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New Day Saturday

U.K. Raises Terror Threat Level to "Severe"; Joan Rivers Stopped Breathing During Surgery; Officials: MH370 Turned South Earlier; Putin: Don't Mess with Russia; Obama Criticized as Too Laid Back

Aired August 30, 2014 - 07:00   ET

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

(MUSIC)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Listen, if you're not awake. I'm reawakened.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.

PAUL: Seems like I'm going back to that moment. My goodness.

Good morning, everybody. Don't go that fast out there, but do, you know, race with the world. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell, 7:00 here on the East Coast. NEW DAY SATURDAY.

Were you white knuckling it?

PAUL: I was like this. The funny thing is, I said, what do you do when you hit the wall? Because she --

BLACKWELL: She was close, yes.

PAUL: And she said -- I think, dang it.

I would be thinking that another car is going to hit me. OK, no. She is sheer athlete. She think, can I still go? So --

BLACKWELL: While you were screaming, she was focused.

PAUL: Gosh, she's pretty darn amazing. Thank you, Danica.

BLACKWELL: So, it's a three-day weekend, Labor Day weekend, the U.S. and close ally the U.K., are keeping watch on the terror threat posed by ISIS militants and whether they could strike here at home.

PAUL: Well, President Obama is calling for a national coalition to confront the threat even if top republicans are blasting him from admitting that he doesn't have a strategy yet to deal with ISIS and Syria. So, across the Atlantic, we know British Prime Minister David Cameron said the ISIS fight is not foreign conflict Western nations can afford to ignore.

BLACKWELL: Yes, the U.K. ramped up its terror threat to the second highest level, that's severe, which means an attack is highly likely. Mr. Cameron also said he would stop plans for would-be jihadists from travelling to Syria and Iraq and then returning home after the attack.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVID CAMERON, BRITISH PRIME MINISTER: What we're facing in Iraq now with ISIL is a greater and deeper threat to our security than we have known before.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Let's bring in CNN's Karl Penhaul in London.

Karl, the U.K. says there's no intelligence to suggest an attack is imminent. So what exactly prompted the ramped-up terror alert here? Prime Minister Cameron, he said that broadly, it's Islamic lawmaker extremism. But that's a little too broad. Narrow it for us.

KARL PENHAUL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, absolutely. I mean, this is now the highest terror threat alert that Britain has had for the last three years. But Mr. Cameron didn't narrow it down. We asked him, well, why no? And he said, well, in light of that execution video of American journalist James Foley, as we know, intelligence services suspect that one of men who had a hand in that execution is a Briton because we hear that British kind of accent.

And so, that is what Mr. Cameron and his intelligence services are basing that decision on, to ramp up the terror threat that some of these men could hit back to Briton and then create havoc here. But, of course, that threat is not new. We've known for many years now that Britons have hit it off to join extremist groups first in Afghanistan and Iraq and now Syria, which has had a lot of people shrugging their shoulders, is it any worse today than it has been in previous months, Victor.

PAUL: Karl, we know that the U.S., obviously not issuing a terror threat yet. But they're certainly having pretty some serious conversations with the U.K. to discern how the U.S. assess when it's going to raise its own terror alert. Do you know what those conversations are like with the U.K.?

PENHAUL: We don't know what those conversations like, Christi, but as you say, Britain and the United States working very closely together. As the intelligence services are doing also with the European partners as well, because don't forget, across Europe, different countries giving numbers of their own citizens that they believe headed off to fight in Syria and Iraq with ISIS.

The danger, of course, is that you don't need many radicalized terrorists to come back to their home country to sow havoc, because of the style of the threat, the explosives they may be using. Just very view people can do maximum damage. But one of Britain's lawmakers that I was talking to the other day, he says despite services, they're tracking people, they're tracking radicals this lawmaker believes that intelligence services simply cannot do that. They don't have sufficient information about who is gone and what numbers either. And they say when they do come back, it's often not the usual suspects that are causing the problems, Christi.

BLACKWELL: All right, Karl Penhaul there just after noon in London reporting for us this morning in the U.S. -- thank you so much, Karl.

PAUL: Let's talk about legendary comedian Joan Rivers right now. She's still in the hospital, we know that this morning.

