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CNN Sunday Morning
Storm Leaves Northeast Soggy, Windblown and Dark; Ireland Frees U.S. Woman in Terror Plot; 'Coffee Party' Brewing in Wake of 'Tea Party' Activism
Aired March 14, 2010 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. Just let me make a few adjustments here...
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: He's adjusting himself.
HOLMES: ...and I will be good to go.
BALDWIN: Is it good?
HOLMES: Didn't have the extra hour to adjust my mike like I normally do.
BALDWIN: A little behind your game?
HOLMES: A little behind. I'm going to catch up.
I hope you all know what time it is this morning. It's actually 6:00 a.m. where we sit...
BALDWIN: Yes.
HOLMES: ...here in Atlanta, Georgia. You're supposed to set those clocks forward.
BALDWIN: Forward. You're, like, back? No.
HOLMES: Excuse me. This way. So that means now it's 6:00 a.m.; it's 5 a.m. in Fayetteville, Arkansas; 3 a.m. out in Seattle.
I am T.J. Holmes. Hope you're on time.
BALDWIN: Yes. We're barely on time, it seems, this morning.
Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thank you for starting a very early, early Sunday with us now.
Here's what's going on today. Right now, more than a half million homes and business are without power across the Northeast. Reynolds talking about that possibility with of the flooding all yesterday.
HOLMES: Yes, we can show you why. BALDWIN: Yes.
HOLMES: Take a look at the pictures here. A powerful storm swept through the area. This is from West Virginia.
BALDWIN: Wow.
HOLMES: Cars underwater. You can't see the streets. A lot of homes flooded. Reynolds is back with us, of course, this morning. We're going to be checking in with him here in just a moment.
We do want to tell you about a couple of other stories we're keeping an eye on though, some overnight stories.
They are looking for more victims of a deadly avalanche in Canada this morning that killed at least three people. Another 17 others were injured. This was at a snowmobile competition. The avalanche roared down Boulder Mountain. This was in British Columbia. This is 250 miles northeast of Vancouver.
Two hundred people were in the area at that time.
BALDWIN: There's a new study that is suggesting there could be possibly be a link between exposure to debris at Ground Zero and heart problems suffered by some of the police officers.
Ground Zero workers, you know they've been reporting some of these lung issues. But this is the first study actually linking work at Ground Zero with - with cardiovascular concerns. The study was funded by a police organization in New York. The lead investigator says more testing needs to be done.
HOLMES: And former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is out of the hospital in Seoul. We were telling you about this yesterday.
He was admitted after having some stomach issues. It turns out he had a stomach virus. Dr. Kissinger in good spirits. You know, he is 86 years old now. He keeps a pretty busy travel schedule, but he was in South Korea for a security forum.
We'll turn back to that weather we were mentioning just a second ago. Reynolds telling us about a one-two punch yesterday, and it's a pretty good uppercut that landed in part of the nation yesterday.
The beating is not quite over. Crews working this morning to restore power after more than half a million homes and businesses lost power in the Northeast and Mid Atlantic region. Trees, power lines - we often see this with these kinds of storm - were knocked out by winds that were about 74 miles an hour and higher. That is equivalent to a Category 1 hurricane.
Affiliate WTNH reports a tree fell on a car in Westport, Connecticut, killing one person, injuring three others. Flooding - we saw that video a second ago; check it out again. A big problem. Four inches of rain fell in parts of the region. West Virginia, flooding blamed for at least one person's death. Also a firefighter is missing after his boat capsized in a rescue attempt.
One to three inches of rain expected for much of the region today. Storm and flood warnings remain in effect. BALDWIN: Just when you think you're looking at rivers, it seems, in West Virginia, Reynolds Wolf, they're roads.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
BALDWIN: That is some serious water.
WOLF: Absolute shocker to see this happen. I mean, we knew this was going to happen; we knew that we - we - that entire snow pack that had melted out - we knew the heavy rain was going to cause some issues, and T.J. had used the boxing analogy. But I'll tell you, this storm system is really the - the nose breaker, so to speak.
We still have some heavy rainfall, though much of it has left parts of West Virginia, now moving up along the coast, right into Boston and northward (ph). However, we've got something interesting that's taking place.
That area of low pressure, that big storm system is centered right here, over New York. You've got that counterclockwise wind that comes right off the Atlantic, that brings in the moisture. But what you're not seeing is cold air that is coming in right behind it. With that cold air at the surface, guess what we're seeing, folks? We are seeing a little bit of snowfall beginning to pop up in parts of Upstate New York.
So with that additional snowfall - very wet, heavy snow - we're going to see possibly more power outages. Nearly a half million people without power right now. Keep in mind, this is an area that is - was just devastated by, of course, the winter storms, several of which moved right through the same region back during the winter - and still in winter for the time being - and we could see places that have just recovered, just had their power put back on, possibly going off later on today.
Now one of the big things we talked about, that T.J. mentioned earlier, are those tropical - or, rather, these Category 1-hurricane- equivalent winds, like winds of 74 miles per hour. That's what we had at JFK in New York. Check it out, in Atlantic City, very close to that. At least at tropical-storm force, which is about 40 - or, rather - rather 39 miles per hour or higher.
All of these - this one, of course, at the top, the equivalent of a Category 1 hurricane - hard to believe - at JFK. We should see the winds subside today, which is great news. But still, as long as that area of low pressure remains settled right there in parts of the Northeast, we're going to see some wind, this time limited mainly along the coast. But still, some heavy rain falling again. The insult to injury, seeing the heavy snow come in.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Also, our i-Reporters keeping an eye on the severe weather as well.
Let's check out one we got here from Monica Vanzant, who took this picture in Edgewater Park, New Jersey. A big chunk of a tree fell on her street. She said strong winds brought tree limbs down all over her neighborhood.
We do have plenty more i-Reports. We wanted you to continue to send those in. If you got video or a photo, we're at CNN.com/ireport.
BALDWIN: A Colorado woman has been let go after reportedly being arrested in Ireland in connection with an alleged plot to kill a Swedish cartoonist. Do you remember that story from a couple of years ago?
Well, Irish police now saying they have released Jamie Paulin- Ramirez yesterday. Ramirez was not charged, so she's not out on bail. She apparently was a recent convert to Islam; left her home last September 11.
Hearing from her mother, she says her daughter's young son is caught in the middle of this whole thing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE MOTT, MOTHER OF JAMIE PAULIN-RAMIREZ: Now that little boy is in a foreign country with strangers, scared to death. And all I can - all he's been telling us is, you know, 'Come get me. Come get me.' You know, 'I want to come home.'
And we need to find some way, some help to bring this little boy back here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Ramirez would have been the second American woman linked to this plot. Remember Colleen LaRose of Pennsylvania? She's been dubbed "Jihad Jane." She is already indicted.
Now, Ramirez was released without charge, but the two cases certainly raise the possibility of a growing sympathy for al-Qaida here in the United States.
