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Kagan Sworn In; Floods Displaced Millions in Pakistan; Recession Woes Deepen in the Summer for Kids Who Won't Have School Lunches; Families Needing Food Banks is on the Rise
Aired August 07, 2010 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR: All right, Headlines at the top of the hour. It's official, we now have nine Supreme Court justices on the job. Elena Kagan became official just a short time ago.
A desperate call for help in Pakistan. Millions are forced from homes because of deadly flooding. Their village is now under water.
Athletes are being warned to be careful in the harsh summer sun. So, how do you beat triple digit temperatures? We have tips.
Justice Elena Kagan, that's how she should be called now. She was sworn in about two hours ago becoming the latest associate justice of the Supreme Court. Chief Justice John Roberts administered the oath.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN ROBERTS: Do you solemnly swear?
ELENA KAGAN, SUPREME COURT JUSTICE: I, Elena Kagan, do solemnly swear -
ROBERTS: That I will administer justice without respect for persons.
KAGAN: That I will administer justice without respect for persons.
ROBERTS: And do equal right to the poor and to the rich.
KAGAN: And do equal rights to the poor and to the rich.
ROBERTS: And that I will faithfully and impartially -
KAGAN: And that I will faithfully and impartially -
ROBERTS: - discharge and perform -
KAGAN: - discharge and perform -
ROBERTS: All the duties incumbent upon me.
KAGAN: All the duties incumbent upon me -
ROBERTS: -- as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States -
KAGAN: -- as associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
ROBERTS: - under the constitution and laws of the United States.
KAGAN: - under the constitution and laws of the United States.
ROBERTS: So help me god.
KAGAN: So help me god.
(APPLAUSE)
ROBERTS: Congratulations.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: There you go. And Kagan was confirmed by the Senate earlier this week, replacing John Paul Stevens who retired in June. She is just the fourth woman to become a Supreme Court justice.
One issue that could end up on the high court's docket is California's Proposition 8, which bans same-sex marriages. A federal judge ruled it unconstitutional earlier this week but he postponed his order from taking effect until supporters of the ban can appeal.
Two of the state's top politicians want to allow same-sex marriages right away. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown filed legal motions on that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JERRY BROWN, CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY GENERAL: The law has been declared in California by this judge. He's taken testimony. He's heard from the experts and it is his firm opinion that those opposed to same-sex marriage have not made any compelling interest to justify denying the right of marriage in these cases.
So for that reason, I have joined with the governor and others in opposing any stay of this order. We think that the rules on marriage for same-sex couples should go into effect immediately.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: And Schwarzenegger's brief, the governor wrote that allowing same sex marriage is now is consistent with California's long history of treating all people with equal dignity and respect.
Fidel Castro is back on the main stage. Did you miss this today? The former Cuban leader appeared today at his nation's national assembly. It is his first major government appearance since he gave up power for health reasons four years ago. There he is in the green fatigues. In a speech, he predicted a possible nuclear war between the U.S., Israel and Iran.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FIDEL CASTRO, FMR. CUBAN LEADER (through translator): In this situation, President Barack Obama is the one who would have to give the order for this widely anticipated attack following the orders of the giant empire.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Castro's appearance no doubt will fuel speculation he's getting his hands back into the government now run by his brother, Raul.
BP is sidestepping what could be another PR headache. The oil giant says it is not thinking about drilling another well near the well that caused the oil disaster, - at least not right now. Tomorrow, BP resumes drilling a relief well to seal off the bottom of the now plugged well.
Our Reynolds Wolf is in Pensacola and Reynolds, BP issued a statement confirming that their primary focus is shutting off the well for good. And you know, I guess that was necessary because the Doug Suttles, the COO of the company came out and said that they may start drilling out there even though they don't have this thing totally killed yet.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Absolutely. You know, I mean, you have to be careful in situations like this. And I think that's basically what BP was trying to do - it's just trying to make sure that they are understood. There was what may have been misinterpreted as eagerness on the part of BP when they mentioned that they may revisit that area, possibly at some point, to maybe drill again.
You have to remember though that area right below the ocean floor, you have roughly I guess, maybe about $4 billion worth of oil that's still there. That still use a tremendous reservoir. That someone at some point may eventually use, but BP's goal right now, first and foremost, their focus, they are saying, is a laser beam on the recovery and the rehabilitation of the Gulf of Mexico.
