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CNN Sunday Morning
American Hiker to Be Released; Tea Party Activists Rally
Aired September 12, 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.
We have seen the pictures for the past several days. A massive gas line ruptures and an entire neighborhood goes up in flames in California. But a lot of people are asking: how could it happen there? But also, could it happen in your neighborhood? We are tracking gas lines across America.
Plus, we take a live picture this morning at the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C. Tea Party activist are going to be gathering here shortly for another large rally. We'll explain what they are talking about today.
From the CNN Center, this is your CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Eight a.m. where I sit here in Atlanta, Georgia; 7:00 a.m. in Houston, Texas; 5:00 a.m. out in San Bruno, California -- wherever you are, I'm glad you are right here with me.
I do want to start with new developments we are now getting about one of three hikers. American hiker has been held in prison in Iran for the past year. Her name is Sarah Shourd. She has been held with two of her friends for the past year. They are accused of going across the border into Iran. They've been held, possibly charged with espionage.
Well, the back-and-forth has been going on. We thought she might be released today. But we're getting an update from her attorney that, in fact, everything is now in place and she could be released as early as today or tomorrow.
Our Reza Sayah has been following this story. He's in Islamabad for us.
Reza, help me, first of all, set this up for our viewers -- just how much back-and-forth we've been having for the past couple of days? We thought she could be released, and Iran said she wasn't. And now, it looks like things were in place for her to get out of there.
It looks like Reza is not seeing -- or hearing me rather. We could see him. We'll continue to work on possibly getting him back up.
But let me go back. Sarah Shourd is her name. This young lady, a year ago, along with two friends, accused of trying to spy, accused of being spies and crossing the border into Iran. They have been held.
Well, we got word late last week that, in fact, something was in place -- a deal was in place that was going to allow her to have a conditional release, just her. We got that word late last week and we thought she was going to be released on Saturday. Then, Iran came back and said, whoa, whoa, whoa, things are not in place, the judicial process has not played itself out, she will not be released.
Well, that brings us to this morning, and word that she would be released if $500,000 in bail was paid. That is where we are now.
And now, new information we're just getting from the attorney for these hikers who was able to meet with the three today for the first time, saying that the three appear to be doing well, and right now, everything is in place for Sarah Shourd to be released as soon as the money is paid. The money we're talking about here is significant, $500,000. It's being called bail money, but, of course, once that is paid, she would be released, go back to the United States, that money, for the most part, would be forfeited even if they did want to try her. But she would be out of there.
However, the fate of her two friends still up in the air. It appears they would be charged still and still be held in prison and don't know what would come of them.
I believe -- I was just told -- our Reza Sayah is back up and can hear me now.
Reza, T.J., once again -- I've been trying to give kind of the background here about the back-and-forth we've been seeing over the last couple days. But this is significant that the attorney was able to go meet with these three. And at this point, Reza, it sounds like everything is in place, we're just waiting for money to change hands?
REZA SAYAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, and, T.J., what's remarkable is that this is the first time the lawyer representing these hikers have met them since they were arrested back in July in 2009. For 13 months, he hasn't been able to meet his clients.
But, again, I just spoke with him about an hour ago, and he said he met them. It's Tehran's Evin Prison. He said the hikers were all doing well and he said Sarah Shourd was happy with the news, but her wish is for all three of these hikers to be released together.
Here's how the process is going to work according to the lawyer. The family is going to deliver the money, at some point, to the Swiss embassy in Tehran. The Swiss embassy is then going to transfer the money to Iran's judiciary, and then Sarah Shourd is going to be released. The lawyer is guessing this is going to happen sometime within the next 24 hours.
As far as the other two hikers go, Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal, Tehran's prosecutor today in a news conference told reporters that they're not going anywhere. They're going to remain behind bars, and they're still being investigated for spying when they were arrested, of course, last July. They allegedly crossed into Iranian territory when they were hiking along the Iran/Iraq border.
So, T.J., the ordeal is far from over for Shane Bauer and Joshua Fattal. But good news for Sarah Shroud's family, if they can come up with this half a million dollars.
HOLMES: Yes. Do we know how the process necessarily works, Reza, of getting the money to the Iranian officials? And also, do we know where the money might come from? That's a significant amount to come up with.
SAYAH: Yes. I don't think that there is any doubt that this family is somehow going to come up with this money. I think the family itself, they are going to contribute some of the money. I would not be surprised if human rights groups make some contributions.
And, again, at some point, once they have that money, they're going to transfer it to the Swiss embassy. Remember, Iran and the U.S., they don't have diplomatic relations, so it's the Swiss embassy, Swiss officials, that play the role of mediator in situations like this.
