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CNN Sunday Morning
Federal Inquiry Under Way in Staten Island Ferry Crash; Plan B Sought in Gulf Oil Leak; Hikers' Moms Ask Iran for Compassion
Aired May 09, 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. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Six a.m. where we sit - or, we're usually sitting. But standing this morning.
RICHELLE CAREY, CNN ANCHOR: Yes.
HOLMES: In Atlanta, Georgia. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
CAREY: And I'm Richelle Carey. And happy Mother's Day to all the moms out there. Moms rock.
Thanks for starting your day with us.
Don't they?
HOLMES: Moms do rock.
CAREY: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: And happy Mother's Day to Mom. I'll give you a call later, I swear.
We're going to start though in Texas - excuse me, Kansas, actually. Kansas is where the Defense secretary came out yesterday with some strong words that are certainly going to get the people in the halls of Congress and the Pentagon a little worked up. He's talking about major cuts in the military budget.
He also took some questions yesterday from military spouses. We'll tell you exactly what he has ahead of him. It's going to be a challenge trying to get these cuts through Congress.
CAREY: Absolutely. And also, we're going to be following up on that ferry crash that happened yesterday morning. Lots of new information. Federal investigators are checking it out. Turns out 36 people were injured, and people kept saying that the ferry sped up. They're thinking there were mechanical problems with that.
And this is the same vessel involved in that deadly crash back in 2003 when 11 people lost their lives. A lot of information to get to you.
But first though, we're going to take a look at some of the headlines. The tsunami watch has been lifted hours after an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia. And yes, Indonesia is among 14 nations that was devastated by that horrible tsunami back in 2004. Two hundred thousand people were killed.
Well, this morning's quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.4 So far, no word of any injuries. And damage is considered relatively minor.
Supreme Court watchers say the countdown begins tomorrow. President Obama is set to announce his nominee any day. This will be the president's second pick for the high court.
Now, this nominee would replace Justice John Paul Stevens. He is retiring. And the nominee, of course, has to be approved by the Senate. And we're going to keep you posted on that.
And later this morning, the president is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Hampton University in Virginia, the first president to speak at that school's graduation since George H.W. Bush did that about 20 years ago. And yesterday, the first lady, Michelle Obama, she was the commencement speaker at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY: I wish for you the kind of trials that help you discover your life's work and give you the strength and the faith to pursue it. I wish for you a life lived not in response to the doubts or fears or desires of others, but in pursuit of passions and hopes and dreams that are all your very own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: Mrs. Obama follows in the footsteps of civil-rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King. He spoke at the historically black college back in 1958 - T.J.
HOLMES: Well, we turn to New York now, where the probe is now under way. Federal investigators are looking into that crash of the Staten Island Ferry yesterday. Thirty-six people, at least, injured yesterday morning when that ferry slammed into a pier.
Authorities say the vessel apparently suffered some sort of mechanical problem. The captain says as the ferry approached the pier, he was unable to pull back the throttle to slow this thing down. He sounded the alarm to warn the passengers of a hard impact that was coming. Not clear exactly how many heard that alarm, or even if they heard it, understood exactly what it meant.
Now, the routine alcohol test of the crew - those were done, show there were no issues there, no problems. Also, there were drug tests that are still being evaluated.
Now, this is the same ferry - listen to this - back in 2003, this same ferry was involved in a similar crash. Eleven people were killed then. Same thing, the ship plowed into a pier. The ship did have a multimillion-dollar rehabilitation before it was put back into service.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT SUMWALT, NATIONAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY BOARD: We felt that since there had been a previous accident involving the Andrew J. Barberi, we wanted to come back and see if there any reoccurring issues that - that may have been left over from that.
Yes, I don't have any reason to believe that that is the case, but I think given that this - this very vessel has been involved in an accident, we - we told the Coast Guard that we would to take primacy of this investigation and they - they agreed. So - so that's why we're here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, federal investigators are expected to spend up to a week at the crash site. CNN national correspondent Susan Candiotti picks up the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The 20-minute ferry ride from Manhattan to Staten Island was routine, until the captain couldn't break. It was about a minute before he pulled into the dock.
DUANE FOREST, PASSENGER: All of a sudden, I heard a series of buzzers. And then I heard someone say, 'Red, red, red.'
ALICIA EASON, PASSENGER: If it wasn't for the ferry worker yelling, 'Brace yourself,' we wouldn't have known. I mean, it literally happened -- he said, 'brace yourself,' and we hit.
CANDIOTTI: Hitting the deck hard enough to blow two holes into the hull on each side, about 17 feet above the water line. Investigators say the ferry was churning ahead at full speed, just under six miles an hour when the throttle appeared to fail.
Emergency crews were on the scene quickly attending to the injured. Of the 250 passengers aboard, 36 were taken to hospitals, most with minor injuries.
After a week that included an attempted car bombing in Times Square, tourists aboard the ferry were especially rattled.
SHEILA FORREST, PASSENGER: You know, all the stuff that you hear goes on here in New York, and you're thinking, 'Oh my gosh, what's happened now?'
CANDIOTTI: Coincidentally the same ferry was involved in a 2003 accident that left 11 people killed. Its captain was convicted of manslaughter. He admitted being on medications that made him sleepy.
Citing a series of mechanical failures over the years that led to action, a New York congressman is calling for a closer look.
REP. MICHAEL MCMAHON (D), NEW YORK: Every time a Staten Islander or visitor gets on a ferry, they should feel safe and confident, and this does raise some alarm bells.
Ferry officials bristled when asked about this boat's maintenance record.
JAMES DISMONE, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, STATEN ISLAND FERRY: It is maintained in accordance with the highest standards of the American Bureau of Shipping and the United States Coast Guard. It is fully maintained.
CANDIOTTI (on camera): There will be an investigation into what caused a sudden mechanical failure that for about two hours shut down ferries that normally handle about 65,000 passengers daily.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, Staten Island, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CAREY: That broken well head in the Gulf of Mexico, still gushing oil. BP's first attempt to cap it didn't work.
And blame it on something called hydrates. Let's try to explain what that is. They're ice-like crystals that ended up forming inside that four-story dome that engineers were hoping would put an end to all this. Hydrates are lighter than water, so that means that -- that the dome is floating, makes it very difficult to maneuver. They could also plug up attempts to siphon the oil. We're talking 210,000 gallons a day still gushing.
