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Syrian Violence Intensifies; Top al Qaeda Leader Killed; GOP Candidates at Faith Conference; Grand Jury Indicts John Edwards; D- Day: A Day to Remember; Yemen's President Injured; E. Coli Outbreak in 12 Countries; Sweet Potato Bonanza; Parents Split and Students Suffer
Aired June 04, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: We're at the top of the hour here on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes from the CNN World Headquarters here in Atlanta, Georgia.
Well, some controversial evidence being presented today in the case against Casey Anthony. It all centers around what was found in Anthony's car -- those details for you straight ahead.
Also, failing students and frustrated parents. Hear one family's struggle to turn things around in an EDUCATION MAKEOVER.
And presidential candidates flock to a faith conference with one goal in mind -- winning over social conservatives. We will take you there live.
But let us start right now with the intensifying standoff in Syria. Anti-government demonstrators are ramping up the pressure against strongman President Bashar Al Assad. Syrian security forces are responding by firing on protesters and civilian deaths are reportedly mounting.
CNN's Arwa Damon joins us now live by phone from neighboring Lebanon. Please update us, Arwa, on what we have been seeing over the past 24 hours.
ARWA DAMON, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): Well, T.J., there were demonstrations, according to activists and eyewitnesses across Syria. But it certainly would appear as if the most violent of them took place in Hama where according to eyewitnesses tens of thousands of people were demonstrating, they were peaceful, they were unarmed, they were chanting for the downfall of their regime.
The Syrian security forces, according to eyewitnesses as we have been hearing ever since this uprising began, indiscriminately opened fire on them and the death toll from Hama has been rising. We now know according to one Syrian human rights organization that at least 60 people have been killed. They believe that the number could be as high as 80, if not more. The bulk of those casualties, again, concentrated in Hama where today then, we saw tens of thousands of people turning out for the funeral of those people who had been killed.
The funeral as of this point in time appeared to have been taking place peacefully in Hama, however, people are greatly concerned because the trend that we have been seeing in the past is that Syrian forces have also been firing at people during these funerals because they do tend to then turn into demonstrations -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, our Arwa Damon with the update for us this morning from Lebanon. We appreciate you so much. Again, in Lebanon reporting on what we have been watching in Syria over the past several hours but also, as you know, the past several weeks and months, as well.
Also a breaking story we'll turn to now. A suspected U.S. drone strike in Pakistan may have killed a man considered al Qaeda's military brain. A spokesman for Jihadist group says Ilyas Kashmiri died along with some aides. The strike target a hideout in South Waziristan, that's in a volatile are in Pakistan.
CNN's Phil Black joins us this morning from Islamabad. And first things first, put in perspective for our viewers just who this guy is?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Sure, T.J. He is a significant target and has been for some time for the United States and for Pakistani officials, as well. He is a man who recently has risen quite rapidly through the ranks of al Qaeda, a rising star to become as you say essentially the military brain of the organization. He is described as the operations chief, the man whose job it has been to implement its global strategy. That means select target and dedicate resources planning and ultimately carry out attacks.
So ultimately, take lives. He has been rising rapidly through al Qaeda's ranks, as they say, to the point where in the vacuum that has been left by the death of Osama bin Laden he has been mentioned in much of the speculation as a possible successor to Osama bin Laden in leading al Qaeda's global network -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, our Phil Black for us with the update from Pakistan. We appreciate you, as always. Thanks so much.
Turn now to politics and it's a who's who of Republican presidential candidates in Washington this weekend. They're attending the Faith and Freedom Coalition Conference that's a gathering of social conservatives. The group represents a key voting bloc that the White House hopefuls want in their corner.
The candidates are focusing on reducing government spending and more issues like abortion, gay marriage. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MITT ROMNEY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We're united tonight in a lot of things. We're united in the love we have for this great country. We're united in our belief in the sanctity of human life. We're united in our belief in the importance and significance of marriage between one man and one woman.
TIM PAWLENTY (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: Traditional marriage matters and we need to tell each other and the country that we need to keep traditional marriage elevated on a platform; all domestic relationships are not the same as traditional marriage. It needs to be protected.
RON PAUL (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: The family is the bed rock, the educational system should be through the family and the church. We should be promoting home schooling and private schooling and not depending on our public school system.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser at that conference for us this morning. Help folks who might not know the name -- it hasn't been around that long, so they might not know it -- why has this conference been able to pull so many of these presidential candidates?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes, Faith & Freedom Coalition, T.J., it's only two years old. It was started by Ralph Reid. Remember him from the 1990's? He was the mastermind of the Christian Coalition and turned it into quite a political powerhouse.