BLACKWELL: Yes, she stopped breathing during throat surgery on Thursday.

CNN's Alexandra Field is at Mt. Sinai hospital in New York.

A lot of people have been wishing her well and praying for her as her daughter Melissa has requested. Give us the latest there.

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Christi, Victor, there's certainly a lot of people pulling for her, watching her closely. Melissa has been providing some updates. She says that she's really confident that her mother is receiving the best care possible. The 81-year-old came to this hospital, Mt. Sinai, in critical condition two days ago, and now, Melissa, her daughter says her mom's condition remains serious.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD (voice-over): A health crisis for legendary comedian Joan Rivers. The 81-year-old still hospitalized two days after she stopped breathing, going into cardiac arrest during a throat procedure at the outpatient clinic. Rivers was then rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital where according to the E! Network, she's now in stable condition.

The iconic comedian's daughter Melissa says her mom is resting comfortably. Rivers in fine, feisty form the night before during an hour-long stand-up event in New York. The Emmy-winning comedian showing no signs of slowing down.

JOAN RIVERS, COMEDIAN: Oh, grow up!

FIELD: According to her Web site, Rivers had 27 scheduled stand-up shows in the fall, along with E's "Fashion Police".

RIVERS: And her legs go on and on and on. Like Gwyneth Paltrow when someone asked her about kale.

FIELD: Promoting her own jewelry line on QVC.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sleep on the plane, talk on the phone, it's phenomenal.

RIVERS: And everyone talks on the phone. You know in the old days, someone was walking down the street talking on a cell, you crossed over, you know --

FIELD: And a weekly talk show on YouTube called, "In Bed With Joan."

RIVERS: What would you do if you had a really hideous child? FIELD: Rivers never one to mince words since her debut on "The Johnny

Carson Show" in 1965.

RIVERS: I never cook (INAUDIBLE) because I figured if the Lord wanted a woman to cook, she'd give her aluminum hands. And

FIELD: The Tony-nominated funny woman on red carpet ruler has been in the spotlight for her controversial jokes ever since.

RIVERS: I look at this. Look how nice -- I mean, my legs look good. The breasts are in the right place.

(LAUGHTER)

FIELD: Now, a serious turn for a woman who says she never wants to stop making people laugh.

RIVERS: Only time I'm truly, truly happy is when I am on a stage.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

FIELD: And, Christi, Victor, she had so many people laughing just Wednesday night when she was on stage, CNN has spoken to some of the people who are in the audience that night. It was the kind of performance that they expect from Joan Rivers. Earlier this week, she was hosting her show "Fashion Police" doing the breakdown of all the Emmy and Video Music Award fashion. So, a lot of people are just really hoping to see her return, seeing some good news coming out this week. A lot of people pulling for her. Her daughter Melissa asking people to keep Joan Rivers in their thoughts and prayers this morning.

BLACKWELL: All right. Alexandra Field there for us this morning. Thank you so much.

So, a key part of a Texas -- really, it's a new abortion law. It's been struck down in court. Federal judge ruled it unconstitutional to force a majority of 19 abortion clinics in the state to become surgical centers. The law would have taken effect on Monday. Governor Rick Perry signed last year and it is considered one of the strictest in the country, that law was. Well, the judge said that closing those clinics would impose, quote, "undue burden" on the right of women seeking abortion. Texas officials have vowed to appeal.

PAUL: And the grieving family of the slain gun instructor are showing sympathy for the 9-year-old girl who killed him in what is a freak accident. Cell phone video shows the moment before the fourth grader, she just lost control of a .9 millimeter submachine gun. This was at the gun range in Arizona. The Mojave County sheriff's office calls the full video, quote, "ghastly". Clearly, we're not going to show it to you, but Charles Vacca's ex-wife says her heart goes out to this girl.

Here's what his daughter told NBC's "Today Show".

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ASHLEY VACCA, DAUGHTER OF SLAIN GUN INSTRUCTOR: She was a good person, we know as well. We want to make sure that they know we understand we know it was a tragic accident and that it's something that we're all going to have to live with.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Now, the family also said they're planning on writing a letter to the girl and family and we're certainly hoping for healing of all of that. It's going to be a long process.

BLACKWELL: It's going to take some time.

