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Tea Party Rolls into Nevada; Insurance Denied for Baby; Papal Cover-Up?; New Energy, New Jobs; Coffee Party Gathers in D.C.
Aired March 27, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hello there everybody, from the CNN Center you are now in the CNN NEWSROOM for this Saturday, March 27th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
ALINA CHO, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everybody. I'm Alina Cho. 11:00 a.m. in the East, 8:00 a.m. on the West Coast. Thanks so much for joining us.
HOLMES: Well, some political payback. That's what thousands Tea Party activists are searching for in Searchlight, Nevada. That is the hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The Tea Party -- the Tea Party folks are calling on voters to defeat Reid and other Democrats in November for their role in passing health care reform.
Today's rally headlined by Sarah Palin, just the first of many protests planned across the country.
Our Ed Henry is out there in Searchlight, Nevada. He is checking out this story for us. We are going to join him here live coming up in just a moment.
Actually, I'm told, Ed can now hear me just fine. So Ed, I do believe we have you there. There he is. I'm not sure if I can hear him just yet but he can hear me.
We're going to get this thing worked out and we're going to get to him in just a moment, but a big day out there.
According to the Tea Party folks they are collecting some 10,000 folks to be in this city of less than a thousand. This is the hometown of the Senate Majority Leader. They're going to be out there protesting against him before they go out on a countrywide movement that's going to land them April 15th in Washington for a big rally.
So we'll get back to Ed Henry in just a moment.
CHO: That right, they'll get to 23 states before that April 15th rally in Washington, D.C.
Meanwhile, forget Tea. How about coffee? Another political movement, the Coffee Party USA is looking for ways to expand its reach. The grass roots group is holding its second get together today in Washington. It's really a brain storming session on how to create a national movement like the Tea party. The Coffee Party calls itself an independent group, not aligned with any political party, corporation, or lobbying network. Its goal: cooperation in government. The group says it will support leaders who work towards those positive solutions.
HOLMES: And President Obama is expected to sign the second part of health care reform next week. The so-called fixes bill -- it makes slight changes to the broader health care package the president signed into law Tuesday. The senate passed the measure on Thursday.
One of its major provisions has to do with student loans. It will shift government funding for student loans away from commercial banks to new education initiatives. Supporters say it will save billions of dollars by ending subsidies to banks that make federal student loans.
We've been talking to our viewers this morning. We want you to continue to send in some of your comments this morning. We've been asking you, some people want to repeal the bill like Republicans say but others would just like to take back some parts of it.
We want to know your opinion. You know where to reach us on Facebook, on my Twitter page as well. We're going to be reading some of your comments a little later in the hour.
CHO: Meanwhile, the health care debate hits home for a Texas couple and their baby who is just days old. Listen to this story. Houston Tracy was born with a congenital heart defect. Surgery was really his only hope. The trouble is that there was no insurance to help pay for it. The baby's parents don't have insurance for themselves but they do for their two other children.
The company, Blue Cross and Blue Shield, wouldn't cover the infant, saying his condition was pre-existing. Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KIM TRACY, MOTHER: My whole pregnancy was simple. It was easy. I had no complications. Every doctor visit was great. I had perfect sonograms and great little pictures and then he wasn't perfect.
DOUG TRACY, FATHER: They kept saying it's pre-existing. It's pre-existing but I don't know how it can be pre-existing on a baby that was just born.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHO: Well, after his surgery this week the baby we're happy to report is doing well. His parents say they don't know how they're going to pay for his medical care, though. Blue Cross and Blue Shield says it cannot comment on the family's situation.
President Obama said this week he made good on his campaign promise to reform health care but does his plan really do all that candidate Obama said it would? Checking the facts now, here's CNN's Josh Levs. (BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No matter where you stand in the political spectrum you probably agree that politicians should keep their campaign promises. And that is something we love about PolitiFact.com from the "St. Petersburg Times", which has the Obameter, checking the president's promises.
Now that he has signed health care legislation into law PolitiFact is ruling on whether he kept one of his campaign promises. It's one that can have a huge impact on how much health care costs all of us.
It involves a health care exchange. Here is what the president said about that in the new law.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Now what we're going to do is create exchanges all across the country where uninsured people, small businesses, they're going to be able to purchase affordable, quality insurance. They will be part of a big pool.
LEVS: So this new law calls for the creation of state-based health insurance exchanges. They're like these virtual marketplaces where people can buy health insurance ideally with some real, serious competition to keep those prices down.
But what's in this law is not exactly what the president promised. He said during the campaign that he would create a single national health insurance exchange. PolitiFact calls that a significant difference. They point out that many Democrats favored a national exchange saying the federal government could enforce uniform standards.
But state officials argue they're in the best position to implement these because most current health insurance regulation actually happens on the state level.