Here is what one expert told our Don Lemon just last night.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL CRUICKSHANK, TERRORISM ANALYST: Around seven percent, according to the Pew Organization, of American-born Muslims now have some sympathy with al-Qaida's ideology. Now that's a very worrying number for American counterterrorism officials. It's maybe not as bad as in some European countries, but worrying nonetheless, Don.
I think, unfortunately, the trend is - is for more Americans to become involved in violent extremism. Some of them are sort of completely homegrown; they're sort of radicalized here and want to launch attacks over here.
The most worrying cases, Don, though, are the people who are going overseas, especially to Pakistan to train in al-Qaida's camps there. Or also in Yemen, increasingly, we're seeing Americans going to Yemen and becoming involved with groups linked to al-Qaida over there.
And these people have the sort of terrorist skills which can make them very, very dangerous, and make their plots more likely to succeed, Don. So those are the ones that American counterterrorism officials are most concerned about.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Want to let you know we are staying on this story. We will have a complete report for you from our special-investigative unit in the next hour.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So wake up and smell the coffee.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Yes, it was tea. Now we're talking about a coffee party.
Yesterday, was their big day. So we'll see if we found out a little more about what the "coffee party" is all about.
BALDWIN: Also ahead, today's "Sound of the Week" you just have to hear. Did you hear this last week?
HOLMES: Oh yes.
BALDWIN: Oh yes.
HOLMES: Everybody heard it.
BALDWIN: It comes from Rhode Island's Patrick Kennedy.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. PATRICK KENNEDY (D), RHODE ISLAND: The president of the United States is not covering the most significant issue of national importance.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Ooh, what's he so mad about it? We will show you much more of his rant on the Hill.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, PINK, "GET THE PARTY STARTED")
HOLMES: Well, they're trying to make a come-up. You know, they're trying to compete with the "tea party" right now, and maybe the tea party does have a little competition now. About this time yesterday, we were telling you about the national kickoff of a new political movement called the "coffee party." They had parties coast to coast yesterday. But what is this group all about?
CNN's Pat St. Claire takes a look at why some activists prefer their politics with coffee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is David Phillips (ph). I am from Berwin Heights (ph), Maryland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Matthew Lackenback (ph).
PAT ST. CLAIRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The folks gathered at this Washington coffeehouse Saturday came for more than just a cup of joe. Enter the "coffee party," a new organization that also says it wants smaller government and lower taxes, but bills itself as a more civil alternative to the better-known "tea party" movement, a group known for its boisterous rallies.
D.C.-area documentary film maker Annabel Park started the group on Facebook.
ANNABEL PARK, FOUNDER, COFFEE PARTY USA: Just like in the American Revolution, we're looking for real representation. We don't feel represented by our government right now.
ST. CLAIRE: Controversy has already erupted. Members of the "tea party" movement point out Park has done volunteer work for the Democratic Party, including for President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
JIM HOFT, ST. LOUIS TEA PARTY: It's driven from the top down. It's not a - it's not a grass-roots movement coming from the bottom up.
ST. CLAIRE: But some who attended meetings insist there's nothing instant about their coffee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hear about the tea party all the time. And I think now it's time for another grass-roots organization to come in and give a different viewpoint.
ST. CLAIRE: On March 27, the group says they will get together again to discuss ways to engage members of Congress during the Easter recess.
I'm Pat St. Claire, reporting from Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. So where does the tea party - excuse me, the coffee party, and where do they go from here? They appear to try to be building up some momentum now. You just heard, in that report, the group is planning something for Easter recess. We checked; it looks like March 27 the party will call members together once again to map strategies to send a message to Congress.
Keep in mind, the movement started on the Internet. Plenty of members were busy at their computers sending us i-Reports from their meetings.
We share a couple with you here now.
Tyler Buck (ph) sent us one from Oceanside (ph).
Here are a couple more. I will take these in as you're taking them in. But people were gathering at coffee shops and whatnot. That was from Tyler.
Another here from J.C. Wilmore (ph). People standing at - it looks like at a balcony with their signs. They were all asked to kind of make these signs that just say "Coffee" on them at first, and - and something, and you're supposed to fill in the blank.
So we appreciate you all sending in those i-Reports. We will continue to follow the coffee party - Brooke.
BALDWIN: All right. Almost time to talk taxes here. Got to round up the W-2s, organize your deductions. Tax deadline just about a month away. And coming up, we want to explain here how President Obama's economic-stimulus package could very much so affect your tax return.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: You getting ready to do your taxes? I totally put it off until the last minute. How about you?
HOLMES: I did, too, this year.
BALDWIN: OK.
Well, this year there are a couple of sticking points that could definitely cost all of us.
HOLMES: Yes, the IRS is already kicking back some returns, saying they were done wrong and need to be corrected.
Josh Levs now has some advice that could save you some time and some money.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CONTRIBUTOR: The stimulus changed so much about our economy, including your taxes in ways you might not even realize. And now, some people are having their taxes rejected by the IRS.
Here's what I'm going to do: I'm going to tax you through some basics, including some ways to save money your taxes. And then I'm going to show you some links, where you can get a lot more information that will help you in preparing yours in this final month, while there's still time before the deadline.
Let's start off with this - here's an example of a problem some people are having. And we're seeing it here. Basically, what's going on there is, some retirees, in some cases veterans with disabilities, received a $250 payment from the stimulus, but didn't realize that they got that payment. They didn't know.
So what's been happening in some of those cases is, the IRS is actually rejecting that, sending it back, saying basically, 'You did your taxes wrong.' So the advice there, Forbes.com -- basically, find out. If you're in one of those categories, find out if you've got that $250 payment before you send in your taxes.
Another interesting situation being highlighted by the "Detroit Free Press" - they're pointing out - you know, every worker in America was eligible for up to $400 from the stimulus. And that means some married couples got $800 from the stimulus.
Well, not everyone was supposed to get that entire amount. Some people got more than they're supposed to. So, as you're doing your taxes now, in some cases, you're hearing from the IRS, 'Guess what? You owe us money, because you got more from the stimulus than you were supposed to get.' And the "Detroit Free Press" suggesting you fill out a Schedule M (ph) to take care of that.
Now, I don't want to just look at the bad, because there's some good here. There's actually some great in it. The stimulus can lead to you getting a huge refund, and here's a big - a big example. This is from CNNMoney - they point this out. There's one guy who got $150,000 back in a refund because he did this: The stimulus changed the laws for small business, and - and ultimately it was extended for other businesses, in terms of how far back you can go to reclaim some of what you have paid the government.
If your business has suffered a big loss in the recession, you can now go back five years and reach some of what you have given the government in the past - basically, go back and reclaim some of that money. So it could lead to a much bigger refund than you saw coming.
Now, how do you take advantage of all this? We have linked a whole bunch of stories for you that should help a lot. And they're right here. They're at my blog, CNN.com/josh. Also, Facebook.com/joshlevscnn. And I'm on Twitter, joshlevscnn.
