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CNN Saturday Morning News

Oil Prices Spike; New Orleans' Mayoral Elections Underway; Four Canadian Soldiers Killed In Afghanistan; Two Arrested In Alleged Terrorist Plot; President Pushes Energy Ideas; Environmentally- Friendly Technology

Aired April 22, 2006 - 11:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ZAIN VERJEE, CNN ANCHOR: You're pumping more and more money into your gas tanks as the average price approaches $3 a gallon.
This hour, we have several reports on rising gas prices, beginning live in Washington just a few minutes from now.

Voters in New Orleans are heading to the polls this morning. It's time to pick the person who will oversee the city's come back from Katrina. We're going to take you there live for the mayoral election.

Some 200,000 marchers headed for the king's palace in Nepal today to demand an end to royal rule. The wire reports say this pro- democracy demonstration was fired on by soldiers and police. We'll bring you more details. That's coming up in our "Going Global" segment.

Iraq finally has a new prime minister designate. Just a short while ago, Jawad al-Maliki was picked for the post. That removes a huge obstacle in efforts to form a new government of national unity aimed partly at averting a civil war and getting the insurgency under control, so bringing basics to the Iraqi people.

And President Bush is spending Earth Day in California. He plans to promote hydrogen fuel technology in a speech on his energy plan. The president will tour a fuel cell development facility in Sacramento.

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: It is Saturday, April 22nd, election day in New Orleans.

VERJEE: Yes, it is. We're keeping an eye on that.

HARRIS: Yes. We are.

VERJEE: Good morning.

From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Zain Verjee.

HARRIS: And I'm Tony Harris.

Betty is off today.

Zane is with us. Thanks for being with us.

VERJEE: Thank you.

HARRIS: Terror plot -- a court hearing today in that case involving a pair of Atlanta men accused of discussing terror attacks with Islamic militants. We'll have the latest.

And, also, Earth Day gadgets -- we'll mark Earth Day 2006 we are going to look at some products that will help you stay in Mother Earth's good graces.

But first...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How high do you think the price is going to go?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Well, I just now filled this up and I'm looking at almost $40. So, it's gone up even more just in the last week.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Gas prices rising rapidly. They rose another three cents, to an average of $2.88 a gallon. And many of you are paying way more than that.

CNN's Kyung Lah joins us live from Washington -- Kyung, good morning.

KYUNG LAH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, Tony.

The gas prices here have broken the $3 barrier, not just at this particular gas station, but they are everywhere, at all the gas stations in the D.C. area. And it's affecting people no matter how much they drive or how little they drive.

We just met Michelle Brailey (ph).

Come over here, Michelle.

MICHELLE BRAILEY: OK.

LAH: The gas, $3.09. That's how much you're going to pay to fill up your Escort.

You've changed your behavior because of the high price?

BRAILEY: Yes, I don't drive as much anymore. I take the bus more to work. When I go out in the city, I barely ever drive my car. I fill up about once a month and that's as much as I want to do so.

LAH: And even just filling up once a month, is that affecting your bottom line at all? BRAILEY: It does. It does. But there's nothing I can do about it, because I do have to drive my car for some things, so.

LAH: So there are other people, who, who have to commute long distances?

BRAILEY: Yes. I mean luckily I don't have to drive to work, I can take public transportation and that kind of thing. So, I don't have to drive as much as other people. So that's lucky. But...

LAH: If the prices keep ticking up, what else can you do?

BRAILEY: I don't know. I haven't decided yet so.

LAH: Michelle Brailey, who's just about to fill up her car.

We'll let you go.

Thank you very much, Michelle.

A lot of drivers here in the D.C. area say they're simply just going to stop driving because it's become prohibitive, almost, for them to get around the city and pay to fill up that tank of gas -- Tony.

HARRIS: Kyung, has the price of gas at the station where you are right now gone up in the time you've been with us this morning?

LAH: It has actually gone up overnight. Now, the station manager, when I talked to him about 30 minutes ago, said he was waiting for a phone call from his boss to actually boost up those numbers. The average price for gas at the various stations, the Exxon stations in this area, he says, have gone up $0.06.

