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CNN Saturday Morning News

Senator Barack Obama is in Afghanistan; Meeting in Switzerland Discusses Iran's Nuclear Program; Inside Myanmar: Is Aid Reaching Cyclone Victims?; How Do You Know If Your Bank is Failing?

Aired July 19, 2008 - 09:00   ET

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

T.J. HOLMES, CNN, ANCHOR: Well, live from the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. I'm T.J. Holmes. And it is Saturday, July 19th. Thanks for being with us.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And good morning to you. I'm Brianna Keilar in for Betty Nguyen who is on assignment.

And, of course, our breaking news this morning is Barack Obama. He's in Afghanistan checking out the situation there on the ground and visiting troops. But also trying to show some chops when it comes to foreign policy which John McCain has really targeted.

HOLMES: But not really supposed to be a campaign trip.

KEILAR: Not supposed to be a campaign trip.

HOLMES: Yes.

KEILAR: Officially.

HOLMES: But we'll be talking a whole lot more about the details of the trip.

Also, a lot of people worried right now about their banks. Some people wanting to go literally to their banks and pull their money out because they have seen some banks goes bust. Our Gerri Willis is going to be along with some tips about what you need to look out for your bank deposit to go bust.

KEILAR: And check this out. We're going to tell you a little bit more about this drug sub. Some drug smugglers getting really creative when they have to smuggle drugs in. We're going to catch you up on that story.

HOLMES: Back now to what we were talking about just a moment ago -- Barack Obama. He is on the ground and on the move as well in Afghanistan. Associated Press reporting that Obama has moved from Kabul in eastern Afghanistan. He moved from where you see there, moved a little further east. He arrived in the country just a few hours ago. This trip, again, aimed at really boosting his foreign policy credentials even though, in fact, this is an official U.S. congressional delegation that is traveling there.

We ask our national security analyst Peter Bergen whether people in Afghanistan were keeping track of Obama's presidential campaign. (BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)

VOICE OF PETER BERGEN, CNN NATIONAL SECURITY ANALYST: For the vast majority answer of Afghans, the answer is no. It has nothing to do with Senator Obama. A vast majority of Afghans are illiterate. You know, it's a poor country. They don't have much access to news.

But, you know, months of people who are more educated and able to, you know, have television, read the newspaper, there is considerable interest in American presidential election. And they can understand that the stakes are pretty high for Afghanistan because whether it's McCain or Obama, the feeling here that the center of gravity is moving from Iraq to Afghanistan in terms of political attention and perhaps more American boots on the ground than perhaps more Americans resources generally.

(END AUDIO CLIP)

HOLMES: And of course, this trip will no doubt play politically for the senator. However, he is traveling with a couple of other senators, Jack Reid of Rhode Island, a Democrat and also Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, a Republican. Both of whom actually have been rumored to be on the short list of VP candidates.

KEILAR: Obama is also expected to stop in Iraq. His Republican rival John McCain has made several trips to Iraq and the presumptive presidential nominee supported launching that war, of course.

And as Jonathan Mann reports, it's an area where McCain thinks he holds a political advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JONATHAN MANN, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This may have been John McCain's most famous visit to Iraq, a walk through Baghdad Central Market on April 1st last year. McCain said the stroll proved that Iraq was getting safer.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R), PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE: I have been here many years, many times over the years. Never have I been able to drive from the airport, never have I been able to go out into the city as I was today.

MANN: Some Iraqis and Americans suggested that he was able to go out because he was protected by more than 100 soldiers and attack helicopters patrolling overhead. From the outset, John McCain has consistently looked forward to victory in Iraq.

When the U.S. first invaded and even after the occupation turned bloody, he supported the Bush administration's goals. He did not support the way it fought the war though. Openly calling for more troops long before the administration announced its troop surge. Now McCain says the surge has succeeded and it's proved something.

