Return to Transcripts main page
CNN Newsroom
Six U.S. Troops Killed in Afghanistan; BP's New Battle Plan; Above the Gulf Oil Disaster; Turtle Egg Relocation; Immigration Battle
Aired July 10, 2010 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hi everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Kate Bolduan. Thank you for sticking with us.
A new controversial attempt to crackdown on illegal immigration, it targets children of illegal immigrants by denying them automatic citizen -- citizenship. We'll talk to the former Congressman who is behind the legislation.
HOLMES: Also we are showing a new view of the BP oil spill. And this is coming to us below the surface; taking a dive to see this threat spreading throughout the Gulf.
BOLDUAN: And a new operation on the site of the disaster. That gushing wellhead is getting a new cap. And the impact of the oil flow could be dramatic.
HOLMES: But we do want to start with breaking news we are getting out of Afghanistan. We saw this word just a short time ago that six U.S. service members have been killed in attacks today in Afghanistan.
Our Atia Abawi is with us once again live from Kabul. And Atia, hello once again, we heard the number; six had been killed but most of these were separate incidents.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, T.J.
Absolutely right, another grim day here in Afghanistan, six different incidents in different parts of the country proving that the fighting is widespread in this vast land. Two U.S. service members were killed in southern Afghanistan in separate IED strikes. That's roadside mines.
And one was also killed in eastern Afghanistan by the same tactic. Three others were also killed in eastern Afghanistan, small arms fire, insurgent attack, as well as an accidental explosion.
But today, proof that the summer is intense here in Afghanistan. The fighting will continue. This is a month after -- just a -- actually a couple of weeks after the deadliest month here in Afghanistan since the war began in 2001; 101 NATO service members killed.
That's the deadliest that this war has seen. And many do expect that July and August may be worse -- T.J.
HOLMES: And it may be worse. But like you mentioned there, we just came off a tough month. We hear this word of six killed today but a lot of this uptick in violence and in fact, casualties not unexpected.
ABAWI: It's not unexpected -- T.J. They expected it since last year. General McChrystal, when he was the top NATO commander here, he implemented the new counter insurgency strategy. He asked for more troops; 30,000 additional American troops on its own.
He said by the increase of troops, by the new tactical directive, meaning that the troops have to withhold fire if they had any inkling that a civilian is nearby or the civilian is in a compound that the insurgents are using. They have to restrain themselves.
And because of that he said at first, ISAF casualties will rise, but in the end when the strategy begins to work and when it starts gaining momentum and once the NATO troops have a hold in Afghanistan and regain the trust of the Afghan people, that those casualties will go down.
But obviously, right now is the point where we're seeing a rise in casualties.
HOLMES: All right, Atia Abawi for us live once again in Kabul, Atia we appreciate you as always. Thanks so much.
BOLDUAN: It's now day 82 of the Gulf oil disaster. And a new attempt to plug up the wellhead is in the works. BP plans to remove the cap on -- on its ruptured well sometime today and install another better fitting seal to stop the leak entirely, they hope.
But that could take seven to ten days. And during that time, even more oil is going to be gushing into the water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ADM. THAD ALLEN (RET.), NATIONAL INCIDENT COMMANDER (via telephone): What we are going to do is put a valve on top of the current well and our first attempt would be to just close the valve and see if we could shut in the well altogether.
If there was a need to actually produce additional oil to relieve the pressure, we certainly are capable of doing that. But our first intent would be to try and put a valve on top of the well that could shut it in.
(END VIDEO CLIP) BOLDUAN: And of course, this would only be a temporary fix. The hope for a permanent solution is a relief well. And that is still being drilled.
HOLMES: And while the oil gushes at the bottom of the Gulf, there is a new weapon against the disaster that's floating high above the mess. You see it here. This is a blimp, a U.S. Navy blimp. It's set to start flying.
Today, our Reynolds Wolf, live in New Orleans for us today. Reynolds, hello to you once again. It seems like they are throwing just about everything at this whole Gulf oil disaster. We shouldn't be surprised now to see a blimp as a part of the relief as well.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely, man. I mean, they are doing everything they possibly can. This is the latest installment of -- I guess though, the weapons in the arsenal to help keep a sharp eye. And it's certainly nothing to -- to blow a horn at, no question about it.
This thing we're talking about of course is a new blimp. This is a -- it's an air ship actually flown in from Yuma, Arizona. It's a 178 feet long. It is called the MZ-3A airship. They first made them part of the fleet back in 2006. This one has been deployed for the Gulf Coast and is going to make a pretty much a route from parts of New Orleans back over to Mobile, Alabama and just kind of doing a couple things.
Its main goal is to be an observation deck, a floating observation deck, where they can basically chart out the course of some of the skimmers that are going to be working their way up and down along the coast trying to keep some of that oil away from the coastline.
But that's not the only thing they are going to do. They are also are going to fly over some of those environmentally sensitive areas, some of these wetlands and to really see what places are most threatened by the oil, which ones need to be protected immediately.
But they can also look at some of the nesting grounds. The brown pelicans and at the same time they can see pods of whales or perhaps dolphins that may come under -- is under stress.
