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New Face for BP Relations; Jobs Lag in July; How Safe is Money in ATM's?
Aired August 06, 2010 - 13:00 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, I am the aforementioned T.J. Holmes sitting in today for Ali Velshi. Let me tell you what we've got on the rundown.
Well, he started out as a dishwasher for al Qaeda. But boy, oh boy, did he work his way up, now considered one of the terrorist group's top leaders. We'll have more on the man who spent much of his youth right here in the U.S.
Also, hacking into an ATM. Would you think this is something easy? Well, it might be easier than you think. Coming up, a security expert who knows how to do it. He is going to give you a play by play on exactly how you, too, can break into an ATM. Of course I'm kidding. No, he's one of the good guys, actually, trying to keep your money safe. He'll be along here shortly to tell us how he did it and how you can protect yourself.
Also, he graduated the head of his class, and he's the recipient of more than $1 million in scholarships. But his life hasn't been without some tough challenges. You're going to meet a young man we are happy to introduce you to, Deonte Bridges. That's all coming up in the NEWSROOM.
But first, want to give you an update about a story that is important, going to be important for quite some time. Even though the news we've been hearing about it lately is all positive. We're talking about the Gulf oil disaster. Yes, you have been hearing a lot of good news. Got some more good news to report right now.
But still, this needs to stay fresh in your mind, because we have to keep in mind, no matter what we hear about how well it's going, this still is a massive disaster that is going to affect people for quite some time.
So the update, the good news to tell you about today is that, in fact, the static kill method you've heard so much about, well, it's pretty much wrapped up. They pushed this mud down into that well to fill it up. Well, then they pushed down some cement; that cement now is hardening. So for all intents and purposes, the static kill step is done. And in effect, this well is dead.
However, we still have one more step to go. That is the bottom kill method. That is the method where the relief well, as you've been hearing so much about over the past couple of months, are being drilled. They're going to pump this mud and cement down into those relief wells, as well, to clog that whole well up once and for all with the bottom-kill method. Maybe going to happen the next couple weeks.
But again, live picture. Again, we are happy to see this picture now. Nothing coming out. Again, still that live picture. Nothing coming out of that well.
We're moving on to the next phase, of course, with capping this well and also killing this well. But also, BP moving on to a next phase, as well. They are having a shift in leadership in their Gulf response. You've been hearing the name Doug Suttles a lot, and you've been seeing Doug Suttles' face a lot in the whole response. Well, there's another new guy that's going to be taking over for him in the Gulf oil response, and both men spoke today, gave us an update. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MIKE UTSLER, BP UNIFIED COMMANDER IN NEW ORLEANS: It's a challenge that we continue to recognize with more than 20,000-plus people continuing to work with our vessels and our operations on the shores and in those marshlands to ensure that we continue this response. We are here for the long-term. We are here to continue that.
I look to bring my experiences from managing the responses for Louisiana and off shore Gulf of Mexico into this effort and continue it as we go forward from response to recovery, and ultimately into restoration.
DOUG SUTTLES, BP COO: Clearly, some of the clean-up activities in certain areas have gotten to the point that they no longer require as many workers. In addition, in some places, particularly along the Florida and Alabama clothesline (ph), we've moved from manual clean-up to machine-based clean-up. So these beach-cleaning machines we're using quite frequently now, and we use those at night, have replaced many of the clean-up workers, which were doing that by hand. They're much -- these machines are much more efficient.
So I think we'll continue to see that. But I stress, we've got a lot of work to do out there. There's still oil to clean up. There's still tar balls that are going to come ashore. We'll have to be there to pick those up. And I don't know when the numbers will shift. I think that will just be determined by what the operational requirements are.
In addition, we have things like a lot of boom out there, as well. And I did mention the severe weather season. Your question about what are we doing with the absorbent boom. We have a waste management plane in each state that's been approved by all of the parties, state, federal and ourselves. And most of the -- most, if not all of the absorbent boom goes into landfills through these approved plans that have been approved by the regulators.
We're far from finished. Clearly, we feel like it's moving to a new phase, because we've been three weeks without new oil flowing into the sea. And we don't have oil out on the open water anymore. But we still have a lot of work around the shoreline, and we have a large amount of equipment still deployed, as well.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And you hear the update there from the BP officials, and, of course, we saw the numbers from the government a little earlier this week, saying that just about 26 percent of residual oil, oil that's still out there, that's about all that's left.