MCCAIN: In wartime judgment and experience matter. It matters. Time of war the commander in chief doesn't get a learning curve. If I have that privilege, I will bring to the job many years of military and political experience, experience that gave me the judgment necessary to make the right call in Iraq a year and a half ago.

MANN (on-camera): McCain says the right call now is to keep U.S. troops in Iraq until Iraqi forces can safeguard the country themselves. He says it's best for the United States but something more as well, McCain says it's a moral obligation.

Jonathan Mann, CNN, Atlanta.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

KEILAR: It's not a timetable for withdrawal but President Bush and Iraq's prime minister have agreed on setting what they call a general time horizon for reducing U.S. troop levels. The White House says the two leaders agree the goals would be based on improving conditions and not on an arbitrary date.

HOLMES: Well, Britain's leader, he is now in Iraq. Prime minister there Gordon Brown arrived in Baghdad today. This was, of course, an unannounced visit for security reason. He's holding talks with Iraqi leaders about long-term relations and the future for British service members in that country. Britain has 4,000 service members in Iraq. Military officials say they expect to begin reducing that number next year.

Well, nuclear talks with Iran are under way right now in Geneva, Switzerland. Iran's top negotiator says there is no chance his country will suspend uranium enrichment. No surprise there really.

And no change in the position that they've had but as CNN's Jill Dougherty report, there is something different about these talks. It may signal a new direction for the U.S. government.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JILL DOUGHERTY, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Less than two weeks ago, tensions with Iran were at the boiling point. Tehran test firing a long-range missile capable of hitting Israel. Rumors say Israel or the United Sates might launch a military strike on Iran.

Suddenly, after years of the Bush administration insisting it would talk to Iran only after it stopped its nuclear program, the U.S. State Department announces its third highest ranking diplomat, William Burns, will sit down Saturday with Iran's top nuclear negotiator and a group of senior international diplomats including EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to listen, not negotiate.

SEAN MCCORMICK, STATE DEPT. SPOKESMAN: Is this a new tactic, if you will? Yes. Does it send a signal? Yes. Is the substance any different? No.

DOUGHERTY: Then another surprise -- 30 years after Iranian's seized American hostages during the Islamic revolution and Washington broke off diplomatic relations, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has been hinting at the possibility of opening a U.S. diplomatic post in Tehran called an intersection. The U.S. has an intersection in Cuba which helps Cubans get visas to the U.S.

Iran has its own intersection here in Washington. Since Tehran has no diplomatic relations with the U.S., it's housed in this building as part of the embassy of Pakistan. Why the overtures to Iran? And why now? U.S. officials believe international sanctions are hurting the Iranian regime and its people. They say a debate is beginning in Iran over whether the country is paying too high a price for defying the world over its nuclear program. The scars from 30 years ago are still there. But a former hostage says it's in the United States' interests to start talking with Iran.

AMB. BRUCE LAINGEN, FORMER HOSTAGE IN IRAN: What we really need as far as Iran is concerned is a Nixon in China approach. It is going to take that kind of change at the top to really open up Tehran and the U.S. But this is a beginning.

DOUGHERTY: A beginning of a new U.S. strategy on Iran? Or new tactical maneuvers in a complex diplomatic game? U.S. officials won't say, but something is shifting.

Jill Dougherty, CNN, Washington.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And CNN's chief international correspondent Christiane Amanpour is in Geneva this morning. She'll join us again live next hour for more on what is happening there and those talks.

KEILAR: A successful test for a U.S. missile defense system.

Now this missile was launched in Alaska. But the launch wasn't actually what they were testing. Instead, it was those sensors that were used to detect the missile in flight. And the missile was successfully tracked by land, air, sea and space sensors as well.

HOLMES: And here's a really strange and tragic story out of Pennsylvania to tell you about this morning. Police say Andrea Curry- Dimas walked into a hospital this week and lied about being the mother of a newborn baby. Now police have found the body of another woman in her home. An autopsy on that body being done today. Meanwhile, police have charged Andrea Curry Dimas with child endangerment.

