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CNN Saturday Morning News
Planes Misses Runway, Hits the Water; Kerry Talks N. Korea in China; Obama and Biden Release Tax Returns; Chinese Teen Makes Masters Cut; "Accidental Racist" Controversy; School Holds First Integrated Prom
Aired April 13, 2013 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ALISON KOSIK, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. I am Alison Kosik.
VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I am Victor Blackwell. It's 7:00 here on the East Coast.
KOSIK: We begin this hour with breaking news overseas. I want to go to some brand-new pictures that just came in to CNN showing the scene where a Lion Air flight over shot the runway at Bali International Airport.
This was apparently a plane that was coming from a city in Indonesia and into Bali airport. There were 101 passengers, seven crew members, onboard when it went into the water. We don't know what caused the plane to miss the runway, though.
BLACKWELL: But this is what we do know, like Alison said, 107 people onboard. It's Lion Air flight from West Java to Bali. Actually, it's from Bandung, West Java.
Here's the good news: no fatalities.
In the pictures, you can see the emergency slides deployed at the front of the plane. And you see all these yellow rafts here. We've heard however that about 50 people on the plane have been sent to the hospitals. We don't know the severity of those injuries yet. We're still working on that. But everybody survives.
KOSIK: I want to show you some animation of what happened there at the Bali International Airport. You can see the plane going over the runway -- go ahead, Victor. Takeover.
BLACKWELL: We are awaiting word on the cause for the crash. That may come over on the next few minutes and hours. It may take some time after an investigation. But Lion Air is one of the largest carriers in Indonesia.
KOSIK: These are really dramatic pictures, aren't they?
You can see passengers on the wings of the aircraft. They are being rescued, pulled from the plane as it just sits there in the water.
BLACKWELL: And, you know, Bali is a really popular vacation destination. So, presumably, some of these people were starting a vacation. Imagine --
KOSIK: Starting it this way.
BLACKWELL: This is not an inexpensive trip. Maybe there are honeymooners. Who knows who's on this plane?
KOSIK: But they survived.
BLACKWELL: They survived. But by started by skidding off a runway and into the water and are in a raft.
Thank goodness they have survived, but we'll see how severe the injuries are. As we get new details. Of course, you see here new video into CNN this morning, the people are being pulled out of the ambulances going to hospitals. This person is conscious. Again, still waiting for more information. So, keep it there for the latest on this crash in Bali as the plane skidded off the runway and into the water.
Let's go to North Korea now. American officials say they are ready if -- and let's emphasize "if" -- North Korea fires a missile.
KOSIK: Secretary of State John Kerry is in China right to talk about the threats from North Korea. China is key to any discussions on North Korea.
CNN International's Jim Clancy is in Seoul, South Korea, right now.
Jim, what is the emphasis for Kerry cutting off funding for North Korea, or some other pressure they can put on Kim Jong Un?
JIM CLANCY, CNN INTERNATIONAL ANCHOR: Well, economics is the number one pressure. Right now, North Korea gets a lot of the money that keeps its government afloat by its trade with China. China buys coal. They buy minerals and other things.
Chinese companies operating around the border there, and they import the good. And they pay North Korea very low amounts, and some say pennies on the dollars of what it's worth and some say that's because of the difficult conditions that are inside North Korea.
No power, for instance, for a lot of these things. They have to string the power cables across the border from China. That's part of the problem. They don't have trade with anybody else around the world. There may be the possibility of some loans that we don't know about.
The U.S. wants to put pressure on this as well as pressure on some of the companies that do business from North Korea with the rest of the world that are known to be involved in selling missile technology, for instance, countries like Iran. All those things are on the table and trying to calm things down on the Korean Peninsula. China can be a tremendous help there, but at the same time, you know, the U.S. believes the ball was going to be in Kim Jong Un's court.
Now, he is an NBA fan. And, Victor, you have been following this, perhaps.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
CLANCY: As an NBA fan, he has to be watching the shot clock and he has to respond to the U.S., and he has to figure out how soon he is going to do that because he knows the price of going into talks is putting his nuclear program on the table, something that he said within the last two weeks he would not do -- Victor.
BLACKWELL: He has to respond not just for international consumption but also for domestic consumption there in North Korea.