Moving on here, it was 65 years to the day that an atomic bomb leveled the city. A peace bell now in Hiroshima, Japan, today. Stark, solemn, and today's "Sound Effect."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(BELL CHIMING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And a first for this annual ceremony, a U.S. representative was in attendance. Ambassador to Japan, John Roos, didn't speak, but in a statement, he said his presence proved President Obama's commitment to global nuclear disarmament.
It's thought that 140,000 people died in the Hiroshima bombing or from the effects of its radiation.
Some people are criticizing the ambassador's attendance today, including the son of the American pilot who dropped the bomb. He says it seems like an unspoken apology for an act that helped force Japan's surrender in World War II.
Well, coming up, jobs are not bouncing back as quickly as some people would have hoped. But even when they do come back, your wallet could still feel the pinch. We're going to be breaking down the latest jobs report numbers we've got today. That's just ahead.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, the job numbers for July are out today, and, well, I'll let Alison Kosik tell you how they came out.
Alison, hello to you once again. People are used to getting bad news when these numbers come out, so I guess just how bad is it?
ALISON KOSIK, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, you know, I'll tell you what. There wasn't a whole lot of hiring going on last month, T.J.
The unemployment rate -- good news -- held steady at 9.5 percent, but overall, we lost 131,000 jobs. That was worse than expected.
Take a look at this chart I'm going to show you here. Government employment, it fell by 202,000 jobs, and that's because the bulk of those jobs were because of those temporary census jobs. Those went away. But we really like to focus on the private sector. There we saw an addition of 71,000 jobs, if you want to look at that kind of -- that shining light. But it's really not. There's no good spin on this story, because if you think about it, you know, we're going to need to add -- at least economists say, at least 260,000 jobs a month, just to tick away at the unemployment number, by one percentage point. So we've got a long way to go, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, what are businesses scared of? We always say we have to focus on that private sector hiring. They're just not doing it. What's holding them back?
KOSIK: It's -- they've got to have confidence. You know, and that confidence has got to come, you know -- it's kind of like the chicken and the egg theory, you know. We need to see improvement in the economy. They need to see strength of recovery.
Now, businesses are uncertain about the new health-care landscape. They're really -- they're reticent to really hire people and give them benefits at this point. So they're really focusing on hiring freelancers or contract workers.
They're worried that, as we see our government stimulus run out, other temporary factors are fading. They're worried how the progression of the economy -- of the recovery is really going to go.
They're also worried about taxes. They want to know what's going to happen if federal income taxes go up when those Bush tax cuts are taken away at the end of the year -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. What are we supposed to do here? Because you just talked about confidence there. It takes confidence for companies to hire. But then at the same time, we've got to see that unemployment rate go down to give people confidence at the same time. What are we going to do about that number?
KOSIK: You know, it's really the chicken and the egg theory, chicken or the egg. You know, we need to see, really, month after month of really good economic data. We need to see growth in the economy. That GDP number needs to go up.
Right now we're at 2.4, 2.7 growth rate in the economy. That's really, really anemic. I mean, we've got to see people start to spend. But people aren't going to be spending if they don't have jobs. You know, they're really being tight with their money right now.
And even if you look at Wall Street right now, T.J., a lot of money is sitting on the sidelines. Even your common investor is really leery to put a lot of money into the market, because there's really no certainty, as where the economy is really going at this point, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Another jobs report, another dose of reality for us all.
Alison Kosik, good to see you, as always. We do appreciate you.
KOSIK: Got it.
HOLMES: Also be sure to watch "YOUR $$$$$," this weekend and every weekend, Saturdays at 1 p.m. Eastern and Sundays at 3 p.m. Eastern.
We're standing by for a live event that will be happening at the White House here in the next hour or so. President Obama throwing a little party. A little party for the newest Supreme Court justice to be. We are keeping an eye on the White House ahead of today's reception for Elena Kagan. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I've got it all.
HOLMES: All right, Chad is schooling me over here about all the stuff we've got to cover here. First we start with the heat. Are we talking about some record heat?
MYERS: Again. But a little bit farther south than we've been seeing.
HOLMES: OK.
MYERS: The heat has been here. It's been ugly. Even across parts of the northeast, it's been very warm, and also across parts of Arkansas and Texas. Now, this cold front, although it's kind of -- it's not moving very fast, it's sliding enough farther to the south that some of this cold air, cooler air...