KEILAR: Now, police say that Curry Dimas pretended to have given birth to the baby and then later said that she bought the baby. As you can imagine, friends and family are stunned.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I went to her baby shower, her wedding. I had no idea something like this could happen. I'm totally shocked. And she was so nice and so kind. And it's just unbelievable. I'm just -- I don't even know what else to say.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Police have not yet released the identity of that woman who was found dead in the apartment.

Four people were killed in a crane collapse in Houston, Texas, and at least two others were seriously injured. They remain hospitalized this morning. This happened at an oil refinery in Houston. And the massive 2,000 -- pardon me, the massive 300-foot crane fell into part of a tent where workers gathered to eat lunch.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

STACY DAVIS, REFINERY WORKER: I stopped in my track and then -- I am a little shocked. I was in the middle of the street. I didn't know what to do. You know, I wanted to cry. The first thing I said, you know, I believe some people got killed. Because it was so big, it was so loud. And I've seen it come down.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Federal officials are planning to investigate the accident.

HOLMES: A break in the case to tell you about involving four murders aboard a Florida fishing boat last year. CNN has now learned one of the two men charged with killing the crew of the Joe Cool charter boat has agreed to plead guilty. A relative of one victim says defendant Kirby Archer is expected to enter the plea next week. That's in exchange for prosecutors agreeing not to seek the death penalty against him. Archer and a co-defendant face murder, robbery and kidnapping charges.

KEILAR: Well, check this out. A U.S. official says that a drug smuggling submarine type vessel has been seized off the coast of Mexico. This happened earlier this week in the Pacific. And U.S. Customs and border patrol agents spotted that vessel and they called the Mexican Navy.

Well, the Mexican Navy stopped the ship and they found about seven tons of cocaine. You can see it there on the bottom right of your screen. Well, U.S. Coast Guard officials say they're seeing more and more of these semi-submersible vessels in the drug smuggling trade. Basically, these vessels travel beneath the water but they can't fully submerge.

HOLMES: All right. We'll turn to some weather and our Reynolds Wolf is back from fire duty from last weekend out west. Now he is talking about -- you're looking into your crystal ball.

REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes.

KEILAR: Or your crystal ball.

WOLF: Both of them. Both of them at the same time. That's what we do here. When you are talking about crystal ball, just to get our audience at home up to speed, we're talking about the next named storm. We just had Bertha. Bertha down in the north Atlantic. This storm we're referring to right now, with maximum sustained winds at 35 miles per hour, this storm may be the next one on the list. You go from B with Bertha, C -- Cristobal. Not crystal ball, but Cristobal. That is going to be the name of the storm.

Right now, still bringing some scattered showers in places like Myrtle Beach and southward to Charleston. We have a live image for you in Charleston. I'm not sure what we have at this time. The skies are cloudy. You're looking at the Ashley River there in the background. And to the right of the screen, what you really can't see is the campus.

A little bit up the river you've got have the citadel where athletes are going to be reporting tomorrow to the parade grounds, tomorrow morning at the citadel getting ready for a long summer. Enjoy the clouds. Because it's going to be warm there in Charleston for some time to come.

Back to the weather computer we go. Let's go up the coast a little bit more. Wilmington, North Carolina, you're getting the scattered showers and storms this morning. We do anticipate the storms are really strengthening as we make our way over the next couple of days. Winds still ran 40 miles per hour. But still a tropical storm and then it is forecast to veer right off the coast bringing heavy surf to places like Cape Hatteras, Wilmington and also heavy surf farther to the north and places like, say, the Jersey shoreline, even Long Island.

Now, it's not the only thing we have to talk about. We have to talk about these winds. The winds really intensifying. But to the right of center. Take a look at this, winds actually strengthening right near hurricane force as we get later into the time. Let's see, I'd say this is about into Monday or Tuesday off shore. Lightest winds right along the coast. We got another system we're going to talk about and coming up very soon.

