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Drama Inside, Outside Courtroom; Autopsy Photos Displayed; Reports of U.S. & Taliban Peace Talks; N.Y. Same-Sex Marriage Battle; Obama & Boehner Hold 'Golf Summit'; Town Considered Doomsday Haven; Teased Child Becomes Rock Star; GOP Leadership Conference; Rescue, Recycle and Rebuild
Aired June 18, 2011 - 11:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
ANNOUNCER: From CNN World Headquarters bringing you news and analysis from across the nation and around the globe. Live from Studio 7, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING with T.J. Holmes.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: And hello to you all.
The President and the Speaker have teed off. The much- anticipated golf summit is under way, but are they talking bogeys and birdies or are they talking about debt ceilings? We'll have a live report on this much-anticipated meeting just ahead.
Also a long-awaited homecoming for Gabrielle Giffords. We will tell you what the injured Arizona Congresswoman is doing in her hometown of Tucson.
And a lot of people are keeping a close eye on the Casey Anthony trial today. The defense calling more witnesses to the stand and could they possibly be calling Casey Anthony herself?
There has been a lot of drama associated with that trial. Yes, inside the courtroom, but outside as well. Look at this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go. Let him go.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yes, this was yesterday. A fight broke out after two men reportedly cut in line. Again, there are only about 50 seats available every day for the general public to get. People have been lining up, sometimes the day before, in the middle of the night to try to get these tickets.
Well, they're -- they're changing things up a bit as far as the rules go in getting those tickets, so maybe we won't see scenes like this anymore.
Our David Mattingly is at the courthouse. He has been watching things inside and outside the courtroom. Let's start with what's happening inside. You say it's already been a dramatic morning of testimony.
DAVID MATTINGLY, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, T.J.
And at this very moment on the stand is Dr. Werner Spitz, world- renowned forensic pathologist. He's been considered an expert handling cases dating back to the assassination of JFK, examining thousands of bodies in his career.
He's now on the stand testifying for the defense. He examined Caylee Anthony's body. And what he has determined is that he is in disagreement with the -- with the authorities here and that he believes that the duct tape that was found on the body, on Caylee Anthony's body, was not placed across her mouth, that's it to use to suffocate her, but instead was placed on the body after the body had decomposed.
His opinion is trying to blow a hole in the theory of the prosecution that Caylee Anthony was chloroformed, she had duct tape placed on her mouth, placed in the trunk of a car, and then, later disposed of in the woods, near the Anthony's home.
So what he's telling us is dramatically different from what the authorities here have testified already in this case, for the prosecution. And again, this is something that the prosecution is now going to have a chance to ask questions of him as well.
We knew how that went yesterday when they started attacking some of the defense witnesses, but we're going to see today, will this expert's testimony that is conflicting with everything we've heard so far, will that stand up under cross-examination? So a little bit of drama going on this morning.
HOLMES: And still, a lot of people, David, still have that question, wondering will she end up taking the stand. What are people saying?
MATTINGLY: You can get a variety of opinions depending on who you ask. There's definite ups and downs behind that decision. At this point, there's been no indication that she will take the stand. Everything, so far, has been focused on expert testimony, trying to punch holes in the theory of the prosecution.
Remember, this is a circumstantial case, so they have a lot of possibilities here to try and establish doubt that the prosecution is getting it right when they come up with the theory of the way Caylee Anthony was killed.
HOLMES: And also, you were telling me last hour how things kind of started off in the courtroom today. One of the -- one of the attorneys, at least, kind of -- kind of upset the judge this morning.
MATTINGLY: That's right. We had the defense calling a witness to the stand, and the witness began to answer questions about the duct tape. The judge called a halt to that, because there had been an agreement in place here that both sides, the prosecution and the defense, would tell each other what their expert was going to say in advance.
Well, this expert got up there, started testifying about something that he hadn't put into a report that was required before he got to the stand, so the judge called a halt to that. He asked the witness to step down. That witness is going to have to be deposed by the defense and the prosecution and may return on Monday, but the big deal here, the judge really admonished the defense.
And listen to what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHIEF JUDGE BELVIN PERRY JR., NINTH JUDICIAL CIRCUIT COURT OF FLORIDA: Mr. Baez, to be quite frank, both sides have engaged in what I call game-playing. Ok? And this is not a game. And the reason the order was entered in the first place was because both sides were engaged in some form of it at some time. And the reason the order was entered is because I did not want to be at the position I am currently in now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MATTINGLY: And to drive that point home, that this is not a game, as the judge says, he says he may entertain contempt charges against the defense after this trial is over -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. David Mattingly for us, we appreciate you this morning.
And a reminder to our viewers, you saw all that video of people out there fighting for places in line. Well, that's not going to happen anymore, because they changed the rules. People have to line up the day before and at certain times, so they don't expect any more of those scenes that we've been seeing outside the courthouse.