Hopefully, these links will you do you some good as you prepare your taxes. And hey, if you find some other hints and tips and tricks along the way to help other people out there, certainly post them there as well, so other people can see.
I'm Josh Levs, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, claims of election fraud in Iraq. We're going to Baghdad for the latest.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: Checking the top stories now, at least 35 people have been killed, 47 injured after a series of explosions in Afghanistan's Kandahar province. An unknown number of people are believed to be either dead or trapped in the rubble of some of the homes in the area.
Casualties include Afghan security forces and civilians.
A march in Haiti to honor the dead as the country marks two months now since that massive earthquake. About 700 people dressed in white - there they are - marching through downtown Port-au-Prince, many of them placing tributes at damaged buildings throughout the capital city. Workers still gathering remains from all the rubble.
HOLMES: And an emergency landing in Belgium last month has triggered a new director from the FAA. The agency has ordered Boeing to check the tail fins on about 600 737s. Some of them must be inspected within the next 12 days.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, MAROON 5, "SUNDAY MORNING")
HOLMES: All right. Has the U.S. press corps lost its way? Well, a popular Rhode Island congressman says that the press is focused on the wrong thing, and he's letting us hear about it.
BALDWIN: Yes, we heard from him this past week. Congressman Patrick Kennedy's rant at the press, really, now is our "Sound of the Week."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KENNEDY: If anybody wants to know where cynicism is, cynicism is that there's one, two press people in this gallery. We're talking about Eric Massa 24/7 on the TV. We're talking about war and peace, $3 billion, 1,000 lives, and no press? No press?
You want to know why the American public is fit? They're fit because they're not seeing their Congress do the work that they're sent to do. It's because the press - the press in the United States is not covering the most significant issue of national importance, and that's the laying of lives down in the nation for the service of our country. It is despicable, the national press corps right now.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Congressman Kennedy has announced his retirement at the end of the current term.
HOLMES: All right. This is a - let's put the picture up...
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Because it kind of tells a story. Now, a lot of people out there are familiar with SPANK. A lot of women wear this stuff. BALDWIN: Ladies, we know what SPANX are.
HOLMES: It's slimming; it's like spandex, but...
BALDWIN: Spandex for your body.
HOLMES: For your body. OK. But it's supposed to make you fit into your dress a little better, the skirts. And just make you a little more shapely.
BALDWIN: Booty out (ph).
HOLMES: Yes, keep things - well, apparently, now they're making a SPANX-type thing for men. Now, it looks fairly normal here. And you - you see it on guys, the - the pictures, the models are already guys that are in pretty good shape.
BALDWIN: Kind of streamlined.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: Keeping it all in.
HOLMES: But it's supposed to be for guys who need help keeping maybe the beer gut in a little bit, and make them - look, our photo director is chuckling right now. This is serious stuff. Guys want to keep it a little tight, so now they're starting to make this stuff...
BALDWIN: Woah.
HOLMES: See, that guy right there, most guys who are wearing SPANX...
WOLF: Oh come on. Please. It's a family show.
HOLMES: I didn't know that one was coming.
BALDWIN: Six twenty-five in the morning. That's...
HOLMES: I didn't know that one was coming.
BALDWIN: Hey, Reynolds. You're looking very svelte.
WOLF: I need some water. Good gosh almighty. That was - that was tough to see.
All right, guys, we got something else that's going to be tough to see. You know, we got a lot of people this morning that are waking up without power. Nearly a half a million people. It's the second major storm that has been moving through parts of the Northeast in less than two weeks. You see the - the geese swimming by. It looks like we're going to see a little bit more rain up there to say the very least. And we're going to tell you when things will improve in the Northeast coming up in just a few moments, right here on CNN SUNDAY.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody, and welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BALDWIN: Hey, good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin.
Check your clocks. It is not - what would it be, 5:28? No, we lost an hour.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
BALDWIN: So it's 6:28. Did you remember to spring forward?
Most of the nation went back on daylight-savings time - saving time overnight, setting your clocks ahead an hour, to 2:00 a.m. local.
HOLMES: Yes. So the time check is, 6:30 where we sit here in Atlanta; it's 5:30 in Memphis, Tennessee; it's 7:30 a.m. in Soufriere, St. Lucia; it's 3:30 out in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hope you got it right, folks. But the time right now - hope you got it. But stay with us right now, no matter what time it is.
We got a few top stories to pass along to you from overnight.
They're sill looking for victims of a deadly avalanche in Canada this morning. Three people that we know of killed, 17 others injured. Those 17 were at a snowmobile competition. The avalanche roared down Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke, in British Columbia. That's some 250 miles north of Vancouver.
BALDWIN: There was some concern for a moment there yesterday regarding former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger. He was in the hospital in Seoul, South Korea, treated for some kind of stomach virus. He was admitted yesterday, but the doctor now says Kissinger is in good spirits.
By the way, he was 86 years of age. He was in South Korea for a security forum.
HOLMES: And a magnitude 6.6 earthquake hit Japan about six hours ago. It swayed a few buildings in Tokyo, but no reports of any major damage or casualties. Also, a tsunami alert was not issued.
We'll turn back to some weather now. And windblown, waterlogged and likely in the dark for a lot of folks. A strong storm blowing through the Northeast with hurricane-force winds, knocking out power to about a half million folks.
HOLMES: Forecasters say some gusts got as strong as 74 miles an hour. It was powerful enough to damage a couple homes in Atlantic City, New Jersey. That's also the equivalent of a hurricane, a Category One hurricane. Parts of the Garden State saw as much as four inches of rain, along with high winds which are blamed for toppling a crane at an Atlantic City construction site, and sending storm debris smashing into a car. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What I know is the pieces of the rubble went through my front windshield. The fellow was kind enough to let me park it inside to protect it more.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Winds were in excess of 80 miles an hour. These bursts came out of nowhere. There was no warning. Approximately at 1:00 this afternoon it started. It was probably at 80-mile-an-hour-plus sustained for at least 30 to 40 minutes.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The wind was blowing. It was really raining and wet outside. You look over and see the building just go down.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR, CNN SUNDAY MORNING: I mean, Reynolds Wolf, you kind of called it yesterday with the talk of all the flooding. But did we realize-I mean, I checked just before we came on, it is like hundreds of thousands of people without power.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it is hard to believe. I'll tell you, in terms of being surprised by the rain-no, that was not a shocker. The flooding certainly was not a shocker, but you are right the wind did catch us a bit off guard; very intense winds.
We were life in parts of New York just two weeks ago. I tell you, many people there, one of the big stories was people without power. We are talking about elderly, the people with small children, and now here they are, power just restored about a wee or so ago, it may be out again before the day is out.
The reason why is this: this area of low pressure. This double-barreled low really getting intense, but now drifting off to the Northeast. As it does so, the wind will subside. But right behind it we have cold air funneling in. That cold air mixing in with that moisture is going to bring some snowfall. Already we are seeing some of that right along parts of 87 and north of Boston on 95. We are seeing some snow pop up there, light to moderate snowfall, but into the afternoon it could become heavy and it may become very damp. That heavy snow has a tendency to weigh down a lot of those tree branches, trees that are already in a weakened state due to subsequent storms. And at the same time, some of the strong winds that we can see.
