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CNN Saturday Morning News
Pirates Hold U.S. Captain Hostage for Fourth Day; Deadly Storms Ravage Southeast; An Arrest Has Been Made in the Death of Sandra Cantu; Interview With Steve Harvey
Aired April 11, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is 6:00 a.m. Eastern, 3:00 a.m. Pacific. Bright and early -- well, not so bright for a lot of folks. Still dark outside.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Dark out there, yes.
NGUYEN: But thanks, everybody, for waking up with us. And good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes, for this Saturday, April the 11th.
Got some breaking news that's coming to us, in fact, out of California this morning. Expecting a press conference -- actually, expecting that at any minute now, about the death of Sandra Cantu. That's a little 8-year-old girl who went missing; her body was found in a suitcase, actually, and we understand now that there's a possible arrest. And police are even going to have a press conference at this really early hour out there in California to announce this.
Again, expecting that at some point -- expecting it at the top of the hour, which is right about now. As soon as that happens, we'll bring you that and any other breaking developments out there in California.
Meanwhile...
NGUYEN: Absolutely. Yes.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: ...yes. Drama escalating this morning off the Somali coast: pirates on one side, the U.S. Navy on the other. Both trying to reach a lifeboat that contains four pirates and an American hostage.
Meanwhile, the American ship that was hijacked will reach its final destination of Kenya this morning. We'll break down all the new developments in just a moment.
HOLMES: Also, just when you thought you heard it all, a Texas lawmaker suggests that Asians should change their last names because, she says, they're too hard to spell, too hard to pronounce.
Listen to this voice, at least, off camera there. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BETTY BROWN, TEXAS STATE HOUSE: ...than everyone here having to learn Chinese, I understand it's a rather difficult language.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
BROWN: Do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Adopt a name that -- quote -- "we could deal with more readily here"? Very interesting there, especially when you're talking about a person's heritage. You're talking about a person's, you know, line of generation after generation who has had that name. Why would you change it? Well, that lady right there would like to hear it in a way that's a little easier to pronounce.
Changing names. We'll see you what you have to say about that.
HOLMES: Well, that -- absolutely. A lot of people have a lot to say about that.
Also this morning, it's tax time.
NGUYEN: Yes. Oh yes.
HOLMES: Need to check those calendars if you didn't know. You probably do know. But this is your last weekend to try to get that stuff done, file your taxes.
(INAUDIBLE) probably waking up, trying to get them finished as we speak. We have a tax expert on hand...
NGUYEN: We have help.
HOLMES: We have help.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: We don't need it. We're good to go.
NGUYEN: Yes, we've already filed.
HOLMES: We got our...
NGUYEN: I got a whole $7 back.
HOLMES: Congratulations. That's more than you usually get.
But e-mails us your tax questions, weekends@cnn.com. Or you can hit Betty and I up at our Facebook pages; also on Twitter. We'll get some of those answers for you.
But first here, want to show you some new video overnight, a tornado that hit central Tennessee. A mother and baby daughter dead now, dozens more hurt. A band of severe thunderstorms swept through the area yesterday. Officials say the storm destroyed or damaged at least 250 homes. Crews searched into the evening to make sure no one else was possibly hurt or trapped.
NGUYEN: Also want to tell you about this: a tragic accident outside a church in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. A retired priest plowed his car into a crowd outside after Good Friday services. Now, an 89- year-old woman, she lost her leg in that accident and then later died. Four others were hurt, but their injuries are not life-threatening.
HOLMES: Also, under the protection of an armed security detail onboard, the USS Maersk Alabama expected to dock in Mombasa, Kenya, about 10:00 Eastern time this morning. This ship was headed there with a cargo of food when it was attacked by pirates Wednesday. The captain, as you know, still being held hostage on a lifeboat by four pirates.
The U.S. Navy has asked the FBI to come in. They sent in a negotiator to help resolve this standoff, a standoff that seems to be changing minute by minute.
NGUYEN: Also, we are told that more ships filled with Somali pirates, they are sailing towards the lifeboat.
HOLMES: Yes.
For the latest now, we want to head to CNN's Stan Grant. He's in Mombasa, Kenya.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STAN GRANT, CNN UNITED ARAB EMIRATES CORRESPONDENT: The Maersk Alabama, the ship that has been at the center of this pirate-hostage drama continues to make it way here to Mombasa, Kenya, carrying the food supplies bound for the World Food Program.
Onboard, the American crew that have lived through this ordeal. Still so many questions that need to be answered. What happened onboard the ship? How did the pirates take control? And how did the crew members regain control from the pirates?
Meanwhile, the fate of the ship's captain, Richard Phillips, hangs in the balance. He's being held hostage on a lifeboat by the pirates. Nearby, U.S. warships are trying to negotiate his release.
And now there are concerns the pirates themselves are calling for reinforcements. Reports that several ships that have been hijacked by the pirates are now making their way to the region.
Stan Grant, CNN, Mombasa, Kenya.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: OK. We are in now Day 4 of this high-seas drama. Here is how this thing has played out, the timeline for you here. Wednesday, four armed pirates attacked the Maersk Alabama as it sailed near Somalia. They grabbed the captain, tried to seize the ship. Somehow, the other crew members didn't let that happen; they remained in control of that ship. They meantime took a pirate hostage and called for help.
Meanwhile, the three other pirates, they fled to a lifeboat with the captain of the Alabama. Now, negotiations for the release of that captain, Richard Phillips, have been a bit touch and go. At one point, the pirates agreed to free him in engage for their man. Then they reneged on that deal. Hours later, the U.S.S. Bainbridge, a Navy warship, arrived on the scene, and we are told it's in radio contact with the lifeboat and has been helping with the hostage negotiations.