BP says fixing this problem, just that problem alone, could take at least two days before they could even proceed with anything else. A BP official talked about this problem.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DOUG SUTTLES, BP CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER: We were placing the dome over the leak source. A large volume of hydrates formed inside the top of the dome, requiring us to move the dome to the side of the leak point. The dome is currently sitting on the seabed while we evaluate options to deal with the hydrate issue.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: And BP officials had already said that this might not work because they've never tried it at a depth like this, 5,000 feet. And now golf-ball-size balls of tar are starting to wash up on three miles at that beach off of Alabama. We're talking about Dauphin Island.
A woman who found the stuff says it looks like tree bark, but it has a liquid consistency. In her words, it is definitely oil. This tar is now being examined to determine if it came from the leaking oil well. CNN's Brooke Baldwin is in Biloxi, Mississippi.
And Brooke, We know that you went to the islands and scooped up some of that water to test it. What are the results?
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right.
So we went out to the Chandelier Islands a couple of days ago. I scooped up what looked like just an orange goo and I put it in this water bottle. So we went up to Micro-Methods. It's a lab in Ocean Springs, Mississippi, and they extracted this.
Can you see this? Final answer: It is indeed oil.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: All right, Harry. We brought you our mix of what we thought was oil and water. Was it oil?
HARRY HOWELL, LAB DIRECTOR, MICRO-METHODS INC.: Actually, it was. I showed you the extraction we did yesterday, and what you have in your hand is --is the concentrated material that came out of your sample. And we injected it in our machine, and we were able to identify the concentration of oil.
BALDWIN: And so this is this teeny, tiny bottle. And this is what you extracted, and this is the oil.
And was it pretty potent?
HOWELL: Yes. It was the highest sample we have - we have gotten into the laboratory.
BALDWIN: The highest sample?
HOWELL: Yes.
BALDWIN: Highest potency?
HOWELL: Yes.
BALDWIN: Are you surprised?
HOWELL: Yes. Yes, I am a little surprised. But many of the samples that we have gotten up to this point, of course, were pre- contaminant samples. So I'm - again, I don't know where you took the sample, but obviously, it was in a - in high contamination.
BALDWIN: Took it off the Chandelier Islands near a popular fishing spot near a pelican nesting area. I know you're no marine biologist, but this cannot be good for the wildlife.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: And I'm trying to hold up this teeny tiny vile of the oil organics that was extracted from what we scooped up in the chandelier a couple of days ago.
And you heard Harry - you know, he said this was the most potent extraction that he had received over the course of the last few days. We took this and we had a conversation with an - a marine oceanographer, and he actually told me there are already reports of shrimp that have been pulled out of these waters and had to be tossed out simply because they weren't damaged on the bottom, but as the shrimpers cast their nets and they'd pull it up through the top of the water, this stuff coats the shrimp, meaning it's no good.
CAREY: Exactly, and that's going to...
BALDWIN: T.J., Richelle.
CAREY: Thanks, Brooke. And of course, that's going to cost the livelihood of - of a lot of people that make a living off of that water.
Brooke, thank you very much. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to turn some weather now, and our Reynolds Wolf is keeping an eye on things, including some snow.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: (INAUDIBLE), guys.
HOLMES: Snow in the springtime. Where is this happening, Renny?
WOLF: Basically, if you look at the bottom of the screen, it says "Duluth, Minnesota." That's where they have had some of the snowfall.
HOLMES: That's why you put that up there for me?
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: We - we do what we can.
HOLMES: On the screen?
WOLF: It - it's called "simplification," is what we refer to it as.
Guys, seriously, we had a little bit of that up in Minnesota, parts of Michigan. Even in upstate New York, you may see some snowfall this morning. Sorry guys, I got the goofies going on.
We could see more snowfall today, mainly up in parts of, say, extreme northern New England, but also a chance of severe weather as we get into Monday.
We're going to talk about that coming up in a few moments. You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Over here talking to Reynolds Wolf now.
Reynolds, we've certainly been...
WOLF: Bring it.
HOLMES: ...doing a lot of weather, a lot of weather to get to. And weather has still been playing a part in the Gulf, with the oil, where it's going...
WOLF: No question.
HOLMES: ...when it's going to get to where people think it might go.
You spent some time down there - a lot of time down there as well. And we had a guy on yesterday - and this really struck a chord with all of us here. One of the guys who is losing business left and right, and he said, in a month, he'll be bankrupt, because he has a boat. People keep canceling because they believe that everything is bad in the Gulf.
And that's not the case, and that's certainly what you found out being there as well. It's - people just have this impression, all the fish is bad, all the shrimp is bad. And you pull it out, it's going to have oil on it and you can't eat it.
WOLF: Absolutely. And - and I - I can tell you that we spoke with some people off-camera...
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: ...you know, just during casual moments, just - just sitting down and having a chit-chat. And - and you have to remember that - that we spoke with some oystermen, guys who take oyster out of the - the silt at the end of the Mississippi River. We - we think about this contamination possibly in the Gulf of Mexico.
But you got to remember, we've got the largest river on the continent, the Mississippi River, that goes past Minneapolis. It goes past, say, St. Louis. It goes past - all through the Memphis and then right through New Orleans. And you have a lot of contaminants that it will pick up.
HOLMES: Throughout that - yes, that journey.
WOLF: That entire journey.
HOLMES: That journey has a lot of junk, yes.
WOLF: These oysters are there filtering these things out, filtering all - all - all this nasty sediment and stuff. But still, you know, they've been edible for a very long time.
I mean, there's no question that oil is going to have a - a detrimental effect on - on many of these animals. And certainly, the $2.4 billion that these guys get from the - from the seafood industry.
But again, it's not over yet. And plus, there are places where you can fish in parts of the Gulf of Mexico. So if you have any plans of going down there, don't cancel things just yet. These people certainly need, you know, to get a - they got families to feed, they've got businesses to maintain. And again, it's just...
HOLMES: Important to note as well, that no one, no official agency has come out...
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: ..and said this - the food, the seafood is bad, you can't eat it, it's dangerous to your health. No one has come out and said...
WOLF: Not a soul. Not a soul, as of yet.
And, you know, right now, as we speak, they've got a containment effort to try to do what they can to clean it up. The weather is not going to be so good today.
Yesterday it was good.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE). OK.
WOLF: But today, we're expecting a little bit of a switch.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, the race too close to call. The three candidates hoping to be the next prime minister of the U.K.
