked about. Apparently what happens on the course stays on the course.
We'll stick with politics here for a moment and what some might call a bit of a surprise on the Republican side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Tonight's winner with 986 votes, 37.1 percent, Herman Cain!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, Herman Cain. He won. Delegates voting at the Florida Republican Party event picked Herman Cain as their guy. Look at the numbers here and maybe the numbers will surprise you. Not even close here. He led the field. Herman Cain with 37 percent. You see Rick Perry there, a pretty distant second. And then Michele Bachmann, just 1 percent of the vote. And that Florida straw poll isn't the only one we're watching this weekend. The Michigan Republican Party holding one of its own. We'll hopefully have those results somewhere around 8:30 Eastern Time this morning. Mitt Romney and Rick Perry are the favorites in that one. Both of them made appearances at that event. During his speech, Perry took a bit of a shot to his fellow front-runner Mitt Romney and tried to put his rough debate performance behind him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There may be slicker candidates and there may be smoother debaters, but I know what I believe in. And I'm going to stand on that belief every day. I will guide this country with a deep, deep rudder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, for all your political news and updates, you know the place to go, cnn.com/politics.
Five minutes past the hour.
Let me turn to Seattle now where a fire-fight near that town ends with police killing a man who was armed with two rifles. You're hearing it play out there. And apparently this man was just walking down the street pointing the guns at people. He didn't fire the guns until he got to an elementary school. Right next door to where this happened, a high school football game was going on and the stadium was packed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They were huddled under the bleachers, staying close together and scared out of their minds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well, everybody's terrified out there and they're very scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They started shooting at us and the bullet went between me and my friend Tony. And then we turned around and started running. And, like, we could hear the bullets, like, bouncing off the concrete behind us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: No one in the stadium was hit. Police say the man tried to break into a car and a backhoe before he started firing the rifles.
Also, the American hiker set free last week from Iran are expected to arrive back on U.S. soil this morning. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were finally released from that Iranian prison after more than two years in custody. This was them arriving in Oman last week. Before leaving Oman for the U.S., the pair talked about their ordeal and their last day in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) SHANE BAUER, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Getting off the plane that brought us here three days ago was the most incredible experience of our lives. We'll never forget the excitement of seeing our loved ones waiting for us at the foot of the plane. The joy of embracing them all after so long will stay with us forever.
JOSH FATTAL, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the calm waters of the Gulf. We stayed up all night with our loved ones and we watched the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOMES: Now we're hoping certainly to hear from them again when they arrive back in the U.S. Stick with CNN for that. We're expecting them possibly sometime back in the U.S. today.
Eighty protesters arrested at demonstrations on Wall Street during the biggest one-day crackdown in more than a week. We told you about these protests last week when they first started. Demonstrators are still gathering there to protest what they say is a financial system that favors the rich at the expense of everybody else. Police had set up protest zones, but demonstrator have not stayed in those areas.
Forty thousand pounds of potentially dangerous ground beef headed for school lunches in Georgia? That's what's being recalled now by the Department of Agriculture and a Texas meat company. Tests found E. Coli bacteria. E. Coli can cause kidney failure in severe cases. The USDA says most of the meat never made it out of the warehouse and they have no reports of anybody getting sick.
Eight minutes past the hour. Say good morning to Reynolds Wolf.
How you doing this morning, sir?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: T.J., I'm doing great.
You know, there's nothing better than following up a script about tainted meat.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: You know, it's just -- it's a beautiful way to start your Sunday.
Hey, I've got to tell you, we've got all kinds of weather to talk about. We have our sixteenth named storm in the Atlantic basin. And it's just been a crazy season tropical wise. Plus we've got Ophelia in the Atlantic. And then in the Pacific, we have a major hurricane in Hurricane Hillary.
At the same time, we've got a water spout to show you that's popped up in part of the Midwest. Also some flooding in the keystone state of Pennsylvania. It's what we refer to in the weekend mornings as a full plate weather wise. We'll have more on that coming up, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, we will see you again here shortly.
And we've been talking about politics this morning. Well, politics and sports mixed a bit last night. A presidential race. Well, the presidential mascots at the Washington Nationals baseball game. It turned into a football play. We'll show you the video. That's next. It's nine past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Reynolds Wolf joining me this morning as we look at a gorgeous picture and listen to the gorgeous sounds of James Taylor. WPVI providing us this picture of a lovely Philadelphia.
How are they doing in Philadelphia today weather wise?
WOLF: They should be OK. Chance of rain still in the forecast. Not great for parts of the state. They've been dealing with flooding. So hopefully getting in the day.
HOLMES: And we can show some of those pictures. This, really, September was just a rough, rough time for parts of Pennsylvania. Yes, these were the scenes we were seeing a lot of. Folks, they were trying to dry out from that massive flooding earlier this month. They got hit with some heavy rains again, what, Friday, adding to just a nasty problem there for a lot of homeowners, businesses, as well. They're going to be cleaning up for quite a bit.
But, Reynolds, so what is -- do we have an area of concern this morning?
WOLF: Well, one area of concern, obviously, is what we're seeing right there video wise. They've got some 630 homes in that region that deal with some serious basement flooding, which I know to someone saying, oh, flooded basement, doesn't seem like a big deal, it's a tremendous deal because that's where a lot of the mold issues start, then everything just spreads throughout the house. So a tremendous problem. The rain is really the culprit.
And speaking of rain, one of the biggest rainmakers in the planet happens to be out in the Atlantic. And there are two of them. We're talking about two separate tropical systems. Again, this has been a very busy season in the Atlantic basin. We've got, of course, Ophelia. We spoke about this particular system yesterday. Now we've got a new one. This is Philippe. This particular system also expected to gain strength possibly over the next several days.
