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Canadian Company Magna International to Purchase Opel; Jay Leno's Last Night; Pakistani Forces Have Reclaimed Most of the City of Mingora From the Taliban; President Obama Defending and Praising Sonia Sotomayor
Aired May 30, 2009 - 10:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: All right, so is more help on the way? A Canadian company has announced that it is going to purchase the Opel brand from General Motors. Just hours ago, German chancellor Angela Merkel announced that she spoke with President Obama during the negotiations.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Also, the royal watchers are out for that guy. It's Prince Harry; he's visiting New York this weekend. We'll take a look at what's on his agenda
NGUYEN: Plus, Jay Leno's last night. Did you see it? After 17 years, he says good-bye to "The Tonight Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO, COMEDIAN: Welcome to the exciting season finale of the "Tonight Show," ladies and gentlemen.
(APPLAUSE) As you know, this is our last show, 17 years. I want to ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Season finale, as he called it. If you missed his final monologue, we have it for you this morning.
In the meantime, though, hello, everybody, from the CNN center. This is the CNN NEWSROOM. Saturday, May 30th. It's hard to believe we're almost done with may. Good morning, I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: Yes, it is summertime just about, isn't it?
NGUYEN: I know.
HOLMES: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 10:00 here in Atlanta, Georgia, 9:00 a.m. central, 7:00 a.m. out in California.
NGUYEN: So, you may not see many people driving Opels around your neighborhood, but the German automaker could have been one of the dominoes to fall if parent company General Motors files for bankruptcy as it is expected.
Instead, though, a Canadian company, Magna International, is stepping up to buy a 20 percent stake in Opel. A Russian banking group will control 35 percent, and G.M., which used to own all of Opel holds on to about 35 percent. The last 10 percent belongs to Opel employees.
HOLMES: All right. So, Opel might be OK. What about the rest of G.M.? Well, it's a different story for the rest of the company. The G.M. board of directors actually meeting this weekend to talk about declaring bankruptcy, could happen as soon as Monday. That's the restructure deadline set by the White House.
And that's where we find our Kate Bolduan. Kate, a lot of people here in the U.S. don't know much about Opel. But Opel is a big part of this deal, at least. How is the White House feeling about how things are playing out?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, the White House is clearly watching all of these developments very closely, and are hearing, and are getting many updates on these developments.
You mentioned right there that Opel is one aspect of this, maybe a key piece of these restructuring efforts, as well as the UAW agreeing to that concession package. That happened yesterday.
These two key elements could be potentially key pieces, or key indicators of the restructuring efforts that this automaker is going to as the clock winds down and we do approach the restructuring deadline, a deadline set by the Obama administration.
We've talked about it a lot this morning. General Motors is expected to file for bankruptcy as early as Monday.
On that, Obama administration -- the Obama administration, they are watching it very closely, very close in those discussions.
At the same time the White House is being very careful in characterizing the state of the negotiations, the state of those discussions.
Listen here to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, yesterday.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I know the president is encouraged that whatever happens at the deadline, the progress that is being made to restructure General Motors and put it on a path, as I've said, to being a viable auto company.
We have seen encouraging signs. And what happens in the next few days, the president obviously will certainly watch and will have something to say about it next week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And also next week, Obama administration officials will be fanning out across the Midwest, going to states like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, states hard hit and affected by General Motors' troubles.
The White House says that these officials will be discussing with communities there the federal efforts to try to help them deal with and work through the restructuring efforts.
And, T.J., by the time these officials head over there, they may be talking to these communities about what's next post-bankruptcy.
HOLMES: All right, big day on Monday. Kate Bolduan for us at the White House. Thank you so much.
Meanwhile, tonight on CNN, "The Rise and Fall of the American Auto Industry, and where it might go from here." That comes your way at 8:00 eastern.
NGUYEN: Well, Defense Secretary Robert Gates has a message for North Korea -- "The U.S. will not be bullied or intimidated."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: We will not stand idly by as North Korea buildings the capability to reap destruction on any target in the region or on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The communist nation defied international sanctions and went ahead with a nuclear test earlier this week. Gates offered no specifics on how the U.S. might respond if North Korea moves against key American allies in Asia. But Moscow and Tokyo agreed to the nuclear test -- that they merit a strong response and threaten international security.
Let's move over to this. Pakistani security forces say that they have reclaimed most of the Swat valley's major city of Mingora from the Taliban.
Pakistan is calling the offensive a significant victory against the Taliban. Militant fighters have held the Swat valley under siege for more than a month now.
The United Nations says more than 2 million people have fled their homes to escape the violence there.
HOLMES: President Obama is defending and praising his Supreme Court nominee, federal appeals court Judge Sonia Sotomayor. In his weekly address this morning, the president said he is certain he made the right choice.
But some Republicans calling Sotomayor a racist. Yes, using the word "racist" because of comments she made in 2001.
She once said her experience as a Latina woman might make her judgments more sound than those judgments of a white man.