CAREY: Right now, two of the three candidates are meeting behind closed doors in London. We're live there with an update.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SSG WILLIAM BIRRIOLA, U.S. MILITARY: Staff Sergeant William Birriola, stationed here in Baghdad. Just wanted to give a shout out to my mom on Mother's Day. Happy Mother's Day, mom. I love you. I'll be home soon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SGT. BRIAN CERNY, U.S. MILITARY: Hi, I'm Sergeant Brian Cerny, with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division here in Afghanistan. I wanted to wish my mom, Janice (ph) Cerny, in Raleigh, North Carolina, a happy Mother's Day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, taking a look now at some stories making headlines.
Twelve people dead, 80 others trapped following a couple of explosions inside a coal mine in Russia. The second explosion happened as rescue operations were going on. That one trapped nearly two dozen rescuers.
Also, another bank going belly-up. The First Pacific Bank in California in San Diego shut down yesterday. That makes it the 68th bank to fail in the nation this year, the fifth in California.
And no fourth term for Utah Republican Senator Robert Bennett. The senator eliminated yesterday at Utah's state convention. Bennett came in third in the second round of convention balloting.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, everybody. Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. About 20 minutes past the hour now.
It's a Mother's Day now that a lot of people are thinking about their moms, and a lot of moms thinking about their kids. Well, plenty of moms in the U.S., as you see here, and particularly a mom in New York.
But her mind is not necessarily on New York. It's a half world away, and it's here. She has her mind on her kids.
Her kid, one of the hikers - three hikers - do you remember this story? They were accused of trying to cross into the Iran - they were detained, and they are still there, thrown in jail as spies.
This was 10 months ago.
Susan Candiotti is going to pick up this story for us, the story of one mother's quest to get her son back.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Laura Fattal starts each day reading her newspaper more than once.
LAURA FATTAL, SON BEING HELD IN IRAN: The first time through is only for Iran or things related to Iran. And my next time through, I read more thoroughly.
CANDIOTTI: On Mother's Day and every day, Fattal looks for news about her son, Josh, and his two friends: journalist Shane Bauer, also 27, and 31-year-old Sarah Shourd, a teacher.
Late last July, the three American hikers were detained in an Iranian prisoner. Iran claims they crossed it border illegally. The mothers issued a statement saying if they crossed the border, it was accidental.
FATTAL: This small hiking trip that was supposed to be eight days in length become a nine-month detention in prisons in Iran. CANDIOTTI: On the home front, desperation is taking its toll.
FATTAL: None of us sleeps through the night. We go online. We check different websites. We see people who are e-mailing us. We get a lot of support from all over the world.
Dearest Josh, we heard from Mr. Shapfee (ph) today.
CANDIOTTI: (on camera): How many letters would you estimate have been sent over the past nine months to all of them?
FATTAL: Thousands.
CANDIOTTI: Thousands?
FATTAL: Thousands.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Josh is apparently getting some mail. His mother found out during the only phone call he was allowed to make. It came in March, without warning. Laura missed it, but her husband was home.
(on camera): What did he say?
FATTAL: Josh just said, "Hi Dad," like it was any other day.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): For nine months, the three moms, including Fattal, have put their lives on hold. They visited the U.N., met with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, done countless interviews, attended vigils around the country.
A sign outside Fattal's hometown high school urges everyone to remember the hikers.
FATTAL: How are you? Good. You're still walking.
CANDIOTTI: Dan Weintraub raises donations to get the word out. He was a classmate of Josh's.
DANIEL WEINTRAUB, FORMER CLASSMATE HELD IN IRAN: Everybody seem to, obviously, really want to help them out and - and bring them home. So we're doing what we can.
FATTAL: Hi, Cynd (ph). Hi, Nora (ph).
CANDIOTTI: The mothers check in with each other daily.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: That's hard to think about, not having all of our kids safely at home for Mother's Day.
FATTAL: We know that whatever any energy and power we have has to be totally in gear and totally working, because we need to get them out.
OK. Let's see.
CANDIOTTI: Fattal is a college art professor who dropped everything to work for her son's release.
FATTAL: Everyday, where your - my mind needs to be is, 'What else can I do?' Because clearly, they're not home yet.
CANDIOTTI: The man she feels can get them home hasn't. Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, at the U.N. in New York last week, refused to see Fattal and the other moms.
(on camera): What would you ask him?
FATTAL: I offer up the mother's compassion and the mother's wishes and if that gives him strength to bring the kids home, I welcome sending that strength to him.
CANDIOTTI (voice-over): Until that day, Laura Fattal spends Mother's Day waiting, writing one more letter.
Susan Candiotti, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Now, friends of the trio call them experienced travelers in Europe as well as in the Middle East. The U.S. State Department, however, still has not had any formal contact with the three.
CAREY: So one minute you're saying "I do," the next, you can't believe it. Police in Mexico are investigating the latest episode of violence south of the border.
Gunmen stormed a church during a wedding Friday. This happened in Juarez. One person was shot to death trying to get away from all this. The groom, two of his relatives and the best man - they were kidnapped.
Mexican authorities say, right now, they're not certain that this was drug-related.
Residents of the flood-ravaged parts of Tennessee got a visit from a member of the Obama administration. The nation's Homeland Security secretary toured the hardest-hit areas. We'll tell you what she said about relief efforts after seeing all the devastation up close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Bottom of the hour here on this "CNN Sunday Morning". Welcome back. I'm T.J. Holmes.
CAREY: And I'm Richelle Carey, it's Sunday, May 9th. Happy Mother's Day. It's Mother's Day in case you forgot. I think my mom is still asleep. It's 5:30 where she is.
But, let me get to some top stories right now. The tsunami watch has been lifted after an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia. Tsunami warnings really matter to people there. Indonesia is among 14 nations devastated by that tsunami back in 2004, the one that killed 200,000 people. This morning's quake had a preliminary magnitude of 7.4. So far no word of any injuries or damage. The damage we do know about is relatively minor.
Eight days after that failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, investigators are looking at the big picture and their findings are pretty unsettling. U.S. Counterterrorism officials say militant leaders in Pakistan may now have turned their focus to U.S. targets instead of places in their own region.