I want to ask you this, though -- there has been so much discussion about the possibility of this missile test launch. We know that Kim has talked a lot about other countries preparing for war and telling the diplomats to clear out of the way. But has he ever really said that he is going to fire this missile?
CLANCY: No. He hasn't. That's the surprising thing.
Right, in propaganda terms, he talked about the whole peninsula being in flames, with a thermonuclear war. But he never said he was going to test-fire missiles.
That came from the U.S. and South Koreans, I presumed, as they analyze image data. And now, they are walking back a little bit of that.
I mean, are they right? Are they going to launch? Are they right or are they are not going to launch? No, we have to wait and see.
I was reading a missive from George Freedman of Stratfor, Strategic Forecasting. And he said, the North Koreans are amazing. They combine three things. First of all, we're dangerous. We're strong militarily. And then we are weak, we can't feed our own people and you have to help us out if you want to balance the other.
And then the third factor is we are crazy. We're unpredictable. You add all those three together and it's pretty tough to deal with Pyongyang.
BLACKWELL: All right. Jim Clancy in Seoul for us -- Jim, thanks.
Also new this morning, the retrial of former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is on hold because the judge recused himself. He said he was uneasy about taking the case. Mubarak watched the short hearing a cage in the court room. He's been in a hospital bed several times in that case.
He and his top aides face charges with the death of protesters during Egypt's uprising. Now, they were sentenced to prison but an appeals court later overturned that.
New this morning, the daughter of Margaret Thatcher tells reporters it's going to be a difficult and tearful week. Those comments come as Carol Thatcher prepare for his funerals on Wednesday.
KOSIK: Britain's first female prime minister passed away Monday at the age of 87. Meantime, some critics of the Iron Lady are planning to celebrate her death. Anti-Thatcher groups are using social media to urge people to gather today in central London for a party.
Just ahead of Tax Day, President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have released their 2012 tax returns -- interesting reading here.
Their return showed the president and first lady, Michelle Obama, earned $608,611 last year. The first family saw their income drop slightly because sales of the president's books declined. The Obama's paid a little over $112,000 in taxes and they gave about $150,000 to 33 different charities.
Vice president Joe Biden and his wife Jill reported income of just over $385,000. They paid $87,851 in taxes according to their returns.
BLACKWELL: With the Senate poised to start debate next week on gun control, the mother of a Sandy Hook shooting victim, she makes her case.
KOSIK: Francine Wheeler delivered this week's White House radio address. Wheeler's 6-year-old son Ben was killed four months ago, along with 19 of his classmates and six educators.
Listen to what some of what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRANCINE WHEELER, MOTHER OF SANDY HOOK VICTIM: When I packed for Washington on Monday, it looked like the Senate might not act at all. And then after the president spoke in Hartford and a dozen of us met with senators to share stories, more than two-thirds of the Senate voted to move forward.
But that's only the start. They haven't yet passed any bills that will help keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people. A lot of people are fighting to make sure they never do. Now is the time to act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: Wheeler is the first person, the other person other than the president or vice president to deliver the radio address since President Obama took office.
KOSIK: Guns and racing, tonight, the two are going to collide.
BLACKWELL: Yes, the NRA is sponsoring the NASCAR sprint cup race at the Texas Motor Speedway this evening, just as the gun rights debate heats up across the country. Senator Chris Murphy from Connecticut is going as far as asking FOX Sports to not broadcast the NRA 500. NASCAR says it has no position on the gun rights debate and says that, quote, "This situation has made it clear that we need to take a closer look at our approval process moving forward as current circumstances need to be factored in when making decisions.
KOSIK: He's just 14 years old and he keeps making headlines at the Masters. Guan Tianlang, I hope I'm pronouncing his name right. We're going to learn more and more though. He is the youngest player to make a cut at the major championship. This is amazing. But you know what? It's not going smoothly. He was penalized one stroke for slow play, yesterday, despite several warnings. But he's going to be able to play the rest of the weekend. Guan is three over par in the tournament. He's seven shot behind the leader, Jason Day of Australia.
Much more coming up this hour.
BLACKWELL: Here is a look at what's coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK (voice-over): A candid politician makes a racial slur at a meeting and laugh about it. Wait until you hear his excuse.
