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CNN Sunday Morning
Golan Heights Standoff; Power Transfer in Yemen; Showdown Over Airport Screening; Patti LaBelle Sued Over Attack
Aired June 05, 2011 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning to you all. It's 6:00 A.M. here in Atlanta, Georgia. Welcome to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
We start with a developing story we are keeping an eye on right now in the Middle East. Take a look at this picture where Palestinian -- pro-Palestinian demonstrators are attempting to cross the border from Syria into Israel. The Israeli Army is there waiting for them, as you can see in some of these pictures, and they are warning them, and they are warning them with warning shots, they have shot some in the air and they have also said they attempted now to shoot on the ground to keep some of these protesters back.
We'll have the latest live for you in just a moment, explain to you exactly what's going on there. And we do have reports of people being injured and killed.
Also, we turn to Yemen now, the political crisis there. Street fighting could be taking a turn. This whole crisis could be taking a turn. The president of Yemen, President Saleh is no longer in charge. In fact, he's no longer even in the country. We'll explain this for you as we go live this morning for this shift in power.
Also, take a look at your television screen now. You recognize what that is? That's one of those bounce houses. Those are one of the things that kids get into in and supposed to be having a good time. Well, they were taken for a ride this weekend and a number of people were injured when that inflatable bounce house bounced away. We'll explain this situation.
But we need to start with what's happening right now along Israel's border with Syria. A group of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered there, threatening to breach Israel's border. The Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow them to do it.
Now, the pictures you're seeing, these are just coming in to us. Syrian TV reporting that three people including a child have been killed. CNN not able to independently confirm that and there's no confirmation of that from Israeli forces either.
A wide scale Internet campaign has called for protests in the West Bank, Jerusalem, also along Israel's border with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan. All of this is to mark the anniversary of the Arab defeat in the Sixth Day War. Our Kevin Flower joins us now from the West Bank. Kevin, tell me what you are seeing from your vantage point.
KEVIN FLOWER, JERUSALEM BUREAU CHIEF: Well, T.J., what we're seeing is basically a repeat of mass protests that took place last month on May 15th and that was the first time we had seen these mass protests taking place along the borders of Israel. It happened in Gaza. It happened in Lebanon. It happened in Syria and the West Bank.
And, again, it appears to be happening today as you mentioned in Syria, several dozen protesters, pro-Palestinian protesters approaching that border fence, that border area. They were met by tear gas, you said, and warning shots by the Israeli Military.
Syrian TV has said that three people have been killed. Of course, we don't have confirmation of that. What the IDF said, the -- and that's short for the Israeli Defense Forces, the Israeli Military said that despite numerous warnings both verbal and later warning shots in the air, dozens of Syrians continued to approach the border and IDF forces were left with no choice but to open fire.
And so, what we're seeing here in the West Bank, we're at Kalandia checkpoint, which is an entrance from the West Bank into the Jerusalem municipality area, we've seen hundreds of protesters here trying to make their way from the West Bank and cross this checkpoint into Jerusalem, and they have been met with force by Israel Security Forces, firing volley after volley of tear gas.
We haven't seen any injuries here at this point yet, but it's still ongoing. And you might see behind me, this is the checkpoint behind us. There's some Israeli military vehicles deployed. But really what we've got all around this checkpoint, over to the side and down the street in front of me are hundreds of Palestinians who keep trying to make their way here but keep getting pushed back. This could go on for several hours, T.J. and we're also seeing the same scene sort of repeat themselves within the Gaza strips as well.
HOLMES: All right. Kevin, as we show our viewers the picture on the right side of the screen that is from Golan Heights. That is where the border between Syria and Israel is. These are the scenes that we've been watching for the past hours or so as these people try to make their way across the border.
But, Kevin, my question is to you, at least the scene we've been watching in Golan Heights, we saw some of the protesters throwing rocks, just picking up stones there and tossing -- tossing them in the direction of the IDF forces. But from your scene and from what you're reporting, what you're seeing from Golan Heights as well, do these demonstrators appear to be armed with anything more than simply rocks and things like that, that they're throwing at the IDF?
FLOWER: No. Not -- not here, with what -- with what we're seeing here. When we first got here, there are a few (INAUDIBLE) who threw some rocks. And then a larger group of protesters came down the street, they didn't have any rocks with them. They were chanting. They're moving towards the checkpoint.
Basically, the Israeli Military did not want them anywhere near the checkpoint, that's when they fired the tear gas -- T.J.
HOLMES: Kevin Flower reporting for us from one of those checkpoints at the West Bank. Kevin, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.
At five after the hour now, we turn to the U.S. Defense Secretary. He's on his final trip to Afghanistan. Robert Gates had news both Afghan President Hamid Karzai and U.S. troops stationed in Afghanistan will likely like. Gates arrived there yesterday. His farewell tour of sorts as he retires from his post at the end of month, it coincides with the proposed drawdown of NATO troops there.
As President Karzai thanked Gates for his years of service, Gates had this to say about the timeline of the troops' drawdown.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GATES, U.S. DEFENSE SECRETARY: It seems to me that between the successes that we've already enjoyed and the increased capacity of the Afghan forces, we are in a position, based on conditions on the ground, as the President has said, to consider some modest drawdowns beginning -- beginning in July.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Secretary Gates' visit was marred by another roadside bomb attack that killed four NATO troops.
Also, some major new developments to tell you about in Yemen, a changing of the guard at the very top of that embattled government. A Yemeni government spokesman says the Vice President, he is now in charge. You're seeing him here in the picture. He has assumed duties as acting president. It's due to the president -- the current president there, Saleh, he's absent. He was hurt on Friday in a shelling of the Presidential Palace, is being treated in neighboring Saudi Arabia. Here's what one Middle East analyst tells us about these developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOOST HILTERMANN, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Well, certainly it is a momentous development. He will be the -- the third leader to have left at least the capital and in the case of Egypt, of course, we saw Hosni Mubarak going to the Sinai Desert, still in Egypt.
In this case, Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country and that means that we are going to witness probably a change in power, though this is not yet a foregone conclusion because the president's son and his nephews control a significant part of the security apparatus and they might yet put up a fight or decide to go into negotiations over a transition of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP) HOLMES: I want to turn now to CNN's Mohammed Jamjoom. He has been doing some extensive reporting from Yemen over the past number of years and he's in Abu Dhabi live for us this morning.