Meanwhile, we'll turn to the story of Amanda Knox now. Her five inmates including a child murderer and a mob boss are coming to her defense. She is, of course, the American who is serving a 26-year sentence in Italy for killing her house mate.
So far, two inmates have testified that a fellow prisoner, also convicted in the murder, told them Knox had nothing to do with it. Three other inmates are expected to say the same thing. That prisoner, where his attorney denies saying anything of the sort.
Also a developing story out of Afghanistan this morning, where the Afghan President, Hamid Karzai, says the United States is involved in peace talks with the Taliban. He announced this at a youth conference in Kabul today.
It's the first official acknowledgment of such discussions. But so far, no confirmation we're getting yet from the U.S.
Earlier, I talked with CNN's Barbara Starr, our Pentagon correspondent, about this development.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): It has long been said that Afghanistan will be solved by a political settlement with the Taliban and with the insurgents. You can't kill them all; this is not going to happen.
So there will be, eventually, it is hoped, some type of political settlement. What is going on is, certainly, the U.S. is trying to identify key insurgent leaders that they potentially could work with, that they and NATO could work with.
For months now they have been reintegrating individual fighters back into their communities. They release them from detention eventually, send them back into their communities and -- and try and develop a little forward momentum that way.
But one of the big problems right now is when you say the Taliban, who are they? There are so many groups out there; there are so many different insurgent loyalties. Just to say you're going to sit down with the Taliban would be very tough. It wouldn't really solve the problem.
So the strategy that President Obama's really going to talk about is, has there been enough governance, enough real improvement in the Karzai government, in the Afghan government to make things work in that country enough so that there's no room for the Taliban to come back and rise to power?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Let's turn to New York now, where there's been a setback for gay rights supporters. A bill to legalize same-sex marriage passed the state assembly. But now it's hit a major roadblock.
Here now is CNN's Mary Snow.
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J., a bill to legalize same-sex marriage is stalled in New York State Senate, but it could come up for a vote on Monday. Backers of it are one vote shy of passing it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SNOW (voice-over): Leslie Miller and Alicia Salzer, both doctors and mothers of two children, are hoping lawmakers in Albany will give them something they've never had, a legal marriage.
ALICIA SALZER, SAME-SEX MARRIAGE SUPPORTER: And I think we're sending a loud and clear message about whether our family and our life and our choice and who we are and our love is legitimate or not. And kids are watching.
SNOW: Behind the personal stories, Democratic Governor Andrew Cuomo is leading an intense political push to legalize same-sex marriage. A big supporter is New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg, an Independent, who reached out to New Yorkers, trying to get them to sway lawmakers. MIKE: My name's Mike and I'm calling on behalf of New Yorkers United for Marriage.
SNOW: Catholic New York Archbishop Timothy Dolan is trying to sway lawmakers to oppose the bill. He compares it to communist nations dictating things like family size. "Last time I consulted an Atlas," he writes, "It is clear we are living in New York, in the United States of America, not in China or North Korea."
Athletes are also weighing in. Former New York Giants football player David Tyree has joined the fight against same-sex marriage.
DAVID TYREE, FORMER NEW YORK GIANTS PLAYER: If this does come forth, this will be the beginning of our country sliding toward, um, you know -- it's a strong word, but anarchy.
SNOW: Sean Avery of the New York Rangers, who is heterosexual, is a vocal supporter and visited the state capital to lobby for it.
Unlike three previous attempts in New York to legalize same-sex, the campaign is closer than it's ever been. It's getting a significant amount of money from an unexpected source, Republicans and conservatives. Among the groups fighting to pass the bill, the Human Rights Campaign.
BRIAN ELLNER, HUMAN RIGHTS CAMPAIGN: Well, we've been able to raise a lot of money from Republicans. Look, I think it's -- in some ways it's a sea change, but we're also seeing it nationally. And we saw it again on repealing "don't ask, don't tell".
SNOW: The bill's fate rests with Republican state senators, who are also being targeted heavily by opponents. Brian Brown of the National Organization for Marriage says Republicans who support it will face consequences next election. The group is pledging $1 million to finance primary challenges.
BRIAN BROWN, NATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR MARRIAGE: Right now there are only two Republicans who have said that they are going to vote to redefine marriage. We are definitely going to be involved in those races. I think they are making a tragic mistake. And they need to be held accountable by the voters.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SNOW: One of the factors stalling the bill, some Republicans are concerned about protections for religious institutions and organizations against the potential for litigation if this bill becomes law -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks as always, to our Mary Snow.
Well, we can report that the golf summit is now under way. President Obama versus House Speaker John Boehner. Are they just going to be tackling the greens or are they actually tackling some tough issues out there?
Our golf expert, Brianna Keilar, she's also a White House correspondent. She's joining me live next.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BENJAMIN CANADY, U.S. ARMY: Hi, I'm Sergeant Benjamin Canaday, stationed in Camp Taji, Iraq. I, just want to say Happy Father's Day, dad, I love you. Mom, dad, I miss you. Hopefully I'll see you in a couple of weeks.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, at 13 minutes past the hour now. I'm showing you a live pictures of tug boats, but what I'm actually showing you here, they're having their moment in Boston. The Bruins of course bringing back the Stanley Cup to their town. They won the Stanley Cup earlier this week against Vancouver.