And part of that is actually being seen first and foremost right off the shores here in Pensacola Beach, where they haven't seen a trace of oil in about a month or so. Waters are just pristine. The beaches are sugar white. Everything looks great. The people are flocking in, but I had to tell you, Jim, the situation is very different in parts of Louisiana, where just yesterday in St. Bernard Parish, they had 26 reports of oil sighted in less than 24 hours. And I can tell you that as many people, including some fishermen, are very angry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ACY J. COOPER, FISHERMAN: That's oil. That's straight up oil. That's crude. There's no doubt in my mind that's crude. You can look at it. I'm a fisherman. I like to sell my seafood. I need to make money. This is what I do, but health is more important. Before we risk anybody getting sick, any family sick or any kid sick, we need to think about what we're doing here. The state needs to think about what they're doing. Let's take another look at it. Make BP pay for a year, hold back as long as we need to do it, until we have this cleaned up. We don't want anything to happen to anybody. If it happens we may never sell our seafood again. (END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: And according to some of the scientists with the federal government, they said earlier this week that much of the oil, only about a quarter of it remains out in the Gulf of Mexico. Much that they say is a sheen and will burn up by the sun, it will actually be dissolved in salt water, which is a very corrosive agent.
But then you still have, of course, quite a bit of it that is still evident in many of this pristine marshlands of southeast Louisiana. That is something that could take a very, very long time to clean up. A bit of good news that did come out though, I have to tell you, is the news of the waters off of Mississippi, now open for commercial recreation fishermen with just two exceptions - crab fishing and oyster fishing.
There is a little bit of a hold on that. They are doing some additional testing, tissue testing on both those types of animals before they give the green light on oyster and crab fishing. That's a big thing. (INAUDIBLE) certainly no question that the gulf is returning especially in terms of fishing. Back to you.
ACOSTA: Reynolds, it would be great to see that seafood industry get back on its feet. Because it is so darn tasty. That is for sure. Reynolds Wolf, down in the gulf coast, joining us live from Pensacola Beach. We appreciate it. Thanks, Reynolds.
Closing the gap between minorities and whites when it comes to learning swimming and the importance of learning to swim. Up, coming next, the Olympic swimmer who has taken on this very important task.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Some disturbing news out of Maryland. Police say a drug sale gone bad, may be what prompted the murders of four people, including two young children. It happened in Prince Georges County, Maryland. Two women and two children were found dead in what police described as filthy and deplorable living conditions. According to the "Washington Post," the home had no air conditioning, running water or toilet. The bodies were found amid piles of trash and containers of feces. Two suspects have been charged with first degree murder.
On to Flint, Michigan. They may have a knife-wielding serial killer on their hands up there. Police are investigating 13 stabbings that resulted in five deaths. All but one of the 13 victims are African- American. And take a look at the sketch Michigan Police just released. The suspect is described as being a white male in his late 20s or 30s with a muscular build around 6'0" tall. For now, families of the victims have few answers.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ELZORA MINOR, MOTHER OF A VICTIM: (INAUDIBLE) to want to take someone's life.
STEPHANIE WARD, VICTIM'S SISTER: You took a piece of our family, just for nothing.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: My goodness. And police say the suspect may be luring his victims by asking them for help.
The tragic drownings of six Louisiana teens last weekend shed light on what many are calling a disturbing statistic. According to the Centers for Disease Control, African-Americans drown at a rate of 20 percent higher than whites. Olympic gold medalist Cullen Jones is the spokesperson for Make a Splash, a water safety initiative.
Cullen, it's great of you to join us. This is such an important issue. And honestly it's something that I hadn't really thought about. Why do minorities lag so far behind in learning to swim? Why is there such a huge gap?
CULLEN JONES, OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST: Well, thanks to USA Swimming and a study done by the University of Memphis, we're finding that there are three major factors. One being fear. The second being parental backing. Parents aren't really standing behind their kids and making it kind of a priority to learn how to swim. And lastly is physical appearance.
ACOSTA: And so I'm mean, why do African-Americans have a false sense of security about swimming? I think you have mentioned that this was a contributing factor.
JONES: Definitely. Looking at the history, just looking back you see a lot of, even my own mother, she doesn't know how to swim. And in her generation, a lot of people were actually shunned away from the pool, and not given the same opportunities of learning how to swim. I myself, was actually introduced to swimming by almost drowning myself and my mom, unlike some other parents, thought it would be better for me to get swim lessons. So she got me into the pool, got me swim lessons and you know, I made a career out of it later, but not everyone is as fortunate as I have been.
ACOSTA: And I understand why that might be the case for generations behind us, but why would it still be going on with kids today?