Hello to you once again, Mohammed. Are we to believe -- we don't know maybe as much as we think we know just about -- just how badly injured the president was?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Hi, T.J. That's right. I mean, there's so much speculation going on in Yemen right now as to the extent of the injuries that was suffered by President Ali Abdullah Saleh.
Now, the fact that President Saleh never appeared on camera after he sustained these injuries, the fact that Yemen's government kept insisting that he was OK, and for most of the day yesterday would not say that he was going to Saudi Arabia, even though Saudi sources were confirming that he was going to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment. Really making a lot of people in Yemen believes that the extent of the injuries that President Saleh suffered is far worse than initially imagined.
In the capital right now, in Yemen right now, you're seeing tens of thousands of anti-government demonstrators that are coming out day after day after day to demand the ousting of the president. They're celebrating right now. They're celebrating because they feel that their peaceful revolution has succeeded. Even though the reasons for President Saleh departing for Saudi Arabia really have nothing to do with their demands, it was because of the attack that he sustained the other day.
Nonetheless, a real mood of tension right now in Yemen as to who exactly is in charge. Constitutionally, it's the vice president, but we still don't know if that is going to hold, if this other truce that they say is negotiated will hold and if there will be continued clashes or strikes throughout the country.
One more thing I wanted to mention, we learned that in the overnight hours, at least 10 Yemeni soldiers were killed by Islamic militants from two separate ambushes that happened in the southern part of the country. That was from Interior Ministry officials. So a lot of worry that militants and maybe al Qaeda could still try to take advantage of the strike going on there -- T.J.
HOLMES: Mohammed, what do we know about the vice president and what kind of leadership vacuum could this leave and what kind of opening could this be for al Qaeda there?
JAMJOOM: Well, T.J., we don't know a lot about the vice president. The vice president has been a fairly private figure in Yemen and there's a lot of concern the last few months that even if the vice president were to take over, even if there would be some sort of transition deal that everybody was urging that President Saleh take, that would the vice president be a sort of an independent leader or would he be relying on President Saleh? And those concerns still exist. Because Saleh, even though he's in Saudi Arabia and even though the vice president is now the acting president, Saleh still maintains a lot of power within Yemen. So there's concern will Saleh be trying to pull the strings? They just don't know. So many questions right now.
But, again, a lot of concern about if al Qaeda will try to make its presence known. There's speculation right now as to whether al Qaeda may have been even behind the attack on the president. That's from some government officials expressing that that maybe there will be a suspect in this.
So, so much chaos, so much confusion in that country. We expect that within the next few days there will be many more questions and answers, but we'll be digging and try to find out more for you -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom, we appreciate you as always. Thanks so much this morning.
We turn now to Mexico and the former mayor of the border town of Tijuana is being detained on suspicion of illegal weapon possession. Mayor Jorge Rhon was taken into custody with 10 other people. Authorities found 88 guns and ammunitions. The mayor was the mayor of Tijuana between 2004 and 2007. He is owner -- one of the owners of a soccer team and a chain of casinos.
Meanwhile, hundreds of people in Arizona -- Northeast Arizona on alert, being told to pack up and move as a wildfire closes in, being called one of the largest wildfires in that state's history. Twenty hundred people already have been evacuated. The fire has burned 144,000 acres so far and has come within five miles of the resort Town of Greer.
Well, the company that operated a tour bus involved in a deadly crash in Virginia last week has been told to stop operations. Sky Express was placed out of service Tuesday following the accident that killed four people and injured 53 others. Then on Friday, the D.O.T. issued a cease and desist order after it learned the company was trying to operate under a new name.
You remember two years ago it made a big splash in the news and in New York's Hudson River. Now the plane that made that emergency landing immortalized as the "Miracle on Hudson" is on the move again, it's not flying, however. Yesterday, take a look here. It left a New Jersey warehouse bound for an aviation museum in North Carolina. Saturday, passengers and crew of U.S. Airways Flight 1549 are invited for the plane's expected arrival in Charlotte.
Well, take a look at this scary, scary scene. Can you imagine, folks, being inside that, one of these inflatable bounce houses, just supposed to get in and bounce around. It's not supposed to take off and bounce you around. There were people inside that bounce houses you're seeing as it took off. It was swept up by the wind. We'll tell you exactly what happened here when we come back.
It's 12 past the hour. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Flood watch going on right now in South Dakota. The level of worry really depends on what part of town. This Town of Pierre we're talking about that you live in, people in the low-lying areas have been sandbagging for days to protect home and property. Others, though, life goes on with little to no accommodation for the rains (INAUDIBLE) and river nearby. One homeowner who is ready for the flood explains this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SUSAN GREGORY, HOMEOWNER: Denial. That's what got me a slow start in the first place, I can't believe this is happening and I can't believe all the activities that's going on. It's like two different worlds. I have a sister that lives on the north end of town and everything's normal, everybody's mowing their grass and washing their cars. And everything down here is army trucks and dump trucks and the Red Cross with their vans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Authorities will start issuing I.D. cards for residents affected by the flood so would-be looters wouldn't be able to get access to their homes.
And let us say good morning now to Mr. Reynolds Wolf, kind sir, how are you doing?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Doing OK. But, you know, isn't it really a frustrating thing, when you see people with a surplus of water, say, in the Dakotas, where they've got all the flooding, they've got these fires in the desert southwest where they need the rain.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: It's always, feast or famine, and that's going to be the situation for today.
Let me show you what's happening weather-wise. We're going to hop over here for a moment and show you the extremes. Starting first with, of course, some of the flooding we've had in parts of the Northern Plains. Let's zoom in onto a few key locations. And here you're having, see, of course, the heavier rainfall down towards parts of the Ohio Valley.
But when you get into the Dakotas, everything you happen to see that's shaded in this bright green, it happens to be your flood warning namely in parts of South Dakota onto the Missouri River where it's been especially rough. Pierre, certainly, in a bad situation today as they have had the mass evacuations.
And then the other side of the coin, we head down to portions, the Four Corners where it's just the opposite. We have very. very low humidity. In fact, it's 6 to 12 percent but then that's coupled with very dry conditions and, of course, breezy conditions, with winds of 20 to 30 miles per hour, some gusts have been approaching 40. But quite honestly near the higher mountain passes, I would not be surprised to see the wind accelerate a bit more.
And as it compresses and accelerates, it tends to dry out that foliage even more, (INAUDIBLE). So when you get plenty of fuel for these fires to continue, they mentioned by the way it is zero percent contained. They've got really an uphill battle to fight. No question about it.