And later this morning, the president is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Hampton University in Virginia. He is the first president to speak at that school's graduation since 20 years ago when it was George H. W. Bush delivering the commencement. Yesterday, first lady Michelle Obama was the commencement speaker at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Here's what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, FIRST LADY OF THE UNITED STATES: I wish for you the kind of trials that help you discover your life's work. And give you the strength and the faith to pursue it. I wish for you a life lived not in response to the doubts or fears or desires of others, but in pursuit of passion and hope and dreams that are all your very own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: Mrs. Obama follows in the footsteps of civil rights icon, Dr. Martin Luther King. He spoke at the historically black university back in 1958.
HOLMES: But, we turn now to the flood-soaked region of Tennessee. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano toured Nashville yesterday. She saw this destruction firsthand. She praised the ongoing recovery effort, urging more victims to reach out to FEMA. She also pledged more government aid for the flood zone.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JANET NAPOLITANO, SECRETARY, HOMELAND SECURITY: It's important to see with my own eyes what the impacts were. But also to see what the recovery efforts are and to make sure that the administration is going everything it can. When I say the administration, it's informal, we're doing everything we can to link up with the impressive efforts under way already in Tennessee.
HOLMES (voice-over): I'll show you some of those efforts she is talking about in Nashville in particular, but also other parts of the state of Tennessee. Volunteers are helping victims however they can. They all know how tough it's going to be. It's going to be tougher down the road. But they're gearing up for that challenge.
RUSS HAZELTON, NASHVILLE RESIDENT: We have no choice but to solve this problem, and we're going to solve it with some enthusiasm and try to have fun doing it. We have some hurdles to cross, but we've already gotten across quite a few. So we'll see what the next few days bring and what the city planners tell us to do. And we'll get all of our stuff done and get back in here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The flooding has killed at least 30 people in three states. Nashville alone is looking at more than $1.5 billion in damage. We're going to take a closer look at what's happening there in Nashville. I want to turn to our Martin Savage who is in Nashville and also, he went to a particular neighborhood, the same neighborhood where the Homeland Security secretary toured yesterday as well.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARTIN SAVAGE: This is the Bellevue neighborhood located southwest of Nashville. It is one of the areas that was hardest hit over last weekend's storm. It was also one of the areas that was visited by the Homeland Security secretary.
Easy to see why, I mean when you look at the devastation that's happened here. The numbers continue to rise, that's the concern for many people. The death toll now up to 22 for the state of Tennessee. The damage estimate for the city of Nashville alone is $1.5 billion.
And then you have the number of counties that have been declared major disaster areas that's now up to 30. This debris pile here stretches actually for block after block after block and when the people came home. The first thing they did was take out the furniture. That's was made it to curb then they realized everything else had to come out.
So that's why you'll see here the dry wall that's there. You're also find flooring that's here and then eventually you find just about everything any person ever had in their home is now sitting on the curb.
A lot of this work couldn't have been done without the effort of the volunteers and there were thousands of them that fanned out in the city of Nashville. People decided that this was the time to turn and help one another and they did it in a major, major way.
Much to the relief of those who suffered because they said, you know what, without the volunteers they would have nowhere to start. They made a pretty good start.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: Defense Secretary Robert Gates is waging a different kind of war. He is taking on wasteful spending at the Pentagon. He outlined his plan at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum yesterday.
He wants to save at least $10 billion a year. He says this is actually necessary for U.S. combat operations to continue running smoothly. But in order to make this happen, he's taking aim at the top brass of the pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Department of Defense cannot go to America's elected representatives and ask for increases every year until we have done everything possible to make every dollar count. Unless there's real reform in the way the Department of Defense does its business and spends taxpayer dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: It's not going to be easy to make this happen. This plan is almost certain to stir opposition in Congress and the Pentagon.
HOLMES: All right, take a look around the people who live in your city. Are they healthy? Are they fit? Are they fat? A new survey is ranking the fittest and fattest cities. See where yours is on the list that's coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DEMI MOORE, DEMI AND ASHTON FOUNDATION: Hi, I'm Demi Moore. I created the DNA foundation. My desire is to end child slavery, which is a global issue. This is not exclusive to Haiti, but, you know, we became aware of the rest of the system, which, you know, has about 300,000 children who are enslaved to do all the work, sleep on the floor, and in most cases it's the young girls are sexually exploited. We as Americans have to carry out Lincoln's promise and bring about freedom.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAREY: All right, I'm from Texas. Yes, everything is bigger there. Clearly the people as well, all right. According to this health magazine, three cities in the lone star state, three, are among the top five fattest.
HOLMES: Five out of the top ten.
CAREY: All right, it's good to have goals. It's good to have goals. So what cities? Corpus Christi tops the list then Charleston, West Virginia, El Paso, Texas and Dallas, Texas, and Memphis, Tennessee, round out the top five.
HOLMES: We eat a lot of pork there, a lot of barbecue. Now, the leanest cities, San Francisco at the top of that list then followed by Burlington, Vermont, Washington D.C., Seattle, Washington, and Austin, Texas. That's something going.
CAREY: All right.
HOLMES: Yes, how they come up with all these stuff? Well, they have some calculation they use that's based on the percentage of overweight people, those who have type 2 diabetes, some kind of way they calculate couch potatoes in here.
And also how much the people spend on junk food, but they compile all these information from official sources. Data they get from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and also the CDC. We're going to bring Reynolds in, and Reynolds, that's why I was asking when we talk about the fattest cities they have on here, all three of us are not in really good company. All of our cities are actually on the top ten list.
CAREY: I'm from Houston. We did not make the cut, all right.
HOLMES: Well, you didn't. OK, I'll give you that. You all didn't, but Memphis, my town, is fifth on the list, and Reynolds --
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I do find it interesting though the - find just so delicious that T.J. gives Richelle a hard time about Texas and then lo and behold.
CAREY: That's why I was pointing that.
WOLF: You're in Houston, right?
CAREY: We're nine. We're not the top five, but we'll try to fix that.
WOLF: I don't know, guys. If it comes to eating bean curds and brussel sprouts, give me the barbecue every time. Hey, guys, on this Mother's Day simply we'll be cooking out. If your mother happens to live say over in Europe, you're trying to fly over there, good luck. We've got some issue because the volcano in Iceland is grabbing more flights in Europe once again.
Yes, we've got that big ash plume that will start moving over parts of the European continent. When that happens, that means the air traffic may come to a standstill at times. So by all means, if you have a flight going in Charles to go home maybe into Copenhagen, maybe into London, Heathrow, you got to go ahead and call your travel agent and see what this situation might be. You may be waiting in the airport for quite some time.