So there is a lot that these -- that the airship can do. Something else that's amazing about it is that it's able to go out on basically a 12-hour mission, weather pending. If the weather is fine, it can go out. Any thunderstorms just go right back to base.
But it's very different from FWA (ph), a fixed-winged aircraft or even the helicopter that can only go out for a finite amount of time because the amount of fuel that'll be used. Low fuel costs, slow moving but still can perform many, many rule -- many tools and it's an invaluable -- invaluable piece of equipment for them -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, that's one big piece of equipment that's floating high above. There is another big sucker that is in the water right now. We are just waiting for it to get to you. We are showing pictures of it now, this whale, "A Whale".
WOLF: Yes, you know, it's funny. You can probably use it as both of an adjective or basically just a noun. I mean, it's the name of it but also describes it. It is a whale, it's a huge, huge ship; we're talking about a skimmer in the front of the ship.
The bow has got 12 vents on either side. It's almost like a fish moving right through the water. It brings in and mixes that oily, oily water and separates the water and pushes that back out but keeps the oil onboard the ship. It can do so at a tune of some 500,000 barrels -- not gallons but 500,000 -- half a million barrels per day which is really an amazing thing.
Well, we talked about it being a whale, we're talking about how it's huge. But exactly, how big is it? Well, it's about three football fields long, it's about ten stories in height and for comparison sake, try this one. Think of the biggest aircraft carrier that the Navy has to offer. We're taking the Nimitz class carrier. That is roughly 1,098-feet long.
This one happens to be 1,100 feet, so its' several feet longer. It's bigger than an aircraft carrier. So I mean, just a massive thing. And if the tests go well, the currently undergoing testing by the EPA -- if they happen to pass those tests under the calm waters out in the Gulf right, they may deploy that fairly soon.
If that works well, they've got two more, they've got the "B Whale" and the "C Whale". And the tandem of all three of those working together could be a huge difference-maker.
HOLMES: Oh we will -- we are waiting and hoping that -- that will get up and running.
Reynolds, we appreciate you, buddy, as always. Live in New Orleans. We'll talk to you again soon.
BOLDUAN: We're also getting another view of the disaster today, from deep below the surface.
CNN's Amber Lyon has joined environmentalist Philippe Cousteau for a dive into the oil-infested waters and while BP works on their plan to stop the well, they are getting a very different perspective of the effects it's having under the surface.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PHILLIPE COUSTEAU, ENVIRONMENTALIST: Well, what we should be seeing is beautiful, crystal clear water as we are swimming out here in the Gulf at this time of year. We should not be seeing this thick haze. It's bound to pick up with the camera. But what you see floating there are little globs of oil and chemical dispersants. I've also seen a lot of organic material that's floating in the water too. But it should be a lot clearer. And on the surface, on the way out here, we saw those big clouds of orange oil and chemical dispersant mix on the surface. Even here, 50 miles or so in from the DeepWater Horizon rig it is just coming down and you can (INAUDIBLE). And that's very concerning because you know when -- the last time I was diving, the oil spill, we didn't know the science yet had not been conducted to prove that there was this water-chemical-oil mixture that was descending through the water column.
And now, we've done the science and we know that's true and for a whole host of reasons because it's toxic. It depletes the oxygen in the water column, et cetera. It's very, very bad news.
(CROSSTALK)
AMBER LYON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: ... because I was talking to BP COO Doug Suttles and I asked him about all this dispersant oil mix that's in the water. One of the main things I said is, how is it going to be cleaned up? Because there is no technology to come down here and skim this out of here and what he said is that -- bacteria will eat it all up. And that's what's going to happen to the distressed oil.
Now, you're disagreeing with that? You say it's toxic?
COUSTEAU: Well, first of all, the oil and the dispersant is toxic, they're fuel. But second of all, well yes, there is bacteria that consumes oil in the water. What scientists are finding is that bacteria also consumes oxygen. So that when you get these dead zones that have -- they don't have enough oxygen literally in the water column for all the other animals like the fish and the crabs and the shrimp to be able to breathe.
So literally, animals are suffocating under water and that's a huge concern. It's spreading throughout the Gulf like a cancer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right, well, a lot of people wouldn't imagine getting out there and swimming in that stuff. But we are following a different swimmer swimming in a different spot this weekend and swimming for 24 hours straight.
I can't swim a few laps in an Olympic size pool. But this lady again, swimming 24 hours straight; it seems like this could be impossible.
BOLDUAN: Impossible. But this summer, she is doing it right now off the coast, off the Florida coast. And wait until you hear her age. It just adds to how amazing this story is. A report -- a live report from the site of her marathon swim after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: So maybe a break from those extreme temperatures ...
HOLMES: Maybe.
BOLDUAN: ... but I think it also means bringing some storms. Bonnie Schneider ...
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, Kate.
BOLDUAN: What is going on?
SCHNEIDER: Well, drenching downpours for Philadelphia, Washington and New York City right now. You have to see this radar picture because it looks very menacing. We have the rain just pouring through.
I-95, if you are driving, be careful out there. There's a lot of heavy rain sweeping on to the area.
