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CNN Live Saturday
Fingerpointing Continues Over Katrina Response; Extreme Weather Strikes Many Parts of the U.S.; New Orleans Readies for Mardi Gras
Aired February 18, 2006 - 16:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Ahead this hour, winter is not over yet. The highs are in the low teens for parts of the country. How low can it go and for how long? We'll get the latest forecast coming up.
SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And a cold brisk day here in New Orleans, but Mardi Gras got off it a big start with the parade right through the heart of the town. There was some controversy. We'll talk about that in just a minute.
WOMAN: $365 million at stake tonight in the largest Powerball lottery in history. Just who's feeling lucky? We'll have that story from Connecticut coming up.
WHITFIELD: Hello, and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield. All of that and more after this check of the headlines.
A developing story out of Oklahoma. A tour bus has overturned on an icy interstate south of Oklahoma City. Our affiliate KOCO reports a woman and an eight-year-old were killed and at least two people were critically injured. We'll bring you more details as they become available.
Another fire in Alabama. This time not at a church but at a warehouse owned by a Christian-themed business. Authorities don't know if it's related to the string of recent church arsons.
Turmoil in Nigeria. Nine oil workers, three of them Americans, have been abducted. Their captors have claimed responsibility for pipeline attacks and other abduction. All apparently related to a fight against foreign oil interests there.
A bloody day in Iraq. Scattered attacks in Baghdad and further north, leave at least a dozen people dead. Among them, a U.S. soldier killed by a roadside bomb. Two people also were found killed execution style in the capital city.
Fading hopes in the Philippines. Rescue crews searching for survivors from a massive landslide find more bodies today but no signs of life. Still missing, more than 900 people. Many of them, children.
Severe weather again. The Northeast is dealing with another winter storm. Last weekend, it was snow. This time wind. Gusting up to an incredible 77 miles per hour in Rochester, New York yesterday. Falling trees have killed three people in the region. And as many as 300,000 homes are without power.
It's a similar situation on the West Coast. Fierce winds in Washington State have knocked out electricity to thousands of people there in the Puget Sound area. To make things worse, temperatures dropped to well below freezing overnight, forcing many to try to keep warm without power.
Our Monica McNeal is in the weather center tracking all of these troubled spots. Treacherous weather, Monica.
MONICA MCNEAL, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It is awful, Fredricka. And I tell you what, it is not going to let up for a while and that's the bad thing about it. Let's take a look at the map and show you what's going on.
Current temperatures. We've got eight degrees in Minneapolis, where you say, oh, that's no big deal. But when we head all the way as far south as Houston, the temperature is 43 degrees and 26 degrees in Dallas. That's just an indication of how widespread this very cold outbreak has spread throughout the nation. As we take a look at some of these wind chills are, very dangerous at this point. If the wind chill gets below 10 minus, any body part that feels numb for more than a few minutes may become frostbitten. So you need to be careful.
Take a look at Green Bay, 20 below zero. Seventeen below zero in Milwaukee and about 15 below zero in Chicago. Now you're saying to yourself, what in the world is going on? We're seeing this arctic blast, very cold air that originated in Canada and marches its way as far down south as the Gulf Coast. The jet stream helps to push this air, this very cold arctic air at speeds of about 50 miles per hour. So that cold air from Canada all the way down south. Over the next 48 hours, we could certainly see some more snow in Tennessee Valley and seeing the snow right now. Parts of Arkansas. Back over to Tennessee and into parts of northern Georgia. So a big mess, basically, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: It sure is, indeed. All right. Thanks so much, Monica.
And speaking of nature's power. Surf's up, way, way up. Giant waves are pounding the waterfront of San Sebastian in northern Spain. Looks like something out of a disaster movie. Pretty hard o believe but this is not a tsunami. The water stops right there. Though some thrill seekers seem to be getting wet in the process and seem to be enjoying it.
In our security watch today, two brothers authorities describe as potential domestic terrorists are no longer on the run. U.S. marshals have arrested Geoffrey and Gregory Rose in New Mexico. The federal government has been looking 15 years for them to bring felony drug and weapon's charges against them. Authorities say the men are aligned with white supremacists and anti-government groups. U.S. marshals made some disturbing finds during their arrests.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GORDON EDEN, U.S. MARSHAL: They had these weapons. The military gear, the body armor, the ballistic helmets as well as the explosives, we believe these are the same kinds of people as you would find with the Timothy McVeighs, and those other kinds of people, that would like to cause harm to the United States.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WHITFIELD: And stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news that affects your security.
