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CNN Saturday Morning News

Terrorist Plots Against NYC Tunnels; Lady Pirates Basketball Team Comes Back from Katrina; Runner Goes Across Country for Hurricane Relief; Tryouts for Beyonce's Group

Aired July 08, 2006 - 10:30   ET

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

TONY HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning everyone. The U.S. sends warships to Japan amid tensions over North Korean nuclear tests. The USS Mustin is a top of the line guided missile destroyer equipped with sensitive missile tracking radar. The USS Silo (sic). The "Shiloh" is due to arrive in Japan next month. The decision to deploy the ships was made long before North Korea's missile tests heightened tensions this week.
Israel's leader is rejecting a call for a cease-fire coming from the Palestinian prime minister. Israel says there can be no cease- fire until a kidnapped soldier is released and Americans visiting friends and relatives in Gaza are getting out of Gaza as fighting intensifies.

The pope pays a visit to Valencia, Spain and while there, he plans to attend a world family meeting and stress the need for family values. Earlier today the pontiff prayed at the train station where 42 people died last Monday in a train crash. CNN, the most trusted name in news.

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Terror plots foiled. Law enforcement authorities say they disrupted a plot by Islamic extremists to attack tunnels between Manhattan and New Jersey. Now three of eight suspects are in custody. And this comes after a year-long international investigation involving six foreign governments.

The FBI says it believes the alleged plot was the real deal. It was planned for sometime between October or November. Now, authorities say the terrorists' goal was to flood lower Manhattan. And earlier I spoke with former New York police commissioner Howard Safir.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HOWARD SAFIR, FMR. N.Y. POLICE COMMISSIONER: I think it was very early stage. We don't know how serious it was. No resources were obtained. No financing, no travel. It was pretty much chatter, but on the other hand you have to take chatter very seriously. What concerns me more is you had Miami. You had Toronto.

Now you have this plot in Lebanon. It appears that what is happening is al Qaeda is becoming a franchise. You don't need communication. You don't need Osama bin Laden telling people what to do. Islamic fundamentalists now feel that jihad gives them the ability and the clearance to go ahead and plot. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF SEN. CHARLES SCHUMER (D), NEW YORK: These don't seem to be the brightest bulbs in the terrorist lot. Their plan made no sense. The Lincoln tunnel is below sea level. The waters are below sea level and if you were to blow up the Lincoln tunnel, God forbid, you would not flood lower Manhattan.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

NGUYEN: So in light of what you just said and what you just heard from the senator, you agree?

SAFIR: I agree with the Lincoln and the Holland tunnel. I don't agree with the PATH tubes because they are below ground. But on the other hand, Senator Schumer does have a point in the fact that it's my understanding that the PATH tubes are in 40 feet of bedrock below the water so it would take a really, really massive explosion to get water to seep into the tunnels.

NGUYEN: As man who knows a lot about protecting New York City, now that his plot has been put out in the open, is it going to hinder the investigation any?

SAFIR: I don't think so. This investigation has been going on for eight months. I think it's pretty curious that it was announced on 7/7, the anniversary of the London bombings and just in the back of my mind, I wonder if it was announced to kind of divert attention from the anniversary of the bombing.

NGUYEN: That's interesting. Well, Representative Peter King, who is chairman of the House committee on homeland security had this to say about what this has done to the city of New York, this plot. Take a listen. And what he says in speaking with the media he says, this is very draining on New York City's treasury. Without going into detail, an extraordinary amount of money has been spent by the New York City police department on this particular plot.

Now, with that in mind, we learned earlier this year that the Department of Homeland Security was cutting the funding to New York City as far as it goes to protecting itself against terrorist attack. Do you think in light of all of this they need to rethink that?

SAFIR: I think absolutely. The fact that New York was cut 40 percent is outrageous. New York is the number one target. It's the media capital of the world, the icon of capitalism. That's where terrorists are going to attack first. I know Peter King very well. He has it absolutely right.

NGUYEN: And very quickly, with the funding situation, with the fact that you never know where these terrorist plots will come from, if they will indeed be carried out, God forbid, what can people do, everyday people do to protect themselves and their cities all across the nation, not just in New York City?

SAFIR: They have to go about their business. They can't let terrorists deter what they do in a regular basis. But like the signs in both the London and the New York subway signs say, if you see it, say it. If you think something is happening that relates to terrorism, call the authorities right away. It's better to be embarrassed than to do a body count.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Don't be afraid. Speak out. Again that was former New York police Commissioner Howard Safir. I spoke with him just a little bit earlier this morning.