President Obama said Sotomayor could have framed her comments differently then. Then he came to her defense in his weekly address.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There are, of course, some in Washington who are attempting to draw old battle lines and playing the usual political games, pulling a few comments out of context to paint a distorted picture of Judge Sotomayor's record.
But I'm confident that these efforts will fail, because Judge Sotomayor's 17-year record on the bench, hundreds of judicial decisions that every American can read for him or herself, speak far louder than any attack.
Her record makes clear that she is fair, unbiased, and dedicated to the rule of law.
As a fellow judge on her court appointed by Ronald Reagan said recently "I don't think I go as far as to classify her in one camp or another. I think she just deserves the classification of outstanding judge."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And the president is calling for swift confirmation by the Senate.
Meanwhile, in their weekly radio and web address, Republicans chose not to focus on Sotomayor. They focused on the president's energy policy.
Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels delivered the address this morning. Daniels said he supports the president's anti-fraud initiative in social programs. But he criticized what he called a "scheme" to radically change energy policy through a system called cap and trade.
He says such a system will cost American jobs and stands no chance of achieving its objective of a cooler earth. Daniels says the plan will also mean higher electric bills for families and businesses.
NGUYEN: Well, Britain's Prince Harry is on his first official trip to New York, and he spent much of yesterday honoring victims of 9/11 with visits to ground zero and the British Memorial Garden at Hanover Square.
This morning, though, he's going to visit Harlem's children's zone. It's an organization focusing on educating disadvantaged children. This afternoon he's going to saddle up for a charity polo match.
All right, so in our next half hour, we'll have more on Prince Harry's visit, including a closer look at the Harlem school that's getting some very special attention.
HOLMES: It's time for us now to turn to weather. Reynolds Wolf, some severe weather and storms possibly. What are we talking about? REYNOLDS WOLF, METEOROLOGIST: We're talking about mainly parts of the Ohio valley. I mean they could get a big rumble of thunder later on today, possibly some heavy rain and small hail and damaging wind.
It's all in the mix and maybe a tornado or two. A tornado is not quite as likely, but still some strong thunderstorms certainly in the realm of possibility.
You can see it on the map, plain as day, a good chance of severe storms. You have a lot of the elements there. Some daytime heating and moisture coming in from the gulf.
And it will be this boundary separating the colder and muggier air from the north. That contrast with the daytime heating will make for a pretty unstable air mass. With that, the possibility of storms.
Also we'll see rainfall in parts of the Carolinas and Appalachians up in the northeast. Rain is also likely from Maine back into Boston.
And in parts of Texas it will be very muggy for you, but you can't rule even out a pop-up thunderstorm. It shouldn't last too long if it does happen along parts of 35. The heat will be relentless at times, into the 90s, but, at the same time, with the high humidity, it will feel even warmer.
Check out Colorado, where you will have not only rain but even snow in the high Rockies, perhaps even as far south as the Sangre de Christo mountains in New Mexico and relatively dry for much of the west coast until you get to, say, Seattle and Portland, too, in Oregon and Washington.
In terms of your temperatures for the pacific northwest, pretty muggy in Portland, 86 degrees the expected high. In comparison, San Francisco with 62, 70 in L.A.
But in phoenix, you know it's a different world in the valley of the sun, and that different world will spell out with temperatures in the century mark -- 87 for Kansas City, 84 in Nashville. Chicago, into the 70s D.C. with 80 degrees, New York and Boston, we have the highs mainly in the 70s.
With the pop-up storm it will cool down fairly rapidly in Atlanta with 84.
All right, guys, that's a wrap on your forecast. Let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: That's pretty cool there.
HOLMES: He's playing with the...
NGUYEN: He is.
WOLF: It's a toy. And I like playing. What can I tell you? It's a great thing.
NGUYEN: Keeps him busy.
WOLF: Yes, pretty much.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you Reynolds.
HOLMES: Reynolds, did you see the end of the era last night on TV?
WOLF: Like you, I have to sleep. So all I've seen is basically the stuff you're showing this morning.
But I have to tell you, it's heartfelt to see the guy leave. I know he's staying at the same network and still be showing Monday through Friday, but, yes, a lump in the throat.
HOLMES: Well, we were about to say all that to the viewers in this next script, but you already told us about it. We thank you. so let's just roll the footage.
NGUYEN: Roll the video.
HOLMES: Roll that beautiful bean (ph) footage.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LENO: Do you realize when I started this show, my hair was black and the president was white. Did you know that?
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: People ask me, oh, what are you going to do after the last show? Are you going to go on vacation?
Actually I'm going to be going to a secluded spot where no one can find me, NBC prime time.
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: When you look back at 17 years, you realize how much we've all gone through. Since I first sat here, we've had four U.S. presidents, two of them Bill Clinton and George Bush. Thank you very much for that. Thank you! Oh, thank you for those two!
(LAUGHTER)
LENO: We survived earthquakes, fires, floods. We've been through two wars. We witnessed a tragedy, of course, September 11th.
One of the most important things Johnny Carson ever taught me no matter what happens in the world, you always have to have a monologue ready to go, because that's your job. When times are serious, you make silly jokes. When times are silly, you make serious jokes. But you always want to have the jokes.
