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Many Have No Friends Of Another Race; How To Make An Empty Nest; Ex-Banker Accused Of Murder-For-Hire Plot; "Ocean's 16" Break Powerball Silence; "Mystery Priest" Comes Forward; Golfer Hits Two Holes In One
Aired August 13, 2013 - 13:30 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
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PAMELA BROWN, CNN ANCHOR: When it comes to making friends a new poll finds many Americans don't look outside their own race. Check out this graphic right here, the group most likely to lack diversity in their friendships is whites. Fifty years after the march on Washington, 38 percent of white Americans have only white friends.
Maurice Tamman is the editor of this Reuter's poll. So Mau, almost four out of 10 white Americans have no friends outside of their race. Were you surprised by that figure?
MAURICE TAMMAN, FORMER "WALL STREET JOURNAL" REPORTER, DATABASE EDITOR: Yes, I was surprised. But I think if you live in large urban centers you expect to see more mixing of people socially, but perhaps if you look at more broadly what America is and how it's broken up, it's perhaps less surprising. So, you know, I think it was a mixed bag and there are explainers as to why the largest ethnic group or racial group in this country perhaps spends more time with themselves than they do with others.
BROWN: There is a difference depending on what group you're in. Let's take a look at some of these numbers. None whites which includes Hispanics and Asians were more likely than whites to have friends outside of their race. Only about 25 percent had to friends of another race. Why do you think Hispanics, blacks and Asians have more diversity when it comes to their friendships?
TAMMAN: Well, I think as a practical matter there are few of them so that if they are going to mix socially, they are going to be forced into circumstances where they are going to have to find people who don't look exactly like them. They're working in a country that is a majority white country. They are working in places that are majority white. If they're going to have careers and lives in that context they're going to be forced to make friends who don't necessarily look like them unlike whites who have an easier time staying within their culture boundaries.
BROWN: Do you think where these people live play a big role in these numbers we're seeing in your poll?
TAMMAN: I think, yes, it does. It obviously makes a big difference. Certainly in the south there tends to be the white community tends to stick together a little more, but not as dramatically as you might think. There are also rural pockets of this country where the communities themselves are homogeneous and that, you know, if there's nobody there who doesn't look like you, it's very difficult to have a friend -- to be a friend with somebody if they don't exist in those communities.
BROWN: Right. Also on geography but also age plays a roll. Let's take a look at some of these numbers that we found, 42 percent of Americans ages 30 and up report not having any friends of a different race. That falls to 30 percent for Americans ages 18 to 29. Mau, why do you think that is?
TAMMAN: Well, I mean, I think there are two factors there. Number one, the young -- people under 30 tend to be more social I think. They socialize in different settings. They are in university, early in their careers. They are spending more time in the evenings at restaurants and bars and so on. Where as you get older you tend to socialize more within the confines of where you live and where you work.
It's interesting that when you look at the break down of people who -- of co-workers and how often they mix in that setting, you'll find very similar ratios to the ones who say they're close friends. I think that's part of it. But also to President Obama's point about the younger generation perhaps getting it more than others, you know, I look at my daughters generation and my son's generation and you see it. You see their friends are a great mix of people where as if you look around, the people I grew up with, you don't see the same circumstances.
BROWN: Certainly a trend toward more integration there. Mau, tell why did you decide to do the poll at this time?
TAMMAN: Well, this is an ongoing poll. We've been polling hundreds of thousands of people now for the better part of 18 months. We try to ask questions that are driven after the news. After the Zimmerman trial and acquittal down in Florida and the remarks by the president, we thought it would be interesting to ask Americans really how much do they -- how many time do they spend and how close are they to people who don't look like them. These are types of questions we ask routinely to try and gauge the pulse of the American public in addition obviously to our political polling that we do as well.
BROWN: And your poll certainly raises a lot of questions. Mau Tamman, the editor of this Reuter's poll. We appreciate your coming onto talk with us.
TAMMAN: Thank you.
