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CNN Saturday Morning News

Hurricane Dean Gathering Strength;

Aired August 18, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

BRIENNA KEILAR, CNN HOST, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, I'm Brianna Keilar in for Betty Nguyen. It's August 18th, and this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN HOST, CNN SATURDAY MORNING: Good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Look at what we are keeping an eye on this morning. That beast there, massive storms turning in the Caribbean, heading to the Gulf of Mexico and CNN, of course, is your hurricane headquarters.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

(UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE): You think they would send us information before they announce to the world that these toys are no good.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Barbie's, Batman, and Poly Pockets, just a few of the 9 million toys recalled this week. We're going to tell you how to take action to keep your family safe.

HOLMES: We are first going to start with that menace that is growing into a monster. Forecasters say hurricane Dean could strengthen into a category 5 storm today. That, of course, the most dangerous on the scale with winds topping 155 miles per hour. Dean has been roaring across the eastern Caribbean, flooding streets and ripping the roofs off buildings. It is expected to slam into Jamaica tomorrow, possibly a direct hit there. Police, armed forces, and emergency service are on high alert. The storm could threaten the U.S. Gulf Coast by Wednesday. Also, parts of Cuba now under a tropical storm warning.

KEILAR: That's right. Meteorologist Bonnie Schneider is live in the Hurricane Headquarters with more on where hurricane Dean is right now.

Bonnie.

BONNIE SCHNEIDER, CNN METEOROLOGSIST: Well taking a look at our satellite perspective, you can see, as we put this map into motion, a well defined eye of very powerful and intense storms. As we look at hurricane Dean, you can see outposts particularly here on the western side of the storm. This storm will only strengthen. It's coming to an area of lower wind shear, more relaxed winds that wouldn't tear it down, and certainly warm waters through the Caribbean. As we look at what's happening in terms of watches and warnings, we have a tropical storm warning that continues for the U.S. Virgin islands and Puerto Rico, a hurricane warning for the south coast of the Dominican Republic, Haiti, and now a hurricane watch for Jamaica. Cuba is actually under a tropical storm watch. And that may get upgraded. Right now it is a watch, meaning we may see tropical storm force winds within the next 36 hours.

But I think this upgrade will happen even sooner because Jamaica really is in the path of the storm unfortunately. Looking at the track, you'll see what I'm talking about. Right now we have the storm at 150-mile-per-hour winds, that's a category 4. Five miles per hour more, we'd have a category 5. Anything above 155 is a category 5. By Monday even by Sunday, you can see we're getting very close to that according to the intensity scale here, so category 4 storm remaining. If it doesn't make a direct hit on Jamaica, it will come very close. You have to realize that hurricane force winds that are above 74 miles per hour extend outward 60 miles from the storm's center. So if its 60 miles even near the island of Jamaica, they will get those strong winds.

Most of the models are taking it across Jamaica, towards the Yucatan, and eventually into the Gulf of Mexico. That's where it gets a little bit tricky because most of our computer models are showing that we are seeing kind of a wide disparity as far as where the storm is going then at that point. We'll be watching it very closely.

Brianna, T.J.

KEILAR: All right. Thanks Bonnie.

HOLMES: Well Louisiana's governor is warning residents to be prepared for the worst but hope for the best. Governor Kathleen Blanco has declared a state of emergency in case the hurricane Dean threatens the state. Louisiana is still recovering from the destruction caused by hurricanes Katrina and Rita, remember back in 2005.

KEILAR: And the governor of Texas also gets his state ready in case hurricane Dean hits. Governor Rick Perry is sending emergency responders to costal areas. He's urging Texans along the coast to pay attention to weather conditions. Emergency officials say they will be ready.

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ED EMMETT, HARRIS CO. TEXAS EMERGENCY MGMT: I think the situation is that everyone needs to know that we are prepared, that there is a plan in place, that there's no reason to panic, frankly.

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KEILAR: Governor Rick Perry has declared the storm an imminent threat.

HOLMES: Of course CNN correspondents will be in place to bring you the latest on hurricane Dean. Our Susan Candiotti will be reporting from Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Karl Penhaul will be reporting from Haiti. So stay tuned right here with CNN your Hurricane Headquarters.

KEILAR: Texas could see more rain today from the remnants of tropical storm Erin. Coastal areas are still battling the after effects and the storm is blamed for at least six deaths. Some of the victims were swept away by floodwaters. The search continues for one person who is still missing. Erin made landfall early Thursday, dropping heavy rain along the already soggy Texas coast.