First with Ophelia. Wind moving -- now actually moving to the west at 12 miles per hour. Sustained winds at 40. This system, again, could fluctuate a bit in strength and bear a bit more to the north as we go into Monday, then into Wednesday, then fast forward all the way into Friday. Winds going to around 50 miles an hour, possibly threading the needle right between Bermuda and the U.S. coastline. Not expected to make landfall in the United States. That's certainly some good news. Now, when it comes to Philippe, this one possibly gaining a bit more strength, becoming a category one hurricane and then drifting north into the Atlantic. A true fish storm. Not expecting any interaction with land whatsoever. So that is certainly some wonderful news in that regard.
So, again, that's what we're going to have. During our next update we're going to talk a bit more about Hillary, which is brewing still in parts of the Pacific. A major hurricane, but not expected to make any contact with land.
One thing that's going to make contact with land, some severe storms we expect over the mid Mississippi Valley, especially by late in the afternoon. One of the issues we have in near places like Cape Girardeau and back over to portions of Kentucky and Tennessee, is going to be the potential of some flash flooding. Here's what I'm talking about. And one of the big component of flash flooding is when you have rain that forms over the same area again and again. The ground can only absorb so much. So when you have the additional precipitation, it cases the runoff. The runoff, of course, is your flooding. That's going to be your story in Owensboro, back over to Paducah. Again, Cape Girardeau. We mentioned that area. Some strong cells developing there. So just this morning, if you're heading out and about from Sikes (ph) into Cape Girardeau, even up toward say Festus, just be careful this morning. Any low-lying areas where you have plenty of water, certainly don't drive over those spots.
Into the afternoon, we can expect a chance of thunderstorms across the midsection. Again, as I mentioned, possible delays in places like Chicago. Eighty-six your high in Denver, 71 in Los Angeles, 86 in Atlanta, 88 in Tampa.
That's the latest on your forecast. T.J., let's pitch it right back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you, kind sir. We'll see Reynolds plenty throughout the morning. Give you a look -- kind of a roundup. Of course, it's a busy sports weekend.
Third round of the PGA tour championship in the books now. Shot of the day, though, one of the guys at the top of the leaderboard. On the par 4 fourth. He tied atop the leaderboard, nine under, after hitting four consecutive birdies on the back nine. Again, that will wrap up the day.
Also in Atlanta this week, PGA volunteer Faith Tanner got a surprise from the tour commissioner, Tim Finchem. Look at this. He gave her a framed set of volunteer badges from every PGA event this year, and each one signed by the champion of that event -- of the individual events. Now she did volunteer work at all 37 stops this year. She's been doing this as a tribute to her late husband Larry who died two years ago from brain cancer.
Also last night during the final homestead (ph), you're seeing this playing out. Members of the Washington Nationals, they wanted to right a season long wrong, at least they say. The presidential mascot, Teddy Roosevelt, never won a race. So a few of the players decided to have a little fun here and take out just about every other mascot to make sure that Teddy won. No mascot actually finished. One of the players actually crossed the finish line.
Fourteen minutes past the hour now.
Coming up, a story that has many of you talking. It really has the entire country talking, especially California. A bake sale. Sounds innocent enough. But if you're white, you have to pay $2. If you're black, you pay 75 cents. Your other races, other prices. What sense does that make? We'll explain the point the organizer is trying to make. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's 17 minutes past the hour. It's just 3:17 in the morning out there in California. Good morning to you in Los Angeles.
And there's a story out in California, at least, I want everybody to weigh in. Some of you already have been writing in to me. But there's an upcoming bake sale at the University of California at Berkeley and it is causing quite a stir. Even some outrage. Campus Republicans plan to sell cookies and brownies priced according to race, gender and ethnicity.
So, there's the breakdown you're seeing. If you're white, you have to pay $2. $1.50 if you're Asian. $1 if you're Latino. And black get a discount. They have to pay 75 cents. But the Native Americans get to pay 25 cents. There's also a special 25 cent discount for women. The students say it's meant to mock efforts by some other groups on campus encouraging California's governor to sign a bill that would require administrators to, again, consider race as a factor in student admissions.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHAWN LEWIS, PRESIDENT, YOUNG REPUBLICANS: The pricing structure is there to bring attention, to cause people to get a little upset. But it's really there to cause people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in university admissions.
ANAIS LAVOIE, PRESIDENT, YOUNG DEMOCRATS: The way that they made the statement, the words that they used, the fact that they humorized and mocked the struggles of people of color on this campus is very disgusting to me.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now despite the criticism, the Young Republicans say they plan to go ahead with that bake sale on Tuesday. I will be talking to the president of the Young Republicans in our 8:00 hour. He is the one that organized this bake sale. We'll chat with him. You don't want to miss that. Again, the college Republican who organized it here with me next hour of the CNN SUNDAY MORNING and the 8:00 Eastern Time.
I want to know what you think about this story. You know where to find us, on Twitter and FaceBook, but on Twitter @tjholmes. I'm going to be sharing some of your comments a little later this morning.
Well, at 18 minutes past the hour now, bullfighting, as you know, has been a huge part of Spanish culture. Now it's being banned in Barcelona. The city is holding its final bullfight today. Say it ain't so. Yes, some are glad this is happening. We'll take a look next in our "Morning Passport." Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, 22 minutes past the hour. Let us say good morning to Nadia Bilchik with this "Morning's Passport."
People think Spain, they think Barcelona especially. They think bullfighting.
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not from today --
HOLMES: No more. No more.
BILCHIK: Because in the entire Catalonia region, which is a huge region of plain, Barcelona is the capital, they have banned bullfighting as from January 1st, but this is the last season.
HOLMES: Why?
BILCHIK: Why? Well, why? Because animal rights activist groups have finally said, no mas, no more. This is just too cruel.
Now what you're seeing there is the matador, of course, at the end of the fight. But what happens prior to what you're seeing right now is so cruel.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes.
BILCHIK: Because they lance the bull in the neck, where the biggest muscles of the bull are. And they debilitate him in that way. So this part of it is just almost teasing because he's so weak anyway. Look at the spears in the back of his neck. So he has no chance. And then the idea, of course, is that the matador then kills him through the heart with one final blow. But more often than not it's never one blow and it pierces the lungs instead.
HOLMES: Now, because of the rich history there of bullfighting, was there not a public outcry? Was there not much opposition to banning?
