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CNN Saturday Morning News

Heading Home For Residents Evacuated When Fire Broke Out At North Carolina Hazardous Materials Plant; North Korean Nuclear Test Possible At Any Time

Aired October 07, 2006 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Now in the news, heading back home. Residents evacuated when a fire broke out at a hazardous materials plant in North Carolina. Well they are returning home this morning. Most of them got the thumbs up for a safe end return about 90 minutes ago.
At least ten people were killed today by a suicide truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. In Baghdad, two people were wounded by a home made bomb in one neighborhood and gunman also killed two bakery workers in a Shiite area.

T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had breakfast this morning with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at his country residence. She says they discussed her just finished trip to the Middle East.

We are just about one hour away from the christening ceremony of the navy's newest aircraft carrier. President Bush will be there as the carrier is set to be named after his pops. We'll bring you that live and tell you more about the giant ship that is coming up next hour.

NGUYEN: His pops, huh? That would be the former president to you.

One of the few remaining veterans of baseball's Negro league, well he has died, Buck O'Neill was a star player and manager who eventually became a major league coach. He was featured prominently in the 1994 PBS documentary, "Baseball." O'Neill was 94.

Now to get you straight to Reynolds Wolf for a quick check of the weather outside on this Saturday morning. Good morning, Reynolds.

(WEATHER REPORT)

NGUYEN: We will be watching Reynolds. We do run down the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING with in depth coverage of morning long. So your next check of the headlines that is coming at 9:15 Eastern.

HOLMES: Cashing in on the changing housing market. Mortgage rates are falling. So is it time to refinance. "OPEN HOUSE" has that answer for you in 30 minutes.

NGUYEN: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. This is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I have a new partner with me today. He's staying for a long time. T.J. Holmes, thanks for being with us.

HOLMES: You are trying to force me out with what you are putting me through already.

NGUYEN: I know with all those technical difficulties, I had nothing to do with it.

HOLMES: I know you didn't but yes, I am T.J. Holmes. Thank you so much for starting your day with us.

And we are going to start this hour with that fire in North Carolina. Well the danger is over. Now it's time to head home for most residents that evacuated when a fire broke out at a hazardous materials plant in North Carolina.

Joining us now by phone to talk about it is Sharon Brown, the director of public affairs in Waite County, thank you for spending a couple of minutes with us. First, can you tell me what happened or when did you all get word? What made you comfortable enough that you could let everybody back into their homes?

SHARON BROWN, PUBLIC AFFAIRS DIRECTOR, WAITE COUNTY: Thank you for having us. We are delighted. In fact, I'm in an Acura dealership in one of the areas that had been closed off and have just reopened. It's one of the first phases. They're all happy about that.

People are happy to be returning home. Only after the EPA officials and our own department of natural resources and the county's environmental services folks monitored the air quality and measured those toxicity levels and assured that they were at safe levels are we letting people back in.

In fact one area that is closest to the plant explosion and fire, they are not allowing them back in until they do some further tests.

HOLMES: And I know that some people went to the hospital, I think, with minor complaints and minor injuries, but do you have any word of any more serious issues being caused from some of that smoke?

BROWN: No, we don't, and we're thankful for that. People heeded caution. People staying in their homes did not run their air- conditioners. Firefighters and police officers had been on the scene since Thursday night at 10:00 when the explosion occurred. Other people who went with minor respiratory headaches, nausea, were treated at hospitals and all released. So we're really grateful that public health was our up most goals anyway, turned out to be a good news picture.

HOLMES: It is good news. Sharon Brown, again, the director of public affairs for Waite County. Glad things worked out, it looked like you were going to have a tough time, we are glad to know there were no injuries. But thank you again and congratulations on getting things taken care of and getting everybody back home. Thank you so much. NGUYEN: In political news, a former page linked to the former Congressman Mark Foley e-mail scandal is expected to cooperate with investigators. The Florida congressman resigned last week, as you recall, after his e-mails and instant messages to former male pages were made public. Well, a lawyer for the now 21-year-old former page said he will talk with federal agents next week. Oklahoma attorney Stephen Jones declined to give details about his client's contact with Foley.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STEPHEN JONES, ATTORNEY FOR FORMER PAGE: I would like respect for the privacy of my client. I think he has done a courageous thing by his willingness to contact a lawyer, to assist him to answer the questions. And I think that's where we should focus. Then, once the results are established, once we know the facts, then we can draw the appropriate lessons and make the appropriate decisions.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Well, if you want to talk about focus, Democrats and some Republicans are calling for house speaker Dennis Hastert to resign. They contend the Republican leadership didn't do enough after learning of Foley's behavior. And with midterm elections next month, Republicans well they are worried about the scandal's political impact.