Once the Swiss embassy has the money, they'll transfer it over to the judiciary. And remember, technically, this is bail money. And if she wants this money back, she's going to have to come back to Iran and face trial. It's unlikely that's ever going to happen.
Remember, in past years, when foreigners have been arrested, they had posted bail money. They had left the country and they never come back, essentially forgoing that money. It's very likely that's what's going to happen here. She'll never see the money and she probably won't have to return to Iran again either.
HOLMES: All right. Reza, who's been on this story for us and these past-moving developments -- Reza, we appreciate you.
And again, to the viewers, the word is for the attorney for the hikers that possibly Sarah Shourd could be released today or tomorrow. We will be following that story closely.
I want to give you a look at some other stories we are keeping a close eye on, including in Kentucky. That story out of southeastern Kentucky, a rural part of the state, where police say a man shot and killed his wife, step son and three others before turning the gun on himself. The shootings happened around noon yesterday in a trailer park south of Lexington. Police are calling this a domestic dispute. The "A.P." reporting witnesses say the man was enraged over the way his wife cooked his eggs.
In San Bruno, California, now -- federal investigators are focusing on a decade's old natural gas pipe that's maybe the cause of Thursday's devastating blast and fire that killed four people. Six are still missing. The investigation could take months. Also, dozens of homes were destroyed in that fire.
Also, from the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico to the center of a federal investigation, there it is on the barge, that orange monstrosity you see there in the middle of that barge, that is the busted blowout preventer that didn't prevent a blowout in the BP oil disaster. It's now on the hands of investigators in New Orleans as they try to determine why it failed and when it failed. Of course, as you know, it allowed millions of gallons of crude oil to gush into the Gulf of Mexico.
We are keeping a close eye -- when I say "we," I mean Reynolds keeping a close eye on Igor. It is intensifying. It is officially a hurricane. It's a category one, no? But that's going to go up.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: OK. Just turn that on for me there, buddy. That would be off. Yes, on. But it's tricky, I know.
WOLF: These things work so much better when they're on. Shocker, I know.
Yes, you're seeing it right here. We're talking about these storms. You know, they are so far out there that we need actually more than just one map to take a look at them. There are really three different things we're keeping an eye on.
One would be this way that is off the coast of Africa. That's number one.
Two would be this one. This is the named storm. This is Igor.
And then the third system that we're following is actually this one over here in the Caribbean, the western Caribbean -- this cluster of showers that's developing south of the Dominican Republic. This could possibly be a named storm, maybe later this coming week.
So, really, three areas of concern for us. The biggest and baddest would be Igor. Igor at this time, sustained winds of 75 miles per hour. It's category one hurricane.
But as T.J. mentioned, it is expected to transform, develop into something bigger. It's going to move into an area with very little shear, very warm water, which will help this thing develop into a bigger storm. Possibly a major hurricane, and possibly intensify rapidly. In fact, as we fast-forward from Monday all the way into Wednesday, there's a chance it could be a category 4 hurricane with winds possibly up to 135, the gusts approaching 160.
Keep in mind, though, there's a whole lot that may change over the next couple days. So, we're going to keep an eye on it. Thankfully, though, at this point, it doesn't look like it's going to interact with the U.S. at least for the next, say, four days or so, possibly even five days.
Meanwhile, we're also watching some showers and storms develop possibly across parts of the Eastern Seaboard, all due to this area of low pressure right behind it. Right below, you got a stationary front and a dividing line is where we might see some action, especially by the afternoon hours, along the I-10 corridor, could have some thunderstorms.
And as we wrap things up out west, I wish I could see we would see storm and rain for Colorado. That will not be the case. High pressure is going to keep things dry. Thankfully, though, the wind will not be quite that strong.
That is a quick look at your forecast, wrapping it up and sending it back to you, T.J.
HOLMES: Reynolds, kind sir, we appreciate you.
WOLF: You bet.
HOLMES: We'll chat with you here again shortly.
We'll turn to Washington now where organizers expect a huge crowd of Tea Party activist to descend on Washington today for a political protest and rally -- kind of like the one you might remember they had just a year ago. But this year, it's a little different. Yes, they are still calling on limited government, but we've got midterm elections just a couple of months away. How much weight, political weight, does a Tea Party are going to be carrying with them.
Our Kate Bolduan has more from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GENA BELL, TEA PARTY ACTIVIST: I'll be a captain at station 23.
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Until last year, Gena Bell of Cincinnati, Ohio, was apolitical.
BELL: I was always conservative in my nature, never did a thing, never made a phone call, never went door-to-door until the 2008 election.
BOLDUAN: Now, she's a Tea Party leader in Cincinnati, Ohio. Bell and fellow activists from across the country are converging on Washington as they did last year --
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Can you hear us now?