BILCHIK: There was opposition. The opponents say, we've lost the battle but not the war. We will be bringing bullfighting back. But I think it is so brutal and so many people -- and so many young Spaniards are saying, this shouldn't be part of our culture anymore. Look what happens to these bulls. Is this what we want to synonymous with? And, again, not only is the bull lanced in the ring, but prior to him going in the ring, some matadors say they actually put Vaseline jelly in the eyes. And he's in a dark arous (ph) by the time he walks into the ring. It is only light then. So, a cruel sport. And to watch animals being killed for sport. So, personally, I think it's a wonderful thing that it's being banned. I would love to go to Barcelona, but never for bullfighting.
HOLMES: And it's good to bring out those details. People hear bullfighting and they think one thing and all of this spectacle. But, still, there is a lot that goes into that, quite frankly, puts the bull at a major disadvantage going into that ring. So, good to point out. Last day of it. All right.
BILCHIK: Last day. Ernest Hemmingway romanticized it, we have de- romanticized it.
HOLMES: Nadia Bilchik with this "Morning's Passport."
Thank you. We'll see you again this morning.
We're at 25 minutes past the hour now.
And we're going to tell you who won yesterday's Republican straw poll in delegate-rich California. I'll give you three guesses. And you know what, you'll probably be wrong on all three. The answer straight ahead. Stay with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're almost at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
And President Obama, he is heading out west. Begins a west coast swing today after a very fiery speech at the Congressional Black Caucus last night. At the top of his agenda out west, selling his jobs plan. CNN'S Athena Jones takes a look at the week ahead for the president and for Congress.
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., President Obama heads to Seattle, Washington, later today for DNC fundraisers. He'll travel on to San Jose, California, for some more DNC fundraisers. And then he starts off next week still on the West Coast with a town hall on jobs at LinkedIn in Mountain View, California. You can expect him to continue to tout his American jobs bill and to push for that while taking questions from the audience there. He'll continue to push the jobs bill on Tuesday in Denver.
Now in terms of Congress, the House and Senate left this weekend, even though we still have this shutdown looming once again. They were unable to reach a temporary deal to avert a shutdown after this coming Friday, September 30. The issue is that Republicans want to see budget cuts to offset disaster relief for states. This is something that Democrats are opposed to. But we're expecting Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid to try to reach a temporary spending bill on Monday. And so we'll certainly be watching out for that.
T.J.
HOLMES: All right, thanks, as always, to our Athena Jones.
Give you a look at some of the other stories making headlines. I mentioned this a moment ago. The president last night before the Congressional Black Caucus. He promoted his jobs bill. Also really went at Republicans trying to oppose it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These Republicans in Congress like to talk about job creators. How about doing something real for job creators? Pass this jobs bill. And every small business owner in America, including 100,000 black-owned businesses, will get a tax cut. You say you're the party of tax cuts, pass this jobs bill, and every worker in America, including nearly 20 million African- American worker, will get a tax cut. Pass this jobs bill and prove you'll fight just as hard for a tax cut for ordinary folks as you do for all your conservatives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, in upper Michigan, Republican Presidential Candidate Mitt Romney was, of course, criticizing the president's jobs plan.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY, (R) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Have you seen this jobs plan? He put his jobs plan out, at the beginning it sounded like - well, that sounds like it's-he said, I'm going to cut the taxes for employers, payroll taxes. People said, well, cutting taxes for employers, that would be a good thing. A few days later he announced he was going to pay for that by raising taxes on employers. How dense does he think we are?
The president is unprepared for the kind of economy we have today. When he was recently inaugurated he went on the "TODAY" show. And he said, look, if I can't get this economy turned around in three years, I'll be looking at a one-term proposition. I'm here to collect on that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, in Florida, look at that. Former Godfather's Pizza Chief Executive Herman Cain won the GOP's "Presidency 5" straw poll with 37 percent of the vote. Romney was third, just behind Texas Governor Perry. Cain's 37 percent was more than Perry and Romney combined. You see the rest of the field there with Michele Bachmann coming in at 1 percent of the vote.
On the lighter side of things, "SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE" taking a swipe at Texas Governor Rick Perry and his campaign style. The guest host last night, Alec Baldwin, played the part of Perry as a less than energized candidate in Thursday's GOP presidential debate.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: The shape of -- I would like to attack Mitt Romney as a flip-flopper.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're sure, it's late in the debate. This is normally when you get tired and confused. BALDWIN: Not tonight. I'm ready. Romney was for -- against Obama care. What about (YAWN) Mitt Romney, I mean, Mitt Romney care? As it was before, as he was before? Was it was -- he was before - border control? ( SNORING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It's a long debate, Reynolds. Those things can go and go. They're standing, and you can get a little tired up there.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, it's funny about Alec Baldwin. Yesterday, we were actually referring to Alec Baldwin. This is his second appearance on the weekend show. Yesterday we had the Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream.
HOLMES: Ice cream?
WOLF: Exactly. Now he gets a second mention.
Big thing to mention this morning is the possibility of some rough weather.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Thank you. We'll see Reynolds plenty throughout this morning.
Somebody we're going to introduce you to next, a man by the name of Tim Lucas. That's a pastor. This morning when he sends his collection plate around, he doesn't want people to put money into it. They can actually take money out of it? I don't know how many Sundays he's going to let this happen. We'll talk to the pastor here in a moment. Stick around on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: 37 minutes past the hour. A good morning. Central Park, gorgeous Central Park in New York City.
And "Change The World." how appropriate. Because Pastor Tim Lucas is about to change things up this morning at his church, Liquid Church Congregation in New York is putting money -- he sees people put money in the collection plate every single week even though he knows some are struggling financially. So this week, instead of collecting money in that collection plate, he is giving it away. We're talking about $30,000 here. And Pastor Lucas joins me now.
Sir, thank you for being here. Let's go to the point I just made. Even though you know some people in your congregation are struggling, you see them every Sunday doing whatever they can to give to the church?