HOLMES: The executive assistant to White House adviser Karl Rove has resigned. Susan Raltson had previously worked for Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff. The White House spokesman said Ralston stepped down because of concerns her ties to Abramoff would be a distraction.

Documents show Abramoff gained dozens of contacts with Bush administration through Raltson, Abramoff pleaded guilty to corruption charges and a Capital Hill influence peddling probe. In her letter to President Bush Ralston wrote that working at the White House had been a privilege and the time had come for her to pursue other opportunities.

NGUYEN: Americans are almost evenly split on how they feel things are going in the country right now. A CNN poll conducted by Opinion Research Corporation found 51 percent of Americans think things are going well. Forty nine percent say that they are going badly. Asked about their own family's financial situation, 58 percent said they can maintain their standard of living, 41 percent said they are falling behind.

As we head into the crucial midterm elections, you want to stay up to date with the CNN political ticker. The daily news services on CNN.com gives you an inside view to these political stories. All you have to do right there on the screen go to CNN.com/ticker.

HOLMES: We have several developments to tell you about this morning concerning North Korea and it's threat to test a nuclear weapon. Friday the U.N. Security Council issued a warning to North Korea to call off that test or else. Not really sure what the or else is at this time. But Japan said there should be strong punitive measures if North Korea doesn't abandon the test.

With the world watching North Korean leader Kim Jong-il met with his military commanders and he is urging them to bolster the country's defenses. North Korea's test could come at any time. CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr looks at what this means in the balance of power.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

BARBARA STARR, CNN PENTAGON CORRESPONDENT (voice over): North Korea's leader Kim Jong-il happily waved to his military commanders as world pressure mounts for him to cancel plans to conduct his country's first nuclear test. His announcement has thrown diplomatic efforts at the United Nations into a frenzy. If there is a nuclear detonation, the world changes.

JOSEPH CIRINCIONE, CENTER FOR AMERICAN PROGRESS: This immediately affects the calculations of South Korea, Taiwan, Japan, all of whom might decide they need to have their own independent nuclear arsenal as well. If North Korea gets away with this, Iran will be encouraged to go forward.

STARR: Assist secretary of state Christopher Hill sounded ominous this week saying North Korea can have a future or it can have these weapons. It cannot have both. But the Bush administration is avoiding talk of a preemptive strike or a military response afterwards.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's the decision for the country. It's the decision for the president.

STARR: There's plenty of U.S. firepower in the region, 28,000 troops in South Korea and some 20 war ships based out of Japan. Half a dozen b-52 bombers are in Guam. But what is the target? U.S. Intelligence shows North Korea is preparing several sights for potential tests. But one intelligence analyst told CNN it's a game of nuclear three cards Monty, trying to force the CIA to guess which hole in the ground is the right one.

The first signs of a nuclear detonation will come from more than 100 underground monitoring stations around the world. Spy planes, such as this nuclear sniffer, are already flying overhead and satellites are trained on the region 24/7. But will the intelligence community be able to quickly tell what North Korea has done after a missile test. Intelligence analysts tell CNN that little useful information was ever collected after North Korea's July missile test.

Barbara Starr, CNN, the Pentagon.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld is speaking out about the war in Afghanistan. In this mornings "Washington Post" five years after the Taliban, Rumsfeld says " Building a new nation is never a straight, steady climb upward. Today can sometimes look worse than yesterday, or even two months ago. What matters is the overall trajectory: Where do things stand today when compared to what they were five years ago? In Afghanistan, the trajectory is a hopeful and promising one."

New this morning out of Afghanistan a roadside bomb kills a NATO soldier on patrol in Kandahar Province. The soldier's nationality hasn't been disclosed.

In Eastern Afghanistan two suicide bombings Friday killed an Afghan police officer and wounded 15 others, several of them civilians.

This just in to CNN. We want to tell you about in Afghanistan gunmen ambushed and killed two German journalists earlier today. That is according to wire reports from Reuters and the Associated Press. The journalists a man and a woman were apparently working on a documentary about 80 miles north of the capital of Kabul. Germany has more than 2,700 troops in Afghanistan serving as part the NATO force there. When we get more information on this, we will bring it straight to you.

HOLMES: And E. coli scare sparks another food recall. This time we're not talking spinach. We have details in about four minutes.

NGUYEN: Exactly how long do you have to work up a sweat just to burn some off the fat? Our fitness guru, Jerry Anderson is coming your way in ten minutes. Get ready because he is going to dispel some of those fat myths.