In terms of the (ph) weather nationally today, look for a chance for severe storms to develop across parts of the Ohio Valley into the Mid-Atlantic States. For friends who happen to be in Atlanta, I mean, you'll love some rain to cool things off. No such luck for you today. High temperatures will be back in the 90s. For parts of Texas, more the same. Certainly, we don't have any rain that we're expecting across the Four Corners.
However, back towards California, from San Louis Obispo northward to about Redding, you can expect some scattered showers, perhaps even some snow in the high Sierra, Nevada. Dryer conditions for you in the Northern Plains and then, of course, in the Great Lakes, as we mentioned, look for that chance of shower activity.
Now highs 82 in D.C., 70 in Boston, 77 Chicago, 92 in Albuquerque, 105 in Phoenix, 59 degrees in San Francisco, Seattle with 79.
That's a quick snapshot of your forecast. T.J., we're going to pitch it right back to you.
HOLMES: Do you know what I think about the wind conditions in New York yesterday, Long Island in particular?
WOLF: We had some strong gusts, 30 -- 40 miles per hour. I think an occasion one approaching 50 get pretty strong.
HOLMES: OK. If that being the case, and this is what that wind did. Take a look at the screen here, folks. Stop for just a second and look at this.
WOLF: Wow.
HOLMES: A scary scene in Long Island. These -- one of these bounce houses, apparently there were three that were there that took off, but we have a video of this one and there were people inside. This is at a soccer tournament. They has this set up, Reynolds, for the kids. Some on the sideline, you know, just to have a good time and playing. You see people running trying to stabilize this thing.
But 13 people were hurt somewhere inside this one, others were injured when this thing came down and landed and knocked people over. But, Reynolds, we have seen several stories like this over the past -- I believe several months of these things taking off in cases with people in them. WOLF: What shows you the real importance for -- when you put those things and you really need to make sure they're well anchored. Because when you have them outside during the spring time that then you have the wind kick up, they don't weigh a great deal. So wind can naturally pick them up rather easily, and then, of course, you have the injuries.
It kind of an odd thing to mention, but I can't help mentioning. Thank heavens it is an inflatable device, it says (ph). (INAUDIBLE) if you happen to hit it, you strike it, you're not going to be caught. You're going to be having major bruises.
The biggest problem they're dealing with is when they hit the ground, that's where you're going to have the -- the broken arms and, of course, the sprains and whatnot. But scary thing to see. You don't expect your kid to get on a thing like that and be hurt.
HOLMES: It's not supposed to take off. The reports are that they had sandbags holding these down, but that didn't do the trick. I believe some of them come with stakes as well and ropes supposed to keep them down, but it does not always turn out like that. But 13 people injured there.
Reynolds, appreciate you, buddy. Thank you so much.
To our viewers now, you remember the -- you remember they're still going on right now. But that whole (INAUDIBLE) over the intimate pat-downs at the airport, you've been through them. I have been through them again and again and again, but are they really sexual assault? Some thought so and now some lawmakers in one state want to outlaw these things. Yes, make it illegal.
Well, you know what the federal government said to that? OK. Go ahead and you know what will happen? We'll stop all commercial flights going in and out of your state. We'll tell you what's going on in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty minutes past the hour now. Welcome back to this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
And as always, you know, here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING during this hour, I want to say good morning to our military men and women who are watching us around the world on the Armed Forces Network. Thank you for being here and thank you for what you do.
I'd like to tell you about a showdown taking place right now over airport security screening. It's building up between Texas and the Department of Justice and, you, the air traveler, may be caught in the middle.
Now, the Texas House of Representatives passed legislation last month prohibiting TSA screeners from conducting those so-called invasive searches, you know, these pat-downs that were all in the news a few months ago. They're still going on right now. Well, the Justice Department now warning against passage by the Senate. But the lawmaker who introduced the bill and demonstrators at the Capital in Austin yesterday are urging passage of this bill.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We shouldn't have to have people, you know, put their hands all over our bodies, because it is invasive. It is sexual assault. We, you know, we're not asking to be touched in that way and it's really inappropriate.
REP. DAVID SIMPSON (R), TEXAS STATE HOUSE: There's no federal law that we're contravening. There's no federal law that requires that they touch us in our private parts as a condition of travel. That's outrageous. Police officers can't even do that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the Justice Department (INAUDIBLE) on searches would conflict with federal law. You heard him responding to that just that second ago. It wrote a letter, the Justice Department did to legislative leaders in Texas in late May warning what would happen.
Let me quote from that letter now. It says, "The effect of this bill if enacted would be to interfere directly with the Transportation Security Administration's responsibility for civil aviation security." It goes on to say, "If House Bill 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute unless or until such a stay were granted TSA would likely be required to cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew."
Now, we're talking but Texas here, but it's not just Texas. Not the first state to introduce such a bill. In March, New Hampshire introduced a bill that would make those intimate pat-downs, touching or viewing people's private parts sexual assault. Our affiliate WMUR tell us those convicted would be required to register as sex offenders.
Also, New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Pennsylvania, all considering similar legislation. And one Utah lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would limit pat-down saying Utah needs to stand with Texas.
Well, it's 23 past the hour.
We showed you this video yesterday. Take a look. This is essentially a flight, I guess, some would call it a fight, some would say a beat down. It took place outside the airport in Houston. Now, the one on the ground there in that yellow shirt that said he was beat up, that is a West Point cadet. The people doing the beating work for singer Patti Labelle. We'll explain this video next. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHN RALEY, LABELLE ACCUSER'S ATTORNEY: He was completely taken by surprise. No one would have seen this coming. Even watching the videotape now for the -- how many times we've watched it, it still is surprising -- the violence and the suddenness and the brutality of this attack.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: All right. And the attack we're talking about, one side calls it an attack, the other not so much.
But this is involving security guards for Patti LaBelle. That's a West Point cadet Richard King was on the ground there in the yellow shirt kind of stumbling around there. He told our Houston affiliate KTRK that Patti LaBelle's body guards beat him up at the airport. This surveillance video shows part of the incident. He is suing the performer now. We got this edited video from our affiliate KTRK.
Now, he says that he did nothing wrong and the attack was completely unprovoked. But Houston Police reports say that King was intoxicated and harassing LaBelle's group as they were getting in the limo.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICHARD KING, WEST POINT CADET (voice-over): I pretty much got jumped and I really don't even know why, and it's -- and on top of that it's causing a lot of trouble up here because of the false police report that they had reported, so -
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Were you drunk?