Now, same time, speaking of those winds, yesterday at JFK we had 74-mile-per-hour gusts reported. That's the equivalent, as T.J. mentioned earlier, of a Category One hurricane on the Sanford-Simpson Scale. Everything else, you see Atlantic City, to Keensberg (ph), to Trenton, to Philadelphia, to Islip, New York, at these at least tropical storm-force winds. Again, as I mentioned, these things will begin to weaken, which is great news.
(NATIONAL WEATHER FORECAST)
BALDWIN: You know, talking about all these storms, a lot of you have been sending in your pictures. Look at this with me. This is an iReport from Gabrill Tuncara (ph). Took this picture yesterday evening. This is Larchmont, New York. You can see the tree just- wham-on the house, the roof. I'm sure, pretty damaged there, the winds really knocked out power. We mentioned hundreds of thousands of people in the northeast, in particular, this home in Westchester County. We thank you, Gabrill (ph), for sending in your picture.
Folks, if you have great pictures, you see breaking news, we always want to see your video and pictures go to CNN.com/ireport.
HOLMES: Well, it was one week ago that Iraqis defied threats of violence to vote in national elections. Now, the county continues, but for some it is just going too slow. CNN's Arwa Damon looking into the vote count and tells us that the delay is raising suspicions of voter manipulation.
ARWA DAMON, CNN BAGHDAD CORRESPONDENT: T.J., good morning.
And, yes, we are still waiting for more partial results from Iraq's historic elections. They have been trickling out ever so slowly, and not at the expected 30 percent of the vote being tallied. This is causing widespread frustration amongst the Iraqi people who are eagerly awaiting the results. And it is also causing a number of conspiracy theories to run rampant about fraud as well as vote manipulation. We are seeing more serious allegations being put forward by the political parties themselves.
However, the Independent High Electoral Commission and the United Nations are insisting that there are enough checks and balances in place to prevent any sort of fraud or manipulation from taking place, saying the delay was because of a technical failure with the server, and because the entire process is taking a lot longer than expected.
Now, the initial results are showing Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki's State of Law Coalition, slightly in the lead. This is not entirely surprising given that a number of the provinces that have had the results released are in the country's predominantly Shiite south.
Interesting to watch are the results coming in from majority Sunni provinces. There we are seeing the power of the Sunni vote, something that could potentially sway the political dynamics here. And what is going on now already is back-door dealings, alliance building and coalition building, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Thanks to our Arwa Damon.
BALDWIN: A new study is out suggesting a link between ground zero debris and heart problems, specifically in police officers. I talked to one first responder about the court settlement that seeks to compensate all those rescue workers from 9/11.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A couple of headlines from overnight to tell you about.
An emergency landing in Belgium, last month, has triggered a new directive from the FAA. The agency has ordered Boeing to check the tailfins on about 600 737s. That flight that had to do that emergency landing in Belgium actually experienced severe vibration. And the FAA says that if the problem with the tailfin is not corrected it could result in some structural integrity problems and also some severe vibrations. Some of them need to be inspected within the next 12 days.
To Afghanistan now where a series of explosions in the southern province of Kandahar has left at least 35 people dead, and almost 60 more injured. Today authorities recovered eight explosive vests and three rockets in Kandahar. Among the dead 13 police officers and three children.
BALDWIN: A new study suggests that there might be a link between exposure at ground zero, to all that debris, and heart problems suffered by all those police officers who responded that day. Ground zero workers have reported lung problems already. But this is the first study linking work at ground zero with cardio vascular concerns.
Now, the study was funded by a police organization in New York and the lead investigator says more testing needs to be done, but a whole lot of tests have already been performed on thousands of those ground zero workers, who are currently sick, or in the future, could be sick from the toxic chemicals. In fact a hearing happened last Friday in federal court, in New York, regarding the proposed $657- million settlement for all those rescue workers, construction workers, firefighters, who worked at ground zero and got sick afterward.
The settlement here comes with a stipulation; 95 percent of some 10,000 or so plaintiffs have to agree with it-or the deals' off. Or at least that is how activist John Feal is leaning.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN FEAL, GROUND ZERO COMPENSATION ACTIVIST: I have spoken to probably 200 or 300 9/11 responders since late last night, and most of them adamant that they would not sign. And they are insulted by the amount of money they would get. The average person would get $65,000 on the lawsuit. The average person, if they opted for the Health Compensation Act that is in Congress right now would get $350,000. That's a big disparity.
The best interest of the 9/11 responders was not taken into consideration yesterday when they were trying to settle this. And while Mayor Bloomberg says this is fair, Mayor Bloomberg doesn't know what it is like to suffer because he was not at ground zero. While I respect the mayor, I don't respect his comment; because men and women who lost their lives, their livelihood, and their health from the heroic actions, once again, have to take a backseat to economics. And while the lawyers are going to get more money than the responders is another act of insult on us.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: The presiding judge says he wants the settlement to be, quote, "fair, appropriate and just for everyone affected." HOLMES: What were you doing on your 11th birthday? A lot of kids were throwing a party with their friends or wishing for a pony. We found one boy on the steps of Capitol Hill on his birthday rallies for health care reform.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: The president was supposed to be out of the country on Friday, changed the plans a bit. We are hearing the vote could possibly take place on the health care bill late this week.
BALDWIN: But it will not happen soon enough for one very courageous little boy. He has been on Capitol Hill this past week, waging a battle his mother started, but couldn't finish. She died without medical insurance three years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: What do we want?
CROWD: Health care!
I'm here because of my mom. My mom was a health care activist just like I am today. And she testified in rallies about everybody having health care.
MARCELLUS OWENS, HEALTH CARE REFORM ASSOCIATE: My mom was diagnosed with pulmonary hypertension in 2006. She missed so much work that she lost her job, and along with her job she lost her health care. And losing her health care ended up causing her, her life.
I believe at least if she did have her health care she would have at least be recovering a little at a time.
I don't want any other kid to go through the pain that our family has gone through. And my grandma and I -- I'm sorry. And I want Barack Obama and Congress and everybody to come together and help the health care bill pass.
I wanted to finish-finish her fight for health care.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
FRANK SINATRA, SINGING: It's my kind of town, Chicago is-
WOLF: It tastes absolutely delicious, we are talking about the water in the Chicago River that is dyed this luminous green. It is a beautiful thing, especially this time of the year in Chicago. A fresh memory yesterday, today are waking up to blurred memories.
BALDWIN: If they are even awake at all.
HOLMES: How long does it take for the river to go back to its natural color? WOLF: I don't know, man.
BALDWIN: That's some serious green.
WOLF: Yes, I think so. Anyone know? Tanesha?
BALDWIN: Chicagoans right here? How long?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: A few months.