We saw much different scenes on the streets in Vancouver. Of course, you know about those riots. But look at this, the folks in Boston getting together to celebrate yet another championship. It looks like they've had a pretty good string over the past 10 years or so. You've got the Celtics, the Red Sox, the Patriots winning as well. And now you've got the Bruins bringing back the Stanley Cup.
But their festivities is just getting under way. We'll try to dip back into this and see how that -- how things go, a celebration there. And a celebration in Dallas we saw this week too with the Mavs and basketball.
We're going to turn now to politics again, where President Obama and the House Speaker John Boehner, are going at it today, battling it out -- on the golf course. They are holding this much-anticipated golf summit, not all fun and games, we don't think, though.
Let's turn to Brianna Keilar, who always -- I keep saying you're a golf expert, but people need to know, you have been playing golf since you were just a little one. So you're a pretty good golfer, I hear.
I've been reading some of the notes you sent out, just some of the color from what's going on today. I'll let you tell the viewers, but some of the details you all got about what's happening so far this morning.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the most interest thing to me, T.J., is that our pool, the pool reporters, who are watching this happen out at Andrews Air Force Base, which is where the Speaker and the President are playing, saw the President and the Speaker sharing a cart.
And this was really my question all along, because I was wondering, you know, if you're going to have the Speaker and the President riding in separate carts, if the President rides with the Vice President, maybe he's not going to get all that quality time with the Speaker. Well, they are riding -- I mean, this is like a captive audience, right. They're stuck in the same cart for a round of golf that could take four or five hours. That's a lot of quality time together.
So let's sort of dispense, I guess, with the fun of all of this, first. Who do we think is going to win? I don't know if it's really an even pairing. Maybe that's why the President's with the speaker. Maybe he's trying to psych him out, because the Speaker is actually a much better golfer.
In handicaps, the President is a 17, the Speaker is an 8; significantly better than the President. And I think that might also be why the President brought out Vice President Joe Biden, because he is a 6, apparently a very good golfer. And so maybe he's kind of the ringer for him. We'll see.
Now, the fourth in this foursome is the governor of Ohio, John Kasich. This was the guest of Speaker John Boehner. So some of this is fun and games, right, T.J.? But there really is a lot of very serious stuff that the White House is dealing with the Speaker on. Not the least would be the negotiations over the debt ceiling that Vice President Joe Biden is very involved in. That's something that's going on.
But there's also this issue of Libya. I mean isn't it extraordinary that as of tomorrow, the Speaker has warned the President that in his view and in the view of many in Congress, the President will be in violation of the War Powers Resolution for not seeking congressional authorization to have U.S. troops involved in the operation in Libya. And here they are, one day before that, playing golf.
It's pretty extraordinary.
HOLMES: It is extraordinary. And like you mentioned, they're getting quality time, as you put it, riding around for five hours or so in a cart together, on a golf course. But what is the White House really saying about this? Certainly, the optics here are important and how this is going to be perceived, maybe a little cooperation to show they can at least get along, stand each other, if you will.
But is the White House saying they expect the President and the Speaker to actually try to have good conversations and maybe even hammer some things out?
KEILAR: You know, I don't know if they're going to hammer some things out. What the White House has said is this is really an opportunity for them to get together, spend some time together. There is an expectation -- we heard this from White House press secretary, Jay Carney -- that they're going to talk about the important issues right now, the ones that I mentioned.
Can you really imagine them spending hours together playing golf and not talking about those things? If they did, it would very much be the elephant in the room. But we also heard Carney say he's very confident they're not going to be coming off the 18th green and saying, oh, we have a deal. So, I think, more than anything, this is a chance for them -- and we've heard this from the Speaker's office, we've heard this from the White House -- it's a chance for them to get together in an informal setting, T.J., because we've been talking about this.
They've spent a lot of time in negotiations recently, but this is really the first time that they've had a prolonged period of time in an extremely informal setting to kind of get to know each other a little better.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we've got a golf summit. I think we had a beer summit. I think there was a Slurpee summit in there somewhere as well. Well, we'll see what's next.
Brianna Keilar, good to see you as always. Thank you so much.
KEILAR: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: 18 minutes past the hour now. We turn now to a story, the AARP trying to clarify its position on Social Security benefit cuts after its comments in a "Wall Street Journal" article kind of ignited a firestorm. The article says the powerful retiree lobbying group is now dropping its opposition to cutting Social Security benefits. But the AARP says the story's misleading and insists the group has always expected cuts will be included in a plan to keep the program solvent for the long run.