JONES: Well, a large part is that parents are actually projecting their own fears onto their children. They themselves aren't feeling comfortable around the water, so they feel the best way to keep their kids from having a life or death situation is to kind of take them away from the pool, think of the water as almost like being fire, stay away, hot, or as being negative, rather than giving them a life skill.
And that's kind of what I have taken as being my own life goal right now is to try to get all African-Americans water safe. Because parents aren't always going to be around the kids. Kids are going to go on vacation, go to friends' houses and you know, unfortunately in Louisiana, kids are just going to be near water. You never know what could happen.
ACOSTA: Right. And it's not only a safety issue. I mean, you have a real athletic opportunity here. I mean, if we could get young African-American kids all over the country learning to swim, competing in athletic events, I mean, this could really change the nature of that sport.
JONES: Absolutely. I mean, it's just a completely different road that's so untraveled. There were a few African-Americans before me and they have handed the torch onto me and I'm really trying to run with it. After the 2008 Olympics and all the success I've had, I feel like this is where kind of my life is leading me. It's to try to kind of pave the way to get more African-Americans into swimming, for sure.
ACOSTA: And so, what would you say to any parents out there - minority parents, African-American, Hispanic - who may have been reluctant to swim when they were young because of cultural barriers that you mentioned? What would you say to them in terms of how to encourage their kids to go out there and learn how to swim?
JONES: Parents are trying to protect their kids. And the best way to protect your kids against water is to be water safe, not to shun kids away from the pool. To get your kids in swim lessons. I work with Make A Splash. We have a web site, makeasplash.org and we have local partners all over the U.S. and sign your kids up.
Makeasplash.org. Get them the lessons so you don't have to worry about your kids being in the water. You know, it's one of the things where it's hot. Everybody wants to be near the water. Every kid likes to be in the water. You wouldn't allow your kid to be in a car without a safety belt so don't allow your kids to go to the pool without having lessons.
ACOSTA: Yes, and you just mentioned another big reason why every kid needs to learn how to swim out there. It's hot out there and the last thing we want is a bunch of kids in the house with cabin fever in the summer time. Get them to the pool.
Cullen Smith, what a great cause. And we really appreciate your time, making time for us in talking about this very important issue. Good talking to you. Best of luck.
JONES: Thank you. Thanks for having me.
ACOSTA: Well, for more information about the Make A Splash initiative and the USA Swimming Foundation, log on to swimfoundation.org.
Hollywood's golden girl is back on the big screen this weekend. And Will Farrell teams up with Mark Wahlberg in an odd couple comedy about cops. Are these movies worth your dime and your time? Stick with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Let's check our top stories. In western Pennsylvania, a family escaped unharmed even though a small plane crashed into their home. Right now, police say no bodies have been recovered from that aircraft. There is no word on what caused the crash.
Two of California's top politicians want an immediate resumption of same-sex marriages in their state. A federal judge threw out California's same-sex marriage ban earlier this week but he delayed the ruling from taking effect until supporters of the ban can appeal. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and Attorney General Jerry Brown have now filed briefs asking the judge to make his ruling effective immediately.
Astronauts are on a space walk to fix a broken part of the International Space Station's cooling system. They are removing and replacing a pump that failed a week ago, setting off warning alarms and shutting down part of that system. More top stories coming up in 20 minutes.
All right. I have been looking forward to this segment all day. Movie releases coming out this weekend. Dancers are jumping off the screen, literally in the movie "Step Up 3-D" and mismatched police detectives, Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg, team up for the comedy "The Other Guys." And Samuel L. Jackson and Duane "The Rock" Johnson are also in a new movie.
Gitesh Pandya from Box Office guru.com is here with today's movie reviews. And Gitesh, thanks for joining us. We appreciate it. I have been looking forward to this movie coming up for a long time. "The Other Guys" with Will Farrell and Mark Wahlberg. Sounds like a great idea bringing these guys together and Will Farrell, you know, even if the script isn't all that great, he's just a fantastic comedian every time he goes out and pulls it off. What's your take on it, did you like it?
GITESH PANDYA, BOXOFFICEGURU.COM Well, you know, it's really all about Will Farrell. He does a terrific job in this film, otherwise, the movie is not one of the stronger films that he's been in. Part of it is the rest of the cast, Mark Wahlberg, not a strong actor, playing opposite Will Farrell who is a comedy king really. He reminds us that he's Marky Mark and not the Oscar nominated fellow from "The Departed." So a big step down for Mark Wahlberg.
But if you can get past the rest of the cast and the very lame story, it's moderately entertaining. There are some laugh out loud moments in this film, definitely, but it's inconsistent. It's uneven throughout the film. Will Farrell anchors it very well.
