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CNN Saturday Morning News
Larry Craig Set to Resign from Senate; South Korean Hostages Freed; How Hard Does America Really Work?; Tropical Storm Felix; 10th Anniversary of Princess Diana's Death
Aired September 01, 2007 - 07:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: From CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is September 1st. Good morning.
MELISSA LONG, CNN ANCHOR: September, already, yeah, it's amazing.
HOLMES: It's going to be Christmas. 2007 is just about gone, folks but hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
LONG: Hello. I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty Nguyen. Thanks for starting your Saturday with us, starting your September with us.
The senator, the sex scandal and the fall out, Senator Larry Craig of Idaho is expected to announce his resignation today. The latest in a live report in just a couple of minutes.
HOLMES: Also it is a new football season at Virginia Tech where a game means much more than friendly competition.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: (INAUDIBLE) girl, give me 10 minutes, 10 seconds. Then they won't see a girl or a boy. They'll just see a ballplayer.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: We're going to see an athlete. Women in sports have something to say to all of these fans out there. They're raising their voices in a new ad campaign.
HOLMES: But first this morning, a politician's fall from grace playing out on the public stage. Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig expected to resign today. Craig's June arrest in a Minneapolis airport bathroom landing him at the center of a Capitol Hill controversy.
CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash live for us this morning, early this morning in Boise, Idaho.
And Dana, can you tell us, how is this all supposed to happen today?
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: What is supposed to happen is in just a few hours, we are going to hear Senator Larry Craig, a man who has represented this state of Idaho in Washington for 27 years come before his constituents, come before the cameras and announce we are told from Republican sources that as of September 30th, he will resign his seat in the United States Senate.
This really does end a dramatic week here in the state of Idaho and of course, this story has been quite remarkable when it comes to Senator Craig. He is somebody who has been well respected, of course, in his state of Idaho, a very Republican state and also by his colleagues in Washington until now.
And really, when you look at what happened and why Senator Craig did finally decide that he needs to resign his seat, it is because of the pressure he got from Republicans in Washington, the colleagues that he works with every single day. Not one of them came out and supported him, quite the opposite. You heard words like unforgivable. You heard several of his colleagues say outright that he should resign.
He knew full well that going back to Washington, he would be under investigation by the ethics committee. He would not have his top slots on key committees and he would essentially be a pariah and that is no question the big reason why he is not going back to Washington and why he is going to announce that as of September 30, T.J., he is going to resign his seat in the United State Senate.
HOLMES: And Dana, I believe you said he had a 27-year career in Washington and since there won't be an ethics investigation now because he's decided to resign. Since he just goes away now, will he get a chance to, I guess, take some of the benefits that a senator would take, some of his retirement and pension that he would get from the Senate?
BASH: He will. Under the rules, he is allowed to get 80 percent of his annual salary. Interestingly, according to his financial disclosure form, his Senate salary is his only form of income. So what he going to get by our calculation is about $132,000 a year, still by the U.S. taxpayer as part of his pension.
There has been some controversy over pensions for lawmakers and whether or not if they commit crimes or if they are found guilty of committing crimes, if they should still get pensions. In this particular case, even under some new rules that Congress has passed, Senator Craig would still get his pension because he pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and those rules are about a felony and particularly just a felony that pertains to the job that the senator or congressman is actually doing, T.J..
HOLMES: That is interesting there. And finally here, Dana, replacements? The governor is the one who has to put a replacement in that spot. Are the names out there? Are there any front-runners, if you will?
BASH: There sure are. The governor does of course as you say, appoint somebody to fill out Senator Craig's term. His term ends at the beginning of 2009. The front-runner really is the current Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch. He is somebody who sort of, all eyes are on for sure. He actually served as governor just temporarily last year.
In addition, there are a couple of other names out there. There's Congressman Mike Simpson, of course a Republican and there's another name that might be more familiar to our viewers, Dirk Kempthorne. He is somebody who's been in politics for decades and decades. He was a senator. He was a governor. He is currently Interior secretary.
But when you ask the governor's office, he says that his spokesman says I haven't promised anything to anyone, but most Republicans here are pretty confident that this job is going to go to the Lieutenant Governor Jim Risch.
HOLMES: All right. Dana Bash for us in Boise, Dana thank you so much.
It's going to be an interesting day out there. You can stay with CNN for live coverage. The senator's statement today folks coming up at 12:30 Eastern time. Also we'll have more on the story tonight in a special edition of "LARRY KING LIVE." Larry is going to be talking to guests about the Larry Craig situation and who may be named the replacement as you just heard from Dana Bash. It does appear to be a frontrunner out there. Again, that's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
LONG: Federal authorities this morning are looking into a fiery plane crash that killed a family of six last night. It happened in southern California. The plane was attempting to land at the Kern Valley airport which is near Bakersfield. An FAA spokesman says the plane burst into flames after crashing. The airport manager had this to say about what she saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JELT.J.E NELSON, MGR., KERN VALLEY AIRPORT: I went in and he landed, tried to land on (INAUDIBLE). He was too high. He went around, took off and went that way. And I turned my back to go in and tell him what the wind was doing and I heard bop, bop and that's it, and I saw smoke.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Now officials are saying the family had flown from Santa Monica for a camping trip.
In Utah, more disappointing news to tell you about for the families of those six coal miners trapped for almost four weeks. Federal safety officials have indefinitely called off the search to find the men. That decision comes after a robotic camera that was dropped into the mines didn't provide any new information. The camera got stuck in the mud and officials had to leave it there.
HOLMES: The Larry Craig situation now in Idaho is not making things complicated enough for Republicans during this next election cycle. They got something else to deal with here. Respected Senator John Warner says he is not going to run again. The Virginia Republican announcing this is his last term in the Senate stepping away from a 30-year Senate career. The 80-year old Warner has recently become an outspoken critic of President Bush's Iraq war strategy. Warner says his decision should silence those who thought his disagreement with the White House was politically motivated.
Meanwhile, top military leaders are concerned and let the president know about it. It was in a Pentagon meeting with President Bush yesterday that they expressed concern about the strain of Iraq and Afghanistan on troops and their families. The president heard from the leaders of the Army, Navy, Air Force and the Marines.
LONG: CNN has obtained exclusive new video of U.S. bombings in Iraq. The pictures were taken by an unmanned U.S. military spy plane. They will be used in the trial of a Marine accused of killing Iraqi civilians back in 2005. We get more on this story from CNN's Jamie McIntyre.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JAMIE MCINTYRE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The bombings and strafing seen on this aerial video obtained exclusively by CNN shows Haditha was a hot bed of insurgent activity back on that day, November 19th, 2005. Early in the morning, a U.S. Marine died in an IED attack and shortly afterward, 24 Iraqi civilians were killed by Marines hunting the attackers leading to murder charges a year later.
A small unmanned spy plane called Scan Eagle arrived about 30 minutes after the initial attack on the U.S. Marine vehicle focusing on a house from which the military suspected insurgents triggered the bomb and showing the aftermath of the blast here some 1,000 yards away.
Just up the road is a white sedan and the bodies of five Iraqi men who Marines say refused to lie down and were shot while running away. Villagers said the men were students in a taxi, but the Marines say their actions were consistent with insurgents about to detonate a car bomb. The video will soon be evidence in the case of squad leader, Staff Sergeant Frank Woodridge, accused of doing some of the shooting.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If I'm a juror, I'm not going to be impressed.