So he anticipates from $3.09 -- that's what the number says over my shoulder, $3.09 -- it's going to be $3.15, as soon as he gets that phone call from his boss.

HARRIS: Oh my goodness.

Kyung Lah, we appreciate it.

Thank you.

Well, the price of oil coming from refineries like this one has reached record highs, more than $75 a barrel. And those prices are likely to climb higher, which, of course, would mean even higher pump prices. There are several other factors affecting what you pay for gas.

CNN's John Lisk explains in this Fact Check.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN LISK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Crude oil prices directly affect the cost of gasoline. The reason is simple -- crude is the primary raw material from which gasoline is produced. But other factors can affect the cost of gas, as well.

Here in the U.S. refineries have not expanded at the rate of surging demand. According to the American Petroleum Institute, U.S. refineries were running last year at over 90 percent capacity. That left them unable to bump up product to respond to supply shortfalls. President Bush has pushed for expanding refinery capacity.

The current gas price spikes and supply disruptions stem from environmental concerns. A number of states banned a gasoline additive shown to pollute ground water. To make the transition, terminals are having to drain holding tanks and prepare them for the new gas mixture.

Other factors involved in the cost we pay at the pump include distribution costs, marketing costs and taxes. And, yes, oil company profits. Last year, Exxon Mobil posted the largest annual profit of any company in U.S. history, $36.13 billion.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And later this hour, President Bush's position on supply, demand and gas prices. Our Candy Crowley takes a closer look at the former oil man's energy policies.

VERJEE: New Orleans was founded nearly 300 years ago, but no previous election there has ever drawn this much attention. Residents are casting ballots today in the city's first mayoral election since Hurricane Katrina.

CNN's Sean Callebs is there.

He joins us now -- Sean, why is this election so important to New Orleans?

SEAN CALLEBS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, voters have said throughout the last several weeks that they want to send a message. They want to have a say. They want to dictate who is going to lead this city for the next four years as it continues to undergo this very difficult, very prolonged effort to try and rebuild.

How will federal money come in? how will it be spent? What neighborhoods will be rebuilt? What neighborhoods won't? And how will they get all of the people who were forced to evacuate back?

Well, that is what voters are trying to decide today.

behind me, you can see the gymnasium at the University of New Orleans, one of 28 so-called super precincts because so many neighborhoods are still in total disrepair, uninhabitable. They've had to combine a number of voting precincts.

Now, they expected that it would be crowded today. They expected they would get a lot of traffic and they are. Really, it's almost like a community gathering. We see people coming up. They're talking about the issues, they're talking about the candidates. There are 23 names on the ballot, but a couple have pulled out. So 21 people running for mayor of the city. Three people continually come up as those leading the list -- current Mayor Ray Nagin; Mitch Landrieu, who is the Democratic lieutenant governor; and Ron Forman, a businessman credited with developing an aquarium here and also the Audubon Zoo. He has a great deal of name recognition in this area.

Now, the polls are going to be open until 8:00 Central time. That's 9:00 on the East Coast. But a couple of hours after that, they should get the first indication, Zane, of who is leading. And this is very important because if one candidate does not get 50.1 percent of the vote, more than 50 percent of the vote, then they will have a runoff on May 20th.

VERJEE: Sean, some of the ballots have already been cast, either by fax or by mail.

What can you tell us -- what is your sense so far of people that are driving in, also, to vote?

CALLEBS: You know, we're hearing that there is a big turnout at all of the precinct places. And we know that there are buses coming in from Atlanta. They're coming in from Houston. They're coming in from Austin. All over the state people are coming in. They want to have a say. These are people who have been forced to move out but still are eligible to vote for mayor.

And we don't know who that 20,000 of the early votes, who they are voting for, but we can tell you, basically, the racial make up, and that is significant, because some civil rights leaders have legally challenged this election, saying that it is excluding a huge percentage of the people of the democratic process.

But, Zane, so far, of those casting ballots, about 65 percent are non-white, 35 percent white. That is exactly in line with the pre- storm racial make up of this city.