HOLMES: Plus, saving money by saving water. Coming up in 20 minutes, "Open House" with Gerri Willis, shows you how easy it is.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: Now, in the news for you on this Saturday, it is safe to go home again in Apex, North Carolina. Most residents evacuated because of a two-day fire at a hazardous materials plant. Well they're allowed to return home today. The results of the environmental tests are due out today as well a little bit later today.

At least 10 people were killed today by a suicide truck bomb in the northern Iraqi city of Tal Afar. In Baghdad two people were wounded by a home made bomb in one neighborhood, and gunmen also killed two bakery workers in a Shiite area.

Well tension increases along the border between North and South Korea. The South Korean troops fired warning shots today after five North Korean soldiers crossed into the southern side of the demilitarized zone. This comes as North Korea moves closer to its threatened nuclear test. That could happen today or tomorrow.

Well we do run down the top stories every 15 minutes right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING with in depth coverage all morning long. You're next check of the headlines coming up at 9:30 Eastern. HOLMES: An Iowa Company is voluntarily recalling 5,000 pounds of ground beef in seven states. It involves six different brands. Each bears the USDA establishment number 2424. The USDA says the meat may be contaminated with E. coli strain in spinach that killed three people. No reported illnesses linked to this recalled beef just yet. More information is on our Web site and CNN.com's Veronica De La Cruz has more coming up in our next half hour.

NGUYEN: But right now if you're headed out to the store, Reynolds Wolf has a look at the weather forecast for you out there.

WOLF: You know, in some parts of the country, the weather is going to be dazzling this weekend, it will be just picture perfect. But Virginia will probably not be one of those places, you can expect plenty of rain drops in Richmond, southward along I-85 and I-95. Petersburg too getting some rain there as well.

Meanwhile we're going to shuffle our way out towards the west. In Albuquerque, we could see some rainfall there later on in the day. For the time being, things are pretty good and great for balloonists. Take a look at this great image that we have. Several images, I believe, should be popping up at any time. We have the Albuquerque balloon festival that is taking place out there today.

This is one of many balloons that you'll see there. Great crowds out there. And the reason why you see these hot air balloons take off in the early morning or rather into the evening hours is that is because that is when the atmosphere tends to be more stable. They're big balloons and they fly. Good times.

All right. We're going to take a look at other things around the nation like these temperatures 73 in Memphis, 72 in Kansas City. For the balloon festival it should be great temperatures around 75 degrees. A chance of rainfall later on in the day for Albuquerque.

So, again, the balloon are going to be up for a short time, then into the afternoon a chance of thunder storms, those can be expected also over in Phoenix with a high of 90, 66 for San Francisco. A lovely day in Portland, a mix of clouds and sunshine with 66.

But nice dry and cool from Boston to New York. Check out those temperatures in the northeast, 63 for Detroit, and 64 in Chicago. Should be a lovely day. All right. That's the latest on your forecast. Hey, we're going to try to get more of those images of the balloons.

NGUYEN: Did you see all those people that turned out for that? I have a question for you Reynolds. You look like a pretty buff guy; it has nothing to do with balloons though. What happens to those muscles when you stop hitting the gym? Do you know?

WOLF: Like the balloons, they just go like this.

NGUYEN: Well we are going to find out about that and much more because Jerry's jump-start is next. So get ready, get those weights out. HOLMES: I'm just upset because you didn't call me buff.

NGUYEN: You're looking buff, too.

NGUYEN: I get to talk about the best mortgage. You finding that best mortgage. "Open House" explains how to make the most of the falling interest rates.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: We just love this segment. I tell you what T.J. has been looking forward to this. When it comes to losing weight, there's no shortage of people willing to share their secrets, but do they really work? Many of those tips are big, fat lies. Our fitness guru Jerry Anderson is here to separate the fact from fiction. Hey, Jerry.

JERRY ANDERSON, FITNESS EXPERT: How are you doing this morning Betty?

NGUYEN: Looking good. How many of those muscle shirts do you have? Fifty, one for every day of the week.

ANDERSON: Endless, I have one for everyday and I have backups also. If I have one that don't make it through, bam, bam, bam.

NGUYEN: You have to stop wearing your little sister's shirt. Let's get to serious stuff. We want you to cut the fat and get to the truth. Here's a question, do you have to do a aerobic exercise for at least 20 minutes before your body really starts burning that fat?

ANDERSON: Wow you know what people say this all the time. That's a big, fat lie. You don't have to do that.

NGUYEN: Really?

ANDERSON: Not at all. Your body is burning fat all day long, 50 percent is fat, and 50 percent of it is carbohydrate. That's how it burns. But here is what happens when you're doing cardiovascular exercises, as you are doing exercise you're not refueling.