So on this one, PolitiFact rates it a compromise. And obviously that's how it often works, right, in politics. A candidate can make all sorts of promises but in the end it's a process with lawmakers. Now, candidates just don't usually give that caveat when they're making those promises on the stump.
We're hearing from you about this. Weigh in at my Facebook page JoshLevsCNN or on Twitter and let us know your thoughts.
I'm Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, like we mentioned at the top of the show, they are looking for a little payback out in Searchlight, Nevada today. That is the hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. This town has a population of about a thousand but according to the Tea Party folks, that's going to go up some tenfold today when they hit town.
Ed Henry has hit the town as well.
Ed, I see some folks gathering. But give us a good idea. Is it going to be as many as they say are going show up out there?
ED HENRY, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Well, it's hard to tell, T.J. You're right, I mean, if you look behind my shoulder here, there's probably maybe a thousand or so folks on this side that are in the crowd. On the other side what you can't see is that in the parking lot there are many more cars still coming in and so they say they'll have 10,000. We'll see.
The big question hanging over all of this is, you know, is this going to be a fringe movement? Is this going to be a real force to be reckoned with or not?
The Tea Party Express after this rally here, they're going to have Sarah Palin, they're going to have "Joe the Plumber", sort of a reprise of a 2008 campaign.
They're going to roll into Henderson, Nevada, which is -- sort of suburbs of Las Vegas. There is a big house race going on there with an incumbent Democrat, Dina Titus, who just voted for the health care reform bill. So they're going to try to make an impact there and then they're going to roll through 44 stops.
This is the 44th President obviously. Maybe there is no coincidence there. More than 20 states, they're going to wind up in Washington, D.C. on April 15th, tax day, to sort of make their statement about the government and a lot of signs behind me talking about runaway spending.
Some of the same issues, the beefs they've had with the stimulus package, with the health care reform package. They want to see whether or not they're going to have a real impact in some of those races along the way between now and November -- T.J.
HOLMES: And also, any idea where the senator, himself, the Majority Leader. Where is he today?
HENRY: You know, I spoke to Senator Reid's office yesterday. And they said he wasn't going to be here. He is in the state but he's doing some other senate business. It's funny they're calling this here the largest retirement party in the world. They obviously want to knock him out. He is up for re-election in November.
But there's kind of an interesting twist, because this is the first state where the Tea Party has gotten a candidate on the ballot in a senate race. Harry Reid already in trouble; his poll numbers have been around 40 percent in terms of a re-elect number, nowhere near 50 percent, deep, deep trouble for the Majority Leader.
But since the Tea Party candidate has gotten in, Harry Reid has done a little bit better and it's looking like maybe the Tea Party candidate will take away some votes from whoever the Republican nominee is. And so a three way race might actually be better for Harry Reid in the long run. And so that's one of the big questions for the Tea Party moving forward is will they start splintering the Republican vote or are they going to be a real force to be reckoned with -- T.J.
HOLMES: Now, wouldn't that be ironic. They actually help him out by having somebody on the ballot. We shall see. And like you said, Ed, he is otherwise occupied. Not going to be home today. Don't look for him there.
Ed thanks so much, buddy. We'll talk to you again soon.
HENRY: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: And the former governor of Alaska Sarah Palin is scheduled to kick off that Tea Party rally. She's going to have a speech around 3:00 p.m. Eastern time. We will bring that to you live.
CHO: Well, another political movement, the Coffee Party USA, is looking for ways to expand its reach. We'll have that story, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Long-time civil rights activist Dorothy Height is in serious but stable condition this morning. Height, who is in a couple of pictures here in the center of the screen, celebrated her 98th birthday earlier this week but is now being treated at Howard University Hospital in Washington for an undisclosed ailment.
Long-time friend of the Civil Rights Trail Blazer says they're optimistic about her recovery. But just last month Height participated in President Obama's race and economy summit at the White House.
CHO: Isn't it almost April? You know, we have winter storm warnings in the Rockies?
HOLMES: Well, the Rockies.
CHO: I guess.
HOLMES: I guess that's ok. Right?
CHO: We just got over a brutal winter in New York.
HOLMES: Yes.
CHO: I'm hoping the weather is warming up there today.
Reynolds Wolf has a look at all of that for us in the CNN Weather Center. Hey Reynolds. Good morning to you.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning. T.J., it's ok? I mean, if you're out there and you're sick of shoveling, man, it's not a good day. You're angry. And probably right now you're angry at T.J. Holmes.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness.
WOLF: I'm just Teasing. Easy, it's not that bad.
CHO: There you go, there you go.
WOLF: It's not that bad out there.
CHO: Yes.