VERJEE: Sean Callebs covering a hugely significant mayoral election this day in New Orleans.

Thanks -- Tony.

HARRIS: And now some stories making "News Across America."

A court appearance in Appleton, Wisconsin for a man accused of trying to sell his 18-month-daughter. Authorities say Danny Vu wanted $7,000 so he could make home improvements.

A man who went to an Oregon hospital complaining about a headache turned out to have a dozen nails in his head. Doctors say he later admitted using a nail gun on himself during a suicide attempt. He is the first person ever known to have survived such an extensive injury.

Look at what happened to this house in Massachusetts after a car went out of control and slammed into it. It's not quite as bad as it looks, but it looks pretty bad. There were no life-threatening injuries and despite the damage to the front porch of the house, the rest of the structure is actually OK.

Controversy is swirling in the State of Maine over plans to shut down a rest room with a dozen pay toilets. Officials in Old Orchard Beach are trying to remove the privately owned facility from the town pier to build a condominium there. The restroom's owner says that would leave many beachgoers literally with no place to go.

VERJEE: An alleged terror plot -- one of the suspects being arraigned today. A CNN Security Watch is next.

HARRIS: It is Earth Day, the day we focus on the environment.

Coming up, we'll offer some tips on electronic devices that will help you help Mother Nature.

And, good morning, San Francisco.

VERJEE: It's shaping up to be a beautiful morning.

But what's the forecast for the rest of the country?

Reynolds Wolf will join us and tell us, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Our top stories now.

How high will gas prices go?

AAA reports a gallon of gas is now $2.88. That's on average. That's up $0.03 in just a day. But one energy analyst is saying that prices could drop if demand goes down even slightly.

New Orleans residents are casting a vote on their future. They're going to the polls today in the city's first election since Hurricane Katrina. Mayor Ray Nagin faces nearly two dozen challengers who want his job.

Four Canadian soldiers were killed today in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. They were in an armored jeep in Kandahar Province. The latest incident brings the Canadian death toll in Afghanistan to 15.

HARRIS: I was just sneaking a peek behind Reynolds Wolf upstairs in the Weather Center.

We've got some showers just a little bit north of Atlanta and then moving up into the Carolinas. And my guess is, what -- Reynolds, along the East Coast there?

(WEATHER REPORT)

VERJEE: It may sound a little odd, but one Boston man isn't letting the high price of gas keep him off the road.

HARRIS: And saving the Earth one gizmo at a time. Gadget guru Robin Liss is here with the latest Earth friendly technology and we'll show it all to you live -- here's a bit of it -- when CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Makeup maven Bobbi Brown is blushing with success. She took $10,000 and quickly turned it into a multi-million dollar make up empire. While working as a freelance make up artist, Brown noticed there wasn't a great selection of natural lipsticks in the market.

So, she and a chemist created a line of mail order lipsticks, Bobbi Brown Essential. It was so profitable, that in 1995, Estee Lauder bought her company.

BOBBI BROWN, CEO, BOBBI BROWN COSMETICS: My biggest advice to give people who are in the business world is be yourself. Treat people how you would want to be treated. You know, the best businesses out there are built on common sense, not on market research.

UNIDENTIFIED CORRESPONDENT: Brown maintains creative control and today her cosmetics are sold in more than 400 stores. She takes a hands-on approach, leading clinics on make up application techniques.

BROWN: I think that women need help learning to accept who they are and how to make themselves look great. That is going to be my biggest challenge, I think, in the future.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: Four Canadian soldiers have been killed in a roadside bombing in Afghanistan. It happened in the southern part of the country just outside Kandahar City.

Sarah Galashan with C-TV joins us now from the region. She spent some time with the Canadian troops there -- Sarah, thanks for being with us.

What more detail could you give us about the circumstances and how they were killed?

SARAH GALASHAN, C-TV CORRESPONDENT: Well, they were part of a military convoy leaving the platoon house in the area of Gomboth to come back to the Kandahar airfield. They only got about seven kilometers northeast of the platoon house, where they had set roots in that community, and then they came across an IED, roadside bomb.