Now this is all part of a bigger cold front that will actually help reduce the heat, they are only in the 80s. It wasn't that long ago we had Baltimore hitting a high of 105 this week.
But check this out; this is some really heavy downpours. So this is going to be dangerous at times. I am not detecting that much lightning with this storm but I can tell you that we do run the risk of possibly some rip tides as well as these storms roll through, this front really making a big difference in terms of the heat.
Other places not so lucky. You can see down in the Gulf, we are looking at some very hot temperatures. For example, right now in Houston, we are looking for a high today of 92 degrees, 90 in New Orleans, 87 in Dallas. The problem is that with the heat index, we are going to feel much hotter than that.
You have been watching Reynolds reporting from the New Orleans area. The heat index today will actually soar to 104 to 109 degrees. That's the way your body will interpret the temperature. So even though it's only in the 90s, it will feel hotter.
That holds true for Biloxi, Mississippi as well; coastal counties of Mississippi, it's also going to be very, very hot out there.
Another hot place but it's a different kind of heat, we talk about the dry heat in Arizona. Even for Arizona, when it gets up to 115 degrees, that is scorching. So another heat advisory: this is an excessive heat warning today for the Phoenix area. This is day two of this heat. So it is going to really be difficult and challenging for those of you in Arizona if you have to do anything outdoors.
Flight explorer now -- we have over 5,000 planes in the air. It's a busy Saturday in July, no doubt about it. But notice the thunderstorms all the way down from Virginia up into the New England area. This is wreaking a lot of havoc on air travel.
You have to see these delays. They have gone up since our last report. We now have 2 1/2-hour delays at New York's LaGuardia Airport. T.J. the delays are at least an hour in all area airports. Philadelphia, 45 minutes and that's on the increase so a tough go of it in the northeast. First the heat, now the travel delays and thunderstorms. So we are almost done. I think by tomorrow, things will be looking a lot brighter.
HOLMES: Did you say two hours at LaGuardia?
SCHNEIDER: I sure did.
HOLMES: That's a good day for them, all right. Just teasing, LaGuardia.
SCHNEIDER: No comment.
HOLMES: Love your airport. All right. Thank you Bonnie.
SCHNEIDER: Sure.
HOLMES: Don't count your turtles before they hatch. A massive evacuation effort underway right now along the Gulf Coast trying to protect loggerhead turtle hatchlings from the oil spill. As CNN's Brooke Baldwin now reports, this heart-warming mission is one huge experiment that has no guarantee of success.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Here is one.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): One by one and very carefully biologists like Lorna Patrick pluck loggerhead turtle eggs from their nests within the white sands of Florida's Gulf Coast.
LORNA PATRICK, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE: You might want to think it a little bit about being a surgeon. You have to have steady hands, be very careful. You have to think about each and every move you do with that egg. Every egg is individual.
BALDWIN: They've been placed and egg by egg, 107 in total, into a new home for now, this cooler. This is where these sea turtles will eventually hatch before being released into the water. But the purpose of this process saved this threatened species from near certain death, the oil looming in the Gulf.
(on camera): Aren't you nervous about their chances of survival?
SANDY MACPHERSON, U.S. FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE: Absolutely. Like I said, this is something we would never, ever normally allow or even condone. It is something we hope never to have to do again. We feel that the risk is so high of mortality if we allow them to enter the northern Gulf waters that we feel like this is the best option.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Ninety percent of the nation's sea turtles are from Florida according to the U.S. Fish and wildlife service. Seven hundred nests hatch here on the state's Panhandle alone. But according to Tom Strickland, assistant secretary of the interior, removing this number of eggs this late in the incubation process is unprecedented. (on camera): There are multiple risks at play here in these loggerheads' chances of survival starting with pulling them out of the sand.
TOM STRICKLAND, ASSISTANT INTERIOR SECRETARY: Right. Well, it's rarely attempted to take these eggs so close to hatching. These are just a week or ten days away from hatching. The reason we waited this long is we wanted them to imprint their national geography as much and as long as they could.
BALDWIN (voice-over): Every movement, another risk, removing the soft shell eggs from the sand and placing them in a specially designed truck donated by FedEx and driving them seven and a half hours away to Kennedy Space Center. That's where NASA has offered to house these coolers in a temperature-controlled room until the turtles hatch as early as ten days from now.
Then, it's up to nature to take its coast on Florida's Atlantic coast where wildlife experts hope to preserve this precious species far from the reaches of the oil.
(on camera): Does it make you angry at BP?
MACPHERSON: Obviously, we are not at all happy with the situation. This is not just affecting this year's production. The larger turtles and the juveniles and the adults use the waters of the Gulf as foraging and developmental habitats. So their habitats are going to be affected for years to come.
BALDWIN: This year was the first nest rescue of about 700 more to come. They are hoping to save somewhere in the neighborhood of a 100,000 of these precious sea turtles from the oily Gulf. As for who is footing this pill, I spoke with the assistant secretary of the interior and he told me he will definitely be looking to BP.
Brooke Baldwin, CNN, Port St. Joe, Florida.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: Thanks so much Brooke.