WOLF: There are going to be some points out there, guys, where you're going to see the snow possibly go to a foot of snowfall in some places in the high mountain peaks. And you put a good sign on things. If you're a skier, it has been pure -- just incredible out there for you. And we're going to be seeing that snow continue through a good part of today then fizzling out by midday. You need to get a break.
The problem is, though, the other half of that system is going to be moving in to the plains bringing in something different. Right now it is snow from Castle Rock southward to, say Colorado Springs; temperatures there mainly in the 30s and into the 20s.
What we can expect is that storm system to really intensify later this afternoon, possibly bringing some strong storms to T.J.'s home State of Arkansas and possibly some rough stuff in Little Rock, maybe West Memphis, maybe even Pine Bluff, Arkansas before all is said and done. Strong thunderstorms and possibly some strong straight line winds, maybe even isolated tornado and small hail also.
And now, there's something else we're seeing this morning on the other side of the system, top half, there's a few thunderstorms from Lincoln southward to Hays, Kansas, a little bit of frozen precipitation south of Hays. But Kansas City, you see a few lines of showers coming through. You should get a break of an hour or so before the bulk of this all drifts off eastward bringing more rain your way.
Now, for the rest of the nation, what you can expect. Very dry conditions in the Eastern Seaboard. High pressure is going to keep you smiling in places like the nation's capital as far south as Atlanta, even into parts of Florida.
And then when you get out to the west, high pressure, same thing. Compressing effect on the atmosphere giving you sunny conditions for Fresno, California, Bakersfield same thing in the L.A. basin and into San Diego.
High temperatures -- we wrapped things up -- 70 degrees in Memphis your high; 64 in Atlanta; and 79 in Tampa; 47 in New York; 52 in Salt Lake City and 79 in Los Angeles. That is a wrap on the forecast. Back to you guys.
CHO: Seventy nine in L.A.
HOLMES: Not so bad.
CHO: Yes, that sounds good. HOLMES: You got it.
CHO: All right.
HOLMES: Thanks, Reynolds.
CHO: Thank you.
WOLF: Thanks guys.
CHO: You know, rarely does the Vatican lash out against the media but that is exactly what's happening for an alleged smear campaign against the Pope. The news comes just as the Catholic Church's sex scandal expands throughout Europe.
CNN's Diana Magnay is in Rome with the latest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DIANA MAGNAY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Smiles and waves from the Pope as he dressed young people in St. Peter's square ahead of World Youth Day this coming Sunday. His message to the young: not to fear the call to the priesthood, an important message for the Catholic congregation in difficult times.
(on camera): But the Vatican feels that it is under siege and not just from a deluge of sexual abuse allegations against priests but from what it sees as a sustained campaign of attack on the part of the media.
(voice-over): The Vatican newspaper wrote on Friday of a tendency in the media to ignore the facts and said that there was clearly an ignoble attempt to strike at Pope Benedict.
In a letter of support for Pope Benedict from France's bishops they wrote of a campaign to attack the Pope and said, "We all suffer from this disgraceful process and carry with you the pain you are suffering because of these slanders."
This week the Vatican strongly denied a "New York Times" report that alleged that the case of a U.S. priest who abused deaf children in the 1950s and '60s showed evidence of a cover-up on the part of the Vatican many years later. Victims say they believe the Pope could have done more and earlier when he was a Cardinal at the Vatican.
GIGI BUDZINSKI, ARTHUR BUDZINSKI'S INTERPRETER: Well, the Pope knew about this. He was the one who handled the sexual abuse cases. So I think he should be accountable.
MAGNAY: Vatican analysts say this kind of speculation has thrown the Vatican into its worst ever crisis.
MARCO POLITI, VATICAN ANALYST: There are people saying now after what has been written in the "New York Times" also the Pope is responsible of the cover-up or could be responsible of the cover-up. That's a great issue. And in a certain sense it's tragic for the Pope because Benedict XVI, since the moment of his election, has taken a very clear way of a strategy in fighting the abuse scandals.
MAGNAY: In a letter published Friday the Archbishop of Westminster in the U.K. listed what he called the important changes the Pope has made to church law on child abuse. He said Pope Benedict's actions speak as well as his words. The question is whether those actions speak loud enough to a doubtful public and to others who say they've lost faith in their own church.
Diana Magnay, CNN, Rome.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: What's bringing new jobs to Pennsylvania these days? The answer is blowing in the wind.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Here's a check now of your top stories this morning, South Korea is scouring the waters off its coast for 46 sailors still missing after a naval vessel sank Friday. It was choppy and chilly out in those waters, not making things a whole lot easier. 58 sailors were rescued after an explosion blasted a hole in the boat's hull as it patrolled near North Korean waters. Officials say there is no evidence of North Korea's involvement.