Ten U.S. marines are no longer missing after two helicopters crashed off the east coast of Africa. The marines are now accounted for. But it's unclear whether they are dead or alive. Their choppers collided off of the coast of Djibouti yesterday. Rescuers were able to rescue two marines on Friday. They are in stable condition. The choppers each carrying a crew of six were on a training mission when they crashed. Pentagon officials say no indications so far hostile fire brought them down.
The Bush administration is still taking heat for its slow response to Hurricane Katrina months after the storm hit. And now Michael Brown, the man who was forced out of FEMA is firing back, telling his side of the story to a filmmaker in a documentary on Katrina. Details now from CNN's Mary Snow.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARY SNOW, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Former FEMA Director Michael Brown was emphatic if asked if racism hampered the government's response to Katrina.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: People say that the response would have been faster if it were predominantly Caucasian, more affluent people in dire need.
MICHAEL BROWN, FORMER FEMA DIRECTOR: That's bull (EXPLETIVE DELETED).
SNOW: While Brown does blame others, he says he shouldn't escape blame itself.
BROWN: I should have screamed harder. I should have done something harder. I should have pushed harder. And if that caused anybody to die, all I can do is ask for forgiveness from the American public.
SNOW: Brown graded his performance, responding to Hurricane Katrina as a C. He gave President Bush an A-minus and for the rest the report card.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: General Russell Honore?
BROWN: A-plus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Governor Blanco.
BROWN: If she were one of my students I would give her an C-plus.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans. BROWN: I'm going to give the mayor a D.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Secretary Chertoff.
BROWN: C-minus.
SNOW: Brown let loose on homeland security Secretary Michael Chertoff, saying he was detached from the Katrina response. And Brown discussed the moment Chertoff asked him to return to Washington.
BROWN: I just asked him, is this the firing? No I just want you to go back. Well, it was the firing but he didn't have the guts to tell me that day.
SNOW: CNN contacted Secretary Chertoff's office for a response and it referred us to his testimony earlier in week.
MICHAEL CHERTOFF, SECRETARY OF HOMELAND SECURITY: First of all, I have to say that the idea that this department and this administration and the president were somehow detached from Katrina, is simply not correct.
SNOW: The most pointed part of the argument came when filmmaker Stephen Roux (ph), who is from New Orleans said he forgave Brown.
BROWN: Thank you. You did that on purpose at the end.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No. No. No, I didn't. Does that matter to you?
BROWN: It matters a great deal to me. Thank you.
SNOW (on camera): Filmmaker Stephen Roux says while he feels the documentary is important for history, he also says it was very personal for him since he is a victim of Hurricane Katrina. As for the grades that Brown gave Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco, we did call their offices but no one was available for comment. Mary Snow, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And despite the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans is trying to come back. The proof? Mardi Gras celebration. Flying through the air today as five parades marched through town. We're live in New Orleans straight ahead.
Plus, we cannot forget about Powerball lottery. Adaora?
ADAORA UDOJI, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely not, Fredricka. What would do you if you won $365 million? Well, that's a question that someone might be having to answer tonight. We'll have that story coming up right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: New Orleans, time to get the party started. The Big Easy is officially kicking off Mardi Gras, and lots of storm-weary locals say, it's just what they need. Our Sean Callebs is in the Crescent City. Sean with a handful of beads, you are into it.
CALLEBS: A handful of beads. Fredricka, you got to see a lot of the party. What did you think? Did it come off pretty well off on the air?
WHITFIELD: Well, I'm prized there are so few people considering there was such a drum up leading up to it that there would be a grand deluge of tourists in town.
CALLEBS: I think deluge is what we're talking about, it is raining here right now. It is a cold kind of -- actually, I have been down here almost a couple of months now, and this is the coldest day it has been. We have talked to a number of people who have been here for years and years and years.
We're in the area of St. Charles. We're kind of in the middle of the parade. It started down and worked its way into the heart of the city down Canal. This is an area that didn't see the most people. So folks told us it was little unfair but to give you an idea of what was it was like, we will throw beads at the camera for just a bit.
But there was a certain degree of controversy. Should Mardi Gras be here? Think about what this area has had to go through. Usually brings in about a billion dollars a year. Tourism officials hope to bring in $300 million.
