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CNN Sunday Morning
Floods Receding in Parts of Pakistan; Obamas Spending Time on Martha's Vineyard; Half A Billion Eggs Recalled
Aired August 22, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning.
The dire situation in Pakistan is actually worsening. The death toll has gone up again. We'll be live in Pakistan.
Also, to Martha's Vineyard where the president is vacationing. It's been called Obama mania -- the first family is there and they are creating quite a stir.
Hello to you all. From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Eight o'clock here on the east coast
Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could start your day right here with us.
Other things we're going to be keeping a close eye on today -- hold the eggs, or at least cook them and cook them well. Americans responding to the widening recall of eggs expected of being tainted with the salmonella virus. Some 550 million eggs now recalled, almost 2,000 people sick in a number of states. We'll keep this in perspective for you this morning as well.
Also, hours after issuing it, Sweden revokes the arrest warrant for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, from the accusation of rape. But the prosecutor says Assange is still under investigation on allegations of molestation. Assange calls the charges baseless. Retaliation for last month's release of sensitive U.S. military reports from the Afghan war, he says.
Also, a day after Iran fueling its first nuclear reactor today, the Islamic republic unveiled its first domestically built long-range military drone bomber. According to Iran's press TV, the remote- controlled unmanned aircraft is able to fly long distances at a high rate of speed.
We are keeping an eye on all of those things for you today.
Meanwhile, the historic floods starting to recede in parts of Pakistan, however, the suffering and the threat of disease remains for an estimated 12 million people.
Our Sara Sidner joins us from a refugee camp in Multan, Pakistan.
Sara, hello to you once again this morning. Disease now seems to be one of the biggest threats they're now facing. SARA SIDNER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is, of course. And there are still people cut off and there are still warnings in some areas where the water is getting high again and flooding into some villages because some of the dams that are made of dirt have caved in.
Now, what we are looking at here is the family, the Khan (ph) family, they traveled altogether on the back of the truck. They said they saved themselves. No one came to rescue them. But now, they can't get back to their land just yet because there is still flooding in the area.
However, what they do have is food and water. We just saw a group bring in some food. So, they've been able at least to feed themselves and feed their children.
But the big threat that everyone is worry about now in places where there are camps and places where people have actually been able to find some kind of shelter, is, of course, disease. As long as people have access to clean water, then that will lessen. But there are many, many people. The U.N. estimates about 4 million people who have not yet found shelter, and we are talking three weeks after the initial flooding -- T.J.
HOLMES: What is the pace now -- Sara, what is the pace now of the relief, also, of course, the international relief?
SIDNER: You're seeing a lot more of it, to be perfectly honest, in this area, as we mentioned in the last hour. There are several contingents from several, different countries, quite large ones -- the Japanese, the Australians and the UAE are all here.
You will hear -- that sound that you're hearing behind me is actually a call to prayer. So, it's prayer time. And one thing we should also mention is that this is the month of Ramadan, when people fast and do not have anything to drink all throughout the day until sunset.
But many of these families have sort of have been forced to break their religious tradition in order to keep themselves alive -- very, very hot conditions. People here are very agitated. But still, at least in this area, they have a roof over their heads and food and water in their hands -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Sara Sidner for us, from a refugee camp in Multan, Pakistan -- Sara, we appreciate you as always.
And a lot of people out there will certainly like to help out. You can go to our "Impact Your World" Web site. We've got details of the situation in Pakistan and direct links to a number of legitimate organizations working to help the flood victims there. Just go to CNN.com/Impact.
Also, a flooding situation happening in China as well today. Forecasters are predicting more rain there today. They are already inundated, as you're seeing some of these pictures from the flooding. The government has evacuated just about 100,000 people already, and many people live in the northern part of the country, near the Yalu River, has overflowed its banks.
China already recorded its worst flooding season in more than a decade. Landslides triggered by flooding in western China have killed more than 2,500 people.
Also, another weather situation that a lot of people are keeping an eye on, including our meteorologist, Reynolds Wolf -- this tropical depression.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HOLMES: I got to get these names right. Tropical depression six could get a name, though.
WOLF: That's right. It's going to be changing strength, and this, it will be changing these names going to, possibly Danielle. And it could actually happen later today.
The latest we have on the storm, or rather the system, it's moving off the African coast. You see it really getting kind of intense. You notice the areas that have read or purple, that indicates areas of deep convection -- there is a lot of it. That's a sign this thing is going to get a lot bigger.
Also, another sign that it may be getting bigger and stronger is what stands in its way. It's going to be very little. It's got very warm water ahead of it, which is actually a strengthened agent to these storms. Another thing, it has minimal shear.
Shear is strong upper level winds that can tear these things apart. It would, obviously, be very detrimental to the structure of this. There's minimal shear, warm water, this thing is going to get stronger. The question is: where is it going to go?
