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CNN Saturday Morning News
Cyclone Devastates Bangladesh; Thanksgiving Holiday Travel Tips; Barry Bonds Indicted for Steroid Use; Maryland Requiring Inoculations for School Children
Aired November 17, 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: Hello there everybody, from CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, November 17th. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
VERONICA DE LA CRUZ, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Veronica de la Cruz in this morning for Betty Nguyen. Hello to you as well.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) back in Atlanta.
DE LA CRUZ: And it's nice to be here, can I say that?
HOLMES: You went up to New York to do your thing (INAUDIBLE).
DE LA CRUZ: But you know what, I'm home. I'm back.
HOLMES: Welcome home. Welcome home.
DE LA CRUZ: Thank you so much.
All right. We've got lots of news to get to today, starting with this. Take a look at this video, new video and new details in from a monster cyclone that hit Bangladesh. We're covering the world while you sleep like no other network can.
HOLMES: Also we're talking holiday travel. Are you planning to (INAUDIBLE) for Thanksgiving? Well, thousands are leaving this weekend, trying to avoid the rush next week. Will the airlines though be able to keep up with the expected four million passengers? We are keeping them honest.
DE LA CRUZ: And while Al Gore got all the attention (INAUDIBLE) won the Nobel Peace Prize has a new warning now (ph) about global warming. This morning it is using the phrase, irreversible damage.
HOLMES: But we are going to start with that disaster in Bangladesh. Help now on the way. CNN has learned the Pentagon may send some 3500 Marines to the coast to help with relief efforts. The death toll from this week's massive cyclone nearly 1,000 right now, but it is expected to go much higher, maybe even double as search teams reach smaller, remote villages all along the countryside. Cal Perry is in Daka (ph) for us. He's among our team of reporters bringing you the latest from the devastated country.
But we're going to begin with Dan Rivers, who's live in the southern part of Bangladesh. Dan. DAN RIVERS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Thank you. We've been driving through Bangladesh most of the day and as we have progressed further south, through the town of Barasal (ph) now, the destruction has been getting steadily worse. A lot of trees have come down, a lot of houses and buildings have been destroyed. This is about as far south as you can get at the moment.
There was a big river between us and the area at the epicenter really of this cyclone. That ferry is not running across that river so you can't get across there at the moment and we understand that the roads on the other side are pretty impassible with lots of trees that have come down on to the road.
But certainly the picture that we're getting from what we have seen so far is one of widespread damage, a lot of buildings and homes destroyed. And a lot of these homes are very flimsy buildings indeed, a lot of them just bamboo huts or corrugated iron and they have just been blown clean away by the force of the wind, (INAUDIBLE) crushed by falling trees as well.
We still don't know the death toll finally. The government is saying at the moment that 932 people are thought to have died but they are stressing that it will probably go up significantly, saying it may even reach 2,000. The Associated Press also saying about 1,100. So a grim scene here, but a scene that we have not yet fully uncovered as we will try and push further south once the dawn breaks tomorrow to find out the true scale of this disaster.
HOLMES: All right, Dan, and we know help is on the way. How is the help right now? Is it still tough to get relief in, to get people in, to get relief supplies in to those people who need it right now or is that process well underway?
RIVERS: We saw some Bangladesh soldiers on the route down. It's quite surprising really it's actually open all the way here. It's not about roads, it's paved all the way. A lot of (INAUDIBLE) coming up now. So we would imagine that it would be fairly easy for the international charities, the NGOs to get lorries of supplies down there. At the moment we haven't really seen any evidence of sort of shortage of food or anything like that. There is still electricity coming on and off. There's electricity here right now, but it's off in a lot of villages.
So that's a big challenge and then it's shelter really for all of these people who have lost their homes. The most immediate concern is getting some sort of temporary shelter set up. But as I say, we don't know what the picture is further south from here. From here on out, things we are led to believe get a lot, lot worse.
HOLMES: All right, a lot, lot worse. We're only just starting to scratch the surface of the devastation there. Dan Rivers for us in southern Bangladesh, we appreciate you Dan.
DE LA CRUZ: Tragic scenes of death and destruction, it's hard not to be effected, but if you're a Bangladeshi immigrant, the news is especially difficult. CNN's Allan Chernoff visits a New York community touched by the disaster.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLAN CHERNOFF, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): In the markets, stores and on every street corner, the talk in Jackson Heights is of Bangladesh.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Whatever your family, how are they, did you get any news?
CHERNOFF: New York is home to a large population of Bangladeshi immigrants.
KAZI SHAMSUL, NEWSPAPER EDITOR: (INAUDIBLE) Brooklyn, a lot of people, a lot of Bangladeshi people (INAUDIBLE) here.
CHERNOFF: Most of them know someone affected by cyclone Sidr (ph).
SHAMSUL: (INAUDIBLE)
CHERNOFF: Kazi Shamsul is working overtime covering the storm for his newspaper.
SHAMSUL: I'm calling Bangladesh and checking the news (INAUDIBLE) on the Web sites from Bangladesh and I'm talking to my people in Bangladesh.
CHERNOFF: Kazi lived through a cyclone that killed half a million people.
SHAMSUL: I cannot even describe to you, it's so painful.
CHERNOFF: Images of Cyclone Sidr bring back memories of past disasters and fear from families awaiting word.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: So many customers is asking me about this thing and everybody is a little bit worried about their family.
CHERNOFF: The biggest worry, families who refused to evacuate.
SHAMSUL: People of the people are poor and they know when they are leaving a place, they are leaving all of their savings.
CHERNOFF: And with phone lines down, tensions run high.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Because, you know, the communication is not good right now, because they are not -- they can't reach their relatives.
CHERNOFF: Until they get news, residents rely on each other for support.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I hope (INAUDIBLE)
CHERNOFF: Allan Chernoff, CNN, New York. (END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Next, we will turn to holiday travel, some people traveling already. Well cooking that Thanksgiving Day bird, that might be the easy part for you.
DE LA CRUZ: No, not for everybody. Not for everybody, I wouldn't say that, not for me.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) the long lines, flight delays, bumper to bumper traffic, those might be your real headaches and the things that drive you nuts.