HOLMES: When you say cold front, that's a relative term.
MYERS: It's 92 and not 97, OK, you've got the idea. But at least it's pushing some of that energy down to the south.
But that's going to also increase the chances of severe weather all the way along that front, including Georgia right here. You'll probably hear boomers over here in a couple hours on top of this building. We'll be probably scrambling for some of the places.
And then we know it's summer.
HOLMES: OK.
MYERS: So clearly in the summer, we know it's hot. But there's also the potential for tropical storms.
Colin, who was here last week, it went away for a while and said, "Hey, wait, no, I'm still here." And now it has a potential to be a hurricane out in the middle of the Atlantic, as it turns away, maybe makes a run toward Newfoundland, the very tip there. But that's always in the case. Whenever you make a big turn, sometimes Newfoundland can stick out far enough that you can get...
HOLMES: OK. Certainly not a threat to us. Possibly going to catch...
MYERS: Certainly not. The storm is more organized now than it was. Winds are now up to 45 miles per hour.
But there's something way down here, can't see it. I'll have to move this out of the way and get you a bigger picture. There is something that could be maybe a Danielle storm. It goes -- it goes boy, girl, boy, girl. So Colin is a boy. Technically in weather terms, it's an it, but it's a boy name. And Danielle is also here. Danielle would be an it, but it will be a girl name.
But all of the forecasts take this thing right up into the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and kill it. Let's get another name out of the way, and nothing that hits the U.S., we're done.
HOLMES: What would be the "E"?
MYERS: I didn't even look.
HOLMES: Oh, Chad. I was going to take you through the whole alphabet.
MYERS: Oh, no. They recycle every six years.
HOLMES: All right. Well, hopefully we won't get there, but likely we will. But hopefully, they stay out there. Chad, we appreciate you as always, buddy. Thanks so much. We'll be checking in with him again here shortly.
Want to give you a look at some of the stories making headlines right now.
A little reception going to be getting under way in about an hour at the White House. This is going to mark Elena Kagan's confirmation to the Supreme Court. The Senate okayed President Obama's nominee just yesterday.
Once she's sworn in tomorrow, though -- the swearing in is tomorrow -- she will be the current court's youngest justice, and she'll also be the third woman on the current court.
The NTSB is going to be investigating yesterday's accident in Missouri that killed two teenagers. Two school buses, a big rig and a pickup collided on Interstate 44. This was outside of St. Louis. We were bringing you that live coverage here yesterday when it happened.
NTSB says it will focus on human factors and also road construction in the area to determine what happened in that accident.
Also, a lawyer for a woman sentenced to death in Iran has just been released from custody in Turkey. He fled Iran after authorities hauled him in, interrogated him, and he says threatened his family. He was detained in Turkey for failing to properly register as a refugee.
Well, testing the security of your bank accounts. There's an expert out there who is showing just how easy it is to get an ATM to hand over your money to somebody else. He's going to explain this to us, coming up. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Hacking into an ATM. Well, plenty of people, I'm sure, have tried it at some point. But we have a security expert who is now successful at doing so. But, again, he's -- works for the good side, not the dark side. So he's trying to help people out there, and protect your money. His name is Barnaby Jack. He joins us now.
Barnaby, hello to you. We're glad you could be here. I know you put on this demonstration that kind of wowed people at what's called this Black Hat security conference not too long ago.
But first of all, tell me how difficult it is. You're a security expert. You do this for a living. You know what you're doing. But for a guy like you, even, just how difficult was it to do?
BARNABY JACK, SECURITY EXPERT: Yes, I've been researching ATMs for the last couple of years now. I had two ATMs in my apartment. There's a story in that, as well, actually. But so I literally learned the ins and outs, everything I needed to know about the ATMs, tore them completely down. Literally after a year I found one big bug, and then two years later, I found a whole slew of vulnerabilities.
HOLMES: So you're telling me it took you a couple years to figure this out?
JACK: It took, well, you know, a couple of years in the off hours, though, you know. I didn't spend all my time on it.
HOLMES: All right. Well, tell me now, for people out there listening and who could possibly be worried or even a lot of banks possibly out there, how vulnerable are a lot of these ATMs out there?
JACK: So we were really careful when we gave this demonstration to make sure that the vendors had mitigation remediation in place before we went up and did it. I mean, the goal at Black Hat was certainly not to give a cookbook recipe for everyone out there to be able to go and loot ATMs. So we made sure the vendors had fixes in place, and directionally -- they're distributing those fixes at the moment.