KING: No, ma'am.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, West Point told KTRK that the cadet is now leaving the Academy and there's also questions over how Houston Police handled the confrontation since no charges were filed.
LaBelle took photos at -- with at least one officer on the scene. Also need to note here that we did reach out to Patti LaBelle's people a number of times, they have not commented on this incident.
Now, we're getting close to the bottom of the hour here on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
An international hunt is under way to find the source of this spreading and deadly E. coli outbreak. We are live in Europe next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're at the bottom of the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING. Welcome back, everybody. I'm T.J. Holmes.
I want to start at the bottom of the hour here with this deadly E. coli outbreak that is sweeping across Europe, still. Scientists say it's a rare super toxic strain of the bacteria and they say it's also untreatable.
They still can't pinpoint the exact source. The World Health Organization said at least 19 people have died, 2,000 others infected in 12 countries. You can see the countries here, Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, France, Netherlands, Poland, Norway just to name a few.
All but one of the fatalities have taken place in Germany. The other one person died in Sweden. I want to bring in our Fred Pleitgen standing by for us in Berlin. Fred, do they think this thing continues to spread and get worse?
FREDERIK PLEITGEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, they certainly think, T.J., that it is continuing to spread and it certainly hasn't been contained yet. One of the things that they keep telling us is that they simply don't know what the source of this E. coli outbreak is.
Now some here believe that it comes from things like raw lettuce, tomatoes and cucumbers because one of the things they've done is they've questioned people when those people were still well enough to be questioned and asked them what in particular they've been eating.
And it seems as though many of these people ate a disproportionate amount of these things, of lettuce, tomatoes and of cucumbers, all of this, of course raw. But again, as you said, it is very important for the German authorities to try and come to terms with this because this thing is still untreatable.
I talked to one of the scientists who actually deciphered the genetic code of this particular strain of E. coli and he says that people at hospitals in Germany, at the beginning of this, were giving people antibiotics because that's how you treat E. coli.
But it turns out antibiotics made everything even worse because first of all, the strain of E. coli is very resistant and second of all, the antibiotics actually makes it emit even more toxins and people get very, very sick.
And we've been saying about 20 people have died of this so far. However, the people that have the worst form of this, many of them are going to suffer the consequences for life. Many are going to suffer kidney failures for life. Other people have other impairments including neurological impairments. T.J.
HOLMES: You know what? Fred, what in the world do they do to try to contain it then if they don't even know the source, they can't tell people to stop eating this or don't touch that.
I guess, you could tell people be careful, wash your hands and cook your meat and things like that. Is that really the only defense right now?
PLEITGEN: It certainly is. I mean, it's hard to believe, but it certainly is. I talked to one of these doctors. He said listen people come to me all the time. I tell them I don't know what to do.
Basically, right now the only health tip that the German government is giving to the people here and to anybody else really is not to eat any raw lettuce, tomato and cucumber. That's the only thing they have because they don't know what the source is.
They say what you have to do is cook your vegetables. There are some indications it might be vegetables, but that doesn't necessarily have to be the case. The other thing that they're trying to do is they're trying to improve the treatment methods that they have.
Right now because things like antibiotics don't work all that doctors can try to do is keep the patient alive, put them on dialysis and hope the people survive this very severe form of E. coli.
But one of the things that scientists are telling us is that once they have the genetic code and they do not have it. What they can try to do is try to pinpoint weaknesses of this E. coli bacteria, which then they can possibly attack with other treatment methods. T.J. --
HOLMES: Wow, Fred Pleitgen scary stuff right now happening in Europe. Fred, we appreciate you as always. Reminder to our viewers here in the U.S., it has not made it here.
Scientists and experts believe even though there have been a few Americans who appear to have this E. coli strain that is because they had traveled recently to Germany. They did not get it here.
So at this point, we're saying produce here in the United States and this particular strain is not here. It's important to note that. It's 35 minutes past the hour now. Give you a look at some of the stories making headlines.
Israel facing down a large group of pro-Palestinian protesters in the Golan Heights, in West Bank vowing to breach Israel's borders. Serbian state television is reporting that at least three people have been killed in the standoff.
CNN is not able to independently confirm that and also no confirmation of it from the Israeli forces. A wide scale internet campaign has called for protest today to mark the anniversary of the six-day war.
Also, crowds celebrate a transfer of power in Yemen. Sources say the embattled President Saleh is getting medical treatment in Saudi Arabia after being wounded in Friday's attack on a mosque and his presidential compound.
The country's vice president has taken over presidential duties. The Saudi source says Riyadh's government has help broker an open- ended cease-fire aimed at ending Yemen' spiraling violence.
Also the former chief of the International Monetary Fund set to appear in the New York courtroom tomorrow for his formal arraignment on sex assault charges involving the New York hotel maid. Dominique Strauss-Kahn's attorney denying -- Dominique Strauss- Kahn is denying the allegations against him. Meanwhile, his arrest has spawned debate in his native France on the nation's hidden culture of sexism and how it's tough privacy laws help perpetuate it.
Why in the world would anybody want to fly a perfectly good plane directly into a hurricane? Reynolds Wolf with that answer after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, it's 37 minutes past the hour now. We are just a few days into the Atlantic hurricane season. The prediction is, what again, supposed to be pretty tough one, right?
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Active.
HOLMES: Active is what they are calling it. Reynolds wolf is joining me now. They're doing pretty good things when it comes to predicting these things and they have a lot of tools that help them do so. One of them being, do they call it a hurricane plane?
WOLF: They have several times. They could fly above -- but some of that actually punch through to what we referred as the eye wall and those are the C-130s, the Hercules specially configured. You see them one of them right here, amazing aircraft.
HOLMES: OK, these allow the scientists and these forecasters to get vital data to help them down the road in trying to figure out why these storms do what they do. The people who fly these planes they actually call it a dream job. Listen to this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SENIOR MASTER SERGEANT TONY HLAVAC, U.S. AIR FORCE RESERVE: It's best job I ever had. It took me 13 years to get it and the first time I ever heard about the hurricane hunters was in 1980. Hurricane Allen, filled up the Gulf of Mexico literally and I go I want to fly with them.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Reynolds you've been around these guys and listening to him there you said these guys love it. They live for this stuff.
WOLF: They're nuts. They're great guys. They're very highly motivated. They love what they do. They're great in what they do. When they actually punch through parts of these storm systems, they can be hurricanes, tropical systems, they'll drop some of instrumentation called the radioson.