Pretty good turnout, though, in this area of what we have heard from the people before. Look the street there, there on St. Charles, you can see the area just littered with beads. In this area just the floats came through. There were at least five crews. That of course the name given to the various entities into the parade tossing beads out here and really a lot of people are looking to this Mardi Gras to perhaps pump some excitement back into this city. A city that has been through so much.
New Orleans of course has power back, it has 38,000 hotel rooms. About 10,000 of which are taken up by emergency officials. Now, the hope is that some those officials bring their families. So that can have a certain degree of spin-off as well. But once you leave outside of this area, you really get a picture of what it's like. The debris fields are still there. So many communities still coping with the fatigue and the frustration. Nearly half a year after the hurricane pounded this region.
But today the first of 10 days. And so a lot of people are look forward to the 24-hour party. There is another parade at 6:00 local time and of course all through the week. I think Tuesday's the only day there's not a parade. The next weekend's a biggie in Demion (ph). That one will have 33 floats of 2200 people and of course Fat Tuesday, coming up on the 28th of February.
So, some degree of controversy. Some people said they simply shouldn't have it, considering all of the overtime that people are putting in, the firefighters and police. But a lot of people say, we need this. We need something to look forward to at this point.
Fredricka?
WHITFIELD: All right, so just the beginning. Yet more to come. Sean Callebs, thanks so much from the Crescent City.
Well, the floats aren't own things rolling again in New Orleans, but so too are the dice and the slot machines. Harrah's New Orleans casino is back in business after reopening yesterday. Also now open, New Orleans' convention center. It's quite the about-face compared the last time that you saw it as a dirty, squalid shelter. Just in time for Mardi Gras. The convention center will also host three of the Mardi Gras balls.
Hurricane Katrina hit close to home for CNN correspondent Kathleen Koch. You might remember she took us on a tour of her home town of Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Six months later she returns to find displaced families still waiting for trailers, denied insurance claims and frustrated with bureaucracy. In a CNN PRESENTS "Special Report" Kathleen Koch takes us with her on a mission she calls saving my home town.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATHLEEN KOCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's been nearly six months since the worst natural disaster in U.S. history, and not a single destroyed home, not a single grocery store, not a single business on Beach Boulevard has been rebuilt in Bay St. Louis.
Some places it's as if time stood still. And there is a growing sense of betrayal here in Bay St. Louis among residents who have been paying for home insurance for years. Now many of these insurance companies are refusing to pay.
TOMMY KIDD, BAY ST. LOUIS RESIDENT: I've talked to people who have not seen an adjuster yet. And they're not asking for what's not the theirs. All they want is to be put back whole. He paid the insurance. It's due them.
KOCH: Even Bay St. Louis's congressman, who like so many here lost everything is fighting his insurance company.
REP. GENE TAYLOR, (D) MS: I had a tin roof on my house. There are pieces of my tin roof 20 to 30 feet up in trees behind where my house used to be kind of wrapped around it sort of like a taco shell. When they came back with my claim and said there was no wind damage to my house, and I pointed to the tin, they just kind of shrugged.
KOCH: So, he's suing.
TAYLOR: There ought to be a national registry of child molesters and insurance company executives because I hold them in the same very low esteem.
KOCH: He's not alone. In fact, the state of Mississippi is suing the insurance companies on behalf of all its resident. No insurance company we contacted would talk to us on camera so I went to see a spokesperson for the industry. (on camera): It sounds like many insurance companies are trying to say this is the first hurricane that came with no wind, that sustained 125 mile an hour wind cans do no damage. I've stood in 70 mile an hour winds and watched a roof blow off a hotel. How can they say 125 mile an hour winds can do no damage?
CAROLYN GORMAN, INSURANCE INFORMATION INSTITUTE: I think they do know there was a 28 foot storm surge that came through also ...
KOCH: During hours after the 125 mile an hour sustained winds.
GORMAN: Well, it's a difficult situation.
KOCH: Of course, insurance isn't the only problem. Small business loans are being granted as a snail's pace. And after all this time there are still residents waiting for FEMA trailers. Almost everyone here is waiting for something to make their lives whole again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And join Kathleen for an emotional journey home when CNN PRESENTS, and that is this evening as well as Sunday at 8:00 p.m.
"Saving My Town" is what it's called.
Well, millions of Americans are hoping their numbers get picked. That's right, tonight is the Powerball lottery drawing. Up next we'll go to Greenwich, Connecticut, where the lines are long and the hopes are high.