Let's wrap it up and send it back to you.

HOLMES: I don't know if I haven't been paying attention. But I've never seen all that going on in that graphic before. All the lines, did you just make that up this morning?

WOLF: Yes. I did.

KEILAR: He sketched it with some whiteout.

WOLF: No, it just gives you an idea of how these winds are going to be pulling in the center of circulation.

KEILAR: Very interesting.

WOLF: Weather stuff, guys. Weather stuff.

HOLMES: All right. We appreciate you, Reynolds. We'll see you again.

KEILAR: Thank you, Reynolds.

HOLMES: Ed McMahon is in pain and he is filing suit about it.

KEILAR: The former "Tonight Show" sidekick is placing blame for his recent health and financial troubles.

Also --

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: I'm Betty Nguyen. Coming up, Myanmar relies on tourism for much of its revenue. What is keeping tourists away? I'll take you on a search for answers.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

HOLMES: We want to take you now inside Myanmar. The military government there keeping pretty tight wraps on the cyclone ravaged areas. But as our Betty Nguyen reports, tourists are still allowed to come into the main city, Yangon. Well, very few though are making that trip.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NGUYEN: Political sanctions have cut Myanmar off from much of the world which is why many locals rely on tourists to make a living. The problem is few are coming here. Driving through Yangon, you won't find tourists strolling through the streets. In fact, you'll be lucky to find many tourists at all. Even at the country's main attraction, Shwedagon Pagoda today's log shows only eight foreigners have toured this ancient shrine.

More recently it served as a launching site for the September 2007 protests. Many were beaten and killed for rising up against the Myanmar government. Today apparently fear prevents most from even talking about it. Our guide would rather show us where centuries of well carved detail was ripped to shreds by the cyclone Nargis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Most of shrine, only the roof is left.

NGUYEN: So just about every part of the pavilion here was destroyed? The roof of it? That storm killed nearly 85,000 people in early May and some 50,000 remain missing. Now two months later, people are still trying to rebuild their lives and find peace through prayer. And it might take some divine intervention to get foreigners packing into this tourist market on the hunt for gems and jade. So right now business is no good?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: No good. Yes.

NGUYEN: This jeweler blames the lack of business on the monsoon season. And judging from the downpours, he may be right. Though others say there is more to it than that. Business is not good?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This time, not good.

NGUYEN: Why?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I don't know. The problem is that people are not coming. The cyclone. NGUYEN: Well, the locals won't say it publicly, many will quietly tell you they blame their oppressive military government. It's hard to really pinpoint what is keeping tourists away from Myanmar. But one thing is certain, there has been a long standing debate over whether tourists should even come here at all.

Back in 1995, opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi urged tourists not to visit Myanmar because the money would fuel them into government. That same regime ignored elections that would have made her the country's leader. Instead, put her under house arrest where she remains today. Still, others argue if tourists don't come, the world will never see the poverty, oppression and despair. But if tourists are hoping to get a glimpse of the cyclone devastation, don't bother.

The government won't allow them in the Irrawady Delta even if they travel across the world to help. Myanmar's government isn't making it easy for foreigners who do want to come here. Journalists are strictly prohibited and tourists wanting to get a visa are finding it increasingly difficult, especially if you have an American passport.

Betty Nguyen, CNN, Yangon, Myanmar.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

HOLMES: And you can hear more about Betty's trip by reading her blog. You're seeing it there from our Web site go to "the fields.blog.cnn.com," or you can just go to cnn.com, you can certainly find that on our Web site.

KEILAR: He injured his neck and he fell behind on his mortgage. Well now former "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon is fighting back in court.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

LARRY KING, CNN HOST: You don't want to say how your neck was hurt?

ED MCMAHON, FMR. "TONIGHT SHOW" SIDEKICK: You know, it's a fall. I broke my neck. That's all I'm going to say.