It went off. It hit a G-Wagon vehicle. That vehicle was pretty much destroyed, we understand. Three of the soldiers were killed at the scene. A fourth was airlifted to the airfield hospital here, but try as they might, he did not survive.

VERJEE: Now, Canada has taken command of coalition forces in the south of Afghanistan.

What are Canadian forces saying? What have you observed about the level of Taliban resurgence in the south?

GALASHAN: Well, it's interesting, we were actually -- I was at that platoon house yesterday and I had the privilege of getting to see these gentlemen in operations. Certainly, the neighborhood seemed to have accepted them. We have been in that area, Canada has been in that area now for about two-and-a-half months. The feeling amongst the soldiers was that at least in the immediate vicinity of that platoon house, the people who live there have appreciated the Canadian soldiers.

The children, in awe of them whenever they leave the platoon house. The elders engaging in discussions with them. It all seemed very positive.

However, there was a time when this area was called a safe house. It's now called a platoon house, and that name change happened a while ago because, as was pointed out, there is really no such area as -- that is safe in this region. And the example today is just proof of that.

VERJEE: Sarah Galashan with C-TV, reporting to us from Kandahar in Afghanistan.

Thanks so much for being with us.

We apologize to our audience for the little technical difficulty and the delay that we have there.

Canada has more than 2,000 troops serving in Afghanistan.

HARRIS: In our CNN Security Watch, we are awaiting word on a court appearance in New York today for a 19-year-old Atlanta man accused of making false statements to an FBI agent. Authorities say Ehsanul Sadequee and another Atlanta man traveled to Canada about a year ago to talk with Islamic militants about possible terror strikes inside the United States.

CNN's Rusty Dornin has details of the alleged plot.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): They met here at a mosque in Atlanta. Two young Muslim men joining in prayer, and possibly something else.

The family of Syed Ahmed says the 21-year- old was studying at Georgia Tech to fulfill his dream of becoming an electrical engineer. The FBI believes part of his dream involved terrorism. He was arrested last month. Ehsanul Sadequee, who was living in this house in suburban Atlanta, was arrested earlier this week in Bangladesh. He had gone there to get married.

Court papers say Sadequee and Ahmed traveled to Canada last year. There, according to the affidavit, they met with three others considered to be Islamic extremists, men who already were subjects of an FBI international terrorism investigation. The affidavit says Ahmed told the FBI that the group "discussed strategic locations in the United States suitable for a terrorist strike, including oil refineries and military bases."

DAVID NAHMIAS, U.S. ATTORNEY: The charge against Mr. Ahmed is serious and it involves national security. And this case is going to be prosecuted with that in mind.

DORNIN: Neither man is being charged with actually planning a terrorist act. Ahmed is being charged with provide material support to terrorists, while Sadequee is charged with making false statements.

GREG JONES, FBI: Let me assure you that at no time were there any instances where there was immediate danger to the Atlanta area or here in the United States.

DORNIN: But court papers say that when Sadequee left the United States for Bangladesh, he was carrying maps of the Washington D.C. area. Ahmed's sister and mother live in suburban Atlanta. They believe he was targeted because he is Muslim.

FICA AHMED, SUSPECT'S SISTER: I was shocked because I knew he's being accused of something he didn't do. You know, he's innocent and they're putting him in jail for nothing.

DORNIN: Back at the mosque where the two met, it was Friday prayers. Those who knew them are surprised. One of Ahmed's neighbors says he remembered seeing the pair together and knows Ahmed to be a kind and gentle man.

FAISAL SHAH, SUSPECT'S NEIGHBOR: I don't think he would do anything against Allah, especially terrorism, something ridiculous like that.

DORNIN: Ahmed pleaded not guilty this week to the charges, charges that can cast a dark cloud over a mosque like this. Leaders here say their platform is peace.

DR. KHALID SADDIQ, DIRECTOR, AL-FAROOQ MASJID: Our community is a very, you know, organized, peaceful community. The mosque itself has programs that are based solely on the religious aspects of the religion.