And that's what we've been trying to do the last 17 years to make you laugh, and it's been an honor and privilege to do that.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Ah, just so great watching him, too.
You know it's not going to be the same, but Conan O'Brien has some pretty big shoes to fill when he starts on Monday, right?
HOLMES: On Monday. He's different.
And, Reynolds, we had an iReporter earlier saying that Conan was more so for the fellas, like a lot of women -- or she felt at least that he wasn't really female friendly.
WOLF: Absolutely. And mustache dude, we still have no idea what he was saying. He expressed himself in the form of song, which is always an appropriate thing to do, by the way.
NGUYEN: That's one of my favorite parts of his show.
WOLF: Yes.
NGUYEN: It will be a different show, no doubt, but it will be a good one.
The big question is, what will Leno do now in prime time? He's going to be up against a lot of competition. And we'll see how he fares.
But 17 years, took over for Johnny Carson back in 1992. Wow. A lot of history there.
WOLF: There you go.
HOLMES: We'll move on and talk about the president, he'll have his job for a few more years that we know of.
The stimulus plan reached 100-day mark this week. So we are asking the question, are you better off now than you were 100 days ago? You'll hear what an Obama economic adviser has to say about that.
NGUYEN: And check this out.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: Yes. Didn't see it coming. And sometimes, you know, Mother Nature needs a helping hand.
Fortunately for these turtles, a CNN hero was able to come to the rescue.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we know, a new spelling bee champion was crowned this week, the national spelling bee. We'll have her on in just a little bit.
But we talked to you earlier. I didn't realize you were in a spelling bee.
NGUYEN: Third grade, OK? That was a long time ago.
HOLMES: And you lost on the word ...
NGUYEN: "Helicopter." I got a little nervous and choked.
HOLMES: Any kid watching right now knows that the word "helicopter" does not start with the letter "i."
NGUYEN: I told you I choked. I got nervous. I meant to say, "I need it in the form of a sentence."
HOLMES: OK, we will give you a chance to redeem yourself. We have a word here.
NGUYEN: Can you give me "helicopter" again, please?
HOLMES: If you can spell it. Now, don't cheat. You'll probably cheat. But your word is "menhir."
NGUYEN: "Menhir"? I'm waiting for it to pop up on the screen.
HOLMES: "Menhir." It's a single, upright, rough monolith, usually of prehistoric origin, "Menhir."
NGUYEN: "M."
HOLMES: OK, so far so good.
NGUYEN: "E-N-H-I-R."
HOLMES: You're cheating.
NGUYEN: I cheated. I saw the screen.
HOLMES: But that is one of the words that the kids have to spell. We have another one here. I don't know if we need to put you through this. But they had to spell this one. I think it's "skeetsoppin."
NGUYEN: I use that every day.
HOLMES: Yes, we do. It was in one of the scripts, I think -- characterized by slender build and slight muscular development. Those are just two of the words that the kids had to spell.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine? Look at that, to try to spell that. And I love the technique of the spelling bee champion, because she would spell it out on her hand.
And, you know, hey, maybe if I had that technique when I was in third grade, I wouldn't have missed helicopter. HOLMES: An "I"?
NGUYEN: I know, an "I."
In less than 30 minutes we'll have the reigning spelling bee champ. We'll get pointers from her. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right, you have to check out this story, an unsung hero helping a group with no voice. Both are now making their impact on the community loud and clear, though, with an eye toward the future for all of this.
Let me introduce you to one of our CNN heroes.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUZAN LAKHAN BATISTE: In Trinidad people have been hunted turtles for primarily their meat. Twenty years ago the beach was heavily laden with rotten turtles. The stench of the beach down there was terrible.
I felt that was wrong, and I said, you know, we need to do something.
I am Suzan Lakhan Batiste. My goal is to protect endangered leatherback turtles.
I actually came out here nightly to patrolled the beach. There would be people with machetes waiting for the turtles to nest. I was very vigilant and I would tell people this is a protected species.
Today it's so much better.
You want to come and touch the turtle?
Now we are creating a sustainable livelihood through eco-tourists using these very turtles.
The passion that I feel, it burns me up. And I have seen the fruits of our labor. And it can happen in every community.
This is a leatherback turtle that we'll be viewing. The leatherback is one of the largest of the seven marine species.
Our goal is to make this a model for other countries. When I got started, a lot of people thought I was crazy. But I love being crazy, you know, totally environmentally crazy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: She loves being crazy for a good cause.
Well, if you know someone doing something so extraordinary that they deserve to be a CNN hero, go to our Web site and tell us their story. Remember, all of our CNN heroes are chosen from people you nominate at CNN.com/heroes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And a live look there of the White House this morning on a beautiful Washington, D.C., morning.
The president, meanwhile, earlier this week laying out his $787 billion stimulus package as a success. He was vowing that it would deliver jobs, the promise he made about 100 days ago.