It looks kind of like a small cylinder. When it drops through from the aircraft through the lower levels of the atmosphere, through the storm itself, it's able to pick up important readings in terms of barometric pressure, wind speeds. They get all kinds of important information and let us know how strong the storms are and how they strongly may soon become. Believe it or not, T.J., we were actually watching an area of disturbed weather right now in parts of the Caribbean.
You see the white spots and highest cloud tops developing well south of Jamaica at this point. This is the area of concerned, about 20 percent chance the National Hurricane Center believes this may actually develop into something stronger.
That's only 20 percent chance, which means there's an 80 percent possibility that it won't develop into anything. So we'll just keep a sharp eye on it. So that is a possibility.
One thing is definite right now is that we have some flooding in portions of the northern plains mainly along parts of the Missouri River. Our friends in that part of the world had been dealing with all kinds of rough conditions especially along the Missouri River and I would expect conditions will get worse as time goes on.
Something else is going to gets worse as time goes on, the heat wave that at least two-thirds of the nation has dealing with. 93 is your expected high in St. Louis, 95 in Kansas City, 82 in Washington, D.C. Not that bad, but rain expect today, possibly some strong thunderstorms, 96 in Atlanta, 100 in Houston.
We wrap things up, 105 in Phoenix, 86 in Salt Lake City and 59 in San Francisco. That is a quick snapshot of your forecast. We've got more coming up, but T.J. for now, let's send it back to you.
Reynolds, appreciate you as always, buddy. Thank you so much. Well, at 40 minutes past the hour, of course, growing up can be tough enough for a kid. How about growing up with a name Mandela? Yes, exclusive sitdown with one of the grandkids of the legend, that's after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, CNN producer Nadia Bilchik joining me this morning for the "Morning Passport." We talked about this yesterday. You were invited to the home of Winnie Mandela in South Africa. You got to talk to her and some other Nelson Mandela's family members.
Before we get to some of that, tell me first of all, everybody always has the question, he's getting up there in --
NADIA BILCHIK, CNN EDITORIAL PRODUCER: Correct. He made that wonderful ride around the stadium during the World Cup, but he is going to be 93 on July 18th and everyone wonders, you know, what is his health like?
So as you mentioned at Winnie Mandela's home, I spoke to her and Nelson's granddaughter, this is the daughter of Zamaswazi Dlamini (ph). So let's hear from her how her grandfather is doing.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) ZAMASWAZI DLAMINI, NELSON MANDELA'S GRANDAUGHTER: He spends a lot of time with us, his kids -- his kids, his grandkids and his great grandchildren. He loves the company of people.
But I think we try to also just give him his time to rest because he does need his time to rest, but he's well. He's fine. He's at home in the Eastern Cape right now, which is his favorite place to be and so he's happy and healthy. He's very healthy.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: He still looks good.
BILCHIK: And one of the questions that people are curious about, what is the relationship now between Nelson Mandela and Winnie Mandela? You know, it's been acrimonious.
We know they separated shortly after he was released from prison and then eventually divorced in 1996. So I asked, what is the relationship between your grandparents like now? And here is what she said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DLAMINI: Well, it was a long road to where we are now as a family and for her to be in a position to actually sit in the same room and for all of us to share Christmases together, birthdays together, significant times in the family together. It's such a joy for me to see both of them in a room sitting together and they can conversate and they can chat.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: I mean, that's what any family member, child or grandchild would want to see, family getting along even though the two may have split. I mean, that brings the home everybody.
BILCHIK: Absolutely, any other family and Grassa Michelle (ph) whom he married in 1998, I mean, that could not have been easy for Winnie who fought the struggle, to have another woman enjoy these years, the glory.
So, again, that was another question I said to her, what's the relationship like between the former Mrs. Mandela and the current Mrs. Mandela? So let's hear once again from Swatti (ph).
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DLAMINI: I think they wouldn't be able to sit in a room with each other if they weren't. Yes, they call each other sisters. My grandmother speaks of Grassa as her sister. So I think that says a lot in itself.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK. BILCHIK: There's another journey. You know, two women who have come to terms with the fact that this man is an icon. He is really a spiritual and political icon to the entire world and they both realize that some sense of order and congeniality towards each other is critical.
HOLMES: Was it always that --
BILCHIK: I don't think so, T.J. I think it was very hard. I think it's been a very painful road for Winnie to have Grassa Michelle come in and become Nelson Mandela's wife. There's must have been a period, but you know, a tribute to both women for saying the family is more important and he will be 93.
HOLMES: Ninety three years old. You're coming back next hour?
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: Is that right? We'll hear more from -- who we're going to hear from next hour?
BILCHIK: We'll hear more from Swatti and more about the relationship between the two, how her grandfather is doing and his obsession with weight.
HOLMES: Obsession with weight.
BILCHIK: Yes.
HOLMES: Great tease there. Nadia Bilchik with the "Morning Passport." We'll see you again here shortly. Thanks so much.
Well, we're about a quarter at the top of the hour. Do you remember what you did maybe even last night? What about last week? Last year? I sat down with two guys who can remember exactly what they were doing 67 years ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: When you're going on an invasion, you're scared to death. You don't know what the hell is going to happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Two guys who were there on D-day sit down with me and would you believe, they say they actually had it easy that day. I'll let them explain that to you, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: D-day, June 6th, 1944, thousands of allied troops poured into the beaches of Normandy with the aim at bringing an end to Nazi Germany. Among those thousands, two men I had a chance to sit down with just a few days ago.
Tomorrow actually marks the 67th anniversary of D-day. These two men were there, both in their 90s now, and would you believe they say that day they actually had it easy at least compared to some of their other fellow soldiers. Listen to them now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: On the anniversary days, a lot of people, the government makes a big deal out of it, the media will talk about June 6th, the anniversary. What about you guys, what do you all do on the anniversary every year of D-day?
ROBERT "PUNCHY" POWELL, WW II VETERAN: Quite often I'm asked to make talks to various groups or participate in some of the ceremonies because of -- because I was a World War II veteran, and we're dying off pretty fast these days and there aren't many of us around.
HOLMES: You like being a part of that kind of stuff?
POWELL: I feel like today's generation does not know much about the history of World War II. I was introduced by an Atlanta school teacher as a fighter pilot from World War 11.
So I determined that I was going to do my best to help educate today's generations about World War II, because it still has a tremendous impact on this country today.
HOLMES: What about you?