And later, we'll tell you about a company in Minnesota that has a very special tie to the winter games in Torino. Stay tuned to CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, the odds are pretty great but lottery players by the millions today are banking on a little good fortune. CNN's Adaora Udoji is live for us now in the midst of the Powerball frenzy and she's in Greenwich, Connecticut, where, Adaora, I thought people who live in Greenwich kind of like they have won the lottery. What are they doing lining up getting tickets?
UDOJI: Fredricka, $365 million. I don't think even here in Greenwich there is a lot of folks who have that sitting in their bank account.
WHITFIELD: I don't know.
UDOJI: We are lined here with some folks. Who's feeling lucky here? Let me see the arms? Anybody feeling lucky? Yep, yep, lots of people who have been in line here since 5:30 in the morning. Not these folks but the line did start at 5:30 this morning. Of course everyone trying to catch a break. They want to catch those numbers. The Powerball, $365 million. That's the largest jackpot ever.
We're talking in the history of the Powerball lottery, Fredricka. It's a cash value at this point, at least according to the Web site of $177 million. Lots of folks who want to win that. And it is a Powerball, which means we're talking about 28 states and the District of Columbia along with the U.S. Virgin Islands. Somebody might be holding the winning ticket when those numbers get called tonight or perhaps more than one somebodies. Maybe several somebodies will be holding that ticket in the 28 states and in the District of Columbia and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Of course, the folks here in Greenwich are hoping they are the ones who end up with that ticket sometime tonight, Fredricka. So lots of people hoping, feeling, crossing fingers and toes that they're going to be the lucky ones who are walking away with one big gigantic, gigantic jackpot. Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: That is one heck of a paycheck, isn't it? All right. I'm counting on Gary to pick me up a couple of tickets out of DC area. Can count on you on the of Connecticut? We've got to spread our tentacles everywhere, you know.
UDOJI: Yeah, Fredricka, we are going to buy you a ticket. We'll let you know afterwards what your numbers were, OK?
WHITFIELD: OK. How many tickets have you purchased?
UDOJI: We haven't gotten any yet.
WHITFIELD: What?
UDOJI: We're working, we're working very hard right now.
WHITFIELD: Come on now. Somebody ought to let you but line now. You can't stand there and watch these folk all day and not get tickets of your own.
UDOJI: We'll try.
WHITFIELD: All right. Thanks so much. Adaora Udoji there in Greenwich, Connecticut, where they're all hoping they'll be lucky.
Well, is it possible to turn your earnings into a $1 million, let's say in 10 years? That, too might be a long shot and our next guest says it is possible and it is no get rich get quick scheme.
"SmartMoney" magazine has a step by step guide that could have you rolling in the Benjamins in just 10 years. How do you do it? Let's bring in "SmartMoney" senior editor Leigh Gallagher. Leigh, good to see you.
LEIGH GALLAGHER, "SMARTMONEY MAGAZINE": Thank you.
WHITFIELD: It sounds pretty ambitious. Because we're really going to be saying here is anybody, anybody right, no matter what your income bracket is right now, you might be able it accumulate $1 million if you just do some very basic things.
GALLAGHER: That's very true. You know it sounds like something that you have to either -- $1 million, you have to either win the lottery or else invent the next Google. But really it's surprisingly attainable for any household. It just takes commitment and planning and discipline across all aspects of your life really.
WHITFIELD: All right, let's talk about the discipline. Beginning with health. You say taking care of yourself. It's not just about how you take care of your money but first you have to start taking care of yourself. How is it that save you money over long term?
GALLAGHER: It's funny, most people don't make the link between your health and your wealth but it has a surprising effect, everything from keeping your medical bills down, as we know, medical bills are a huge problem for many consumers but also it has been shown that people that are in better health earn more. This has been tracked and your salary goes up at a faster rate.
And then, in addition to that, you pay more for things like life insurance. A 40-year-old male who's in good health is going to pay about $35 a month for a $500,000 life insurance policy. If he's overweight and smokes, it's going to be four times that. So you don't realize all the ways that your health is really affecting your own bottom line.
WHITFIELD: Interesting. And when we talk about saving money, we're also talking about how you spend your money. So some of the things that you really can't get around -- mortgage, rent, or your car payment, et cetera. But you say you really can be smart about how you try to negotiate your mortgage rates, or perhaps how you spend your money on your car payments. You think used instead new or leased new?