What do six-figures smokestack and therapeutic swimming pools and sweet desserts have in common? Their supposed tax deductions, but you won't believe the craziest one we found.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If he's able to hack into an actual flight management system on board an aircraft, that would pose a risk.
KOSIK: One computer hacker says he just may be able to do something with his phone. A new app that could threaten your air travel security.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ANNOUNCER: This is CNN breaking news.
KOSIK: Breaking news overseas now. We have brand-new pictures coming into CNN.
They are showing a scene where a Lion Air flight over shot the runway at Bali International Airport. On this flight, there were 101 passengers, seven crew members, when that plane went right into the water. You see it.
We don't know what caused the plane to miss the runway.
BLACKWELL: All right. Here's we do know: 108 people total onboard the flight. It's from Bandung, West Java, to Bali.
Good news here: no fatalities. You see these pictures here. They remind me of the "Miracle on the Hudson" when you have passengers standing on the wing with their vests.
And we'll find out what caused this plane to go into the water. But we do know about 50 people have been sent to hospitals. Everyone survived. We're still waiting to get information about the severity of those injuries.
KOSIK: And as we get new details and new video comes into CNN this morning, we're going to bring to you. So, you really want to stick around for the latest. I mean, these pictures are really incredible. The story itself is incredible.
You think about why these people were on the flight in this first place going to Bali.
BLACKWELL: Yes.
KOSIK: Why do you go to Bali?
BLACKWELL: Vacation.
KOSIK: Yes.
BLACKWELL: A honeymoon. I mean, if this as start of the marriage, I don't know what that says.
KOSIK: They survived. It's incredible.
BLACKWELL: So, we'll get more information on this. Of course, more video and more details coming in.
Let's go to another story here, about this air travel story, Alison.
KOSIK: Yes, a new Android app claims it can take over an airplane while in the air. Is all the hype over security really real? Consultant Hugo Teso's hijacking app, is it real or did it kind of fizzle out?
Our Tom Foreman takes a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Alison. This is a terrifying idea, of course, like something from a movie. But here's something else it may have in common with Hollywood, it may be pure fiction.
(voice-over): The new Android app called PlaneSpoilt allegedly exploits a security weakness, mimicking a ground based navigation system and sending false information to planes in flight. By manipulating the data stream, a user can change instrument displays, make oxygen masks drop or take over the autopilot.
At least that is what the inventor Hugo Teso suggests.
HUGO TESO, SECURITY CONSULTANT: You could also at a certain level gain some control on where the airplane is going, if it's up, down, turning, these kinds of things could be done.
FOREMAN: Teso who is a pilot and security consultant says he's trying to warn the aviation community about a potential danger. But many do not believe he can do what he says because of two key problems.
Problem one, Teso's invention has so far been demonstrated only on a flight simulation program. The Federal Aviation Administration and European officials say cracking into the controls of a real airplane is much more difficult. Therefore, a hacker cannot obtain full control of an aircraft. Even Teso admits that.
TESO: None of our applications and code can be used against a real airplane. We did that on purpose for security reasons.
FOREMAN: He also admits to problem two, at any time on any plane subjected to such an attack, the pilot can override the hacker. Simply turning off the autopilot and taking control again. That's why aviation experts are widely greeting this news of a hijacking app with a yawn.
JEFF PRICE, PROF. OF AVIATION MANAGEMENT, MSU DENVER: Well, if he's able to hack into an actual flight management system onboard an aircraft, that would pose a risk. But so far, all he's done is hacked into a PC.
FOREMAN (on camera): So, on your next flight, keep your seat belt fastened and your tray table locked. But don't worry about the guy on the phone, he may be playing Angry Birds but he's probably not flying the plane -- Alison.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: All right. Thank you.
KOSIK: Thanks very much.
The tick-tock deadline for filing taxes coming up Monday. You're already done?
BLACKWELL: Done, and the refund is back.
KOSIK: All right. But if you are procrastinator, I know you're hold on in your house right now, probably doing your taxes. But it also brings out stories of these crazy tax deductions that are out there. We're going to countdown the five most outrageous, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Aren't we happy?
KOSIK: We look good together.
BLACKWELL: Right in front of the camera. It's all right, cool, though. Tweet us.
KOSIK: Please.
BLACKWELL: Biz Block now.