The immigration battle heating up across America. A former congressman and Republican candidate governor in Georgia is pushing for a bill that would radically change part of the nation's citizenship rules. We'll hear what he has to say coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The battle over legal immigration is starting a lot of angry debate across this country. And focus of much of that debate has been Arizona's tough new immigration law.
Now, there is another aspect to this story -- this whole debate that might be coming to the spotlight as well. The so-called birth right citizenship issue. There is a man who introduced that bill when he was a member of Congress. That was to take away the right, that's guaranteed in the 14th amendment, that if you are born on U.S. soil, then you are a U.S. citizen.
Again, it hasn't gone far up on Capitol Hill but he was here with me earlier in the newsroom talking about it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Birth right citizenship, if this were to become law, a federal law or in Arizona like they are expected to introduce legislation later this year, it would eliminate automatic citizenship for children born to undocumented immigrants in the U.S. Former Republican congressman Nathan Deal introduced the bill when he was in congress. He joins us now.
He's here with us. He resigned from Congress and is running for governor for the great state of Georgia here now.
Welcome. Thank you for being here.
And you know this is a hot topic, hot debate; fires up a lot of emotion. You tell me, if you become governor of the state of Georgia, will you push for a bill that takes away the birth right citizenship for kids born to illegal immigrants in this state?
NATHAN DEAL (R), GEORGIA GUBERNATORIAL CANDIDATE: Well, that's unfortunately something that only the federal government can do because in my opinion and the opinion of many legal scholars, it is a misinterpretation of the 14th amendment.
The 14th amendment has a little clause in the middle that says, subject to the jurisdiction thereof. The legislation that I introduced said that to be subject to the jurisdiction thereof and grant birth right citizenship, that at least one of the parents had to have some legal status in this country.
And you know the United States is in a distinct minority in the world community. Not a single European country grants birth right citizenship.
HOLMES: But a lot in the Western Hemisphere do.
DEAL: Well, only 33 countries nationwide and 122 do not. We are a distinct minority in the world community.
HOLMES: And a lot of people disagree with you about the interpretation of that 14th amendment. They say that -- you say jurisdiction thereof does apply, in fact, to a child who is born here. I know there is a legal debate. I am certainly not a lawyer here. Still, the Supreme Court has ruled there.
But you tell me your definition, not the legal definition. You tell me what do you believe an American citizen is, what is an American. What does that mean, to be an American?
DEAL: It means somebody who comes, their parents come into our country in a legal status and that's the reason that the law was put there in the first place, was the 14th amendment was designed to define what the status of people who had been born into a slave society and it was after the Civil War.
If you look at the debates around the 14th amendment, there was never any contemplation that we were going to grant citizenship to people who were illegally in our country. It was never even a discussion.
HOLMES: Do you think -- a lot of people and a lot of responses I am getting on line, I am seeing a lot of folks from Twitter, Facebook, I'm seeing your responses out there -- people just think this feels frankly un-American. I mean a child -- no matter how your parents came here. You are here on this soil, you're a citizen of the world. You're a citizen of where you happen to be born. It is the way it has always been.
It seems un-American to take that away from a child who might be. If their parents are here illegally, maybe they came here for a better life. You know what, we're going to reward you for just being born here.
DEAL: Well, that's why it needs to be clarified. I think that we need a very clear-cut case. We have not ever had one in the Supreme Court.
HOLMES: You don't think it is clarified by the 14th amendment?
DEAL: I don't think it is clarified at all. In fact, I think that is the source of the ambiguity. We need to have it clarified by the courts.
We have had cases in the past for example. An Indian born on Indian reservation was denied citizenship because they said he wasn't subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. We have had a weird history of court cases but never one that's clearly defined whether or not you have both parents who are illegally violating the laws of the United States whose child is granted citizenship.
HOLMES: Why do you think it went nowhere when you introduced that in Congress? You did it for years, I think.
DEAL: Well, it is controversial issue -- that's the first thing. And I think that it is something that our country is becoming aware of. There are certainly more important things perhaps on the horizon; illegal immigration is a huge problem for the state of Georgia. We have had the largest single increase of illegal immigrants in the state of any state in the United States; 115 percent since 2000.
HOLMES: How in the world would you enforce this? If a child, everyone had to prove citizenship if they are born in a U.S. hospital, how in the world would you do that? I wouldn't know how to prove I am a citizen of the country. I would have to hunt down my birth certificate but how in the world would you enforce that one.
DEAL: The same way every European country does right now.
HOLMES: And how do they do it? DEAL: They do it by insisting that the parents prove that they are legally in their country as a condition for their child to be granted citizenship.
HOLMES: How would you -- how are you supposed to prove that? Most people walking around right now, how would they just -- I mean I have driver's license but that doesn't prove anything other than I passed the test.
DEAL: Well, just same way when I was able to get legislation passed to say if you are going to sign up for Medicaid in this country, you had to prove by documentation that you are a citizen.
Up until I passed that law in congress, you went in and you were asked the question, are you a citizen? You said, si, oui, yes, anything in the affirmative, we signed you up for our Medicaid. We required and spelled out the kind of documentation that was allowed.