MCINTYRE: Retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Gary Solis, a former prosecutor and military judge who teaches law at Georgetown and West Point, analyzed the video for CNN. You've seen the tape. How significant do you think it is as a piece of evidence?
GARY SOLIS, FORMER MILITARY JUDGE: It tends to prove that this was a violent place where you had enemy fighters, where it was necessary to bring in air support.
MCINTYRE: Throughout that day, Marines engaged in fierce fire fights and called in air strikes to level entire buildings often with no definitive idea of who was inside. That could buttress defense arguments that the Marines clearing buildings on the ground with guns and grenades were just following the rules of engagement. SOLIS: The defense can say, look, we had to do this later in the day. What's the difference between what happened later in the day and what our guys did earlier in the day? .
MCINTYRE: And that might help explain why so far prosecutors have had trouble making murder charges stick. Charges have been dropped against two Marines. Another is waiting a decision. Is there a tendency to give Marine soldiers in combat the benefit of the doubt when it comes to these kind of split second decisions?
SOLIS: You have a military jury, probably most of whom if not all of whom will have been in Iraq.
MCINTYRE: The video shows how the military suspects anyone on the move during combat as being a potential enemy such as this is motorcyclist who appears to be an insurgent messenger. But while prosecutors may be having a hard time winning convictions, Gary Solis believes someone should be accountable for the 24 civilian deaths in Haditha.
SOLIS: It would be difficult to say that justice has been served if no one is convicted for Haditha.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: Jamie McIntyre reporting. Tonight on "This Week at War," who's running Iraq and is the troop buildup working? Tom Foreman hosts "This Week at War." That's tonight 7:00 p.m. Eastern time.
HOLMES: Californians being urged to ease up on that thermostat this a bit this Labor Day weekend. A heat wave expected to continue through the holiday and although the heat is expected to strain that state's electricity generating capacity, no shortages however are predicted.
LONG: Meteorologist Reynolds Wolf is keeping an eye on the heat, also watching a tropical storm. It's Felix now.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: It's Felix (INAUDIBLE) now and this one is actually about to make its way into the Caribbean. We got a little bit of ways to watch the storm. Thankfully, the good news about that particular storm is that it poses no threat to the U.S. for the time being. But still these storms can be kind of tricky with their movements and we're going to watch it for you very carefully.
It's kind of hard to miss at this point. You can see it is moving just past Grenada at this time, St. Vincent, also St. Lucia, beautiful place. Plenty of rain there and heavy surf as the storm chugs its way to the east. This storm right now has winds around 40 miles per hour. Some gusts have been a little bit stronger at 50 miles per hour. The storm is expected to reach hurricane force as we make our way into Monday.
In fact, what we're going to do if we can is take a look at our weather computer and as we do so, you'll see again the path we have for the National Hurricane Center that shows exactly what I was referring to, the strengthening of the storm with winds going to 60 miles per hour by 2:00 in the morning on Sunday.
Then as we fast forward in time to 2 a.m. Monday, winds 80 miles an hour, a very weak category one storm, but the storm is going to be moving into an area with very little shear (ph) and warm water, so it's going to have that potential to strengthen to at least a category two if the forecast holds true. And then as we get to 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, winds at 105, making landfall near Belize as we get to, I'd say midday into Wednesday possibly early, early Thursday morning.
But that's not the only show in town. We're also dealing with some scattered storms in parts of Georgia near Athens, could see some scattered showers into the afternoon right along I-20 south to Atlanta at this point. As we make our way back over to Texas, we're seeing some rainfall in Houston, also right along the coast near Galveston and heat is again a tremendous story.
Not quite so bad for San Francisco and for Los Angeles out west with temperatures in the 70s and into the 80s. But in the interior valley, Bakersfield, Fresno, easily triple digits for you, 85, rather 95 in Memphis and back to Atlanta, temperatures expected into the mid 90s.
Let's send it right back to you at the desk.
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Mr. Reynolds. I know you're interested in this next story.
LONG: He's at work today.
HOLMES: He's at work. We're all at work obviously. We did not win the Mega Millions jackpot. A ticket was not sold in Georgia. One of the winners was not here, but people are going to be sharing the wealth and there's plenty of it to go around apparently in this big jackpot.
LONG: Four winning tickets not in Georgia as you mentioned T.J., last night's drawing for $330 million Mega Millions Jackpot. Lottery officials said the winning tickets were sold in Texas, Virginia, Maryland and New Jersey. Mega Millions is played in 12 states. You can see them highlighted there. The winning numbers 8, 18, 22, 40, 44, the mega ball number 11. The winners split $82.5 million or they can get about $50 million in cash right away. What would do you with the money?
HOLMES: Right away. I would continue to work and I would buy everybody at CNN plasma screen TVs.
LONG: Can I choose something else if I don't want a plasma screen?
HOLMES: No, just the plasma. You're not grateful.
LONG: Very grateful, very grateful but I can think of something more practical.
HOLMES: What's more practical than a plasma screen TV? Football season has just started, college football.
LONG: We're going to talk about that coming up.
HOLMES: Yes we will.
LONG: Perhaps you're just waking up to discover you didn't win the lottery. Maybe your friends did.
HOLMES: If you didn't, chances are you didn't, you probably need to see this morning's Reality Check. We'll tell you whose job is the hardest. Of course meteorologists at the top of that list. We'll tell you how your job stacks up, as well.
LONG: And from tears to cheers. This morning Virginia Tech gets ready to celebrate football, college football while honoring the memory of its fallen, and this ...
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We can seeing that Henri Paul put the brakes on, it spun around and hit here, the 13th pillar.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Tracing Princess Diana's final steps 10 years later. These stories and a whole lot more ahead right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Don't you go anywhere.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Football and healing, two words that typically don't go together.
HOLMES: CNN's Larry Smith joins us now. This morning, more on a game that is more than a game today. Virginia Tech back on the field for the first time since that deadly shooting there.
Good morning to you.
LARRY SMITH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you.
I'll tell you what, first off, the people on the campus are simply outstanding. I mean everyone, the students, the faculty, the staff, really enjoyed Blacksburg this week. The Hokies football team, they're ranked ninth in the country and have some realistic dreams of winning their college championship perhaps even a national title. But to a man, they understand their higher responsibility, one that extends beyond the football field.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH (voice-over): Virginia Tech football has always been a source of school pride, but the Hokies open this season with a different purpose, a rallying point for a campus still healing from the April 16th tragedy when 32 people were killed in the worst school shooting in U.S. history. BRANDON ORE, VIRGINIA TECH RUNNING BACK: Everything we doing right now as far as I see, pretty much everything we do in football wise we doing in memory of those people that lost their lives on 4/16. People say it might be a burden on us or something like that. It's nothing like that. We look at it as like a chance to bring something back to the Hokie nation in general.
DERICK STACKPOLE, VIRGINIA TECH SOPHOMORE: I think Saturday is going to be kind of a solemn day but at the same time, it's Virginia Tech football. We live and breathe it. But I don't think we're -- I don't think we're ever going to forget that we're not going to have 32 people there cheering with us.