Well, it's not a California broadcaster making headlines this time for his doomsday prediction. This time the talk centers around a village in the south of France. If you want to survive doomsday, this is the place to be. I'll explain after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's now 22 minutes past the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Do you want to survive doomsday? Head to France. A town there is considered a doomsday haven. With predictions the world will end in December 2012 some claim there's only one place to be that will allow you to survive the apocalypse.
Nadia Bilchik was with me a little earlier with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: December 21st, 2012 --
HOLMES: All right.
BILCHIK: -- some people believe -- what they call esoteric -- believe that the end of the world is coming.
HOLMES: Ok. I want to survive. What do I need to do.
BILCHIK: Well, exactly. You know there are some stories that you go -- you just can't make this up.
HOLMES: Ok.
BILCHIK: Well, according to certain esoterics, there's a belief that a place in Bugarach in southwest France. This is going to be the place that will save you in the Apocalypse. And what you're seeing now is what they call the sacred mountain, the Pic de Bugarach. And it's believed that in this mountain, there are actually aliens, some believe, that are going to save you.
HOLMES: Ok. Aliens are in the mountain right now?
BILCHIK: Some people believe that, T.J. But let's look at this mountain. It's actually fascinating, because usually you would have older rock at the bottom and newer rock on the top, but in this mountain, you have a complete inversion, so it's a scientific anomaly. But this has been of grave concern to the mayor of Bugarach, because here's this little town, 200 people, people go there to hike, to see the views, to find beautiful orchids, and he's very concerned that you're going to get 2,000, 3,000 people converging on this little town.
HOLMES: Are they starting to do this already?
BILCHIK: People are already booking. They're booking apartments and bed and breakfast, to come in for this period. And some residents actually report that there are people who have been walking up the mountains, some in white robes, some naked with orbs, but the concern here, T.J., is sects.
And a government agency in France has actually sent out an alert this week, that's why it's so topical, warning people about sects. There's a concern like we saw with Waco. What happens if you get people who are very vulnerable? One of the things they've warned people are people who have cancer, people who are ill, that they may be susceptible to these kind of cults. That's the concern here.
HOLMES: Again, how seriously do people -- is this just another one of these things, but are reasonable people starting to come in, or is it -- I mean --
(CROSSTALK)
BILCHIK: It is questionable, but when you look on the Internet, the concern by this French government agency is how prolific it is. How many people actually believe this?
HOLMES: They're taking it seriously enough to act, if you will, or at least put out a statement.
BILCHIK: Exactly, and of course, the mayor is going, "I don't want my town to be known for lunatics and fanatics and Apocalypse and people who are seeking or concerned about the end of the world."
So it's really become quite controversial. And interestingly enough, this is the place where Jules Verne spoke about in "Journey to the Center of the Earth" and Spielberg spoke about in "Close Encounters of the Third Kind". So a very beautiful place, but of grave concern right now to the mayor and to French authorities that there may be a group of people who are taking this far too seriously and who may influence others.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Make your plans now.
25 minutes past the hour.
Kids teased him as a child because of his disability. Yes, but look at how things turned out. This Kiss band member had the last word. From partially deaf to rock star.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MAJ. JEREMY FISCHMAN, U.S. AIR FORCE: Hi, I'm Major Jeremy Fischman. I just want to say hello to my dad, Mark Fischman. He's in Columbus, Georgia, and happy father's day.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, we're coming up at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Many of you may be walking around the house, just listening, maybe just the TV is on. I want you to stop and look at it for a moment. Because I want to show you a picture, a picture that has gone viral on the Internet. And what do you think is happening there?
Let me explain a bit. You see the couple laying in the middle of the street. Looks like they're kissing while a riot is going on around them. You're seeing the streets of Vancouver, this is after the Canucks fans kind of lost their minds after the Canucks lost in the Stanley Cup finals.
What you're seeing, Scott Jones and his girlfriend, Alex, they're embracing in the middle of the street while all this chaos is around them. A lot of people saw this and said, what in the world is wrong with this couple? They're just making out in the middle of this riot in the middle of a street?
I want you to listen to Jones and Thomas and then I'll explain even further.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SCOTT JONES, EMBRACED GIRLFRIEND DURING RIOT: Started beating us with the shields, like trying to get us to move. I don't know why. We weren't being aggressive towards them or anything like that.
But then, eventually, they passed over us, and that's when we were on the ground. And I was just -- she was a bit hysterical afterwards, obviously, and I was just trying to calm her down.
ALEX THOMAS, EMBRACED BY BOYFRIEND DURING RIOT: But I think people will be able to see that it's just a moment that happened to be on camera and that it's not -- it's not embarrassing at all. It's actually a really beautiful shot.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK, now let me explain. You see that highlighted area on your screen? That is the young lady. She had actually been injured in the midst of all the rioting. And she was knocked down and she was laying in the middle of the street.
Well, to comfort her, her boyfriend just laid down next to her. And while she was on the ground, she was crying, he says she was hysterical, and he decided to just give her a little kiss, a peck on the cheek to try to comfort her and make her feel better. And that is the moment that the photographer caught.