BROWN: And some other stories crossing our desk in the NEWSROOM this hour, if you buy nail polish remover at CVS drugstores, well, you're going to have to show your id. The store is requiring customers to show identification when they purchase items with acetone and nail polish is one of those items. The concern is that acetone is an ingredient used to make meth. CVS is also restricting the amount acetone a customer can buy. Now to a new test that researchers say could help spot a specific type of early onset dementia in people as young as 40. It's starts with famous faces. Scientists at Northwestern University showed photos of well known people to study participants and asked them to identify the faces. Some of those in the study already had early stages of this form of dementia and those who could easily identify each person were much healthier overall than those who couldn't. The researchers say their test is first one to focus on people at risk for this type of dementia, which is called primary progressive aphasia.
Just ahead on NEWSROOM on this Tuesday, remember when kids wouldn't wait to move out after college. Well, apparently, those days are over. Parents get ready. New numbers say it be a while until you are empty nesters. We're going to have that story and more right after this break.
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BROWN: A tough economy means more young adults are living at home. That's not ideal for parents who had been hoping for a little quiet time. So how can you help them leave the nest? Christine Romans has some ideas in this week's "How to Speak Money."
CHRISTINE ROMANS, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Got a not so recent college grad living in your basement? According to a new report from Pew, a record 36 percent of Americans ages 18 to 31 are living with their parents. That's 21.6 million people and that number has steadily climbing since 2007. How long are they camping out on your basement couch? A recent Caldwell Banker survey found young adults think it's acceptable to live at home for up to five years after college. How to get rid of them?
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UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Push them out the door very slowly, not -- don't just cut it off at once.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Cold turkey is probably the best way.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a parent you can never really cut your child off, I don't think.
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ROMANS: HLN's money expert, Clark Howard has a 24-year-old daughter living at home with him. He says set up boundaries.
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CLARK HOWARD, HLN'S MONEY EXPERT: House rules are key. That means common areas of the home you don't leave trash. There's responsibility for paying a portion of utilities and there should be some expectation about how long an adult child is going to live under your roof.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROMANS: So how long is too long? Clark recommends one year or less, and force them to save.
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HOWARD: You have an adult child who is very undisciplined with money, the requirement is that they pay you x number of dollars per month just to live under your roof, but that money is money that you are forcing them to save that becomes available to them later on.
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ROMANS: That's right, mom and dad. Either they pay you a little rent or put that rent into savings to help them launch out of the nest later. Back to you.
BROWN: All right, thanks, Christine.
Still ahead on CNN NEWSROOM, a stunning murder for hire case has a wealthy to do banker trading suits for shackles. We're going to tell you who his alleged target was right after this break.
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BROWN: Take a look now at the bizarre murder for hire case out of South Carolina. Chris Latham, a wealthy former Bank of America executive and his wife of more than 20 years were in the midst of a bitter divorce. Instead of settling, police say Latham plotted to have his wife killed.
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BROWN (voice-over): Once a well-to-do respected executive banker in Charleston, South Carolina, now Chris Latham has traded his cuff links for happened cuffs, behind bars for allegedly planning to kill his estranged wife, Nancy, with the help of his live-in girlfriend and three others. At a hearing Monday, the judge declined to grant him bail after his attorney argued there's no evidence he made direct threats against his wife. At a prior court appearance, Latham traded a chilling glance with her.
NANCY LATHAM, SUSPECT'S WIFE: We've been married for 24 years and how do you reconcile the idea that this person hired someone to kill you?
BROWN: It's the latest in a string of murder-for-hire cases. Remember this 21-year-old woman who hired a hitman to kill her husband?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have a loaded gun in the house?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because it would be messy in the house.
BROWN: In this case her husband stood by her, but she was still convicted and sentenced to a long prison term. In this latest case, they say Latham offered his accomplices a $5,000 downpayment and a package with photos, maps and her schedule. The plot unravelled in April when Charleston police pulled over the car of one of the alleged accomplices and found the hit package, a gun and a box of ammunition. Latham has denied any involvement in any murder-for-hire scheme.
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BROWN: At that bail hearing on Monday in federal court, Latham pleaded not guilty to conspiracy charges while his own daughter pleaded with the judge to keep him behind bars. A trial on that story is expected to happen at the end of this year.