TIM LUCAS, PASTOR, LIQUID CHURCH: That's correct. A typical Sunday, people give about $30,000 in cash into our Sunday offering. So today we're going to do just the opposite. They're going to reach in and pull out an unmarked envelope that we have pre-packed with $10, $20s, and $50s.
HOLMES: Where dos this money-did you just pull this out of the church funds, the $30,000?
LUCAS: That's correct. We took the previous week's offering, and we're going to give it back out in the middle of our service.
HOLMES: What is the reaction you've gotten in church to this?
LUCAS: I think people are acting like they're going to be struck by lightning. They're typically, you know, a lot of people are cynical about religion and they come to church expecting to be shaken down. We're saying, you know, it's really all God's money. He trusts you. Every bill in the U.S. economy says "In God We Trust." We're going to put that to the test.
HOLMES: Do you think there are some people who are reluctant, and are just not comfortable taking money frankly out of the collection plate, or taking money from the church, or even admitting that they need help now?
LUCAS: Well, we're challenging people to creatively invest it in one of three ways. So maybe it's a single mom who receives a $50 bill, and she's going to use it to fill her tank with gas this week, or pay for a babysitter. People are free to take it. But we're challenging most people to actually look and help a neighbor in need. Here in New Jersey, a lot of people were hurt by floodwaters of Hurricane Irene. Maybe they'll buy groceries and cook a meal and bring it over to a hurting neighbor. Others are going to-we're asking them to actually multiply it invest it over the next three weeks, bring it back and we are going to donate it to help rebuild a homeless shelter.
HOLMES: And one envelope you're telling them to take, right?
LUCAS: That's right. One envelope. Again, you know, that's between them and God.
HOLMES: Now, is this -- this is not the first we've heard of something like that. Actually, you all, is this the first time you've done it?
LUCAS: This is the first time we've ever done something like this. Candidly, it's a little bit of a risk. We're not a rich church. We don't own a building, we don't hold a mortgage. We're trying to teach our people to be rich in good deeds.
HOLMES: Do you think this is what more -- you just made a point. Some people look down on religion. They believe in God and have their own spirituality but frown on religion sometimes. You think this is more of the role of the church to be helping communities in this way? I'm not asking you to criticize other churches, who maybe don't do this. But is this more of what churches should be doing?
LUCAS: Yeah. I think the church is supposed to be the organization that exists for its nonmembers. It's not a country club. It's not a gated community where it exists to serve the members. But we exist to serve our nonmembers. That is our neighbors in need, the communities. I think when people hear the name of our church, Liquid, they assume we're a cult or drinking fraternity. We named it Liquid for one reason -- Jesus calls himself the living water, and we think church should be refreshing.
HOLMES: All right, last thing. Do you expect those pews to be a little more filled than previous Sundays? I assume some people in the community who haven't come to your church might just show up today. Is that OK with you?
LUCAS: Everybody in attendance is welcome at Liquid. This is not a bribe for people to come to church. It's not going to be a bailout. Let's be realistic, $20 is not going to change somebody's life. But people may come, you know, hoping to find a bailout. We hope they find something better, we hope they find God.
HOLMES: Pastor Lucas, we will follow up. Like you said, it's kind of a risk. You're not a rich church. Hope it works for you all. Thank you for spending time with us certainly on a busy Sunday for you all. Good luck today.
LUCAS: Thank you very much, T.J. God bless.
HOLMES: Thank you very much. 41 minutes past the hour.
It sounds so simple, doesn't it? A college group is planning to sell cookies on campus. Big deal, right? Well, it's a big deal if you are going to pay based on your race, your gender, or your ethnicity. The story after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: 43 minutes past the hour now. We'll turn to California where a bake sale by the Berkeley College Republicans is raising questions about racism. The group is selling cookies and brownies based on skin color. The College Republicans say it's not about race, it's actually about politics. Jonathan Blum from our affiliate KGO with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANAIS LEVOIE, CAMPUS DEMOCRATS, U.C. BERKLEY: We're really hurt by what they did.
JONATHAN BLUM, REPORTER, KGO (voice over): Campus Democrats' President Anais Levoie thinks the Berkley College Republicans have stepped over the line. Here on Upper Sprawel (ph) Plaza, where free speech reins supreme, they have scheduled a bake sale where the price you pay for a cookies or brownie depends on your gender and the color of your skin. It is $2 for white people, $1.50 if you're Asian, a buck for Latinos, 75 cents for African-Americans and a quarter for Native Americans, women get 25 cents off. Club President Shawn Lewis planned the event.
SHAWN LEWIS, PRESIDENT, BERKLEY COLLEGE REPUBLICANS: The pricing structure is there to bring attention to cause people to get a little upset. But it is really there to cause people to think more critically about what this kind of policy would do in university admissions.
BLUM: Lewis says it is the club's way of taking a stand against pending legislation that would let U.C. consider a student's race or national origin during the admissions process. No soon had Lewis posted the event on Facebook then the nasty comments began.
LEWIS: Members of the Facebook group, people who created it, have been threatened.
BLUM (On camera): The response so strong and so negative the College Republicans say they actually canceled their usual lunchtime tabling here on the plaza for fear their volunteers would get harassed.
LEWIS: It certainly is stirring emotions, and that's what we want. We certainly don't want people to think that we're making fun of racial issue or laughing at them. Because that's not the message of the bake sale.
BLUM (voice over): But that's exactly the message the Campus Democrats took away.
LEVOIE: The way that they made the statement, the words they used. The fact that they humorized and mocked the struggles of people of color on this campus is very disgusting to me.
BLUM: Many other students were equally disgusted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's wrong to try to make a statement about something that serious by using something like a bake sale.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're kind of missing the point.
BLUM (On camera): You wouldn't buy the cookies?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No, I wouldn't.
BLUM: Though the Campus Democrats have asked for an apology, the bake sale is still scheduled for Tuesday.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: A quarter until the top of the hour. That story has a lot of you talking this morning. We are reading, I am reading personally, all of your comments that you're sending in via Twitter. Want to share with our audience, just a few of them.