Well, he's back now with this and that's why you're seeing a lot of the candidates. You just played some of the sound from them yesterday.
Another one just spoke a few minutes ago. Rick Santorum, the former senator from Pennsylvania. On Monday he formally declares his candidacy for president. He just spoke about saying, listen, he was the real social conservative here compared to some of the other candidates who maybe just be going through the motions. Let's take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICK SANTORUM (R), FORMER PENNSYLVANIA SENATOR: I'd always been pro-life. I'd always been for traditional marriage, but I've always been like a lot of folks, a lot of folks that weren't here last year that came this year who come and make the pledge and vow to social conservatives that they'll check the boxes. They'll be for the things that social conservatives care about.
Ladies and gentlemen, I just don't take the pledge, I take the bullets.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
STEINHAUSER: Santorum now well known across the country, but not so high in the polls. But among this crowd, among social conservatives, he's a favorite.
Coming tonight, Herman Cain, the former CEO of Godfather's Pizza and radio talk show host. He'll be the last presidential hopeful to speak here -- T.J.
HOLMES: Well did -- did the Sarah Palin bus swing by? It seems like everybody else is there this weekend, but the bus didn't swing by, right?
STEINHAUSER: No, it didn't swing by here. And Newt Gingrich is the other also candidate who is not speaking here. He's going to have a video that will play here later.
As for Palin, yes, we don't know if she's going to run for president or not. The bus tour did end up though, the other day in New Hampshire, which is a pretty important political state and she said that she's going to head out west but she's also going to be hitting Iowa and South Carolina.
So you know, I guess this bus tour will take her to three of the most important states in the race for the White House.
And T.J., for this crowd here, remember, social conservatives play such an important role in choosing the Republican presidential nominee. They -- they vote in big numbers, especially in those states of Iowa and South Carolina, which pretty much lead off the pack there in the race for the White House -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Paul Steinhauser, good to see you. I always appreciate you here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Thanks so much.
Well, some sad news to tell you this morning about former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger. We have gotten word that he has, in fact, died. He held the top spot at the State Department for five months, a short time back in 1992. That was when Secretary of State James Baker resigned to run President H.W. Bush's unsuccessful re-election bid.
He's only -- the only career foreign service officer to rise to the position of Secretary of State. CNN has also just received a statement from former President George H.W. Bush, and he says, "Larry was the real deal. A tireless patriot, principled to the core, selflessly devoted to America and his duty. Barbara and I mourn the loss of a true friend." Lawrence Eagleburger was 90 -- excuse me -- 80, 80 years old.
Well, we turn to the Casey Anthony trial now. Exactly what did investigators find in the trunk of her car? The evidence front and center this morning as the murder trial continues. We'll check in.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, ten minutes past the hour now on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
And it's another Saturday in court in the Casey Anthony trial. Day ten of testimony and so far today it's been all about the microscopic evidence found in the trunk of her car. As forensic testimony being allowed over the objections of the defense.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAREN LOWE, FBI FORENSIC EXAMINER: The hair and Q12 was microscopically dissimilar to the head hair sample identified as coming from Casey Anthony, the head hair in Q12 exhibited similarities to a hair found in a hair brush which was identified as belonging to Caylee Anthony.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And again, live picture you're seeing this morning, Casey Anthony in court right now. They're going to start having Saturday court. She has pleaded not guilty to charges that she killed her little girl three years ago. If convicted, she could face the death penalty.
Also on other legal news now, former presidential candidate John Edwards. He also pleading not guilty on six criminal counts including conspiracy and violation of campaign finance laws. The grand jury indicted him yesterday with prosecutors contending that Edwards used campaign donations to cover up an affair and pay his mistress.
Earlier I talked to our legal analyst Sunny Hostin. She says that if Edwards is found guilty on any of the counts, he's looking at some possible jail time.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUNNY HOSTIN, CNN LEGAL CONTRIBUTOR: He's looking at least five years on each count plus the $250,000 fine. That's the maximum penalty, of course, under the federal sentencing guidelines. It will likely be less than that because he would be a first-time offender, a first time person being convicted.
But there is no question about it that each charge -- and there are six of them -- carries five years maximum penalties. So we're talking about if he's convicted of all of them --
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: And how --
HOSTIN: -- maximum penalty.
HOLMES: And Sunny, tell me how difficult of a case? I read through this entire indictment and a lot of it reads like something you would read frankly in the "Enquirer" or something. It makes him out certainly to be a bad dude and the decisions he made and what he did to his wife and his family and trying to cover all this stuff up.