Let's talk about another big story we're following this morning, this new ISIS terror alert. Britain, of course, raising its terror threat level to severe. We've discussed that. But what's the U.S. doing about the potential danger? We're going to dig into that angle.

Also, a satellite phone call to the missing Malaysia plane has revealed new details about its flight path. Is that going to change the search area yet again? We'll tell what you we know.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: Twelve minutes after the hour.

And President Obama is asking his top security and defense officials to give him options for going after ISIS in Syria.

PAUL: He says it's too soon to say right now what steps the U.S. will take.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We will continue to consult with Congress, and I do think it will be important for Congress to weigh in, and that our consultations with Congress continue to develop, so that the American people are part of the debate. But I don't want to put the cart before the horse. We don't have a strategy yet.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: All right. It's that sentence that really got people talking.

Retired lieutenant general and CNN military analyst Mark Hertling joining us now. Also, former homeland security official and CNN national security analyst, Juliette Kayyem.

Thank you both so much for being here.

I want to pose this question to both of you. General Hertling, we'll go to you first, but the president admitting there's no strategy yet for dealing with ISIS in Syria. One of the first things I thought of was -- is Syria or is ISIS listening to this, and will this embolden them? What do you say? LT. GEN. MARK HERTLING (RET), CNN MILITARY ANALYST: Well, when I

first heard the statement, Christi, I knew exactly what the president was talking about, having received the kind of guidance he was discussing. When he was saying, you know, we don't have a strategy yet, he has not picked his options.

But, yes, this is something that you don't want to publicize, but at the same time, you may want to keep ISIS on its toes. Which way is it going to go? I mean, maybe there's a question in their mind right now of, what is the president going to do in Syria? They have already been confronted in Iraq, and now, there's a potential of them being confronted in other places. And I think that may concern them.

BLACKWELL: Juliette.

JULIETTE KAYYEM, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: Oh, I agree with Mark wholeheartedly. I mean, we shouldn't make too much of a part of a sentence that President Obama said, it's clear we don't have a strategy because the options are still being considered. Military strikes in Syria are a game-changer, no matter how much intervention is wanted to sort of say, well, the borders are loose up there, it doesn't really matter if we go from Iraq to Syria.

President Assad of Syria believes they are his borders. He believes in his borders. And he has said that he would view this as violation of his sovereignty.

So, this is -- these are high stakes not just for the United States, but for all the allies. So, deliberation is not a bad thing given what could result from increasing our military mission in the area.

BLACKWELL: So, let's talk about one of the allies. And a different approach some say. President Obama, we heard from him on Thursday, said there's no strategy yet for dealing with ISIS in Syria. Then one day later, just yesterday, British Prime Minister David Cameron spoke. And he was -- he offered a very different approach, much more forceful some are saying. They laid out a few steps.

Let's play part of what Mr. Cameron said and we'll talk about it on the other side.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CAMERON: We need to tackle that ideology of that Islamic extremism head on, at its roots, before it takes the form of violence and terror. That means challenging the thinking of extremist ideologues, identifying the groups in this country that push an extremist agenda, encountering them by empowering the overwhelming majority who believe in British values of democracy, the rule of law and respect for minorities.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: General, I don't hear anything there that the White House has not already said, essentially, but is it a different approach? The appearance matters, optics matter. What do you make of the different approach by Mr. Cameron and the president?

HERTLING: Well, Victor, I'll say two things. First of all, all European countries, I think Mr. Cameron expressed the concerns of the U.K. But just having returned from Europe in my last assignment before retiring, I will tell you all of the European countries are very concerned about their homeland security, to use that phrase.

There are a lot of disenfranchised groups throughout Europe, much more so than in the United States. And they're very concerned about the flow of Islamic jihadists from the area into Europe.

The second thing is, Mr. Cameron's speaking with a very forceful leadership style. But he's not the one that's going to lead the action. The president, President Obama is.

So, he has to really have his options very clear to bring in the allies, to help him exchange intelligence and perhaps build a force which is confronting this horrific threat.