ACOSTA: All right. Let's take a look at the script. Let's take a look at the clip.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm pretty sure you have never voted.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I vote. Play of the week.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're like a child in a leather jacket.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Get out of the way, man.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Wait. Are you David Ershan?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Certainly, David Ershan, but why bother with accent. A little bit of a rush. I hope you don't mind.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Excuse me, you're under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say, can be used - what's the next part?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a floatation device.
You know what that's very funny.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I've never Miranda'd anyone before.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Really?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Are you guys for real? Am I being punked?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: That's great stuff. At least that's one good moment there. But you're saying that the moments are few and far between? Not enough?
PANDYA: Right. I think so. I mean that character right there is sort of a Bernie Madoff type of ponzi scheme crook. He's the villain of the film. But overall, I think if you're a big Will Farrell fan, you might want to go and see it just for him because he's terrific and he gets to ad lib a lot. That's why his performance is so good.
It's the same director as "Anchorman" and "Step Brothers" (INAUDIBLE) so the director and the star have great chemistry. One disappointing factor is "The Rock" and also Samuel L. Jackson who are all over the trailer and all over these clips. They are barely in the film, maybe the first 10 minutes of the movie and then they're gone. I won't tell you why but, you know, it would be great to have more of them.
ACOSTA: And Gitesh gives that one got a B.
Let's take a look at a clip of "Step Up 3-D." The next movie we're going to look at.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC PLAYING)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: OK. Not a lot of dialogue there. Looks like a lot of dancing and dancing in 3-D, no less.
PANDYA: Right.
ACOSTA: Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't know if I have seen dancing in 3-D, at least not at this level. What do you think?
PANDYA: Well, yes, this is the first one of its kind. A dance movie in 3-D. These are popular movies. I consider this movie a great summer junk food for teenagers. That's really all that it's trying to be and I think the young audiences that are out there will love the film. It actually opened at number two yesterday with $6.6 million. That's half of what "The Other Guys" did at 13.2 yesterday.
And overall, you know, it's shot with 3-D cameras and that makes a big difference. Because other movies that weren't in 3-D this year were not. They were upgraded later on. So visually, it's a stunning film. Story very formula. It really pops out at you with great depth and a great fun for teenage audiences.
ACOSTA: And a B+ from Gitesh for that, for "Step Up 3-D."
PANDYA: I think so. It was fun.
ACOSTA: All right. Let's go back and rewind a little bit to a hit that I was just really excited about when it first came out. Leonardo Dicaprio's "Inception." I went out and saw it. I loved it. I know not everybody feels the same way. What's your take on "Inception"? You know, not everybody is a fan of this film. What do you think?
PANDYA: I love this film. It's one of the best movies of the year. I think it will get a best picture nomination -
ACOSTA: Really?
PANDYA: When the Oscar nods come out in the winter time. And this is a big blockbuster. Three weeks in a row at number one. This weekend, it dropped to three, yesterday on Friday, 5.5. million, probably number two for this weekend. And it's a huge blockbuster worldwide. A movie people want to see a second time because it's a mind-bending story. You don't get everything the first time around.
You want to go see it again and it's become Leonardo Dicaprio's highest grossing non-iceberg movie of his career. So it's a big blockbuster, especially for the fact that it's not a sequel. It's not a franchise and it's not based on any superhero or any sort of, you know, thing with a built-in audience. So for an original movie to make this much money, probably on its way to $300 million just in North America is astounding.
ACOSTA: So Leonardo doesn't hit an iceberg with "Inception." Gitesh, gives that an A. And we want to tease what's coming up next week. "Et, Pray, Love." Am I getting that title right. I know this is very popular book out there and Julia Roberts is in the film version of that book. That's coming out soon. What do you think? Is that going to be something that folks are going to want to line up for?
PANDYA: Well, I think there is a built-in audience here. The book was a best-seller and Julia Roberts is a big star. I'm seeing it on Tuesday at the red carpet premiere here in New York City. So I will know then whether it's good or not. But I think it's going to make a play for the number one spot next weekend but it's the big boys versus the girls showdown next Friday because the other film is Sylvester Stallone's "The Expendables."
ACOSTA: Yes.
PANDYA: A macho guns and grenades movie. So boys versus girls next weekend. It will be very fun.
ACOSTA: I can't wait to see that. OK. So you just made my plans for next weekend. My wife will go see "Eat, Pray, Love" and I will go see "The Expendables." That's perfect.
All right. Gitesh Pandya.
PANDYA: A lot of couples will be splitting up next weekend.