CHO: Strike two for President Obama in his search for someone to lead the TSA. Major General Robert Harding has withdrawn his name from consideration. Harding ran into some opposition over his former job as a defense contractor. He admitted his company over-billed the Defense Department back in 2004. The White House said it was disappointed by Harding's decision.
HOLMES: And NBA superstar Gilbert Arenas was sentenced to two years of probation in a felony gun case on Friday. The Washington Wizards guard will spend 30 days in a halfway house before serving 400 hours of community service. The judge said he believes at his core Arenas is a good, decent man.
We'll have another check of our top stories coming your way in about 20 minutes.
CHO: Vehicles at risk of catching fire. That's the reason behind a General Motors recall that's been issued for roughly 5,000 Chevy Express and GM Savana passenger and cargo vans built this year. Now GM suspects that a faulty alternator is at the root of the problem but points out there have been no accidents or injuries connected to either of the recalled models.
There are winds of change that could bring new life to a dying region. We're talking about the once mighty Rust Belt and the sorely needed jobs now being cultivated there by wind farming.
CNN's Joe Johns has more in this latest installment of "Building up America".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) JOE JOHNS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This used to be steel country U.S.A. with its towering pollution machines. But now, new jobs and the clean energy sector, putting people back to work, going green all at the same time.
The U.S. subsidiary of a company based in Spain, Gamesa U.S.A., is manufacturing enormous windmill blades at this Pennsylvania plant, shipping them all over the U.S.
Ron Sanders is the plant manager.
(on camera): How many of these do you guys make a week?
RON SANDERS, PLANT MANAGER, GAMESA, USA: We're moving back up to produce more at 11 blades per week.
JOHNS: And at your slowest point during the recession, how many were you putting out?
SANDERS: Just five per week.
JOHNS (voice-over): Sanders got a break from the recession by coming here to work. He used to work for an automotive supply plant that fell on hard times.
SANDERS: Well, I had been in automotive for almost 30 years. As the industry declined, I found myself having to leave the employer that I was working for at the time. So in December of '08, I left. And then in June 2009 I started here with Gamesa.
JOHNS (on camera): Two hundred thirty people work at this plant, 24 hours a day, five days a week. And building just one of these blades is a huge job. They can weigh 15,000 pounds, 45 meters long. It takes almost 24 hours to build just one.
(voice-over): And there are other people here who might have been out of work but for the appearance of these green jobs.
Ed Burnat had jobs at three different steel plants before it all dried up. He's grateful to be working here.
(on camera): So what's better? Steel working or this?
ED BURNAT, WIND TURBINE BUILDER: I don't want to say.
JOHNS: You go where the work is?
BURNAT: Sure, you have a family. You have to feed your family. You do what you have to do.
JOHNS (voice-over): It took about three months to figure out the new job and even less time to see one of the upsides.
BURNAT: Most of the guys that work here like the idea of it being green. We like the idea of this, cleaning our environment up. A lot of people here are, you know, like that idea. JOHNS: Creating green jobs is something the president talks a lot about, but to tell the truth, the U.S. lags behind Western Europe in windmill production and use. So in the end, the real job may be standing up the windmill industry in the U.S. so it can create more jobs, more energy, and compete in the global market.
Joe Johns, CNN, Evansburg, Pennsylvania.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Tea or coffee? Two brewing political parties are in full swing with some big names in attendance. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Welcome back.
Tea party activists are calling it the showdown in Searchlight; Searchlight, Nevada that is, that's the hometown of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Tea partiers are holding a rally there today calling on voters to defeat Reid and other Democrats in November for their role in passing health care reform.
The Tea Party Express will then travel across the country holding similar rallies in dozens of towns. The caravan's last stop is Washington, D.C. on tax day, April 15th. Now, today's rally in Searchlight kicks off at 3:00 p.m. Eastern time.
Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin is the headliner. She'll be the keynote speaker, so stay with CNN for live coverage of Palin's speech.
Well, from Tea parties to coffee clutches (ph), political activists are making some noise and CNN's deputy political director Paul Steinhauser is listening in to all of it.
So Paul, talk about these coffee parties for a moment. What's this all about?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes. It's a pretty new movement Alina. It started at the beginning of the year. It's is called Coffee Party USA. And I guess, you can maybe consider it a liberal or progressive alternative in the making to the Tea party movement.
This all started as a reaction to media coverage of the Coffee Party. It really started on Facebook. They're having gatherings again this weekend across the country. Here we had a CNN crew at a gathering here in Washington, D.C.
This is the second time they've done these gatherings across the country. This one this weekend is called coffee -- A National Coffee Summit. They have a lot in common with the Tea Party activists in that they don't think the Federal government is really working for average Americans, for regular citizens, but they differ in the solution. While the Tea Party, more conservative movement wants to downsize the Federal government, Coffee Party members, they want to work with the Federal government to fix it. Also, one thing they have in common, a lot of Tea Party activists and Coffee Party activists are pretty new to the movement.