DE LA CRUZ: There you go. There you go. The holiday travel frenzy is already heating up. People are expected to travel in record numbers over the Thanksgiving holiday and most will be hitting the roadways.
Most will, some will be flying though, but for those of you whose grandma's house is a little further than over the river and through the woods, driving not an option. Millions yes, going to be flying and major airlines are advising passengers to get to the airport extra, extra early.
DE LA CRUZ: CNN's Jim Acosta joins us now live from New York's LaGuardia airport and Jim, it's never really easy to get out of LaGuardia, first and foremost, but what are things looking like right now?
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: So far they are just fine and the government has these new express lanes in the skies, is what they're being called. But they won't be open until Wednesday, but for air travelers, they can't come soon enough.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA (voice-over): There's a new flight plan aimed at those epic Thanksgiving lines at the airport. President Bush's proposal for easing pressure on the maxed out northeast corridor rests on opening the military's training air space to the big commercial carriers.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: These new routes will help relieve air congestion from Maine to Florida for nearly five full days surrounding the holiday.
ACOSTA: The move comes as the nation's aviation infrastructure is as stuffed as a Thanksgiving turkey.
DAVID STEMPLER, AIRLINE TRAVELERS ASSN: We're basically operating the way we did 60 years ago. It's as if we had the old U.S. highway system of the 50s with two-lane highways. We never replaced it with the interstate highway system like they did on the ground.
ACOSTA: But not everyone is sure the extra room in the sky will be enough for busy northeast airports which account for one third of all air travel in the U.S. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The bottom line is, you can only land a number of aircraft at one time on any given runway. So the capacity at the end game and at the beginning game needs to double or increase before you start (INAUDIBLE) This is just another gimmick to try and appease the flying public.
ACOSTA: The industry wants to avoid a repeat of the Valentine's Day nightmare when hundreds of JetBlue passengers spent hours stuck on a runway.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As a result of that well-publicized disruption to (INAUDIBLE) operations, we have instituted many changes to ensure we don't ever repeat that performance.
ACOSTA: Travelers in the New York area are demanding improved performance.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is as bad as it can get. You want to get somewhere, you have something planned, you get to the airport without any events noted, and for no reason, no plane malfunctioned, they're canceling it and it's probably because there's too much air traffic.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's kind of hard when you live here to avoid the New York airports. There's no where else to really go, I mean unless you're going to go to Philly or somewhere. One of our friends has a private plane, we can go with him.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
ACOSTA: And taking a look at the situation here at LaGuardia airport, I've had a look behind me, I basically see no line. It's actually pretty quiet right now, nowhere near the chaos we will be seeing later on this week. Veronica.
DE LA CRUZ: All right Jim, Jim Acosta live for us there at LaGuardia airport in New York and like we were just saying, one of the worst airports in the country.
HOLMES: It's tough to get in and out of there. It's notorious for delays, known for it.
DE LA CRUZ: It really is, but I like that guy's attitude. I'm going to have my friend fly us in his private plane.
HOLMES: That's nice to have.
DE LA CRUZ: Here's a tip, are you watching your wallet but you still want to get away this holiday weekend? And our guest travel expert on the holiday week, Pauline Frommer. She's going to be telling us how you can travel on a budget. That's coming up in the next half-hour, you want to stay right here with CNN SATURDAY MORNING. And what can you expect in the way of weather before traveling this week?
HOLMES: Our Bonnie Schneider is watching that for us this morning. Good morning to you. (WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: All right, Bonnie, thank you. We'll see you shortly. Also, Barry Bonds, legend or liar? The government's trying to take him down for perjury. But how will he go down in baseball history?
DE LA CRUZ: And growing concerns about fending off flooding and starvation, the group that won the Nobel Peace Prize puts out its final report on global warming. Keep it right here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Welcome back, Bonnie Schneider now in the CNN weather center. She's tracking severe weather ahead of the holiday. Any big travel plans for you, bonnie?
(WEATHER REPORT)
DE LA CRUZ: Bonnie Schneider in the weather center. Bonnie, thanks. I think I would rather take the snow over the rain, the rain that the west coast is seeing right now. What about you?
HOLMES: Give me the rain. I'll take the rain.
DE LA CRUZ: Really, I want a white Thanksgiving and a white Christmas.
HOLMES: I'll take a wet one over a white Christmas.
We're going to turn to a story we were keeping an eye on this yesterday, thousands demanding that the Justice Department live up to its name and deliver justice.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're going to end the (INAUDIBLE) of war and the decadence of racism and scourge of poverty on their watch. Thank you.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Civil rights activist part of a rally in Washington yesterday and march on the Justice Department, calling for the government to take action on hate crimes. The demonstration comes after several high profile incidents involving nooses.
DE LA CRUZ: The big question here, how effective was that march? We find at noon.
A female U.S. Capitol police officer is now the prime suspect in an arson investigation. CNN affiliate WUSA reports she is now suspended with pay. Seven minor fires have been set in two separate Senate buildings since September. Most of the fires were set in women's bathrooms in various parts of the building.
HOLMES: Sending a personal thank you card to every individual just is not possible, so it will be one big thank you to everybody on the campus at Virginia Tech. A little later this morning, students, teachers and others will gather to spell out VT thanks you on their drill field. It's an effort to thank people for the outpouring of support after last April's deadly shootings on campus.
Well, try to get your head around this one. The man who has hit more home runs than anybody else in history, the home run king, behind bars? Barry Bonds, yes, he's an idol to many folks, a tarnished star to others and now is facing Federal indictment accused of lying in a steroid investigation.
Here now, CNN Ted Rowlands.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TED ROWLANDS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Baseball's home run king Barry Bonds is facing four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice for allegedly lying under oath about steroid use. Bonds broke the major league baseball home run record this year under a cloud of suspicion that he used performance-enhancing drugs, something Bonds has always denied.
BARRY BONDS, FACING FEDERAL CHARGES: This record is not tainted at all, at all, period.
ROWLANDS: But according to the 10-page indictment filed in San Francisco, the government has evidence, quote, including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance- enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes. Barry Bonds isn't in trouble for using steroids.
He was one of several professional athletes that testified under a grant of immunity in 2003 in front of a grand jury. The deal was simple, if you tell the truth, you're fine, if you don't, you're subject to prosecution. The indictment alleges that the testimony given by Bonds in 2003 was quote, intentionally evasive, false and misleading.