ACOSTA: That's right. At least at the movie theater.
All right. Gitesh.
PANDYA: Temporarily, yes.
ACOSTA: That's exactly right. Great stuff. Thanks for joining us. Appreciate it.
PANDYA: Thanks, Jim.
ACOSTA: All right. Well, millions in Pakistan are waiting for a helping hand after devastating floods but relief agencies are having a difficult time getting to the hardest hit areas. We'll have an update on all of that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Pakistan is getting more of exactly what it doesn't need right now - heavy rain. Pakistan's prime minister says the country is reeling from the worst flooding in its history. The numbers are mind boggling. More than 12 million people affected. About 1,600 people dead. An estimated 650,000 homes damaged or destroyed. Pakistan's monsoon season is only half over.
CNN I-reporter Awais Khan is helping with the relief effort and sent us this I-report.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AWAIS KAHN, I-REPORTER: One of the worst affected areas right over here. Right on the north, there's the river. Here we can see all the damage that's been caused. The stench over here is terrible.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ACOSTA: Our I-reporter says there is little sign of relief efforts in his area and that's not unique. Many areas remain inaccessible by roads and continuing heavy rains are keeping both government and international aid workers from reaching hard hit areas.
CNN's Dan Rivers reports from the capital, Islamabad.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (on camera): The aid situation here remains difficult. We have been up to one warehouse run by the International Federation of the Red Cross, Red Crescent. It provided a graphic illustration of some of the problems the aid agencies are encountering here. This warehouse is under about a meter of water, 25,000 tents and about 30,000 family kits, vital supplies in this sort of situation. It's all soaked with horrible polluted water that's come from the river, the Kabul River, which burst its bank. That river is about four kilometers away from the warehouse. No one in their wildest dreams would have expected the water to have come that far. But that's the problem they've got.
In addition to that, a lot of problems with the weather here, continued heavy downs which hampered the helicopter aid efforts here, meaning a lot of the U.S. Chinooks that have been deployed here to get food and water to the people have been grounded.
All the while, the number of people being affected by this disaster continues to go up. Now, according to the Pakistani authorities here, 14 million people are being touched by this disaster which stretches across the country from the very worth west up in the Swat Valley, right the way down now to Sinh (ph) Province in the south. Dan Rivers, CNN, Pakistan.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
JIM ACOSTA, CNN ANCHOR, CNN NEWSROOM: The death toll from landslides and flash flooding in northern India is climbing. Published reports confirm at least 130 people are dead; 25 soldiers from the Indian Army are missing. Nearly 400 people have been injured. Heavy rains hit the area after midnight Thursday taking many by surprise. Thousands of soldiers are helping in relief efforts. Helicopters are being used to reach the hardest hit areas.
Wildfires raging across Western Russia show no sign of letting up and there is a problem that is coming in now, toxic smog. If you can believe that. Authorities in Moscow, look at these pictures. They are urging residents to wear masks and stay indoors. Here is the reason why. Smoke from the fires has combined with pollutants to form a thick cloud of toxic smog that is blanketing the city. Officials say the carbon monoxide levels are five time the safe level. Moscow's 10 million residents are coping with sore throats and burning eyes.
Some parts of this country getting a brief break from the stifling heat. Don't get used to it, though. The temperatures will be going back up. Let's check in with Karen Maginnis in the CNN Weather Center.
And Karen, obviously, you know, we can't get our hopes up too high. We have just gotten to August. If this summer has been any indication it will be brutal the rest of the way.
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, that is my fear. We don't see movement. Even the medium-range out looks suggest that this is going to be continuing at least for the next seven days and probably more like 10 days.
(WEATHER REPORT) ACOSTA: The recession is taking a toll on America's children. The number of families needing emergency food assistance is in on the rise. CNN's Jeanne Meserve reports on one program to feed hungry kids. The need has become so great that the program has a waiting list in some areas.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): At the Frederick Douglas Community Center in Southeast Washington, a week of summer camp ends with a bag of food. Canned soup, nutrition bars, vegetables, and more, will, over the weekend, fill stomachs that might otherwise be empty. Good nutrition is critical to children children's growth and development. But in this city only a fraction of the kids who need this food can get it.
DEIRDRE O'CONNER, CENTRAL AREA FOOD BANK: The demand is very high. Currently, we are serving about 700 kids in the weekend bag program. There are 3,000 kids on the wait list.
MESERVE (on camera): Why is the demand so great? Well, about 19 million American kids qualify for free or subsidized lunches at schools like this, for most of them in the summer, no school, no meals.