Markets may have closed lower on Friday, but that did not stop them from having one of their best weeks this year.
KOSIK: Oh, yes. The Dow is up 2 percent for the week, while the S&P 500 was up 2 percent. Looks like investors are still trying to get on the rally. You want to jump on that train before it leaves the station.
KOSIK: There's concern on Wall Street, though, that the bitcoin bubble may have bursts already. Bitcoin is a virtual currency that's only available online, but you can use it at some stores around the world. The price of a bitcoin has plunged 70 percent this week. It was falling so fast that at some point, that trading had to be halted.
The currency is down to $77 from a high of $266 just earlier in the week. Everybody's jaws went wa --
BLACKWELL: Wow.
And a new survey shows teens may be suffering from a little Facebook fatigue. An investment bank Piper Jaffray says Facebook's popularity among teens is falling. The site is still number one but it's down almost 10 percent since last year. And one possible reason for the decline is so many parents and grandparents are online, and when your parents ask to be your friend --
KOSIK: They know. Just ignore them.
BLACKWELL: Hey, we're going to have more on Facebook fatigue and what site the teen is checking out? That's at 10:15 Eastern, 7:15 Pacific.
KOSIK: Did you know that Monday is April 15th. That's Tax Day? The deadline to pay Uncle Sam.
So, this morning, we're going to look at some wild and crazy tax deduction stories. Here are five favorites from Bankrate.com that caught our eye. Let's count them down.
Victor --
BLACKWELL: All right. Let's start with number five. A man in Texas deducts a smokestack that sits on his property. Why? He says it's a charitable donation to the city because it is considered a local landmark. Get this. He is able to write off more than $100,000 for the smokestack.
KOSIK: Lucky him. I wonder if he's going to be audited.
BLACKWELL: Probably.
KOSIK: Number four, a California businessman who owns a string of pie shops. He tries to spend his lunch meals because he -- get this -- he says he ate pies for dessert to study the ingredients for research. But, no, no. That doesn't fly with the IRS.
BLACKWELL: Did you know how big my refund would be if I could write off pie?
KOSIK: Pie, every --
BLACKWELL: Oh my gosh!
Number three, a Texas landlord is also unsuccessful. He's trying to deduct his dog's vet fees, explaining he used his dog as a security system for the various properties that he owned. So, that didn't work.
KOSIK: Number two, an elderly woman tried deducting cost for a swimming pool? Because her doctor told her it was good therapy for her knee. Well, it turns the pool belonged to her son and had no connection to her except for the swimming and --
BLACKWELL: Yes, you should swim. I'm going to buy a pool now and deduct it.
KOSIK: Right.
BLACKWELL: So, this is the craziest, one of my favorites. Well, I guess I shouldn't say. All right. So, retired New York lawyer unsuccessfully tries to claim --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: I knew I should not have gone there. Just the idea, it's hilarious.
KOSIK: Whoo!
BLACKWELL: Prostitution has a medical expense deduction. He says it's sex therapy, and a positive health benefit. So, that to me would be a flag.
Do you write prostitution on the refund?
KOSIK: I don't think he probably used prostitution.
BLACKWELL: Oh, just sex therapy.
KOSIK: Yes.
BLACKWELL: That's probably good.
Hey, remember folks, these are true stories shared by CPAs. These things actually happened.
All right. So, this is something else that's happening and this is pretty serious. A Georgia high school was about to make history. For the first time ever, it's having an integrated prom, first time, 2013. We'll hear from the students who are making this happen.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: Did you know mortgage rates took a tumble again this week. Here are the latest numbers.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KOSIK: Bottom of the hour now. Welcome back. I am Alison Kosik.
BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. Let's start with five stories we're watching for you this morning. Up first, the plane crash in Bali, Indonesia. New video coming in just to CNN. This is the scene there, 101 passengers, seven crew members. I know the video is a bit shaky. You see the raft coming out of the plane there.
This is a Lion Air jet when it missed the runway at the Bali International Airport.
We know what caused this year. But you see, the people are taking the short journey from this plane back to the shore on these inflated rafts. You can see some people headed out to the plane to bring people back in.
This is the good news, everyone survived, 101 passengers and seven crew members. There are 50 people who have been sent to hospitals after the crash here. As soon as we get more information, we're going to pass it on.