This week, a progress report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: In these last few months, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has saved or created nearly 150,000 jobs. They're the jobs of teachers and police officers and nurses who have not been laid off as a consequence of this recovery act.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, not so fast on some of the numbers, at least according to "The New York Times." It says the administration overstated stimulus spending by almost a third.
And it points to the government Web site, recovery.gov as proof, saying an adjustment was posted on it to reflect the correction.
Now, those are a lot of questions people have about this recovery act. I had some questions as well, put them to vice president Joe Biden's top economic adviser, Jared Bernstein.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, sir, the word is that 150,000 jobs have been saved or created in the first 100 days since that stimulus bill was signed. So, is that a success? Are you where you thought you should be? Are you a little disappointed in those numbers?
JARED BERNSTEIN, ECONOMIC ADVISOR TO VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN: Well, those numbers are about what we expected. We think the recovery act, the stimulus bill, is unfolding according to plan.
Now, I want to be clear, T.J. ...
HOLMES: OK.
BERNSTEIN: ...we are far from out of the woods.
HOLMES: Yes.
BERNSTEIN: And as this plan ramps up, you will see many more jobs saved or created. We expected the second 100 days to create or save 600,000 more jobs.
HOLMES: And help Americans understand this. When you say 150,000 -- let's talk about the jobs saved or created. So when you say 150,000 saved or created, how many of those are you all saying were saved, how many of those are new jobs created? Do you have that kind of a breakdown?
BERNSTEIN: I -- I -- we don't have that kind of a breakdown.
To understand this, I think you have to get this notion of what we call a baseline or a benchmark. That is, we have an estimate of where we think job growth would have gone in the absence of this recovery plan.
Unemployment would have been higher. Job loss would have been deeper. And we know that gap between what we expect and what we got, and that's where we get our estimates of 150,000 jobs saved or created over the first 100 days, 60,000 over the second, and 3.5 million saved or created by the end of next year.
HOLMES: All right, I guess that's where I'm -- I'm trying to my best ...
BERNSTEIN: If you like, T.J., I will give you a CNN exclusive on a new analogy.
HOLMES: We will take it, all right.
BERNSTEIN: This is the way I think of this. In my backyard there's a big magnolia tree.
HOLMES: All right.
BERNSTEIN: At this time of the year, this tree jus dumps big, fat, heavy leaves on the lawn.
HOLMES: OK, this better be good.
BERNSTEIN: So I go out there, and I'm raking them and raking them. I'm picking up all the leaves. And while I'm raking up those leaves, new leaves are falling.
HOLMES: All right.
BERNSTEIN: In the absence of my raking, there would have been a lot more leaves. It's the same thing on the jobs front.
HOLMES: So that's the analogy you want to give to the American people on the recovery, you in the backyard raking leaves?
BERNSTEIN: I hope it helps folks understand what we're talking about.
HOLMES: OK.
Well, you say we're still on pace here. How much of the $787 billion has actually gone out? I know some of it has been designated and allocated, but how much actually has gone out?
BERNSTEIN: About $115 billion has been allocated or obligated. About $30 plus billion has been spent out.
Let me explain the difference there.
HOLMES: OK. Yes, we know the difference. It doesn't sound like a lot. If you tell Americans 100 days afterwards, and we were told that expediency was the issue here, we had to get this money out. And out of $787 billion, $30 billion out doesn't sound like a whole lot.
BERNSTEIN: I have to disagree with you, T.J., because I think distinction you are making between obligated and spent out is somewhat artificial.
HOLMES: OK.
BERNSTEIN: When that money is obligated, it's as if a contract were signed. And economic activity begins at obligation.
HOLMES: And there was an analysis done by a committee over in the House, and I know you're familiar with it, saying that only about 7,700 jobs had actually been created by the stimulus package, jobs at least in infrastructure, which was supposed to be such a big part of it.
Do you refute those numbers?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, you will get his answer coming up. He does not use another leaf-raking ...
NGUYEN: Raking of the leaves analogy?
HOLMES: ...analogy. But you have to join us. We'll let you hear that next hour, the second part of my interview with him. Again, nothing to do with raking leaves here. Part two of the conversation with Jared Bernstein, the top economic adviser to Vice President Joe Biden, again, coming up next hour.
NGUYEN: Meantime, though, the Beatles, Tina Turner, the Righteous Brothers, the Drifters, all of those great entertainers can thank producer Phil Spector for their biggest hits. But now it appears the legend will end his career in prison.
HOLMES: Also, we've been hearing covering the story about Phil Spector. A lot of people remember he is responsible for so many hits.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And that was just the Beatles "Let It Be."
HOLMES: We're showing you a video now of a duo here. You see President Clinton and there and President Bush. A rarity in the political world, two presidents were on the stage. This time they have more praise than bipartisan bickering for each other.
NGUYEN: And she definitely has a way with words, and letters, to be exact. We're going to talk with the reigning "Queen Bee."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello. Welcome back, everybody. You are in the CNN NEWSROOM. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.
Here now a look at some of the stories we're following this morning.
Opel, do you know that name? Well, that's General Motors in Europe, essentially, and it is being rescued, with talks stretching into the morning. A Canadian auto parts supplier reached an agreement to buy a 20 percent stake in Opel, and a Russian bank will own 35 percent of it.