MICHAEL RAIN'S, BARRY BONDS ATTORNEY: What we will keep asking is whether the media and whether the government of this country will spend as much time repairing Barry's reputation as it has spent destroying him after he is proven innocent by a fair and impartial jury.
ROWLANDS: The indictment sent shockwaves through the sports world that even brought a reaction from the White House. A statement issued said in part, quote, the president is very disappointed to hear this. Clearly this is a sad day for baseball. Bonds if conflicted of the charges could spend several years in prison. His first appearance in San Francisco Federal court is scheduled for December 7, marking the start of a long legal ordeal and likely the end of his baseball career.
Ted Rowlands, CNN, Los Angeles.
(END VIDEOTAPE) HOLMES: And we'll have more sports controversy in the next hour of CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Our own Ray D'Alessio will join us live with more on the Bonds indictment and Ray is looking pretty good in that picture there.
DE LA CRUZ: (INAUDIBLE) dapper.
HOLMES: We'll have to kid him about that leather jacket.
DE LA CRUZ: He's looking very handsome. We love Ray D'Alessio.
HOLMES: We love Ray, yes.
DE LA CRUZ: That's coming up next.
Also a health alert to tell you about, a deadly strain of the common cold, could it be affecting your neighborhood?
HOLMES: Also we're keeping a watch on Bangladesh, all morning long, the number of victims from that devastating cyclone on the rise. Keep it here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: ... could eventually be - and we are quoting here - irreversible.
HOLMES: That's not good to hear. It's a subject of much debate and now this report a lot of people have been waiting to hear, that's when a lot of the news is not good.
DE LA CRUZ: And interesting to hear the details on that. Well a large majority of you say health issues are important when you cast your vote for president.
HOLMES: And this morning on "HOUSE CALL," Dr. Sanjay Gupta helps break down your biggest health concerns and what candidates have to say about them. That's "HOUSE CALL." It's coming your way at 8:30 Eastern time.
DE LA CRUZ: Good morning, Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you guys. You know, it has been the worst year ever on record for flight delays and most of the time when you're told it's all about the weather, it actually isn't. I've got that coming up right here on CNN, the most trusted name in news.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GERRI WILLIS, PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Long live the Thanksgiving traditionally of leftovers. But don't get sick. The Center for Science in the Public Interest recommends that your meal be moved from the oven to your table to the refrigerator in two hours or less. In order for food to cool quickly, it should be separated and stored in shallow containers and remember, all refrigerated leftovers should be eaten within four days of the meal. Food you want to keep long, freeze it.
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)
HOLMES: Well, hello there, welcome back to you all.
DE LA CRUZ: I'm Veronica de la Cruz in today for Betty Nguyen. This is T.J. Homes apparently we were unprepared.
HOLMES: You're prepared. You're making sure you're ready there. You're work things out on the computer. That's all right.
DE LA CRUZ: And I'm ready now.
HOLMES: All right. Well, folks, if you're watching us right now, it probably means you haven't hit the road yet for the Thanksgiving holiday, but millions of people have. They are leaving early, realizing that if they wait until Wednesday they're probably asking for trouble, traffic jams, long lines and flight delays.
DE LA CRUZ: A record number of you are expected to travel over that Thanksgiving holiday and let's take a look now at CNN fact check.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: If you want to get an idea of how many Americans are on the move this Thanksgiving holiday, passenger traffic is expected to increase by 4 percent this year over last. That's more than a million more people crowding onto airplanes. The travel bug swings into high gear around November 16.
The Air Transport Association says some 27 million passengers will jam airports in the dozen days that follow. The Wednesday before turkey day and the Sunday and Monday after are peak travel days as well. Industry officials anticipate some 2.5 million passengers will be flying each of those days. That's 400,000 more than on an ordinary day and there's a warning for air travelers.
Most flights are expected to be about 90 percent full which means if you miss one, you could have serious problems booking a timely alternative. Even with airlines adding hundreds of extra workers, travel experts say expect delays and they advise pack some patience in your bag.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: Well, do you know what really helps make all those travel aggravations bearable? Maybe a cheap plane ticket because saving money is a great pain reliever. Travel expert Pauline Frommer knows all about saving money and how to deal with all those inevitable hassles. Good morning to you Pauline. It's nice to see you, welcome to the show.
PAULINE FROMMER, FROMMER'S BUDGET TRAVEL: Good to be here, thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: Pauline, so you have written a book geared to saving money when it comes to travel. Give us some tips, what should we remember?
FROMMER: It's important to travel in the off-season. You want to be traveling when other people aren't. So next week ain't a good time to travel unless you're going to Europe or central or South America. Those flights should be pretty empty and the prices will be good. In fact you can go to London say, for as little as $600 airfare from the U.S. and six nights hotel. Now it's going to be very expensive on the ground because the pound is so expensive in regards to the dollar. But you can save money that way.
Also if you look at alternative accommodations, if you consider staying in a vacation rental rather than a hotel or in a private B&B by which I mean someone's house where you rent a room, that can save you a heck of a lot of money. Talking about London again, a hostel bed in a room with 10 other people will cost you about 22 pounds a night. But you can rent a private room in someone's apartment for that amount of money and we cover that in Pauline Frommer's London.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, Pauline. It all sounds good, but let's just say that we have to stay close to home, grandma's house here in the United States, is it too late to find a good travel deal?
FROMMER: It may be. I wrote an article for msntravel.com which about all the best dates for going. Generally it's the ugly dates where you're going to get the best prices if you're willing to fly on Thanksgiving itself or on the Tuesday or Wednesday or Thursday after it. The big rush is going to be the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and the Sunday. That's when prices will hit their peaks. If you will fly on Thanksgiving, maybe get there in time for dessert, yeah, you'll pay a little bit less, but I don't know how happy your family will be.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, quickly, tips when dealing with the airlines. I've got to ask you this question, Pauline. Why do airlines overbook flights and what can you do to protect yourself?
FROMMER: They overbook flights because they'd lose money otherwise. All of a sudden, business travelers book refundable tickets, then they don't show up. The plane is empty and the airline is losing money. The most important thing to do this holiday weekend is check yourself in online before you get to the airport. That makes sure that you don't have to wait on line to get your ticket and also the last to check in is usually the first to be bumped. So if you check yourself in at home, you put yourself at the front of the line, very, very important this weekend.