So when your carbohydrates are depleted, now your fat stores are being utilized even more so, so as you exercise it increases but Betty, a lot of people are doing this, they are drinking those protein drinks or they are drinking a carbo drink or eating a bar and they are adding the calories when they should be just letting their bodies just burn the fat.

NGUYEN: Yes but cardio has to do something. How much would you suggest that a person do every week so they can lose the fat and build muscle?

ANDERSON: You should do 20 to 30 minutes every day, especially if you need to lose weight. Get some motion going on, but what happens is the body is burning fat all day long while you're sleeping and exercising. When you eat a meal when you are doing your cardiovascular, you shut down the fat burning percentage so it doesn't come up, it goes back down.

Because you are supplying more nutrients. You have to watch. Don't drink those drinks; eat no candy bars while you're doing the exercise. Back off let your body get into fat burning mode and then you really are burning fat, very efficiently.

NGUYEN: All right. So you still need to do that cardio, no doubt.

ANDERSON: Most definitely.

NGUYEN: And if you stop exercising, will that muscle turn back into fat? I mean what happens to that muscle?

ANDERSON: Betty this right here is a big fat lie. People think when you stop exercising those muscles turn to fat. Here is the thing a fat cell cannot turn into a muscle cell, just like a hair cell cannot turn into a bone cell. They're different cells. They don't do that.

What happens when you exercise is your muscles get bigger and stronger. When you don't, they get weaker and smaller. Especially when athletes, when they stop exercising, their muscles shrink. It doesn't happen. A cell is a cell. Muscle, hair cell, fat cell, they're all different, their different cells. Hello.

NGUYEN: Hello, OK. When you talk about fat you know some people just cannot get rid of it so they turn to things like liposuction. So when you do liposuction and you take that fat from that one particular area will it never go back in that area again, can you never gain weight there?

ANDERSON: You know, Betty, this is amazing. A lot of people are getting the liposuction; over 450,000 people a year, which is amazing, 400,000, are women.

NGUYEN: Hey stop hating on us.

ANDERSON: I'm not hating on the ladies, you know you have to do what you have to do. But when you go to get the liposuction, what they do is remove some fat cells from that area. But if you gain weight, those fat cells will get bigger. Here's the amazing thing, Betty. The areas that you didn't do the liposuction on, they get bigger when you gain weight. So it becomes even worse.

NGUYEN: Really?

ANDERSON: Yes so that is the problem because when they remove the fat cells, there is less fat cells and then those fat cells grow slowly when you gain weight. Now you got yourself a whole new problem. So I recommend, bottom line, just take the time. It takes six to 10 weeks to recover from liposuction. It is six to eight weeks, boom.

NGUYEN: Well we are trying our best. I'm doing the exercise like you said. Do the weight training first, before the cardio. I will let you know how that works, maybe I'll look like you before the end of all of this.

But here's my question for you. Because the older we get our metabolism starts to slow down.

ANDERSON: Right.

NGUYEN: So can fat burners and things like that can they really help?

ANDERSON: The amazing thing, and this is from George in Atlanta the bottom line is your metabolism is controlled by your lean muscle mass. The more muscle you have, the more fat you burn. So if you get older increase your lean muscle mass that won't happen, what happens to most people after they the age of 30 they lose half a pound of muscle from simply lack of us. Don't stop exercising, keep building your muscle mass. The muscle is what's burning the calories. Not your body weight, it's your muscle weight.

The second part of the question is do you use fat burners? We're going to talk about fat burners them a little bit later. Don't go with the fat burners. Build up your muscle mass. You will see a difference, because we are going to talk about fat burners, rip to rip off. Unbelievable. Stick with the weight training to build your muscle mass.

NGUYEN: Burn that fat the natural way. Just get on the treadmill and get out there and exercise.

ANDERSON: Absolutely.

NGUYEN: We have a lot more coming your way next week. We do want to invite our viewers to send those questions in because you want to know, Jerry, what's your problem?

ANDERSON: What's your problem.

NGUYEN: Especially when it comes to weight loss. So we'll speak with you next weekend. Thanks so much as always. It's a pleasure.

ANDERSON: Betty, see you next week.

HOLMES: We're not seeing the affects of the Iraq war first hand, in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING we'll speak with Senators Jack Reid about their tour of the war torn nation.

Plus new details about the massive industrial fire in North Carolina. 3

A check of the morning's top stories three minutes away.

And stopping your money from going down the drain, "OPEN HOUSE" shows you some easier moderate water-saving tips.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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