But again, look at these pictures. There's a crack in the fuselage. Passengers are being rescued from this plane as it sits in the sea, people climbing out of the door as they head to Bali.
More information and video coming as soon as we get it. So, keep it here for the latest.
KOSIK: Number two, Secretary of State John Kerry is in China this morning. He's talking with his Chinese counterparts about North Korea and what China can do to stop the threats. One option sure to come up is stopping the flow of money from China to North Korea. China is North Korea's biggest trading partner.
BLACKWELL: Number three, tensions with the North did not stop a huge concert by the South Korean Internet sensation. Right now, he is holding a concert. This is live concert at Seoul World Cup Stadium. It's being broadcast on YouTube. You know, he became a YouTube star, the most downloaded video.
He is performing the follow-up the "Gangnam Style" in front of sellout crowd. This is "Gentlemen."
KOSIK: Number four, NASCAR is getting a track with the National Rifles Association. Tonight's sprint cup race at Texas Motor Speedway is being sponsored by the pro-gun group, and one senator is calling for FOX Sports to not cover the broadcast, to cover the race itself.
NASCAR says it has no position in the gun rights debate.
BLACKWELL: Finally, rapper, record producer, occasional actor and husband to Beyonce, Jay-Z already has a handful of jobs. But now, he's applying to become an agent for Major League baseball players, and part owner of the NBA's Brooklyn Mets, but he will have to sell his share, so there are no problems with the players' association.
KOSIK: So, there's a Chinese teenager has done something no other person on the planet accomplished.
BLACKWELL: Yes, he is 14 years old, and he just made the cut in the Masters, the youngest ever to do so.
Let's go to Patrick Snell. He's live in Acosta.
Patrick, he made the cut, but there was that one stroke penalty. What was that for?
PATRICK SNELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Victor, good morning to you. Yes, it was all about controversy on hole number 17 at the Masters. What happened was basically, being put on the clock, he had a warning.
He was told to speed things up and he took more than 40 seconds on one of his shots as he tried to engineer his way on the green there at a critical stage in his round, and he was -- yes, an official came over and said one shot penalty, that's the way it goes kind of thing. He took it in grace, and said he respected the decision.
And that took him to four over par for the championship that could have been crucial. But he has been playing, Victor, so well over the last couple days, he has done enough. The good news is, everybody wanted him to be around for the weekend and he is going to be around for the weekend.
That's the good news. He will play Saturday. He will play Sunday. He survived the cut.
Here's now the view of one former champion on that controversy ruling.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FRED COUPLES, TIED FOR SECOND AFTER 2ND ROUND: I feel bad, but I also feel like they just don't go around handing out one-shot penalties here and I don't know even of anybody who has gotten one, so it feels hard to give a 14-year-old a penalty, but he is in the field and beat a lot of guys yesterday whatever the hell age he is.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: There you go, Fred Couples having his say on the controversy issue, and basically couples himself and playing himself into contention as well, while all this was going on. He's a former champion, and he knows exactly what it takes to win here and he'd love to get his hands on another coveted green jacket.
People here absolutely loves Fred Couples. There's tens of thousands out on the course, rooting for him to do well as well. So, it's a question as how he will fair and how he's going to perform. And here now, his thoughts on how he's doing. He feels like he is right in the mix.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REPORTER: If you won again, you're something different?
COUPLES: You asked me that last year, I said I would quit when I win this thing. I'm going to quit when I win this thing. I swear to God. I am going to retire. It's probably not ever going to happen, but I'm going to retire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
SNELL: I don't believe Fred Couples at all, and I don't think he would retire. But one moment where he could win, and it would give him a renewed appetite for success -- Victor.
BLACKWELL: I'm sure it will. Hey, we're going to will check in to see on how Tiger is doing a bit later.
Patrick Snell, thank you so much, from Augusta.
KOSIK: Tiger Who?
BLACKWELL: Yes, we've got Couples, we've got a 14-year-old, but his a number one player in the world.
So, we've got to find out. Hey, pop star Joe Jonas, he knows how to turn down a date. We'll show you the special message he made for a lucky fan. That's coming up in the E-block next. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Welcome back. We are in the E-Block now, and that means it's time for some entertainment.