DE LA CRUZ: All right so get there early for sure. But definitely nevertheless pack some patience because I'm sure you're going to need it this Thanksgiving. All right, Pauline Frommer of Frommer Travel Guides. It's nice to see you Pauline, thanks so much
FROMMER: Thank you.
HOLMES: She's giving away all the secrets though. Everybody's going to be trying to check in online now and everybody's going to --
DE LA CRUZ: That's not a secret, that's been around for a while.
HOLMES: I don't check in online.
DE LA CRUZ: You don't? What about you Josh Levs?
LEVS: Every time, you have to. It's not worth showing up at the last second and you get kicked off the flight. It's the last thing you want.
DE LA CRUZ: Get there early.
LEVS: Do you guys have delays?
DE LA CRUZ: Always, out of LaGuardia, Herzell (ph) Jackson, there are always delays.
HOLMES: Amazingly, I mean, it was raining. I just knew I was going to be delayed. I wasn't this time, got lucky.
DE LA CRUZ: You're always lucky.
LEVS: We all know that.
HOLMES: It is ridiculous.
LEVS: No kidding. But you know what, it's ridiculous how often this happens and I was looking at this this week and this whole industry and it doesn't make sense to me when you stop and think about it, that these problems have been around for decades. They're not getting better. This is the worst year ever for flight delays. So what we're looking at today is what officials have said and what they have to show for it.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS (voice over): The fastest form of travel comes with ridiculously frequent delays. The government knows it has a problem.
GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The skies are too crowded.
MARION BLAKEY, FMR. FED. AVIATION ADMINISTRATOR: As we look at it annually over the whole year, it's a $10 billion problem for the United States.
LEVS: But for all the talk, we're not seeing the problems fixed. 2007 is the worst year for flight delays on record. One of every four flights delayed.
Why?
BLAKEY: Well, I can tell you right now that the biggest problem is always the weather. LEVS: Not exactly. The Department of Transportation says nearly half of flight delays can be linked to weather, but the department says many of those could be avoided with corrective action by the airports or the Federal Aviation Administration. So, if a better system were in place, many delays currently blamed on weather just wouldn't happen. The number of delays due to extreme weather that prevents flying, just one percent of all lights for the year.
What about security concerns? Are they causing many delays? Nope. The government says less than a 10th of one percent of all flights were delayed because of security.
So what are the cause of the delays? Aircraft arriving late, the national aviation system, and air carrier delays. Why is this happening? Airlines acknowledge they have work to do when it comes to organization and efficiency, and the FAA itself says this...
ROBERT STURGELL, FAA ACTING ADMINISTRATOR: More people are flying than ever and more smaller planes are carrying them.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: There are talks that are under way about how to reshape the aviation system in general, but the thing so far, there's no reason to believe in any kind of short-term guides that will see anything get better next year or even the year after. Not that soon.
DE LA CRUZ: Don't hold your breath.
LEVS: Happy holidays, everyone.
DE LA CRUZ: Thanks, Josh. It's always good to see you. Thanks so much.
HOLMES: Even the president, though -- this is so serious -- the president is getting involved. He is even trying to help out. Is that going to help at all? What was his announcement?
LEVS: Right. He made an announcement the other day, and there's a few things he wants to do.
One thing Jim Acosta mentioned is that he wants to open up some military air space to the commercial flights, which could potentially help a little bit. He also wants to bump those fees, increase the fees that you get if you're bumped, which could do two things -- one, make you a little bit happier; two, get the airlines even more worried about overbooking in the first place. So -- and he wants to decrease some of the maintenance projects, just get things moving.
But all that said, guys, they're only talking about doing it in a short term during the holidays. They're only talking about seeing if it works at all. And we're already hearing some skeptics, including the head of a comptrollers association, who's saying, you know, what? The problem is there are too few people on the ground already dealing with air traffic. So it doesn't even matter. Get them more in the air, they can't land. So because the whole system is messed up, it might not even make a difference right now.
DE LA CRUZ: Has that ever happened to you? Have you been up in the air for two hours stuck in a holding pattern?
LEVS: Yes. You have to fly around and take a different city.
DE LA CRUZ: Yes. It happened to me.
LEVS: We did that.
It did?
DE LA CRUZ: It's happened to me.
Has that happened to you?
HOLMES: I haven't been -- man, I really am lucky.
DE LA CRUZ: He really is the lucky one.
LEVS: He is lucky. It's so unfair.
DE LA CRUZ: You are.
LEVS: Could you rub some of that off on us?
HOLMES: Are you going to be back this morning?
LEVS: Yes, I'll be around.
HOLMES: OK. Because you have so much good news, we just can't wait...
LEVS: I'll make you happier next time. I'll bring something positive, I promise.
HOLMES: We appreciate you, Josh.
LEVS: Yes.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, turning to this story we've been keeping an eye on for a few weeks now. His fourth wife has been missing for two weeks, the death of his third wife now under suspicion.
DE LA CRUZ: You'll hear from one of Drew Peterson's pals who says he is starting to have his doubts too.
HOLMES: Also, they're still not going anywhere near a script, but TV and screenwriters are believed to talk at least with producers about ending their strike.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Tough talk from the U.S. point man in Pakistan. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met with Pakistan's president this morning. The State Department says he carried a clear message urging President Pervez Musharraf to lift his state of emergency, leave the army and set a date for elections. It's all aimed at getting the president to move back toward democracy. Pakistan has seen its supreme court purged and thousands of protesters detained since President Musharraf declared emergency rule two weeks ago.
And Bangladesh is digging out from a major disaster. Parts of the country were completely destroyed by Tropical Cyclone Sidr. Bangladesh's military is now helping relief and rescue efforts there. The U.S. may also send some marines to help.
The death toll right now stands at 915, but officials there believe that number will rise into the thousands once crews reach remote villages. The Red Crescent says there are at least 15,000 people injured and a thousand more are missing.
HOLMES: Well, Bangladesh is a land of fertile soil, rich earth, but its low-lying geography a blessing, also its curse.