General Motors will keep a 35 percent share. Employees will hold on to 10 percent.
That's a lot of numbers and a lot of stuff there. Essentially what you need to know is G.M., which is probably going to file for bankruptcy on Monday, has gotten rid of a piece of its business, which should help it out in this whole restructuring.
NGUYEN: In other news, a tidbit we need to tell you about today. It's pretty important, too. Pakistan's military says government forces have taken back the city of Mingora from the Taliban. Mingora is the largest city in the Swat valley in northwest Pakistan.
More than 2 million people have fled during a month of fighting between government troops and Taliban forces in that region.
HOLMES: Well, 19 years to life. That is the sentence a California judge handed down for legendary record producer Phil Spector.
The 69-year-old was found guilty last month for the murder of actress Lana Clarkson. She was found dead in his home six years ago. The judge gave Spector the maximum sentence.
Spector made his name in the '60s with his revolutionary recording practices and was responsible for a number of hits. He will be eligible for parole when he is 88 years old.
NGUYEN: Well, President Obama is defending his Supreme Court nominee, federal appeals court judge Sonia Sotomayor. The president tapped Sotomayor Tuesday as his choice to replace retiring Justice David Souter.
Now, in his weekly radio address, this morning the president called Sotomayor an excellent choice, and he cited her 17 years on the federal bench as one of the reasons for her nomination.
The president also rejected Republican critics who say Sotomayor would bring a leftist agenda to the high court.
HOLMES: Something to tell you this morning. We know that former President Clinton and George, the father, Bush, or H.W. Bush, formed a special relationship over the past couple years since they left the White House in.
NGUYEN: True.
HOLMES: But now President Clinton and the son, Bush 43.
NGUYEN: "W."
HOLMES: "W," may be forging a bit of a relationship as well. They made an appearance onstage, the same stage, sitting next to each other yesterday in Toronto.
Now, they weren't there to really exchange partisan barbs, necessarily. But they were there to discuss some real world issues. It was a friendly tone.
It was closed to the press, or we would be showing you pictures right now.
They did disagree on Bush's handling of Iraq and Afghanistan, of course. But the two still made a few jokes, and, of course, joked that Clinton hangs out with the dad.
NGUYEN: Yes. So George W. Bush said Clinton's like a brother, right?
HOLMES: Yes, of course. Just like a brother.
There was a crowd of a few hundred protesters there as well. A high price to get the tickets to get in.
NGUYEN: Imagine, yes, to see those two together.
HOLMES: And "The New York Times" reporting that each of the men was paid $150,000 for this one appearance.
NGUYEN: One appearance, wow.
All right. Well, Britain's Prince Harry, well, he has earned a bit of a reputation for being, well, a partier. But his first official visit to New York could help him shed that image.
CNN's Erica Hill has been following his travels.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ERICA HILL CNN CORRESPONDENT: For all his troubles liberally splashed across the world's tabloids, the Prince Harry who arrived Friday in New York is a much different young royal.
His first stop on this two-day visit, ground zero, where the prince met with families who lost loved ones on 9/11, including Paula Berry, who lost her husband, the father of her three sons.
PAULA BERRY, 9/11 WIDOW: Personally, I was just struck by meeting someone who also had lost a parent. I mean, it was very personal. And I think he identifies with these boys, who were quite young at the time.
PRINCE HARRY, UNITED KINGDOM: What I said to the families is very personal between me and them. So I think we'll keep it that way.
HILL: From ground zero, he crossed the street to a firehouse, which lost six of their own that day.
From there, the 24-year-old made his way to the British memorial garden and planted a magnolia tree.
PRINCE HARRY: It is a great privilege for me to be here today, in this beautiful garden, right in the heart of New York City. My family is so proud to be so closely associated with it, and the memory of the 67 British people who died here on September the 11th, 2001.
Thank you.
HILL: There were some lighter moments.
PRINCE HARRY: What are you doing here?
HILL: Fans snapping pictures at each official stop.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This was not chosen by accident. Nothing in their lives ever is. This will not be the party prince we see. This will be the prince for good times and good works.
HILL: Those party days, including this Nazi costume chosen for a friend's dress up party, well-documented nights on the town, and faux pas, like telling one friend a Paki, another a Rag-head, now making way for this new, more serious Prince Harry, taking his turn as a diplomat.
Currently training as an army pilot, this Afghanistan vet also spent time privately with fellow veterans. On Saturday, the prince heads uptown to the Harlem Children's Zone, drawing unmistakable comparisons to his mother, the late Princess Diana.
Later in the day, he'll suit up for a polo match to raise money for charity, and will then head home, without any chance for the missteps that brought the press in the past.
Erica Hill, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, Prince Harry is the third in line for the British crown. And his birthday? September 15th, 1984. Giving you a little history about him right now, he was just 12 when his mom, Princess Diana, was killed in that infamous car crash.
Prince Harry is trained as a tank commander in the British army. And last year he secretly fought against the Taliban in Afghanistan. But after some news organizations broke the story, officials pulled him out early for safety reasons.