So even though it looks like a crazy picture, people are wondering, what in the world are they doing, the story behind it is, quite frankly, a pretty sweet one.
Well, we go from what was happening on the streets of Vancouver, when they lost, now let's go to the streets of Boston, the winners. You're seeing a live picture here now. They're expecting a million folks to show up today to celebrate their Boston Bruins, who brought the Stanley Cup back to Boston after that win in Vancouver on Wednesday.
They got these duck boats they loaded up on and are going down the streets. But this is just getting under way. Of course, they're going to make their way through all the crowd, and they'll probably end at on a stage somewhere, where they'll sing "We Are the Champions" like Dirk Nowitzki -- hopefully, they won't sing it like him, but -- if you haven't seen that video, look it up -- but this is happening right now -- again, a million folks they're expecting on the streets in Boston today.
Well, every week, we bring you stories about people who have overcome a major medical hurdle and beat the odds. And in this week's "Human Factor," our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, brings you the story of Paul Stanley, front man of one of the most famous rock bands out there, KISS.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STANLEY, GUITARIST/SINGER, KISS: Come on and clap your hands! I want to rock and roll!
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): To rock and roll all night and party every day -- that's always been Paul Stanley's dream.
STANLEY: If somebody had told me at 58, 59, I'd be running around on stage without a shirt, you know, and in tights and high heels, I would have said, you know, What drug are you taking?
Come on and love me!
GUPTA: But the road to rock stardom as the front man for KISS was difficult. Few people know it, but Stanley was born with a condition that should have steered him away from music.
STANLEY: I had a physical deformity called a microtia.
GUPTA: One of Stanley's inner ears, the ear canal, which conveys sound to the brain, never developed. Figuring out the direction of sound was particularly challenging. And he was also born with an underdeveloped outer ear.
(on camera): Did you get teased a lot? Were there tough comments?
STANLEY: It was horrible. You know, I have to say that childhood was not fun.
GUPTA: You decided to grow your hair out, I mean, and that's become such a signature look of you and the band. Was that in part because of wanting to hide your ears?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA: You grew your hair out to do that?
STANLEY: Absolutely.
GUPTA (voice-over): Strength and a bit of defiance got Stanley through the taunting.
STANLEY: Something told me inside that I could do music. And interestingly, being deaf in one ear was not something that I saw as a hardship or something that was a hindrance at all.
GUPTA: But eventually, offstage, hearing loss did become a hindrance, so Stanley had surgery.
STANLEY: Basically, you take a power drill and aim into the head!
GUPTA: The surgery was successful, but it does not equal self- acceptance. That Stanley earned over time, and by working with kids.
(on camera): And you talk to kids who have microtia, so they're -- right now, they're, like, Mr. Stanley, I'm the one getting teased on the playground, I'm not the rock star.
STANLEY: And how cool it is for them to hear somebody say, I was there and look what I did. You can get through this. And you'll find out how much something means to you by how hard you're willing to work to overcome it.
GUPTA (voice-over): Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And it is a long-awaited homecoming for injured congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. The trip to Tucson's going to be a short one, but you'll hear the story next. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords is in Tucson, Arizona, this weekend. It's her first trip home since a gunman shot her in January, Giffords and her husband, astronaut Mark Kelly, spending time with family there, Kelly saying, quote, "We've been dreaming of this trip for some time. Gabby misses Tucson very much, and her doctors have said returning to her hometown could play an important role in her recovery."
Also, a computer problem that grounded United Airlines flights across the U.S. has been fixed, but the airline says passengers could still experience delays through the weekend. The airline blames a network connection malfunction for freezing up the system that schedules departures, reservations, and processes the passengers. The glitch left thousands of people stranded.
Meanwhile, an American Eagle flight attendant is accused of stealing another man's identity to get a job that allowed him to fly all over the world. Police say Jophan Porter (ph) assumed the identity of a New York man and had several documents in that man's name, including a passport. Porter, who's reportedly an illegal immigrant from Guyana, was arrested in Miami yesterday.
A major gathering of GOP presidential hopefuls happening right now in New Orleans. This is called the Republican Leadership Conference, and candidates are there, hoping to win over the party faithful.
CNN's deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, is at that conference for us. Hello to you. We've seen a lot of these candidates over the past couple of days, but I guess -- who is everybody looking forward to today?
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: You know, T.J., you've been giving me a hard time all morning, saying there's nobody's here. Look. Look. There's one delegate has arrived over there. So yes --
HOLMES: One delegate.
STEINHAUSER: -- there are some people just starting to -- listen, this is New Orleans! People were probably out last night having a good time. But --
HOLMES: Good point.
STEINHAUSER: All right, a couple hours from now, this room will be packed. It will be packed, yes. And the person everybody's going to be paying attention to, most likely, is Rick Perry, the governor from neighboring Texas, the long-time governor from neighboring Texas.