BOLDUAN: -- to rally against big government and for fiscal responsibility.
(on camera): What is your goal? What is your hope for this year's 9/12 rally?
BELL: To motivate people right before the midterm election. The rallies are always great to get people energized and so, just to build off of that energy, go back, and get involved with some campaigns that will make a difference.
BOLDUAN (voice-over): And it is a different political climate. Look no further than the string of victories by Tea Party-endorsed candidates in congressional primaries from Kentucky to Nevada to Alaska.
MATT KIBBE, PRESIDENT, FREEDOMWORKS: I think there is a lot of political power in this decentralized movement. And you don't -- you don't need a lot of money, you don't need the endorsement of the national party because if you're on the ground, getting out the vote, talking to your neighbors, that results in victories.
BOLDUAN: Matt Kibbe is the president of FreedomWorks, the conservative Washington think tank organizing the weekend rally.
(on camera): We were here one year ago, almost to the day, what has changed within the movement? What has changed since last year as we approach 9/12 again?
KIBBE: You know, 9/12 last year was kind of a coming out party. It's the first time everybody got together in one place at one time. This year, the Tea Party movement is far more sophisticated, far more developed, and it's probably tenfold bigger.
BOLDUAN: When the rally ends, the rubber meets the road in just over 50 days. The first major election since the Tea Party movement came into its own.
But Kibbe says that's nowhere near the end.
KIBBE: The real test for the Tea Party is not November 2nd, it's November 3rd.
We're going to have this new generation of political leaders that have come in on the Tea Party wave and then the question on November 3rd is: are they actually going to govern as fiscal responsible politicians?
BOLDUAN: And that's one theme in this stubbornly decentralized movement both leaders and the boots on the ground agree on.
BELL: We're going to be watching. We're not walking away and we're not going back to our TVs, you know, and we're going to be there.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
BOLDUAN: We're going to be there -- that's the big message of the day. And the day's events begin in just a couple of hours with -- this morning, with a nondenominational service at the Washington Monument. And then, the big rally is scheduled to kickoff at 2:00 this afternoon Eastern, of course, at the Capitol, following a march down Pennsylvania Avenue, like last year.
But one complicating factor, it is forecast to rain at least for a part of the day. We'll see how that impacts the festivities. But as you see from the Tea Party activist that we spoke to yesterday, they're -- she is very motivated and she'll turn out rain or shine. So, we'll see, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, we'll see if you will. BOLDUAN: I will be there as well.
HOLMES: All right, Kate, good to see you, as always. Thank you so much.
Speaking of Washington, we'll tell you what's ahead for the president this week -- as always, a busy week.
This is his schedule: Tomorrow, he meets with his national security team on Afghanistan and Pakistan. And then in the afternoon, he'll honor championship teams and student athletes from across the NCAA, with the reception at the White House.
Tuesday, he'll deliver his back-to-school speech in Philadelphia, at a National Blue Ribbon School.
In Wednesday, he and the first lady attend the Congressional Hispanic Caucus gala in the nation's capital.
Thursday, the president goes to Connecticut for a Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Richard Blumenthal and the Democratic National Committee.
Then, Friday, the president attends meetings at the White House.
Well, a lot of people are asking just how safe is your neighborhood? A lot of people wondering after last week's gas explosion and fire in California. We're going to be taking a closer look at the massive gas pipeline network that is crisscrossing the U.S. and possibly going right under your house.
It's 14 minutes past the hour. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Seventeen minutes past the hour now. That tragic gas explosion in San Bruno, California, putting a spotlight now on the underground and massive network of pipelines that transport gas and other hazardous liquids all over this country.
Josh Levs is here to give us a look.
Probably, Josh, most people don't have any idea of how much this is crisscrossing around the country.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: No, we don't. I mean, I am showing you -- I'm about to show you a map that really makes it stark.
Let's take a look at this right here. It's going to show all these blue lines right here are interstate pipelines in this country. Let's zoom way in. And everywhere you are seeing a blue line is the interstate pipeline. Everywhere you're seeing a red line is the intrastate pipeline that on the state. And you can see a lot of those here in Texas, Oklahoma.
But all over the country, you have this massive network of all these pipelines, some of which are transporting what's called hazardous liquid, others are carrying natural gas.
Let me see if I can get over to this now. I should be able to show you some of the basic statistics here about pipelines in the U.S. I want you to see this.
Here you go. Pipelines in the U.S., a total of 2.5 million miles of this, it would be enough to circle the earth 100 times -- all of it underneath our country, onshore and offshore. And that's how much it totals.