That's the way you would enforce it. But the first step is, let's get some legal premise on which we can act.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And next hour, our legal guys will talk more about the Arizona immigration battle as well as the birth right citizenship bill.
And tomorrow, on "STATE OF THE UNION", Candy Crowley, White House senior adviser David Axelrod joins us to talk about the federal lawsuit against Arizona's immigration law, as well as talking about the economy and some party politics. Also, on the show, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Arizona Congressman Trent Frank, debate the Arizona immigration law.
Again "STATE OF THE UNION WITH CANDY CROWLEY", Sunday, 9:00 Eastern.
BOLDUAN: And let's take a look at your top stories now.
The former transit cop who shot and killed an unarmed man on an Oakland train platform is apologizing to the man's family in a handwritten letter. The letter obtained by CNN was dated just a few days before Johannes Mehserle was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. His sentencing is set for early next month.
The state of California will pay Jaycee Dugard $20 million; the settlement signed yesterday by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. Dugard was held captive for 18 years by a convicted rapist who had been under state supervision.
And a rare heavenly event unfolds tomorrow but most people won't be able to see it unfortunately. A total solar eclipse takes place in the South Pacific, starting in the Cook Islands. It will last about five minutes.
More top stories in 20 minutes. HOLMES: This year alone, 30,000 kids volunteering with the organization BuildOn spreading across the U.S. cleaning up the neighborhood. They are "Building up America" one street at a time in economically depressed Detroit where one student with challenges of her own is lending a hand.
Here now is CNN's Jason Carroll.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JASON CARROLL, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Motor City, Motown -- in its heyday, Detroit thrived, a place of economic opportunity and growth. A place 15-year-old Ivory Price only hears about.
IVORY PRICE, STUDENT: My grandma will show me pictures of what it used to be.
CARROLL: Ivory's Detroit is a city with one of the country's highest unemployment rates. So many businesses shut down, so many homes abandoned.
PRICE: Can you break up the bottom of it?
CARROLL: But Ivory believes there's a way to get Detroit growing again.
PRICE: Oh, OK ...
Just planting one seed can definitely help towards that goal.
CARROLL: We found Ivory with a group of volunteers planting a garden in an abandoned lot in one of Detroit's worst neighborhoods.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Like this, yes.
CARROLL: She volunteers for an organization called "Build On". It's a non-profit that created after school programs where students help rebuild impoverished areas. Here, they reclaim land with a garden. Eventually they'll donate the food they grow.
PRICE: We've definitely encountered people even with this project and other times in Build On saying that, oh, that's impossible. You can't do that. You should just leave it alone. Why waste your time.
CARROLL: What do you say to people like that?
PRICE: I tell them, you never know until you try.
CARROLL: Trying in this neighborhood is challenging.
(on camera): In addition to being economically devastated, the volunteers who are out there trying to rebuild this neighborhood also have to deal with crime. There's a gang that operates right here on this block and prostitution as well, which takes place right here on what used to be a playground.
While shooting in broad daylight, a woman who did not want to be identified still stopped to make sure we were OK.
A group of volunteer, they -- they've put together a -- a garden over here around the corner.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I saw that. That's nice.
CARROLL: As a way to ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's really nice.
CARROLL: You like that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's great. But the area itself, you know, you just don't feel safe anymore.
JIM ZIOLKOWSKI, BUILD ON FOUNDER: Before our kids begin any projects, they canvass --
CARROLL (voice-over): Build On's founder says the garden is just beginning.
ZIOLKOWSKI: The rest of the neighborhood sees what's going on and sees how the youth are stepping up and leading this change. They take a stake in the garden. And then the gangs move out, then the prostitution moves out. It's changed. It doesn't happen overnight but it happens.
PRICE: (SINGING).
CARROLL: Ivory Price believes change is possible. She has seen it in her life. When not singing or volunteering, she's writing about her own economic struggles.
PRICE: The place had rats and bugs. At night, my mother and sister and I will sleep in the same bed to keep warm.
I have been there before and the fact that I can come out here and help other people that are going through the same thing or things that are even worse, it makes me feel happy.
CARROLL: Jason Carroll, CNN, Detroit.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the nation's governors talking budget woes at their yearly meeting.
BOLDUAN: But outside, protesters are shouting about another hot issue. Details on that straight ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now states across the country are experiencing of course major money problems and that's what the nation's governors are focusing on at their annual meeting this weekend in Boston. Some of the governors, though, they're making some of their own headlines out there.
Let's bring in our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser. Paul, hello to you. A name that a lot of people in this country maybe didn't know before this whole Arizona immigration debate started, Governor Jan Brewer, they certainly know that name now. She's at this meeting. What is she turning heads about these days?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Well, the law itself, that tough, new, controversial immigration law back in Arizona is kind of following her to Boston. We expect about a half hour from now, T.J., groups opposed to that law, they say they plan a big protest nearby where the governors are meeting.
Of course, that law is supposed to go into effect later this month and it allows or gives Arizona authorities greater powers to question people about their immigration status. Some people support the law. Some people opposed it. Justice Department has filed suit, but that controversy back in Arizona following her to Boston, T.J.