You might be waiting in the airport for quite some time, if your travel is going to be bringing you across parts of the northeast. We got a few showers even some snow showers popping up on some few locations. Just passing parts of the New York and as we zoom into a couple of - going from the northeast, we have the lake-effect snowfall.
And we zoom our way back towards parts of the say, the central plains. We're going to be dealing with some scattered showers and possibly a few thunderstorms not just today. But it looks like the better possibility for rough weather will take place tomorrow, specifically tomorrow afternoon.
We have temperatures warming up into, say, the 70s, the 80s, the 90s. Strong storms especially back into Oklahoma, into Kansas. Maybe into Nebraska before all is said and done. We'll talk more about that coming up very soon. Let's toss it back to you guys at the desk. Again, barbecue with bean curds - just saying absolutely.
CAREY: Thanks, Reynolds. HOLMES: All right, thanks. But we're keeping an eye on who exactly is going to be the next prime minister over in the U.K. They are still trying to work this process out. Our Paula Newton is standing by. Paula, you've got an answer for us yet?
PAULA NEWTON: I only wish, and so do many people in Britain. It's been three days, T.J. and still no new government here. They're trying to do something historic, a coalition government. Will it work? More coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAREY: All right, it's been three days since voters in the United Kingdom didn't choose an outright winner in their elections. Now the leaders are trying of the three parties are trying to figure out how to form a government where everyone would have a say whether they'll be sharing the power.
Right now, two of the parties are meeting behind closed doors, huge stakes clearly. CNN's Paula Newton is in London with the very latest. So, Paula, right now, it is the Conservatives and the Liberals Democrats that are trying to work something out is that right?
NEWTON: Absolutely, and that would be historic. You know, they haven't really done this here in decades. They've never really done it well. What they're saying though is basically out of this election, Richelle, we had three losers.
At this point in time, they're trying to be able to cobble together two of the parties to get a stable government. What's good for everyone back home and especially the White House will be looking at this closely is they're trying to get this coalition together.
Something that will last beyond months, but going into years and considering all the financial chaos right now, that's an important point. I want you to listen now to Nick Clegg, someone who's completely obscure just a few months ago, now being the king maker in this government. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NICK CLEGG, LIBERAL DEMOCRAT LEADER: Talks continue today. I had a meeting with David Cameron yesterday and Gordon Brown. Everyone is trying to be constructive for the good of the country. I'm very keen that the Liberal Democrats should play a constructive role at the time of great economic uncertainty to provide the good government that this country deserves. Throughout that, we will continue to be and I will continue to be guided by the big changes. We want tax reform, improving education for all children, sorting out the banks and building a new economy from the rubble of the old and extensive fundamental political reform.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NEWTON: You know, this man who got just over 20 percent of the vote here in this election and he's in a very powerful position right now. They expect to just have some progress to show for the meetings behind me today. Expect more on Monday to Tuesday. As I said, the White House is really watching this closely right now, Richelle --
CAREY: Paula, we're about out of time, but I have to ask you a very important question. What is with the chicken off to the side? What is that?
NEWTON: It has been a completely crazy campaign. The chicken belongs to a newspaper here, one of the tabloids. Who knew? And the chicken has been following everybody around. He's gotten man handled in many places by security. Finally, David Cameron, the leader of the Conservatives may be the next prime minister of Britain, actually hugged him earlier today. That was a big thing.
CAREY: Fantastic, I'm glad we made time for that question and I'm glad you knew all of that. Paula Newton live from London. Paula, thank you.
HOLMES: We had no idea what the guy said. We were just staring at the chicken the whole time, but we had to explain that.
Also, coming up, we're going to explain why some, in particular, two people I talked to believe that hip hop was changed by President Obama. He hasn't even put out an album yet. I sat down with those two right there and they explained how President Obama has kept them from dumbing down hip hop I guess you could say. Stay with us here on the "CNN Sunday Morning."
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, it's not that often you get to sit down and talk to royalty. But recently I did. I got to talk to a queen. This queen just happens to be an Oscar nominated actress, a cover girl model, a movie producer and author. This queen, Queen Latifah. I talked to her and Common, her co-star in her new movie "Just Right" is what it's called and tried to get them both to clear up first of all just what it is they do for a living.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES (voice-over): It's nothing new to see rappers moonlighting as actors, but for Queen Latifah and Common, it seems like it's the other way around.
(on camera): It's almost like I forgot, you are all rappers. Is that still fair to say? You all are rappers, right?
QUEEN LATIFAH: He's definitely a rapper.
COMMON, RAPPER: I'm definitely a rapper.
LATIFAH: That's Common, come on.
COMMON: Obviously, Queen Latifah is not just a rapper.
HOLMES: Some people may forget, you started out as a rapper.
LATIFAH: You almost have forgot. I did, I did. I definitely did. That's always the roots. You know, of who I am inside. I think starting off as a rapper and expanding into these other places, it's just kind a training ground. It prepares you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Congratulations. How is the work going?
HOLMES (voice-over): They correlate that rap training into acting job. So much so that lately their movie critics outnumber their album critics. In their latest movie, Common plays an NBA star who suffers an injury on the court. Queen Latifah plays the physical therapist who takes him through rehab, but of course, falls for him at the same time. Officially, it's a romantic comedy, but they say don't let it fool you.
LATIFAH: We want it to not be a chick flick. A romantic comedy that is not a labor for your husband or boyfriend to go watch, you know. It's something that can be fun for him, fun for you, you know, fun for young and old.
HOLMES: Despite their acting career, neither goes too far from their roots in hip hop. A genera they believe is evolving.
LATIFAH: I think what people are more so realizing in hip hop for that we have a voice and that voice has power. And how are you going to use that power? Are you going to use it to bring things up the way you see them? At some point in hip hop, we were dumbing things down.
HOLMES: Both, Queen Latifah and Common were active Obama supporters and credited his election for helping to change attitude of hip hop and challenging artists to raise the bar.