You'll want to stay tuned to CNN both day and night for the most reliable information on your safety and your security.

HARRIS: Still if you have been looking for a silver lining from the Katrina tragedy, you know it is in the spirit of goodwill that seems to be radiating from all corners of the world, actually. One of those inspiring stories next. This is our man here. That story next on CNN SATURDAY MORNING, plus this.

A story about dream chasers and the prize should they get it is huge. What do you say Betty, 200 miles from earth, can we take you there? Sure we can.

NGUYEN: See them on the right hand side of the screen as part of this spacewalk that they are conducting. It's really remarkable that the work they are doing in this robotic arm. We're going to get into all the details of that as we show you a live picture right now. We'll be right back with more CNN SATURDAY MORNING.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: The Lady Pirates, have you heard of them? They lost everything in Katrina but they found that there were people out there, people they never met who cared about them.

The story now from CNN's Susan Roesgen.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUSAN ROESGEN, CNN GULF COAST CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): If you want to know what Katrina did to the Lady Pirates riots basketball team of Pass Christian, Mississippi, take a look at their shoes. No two pairs are alike. Because the girls shoes, their uniforms even the gym they used to play in are all gone. This is where one of the players used to live.

A mobile home picked up and carried by the storm surge across the road a hundred yards away. These days Lady Pirates junior point guard Sarah Freeman practices outside her family's FEMA trailer. The drive to get back on the court is the one thing that kept her going when the hurricane took everything else away.

SARAH FREEMAN, LADY PIRATES: As soon as the phone lines got back up, I called my coach to ask her if we were going to play. ROESGEN: The Lady Pirates had never been what you'd call a powerhouse. They never even made it to the playoffs until this year when the team that lost everything found their true grit. They started winning. They took second place in their district and someone noticed. Last week at the elementary school gym where they have been practicing, a visitor arrived with a surprise.

Every single one of you get a new pair of Nike shocks, OK.

ROESGEN: A national businesswoman's networking organization headed by CEO Sandra Yancy had decided to adopt the Lady Pirates. Working with Nike and the WNBA, Yancy brought the team gifts and hope. It was the girls' spirit that made them a team. Now they look like a team, too. Susan Roesgen, CNN, Pass Christian, Mississippi.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So gifts to the Gulf. Anderson Cooper has more of those stories. "AC 360" airs weeknights at 10:00 Eastern, 7:00 Pacific.

And more gifts to the Gulf are coming thanks to some real legwork from Jonathan Prince. See that guy right there. Back in October, we introduced you to a young man helping Katrina victims in a very unusual way. Take a look. Jonathan Prince decided to run raising money for hurricane relief. He started in Los Angeles. He made it all the way to Atlanta. That's a long distance to run.

His Web site run4relief.org is raising money for Habitat for Humanity to build houses for Gulf coast hurricane victims. And this week Prince is off yet again. He's still running. We can't keep this guy from running. But it's all for a good cause. This time he's bound for New York. He's going to run from Atlanta to Manhattan going through DC.

Then here's the kicker, a return trip will go from New York through five states all the way to New Orleans. So we stopped him from running too fast to try to get a little interview with him this morning. He's here the man and the feet, those tired feet. So good to see you, Jonathan.

JONATHAN PRINCE, RUN4RELIEF.ORG: How you doing, Betty?

NGUYEN: I'm doing great. The question is how are you doing? And again? Are you a glutton for punishment? You went through how many pairs of shoes the first time?

PRINCE: Six pair of shoes the first time. It's not that well to New York it's not that long of a run but coming back down.

NGUYEN: You're saying that now.

PRINCE: I'm saying that now.

NGUYEN: Talking a few weeks.

PRINCE: Right. The training is going to be a lot more difficult going up hills and things of that such. But my spirit won't let me not. I couldn't just do what I did last time and wash my hands with it this time.

NGUYEN: Why not because a lot of people would. They'd say, you know what, I did my part. Now let somebody else do it.

PRINCE: I still care and I haven't forgotten. It's been a one- year anniversary coming up soon. It's hurricane season now. The truth of the matter is there is still a lot of people looking for hope and inspiration. Still a lot of families misplaced and I just want to do my part so hopefully we can make that happen.

NGUYEN: Do you feel that not enough has been done almost a year since it occurred, I mean still people without their homes down there. I know your first trip the money went to help Habitat for Humanity. Is that what you're really planning to do this time around too?

PRINCE: All proceeds are going directly to Habitat for Humanity. I'm looking at raising at least $100,000. One of my sponsors actually...