DORNIN (on camera): The defense attorneys say they are studying the court papers. Ahmed's attorney says he won't comment on the case. Sadequee's attorney says from what he knows of his client, the accusations are totally out of character.

Rusty Dornin, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And remember to stay tuned to CNN day and night for up to the minute news and information about homeland security. Political fallout today over news the CIA has fired a top intelligence analyst for leaking information to the media about secret CIA prisons. Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Pat Roberts, a Republican, praised the move. But Democratic Senator Robert Menendez wanted to know why the White House hasn't been just as aggressive in punishing whoever leaked the identity of CIA operative Valeria Plame.

President Bush has said a lot about the high price of oil and gas in the past couple of years. Ahead, a reality check on what he's actually done about it.

Plus this...

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I haven't been able to really fill it up that much, because it pisses me off.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Pain at the pump -- how America is coping with it.

That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HARRIS: You might prefer to walk today. Gas prices just keep going up and now with $2.88 on average and above $3 in California, that's 60 cents higher than a year ago. President Bush is promising to penalize price gougers.

The turn out could be high in New Orleans, the first election since hurricane Katrina, voters today are casting ballots for mayor and city council. Some residents got to the polls before dawn. Mayor Ray Nagin faces nearly two dozen challengers.

A roadside bombing has claimed the lives of four Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan. The soldiers were in an armored jeep in Kandahar province when the bomb exploded. Fifteen Canadian troops have died in the U.S.-led operation Enduring Freedom.

A major breakthrough today in Iraq's efforts to form a long- delayed national unity government. The Iraqi parliament has filled several top leadership positions. Iraq's president is tapping the parliament's choice Jawad al-Maliki to become prime minister. He will replace Ibrahim al-Jaafari who many Sunni and Kurdish lawmakers had opposed.

Well, just look at these prices. You know the cost of gas is zooming up. In some places, it's around $3 a gallon and no end in sight to the rise. If you buy gas today, you'll likely pay 3 cents more a gallon than just yesterday. For many people it's taking a bite out of their budget.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) DECHELLE TISDALE, SUV OWNER: Actually, I've been putting like $25 a day in my gas and I'm in sales. So I need my car. This is ridiculous. I mean it's going to really affect the type of car I get.

CHUCK BANNISTER, SMALL BUSINESS OWNER: It seems like there's a lot of gouging going on for the gas prices to rise so high. Just because it's getting to be summer time and people are on the roads. You know, I think it's just gone up a lot without any explanation from anybody, be it OPEC, be it from the government, whatever.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HARRIS: Well, President Bush does plan to talk energy today, but he's expected to focus on long-term suggestions such as hydrogen fuel technology. The president will push his ideas during a speech in California. Our Candy Crowley looks at how President Bush has tackled the energy issue.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CANDY CROWLEY, CNN SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): George Bush is a former oil man from Texas, both of which shape his views on supply, demand and energy.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: No matter how advanced our economy may be, no matter how sophisticated our equipment becomes, for the foreseeable future, we will still demand on fossil fuels.

CROWLEY: It was September 2000. Gasoline was $1.53 a gallon. Presidential candidate George Bush believed in more refineries, more power plants, more drilling and exploring in the U.S., including in a small part of ANWAR, the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska. Five months into the presidency of George W. Bush ...

SEN. CRAIG THOMAS (R), WYOMING: How are you going to react to this summer's prices?

CROWLEY: The average price of regular was $1.66 a gallon, too high for political comfort.

SPENCER ABRAHAM, FORMER ENERGY SECRETARY: Well, we're very concerned as all of you are about the gasoline prices.

CROWLEY: A Bush energy package was put on the table in '01. It passed the House. The senate passed a different bill the next year, but they couldn't agree on a compromise. The issue died. January of '03 ...

BUSH: I have sent you a comprehensive energy plan to promote energy efficiency and conservation, to develop cleaner technology and to produce nor energy at home.