Now, here is a breakdown. The amount carrying hazardous liquid, 1.7 -- rather 175,000 miles of that; gas transmission, 320,000 miles of that -- 321,000; and 2.1 million miles, including these mains and the service pipelines, natural gas distribution.
One more thing to understand, because we're taking a look at how big this is. Who's overseeing it? Well, look here. This is all from the Department of Transportation, pointing out 3,000 different companies oversee this. So, it's a huge network of companies as well that are involved in these pipelines. And as we saw here, sometimes can lead to tragedy.
Let's take a look at some of these iReporter videos we've been getting. Our iReports have been doing a really good job for us. And I want to emphasize that these taken safely. We talked to iReporters before we show them and we make sure they didn't go to any danger in taking these.
Now, the Congressional Research Service has taken a look at natural gas pipelines in this country and put together a report not long ago that says releases from pipelines caused few annual fatalities compared to other product transportation modes. Companies that operate natural gas transmission pipelines reported an average of one death per year from 2004 to 2008.
And the Department of Transportation noted 63 natural gas pipeline accidents in 2008.
So, compared to the huge numbers I'm showing you, right, 2.5 million miles, obviously, it's not like these kinds of tragedies are happening all the time.
That said, we have more and more lawmakers now and Americans and iReporters sending us these videos, who were saying this vast network and the fact that this can happen, makes them wonder is enough being done to make sure that these are being kept safe. And does more need to be done? Do they need to be more eyes on this? And if so, what will be done to try to prevent, T.J., another tragedy like this from occurring?
HOLMES: Well, we hope -- we never thought -- first of all, that one could ever happen.
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: And certainly hope nothing like that will ever happen again.
Josh, we appreciate you as always.
LEVS: You bet.
HOLMES: We want to update our viewers on the story we are following.
Sarah Shourd and her two fellow hikers who are being held right now in Iran, been held there for the past year. Iran now saying that for $500,000 in bail money, they would allowing her, and just her, to leave.
We have been in contact now with the public relations representatives for the mothers of these three. And, again, you can imagine all the media request they are getting -- that's why, in fact, they need someone to be speaking and handling media on their behalf.
But according to the P.R. rep telling us that, in fact, the mothers will not be making any statements just yet, that they are -- like a lot of people -- watching the news very closely and following this very closely, everything that's happening, but will not be making statements just yet. They say specifically they want to take this all in, and then decide what they're going to do and what they're going to say.
You could imagine, these mothers don't want to do anything now that's going to jeopardize what appears to be a good case scenario of at least one of the three hikers getting out. Sarah Shourd, and Josh Fattal, and Shane Bauer, are the three. But Sarah is the only that the Iranian officials have said they will release on $500,000 bail.
We have heard from the lawyer as well for the three, who was able to meet with them for the first time, a lawyer that the families retained in December of 2009. So, December of last year, they retained this attorney, and that attorney was able to meet with them, said they were doing fine and also told our Reza Sayah, who's reporting on this story for us, that, in fact, everything seems to be in place and they believe Sarah should be able to be out of there by today or tomorrow.
You will remember the story -- again, a year ago, the three were accused of going into Iran. They say they accidentally possibly crossed into the border from Iraq while they were hiking. They were detained, accused of spying.
Josh and Shane, we don't know what their fate will be. They will be charged, according to our Reza Sayah, and will have to stay. But Sarah at least will be able to go once $500,000 in bail is paid. The lawyer says that could happen today or tomorrow.
And she is, by all reports, dealing with some serious medical issues and she's not getting the medical attention she needs, according to her family.
So, we are on top of the story for you here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING. A lot of developments for you on that story this morning -- but some hopeful ones at least for the family of the three.
Twenty-three past the hour. A quick break, we'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL REAK)
HOLMES: All right. I have been making this argument for years. If they just would have let me sleep longer, I would have done much better in school.
And now, Carl Azuz is here with "Extra Credit," to prove my point, right?
CARL AZUZ, CNN STUDENT NEWS ANCHOR: In a way, yes. We have -- well, we have a survey.
HOLMES: OK.
AZUZ: Up in Rhode Island, they questioned 200 students at a private high school, "Would your life be better if you could sleep an extra 30 minutes?" They asked students about their sleep habits, are you getting enough sleep, how do you feel?
And then delayed the bell, they made school open later. It started at 8:00. They pushed it to 8:30.
HOLMES: OK.
AZUZ: And then they asked students again, "What did they think?" On the whole, students said they were less annoyed, they were less irritated, they felt better, and they were less likely to go to the clinic for exhaustion-related illnesses. So --
HOLMES: So, it makes it clear, there are no holes in this study. This is clear.
AZUZ: I wouldn't quite say that.
HOLMES: OK.
AZUZ: There were a few question --
HOLMES: All right.