One saying, "Someone is about to get their cookies tossed out of campus. Sheer idiocy."
Another saying, "Laugh out loud. If whites are paying full price and everyone else gets a discounts, that seems unfair. It also seems unfair that the college actually rank and prices different races out." Also another, that is a bit tongue-in-cheek, saying, "Hey, where's my mixed race discount?" What's up with that?"
Next hour, we'll continue the conversation about the story that has people talking. We'll talk to the young man here live who came up with the idea this bake sale; the head of the College Republicans there. The president, Shawn Lewis, we'll get his point of view. That's coming up in the 8:00 o'clock Eastern hour here on CNN.
First, after the break, a recent college grad I want to introduce you to. Jack Slotnick is the name. He's not like any of the other grads. He's 85, and he just finished up getting his bachelor's degree. You know what, now he's going after his master's. And he has a good reason for it. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About 10 minutes until the top of the hour.
At age 85 most people are trying to enjoy their retirement, aren't they? But World War II vet Jack Slotnick is just getting started. Yes, at the age of 85. After the war, the Purple Heart recipient decided not to return to college. His ship had been torpedoed, he suffered from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and then years later he decided his experiences could help troops serving in today's wars. So he enrolled in college.
At 85-85, he graduated with a degree in psychology. But he did not stop there. I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Slotnick, and asked him what his plans are now. You got to hear this.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JACK SLOTNICK, WW II VETERAN: To be able to cater to returning veterans with PTSD condition, you have to have a masters degree, and furthermore the State of Florida has many rules and regulations. The next accomplishment will take two years to get the masters degree.
HOLMES: This is not something you're just doing for you and to further your education and for your own personal development. You actually want to practice and put this education to work when you get done.
SLOTNICK: I am only interested because I have had this condition all my life as a result of what happened 60 years ago. And PTSD does not go away. You live with it without even being aware of it. So I felt -- nobody can relate to a soldier better than another soldier. And that's a major problem the VA has right now. They can't find qualified psychologists who have had any Army experience.
HOLMES: How do your professors and also your fellow students, how do they view you, treat you, talk to you?
SLOTNICK: I have no problem relating to the students because I have grandchildren older than most of them. I understand their mentality, and we have a very, very good rapport. I am older than most of my professors, and they're very thrilled at kind of what I bring to the classroom, which is 80 years of incidents that nobody even knows about.
HOLMES: Sir, how old will you be when you finally graduate from this master's program?
SLOTNICK: Well, November 16, I'm turning 86. So by 88, I should have my master's degree firmly in place.
HOLMES: By 88, and then you plan on going right to work?
SLOTNICK: I would like to go to the nearest VA hospital and sit down and work with returning veterans.
HOLMES: Sir, once you start working, at the age of 88 with your master's, when do you retire?
SLOTNICK: Well, why should I retire? What does retire actually mean?
HOLMES: That's a good point. Some people think you should go sit on a beach somewhere and enjoy the rest of your days.
SLOTNICK: That's vegetating. I'm getting ready to start playing basketball at the varsity level.
(LAUGHTER)
SLOTNICK: But I just passed a heart stress test, and they said I could run around and play basketball.
HOLMES: Sir, we will have you back when you make the team. We'll talk about --
SLOTNICK: Oh, I'm going to make the team. You better believe it.
HOLMES: Sir, it is an absolute pleasure to get to talk to you. Really, congratulations on all your success. And really, this is a story a lot of people thought, wow, amazing he's going back to school at that age. When they hear the reasons for it and your real purpose behind it, I think it's a wonderful story, sir.
SLOTNICK: Thank you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: About six minutes off the top of the hour now.
Have you had enough time to really let it settle in? Are you like me, and you're still upset that after 41 years "All My Children" has signed off the air? Tad Martin, one of the stars of the show, the guy who plays Tad Martin, he joins me to talk about why the show, "All My Children," that just signed off might not really be done. That is after the break. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, as we get close to the top of the hour, we're talking about the real end of an era. "All My Children" signed off the air on Friday, the final episode aired. The soap was one of the most popular shows on daytime television; had a run of some 41 years. You know Erica Kane, even if you're not a soap opera fan. Erica Kane played by Susan Lucci. There was another character that really got the female viewers going. His name is Michael E. Knight, he plays the character of Tad Martin. I talked to him about the end of the era.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MICHAEL E. KNIGHT, TAD MARTIN, "ALL MY CHILDREN": We taped the last episode about a month ago. It was emotional day in the studio for all of us -- some of us have known each other for decades. I think yesterday most of us were just gratified because we'd been working with sword of Damocles over our head for a long time. And to know that it meant so much to so many people, to say good-bye, it was a good sendoff.
HOLMES: Were you really surprised by that? I guess you've been doing this so long, since '82, I believe. You're just involved and in it, but still at the end you were surprised that this show meant so much to so many people still?
KNIGHT: Yeah. I mean, doing something in the guilty pleasure zone of soaps, I mean, when you -- most people don't like to admit that they're fans. It's one of those things that they sidle up to you at a cocktail party. And go, don't tell anybody, but. It's nice to know that it -- I think the fan response after the statement was posted about the cancellation, we were really, really amazed. And we're very gratified to know what Rich Frank and his partner, Jeff, are working hard to carry the show over to the Internet, to keep it going.
HOLMES: What was it you think, or many people aren't that familiar. Was it viewership went down, costs go up? And the viewership goes down because there are many options on TV? What really killed "All My Children"?
KNIGHT: I think what it is, is it is just, you know, in an age when the Internet has redefined and revolutionized so many in industries, like publishing and online marketing, television had to deal with a lot of things. And basically in terms of costs and as networks have to compete harder for the same market share. They don't have the same monopoly they did 20 years ago, they -- networks had to cut costs. And, you know, it's a pretty big nut to carry a soap opera.
And I wouldn't say that the Internet or reality television killed the soaps. I think it would be interesting to see if-because if we did find a new home on the Internet hopefully, it would be interested to see the same thing to challenge us that made life difficult for us was our savior in the end. It's kind of a plot twist that Agnes would have come up with for sure.