COMMON: I definitely see the hip hop community having aspirations to function with class in certain ways. It's not looked down upon as much. People want better things in life. Hip hop to me is just the voice of the people. It's just the voice of a culture expressing themselves. Overall, it's still a gift from God that just really is our voice.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: If you're trying to figure out exactly what it is they do for a living, they both say just call them artists. It's about five minutes to the top of the hour here on the "CNN Sunday Morning." Quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Good morning, everybody. From the CNN center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is "CNN Sunday Morning," 7:00 a.m. where we are in Atlanta. Wherever you maybe, glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
CAREY: I'm Richelle Carey. Happy Mother's Day. Get in your happy mother's day.
HOLMES: Wake up, mom first.
CAREY: Me, too.
HOLMES: The call is coming later, but, yes, happy mother's day to you all.
We're going to talk about today. At least start with Robert Gates, the Defense Secretary, last thing he needs is another war on his hands. But he might have one in the halls of Congress and the Pentagon. He is suggesting some very big cuts that some are going to be uncomfortable with. We'll tell you what he was talking about last night in Kansas.
CAREY: He kind went for it, did he?
HOLMES: He did in a major way.
CAREY: All right, federal investigators at the site of that ferry crash this morning, the Staten Island ferry. Thirty six people were injured in this. They're thinking right now it appears to be mechanical problems and this is actually the same vessel involved in a crash in 2003 where 11 people were killed. We'll going to have more on that coming up.
But first, let me lay out the headlines for you. The tsunami watch has been lifted hours after an earthquake struck off the coast of Indonesia. Things like this really, really rattled folks there because Indonesia's is one of the 14 nations devastated by that big tsunami back in 2004. Two hundred thousand people were killed in that. This morning's quake, a preliminary magnitude of it is 7.4, so far no word of any injuries, and the damage is considered pretty minor.
Eight days after the failed car bombing in New York's Times Square, investigators are looking at the big picture and they say, that it seems this way right now, U.S. Counterterrorism officials say that militant leaders in Pakistan may have turned their focus to U.S. targets instead of places in their own region.
And later this morning, the president is scheduled to deliver the commencement address at Hampton University in Virginia. Congratulations to all the graduates. The president -- this is the first president to speak at the school's graduation since George H.W. Bush did that about 30 years ago. And yesterday, the first lady, Michelle Obama, was the commencement speaker at the University of Arkansas, Pine Bluff.
Here's some of what she had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHELLE OBAMA, U.S. FIRST LADY: I wish for you the kind of trials that help you discover your life's work and give you the strength and the faith to pursue it. I wish for you a life lived not in response to the doubts or fears or desires of others, but in pursuit of passions and hopes and dreams that are all your very own.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: Mrs. Obama follows in the footsteps of civil right icon Martin Luther King. He spoke at that historically black university back in 1958.
HOLMES: All right. Well, we were telling you just yesterday about -- at this time, about this possibly being a big weekend for the whole -- the Gulf itself and possibly getting something that could stop that leak, gushing some 210,000 gallons every single day. And they had an idea. They were going to put this dome on top. And they thought they might be able to stop the leak.
Well, it didn't work. It failed yesterday because of something called hydrates. These are ice-like crystals that develop when the gas mixes with the water. So it caused this thing to float a little bit, tough to maneuver. So, they couldn't get it over there. So, all that oil is still gushing.
Our Brooke Baldwin is live in Biloxi for us.
Brooke, this was some very disappointing news that we got to here. There was so much optimism, still a little skepticism as well because this had never been tried before. But, now, we got the word, in fact, it did not work.
BROOKE BALDWIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Right, T.J. Good morning. I thought for sure I would be standing on this Sunday morning saying to you, great news, this containment dome is officially positioned over the leak, and it's about to start siphoning oil. That is not the case, crushing blow here for the gulf coast community.
Instead, we saw B.P. COO Doug Suttles coming out, falling little short of saying this was a failure. But he said, look, what we tried last night didn't work.
You mentioned the hydrates. The ice crystals that basically clogged this containment dome.
So, they're going to have to go to plan B. What is plan B? It's either going to be warming up, heating up that containment dome, melting those hydrates perhaps, using methanol or something else which they're calling a junk shot. And that essentially, he likened to clogging a toilet. They're going to be taking up a bunch of ground materials, potentially injecting it in the blown out preventer and possibly that would clog the leak.
A couple options -- we won't even know what plan B might be, they say, for at least a couple of more days.
HOLMES: That was exactly our question yesterday. Well, what's the backup plan? And they are working on that. They are literally making this stuff up as we go along. Nothing like this has been tried before.
Like you say, Brooke, in the meantime, the oil keeps getting into the water.
BALDWIN: Right. So, oil is getting into the water. And we took a boat ride out. And, you know, I talked to a captain yesterday after I've scooped up what I thought was oil. And some people out here just don't want to believe it. He said, no, Brooke, it's got to be red algae.
It's not red algae. It is definitely oil. And according to an oceanographer, marine oceanographer, we spoke with yesterday after we took this sample into a lab, we want to hold this up for you and I think we can zoom in -- this is what was extracted.
This is, in fact, oil, and the lab director at Micro-Methods Lab in Ocean Springs said this was the most potent extraction of the sea water he has seen so far. Listen.
Listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BALDWIN: All right, Harry. We brought you our mix of what we thought was oil and water. Was it oil?
HARRY HOWELL, MICRO-METHODS LABORATORY, INC.: Actually, it was. I showed you the extraction we did yesterday. And what you're having here is a concentrated material that came out of your sample. And we injected it in our machine. We were able to identify the concentration of oil.
BALDWIN: And so, this is the teeny-tiny bottle. And this is what you extracted. And this is the oil. And was it pretty potent?
HOWELL: Yes. It was the highest sample we have gotten into the laboratory.
BALDWIN: The highest sample?
HOWELL: Yes.
BALDWIN: Highest potency?
HOWELL: Yes.
BALDWIN: Are you surprised?
HOWELL: Yes. Yes. I'm a little surprised. But many samples that we've gotten up to this point, of course, were pre-contaminant samples. So, again, I don't know where you took the sample. But, obviously, it was in high contamination.
BALDWIN: I took it off the Chandeleur Islands near a popular fishing spot, near a pelican nesting area. I know you're no marine biologist, but this cannot be good for the wildlife.
(END VIDEOTAPE) BALDWIN: And, T.J., final note, our crew has started to notice just in the last couple of days, billboards within this morning's newspaper, all kinds of lawyers locally who are saying, hey, B.P. has hired local counsel, you should, too.
T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: And we know this is going to be a part of it, a lot of legal battles down the road. But, right now, they've need to get that thing capped and get this oil -- got to get it to stop leaking into the Gulf.