Well, the latest forecast we have from the National Hurricane Center indicates it's going to have more of a westerly move but then veering off to the Northwest, and it will be gaining some strength, becoming a named storm possibly by later this afternoon. And as we jump forward into Monday morning, then into Tuesday, going from a category 1 storm with winds of 65 or 75 miles per hour, and then as we get into Wednesday and Thursday, possibly a category 2 storm. Check it out, by Thursday morning, sustain winds of 100 miles per hour, gust though up to 120. That's the bad news.
Good news is that it is expected this time, the storm will not pose a threat to the United States, expected to pass just the east of Bermuda, away from the eastern seaboard. But remember, this is the time of year where things get pretty active. So, we might see more of these develop. We got a long way to go for hurricane season yet.
Storm season, we always got a few storms in parts of the Northeast. Certainly, in the empire of the state of New York, Syracuse, Schenectady, back to New York, showers are lifting up towards Boston. It's going to stick around for a good part of the day. Expect the rain drops to continue through much of the Southeast, dry and warm for you across the nation's midsections, scattered showers across parts of the four corners, and same deal for big sky country, dry out west, high temperatures mainly in the 60s. Very warm for you in parts of the southeast.
That is the latest on your forecast, T.J., let's kick it back to you.
HOLMES: Reynolds, how's the weather in the Vineyard right there now?
WOLF: It's going to be OK, looking at a few scattered showers out there this morning. But certainly not in the magnitude of what they've had in Tennessee or parts of Upstate New York, maybe a few raindrops, but it's going to OK.
HOLMES: OK. And I don't mention that because Reynolds and I are heading to Martha's Vineyard or anything show, that we have a house there. I mention that because the president and his family are taking a vacation there right now. Lots of stuff to do. But what is the town doing necessarily to receive the first family.
It's seven minutes past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. We're taking you live to Martha's Vineyard -- coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, nine minutes past the hour now.
And the nation's chief executive and first family kicking back on Martha's Vineyard right now. Pretty nice place apparently right now. The Blue Heron Farm, about 30 acres, has a pool, has a putting range, has a horse barn.
Joining us now is our Dan Lothian, our White House correspondent.
Dan, is the place you're being put up as nice as the place the president is staying right now?
DAN LOTHIAN, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: I only wish that we had that big farm with all of those amenities. You know, it's nice enough. I'm not going to complain about the place that we're staying. But we certainly are not getting the presidential treatment.
I'll tell you what, you know, people are excited to have the president here on the island, a little different than it was last year, more low key. I remember last year, he were driving around. There were large welcome signs in the yards of various residents around here; all the shops had signs as well. You don't see that so much this time around.
And it looks like not everyone appreciates the red-carpet treatment.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) LOTHIAN (voice-over): When President Obama and the first daughters paid a surprise visit to Vineyard Haven bookshop, the public swarmed to catch a glimpse, and a lucky few like Brandon Murphy (ph) who happened to be inside got a handshake and an autograph.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I was shaking most of the time. It was really cool. I was really nervous though.
LOTHIAN: The rare public appearance caused a stir -- and locked up traffic on the island's narrow streets.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm glad he's here. It's good for business. I don't like being stuck in traffic.
LOTHIAN: But her minor displeasure paled in comparison to the backlash caused by this sign at the local hotel -- that thanks the president for his accomplishments.
SUSAN GOLDSTEIN, OWNER, MANSION HOUSE: I was totally shocked. And I -- you know, for that kind of hatred to come in on your computer screen.
LOTHIAN: Susan Goldstein, who owns the Mansion House in Vineyard Haven, says ugly e-mails and blog postings started after a picture of her patriotic sign was posted online.
GOLDSTEIN: Pulled up together, whether, you know, the comment that was sort of anti-Semitic, anti-black, anti-elitists, anti- everything, and it's hard not to read it and go, eww, how did this filth get on my computer screen on my desk.
LOTHIAN: One posting read, quote, "For a black man, he sure does crave the approval of the richest and the whitest of the rich."
One town over at an (INAUDIBLE) ice cream shop, most people seem to appreciate this sign, welcoming the president -- but not everybody.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One of our workers, Molly, was saying that she -- that she was getting different dirty looks almost towards the sign.
LOTHIAN: So, the sign was moved.
Politics aside, business owners say the presidential vacation has one big upside.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's good for (INAUDIBLE). It's good for the economy, you know, at least from down here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LOTHIAN: Now, yesterday, the first family spent quite time on a private beach. They had a picnic there. The reporters have been told to gather for some movement by the president or the first family sometime this morning. We don't know where they are going, but we'll just have to wait and see, T.J. HOLMES: Gather for movement. That is a heck of a heads up that you all are getting there.
Do you get a sense as well here for me, Dan -- I mean, that's an island that's used to elite folks, rich and famous, even people just hanging out there -- still can they handle the president a little better than most places, or do they just look and, ah, there's another president going down the street?