PAUL: Juliette, we know that the White House press secretary yesterday came out and said that the reason that the president stated this, there's no strategy yet, was, in part, I believe, unless I have this incorrect, but I'm quite certain he said it was probably because the Pentagon is not completely ready. That the Pentagon has not laid out their plan. Then you've got the press secretary from the Pentagon coming out and saying, no, if anybody knows the U.S. military, they know we're ready.

Is there a disconnect within the ranks there?

KAYYEM: Well, there has been some disconnect, I would say between the Pentagon and the White House just in terms of the language being used about the threat to the United States homeland. But I don't think there's a huge gap.

Look, there is a military option to bomb in Syria. We would lead it, as the general said, so we need to make sure that we have everything in place. We don't have a coalition of the willing. We have a coalition of the unwilling. Whether it's turkey, Iraq or Saudi Arabia or even Russia. These are nations that want to see what we do first.

And so, I don't think there's a gap. There's a military option. The White House has to consider more than the military option. Has to consider diplomatic, or ties with our allies, the ties with the coalition of the unwilling to see what's best for everyone.

And so -- and what the strategy would result in. Look, we could start bombing in Syria. No one should believe that's the end of ISIS. They're just going to move again.

So, what David Cameron was essentially saying, military is just one piece of it. We have a long-term need to address radicalism, to address what's going on in Iraq and, of course, in Syria. And those are all part of the pieces.

PAUL: All righty. General Mark Hertling and Juliette Kayyem -- thank you both so much for being with us this morning.

We're going to continue, obviously, to talk about this throughout the morning.

BLACKWELL: Certainly.

PAUL: So many more questions.

BLACKWELL: Thank you both.

A lot of questions about this: MH370, remember that? New clues now to where the missing plane could have gone. We'll tell you how a satellite phone call could be key in discovering the flight's path.

PAUL: Also, a violent Indy Car crash in California. We'll let you know what we've learned this morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BLACKWELL: We've got new information this morning about the Malaysian jet that really went missing several months ago. Now, it happened in March, 239 people onboard that plane. It appears Malaysia Airlines staff tried to call the crew using a satellite phone after it dropped off radar.

PAUL: Yes, the call failed, of course, but what it did is showed that the plane most likely went south earlier than previously thought.

CNN meteorologist Chad Myers walks us through this.

Hey, Chad.

CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Christi, Victor, it's been a long time since we had updates on MH370. Finally this week, though, something came out -- something other than the pings from the Inmarsat satellite.

We remember these lines oh so well. The last arc we called it for a long time, the plane somewhere along that big red line. All part of Inmarsat system.

The communications with the plane system, and they could send the beam down, bring them back up, we called them handshakes. They could tell how long the handshakes took by the speed of light. They knew where the plane was, at least on an arc. They didn't have the triangulation, but they had something.

This week, something else came out. The investigators had been looking at an incomplete phone call, never received by the plane but sent from the ground by Malaysia Airlines. They spent it up to the plane. The plane never received it, but it appears from the data on that satellite phone call that the plane may have turned left a little bit sooner.

So, the original assumption of here may not be right, even if it's 20 or 30 miles. And then you take that, and you translate it all the way down for many, many hours. That slight turn makes a huge difference. This is where the original thought was. This now, where the new thought process might be if that plane turned to the left, just a little bit sooner than first thought.

Now, you move you ahead a couple more hours as the plane crossed through this ping. Somewhere along the orange line, but we just don't quite know where. Farther to the south, along the orange line and finally to the red line, the most important line. So, the original thought process was somewhere up in here along there.

And this is fairly flat. But look at that. Look at what we have here -- this crease right through the middle of the picture. So, we go below the surface and tell you what that means, what that means to the searchers, what that means for the remote control vehicles trying to go there. Volcanoes, surface to 2,000 feet and down to 25,000 feet, more than four miles deep in some of these deepest canyons. And then bumps like this, mountainous areas, significantly more topography, than what we were looking at earlier in the search.

Not that the search is going to get any easier, but this seems to make it harder.

Christi, Victor, back to you.

PAUL: Chad Myers --

BLACKWELL: Everything seems to make it harder.

PAUL: You just think of those families. My goodness. Chad Myers, we so appreciate it. Thank you.

BLACKWELL: Comedian Joan Rivers is recovering in a hospital this morning. She stopped breathing during surgery on Thursday. We're going to tell you the latest on her health and what her daughter Melissa Rivers is asking from you.