HOLMES: All right.
Also, some of the governors, we know it's that time. We were talking about this earlier. This is time to run for president and whatnot for a lot of people. But still, this is the time if you're thinking about making a job switch, this is a good time to do it. And some of these governors are doing just that.
STEINHAUSER: Yes. And one of them we're keeping an eye on who is in Boston this weekend is Governor Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Remember, T.J., it was two weeks ago that the long-time senator there in West Virginia, Robert Byrd, passed away. Now, Manchin may make an announcement this upcoming week that he may run for Byrd's old seat if that election is held as early as this November.
So maybe Joe Mangin, a Democrat, a two-term governor who's pretty popular, maybe he's going to want to change his title from governor to senator.
HOLMES: All right. Let's turn from -- from the governors there to a Senate candidate, one that has gotten a lot of attention. This is Alvin Greene out of South Carolina. I guess still in the race, still saying he can win. Do we know much more about him now? He's got a platform? Does he -- does he have a suit?
STEINHAUSER: Listen. This was the big surprise story. When Alvin Greene, a novice, who had never run for political office before one Democratic Senate nomination in South Carolina, everybody said who. He didn't campaign. He didn't run any commercials.
One of the question marks, T.J., was how did he afford that $10,000 filing fee which he needed to -- to put down to run for office, he didn't even have a job. Still doesn't have a job. Still lives with his father. Well, the South Carolina authorities investigated. They say no wrongdoing there. They're not going to file any charges against Alvin Greene when it comes to the filing of the -- those $10,000.
HOMES: So, he's in the race, right? So he'll be on the ballot. We will see him in a couple of months. My goodness. Fascinating to how that's going.
And also, it's here and I'll ask you about it as a follow-up to the Alvin Greene, because I'm not familiar with this. But I'm supposed to ask you about an Alvin Greene action figure.
STEINHAUSER: You know, T.J., you can't make this stuff up. Yes. Earlier this week, in a newspaper report, he was quoted as saying one of the ways to get South Carolina out of this tough economic time is to have an Alvin Greene action figure. I'm not sure -- I'm not making this up.
So our senior political producer, Kevin Bond, called him up yesterday and Alvin Greene told him specifically the reaction has been good. I am a true American hero. And if any of the toy companies want to put something like that forward, that would be good. He used to serve in the military, so an action figure.
He also told our Kevin Bond he hasn't received any inquiries yet from the toy companies, T.J. I guess sometimes fiction -- I mean, facts are definitely more interesting than fiction.
HOLMES: OK. Paul, you just made that up. There's no way that is for real.
STEINHAUSER: No. This is -- No, this is -- this is true.
HOLMES: I'm going to say you made it up. All right.
He's Paul, our deputy political director. Buddy, it's always good to see you. Enjoy the rest of your Saturday.
STEINHAUSER: All right. Thanks, T.J.
BOLDUAN: Paul is like, this is true, actually.
HOLMES: You know, just sometimes South Carolina politics, a lot of strange things happen, but we're throwing action figures into it right now. We shall see.
BOLDUAN: We don't make this stuff up. That's the best part about it.
Also great -- the World Cup. We're down to just two games. Only one, of course, that T.J. cares about because he doesn't think third place is worth it.
HOLMES: There's only one game anybody cares about. It's down to one game folks. The champion is going to be crowned tomorrow in South Africa. We're going to give you a preview of the weekend. Actually there's another game going on out there.
It's 20 minutes past to this hour.
BOLDUAN: You're not making a (INAUDIBLE) -- Germany.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Take a look at your top stories right now. A deadly day for American troops in Afghanistan. So far, five troops have been killed in combat-related attacks. A sixth died in a non-combat- related explosion, just learning about that this morning.
And in Mississippi, an oil plant explosion seriously injuring one person. The plant in Clark County, South of Meridian, a one-mile area around the plant was evacuated.
And then there were two. Spain and the Netherlands have made it to the World Cup finals. They'll battle it out for the championship tomorrow in South Africa. Today, Germany and Uruguay battle for third place.
HOLMES: Can't wait. Fighting for third. Awesome.
BOLDUAN: Come on. I would be proud to get third.
HOLMES: To get third?
BOLDUAN: At the World Cup.
HOLMES: To get third out of 32.
BOLDUAN: Well, I mean, I don't lose, but I mean I'd be OK with it.
HOLMES: All right. We could do this all day. And we have been doing this since 6:00 A.M. actually.
BOLDUAN: Sorry, everybody.
HOLMES: But still, along these same lines. You've heard in the -- along the lines of this World Cup, there's a psychic octopus out there who has a pretty good record when it comes to picking World Cup winners. I wonder who it's picking to finish third. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: Well, we are clearly been having a lot of fun this morning. And the fun will continue. NEWSROOM ...
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's right.
BOLDUAN: ... continues at the top of the hour with Fredricka Whitfield.
WHITFIELD: Well, good morning. How are you doing?
BOLDUAN: What is going on?
HOLMES: Good morning. Good morning.
WHITFIELD: Are you doing good?