LOTHIAN: No. You know, certainly, they can handle it more than other places because as you pointed, President Clinton spent quite sometime on this island and then President Obama was here last year. I think what sort of mutes some of the distraction that usually happens, like when President Clinton was here, he spent a lot of time going around town, a lot of movement I was pointed out.
The first family is a way out of town. They're on that big farm, when -- they don't venture into the public areas that often. So, some of those traffic problems that I was talking about doesn't happen every day. So, I think, overall, this island can really handle it.
HOLMES: All right. That's a good point to make there, Dan. It sounds like the president is really trying to get some alone time, some quite time out of the public eye. But let us know what happens this morning for that -- for that op you're told to stand by for.
Dan, good to see you as always, buddy. Thanks so much.
LOTHIAN: OK. Take care.
HOLMES: Well, 13 minutes past the hour now.
Coming up: somebody you have just got to hear about, a 3-year-old who did the saving instead of her father. Yes, you're going to see this little sprint that that little girl made to save her dad's life.
Stay here with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Fifteen minutes past the hour now.
You just got to know this little girl. A California toddler helped save her father. Three years old. And she knew exactly what to do when her father collapsed after taking some medication.
Jonas Tichenor of our CNN affiliate KOVR has her story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALESAUNDRA TAFOYA, 3-YEAR-OLD: That's Maunder (ph). That's Sebastian.
JONAS TICHENOR, KOVR REPORTER (voice-over): And this is the very simple world of a 3-year-old little girl.
FRANK TAFOYA, ALESAUNDRA'S FATHER: And she just talks, talks and talks.
A. TAFOYA: She's a mermaid. She has little flower on her hair.
TICHENOR: But what she did yesterday was very un-3-year-old like.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm very proud of her.
TICHENOR: When her dad Frank got some medication confused --
F. TAFOYA: I took medication that I was not supposed to at the time, it's like a bedtime dose, and I guess I collapsed.
TICHENOR: Alesaundra took action, heading out of the house on her own to get help.
F. TAFOYA: You show me, because I don't know which way you went.
A. TAFOYA: I went that way.
F. TAFOYA: That way?
TICHENOR: She re-walked the trip today, this time with her dad.
F. TAFOYA: This is dangerous, you know that, right?
TICHENOR: Nearly two blocks to fire station 243.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Hey, how are you doing?
A. TAFOYA: Hey, he is taking a picture of you. Say cheese.
CAPTAIN ROBERT VILLALOVOZ, MANTECA, CALIFORNIA FIRE DEPT: I've been here over 20 years. That's the first time I ever had a 3-year- old walk-up to the fire station.
TICHENOR: Captain Robert Villalovoz says Alesaundra was focused, and said her daddy was frozen and wouldn't wake up.
VILLALOVOZ: She walked us down to the house, you know, and there her dad was sitting in the living room needing medical care.
TICHENOR: Doctors say without that care -- Frank probably would have died.
F. TAFOYA: Thanks to you guys, I am doing good.
VILLALOVOZ: No, no thanks to me. Thanks to her.
F. TAFOYA: Thanks to her. Yes.
TICHENOR: So, just how did she know where to go? The family says they pass this fire station daily, pointing it out as a safe place and that firefighters are her friends.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: She's been listening. With what we've been teaching her, she's been listening, and that's really good.
TICHENOR (on camera): Manteca fire chief says that they intend to hold some kind of ceremony next week to honor Alesaundra Tafoya.
A. TAFOYA: What is this?
TICHENOR: That's a microphone.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, coming up here, it's a massive egg recall impacting a whole lot of folks right now. So, what is exactly at the heart of the problem? Well, the company is apparently a big part of the problem. We have those details.
Seventeen minutes past the hour. Stay here with us on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Nineteen minutes past the hour now.
We've been talking about this massive egg recall for sometime now. The nationwide impact of it has hit at least 14 states. Two major egg producers have recalled more than half a billion eggs, trying to stop the threat of salmonella poisoning. About 2,000 people reportedly have been sickened by these eggs.
But, now, the Agriculture Department has not traced the exact cause of the problem, but they have been traced back to a particular company or two. Again, half a million eggs is what we're talking about, that's how many eggs are being recalled
A new report says the egg producer at the center of this outbreak has a history of violations.
Josh is here now.
And, Josh, this is a long history, it appears.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It is. Yes, it goes back years and years.
There's a new report from "The Washington Post." I'll tell you, I have a map here of Galt, Iowa. This is where the city in which this area that we're talking about, and where you're going to be hearing more and more about Wright County Egg, which has a history of complaints, of various kinds, from throughout the years. It's run by the DeCoster family.
One of the 10 largest egg-producing operations in the country. Now, over the last, about 20 years, the DeCosters have faced a series of reprimand, penalties and complaints, targeting operations that they have going in several different states. It also has ties to Hillandale Farms, also in Iowa, which is another company involved in the recall. Now, it was in June that the DeCoster family paid a $34,000 fine for animal cruelty allegations at its 5 million-bird operation in Maine.