GALLAGHER: Absolutely. Yes. You think you can't get around these things but you can. A one percent change on your mortgage, if you just lower your rate by one percent that'll save an average household benefit $22,000. So that's a big deal. Same thing with cars. If you lease a pair of new cars and then you switch to buying a pair of used cars every five years, that'll bring your costs down by about $31,000 over this 10-year period that we're talking about.
WHITFIELD: Wow. Does that also take into consideration, though, the kind of maintenance bills you're more likely to have when you buy used versus when you buy something new.
GALLAGHER: Yes. That's including ownership cost, which we factor into the maintenance, repairs, everything.
WHITFIELD: Wow. And you're saying buying used doesn't just apply to cars. But a lot of other things. From furniture to clothes, etc?
GALLAGHER: That's absolutely true. There is this great thing called eBay. You can get cars on eBay actually. You can get homes on eBay. But you can buy used everything these days and when we say used it's not vintage. We're talking about barely used merchandise. Everything from fine furniture, to Chanel suits to you name it. The Internet has brought in what's available. And that can have an effect.
WHTIFIELD: That is great. Let's talk about your savings beyond maximizing your 401 (k) at work.
GALLAGHER: Sure. Well, savings, -- this is where you will make the biggest leap by far towards that $1 million. In our hypothetical couple, and most of this, by the way, is happening with your 401(k). By part biggest weapon at your disposal to reach this level that we're talking about here. So, what we recommend is really sacking away 15 percent of your salary. Ideally, the maximum for every person is $15,000 but not everybody can do that but if you sack away 15 percent, in our hypothetical couple situation, if they did that over 10 years that would amount to $397,000 and that's before any investment gains. That's just in the contributions alone. So that's significant.
WHITFIELD: All right, and that's very encouraging. Leigh Gallagher, senior editor of "SmartMoney" magazine. Thanks so much.
GALLAGHER: Thank you.
WHITFIELD: And now a look at our top stories. Powerful winds and cold temperatures are being blamed in at least for deaths now in the Northeast. Hundreds of thousands of homes are without electricity from New York to Massachusetts because of downed power lines. In Michigan, thousands of still without power from storms earlier in the week.
And let the party begin. New Orleans gets set to kick off the first night of Mardi Gras celebrations. This year's celebration is being scaled back from 12 days to eight. It will culminate on Fat Tuesday, February 28th.
And millions are seeing it as a chance of a lifetime. A record $365 million in Powerball lottery jackpot winnings. It's up for grabs tonight and tickets are being sold at a dizzying pace. In West Virginia yesterday, tickets were selling at a rate of 29 per second.
And two Kansas brothers who eluded police for 15 years are now behind bars in New Mexico. Sixty-two year-old Geoffrey and 50-year-old Gregory Rose were arrested yesterday. They're wanted on drug and weapons charges. Authorities described them as potential domestic terrorists.
Troubling words from Hamas. Hamas legislators took control of the new Palestinian parliament today with several of them telling Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas they would never agree with any talks with Israel.
And officials confirm the deadly h5n1 bird flu virus has reached western India. Lab tests show some chickens that died on a farm near the town of Navacor (ph) in recent weeks were infected with the virus.
Also today, France confirmed its first case of bird flu, a wild duck found dead northeast of Lyon. Keeping you informed, CNN, the most trusted name in news.
And Saddam Hussein had warned of terror attacks. What else is in a newly released tape of the former Iraqi dictator. Straight ahead an in-depth look. And later, a new way of predicting how long you'll live. Do you want to take the test? All of that and much more ahead on CNN LIVE SATURDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: In Nigeria, protests still over the cartoons depicting the prophet Muhammad and now these protests lead to the death of 16 people.
This demonstration in Karachi you're about to see in Pakistan was relatively peaceful but police fired on demonstrators in another Pakistani town today. The government has banned rallies in the capital of Islamabad ahead of protests plan for Sunday night.
In London, thousands of Muslim held a peaceful demonstrations denouncing the cartoons first published in a Danish newspaper.
Inside the world of Saddam Hussein, recently discovered audiotapes are shedding new light on the former dictator, but do they offer anything new about Iraq's weapon's program? CNN's Senior Editor of Arab Affairs Octavia Nasr has listened to the tapes and she's here with a closer look.
OCTAVIA NASR, CNN SR. EDITOR ARAB AFFAIRS: Hi, again. I have listened to the tapes along with an army of Arabic speakers actually. So we've been translating all day. It's not just me. It's a team. Right.