(Voice over): Chitina Gray's two-year-old loves the raisins. Nine- year-old Shaday (ph) gobbles the fruit, her brother, Diarjay (ph) snacks on the healthy chips. They get what they like and what they need, and it stretches the family food budget.
(On camera): You have four kids to feed.
CHITINA GRAY, MOTHER OF FOUR: Right.
MESERVE: Is that tough in the summer time?
GRAY: Yes, it's much harder in the summer time than it is during school days, because they are home more. So it's hard.
MESERVE: In these bad economic times, charities are struggling to provide enough food for everyone in need. Right now, only about 2 million children across the nation are able to participate in summer weekend bag programs, which is are entirely funded through private donations. A bill making its way through Congress could provide some federal money.
GEORGE BRALEY, SENIOR V.P., FEED AMERICA: We could sure make a lot bigger dent in this problem if there were some federal resources available.
MESERVE: But for now, they do what they can for these kids to make sure the long hot summer isn't a hungry summer as well. Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE) ACOSTA: Playing it safe. Students headed back to school and back to practice face record-setting heat. We'll have some life-saving tips to keep your student athletes healthy and safe. That's coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ACOSTA: Taking a look at top stories.
Gunmen in Northern Afghanistan have shot and killed 10 members of an international medical aid team, including six Americans. The Taliban claimed responsibility. Police say militants stopped the victims on a road, took their belongings, and shot them one by one. The victims were members of a Christian-based group that's been providing medical care in Afghanistan since the 1960s.
Elena Kagan has been sworn in as a Supreme Court justice. She took the oath of office two and a half hours ago. Kagan is President Obama's second appointment to the high court. She becomes the 112th justice and the fourth woman to serve on the Supreme Court.
BP is concentrating on delivering a final knockout blow to its crippled well in the Gulf of Mexico. The so-called static kill was deemed a success. Now BP will resume drilling a relief well for the so-called bottom kill effort, an effort to make ensure the drill won't ever leak again. Bp said it will share what it's learned from the disaster with other oil companies.
According to published reports, at least 19 deaths are blamed now on the summer's high temperatures. Nearly 1300 people have visited hospitals rooms for heat-related problems, or dehydration since July 1. Many cities have set up cooling centers to help people without air conditioning. While others have issued tips for keeping cool, including avoiding liquids with alcohol or caffeine.
The heat can be especially dangerous for athletes. As students return to the class room, athletes are returning to the field spending hours in the scorching sun. How do you help your star player in your family beat the heat? Dr. William Lloyd is back with us with some heat- saving tips, and some life-saving tips, for families out there.
Dr. Bill, thanks again for joining us. I hope you don't have your bucket of ice this week.
DR. BILL LLOYD, SURGEON, PATHOLOGIST: No ice today, but maybe we should. It's August 7th, Jim, it is still the middle of the summer and people are going back to school.
ACOSTA: That's right, and given the fact that the schools are re- opening in early August, you have a lot of kids going back to the football field, back to the soccer field, and those kids will be dealing with some blistering temperatures. It's has been historically hot in certain parts of the country this year. So what do you recommend? What are you telling parents?
LLOYD: This can be a very dangerous time for them. Jim, it takes 10 days for somebody to acclimate to hot weather, and don't forget young people going to colleges far away where they may have been in a cool climate all summer, and now in a hot climate for football, cross country or other sports.
Locally, when your kid comes and says, "Hey, Dad, sign this sheet so I can play football." Stop right there. Get out to the field. Find the coach. Find out what's going on. What's their schedule? What kind of uniforms are they wearing? Is there a first aid kit? Is there sufficient water? How many adults are there, relative to the number of athletes? What's the attitude? Is it win at any cost, or what happens when somebody gets hurt? Are they respectful of the athlete and do they take them out of action? How many breaks? Important decisions like that. Look for the red flags before you let your kid sign up.
ACOSTA: I remember those summer, two-a-days. I wasn't the star player on the team, far from it. My high school classmates will remind me of it. But I do remember those two-a-days, and they were punishing. And there were some coaches out there who are just going to drive those players, drive those student athletes, you know, come hell or high water.
LLOYD: Here's the formula on how to survive that intense heat. The first thing is loose clothing. In many school districts they don't let football players wear uniforms for the first three days. Nothing but T-shirts and shorts so they can get used to the heat. Make sure there is a buddy system. Make sure your athlete pairs with another athlete so they can keep an eye on each other as the practices go on. Like we talked before, plenty of breaks, and make sure you take the breaks in the shade because direct sun raises the heat index by 15 degrees.