But some of the problems, "The Washington Post" reports, go all the way back to 1992. The state of Maryland filed a criminal complaint against a facility there for allegedly violating a salmonella quarantine order.
In 1996, the DeCoster paid $3.6 million for health and safety violations. And in 2002, OSHA, that's the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, fined DeCoster's main operation $345,000 for a list of alleged violations.
We reached out to the company. We'd love to hear from them -- didn't get a direct response, but the company spokeswoman told "The Washington Post": We are focusing on doing the right thing with the recall and our continued operation with -- cooperation with the FDA.
Now, all of this -- what does this mean to you? Well, if you're hitting a grocery, a few things that you should know. You're going to be hearing this a lot, write it down if you have to, you want to cook those eggs thoroughly. Also, something a lot of people aren't thinking about, make sure to wash carefully all your utensils that may have had contact with raw eggs. And no matter what it is that may have contacted the raw eggs, wash them all really well.
Also, err on the side of caution.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN HALLORAN, DIRECTOR, FOOD & PRODUCT SAFETY CAMPAIGN: If you have any doubt about the eggs in your refrigerator, you can bring them back for a refund if they are one of the brands listed in the recall. But as a general rule, if you hard boil them, you will kill any bacteria. So, if you have any doubt, hard boil the eggs.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. Now, let me read to you some of the brands involve here. It includes Albertson, Farm Fresh, JamesFarms, Glenview, Kemps, Mountain Dairy, Ralphs, Boomsma, Lund, and Pacific Coasta.
But you don't have to memorize everything on your screen right now. I'm going to show where we have posted everything for you. We've taken all the information we have. It's up on my Facebook right now, JoshLevsCNN. It's also on Twitter @JoshLevsCNN. And it's along with information from the government guidance about what you should do and continuously updated numbers and company names as this recall potentially expands.
So, T.J., we will keep those links updated all the time. Another on your page, too -- so people can check them anytime and get the latest information.
HOLMES: All right, Josh, important info, and thank you very much. Our Josh Levs.
Also, to a lot of folks, you've been hearing a lot about these numbers, these eggs -- salmonella sounds horrible. We need to give you some perspective here.
According to the egg industry, according to their estimates, there are 75 billion eggs produced every single year in this country. The recalled eggs, about 500 million. That means that that's less than 1 percent of the eggs produced in this country every year, less than 1 percent.
Now, for most healthy people out there, your risk is low. According to some doctors, you may get sick and not realize you have salmonella, a healthy person might just be able to fight this off. However, infants, older people, people with weak immune systems, they are more susceptible.
The symptoms you could possibly see -- fever, abdominal cramps, and diarrhea. The symptoms would start between 12 and 72 hours after you eat the contaminated food and the illness would last four days.
According to the CDC, about 400 people die from salmonella poisoning every single year, about 400 people. Right now, about 2,000 have been sickened in this egg recall. But, again, need to get some perspective there. Yes, 500 million eggs is a lot of eggs, but it accounts for just a small, less than 1 percent of all the eggs produced in this country every single year.
Coming up: do we have these pictures? Beijing is trying to kick a bad habit. Is that a good look?
A lot of people in China say it's not, and they are trying to do something about it. They are taking it quite seriously. We'll explain.
It's 24 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Twenty-five minutes past the hour now.
NASA is giving people an opportunity -- I just -- I know you're fascinated by this.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: We will explain what he has in his hand here in a second.
But NASA wants you to try to name that tune. It's a contest that lets you pick the songs it will use to wake up the astronauts on the last two shuttle missions. They have never done this before. Now, you can pick a song, but you can also write your own song. It needs to have some kin of a space theme. But they have a list of 40 songs that they've used before that you can choose from.
And the song, Reynolds, that gets the most votes will win. Give the people just a little taste of the list?
WOLF: There's "Beautiful Day" by U2. You've got "Get Ready" by the Temptations. "Free Fallin" by Tom Petty. I don't know if free falling is what you want to have --
HOLMES: You want to hear.
WOLF: -- if you happen to be an astronaut. But surprisingly enough, there's nothing on here by Fabulous Flash and Furious 5 or the Bad Boys.
HOLMES: You're not really interested?
WOLF: Not really. Not really.
HOLMES: Well, it's kind of cool. You know, we see these pictures every week -- well, during all the space missions, you hear the songs. Often times, I think the astronauts get to pick what song they want to wake up to.
WOLF: I think that's how it works. I think they have Lenny Kravitz's "Fly Away." That one works.
HOLMES: That's an obvious one.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: All right. There's the list.
Well, here's something else we can show you here. Some high school overachievers had a high school project that could change the world. They built an electric car from scratch. Check this thing out here.