WOLF: A few months? Oh, wow. Good times.
BALDWIN: Chicago expert in the studio here.
WOLF: They're not long, though. I mean, Savannah, Georgia.
BALDWIN: Savannah is a big place for St. Patty's Day.
WOLF: But they do it a little bit smaller. They used to have a fountain. That is how they marked the holiday. Yeah, there you go, right there. You see everyone dressing in the green. Maybe they were wearing white jackets and hopped in and they were stained that green color. That's it? It has to be more than just that?
HOLMES: Well, there's that?
WOLF: That's that? Goodness gracious. Well, this came in from our affiliate WSAV. A fine time had by all. What other better way to ring in St. Patrick's Day than with a fountain?
We go from Savannah, Georgia, with the green fountain, it was a very super short day for weekend events. Unfortunately, yesterday we had, of course, the worldwide nude cycling event.
BALDWIN: The Naked Bike Ride.
WOLF: No video, none whatsoever.
HOLMES: And we thank you.
WOLF: Sorry to disappoint you.
So, again, a pretty nice day of St. Patrick's Day of people recovering. And again, naked people that we don't have. And you can just have that little vision in your head.
BALDWIN: There's another vision we can have.
WOLF: Bring it on.
BALDWIN: Shall we go there?
WOLF: Go ahead.
BALDWIN: We are talking about man Spanx. Ladies, some of us know, Spanx, you know they smooth you out a little bit. Apparently there are Spanx, we are talking underwear in quality here. You have it for the gals, now girdles for the guys.
HOLMES: It looks normal, though. Women Spanx, well --
BALDWIN: It is some funky kind of underwear.
WOLF: See, this is false advertising because this guy is actually conditioned. OK, I believe in full disclosure, and I know our viewers do, too. So, I'm just going to lay it out there for you. Most guys wearing this, and I include myself, would look like 50 pounds of poo in a five-pound bag. That's the truth. That's the absolute truth. These guys are toned to look like Olympic athletes. The rest of us dudes, I don't think so.
HOLMES: Actually, Reynolds, what if they are wearing these Spanx, and the Spanx are making them look like this?
BALDWIN: With the muscle ripples?
HOLMES: Maybe that's what it is.
BALDWIN: Special effects.
WOLF: So you mean to tell me --
HOLMES: That's what I'm saying.
BALDWIN: So, it is really like a 500-pound dude?
WOLF: This guy is does not-I don't know. I can't see this guy eating two super supreme pizzas on a Saturday night. I just don't see that happening. This guy eats lettuce.
HOLMES: But we asked our viewers. I put this out at like 4:00 or 5:00 this morning.
BALDWIN: It's your favorite story of the day.
HOLMES: Well, the responses -- I was amazed at people started coming with responses at 4:00 and 5:00, in the morning. But most people-I could only find one person that was OK with it. So far this morning, that's Deb231. Can't put it up on screen, but I'll just read it here.
She says, "It wouldn't bother me if the guy is more comfortable with himself, and has more confidence. Why not? It is no different than women."
BALDWIN: Would you do it?
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness, no.
WOLF: John Wayne would never do that. Denzel would never do that. Think of all the manly men on the planet who never put on something called a Spanx.
BALDWIN: Reynolds Wolf, you sent in your picture. WOLF: My mom did.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: Wait a minute.
HOLMES: Don't ever put that picture back up.
BALDWIN: All the ladies back there --
HOLMES: I had somebody write in talking about that picture. Now I see what they were talking about.
BALDWIN: Yes, not a good time, apparently.
HOLMES: Thank you for your comments. We'll get some more in if we can, if we dare. Stay here, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
BALDWIN: President Obama taking his push for health care on the road this week. Here's a look at his schedule. First tomorrow the president will be visiting Cleveland, Ohio; in fact, a suburb of Strongsville, where he'll be speaking at a recreation and senior center.
Tuesday he has meetings at the White House for much of the day. Looking ahead to Wednesday, President Obama will be hosting a St. Patrick's Day reception for head of the Irish government. And Thursday and Friday, the president will be in Washington, no scheduled events are on his calendar yet, for those two days.
HOLMES: Well, it looks like the Tea Party, has a bit of competition. This time yesterday we were telling you about the national kickoff of a new political movement called, The Coffee Party. The turnout from coast to coast, you can see kind of how it went in many coffee houses and spots around the country. But exactly what is this group all about? What did we learn? CNN's Pat St. Clair (ph) takes a look at why some activists prefer their politics with coffee.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: My name is David Philips. I'm from Berwyn Heights, Maryland.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm Matthew Lackanback.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (voice over): The folks gathered at this Washington coffee house on Saturday came for more than just a cup of Joe. Enter The Coffee Party, a new organization that also says it wants smaller government and lower taxes, but bills itself as a more civil alternative to the better known Tea Party movement, a group known for its boisterous rallies. D.C. area documentary filmmaker Annabel Park started the group on FaceBook.
ANNABEL PARK, FOUNDER, COFFEE PARTY USA: Just like an American revolution, we are looking for real representation. We don't feel represented by our government right now.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Controversy has already erupted. Members of the Tea Party movement point out Park has done volunteer work for the Democratic Party, including for President Obama's 2008 presidential campaign.
JIM HOFT, ST. LOUIS TEA PARTY: It is driven from the top down. It's not a grass roots movement coming from the bottom up.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: But some who attended meetings insist there is nothing instant about their coffee.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We hear about the Tea Party all the time, and I think, now it is time for another grassroots organization to come in and give a different viewpoint.
SINCLAIR: On March 27th the group says they will get together again to discuss ways to engage members of Congress during the Easter recess. I'm Pat St. Clair, reporting from Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: So where do they go from here? What are they up to? Well, it appears they do have a few events coming up in the next few weeks. We heard that the group was planning something around the Easter recess. We checked and it appears that March 27th is when the party will call members together once again to map strategies to send a message to Congress.
BALDWIN: According to court documents, the woman known as Jihad Jane, who used the Internet to recruit her co-conspirators. CNN has now learned that one of the web sites that Colleen LaRose visited and subscribed to was first exposed on this program last November by our own Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It is the web site Revolution Muslim-
(On camera): Unes, Drew Griffin.
(Voice over): -run by this man, Unes Abdullah Mohammed, who told us just this past fall terrorizing and intimidating non-Muslims was part of his religion.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The Koran says it very clearly in the Arabic language, korhi buna (ph), this means terrorize them. It is a command from Allah. It says prepare against them what you can, to intimidate the believers-the disbelievers, so they don't attack you. It is a precautionary, preventive measures, like 9/11.
GRIFFIN: A spokesperson for Revolution Muslim says the group was unaware Colleen LaRose had been posting on the site and doubted whether LaRose had linked up with any co-conspirators through the site's social networking. But soon after her arrest was announced, Revolution Muslim posted this, a letter asking for support for Colleen LaRose, declaring "Another sister has been targeted" and asking letters of encouragement be sent to the federal detention center in Philadelphia, where LaRose is being held.
