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CNN Saturday Morning News

Arrests Made in Sean Taylor Murder; New Developments on Hostage Drama in New Hampshire; World AIDS Day; Plan to Fix Mortgage Crisis?

Aired December 01, 2007 - 09:00   ET

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

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Well, good morning from the CNN Center here in Atlanta. I'm Betty Nguyen. We want to thank you for starting your day with us. My partner T.J. Holmes will join us shortly. He's headed out for our special coverage of World AIDS Day. A lot of other news going on. Let's get you up to date right now.
Arrests, confessions and now a motive. New developments in the killing of NFL star Sean Taylor. The four suspects face a judge this hour and CNN is there.

Plus, new developments in that hostage drama at Hillary Clinton's campaign office. You may have missed it. Late last night, Clinton held a news conference. The entire drama played out live right here on CNN. We are in Rochester this morning to give you the latest.

First up, though, four young men facing a judge in a Ft. Myers, Florida, and courtroom today. They are suspected of murder in the death of Washington Redskins football star Sean Taylor. Now yesterday, police arrested 20-year-old Vinjah Hunte, 17-year-old Erik Rivera Jr., 17-year-old Jason Scott Mitchell and 18-year-old Charles Wardlow. Police say the motive appears to have been robbery.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

ROBERT PARKER, MIAMI DADE POLICE DIRECTOR: They were certainly not looking to go there and kill anyone. They were expecting a residence that was not occupied. So murder or shooting someone was not their initial motive. I am just going to tell you that we have confessions within this investigation. I'm not going to tell you which ones confessed and which ones did not. We have more than one confession. I'll put it at that.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Taylor was shot and later died after a break-in at his home in Miami earlier this week.

Taylor's death is drawing an emotional reaction in Miami. The South Miami High basketball team held helped welcome Taylor's father home as he came back from the police new conference announcing the arrests in the case. Pedro Pete Taylor used to coach the South Miami High basketball team.

Our Rick Sanchez talked about it with him. Take a listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) PEDRO TAYLOR, SEAN TAYLOR'S FATHER: Sean is a young man that's -- that took a passion to football at a very young age and not only that, he took a passion to be a scholar athlete. It's been a dream of his to accomplish so much. And he had a gel to reach, and that was to get to the top of the pyramid, which he did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Our John Zarrella is following the Taylor case from Ft. Myers. We'll get a live update from him just as soon as that court session is over.

In the meantime, Senator Hillary Clinton says she is relieved and grateful. This after a hostage drama at her presidential campaign office in New Hampshire. Clinton spoke late last night after the ordeal ended and this morning, the hostage taker is behind bars.

Let's go live to Rochester and CNN's Jim Acosta. Bring us up to speed on what happened overnight, Jim.

JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not much happened overnight. I can tell you this morning, that the Clinton campaign office here in Rochester, New Hampshire is closed. The lights are out. It will probably stay that way for much of the day today. That's because this campaign staff, as you mentioned, is taking advantage of a much-needed breather today after what happened yesterday out here. This was a dramatic, horrendous ordeal for the staff here at the Clinton Campaign Headquarters in Rochester, New Hampshire.

This standoff ended after about 5 1/2 hours, peacefully. Leeland Eisenberg, a 46-year-old man here from Rochester, New Hampshire, a man with a history of mental illness, a man with a history of drug and alcohol problems, surrendered to authorities without incident. Shortly thereafter, Senator Hillary Clinton who was in Virginia yesterday during this entire ordeal flew to New Hampshire to meet with those former hostages and their family members. She spoke to reporters afterward and said her campaign is breathing a collective sigh of relief.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. HILLARY CLINTON, (D) PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: We are immensely relieved that this has ended peacefully. But it is with a great sense of gratitude that I came here tonight both to see the people who were directly held hostage and their families and to thank the New Hampshire professionals who made this day turn out as well as it did.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: And yesterday evening, we had a chance to go to Leeland Eisenberg's neighborhood in nearby Somersworth, New Hampshire where we talked to neighbors. They described some problems that they noticed on behalf of Mr. Eisenberg. They say that he had loud arguments with his wife at his home. Appeared to have some serious problems with alcohol abuse. And they noticed, for some time, that Leeland Eisenberg was headed for trouble.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

GEORGE ISAACSON, NEIGHBOR: He would walk over to the filling station right up the street every day and always get either a 12-pack or something like that. This is every day.

ERIC CARLSON, NEIGHBOR: Domestic violence, yes. I don't know what happened. I was coming in from work and they were hauling him in the cruiser.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

ACOSTA: Leeland Eisenberg has a court appearance on Monday where he'll be arraigned here in Rochester, New Hampshire. As for the campaign, Hillary Clinton is in Iowa today. So a lot of people in this state will be looking to Rudy Giuliani who is campaigning in this state today. It will be very interesting to find out what the man who went through 9/11 and led New York City through that terrorist attack has to say about the way campaigning in the 2008 election will change as a result of this.