HOLMES: We are doing well.
WHITFIELD: OK.
Well, we know this has been a week of LeBron, right? He's in Miami, loving it. He's a Miami Heat now.
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Well -- and now there's some new heat taking place as well. There's a man who is claiming to be his father and so he has sued, with a Washington attorney, he sued, and our legal guys are going to be along with us to talk about what this case will do, how will it unfold.
HOLMES: It's a strange story, yes.
WHITFIELD: Probably (ph) owed something. Well, you know, there were some ...
BOLDUAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... paternity tests back in the day, which were negative, but this man continues to pursue the rights to be his daddy.
BOLDUAN: I'm interested to hear what's the latest, guys.
HOLMES: I want to hear that.
WHITFIELD: I think it's very fascinating too.
Lindsay Lohan. She, of course, is a very fascinating individual and has her own ...
BOLDUAN: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... courtroom woes. She's actually appealing. But guess what? Her attorney, who has been with -- with her by her side, it's this lady right here, well, she has now resigned. She's no longer her attorney. But a new attorney has stepped in. How will this compromise or help the case as Lindsay Lohan proceeds saying she is appealing?
It ain't right, she says, that I've got 90 days to serve in jail.
HOLMES: She wouldn't end up serving all 90 or something. It would be cut down pretty well, but still --
WHITFIELD: Sometimes good behavior means something and trims it a little bit.
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: And sometimes not so good behavior -- an indicator, that manicure, is that good behavior or bad behavior? How might all that impact it as well?
BOLDUAN: At the moment, though ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
BOLDUAN: ... nothing having to do with those fascinating fingernails. It's ...
WHITFIELD: No, no, no. I just throw it in there.
BOLDUAN: No, no. But, I mean, it's gotten a ton of attention.
WHITFIELD: It's gotten a lot of attention.
BOLDUAN: And what it would mean.
WHITFIELD: It hasn't necessarily compromised her legal case right now. But ...
BOLDUAN: And a lot of it with the judge was about her lack of respect. She couldn't get back from -- from the Cannes Film Festival to make it for her -- anyway.
WHITFIELD: Right. Yes. Hence the 90 days in jail now.
BOLDUAN: I have not been -- I have not been paying attention to this, clearly, though.
WHITFIELD: I -- it sound like, but I have to fill you in and school you on this.
2:00 Eastern Time ...
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... we'll talk about your money ...
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: ... which tax cuts going away. How might this impact you, not necessarily just for the wealthy, but just any, every average person, what do you do with your money?
And then here, real quick, 4:00 Eastern Time ...
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: How do you know whether your relationship, your marriage, your significant other, things, whether, you know, there's trouble in paradise, how do you know?
HOLMES: How do you know, Fredricka? WHITFIELD: There are tests to take.
HOLMES: A test? Like you ...
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: ... take a test on the sheet ...
WHITFIELD: We are -- yes, we're going to have a little sample of a test that you can take ...
HOLMES: Let's do this now.
WHITFIELD: ... called the marriage ...
HOLMES: Let's do this right now.
WHITFIELD: OK. Number one, define intimacy.
HOLMES: Well, OK. We can't do this right now.
WHITFIELD: Intimacy is defined as (INAUDIBLE)...
BOLDUAN: You're heading ...
WHITFIELD: You're heading in the gutter (ph) just like mine was. I was like ...
BOLDUAN: No.
WHITFIELD: It's not just about ...
BOLDUAN: I agree.
HOLMES: I know.
BOLDUAN: I agree.
WHITFIELD: There are lots of degrees of intimacy.
HOLMES: Degrees. Degrees.
WHITFIELD: And those degrees of -- yes.
There's a lot of definition of intimacy. And so we're going to be joined by a man who has come up with a book, James Cordova, and it's called "The Marriage Checkup". He's going to be with us. So you and Marilyn (ph) need to be watching at 4:00, right?
HOLMES: We're both newlyweds, both of us here.
BOLDUAN: There is no ...
WHITFIELD: You too? I didn't know.
BOLDUAN: Where have you been? WHITFIELD: Where have I been?
HOLMES: Oh, wow. Look at this moment.
WHITFIELD: OK. Well, this is even better.
HOLMES: Almost (ph).
BOLDUAN: There's no trouble in paradise.
WHITFIELD: Congratulations.
BOLDUAN: We just got married. But, you know what I mean.
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: So 4:00 Eastern Time ...
BOLDUAN: I'm watching.
WHITFIELD: ... not if you're just married, but if you're in a serious relationship. Isn't this hilarious how we're making ...
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness.
BOLDUAN: We know what's going on in the world, but not in the studio.
WHITFIELD: Right. I didn't know. Well, congratulations.
HOLMES: That would be great.
BOLDUAN: We've got a lot to talk about.
WHITFIELD: We've got lots to talk about. Can I see pictures and all that good stuff?
BOLDUAN: Definitely. (INAUDIBLE). OK.
WHITFIELD: Beginning noon Eastern Time.
HOLMES: That's great stuff. What time are the legal guys again, though? What time -- are they 12 ...
WHITFIELD: At 12:00, around 15 after and again ...