But then it almost seemed like an aside about some of the counts and the criminal element of it. So, what are they trying to do here? Do they really want to influence a jury later by saying this is a bad guy?
HOSTIN: Well, certainly it is a sort of indictment, T.J. I agree with you on that when you look at but they are going -- those are the facts -- those are the fact as the prosecution alleges them.
And so, you know, they are alleging that Bunny Mellon gave him over $700,000 to hide this affair from the world so that his campaign in 2008 could continue. Of course, the defense is arguing that's not true. This was a personal gift. And these were personal gifts and they were only given to Rielle Hunter so that they could hide the affair from Elizabeth Edwards because she was dying from cancer.
They are saying these were not campaign contributions. Of course, I will say this is sort of unprecedented. It's the use of the federal campaign law that's never been done before. The government is sort of changing its argument on a 2000 advisory opinion due to the FEC issues. And so it's not the easiest case to prove, but in front of a jury given the types of allegations and given this sordid past, especially that he had this affair, had this child, his wife was dying of cancer. Factually, T.J., --
HOLMES: Yes.
HOSTIN: -- really good case for the prosecution.
HOLMES: Anybody else -- just to wrap up -- anybody else possibly could face some charges related to this?
HOSTIN: Well, no one else has been charged, of course. I think you know, some people talked about Andrew Young possibly being complicit in this because there is a conspiracy charge. I think he's going to be one of the star witnesses. He is not named in the indictment but he is likely Person A when people read the indictment.
And so I don't think at this point the government is considering any charges. (INAUDIBLE) It's all about John Edwards right now.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, another case that we're watching involves singer Patti Labelle. A West Point cadet says two of her body guards assaulted him at Houston's Bush International Airport. This was back in March. You're seeing some surveillance video of it now.
Now, the cadet is calling the attack unprovoked. A Houston police report, though, says that he had been drinking and punched Labelle's limo driver. You see him there on the ground in the yellow shirt. Now he denied that he was drunk and hit anybody. Again, this is all on surveillance tape.
The soldier now, the cadet, is now suing. The surveillance tape also shows Labelle, afterwards, taking pictures with fans.
Well, we're coming up on another anniversary of D-Day. It was 67 years ago Monday. I got to sit down with two men who were there on that day and would you believe they say for them, parts of the day were actually kind of easy. My conversation after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: D-Day, the 6th of June, 1944. Thousands of ally troops forded to the beaches of Normandy with the aim to bring an end to Nazi, Germany. I had the pleasure this week of sitting down with two men who were there who were fighting for America that day. One is 93 and the other is 90; they're getting up there in age and many in the greatest generation as they're called are certainly starting to die off.
But listen to them now in our conversation and listen to them give honor to what they say is the next great generation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: On the anniversary days, a lot of people, the government makes a big deal out of it, the media will talk about June 6th anniversary. What about you guys? What do you all do on the anniversary every year of D-Day?
ROBERT "PUNCHY" POWELL, WWII VETERAN: Quite often I'm asked to make talks to various groups or participate in some of the ceremonies because I was a World War II veteran and we're dying off pretty fast these days and there aren't many of us around.
HOLMES: You like being a part of that kind of stuff?
POWELL: I feel like today's generation does not know much about the history of World War II. I was introduced by an Atlanta schoolteacher as a fighter pilot from World War 11. So, I determined that I was going to do my best to help educate today's generations about World War II because it still has a tremendous impact on this country today.
HOLMES: What about you?
GUY GUNTER, WWII VETERAN: D-Day is my birthday. And I celebrate that with my children.
HOLMES: How old were you on D-Day? You turned what age?
GUNTER: 25.
HOLMES: That was a hell of a way to spend it.
GUNTER: I was in the (INAUDIBLE) 1:00 in the morning, well, it was about 12:30.
HOLMES: Both of you all since I have been talking to you have railed (ph) off stuff that happened many, many years ago now but you can tell me exact dates and you are even giving me exact times. Now does that stuff just never go away?
POWELL: We took off at 2:30 in the morning. Completely black takeoff and one of our pilots crashed into the tower on takeoff because we had no lights whatsoever. So, that's -- you remember things like that.
HOLMES: What was on your mind and maybe it was fear, maybe it was pride, maybe it was that sense of duty. Were things happening every minute that kind of put you in a different mind frame? POWELL: It was a break for the rest of us. We took off by the fire -- the light of his burning aircraft --
HOLMES: Wow.
POWELL: The adrenaline was still running so good at that particular time I don't think we had any fear. We were just anticipating what we were getting into. But I don't think you had time for fear at that point.