Here now, CNN's Tim Lister.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TIM LISTER, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Monsoons, cyclones, mighty rivers flowing through a huge low-lying delta, Bangladesh has been cursed by geography. Much of the damage is done by monsoon rains in the summer.
This was the flooding in 2005. A year later, more devastation. And this year, the heaviest rains in a generation.
By August, the land is sodden, and then comes the annual threat of cyclones swirling in from the Bay of Bengal. The combination of high winds, a tidal surge and heavy rainfall would be ruinous for any coastline. But so much of Bangladesh is barely above sea level, there's nothing to hold the waters back.
It sits on the largest delta in the world, 30,000 square miles, created by the Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers. An area that is densely populated.
PROF. PETER WEBSTER, GEORGIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY: People live there because that's where the land is very, very fertile and the farming is very good, and it's been very good for 5,000 years.
LISTER: Rain that falls further inland in the foothills of the Himalayas flows back toward the scene, making the situation even worse. The last major cyclone to hit Bangladesh in 1991 left at least 138,000 people dead. But it was also a call to action.
Across the country, thousands upon thousands of communal storm shelters were built. Teams of volunteers had trained to get people to safety. In the past couple of days, they've been a vital early warning system.
SELVA SINNADURAI, RED CRESCENT SOCIETY: The authorities raised cautionary -- a precautionary signal from number four to number 10. Since then, the Bangladesh Red Crescent Society, volunteers numbering between 20,000 to 30,000, have been deployed along the coastline to raise awareness among the residents.
LISTER: Drainage has been improved, tidal basins built, riverbanks built up, and navigation channels dredged. And storm forecasting technology has been harnessed to save lives.
WEBSTER: It's gratifying to hear that at this time, as occurred during the summertime when there were floods in the Brahmaputra, that large-scale evacuations have been taking place. And that -- I think the lessons have been learned from earlier storms.
LISTER: But the economic impact of nature's wrath is still devastating for a country as poor as Bangladesh. In 1998, the Ganges and Brahmaputra flooded simultaneously, inundating the capital, Dhaka, as well as two-thirds of the country's farmland.
The disaster almost forced the Grameen Bank, which lends small sums to poor farmers, out of business. It's millions of clients were simply unable to repay their loans. This year Cyclone Sidr is sure to cost Bangladesh tens of millions of dollars in lost output and damage, a cost this poor country can scarcely afford.
Tim Lister, CNN, Atlanta.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
DE LA CRUZ: We're going to have much more on Bangladesh coming up.
Also this, a murder mystery in Britain. A second body found at the home of a convicted murderer. Police are trying to find out if there are more victims.
HOLMES: Also, the doctor who performed plastic surgery on Kanye West's mother heads to court. That's coming up at 8:00 a.m.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Well, the U.S. military in Iraq says four people are now in custody who may be connected with the ambush and kidnapping of American troops last May. Their capture was the result of a raid on two Sunni villages. Two of the kidnapped U.S. soldiers are still missing.
HOLMES: Well, British police found the body of another teenaged girl buried at the former home of a convicted murderer. They found two there this week. Police are still searching the grounds for possibly other bodies.
DE LA CRUZ: A doomsday cult in Russia won't budge from its underground layer. They dug a cave to await the end of the world and say they will kill themselves if anyone tries to force them out.
Drew Peterson is officially a suspect in the disappearance of his fourth wife, Stacy. And now at least one of his longtime friends is starting to question him as well.
Ric Mims appeared on "NANCY GRACE" with guest host Mike Brooks to talk about the case.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MIKE BROOKS, HOST: You initially -- you were -- you were a big supporter of Drew.
RIC MIMS, FRIEND OF DREW PETERSON: I was. And I still -- Drew's still a friend. It's just the facts aren't adding up. And at one point your common sense has got to take over.
BROOKS: Right.
MIMS: So, listen, you're my friend, but I think you're into some serious trouble and I'm just going to back away from you for a while.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: In the meantime, another friend says he's been called to testify before a grand jury looking into the death of Peterson's third wife, Kathleen Savio. Steve Casarano (ph) says he was with Drew Peterson when Savio's body was discovered.
HOLMES: The Southeast, as we know, in a drought crisis right now. We'll tell you what Georgia is attempting and tell you if it's working.
DE LA CRUZ: Mandatory vaccinations and the arguments over those shots.
Gary Nurenberg is standing by live for us this morning in Maryland.
Good morning to you, Gary.
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Veronica.
More than 1,000 parents due at this courthouse in a Maryland county today facing the threat of time in jail if they don't get their kids immunized.
We'll tell you about that when CNN SATURDAY continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: Could a deal be in the works? Striking Hollywood writers and TV studios say after Thanksgiving they will resume contract talks. The dispute is over how much money writers get from Internet downloads and DVD sales.
And CNN has learned the Broadway strike could be over even earlier. Producers and stagehands are expected to meet sometime this weekend. They're trying to find a compromise over work rules just in time for the lucrative holiday season.
HOLMES: Well, Georgia's Lake Lanier looks a bit half full this time around. Yesterday it actually looked half empty. The difference being today that there's a key decision by federal agencies to slow down the amount of water released daily from the lake. It could dramatically extend how long metro Atlanta will have fresh water.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BRIG. GEN. JOSEPH SCHROEDEL, ARMY CORPS OF ENGINEERS: This is an absolutely historic opportunity for these three states, and your governors have sworn their commitment to try to solve the long-term issues here. And by golly, we are in strong support of the governor's efforts to do that.
So not only is this an opportunity to solve the short-term situation we have -- and we'll talk about that -- but it's also an opportunity for us to solve the long-term situation. And we are working very closely together and with the states to make that happen.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: The situation is critical because of the severe drought gripping the South. Lake Lanier is creeping down to the so-called "dead zone." That's the layer of water at the bottom that's much dirtier and harder to purify.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DE LA CRUZ: Well, she's teaching her fifth graders to love history. And that's why Maureen Festi is this year's Preserve America National History Teacher of the Year. The Connecticut was honored by First Lady Laura Bush in New York yesterday. On a recent field trip, Festi's class uncovered original documents dating back to the Revolutionary War.
HOLMES: Well, while you were sleeping, CNN getting a firsthand look at the damage caused by a huge an deadly cyclone.