GUY GUNTER, WW II VETERAN: D-day is my birthday, and I celebrate that with my children.
HOLMES: How old were you on D-day? You turned what age?
GUNTER: Twenty five.
HOLMES: What was a hell of a way to spend it?
GUNTER: I was in a glider flying over the channel 1:00 in the morning, well, it was about 12:30.
HOLMES: both of you all, since I've been talking to you, have reeled off stuff that happened many, many years ago now, but you can tell me exact times and even giving me exact times now. Does that stuff just never go away?
POWELL: We took off at 2:30 in the morning, completely blackout takeoff, and one of our pilots crashed into the tower on takeoff, because we had no lights whatsoever. And so that's, you remember things like that.
HOLMES: What was on your mind and maybe it was fear, maybe it was pride, maybe it was that sense of duty, were things happening every minute that kind of put you in a different mind frame?
POWELL: Actually it was a break for the rest of us. We took off by the fire, the light of his burning aircraft. The adrenaline was running so good. At that particular time, I don't think we had any fear. We were just anticipating what we were getting into, but I don't think you had time to fear at that point.
HOLMES: Would you agree with that assessment?
GUNTER: When you're going on an invasion, you're scared to death. You don't know what the hell's going to happen, and you're not worrying too much about that. You're worried about flying the equipment and doing the job you're supposed to do.
POWELL: That's right.
GUNTER: The rest of it comes naturally.
HOLMES: How did your day start and do you remember the time as well --
GUNTER: Took off at 12:00 at night, and we landed around 1:00, 25 miles back of the front, so we had an easy deal. That was the easiest mission I flew because we didn't have -- we had the element of surprise.
We didn't have that many people shooting at us, but the problem we had, of course, we went in with the paratroopers as you know. But the paratroopers that went in before us were oscillating, had that old parachute and they would hit these poles and break their backs, their arms and their legs, it was awful. So we had it easy. We'd go in, in the glider.
HOLMES: Still amazing to hear you say you had it easy. Did you know you were making history, I guess I should say? Did it feel like that at the time or you're just doing your duty?
GUNTER: Doing what I was supposed to do, they paid me. When you sign those papers, you've got to do what you're supposed to do.
POWELL: That's right.
GUNTER: And you do the best job you can and you try to stay alive because when you land it's either you or that guy.
HOLMES: Stay alive. How close did you come to not making it back?
GUNTER: I had several times. I could bore you to death with -- everybody in the service has those times, but most of our action was in close.
And we did what we're going to do and tried to save our lives in a matter of hours, minutes because when you land, you're as close as we are here to the enemy.
HOLMES: Why did you want military service, anyway?
GUNTER: Well, fight for my country, naturally, and also it's exciting. You get to fly airplanes, you get to do a lot of things that you can't do at home.
HOLMES: He just said he wanted to play for his country. Do you think over the years from when you guys were young men to today, do you think that sentiment still exists in the soldiers who are going into the military now?
POWELL: Although they called us the greatest generation, I think thee these guys today are another great generation. They're doing, they're involved in a war that we wouldn't want to fight.
At least, we knew our enemy. They did not. Their enemy could walk up to them and drop a grenade and we knew our enemy. We could see those big black crosses on the airplanes we were fighting against. So that's a big difference, but we still have a great generation out there today.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Thanks again to Punchy and Guy for the time they allowed me to spend with them.
We're getting close to the top of the hour. A quick break. We're going to reset at the top of the hour and take you back to the Middle East where we have some developments this morning, a breaking news situation. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Not only is Israel's army waiting for them, they're having to fire warning shots in the air and on the ground. There are reports of people being injured and even killed. We will have the latest straight ahead.
Also, these so-called bounce houses you see all over the place -- well, they're not supposed to be literally all over the place. That is a bounce house and there are people in it. A number of injuries to tell you about after wind gusts picked these things up. We'll tell you where this was happening.
But, we do want to get to the tense situation developing along Israel's border with Syria and also in the West Bank. A large group of pro-Palestinian protesters has gathered in the Golan Heights. They are threatening to breach the Israeli border. The Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel will not allow them to do it.
Syrian state television is reporting that three people have been killed. CNN not able to independently confirm that. No word from Israeli forces about the number of injured or killed. Now, these skirmishes broke out, like I mentioned, in Golan Heights along the border. Also broke out in the West Bank with the border there.
A wide scale Internet campaign has called for protests in the West Bank, Jerusalem and also along Israel's border with Syria, Lebanon and Jordan today, all of this is to mark the anniversary of the Six-Day War. That, of course, was back in 1967. That marked the Arab defeat in the Six-Day War. And that is when Israel did get Golan Heights, did get Gaza and also the West Bank was able to seize those territories.
But this is a developing situation. We'll keep a close eye on that for you.
Also, major development in to tell you about in Yemen, a changing of the guard at the very top of the embattled government. Yemeni government spokesman says the vice president who is on the left in the pictures here has assumed duties as acting president. This is because the president, President Saleh, he is gone from the country right now. He was hurt Friday in a shelling of his presidential compound, being treated now in neighboring Saudi Arabia.
Here is what Middle East analysts told us about these latest developments.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOOST HILTERMANN, INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP: Certainly, it is a momentous development. He would be the third leader to have left at least the capital. In the case of Egypt, of course, we saw Hosni Mubarak going to the Sinai Desert still in Egypt.
In this case, Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country. That means that we are going to witness probably a change in power, though this is not yet a foregone conclusion, because the president's son and his nephews control a significant part of the security apparatus and they might yet put up a fight or decide to go into negotiations over a transition of power.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: No word yet on when President Saleh might return to Yemen.
We turn to Mexico now -- with the former mayor of the border town of Tijuana is being detained on suspicion of illegal weapons possession. Mayor Jorge Rhon was taken into custody along with others. Authorities found 88 guns and ammunition. Mr. Rhon was mayor of Tijuana from 2004 to 2007. He's also the owner of a soccer team and a chain of casinos.
Now, we turn to Long Island, in New York, yesterday, where witnesses say it looked like something out of a movie. Look at this -- strong winds blamed for blowing three of these so-called bounce houses that kids love to play in, blowing them around. You're seeing this. There were children inside at the time playing and they were carried along with these things.
Thirteen people were hurt in all. Authorities say they don't expect to file any criminal charges, but as Reynolds was telling us just a little while ago, that they saw wind gusts of 30, 40, even 50 miles at times in that area.