HOLMES: Good thing. OK.
WHITFIELD: ... at 12:40. But you want to watch the whole hour.
HOLMES: Oh, again, I'm sorry.
BOLDUAN: Right.
WHITFIELD: Good stuff too.
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: The legal guys are fascinating.
HOLMES: Love the legal guys.
WHITFIELD: Richard and Avery, always on the money.
HOLMES: All right. Fredricka, thank you. We will see you here shortly.
WHITFIELD: Thank you.
BOLDUAN: Trying to get (INAUDIBLE) again.
WHITFIELD: I know.
BOLDUAN: So picking a winner, a German octopus has correctly predicted World Cup winners so far and he's decided who -- who's going to win the final on Sunday. Jeanne Moos has that story coming up. You'll want to see it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BOLDUAN: So have you heard of Paul the octopus?
HOLMES: Unfortunately. This has been a big storyline with the World Cup. I'm sorry. I'm a cynic this morning.
BOLDUAN: He's nine for nine picking World Cup game this is year.
HOLMES: Hey, he doesn't have a backbone, though. He may have a psychic brain they think. He has now chosen Spain to beat the Dutch in this final that's coming up on tomorrow.
CNN's Jeanne Moos is taking a closer look at this phenomenon.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MOOS, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): He's an octopus who doesn't realize his goal is to predict World Cup winners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Paul, the oracle octopus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Psychic sea creature.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The (INAUDIBLE) oracle.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The psychic cephalopod.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The mystic mollusk has gotten famous.
MOOS: Paul lives at the Sea Life Aquarium in Germany where they lowered two boxes labeled with the flags of competing teams. Each box contains mussels, one of Paul's favorite foods.
MOOS (on camera): He picked the winner like six times in a row. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He's a very sensitive octopus.
MOOS (voice-over): Faced with a choice between Germany, his current home, and Spain, Paul loitered atop Germany, then slinked over to Spain and later straddled the two before making his final pick by opening the box with the Spanish flag.
(on camera): Paul's less lucky relatives were on sale at New York's Fairway Market, octopus, $3.99 a pound. Paul's worth a heck of a lot more than that.
Some who were buying octopus were skeptical.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Looks like it must be fixed. I -- I don't believe that there's some genius octopus.
MOOS (voice-over): Paul isn't the first animal prognosticator. Princess, the camel picked winning football teams by selecting one of two Graham Crackers from her owners labeled palms. While Chimpy, the pundit chimp was pitted against human pundits deciding between Rudy and Hillary for U.S. Senate. But Chimpy never made it big like Paul who has his own website, don't tell any of my handlers that I can type, and his own Twitter account.
(on camera): PETA has even gotten into the act demanding that Paul be set free. They're saying an octopus is not a prop that should be used for entertainment.
(voice-over): After correctly predicting Germany's loss to Spain, the psychic octopus has even received death threats. "Put that thing on the menu." "I ate your mother."
OLIVER WALENCIAK, SEA LIFE AQUARIUM: We take a little bit more care about our octopus than before because there are quite a lot of visitors who want to kill and to eat him.
MOOS: Prime minister of Spain joked about sending Paul a protective team. And after Spain beat Germany, Spanish celebrity chef Jose Andre took octopus off the menu. But a jokester on YouTube made Paul the target of a Hitler assassination plot.
Posted one fan, "With eight tentacles, I'd love to see him do a penalty kick."
Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: OK. I love sashimi -- octopus sashimi. It's the best.
BOLDUAN: Oh, my gosh.
HOLMES: But the Paul, do you buy it? Who knows. It's just another in a long line. Really there's been a history of these animals picking stuff that should ...
BOLDUAN: You don't have to explain it. It's just fun.
HOLMES: Oh, OK.
BOLDUAN: It's good.
HOLMES: Fredricka, maybe I'm taking it too seriously.
WHITFIELD: I don't know, like, Punxsutawney Phil ...
HOLMES: Oh, yes.
WHITFIELD: You know, among -- you know, among the famous animals ...
BOLDUAN: Exactly.
WHITFIELD: ... that are like sleuths. They know things.
HOLMES: How often does he write?
BOLDUAN: Not often. We don't eat them.
WHITFIELD: No, I don't know. I don't know. I'm not really sure. But it does seem like based on my recollection which we all know it's not that great ...
HOLMES: And ...
WHITFIELD: ...it does seem like maybe he's askew ...
HOLMES: A little bit.
WHITFIELD: ... from time to time.
HOLMES: A little bit.
BOLDUAN: All right. We're taking your time. Fredricka ...
HOLMES: All right. Yes.
WHITFIELD: I don't feel pretty good (ph) though right now. You all have a good day.
BOLDUAN: Take it away.
WHITFIELD: All right.
HOLMES: We'll see.
WHITFIELD: The newlyweds, now I know plural.
BOLDUAN: Now, we're in trouble.
HOLMES: Well, we should -- we should tell people we're not married to each other.
WHITFIELD: Well, not to each other ...
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: But, you know, separate things going on. But tune in at 4:00 for that marriage checkup.
HOLMES: All right.