All right, so let's get to this, shall we? T.J. quizzed me a little bit earlier, and we'll be talking with the spelling bee champ shortly.
But in the meantime we'll see how each of us would do.
HOLMES: This is an actual word from the spelling bee.
NGUYEN: An actual word from the spelling bee. Don't look, OK? And it's pronounce "Maecenas." It's a noun. And do you want a definition?
HOLMES: Yes, please.
NGUYEN: The definition is "A generous patron or supporter, especially of art, music, or literature." And don't look at the screen.
HOLMES: It's a noun?
NGUYEN: It's a noun.
HOLMES: Can I use a lifeline? Can I call my mama?
NGUYEN: I can give you a hint. It's not spelled like it sounds.
HOLMES: Maecenas?
NGUYEN: It's not spelled like it sounds.
HOLMES: M-a-c ...
NGUYEN: Almost there.
HOLMES: U-s?
NGUYEN: A-s.
NGUYEN: You were really close. You did so well.
HOLMES: OK, but the kids actually spelled all these words.
NGUYEN: Spell them correctly, unlike us.
HOLMES: In a couple minutes, I believe she is standing by right now for us. But after the commercial break we'll be talking to the spelling bee champ.
NGUYEN: The "Queen Bee." There she is.
HOLMES: There she is, give a wave this morning. Hello there. We're going to talk to her about her big win, and maybe quiz her a little bit. But she's probably quizzed out by now.
NGUYEN: Yes, she's done. HOLMES: She's coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: OK. "Laodicean" is the word. Can you spell that? We don't have to spell this one.
NGUYEN: I know someone who can.
HOLMES: We know someone who can. Let's listen to her spell it now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHIVASHANKAR: "Laodicean." Can I please have the definition?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Lukewarm or indifferent in religion or politics.
SHIVASHANKAR: Laodicean. L-a-o-d-i-c-e-a-n, laodicean.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We have a champion.
(APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: She spelled it. I couldn't even pronounce it.
NGUYEN: Exactly, wow.
HOLMES: "Laodicean."
NGUYEN: Kavya Shivashankar is her name. Try spelling that. And you know what, that is good practice, because, let me tell you, you've been in this thing for, what, four years now, and this year, your last year, you ended up winning.
Did you know going in that this was going to be your year?
KAVYA SHIVASHANKAR, 2009 SCRIPPS SPELLING BEE CHAMPION: Well, you can never assume that one person's going to win, or that you can win. There's so many surprises in the bee, and it's impossible to know every word.
So, I was just hoping to get words I was either familiar with or that I could figure out by asking questions. And I think I was pretty lucky this time. Even though I got a word I didn't know, I was able to figure it out.
NGUYEN: I don't know if it was luck, though.
HOLMES: Wait, you're telling me when you heard that last word, you think -- the first thing that went through your head was a little bit of panic, because you didn't know the word?
SHIVASHANKAR: Oh, no, I did know my last word. But I think one of the word in the ESPN round four I didn't know my word ...
HOLMES: Wow.
SHIVASHANKAR: ... and I had to figure it out, so ...
NGUYEN: You know what I think is so cool about you is the fact that you actually spell the words out on your hand. That's a really neat technique. Talk to us a little bit about how you study for this and how you came up with that technique?
SHIVASHANKAR: Well, I just finger a word on my palm, because it helps me visualize the word and make sure that all the information fits and that I have the word straight before I spell it.
HOLMES: And Betty was kind of asking about this as well. And a lot of people we don't realize. We watch this spelling bee every year, but what do you all get as far as study guides?
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Do they give you all a book full of words, or how does it work?
NGUYEN: The encyclopedia, the dictionary? How do you study?
SHIVASHANKAR: First of all, there are a couple lists that the Scripps gives. There is a list called the "spell it" every year, and there's a consolidated board list, which is like the basic list, and I study those.
My dad's my coach, and he really helped me out. There was no way I could have done this without him.
HOLMES: Ah.
SHIVASHANKAR: But he would sit down. He would help me, and we would focus a lot on roots. We don't memorize these words, and so I learned a lot of roots. And that helped me out especially with a word I didn't know. It was "ergagia" (ph).
HOLMES: Yes, of course.
NGUYEN: We use that word all the time around here.
(LAUGHTER)
SHIVASHANKAR: And I could figure out the root word, and I was able to get it that way. And that's my technique. I focus a lot on roots and not memorization.
HOLMES: Wow.
SHIVASHANKAR: And -- and using a lot of other information, like the language of origin helps me.
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this. How many hours a day do you study for a spelling bee?
SHIVASHANKAR: I try to do it daily, but there's no specific amount of time I do this, because I have so much homework in eighth grade, and I -- I have extracurricular activities, such as violin, dance, and other stuff. So I just have to find time to do this.
NGUYEN: You do it all, it seems.
HOLMES: We have to let you go. But give us one little -- did you see some kid or something happened during the spelling bee, maybe, we didn't see it as viewers that, I don't know, some kid did something weird, some little behind-the-scenes something about this spelling bee you can give us?