CROWLEY: At his state of the Union address, the president called energy a top priority. Heat and light were brought to the subject during an August blackout in parts of eight states. But by winter, the energy bill died of severe disagreement over everything from energy taxes to ANWAR. April '05, the price of gasoline hits $2.25.

BUSH: A fellow said, why don't you lower gas prices, gasoline prices, Mr. President? Obviously gasoline prices were on his mind. I said I wish I could, if I could I would.

CROWLEY: In July, Congress passed and the president signed an energy bill minus all the controversial things, $85 billion in tax breaks or subsidies for every form of energy from wind power, to oil, gas and nuclear power. Also included, tax incentives for conservation and alternative energy use. Nobody was happy. Not the oil industry ...

JOHN FELMY, AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE: When we add all those up, it really didn't contribute much to either domestic supply or for that matter reducing demand.

CROWLEY: Not the conservationists.

DAVID HAMILTON, SIERRA CLUB: The administration has given little more than lip service to energy efficiency.

CROWLEY: By the time of the president's State of the Union address this year, gas was around $2.33 a gallon. He called for more money for alternative fuels.

BUSH: America is addicted to oil which is often imported from unstable parts of the world.

CROWLEY: His goal -- replace 75 percent of oil imports from the Middle East by 2025. In April of 2006 ...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Gas prices are, you know, they're outrageous. I mean I heard they're going to hit $4 a gallon.

CROWLEY: 2025 seems like a long way away. Candy Crowley, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS: And that story comes to us from "ANDERSON COOPER 360." Join "A.C. 360" weeknights at 10:00 p.m. Eastern.

VERJEE: So how are you coping with the surging cost of gas? Scott Saunders in Austin, Texas tells CNN.com quote, "With gas at $2.85 now, I tried saving gas by going without my air conditioner, a difficult thing to do in central Texas where we've already had 100 degree temperatures."

And Toby in Northfield, Minnesota says quote, "I plan to sell one of my vehicles. The money from that, plus the amount saved on insurance for it will buy gas for the other one for a couple of years. So a significant impact."

HARRIS: And you can go to CNN.com to find the lowest gas prices in your area and you'll also see our list of vehicles that get the best gas mileage. How about this? A Massachusetts man isn't letting gas price keep him off the road. He's getting around on a motorized bicycle. He bought it off of eBay for $500. It gets 87 miles to the gallon. That means the owner only has to buy one gallon a gas every three weeks and he rides it in all kinds of weather. So there you go.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JIM CANTANIA, NEW BIKER: I started riding in March and I was caught in one snowstorm, but it's nice now. It's actually fun now. If you can avoid the highway and you got a 15 or 20 mile max ride, then it's great.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

VERJEE: Going global now, some 200,000 protestors marched in Nepal's capital Katmandu demanding an end to the king's absolute rule. Reports say the angry demonstration brought out riot police with tear gas and rubber bullets. This comes a day after the king offered a return to multi party democracy but protestors say that's just not enough. They want him to step down and the monarchy abolished.

Palestinian protests also turned violent today. Hamas militants and Fattah loyalists clashed with each other. The incident began after a Hamas leader accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of being a traitor. Officials from both sides are now trying to ease the tensions.

And in London, Queen Elizabeth's birthday celebrations wrap up with fireworks lighting the London sky. Long live the queen was the resounding theme as Elizabeth II turned 80 yesterday.

HARRIS: It is earth day and we'll show you how you can help save a planet the next time you use your computer or camcorder, clever, clever. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING and we'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

VERJEE: The day's top stories now. If you're filling up your gas tank this weekend, it could drain your ballet. AAA reports gas prices are at $2.88 a gallon and in some places they're even higher. Oil prices are at $75 plus per barrel.

People in New Orleans are voting right now. It's the city's first election since hurricane Katrina. Incumbent Mayor Ray Nagin faces nearly two dozen challenges. If no one gets more than 50 percent of the vote, there's going to be a run-off and that's going to be on the 20th of May.