Take a listen to one Coffee Party activist as we spoke to this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: When I was in college I was involved in some activist organizations, but in the last 20 years or so, no, if haven't been involved in any kind of political movements, and I think that the time is right especially with the 2008 presidential election.
There was a lot of energy, enthusiasm and the fact that we've got so many things that people disagree about. There's a lot of energy in this country and people have a lot of disagreements and I think we can harness that energy for good as long as we remain civil.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Again, the Coffee Party just a few months old. The Tea Party of course well over a year old. I think the verdict is still way out. It's too early to say if the Coffee Party is ever going to get to the size of the Tea Party.
CHO: Yes. That's the big question. Does this Coffee Party have any legs? You know, Paul, as you know, they say they're not affiliated with any political party, corporation, or lobby. But where do they stand on the big issue of health care reform?
STEINHAUSER: They seem to be on the other side of health care reform than the Tea Party activists, you just spoke to with Ed Henry out there in Nevada today. Coffee Party activists feel that this health care bill is OK. It's a start they say but doesn't go far enough.
Take a listen to another activist we spoke with.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm probably in the Dennis Kucinich camp where I'm thrilled. I'm somebody who is not only self-employed, who also has pre-existing conditions and would not be covered were it not for a family member being able to cover me. I'm thrilled with the -- some of the aspects of the bill.
I think that what they did was the best they could. My greatest fear right now is that it's going to be amended to death and it's going to be rescinded and I think that as we go forward I'm hoping that what the polls are showing we'll see among the population that says that we can, in fact, keep this somewhat intact and move it forward and that people will accept it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Well, the Coffee Party hopes that these meetings this weekend will lead to what they call coffee with Congress where activists, Coffee Party activists will meet with members of Congress and talk about legislation, like health care. So, we'll going to keep an eye on this, Alina.
CHO: I'm with the Dennis Kucinich camp. That's certainly not something you hear every day.
(LAUGHTER)
STEINHAUSER: You don't hear that everyday. No.
CHO: All right. Paul Steinhauser, thanks so much.
STEINHAUSER: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. We said, made a big hubbub about it, spring started, what day was it? I can't remember, what day it was. Last week sometime.
WOLF: Saturday.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Roughly 1:30 Eastern Time, spring officially began. But you know what? I think it was kind of like turning a giant ocean liner. You know, you can turn the wheel but it takes a while for itself boat to actually turn.
HOLMES: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Kind of like the seasons. You know, even though spring officially began, in the rear view mirror ...
CHO: All though here in the Rockies, there's good skiing, right?
WOLF: Yes, there's -- I'm telling you what, it's pretty nice, there's been a great season for places like steam boat for veil, for aspen. And still, there's no keeps coming down, you see right here on the maps guys, you get a lot of green, a lot of red which indicate your advisories, your warnings.
I expect the snow to begin to trying kind of phase out a little bit I guess by late afternoon, at least local time. But then when you go a little more to the east, it's not the snow but it's really the rain. You see this area of low pressure that is just setting up right about here and that low has got plenty of moisture to work with coming in from the Gulf of Mexico.
As it wraps around, you'll going to see some thunderstorms south of Omaha just due west of Kansas City and northern Kansas City at this hour and later on today, we can expect this for things to intensify not into the central plains but possibly into the mid Mississippi valley, including parts of Arkansas, even into parts of southern Missouri, maybe even northern Louisiana before all is said and done.
If you're in the southeast enjoy it today because this low is going to be driving between Alabama, back into parts of Georgia, even into the Carolinas, so storms, maybe even strong winds by tomorrow morning for parts of the southeast. Eastern seaboard pretty good for today. Out west basically the same deal.
We'll going to include the snow falling in the Rockies, pretty nice for you in Elco, Nevada and also in places like Salt Lake City and even into the Las Vegas where highs in Vegas are going up to about 67 degrees. That you're high for the day in this strip. And back over to places like Billings, 58 degrees, 65 in Seattle. Back to Kansas City 51 degrees, 64 degrees in Atlanta, 79 in Tampa, 80 in Miami, 47 in New York.
All right. There you go. Wrapping it up. This is the latest on your forecast. Let's send it back to you at the desk.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds. We appreciate it.
WOLF: Thank you guys.
CHO: All right. Reynolds, thank you.
You know you want to do something about climate change? Well, then hit your light switch in about nine hours from now.
CNN's Rosemary Church explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROSEMARY CHURCH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: It's a global call to action directed at every person, government, business, and community across the planet. The message? Lights off for one hour at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 27th.