Law enforcement sources tell CNN they are troubled that the web site and YouTube site have turned even more radical and has seen a jump in subscribers, one of the subscribers, Colleen LaRose.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They are certainly the most visible face of pro-Al Qaeda extremism here in the United States.
GRIFFIN: CNN terrorism expert Paul Crookshank (ph) says the fear that counter-terrorism officials have is that web sites like Revolution Muslim act as go-betweens for those who support terrorism and those willing to carry it out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't have to organize all the logistics, they don't have to hook them up with people necessarily, they can whip them up in a frenzy and then sit back and watch what happens.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are the liberating ideology that is Islam.
GRIFFIN: The FBI has told CNN the leaders of Revolution Muslim are under close watch, but agents say its leaders play a game, extending their hatred of America and support of religious violence to certain limits, cleverly using the guarantee of free speech in America as a shield.
In October Younes Abdullah Mohammed told us Americans will always be a legitimate target. That the attacks of 9/11 were justified, but then insisted nothing he said should encourage anyone to commit a violent act.
(On camera): You play these word games-
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you just read the Koran-it's not a word game.
GRIFFIN: Just because you are afraid-
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All you have to do is read the Koran.
GRIFFIN: -that the police will come after you, or the FBI will come after you?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I'm not afraid of the police coming after me. I'm not inciting violence. You have to understand, I'm really not calling for violence. I'm calling for Islamic identity.
GRIFFIN: One week after this interview a Muslim named Major Nidal Hasan walked into a troop processing center at Fort Hood, Texas, and is accused of opening fire, killing 13. Within hours Revolution Muslim was using its Web site to praise Hasan as an officer and a gentleman.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN ANCHOR: And now, Americans accused of helping terrorists accused of being terrorists. Jihad Jane is certainly not the only U.S. citizen making headlines this week. We will have much more on that. Let me dig a little deeper with CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen coming up in our next hour.
(MUSIC)
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Hopefully, you got your clocks right this morning.
So, let's just clear this up. It's 7:00 a.m. in Atlanta, where we sit. It's 6:00 a.m. in Memphis. It is 5:00 a.m. in Salt Lake City. It's 4:00 a.m. out in Los Angeles. You got it?
BALDWIN: Oh, no.
HOLMES: I'm T.J.
BALDWIN: Good morning. I'm Brooke Baldwin. Thanks for starting your Sunday with us. It's still very early today.
We got a lot going on, including weather. We talked a lot about flooding, you know, yesterday. More than half a million homes and businesses this morning are without power across the northeast.
HOLMES: Yes, another powerful storm hitting this region of the country. Take a look at the video. This of kind of tells the story.
The streets turned to rivers. The car is underwater. Wildlife is floating around.
Reynolds Wolf is going to give us a good look at the weather here in just a moment.
BALDWIN: So, what were you doing when you were 15? Maybe getting excited about almost driving? Well, were you talking about Marxist theory, conservative politics, judicial philosophy?
This guy is. Fifteen-year-old Jonathan Krohn, author of this new book, "Defining Conservatism." I'll be talking to him live in just a couple of minutes here.
HOLMES: But first, some stories from overnight we want to tell you about. They are still searching for more victims of a deadly avalanche in Canada. This avalanche killed at least three people and injured another 17 at a snowmobile competition of all things. It struck a portion of Boulder Mountain near Revelstoke in British Columbia. That's 250 miles northeast of Vancouver. Two hundred people were in the area at the time.
BALDWIN: And a new study is suggesting there could be a link between exposure to all that toxic debris at ground zero and heart problems suffered by police officers. Ground zero workers have reported, of course, lung problems in the past, but this is the very first study linking work at ground zero with cardiovascular concerns. And we should point out, the study was funded by a police organization up in New York, and the lead investigator says more testing needs to be done.
HOLMES: Former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is out of the hospital in Seoul, South Korea. He was being treated there for a stomach virus. He was admitted yesterday. Doctors say he's in pretty good spirits and he was doing just fine. But the 86-year-old does keep a pretty hectic travel schedule still at his age. He was there in South Korea for a security forum.
They are working this morning to try to restore power to about a half million homes and businesses in the northeast. Three weeks ago, parts of the northeast, Mid-Atlantic, were dealing with record snowfall. Now, that snowfall is causing a problem because it all stacked up. It's starting to melt, combined that with some heavy rain, and you got flooding.
Trees, power lines knocked out over -- knocked over by high winds that were about 74 miles an hour and higher. It was about a category one hurricane. Our affiliate, WTNH, reports a tree fell on a car in Westport, Connecticut, killing one person, injuring three others.
Flooding is a huge problem. Four inches of rain hit parts of the region. West Virginia, flooding there is blamed for one death. A firefighter is also missing right now after his boat capsized in a rescue attempt. The storm and flood warnings are in effect.
BALDWIN: And when we talk about, you know, wind speed, Reynolds, you were talking a lot about flooding. But you were talking about a cat one hurricane. That had to have caught a lot of people totally off-guard.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, I mean, just the sheer power of these storms as it came on through is just amazing. The wind gusts are just off the charts.
Take a look at this one, especially JFK. They had a lot of cancellations yesterday. You wonder why? Take a look at these numbers. Seventy-four-mile-per-hour gust that was recorded yesterday afternoon.
The others that we have -- from Atlantic City to Keansburg, New Jersey, Trenton, New Jersey, Philadelphia, even Islip, New York, above at least tropical storm force. And that is going to keep the planes on the ground.
Some people were on the ground for five hours yesterday. Many flights canceled. A lot of flights have to be rerouted over to Logan Airport in Boston.
Today, we could see more cancellations. The winds should die down. However, the issue that we're seeing, heavy rainfall still for parts of I-95, from Boston to Warwick. New York is in the clear for the time being, at least New York City, but the issue is we have got this low pulling out, now, a lot of cold air that's coming in right behind it with the overriding moisture. Some places like Upstate New York maybe getting some snowfall.
Heavy wet snow on top of trees that have been weakened by very strong winds means that we're going to see some tree branches break. A lot of times, these tree branches, especially along the line streets or near power lines. The power lines are hit, they fall, they break, guess what? More power outages. Already a half million people without power in the northeast.
Meanwhile, as we go back to parts of the Midwest, scatter showers in the Ohio Valley. But when you get to the Central Plains, pretty nice for you, especially in the southern half in Texas. But if you head out to west Texas, near Dalhart, even to the Davis, Apache Mountains, you're going to see more cloud cover.
And just north of that, we got this area of low pressure here. It's going to bring some snow to the highest levels, to the Rocky Mountains and the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. Also, out west, plenty of sunshine.
And very quickly, as we wrap things up, your high temperatures: 53 in Washington, D.C., 77 in Miami, 77 in Houston, 65 in Vegas, and 61 in San Francisco, 40s for Boston and New York.
That is a look at your forecast. Back to you guys.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you this morning. We'll check in again with you soon.
WOLF: You bet.