WOLF: It's pretty much. You know, it's not just taking up space or anything like that, this car can actually move. And they may have actually set a world record for efficiency. This car, believe it or not, runs 300 miles to a gallon, or I guess the charge, and it can be plugged into any electrical outlet. They actually use a lightweight carbon fiber to put it together, with a help of an adult mentor.
HOLMES: OK. Is that why it needs to look like, that a lot of people describe this, it looks like Saran wrap over it when they first told about it. I see what they mean now.
WOLF: Yes, it's very lightweight. (INAUDIBLE) looking, isn't it?
HOLMES: A little bit. But, you can change the world, like they said. These kids said they wanted to actually be basketball players, pro ball players, before they did this project. Now, they want to be engineers. That could probably make them richer than being a pro ball player.
WOLF: Longer career, too.
HOLMES: Yes. All right. Now, to China. This is great. How hot has been in China lately?
WOLF: It's extremely high. It's crazy hot.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: It depends on where you happen to be, the parts that have really extreme heat this summer, no question about.
HOLMES: OK. This is their solution to the extreme heat Reynolds is telling you about. Men are going with this look.
WOLF: Wow.
HOLMES: Now, men of all shapes and sizes are rolling up their shirts, they are not trying to necessarily make a fashion statement, they are literally hot -- and a lot of people are taking this seriously and saying this is not a good look, you shouldn't do it. They are actually calling this rude and trying to find a way to cut down on this.
But again, it's a lot of older men who do this. They don't care what you think what they look like, they just -- they are saying, Reynolds, that this keeps them from having to expose their whole bodies instead of being embarrassed to take off your whole shirt, just do that.
WOLF: You know, when they say it's rude, is it because they don't take that extra step, they don't have the belly button piercing? Isn't it because they don't have -- do they want to see more or is it because --
HOLMES: Yes, I think they want to see less.
WOLF: I think they want to see probably less. Yes, it's kind of a weird thing. I haven't seen that happen in the U.S. But, I mean, you know, you go to certain places, and you're going to see, you know, the midriffs, the cut, and just -- it's good for some people, like there are some people though who should be wearing spandex and some who should not, and you just have to have that inner voice that speaks to you and tells you, don't do this.
HOLMES: Yes, they don't have it in China, a lot of people don't. But just a few things we want to bring to you.
A quick break, Reynolds and I are right back.
WOLF: Spandex is never a good look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And welcome back to the CNN SUNDAY MORNING bottom of the hour here now. Here's what we're keeping an eye on -- a lot of people keeping an eye on tropical depression six, it's expected to get a name soon, tropical storm Danielle, sometime later today and possibly to become a hurricane sometime this week. If it becomes a hurricane, our Reynolds Wolf said it probably won't hit the U.S. but it'll just swerve towards Bermuda. We'll keep a close eye.
Also a U.S. soldier killed this morning in Iraq. He is the first American casualty we've seen there since the last U.S. combat brigade left the country. We saw that happened last week. Police also say four roadside bombs exploded in various Baghdad neighborhoods this morning, nine people were wounded.
Also Iran, unveiling its newest weapon, its first long range drone; these drones are capable of carrying out bombing missions against ground targets and flying distances at very high speeds.
Well, in our "Faces of Faith" segment this morning, the dispute over that Islamic center and mosque near New York's Ground Zero is heating up once again. A group opposed to the development is holding a protest at the site beginning at 11:00 a.m. Eastern today.
They call themselves the Coalition to Honor Ground Zero. They will have a group of construction workers who plan to take what they're calling a hard-hat pledge not to work on that center.
CNN's Susan Candiotti already has an idea about what some construction workers are saying about work on that controversial project. Here is what she learned in a visit to the site.
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Let's set the scene for you. About halfway down the block, that is the site of the proposed center. You see that sign that says "Dakota Road Health" just in front of it is where the proposed Islamic center would go as well as a mosque.
But if you walk to the end of this block and look over my shoulder about two blocks away down here, down the corner careful of traffic here, you see all of those cranes down there? That is Ground Zero.
Again, two blocks from where we are standing. Back here, we're going to show you we're going in the site of this Islamic center. And we can tell you that earlier this day it was pretty busy there, because there was a small of demonstrators that were demonstrating in favor of this proposal and in favor they said (INAUDIBLE) for a religious freedom.
Now many people might not know this, but for a very long time there has been no problem in this neighborhood, while people have actually been worshipping inside that site. And it was especially busy today as we said because it is Friday and it is the holy month of Ramadan.
However, a lot of construction workers that we spoke with do not like the idea of working at that site if a union job was offered. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE) UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As far as I'm concerned, it's not American to do that, plain and simple.
CANDIOTTI: Not American.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's right, that's right, that's right. Wrong place, someplace else. I wouldn't work on that job.
CANDIOTTI: Why not?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The obvious reason. Ground Zero and what happened -- plain and simple.
CANDIOTTI: Did you know -- I don't know whether you are aware that they already use it as a mosque. Did you know that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All I know, you ask me a question, and I won't work on it, period.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I disagree we would -- with the Islamic center in here, I disagree, totally disagree.