SMITH: A campus memorial silently honors the victims, gone but never forgotten. Their deaths have strengthened the bond within an already tight knit community.
JENNY NAKAMURA, VIRGINIA TECH JUNIOR: The things that happened on April 16th has made our community stronger, has made us support one another more, but I feel that it's always been like that.
FRANK BEAMER, VIRGINIA TECH HEAD COACH: I think Tech people have been waiting to get together in a stadium and show how much we care about each other and how strong we are and how strong we're going to be. I think they've been waiting for that.
SEAN GLENNON, VIRGINIA TECH QUARTERBACK: People still remember it every day. There's ribbons and a memorial and people wearing T-shirts and stickers on their car. 4/16 is still everywhere around us and so although it's three, four months away from when it happened, I think the stadium will still strongly remember what it felt like on that day.
SMITH: The unity is felt and seen everywhere. We will prevail, we are Virginia Tech. The strong but soothing words of renowned poet and Virginia Tech Professor Nikki Giovanni have been adopted as a motto of perseverance.
O.J. BROWN, VIRGINIA TECH SENIOR: This is the first time that the university has ever been tested in a situation like that. So to really come back for the students and to have the chance to respond to something like this, you know, we kind of see what the school is really all about.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
SMITH: Game time noon Eastern today when they will release 32 orange balloons into the air. Just how classy is the student body at Virginia Tech? They will cheer visiting teams this season as a gesture of thanks to the many campuses who came to their aid in their time of need.
HOLMES: That's very nice to hear. Sports and everybody's into competition, but every once in awhile, sports has a way of rallying folks, bringing folks together in different ways. SMITH: The visiting team, East Carolina by the way, they are going to donate $100,000 to the memorial fund, as well. We talk about -- we focus a lot of the bad things that happen in sports. There are also some really good stories, as well. This truly is one of them.
LONG: Just showing that they're leaving the competition aside especially for today.
HOLMES: Thank you so much.
LONG: Terrific story.
HOLMES: All right. We will continue kind of sort of with a sports theme, if you will. Reynolds Wolf, I don't know if you've noticed what he's wearing today.
WOLF: I'm wearing my Auburn University colors, got to wear the Auburn Tiger colors and of course T.J., you are a Razorback and Melissa is a Syracuse Orangeman.
LONG: Orange woman.
HOLMES: It's hard really for her this year.
LONG: Let's not focus on that. Give him a break.
WOLF: You know, far and away the best college atmosphere is going to be in Auburn, Alabama. (INAUDIBLE) You guys play indoors. You don't have to worry about the weather. What's Fayetteville? Razorbacks, come on.
HOLMES: We play outdoors.
WOLF: As they do in Auburn. As they do in Auburn University. It's going to be a great day there today with temperatures that are mainly into the 70s, 80s, maybe up to about 86 or so with a chance of scattered showers. Virginia Tech, you can expect high temperatures there to be about in the upper 70s with mostly just partly cloudy to a few scattered clouds in the afternoon.
But look at the serious heat that we have out west. Records will be falling in plays like Fresno, back over to Bakersfield. Coming up, I'm going to let you know what you can expect in terms of the western heat and give you a look at what you can expect travel weather wise around the nation this holiday weekend. It's all moments away (INAUDIBLE).
LONG: Thank you. We'll have much more of course on the weather, on Felix and remembering Diana. A decade after her death, she still draws crowds.
HOLMES: And right after this, we're tracing her final steps and the questions that linger. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) LONG: A decade removed but England still clings to its love of Princess Diana. A reminiscent scene at Diana's former Kensington palace residence yesterday, tributes for the late princess of Wales of the United Kingdom on the tenth anniversary of her death.
The official Diana memorial ceremony was held at guard's (ph) chapel and called a service of thanksgiving. It was attended by the royal family and of course, Diana's sons Princes William and Harry. Royal biographer and consultant Robert Lacey looks back now upon the princess's final moments on that fateful night in Paris.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ROBERT LACEY, ROYAL'S BIOGRAPHER: I've come back to Paris 10 years after the princess of Wales died to see what happened in her final hours. They started here in the Place (INAUDIBLE) which until August 1997 was famous for this column, which is built from the pylon that Napoleon captured in one of his victories.
That all changed on the night of August 30th, 1997 because now the Place (INAUDIBLE) dome is famous as the spot from which the princess of Wales began her final journey from the Ritz hotel.
The Ritz restaurant was where they had their final meal. It was rather a mixed up evening. Diana looked really distraught, said someone who saw her and then they left. One of the mysteries of that night is why they didn't stay in the Ritz, they were safe here. This was his father's territory, his father's fortress. They had the imperial suite booked for them, reserved for them, but for reasons we don't know and all the police inquiries haven't revealed, they decided to go out and try and fight their way back through the traffic of Paris to get back to Dodi's flat where they had started that evening.
This is the very backdoor, the Ritz Club, from which they emerged hoping to fool everyone. But one or two of the paparazzi who were, of course, not on foot, they had motor bikes, they could drive faster than the Mercedes. One or two of them saw what was going on, called out and the others joined in. As the Mercedes came down here from the (INAUDIBLE) into the (INAUDIBLE) which is one of the chicest, smartest streets in all of Paris, the paparazzi came out of the corner and the Mercedes headed towards the Place de la Concorde.
Coming around the Place de la Concorde, Henri Paul speeded up. He was now getting in the open. The paparazzi must have been close to him on their motor bikes coming up alongside the car, taking pictures through the window, disconcerting Diana, but more particularly Dodi. He came down towards the river Seine, swung round to the right on to one of the highways, running along the side of the river and started to speed up the Mercedes.
By now, Henri Paul was really steaming. He had the chance of turning up right. That would have been the quickest way to get back to the flat, but that would have involved winding streets again and he wanted to show that he could throw off the pursuing photographers.
So now, here we're approaching the (INAUDIBLE) bridge where Diana was to die. Something happened here as he entered the (INAUDIBLE) bridge. It's a matter of controversy to this day that the car turned and skidded. We can see that Henri Paul put the brakes on. It spun round and hit here, the 13th pillar, the unlucky 13th pillar under the bridge (INAUDIBLE).
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, stay here folks. Up next, we'll be talking about Larry Craig's future. Senator under fire in a sex scandal expected to call it quits today. It's right after this.
Plus, it's time for us to say good morning to Mr. Josh Levs. Hello, sir.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you. Have you had a long week, T.J.? You been working hard this week?
HOLMES: I have been working extremely hard.
LEVS: Listen, coming up today in a Reality Check, we are taking a look at how hard Americans really work. Are we the hardest working nation on earth and who has the toughest week in America? All that coming up in just a few minutes. T.J. and Melissa.
HOLMES: I did have a pretty tough week. Thank you Josh.
LONG: What a sob story. Geez.
HOLMES: I'll talk about that more later. But we're going to be talking about this as well, with water rising in New Orleans, she left her mother behind certain she would get the care she needed but only an hour later, her mother was dead.
Stick around for that story and a whole lot more here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR (voice-over): Some products you purchase at grocery come with "use by," "sell by" or "expiration dates."