BALDWIN: We have been talking a whole lot about coffee this weekend. Why? Because there's a new party, this new Coffee Party movement that's been brewing. In fact, the leaders are calling their official launch this weekend as massive success. They gathered at coffee shops across the nation on Saturday.
The party was born on Facebook just about six weeks ago. It's being called in response to the much more conservative Tea Party movement.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: People are more civil here. And, of course, everybody wants their issues to be heard and everybody wants their voices to be heard. But I think you can also do it in a forum that is not being uncivil.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I would like to see us be able to have disagreements without being so demeaning, in terms of people's character. I think that's very important. And I think it's important that we'd be able to have disagreements about fundamental issues without slinging mud. (END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDIWIN: Well, between the Coffee Party, the Tea Party, our nation's health care, education, there's a lot to be passionate about politically speaking.
And we found someone whose passion is precisely that, politics. He can talk about Marxist theory, conservativism, quickly quote Aristotle, Plato and George Orwell. The thing is, he's still three years from being old enough to vote.
I'm talking about Jonathan Krohn who recently wrote a book, it's called "Defining Conservatism: The Principles that Will Bring Our Country Back." And Republican leaders think this guy is the leader for the next generation.
Jonathan, no pressure.
Jonathan is joining me this morning from Washington.
Jonathan, I have been so excited to talk about you. And I want -- I want you to just first show off your political chops. I want to give you a scenario.
We are essentially on the eve of this make or break -- potential make or break week for Dems in health care reform. We heard from Senator Scott Brown yesterday giving the GOP weekly address.
I want to say, let's say you are Senator Krohn, what would you say to America?
JONATHAN KROHN, AUTHOR, "DEFINING CONSERVATISM": Well, let's put it this way. When I'm Senator Krohn, we won't have any problems because I won't ever be running.
But, no, let -- what I would have to say is that, look, the -- at the time being, the best thing we can do is continue to oppose health care on the economic factors that it will create. We presently don't have the votes in the United States Congress or the United States Senate to stop health care from getting passed. We probably won't have enough votes in the House, at least, until January of next year.
So the fact of the matter is -- I mean, I hate to be a pessimist, but it looks like the way the things are going, if the Senate goes through the reconciliation process, it looks like we're going to have health care passed by the end of the week or by next week or whenever they want to pass this if they go that route.
The fact of the matter is, however, we have to oppose them on the merit. We got to oppose them on the fact that while the CBO numbers are pretty -- are pretty solid, the fact of the matter is, it doesn't take into consideration a lot of things, such as the Medicare overhaul that the bill is including, which in general would have the government kind of paying for Medicare or overhauling the Medicare government at the state level.
BALDWIN: OK.
KROHN: And that creates -- that boosts the deficit up by a number -- by a lot of money.
BALDWIN: Jonathan --
KROHN: And right now -- yes?
BALDWIN: Let me interrupt you there because I understand that you are perhaps pessimistic when it comes to this idea of health care reform. Let me just back up for a second. You wrote this book "Defining Conservatism."
I want to ask you, you know, when you talk about the CBO and politics and conservatism, how did you even get so conservative? You're 15. Are your parents are uber conservative? Did you grow up this way? It's not like you're drawing upon decades of life experience here.
KROHN: Well, I mean, my parents didn't tell me to be a conservative. My parents didn't do that. I mean, I got involved when I was 9 years old because I really wanted to know what was going on in the world around me. I had questions. I had -- I wanted to know.
I started hearing about something called a filibuster when I was 9 years old, and I wanted to know what that term meant. I wanted to form my own opinions on issues. My parents said, you know, if you want to do something, you can go form your own opinions on that issue and you can -- you can believe what you want so long as you're able to defend yourself, and I did.
BALDWIN: And I got to tell, you know, looking at this book that I got yesterday. It's not exactly light reading, Jonathan. When you are quoting, you know, 1984 --
KROHN: Yes.
BALDWIN: -- George Orwell. When you're talking Plato, Marxist theory, is this kind of thing you could talk about with your friends, your 15-year-old friends, or not so much?
KROHN: Well, you got to be careful there, just like anybody else that has a career, I mean, I talk to my friends about other things besides simply what I do and besides simply going on book tours or talking about my book because, you know, of course, I have friends that don't want to talk about politics, just like anybody else that's in the political spectrum. So, I'm a very well-rounded person.
BALDWIN: Well-rounded. You know you've made it when Jon Stewart makes fun of you, calling you a "Doggie Howser GOP." My friend, I respect your passion for politics. Jonathan Krohn, thank you. Good luck to you.
KROHN: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. The richest people in the world. We've been hearing about this list for years and years and years, and you probably can guess who is at the top, and you would be wrong. Yes, he has been bumped -- that guy you're thinking about bumped -- from the top of that list. We'll tell you who's leading the way now.
BALDWIN: Yes. Coming up, the man now at the top and how much he is worth.
Plus, the messy ending when you combine man's best friend with woman's best friend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: All right. The song doesn't really go with this story because it's kind of a happy song.
BALDWIN: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: That was a dog. There was a diamond. They came together.
BALDWIN: The two don't really go together.
HOLMES: No. This is Rockville, Maryland, we are talking about. The diamond, 3-karat, worth $20,000. And the owner brought it to a store and happened to be a little accident.
BALDWIN: So, the accident being that the dealer dropped the diamond, the dog went for the diamond, ate the diamond --
HOLMES: There it is.
BALDWIN: -- took the dog to the vet, what did the vet say? Just let nature take its course.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It was not that pleasant. I followed him, I had to pick up the stuff. I had to go through the things. I can understand what it was like in the old gold rush because I felt like I just hit pay dirt.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BALDWIN: Oh.
HOLMES: OK. Pay dirt or pay crap.
BALDWIN: I guess they are keeping the diamond.
HOLMES: You have to, you're not going to --
BALDWIN: Cleaning the diamond.
HOLMES: Just because it is dirty, you are not going to throw away $20,000 like that.
BALDWIN: I know.
HOLMES: But yes, three days later, the dog was on walk, it popped out the diamond. Now, one of our guys here, our camera guy, Scott, were just saying that his dog did the same thing. He ate a gold cross or something and sure enough, he didn't keep it, though.
BALDWIN: He did not keep the cross. He said thanks, but no thanks. I don't need this anymore. I'm not going to wear this around my neck.
HOLMES: Well, I'm sure this was Bill Gates who warmed up his dog. They didn't need a $20,000 diamond. They just --
BALDWIN: He'll just throw it away.
HOLMES: They all throw it away, because those two guys have been at the top of the world's richest men for the past 15 years. Coming up, they got bumped off that list. Yes, they are no longer number one and number two. There's somebody else is at the top.
We'll explain to you who he is, what he does, and what he's worth.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: Well, we are going to be talking about rich boys right now. Bill Gates, he is practically impoverished right now. There's a new king of the billionaire boys club.