HOLMES: Some other extreme weather to report to you this morning. People are dying because of the suffocating heat wave in Tennessee. Authorities in Memphis reported two more heat-related deaths on Friday, bringing the total in the state of Tennessee to 11, 10 of those deaths happening in Memphis. Also, the victims are elderly. Memphis has suffered with triple digit temperatures for seven straight days.

KEILAR: In Utah with the underground search for those trapped miners now suspended, their fate is now more and more uncertain. Authorities called off the underground part of the search indefinitely after three rescue workers were killed. Crews are still drilling above ground in hopes of finding the trapped miners.

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RICHARD STICKLER, MINE SAFETY & HEALTH ADMIN: If we can find the miners alive, we can keep them alive by lowering water and food through the bore hole. If we can find miners alive, then we'll start drilling a bore hole that would be large enough to put a capsule into the mine and bring the miners out through a capsule.

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KEILAR: Utah's governor says there won't be any more digging in the mine until workers' safety can be guaranteed.

Today at 4:00 p.m. Eastern, a CNN special, "Tragedy at Crandall Canyon Mine." you can join Fredricka Whitfield for this special one hour program. That's only right here on CNN.

HOLMES: Rescuers still looking for signs of life this morning in Peru. This after Wednesday's powerful earthquake killed more than 500 people. CNN's Harris Whitbeck is right outside Ica. He joins us now by phone. Is it a possibility this 500 people we know killed. Could that number continue to go up Harris?

HARRIS WHITBECK, CNN CORRESPONDENT (via telephone): That's right. That number could continue to go up. Rescuers continue to sift through rubble in the town of Pisco where 85 percent of the buildings that were completely destroyed. Last night and early this morning, they were working at the site of a hotel, a Budget Hotel used by backpackers from Colombia and Brazil. The owner of the hotel says he believes 35 of his guests were still buried under the rubble there.

Yesterday we spoke to the brother of one of the people who were missing, and he said that he had received a text message from his brother asking to be rescued, but it wasn't clear when that message was delivered because the cell phone service in the area was not restarted until late yesterday afternoon.

Meanwhile, residents of Ica spent a terrifying night. There was a strong aftershock that was felt throughout the region, but there are also lots of looters out. We could hear a lot of shooting in the air as people tried to ward looters off and keep them away from what was left of their homes. Still a very, very difficult situation here in southern Peru. The Peruvian government says aid is starting to flow. Once the aid starts getting to the people who need it most, the hope is that the looting will stop.

HOLMES: Harris I was going to ask about that aid stuff, really slow going right now and some of that emergency aid in terms of manpower, in terms of resources, and certainly in terms of money are going to be coming up, going to be important as well. Is that stuff just starting to trickle in?

WHITBECK: Well, the aid started flowing Thursday, the morning after the earthquake. There was an airlift organized between Ema, the capital, and Pasco, which is a large military base. Cargo planes from several countries, several Latin American countries, starting bringing in supplies. The problem was getting those supplies from this air base out to the communities that were most affected. Because ground transportation was severely affected. The highways were cut off. Lots of traffic jams on the roads that were operational.

We spoke to people yesterday who spent three and four hours waiting in line to get one bottle of purified water. Again, as time goes by and as more manpower comes into the area, the belief is that the trickle of aid will start opening up a bit more.

HOLMES: All right. Our Harris Whitbeck there covering a horrible situation right now happening in Peru. Harris, we appreciate you. Thank you so much.

WHITBECK: All right.

KEILAR: A hijacking drama ends peacefully in Turkey. Witnesses say two men claiming to have a bomb hijacked this Turkish jet liner shortly after taking off from northern Cyprus. Authorities say the hijackers demanded to go to Iran or Syria, but instead the plane made this emergency landing in southern Turkey. You can see all of these people, 136 in total, they were aboard. They managed to escape. Now, a few didn't, but local officials say the hijackers surrendered and then released the remaining hostages after about three hours of negotiations.

(UNIDENTIFED FEMALE) I'm looking to the sky baby --

HOLMES: I'm wondering, what song would I request to be awakened by if I was in space? Do you know what you'd go with, Brianna?

KEILAR: I have no idea.

HOLMES: I don't either. The shuttle astronauts, that was their wakeup call. They're going to be busy preparing for next hour's space walk on that to do list of theirs. It's a bit shorter actually because they had to change travel plans. "Endeavour" set to return from its space mission on Tuesday. That's a day earlier, and you can blame the hurricane, hurricane Dean. Possible hit on Houston would force NASA managers to move from Johnson Space Center there in Houston to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Also, avoiding long airport lines. Of course you'd like to. Would you do it for a fee? See how a clear card can help you do just that.