Just ahead, right here in the NEWSROOM, they are called "Ocean's 16," and they have 86 million reasons to smile. We're going to hear from some lucky people from New Jersey who won a part of that huge Powerball jackpot. So what will they do now? We'll tell you.
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BROWN: Well, they are called "Ocean's 16," a group of Jersey Shore employees who had one of the winning tickets in last week's $448 million Powerball jackpot. A half hour from now they will speak out about their windfall.
Our Zain Asher joins me now from Tom's River at New Jersey where they will hold that news conference. Hi, good to see you, Zain. So let's start off talking about how much each employee will get after taxes.
ZAIN ASHER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Pamela. They're looking at roughly around $3.8 million. As you mentioned, this press conference is about to start in roughly 45 minutes. There will be an introduction and a brief question and answer session. These guys have spent the past four days desperately trying to maintain some degree of privacy. So the idea behind today is that they come forward, show their faces to the world and move on with their lives and try and maintain some degree of normalcy.
Now this time last week, these guys were making roughly $35,000 a year. Now they are about to receive a check for 100 times that amount. We're talking about $3.8 million. That's a huge amount of money. Obviously a big win fall for them. The whole idea is that they come forward, answer questions from the press and then eventually move on. I am being told that at least six of the workers were affected by Superstorm Sandy.
Something great will come out of this, that they will be able to make their repairs and sort of rebuild as well. I was wondering whether Oceans County will have 16 new workers. But I'm being told that they are pretty loyal. They are going to continue showing up to work. I spoke to one of the workers. He at least plans to work until the end of the year even though he could have, in theory, retired already -- Pam.
BROWN: I would say that is dedication right there, Zain. Do we know anything else about these folks? I know we're still waiting to hear from them at this press conference, but anything else we know about them? ASHER: All right, so basically it's pretty much nine women and seven men. They are suddenly a tight knit unit in the Vehicle Status Department in Ocean County. They don't play lottery that often. They only play when it swells to a huge amount as it did last week, the $448 million. I'm being told they bought 70 tickets. They showed up to work on Thursday morning. Lo and behold they checked the office drawer and one of those tickets happened to be the winning Powerball ticket.
I'm told that they are loyal, as I mentioned. They are going to keep on showing up to work. They are right now on their way here, loyal, dedicated guys. They make about $35,000 a year. Their whole life is about to change -- Pam.
BROWN: Yes, we'll see how long they stay working. Zain Asher, thank you so much. Thank you.
Of course, we will bring you that news conference to you live next hour at 2:30 Eastern Time right here on CNN.
The mystery priest is a mystery no more. We have finally learned the identity of the man who prayed at the scene of a terrible car accident and then disappeared.
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BROWN: We finally know the name of that mystery priest. It's the Reverend Patrick Dowling. He is a priest who seemed to come out of nowhere and then disappear after praying with a young woman who was badly injured in a gruesome car accident in Missouri just over a week ago. When he didn't appear in any photos from the scene, some folks started to wonder if his presence was other worldly.
Father Dowling revealed himself while commenting on a story on the "National Catholic Reporter." He doesn't take any credit for saving Katie Lin's life. Instead he praised the two highway patrol officers and a rescue team that worked harmoniously, he says.
So what are the odds of a golfer making not one but two back-to-back holes in one? Who knows, but 81-year-old Eddie Manderville did just that playing his favorite course in Minneapolis.
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EDDIE MANDERVILLE, GOLFER: I have eight hole in ones, but I thought I saw everything, but never two in a row, unbelievable.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a beautiful thing in America.
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BROWN: How about that? Manderville was playing on a par three course. Get this, the odds, all 18 two holes on a regulation course in entire rounds, all 18 holes are 67 million to 1. What do you think about that, Brooke Baldwin?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello. I think that they should go out and play the Powerball. Speaking of that --
BROWN: Hop on the bandwagon.
BALDWIN: I can't wait to see these so called "Ocean's 16" in New Jersey. We'll be seeing them in just about 30 minutes from now. I read a little news on them. Apparently every single one of them showed up at work today. So good for them for now.
BROWN: An added bonus, a few of them are Sandy victims as well. They deserve a little good luck, right?
BALDWIN: Yes, they do. Pamela Brown, thank you very much. I'm going to take it here from you.