NGUYEN: $100,000. That's up from last time.

PRINCE: Definitely, because I aimed too low. I set my goal for at least $10,000 and the country responded well and we raised at least $20,000. I'm looking ...

NGUYEN: That's not a bad goal, yes.

PRINCE: Exactly. Now each home that I help build this time Noritz tankless water heater is going to donate a tankless water heater to each home I help build with Habitat for Humanity.

NGUYEN: You just keep growing and the help just keeps multiplying and multiplying. In fact, you got some celebrities on board, don't you?

PRINCE: Exactly, Jamie Foxx is showing his support, Beyonce showing her support, Erykah Badu, Chris Tucker, comedians.

NGUYEN: Wow.

PRINCE: There's a lot of people that are getting wind the second time around as well.

NGUYEN: It's a good thing, obviously. But at the same time it's such a challenge. It is so difficult. So what did you learn that first time around that you're thinking you know what, not going to do that again.

PRINCE: Well ...

NGUYEN: Pace yourself maybe.

PRINCE: Well, just listen to my body for the most part. I realize that with my first run all the e-mails and phone calls people were telling me go run for relief is bigger than just hurricanes and Katrina. It's a worldwide denominator. People are going through their own spiritual hurricanes right now. It just inspires me to motivate others to display the power of running. If I could do that for the rest of my life, make all the difference. I'm just an average guy trying to make a difference in the world.

NGUYEN: You're a man living for a purpose and that's what a lot of people seek to do. It's a wonderful thing. Let me see those shoes because they are about to get beat down once you hit the road.

PRINCE: These are my run for relief official.

NGUYEN: That's pair number one. How many do you think you're going through this time?

PRINCE: Let's take a bet. I'd say about...

NGUYEN: I say seven.

PRINCE: You say seven. I'm going to go price is right on you and say eight.

NGUYEN: We'll see who win this is one.

PRINCE: OK.

NGUYEN: It doesn't matter who wins because the folks that have suffered in hurricane Katrina, they are always going to be the winner because you're doing something to help them. We appreciate it. We really do. It's a great thing that you're doing.

PRINCE: Thank you. If everybody watching right now ...

NGUYEN: Here's a challenge. Go ahead, do it.

PRINCE: OK. If everybody watching right now just goes to run4relief.org we can make -- and donates just $5, we can make my minimum goal of $100,000 happen today.

NGUYEN: $100,000 today. We can do it folks and here's how you can do it. Jonathan, thank you so much. I'm going to keep plugging this for you, because all you have to do again is go to www.run4relief. I think we have a graphic of this, hopefully we do, run4relief.com and you can make your donation there and also you can - do org I should say - and then you can also chart your progress as you go to New York and all the way back down to New Orleans.

PRINCE: All the way down. You just follow me the whole way.

NGUYEN: Good luck to you my friend.

PRINCE: Thank you so much.

NGUYEN: Of course we'll be talking with you. I say seven, you say eight, we'll see. Tony, you want to weigh in here?

HARRIS: Yes, Jonathan, can we do something a little better with the buggy this time. Can we upgrade it?

PRINCE: We got the same buggy. Oh, for people watching. If you see me on the shoulder of the highway, it's not a baby. You don't got to call the police. I'm just carrying my belongings. That's my mobile home.

HARRIS: All right. Good to see you Jonathan.

PRINCE: Thanks a lot.

HARRIS: Look at that thing. We need to upgrade it, pimp it out a little bit. They're pimping out grills these days.

NGUYEN: Pimp my buggy. We will work on that.

HARRIS: Monster grills. All right. Still ahead, one day she is a struggling musician trying to launch her flight to stardom. Two weeks later, she is on the stage with Beyonce. Plus this, just in case you need it, when we come back, proof that dreams really do come true.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: And right now high, high above, we've got a couple of astronauts, great shot of the astronauts here at the International Space Station and the space shuttle working on the robotic arm, high up in the vacuum of space. We're going to keep an eye on them throughout the rest of the morning.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you. Well, it's the $50 million mystery. Why did Dave Chapelle turn his back on his own show not to mention $50 million? That deal with Comedy Central. Last night Chapelle called CNN's Anderson Cooper and it was an exclusive conversation about the last year. More importantly Chapelle solved that $50 million riddle.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DAVE CHAPELLE, COMEDIAN: There's two perceptions that people have. One perception is that I got paid $50 million and left. That's not what happened. If that was the case then I'd be running from the law. I didn't get $50 million and I'm not $50 million richer than before I signed the deal.