HOLMES: Would you agree with that assessment?
GUNTER: When you're going on an invasion, you're scared to death. You don't know what the hell is going to happen. And you're not worrying too much about that. You're worrying about flying the equipment and doing the job you're supposed to do.
POWELL: He's right.
GUNTER: The rest of it comes naturally.
HOLMES: How did your day start and do you remember the time, as well?
GUNTER: Took off at 12:00 at night and we landed around 1:00, 25 miles back to the front. So, we had an easy deal. That was the easiest mission I flew because we had the element of surprise with us. We didn't have many people shooting at us.
But the problem we had, of course, we went in with the paratroopers, as you know. But the paratroopers that went in before us were oscillating and had the old parachute and they would hit these poles and break their backs, their arms and their legs, it was awful. So, we had it easy. We'd go in regardless.
HOLMES: Still amazing to hear you say you had it easy.
GUNTER: It was, yes.
HOLMES: Did you know you were making history, I guess. I should say. Did you it feel like that at the time or were you doing your duty?
GUNTER: Doing what I was supposed to do.
POWELL: That's right.
GUNTER: They paid me. But when you sign those papers, you've got to do what you're supposed to do.
POWELL: That's right.
GUNTER: And you do the best job you can and you try to stay alive because when you land, it's easy. You or that guy.
HOLMES: Stay alive. How close did you come to not making it back?
GUNTER: I had several times I could bore you to death with -- everybody in the service has those times. But most of our action was in close and we did what we were going to do and tried to stay alive in a matter of hours or minutes. Because when you land, the closest we are here to the enemy.
HOLMES: Why did you want military service anyway?
GUNTER: Well, fight for my country naturally and also it's exciting. We get to fly airplanes and we get to do a lot of things that you can't do at home.
HOLMES: Now, he just said he wanted to fight for his country. Do you think over the years from when you guys were young men to today do you think that sentiment still exists in the soldiers who are going into the military now?
POWELL: Although they called us the greatest generation, I think these guys today are another great generation. They're doing -- they're involved in war that we wouldn't want to fight. At least we knew our enemy, they did not. Their enemy could walk up to them and drop a grenade and blow them away.
But we, we knew our enemy. We could see those big black crosses on the airplanes we were fighting against. So, that's a big difference, but we still have a great generation out there today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Thanks to Punchy and Guy for taking the time out with me this week.
We're at 24 minutes past the hour now. A lot of people might be feeling stressed these days. But maybe some and depending on where you live, a little less stressed. At least according to a new Gallup poll they're ranking some of the states.
Now, D.C., not a state, of course, but the District of Columbia coming in at number five as far as the least stressed place in the country. That's followed by South Dakota, North Dakota and Wyoming. You'll never believe who's number one. I have that for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: As we get close to the bottom of the hour now, we are giving you the list of least stressed places, states mostly but we had D.C. On the list; also had South Dakota's number four, North Dakota number three, Wyoming was number two. The number one least stressed place and this is a shocker, folks.
Reynolds, what would you guess?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know what it is now. I can see it and I'm not surprised. HOLMES: It's a shocker, Hawaii. The least stressed state that we have. Wow. Can't believe how that made it on the list. The Aloha State tops the Gallup poll for the third year in a row. Can they make it four next year? We'll see.
WOLF: Part of the stress is wearing the grass skirt. You know. Going to a luau.
HOLMES: You can't be stressed with that. You can't be stressed. Maybe we should start wearing grass -- no, never mind.
Some sneaky and some smart hackers in the UK pulled off a cyber attack on an al Qaeda Web site. These hackers were working for the British intelligence agency, MI-6; modified the code for an online al Qaeda magazine called "Inspire." You may have heard about it. It's been in some headlines over the years.
What they did here, these hackers was replace the site's bomb recipes with cupcake recipes. So, when followers downloaded 67 pages of instructions on how to make a bomb, what they actually got were instructions on how to make rocky road and caramel apple cupcakes.
And the recipes, get this, they were from the "Ellen DeGeneres Show" of all places.
Let me turn it back to my man, Reynolds Wolf. That's pretty interesting stuff. I don't know if Ellen DeGeneres would want that connection necessarily, but still.
WOLF: Well, yes. I mean it can befuddle some of the bad guys. It's good stuff. And Ellen's a patriot, so I think she'll be good with it.
HOLMES: There you go. We were talking about least stressful place. Anybody stressed out today weather wise?
WOLF: The heat is going stress everyone.
HOLMES: The heat.
WOLF: It's going to be brutal for a lot of people. You know, we always start with the people also with the pets. You have to watch out for your dogs and cats and especially if they have conditions that are going to be just hot like this.