SHIVASHANKAR: Well, I think what a lot of people might not know is that everyone has such great camaraderie ...
HOLMES: Oh.
SHIVASHANKAR: ...and there's so much -- and there's great sportsmanship, and everyone's congratulating each other and wishing each other good luck, even though we're competitors, because we know the only thing that can get us out is the dictionary, and that's our greatest foe.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: A really fascinating young lady right here. And I know you want to be a neurosurgeon. Maybe our Dr. Sanjay Gupta can give you a call and give you some pointers on that.
But you got a little sister. Do you think she's going to follow in your footstep?
SHIVASHANKAR: I hope so. She's pretty interested. And she's in second grade right now, so we'll have to see how it goes.
NGUYEN: Well, between you and, you know, your father, she's got some pretty good trainers if she wanted to do that.
Well, thanks for joining us today, and congratulations.
SHIVASHANKAR: Oh, thank you. And thank you for having me.
NGUYEN: Oh, absolutely. What a joy.
HOLMES: What a great kid.
NGUYEN: I know.
HOLMES: All right. That was great. Glad we could get her on this morning. But like you said, Kavya Shivashankar. Did I get it right?
NGUYEN: Yes. HOLMES: But up next, we'll talk about Wi-Fi, I think, why there's great news for travelers who just have to stay connected even when they're on a flight.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Many airlines are now offering in-flight Wi-Fi. But before you go surfing the web, there are some things do you want to keep in mind.
HOLMES: Here now, our Richelle Carey in this week's "On the Go."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN ANCHOR: In-flight Wi-Fi access comes at a price.
CHRIS MCGINNIS, TRAVELSKILLS.COM: You pay a $10 or $15 using a credit card and you get a high-speed connection to the Internet just like in your home or office.
CAREY: But there is some in-flight etiquette to follow that the airlines may enforce. Keep the volume of your earphones down and avoid watching anything offensive.
MCGINNIS: I would suggest buying something called a privacy filter. This works sort of like vertical blinds, so if you look at it from the side, you can't see what's on the screen.
CAREY: The filter also reduces the brightness of your screen so you won't disturb your fellow passengers at night. And choose your seat carefully during the day.
MCGINNIS: You want to avoid the glare of the sun, so this means sitting on the west-facing side of the plane for morning flights, or the east-facing side of the plane for the evening flights.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, 5.7 million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in December of 2007. That has forced a lot of people to acquire new skills, even reinvent themselves in this changing economy.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And that holds true for those in just about any profession.
I recently sat down with a well-known brother and sister team that has faced many challenges both onstage and off. Yet the Osmonds have seemed to find a way to stay on top.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN (on camera): Both of you have been at this for decades. I mean ...
DONNY OSMOND: Rub it in, Betty, rub it in, Betty.
MARIE OSMOND: Thanks so much. Goodbye.
NGUYEN: But you're still going strong. What's the key to staying-power?
DONNY OSMOND: Vitamins? I don't know. Just tenacity, I guess, just keep persevering and believing in yourself, because there are a lot of people out there that will throw darts and say you can't, you can't, you can't, until you can. And they say, oh, we told you could. I love that.
NGUYEN (voice-over): It's been nearly 30 years since the Osmonds last performed in Vegas, and now they're back onstage at the Flamingo.
DONNY OSMOND: I think it's refreshing for the audience to see how much energy we put out onstage as well.
NGUYEN (on camera): Speaking of energy, I hear there is a dance- off in the show. What is that all about?
DONNY OSMOND: We play off the fact that Marie was on "Dancing with the Stars" and that she thinks she's a better dancer than I am. She's not.
NGUYEN: Are you sure?
DONNY OSMOND: Yes. She's not.
NGUYEN: Marie's in heels, let's not forget that.
DONNY OSMOND: Whatever.
MARIE OSMOND: Thank you. When a man can wear five-inch heels and kick his leg over his head, do 15 spins to a death drop, then we'll call it even.
DONNY OSMOND: You haven't seen me do that?
MARIE OSMOND: And splits.
DONNY OSMOND: I've done that.
NGUYEN (voice-over): No doubt this brother-and-sister team has done a lot.
But it hasn't always been easy growing up in show business.
It's also documented that you struggled with bulimia. Is it true, though, that the producers of the "Donnie and Marie Show" kind of aided in that?
MARIE OSMOND: There isn't anybody in show business that doesn't struggle with image issues. And, you know, at that particular time it was short-lived.
But, yes, I was what, 15 or 16, and I was taken out into parking lots and told that -- I'm about 120 pounds now, I was 110 at the time and they said I was fat and an embarrassment to my family. And, you know, if I didn't drop 10 to 15 pounds, the show would be canceled.
I don't know if you knew all this ...
DONNY OSMOND: Yes, I did.
MARIE OSMOND: ...that it was going on.
DONNY OSMOND: Not at the time. Not at the time.
NGUYEN: The single mother of eight is also speaking out about another topic. Here's what she told "Entertainment Tonight" about her daughter Jessica.