KING: Is it getting a lot better?

MCMAHON: As long as I wear this brace, I'm OK. I may have to do another operation. I had two. I need one more maybe.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KEILAR: Well that was former "Tonight Show" sidekick Ed McMahon, of course, on CNN's "Larry King Live" talking about his neck injury. And now McMahon is suing a hospital, two doctors and an investment tycoon. He says the doctors and the hospital didn't diagnose him and properly treat his injury and suing the investment banker over the condition of a staircase on his property. And that is where McMahon fell.

HOLMES: Well, you want to protect your deposits? Troubled times we got going here. And in these troubled times, how do you know if your bank is at risk for failing.

Our Gerri Willis takes a quick look.

GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Hi there, T.J.

More and more banks are expected to fail over the next year and a half. And if that has you worried about the safety of your money, there are a few things to consider.

First off, get your banks ranking. Small and mid-sized banks are more at risk for failure because they may not be able to raise enough money to get themselves out of trouble. If you're looking for a safe place to stash your cash, go with larger, more familiar banks.

Check out bankrate.com or ambest.com to get more detailed information on your bank and, hey, look for the signs most financial institutions are having a tough time right now but major job layoffs or cutbacks and service could mean your bank is struggling. Red flag, your bank stops accepting new loan submissions or you start to see generous CD yields advertised.

But don't panic. The worst move you can make is to pull your money out of a regulated institution and hold on to that cash. Coming up on "OPEN HOUSE," investing on a budget. A look at the state of the housing market and the best places to live for less. That is "OPEN HOUSE" 9:30 a.m. Eastern -- T.J..

HOLMES: All right. We appreciate it, Gerri. We'll see her again here shortly.

KEILAR: How safe is your savings account if your bank fails? A question people want to know after the last week's events. Well, Josh Levs has been looking into it -- Josh.

JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. And you know what, your deposits may be protected but it's a different story for your safe deposit box.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KEILAR: You know, with all the recent talk about bank failures and government watch lists of troubled banks, you may be wondering how safe is your money? And according to Josh Levs, it is very safe. That's if you know all of the rules, right?

LEVS: Right. Yes. I mean, you really got to go into this situation knowing a lot of the rules and that's what we want to help them get right now. So there you go. Let's get through a few of them. Bank deposits are insured by the FDIC. And you hear that all the time. But what is the FDIC? What does that mean? Here are some basics.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in 1933 to store confidence in the banking system. As can you tell 1933, you're talking during the great depression when thousands of banks failed. Many people lost all of their savings. The FDIC promises to replace individual deposits up to $100,000 if a bank fails. And that is about $3 trillion in deposits in this country.

Now insured deposits include checking accounts, saving accounts and CD. But what's not insured might surprise you, folks. Mutual funds, annuities, stocks, bonds, and treasury bills. All those things are not covered by the FDIC. Also the contents of a safe deposit box are not covered.

The FDIC also does not insure things like criminal losses, robberies or embezzlement. Those can be covered by separate insurance that banks can buy. You can check individual banks about that. And obviously there's more people can learn on-line at fdic.gov. But it's important to keep that separation in mind. A bank doesn't have all one thing covered by the same agency.

KEILAR: That's kind of scary, though. Don't you think? For a safe deposit box?

HOLMES: That's very scary. And a lot of people with very valuable stuff.

LEVS: That's why you should check with your individual bank and make sure that they have that. If you're working with a small bank somewhere, it is important to have that type of insurance.

HOLMES: I am going to get my $200 out of the bank. I'm serious. I'm clearing out my account next week.

LEVS: I wish I had $200.

HOLMES: Josh, we appreciate you as always.

Well, an international basketball game, the U.S. versus Iran. Can the athletes show diplomats how to score on better relations?

KEILAR: But first, "OPEN HOUSE" with Gerri Willis starts now.