KEILAR: And it's a major recall that's affecting millions of toys and maybe even your child's health. Could something have been done before those toys hit the store shelves? One group is calling for action.

HOLMES: And, yes, hurricane Dean. We'll be talking about it a lot today and in the coming days. Certainly doing a lot of damage in the Caribbean. We're tracking this monster storm in our Hurricane Headquarters. You're watching CNN, the most trusted name in news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: Welcome, Brianna, this is a long-running tradition here on the weekend morning shows. Implosions are us. We have a track team of people who spend their time looking for implosions for us to bring to the people. This one happened in Salt Lake City about 45 minutes ago. It's a 20-story building that came down and is going to make way for shopping center and houses in the downtown area. But the skyline is certainly looking different. And there she goes a 20-story building that is coming down. It's the Key Bank Tower that's come down. I'm glad you were able to hear and to witness this because this is just -- it's huge with the people. They love our implosions.

KEILAR: It's fun to be part of the tradition. But how would you say this compares to others?

HOLMES: I don't know guys. What would you all say? We've been here for a lot of implosions. Sometimes we have a lot of nat sound that goes with it, sometimes people yelling from the background and what not that add to it. But implosions are what we do here on the morning team. So welcome. Thank you. You've officially been christened in.

KEILAR: Thank you. Fun to be here. All right.

Getting through airport security lines quicker, that sounds like a dream, right? A new program at San Francisco International Airport will make that dream come true. It's called Clear. With a bit of personal information, passengers can buy a card that gets them into a fast pass security lane. Gabriel Slate of our affiliate KRON has details on how it works.

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GABRIEL SLATE, KRON (voice over): Once you obtain the Clear card, it allows you to bypass the SFO worker in the red coat who checks every I.D. and boarding pass, creating long lines at the security checkpoint. The process starts on the Internet. You apply online through Fly Clear's Website. There you will enter basic information like name, address, and date of birth and pay them $100 a year for this privilege. After you have finished the online registration, there's one more step in this process. You have to physically visit the airport, come to one of these kiosk machines that resemble an ATM. You have to bring two forms of I.D., like driver's license, passport, or birth certificate. The machine will walk you through scanning your documents. Then it will scan all ten of your fingerprints and both your eyeballs. Then all your information, along with your fingerprint and your eyeball retina scan will be sent to the TSA. They will do a thorough background check on you and see if you're wanted. If they clear you, you will receive a clear card in the mail within two to four weeks.

Then at the airport with this card you will be able to quickly move through the clear lanes. In each clear lane, there will be a machine that scans your card and then scans your eyeball and fingerprint. You will still have to put your bag through the traditional conveyor check, but these new clear lanes will feature a new type of metal detector that can scan and clear your shoes without you having to take them off. Obvious questions of privacy will arise with this new technology. Would you be comfortable giving out your fingerprint? Clear Fly, a private company, keeps the data base of information. Not the TSA and not the government. They have put a section on their Website detailing out their privacy measures.

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KEILAR: Cards are now accepted at a handful of airports across the United States.

HOLMES: Getting the lead out of toys. We'll talk to a mom who's pushing for Congress to take action.

VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, DOT COM DEESK): Plus I'm going to show you how you can sign an online petition. Coming up next, I'll walk you through that Website, momsrising.org. That is all coming up next from the dot com desk.

Brianna.

KEILAR: Thank you Veronica. And later this half hour, who needs horses when you can have dashing Dachshunds? A story from the lighter side of the news.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: And now the call to get the lead out. This week U.S. parents hit by another huge toy recall. Toymaker Mattel recalling 9.5 million toys that poses a danger to kids; this closely follows a recall of 1.5 million toys on August 2nd. These are only a few of many recalls. Now let's talk with Joan Blades. She is with Momsrising.org. She joins us this morning from San Francisco. Joan, your group wants action. Can you tell us about a petition that you guys are launching?

JOAN BLADES, MOMSRISING.ORG: Yes. We launched a petition, and we're basically supporting the legislation to make it possible for the Consumer Product Safety Commission to be more effective and to make sure that instead of toys being recalled, toys don't get on the shelves in the first place because you can hear people talking after the fact and saying, well, we got them off the shelves, but we already have them in a lot of kids' hands. And we know little kids are sucking on those toys, and its lead. And when people say, well, really they're recalled, and everything's OK, fact is a lot of parents never hear about that. And we're not talking about something that's lethal in most cases, but it's something that very damaging to kids' cognitive abilities. So we need to start having a real serious ability to take care of these problems before they get on the shelves.