Here's the scoop on what you really need to know. Hamburger meat only holds one to two days in the fridge, three to four months in the freezer. Fish is only OK in the fridge for one to two days. Lean fish like cod, flounder and sole will last six months in the ice box. Fatty fish like blue fish, mackerel and salmon, only two to three months.
A whole chicken or turkey will last only one to two days in your refrigerator, but an entire year in the freezer. And while they may break easily, fresh eggs in the shells will last three to five weeks in the fridge.
(on camera): I'm Gerri Willis and that's your Tip of the Day. For more ideas, strategies and tips to save you money and protect your house, watch "OPEN HOUSE" today, 9:30 a.m. Eastern right here on CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
LONG: Half past the hour on this Saturday morning. Good morning to you.
A distinguished Washington career is ending in scandal. CNN has learned that Idaho Senator Larry Craig will announce his resignation today. It's expected this afternoon in Boise, Idaho.
The Republican senator under fire from his own party after reports surfaced that he was arrested in a Minneapolis airport bathroom. He is accused of soliciting sex from a male undercover police officer. He pled guilty earlier in the month to disorderly conduct. Now, Craig says he did nothing wrong and that he regrets making that plea. It will be up to Idaho's Republican governor to name Craig's replacement.
Please stay with CNN for live coverage of the senator's statement. We will have it for you at 12:30 in the afternoon Eastern time. And we'll have much more on this story this evening in a special edition of LARRY KING LIVE. Larry and his guests will be talking about the Larry Craig situation and who may be named as his replacement. That's at 9:00 p.m. Eastern on CNN television.
HOLMES: You might want to double check your next serving of potato salad. Kroger recalling two of its store brands over concerns they may contain E. Coli bacteria.
The brands in question are the Southern Style and Mustard, and they have the "best if used by date" of September 5th. Ohio health officials first tested the potato salad. Those officials say no one has gotten sick from the tainted potato salad.
LONG: Here's something you might want to consider over the Labor Day weekend -- how do Americans stack up when it comes to punching the clock? We're often told that we are the most industrious nation, but is that truly the case? Are we reaping the fruits of our labor?
CNN's Josh Levs has been breaking down the numbers, trying to figure it out. And he has more in this morning's Reality Check -- Josh.
LEVS: Americans do work hard -- very hard, in many cases. But are we really, as we're often told ...
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The hardest working people in the world. LEVS: We do get less vacation time than folks in many other nations. And one in four workers gets none, according to the Center for Economic and Policy Research. The group calls the U.S. the no vacation nation because it's the only advanced economy that does not guarantee paid vacation.
Those who do get it, often don't use it up. A survey by Expedia, which sells vacation packages, found about a third of Americans leave some days unused. Instead of this, we're doing this.
But when we're working, do Americans clock the most hours?
No, according to the United Nations. It counted up how many people in different countries work a long week -- at least 48 hours. In the U.S., 18 percent do. That number is higher in Switzerland and Australia. In both Britain and Israel, 26 percent of workers put in that kind of time. The numbers are substantially higher in many developing nations in Peru, half the workforce works more than 48 hours a week.
Now, who in America works the most hours?
The federal government looked at more than 300 jobs. And in just a few cases, it found an average work week of more than 50 hours. Among those clocking that kind of time -- firefighters, doctors, marine engineers, animal breeders, extraction workers, riggers, hoist and winch operators, and those who operate trains and ships.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: Now, obviously keep in mind that these are averages, in general. So it doesn't mean that it applies to absolutely everybody. And, of course, Melissa, there are people in any profession out there who you can find who are working incredibly hard hours, something good to keep in mind this Labor Day weekend.
LONG: While you're crunching the numbers, we see people are making more.
LEVS: Right.
LONG: But that's not actually the case because they're getting paid less?
LEVS: That's right. And this is actually really important, another good Reality Check type thing.
Yes, you're going to hear that family incomes in America are going up. The latest figures just came out this week. Lots of working people, families are making more money.
However, individuals are making less. So watch out for spin on this.
How can that be? It's because in more families these days you've got both people working. You have more families pulling in more, but each person working pulling in less.
LONG: Right. Yes. Really, hopefully, people have a chance to take a break over the holiday weekend, the Labor Day weekend.
LEVS: Yes.
LONG: Now, let's be a bit narcissistic for a moment.
LEVS: OK.
LONG: Let's focus on us.
LEVS: Are you? Let's talk about ourselves.
LONG: Let's talk about ourselves, right?
LEVS: Yes.
LONG: Let's look at news rooms. Who seems to be working the hardest? I understand you've been doing some research.
LEVS: Yes, you know, I saw -- I couldn't help but look at all these numbers were in -- who is working the hardest in news rooms out there?
We've got our producers, who were very excited to hear this. They're going to applaud in their room, and the control room back there. Producers work the hardest, according to the federal figures ...
LONG: That's right.
LEVS: Producers pack in the most hours. Then come the engineers and the writers. After that, come us -- the reporters, anchors, correspondents.
LONG: OK.
(CROSSTALK)
LONG: ...I would beg to differ.
LEVS: Yes, there are some out there. And in some cases, it's not true. But it is true. Congratulations, producers, you win this one.
(CROSSTALK)
LONG: Well, I guess that means they deserve a day off, right like many of us?
(LAUGHTER)
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: What are you talking about? I need my producer.
LONG: Josh Levs, thanks so much for that Reality Check.
LEVS: You bet.
LONG: I think, thank you.
LEVS: Yes.
(INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: I know Reynolds is offended. They didn't even mention meteorologists.
LONG: Oh, we didn't even talk about that.
WOLF: Absolutely.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Yes, look at that boy back there.
WOLF: You saw me waving.
LEVS: I looked at that. They're putting the weather guys in with the correspondents. It's all one.
WOLF: I know.
LONG: Oh, OK.
WOLF: It's unbelievable. I'm heartbroken.
HOLMES: It's totally different, isn't it, Reynolds?
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: ...it's amazing. You know, earlier today, we were working so hard on the forecast, T.J. came back with a towel and was wiping my brow.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: It was just crazy, insane.
LONG: Talk about the team mentality.
HOLMES: The teamwork. It's -- we're in the team spirit.
LONG: You're working the hardest of all of us.
HOLMES: I'm not at all. He is, because he has his eye on Felix today. You've got all kinds of issues.
LONG: But you've got -- you've got his back.
HOLMES: I've got his back.
Reynolds, I've got your back. Do you need me to come over and support you during the weather?
WOLF: You're right here, man. You're right here on the back.
HOLMES: Thank you.
WOLF: You're right here. I can feel the love.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, thank you so much. We'll see you again here soon.
Well, coming up here, we're going to be talking about a family's push for answers.
LONG: Two years after Katrina, a CNN investigation -- were patients killed so others could evacuate?
And this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I play with the men because it makes me quicker, faster, stronger. It makes me better. They might be out there saying oh, she's a girl.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Forget Michael Jordan. Tiger who?
Why women are becoming the hottest game in town -- ad campaigns that target the ladies, ahead on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: I'm Reynolds Wolf with a look at today's Allergy Report.
And any spot on the map where you happen to see red, orange or even yellow indicates high traces of particulates in the atmosphere -- namely pollen, (INAUDIBLE), ragweed, even some oak. And the high point of that would be in parts of the Central Rockies back over to Denver, Salt Lake City, even in portions of the Great Basin.