Some people are wondering whether this changes the nature of retail politics, whether you can have store fronts like this one behind me totally unguarded. We'll have to see that the Republican contender has to say about that later today.

NGUYEN: We'll be watching that. But I want to go back to the video of the hostage taker, especially when he surrendered last night and you saw what was strapped around his waist and chest area. When I was covering this yesterday, there was word that could have been a possible bomb. What did it turn out to be, Jim?

ACOSTA: Betty, it just turned out to be road flares duct taped to his chest. He had some sort of mock detonation device. It's not clear whether or not that would have actually done anything. Obviously, the road flares would not have done anything. As he surrendered, he appeared to have taken that device off if you even want to call it that, and surrendered peacefully. This is a man who, one neighbor put yesterday, was crying out for help.

NGUYEN: No doubt. Jim Acosta joining us live from Rochester. Jim thank you for that report.

We want to tell you about this. A live picture. We're going to be giving to you very shortly of the World AIDS Day concert now under way in Johannesburg, South Africa. The day-long event started just about 90 minutes ago. This is the fifth year. Let me give you a lineup. Peter Gabrielle, Annie Lennox, the Goo Goo Dolls. Those are just some of the artists performing today. We'll be talking to some of them throughout the morning.

Well the face of AIDS has changed dramatically from the image most people had just a few years ago. We asked Dr. Anthony Falchi, one of the leading U.S. experts on AIDS, for his opinion.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DR. ANTHONY FAUCI, NATL. INSTITUTES OF HEALTH: The face of AIDS in the U.S. today is a young African-American woman who was infected by a partner who she did not know that that partner was infected and had no reason to believe or even means to protect herself. The face of AIDS is a young African-American man who's bisexual and because of the stigma associated with being gay superimposed upon the stigma associated with being infected, the person is not counseled nor appreciate what one needs to do to decrease or eliminate the risk of HIV.

So it really has been transformed over the years to a situation where you have 12 percent of the population of the United States is African-American. And among new infections, among men, close to 50 percent of the infections are in African-American men. And among women, over 60 percent of the new infections are among African- American women.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NGUYEN: Those numbers are just staggering. Dr. Fauci's entire interview can be found on CNN.com.

And coming up in our next hour, T.J. Holmes will be live from the sight where the AIDS memorial quilt is kept here in Atlanta.

In the mean time though we want to get the latest on the winter weather out there. It's affecting a lot of folks.

REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Millions of Americans this weekend. A lot of people will be affected. No question about it. Great advice. Not only the jackets. You'll need the umbrellas; you are going to need the golashes (ph). Pretty nasty day to say the very least. Especially in places like Detroit. Take a look at this live image that we have for you from Detroit complements of WDIV.

So far, so good. You see the sun; you see a few scattered clouds. Farther to the west, near the southwest, we have a big storm rumble. In Detroit, you have a winter storm watch that is in effect. We're expecting winter storm warnings which are already in effect in places like Chicago. All that icy messy weather is going to be drifting its way to the east.

Eventually as we get towards the end of the weekend, affecting other cities like Cleveland, eventually New York. But for the time being, here's the story. Take a look at this. We've got the winter storm warning popped up. As you can see the city of Detroit on the far right-hand side of the screen if you happen to be looking at the set right over here, Detroit. The area shaded in blue, that's your watch. But the warning, everything shaded in red. Possibly Milwaukee, some snow for you, too. In Omaha, Nebraska, we are seeing some light snowfall.

But look what is happening a little bit farther to the south? A little bit of warmer air. A little bit of a freezing line. You'll see scattered showers. Then right between that an ice storm warning that will be in effect for places like Lincoln, Nebraska, parts of I-70 it is going to be hodgepodge. A lot of water and a lot of ice mixed in, too. So definitely a slippery drive for you.

Now as we make our way from the Central Plains we leave the snow back to heavier snowfall. Winter storm warning now in effect for Durango, south of Grand Junction, where we could see two to four feet of snowfall. But in the highest elevations, get this, five feet of snow possible. Wind gusts that could exceed 60 miles per hour, whiteout conditions. It's going to be a mess. We'll keep you up to speed with all of that throughout the day right here on CNN.

Let's send it back to you.

NGUYEN: Man, oh, man, five feet of snow, whiteout conditions?

WOLF: Yeah. Great for all those skiers, not great if you are trying to get somewhere.

NGUYEN: OK, Reynolds we will stay on top it. Thank you.