AZUZ: -- that kind of left unanswered. One was: what did teachers think? Now, was there a difference in student performance? We don't know that.
The next question was, this study was done after the school year had begun, not at the beginning of the school year. So, you have a group of students who were used to waking up at around 8:00, and now they get to come in a little later. Of course, for many of them, that was better.
And a third thing that I thought was interesting was: what about schools that already start at 8:30, is 9:00 then the answer for them?
HOLMES: Keep pushing it back. Yes, sir.
AZUZ: And that's when we thought, most of our audience would say, T.J., I thought, you know, we asked them, what's your ideal school start time?
HOLMES: What would that be?
AZUZ: Well, for me, it'd be 12:00 to 2:00 when I was back in school. I mean, two hours, I'm ready to go.
But many of them actually said, you know, they were thinking, we have to be in school a certain number of hours to begin with. So, why not go ahead, many of them telling us, let's go ahead and start early and get out early.
HOLMES: And get it over with.
AZUZ: Yes, a lot of them said that, like Abby. Abby writes us, you know, she said her ideal school start time was 7:00.
HOLMES: Wow.
AZUZ: She said, if you don't like that, go to bed early. And she's saying we get out in time for the afternoon, and she liked that.
Of course, there are many other students who were like, no way. But I thought Colton's suggestion was pretty creative. Colton saying he had the best idea. They wake up at 5:00.
HOLMES: OK.
AZUZ: Free energy drinks at school, only have to go to school until 1:00. Now, students and energy drinks? I don't know if teachers would be onboard with that.
HOLMES: Bad (ph) idea.
AZUZ: Right. But some of them are saying, you know, we'd be willing to get up and go to school earlier, if he could get out earlier. Other students were saying, no way, man, it's 10:00 to 5:00, that's the way to go.
HOLMES: But, do they all agree for the most part that they would like more sleep? Even aside from the school start time, do they still would like to get more rest?
AZUZ: I think so. We know that, you know, students are recommended to get between 8 1/2 to 9 1/2 hours of sleep at night.
HOLMES: Wow.
AZUZ: Most of them don't get it. And the National Sleep Foundation says that as we mature from kids to adults, our clocks changed, we want to go bed later. We want to sleep later. So, there is a little bit of science supporting an argument for a later school start time. HOLMES: All right. How much sleep did you get last night?
AZUZ: Not enough.
HOLMES: Not enough. All right.
(CROSSTALK)
AZUZ: Yes, sir. It was 12 innings. I am bragging (ph).
HOLMES: Carl, good to see you as always, buddy.
AZUZ: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, coming up next: something, a story we are really pleased to share with you and some are pointing to it as a possibly a national example. As you're hearing about a Florida pastor trying to burn Koran, there is another pastor in Memphis, Tennessee, that is welcoming in a Muslim congregation. We have both sides of this story.
The two men involved, there they are. We're going to check in. Guys from model stomping ground in Memphis, they're coming up after the break.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now 33 minutes past the hour. We're taking a look at a story making headlines this morning.
Iran is putting a price tag now on the release of the U.S. hiker, Sarah Shourd. The lawyer representing three American hikers say Shourd could be released today or tomorrow. The Iranian attorney met with his clients for the first today.
Shourd's release comes with a pretty steep price tag, though; $500,000 in bail. We just talked to the PR firm representing the mothers of the hikers. They say the mothers are not talking just yet.
Also we reported as well that the attorney just met for the first time -- again, for the first time, since the three were detained back in July of 2009. Again, we will follow this story very closely.
Protests, rallies and complaints about Islamic centers and mosques across parts of the country; a church in Tennessee, though, staying far removed from all that controversy by going beyond just preaching religious tolerance. The clergy literally opened their doors to their Muslim neighbors who had no place to observe the holy month of Ramadan.
Reporter Jamel Major of affiliate WMC with the details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMEL MAJOR, REPORTER, WMC, TENNESSEE: These words say it all. STEVE STONE, PASTOR, HEARTSONG CHURCH: Once we put up the sign, probably within three days people from the Islamic center contacted us and they were overwhelmed with emotion that we would be so welcoming.
MAJOR: Steve Stone, pastor of Heartsong Church says when he heard about plans for the multimillion dollar Memphis Islamic center complex being built near his church he knew he had to react.
STONE: I don't know a lot about Islam, and I didn't know -- I only knew one fellow who is a Muslim, and so, you know, I know it was going to be a learning process for me, but we follow Jesus and he tells us to love our neighbors.
MAJOR: Stone says he hopes by putting out a welcome mat for Muslims, it will send a strong message to those who may have associated Christians with being anti-Islam.