Fluids, fluids, fluids. I'm sure we'll talk more about that. And plenty of common sense. Tell your kids, if you don't feel right, leave the field. If you are there watching, if you see a kid in trouble, even if it's not your own kid, alert the coach and get that kid into the shade.
ACOSTA: That's great advice. What are some warning signs we should be looking for?
LLOYD: The number one sign of a heat injury is a headache. If you hear a child complaining of headache, get them into the shade.
ACOSTA: Wow.
LLOYD: People don't know this. It's true. Your perspiration will go down and you will stop sweating, but that's way too late in the process. And those kids that have stopped sweating are very, very sick.
You will notice a loss of thirst. Early one, when you are hot, you want to drink. But once you get into heat injury, you don't care about drinking. You become very nauseous and lethargic. You can't make sense of things. You're disoriented. These are important warning signs. Finally, you touch the child and you can feel how warm they are because, literally, Jim, they are cooking. They are no longer perspiring, evaporating or making their body cool.
ACOSTA: Right.
And I wanted to ask you about this, because a lot of these cases where you see a student get into trouble out on the field, during these very hot days of the late summer, and in the fall, sometimes the kids will have other medical complications that the parents didn't know about, or maybe the school didn't know about. Doesn't that play into some of this?
LLOYD: Well, you know, we hear of stories like that this time of year of children with unfortunate heart anomalies and problems dropping dead on the playing field. If your child is going into organized sports program, there should be a medical program as well. Your young athlete ought to get screened before hand by qualified medical personnel to make sure they don't have the kind of problems that you are hinting at. Specifically, cardiac problems, most of which can be picked up by simply listening to the heart, and seeing how the child performs in a high exertion environment.
There are some rare occasions, though, where young athletes have a heart anomaly and you know what, you could screen everybody in town, but you may not find it. It doesn't make any economic sense. Check with your doctor. Make sure your kids are fully qualified and make sure they drink plenty of water when they are out there on the field, so they don't develop a heat injury.
ACOSTA: In terms of what to drink out there? Is it just water, just keep hydrating with water? Do those power aid drinks help?
LLOYD: Well, there are some simple rules. If you are going to be out in the sun for two hours or less, then just drink regular tap water. Your body knows what to do with fluids. It just wants the fluids, let them have them. Typically four glasses every hour. After two hours you have to think about an issue where maybe you are bringing in too much-bringing in too much water. That could harm your sodium and that could make you very, very sick. You hear about these people who are over-hydrated.
So, if you are going to be out for more than two hours, then, yes, start with sports drinks. Typically look at the electrolytes on the back. The major brands are all fine. You want no more than 6 percent of different electrolyte salts in those fluids. Mix them up, 50/50 with regular tap water. You will save a lot of money and your kids will get both the fluid replenishment and electrolytes they need.
ACOSTA: I'm hearing something about the five pound rule. What is that? Is that something parents should know about?
LLOYD: They sure should know about it. The five pound rule can save your child's life. During the first three, four days of fall training when the weather is really hot. Every morning you weigh your child before they go to school. When they come home right after practice, weigh them again. On any day during the first week if they have lost five pounds during that day they don't get to go to practice the next day. Because that means they have suffered severe fluid loss. ACOSTA: Wow.
LLOYD: Even in football camp, you won't put on muscle the first five days and you won't lose fat the first five days, but you will lose a lot of water. Any child that loses five pounds in one day has lost a lot of water. No practice for them. That will teach them, that will reinforce them, to get the fluids they need so they won't be skipping practice.
ACOSTA: Dr. Bill, that's great advice for keeping those kids out there safe. We appreciate it. I think I could have used some of that advice back in my days, which were a long time ago. We won't go into that.
LLOYD: You could have been a star, Jim! You could have been a star!
ACOSTA: I could have been a contender, Doctor Bill. Thanks a lot, appreciate it.
LLOYD: We'll talk again soon.
ACOSTA: Sounds good.
It's a dirty job, but somebody has to do it. Archaeologists are examining pieces of an old ship found buried at ground zero. Yes, a ship that dates back to the 1780s. CNN photojournalist Ken Tuey (ph) shows us how the experts are working to preserve this rare discovery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR, THE SITUATION ROOM: The remains of an 18th century ship buried deep under Lower Manhattan.
ACOSTA: Workers at the World Trade Center site uncovered the hull of a ship dating all the way back to the 1700s.
KIRAN CHETRY, CNN ANCHOR, AMERICAN MORNING: The archaeologists at the site are just thrilled with this.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They are so excited.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is the kind of thing that archaeologists are always hoping to find, and very rarely actually do.