However, where you see greens and blues, the air is much cleaner. Up in the Northern Plains, the arrowhead of Minnesota, back into parts of Washington State, Northern California and parts of St. Louis southward into Memphis.
That's a look at today's Allergy Report.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Two years ago today, the last medical personnel fled New Orleans' largest hospital in the face of flooding from Hurricane Katrina. They claimed no living patients had been left at Memorial Hospital.
But Louisiana's attorney general accused one doctor and two nurses of killing patients deliberately so they could evacuate. A grand jury investigation ended in July without an indictment. The criminal case now over, but at least one family still asking questions.
Here now, CNN investigative correspondent Drew Griffin.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DREW GRIFFIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): She lives now in a barren apartment in Denver.
(on camera): And this is the only thing you have from the house, huh?
KATHY NELSON, QUESTIONS MOTHER'S DEATH: I have this and I have this chair.
GRIFFIN (voice-over): Kathy Nelson's portrait of her as a little girl is all that's left from her flooded New Orleans home. She also carries with her the awful memory of that morning four days after Katrina when she whispered good-bye to her 90-year-old mother.
KATHY NELSON: I whispered in my mom's ear, "I love you so much. You are the very best mother any girl could ever have and I'm proud to be your daughter."
GRIFFIN: Her mother Elaine was unconscious on the seventh floor of New Orleans' Memorial Hospital. Kathy, a registered nurse, had ridden out Katrina at her mother's bedside. But now the hospital was surrounded by water and Kathy was being told by hospital staff she had to leave and leave her mother behind.
She thought it would be temporary. She thought her mother would be cared for.
KATHY NELSON: It never dawned on me, never ever in a million years did it dawn on me that my mother would be euthanized. Now, I worked in a medical intensive care unit with people who were much sicker than mother and we never ever thought about euthanasia. That never entered my mind.
GRIFFIN: But within an hour after she and her mother separated, Elaine Nelson was dead. Her death certificate merely said "Hurricane Katrina-related death," one of nine patients that five medical experts hired by the State of Louisiana say were victims of homicide, given lethal doses of morphine and the sedative Versed.
Last month, a New Orleans grand jury failed to indict anyone in the deaths and the New Orleans district attorney announced the case was closed. The exact circumstances of Elaine Nelson's death, and eight others, would never be known.
KATHY NELSON: It's almost as if they don't want to hold somebody be responsible.
GRIFFIN: But Kathy's brother Craig says he believes his mother was murdered and he wants justice. Craig Nelson is also an attorney. And he has refused, he says, a settlement offer from the hospital. He's now suing for medical malpractice. Hiring his own forensic expert, he had his mother's body examined, tissue samples tested.
The results, he says, show Elaine Nelson was injected with morphine almost as soon as Kathy was forced out of the hospital.
CRAIG NELSON: It showed that mom had received, on September 1st, eight milligrams of morphine, which was four times the amount that she was prescribed by her doctor and which was a lethal amount.
GRIFFIN: The former owners of Memorial Hospital say the staff did everything they could to keep desperately ill patients alive. Lawyers for the doctors and two nurses implicated in the state's investigation say they are heroes who stayed behind when most others fled. They deny their clients euthanized anyone. And the doctor's attorney said the grand jury decision not to indict vindicated his client.
The Nelsons aren't buying any of that. Elaine Nelson, they say, died alone, abandoned and poisoned by the very people trusted to keep her alive.
Drew Griffin, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: You know, tonight and tomorrow, our CNN Special Investigations Unit presents "Children of the Storm." Soledad O'Brien and filmmaker Spike Lee give young survivors of Katrina a chance to tell their stories, tonight and tomorrow night. Again, that's at 8:00 Eastern.
LONG: You're looking at today in the first of the three days off for the Labor Day weekend -- Reynolds, everybody wants to know, will the weather cooperate for their weekend?
(WEATHER REPORT)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two Olympic gold medals. Two time FISA (ph) women's soccer player of the year. Two Women's World Cup medals. Three time U.S. soccer player of the year. I am the all time leading scorer of international soccer, male or female.
I'm trying to think what else I've won. I have won zero bake sales.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LONG: Women in sports are making their voices heard in this new ad campaign and fans of NASCAR soon they can voice their support with tennis shoes to high heels, sweatshirts and stilettos.
That's what's on tap for this morning's Beyond The Game.
Rick Horrow joins us live this morning from West Palm Beach, Florida -- Rick, good morning to you. Thanks for your time.
RICK HORROW, SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Good morning.
I guess I can't -- it's football and sports team today. I guess we really can't talk about Syracuse football. Should we leave that alone?
LONG: Yes, yes, yes. We'll talk about that another day, off camera.
HORROW: You got it.
LONG: OK, let's actually not even talk about the Victoria's Secret ad. Let's save that to a little bit later because we want to keep the gentlemen's attention for this segment.
Let's first talk about Nike. I watched the ad. I felt it was very empowering. I just wanted to get up off the set and go work out. What did you think, as a guy?
HORROW: Well, here's what I thought as a guy, that Nike is doing everything they possibly can to deal with this market and grab that niche. And they have a "let me play fund" where they've also allocated dollars, not only to think about empowering, but empower.
Now, remember, it's not just for the guys, because when you look at the money that women control, that's $5 trillion dollars annually for discretionary income. That means if you lay all of the men's sports salaries wall to wall, it takes 500 years to amass the money women can spend on product.
That's why Nike has those ads and that's why others do, too.
LONG: Well, in the ad, you hear the booming voice saying "overcome bias" -- that their game isn't as good as the boys. And then you see Picabo Street and Gabby Reece.
I find it very motivational. At the same time, we're talking money. But I think it's also empowering a lot of young girls and ladies out there.
HORROW: Well, if you remember what happens with not only the Nike major commitment, which they're to be commended, but also when you think about the Title IX and high school sports, women have made substantial progress not only watching but influencing, again, buying decisions. And just another theme on that same question, women, according to the studies, influence 85 to 90 percent of the buying decisions. Anywhere around me, they influence maybe 150, 160 percent.
LONG: Oh, yes? OK.
HORROW: But the bottom line, quite clearly -- yes, yes, I know.
Bottom line, quite clearly, is this is the new marketing. Women had more share -- market share, Super Bowl watching, than any other demographic. And that's why you see these ads. And these are compelling ads. And Nike is to be commended by (INAUDIBLE).
LONG: OK. So if the women control the purse strings and they control the wallets in your home -- 150 percent, I think you just said -- will the ladies in your life be buying the new NASCAR stilettos or loafers?
HORROW: Boy, is that a loaded question.
So here's the issue. NASCAR is a $6 billion business. And we know for a fact that they're appealing to women -- 40, 45 percent demographic. That's the NASCAR future, not just existing trend.
They're in California this week. They're in Vegas and other places. So they're expanding their footprint internationally and nationally, as well. So this is, as you can tell, just another example of that, "I ain't buying those boots."
I'm not buying that color, by the way. I see that right now.
LONG: Let me buy them.
HORROW: But here's the bottom line. When you think ...
LONG: Yes?