He was here last year. He wowed the crowd. But something's changed since then -- two things, actually. The race for the White House on the Republican side has heated up, and Perry just most recently has said he is thinking -- thinking about running for the White House now. And boy, he sounded like a presidential candidate the last couple of days. All eyes on what he says right here today, T.J.
HOLMES: So eyes on him today. But over the past couple of days, who'd everybody have their eyes on?
STEINHAUSER: Oh, boy, everybody here, just about -- there have been five presidential candidates who have spoken here and they've all gotten a big applause. Listen, it's like preaching to the choir, in a way. You got 2,000 delegates, hard-core GOP activists and other party supporters here. So of course, they're going to applaud.
I think one person who stood out above all the rest, maybe, is Michele Bachmann, the congresswoman from Minnesota -- big speech last night, a lot of anticipation, a lot of people in the room. She did very, very well, at least according to the activists here.
She also spoke to our Wolf Blitzer last night on "THE SITUATION ROOM," and well, she was asked about Mitt Romney and his health care plan that has been criticized a lot, the one that has an individual mandate that he did in Massachusetts. Take a listen to what she told Wolf.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. MICHELE BACHMANN (R-MN), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I believe that the individual mandate, where government requires a person, as a condition of citizenship, to purchase a product or service -- I think that's unconstitutional. Whether it's done at the federal level or whether it's done at the state level, it's unconstitutional. But the sad reality is --
WOLF BLITZER, HOST, "THE SITUATION ROOM": Mitt Romney did that in Massachusetts -- he did that in Massachusetts, and he says he was right.
BACHMANN: Well, I think it's unconstitutional, whether it's done at the state or the federal level.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: Stay tuned on that storyline. I'm sure there's a lot more to come on that. Also, remember the straw poll results later today. We'll keep our eyes on that. We'll report back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Paul. We appreciate you, as always, buddy. Thank you so much.
We're at 40 minutes past the hour now. Turn to some weather, a storm you do not want to drive through. Take a look. You might think it's snow, but do you hear that? That's hail coming down. We're checking in with Reynolds Wolf in just a moment.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Hi, Daddy. It's me from Guantanamo Bay. I don't have any lizards for you to look at, but I just wanted to wish you happy Father's Day. I love you!
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, about 43 minutes past the hour now. Take a look and listen to what might sound like a heck of a hailstorm to you. But actually, I'll explain why they're used to it out here in California (SIC). Listen to this. Yes.
Now, I am told by a pretty good authority, if you consider Reynolds Wolf a pretty good authority, that actually, in Colorado -- and you back me up here, Reynolds -- they actually get more hail there than anywhere else in the country. Is that correct?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I have no idea what you're talking about.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I just made that up.
WOLF: Yes, you did.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: No, actually, you're absolutely right. I did give you that factoid. They do have more hail that forms there than any other place. And just to check -- at least in the United States. And to check your listening skills, where is the lightning capital in the U.S.?
HOLMES: That is in Florida.
WOLF: That's right. Excellent. Good segue there because in Florida and in parts of Georgia, we've got something very different. We're talking about fires there. So we've got fires, we've got large hail around parts of the country, and we even have some strong thunderstorms still across parts of the nation's midsection and into the Ohio Valley.
Kind of easy to see the rain, to see the thunderstorms on the map. As, in fact, we zoom into a few key locations, especially into Kentucky and Tennessee, wow, you can't miss it. In fact, this is a pretty immense system. If you take a look at these two separate areas of energy, they stretch well over 500 miles, all the way from almost the Carolinas clear on over into Arkansas. Everything drifting very slow to the east-southeast.
It is a quick mover, and it is going to do a couple things. One, it's going to give you quite a bit of lightning, obviously, some thunder that you're going to be hearing in places like Nashville and back over to Knoxville. Even smaller communities right along parts of 40, you can expect that to continue. Heavy rain, sure. And with that flash flooding and even the possibility of seeing this push a little bit farther to the south. In fact, we have severe thunderstorm watches that are now in effect for parts of the Carolinas, into Georgia, even into Alabama, Tennessee and back over towards Arkansas and Mississippi. That's going to be through the early evening hours. So just keep that in mind.
The reason why we're seeing it, very simple, we've got this frontal boundary that just extends from the central plains back through portions of the Midwest. We've got plenty of moisture coming in from the Gulf of Mexico. And it's the combination of that interacting with that boundary in the daytime, evening that's going to make for a very unstable air mass.
Anyone traveling over that boundary going into Chicago, maybe even into Detroit, you're going to have a bumpy flight, no question about it. Same deal for you if you're flying over towards, say, St. Louis.
Back down towards parts of the Four Corners, is it not rain but rather the dry conditions, the breezy conditions that's going to make things very difficult for firefighters. And not far from the fires themselves, in Albuquerque, 93 degrees the expected high, 104 in El Paso, 86 in Kansas City, 89 in Atlanta and 93 in Tampa.
That is a wrap on your forecast, T.J. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, appreciate you, as always.
