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Queen Latifah Promotes National Women's Confidence Day; Paying the Price in the Heartland; Saudi National Arrested for Making Terrorist Threats

Aired June 07, 2006 - 15:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: Confidence in curves on Capitol Hill. It's a mission fit for a queen. Rapper, actress, role model, Oscar nominee Queen Latifah urging women across America to follow their own dreams and believe in their own abilities.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

QUEEN LATIFAH, ACTRESS/SINGER: Today, we don't encourage women to go out and, you know, conquer the world. We encourage them to begin to conquer their own small world.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: Queen Latifah joins me live from Washington to talk about Project Confidence. But I guess it's Day if I'm her mom, it's La if it's her best friend, and if she's in trouble it's Dana. Did I get it right?

LATIFAH: What did I do?

PHILLIPS: OK, I won't go with Dana. I'll go with La. I like that.

LATIFAH: Yes, La. That's -- I'm feeling that one.

PHILLIPS: Well, I was doing a little -- I was feeling the background here, and I saw you had a pretty interesting past. Do we get into the rap sheet or do we move more into, wow, you have come a long way from maybe possibly going one way but ending up almost getting an Academy Award. What was it? What moved you?

LATIFAH: Honestly, there was -- where I grew up, there are so many pitfalls waiting for you, so many obstacles to overcome, so many traps you can fall into, just having idle time on your hands. But I think my parents tried to fill that time up as much as possible.

And fortunately, there were organizations like the YWCA and, you know, Boys and Girls Clubs of Newark and basketball and, you know, rapping, you know, poetry, all the other things that I was into, my parents were able to help encourage me, to kind of keep me more on the straight and narrow.

But I realize a lot of people don't have people to encourage them like my parents encouraged me. Half my friends I had to encourage as if I was their parents. You know, so I can definitely relate to how some people struggle to make it.

PHILLIPS: What did mom say to you? Did mom say, look, I know this is not easy, it's tough, but man, you've got some talent and I'm expecting you to move forward and to do something?

LATIFAH: Mom said something more like, what, I told you, in that house -- by -- oh, no, sorry.

PHILLIPS: Trust me, I've had a few of those whoopings myself. Let me tell you what. I remember those days.

LATIFAH: Oh, man! No, you know what? My mom really -- she knew me. She knew me. And I think it was important that she got to know her kids. So she didn't look at, you know, if I stayed out late or if I, you know, hung out somewhere I wasn't supposed to be, she didn't really so much look at it as -- and we were able to communicate.

So she always left the door open for me to talk to her. But, you know, she didn't so much look at me as much as trying to disobey her as much as she knew my adventurous spirit, she knew that I wanted to see what was out in the world and discover things. And at some point, we just had to make a truce, you know? When I was around 17, it was like, look, you know, you just call me wherever you are and let me know you're OK?

PHILLIPS: Did you ever do the old, mom, I'm running away, packed your bag up, walked outside, kind of freaked out, but, you know?

LATIFAH: I never -- you know, my cousins wanted to run away sometimes and some of my friends, but I really never had a reason to run away. Like I didn't come from a bad household where I had to deal with my mom taking me through all kinds of stuff every day.

And I had friends who like, literally, walked in the door to getting kicked or were completely ignored or their parents never even bothered to ask about their lives or what they were doing or to give them any boundaries. And those tended to be my friends who went too far with things. And so, you know, we became each other's parents, in a way, as teenagers, some of my friends and I.

PHILLIPS: You know, I've got to ask you about this, because you've got your whole curvation and, you know, bigger is beautiful, that's for sure. Boy, I tell you what, no matter what you're wearing, you look gorgeous. But I was watching BET on a Saturday morning and I was checking out the videos.

And I swear, after -- one after another, it's like women talking about pimps and hos and wearing these sleazy outfits and I thought is this the way black women really want to be portrayed? And you have -- I don't know if anyone has ever asked you what you think of those images.