In Nepal, security forces tried to stop pro-democracy demonstrators from marching on the king's palace. The protesters are demanding that Nepal's King Gyanendra step down. The Associated Press says police fired on the crowd and hit people with batons injuring dozens. The king's promised to restore democracy. Opponents say that that's just a sham. HARRIS: Well, today is Earth Day and you can do your part to help the environment without hiking through a rainforest or rescuing an endangered species. In fact, all you have to do is make some good choices when you buy or use electronic devices.

Our next guest, you know her, you love her, Robin Liss has tips on finding environmentally friendly technology. Robin, good to see you.

ROBIN LISS: Great to see you, Tony.

HARRIS: You know what happens to us Robin. We get to talking about a lot of issues that are important to the main thrust of the segment and then we have to rush through the technology. So let's just try to change this up and let's get right to this environmentally friendly technology right off the top and then we'll talk about some other issues.

LISS: Of course.

HARRIS: First of all, let's talk about this bag. Now what is this bag? And what is its purpose and use here?

LISS: This is great. One of the big reasons that gadgets are bad for the environment is because of the energy they consume. So this is a voltaic messenger bag. It includes three solar panels and a bunch of connectors so you can plug in your cell phone or you MP3 player or iPod and charge them while you're outside.

HARRIS: That's great. That's great. Now the next piece of -- be careful with your microphone there, Robin. The next piece of technology is this -- what is it? This is the Soldius cell phone solar charger. That's it right here, correct?

LISS: Right. This is a small solar charger. It's a similar idea as the bag. It's $89 so it's more affordable but it also hooks up to a cell phone or a printer but it's really thin so you can slip it in your pocket on the go.

HARRIS: Now let me ask you something. I see a bunch of adapters here. I'm going to hold some of them up here. Once you charge up this cell, can you use the power to recharge, say, your cell phone, your CD player or what do you think, your iPod?

LISS: It works for basically low power gadgets, so really anything that's small, iPod, cell phone. And what's great is they include a variety of different connectors so you can use it for all kinds of different gadgets. If you carry those around, it's a very versatile tool.

HARRIS: How about the smart strip power strip? You have that there, right, in New York?

LISS: Right, OK. So one of the problems with a lot of home computers is that when you turn them off, they're not actually off. It's something called idle safe power and it's a small amount of energy but when you leave a monitor plugged into the wall overnight, it really adds up.

It's actually a total of 11 billion kilowatt hours in the United States are wasted on computer monitors. So what this power strip does is it plugs into your computer and it knows when you shut down your computer and it cuts off the power to your accessories and your peripherals like your printer or your monitor or your scanner and it's also going to save you money and use less energy.

HARRIS: No, that's great. That's great. Let's look at this next piece of technology here. This is, let's see here, the Niagara continuous flow ink system. Tell us about this Robin.

LISS: This one's really neat. One of the big kind of wasteful products from technology is printer ink cartridges. Each ink cartridge actually requires two half barrels of oil just to make the plastic. So what this does, this kind of goes above your printer and this goes into the printer and it's like an ink system so you don't have to use ink cartridges anymore. It also saves you a lot of money, about 82 percent because you can buy the ink in bulk, fill it up here and you never have to buy cartridges again.

HARRIS: I want to you think about this as we move on to this next item and we're going to go back through this and you can give us a sense of the pricing on all of these items. Now what am I looking at? This is the new camera, the Optio-W 10 camera.

LISS: So after you spent all this energy working to clean-up the environment and get environmentally friendly gadgets, you want to enjoy it. So this is a Pentax Optio W10 digital camera. It's $270. It's waterproof and environment proof. So you can take it muddy and dirty. You can take it on hikes with you and take really great pictures. It's six megapixels and includes a three times optical zoom so the quality is quite good.

HARRIS: What about the price on this?

LISS: It's $270.

HARRIS: $270, OK, just a running tally here. Now for the continuous flow ink system, what is that going to cost me?

LISS: It's a little bit more expensive, $279 but you can do the same thing if you go to your local staples or Office Depot or Office Max and buy ink refillers, will be much more affordable.

HARRIS: Got you. How much for the power strip?

LISS: The power strip is $31.

HARRIS: All right and the cell phone solar charger?

LISS: $89.