KEILAR: And, Joan, the Consumer Products Safety Commission, we've heard them say, essentially, they can put these edicts out there, but they can't necessarily enforce them. These are voluntary recalls. So we know, we heard even from the governor of New York that some of these toys are still on shelves. That must be the case in a lot of states. Just as a parent, what is your response to that? What are you hearing other parents say?

BLADES: I'm hearing other parents talking about being uncomfortable buying toys in general. It's really in the company's interests to empower the Consumer Products Safety Commission. Because right now it's up to the companies to test their own products, which we know that there are conflicting interests when you're testing your own products. We need to have the knowledge that products are tested before they get on the shelves, and there should be an independent third party.

There's, in fact, been legislation proposed to do this. But we need to make sure it passes, and that's why we started the petition is really leadership has a lot more success when it has strong grass roots support behind it. So at Momsrising, we are trying to create that strong grass roots support. And make it so those good leaders get the support they need. There are states that are taking measures because with the federal government --

KEILAR: Joan, we've talked about some of the states that are taking measures. I know the governor of New York at this point has a plan. But we don't have much time, but I want to ask you an important question. How can parents get involved, and how can they educate themselves?

BLADES: Well, the first thing to -- of course, the first thing I as a parent would do is go to Momsrising.org and to sign the petition to ban toxics in toys because we're really saying not just toys, but there's lead in bibs and other things that babies or small children are using. There's also the Consumer Products Safety Commission which does have a list of the recalled products. So you want to go there and know what's there so you can take them back. And they are asking people to sign up. And really, I recommend having that awareness and also getting involved with a group like Moms rising so that we'll also update you as things come along.

KEILAR: And this is a topic that really, I mean, this affects millions and millions of moms and dads out there. We really appreciate you being with us today. Joan Blades with Momsrising.org. Thanks again.

BLADES: Thanks so much.

HOLMES: A lot of parents just freaking out over this thing.

DE LA CRUZ: Worried sick.

HOLMES: You can't even hand your kid a toy these days. A lot of information on CNN.com to help them through this.

DE LA CRUZ: We were just hearing from Joan Blades there, from Momsrising.org. I want to show you how to access their Website and fill out the online petition that Joan was just talking about. It's a pretty easy process. You want to scroll down the page until you find the designated link on important info on lead poisoning. Once you're there, you simply fill out this form, and then you hit the submit button. There you see all the fields. You want to fill it out completely, and you want to click on submit. It's that easy. Again, the Web address is Moms rising.org.

You can also head to CNN.com for even more on the recall. At CNN.com/made in China. There are a number of articles, including this one, on a 7-year-old girl who got sick with an infection, T.J., after swallowing magnets from a Polly Pocket toy. Apparently, she put the magnets in her mouth to free up her hands so she could change the Polly Pocket doll, and she ended up swallowing them.

There's also an interactive online which takes you through each toy that was involved in the recall. We were just talking about Polly Pocket toys. Also, T.J., the same magnets on the clothes of Polly Pocket are also found on the clothes of Barbie and Tanner. Other toys that you can find on that list, Dora the Explorer, Sesame Street, Batman, Thomas and Friends. It's a pretty extensive list. These are very popular toys. Barbie, which child, which girl doesn't have a Barbie, you know.

So once you click, it's going to show you exactly which toys have been recalled, their item numbers. Also, how many units exist? Joan was just talking about how many of those could be in your home. The list just goes on and on and on.

HOLMES: What do you give kids to play? What's something old school?

DE LA CRUZ: You give them a cardboard box and let them do their thing. CNN.com/made in China is where that special report is. Very important.

HOLMES: Veronica, thank you so much.

We've got some baby pictures to show you here, folks. Baby pictures times four. A rare birth, identical quads. Poor kids, they got a long road of ahead of them, don't they? That's coming up right after a break.

KEILAR: And tiny dogs on the run. What's up with this? This is a story from the lighter side of the news right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We got a bundle of joy times four.

KEILAR: Take a look at this, a Canadian woman gave birth to identical quadruplets at a Montana hospital. Identical quads are extremely rare. The chances of having a set about 1 in 13 million. The four girls were born about two months early. They weighed a little more than two pounds each. Doctors say they're actually breathing without a ventilator and they're doing just great. Very good news.

HOLMES: Need to get their names.

KEILAR: I'm curious too. Four names at once.

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