If you get caught in this winter storm, we advise you to stay safe. But if you can, send us an I-report. Take a shot of what you are looking at, what you are facing out there. Just download the pictures or video and send it to CNN.com/ireport.

A British teacher jailed in Sudan may not have to serve her time after all. Gillian Gibbons was convicted of insulting Islam and sentenced to 15 days in jail Thursday. Here's her crime, allowing her students to name a teddy bear Muhammad. Muhammad is the founder of Islam and members of the British Parliament well they traveled to Sudan today trying to win her release. Her lawyer tells the Associated Press Sudan's president may grant a pardon.

Take you to Aruba now. Two brothers that were rearrested in the disappearance of Natalee Holloway will be released this afternoon. Yesterday a judge denied a prosecutor's request to keep them in jail saying the evidence wasn't strong enough. The third suspect remains behind bars, the Alabama teen vanished two years ago while on a graduation trip.

Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez on a rant, railing on the U.S. and all of us here at CNN. Yeah, during a rally yesterday, Chavez urged supporters to approve constitutional changes that would do away with term limits and could keep him in power indefinitely.

He threatened to cut off oil exports to the U.S. and if it tries to meddle in tomorrow's vote, that's what he says he'll do. And then he threatened to expel CNN journalists and sue the network. See how that turns out. Chavez accuses CNN of exaggerating the strength of the opposition to the constitutional changes.

Right now, the four men suspected in the death of Sean Taylor are facing a judge. Our John Zarrella is in the courtroom and he'll update us as soon as he has new details in this case.

Plus if you have a subprime loan, you better listen up. A new proposal could get you out of that big financial hole. Our personal finance editor Gerri Willis has the details right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right, they are looking for answers in a train collision. That tops our quick hits. Investigators are trying to figure out why an Amtrak train and a freight train ended up on the same track at the same time in Chicago. Look what it's done. Dozens of people were hurt in yesterday's collision. Five of them seriously injured. Investigators hope to get clues from an event recorder. That is a devise similar to flight recorders on airplanes.

Talk now about the death of a daredevil. Evel Knievel's motorcycle stunt made him a pop culture icon. Remember jumping the fountains at Caesar's Palace or his attempt to jump Idaho's Snack River Canyon back in 1974. Boom, did you see him go down there? That's because Knievel broke more than 40 bones during his career. He had several major health problems as well over the years. But again, Evel Knievel dead today at the age of 69. Only 69 years old.

The mortgage crises, it is still a mess. Foreclosures are up. People losing their homes left and right. Before things get worse, a plan is on the table to fix it. It's a big focus on "OPEN HOUSE" this morning. CNN's Gerri Willis joins us now with a preview.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi, Betty. Major lenders and the Bush administration are talking seriously about a plan aimed at easing the mortgage crises. The key component, it would freeze interest rates on some sub prime loans. Before you go calling your mortgage lender, understand this is only a proposal. Not all lenders have weighed in on the idea. According to sources familiar with the situation, the proposal targets people with subprime loans, adjustable rate mortgages made to people with poor credit.

Expectations are as many as 2 million of these folks could end up in foreclosure over the next year because interest rates on these loans are moving higher. Here's how the program, if agreed to, would work. Folks who have had no problem paying their current rate of interest but can't afford a higher one would be targeted for help. If you had a subprime loan and could afford the higher rate or if you can't even afford the teaser rate, you are out of luck.

Now under this proposal initial teaser rates would be extended for five to seven years. Sources tell CNN, financial institutions would send letters to people eligible for help and possibly, possibly even create an appeals process for those borrowers who would think they should be getting help. Lenders are considering this because they believe freezing interest rates is cheaper than going through an expensive wave of foreclosures which, according to some estimates, cost lenders $50,000 for each foreclosure.

Also, the program would be run by them, the industry, servicers and lenders, not federal regulators. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson could address this issue next week, possibly as early as Monday. If approved, its unclear when this will take effect or if the mortgage industry will fully embrace it. Coming up on "OPEN HOUSE," we'll talk more about the mortgage meltdown and how it's impacting renters whose landlords are going through foreclosure.

Plus, we will tell you how to protect yourself from medical billing errors.

And how to stay out of debt over the holiday. That is all coming up at 9:30 -- Betty.

NGUYEN: All right. Thank you. That's some really good information.

You know today is World AIDS Day. We'll be talking about how you can help the young people affected by AIDS. We're talking children living with AIDS. You don't want to miss it, it is coming up next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: AIDS affects nearly all of us in one way or another. So perhaps you can imagine how difficult it must be for a young child whose HIV positive or struggling to cope with a parent dying of the disease. Ryan Gembala and Garrett Gravesen have made it their mission to improve the quality of life for these children right here in Georgia. The organization is H.E.R.O, Hearts Everywhere Reaching Out for Children.