Four thousand cities and towns in 88 countries plunge themselves into darkness this time last year. Lights out in Paris, Beijing, Rome, Sydney, Kuwait City, London, New York, and Egypt. A united planet for one hour across each time zone. Hundreds of millions of people going to black for one cause -- planet earth.
ED NORTON, ACTOR AND ACTIVISTS: It's a global call to unity and action on mitigating climate change, stopping climate change and committing to carbon caps.
CHURCH: But what does it actually achieve? Well, it's more about symbolism than conservation, highlighting the planet's future.
BAN KI-MOON, U.N. SECRETARY GENERAL: Earth hour is a way for the citizens of the world to send a clear message, they want action on climate change.
CHURCH: An initiative of the WWF, it started in 2007 when more than two million Sydney residents turned off all nonessential lights. The world followed Australia's lead with this year's event reportedly on track to become the largest earth hour ever, so will you be turning off your lights? Earth hour urges you go to its website and click on the light bulb to show your support.
Rosemary Church, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Though, in the morning, he was driving a cab. By nightfall he was in jail accused of links to Al-Qaeda. The story of another terror arrest on U.S. soil ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some of the stories making headlines now, a Chicago cab driver has been arrested and accused of trying to raise funds for Al- Qaeda.
He is described as a naturalized U.S. citizen from Pakistan. Prosecutors say, he tried to send money to an alleged terrorist with ties to Al-Qaeda. They also believe he plotted an attack on U.S. soil. But authorities stress, there is no imminent danger.
CHO: Iraq's Former Prime Minister is declaring victory for his coalition. Election results released on Friday show Ayad Allawi's bloc won 91 seats in the March 7th election, most parliament but his rival current Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is alleging voter fraud and is calling for a recount. Allawi still faces a tough challenge as he tries to put together a coalition government.
HOLMES: The British Airways says, so far so good despite a second consecutive strike by cabin crews. The airline says, enough staff has crossed the picket lines and it's able to fly, move 75 percent of customers scheduled to travel during the strike. The airline and the union representing crew members have had a long dispute over pay and work practices.
CHO: Well, on the road to the final four, by the end of tonight, we will know two of the four teams in college basketball's final four. Now, listen carefully. Friday restored some sanity to March Madness. Just one upset. Michigan State made its case with a win over northern Iowa. Tennessee scored the lone upset of the night by knocking off Ohio State. Tonight number one seed Kentucky plays in the murky game against second seed West Virginia.
HOLMES: Well, in the middle of a bad economy, it's easy to throw in the towel and give up maybe on some of your dreams but Paul Delgado determined to fight, literally. He's a successful amateur boxer who has given up his other profession as an electrical engineer to turn his passion for the ring into a business.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL DELGADO, BOXER: My name is Paul Delgado. I got into boxing when I was 12 years old. My dad took me to a local boys club. I just fell in love with the sport. I saw a lot of little kids doing it. I was fighting a lot in school. My dad told me that boxing would be a good outlet for me. And I started off kind of rough.
I started off with two losses early in my career at 12 years old but I never quit and that's what boxing is still to me as an adult is a never quit attitude. I've always had good footwork, you know, we like to salsa and dance so we got good feet. I actually was one of the only college students that didn't have a room mate but instead I had a punching bag in my room. And I trained and got ready for the golden gloves to represent New England in my dorm room and won it both years.
Keep the hands up. Don't drop them.
I got my engineering degree. I did that for about five years early on in my career and it was difficult.
Duck, duck, duck. Here comes the hook. Get out of the way. Excellent. Good job. Roll.
I built a couple boxing programs around the city, actually two gyms, and I realized I was doing this for everyone else and just wasn't being rewarded for it and I was putting in long hours. I decided that it was time to do it for myself. My wife had lost her job. At the time I had left my job. And we just pretty much jumped in deep water so it was definitely scary.
We're missing somebody here.
I believe it's the economy here and the only way that we've been able to make it is because we kept our overhead real low. It's a family run business -- myself, my wife. I've got a couple of independent trainers that work for me as well.
Four, three, two. Good. There you go. Make sure you're pivoting on your toes.
My advice is jump out and do it. This is the right time. Do it. Find your passion and go after it. You know, this is the time. You know, small businesses can really come out of this tough economy that we're going in and really rise to the top. Good work. Good work. Good work, brothers.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: Great story. File this one under oops. You call ahead for a table at a restaurant not to rob a bank. It's a story you don't want to miss.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHO: Hello. Good morning.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, everybody.
HOLMES: I was waiting on you two. WHITFIELD: How are we doing?
HOLMES: You two usually get so excited when you see each other.
WHITFIELD: We got lots to catch up with.
HOLMES: You have your moments.