Two names: LL Cool J, Brad Paisley. Same song. It's a new duet, pretty controversy. "Accidental Racist". Listen to a bit of it.
(MUSIC, "ACCIDENTAL RACIST")
BLACKWELL: I like that bit at the end, can't re-write history, baby.
KOSIK: Yes, they caught heat for this song. The two appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" to explain why they teamed up to make it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LL COOL J, ENTERTAINER: What we are talking about on the song is forgiveness and compassion. And I'm not advising anyone to truly forget slavery. But what I am saying is. Forgive the slavery mentality, forget the bitterness, don't get bitter, get better.
BRAD PAISLEY, ENTERTAINER: But in the end, I felt like what we had on tape was something that people needed to hear. And let's not be victims of what happened so long ago.
LL COOL J: Let's respect it and after we respect it and etc. Also open our hearts up so we can move forward.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: LL dropped by "The Tonight Show". He said he can't defend the song because it's art. Plus, it sparks a conversation.
Brad Paisley says he couldn't be prouder to be associated with LL.
All right. We've got radio personality, Kendra G. She's with us. Along with comedian Scott Blakeman in New York.
Kendra, let's start with you. What do you think of the song?
KENDRA GILLIAMS, RADIO PERSONALITY: You know what, I love (AUDIO GAP) because it brings two different perspectives together. I can appreciate Brad Paisley having the courage, first of all, to sing what he's saying. And before this song, I was judgmental of the Confederate flag. I thought you were a racist if you had it.
But from the song, (AUDIO GAP) I am proud of where I am from, not from what all we have done. Took a lot of courage --
BLACKWELL: I have to move your mike there.
GILLIAMS: My weave is --
(CROSSTALK)
BLACKWELL: Yes, let's go to Scott.
Scott, what do you think?
SCOTT BLAKEMAN, COMEDIAN: Well, as a comedian who, you know, in my own comedy I talk about social and political issues. I really applaud Brad Paisley and LL Cool J for tackling a really complicated, really difficult issue of race and identity.
I think the critics really missed the point. It's not saying forget what happened, it's saying acknowledge it but then move on. And the way you move on is you don't -- there's a line that says don't judge the book by its cover. We're all guilty of that at some point, we need to look at people and judge them by what they are, not by what their hat is, or how what their t-shirt says, or how their pants fit or what their accent is. But we should judge them as Dr. King said, by the content of their character.
KOSIK: All right. So, let's move on to topic number two, speaking of moving on. Let's go to Shania Twain's YouTube invitation to Joe Jonas to attend -- not Shania sorry. Let's go ahead -- a girl who wanted Joe Jonas to attend her college formal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE JONAS, ENTERTAINER: I got a great video message from you asking me to go to the formal with you. Unfortunately, I am not able to be there.
So I have a proposition for you. On July 10th, Chicago, Illinois, fly you out and escort you to my concert of the opening tour. What do you think?
Shaina, (INAUDIBLE) been relationship way too long. Now it's time for me to do my part. Please accept my invite to be my special guest.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KOSIK: So I pronounced her name wrong, too. Shaina. Excuse me. I'm thinking -- sorry.
BLACKWELL: It's all right.
So, G., I got the little surprise on the "Today" show with a special guest. Watch here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let's introduce these guys.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: What is your name?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, my gosh.
(CROSSTALK)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BLACKWELL: See, this works. The "Today" shows biggest surprise as you see here, Ned, actually Joe Jonas. This is the way to handle this.
GILLIAMS: I love this. I love when celebrities show love to their fans. And their fans are like their street team who doesn't get paid for it.
BLACKWELL: Right.
GILLIAMS: And it has inspired me to do a video for David Beckham for my birthday, May 7th. We don't (ph) need Victoria Beckham. Somebody (INAUDIBLE). I love it when he brings her to the castle.
BLACKWELL: And, Scott, you know, the idea that he puts together this cheesy video with the weight lifting and never going to breathe again. I mean, it just works.
BLAKEMAN: Absolutely. You know, I am such a mush when it comes to these things. I was actually choked up watching the "Today" show video.