PAUL: Also, Russian President Vladimir Putin tough words he's spewing for the U.S. and the West this morning, basically saying -- listen, back off.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: Mortgages rates ticked down this week. Here you go.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

CHRISTI PAUL, CNN ANCHOR: Take a nice deep breath, as you have made it to Saturday. Hopefully, for a lot of you, a three-day weekend. Welcome. It is 7:30 right now. I'm Christi Paul.

VICTOR BLACKWELL, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Victor Blackwell.

Saturday is a great place to be.

PAUL: It is, isn't it?

BLACKWELL: It is.

PAUL: Even if we're here.

BLACKWELL: Five things you need to know for your NEW DAY.

Up first, serious topic here. Ebola has now spread to a fifth country in Africa. An infected university student is in quarantine in Senegal, after crossing the border from Guinea now.

Senegal closed its borders to Guinea last week, but officials, they lost track of the young man and he somehow got across. The world health organization says Ebola cases are rising at the fastest rate since the epidemic began.

PAUL: Number two, 20 miners had been rescued from a mine collapse in Nicaragua now, but there are still five more who are trapped in the ground there. Rescue workers have been racing to dig them out since this mine caved in Thursday. The silver and gold mine located in the country's northern mountains.

BLACKWELL: Number three, a rookie IndyCar driver is in serious but stable vision after a violent multicar crash last night in Fontana, California. Mikhail Aleshin was airlifted to a hospital and according to "USA Today", the 27-year-old suffered a concussion, a broken right shoulder, broken ribs, also injuries to his chest.

PAUL: Number four, a police officer has been fired over comments he purportedly made on Facebook about protesters in Ferguson. Officer Matthew Pappert made comments that his chief called, quote, "very concerning and inappropriate" about the demonstrations sparked by the killing of black teenager by a white officer. Pappert's attorney said his client is, quote, "deeply remorseful".

BLACKWELL: And five now, Joan Rivers is in the hospital. Still there this morning. Her daughter Melissa Rivers says that she's resting comfortably but her condition is still very serious. Rivers apparently suffered cardiac arrest and respiratory arrest during throat surgery. That was on Thursday.

Let's go to Moscow now, President Vladimir Putin is sending a strong message to the West: don't mess with Russia. Because his nation is, quote, "one of the most powerful nuclear nations." His words come as NATO accuses Russia of trying to, and this is a quote as well, destabilize Ukraine.

PAUL: Take a look at these satellite images. A British government source tells CNN there are at least 4,000 to 5,000 Russian military personnel in southern Ukraine. Not just soldiers, but soldiers they say with sophisticated heavy weaponry. Such as this tank you see here in southeast Ukraine. Russia denies those accusations, of course.

Matthew Chance is in Moscow.

So, Matthew, let's talk about Putin's tone. A lot of people thinking is this a veiled threat to the West? Is he goading the world? MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: You know,

this is a classic Vladimir Putin remark. He was speaking to a pro- Kremlin youth group outside of Moscow, a youth camp there, very supportive of the Kremlin, very patriotic.

And this is exactly the kind of sentiment and remark that he often drops in, you know, to remind the audience, but also to remind the outside world that Russia isn't a country that can be trifled with. I mean, you had this emergency session of NATO. They're having their summit in Wales over the next week to discuss what response they can make to, what they say is Russian aggression and Russian support in eastern Ukraine.

And this is Vladimir Putin adding a bit of reality to the situation, saying, look, don't mess with Russia, one of the most important superpowers in terms of nuclear weapons in world. I think actually that's very well understood by President Obama who has ruled out a kind of military solution to the situation in Ukraine and is very much understood by other members of NATO as well.

No one wants a military confrontation with Russia but, of course, Vladimir Putin, it's his style to go out there and to put it out in those very stark, very blunt terms.

BLACKWELL: So, no one wants a military response, no one wants as they said, troops or boots on the ground. But what is next, possibly, for the international community to try to get Mr. Putin and Russia to stop helping these rebels in Ukraine.

CHANCE: It's going to be a very big problem to solve. Maybe if there were a magic bullet as it were or a button they could press, they have already pressed it. There isn't one.