STONE: People that associate Christians with folks that are afraid of or don't like Muslims -- I can't judge those people that are Christian. I just believe to take the name of Christ and to be hateful and do hateful things is a real insult.
MAJOR: To prove his point, Stone says the Heartsong Church congregation is taking its new relationship with members of the Memphis Islamic center one step further.
STONE: Their facility was not quite finished -- still isn't. Then they came and asked us if they might be able to use our facility for the Ramadan prayers, which we took as a high compliment.
MAJOR: Stone says it's the beginning of a friendship he hopes will inspire others to love their neighbors.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: So while we have been seeing a Florida pastor, who says he has a Christian church in Florida, kind of making a split between Christianity and Islam. We have these two in Memphis doing just the opposite, bringing the two faiths together.
Pastor Stone as you saw in the piece, joins us now live along with Danish Siddiqui. The two are joining us live from Memphis. Mr. Siddiqui is, in fact, the trustee of that soon-to-be completed Memphis Islamic Center.
Gentlemen thank you both for being here.
Danish let me start with you. Ramadan being held in a Christian church in Memphis in the mid-south, that sounds like it goes against everything else quite frankly we have been seeing frankly in the news here lately.
Explain what that was like for you in Memphis.
DANISH SIDDIQUI, TRUSTEE, MEMPHIS ISLAMIC CENTER: It was a completely unbelievable experience. And we really did not expect all of this attention, because I think for both congregations, we were kind of just trying to be doing our religious duties, being good neighbors and trying to accommodate one another.
And then when all the attention shifted to us, and we were talking to everybody about our experiences, I think the month just got better as it went the along. We were actually supposed to move in the new bidding, to our center, during Ramadan, and we missed a couple of those construction deadlines, so we ended up staying the whole month. It really just became an amazing experience.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Well, Danish, given what we are seeing in Florida with that pastor. Given what we're seeing with the proposed Islamic Center and Mosque up in New York near Ground Zero, did you expect there to be more -- or have you seen much of the backlash or any negativity directed toward your center there in Memphis?
SIDDIQUI: I'm a life-long Memphian and I can say without a doubt that Memphis is a city of faith, I've never had (INAUDIBLE) even elsewhere. It really -- I won't say as much as a surprise as it was just knowing that we had such good neighbors, that not only are they saying we welcome you, but we really do welcome you. We open the doors and we're going to let you come in and use our facility.
You know Memphis has really been a great community in terms of inter-faith work and it has been going on for, you know, 20 or 30 years now.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes, let me bring Pastor Stone in here now. How did your parishioners react to you wanting to open your doors to Muslims?
STONE: Nine-five percent of our people are enthusiastic about it and very proud. We were there every night to host our neighbors and there was a lot of gratitude and a lot of tears, and we would get thanked every night. We would always say and mean from the bottom of our hearts, it's our honor to host our neighbors.
HOLMES: Pastor Stone, I guess it's kind of -- maybe a double- edged stone, would you like to have your story get more attention and maybe set more of an example, but at the same time the more attention you get are you afraid that there will be more of a backlash and people come down on you for what you're doing there?
STONE: I don't think so. I was saying this morning, I finally paid for my sins of loving my Muslim brothers and sisters, my yard got rolled this morning. And that's -- that's probably about the worst of it.
Now, I think 95 percent of the country are people of goodwill and compassion and tolerant and love each other. I think message is just reflective of who we are as a people in Memphis and around the whole country. HOLMES: Danish let me bring you back in. Were you nervous at all, not a lot of attention drawn to your center there over the past year, but given what's been happening in the past several months, again in New York and in Florida, were you concerned that -- I know you said Memphis was a tolerant place, but were you concerned about what could happen down the road?
SIDDIQUI: Well, I think that we can't really speak authoritatively about what goes on elsewhere outside of Memphis but I think just within Memphis, no, I wasn't. You know, we've had such positive experiences with the Muslim community in general and, you know, the whole inter-faith community here is just -- they work great together and there is a lot of efforts going on. We've had different mosques and different churches throughout the last 20 or 30 years that have actually done something pretty similar.
Even the Memphis Islamic Center, when we purchased this land, we were at a point where we could start construction. So we have actually been praying out of a small chapel in another suburb of Memphis called Germantown -- they have a chapel, a very small chapel. And Pastor Laverne and his congregation out there have hosted us for three years.
It's a smaller facility, but we make our daily prayers out there every day. And they accommodate us, and we try to work with them and make sure that we are not stepping on each other's toes in terms of timing and schedules and things like that. But there is a lot of examples like that in the city.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Well, last thing to you Pastor Stone. Sir, if you could speak to that pastor in Florida or to any others who are right now objecting to Islamic centers or mosques around the country, what would you say to them to encourage them to do what you did, which was literally let Muslims into your home?