CANDIOTTI: Why is that?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Because they don't like American people. That's why I disagree.
CANDIOTT: They don't like American people?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: They don't like us.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And just the killing on the site, nobody going to take a job over there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CANDIOTTI: Now continuing with of course, our unscientific survey, we also talked to someone -- a union worker who said he has no issue, he said -- to work on the site. He said jobs are kind of tight right now, and if he was offered one he would take it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CANDIOTTI: With all the controversy --
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
CANDIOTTI: -- would you consider taking a job if that place is built.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I would take a job, because I think it is the freedom of everybody. It's a freedom, I mean, everybody out has their own religion.
(END VIDEO CLIP) CANDIOTTI: And I made a number of phone calls to various union halls, including the Sheet (ph) metal workers and electrical union and the labor councils but we got no comment in fact, not one person, not one union leader would even come to the phone to talk about it.
In fact, one person who really did not want to be identified said we're not going to make a public comment until we absolutely have to.
HOLMES: Well, that graphic, that music means one thing. It must be time for Carl Azuz of CNN Student News who is here with me once again. Always good to have you here.
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS: Thank you T.J.
HOLMES: A lot of people have been talking about this all week. We shouldn't be surprise that Susan is talking about it too.
AZUZ: We shouldn't at all. You know one thing I want to point out is that this age group at CNN Student News, we target primarily middle and high school students. So you're looking at an audience that's between roughly between 11 and 18 years old. And we were kind of curious as to whether or not that might affect their opinions on this because the oldest members of our audience we're nine when Ground Zero became Ground Zero.
The answer is I don't know.
HOLMES: Well.
AZUZ: They are so deeply divided on this. You can see from this quick poll just over half oppose it, 43 percent support the Islamic Center/Mosque near Ground Zero, and five percent undecided. That was trending negative, because at one point last week, it was a dead heat; 50/50 nobody undecided, first time I've ever seen that at CNN Student News.
HOLMES: Now and the other numbers as you compare those to the numbers we are getting of the adults surveys.
AZUZ: Yes.
HOLMES: And we had a CNN survey that said 68 percent were opposed and another "Time" magazine survey came out that said 61 percent were opposed, but the student numbers are little lower. Maybe the students are more open-minded. Are they -- that the thing that they are -- at least engaged?
AZUZ: Well, they are definitely engaged. That I can tell you for certain and you could tell by these comments. We've got -- starting with this one from Keith (ph) exactly how deeply they are thinking about this issue.
Let's start off, and go ahead and show this, Keith says the mosque should be permitted to be built. He's saying, "Islam didn't attack, terrorists did. It's unfair to connect religion with terrorism." But the other side of that comes from Luke, and this was on our Facebook site, and Luke's saying "It's not about tolerance and religious freedom, it's about respect to those affected on 9/11". He goes on to say, "It's true, not every Muslim is a terrorists, but those who carried out 9/11 were." And he's saying, "that thousands of families were devastated" as a result.
Two more quick comments for you. One from Shehla who says she is a Muslim, she thinks the right exists, even though she says it might be a bit tactless.
And then the last comment from Cade, invoking President Obama's campaign slogan, "Yes we can", but he asked should we.
Wow, so I think -- honestly T.J. I think the take away from this is that student are as divided and their opinions on this as many adults we've seen, but their answers do seem to reflect the polls of many Americans who say yes, the right does exist, but most have said the right does exist but most students are saying it's not the right thing to do.
HOLMES: Now do we see or did you see a lot of passion in the responses?
AZUZ: Absolutely.
HOLMES: At to some point it has been -- a bit vitriolic, a nasty back and forth in this debate we're seeing. Did the students even reflect some of that debate we've been seeing in the country?
AZUZ: I think to some extent you always going to see them reflect --
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: -- a little bit of what the adults say, because a lot them hear from the parents --
HOLMES: Yes.
AZUZ: -- and you will hear those kinds of undercurrents of tension, but overall I mean, you're looking at a passion in a group of young people and their responses are in line with that passion.
HOLMES: Where can see more of this if people want to read more of this.
AZUZ: CNNStudentNews.com is the place to go to check out more information from us and I will continue to have coverage throughout the week on HLN online and on iTunes.
HOLMES: Carl, always good to see you buddy. And always good to hear from these students. Some very smart group of viewers you got.
AZUZ: Thank you sir. I'll bring you the best.
HOLMES: All right, I appreciate you buddy and good to see you as always.
AZUZ: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, coming up, a controversial new documentary may get people asking questions about a death in Afghanistan. We're talking about an NFL star turned soldier, Pat Tillman, a sneak peak for you coming up.
It's 40 minutes past the hour.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, about 43 minutes past the hour. It is that time for us to check in with Candy Crowley, where we serve here proudly on CNN SUNDAY MORNING as the warm-up act to "STATE OF THE UNION."