I think it's wonderful. First of all, Kendra put up this video. Very, you know, simply produced, 87,000 hits. Jonas sees it, all this happens, it's an attest to the power of the YouTube videos and it says a lot about Joe Jonas, and their group of guys actually donating some of the proceeds of their tour to charity. So, I think it's a really happy story all the way around.
And for my birthday, I'd like to be with all you guys in Atlanta.
BLACKWELL: Does he race? I mean, the idea of wearing the wonder bread suit is hilarious to me.
GILLIAMS: But the fact that he came to the "Today" show and met his fan.
KOSIK: He is a human being. His fans are going to love him more.
GILLIAMS: Right. And it shows that -- you know, she made the YouTube video and it truly happened for her. So, I think, kudos.
David Beckham, me and you on May 7th.
BLACKWELL: We'll put it out there. Kendra G, thank you. Scott Blakeman, good to have you with us this morning.
A group of Georgia high school students say enough is enough. After years and years of having separate proms for the black students and white students, they organized the first integrated prom. We will look at the challenges they are still facing in 2013.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: Welcome back. This is a story that admittedly is difficult to listen to.
KOSIK: But the good thing is, the ending is certainly worth it.
BLACKWELL: Yes. Meet Banjo. He's a 10-month old poodle terrier mix who is very fortunate to be alive. Listen to this, someone tied Banjo to a train track near Mecca, California, last week and left him there to die.
KOSIK: But that didn't happen, because the engineer of the oncoming train saw the suspect walking away from the track after tying Banjo down. He hit the emergency break and rescued the dog from the tracks.
BLACKWELL: See? Good ending. Banjo is safe, and we are happy to tell you that he is doing good at the Riverside County Animal Services. Officials say they have had more than 200 calls who wanted to give Banjo a new home. Look at that face.
They said they narrowed the list down and hope the adopt a dog sometime next week.
KOSIK: And if you are wondering what happened to the man that tied banjo down, he was arrested but the police later arrested the 78-year- old who they say he seemed confused and senile. The man told police the family no longer wanted the dog and didn't know what else to do. Very sad.
BLACKWELL: Clearly, the wrong thing to do. Take it to somebody who wants the dog.
KOSIK: Yes.
BLACKWELL: Hey, in the 1950s, the Supreme Court outlawed segregation in schools. But that didn't include school activities like the prom.
KOSIK: In fact, one school district in Georgia has held separate proms for white students and black students. Until now, students decided to hold one prom for all races, but not everybody is behind it.
Gary Tuchman has the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): These teenagers are attempting to do something that has never been done before in tiny Wilcox County, Georgia, home of the Wilcox County High School.
KEELA BLOODWORTH, PROM ORGANIZER: We're basically making history in Wilcox County.
BRANDON DAVIS, PROM ORGANIZER: This prom is integrated.
TUCHMAN: Wilcox County High has never had an integrated prom. Instead, for as long as anyone remembers, there has been one prom for white kids and one prom for black kids. There will still be a white prom this year, but these teens are organizing another prom that welcomes kids from all races.
MARESHIA RUCKER, PROM ORGANIZER: We share everything else together, why not have this one moment that means the world to us together?
TUCHMAN (on camera): After segregation in schools was ruled illegal 60 years ago in this country, many high schools stopped sponsoring proms so they wouldn't have to worry about legal repercussions of privately sponsored high school proms. Here in Wilcox County, proms remain privately sponsored.
(voice-over): At this bar, some say, it's just a matter of tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think whites want to get together and have a prom, I think they should be able to do, and I think blacks should be able to do it, too.
TUCHMAN: Others are much more blunt about their desire to maintain the tradition.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There should be two separate proms.
TUCHMAN (on camera): Tell my why you feel that way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because I don't feel they should be, you know, black boys going with white girls. I don't like that, I don't believe in it. I wasn't raised that way.
TUCHMAN: You know, but this is --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was raised --
TUCHMAN: This is the year 2013 though, not 1953.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was raised to appreciate them (ph) and you know, not be disrespectful, but that's just my opinion.
TUCHMAN: Appreciate who?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Black folks, you know?
TUCHMAN: But you understand how that sounds very old-fashioned in the way things used to be in the United States, that if everyone goes to high school together the idea they should graduate, learn together and go to the prom together.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They should go to school together but not proms.