HOLMES: Sir, it's a pleasure to talk to you again. I'll admit-
KNIGHT: And you, I'm a fan, T.J. I have to say, thank you for having me.
HOLMES: I appreciate you saying that. Again, not a huge soap guy myself, but there are some names and some people I know. And you are certainly one of those names and one of those faces. So, congratulations on a heck of a run on all my children. You enjoy your weekend out there. Good to talk to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, last we crossed the top of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING, President Obama, he tells a room full of African- Americans to "stop complaining, stop grumbling, stop crying." A fiery speech at the Congressional Black Caucus last night where the president tells them he expects their support.
Also, a pretty big surprise in Florida's Republican straw poll. The winner, not one of those two guys. In fact, the winner had a greater total than those two front-runners combined. We'll explain.
Plus, we told you yesterday that Ben & Jerry's has a new ice cream flavor. It's based on a "Saturday Night Live" skit with Alec Baldwin who just happened to host "Saturday Night Live" last night. You've got to see what they did with this one.
But, from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Minneapolis, 4:00 a.m. in Reno, Nevada. Where you maybe, glad you're here.
Let's start, shall we, with the president. His week coming up, he's headed out west. He, of course, will be pushing for his jobs bill. He also has a number of fundraisers planned. He'll hit Seattle, Silicon Valley, San Diego, Los Angeles, and Colorado.
But last night, he was talking to the Congressional Black Caucus, and in the room, a lot of people who have been critical of the president. He was talking about jobs, he was talking about other things and issues related to the African-American community.
Let's listen now to the president.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These Republicans in Congress like to talk about job creators. How about doing something real for job creators? Pass this jobs bill, and every small business owner in America, including 100,000 black-owned businesses, will get a tax cut. You say you're the party of tax cuts, pass this jobs bill. And every worker in America, including nearly 20 million African-American workers, will get a tax cut. Pass this jobs bill, and prove you'll fight just as hard for a tax cut for ordinary folks as you do for all your contributors.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Let's say good morning to our Athena Jones. He's at the White House for us.
Good morning to you. The president seemed a bit fired up last night. Was it the audience, if you will, that kind of gave him that energy?
ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, good morning, T.J. He certainly said a lot that this audience wanted to hear. There was a lot of applause and cheers throughout. And you heard him in that quote just now, really challenging the Republicans. He really kind of took it to them which people in the audience seemed to really like.
At one point, he said about infrastructure which is part of his jobs plan, he said to Republicans, hey, you used to like to build roads, what happened? And he sort of did an act like what happened here -- which the crowd went wild for.
But he also, as you saw, spelled out some of the things that this jobs bill would to do to specifically help the African-American community. And that has been one of the areas of criticism. People who have said that he hasn't -- this administration hasn't done enough to specifically address the problem of high black unemployment, which you know is nearly twice as much as the national average.
And so, he spelled out these 20 million African-Americans who would benefit from the payroll tax cut, the 100,000 minority-owned businesses that would benefit from the tax cut given to companies that hire new people or give people a raise.
He's also talking about all of the black workers who were out of work who would benefit from an extension of unemployment insurance. And so, he did a little riling up of the crowd and then also did a little explaining of what his bill would do.
And I want to toss to another story where he talked about how he needed the Congressional Black Caucus, the members, to stand with him, to march with him.
Let's listen to what he had to say, T.J.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I don't know about you, CBC, but the future rewards those who press on. With patient and firm determination, I'm going to press on for jobs. I'm going to press on for equality. I'm going to press on for the sake of our children. I'm going to press on for the sake of all those families who are struggling now.
I don't have time to feel sorry for myself. I don't have time to complain. I'm going to press on.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
JONES: And so, the president, as you saw, was very fired up. And that's what several CBC members I talked to after the speech said. I talked to Congressman Greg Meeks from New York. He said the president did what he needed to do. He fired up the base.
We spoke with Sheila Jackson Lee who said the speech was like a reckoning. And Maryland Representative Donna Edwards called it a call to action. And it really was him asking members of the CBC to stand and fight with him.
One of the other criticisms from people I spoke with leading up to the speech last week was that they haven't seen enough fight from this president. And so, they're hoping that this is an indication of where the next few weeks and months will head, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Athena Jones for us at the White House -- good to see you. Thank you.
Five minutes past the hour now. We'll continue with politics, and what some might call a bit or even a big surprise on the Republican side.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK SCOTT (R), FLORIDA: Tonight's winner with 986 votes, 37.1 percent -- Herman Cain.
(CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes. Herman Cain, the pizza guy. Delegates voting at the Florida Republican Party event backed Herman Cain, picked him as their guy. And look at the numbers, wasn't even close.
You see Rick Perry coming in second with 15 percent. But look at Herman Cain, 37 percent, way out front. And then, look at Michele Bachmann, way down in the bottom with 1 percent.
Florida straw poll isn't the only one we're watching this weekend. The Michigan Republican Party holding one of its own. We expect to possibly have the results around 8:30 Eastern Time this morning, Mitt Romney and Rick Perry the favorites in that one. Both of them made appearances at that event this weekend.
During his speech, Governor Perry took a bit of a shot at his fellow front-runner, Mitt Romney -- to be expected. And he tried to also say -- hey, those rough debate performances, that's in the past.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GOV. RICK PERRY (R-TX), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: There may be slicker candidates, and there may be smoother debaters, but I know what I believe in. And I'm going to stand on that belief every day. I will guide this country with a deep, deep rudder.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, for all of your political news and updates, be sure to check out CNN.com/politics.
Well, a fire-fight near Seattle, it ended with police killing a man who was armed with two rifles.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HOLMES: Now, apparently, this man was walking down the street just pointing the guns at people, didn't fire them until he got to an elementary school. Right next door to where this of happening was a high school football game. The stadium was packed at the time.
(BEGIN VDIEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They're huddled around the bleachers, staying close together. Scared out of their minds.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Everybody's terrified out there and they're very scared.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They started shooting at us. The bullet went between me and my friend Tony. And then we turned and started running. And we could hear the bullets like bouncing off the concrete behind us.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: Now, nobody at the stadium was hit. Police say the man tried to break into a car and a backhoe before he started firing his rifles.