Also, the company that operated a tour bus involved in a deadly crash in Virginia last week has been told to stop operations. Sky Express was placed out of service Tuesday following the accident that killed four people and injured 53 others. On Friday, the DOT issued a cease and desist order after it learned the company was trying to operate under a new name.
Now, two years ago, you remember the big splash it made in the news and also literally in the Hudson River. Now, the plane that made that emergency landing immortalized as the miracle on the Hudson is on the move again but it's not flying anywhere, if you will. It left a New Jersey warehouse bound for an aviation museum in North Carolina. And then, Saturday, passengers and crew of U.S. Airways flight 1549 are invited for the plane's expected arrival in Charlotte.
Now, a little bit a warning here before I show you this next piece of video. If you're a little squeamish, you might want to look away. But what you're about to see is a magic trick that goes horribly wrong. Take a look at it, and then I will explain what was supposed to happen right after. Let's watch this together.
(VIDEO CLIP PLAYS)
HOLMES: Now, there is he in the hospital bed but this happened Thursday night at Atlanta Motor Speedway. That's Michael Anthony Mooney. He goes by the stage name Moodini. He was supposed to slip out of the handcuffs you see there while blindfolded and chained to a race car.
Now, he was supposed to do it before the race car took off. He has actually done this, we're told, twice before. But this time, he did not get out in time and you saw what happened. Take a listen now.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MICHAEL "MOODINI" MOONEY, MAGICIAN: I was crying. It was -- it was just excruciating pain.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Let me ask the question everybody's thinking when they see it. What were you thinking?
MOONEY: Well, you know, I've been entertaining for a long time. It's like anything else. You take it for granted.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, he got pretty banged up there, got some broken bones. He says he will continue to do his magic act. However, that particular stunt may get dropped from the act. Great idea.
Seven minutes past the hour now.
We turn to some weather that is severe.
The latest on those Arizona wildfires: 1,300 firefighters battling a huge blaze burning in the eastern Arizona mountains. The fire has already burned some 144,000 acres, being fueled by dry brush, pushed by strong winds. It's burning along a 30-mile front; 2,200 people have been told to get out of their homes, had to evacuate. More could be leaving today. Reynolds, the conditions are just ripe for this thing getting worse.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes, it really is. I mean, great for fires, obviously very difficult for wild firefighters. And they certainly have a tall order today, no question about it.
Thankfully, we are joined by Brat Pitassi. He is with the -- he's spokesperson for the group that's actually overseeing the firefighters.
Brad, are you with us?
BRAD PITASSI (via telephone): I am, good morning.
WOLF: Hey, good morning. Thanks for joining us.
Can you give us an idea of how these guys are doing? The latest reports we've heard is that the fire is about zero percent contained. Can you give us a little more information on this?
PITASSI: It is zero percent contained. But, unfortunately, we've had some successful burnout operations occurring during the night and we're hopefully getting those containments up in the next few days. We are faced with some weather conditions that don't get us too excited. We're considering the potential for some dry lightning, which with these dry fuels and the winds and potential lightning strike could turn into a significant ominous fire.
WOLF: Brad, can you give us an idea of what kind of conditions these guys happen to be fighting in? And what I mean is when we've seen some of the wildfires in parts of Oklahoma and parts of Texas, they're battling mainly on like prairie conditions, if you will. The topography here is a bit more dramatic, isn't it?
PITASSI: It is very dramatic. It is very rugged terrain, and also very diverse terrain. So, this fire covers approximately 225 square miles or 144,000 acres. And we have some crews within the cities doing structure protection and some crews in very rugged mountainous terrain in the Arizona forest.
WOLF: Yes, Brad, when you're talking about the crews that are out there that are battling this blaze in this rugged terrain and, of course, closer to these towns, is it basically just crews from Arizona or is this really a regional effort? Do you have crews, say, from Utah, people from California coming in to contribute? Do you have crews, say, from Texas? Or is it, are you guys basically going it alone?
PITASSI: Well, actually, we're pulling in crews at this time on a national level. So, we have crews from Oregon all up to New York that have come to assist in the firefighter efforts. So, this is a now national fire and we're pulling resources from hand crews to engines to large scale airplanes and helicopters from all across the country to come help with the firefighting efforts. WOLF: Yes, Brad, when you're battling a blaze of this magnitude and when you have it in the wildfire this happens in the wilderness area, obviously, it's certainly some bad news. Is there any threat of this approaching any populated areas? Is that a big concern for you?
PITASSI: It is a very big concern. We've had to do two evacuations, this from populated areas, and we have fire that is still knocking on the door in one community. We've done some pre-evacuation notices and another populated community that went through two days ago and what that is, is a notice that's saying, hey, the next 12 to 24 hours, there's a possibility that the sheriffs may be knocking on your door asking you to leave in an emergent fashion.
The good news is with these communities that are affected by this, I mean, the surrounding areas, you've been extremely cooperative with law enforcement and fire officials and a lot of them have taken it upon themselves to be proactive and have done some voluntary evacuation -- which is just great news so it enables our firefighters to stay focused on the ground and have the task at hand and not have to worry about the people in the areas being affected.
WOLF: Brad, as we wrap this up, how does this compare with other fires in Arizona's past?
PITASSI: It's a very significant fire, has a lot of growth potential. And it's up there. It's one of the biggest. Right now, we're about the third largest in Arizona history. And with the weather and the wind conditions, we could be knocking on the door of one of the largest fires in Arizona history.
WOLF: Brad, thanks so much for your time. Please give our very best to the men and women who live in the area -- certainly the men and women also battling the blaze. It's a tremendous effort. But I'm sure they're up to the task. Best of luck to you.
T.J., that is the story from Arizona. Let's send it back to you at the newsroom.
HOLMES: All right. Reynolds, appreciate you.
And we'll be checking in with Reynolds and the forecast news here in just a moment as well. Thanks so much.
Well, coming up, they have been calling for months now -- protesters in Yemen have been calling for the president, President Saleh, to step down. Well, as of now, he is no longer in charge. He's not even in the country. But there's a little more explanation that's needed for this story. And I'll have it for you after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Quarter past the hour on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
Yemen's wounded, the president, has now transferred power to his vice president as he recovers in a hospital in Saudi Arabia. What does this mean for the country?
CNN's Mahmoud Jamjoom has done extensive reporting in Yemen for us over the years. He's live for us now in Abu Dhabi, keeping an eye and watching things happening in Yemen.