HOLMES: What were you able to get this ATM to do, literally just spit out money? And were you also able to get some of these ATMs and hacking into them, also able to get people's personal information?
JACK: Right. So I demonstrated two different attacks. One was a walk-up attack, where I would literally walk up to ATM, within about two minutes, it would just start spitting out its entire dispenser. Of course you had to be at the ATM for that one to work.
The other attack was completely remote, so I could do it from a laptop in a hotel room or your bedroom, could do the same thing, have it spit its entire dispenser. But I also had it harvesting people's credit cards and pin numbers, which I could then retrieve remotely, as well.
HOLMES: Wow.
JACK: It was 100 percent anonymous, and bypassing all authentication.
HOLMES: Wow. Now, you were doing this with the ATMs we see when we go to our banks, or some of those ATMs we see outside at maybe a grocery store and things like that?
JACK: Right. So I demonstrated on the stand-alone variety of ATMs , typically the ones you see in the bars and the convenience stores. But the attack surface itself is -- is valid across the board with some of these bigger machines, as well.
The thing is, it's a lot easier to get a hold of these stand- alone ATMs. Like anything on the Internet, you can get a hold of it, and it's quite funny, actually, getting those ATMs delivered to your house is quite interesting. The guy literally rolls in the ATM, and not surprisingly, he's like, "Why on earth do you need an ATM in your house?"
And I just told him -- I was being a bit cheeky. I was just, "I don't like the transaction fees, mate."
HOLMES: That's a pretty good one there, Barnaby, actually. What are you going to do now, or what do you hope companies will do and possibly banks will do with the information that you're able to provide? You're showing them how they are possibly vulnerable.
JACK: Right. Well, they -- I've been practically surprised with the reaction from the banks and the ATM manufacturers. They could have taken two approaches. The could have basically tried to shut it down. Instead, they worked with us, worked with my company, IO Active. We got the fixes in place, and -- and we're going to work with them to make sure everything is above board and work with them in the future.
HOLMES: Were you surprised? And again, I know it wasn't easy, but were you surprised that you were able to pull it off?
JACK: I was a little surprised. You know, when you look at an ATM, it looks like a somewhat impenetrable device. And you know, you think about ATM security, you typically think about physical defenses, right? Is the ATM bolted down? Are there cameras in place?
This is the first time anyone had actually looked at the underlying software. And once I sort of dug in, ripped the software apart, I was really surprised at the amount of that are flaws hiding underneath there.
HOLMES: All right, Barnaby, just two more things here. Maybe put some of our minds at ease. You worked on this for quite some time, but you know how difficult it is to pull this off. So in your estimation, are there very few guys out there? You know, people always try to get into an ATM. You've got hackers and what not, but in your estimation, are there very few who could possibly pull this off?
JACK: Yes. And it would take -- it would take a bit of time to replicate. Of course, I'm not naive enough to think I'm the only person that could do it. But you know, that's why I'm really careful to work with the manufacturers to make sure they have protection in place before we went ahead and actually released any details on it.
HOLMES: All right, and last thing, Barnaby. You can just tell me, man, between me and you. Have you ever been tempted just a little bit to take what you have learned and go out there and just go on a spree in town and hit up every ATM you can find?
JACK: I'm on the good side of the fence, mate.
HOLMES: Uh-huh. That was a pretty short answer there, Barnaby. We do -- we do appreciate you. Again, Barnaby Jack. It's really quite impressive and fascinating. But like we say, you -- you work for the good side, not the dark side. So we do appreciate you coming on. Interesting stuff. Thanks so much. And we will see you in the ATMs, if they disappear out there where you are. Thanks so much, buddy.
Coming up here, 25 minutes past the hour, we're going to go globe trekking here shortly. And the story of a wife who was allegedly beaten nearly to death. Heading to Turkey for this. The story of a woman who according to her mother had been beaten by her husband since the day she put on her wedding dress. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, violence against women in the United States. The attorney general, Eric Holder, calls it an epidemic that affects communities across the country, regardless of age, race or socioeconomic background.
Consider these statistics now from the Justice Department: 1.5 million women are raped and/or physically assaulted by an intimate partner every single year; 1,640 females age 12 or older were killed by an intimate partner in 2007. That's the latest year that statistics were available.
Over that same period, 700 males were killed by an intimate partner. The female death rate twice the rate of males.