LATIFAH: It seemed like for the first five years of my career, that was the only questions they asked me to the point where I just came across as I was this serious person because I had to answer so many serious questions. But, you know, for me, I don't think -- I don't think black women want to be betrayed that way. I absolutely don't. And the women that I know don't want to be betrayed like that. When you -- I mean, this is what they show. This is what they're encouraged to create. This is what they're encouraged to film. And this is what they're encouraged to play.

It's not just -- you know, I got into this debate with a friend of mine. You know, she felt like the rappers should own up to everything they do. And I agree that they should own up to their lyrics and everything, but at the same time, we've got a business that almost forces you to go that way.

PHILLIPS: But you didn't, and you don't, and look how successful you are.

LATIFAH: Because I refuse to. I refuse to, but a lot of people aren't as strong as I am. And the pressures that they deal with, are -- although are the same, often greater. But everybody doesn't have the strength that I have or makes, to me, what is the smarter choice, which is to look way down the road as opposed to at the short money, the short side of things of, you know, what you'll do right now.

I didn't want to just go platinum by taking off my clothes and shaking it and doing this and saying whatever just to pique people's interest and then, like, you never hear from me again because it was like a trend, a one-hit wonder kind of thing.

So, you know, it was kind of hard to pass up on some of that stuff sometimes because I'm human like everybody else. I could talk about that all day, but that just wasn't -- it wasn't me.

So I'm not really a follower like that. And I decided to cut my own path and I'm glad I did. And that's why I encourage, you know, other women to do the same things. I know it's hard, but it's definitely doable.

PHILLIPS: Latifah means delicate and sensitive in Arabic, is that right?

LATIFAH: Yes, I'm so delicate.

PHILLIPS: You're so delicate and so sensitive.

LATIFAH: Yes.

PHILLIPS: And your cousins gave you this name?

LATIFAH: Yes, kind of, because my cousin is Muslim and she brought this Muslim book of names to my house when we were like -- I was about 8 years old. And when I read -- I was just reading some of the meanings of the names. When I saw Latifah, which is one of my other cousin's name, I read the meaning and it said delicate, sensitive, kind, nice.

And although I was 8, I was big for my age but I was really just this teddy bear on the inside, so I felt like that's really who I was. And for some reason, Dana was just hard for me to say at that -- Dana.

PHILLIPS: It wasn't working.

LATIFAH: And the boys would tease me, they say that's a boy's name. And I'm like no, that's a girl's name. No, that's a boy. You're a boy. You're not a -- oh, come on. Call me Latifah. How about that?

PHILLIPS: But you threw in the queen?

LATIFAH: Well, You know, I had to spice it up.

PHILLIPS: There's a little attitude there.

LATIFAH: A little hip-hop in me. You know, hold up. Wait a minute, I'm no emcee. I'm Queen Latifah. So, you know, that's the good thing about rapping, it gives you like this confidence to just -- you know, you've got to get out there and really sell it.

So that's why we're here today on behalf of curvation, YWCA, you know, kicking off this National Day of Confidence for women. It's in the congressional record thanks to Representative Maloney our of New York -- Mahoney -- I'm really, really just excited to be here today. It's been quite an experience.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well, let's see how good that confidence is because we did our homework and I found out that your first job was in Burger King. And we actually found a picture of you when you used to work at Burger King. Did you ever see this photo?

LATIFAH: No way.

PHILLIPS: Check it out. Did you ever see that photo? All right, La, give me a little -- hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, special orders don't upset us, all you ask is let us serve it your way. Give it to me. Come on, let's go. Give it to me.

LATIFAH: I'm sorry. I never memorized that part. I'm the queen. See, I was just hanging out with the king and, you know, we didn't have to do all that. You know, y'all had to do that, OK?

PHILLIPS: Queen Latifah, the National Day of Confidence.

LATIFAH: Yes.

PHILLIPS: I'll tell you what, you made our day being here. Thanks so much.