And you know, it's that time of year right now. Everybody's trying to make sure that lawn is just perfect. You know, your neighbors' got their yard looking pretty good and you're still struggling right now. And a lot of people want to find a unique lawn ornament. I prefer the pink flamingo. Some people go for maybe the fiberglass King Kong.
If you want that stuff, you've got to go to Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Yes, Fredricka, people want that stuff! CNN's Tom Foreman has the latest installment of "Building up America."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On an old farm outside Oshkosh --
MEL SCHETTL, COLLECTOR: Yes, we do have a lot of unusual items.
FOREMAN: -- a wonderland is growing --
SCHETTL: I just call it a collection of art.
FOREMAN: -- an open-air emporium of nostalgia, whimsy, and whatever else catches Mel Schettl's interest. He has rescued these items from old restaurants, theme parks, even movie sets for 30 years. Now they are rescuing him.
SCHETTL: Well, those items are actually helping us make it through the tough times.
FOREMAN: Schettl's main business is building materials, but as construction has stumbled, he's found himself relying more on the foot traffic and trade brought by -- well, this.
SCHETTL: This is a reproduction of a rodeo-type bull. This is an eagle fabricated out of all steel. This is a fairly popular piece. Some people might think it's unusual. I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My daughter wanted us to stop here, and I'm glad we stopped.
FOREMAN: Many people come just to look, but plenty end up buying.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Do you know how much that is, the neon one?
SCHETTL: The neon porch sign is $650.
A lot of individuals will buy it for home use, yard art, interior art. Other businesses use it for interior and exterior artwork to get attention, the same as we do.
FOREMAN: It is not an economic cure-all, but it makes up for some of the weakness in his other trade.
SCHETTL: Well, I don't know how much of an advantage I have. I do know some of my competitors are gone and we're still here. So it must be helping us some.
FOREMAN: And in the building business these days, hanging on can be enough. Tom Foreman, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Oh, what a wonderful time of the morning it is!
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Fredricka Whitfield.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: He always says that because he knows it's the end of the hour!
HOLMES: No, I'm excited to see you, OK?
WHITFIELD: OK.
HOLMES: I am!
WHITFIELD: I'm convinced.
HOLMES: No, when other people fill in for you, I'm not this excited to see -- I'm kidding. WHITFIELD: Don't say that out loud!
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I'm kidding! I am just kidding.
WHITFIELD: OK. We all know you're kidding.
HOLMES: But no, it is --
WHITFIELD: Good to see you.
HOLMES: -- always good to see you.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: I think you were gone for a couple of weekends.
WHITFIELD: I know!
HOLMES: Had some time off.
WHITFIELD: It's been a while. But hey, back in the saddle.
HOLMES: Back in the saddle.
WHITFIELD: Glad to be here and glad to see you, and our legal guys will be back with us.
HOLMES: Did they miss you?
WHITFIELD: Yes, and I missed them.
HOLMES: They missed you. OK.
WHITFIELD: All the time. Well, I don't know if they missed me. I haven't talked to them yet.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: We'll see if they say that. But I missed them. And they're going to be with us. We're going to talk about a new Tennessee law which bans anyone from transmitting harassing images, anything that may cause emotional distress to anybody. You can use your imagination about what those images might be.
HOLMES: Well, we don't want to use your imagination too much here.
WHITFIELD: But -- OK, well -- that's as far as we're going today.
HOLMES: OK. But is it -- does the law clearly define or kind of define what kind of images, or it can be a lot of things?
WHITFIELD: Well, it could be a broad range of images from, you know, someone's body parts to something that someone might find disturbing.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: Yes. But then that's where, you know, the challenge comes. And our legal guys are going to talk about why this law might be challenged because in some circles, it might be a little too vague.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: OK? And then let's talk about retirement. A lot of folks feel like they've -- they've pictured what they want their retirement to be, and so they have a bucket list, perhaps, a bucket list of things that they want to be able to accomplish.
Well, apparently, about 72 percent of Americans have an idea about whether they're going to live a better retirement than their parents. But here's the cliffhanger. Our financial expert is going to be along and say, a lot of times, people don't have the money set aside to be able to --
HOLMES: Life that life.
WHITFIELD: -- live through many of those dreams.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: You got a bucket list or things that you -- you know, you want to do in your lifetime, or by retirement?
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: And you know, you just really don't know how to get there.
WHITFIELD: Yes.
HOLMES: It really is the trick. You don't really know how much do you need --
WHITFIELD: Just know you want to do it.
HOLMES: Just want to do it. But yes, that makes a lot of sense to me.
WHITFIELD: Exactly. All right. Our financial expert --
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: -- will be along to talk about that. And then advice from your dad. Is there anything that kind of sticks out as we think about Father's Day weekend, advice from dad that kind of is carrying -- or carried with you?
HOLMES: I can't say it on the air. WHITFIELD: OK.
HOLMES: I'll tell you in a second.