DE LA CRUZ: Get your child vaccinated or go to jail. One school system's cracking down, and we are taking you there live.
HOLMES: And the homerun king, Barry Bonds, indicted. Will the steroids scandal put him out of baseball for good? That is one everybody is talking about.
From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING, November the 17th.
I'm T.J.
And what is that?
DE LA CRUZ: What is that noise? But it's tough now. I think we should (INAUDIBLE) I'm Veronica de la Cruz. Good morning to you. I'm in for Betty Nguyen. It is so nice to see you this morning. We begin this morning with news out of Bangladesh. It is now night time in Bangladesh, but the darkness can't hide the despair.
More than 900 people are dead, victims of a major cyclone. Officials there say the number of dead could rise dramatically and that's because rescue and recovery crews still have not reached some remote areas. Bangladesh's military is now helping in that search and CNN has learned the U.S. military may soon move in some Marines to help as well.
CNN's Dan Rivers and Cal Perry are both in Bangladesh right now. They'll be keeping us updated on the latest developments there throughout the morning.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) from the U.S. point man in Pakistan, Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte met with Pakistan's president this morning. The State Department says he carried a clear message, urging President Pervez Musharraf to lift his state of emergency, leave the army and set a date for elections. It's all aimed at getting the president to move back toward democracy.
DE LA CRUZ: Back in the U.S. now, some Maryland parents are heading into court. They are facing possible jail time if they don't get their kids immediately immunized against illnesses like measles and mumps. CNN's Gary Nurenberg is at the Prince George's County courthouse in Upper Marlboro. That's where a special hearing is happening this morning.
Good morning to you, Gary.
GARY NURENBERG, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning, Veronica, really fascinating. We expect more than 1,000 county parents to arrive at this courthouse during the course of the day for a series of hearings about why they have not had their children inoculated against disease. Those inoculations under Maryland law are mandatory. And in recent weeks, they have received a letter from the state's attorney and county judges saying they are subject to criminal fines and up to 10 days in jail if they don't comply. As you can see, some parents have already started lining up for this hearing, the first of which is scheduled to begin at about 8:30 this morning.
There are only two reasons in this county why you cannot have your children get vaccinations if you so choose. One is a religious exemption, the other a medical exemption. Over the last several weeks, county officials have been increasing their campaign to get the inoculations done. The original deadline was September 20th, but earlier this week, there were 2,300 students in this school district that has 131,000 who have not yet received their inoculations.
Letters went out to about 1,700 parents with that warning that they could serve up to 10 days in jail and $50 a day for each day they are not in compliance. Under the law officially, if you can't get the vaccine -- you don't have the vaccination rather, you can't go to school and if you're not in school, you're in violation of truancy laws. That's what brings the criminal courts into this.
Anyway, the hearings get under way in about a half an hour. We'll be here throughout the day. There are a group of parents who are opposed to the mandatory inoculations. We'll be talking to them. And Veronica as the day progresses, as people file in, we'll come back and let you know how it's going.
DE LA CRUZ: Gary, you did mention that the number has decreased somewhat, so is it safe to say that the message has been somewhat effective?
NURENBERG: I think they've done everything they can since September. They've had free vaccinations during lunch hour, where they provide free lunches to kids. They do it on weekends. They do it at night. They have sent letters home to parents. They've knocked on the door. They've made phone calls.
In some cases, the parents have moved since the beginning of the school year and therefore can't be traced. That's one of the reasons that the court has essentially said come here today or you could end up in jail. We want to find the ones they haven't been able to find so far is what they're saying.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, Gary Nurenberg keeping track of all this there in Maryland, Gary, thank you so much.
HOLMES: Can you believe it? Just five days now before Thanksgiving already, but the holiday travel period already getting going. A record number of you expected to travel and many are in fact getting a head start since they got the time off work, I assume, hoping to beat the traffic squeeze.
Going to turn now to CNN's Jim Acosta at New York's LGA, LaGuardia airport. How are things going so far, Jim? Good morning to you, sir.
ACOSTA: Well, T.J., if only this could be the situation for holiday travelers this week. It's a Saturday at LaGuardia airport. It's one of the best times to fly and if you look behind me, basically no lines. That's the situation here at LaGuardia airport.
But we know that reality is going to smack these travelers in the face here in just a couple of days as the holiday travel season begins in earnest. You know, millions of travelers will be coming through the New York area over the next several days. The northeast corridor for the airline travel industry is the busiest corridor in the country. It is the reason for delays across the country if you have planes coming through the northeast, if they're making a stop here en route to Chicago, Denver, Dallas, you know, flights in those cities could be affected.
So, this past week the government came up with a solution. They're calling it basically express lanes in the sky. Essentially, what they're going to do is they're going to open up some of the military's drill space, these practice drills that they run along the east coast from Maine to Florida. Those travel lanes, those lanes in the sky will be opened up to accommodate commercial air traffic. And especially what that's going to do according to the government is open up, relieve some of this pressure that airports like LaGuardia, JFK and Newark, Boston, even down in Washington, DC, feel on almost a daily basis.
And according to some of the travelers that we're talking to, they're anxiously awaiting -- some of these people are well schooled, well versed in airline delays. They know when they come to the airport and the airline says it's a weather delay, they know, well, I'm looking outside the window right now and the weather seems fine, so what's really going on? You have travelers who are already suspicious of what they're being told at the airport and so I imagine that some of those travelers, when they come to the airport over the next several days, will have, you know, a bit of a raised eyebrow, a bit skeptical about whether or not this will work.
So it's going to be very interesting to see if this works out. Members of Congress like Charles Shumer here in New York, have been calling on this for some time and I think a lot of people are eagerly anticipating the results of this -- T.J.?
HOLMES: No doubt a lot of travelers have learned to be a bit skeptical and even paranoid about some of the stuff they hear, but hopefully it'll work out. Jim Acosta live for us at LaGuardia. Jim, thanks so much.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, so air travel may be faster, but by far most of you will hit the interstates and highways. According to AAA, almost 39 million of you will travel 50 miles or more in your car this Thanksgiving. The creator of the Pauline Frommer guide, Pauline Frommer, joins us now with some great tips on how to get through all of the traffic without spoiling your holiday mood. Hey, there Pauline.