And Rafael Romo from CNN Espanol profiles the new richest man in the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RAFAEL ROMO, CNN SR. LATIN AMERICAN AFFAIRS EDITOR (voice-over): The World Bank says 1/3 of Mexicans live below the poverty line, but it is also a country of very wealthy individuals, and now the richest man in the world, Carlos Slim, a 70-year-old telecom tycoon with a fortune estimated at $53.5 billion. He's at the top of the list according to "Forbes" magazine.
This man says Slim's fortune highlights an equality in Mexico, but other Mexicans say Slim's modest origins should give hope to anyone prepared to work hard.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): This person is a hard working person who has succeeded in the financial world. What's left for the rest of us but to continue working hard?
ROMO: Slim, the son of Lebanese immigrants owns Telmex, a major Internet provider that also controls 83 percent of land phone lines in Mexico. The Mexico City native dramatically increased his fortune by buying companies on the cheap after foreign investors fled the country during the recession of 1982. Here's the first non-American to be at the top of the list since 1994.
MICHAEL FARR, MONEY MANAGER: I don't know that it means that American dominance has faded so much as it does that the rest of the world suddenly is participating in the growing wealth.
ROMO: This year, Slim moved ahead of Americans Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, who take the next two positions. He also spent $250 million on a stake in "The New York Times." But with such great wealth comes scrutiny.
FARR: I think that the social ramifications of a list like this are really significant. How these very wealthy people see themselves as citizens of the world and what they see as their responsibility to those who are living every day in desperate poverty.
ROMO: Slim has been harshly criticized in Mexico for not sharing his wealth while making his fortune in a developing nation.
(on camera): Speaking to reporters in 2005, Slim responded to his critics saying that wealth is a responsibility and not a privilege, and that having it, it's like having an orchard. You give away the fruit, he said, and not the trees.
Rafael Romo, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Let's look at the top five at least here and see what they're worth. We just talked about Slim. Now you expect to see Bill Gates and Warren Buffett, $53 million and $47 million.
Now, the next two guys both from India, that's Mukesh Ambani, he's in oil and gas. And he's actually a Stanford dropout.
BALDWIN: Really?
HOLMES: Yes. And then, Lakshmi Mittal there at the end. Now, when you go to their Web site, Forbes, and see how this people made their money, his just says "inherited and growing."
BALDWIN: Yes, I've definitely heard of Lakshmi Mittal. He's a -- wow, look at all that billions of dollars. So, those are the top five.
But I remember seeing -- when the list came out this week, and I saw Carlos Slim, who's that?
HOLMES: Slim. That's a great name.
BALDWIN: His finances aren't so slim; we'll put it that way.
HOLMES: Not at all. We'll --
BALDWIN: That's the top five. HOLMES: We'll turn to -- you know, on Sunday, we always like to talk about faith. "Faces of Faith" is our segment. Well, you don't want to miss church in Tennessee. It's a fight club. We'll go inside a place where "Amen" is actually a fighting word.
BALDWIN: That is in our "Faces of Faith" segment, I should mention, happening every Sunday morning in the 8:00 hour of -- you guessed it -- CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Some stories making headlines now.
A new study suggests a possible link between exposure at ground zero, to debris there, to heart problems suffered by police officers. Ground zero workers have reported lung problems, but this is the first study linking work at ground zero with cardiovascular concerns. The study was funded by a police organization. The lead investigator says more tests though are needed.
BALDWIN: A solemn procession in Haiti this weekend. Can you believe this past Friday marked two months since that massive earthquake hit the capital of Port-au-Prince? Haitians, you see them marching through the city Friday. More than half a million people still are living in these temporary shelters and tents.
HOLMES: Also, an emergency landing in Belgium last month has triggered a new directive from the FAA. The agency has ordered Boeing to check the tailfins on about 600 737s. Some of them must be inspected within the next 12 days.
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HOLMES: We could all use a little jump start to the week. Here now, Melissa Dawn Johnson with this morning's "Motivational Minute."
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MELISSA DAWN JOHNSON, MOTIVATIONAL MINUTE: Right now, get in your mind your biggest, boldest dream. Can you picture it? Now, what if I told you you're not dreaming big enough. I know you might say, Melissa, you are crazy.
Well, listen, living the life that is outside of the limit is as simple as daring to take the leap. So, maybe you need a little confidence, a little energy boost, well, let me give it to you today. I dare you this week, make the phone call, right the vision board, start the plan. Whatever you have to do -- fall, walk, run in the direction of your dream.
All right. This is Melissa Dawn Johnson, your global branding and personal transformation strategist with brandmelive.com. Make sure to make this week brand-tastic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: Well, here's something that might get you guys motivated -- girdles for men.
HOLMES: Oh, yes. It might motivate you to go to the gym. Yes, you heard of the spanx that women wear? Well, they are making some for men. Lord help us.
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BALDWIN: That's your jam.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: He's preparing himself for the next segment. And a lot of you have been weighing in.
Before we read your comments here, we've been talking a lot about shapewear for men, girdles for guys, OK? Here's what they look like. It's supposed to be, you know, slimming you out.
HOLMES: This looks like a shirt, though.
BALDWIN: Yes, for guys, it looks like -- it's kind of like -- yes, exactly, t-shirt, tank top, that kind of thing. But --
HOLMES: Yes. They are supposed to be slimming and trimming you wear under your whatever, but --
BALDWIN: Enhancing your muscles.
HOLMES: But they are not meant for guys that are normally in this good of shape. It is supposed to be guys with maybe beer gut to help them tuck them in and so on and so forth.
We have been asking you this morning, and responses have been coming in. They have been pretty funny this morning. But most folks overwhelmingly are saying, no. Guys and girls saying -- girls saying no, I wouldn't want --
BALDWIN: Your man wearing it.
HOLMES: -- the men wearing it. Guys are saying they wouldn't wear it.
Now, let's go -- I'm not sure what that page. I got my Twitter site up actually that I'm trying to show you here. So, ignore that, Scott. I don't know where that's coming from, but I'll go with Twitter comments here right now.
BALDWIN: What you got?
HOLMES: One is saying, "No. No problem at all if it gives the guy confidence and makes him feel better." That is from a lady. Now, go down here, to someone place. A guy is saying, "Spanx? Hell, yes!" And he's saying, especially, it depends on which of his exes will be there to see him.
Someone else -- a guy is saying, "Never." Someone else is saying, "No, it's unacceptable." And one more saying, "Yes. That would be a problem for me. Everyone should accept who they are physically and make the best of it. No man girdles."
BALDWIN: No man girdles.
HOLMES: Yes.
BALDWIN: I don't know, I guess if you take the shirt off and you got a man girdle on -- it does look like a tank top.
HOLMES: It doesn't look bad.
BALDWIN: It doesn't look bad. So, you're not --
HOLMES: Still not.
BALDWIN: You're not into it. OK.
More on man girdles and many more pressing stories coming up at the top of the hour when CNN SUNDAY MORNING continues.
HOLMES: Yes. But first, we got "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." right now.