LATIFAH: Thanks for having me.

PHILLIPS: It was our absolute pleasure.

LATIFAH: Thank you.

PHILLIPS: Well, sky high fuel prices make for hard roads for independent truckers. Our special series, "Paying the Price in the Heartland" -- no, Queen Latifah's not going to be giving us that piece. Dan Lothian is going to bring it to us, straight ahead on LIVE FROM.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Let's get straight to the newsroom. Carol Lin with details on a developing story out of Tyler, Texas -- Carol.

CAROL LIN, CNN ANCHOR: Kyra, earlier I told you about two sheriff's deputies in Tyler, Texas, who were shot while responding to a domestic violence call. This was the scene earlier on that residential street. The update is that one of those sheriff's deputies, Constable Dale -- let me get the name correct -- Dale Getty (ph) has died. The other officer right now is in surgery.

The suspect, 52-year-old Joseph Earl Walsh was taken into custody after the sheriff's deputies there had to bring in an armored vehicle to rescue one of the deputies who was trapped near the house. So that is the update right now. A sad story to report that this sheriff's deputy in Tyler, Texas, died.

PHILLIPS: All right, Carol Lin, thanks for following that story for us.

And a registered sex offender has arrived in South Carolina to face charges in the death of a Clemson University student. Live pictures right now as police say that they found DNA from this man, Jerry Buck Inman, 35, in the apartment of Tiffany Marie Souers, who was found dead on May 26. She had been strangled with her bikini top. Alabama officials now say that he is a suspect in two other attacks.

Souers' mother spoke to reporters in Missouri just a short time ago.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BREN SOUERS, TIFFANY SOUERS' MOTHER: I don't know if you ever get closure. It's definitely the next step. We'll -- you know, we'll let the police do what they need to do down there, probably stay out of that for our own sakes, and start picking up the pieces and figure out what life's going to be like without her.

Oh, I don't know. I think she fought so desperately that she left a lot of clues. There was no way this man was going to go free. She was a strong girl that was going to make sure that he paid for this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PHILLIPS: And we will follow this arraignment live here on CNN. This is in Pickens County, South Carolina, where Inman, 35, is going through his arraignment. We'll let you know, too, if more calls come in about other rapes he might be tied to.

You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Well, going into business isn't easy. And when that business is driving high fuel prices, take a big chunk out of profits. Well, this week CNN's Dan Lothian is looking at "Paying the Price in the Heartland" and today the cost of doing business in Atalissa, Iowa.

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Kyra, if a trucker works for a big company, that company has more negotiating power and can even absorb some costs. But independent truckers like the one we rode along with are having a much more difficult.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAN LOTHIAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): In Brian McDowell's home on 80 stunning acres in Peru, Iowa, it's hard to find anyone who is stressed. But lately, every time he sees off his family...

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Bye.

BRIAN MCDOWELL: Bye. You be good, OK?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I will.

LOTHIAN: ... fires up the engine of his semi and heads out...

MCDOWELL: Here we go.

LOTHIAN: ... stress seems to find him and follow him down the road.

MCDOWELL: Because you worry about the money and everything all the time.

LOTHIAN (on camera): LOTHIAN: Talk to me about how the gas prices have impacted your bottom line.

MCDOWELL: They're killing me.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): McDowell, an independent trucker, says rising fuel costs have cut his profits in half.

MCDOWELL: On a good week, say I made $1,000. I'm down to $500 now. A $600 week I might bring home $200 out of it compared to what I was making. I mean, it hurts.

LOTHIAN: McDowell receives a lesson in economics every time he pulls up to the pumps.

MCDOWELL: Fuel is one of the biggest expenses we have. Fifty- two gallons. But you've just got to put up with it.

LOTHIAN: As we bounced along the highway to pick up a load of bricks, McDowell explained why a fuel surcharge customers must pay him doesn't relieve all of his pain.