And domestic violence, ever wonder just exactly what that means? Well, here is the Justice Department's definition. "Domestic violence can be defined as a pattern of abusive behavior in any relationship that is used by one partner to gain or maintain power or control over another intimate partner," end quote.
And here is a list of the different types of domestic violence: physical abuse, sexual abuse, emotional abuse, economic abuse, psychological abuse. You don't think it could ever happen to you. Consider this. The Justice Department's Office of Violence Against Women says, quote, "Domestic violence can happen to anyone regardless of race, age, sexual orientation, religion or gender." And children who grow up witnessing domestic violence are among those seriously affected by the crime.
To be clear here, the Department of Justice says domestic violence against women in the U.S. declined by 53 percent between 1993 and 2008. For males, the decline was 54 percent.
Be that as it may, domestic violence in this country remains a very serious problem, and at times, it is a deadly problem.
Of course, we are talking about United States' statistics there. It's not just in the U.S., it is really a worldwide epidemic. At least according to Amnesty International. That's one of a number of organizations who certainly feel that way.
Listen to this from Amnesty International. Says at least in at least every three women worldwide has been beaten, coerced into sex, or otherwise abused. There is a bill now being considered on Capitol Hill that would actually have some bipartisan support. You don't hear that oftentimes, but on this one, it does that would give U.S. aid -- increase it to 20 countries that take concrete action to reduce brutality against women.
And let me show you a picture now that so many people saw and certainly stirred the emotion. That young woman there, an Afghan woman. She ran away from an abusive husband. She was then caught, tried by the Taliban, and her husband cut off her nose and ears.
She survived. She is now in safe hands. She is going to have reconstructive surgery in the U.S. but her story, her picture, certainly stirred emotions and really helped people understand maybe a little better than statistics can show just what happens in some places.
Unfortunately, the story doesn't really end there. I want to turn to Turkey now, where another example of a woman beaten to death by her husband. She wasn't protected by the law. Our Ivan Watson has this story for us. Ivan, hello to you.
IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J. I've been looking at domestic violence against women here in turkey. It's a member of the NATO military alliance. It's an applicant to join the European union, and it's a rising political and economic power in the region.
And despite some of the most progressive laws in the Muslim world, to protect women, at least four out of ten women surveyed say they have experienced sexual or physical abuse from their partners. Take a look at this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hamide Yeni is on a hunt, pounding down the dirt roads of this remote village in eastern Turkey, looking for the man who Turkish authorities say beat his wife and put her in the hospital twice in less than 12 months.
(SPEAKING FOREIGN LANGUAGE)
WATSON: "Have you seen Faruk?" she asks the village mayor's daughter. "He disappeared with his car."
"No one has seen him," the woman replies.
The man Yeni is looking for is Faruk Platin, filmed here several months ago with his two children and his 30-year-old wife, Sidika. This was Sidika outside a hospital last September, almost unrecognizable because of bruises and the bandages that doctors put on her ear after part of it was sliced off.
A court sentenced Sidika's husband to 15 months in prison for assault, but officials say he did not serve any jail time because he, quote, "showed remorse." Sidika also dropped the charges against him. So, after two months at a state-run women's shelter, the prosecutor sent her and her children back to live with her husband.
Women's rights activists, like Hamide Yeni, say they watched helplessly as Faruk took his wife back to his village.
"This kind of thing is happening in every village," Yeni tells me. "There are thousands of women like Sidika out there."
In fact, according to a 2009 government report, 42 percent of Turkish women surveyed say they have been victims of either physical or sexual abuse by their husband or partner. Despite progressive laws to combat domestic abuse, activists point out: there are only 52 state-run shelters for battered women in the entire country.
PINAR ILKKARACAN, WOMEN'S RIGHTS ACTIVIST: Because there's a lack of will on the part of the government to implement the laws, to have a program, a coordinated action program to stop violence against women, and also training -- training for judges and prosecutors, which is missing.
WATSON: Not long after Sidika moved back home, neighbors and one village official say there were fresh signs of trouble.
(on camera): Social services workers, security forces and volunteers repeatedly came here to Sidika Platin's house to answer reports that she was being repeatedly beaten. And in nearly every case, her husband ordered them off his property and frequently denied them access to his wife.
It wasn't until she was hospitalized for the second time in two years that doctors found such extensive wounds across her body that they believe she was tortured.