HORROW: All right, vibrant, that's a way of putting it. But when you think of the demographics and the diversity, these are, by the way, sold not only at Victoria's Secrets, but they're sold at Belk's today, too. Now, if that's not two ends of the spectrum, I don't know what is.
NASCAR is doing its part and their retail is doing its part, too.
LONG: And we are out of time. I'm just curious, though, 73 million fans for NASCAR is the last estimate that I read. Do you think the old boys will mind this new venture with Victoria's Secret and with the shoes?
T.J. is saying no.
HORROW: I'm sorry. I was watching the ad.
HOLMES: Yes. Yes.
HORROW: Sorry. I was just getting a little carried away.
Yes, T.J., I'll deal with you later, OK, pal?
Seventy-three million NASCAR fans, 72 million like those ads, I guarantee you.
LONG: All right, Rick Horrow, thanks so much. We'll talk to you next hour, as well.
HORROW: Yes, sir. Yes, ma'am. Yes everybody.
LONG: OK.
HOLMES: Well, what took us so long to get to the Victoria's Secret video?
LONG: Well, we wanted to keep your attention.
HOLMES: Well, you have.
LONG: That's the point.
HOLMES: But we only showed 10 seconds of it. I mean ...
LONG: Well, it's just a tease.
HOLMES: I mean I'm just saying, it had a lot to do with journalistic value, with the story. I'm just saying.
LONG: I don't know what kind of value. This has to do with a story about NASCAR shoes.
HOLMES: But it applies to Victoria's Secret.
LONG: They're not ...
HOLMES: They're selling the stuff.
LONG: But they're not wearing NASCAR.
HOLMES: I just, there are some flags on her heels there. I saw them.
LONG: OK.
HOLMES: All right.
LONG: Those are the images in your mind, creative gentleman you are.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: There's something else in my mind here -- being a millionaire. Money, yes. There are four lucky winners out there who are millionaires now -- where the winning tickets were sold to the Mega Millions jackpot.
And just how big was that jackpot?
Also, today coming up on "HOUSECALL," Dr. Sanjay Gupta. He visits New Orleans to speak with doctors and patients about why the death rate continues to climb. "HOUSECALL" this morning at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, it's a dream come true for at least four lucky people, neither of them sitting before you now, but these four have all hit the jackpot. Four winning tickets sold in last night's $330 million Mega Millions Lottery. A week ago, you'll remember, a single ticket won the $314 million power ball lottery.
LONG: The winning numbers 8, 18, 22, 40, 44, 11 being the mega ball number. And lottery officials say the winning tickets were sold in the states of Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey and Texas. Each winning ticket is worth about $82 million. Amazing, I think they're going to have a lot more friends this morning than they had yesterday.
HOLMES: And I will be signing up to be one of those friends.
LONG: Good morning on this Saturday from the CNN center here in Atlanta. I'm Melissa Long in today for Betty.
HOLMES: And I'm T.J. Holmes. So glad you all could be with us this morning.
First, a story that's been getting a lot of attention for the last couple of days, the senator and the sex scandal. Senator Larry Craig of Idaho expected to announce his resignation today. A live report from Boise in a couple of minutes.
LONG: Talk about odd jobs, how about a citrus colorer, perhaps alligator wrangler. I like that sense of adventure. We'll look at some of the more unusual ways to make a living on this Labor Day weekend.
But first, a distinguished career, a distinguished political career coming crashing down today. Disgraced Senator Larry Craig expected to resign just a few hours from now. The Idaho Republican under fire from his own party following news of his arrest in a Minneapolis airport men's room.
CNN congressional correspondent Dana Bash is live in Boise, Idaho this morning. We're expecting really the culmination of an extraordinary couple of days.
Hello, Dana.
DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That is definitely true. The end of a dramatic weekend is going to end we are told with Senator Craig coming before his constituents, the constituents he has represented for 27 years and the cameras here and announcing that he is going to resign his seat in the U.S. Senate, effective September 30th.
It was just four days ago, T.J., that he went before the cameras to defend his actions, trying to explain his actions in a Minnesota men's room. And at that point, he said, I believe I can still effectively be an effective leader for Idaho. That was just four days ago, and now he clearly does not believe that anymore.
And that is no doubt because of the intense, intense pressure that he got from his own Republican colleagues who could not run far enough and fast enough from him and really issued statements that were probably among the harshest that I have seen from one party official to another and one colleague to another when it came to how they thought Senator Craig should handle this. And by and large, it was abundantly clear to him, it was made so in public and in private, that they did not think it was appropriate for Senator Craig to come back to the U.S. Senate.
HOLMES: You talk about that pressure, of course, that he got from D.C. and from fellow Republicans. We also know his paper out there in his hometown came out and said he should step down. What about just the day to day folks on the street there, his constituents? Have they had a loud voice in saying what they think should happen to him?
BASH: Well, most of the constituents that you talk to on the street, you hear on talk radio, they also thought, you know -- they were embarrassed and they were disappointed and angry in the senator they really had respected and admired for a long time.
Many of them did think that he should do what he is apparently going to do today, which is step down. But what is interesting is, in terms of the Republican Party establishment here in Idaho, you did not hear one of them publicly say that the senator should resign. They instead just issued sort of mild statements talking about his distinguished career. They took a wait and see approach. But I can tell you none of them said that he should stay either and that was also telling.
HOLMES: All right. Dana Bash for us in Boise, Idaho, this morning. Dana, thank you so much.
You can stay with CNN for coverage of the senator's statement coming up live from Boise, Idaho, today at 12:30 Eastern time, a picture here from Boise where the senator is expected to make that announcement. Again, stay with us right here. We will carry that announcement live. And we'll also have more on the Larry Craig situation tonight in a special edition of "Larry King Live." Larry and his guests will talk about the situation and who may be named as his replacement. That's 9:00 p.m. again right here on CNN.
LONG: This morning, Federal authorities are looking into a fiery plane crash that killed a family of six last night in southern California. The plane was attempting to land at the Kern Valley airport which is in Bakersfield. An FAA spokesman says the plane burst into flames after crashing. The airport manager talked about what she saw.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JELT.J.E NELSON, MGR., KERN VALLEY AIRPORT: I went in, and he landed -- tried to land (INAUDIBLE). He was too high. He went around. He took off and went that way. And I turned my back to go in and tell him what the wind was doing, and I heard pop, pop, and that's it and I saw smoke.
(END VIDEO CLIP) LONG: Officials say the family had flown from Santa Monica for a camping trip.
In Utah, more disappointing news for the families of those six coal miners trapped for almost four weeks. Federal safety officials have indefinitely called off the search to find the men. That decision comes after a robotic camera that was dropped into the mine did not provide any new information. The camera actually got stuck in the mud and officials had to leave it there.
HOLMES: A bittersweet home coming in South Korea. The 19 South Koreans held captive in Afghanistan for two weeks are due to fly home today. They could be greeted with a lot of finger pointing, people blaming them for having their country negotiate with Taliban militants.
CNN's Brian Todd reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BRIAN TODD, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Overjoyed at their release, terrified that two of their countrymen were killed as hostages of the Taliban, South Korean Christian missionaries are also apologetic.
SUH MYUNG-HWA, FMR. TALIBAN HOSTAGE (through translator): We caused so much anxiety to the people and our government.