We've got a ridge of high pressure, ridge in the jet stream and you can see it pretty well defined by just following the colors. We have a little bit of a trough out towards the west where you have that trough you get, well, some cooler air that is moving in and with it some scattered showers out towards parts of California, even a touch of snowfall possible in the extreme northern end of the Rocky Mountains.
But we have the ridge is just the opposite. You've got a lot of that moist air that's coming in. Very muggy in spots like Memphis, back in New Orleans, where highs are going to be into the 100s, into the 90s and a few places, but much cooler say in Boston and New York with highs into the 60s and 70s.
So let's march on through what you can expect over the next couple days. Obviously we have it established that in the southeast it's going to be very warm. Little Rock with 99, 89 in Raleigh. Fast forwarding from Saturday into Sunday, the heat basically stays in place. In fact, Atlanta, a few degrees higher going up to 96 degrees. Then we fast forward into Monday. You're going to start your workweek out like this with 93 degrees in Kansas City, 101 in Dallas and 97 in New Orleans.
Now, in terms of the temperatures, we've got those. We also have a chance of some strong storms developing, especially in parts of the Ohio Valley in the central and western Great Lakes. Some of these storms may spawn small hail, deadly lightening, some flash flooding and perhaps even a tornado or two. So we're going to keep a sharp eye on that for you.
That is a quick wrap on your forecast. T.J., let's pitch it right back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, appreciate you, as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
We turn now to the Middle East. Yemen's president blaming gangsters for a deadly attack on the presidential palace. The president suffered a slight head wound in that attack. An imam and several security guards also killed. Also word that government forces killed 10 people in an attack on a tribal leader's home.
Let's turn now to our Mohammed Jamjoom. He is keeping track of the latest violence in Yemen. He is with us from Abu Dhabi. And Mohammed has spent a lot of time reporting from Yemen.
Tell us about these latest attacks.
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J., we got word a short while ago from a spokesperson for one of these tribesman that's battling it out with the government security forces in Sanaa. A Hamil Ahmar (ph) spokesperson told us that in the attacks that were directed by government security forces against the homes of the Al Ahmar family in Sanaa yesterday -- this was in retaliation for what the government called the attacks against the presidential palace -- that in these attacks against the tribesmen homes, that at least 10 people were killed, at least 35 injured.
Now, this just shows you the escalating violence in this street warfare that's going on between these tribesmen, which belong to the largest and most powerful tribe in all of Yemen, and the government security forces in Yemen. We're still expecting to hear even more casualty figures when all is said and done because of the violence yesterday. The shelling of the presidential compound, then the retaliatory shelling against the tribes that the government is accusing of trying to kill the president, of attacking the president at his compound.
A lot of confusion still on the ground in Sanaa. Earlier today, we heard from residents there. They were hearing explosions every three to four minutes coming from many different places in the capital. They're saying now things have quieted down. But really a sense -- a real palpable sense of fear from the people I'm speaking with in the capital of Yemen, that that country is really on the verge of all out civil war if raging battles are still continuing to go on in that country's capital, as they have been for the last several days -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Mohammed Jamjoom reporting for us this morning. We appreciate you, as always.
We turn now to Defense Secretary Robert Gates. He is back in Afghanistan just weeks before he's set to retire. Gates arrived in Kabul this morning to discuss the ongoing fight against militants. He's scheduled to meet with top coalition commander General David Petraeus, as well as meet with the Afghan president, Hamid Karzai. Gates is retiring at the end of this month.
And as the defense secretary visits Afghanistan, another deadly attack on NATO forces. A coalition spokesman says four NATO troops were killed in a roadside bombing in eastern Afghanistan. They were on a routine patrol when a bomb struck their vehicle. No word yet on their identities.
Well, here we are now two years after a grisly crime at Yale University. The killer of a grad student now knows his sentence. That's next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Thirty-six minutes past the hour. We'll give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.
Former Yale University lab technician Raymond Clark has been sentenced to 44 years in prison for the 2009 killing of graduate student Annie Le. The 24-year-old was strangled to death. Clark's DNA was found at the crime scene.
Also, a show of bipartisan in Washington. Yes, right. Well, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have scheduled a golf date. And the president extended the invitation a few weeks ago. Boehner accepted. They're scheduled to play two weeks from today. We don't know which course they'll visit.
So the E. Coli infection linked to certain produce has spread to a dozen countries in Europe. At least 18 people have died. All but one in Germany. About 1,800 people have gotten sick. Three people who traveled to the U.S. from Germany last month are still in the hospital. On the line with us now is Dr. David Acheson. He's a former chief medical officer at the Food and Drug Administration and now with Levitt Partners, which advises people about food safety.