(voice-over): Doctors say she arrived in the hospital on July 15th in a catatonic state, covered with fresh bruises and burns.
Sidika's mother has little hope her daughter will ever recover.
"That man has been beating my daughter since the day she put on her wedding dress," she says. "I wish he killed her long ago to save her all of the suffering."
Turkish police now have an arrest warrant out for Sidika's husband. But activist Hamide Yeni says that just isn't good enough.
"The state is guilty, the system is guilty," she says, "because it failed to protect the victim."
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WATSON: T.J., it's been more than three weeks since Sidika Platin was hospitalized again. She is still not communicating verbally with visits from her children or from Hamada, that activist.
Meanwhile, her husband, Faruk Platin, is still at large. He is still walking free.
An important point to consider here. This is not violence confined to undeveloped, rural parts of the country. According to the government survey, the levels of domestic violence against women are roughly the same in some of the most developed, wealthy cities in the western (sic) of Turkey, like Istanbul, as they are in some of those rural farming communities in the east of the country. T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Ivan Watson, a tough story to hear. I'm sure a tough story for you to report on, but an important one for people to know about. Ivan Watson, we appreciate you as always. Thanks so much.
Well, coming up here, even more concerns for those who are obese. They may face an increased chance of getting cancer. Details of a new report. We're going to share that with you, coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look at some stories making headlines. In Maryland, the bodies of four people found in a home. This was in Riverdale just outside of Washington. The bodies of two women, a boy and a girl were discovered just after officials responded to an assault complaint early this morning.
Also, the Gulf of Mexico crews will determine today whether the cement pumped into BP's ruptured well has hardened. The cement was poured on top of heavy drilling mud already pumped into that well. Officials hope it will once and for all stop this oil leak.
Also, researchers warning that as Americans get fatter, more and more will get cancer. Almost 27 percent of the U.S. population is now considered obese. That's expected to mean more than 100,000 additional cancer diagnoses this year. Researchers can't fully explain the link, but it's been established again and again and again.
Also, something for you this weekend. Dr. Sanjay Gupta, showing you the toxic chemicals our children are exposed to every single day. What he has found out is really eye-opening. Don't miss "TOXIC AMERICA: Part Two, Toxic Childhood." Special investigation with Dr. Sanjay Gupta, Saturday, 8:00 Eastern.
We've got a young man in the studio I'm going to introduce you to in a moment, but you might already know him because of his speech he gave as a high school valedictorian. The speech actually went viral. You're going to meet this young man and hear his story. He's here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Our "Mission Possible" today. You know what? Sometimes we don't bring enough good news. We've got some new now. Look at that, honored and humbled. I don't know about the humbled part. I've been talking to this young man for a few minutes here.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: He ain't too humble. But that's Deonte Bridges there. He is high school student out of Atlanta. Comes from one of the, I guess you could call it, tougher neighborhoods here in the Atlanta area. Booker T. Washington high school. He is now the first black male valedictorian at Booker T. in some ten years, at least. This is a school that is predominantly black.
Now, his Internet -- he became an Internet sensation, because you're seeing part of his speech there, really got some people going, and is he was telling his remarkable story. Let me let you listen to a piece of that. Then we'll talk to him here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEONTE BRIDGES, BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN: I am the dream and the hope of the slaves. I rise. To quote the words of the famous writer and poet, Langston Hughes, "Life for me ain't been no crystal."
I have been negatively stereotyped by society. Enticed with drugs. Overwhelmed with my mother's diagnosis with leukemia. Robbed at gunpoint, and experienced the death of my brother. Despite the tax, splinters and totem (ph) boys, still, I rise.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He does. And he's here. Young fellow, good to have you in with us, man. Good to have you here.
You know, I'll start with that speech. Did you know -- did you know when you were valedictorian, you knew you were going to have to give a speech, did you know automatically you were going to do something inspirational? There are so many things young people do with those speeches, but that was some powerful stuff there.
BRIDGES: I was never comfortable sharing the details or story of my life. HOLMES: Why is that?
BRIDGES: I didn't want anyone feeling sorry for me. So, I pretty much wanted to do what I had to do inside the classroom or what not, or just school, period. And you know, when the time came for me to write my graduation speech, I knew I had a story to tell. But I didn't expect for it to become like this.
HOLMES: And what do you think now that it has become what it is and you're sitting here on CNN right now and talking about it on national TV? what do you think about this?