It's 12 hours of tapes that we had to listen to and translate and turn around for the network to report and also for our reporters to put pieces together on this. There will be more analysis coming your way later. But for now, do these tapes tell us anything new about Saddam Hussein?
In many ways they do tell us about the person of Saddam Hussein. Not so much about the weapons of mass destruction and the chemical weapons or biological weapons that he was trying to acquire. Lots of conversation about the subject, but really nothing that we can consider to be the smoking gun. But how about we listen a little bit to some of that? I think our viewers will enjoy hearing Saddam Hussein.
(VOICE OF SADDAM HUSSEIN)
So you see it's very interesting that he does talk about a possible attack, even with chemical attack, nuclear attack but he says it's not going to come from Iraq.
WHITFIELD: So he's keeping his hands clean that while he talks about the possibilities, he in no way is saying on this tape that if it were to happen, he or his country would be in no way to blame.
NASR: No, he's even saying that he abides the Americans and the British. He says, a long time ago before August 2nd which is the date the invasion of Kuwait which started this whole thing. So basically he's saying even back then he advised them that this could happen, will happen one day but it won't be coming from Iraq.
WHITFIELD: All right, interesting stuff. Thanks so much, Octavia Nasr.
Well, stay tuned to CNN day and night for the most reliable news that affects your security.
And have millions of men been fooled? Straight ahead, a new study says taking Saw Palmetto, ever heard of that, everyday may not be helping you at all. We'll take a closer look at what it is and what it promises to do.
And later, Bode Miller tries again to medal. Is it a golden day for the American ski team? More on the winter games still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: Well, more of CNN SATURDAY coming up. Carol Lin will be accepting the baton that I pass over.
CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: That's right. As well as the orange memo that's right.
We are also following some the big stories like the Philippines mudslide.
But we have a really extraordinary story at 5:00. A young boy, seventh grader who saves $1,000. You know how long it took him, probably a couple of years. He wanted to go to New York for a Yankees game, it was his big dream, but he found out that his school was going bankrupt and it might be closed.
So he donates the money. The story doesn't end there. He get a call from George Steinbrenner, the owner of the Yankees, and you'll find out the end of the story when you watch at 5:00.
At 6:00 you heard about the cold temperatures up north. Something like 100,000 people in the New York area are without power. We're going to go live in a neighborhood where they have no power and they have no prospect of power for several days. We're trying to figure out how they're getting by and helping each other.
WHITFIELD: It's very dangerous, very dangerous conditions. No laughing matter.
LIN: One of our producers called a friend up there and said it was minus two. So we're following that for the folks who are worried about families. Want to see the forecast.
WHITFIELD: We'll be watching on that and of course it only gets cooler as the night falls.
LIN: Yes indeed.
WHITFIELD: Thanks a lot, Carol. Well, they say only two things are certain in life, death and taxes. Let's leave out taxes for a moment, as for death, there's a new and controversial method of predicting fairly accurately when that final day will arrive. It's mainly for people over 50. CNN Medical Correspondent Elizabeth Cohen explains.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): How would you like to look into a crystal ball and know how long you have to live? Well, authors of a new test published in this week's "Journal of the American Medical Association" say they can predict with astonishing accuracy the chances you'll die in the next four years. It is just a matter of answering 12 simple questions.
(on camera): So you want to take a test to find out your likelihood of dying in the next four years?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes. Sounds like fun.
COHEN (voice-over): We gave the test to Jeff (ph), Roy (ph) and Carolyn (ph) while they had lunch today.
(on camera): Has your doctor ever told that you have diabetes or high blood sugar?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No.
COHEN: No. OK, you get zero points, that's good because points are bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK.
COHEN: You want zero.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's like golf.
COHEN: It's like golf, exactly.
(voice-over): Roy got two points for this question.
(on camera): Because of a health or memory problem, do you have any difficulty managing your money, such as paying your bills and keeping track of expenses?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes I do.
COHEN: If you have a hard time pushing a chair across the room, that's one point. If you have difficulty walking several blocks, that's two points right there. And being male will get you two points. Sorry.
Doctors at the V.A. Medical Center in San Francisco thought a quiz like this would be useful. DR. SEI LEE, VETERANS AFFAIRS MEDICAL CENTER: One of the most natural questions in the world is what's going to happen to me, doc? And unfortunately I found myself reluctant to answer that because I wasn't sure. And I didn't want to be wrong.
COHEN (voice-over): So they ask the 12 questions of nearly 20,000 people over the age of 50, followed them for four years and found it worked with 81 percent accuracy. So how did our people do?