MCDOWELL: But it's only set once a week. So if the fuel surcharge rate is set at, say, $2.76 a gallon fuel on Monday and if fuel jumps to $2.82 on Tuesday . . .

LOTHIAN (on camera): You have to pay the difference?

MCDOWELL: Yes.

LOTHIAN (voice-over): So this veteran trucker is shifting gears to save money. He's cut down on his speed.

MCDOWELL: Any time you can save anything, a tenth, two tenths of a mile pickup, translates to dollars in your pocket.

LOTHIAN: He's had his engine fine tuned to be more efficient. Will often drive at night. Less wind resistance he says. And then there are the little things.

MCDOWELL: Instead of running into a convenience store and buying a bottle of pop or a bottle of water, carry it with you, you know? Any place that you can cut costs and if it isn't absolutely necessarily, don't bother.

LOTHIAN: McDowell also tries harder to get more lucrative loads. While hauling bricks to Chicago may not pay all the bills, the bridge span he'll bring back is a cash cow.

MCDOWELL: We don't make money until it's delivered.

LOTHIAN: Driving to feed his family and determined to keep rolling despite the high costs.

MCDOWELL: I'm a very competitive person and I don't like to be forced into anything. So as long as I can keep making it work, nobody's going to force me out of business. I hope.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LOTHIAN: He did tell us though that some truckers can't keep going, they've simply parked their trucks and are doing side jobs, waiting for the prices to fall before they hit the road again. Kyra?

PHILLIPS: Dan Lothian, thanks so much. And you can catch our special series, "Paying the Price in the Heartland" all this week on CNN's "AMERICAN MORNING" starting at 6 a.m. Eastern.

CNN's Wolf Blitzer joins us from "THE SIT ROOM." Tell us what's coming up. Hey, Wolf.

WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Hi, Kyra. Thanks very much. How to win an election: a California race that you may never have heard of until now might just be the key to victory for some Republicans this fall. We're going to show you how the winner did it.

Plus Arnold Schwarzenegger has got a good political fight on his own hands right now. He's no shrinking violet, so why is he paying it so cool? Also, my special interview with the archbishop of Washington. I'll talk with Cardinal Theodore McCarrick about America's battle over gay marriage, illegal immigration and more. You might be surprised at what he says when it comes to civil unions.

It's all ahead, Kyra, right here in "THE SITUATION ROOM."

PHILLIPS: Look forward to it, thanks Wolf. Stay with us, more LIVE FROM right after a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PHILLIPS: Straight to the newsroom, Carol Lin has been awfully busy today with a couple of stories.

LIN: Kyra, we just got this press release from the FBI. Apparently a Saudi national who was training to be an army translator at Ft. Benning, Georgia, has been arrested for making terrorist threats.

This is what we know. He's 45-years-old. His name is Saleh Nasser al-Suwailem. And he is from Boise, Idaho. And apparently he had been making some kind of terrorist threats to blow up an airplane. He had uttered this threat to another Ft. Benning staff member stating that he would carry out the threat on a flight that he was scheduled for the following evening.

So, Kyra, there you have it. It's really quite remarkable. Do we have time for this update on this little boy? All right, Kyra, you might recall back in February a 5-year-old little boy, Robert Turner, had called 911 because his mother was having trouble breathing. Two 911 dispatchers are being disciplined. They could face a -- they are facing a misdemeanor charge and they could end up in jail for a year because they didn't respond to his calls.

The only reason why they ended up sending police to his house was to discipline him because they thought that he was making a crank call and his mother died. So according to the "Associated Press," the prosecutor in the case says, that yes, 911 gets quite a few crank calls but that Robert Turner's mother would be alive today probably if they had responded to his initial call.

PHILLIPS: Carol Lin, thank you very much.

All right, we're watching the markets as the closing bell is about to ring. Ali Velshi in New York. He says it's time to buy the bling. Hey, that rhymed, too.

(MARKET REPORT)

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