BRIDGES: It's so surreal. It's very surreal. Sometimes I can't believe it. I never knew so many people would be inspired by my story. It's really -- it's a blessing. I mean, I'm at a loss of words when I think about it.
HOLMES: Who instilled it in you? It had to come from somewhere. Because you had every reason to use a lot of stuff as an excuse. But you didn't. So what -- who instilled in you, you've got to get that education, you have to excel?
BRIDGES: Well, I could say my parents. My family. My parents' parents. My father, Ernest Bridges, he was there to support and encourage me along the way.
But at the end of the day, I always had that self discipline. I knew what I needed to do, always wanted to make a difference, always wanted to set an example for the youth of the (INAUDIBLE) and across the country. And I just had it in me ever since day one. And right now, it's a very great feeling.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to continue our conversation with him right after a break. And get into some more of those details of what exactly Deonte did have to overcome to get to this point. Quick break. We are right back with our "Mission Possible."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIDGES: Had I given up, I would not stand here today, as a possessor of more than $1 million in scholarship funds.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
BRIDGES: Had I given in -
(APPLAUSE)
BRIDGES: -- I would not stand before you today, honored, and humbled, to be the first African-American male valedictorian of Booker T. Washington high school in more than a decade!
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Deonte Bridges. The eyes are a little dryer today, but he's getting folks in our studio worked up with that speech.
Really got a lot of people worked up. Did you get overcome with emotion there?
And again, we're talking with Deonte Bridges, a young man who overcame so much at Booker T. Washington High School here in Atlanta. The first male black valedictorian in over 10 years at that school. But did you find yourself getting overwhelmed up there?
BRIDGES: I became very caught up in the moment. I tried to hold it back. But reality kicked in, but I had to take a second that realize that it was all real.
HOLMES: That reality you're talking about and that reality has been your life, and you talked about it some in your speech there. Tell our viewers how much you've gone through from your brother, to your mother.
BRIDGES: When I was younger, my brother passed away under cardiac arrest. He went under cardiac arrest playing basketball. And you know, it may seem cliched, I really feel like he was the best brother anyone could have. Losing him at a very young age, it pretty much was a reality check. I knew that it was real. I learned that at a very young age.
When I was 13, my mother was diagnosed with leukemia. They told me she had -- the average life span was five years. So five years late, here I am graduating and I'm glad that she was here to witness it all.
May 17th, 2008, very tragic day. I was robbed at gunpoint on my way home. Less than a minute from walking into my door. And, the list goes on. Some people may not know it, but coming off graduation, three days later, my grandfather passed away.
So, adversity causes some men to break, but for me, it helped me break records. I'm just trying to set an example in spite of (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: How is your mom now?
BRIDGES: She's doing very well. Very well.
HOLMES: How is she holding up with everything you're going through? Like you said, she was here to see it. I'm sure she was at that graduation. How proud is she right now?
BRIDGES: She is extremely proud. My father's extremely proud. I mean, just filled with joy. And that's what it's all about at the end of the day.
HOLMES: I'm told about how impressive your background is, pretty much a perfect 4.0 grade point average in high school. You got $1 million worth of scholarship offers. Where did you decide you want to go to school?
BRIDGES: I decided to attend the University of Georgia in Athens. Headed to Athens.
HOLMES: Headed to Athens. You wanted to stay close by because of family at this point?
BRIDGES: Right. Exactly.
HOLMES: What do you want to do down the road?
BRIDGES: Pretty much continue to do what I'm going now. I feel like I was put on this earth to help give back and inspire others. And I'm doing that right now. And I really want to make a difference. So, whatever I was placed here to do, I want to do it.
HOLMES: Well, Deonte, we are pulling for you and we look forward to you still being at the forefront here in several years. All right?
BRIDGES: Yes sir, yes sir.
HOLMES: We're going to keep up with up with you over there. Wish you would have been a Razorback instead of a Bulldog, but we do what we've got to do.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Deonte, it's a pleasure, really, to have you in here.
BRIDGES: I do appreciate it.
HOLMES: We appreciate it, because like I said, we do sometimes some hard news around here that can really wear on you. But it's good to see an inspirational story like yours. Great young man.
Look out for him, Deonte Bridges, you will see him later. But you can find a link to his speech on Ali Velshi's Web page. That's CNN.com/ali.