FROMMER: Hi.
DE LA CRUZ: So hit us with your best tips. What have you got?
FROMMER: Well, you want to leave before dawn, unfortunately. You want to get the kids up, put them in car while they're still sleeping and hit the road if you can if you're traveling on Wednesday or Sunday. Better yet, avoid those days. Those are the two most traveled days of the year. So, you want to be traveling on Tuesday. You want to be traveling on Saturday, just not Wednesday and Sunday because that's when most people go.
The other big issue for motorists this year is the price of gas. Motorists will be paying 90 cents more per gallon this Thanksgiving than they were last Thanksgiving. So, you want to save on gas when you can. Luckily, there's some very good Web sites which are staffed by volunteers. They're called travelbuddy.com and gaspricewatch.com and what they do is they tell you which are the cheapest gas stations in the areas that you might be visiting.
DE LA CRUZ: All right. You were saying that travel early, which is pretty obvious. But what about the time of day? Does it make a difference, the time of day that you travel?
FROMMER: You know, sometimes if you're leaving a major metropolitan area and you have one of those spots where it always gets congested, say the entrance to a bridge or a tunnel, I recommend hitting that bridge or tunnel, if you can plan it this way, at meal time. Most people will stop for lunch. They'll stop for dinner, so if you can get to that ugly place while everybody else is dining, that might help speed you along slightly.
DE LA CRUZ: What about maintaining your sanity, Pauline? Because you know that we've got to pack the car full of not only all the luggage, suitcases, but also the kids. What do you do to maintain your sanity?
FROMMER: Well, if you are traveling with kids -- and I have two kids and I'll be traveling with them on Wednesday. I'm not taking my own advice, unfortunately, because I have to work until Wednesday. You want to stop often. You've just got to let the kids out of the car. They got to run around in a grassy area and scream. Otherwise you're going to be screaming in the car. You just got to realize that when you're traveling with kids, they can't sit still for that long. So make sure that you plan a lot of breaks, especially if you're traveling a long distance.
DE LA CRUZ: Definitely also pack your patience. Pauline, what do you think, have people learned their lesson? Is this the year that people are actually going to make it out of town early instead of waiting until the last minute?
FROMMER: I don't know. It will be interesting to see. I think that there's a lot of knowledge now. I actually wrote an article on travel.msn.com giving everybody advice on what to do for holiday travel, so hopefully people are reading that, listening to this interview and knowing you've got to be savvy when the roads are that crowded.
DE LA CRUZ: All right, Pauline Frommer, Frommer's Budget Travel, it's always nice to see you. Thank you so much for the great advice. We appreciate it.
FROMMER: Actually not Frommer's Budget Travel, but thank you.
DE LA CRUZ: Pauline Frommer's Travel Guide. OK, thanks.
HOLMES: All right. Everybody knows the story. In baseball, the mighty Casey struck out.
DE LA CRUZ: But in real life, home run king Barry Bonds faces a full count and a Federal indictment. The wind-up, the pitch, when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Good morning and welcome back, everybody. Let's get you caught up now. Up first, we'll turn to Bangladesh where recovery efforts there are in full swing. The southern part of the country devastated by a powerful cyclone. Search teams still have not reached some of the remote villages there. More than 900 people are reported dead so far. The number is expected to rise drastically.
DE LA CRUZ: Arrest warrants cancelled. They had been issued when the plastic surgeon who operated on rapper Kanye West's mother didn't show up for a court hearing in an unrelated case. Dr. Jan Adams did eventually turn up. An autopsy on Donda West was inconclusive.
HOLMES: Global warming, (INAUDIBLE) the final U.N. report on climate change just released this morning and it says the earth is quickly moving towards a warmer climate and it warns the (INAUDIBLE) impact around the world is severe with human suffering from possible famine and the threat of extinction, excuse me for some species.
DE LA CRUZ: Strike talks are cranking up again for the entertainment industry. Broadway stage hands resumed talks with producers in New York today. But in Hollywood, writers and studios say it will be more than a week before they can negotiate again.
HOLMES: Steroids once again stealing the sports spot light. Allegations of cheating and lying now have Barry Bonds under indictment. The home run king is forced to defend himself against perjury and obstruction of justice charges. CNN's sport's Ray D'Alessio here now to give us some perspective on what's going on. We have you on the show, we always talk about something negative, and here we go with this steroids again. Barry Bonds. Where did this one come from?
RAY D'ALESSIO, CNN CORRESPONDENT: That's what a lot of people are asking right now, T.J.. I was totally shocked when I saw this. There are so many unanswered questions surrounding this case. For instance, what took the government so long to indict Bonds? This investigation began back in 2003.
Also, some other things to think about -- did major league baseball and the San Francisco Giants know this was coming? Could this be one of the reasons why the Giants chose not to re-sign Bonds, who is now a free agent and maybe the biggest question of all, the legacy of Barry Bonds, whether he goes on trial or not and if he's found innocent, is his legacy now forever tarnished?
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
D'ALESSIO (voice-over): When Barry Bonds broke Hank Aaron's career home run record last August, it should have been the crowning achievement of a brilliant career. Instead, he found himself defending its validity.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Is this record tainted? Do you feel at all it's tainted and --
BARRY BONDS, BROKE AARON'S HOME RUN RECORD: This record is not tainted at all, at all, period.
D'ALESSIO: Bonds has been dogged by allegations of steroid use ever since he appeared before a grand jury in December of 2003 and testified that he never knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs. The government believes he lied. If found guilty, Bonds will face jail time. But he's just one of several high-profile athletes to be ensnared in a steroid scandal. Track star Marion Jones had always maintained she never used steroids until last month, when she pled guilty to lying to Federal agents about her steroid use.
MARION JONES, ADMITTED TO STEROID USE: And so it is with a great amount of shame that I stand before you and tell you that I have betrayed your trust.
D'ALESSIO: In July 2006, Floyd Landis had one of the biggest comebacks in Tour de France history until it was revealed he failed a drug test and was ultimately stripped of his title.