Also, the American hikers freed last week from Iran expected to arrive back on U.S. soil sometime this morning. Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal were finally released from an Iranian prison after more than two years in custody. They arrived in Oman last week before leaving Oman for the U.S. They talk good the end of their ordeal and their last day in prison.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANE BAUER, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Getting off the plane that brought us here three days ago was the most incredible experience of our lives. We'll never forget the excitement of seeing our loved ones waiting for us at the foot of the plane. The joy of embracing them all after so long will stay with us forever.
JOSH FATTAL, FREED AMERICAN HIKER: Just hours after we left prison, we were able to swim in the calm waters of the Gulf. We stayed up all night with our loved ones, and we watched the most beautiful sunset we've ever seen. These experiences will be with us for the rest of our lives.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, we are hoping to hear from them again when they do arrive back in the U.S. You can stay with CNN for that a little later in the day. But, again, expect them back in the U.S. sometime this morning.
And a big welcome home for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. A rally is going on for him in Ramallah right now. Abbas is back home after his trip to the United Nations General Assembly. And while there, he delivered a passionate plea for Palestinian statehood.
The U.N. Security Council could start debating that issue as early as tomorrow. The U.S. delegation has threatened to veto the Palestinian statehood plans.
And 80 protesters arrested at demonstrations on Wall Street during the biggest one-day crackdown in more than a week. We were telling but the protests last week -- telling you about the protests last week when they first started. Demonstrators are still gathering there to protest what they say is a financial system that favors the rich at the expense of everybody else.
Police have set up protest zones. Demonstrators ignored those, having stayed in the areas.
And 40,000 pounds of potentially dangerous grounds beef headed for schools in Georgia. That's being recalled now by the Department of Agriculture and a Texas meat company. Tests found the E. coli bacteria. E. coli can cause kidney failure in severe cases. The USDA says most of the meat never made it out of the warehouse in Georgia, and they have no reports of anybody getting sick.
Ten minutes past the hour.
My apologies once again, Reynolds, we back to back times had to run that story before we came to you.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, but it sounds delicious.
HOLMES: Yes, hasn't it, though?
WOLF: Yes. So, tasty times, this we have in that story.
But in the tropics, there's a whole different flavor. We got two systems that we're dealing with out there. We've got two there. It's been a very busy season.
The 16th named storm of the Atlantic basin season. Plus, we have a major hurricane in the Pacific. Let's talk about some flash flooding across parts of the mid-Mississippi Valley and even a water spout to show you coming up in moment. Full plate weather-wise.
HOLMES: All right. I do appreciate you.
And one of Reynolds' favorite stories yesterday was about Ben & Jerry's. You may have heard about their new ice cream flavor. Well, I'm going to go out of my way not to say the name of this ice cream flavor. But you see it there, all right.
Look at the screen. Look at it. I'm not going to say it. That is the name. The actual name of their new ice cream flavor. It's named after a "Saturday Night Live" skit. But a group of moms saying now that the name is just disgusting. You're going to hear from Pete Schweddy himself.
Eleven past the hour. Stay with me.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirteen past the hour. Reynolds, we'll be back. We really do work during the commercial break.
WOLF: Your turn? Come on.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: About a quarter past the hour on the CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Saying hello once again to Reynolds Wolf. This is our scoreboards if you will.
WOLF: It really is.
HOLMES: About a hurricane season. How do we compare to -- I mean, we are right on track, a little more --
WOLF: Well, actually, it's been a busy season. We've forecasted a busy one. And sure enough, it has followed suit. We've had 16 named storms, three which have been hurricanes. Two of those hurricanes have been major hurricanes, category 3 or higher.
A couple have made landfall. That would be tropical storm Don and then Hurricane Irene on August 27th. We've had 13 tropical storms. On average, one out of every four hurricanes makes landfall in the United States.
Now, here are some of the names we have so far. We've gone through all of them. We've got Philippe now. Next up, Rina, Sean, Tammy, Vince, Whitney. If we go more than that, then we actually have to resort to the Greek alphabet for those. So, hopefully, we won't have too many more to deal with.
The two we have in the Atlantic at this point, we've got tropical storm Ophelia. We also have Philippe. You see both of these with Ophelia. It is expected to make more of a jog to the north and eventually stay offshore. Not expected to affect the United States directly. Maybe some surf. But for the most part, it should remain away from the U.S. mainland, possibly getting close to Bermuda, as we making it to the next weekend.
Now, when it comes to Philippe, we do expect this one to intensify to a category 1 hurricane. And then by the time we make to Friday, winds of 65 miles an hour, fairly strong storm. And these are systems that occur out over in the water.
Speaking of systems and things that happen over the water, just yesterday, Lake Michigan from Green Bay southward to Chicago, we had a series of water spouts; thankfully, a local affiliate was able to get this shot. How spooky is that? Incredible shot that we have not far from Milwaukee. A couple of water spouts there. We might see a few more today.
That's a wrap on your forecast. T.J., let's pitch right back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds. We have to tread lightly with this next story. We did this as delicately as we could yesterday -- the Ben & Jerry's story. We were talking about the new ice cream flavor. And what they decided to call it. This was all based -- you're seeing it there. I'm not going to say it. You're seeing the name of it. That is real, all right? Ben & Jerry's has a new flavor, that's it. It's based on a character from an "SNL" skit.
Now, a group called one million moms and you may think so, too, this is an extremely poor taste. They say, you may say, others may say, but it drew a response from the original Mr. Schweddy.
Here now is Pete Schweddy and what he had to say on "SNL" last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEC BALDWIN, ACTOR: I made so many memories over the years, played characters. The one sketch people always ask me about is Pete Schweddy and his famous Schweddy balls.
(APPLAUSE)
BALDWIN: Now, Schweddy balls has its own Ben & Jerry's ice cream flavor.