Brooke Baldwin for us in Biloxi -- thank you so much. We'll be checking in with you again.
CAREY: Let's keep focusing on what folks are dealing with along the coast of Louisiana. They have been holding out hope that the oil spread -- the oil spread would stay east of the Mississippi River. But on Friday, they got some pretty bad news.
Photojournalist Chris Turner filed this report.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BILLY NUNGESSER, PLAQUEMINES PARISH PRESIDENT: When I got in the first chopper ride, the Coast Guard said, we're going to help you clean up whatever it takes. So, I'm like, you don't understand. You're not going to clean up these marshes. Either you're going to save them or they're going to be destroyed. Those are the only two options.
We've been saying all along that it is going to move west. People don't realize the current along the shoreline. We're loading now some of the soft boom to go west of the Mississippi River to be prepared for the oil that's going to make landfall.
Come on, guys. We got to move quick when that happens. It's a half mile out. That's where the wildlife is. You've got some time before it hits the shore and run the shoreline, and then it could move to the other side.
I don't know how long it's going to be. That's the scary part, you know?
All right. Now, he's punishing me.
It's heartbreaking. Half of the people around here know no other way to make a living. I mean, when you talk about people after Katrina taking the money they got insurance for their house and putting it into a boat and keeping their family in a trailer or shed for years because they need that boat to feed their family. That puts it in perspective.
You feel like you're not doing your job. And you're not -- you should be able to do something. So, that's why it's important that we don't lose this battle. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Also this morning, in New York federal investigators launching, look into that crash of the Staten Island ferry. At least three dozen people injured yesterday morning when the boat slammed into a pier. The ferry's captain says there was some kind of mechanical failure, says he was unable to pull back on the throttle to slow the boat down.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALEX GONZALES, FERRY PASSENGER: As we left the port from Manhattan, the boat was smooth sailing. As we approached the dock, it started speeding up. I got a little nervous, because I was wondering why it's speeding up so fast.
As soon as we got to the port, it just slammed right into the dock and pushed everybody back. There was a young lady with a child that literally flew. It was chaos, pandemonium. It was like something I've never been in my life.
REPORTER: What was going through your mind when this was happening?
GONZALES: I hope I don't die, like that's all I felt, like, just -- I don't want to die right here on the ferry. I come out here every Saturday. I just don't want to die.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, the same ferry was involved in a similar crash back in 2003. Eleven people killed when the ship plowed into a pier. That captain pleaded guilty to negligent manslaughter and lying to investigators and he was sent to prison.
Well, we know there will be a new justice at some point on the Supreme Court after Justice Stevens announced his retirement. And we have been waiting for this announcement. A lot of people think it could come this week.
CAREY: That's what we're thinking. We're going to tell you about the four top candidates -- coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CPL. HILLARY FLEMING, U.S. ARMY: This is Corporal Hillary Fleming from Camp Leatherneck, Afghanistan. I just wanted to say happy mother's day to my mother Anita Fleming in Woodbridge, Virginia, and dad Conner and my daughter Jilly Bean. I love you guys and I'll see you soon.
SFC KELLY MCCARGO, U.S. ARMY: Hello. I'm First Class Kelly McCargo from Camp Spiker, Iraq. I want to say happy Mother's Day to my mom, Jessica (ph) McCargo, in Columbia, Maryland.
(END VIDEO CLIP) (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CAREY: I'll go.
HOLMES: Please. My mine was somewhere else.
CAREY: We played really great music during the commercial break. That's where our minds were.
But, right now, we need you to turn your minds back to that volcano, if you can believe that.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: I know. Believe it.
Yes, we're talking, it's back up again. We have an ash plume now that's moving over parts of Europe. We've got airports closed in Milan, in Florence. Six different airports that'd be this many, in Scotland, also been closed all due to ash that is now coming from this volcano once again.
CAREY: Again.
WOLF: I know, hard to believe. So, anyone planning on making a trip over to Europe, you're going to have some delays and big issues that are probably getting up in Charles de Gaulle, at Heathrow. This is going to be a big pain for you.
Meanwhile, back here in the U.S., weather conditions are going to be pretty good -- at least in terms of what you can see visually. What you're going to deal with down the water in terms of trying to contain that giant oil spill, conditions not so good. We're going to see winds increasing out of the north and northeast, anywhere from 15 to 20 knots. At the same time, we could some see waves right along the water that could be anywhere from, say, four to five feet. So, rough times today. They're not going to be able to do any containment burn days. That would be kind of frustrating for a lot of people.
Lake-effect snowfall in parts of the northeast, some scattered showers possible in Texas. But what maybe dealing with in days to come, mainly tomorrow afternoon between the hours of 3:00 and 6:00 p.m., the chance of dealing with some strong storms, possibly some tornadoes in parts of Kansas and back into Oklahoma, maybe even as far south as the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. So, just be advised tomorrow morning, you may have an interesting day, especially into the afternoon, things could get rough.
Now, in terms of temperatures, it looks like it should be fairly mild day for you, especially along the Gulf Coast. In the northeast, still, it's going to remain cool.
For New Orleans, anyone going down there to hope join in some of the cleanup efforts along the coast, take a look at this. On Sunday, and, of course, today and tomorrow, a mix of sunshine and clouds, chance of rainfall into Wednesday, highs in the 80s, by Thursday rain moves out. The heat and humidity is staying with about 85 degrees.
That is a look at your forecast. We got more coming up.
You're watching CNN SUNDAY MORNING. See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: It's believed that President Obama has narrowed down his search for the next Supreme Court justice. On the short list now, Judge Mary Garland from the U.S. Court of Appeals. Elena Kagan, the U.S. solicitor general, Judge Sidney Thomas from the ninth U.S. court of appeals, and Judge Diane Wood from the seventh U.S. court of appeals.
Our Kate Bolduan tells us to explain and reminds us just how important this decision is.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Emily Haas, three years ago.
EMILY HAAS, VIRGINIA TECH SHOOTING VICTIM: I don't remember hearing him come in. He obviously came in and just started firing and --
BOLDUAN: Speaking just days after being shot twice in the Virginia Tech massacre, struck down with other students in her classroom.