Doctor, we appreciate you spending some time with us. Even though this right now appears to be confined to Europe, do we have something here in the U.S. we need to be concerned about? DR. DAVID ACHESON, LEVITT PARTNERS (via telephone): We need to stay very vigilant that this strain of bacteria doesn't emerge in the United States. Do everything we can to prevent it and should it get out here, jump on it right away.
HOLMES: Well, doctor, how could it?
ACHESON: You know, it could get here in a variety of ways. This is a mutation of a bacteria. It could happen right here in the United States, number one, or it could come into the country on products, particularly fresh produce, or meat from another country. So it's probably only a matter of time before this bug shows up here at some point.
HOLMES: Do you -- I guess one of the things that was most concerning, for a while it didn't seem they could really nail down exactly where it was coming from. How concerning is that to you that they couldn't really figure out the source?
ACHESON: Oh, you know, to me that's very worrisome. You know, and I still think -- I think they still haven't figured out the source. They're still advising people not to eat tomatoes, lettuce, cucumbers, which tells me they really don't know for sure where it's come from. You know, the problem there is, consumers don't know what to do. So you have to give very broad advice. It diminishes confidence in the food supply. It damages industry. And it speaks to the importance of epidemiology and local health authority and the capacity to track products.
HOLMES: All right. Well, doctor, we'll take this as an opportunity right now. A good opportunity while it's on people's minds, on their brains, E. Coli. Remind folks of what they can do to limit their risk?
ACHESON: Well, it comes from three main places for a consumer. Number one, it's often present on meat, raw beef particularly. So make sure you cook those hamburgers properly, especially as we're heading into the summer season. The second risk is on fresh fruits and vegetables. Make sure you wash them. If they come already wash, you're fine. If they've not been washed, wash them. Or if you can peel them, peel them. And the third area of risk is milk. And make sure the milk you drink is pasteurized and not raw.
HOLMES: All right, Dr. David Acheson, we appreciate you hopping on the line. Good information this morning. Again, like the doctor -- hearing you say, hearing the doctor say it is not here. There's always a risk of some kind. Everybody, you know, don't want to freak anybody out about it happening in the U.S., but it's a good time to just serve as a reminder to, once again, educate ourselves about E. Coli and how we can protect ourselves. So we appreciate the doctor this morning.
Well, they are calling it pure gold. Sweet potatoes of all things. Our Tom Foreman tells us how this simple food is helping build up America.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) TOME FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's like watching a magic trick. A tractor rolls over the bare dirt, cutting furrows. A planter drags behind. And there they are. The green shoots of sweet potatoes. There is no more wonderful sight for Jerome Vick.
JEROME VICK, SWEET POTATO FARMER: Sweet potatoes on our farm, it means approximately 50 percent of the net farm income on this farm.
FOREMAN: And right now they are pure gold for many in this state.
SUE LANGDON, NORTH CAROLINA SWEET POTATO COMMISSIONER: Right here in this field is the capital. North Carolina is the capital of sweet potatoes, bar none.
FOREMAN: The North Carolina Sweet Potato Commission says this year about 400 farmers will plant 60,000 acres of sweet potatoes worth about $182 million to the state economy. That's a record.
LANGDON: We grow almost half of the sweet potatoes that are produced in the United States.
FOREMAN: They are selling all over the world. Sweet potato producers are cashing in on the healthy heating craze by aggressively advertising that this native American plant can help with everything from digestion, to joint pain, to heart disease. That's pushing demand for sweet potato fries, chips and pies.
LANGDON: Currently, about 20 percent of the sweet potatoes produced in North Carolina are being exported. And that looks to rise to even more.
FOREMAN: How much more? Hard to say. But this year Vick expects to grow enough on his farm to meet the sweet potato needs of 4 million people.
VICK: You might as well say that we've got 4 million people eating at our dinner table, which is perfectly all right with me.
FOREMAN: And next year they hope to be breaking records again.
Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, this story is kind of hard to watch. I hate to see a watermelon go to waste. This is the giant watermelon drop. This is an annual tradition at the University of California at San Diego.
The event started back in 1965. A physics professor asked students to find out the terminal velocity of a watermelon and size of the splatter after dropping it from a building. This year's splatter measured 60 feet, a far cry from the record splat that was set back in 1974, which was over 167 feet.
Let me give you a look at some of the other stories making headlines right now.