Good morning to you once again. What exactly does this mean, Mohammed, now that essentially he's done what protesters has asked him to do, given up power even though temporarily we would think?
MOHAMMED JAMJOOM, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning T.J. Well, that's the big question right now. Now, you have, right now, celebrations, huge celebrations that are going on in cities across Yemen. In Sanaa, in the capital, tens of thousands of these anti- government demonstrators that have been coming out for the past four years, demanding the ouster of the president, are in huge celebration mode because they see this as a success for peaceful revolution, for their demands. Even though, in reality, the reason that President Ali Abdullah Saleh left is because of the injuries he sustained in an attack on the palace two days.
But even more worrying right now is what exactly does this mean, even though we know now that the vice president has taken the reins of the country, that he is the acting president. When you're talking about Yemen, you're talking about a tribal society.
And in Yemen right now, even though the vice president is in charge, you have to realize that the head of the central security forces is the nephew of President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and the head of the republican guard is President Ali Abdullah Saleh's son. So, it's still pretty much a family affair.
How this shakes out in the coming days, a big mystery, because there's been clashes for the last two weeks, between security forces and tribal factions in the country's capital. There's been street fighting going on. Right now, it's quite, but it's so volatile that it could erupt again at any moment.
Some of the demonstrators that I've been speaking with are saying maybe it's a little too early to celebrate. Still, so many questions and we just don't know how it's going to shake out at this point. And a lot of fears right now that al Qaeda and Islamic militants in that country could try to take advantage of all the turmoil and strife -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Mohammed Jamjoom for us this morning in Abu Dhabi -- we appreciate you as always, Mohammed. Thanks so much.
For those intimate pat-downs at the airport, nobody really likes them, if you will. But we've come to realize it's part of security these days. But do they go as far as being sexual assault? Well, some state lawmakers say yes. The Justice Department says no.
And wait until you hear what the Justice Department is threatening to do if lawmakers try to ban these pat-downs. That's in 60 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Twenty-one minutes past the hour now on this CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
A showdown over airport security screening is brewing between Texas and the Department of Justice -- and you, the air traveler, could be caught in the middle of this thing. The Texas House of Representatives passed legislation last month prohibiting TSA screeners from conducting invasive searches. Yes, they essentially outlawed those pat-downs.
The Justice Department is warning against passage by the Senate now. But the lawmaker who introduced the bill and demonstrators at the capitol in Austin yesterday are urging that the bill go through.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIPS)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We shouldn't have to have people put their hands all over our bodies because it is invasive, it is sexual assault. We're not asking to be touched in that way and it's really inappropriate.
REP. DAVID SIMPSON (R), TEXAS STATE HOUSE: There is no federal law we're contravening. There was no federal law that requires that they touch us in our private parts as a condition of travel. That's outrageous. Police officers can't even do that.
(END VIDEO CLIPS)
HOLMES: Now, the Justice Department contends the ban on searches would conflict with federal law. It wrote a letter to legislative leaders in late May warning what would happen.
Let me quote from that letter now. It says, "The effect of this bill, if enacted, would be to interfere directly with the Transportation Security Administration's responsibility for civil aviation security."
It goes on to say, "If H.B 1937 were enacted, the federal government would likely seek an emergency stay of the statute. Unless or until such a stay were granted, TSA would likely be required to -- get this, folks -- cancel any flight or series of flights for which it could not ensure the safety of passengers and crew." Essentially saying they might have to stop all air traffic going into and out of the state of Texas. Let's hope it does not come to that.
Now, we're talking about Texas here, but certainly not the first state to introduce a bill like this. Back in March that New Hampshire introduced a bill that would make those intimate pat-downs or touching or viewing people's private parts a sexual assault.
Our affiliate, WMUR, tell us those convicted would be required to register as sex offenders. New Jersey, Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Pennsylvania also considering similar legislation.
And one Utah lawmaker plans to introduce a bill that would limit pat-downs, saying Utah needs to stand with Texas.
We do want to update you about a story that many of you, the viewers, really chimed in on yesterday. This was all over a high school graduation and whether or not there should be prayer at the high school graduation. We can report, in fact, yes, there were prayers yesterday.
This happened in Texas, San Antonio, in particular, where people -- an agnostic family had actually filed a lawsuit to keep prayer from being said at the high school graduation which took place yesterday. The governor got involved, the courts got involved. One judge ruled in favor of that family and said, no, you can't have prayer. Another appeals court came back and said, uh-uh, of course, you can pray at the graduation.
The valedictorian of the school was one who was a part of the lawsuit, and tried to get it overturned, to have prayer. That valedictorian apparently had received threats. They had to beef up security at graduation.
Unfortunately, it had to come to all of this. But Medina Valley High School did have their graduation last night. We can report, in fact, there were no incidents and, yes, in fact, there was prayer at the school.
Now, as soon as we told you about this story yesterday, Facebook page, Twitter page, a lot of you all started sending in comments, had an opinion on this. Here's just a little bit of what some of you were saying:
Erica said, "Most definitely, they should have prayer. Why should those of us who believe in the power and importance of prayer have to concede to those who do not?"
Also another from Selma saying, "What happened to separation of church and state? Everyone isn't Christian and it's offensive to those that don't believe Christ in their Lord and those that don't believe in God."
Also another from Brandi saying, "Anyone who doesn't want to hear the prayer can ignore or leave the room. Win-win."
We appreciate all of those comments. Again, we picked up a lot of them on Facebook and Twitter. You know where to find me, @TJHolmes.
Well, he's heading back to court tomorrow. The former IMF chief charged with raping a hotel maid. The reaction of his native France right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We're coming up on the bottom of the hour.
Give you a look at the stories making headlines now: Israel is facing down a large group of pro-Palestinian protesters in the Golan Heights, as well as the West Bank. They are vowing, these protesters, to breach Israel's borders. Syrian state television reporting that at least four people have been killed in the standoff -- CNN not able to independently confirm that. No word on that from Israeli forces either.
A wide scale Internet campaign has called for protests today to mark the anniversary of the Six-Day War.
The former chief of the International Monetary Fund said to appear in a New York courtroom tomorrow for formal arraignment on sexual assault charges involving a New York hotel maid. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is denying the allegations. Meanwhile, his arrest has spawned debate in his native France on the nation's culture, hidden culture, of sexism and how privacy laws helped perpetuate it.
Well, I will be back with you at the top of the hour with more live news here on CNN SUNDAY MORNING.
But, right now, time for me to hand it over to the good doctor.