Candy, always good to see you. It was an interesting week last week. And a lot of people couldn't figure out what to make of it. Was it history? Was it a moment of occasion? Should we celebrate these troop drawdown? What does Washington -- what do we make of -- we're going to the politics in a second.
But what should we necessarily take out of the last combat brigade coming out of Iraq?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": We should remember that there are still troops quite capable of combat in Iraq, 50,000 of them, as a matter of fact, as of September 1st.
So it is still a dangerous place, it is still a dangerous place for those troops. However, the movement for U.S. forces is out. So there has been a drawdown, as they say, of about 90,000 troops since the President took office. It was one of his campaign promises.
So yes, it's -- its movement. It is a marker in history. I wouldn't say it's history, but it's a, you know, so let's turn the page and see where we go next.
HOLMES: Where will we go next? We're a few months away from the midterms; is this one of those things? I mean, the President -- I'm sure he has -- has a list, he knows the things he can point as successes. Maybe he will, maybe he won't point to the stimulus; maybe he will, maybe he won't point to the health care bill passing, and some of those marginal popularity out there.
But is this one he'll be able to point and say, hey I did what I said I was going to do?
CROWLEY: This will be very popular. And I tell you the President and the vice president are expected next week to give speeches about Iraq, and in general Afghanistan perhaps a little bit, but certainly to kind of mark the occasion, the September 1st occasion on the drawdown of 40,000 troops in Iraq. It's a good thing for his base because honestly what fueled President Obama's campaign really was his stance against the war. It's hard to remember, but when we started out, the 2008 campaign in 2006, believe it or not, he was a very anti-war candidate -- not Hillary Clinton -- and that really sort of fueled his campaign, because that's the first kind of core that came to him for the anti- war voters. So it's a big moment for him.
It's something that he can say, "And by the way, I am drawing down this war which is still very unpopular now across the board in the country.
HOLMES: At the same time, a fine line he has to walk here and make sure it's not his mission accomplished moment.
CROWLEY: Sure, because as what we talk about, 50,000 U.S. troops are still there. One U.S. soldier was killed in Iraq today. So the danger's not gone. It's a fragile place. They don't have a government yet. It's been five months since their elections, there's still not a government -- a coalition government put together. Iraq is still on the ledge.
And there is no declaring victory, perhaps, you know, for a decade or more, and certainly no saying that U.S. troops are out of danger, because they are not. And the President has said that, in fact, when he marked this week in one fund-raiser he went to. He talked about it. And he did mark that it's not sadly, not the end of combat.
But at this point U.S. troops are not the aggressors and not going into combat, but it's not as though since they are training Iraqi soldiers and security forces, they certainly will be in harm's way, and they're going to shoot back if shot at.
HOLMES: How are you going to take this on? How are you going to get at it today on your show coming up in just 13, 14 minutes?
CROWLEY: First, we spoke with General Odierno who is the commanding -- the commander in Iraq, we spoke to him from Baghdad. And then we're going to have three people that really were really intimately involved in the Iraq war over various times: General Richard Meyers who is head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during the Bush administration; we also have the former CentCom commander, William Falen; and then we have the former ambassador to Iraq and Afghanistan so they can try to put some perspective on it and move us forward with what's going to happen next in Iraq.
HOLMES: Candy, always good to see you and always good to see you on "STATE OF THE UNION". You have a good show, a good rest of the Sunday. We'll talk to you soon.
CROWLEY: Of course. Thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you. To all of you, "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley coming your way in just about 13 minutes, 9:00 Eastern time and 6:00 Pacific, right here on CNN.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: All right. Danielle is her name --
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HOLMES: Potentially.
WOLF: Kind of weird.
(INAUDIBLE) You hear these names, and you never know, could this be the next Katrina? You never know. You never know at all.
This one, probably not. It looks like it's going to be strong. It's going to be at least a minimal hurricane but it should remain out to sea for the time being.
HOLMES: So it could get strong, but who cares if it's not hitting land.
(CROSS TALK)
WOLF: Let it be (INAUDIBLE) -- we love those kinds of storms. They're best when they're out of harm's way. It looks like that one, that's -- I may actually point out with this particular storm -- and here it is. Actually it's kind of hard to see despite the red box that we have got, it's kind of crowded around. You can see, here is a pink and actually purple and even some red. That indicates spots where we have deep convection. This is an assembly line of storms, this time of year and this particular one is expected to gain some strength and if it does, guess what folks? It's going to become a named. As T.J. mentioned, Danielle -- it could be Danielle by later on today as a tropical storm when winds exceed 39 miles per hour.
Then once it hits above 74 it's no longer a tropical storm, it is a hurricane. This one will be a hurricane -- should be at that point, I'd say by sometime on Tuesday, and then by Wednesday a category 2 hurricane, and then with winds of 100 miles per hour with gusts 120.