I mean, we've had wrath of -- multiple wraths of sanctions against Vladimir Putin's inner circle. The United States has been leading that initiative. The European Union has been following suit as well as others in the international community, like Japan. But it hasn't had any positive effect. I won't say it hasn't had any effect. It's had the effect of making Vladimir Putin even more determined and making his support even more stronger.

BLACKWELL: All right. Matthew Chance there for us in Moscow -- Matthew, thank you so much.

PAUL: Thank you, Matthew.

So, back here in the U.S., guess what, President Obama has a new fashion critic. Oh, and the judging does not stop there.

BLACKWELL: Yes, there's more.

Plus, the National Guard troops in Texas, they're working with local food banks to get daily nutrition. It's not for the children who are coming across the border, they need that food. We'll tell you why.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK) BLACKWELL: Good morning, Washington, D.C. -- a live look at the White House, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The president is waking up this morning. President had been expected to spend the night in New York, but he got back to the White House just after 11:00 Eastern.

What is clear here is that the president is catching a lot of heat for what some people are called his laid back approach to Syria, and his lack of a strategy for targeting ISIS there.

Republican Congressman Peter King even criticized the president's suit on Thursday. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

REP. PETER KING (R), NEW YORK: Here's a president coming out at such a serious moment, where he should be addressing the country in such a serious matter, and he looks like he's on his way to a party at the Hamptons which would have been fine if you addressed the issue of Hampton. Instead, he addressed the economy, saying that was more important than Syria. And I just thought it detracted from the seriousness of the moment. It's different than David Cameron, the way he addressed the British people today. To me, it did not show the seriousness of purpose that you need from the commander-in-chief at such a serious time as this.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BLACKWELL: Erin McPike is live at the White House.

Erin, you know, there are some people calling this on Twitter the "audacity of taupe", I'm told, his wearing that suit. Trivial issue, but tell us from the viewers there at the White House.

ERIN MCPIKE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, President Obama actually did address this last night at this fund-raiser, he said something along the lines of -- I'm going to have to take off this jacket. It's a little warm in here. My tan suit is a whole lot cooler.

So, making a little light of that situation. But don't think the White House is all of that concerned with his clothing choices, Victor.

BLACKWELL: All right. Erin McPike, there for us at the White House. Erin, thank you so much. We'll get back to you in just a moment.

PAUL: You know, we've got interviews all the time, never had to do it at 145 miles an hour.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I don't know how you do this. Oh, my God! How does this thing not flip over?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: How does it not flip over, people? I'm telling that's what it felt like, tearing around the track, breakneck speeds. You know why it didn't flip over? Because Danica Patrick was at the wheel.

BLACKWELL: Look at her face. She is focused.

PAUL: It's pretty amazing. She talked to us about an awful lot of things, including Tony Stewart. Why she's dressed in pink. We'll show you more in a minute.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: I feel like we need -- look at the Alamo here.

BLACKWELL: Wake me up before you go, go.

PAUL: I feel like we need Texas music. Some country, you know.

BLACKWELL: Yes, something with a little more reference, not wham.

PAUL: Now, you're going to tick off the wham fans out there but now I understand.

I wish you could have seen the look on his face when the music popped up and then there's the Alamo.

Good morning to all of you at the Alamo and everywhere. San Antonio, Texas, welcome, y'all.

BLACKWELL: All right. Well, let's stay in Texas, now we dropped the music, talking about these National Guard troops deployed there. Reportedly, they needed help to get food for themselves to eat every day.

Affiliate KGTV did an investigation and said at least 50 troops applied to their armory for food help and they were referred to a local food bank. The Texas National Guard said the station service member receive pay, housing allowance and a daily food allowance. Well, a general with the guard tells KGTV said that the troops' needs are now being met by the Guard, but apparently there was some discrepancy, some gap there for a while.

PAUL: Yes. Hey, Napa Valley is apparently a hot spot for Labor Day weekend tourists. But, of course, wine tasting is not on a lot of people's minds right after last week's 6.0 earthquake. Several wineries lost thousands of dollars of stock after that quake. I mean, look at the bottles and wine barrels that just took a good old tumble there -- wineries, restaurants, hotels.