TODD: Anxiety which may be felt well outside the South Korean government. The Taliban walks away from this six-week ordeal with an agreement from the South Koreans not to send other missionaries to Afghanistan. And Asian media reports the Koreans paid the Taliban $2 million for their release. The South Korean government denies it.
CHEON HO-SEON, S. KOREAN PRESIDENTIAL SPOKESMAN (through translator): There was no additional agreement made except for what has been made public.
TODD: Experts say that statement may be for public consumption.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Given the fact that the Taliban didn't get the central demand which was for the release of Taliban prisoners, it seems to me that money probably was exchanged.
TODD: An exchange that according to experts, will likely have an immediate and deadly result.
MICHAEL O'HANLON, BROOKINGS INSTITUTION: Other people's lives are now at risk because the Taliban will use that money to buy weaponry.
TODD: And to buy fighters. Between hostage taking and opium trafficking profits, analysts say the Taliban can pay four times what the Afghan police can afford. The Taliban have a broader strategy in mind. South Korea was already going to pull its 200 troops out of Afghanistan and the Taliban may now have a stronger hand in forcing other U.S. allies to crack. BERGEN: They want to find the weak links in the chain, countries like Germany whose citizens are not very happy about the German presence there. That's why we've seen attacks on German soldiers in the north of the country.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And the freed hostages are due to arrive back in South Korea tomorrow.
Meanwhile, we'll turn now to Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez, who's casting himself as a mediator in a long, drawn-out Colombia hostage crisis. Chavez says he's willing to meet with Colombian guerrillas to talk about a prisoner hostage swap. The Colombian rebel group, the revolutionary armed forced of Colombia, is holding some 45 hostages, including soldiers, politicians and three U.S. contractors abducted more than four years ago. The government is holding hundreds of guerrillas.
LONG: Once again on the Labor Day weekend, people in California are being urged to ease up on the thermostat over the holiday. A heat wave is expected to continue through the weekend. And those without A/C can head to one of the several cooling centers set up. Although the heat is expected to strain the state's electricity-generating capacity, we can report that no shortages are predicted.
HOLMES: No shortages predicted, but it's hot in a bunch of places right now. We're also keeping an eye on the heat, also a gentleman by the name of Felix.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Right. We've got Felix to deal with. The tropics have really been heating up and not just in the Caribbean, but also in the Pacific. We're going to show you the two big storms coming up in just a few moments.
But first, let's begin with what's happening in the Caribbean. There's Felix, really easy to see, the storm now just passing through St. Vincent as well as Grenada, but full steam ahead right into the Caribbean where it's going to enter an area with very little shear which is -- some of those upper level winds can sometimes rip these storms apart. That's not going to be a big obstacle for this storm.
Another thing that's lying in its path is very warm ocean water, which is like high octane fuel to an engine. So that's going to help the storm rev up a bit more as well. We're going to keep an eye on that for you with an update in just a few seconds.
But let's talk about a few things closer to your home, some scattered showers that we have in parts of the southeast that may affect some of your plans this morning. Planning on going out and visiting some friends on the way to a barbecue, well, you may have to carry the umbrella while you're out there with the burgers, especially in parts of south Georgia, some storms right now near Savannah.
Also near Houston, we're seeing some raindrops there as well from Baton Rouge, westward on I-10, splash and dash showers. But we're seeing some severe heat in parts of the west where the heat indices, the index, when you combine that heat with the high humidity, it's going to feel like it's about 110 degrees if not warmer in some spots out west. So by all means, be careful.
Again, back to Felix, Felix now moving into the Caribbean, expected to strengthen to 60-mile-per-hour maximum sustained winds by 2:00 tomorrow morning, strengthen into a category one by Monday. By Tuesday, getting very close to Central America and then as we get to 2:00 a.m. Wednesday, coming on shore in Belize with winds of 105 miles per hour.
But that's not it. We've got another storm in the Pacific. That one is Henriette and we're going to see this storm come very close to parts of Baja, California, which should remain just to the south and to the southwest as we get into Tuesday, you get into Wednesday, with the storm actually strengthening to, let's see by the time we get to early Monday morning, a category one storm and it should remain pretty much about that intensity before weakening as it enters cooler water as it pushes north.
That's the latest on your forecast, again, a full plate in terms of your weather on this holiday weekend. Back to you.
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, thank you. Just getting us started this first morning of a three-day weekend.
LONG: Labor Day weekend.
We're going to focus on work or what work you aren't doing this weekend. We're going to focus on some odd jobs in America. Good morning, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, good morning to you. You know what, there are some odd jobs that pay surprisingly well. I'm at the dot com desk now. We're going to be taking a look at that this morning. Also, some great jobs if you're looking to switch careers or just getting into the work force. All that coming up from the dot com desk. T.J.?
HOLMES: All right. It sounds like some information I could use actually, Josh.
Also, folks, take a look at this. Before you reach for the insecticide, you'll want to hear what these spiders have trapped inside.
LONG: And college football. Who's winning the big game ahead this morning on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: And we need to tell you about some potato salad. You might want to double-check if you got it at your house. Kroger recalling two of its store brands over concerns it may contain e. coli bacteria. The brands in question are the southern-style and mustard and they have the best if used by date of September 5th. Ohio health officials first tested this potato salad. Those officials say no one has gotten sick from this tainted stuff, however.
LONG: It's, of course, Labor Day weekend. We thought we would look at some of the more unusual jobs that pay the bills. I don't know if you're trying to give us ideas as well, something else that we should be doing with our time.
HOLMES: I'll take the idea though, Josh.
LEVS: He read it this way. I didn't have these two in mind, I swear. I didn't.
HOLMES: What have you got?
LEVS: Here's what's going on. Obviously, it's Labor Day and we're all thinking about jobs. So going to tell you about some weird ones.
First, what I want to do is tell you about something that's on cnn.com that can help you even if you're not looking for an odd job, if you're just looking for a job in general. Some of the best jobs in America. It's called second acts and this has a lot of really interesting information, depending on your age. If you are young just starting off in the work force or if you're a parent returning to the work force or if you've been in the military a long time, some jobs that are a really good place to start, switching to private sector.
Also, if you want the job you've never had. You're over 50 and you've been working another job that you don't love or don't love any more and you want to find a job that has a lot of meaning, "CNN MONEY" is going to talk you through that. So got to cnn.com for that.
All right, you guys ready to hear about some weird jobs? All right, check it out, so this, we're going to start off with a list from buzzle.com. You got to see this thing. These are actual jobs that pay the bills pretty well. Here goes, a wrinkle chaser, someone who irons wrinkles from shoes. One of our favorites, a chicken sexer (INAUDIBLE). A chicken sexer goes through the babies to determine if they're male or female and then segregates them.
LONG: You were interested in the "Victoria Secret" ads. I'm just trying to make a connection here.
HOLMES: Chickens don't do it.
LEVS: Let me get going before we get off more off on T.J. with that, let us see, citrus fruit colorer, a celluloid trimmer -- it's not what it sounds like, a celluloid trimmer works on golf balls and then this, last one we're going to show you here is called an odor judger. That is an actual job. You have to see whether an anti- perspirant works and they actually pay human beings to determine ...
LONG: You get paid for that?