STONE: I understand the fear that is in people, because I think it's human nature to fear people we don't know but not to let the fear rule them. To act on it, to get to know people -- get to know their neighbors. Go across and introduce yourself, and once you know real people, then that becomes the primary relationship.
HOLMES: all right. Pastor Stone, that's a good word to end on.
Again Danish Siddiqui and also Pastor Stone -- gentlemen, appreciate you both being here. When I am back home I will try and stop by and say hello to you both. But thank you so much for being here this morning.
SIDDIQUI: Thank you T.J. We look forward to seeing you.
STONE: Take care.
HOLMES: All right. Forty-one minutes past the hour here now. A quick break; we're right back. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: I am just keeping the seat warm here for our Candy Crowley who's coming up on "STATE OF THE UNION" in just about 17 minutes. Candy, always good to see you. How is it going this morning, first of all?
CANDY CROWLEY, CNN HOST, "STATE OF THE UNION": We're doing very well here except for it's raining but we have a big rally here today from the sort of the Tea Party group. It will be interesting to see how the weather affects demonstrations, as it generally does in Washington.
HOLMES: Now we have been seeing the Tea Party for some time playing into that national dialogue but now the Tea Party is going to be playing into some actual elections coming up. What kind of impact are we expecting from these Tea Party folks?
CROWELY: Well, you know, that's one of the questions. We know they have already had an impact on the primary because it's on the Republican side where we have seen incumbents thrown out during the primary side. The question is can they pull it off in the general election, and then what? Because then they go into the Senate or the House dealing with more traditional, more mainstream Republicans, and how is that going to work? It's one of the topics today we're going to talk about.
HOLMES: I know you -- we just saw yesterday ninth anniversary of 9/11. That's going to be talked about on your show as well. Are you taking kind of a security angle? People still wondering what the threats are, and are we sure we are that much safer?
CROWLEY: Well, exactly and we have some new polling showing that most Americans don't think we are that much safer than we were nine years ago. We have a new report that shows that in fact the threat has changed. It's less about sort of organized terrorism than about people who kind of attach themselves to al Qaeda, these kind of -- not the lone wolves, but the singular acts that we have seen and, by the way, home-grown terrorist, that is, U.S. citizens who in fact are said to be now the biggest threat by this report.
So we're going to talk to Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano, and former Homeland Security Secretary, Michael Chertoff.
HOLMES: All right. Candy Crowley, always good to see you.
And we're going to see you here in just a few minutes; Candy Crowley, "STATE OF THE UNION". Candy, thanks as always. Always good to see you here.
CROWLEY: Thank you. Good to see you.
HOLMES: And again, to our viewers, 9:00 Eastern time -- Candy Crowley -- 6:00 Pacific, for "STATE OF THE UNION".
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Forty-seven past the hour now.
Experts are calling it an epidemic, pitching injuries in youth baseball, but are these things preventable? My doctor, Dr. Sanjay Gupta calls upon two-time Cy Young award-winning pitcher Tom Glavine for this "Fit Nation".
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CNN CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: That's pitching great, Tom Glavine, watching his son's little league practice. You might be surprised at what he has to say.
TOM GLAVINE, 1995 WORLD SERIES MVP: You know, I would not let a kid at eleven years old throw a breaking ball. I never threw a breaking ball until I got to high school.
GUPTA: So, why does he say that? Well, because the breaking ball, also called the curve ball, puts too much stress on preteen elbows.
GLAVINE: There you go. That's a little better.
DR. JOE CHANDLER, DIRECTOR OF MEDICAL SERVICES, ATLANTA BRAVES: Over time we are seeing an epidemic of over-use injuries in youth baseball, an epidemic of shoulder and elbow injuries.
GUPTA: That often means surgeries and pitching career is over before they've even started.
GLAVINE: I think at this young age, teach them how to throw fast balls for strikes and teach them a change up and just teach them how to pitch and don't worry so much about the curve ball. There is plenty of time for that.
All right. Now, another pitch to strike.
GUPTA: The problem is that young players are also getting injured because they are throwing too many pitches each outing or playing too many innings per game. It's hard when professional baseball is such a draw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to be a professional baseball player.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's my dream.
GUPTA: But many young players and coaches don't always get this message -- play less to play longer.
CHANDLER: Those who are getting significant injuries at 19 or 20 years old you can usually trace it back to overuse at 12 and 13 years old.
GLAVINE: A lot of these kids are playing one sport and they're playing it year round. GUPTA: Growing up, Glavine took a break from baseball each season to play hockey. He gave his arm a rest. He thinks that may have contributed to his long baseball career. He is hoping these little leaguers catch on.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Don't throw curve balls. Don't throw it out.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, that's not good.