True story. True story. There is a family organization that is angry about the name because they think it's inappropriate for the grocery store aisle. Well, if you don't like Schweddy balls, Ben & Jerry's has a new ice cream flavor just for you. It's called go fudge yourself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It is a classic. I don't know -- I need to find it and post it for you guys. If you have not seen the skit, it is my all- time favorite on "SNL."
WOLF: It is. You know, a good sense of humor for him. You know, this is -- I think in some -- some people would be kind of angry about Ben & Jerry's is doing. I think it's marketing brilliance. I mean, it really is. We're talking about it right now for the second day in a row. I'm sure we'll talk about it again tomorrow.
Schweddy balls -- what an incredible flavor I suppose. Like a rum --
HOLMES: Hint of rum and vanilla something or the other. Yes. They said it's selling out. People can't find it in stores.
WOLF: Good times.
HOLMES: Reynolds, thank you.
We'll see Reynolds plenty throughout the morning. We're 18 minutes past the hour.
We'll turn back to the financial markets, shall we? And you noticed, we all noticed the week that the Dow Jones had this past week, actually lost 738 points, about 6.5 percent of its value. That's the second worst week ever.
When's the last time we were this financially depressed? The answer when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. This week the Dow lost 738 points. That's 6.4 percent of its value. Not the worst week ever, though. That came not too terribly long ago, October, 2008, when the Dow ended the week down 1,874 points or about 18 percent of its value.
Now, let me welcome in on a Sunday here, a friend of our show, our financial analyst, Clyde Anderson.
Good to have you back. We bring you back because people were watching the markets closely, listening to the president and what's happening with Congress and the financial system.
CLYDE ANDERSON, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: Yes.
HOLMES: Not many paying attention to the Federal Reserve.
ANDERSON: Exactly.
HOLMES: Operation Twisted is what they're calling it.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Tell me first of all what is it?
ANDERSON: It's not a dance.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: It's not a tornado.
HOLMES: All right.
ANDERSON: Although it felt like one for a lot of people on Thursday with all the selloffs. But really what it is, it's something they try back in the '60s -- and this is where they actually sell short-term bonds to buy long-term bonds.
HOLMES: OK, simple as that quite frankly?
ANDERSON: Simple as that. That's it. HOLMES: What's the point, though?
ANDERSON: Well, it should be called Operation Shell Game actually because I think they're moving things around. I mean, there's nothing major happening. What they're doing is trying to keep rates low in the long term.
And so, what that does is it erodes confidence. And so, what we have now is a situation where investors pulled out because they don't feel any confidence -- nothing to reassure them that we're going in the right direction.
HOLMES: And that's exactly what happened immediately after the move, overseas market tanked that day. The U.S. market did the very same thing. You said they tried this back in the '60s. What was the result then?
ANDERSON: It did not work. It had no results. It did not work. So, it was a flop.
So I'm really -- it behooves me like why would we do this again.
HOLMES: OK. This is the definition of insanity, right? You're doing the same thing over and expecting a different result. Well, they must have something up their sleeve. They're thinking something -- how this is going to work. And you mentioned to keep the long-term interest rates down.
Americans watching this -- viewers watching this say Operation Twist, Federal Reserve, blah, blah -- how is this supposed to help me?
ANDERSON: One of the things, it helps with mortgage rates. So, it does do that. It helps the mortgage rates. So, right now, we're seeing an average around 3.9 percent. Now, that wasn't the issue before. Rates have been low.
And I don't think what's keeping a lot of people on the fence is that rates are high. It's not the issue. They don't have jobs. And so, if I don't have a job, the rate going down a quarter percent is not going to make me want to jump out and go buy.
HOLMES: OK. You said one of the things is keeping mortgage rates low or getting them lower. Other than that, is there anything that somebody watching or listening can expect to have an impact on their life?
ANDERSON: Long term, I mean, you're talking about buying a car, car loans, also for small businesses. If you're a small business and get an SBA loan, it could help from that standpoint, because you're talking about long-term interest rates. But besides that, it's not going to help your credit card rate and actually, it could potentially drive it up some.
So, we don't really know what it's going to have long-term or short-term, but it has the potential of doing that. And also with banks, I mean, because we're talking about the Fed fund rate. This is what banks lend to each other at.
So, now, if banks get to a point where they're skittish about lending to each other because of the uncertainty, we could see a situation where they could actually increase or decrease the rate that they're paying on savings accounts. And so, we're already seeing a minimal there. But, you know, we'll see.
HOLMES: OK. But because of this move, should an American go out and do anything differently? This is the time to jump -- I mean, you've already been telling people every weekend, hey, it's a great time to refinance. Get a house if you can.
ANDERSON: Exactly. It is. That doesn't change anything.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: So, again, I think investors we're pretty smart, you know, and they saw there was no real substance.
HOLMES: All right. Operation Shell Game according to Clyde Anderson. Always good to have you, buddy. Thank you very much.
ANDERSON: Good to be here.
HOLMES: Twenty-five minutes past the hour now. And heading home. We'll give you the lowdown on the return of those two American hikers set to possibly touch down back on U.S. soil in just a matter of hours.
Stay with me.
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HOLMES: Now getting close to the bottom of the hour. And, today, this Sunday, the president will be working. He's got four campaign fundraisers to attend around Seattle and California's Silicon Valley. Today and tonight, he's hoping to raise as much $8 million for his re-election campaign.
Also, those freed American hikers, Josh Fattal and Shane Bauer and also Shane Bauer's fiancee now, Sarah Shourd, and their families are headed back to the U.S. as we speak. They left Oman a little earlier. Now, the three are expected to arrive a little before noon Eastern Time at New York's JFK Airport.
Also, police in Nepal say two Americans are among the 19 killed when a small plane crashed there this morning. The plane was apparently returning from a sightseeing tour, and was on approach to land when they hit a mountainside a few miles away from that airport.
Now, an Olympic gymnast overcoming her greatest obstacle. That's coming up for you on the latest edition with Sanjay Gupta. But I will be back at the top of the hour with more live news. But let me hand it over to the good doctor.