WHITFIELD: How are you? Really good to see you and hello, I just kind of skipped right over.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: How is everybody doing? Having a good morning?
CHO: Yes we have.
WHITFIELD: Good.
CHO: It's been nice.
WHITFIELD: Good.
CHO: So, do we have to talk business?
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Yes, I know.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: Afterwards we'll try to...
CHO: All right. OK, good.
WHITFIELD: But, first, for now let's talk about what's straight ahead in the noon eastern hour. What about marijuana being made available in the State of California? Not just for medicinal purposes but perhaps for recreation? Our legal guys Avery Friedman and Richard Herman will be along to talk about that possibility.
And everyone's sweetheart, America's sweetheart Sandra Bullock, well, you all know by now trouble in paradise. Well, when they were married and just prior to, she actually helped secure custody for Jesse James. So, now our legal guys will talk about what could potentially happen to that custody issue now that there is this kind of trouble in paradise.
And in our 2:00 Eastern hour, we'll talk about help for people on student loans as well as on keeping their homes. Our financial expert will be joining us to talk about how both Congress and the president have come up with plans to help you on both those matters.
CHO: Yes. The blogs are going crazy over that mortgage remodification plan. And, you know, some people are saying, why are we being punished for paying our bills on time? Then the other people say, no, listen. If your neighbors are facing foreclosure your value goes down.
WHITFIELD: Right. And if you lost your job and you can't pay your mortgage, a lot of folks are saying, this is the kind of help that they need to in order to keep their homestead.
CHO: OK. I'm glad you're going to explain it further. A lot of people are still confused about it.
WHITFIELD: We are and then you and I will talk later.
CHO: OK.
WHITFIELD: We got lots to talk about. See you later, T.J.
HOLMES: I know. You can have your moment. Because I hear that often. Everybody excited to have Alina here. We will see you in just a minute.
We know pizza, prescriptions, Chinese food, these are some of the things you can call ahead for.
CHO: Yes, right.
HOLMES: You're not necessarily supposed to call ahead if you're about to commit a crime, specifically, we're talking about a bank robbery here.
CHO: That's right. That's exactly what happened. Police in Fairfield, Connecticut say they have two would-be bank robbers behind bars. Listen to this. For allegedly trying to phone in an illicit bank withdrawal earlier this week. These are some smart guys. An incredulous detective explains just how the two suspects dialed up trouble.
Let's listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Called ahead to have them prepare the money and expected them I guess to turn it over to them. The bank employees were on the phone with 911 and kind of giving a blow by blow update as to what was happening so we were getting real time information as to what was going on. So, by the time he exited the bank, there were officers, a couple hundred feet away.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Nobody ever accuses criminals of being smart necessarily.
CHO: A couple Einstein here.
HOLMES: Absolutely. They caught the suspects at the alleged getaway car, one of the suspects already on probation from a previous bank heist, one that went a little better. Police described the second suspect as a juvenile. CHO: Finders keepers? Well, don't bank on it. Police are looking for a whole lot of spilled cash and the people who carried it off. Look at those photos that the money fell from an armored car. It happened in Whitehall, Ohio. It set off a frenzy, as you might imagine. Drivers stopped to scoop up bills. The bank held about $200,000. And half is still missing. Police are now saying come on, please, do the right thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. DAN KELSO, WHITEHALL, OHIO POLICE: Anybody that did take something and knew they shouldn't off and wanted to get it off their conscience and get in here and turn it in, that goes a long way.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Get it off their conscience. I'm sure someone is sleeping a little better, actually. Check this out here as well. About a dozen horses, they got out of their pens and you see what happened here. They're running through the streets, got through parking lots as well. This is in California. This is outside of San Diego. An interesting sight here. Look, Wild West, look at the poor guy down there trying something.
CHO: Usually when something like this happens in California, they end up in a pool or something.
HOLMES: Yes. You're absolutely right. This took about two hours to get them under control, with some guy was out there with just a piece of a fence.
CHO: There was a coyote on the loose in New York this week. It took them two days, 31 cops, two days to round him up. So, anyway, in Tennessee, by the way, it is canine versus cop car. Take a look at this video. Now, instead of taking a bite out of crime, mixed breed named Winston took a bite out of that police cruiser there. Look at this. That's some strong teeth. Winston managed to chew off the entire bumper. Wait for it. It's coming.
HOLMES: It's coming, already. What is that? It's amazing the dog was able to do that.
CHO: You know, Chattanooga police threw the pooch into a shelter. But today Winston, we're happy to report, is back with his family, but there is one condition. He has to take obedience classes.
HOLMES: He had to go before a judge as well. That wraps up our crazy animal block.