GUPTA: Dr. Sanjay Gupta, CNN, Atlanta.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Now, we turn to San Bruno, California, once again where investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are focusing their attention on a decade's old natural pipeline that may have been at the root of last week's explosion and fire. Four people are dead, six still unaccounted for and the neighborhood is reduced to rubble.
CNN's Ted Rowlands with the latest on the investigation.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Surveillance video from inside Lunardi's Grocery Store a quarter mile from the explosion shows the power of the blast and then chaos.
Watch closely. At first people stop what they're doing, and then a few seconds later the doors are literally pushed in by the force of the explosion.
Frantic customers are seen running from one of the exits while others tried desperately to get out of the store. One of the victims, 20-year-old Jessica Morales worked at this very store. Jessica's friend, Dayna Hernandez, showed us Jessica's Facebook page which today is filled with condolence messages.
According to Dayna, Jessica's boyfriend who is hospitalized with third-degree burns was with Jessica when she died.
DAYNA HERNANDEZ, FRIEND OF VICTIM: He tried to go back in and save her, but he couldn't do anything because the fire, I guess, was -- was getting there.
ROWLANDS: At least four people lost their lives in this tragedy and cadaver dogs are being used to search for the missing. But because of the intensity of the blast it is possible, investigators say, the missing if they were killed may never be found.
Meanwhile, pressure is building for answers as to exactly what could have caused this explosion.
SEN. BARBARA BOXER (D), CALIFORNIA: Many questions must be answered by all of us whose job it is to protect our people. What was the cause of this blast, of course, first and foremost? Were there reports that there were odors escaping from the pipeline? If there were those reports what actions took place in response to those complaints?
Does danger lie in similar pipelines in populated areas. Is there enough monitoring going on?
ROWLANDS: The local gas company, PG&E says they are scouring through records to verify reports that people smelled gas in the days before the explosion. More than 1,000 showed up to a community meeting and many of them demanding answers as to when they'd be able to get back into their homes and if their neighborhood is truly safe.
(on camera): The National Transportation Safety Board is the lead agency in the investigation. At this point, they have not come to any conclusions and they warn that it could take months before a cause is determined.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, San Bruno, California.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right, turn to weather now, so that means we're going to turn to Reynolds Wolf. And Reynolds, we need to head west, I'm told --
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
HOLMES: -- for the good stuff?
WOLF: I think we're going to look at some better weather, unfortunately the weather in places like Colorado is going to look beautiful -- unfortunately what they need is some rain. They need some rough weather in terms of some showers and a good thunderstorm or two would certainly help issues in terms of the battling the blaze out in parts of Boulder but unfortunately that's not on the picture.
In fact to find rain, you're going to have to find some up towards Seattle or head out towards portions of the Eastern Seaboard. And in fact, off the Carolinas, off of the Outer Banks and even off the South Carolina coastline, we are seeing a few showers and thunderstorms that are developing.
And we might see more of that activity along parts of the I-10 Corridor later on today, from Louisiana back into parts of Georgia. Of course the Carolinas and even in the northeast, you might see some scattered showers by late afternoon, and perhaps even the eastern half of the Great Lakes.
But high pressure is going to be building into the Ohio Valley. It's going to be a beautiful day in spots like St. Louis and back out towards California and mixed with sunshiny clouds.
And in terms of your temperatures on this day, you can expect your highs to climb back in the 90s along the Gulf Coast, but with the high humidity, it's going to feel pretty muggy; 93 in Tampa, 87 degrees in Raleigh, 82 in St. Louis, and 86 in Kansas City, looking to 80's also in Denver back over to Salt Lake City.
Obviously a bit warmer in places like Las Vegas and Phoenix, 105; 71 in Seattle; 78 in Billings and a beautiful day in Chicago, out by Wrigley Field, high temperature pulling up to 81 degrees along Wave One Avenue.
That is a quick snapshot at your forecast around the country. And we've got so much more coming up right here on CNN SUNDAY.
See you in a few.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Taking a look at some of the stories making headlines.
$500,000 -- that is what the Iranian government wants in exchange for Sarah Shourd, they call it bail. She has been held along with two other Americans. They have been detained in Iran for more than a year for alleged trespassing.
The lawyer representing her in Iran says everything is set for release, depending on that $500,000 being posted for bail. She could be released today or tomorrow.
Also, police in rural southeast Kentucky say a man shot and killed his wife, stepson and three others before turning the gun on himself. The shootings happened around noon yesterday in a trailer park south of Lexington, Kentucky in what police described as a domestic dispute.
Well, coming up on the top of the hour as always, thank you for being here with us on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
I'm going to hand it over to Candy Crowley right now.