And another thing that always bothers me is that whenever I see my name in the paper, they always mention $50 million and no one ever mentioned how much money the show generated. What are they making to pay Dave Chapelle $50 million? Am I asking for an unreasonable sum or portion? I'm just interested to know. I'm surprised nobody else is.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: That's a good question. Tomorrow night Comedy Central plans to air the first of what they are calling the lost episodes of the "Chapelle Show". HARRIS: How about this? When R&B singer Beyonce Knowles decided well, she wanted to form a new all-girl band, thousands lined up to audition. After all she is an icon.

NGUYEN: Yes.

HARRIS: And sharing a stage with her is a dream for many artists. When Ms. Knowles decided to hold auditions here in Atlanta, we were allowed to tag along. And what we found out is that dreams really do come true.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

HARRIS (voice-over): Superstar Beyonce Knowles, one of the hottest recording artists today with a new album due to release in September. On fire enough to hold auditions nationwide for her upcoming tour, scouring major cities like New York, Chicago and Atlanta in search of the perfect all-female band. And one musician trying to get near all those lights, the cameras and all the action is 30-year-old Debbie Walker, a bass guitar player of 10 years.

Better known by her stage name Divinity, no stranger to music, Divinity's toured worldwide with recording artist Victor Wooten and has even started working on her own CD. Yet on this day she finds herself in line just like hundreds of other hopefuls in Atlanta, her hometown, trying to make the all-female tour band of Beyonce Knowles. She admits she is slightly nervous and slightly afraid.

DEBBIE "DIVINITY" WALKER, BASS GUITAR PLAYER: Of course I have fears. And I wouldn't be human if I didn't.

HARRIS: But for the audition, she is letting go of her fears.

WALKER: I've had a lot of rejection as far as being an artist, yes. I've had to deal - I've got turned down for several deals but you know everybody does. So I just keep grinding.

HARRIS: Standing on a stage that could ultimately change her life forever, Divinity keeps going, all while skeptical critical eyes are watching, tracking every sound she makes.

WALKER: Playing for somebody at that level and that caliber and the type of musician that she needs to back her up, yes, that's a big deal. That's pressure.

HARRIS: But when all lights shine on Divinity, she says her talent and knowledge conquer her doubts and fears. Now ready to take on whatever Beyonce and the world throw her way.

WALKER: This is definitely a huge opportunity for me. For me it's more of a challenge. Can it do it? Can I pull it off as a bass player?

HARRIS: Apparently she can. From a pool of over a thousand musicians nationwide, Divinity was picked to go on tour by Beyonce herself. Her first gig, appearing on national television on stage with the R&B songstress sequined in silver at the BET awards. And now Divinity stands one step closer to stardom, a dream she worked towards every day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: So exactly how did you pick the right lady at the right time to follow?

HARRIS: As always, Betty, thank you for the question.

NGUYEN: Yes. You hate my questions.

HARRIS: I'm a bass player. You didn't know that, did you?

NGUYEN: No. I didn't know you had any musical talent. Sorry, Tony.

HARRIS: So what's the next stop on the map? Divinity says she and the rest of Beyonce's crew heading to London, promoting Knowles new CD called "B-day" appropriately enough Betty. Thanks for the question. The CD will be released on Beyonce's birthday, That's September 4.

NGUYEN: Loving that. OK, you know what we're also loving is your response to our e-mail question today. We got lots of really good ones. Here's the question one more time: Should the U.S. sit down in direct talks with North Korea? Obviously this is in light of the fact that North Korea launched seven missiles last Wednesday.

And our first viewer writes from Missouri, Jerry says, "No direct one on one talks. It's time that we beef up our military. Stop playing footsie. As Harry Truman said, 'the buck stops here.'"

HARRIS: Yes, this from Barry from Virginia who writes, "President Bush needs to talk. Talking is always better than watching or bombing." So there you go, a couple of e-mails for you. And here's the question once again. Should the U.S. sit down? Our understanding is that they will talk, the U.S. will talk one on one but in the framework of the six party talks.

NGUYEN: Right. They said that all along.

HARRIS: So there's the question. Send along your e-mails or are we done with e-mails the morning?

NGUYEN: I think we're done today, but we'll have another one tomorrow. So stick around for that. And as always, we really appreciate them.

Still though, much more to come here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Our top stories straight ahead.

HARRIS: And new next hour the boy survived, but the iPod was fried, a cautionary tale of nature's wrath with a heavy metal soundtrack.

NGUYEN: And speaking of those musical talents, Tony, the news continues right here on CNN after a short break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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