The cool thing about this, it is expected -- at least according to this forecast -- it may possibly, it would follow this line, actually move a little bit to the east of Bermuda. However, If you look at the cone of probability, there is a chance the storm could veer off a little bit more to the south and perhaps more to the north. Right now it does not pose a threat to the United States, but these things, of course, could change. We are watching for you very carefully.
Something else here we're watching will be the chance of some strong storms developing across parts of the northeast. Flooding is a possibility especially in places with poor draining in New York, back into Massachusetts, perhaps even Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine before all is said and done.
Scattered showers and storms possible across parts of the southeast, out towards the west in the Central Plains; it should be dry but at the same time very warm; 105 in Dallas, 99 in Houston, 92 in Kansas City, and 94 in Denver as we wrap things up. Triple digits in Las Vegas and Phoenix, 63 in San Francisco, 63 in Seattle, out by the Space Needle.
All right. T.J., you are up to speed, let's send it back to you.
HOLMES: Kind sir. We do appreciate you as always. Reynolds thanks so much.
Well, he was one of the most celebrated soldiers in Afghanistan. But NFL player, Pat Tillman did not make it back home. He is now the subject of a documentary that digs deep into the military's handling of his death.
Entertainment reporter, Brooke Anderson talked with the filmmaker and Tillman's family.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BROOKE ANDERSON, CNN ENTERTAINMENT REPORTER: He was known as the military's most famous enlisted man. On the Afghan battlefield, Pat Tillman became the war's most famous casualty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Pat Tillman, who gave up a multimillion dollar contract in professional football, has been killed.
ANDERSON: Now, a new documentary could reignite the controversy over his death.
It's directed by Amir Bar-Lev.
AMIR BAR-LEV, DIRECTOR, "THE TILLMAN STORY": Audiences are going to be shocked at how criminally negligent the killing itself was, and also how boldly, shamelessly government officials lied about the case to the present day.
ANDERSON: A sense of patriotic duty inspired Tillman to leave the NFL and join the army after the attacks of 9/11. He met his death in April 2004 in the mountains of eastern Afghanistan.
At first, the military told the country and Tillman's family that he was killed by enemy fighters as he rushed to protect his comrades from an ambush. Those nearest Tillman when he fell seriously doubted that account.
RUSSELL BAER, FORMER ARMY RANGER: I was about 30 feet to the rear of his position. I was 99 percent sure that combat fire did not kill Pat.
ANDERSON: General Stanley McChrystal, later promoted by President Obama to command the war in Afghanistan, approved a Silver Star Commendation for Tillman which stressed his death at enemy hands. At the same time he sent a secret memo alerting then Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and others the incident might well be a case of fratricide and that embarrassment could result if the word got out.
Tillman's mother told CNN's Larry King, the memo points to one conclusion.
MARY TILLMAN, PAT TILLMAN'S MOTHER: This was an orchestrated cover-up.
ANDERSON: The film asserts the cover-up didn't end there. It suggests once the truth of the fratricide come out, the top brass scapegoated a lower-ranking general for the earlier misinformation and it claims Tillman's shooting was never adequately investigated, leaving his parents to wonder if his killing may have been deliberate.
TILLMAN: We feel that there could have been something else that happened to Pat, but we cannot prove it. Every bit of evidence has been destroyed.
ANDERSON: That possible evidence includes Tillman's body armor and uniform which were burned. And his war time diary which disappeared.
General McChrystal, who was relieved by President Obama in June for unrelated reasons, previously apologized for the misleading wording in Tillman's Silver Star Commendation, but he has denied taking part in any cover-up.
Former Defense Secretary Rumsfeld declined comment on the documentary, but he testified before Congress in 2007 that he did not recall receiving McChrystal's memo about Tillman and friendly fire.
And finally the army provided a statement to CNN which reads in part, "The army truly regrets the pain and suffering endured by the Tillman family as a result of this tragic friendly fire accident and the short falls in reporting accurate information to them in the days and weeks after Pat's death."
It blamed the matter on the failures of a few.
Brooke Anderson, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, we are just a few minutes away from Candy Crowley. A quick break and then give you a check of the top stories. We're right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: "STATE OF THE UNION" with Candy Crowley coming your way in just one minute.
Let me give you a quick check of some of the stories that are making headlines though.
The eggs -- hold the eggs, cook the eggs -- do something with the eggs, at least half a billion of them that have been recalled because of possible salmonella contamination. Two thousand people have gotten sick but we still need to keep this in perspective. That 500 million accounts for only less than 1 percent of all the eggs produced in this country every single year.
Also in Sweden, hours after issuing it, Sweden now revoking the warrant for WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange and the accusation of rape. But prosecutors say Assange is still under investigation on the allegations of molestation. Assange calls the charges baseless in retaliation for last month's release of sensitive military reports from the Afghan war.
Coming up, like I said in just a moment, our Candy Crowley; coming your way and going to be talking a lot about Iraq. Thanks for being here with me on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Candy right now.