The value of your memories. When you're done with them, how much might they fetch? You may be surprised.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: When they slap you in the face with an absurd amount as 15 cents, then it becomes a matter of dignity. (END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, could you being lowballed through the mail? So, how much are your once prized possessions actually worth? Be careful who you ask.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You probably are seeing gold prices are near historic highs. A lot of people digging through the jewelry boxes right now, looking under the cushions, looking for some of those forgotten pieces of this precious metal.
CHO: Yes. They're trying to sell it. But if you're thinking about mailing in your Gold for Cash, listen up. You may be disappointed. Maybe even downright infuriated.
Cnnmoney.com's Poppy Harlow shows us why.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I could get cash for this gold medallion of me wearing a gold medallion.
POPPY HARLOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Their ads are pervasive. But some Cash4Gold customers say, they're getting a raw deal.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It is the principle. A golden opportunity to be fleeced.
HARLOW (on camera): There are a lot of people that are selling their gold right now. And there are some people that say they're getting ripped off. There is actually a class action lawsuit against Cash4Gold right now. They invited us down to their headquarters here in Florida. So, we came and we can't show you the outside of the building for security reasons, but we really wanted to come in and see exactly what was going on.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: I'll make sure that everything here is what I received.
HARLOW: The gold is tested.
UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: We just simply just scratch lightly.
HARLOW: Appraised.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We add it up.
HARLOW: An offer is made and customers have 12 days to decide whether or not to accept it.
UNIDENTIFIED MAN: And we'll get about 1800 degrees.
HARLOW: If they do, their gold is melted down. UNIDENTIFIED MAN: We melt constantly.
HARLOW: But consumer reports finds mailing companies including Cash4Gold sometimes pay out as little as 11 percent of the gold's value.
(on camera) I think some concerns are whether they're valid or not that maybe more gold is getting processed here that someone sent in than they're getting paid for.
JEFF ARONSON, CEO, CASH4GOLD: I know exactly what comes in is weighed up, is -- a value is assigned to it right from the computer. My people don't make more money off of it.
HARLOW (voice-over): Cash4Gold says, it pays 20 to 80 percent of the gold's value. But that's not what Frank Poindexter (ph) claims he got.
FRANK POINDEXTER: About a week and a half, I think, after I sent the package off to them with the gold in it, I received a check.
HARLOW (on camera): How much? How much was the check for?
POINDEXTER: I was astounded. It was for 15 cents.
HARLOW: Fifteen cents.
POINDEXTER: Fifteen cents.
HARLOW (voice-over): Fifteen cents for what he says was more than a dozen pieces of gold appraised at roughly 200 bucks. But Cash4Gold's internal documentation says, just this single gold earring was in Frank's package.
(on camera) Are you saying he lied to you?
POINDEXTER: I'm just showing the facts.
HARLOW (voice-over): In the end, Cash4Gold settled with Frank with $150.
(on camera) And you know, Frank Poindexter's not alone. He's joining that lawsuit against Cash4Gold which alleges among other things that the company sometimes melts down the gold before the 12- day return period has ended and sometimes blames the post office for losing items in the mail.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The quest action is merit less. There were three named complainants on the class action suit. Three.
HARLOW: Attorneys on the case won't say how much they're seeking in damages. But under a new federal law, all mail gold companies must now photograph every item they receive. But it is too late for Frank Poindexter. After numerous complaints about several companies, New York Democrat Anthony Weiner introduced the gold act, pushing for more stringent regulation of the industry on a national scale. REP. ANTHONY WEINER (D), NEW YORK: Basically, when you put that gold in that envelope, you're sending it off to the Wild West. There is no sense whether it is going to come back, whether you'll going to get your money's worth and whether you'll going to be protected at all.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When they slap you in the face with an absurd amount as 15 cents, then it becomes a matter of dignity.
ARONSON: There never has been a day since I started this company where I did something with a negative intention to hurt a consumer.
HARLOW: In Pompano Beach, Florida, Poppy Harlow reporting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHO: The Gold Act would actually require that consumers accept the offer before the gold is melted and fine companies that don't comply. It would also mandate that companies insure any jewelry they return for the same value as the customer insured it for when they mailed it in.
HOLMES: Who knew it was this complicated.
CHO: That's right.
HOLMES: But right now, though, there are stricter regulations in Florida as a result of a law that took effect in October. It requires all mail-in gold companies to photograph every item they receive and to log it in a national law enforcement database. Cash4Gold says it worked with the the state of Florida to create that legislation.
CHO: That's a lot to remember.
HOLMES: OK. So, if you've got some gold, do you even want to go through the trouble now?
CHO: I don't know. Maybe not.
HOLMES: Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: It's just not that simple. You might as well just hold onto it, I guess.
HOLMES: That's ...
CHO: If you've got it. We're going to call it a day, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: All right. Good deal. You all have a great day. Thanks so much.