Stay here with us. Straight ahead, we're going to meet a young man who grew up in America. He studied here in America as well. But look at that picture. Even sold cars -- used cars in America. A fascinating story now. He's allegedly one of the big guns in al Qaeda and his momma, though, says he's a scapegoat. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: You have probably never heard the name Adnan Shukrijuma. He'd probably like to keep it that way. But you can't really stay totally under the radar when you're calling the shots for al Qaeda, as Shukrijuma believed to be doing. Plotting attacks against the country where he grew up. CNN's Susan Candiotti with the story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The FBI says that after he left America, Shukrijumah started off as an al Qaeda dishwasher, doing menial tasks at training camps. But it believes he's much more than a dishwasher now.
BRIAN LABLANC, SPECIAL AGENT, FBI: Just like any other business, he would be equated with a chief of operations.
CANDIOTTI: Investigators have revealed to CNN they believe Adnan Shukrijumah is now directing al Qaeda's overseas operations.
(on camera): How dangerous is he?
LABLANC: He may not be somebody that's going to come into the United States to conduct the attack, but what makes him more dangerous is that he's out there plotting the attacks and recruiting people to actively do that.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): The break-through came when FBI counterterrorism agent Brian LaBlanc linked Shukrijumah to the thwarted New York subway suicide mission last fall, the biggest post- 9/11 terror investigation.
Najibullah Zazi and Zarein Ahmedzay admit they plan to blow themselves up using homemade bombs. Prosecutors say it was Shukrijumah who called the shots, probably from somewhere along the Afghan-Pakistan border.
(on camera): What did Zazi that he, Shukrijumah, told him to do?
LABLANC: Adnan was the one that convinced the three of them to come back to the United States and conduct the attack here.
CANDIOTTI: He told them you go there and you blow up the subways.
LABLANC: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: There are a lot of people that are saying now that he's involved in evil things, planning attacks on the United States. Can you imagine this?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. That is not my son. My son is not a violent person. He is very kind, generous.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): In her only televised interview since her son was indicted in the New York plot, his mother insists he's incapable of doing harm.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: The way you call it -- the scapegoat.
CANDIOTTI: The eldest son of a Saudi imam, Shukrijumah came to America as a young child. His mother shared exclusively this beloved photo of the two of them. They settled in Brooklyn, New York.
CNN has learned that his Shukrijumah's father preached at this mosque. They lived at this house nearby before moving to Florida in the mid-'90s. His father, who is now dead, opened a small mosque near Fort Lauderdale.
(on camera): In the late '90s, Shukrijumah worked several odd jobs, including selling used cars. His family says that's how he paid for courses, including chemistry and computers, at this small college in south Florida. He even took classes to speak better English.
Well, a few years later, when the FBI began looking for him, his English professor remembered videotaping him at one of those classes and turned over the tape to the FBI. The FBI says that professor's actions proved crucial to their investigation some six years later.
(voice-over): On a hunch, LaBlanc asked agents in New York to show that video of Shukrijumah to would-be bomber Zazi.
LABLANC: From that video, he was able to make an identification.
CANDIOTTI: The FBI says it now has a more detail profile of Shukrijumah in part from 9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed. Just before 9/11, Shukrijumah crossed the U.S. by train. Later, he scoped out the Panama Canal as a target. He went to Trinidad, London and by June 2001, Afghanistan. On 9/11, his mother, who doesn't want to be named, says he called home for the last time.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He called me and he said, oh, maybe you'll hear what happened so on and so on and so on. They say they put it in -- they're putting it on the Muslims. I say, yes. I tell him do not come. Do not come because they're looking at all the Muslim people.
And he was arguing with me. He said, no, I didn't do nothing. I will come. Don't worry about it.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): And after that?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: After that, I don't hear about him.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Shukrijumah's mother adamantly denies her son is directing al Qaeda attacks. But when I asked about the admitted Times Square car bomber, she said this --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Some time you have to do something very alarming for the people to wake up. It's not because you hate them or you want to destroy them or you want to hurt them.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): Is there anything that you would tell your son about what he should do or not do?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: No. I don't have nothing to tell him. He have his own guide and his own heart.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): For the FBI, it is all about staying one step ahead. Where will al Qaeda and Shukrijumah strike next?
(on camera): What do you think he's doing now?
LABLANC: He's definitely focused on attacking the United States and other western countries.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Shukrijumah is believed to be hiding in the lawless frontier of Pakistan. Two of his predecessors were killed in U.S. drone attacks.