(on camera): So Roy, you have a 15 percent chance of dying sometime in the next four years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's pretty high. That's pretty slim odds, though, isn't it?
COHEN: Yes, 15 percent, that's not bad.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's very good.
COHEN (voice-over): As for Carolyn...
(on camera): Well, you know what, Carolyn, you got zero points. You don't even register.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So I'm not going to die within the next four years.
COHEN: You have a less than four percent chance of dying in the next four years.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: All right, good.
(voice-over): Jeff smokes and is male. But even so, the study claims his chances of dying soon were less than four percent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's good, I'm going to go celebrate tonight then.
COHEN (on camera): By drinking and smoking, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Drinking and smoking and red meat, that kind of thing.
COHEN (voice-over): Of course, that's not the message the study authors want to give. They want this study to help people figure out how long they have to live and how they could live even longer.
Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: And speaking of health, it's taken by two million men every day in the hope it will prevent prostate problem. Now a new study finds the supplement saw palmetto is well, pretty worthless. Joining me now to talk about this and other popular supplements Dr. Bill Lloyd, a surgeon at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center. Good to see you.
DR. BILL LLOYD, UNIV. OF CALIF. DAVIS MED. CTR.: Hi, Fredricka.
WHITFIELD: First explain what is saw palmetto? We understand now what it promises but what is it?
LLOYD: Well, saw palmetto is an herbal supplement that comes from the palmetto tree. And they believe that there's an active substance but they really don't know what it is that probably helps men's prostate not enlarge as they get older but now they -- [ technical difficulties ].
WHITFIELD: It looks like we lost our signal with Dr. Bill Lloyd. Of course we'll try to get that going again and when and if we do we'll bring it back.
Moving on for now, we're entering the second week of the Winter Games. Straight ahead, the latest from Torino, Italy, including news of Bode Miller, speed skating and hockey. That's all still to come.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WHITFIELD: And just about every athlete knows talent can only take you so far. Having the best equipment is also key for a gold medal performance. Mark Daley, from our affiliate KARE reports on specially fitted skates that are made in Minnesota, but are getting plenty of ice time in Torino.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DAN RIEGELMAN, V.P., RIEDELL SKATES: We're actually a skate manufacturer, primarily ice figure skates.
MARK DALY, KARE REPORTER (voice-over): It's a fact of life that some have to work so that others can play. The dedicated crew at Riedell Skate Company shows up each day willing to carry that burden.
RIEGELMAN: My grandparents, who started our business, were show skaters, so they knew how skates were fit. And through the years, we've had a lot of experience working with skaters, working with coaches and helping design skates.
DALY: We're not talking any old skates here. Try the ones gracing the feet of a bunch of Olympians, including American medal hopeful Johnny Weir.
LEE OLSON, RIEDELL SKATES: The most obvious thing is the fit. It's designed to fit his foot. We have some extra strength in certain areas, right where he needs it to be.
DALY: Riedell prides itself on strong, form-fitting boots, custom tailored to each skater. Hand tracings of feet are turned into molds that reflect every bump on that skater's feet.
RIEGELMAN: And when you have a skater such as a Johnny Weir or Plushenko or some of the female skaters, as well, where you're coming down with anywhere from seven to nine times your body weight. So a freestyle level skater on a high end Olympic level needs a boot that's going to stand up to those types of pressures.
DALY: While customers like Mr. Weir get special treatment, each of the 65,000 pairs built in the factory every year comes with a personal touch. Humans do the work, people who take pride in their skates and the athletes who wear them.
OLSON: Every year we get a few new skaters that we get to work with. Always look forward to an Olympic year.
DALY: Mark Daly, KARE 11 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WHITFIELD: All right, let's get an update now on the winning there in the Olympics. The latest gold for the U.S., Shani Davis. More from Torino, there is Larry smith. Bon Giorno.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Bon Giorno. From Torina, as we're now closing our eighth day of competition and closing out on a good note for the U.S. team. Now seven gold medal, they're back on top in that and also 13 medals overall in the hunt there as well after Shani Davis did his thing.
The men's 1,000 meter speed skate world record holder taking gold tonight beating out his teammate Joey Cheek who took the silver in the 1,000. He won a gold in the 500 meter earlier in these games. Chad Heddrick, he came into the games trying to get five gold medals and tie Eric Hayden's record of five gold won in the Winter games of 1980. He finishes only in sixth. Casey Fitzrandolph, ninth.