PATRICIA SAMFORD, MARYLAND ARCHEOLOGIST CONSERVATION LAB: We are always on the lookout for projects coming in and exciting projects like this one. I called up our head conservator and said, we really need to call these people and see if they could use our services. Because our lab is perfectly equipped to handle the size and scope of the project.
NANCY SHIPPEN, ARCHEOLOGICAL CONSERVATOR: This is going fast. We have lots of help. We are cleaning the wood we received from the ship. When it came out of the ground it was very heavily encrusted with mud. We are just trying to clean all the pieces. We'll give them over to the archaeologists to document each piece. SAMFORD: We just found some fabric or textiles that are concreted to some of the wood.
SHIPPEN: There are some textiles.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Is it embedded?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Ooh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We think it is some sort of bone.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think so.
SHIPPEN: It could be natural or part of a bone handled implement of some kind.
SAMFORD: As we are going through cleaning the timbers we are finding remnants that may be associated with the ship.
SHIPPEN: So often we look at the World Trade Center site and ground zero, and think of the more recent past. But to be able to look further back into to the 18th century, it makes it very exciting.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Well, the State of Arizona wants them out, but many immigrants who want to return to their homeland can't-are finding that they can't afford the journey home. That's coming up.
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ACOSTA: The immigration debate heating up again this weekend. Black conservatives sponsored an anti-illegal immigrant rally in South Carolina today. They say it's meant to show support for Arizona's controversial immigration law. A similar bill was proposed in South Carolina, but never made it to a vote in the legislature. And as Arizona pushes for laws to force illegal immigrants out of the country, and certainly out of their state, many would like to return to their own. But as CNN's Amber Lyon shows us, the road home is delayed because many don't have the money to get there.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AMBER LYONS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We're in central Phoenix, and we're here to talk to a family that wants to return to Mexico, in fact, they say they would have returned yesterday if they could have, but they can't afford the trip.
Ola!
(Speaking Spanish, on screen translation) Why do you want to return to Mexico?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (speaking Spanish, on screen translation): A lot of months passed and my husband did not have work. LYONS: They're saying that as the years have gone by, since the last three years, it keeps getting more and more difficult to find work that will take him without papers.
(Speaking Spanish)
They have a lot of kids.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Rebecca, Sarah, Francisco, Cynthia, Sadille (ph).
LYONS: This family of seven has sold most of their belongings in an effort to raise money to pay for the trip back to Mexico. They think it could take several months.
(On camera): Here in Nogales, Arizona, we are headed into Mexico. We came to see exactly what it will take them financially to reenter the country.
(voice over): The immigrants have to pay the Mexican government to bring truckloads of belongings into the country.
We just spoke with authorities. They say they are offering a special right now until the end of the month. The first $300 worth of goods per person is free. Anything above that requires a 16 percent tax. How much did you just pay the Mexican government to cross over into Mexico?
PAULINA: $500.
LYONS: We just caught up with this family of six from Tucson, Arizona. They are voluntarily returning to Mexico.
PAULINA: It's costing me like more than $3,000. That includes shipping my furniture, mostly everything that we had in the house. Plus getting their citizenship fixed, and gas money, and everything.
LYONS: The other alternative? Picking up the phone and calling Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and turning themselves in. They may get a free ride to Mexico but they also get officially detained and deported.
(SPEAKING SPANISH, ONSCREEN TRANSLATION): I don't want them to put us in jail. I don't want to pass through the office and have them take our fingerprints. It is very awful.
LYONS: And a call to ICE means deportation without their belongings.
FRANCISCO: I have my tools. If I don't have my tools, I can't do nothing over there for my family.
LYONS: ICE says U.S. taxpayers shouldn't have to pay to return the estimated half a million illegal immigrants who want to go back voluntarily.
(On camera): Are you sad to have to leave?
FRANCISCO, 10-YEARS OLD: Kind of.
LYONS: Why?
FRANCISCO: I don't know. It feels good right here because I was born here.
LYONS: Do you want to leave?
CYNTHIA: Yeah, because my mom has so much stress. It's just better over there than over here. My dad can get a job over there without having to worry about anything.
LYONS (On camera): But being worry-free is going to come at a high cost because the longer this family sits around waiting for the cash to return to Mexico, the more of a chance they have of being picked up by immigration. Amber Lyons, CNN, Arizona.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: Up next in the CNN NEWSROOM with Don Lemon, singer Usher gives back to the community. Don sits down with the music mogul to discuss a premiere event.
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