First, people at a high school graduation in Castroville, Texas, will be offered the chance to pray, but it took a court ruling to make it happen. A family filed a lawsuit saying their son, an agnostic, would suffer irreparable harm if anyone prayed. A Texas judge agreed, ruled in their favor, banning people from asking others to join them in prayer or bow their heads. But on appeal, the ruling was overturned.
Now the valedictorian, one of the people who appealed the judge's decision, said she's being threatened and the school is on a security watch.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
AMANDA HILDENBRAND, MEDINA HIGH SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN: My dad received actually a phone call this morning saying that there was a big threat given to the school via phone call that included my name. And so it's -- I don't know, it's intimidating.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We've added additional staff to be there. We are utilizing staff from across the district to be there as well. We have added law enforcement.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, Governor Perry, Governor Rick Perry there in Texas, supported the appeal calling the original ban on prayer reprehensible.
Wildfires in Arizona also have burned more than 200,000 acres. They've spread so far so fast there's now a smoke alert in Albuquerque, New Mexico, 200 miles away. More than 1,000 firefighters in Arizona are battling the fires burning in the eastern part of that state.
Also, before his speech in Toledo, Ohio, yesterday, President Obama made a surprise visit to a local hangout. Rudy's hot dog is a 90-year-old diner and a Toledo landmark. President Obama picked up the tab for his entourage. One of the waitresses says he's a very good tipper.
Well, how is this for pressure? High school freshman. That's a little scary. The grades, the activities and what if things aren't exactly perfect between mom and dad. Yes, it's a perfect storm. Some advice, though, next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Lookey, lookey, lookey. Look who we have here. Richelle Carey in for Fredricka Whitfield. I'm interested in the slugging. We'll get to that in a second.
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN ANCHOR: We'll get to slugging in a minute.
HOLMES: OK. That's coming in a second. But she's in for Fredricka at the top of the hour. So just a few minutes from now. Good to see you. How's it going?
CAREY: Good to see you, too. Good. It's great.
HOLMES: Doing all right?
CAREY: Yes. Thanks for welcoming me in here. It's a little cold, but it's OK.
HOLMES: Is it really? OK, I'll leave my jacket when I take off.
What have you got? You got these legal guys? You've got them this weekend?
CAREY: Yes.
HOLMES: OK. What are they going at it about this weekend?
CAREY: They have a lot of good stuff to talk about.
HOLMES: OK.
CAREY: In particular we're going to focus on a case that really it seemed like the country is talking about, the Casey Anthony murder trial.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE).
CAREY: Back in 2008, her little girl, two year old Caylee, bound, found dead. Casey's been on trial for the past two weeks, T.J., and it seems that every week the testimony gets more dramatic. It started with those opening arguments where her attorney, Jose Baez, alleges that the reason Casey is a liar is because her father allegedly molested her.
HOLMES: Yes.
CAREY: We're going to talk about the fact that, does she have to take the stand now to back up something like that.
HOLMES: Wow.
CAREY: And then this week her mother, Cindy, took the stand and also her brother, Lee. And what's so critical about her mother, Cindy, is they were able to brought in evidence, that 911 call that set everything into motion, it was her mother who called and said, I haven't seen my granddaughter in 31 days and my daughter's car smells like there's been a dead body in it. It's really -- it was difficult to watch Cindy Anthony break down on the stand like that.
HOLMES: Yes, and as we know, it -- they're in court right now on a Saturday.
CAREY: Yes.
HOLMES: We've been showing some live pictures of that. So nice to hear the legal guys are going to take that up.
CAREY: Yes, absolutely.
HOLMES: You know -- oh this -- this is a live picture we can show you right here now.
CAREY: And we'll have a complete wrap-up of what happened this morning as well.
HOLMES: Of this.
All right, and, again, stand by for the slugging. But before we get to that, y'all talking finances this weekend as well.
CAREY: Yes, grandparents often want to give money to their grandchildren.
HOLMES: Love the idea.
CAREY: Don't you though?
HOLMES: Yes.
CAREY: I got to get in on that, right? But it's -- the best way is not always simply to write the check.
HOLMES: Right.
CAREY: Sometimes it's more complicated than that. There's tax implications. You want the money to grow.
HOLMES: Really (ph).
CAREY: So we're going to talk about the best way to give a gift of money to your children or grandchildren.
HOLMES: Wait a minute, does cash work? Does that --
CAREY: And cash works, but it's a little more complicated than that, especially if you're trying to invest for college and things like that.
HOLMES: OK. Well, cash is good as well.
CAREY: We'll take checks, though.
HOLMES: Slugging. I did not know about slugging. Tell us a little about this.