TUCHMAN: You're not going to change your mind about that ever?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
TUCHMAN: But, the integrated prom committee has national support. In fact, the committee has its pick of free DJs, dozens from around the country who have volunteered to provide the entertainment. Many of the county's parents went to segregated proms back in their day and say the time has come for this.
TONI TUCKER, MOTHER OF ORGANIZER: I believe that they were destined for this moment and nobody else could do this before now.
TUCHMAN: And many in Wilcox County are supportive.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It just makes sense to have one prom. There's no reason to separate them.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I feel, they're all classmates. If they can participate in and play sports together, why not have a prom together?
TUCHMAN: The high school principal and the superintendent of the school district would not go on camera, but the superintendent told us off camera that the tradition of private proms is being reevaluated and a decision about whether the school will sponsor integrated proms in the future is being considered.
Sethleila Acosta (ph) graduated from the high school last year.
(on camera): You're a Mexican American?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.
TUCHMAN: What prom are you supposed to go to?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I guess I'm supposed to stay home and dance alone.
TUCHMAN (voice-over): But this year in Wilcox County all are welcome to show up at this prom hall, no matter what the color of your skin.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Rochelle, Georgia.
(END VIDEOTAPE) KOSIK: You know, it's amazing this day and age. What do they think they're teaching the kids, you know, that that's OK?
BLACKWELL: But the idea that it took the students to make this happen and not the parents and not the teachers.
KOSIK: Great message, they're rising above it.
BLACKWELL: It's always the youth making the major changes. We can't break punch together and dance together? Well, good for the students putting together this integrated prom.
This bridge new meaning of driving with the top down. You're going to see this bridge in North Carolina is turning trucks into convertibles whether they want it or not.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BLACKWELL: This is the kind of story that you can't blink, you can't look away so turn to the television right now and just look.
KOSIK: So, this video was taken in a fisherman's kayak right off of Hawaii. He's fishing, fishing, fighting and trying to reel in a tuna when, boom, jaws shoots out of the water, the shark missed the tuna, so it came back, bumped the kayak and took it. An expert thinks it was a 10-foot tiger shark.
The fisherman you're wondering, he just kept on fishing and caught a nice mahi-mahi in the same spot.
BERMAN: Man, I've been on the shore so quickly, as thing jumps out of the water. No way.
Hey, "One More Thing" you got to see here. A bridge that proves size does matter.
KOSIK: Yes, it does, especially driving one of those under an overpass like that. This North Carolina Bridge is affectionately called the can opener. Jeanne Moos shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a bridge over troubled traffic. A bridge too low. Or trucks too tall.
For the past five years Jurgen Henn -- watch your back -- has been using cameras to record the results and posting them on his website, 11 foot 8. That happens to be the official clearance of the Gregson Street Railroad Trestle in Durham in North Carolina, affectionately known as the Can Opener Bridge.
Some vehicles just get a shave. Others get stopped cold.
For nearby businesses it can be --
JURGEN HENN, VIDEOGRAPHER: -- almost earth shattering. And people jump out of their chairs.
MOOS (voice-over): Some get off easy. An RV loses its AC.
A POD gets left behind.
The trestle is a working railroad bridge that sometimes trucks hit as a train passes by.
The railroad, Norfolk Southern, installed a crash beam to protect the century-old bridge, so the bridge always wins.
Not only has Jurgen uploaded about 60 crashes, he also collects pieces of debris and sometimes gets drivers to sign them.
HENN: Just a hobby, you know, to have some fun.
MOOS (voice-over): Not so much fun for the drivers.
Authorities know of no serious injuries. The signs start warning of the low clearance several blocks away and vehicles that are too tall trigger the "overheight when flashing" lights, which drivers manage not to see.
Don't even think of trying to slowly sneak up on the Can Opener.
MOOS (on camera): So you say why doesn't someone fix it? Raise the bridge, lower the road.
MOOS (voice-over): But the sewer main runs right under the highway and the bridge would cost millions to raise. So the can opener keeps racking up hits that YouTubers enjoy putting to music, like "Rocky" and the good, the bad and some ugly crashes.
It's enough to make you want to burn your bridges -- before the bridge burns you.
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BLACKWELL: Take a little off the top. That's terrible. All right. Thanks for starting your morning with us.
KOSIK: We've got much more ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING which starts right now.