WHITFIELD: Oh, OK.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: That'll be off air. Well, we are going to be visited by a man who's in his 70s, but guess what? He and his wife have fostered -- have -- have cared for 71 foster kids.
HOLMES: Oh, wow.
WHITFIELD: Yes. And so we're going to get great advice from him.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: And then, you know, the -- you know, a few weeks ago, I got a chance to hang out with some NASCAR dudes.
HOLMES: I had to hear about this. I know you got some video. I've been looking --
WHITFIELD: Two of the best drivers, Jeff Leffler (ph) and Joey Lagano (ph). Yes. I got a chance to be in the passenger seat. This is kind of what it was like for me.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: OK, I'm hooked. I want to be a race car driver!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was just a warm-up.
WHITFIELD: That's awesome.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That was just a warm-up.
WHITFIELD: That is so awesome. Wow. I thought maybe I was going to close my eyes, but then I didn't want to miss anything!
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. Yes.
WHITFIELD: That's so wonderful.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: I'm behind the net. Yes, that was my voice. I'm actually in there, helmet and all. So that first round, just about 100 miles per hour.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: But the second round -- because he said, you know, that was just the warm-up. Then the good stuff came, 170 miles per hour.
HOLMES: Wow.
WHITFIELD: It was so thrilling! I loved it. Better than any roller-coaster ride --
HOLMES: Wow!
WHITFIELD: -- speedboat ride -- all that, nothing compared to a NASCAR ride --
HOLMES: All right, but they --
WHITFIELD: -- on Charlotte Motor Speedway!
HOLMES: -- didn't let you drive? Did not let you drive.
WHITFIELD: No, I didn't have --
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: -- the training just yet.
HOLMES: OK.
WHITFIELD: It's probably a good thing.
HOLMES: All right.
WHITFIELD: Because you know what? What you don't realize is at that speed --
HOLMES: Yes.
WHITFIELD: -- any kind of, like, hair, you know, turn that'll send you into the wall.
HOLMES: They're getting --
WHITFIELD: So you got to be an expert.
HOLMES: -- a workout in there. Yes.
WHITFIELD: That's why they're the best.
HOLMES: All right. Fredricka, we will --
WHITFIELD: Oh, that's "Face to Face." That begins next weekend, by the way.
HOLMES: Next week. All right.
WHITFIELD: This is just a really good tease.
HOLMES: OK. But --
WHITFIELD: Next weekend.
HOLMES: -- she's coming up in about four minutes, folks.
WHITFIELD: That's right. OK.
HOLMES: Be right back with Fredricka. We'll see her in just a second.
But coming up, before we leave you, or before I do, at least, would you give up a job in this economy that was paying you $180,000 a year? Well, maybe, if you knew that would save the jobs of two of your co-workers. I talked to a guy who did just that. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, you don't hear this too often, do you, somebody leaving a high-paying job so a co-worker can stay employed. That is the story of a Philadelphia principal. Angelo Milicia is his name. He decided to take early retirement from his $180,000-a-year job so two teachers wouldn't lose their jobs. Listen to him now. I talked to him last hour about his decision.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANGELO MILICIA, SCHOOL PRINCIPAL: I had come to the budget table. It was very difficult, very difficult time in Philadelphia, and probably all over the nation with educational budgets. And I had figured out a budget. I had made a mistake. And when I walked away from the budget table, I had lost half of my music staff -- well, at least two of them for sure. And a very devastating situation.
I gave it some thought over the spring vacation, and thought to myself, Maybe it's time for me to go. What could I do creatively with this? I made a proposal to my assistant principal about taking over for me, if I could make that happen, because we're two guys that share the same vision. And what I proposed to him was that if he took my place, there would be no assistant principal.
The teachers were shocked just by the fact that I was leaving. But then when -- you know, when they heard what was happening, they really did think that that was magnanimous.
My biggest concern is that, you know, I don't want people getting the impression that the place can be run without two administrators. It's going to be a rough road next year.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, Milicia, don't worry, he's going to be OK. He was able to take early retirement, so he's to have money coming in, so it's not like he just lost all money.
He said he's also pretty comfortable, Fredricka, in the fact - and he wanted to make sure that, hey, if I'm giving up this money, make sure it goes directly, and make sure it saves these jobs. Don't give it - use it somewhere else. WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. Great assurance.
HOLMES: So he got that assurance. But -
WHITFIELD: That's so generous and kind.
HOLMES: Nice story this morning.
WHITFIELD: Yes. I like that. That's the feel-good story of the day -
(CROSSTALK)
WHITFIELD: -- or the weekend. And good things will continue to come his way because of this good thing he's done for somebody else.
HOLMES: We certainly hope so. We certainly hope so.
WHITFIELD: I like that.
HOLMES: It's bringing attention to - to the issue of education and funding in education as well, he says.
WHITFIELD: Yes. Powerful messages. All right.
HOLMES: Good to see you, Fredricka. Welcome back.
WHITFIELD: T.J., good to see you, too.