CAREY: I did not know about slugging until this morning as well. Slugging is when you carpool with people you don't know for the sake of hopping in that HOV lane.
HOLMES: OK.
CAREY: So you just start picking up people, right. But there are rules for how you do this. For example, I'm going to give you a ride, but don't talk to me because I don't really know you.
HOLMES: Really? Oh that (ph). OK.
CAREY: Yes, there are rules. So we're going to break down the rules for slugging.
HOLMES: Oh my goodness. All right, I've got to see that one. Richelle Carey in for Fredricka Whitfield this weekend. She's here in just about six minutes.
CAREY: I am.
HOLMES: We'll see you in just a second.
CAREY: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
Well, parents out there getting a house call from an education expert, our education expert Steve Perry, trying to help them keep one of their sons from failing the ninth grade. Steve is with me right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We've got some required viewing for parents of school-age kids out there. A special "EDUCATION MAKEOVER" coming up at 2:30 Eastern Time today right here. And our Dr. Steve Perry focusing on one kid, a ninth-grader, who's trying to keep from flunking his freshman year. He's got some problems, though, with the grown-ups in his life as well. Check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DR. STEVE PERRY (voice-over): What goes on in a child's home is critical.
PERRY (on camera): Steve Perry.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Jacob? Do you have homework?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Now I'll ask you again, how do you know she didn't give you a test today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So you didn't do any homework from the time you got out of school? Because guess who doesn't get any down time?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How can a vegan flunk health?
PERRY (voice-over): I want you to meet three teenage brothers. They're involved in a lot of activities, but one of them is struggling.
PERRY (on camera): But I'm looking at three Fs and a C-minus. Is he in danger of failing that grade?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's up in the air.
PERRY (voice-over): And then they're divorced parents.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So had you been able to be there in the beginning more often for whatever reason --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you keep saying that, it's like your punishing me today about it.
PERRY (on camera): What can we do to cut down on some of the communication breakdowns? Because the challenge really is power. That seems to me to be the issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, Dr. Steve Perry joining me now.
Dr. Perry or is it Dr. Phil? It sounds like it was going that direction.
PERRY: Oh, here you go.
HOLMES: No, no, no, I'm saying, it seemed to still be kind of a contentious situation there between the parents. How much is that situation, the divorced parents, how much is that really having an impact on that kid's school life?
PERRY: On that particular child, in Jacob's life, it was pretty impactful. Jacob is the sensitive middle child. And, for him, it was very impactful. It had an impact on the older brother and the younger brother as well, but not in the same way. Jacob internalized the conflict between mom and dad in a very, very detrimental way. So his grades suffered and he suffered. He just was sullen the first time I met him. He seemed disengaged and uninterested in really having a conversation. But you get to see how this thing unfolds. It's pretty amazing, T.J.
HOLMES: And, Steve, you're a principal. You see students day in, day out. Been doing this for years. Can you pretty much always trace whatever is happening to a kid in school, if he's not performing well, can you trace that back to something directly that's happening at home?
PERRY: Sometimes, because this is a great family. You know, they're divorced, right? And dad is remarried. He has four children. Mom is remarried. She has two more children. So, between them, what's that, almost 11 kids between them and whatever number of adults.
Many of the kids are doing just fine. They're doing a lot of things right. Some things you can trace back to home. One of them, in this case, was the discord that was going on between mom and dad. That was -- divorced mom and dad.
But, also, Jacob has to own some of this. And he does. Because when you get to 14, you can make some of your own decisions. And as you'll see in this special, Jacob was deciding not to do his homework. So he and I had to have some, you know, man time where we discussed some things.
HOLMES: All right. Give me 20 seconds on the special coming up and why parents need to sit down and watch it. Twenty seconds.
PERRY: This is about America. This is where we are as a country right now. We're trying to find a way to parent our children even when we're not in the same home as them. This is why we as a country are going to be successful because we're going to work very hard to work with the people who we've had children with so that the children can do well in school and in life.
HOLMES: All right, Dr. Steve Perry, good to see you, as always, buddy. Looking forward to the special. Thanks so much.
And a reminder again to our viewers, that's coming up at 2:30 Eastern Time right here on CNN. A special "EDUCATION MAKEOVER" with Dr. Steve Perry.
But right now it's time for me to hand it over to Richelle Carey, in for Fredricka. This is where I hand these airwaves over.
CAREY: I'll take it. Do you want me to take those and throw them away for you?
HOLMES: Toss those out for me.
CAREY: All right, you're out of here.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE).
CAREY: Bye.
HOLMES: We'll see you.
CAREY: Thanks, T.J.