They want all of us to know most of the area is still safe and it is now open for business.

So, earthquake or no earthquake, it's a good place to go, they say.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

Hey, it's a three-day weekend, Labor Day weekend, a lot of people pulling off the gas bill, you guys are cold.

PAUL: A big green egg.

BLACKWELL: Oh, green egg, all right. Well, that's earthy.

(LAUGHTER)

PAUL: That's earthy.

Jennifer Gray, are we going to have a chance to use it this weekend?

JENNIFER GRAY, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, get thing with the three-day weekend, I think most people will be able to find one window to be able to fire up the grill, get outside and enjoy the beach if you're along the coast.

One area, though, that is probably going to stay pretty soggy for most of the weekend, though will be the Gulf Coast. We've had this area of low pressure that's just been lingering so we're going to continue to see a lot of rain along the Gulf Coast. We're talking anywhere from five to six inches of rain through Monday and this is for that Louisiana/Texas border, right there around Beaumont. We're also looking at 3 to 5 inches around the Alexandria area, on through Jackson.

We're also looking at the possibility of severe weather for the Dakotas, portions of Montana for today. This is large hail, damaging winds. That moves a little farther to the east. Tomorrow, this all tracks to the east as we go through your three-day weekend.

So, the Northeast will get it by Monday. It looks like we are going to see a little bit of rain then. If you are hitting the beaches, guys. Like I said, a little bit of a window for some beachgoers. Just watch out for rip currents if you're in South Florida, as well as the Gulf Coast.

PAUL: All right. Excellent. Jennifer, thank you.

GRAY: All right.

PAUL: What's on your bucket list? Anything --

BLACKWELL: I accomplished one, that game show. I still want to do bungee jumping which I hear isn't great for your spine, but it's on there, and hot air balloon trip.

PAUL: OK. So, I have to tell you, I deputy do something with a whole group of cancer survivors which I loved more about this more than anything -- 145 miles an hour with none other than --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: Oh! Holy -- I don't know how you do this. Ah! My God! How does this thing not flip over?

(END VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL: I really thought this thing was going to flip over, but Danica Patrick at the Atlanta Motor Speedway yesterday. Not just me, but a lot of breast cancer survivors, as I said. She's got a passion for this. She talked to us about that.

Also talked about track safety, because we know there are new regulations in place right now. And Tony Stewart who is going to be back on the track for the first time since that accident that killed a fellow driver several weeks ago. So, a lot to talk to her about, and we'll show you more of that coming up.

BLACKWELL: All right. So what would you do if a passenger behind you on the flight literally blocked your seat from reclining? I have an answer, but won't share it now.

(LAUGHTER)

BLACKWELL: They blocked it so they could keep their legroom and you couldn't recline.

PAUL: There are so many conversations to be had with us. So, we're going to talk to you about the device people are using to literally lock your seat in the upright position so you cannot recline.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

PAUL: OK. Here's a question for you. I'm betting you have all had these conversations. Do you have the right to recline your seat on a plane?

BLACKWELL: Yes, you have that right. Yes, you do.

PAUL: I am with you on that. I paid for my seat.

BLACKWELL: I want to use all of it.

PAUL: If I paid for my seat, I should be able to do this.

BLACKWELL: So, here's the thing. I mean, some airlines agree with me. Others don't. It really depends on the airline you are on at the moment. It is smart to check before you fly because mid-air battles for legroom -- they're getting extreme now.

PAUL: They are getting violent at the end of the day.

BLACKWELL: Yes.

PAUL: In last week, two flights were diverted because of fights over that air space, that legroom in front of you.

BLACKWELL: And you don't have much to start with. On one flight, passengers were arguing over the use of a simple gadget and this is it. It's known as the knee defender.

PAUL: CNN's Jeanne Moos walks through this.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): A new air war has broken out, in the air space over your knees.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The knee defender is a device that keeps people from reclining their airline seat into your knees.

MOOS: You put what amounts to two hunks of plastic on the legs of your tray table to stop the seat in front of you from going back.

(on camera): Do you get your knees crunched?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sometimes. And I grin and bear it.

MOOS (voice-over): But no one was grinning on the United flight from Newark to Denver that had to be diverted to Chicago after a fight broke out. A 48-year-old male passenger deployed the knee defender to stop the seat of the female passenger in front of him.