We want to welcome them to the program today. Ryan, first of all, when we talk about H.E.R.O and this program that is helping children, how does it work?

RYAN GEMBALA, H.E.R.O. FOR CHILDREN INC: H.E.R.O. For Children exists to improve the quality of life of children infected with and affected by HIV and AIDS.

NGUYEN: What do you mean by that?

GEMBALA: Now historically HIV care has consisted of basic medicine and food and housing in the United States. But quality of care is the next phase of the epidemic because the medication has gotten so good where the children can live long, productive lives.

So the next question we ask is, if they are going to live long lives, will they be able to live as members of society that will thrive or will they struggle with the emotional health and quality of life challenges. H.E.R.O. For Children exists to improve that quality of life and give these kids a chance to have a great emotional health.

NGUYEN: You two guys got together and formed this H.E.R.O. program. Garrett, why did you do it? Have you been infected any way? Have family members been infected? Why did you start this?

GARRETT GRAVESEN, H.E.R.O. FOR CHILDREN: We went to school together. But had separate, independent experiences that brought us together. I lived in Africa and saw the first-hand effects of HIV and AIDS. First thing we're asked is how do average community members get involved in lives of these kids? We're going to start a grassroots approach. Throw it out there and try to make a dent in the way we knew how, which is quality of life.

Bringing everyone together, which we this is the next phase of the epidemic. Outside of food, medicine and housing, what happens once they get the medicine? How do we improve their quality of life and how do we bring everyone together to make that happen.

NGUYEN: These children are facing a lot of difficulties. Run through the laundry list. A lot of them don't have parents, a lot of them live in low income housing. Their families that they do have don't have a lot of money to support them. There's a lot of anger, lack of communication. They are dealing with so many issues.

GEMBALA: We have the superheroes mentoring program. It's a one on one mentoring program to provide consistent support in the lives of these kids. It's been designed specifically for the needs of children dealing with HIV and AIDS. We also have the Rising Heroes Program which builds life skills around the emotional, social and financial challenges that these children deal with. They are so tremendous. That's why it's so important for the community to get involved because we've created a bridge that exists between children affected by AIDS and compassionate, sensitive community.

NGUYEN: Well give me an example, Garrett, how have you seen lives change, 350 children have gone through this program. What have you seen happen?

GRAVESEN: For example, we do big events, global impact. We know 15 percent of our kids have lost one or both parents to HIV or AIDS. They need people to step up and become role models. We've designed a way for everyone out there to really get involved and help these kids in measurable, easy ways through mentoring, through life skills to give these kids an opportunity to thrive and survive because they don't have much. It's poverty. It's this disease. It's all these cards stacked up against them.

NGUYEN: Exactly. So you are hoping what you are doing here in Georgia can be used in other places throughout the nation.

GRAVESEN: Essentially so. We think we've really designed this with help and guidance from other people. We have the CDC in the backyard. Atlanta is a great city to make this happen. We know this can be a bridge to the rest of the world.

NGUYEN: Three hundred and fifty children. That's not a bad start since you founded this organization. Thank you for being here on World AIDS Day.

GRAVESEN: We'd like to encourage everyone to visit www.heroforchildren.org.

NGUYEN: Yeah, absolutely.

GRAVENSEN: Thank you. NGUYEN: Well our Josh Levs is surfing the Web this morning finding some other ways that you can help young people affected by AIDS. He joins us now. Hey there Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Some people may be inspired by what you just saw. Coming up, I'm going to tell you about a simple way you can help kids with HIV or AIDS literally anywhere in the world. Especially time with the holidays coming up. That's next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

NGUYEN: All right. So you've heard of Make-A-Wish. Have you heard of Angel Wish? On World AIDS Day, it's a charity that you may want to look into. CNN's Josh Levs joins us from the dotcom desk to tell us more about it. Break it down for us.

LEVS: Well, 2.5 million kids live with HIV or AIDS all over the world. They are literally all over the world. Angelwish.org is an interesting Web site to look at. It's kind of like a secret Santa thing. It will hook you up with a child anywhere in the world. You can use the continent you want. It automatically brings you to a site where this child has listed his or her wishes.

I'm going to give you this example. The full names are block out on the site. This is from a little boy named Billy. I have been a good little boy. I would like for Christmas a blazing rails train set or a Hip Hughes boom box, and then I want a star singer karaoke machine. But if I get one of them, that will be fine, too.

NGUYEN: When you go and donate, do you just donate money so someone can buy this and give it to them or do you actually have to buy the gift yourself?

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