Shani Davis and Cheek going gold and silver. Also a bronze medal for Apollo Ohno. His first medal of these games. He won a pair of medals in the Salt Lake games four years ago. Apollo Ohno taking third place in the men's 1,000 meter short track. Did not finish, did not qualify for a medal in his earlier race as well.
Speaking of not finishing, Bode Miller, he did not finish today's men's Super G. As he's 0 for 3 in trying to win his first medal in these games. He still has two more to go but certainly a bit disappointing for someone who won the World Cup title overall last year. The first American skier to do that in 22 years but he has struck out, ofor (ph) here in the first days of competition in Torino. Still with one week to go.
WHITFIELD: Wow, so much pressure. Thanks so much, Larry Smith in Torino.
Let's bring back Dr. Bill Lloyd out of Sacramento. We have him again. Talking about saw palmetto and its promises to ward off any kind of prostate problems. First you were explaining to me before, suddenly we lost our signal, what is saw palmetto?
LLOYD: Sure, saw palmetto is a natural substance that comes from the palmetto tree and some people believe that it keeps the prostate from enlarging which can give men urinary problems once they get past age 50, but a recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine says it doesn't work.
WHITFIELD: So there's a huge disappointment because millions of men were actually using this. And clearly a lot of folks had gotten the message that it works. So how hard of a fall is this for a lot of people?
LLOYD: It worked its way into mainstream medicine because it doesn't go through the normal FDA drug pathway. It's actually a food product that you can get on a super market shelf.
One reason it made it's way into people's medicine cabinets is because it lacked valid research. There weren't a sufficient number of volunteers to test if it works or not. They didn't use any objective data or any measurable outcomes. But the recent study in The New England Journal of Medicine did. They used a randomized study that extended over one full year and measured the effect of this supplement and they said it's no different.
WHITFIELD: All right, so the journal says it doesn't work. Did the journal say anything about whether there were any risks to those men who have been taking it? Any dangers.
LLOYD: No, actually it's rather inert substance and chemists don't know what the active ingredient is in saw palmetto and that's an important lesson for anybody taking herbals or other kinds of supplements. You want to make sure something that's a standardized formula and check with your doctor that it's not going to conflict with the medications that you may already be taking.
WHITFIELD: So many people hear herbal, natural and they think automatically it's safe.
LLOYD: Yes, well it may not be safe but it is a chemical. It gets in your bloodstream and if it's in the a standardized dose you may be taking too much, you may not be taking any at all and remember it could conflict with high blood pressure medications, anti- depressants and a variety of others. So when you see the doctor and tell them your story, always include what other supplement, vitamins or botanicals you may be taking in addition to your ordinary medication.
WHITFIELD: Can you count on, say, your doctor's advice on some these supplements? Because so often a lot of doctors really don't believe in the whole homeopathic kind of route.
LLOYD: Yes, there's a built-in biased among traditional doctors not to be listening to claims about all of these natural remedies. So there are other sources. This includes your pharmacists and many pharmacists know a lot about natural remedies and of course if you don't want to go to the saw palmetto route, there are a few other options.
There are some very powerful medications that work and different treatments that involve laser, microwave, even conventional surgery to solve the problem.
WHITFIELD: Lots out there. Dr. Bill Lloyd, thanks so much.
All right, still much more ahead on CNN. Carol Lin is coming up next with more of CNN LIVE SATURDAY. I'm Fredricka Whitfield.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LIN: More bodies are pulled from the mud and hopes are fading for the rescue of more than 900 people are missing. Our report from the Philippines coming up.
And here at home, severe weather hits the Northeast and the South. We're going to tell you what to brace for. And come with us to The Big Easy where Mardi Gras celebrations are in full swing.
Hello and welcome to CNN LIVE SATURDAY, I'm carol Lin. All of that and more after this quick check of the headlines.
Snow and speed. A dangerous combination in the North. Icy conditions partly to blame for a 12-car pileup today in Indiana. Gusty winds contributed to four deaths elsewhere. We'll have more on the severe weather straight ahead.
And driving rain, hampering rescue efforts in the Philippines. Search crews find more bodies but no survivors from a massive landslide. Much more on the search for the 900 missing straight ahead.
Trouble from Hamas. Hamas legislators took control of the new Palestinian parliament today with several of them telling Palestinian leader, Mahmoud Abbas they would never agree to talks with Israel.
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