MARIE OSMOND: So what if she's gay? She's an amazing woman. She's a good kid.
NGUYEN: She even addressed gay marriage with KOST Radio in Los Angeles.
MARIE OSMOND: I think everybody should have a right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. On those types of things I'm very supportive.
When it comes to marriage, I think that civil rights need to be for all.
NGUYEN: But when I asked this question, this was her response.
NGUYEN (on camera): Give me a little clarification on this. When it comes to the latest reports about gay marriage and that you've come out in support of that, is that true?
MARIE OSMOND: You know, I've made my statements. My daughter's 21, and I don't answer for her. And so let's not make this tabloid, you know. I've made my statements, and I ...
NGUYEN: That you support equal rights.
MARIE OSMOND: Yes, civil rights.
NGUYEN (voice-over): While the Osmonds would rather not jump into the debate, it is clear that after 45 years in the spotlight, they have seen society change.
MARIE OSMOND: We grew up in a different era. Even though we were very young when we started, we worked with the Groucho Marx and Lucille Balls and the Sammy Davis Jrs.
NGUYEN (on camera): Have you felt you had to, in a sense, reinvent yourselves in a way, to keep the people coming, to keep those seats filled? OSMOND: Well, doesn't everybody in show business have to reinvent themselves sooner or later? Otherwise the public gets a little bored.
But the challenge that we had is you don't want to reinvent yourself too much, because that's what people come to see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I must say, catching up with those two, interesting, to say the least.
But the real reason I was in Vegas was to talk about the housing market. As you know, Vegas has been one of the cities that has just been hardest hit by this recession. It's the worst housing market in the nation, at least one of them.
And next week I'm going to show you that there are actually having what's called a foreclosure safari. So, they take people on these runs through neighborhoods, and we found a home going for $25,000. Can you believe it? That was the asking price.
So, if you got cash, you might be able to get it for even less.
HOLMES: That's coming up next week. We'll look forward to it.
Meanwhile, we'll be back, a quick break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, as we've been reporting, Prince Harry is in the U.S. on his first trip to the U.S., official visit he's making here.
One of the stops he's going to be making today is at Harlem's children's zone.
NGUYEN: Yes. It's an organization focusing on educating disadvantaged children. And we're going to take a look at that.
HOLMES: Yes, CNN's Soledad O'Brien. He has been researching it for our second "Black in America" special, scheduled to air this summer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SOLEDAD O'BRIEN, CNN SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Betty, hey T.J.
Educators and social scientists, as you know, have been trying for years to close the racial achievement gap. And they've done it really not with a whole lot of success.
But there's a program in Harlem, New York, where they are showing some signs of real progress. And it's really all because of a guy who refuses to give up.
O'BRIEN: The children at this Harlem preschool are learning all the skills they'll need to be successful in kindergarten, reversing a trend so common in poor communities.
GEOFFREY CANADA, FOUNDER, HARLEM CHILDREN'S ZONE: Poor children gain language about half the rate of middle-class kids. By the time they enter kindergarten, they're already thousands of words behind their peers.
O'BRIEN: Geoffrey Canada grew up one of those poor kids in the South Bronx. Now he's on a mission to level the academic playing field for children in Harlem.
CANADA: We think part of the problem in poor communities is we come up with a great program, and it works with kids for two years. Guess what? That's not going to be sufficient.
O'BRIEN: So Canada created the Harlem Children's Zone, where kids are surrounded with a series of programs, including baby classes, preschool, charter schools, afterschool programs, and tutoring for college students.
CANADA: What are you learning about?
O'BRIEN: It was hands-on learning when we visited the promise academy charter school in the Harlem Children's Zone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So these are our fourth graders.
O'BRIEN: These fourth graders have been in the zone's pipeline since birth.
CANADA: This particular class is the smartest class, not only at Promise Academy, but probably in all of New York state. You are --
O'BRIEN: And he's got the numbers to prove it -- Math and English scores that beat the city and state averages, and a Harvard study that concludes these students have closed the black/white achievement gap.
OBAMA: When I'm president of the United States of America, the first part of my plan to combat urban poverty will be to replicate the Harlem Children's Zone in 20 cities across the country.
O'BRIEN: Canada says creating one program on the same scale of the Harlem's children's zone will take at least $35 million, a tall order, during a tough economy.
CANADA: We think if you look at what the cost is not to do this well, you know, these same communities, it's, you know, emergency room, it's special-ed, it's jails and incarceration. It just doesn't add up.
O'BRIEN: You can frontend it or backend it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's exactly right. You'll pay one way or the other. At least you end up with people that give you back more money than you've ever paid them. O'BRIEN: Now, President Obama has asked for $10 million in the 2010 budget for what he calls the promise neighborhoods, which would be roughly modeled after the Harlem Children's Zone. Canada says 60 percent of his funding comes from private sources, mostly Wall Street.
And because there have been big economic problems with Wall Street, he's seen a drop in those funds. He says so far, he hasn't had to cut any programs for the kids, but he has had to let go some of his staff -- Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