TERENCE MOORE, ATLANTA JOURNAL-CONSTITUTION: Even though cheating has always been out there, there is so much money at stake now and there's just so much of an incentive out there if you're an athlete, a professional athlete, to do something to get the edge over somebody else because you're talking about millions of dollars are out there on the table if you are better than the other guy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think we're going to have to come to terms with it, both in terms of sports and society that these last 10, 15, 20 years, however much you want to bracket, were steroid influenced.
MURRAY CHASS, NEW YORK TIMES: The fans show no indication that they are tired of what's been going on. They might grumble about it. They might talk among themselves about it. But it doesn't stop them from following games.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Sports fans want to be sports fans. It's not a job. I mean, it's an avocation; it's pleasure. And I think the fans are always going to make excuses for themselves and to the players they watch.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
D'ALESSIO: And of course the steroids, while it has been following baseball for some time, in an effort to clear the air, Commissioner Bud Selig hired former Senator George Mitchell to investigate everything that went on in baseball's so-called steroids era. Mitchell says his report, which is expected to include the names of past and present players, will be released by the end of this year. So again T.J., just a lot of questions, probably questions we will never learn the answer to surrounding this whole case and just sports in general really kind of been challenged right now.
HOLMES: Fans have, their questions. Is this guy going to ever swing the bat in the major leagues again? Unless he's playing for some prison league, is he going to be playing on a team again? Is anybody going to want to touch him? D'ALESSIO: Me personally, I would say you're going to be hard pressed to find a team who's going to take this guy. You look at some of the circumstances here. He's 43 years old, he's battled injuries over the last couple of seasons. And if he does go someplace, he's got bad knees. If he does go someplace, it's more than likely going to be as a designated hitter. Then of course, there's his reputation. Doesn't have the best of reputations in the locker room, doesn't get along with a lot of guys. That's been well documented and then there is the indictment.
This could turn out to be a lengthy trial, plus a public relations nightmare. What GM or what team is going to want to have a guy on their team that's been labeled as an alleged cheater and is going to be in and out of courtrooms on a daily basis?
HOLMES: And he wouldn't be cheap either if anybody went to pick him up.
D'ALESSIO: Exactly.
HOLMES: So legally, then, what's next for him? How does this process go in the courtroom?
D'ALESSIO: What's next, I mean we still have not heard of any public comments from Barry Bonds. He is expected to turn himself in to authorities sometime next week, possibly as early as Monday, Still don't know exactly what time if it is going to be Monday at all and then his first court date is set for December 7th.
HOLMES: And here we go, another circus.
D'ALESSIO: Another circus (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: Ray, always good to have you. But unfortunately, we've got to talk about some negative things too often when you're here for sports.
D'ALESSIO: That's OK.
DE LA CRUZ: Good to see you, Ray.
Thanksgiving Day is still five days away, but some people are already on the move this weekend.
HOLMES: People got the time off, a lot of time apparently. They're starting to drive and fly. But what is the weather going to be like? Bonnie Schneider keeping an eye on this stuff for us this morning. Good morning again ma'am.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DE LA CRUZ: Bonnie, thanks so much.
But first here's a preview of today's "House Call" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta. DR. SANJAY GUPTA, CHIEF MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT: Thanks guys. We're looking at the issues you need to know about this election season from healthcare for kids to prescription drugs and also the politics of cancer research, about your vote, your money and your health. Don't miss "House Call" coming up at 8:30 Eastern.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. You're watching right now, you probably haven't hit the road just yet for the Thanksgiving holiday. But millions of people have and they're leaving early, really early, realizing that if they wait until Wednesday next week, they're probably asking for trouble, like traffic jams, long lines and, yes of course, those flight delays.
DE LA CRUZ: Yeah, but you have to get the time off and not everybody can get the time off.
HOLMES: Everybody can't. That's one of my normal days off, Wednesday, Thursday, can you believe that, those coveted Wednesdays and Thursdays.
DE LA CRUZ: Just a lucky guy.
HOLMES: Yeah.
DE LA CRUZ: He's just a lucky guy.
HOLMES: Talk to me around Christmastime.
DE LA CRUZ: Let's check in now with Bonnie Schneider. She is keeping an eye on all your holiday travel weather. Hey Bonnie.
(WEATHER REPORT)
DE LA CRUZ: Bonnie, I have a question for you.
BONNIE SCHNEIDER, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Yes.
DE LA CRUZ: Is it true? Are diamonds really a girl's best friend?
SCHNEIDER: Sure. Why not?
DE LA CRUZ: Pay attention to this next story, because we have got something for you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
DE LA CRUZ: All right. Here is a bright idea. Pop the big question in the lights of a high-rise.
HOLMES: That's one way to go. An Iowa State University grad pulled out all the stops to make it happen and she was impressed.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) AMANDA HAUBRICH, ISU GRADUATE STUDENT: This was a pretty big surprise. It's huge and I love it. It's so personalized.
K.C. DOHSE, ISU GRADUATE STUDENT: I took (INAUDIBLE) to (INAUDIBLE) and photo shop and checked if (INAUDIBLE) worked. It did, so I said well, this will be cool.
HAUBRICH: (INAUDIBLE) Iowa here every year, so that's a really nice touch. It was really cute.
DOHSE: I was mostly nervous about this because I had a feeling that she'd say yes, so (INAUDIBLE) worked right.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: Can you imagine if she said no, though?
HOLMES: She better not.
DE LA CRUZ: I mean can you imagine?
HOLMES: After all that, you're going to marry me, woman. OK? I just went through all this. We are getting married. I don't want to hear it.
DE LA CRUZ: I hear you talk like that now, but here's the sad reality is it all goes downhill from there.
HOLMES: Oh, come on.
DE LA CRUZ: Sorry.
HOLMES: Let's move to listen to this sound bite here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $7,500. That's a nice Christmas present.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Best $1.50 you ever spent.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oh, yeah. I'd spend it again.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DE LA CRUZ: 1111. Four numbers that added up to big money for thousands of people playing the midday four lottery in Connecticut on Wednesday.
HOLMES: The winning numbers or actually it was just a single winning number, as it were. It's one of the most popular number combinations on the bug 50 ticket. So, tens of thousands of people get a piece of the $6.1 million jackpot.
DE LA CRUZ: It's happened all before, the same number combination hit the jackpot back in 2002. So, remember that, 1111, 7777 maybe. HOLMES: Be upset, there's a $6.1 million jackpot.
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