HARRIS: $89 and last but not least, the messenger bag?

LISS: Yes, that's the most expensive, $240 but it's pretty fashionable so you get two things in one.

HARRIS: Fantastic. We did it Robin. We did it. Robin Liss joining us from Boston.

LISS: We made it through.

HARRIS: And we waded our way through all of the gadgets, great to see you Robin.

LISS: Great to see you Tony. Happy Earth Day.

HARRIS: And to you, Zain.

VERJEE: Thanks Tony. "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" is coming up at the top of the hour, Fredricka Whitfield, who you all know and love joining us.

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Love you back. We've got a lot straight ahead. Of course we're going to continue to look at high gas prices and the search for alternative fuels. What if you could turn grass into gas? It's not science fiction; we'll explain.

Also Marsalis' music. Jazz legend Wynton Marsalis is giving back to his hometown of New Orleans. I talk to him about what his hopes are for the city and what's happening musically there these days and we'll talk and I suggest you also listen to his special preview of his latest Masterpiece. He calls it the blues. Isn't that cute?

VERJEE: Yes.

WHITFIELD: It's kind of upbeat and jazzy. It's a little bit of everything. He can do it all.

VERJEE: Kind of like you, upbeat all the time.

WHITFIELD: Oh, yes. OK. Thanks, Zain.

VERJEE: Fredricka Whitfield, thanks darling. Well, make sure you catch a little bit later today.

This may sound a little bit half baked but we have one woman's very special find in a bag of ordinary potatoes. CNN.com's Veronica de la Cruz is here with the most popular video on line when CNN SATURDAY MORNING returns.

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VERJEE: Time now for us to see what people are watching online and there's only one lady who does that for us.

HARRIS: And that is Veronica de la Cruz from the dot com desk with the most popular videos of the day.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hang on for a second. I need to hear Zain say it again. She says it better than I can say my own name, my own name better. VERJEE: Veronica de la Cruz.

DE LA CRUZ: Wow, wow.

VERJEE: I put a lot of effort into it.

DE LA CRUZ: I was practicing downstairs the rain in Spain. Zain comes into the makeup room, Hello, girls, darlings. I just love it. It's wonderful.

All right, let's talk Earth Day. How about today? All right, how about a little potato love on this Earth Day? Check this out. This woman in Columbia, South Carolina found this spud in the bottom of a bag of potatoes that she bought. She got the bag from the same stand that she always buys her vegetables. Now she says the potato will never be fried, peeled, baked, roasted or eaten ever because she believes this potato is a sign from above. But isn't it going it get kind of funky looking with all the sprouts coming out of it?

HARRIS: It will look a little odd, that's for sure.

DE LA CRUZ: All right. How about this story? Red means go, right?

VERJEE: Green means go.

DE LA CRUZ: Well, for Jason Nikum (ph), red man go, he raced through red lights on his way to work, turning hem green for two whole years, He was using a device meant for emergency vehicles like ambulances or police cars. He says he bought the device on eBay for $100 and in the two years he used it, it paid for himself. His fine only $50.

VERJEE: That's it?

DE LA CRUZ: Yes and the device was taken away.

HARRIS: OK, good.

VERJEE: Where can we get one of these?

DE LA CRUZ: eBay for $100. But don't try it at home, come on, guys. Play it by the rules. Play by the rules.

HARRIS: Absolutely.

DE LA CRUZ: That was online at CNN.com/video.

HARRIS: Veronica, thank you.

VERJEE: Thanks Veronica.

HARRIS: I want to check with weather, Reynolds Wolf upstairs in the CNN weather center. Good morning, Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT) VERJEE: It went by quickly. You made it fun.

HARRIS: Wasn't it?

VERJEE: Yes, yes, it was really fun.

HARRIS: Fingers crossed, fingers crossed, you'll come back tomorrow.

VERJEE: I'll keep my toes crossed and my eyes crossed.

HARRIS: Beautiful

VERJEE: Thank you, Tony. "CNN LIVE SATURDAY" with Fredricka Whitfield up next right after this break. Stay with CNN.

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