(on camera): When she couldn't recline, she flagged down a flight attendant who told the guy to remove the gadget. He refused and the female passenger threw water in his face.

(voice-over): They were both kicked off the plane. Oh, sure, when it happens to others, it's funny.

But as this reviewer of the knee defender joked --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The captain has turned off the seat belt sign. Please feel free to move to the cabin and punch in the head the guy with the knee defender in seat 14B.

MOOS: The device was invented by 6'3" Ira Goldman.

IRA GOLDMAN: I was tired of being bumped in the knees by reclining seats.

MOOS: This was one of the early versions.

GOLDMAN: The seat won't recline.

MOOS: Now, it looks like this and sells for $21.95. In the words of Conde Nast Traveler, "As devious as it is ingenious."

And everyone we talked to agreed.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think they're kind of evil.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That sounds terrible.

MOOS (on camera): Why is it terrible?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: To make someone else uncomfortable. Everyone's crowded together.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It causes confliction, problems. People pay for their seats and they want to push it backward or forward. That's your God-given right. MOOS: The knee defender comes with a courtesy card for you to hand to the passenger in front of you. "I have provided with you with this card because I have long legs and if you recline your seat, you will bang into my knees."

The FAA doesn't prohibit the knee defender, though airlines can and United does.

(on camera): But, hey, the story about the fight on the plane seemed to be great for the knee defender's business.

(voice-over): The Web site crashed due to unexpectedly heavy demand.

But whether you consider it a knee defender or a knee to the flying public's groin, can't we all just remember what Louis C.K. says about the wonder of flying?

LOUIS C.K., COMEDIAN: You're sitting in a chair in the sky.

MOOS: Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

BLACKWELL: The woman said it best, the God-given right to recline.

Let's bring in travel expert and author of "Travel Unscripted", Mark Murphy.

Mark, I wish someone would lock my chair. What do you think about the knee defender?

MARK MURPHY, TRAVEL EXPERT: I hate that thing. Are you kidding me? Someone's going to -- I'm going to be paying for a seat and some guy behind me is going to say sorry, I got long legs. Guess what? I got long legs too. So, let's have a leg comparison. In the meantime, get that off the back of my seat.

And the lady on the flight did the right thing. She got the flight attendant involved and the guy with that device should indeed be thrown off. It is ridiculous that people will disrupt an entire plane of travelers for something as silly as this.

PAUL: Do you think these should be illegal?

MURPHY: They are banned, frankly, by all domestic carriers. So, the vast majority of airlines will not allow it and will tell the passenger to remove it. The FAA doesn't get involved in these silly devices because that just becomes a mess.

But in the meantime, each airline can have its own policy. They have things like this.

BLACKWELL: So, let me ask you this, the seats and the legroom, that's decreasing. Americans are getting bigger. Are you expecting we will see more of this? MURPHY: You know what? You have an agitated flying public. They are

getting whacked with fees. The experience is, oh my gosh, it's going to cost an extra $100 for the flight. I didn't anticipate.

Then, you get on the plane and because there are full flights, there are no open seats. You are jammed in. You got people bringing the kitchen sink on to avoid the first checked bag fee. They are jamming stuff in the overhead. They are hitting you with backpacks as they go by.

Flying used to be a decent experience. Now it is point A to point B. But I've got to tell you, that's driven by the consumer because the consumers want the cheapest price.

So, you got airlines like Spirit that have seats that, quote, "don't recline" and they are bragging about the fact that their seats don't recline, that that's a good thing because of these whole mean incident. And I think their CEO is saying, kind of tongue in cheek, because you cannot keep a straight face when he is telling people that it's a good thing. They already locked your seat in place, so you don't have to worry about that mean stuff.

So, it is an interesting time to travel.

PAUL: That was a very politically correct way of saying it.

Mark Murphy, thank you so very much. We appreciate it.

MURPHY: Thank you.

(MUSIC)

PAUL: Hey, we are edging toward the 8:00 hour here on a beautiful Saturday. I hope the sun is shining where you are. I'm Christi Paul.

BLACKWELL: I'm Victor Blackwell. This is NEW DAY SATURDAY.