E. HAAS: I had my eyes closed, so I didn't see anything. I didn't see him ever.
BOLDUAN: In the aftermath, Emily and her mother became champions for stricter gun control laws, joining the fight to support Washington, D.C.'s handgun ban, a landmark 2008 Supreme Court case. They were on the losing side of a close five-four ruling.
LORI HAAS, GUN CONTROL ADVOCATE: But for one vote, you know, the decision could have gone the other way.
BOLDUAN: Haas knows firsthand what is at stake with a high court vacancy, a justice who could cast the deciding vote.
L. HAAS: Laws have been in place that would prevent criminals and prevent domestic abusers, terrorists and others from getting guns. There would be many, many, many lives saved. I know it, you know? I've witnessed the pain that happens. And I've witnessed what happens when someone who shouldn't have a gun gets a gun.
BOLDUAN: And the reality, that real world impact means a fierce political battle ahead over whomever the president picks. Conservative groups are preparing a frontal assault on the likely left-leaning nominee.
CARRIE SEVERINO, JUDICIAL CRISIS NETWORK: I think people are worried that the president is going to appoint someone who will just be a reliable liberal vote, and in particular, who will be ready to rubber-stamp all of his policies.
BOLDUAN: But liberal groups seem concerned as well. They fear the nominee might not be liberal enough on issues like executive power.
VINCENT WARREN, CENTER FOR CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS: It's going to be a challenge for the Obama administration to appoint someone frankly that we think will do the right thing. The difficulty is that we will likely see judges that will be appointed as a question of political compromise.
BOLDUAN: One thing both sides agree on: the stakes, both political and personal, couldn't be higher.
L. HAAS: We know what happens. We've seen it. We live it. We live it every single day.
BOLDUAN (on camera): Government sources tell CNN, top Obama aides have been getting an earful from liberal activists who want to ensure a strong voice from the left is chosen not a so-called compromise choice to get a smoother Senate confirmation -- a confirmation the White House hopes wraps up by the August recess.
Kate Bolduan, CNN, at the Supreme Court.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Again, we were told on Friday by Robert Gibbs, the president spokesperson, that the announcement could be made at any moment. A lot of people speculating we could see that pick made on Monday or Tuesday. Certainly, when we find out, we'll let you know.
CAREY: Yes, we will.
Defense Secretary Robert Gates is waging a different kind of war: wasteful spending at the Pentagon. He outlined his plan at the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum yesterday. He wants to save at least $10 billion every year. He says this is necessary for U.S. combat operations to continue running smoothly. But in order for this to happen, he says that he's going to take aim at the top brass at the Pentagon.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, DEFENSE SECRETARY: The Department of Defense cannot go to America's elected representatives and ask for increases every year until we have done everything possible to make every dollar count, unless there's real reform in the way the Department of Defense does its business and spends taxpayer dollars.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CAREY: Wow. This plan is almost certain to stir some opposition there at the Pentagon and also in Congress.
HOLMES: Well, here on every CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING, we make it our goal to introduce you to a person we just think you should know. No matter who that is, not necessarily a famous person. Somebody you may never heard of, but somebody we think you should know about. And we've got one for you this morning.
There she is. We'll tell you her story and why Harvard is beating down her door. Stay with us for that.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CPT. CONNIE HUANG, U.S. ARMY: Hi. My name is Connie Huang from 515A (ph) in Shindad, Afghanistan. I'd like to wish my grandmothers a happy Mother's Day and my mom a happy birthday and happy Mother's Day. I love you all.
LT. COL. KEVIN YANDURA, U.S. ARMY: I'm Lt. Col. Kevin Yandura stationed with the 438th Air Expeditionary Wing in Kabul, Afghanistan. I want to wish my mother Judy Yandura in Joliet, Illinois, a happy Mother's Day. I love you and miss you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look now at some stories making headlines.
Twelve people dead, 80 others trapped, following a couple explosions at a coal mine in Russia. The second explosion happened as rescue operations are going on and that one trapped nearly two dozen of the rescuers.
Also in California, another bank going belly up. This is the First Pacific Bank of California. That's in San Diego. It was shut down yesterday. That makes it the 68th bank to fail in the nation this year, the fifth in California.
And four-term, or hoping to be a four-term senator, won't happen. This is Utah Republican Senator Robert Bennett we're talking about. He was eliminated yesterday at Utah's state convention. He came in third in the second round of convention ballots.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MELISSA DAWN JOHNSON, MORNING MOTIVATIONAL MINUTE: Good morning and welcome to another beautiful day. This is Melissa Dawn Johnson with your morning motivation.
Well, this week we are celebrating moms. We are in awe of you, how you juggle and multitask your family, work, and your community, it is absolutely amazing.
Well, we want to make sure we celebrate you. If you know someone who is a mom or if you're a mom yourself, definitely, make sure that you take the time to enjoy this day. It is a day set aside to celebrate you and all that you do. So, please, share with us your mom's story and how you're celebrating Mother's Day at brandmelive.com. And until next week, you know what to do, make every single day brand-tastic.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, I want you to meet somebody this morning. It's our goal here every CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING to introduce you to somebody, a person you should know. And 17-year-old Shante Butler is that. Somebody you should know.
She is a young lady that many would say has the odds stacked against her. She comes from a single-parent home where her mom has to work two jobs to make ends meet for her two kids.
Shante is attending a high school with an F rating. This is in Florida. They rate their schools and hers has an "F" rating. So, that's bad. That's also a school where the graduation rate is 69 percent, the percentage of kids from the school that go to college, just 35 percent.
She wants to go to college. So, what does she do? She applied to nine different schools. And she got in to all nine.
Not only that, she was offered scholarships to all nine. And among the nine schools: Yale, Harvard, Columbia, Dartmouth, Amherst -- just to name a few. She got a 4.0 grade point average, scored 2,200 out of 2,400 on the SAT. She's leaning towards going to Harvard and is going to pursue a career in medicine.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SHANTE BUTLER, ACCEPTED AT NINE ELITE COLLEGES: My mom really didn't have that much money to like go to me for college. I'm going to work hard. I'm going to try to get into this school. My mom doesn't have to struggle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And, again, 17-year-old Shante Butler, just somebody we thought you should know. Every weekend, it's our goal to -- right here -- to tell you about somebody just like that.
CAREY: I'm happy to fill in just for that.
HOLMES: Yes.
CAREY: Now I know here. Sanjay Gupta is next. But before we go, we want you to know our mothers. We want to wish them a happy Mother's Day.
(MUSIC)