LEVS: Yes, you can get paid pretty well, but you don't have to work a full day if you have a job like that. I don't want to even be in a room where they're doing that. But I'll tell you this, if you had a weird job, we want to hear from you. Sent us an I-report. You can go to cnn.com, click on I- reports, send your pictures, your weird stories, your videos throughout Labor Day weekend. We're going to be sharing them so we'll be back later on with some other weird, obscure jobs that we never wanted to know about.
LONG: (INAUDIBLE) Remember those first jobs we all had?
HOLMES: Nothing like chicken sexer, though.
LONG: That's true. (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: ... come out ahead for that. You just don't really want to be the person doing it, that's all.
LONG: We're thankful that they do do it.
LEVS: So thank you very much to the people who have those jobs. We're all very appreciative.
LONG: The chicken sexer or working for the deodorant company.
HOLMES: Josh, thank you, but we can't (INAUDIBLE) All right, folks. We're going to talk about college football and the power of money coming up.
LONG: Donors pledging big bucks. So what does their money buy? It's the business of sports right and Rick Horrow joins us right after this.
HOLMES: And also, we've got Dr. Sanjay Gupta coming up.
DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks, guys. This week was a time to look back at the lessons of hurricane Katrina. I returned to Charity hospital in New Orleans and what I found was shocking. I'm going to have some details, really amazing stuff.
Plus how do you know when you need a second opinion? We have some simple tips to know when.
Finally, college football season is kicking off. We look at a dangerous head game on and off the field. Stay tuned for that, much more on "House Call" at 8:30.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CAROL COSTELLO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thinking of trading in those old beloved sneakers for a new pair?
DR. PERRY JULIEN, PODIATRIST: We estimate that probably 20 percent of the people that come into our office are there with an injury, are there because of their shoes. Either they're worn out or they are just incorrect for their foot. COSTELLO: Dr. Julien says the most important thing for a runner to do in order to protect the feet is to wear the correct shoes. So when is it time to go shopping?
JULIEN: Very often, by the time you see excessive wear on the shoe, you've worn the shoes about 100 or 200 miles too long. So I recommend people mark their shoes either with the date they purchased them or keep track of their mileage. And somewhere around 300 to 400 miles, they should replace their shoes.
COSTELLO: He says that depending on your level of activity, that equals four to six months. And he stressed that wearing a shoe past its lifetime could cause lack of supportive cushioning and injury/ Carol Costello, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LONG: A day of healing in Blacksburg, Virginia, the highly ranked football team ready to take the field for the first time since the tragic shooting in April. The 32 victims will be honored at today's game, a moment of silence and also a video tribute planned. Opponent East Carolina will present a $100,000 check to the memorial fund. Kickoff is set for noon Eastern.
HOLMES: College football and the big bucks boosters spend a lot of money to give their team the edge. It's a rush for gridiron gold as well as the alumni compete for who gets to be the biggest donor. Does money like this buy championships or just a lot of influence?
Sports business analyst Rick Horrow, pretty Ricky what they call him, he joins us again from West Palm Beach, Florida.
Sir, hello again, always good to see you. Tell us. Have you got something to say already?
HORROW: Real quick. I just want a deal. I want that chicken sexer job before you. I think they take the resumes in alphabetical order. Will you give me a week's head start if I don't get the job?
HOLMES: Nobody wants that job. Why do you want that job? You got a great gig going.
HORROW: You may want that job after your segue in the "Victoria Secret" ads, you may need that job.
HOLMES: I might need that job and the other one as well, sniffing peoples' armpits and everything else we were doing.
All right Rick, let's talk about football and these big bucks donors. Can colleges survive without these donors, these boosters giving them this rush of money that they do day in and day out and every year as well?
HORROW: No.
HOLMES: Can't survive without it? HORROW: Well, no. Here's the bottom line. It's a $6 billion business and much of it is from the alumni donors who have the money to give. For example, today at the big house, Michigan -- by the way, guess who they play? They play Appalachian State and because 20 of those schools are going from division two to division one. They want a piece of that pie. Michigan just did a deal retail-wise with Adidas and it's based on favorite schools and what they get.
TNS sports poll just did a big study on who the top five schools are, by the way, around the country for fan favorites. Notre Dame, Ohio State, USC, Penn State, Texas. I'm looking around. I don't see Arkansas. There they are. They're 13th.
HOLMES: 13th, yes.
HORROW: The bottom line is it's all about retail, all about dollars and all about those big bucks.
HOLMES: With these boosters, what do they expect in return? Do they expect influence? Do they expect some favors? Or do they just expect to have a winning team?
HORROW: Donations, influence, favors, access. Now, take the top. I didn't go to Oregon. This is about the closest I can get to the Oregon Ducks colors if you like this shirt. Phil Knight, this was a great Nike day. We had those commercials earlier, Phil Knight and his family, $100 million to Oregon, part of it going to a new arena, part of it because Nike is headquartered near there, part of it because he went to that school. So that's a good example of the combination of motivations as to why Phil Knight is energized. Bottom line is Oregon gets $100 million they wouldn't have gotten otherwise.
HOLMES: Is that buying them a winning team out there, Rick?
HORROW: Well, we'll have to see. This is not a prediction segment. This is a business segment. If you want a prediction segment, we'll get it later.
HOLMES: We'll get to that later. All right, just real quickly here, last couple of things. I've got to get to two things. Give me this one quickly. Is this a bad thing at all, boosters put in so much money, they do expect things in return. Does that line get a little blurred? Little things happening in the back room, a little more influence than really these people should have over these college teams?
HORROW: T.J., real quick. It's only a bad thing if the creativity gives way to kind of blurring that line. Hawaii's trying to sell its football offices for $1 million. That's not a bad thing if they use the $1 million constructively. The attorney general of New York on the other hand, is investigating 40 schools who say, he's saying, well, there may be a little fuzzy line as far as admissions, as far as not playing by the rules. That's what you have to watch.
HOLMES: All right. I was hoping to talk to you about a couple other things. Maybe we'll try to get you back. We've had two segments with you this morning. Try to get a third in at some point, Rick.
HORROW: We'll do it any time you want, man. I can't wait for the Arkansas predictions and the Texas predictions, the Syracuse predictions. We're back to college football. What a beautiful thing. And next week the NFL opens. We'll do some of that.
HOLMES: It's a beautiful thing. And Betty's back next week, so we'll be talking about Texas. All right, Rick Horrow, pretty Ricky is what they call him. Pretty Ricky is what they call him. Always good to see you.
LONG: We're going to have to change the font for the label that we give him.
HOLMES: Pretty Ricky.
LONG: We're going to show you something that's unique, I don't know if it's pretty, but it's a diamond encrusted skull. We told you about this a little while back. Now, guess what? Somebody has purchased it.
HOLMES: And they didn't just open up that wallet and hand a couple of dollars. Real diamonds and they paid many millions for this, many millions. We'll tell you how much exactly they paid coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We got some fascinating video out of Texas to show you today in our water cooler. It's not the worldwide web, but it's a pretty big web nonetheless. Spider experts puzzling over this massive web that's blanketing a tree in Wills Point just north of Dallas.
LONG: Visitors say there's so many mosquitoes and other bugs trapped inside this massive web, that listen, you can actually hear them struggling.
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