Meanwhile, the Alabama and the rest of the crew have taken off for Mombasa, Kenya. As we mentioned, that's the original destination. Expected to be there around 10:00 Eastern time today. And again, this time that they're moving towards Kenya, they have an armed security detail onboard.
NGUYEN: And there are reports that Captain Richard Phillips is being held for $2 million ransom. Phillips is 53 years old and a veteran seaman from Vermont. The Associated Press is reporting that Phillips surrendered to the pirates in exchange for his crew's safety.
And yesterday, Phillips tried to escape by jumping out of the lifeboat. But he was caught. Officials say it appears the pirates have now tied him up.
HOLMES: Well, retired Navy Captain Alec Fraser joins me now. I need to mention that, Mr. Frasier, you're here; you're the president of a subsidiary of Turner Broadcasting, Turner Properties, so -- but good to have you here. At least...
ALEC FRASER, RETIRED U.S. NAVY CAPTAIN: Good morning.
HOLMES: ...you can lend some expertise on this.
The Navy trains for all kinds of battles, all kinds of things. Is there much training -- is there anything in that Navy handbook for dealing with something like this on a smaller scale? You aren't dealing with another military; you're dealing with some -- a band of pirates.
FRASER: Actually, before the ships go over to the foreign areas in the Gulf of Aden, or in this particular case, off the coast of Somalia, a lot of training is done. As a matter of fact, the preparations are probably done more for that than it is for fighting a -- a large-scale war.
The -- the crew is trained for going over, boarding a ship; for defensive measures for themselves, when they get onboard. So this type of -- of situation that's going on, they've got a lot of training on.
HOLMES: OK. But they had to bring in some help. Is -- is the best resolution to this -- is going to be one that a negotiator works out, and not necessarily some type of military action?
FRASER: I would think that the negotiation will work out as long as the Captain Phillips' life is not in danger. Once there's a situation where they think he might -- he might be in danger of -- of somebody shooting him, then they might take military action.
Until that time, it's all -- it's just all negotiation.
HOLMES: What are possible good options? Are there any good options? For so long, we heard about this lifeboat they were in? And so many people -- you know, just -- just talking to people on the street, they're saying, 'Well, why don't they just take them out?' Or something like that.
They didn't realize, it's enclosed. You can't see what's going on there. SO what would be a decent option for resolving this issue, if they think his life is in danger?
FRASER: There are a lot of people onboard the Navy ships that are there that know how to do these type of things, should you need to do that. It's like a SWAT team going into a house when someone is -- is in danger inside or starting to shoot out -- shoot outside. That's the -- that's the first one.
Until we get to the point where they're running out of food and -- and they're running out of water and their lives are in danger, there's not a need to do that. And two or three million dollars -- is that worth a life? And that becomes a disgustable (ph) topic everywhere.
HOLMES: All right. Last thing here, and let -- let's hit on that thing -- last point you made about this -- about the money.
People just have it in their heads that the U.S. does not negotiate with terrorists, if you will. And the U.S. isn't going to be the one if -- if it comes to that, not going to be the ones paying out the money. It would be the private company.
FRASER: Right.
HOLMES: But in the minds of a lot of people, it looks like we're making a deal or cutting a deal with a band of thugs.
FRASER: Well, it may be a band of thugs, but they also have the ability to -- to do bodily harm to other people.
And people ought to put themselves in the place of the crewmen on the ships or Captain Phillips, and -- and -- and do you want to get into a -- a gun battle with someone? Or if you got captured, is your chance of living through that better than doing a gun battle?
And until people think that they're in danger, there's no need to -- to go into a shooting war with pirates.
HOLMES: All right. A lot of things to be resolved. This thing continues. We're glad you -- we're glad we got you here to lend some expertise to this.
Alec Fraser, I know you're going to be back talking to us again. Thanks for being here.
FRASER: Thank you.
HOLMES: All right.
Meanwhile, tonight at 8:00, "CNN SPECIAL INVESTIGATION: Somali Pirates: Can They Be Stopped"? Who are these Somali pirates hijacking ships and capturing Americans now? CNN takes you inside the story that's capturing the world's attention? Again, that's tonight, 8:00 Eastern time.
NGUYEN: Well right now, severe storms, they are rocking the Southeast, from Alabama to Arkansas to Tennessee, just a large swath.
Well, we have the dramatic video, and Reynolds is tracking all of it for you.
Hey, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Hey, and thankfully, that storm system that created all that rough weather is now moving out to sea. Certainly some good news.
But the bad news is that we have another round of severe storms possible for parts of Texas, into the Four Corners as we make our way later into the afternoon.
We're going to talk more about the full forecast and your weekend forecast. It's all moments away.
Sit tight.
HOLMES: All right. We sure will. See you here shortly, Reynolds.
Also, we'd like to take credit for this:
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: ...the success of Steve...
NGUYEN: Yes, we do.
HOLMES: ...Harvey. Steve...
NGUYEN: Because we talked to him way back when.
HOLMES: Before he was a big deal.
No, he has a -- a -- a big book out. It's been a best seller for quite some time. But Betty and I talked to him. We're going to revisit it.
But take a quick peek. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Why do men cheat?
STEVE HARVEY, RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: Well, that's a $1 million question.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: And he says he's going to give us -- what? -- a 10-cent answer.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Any way you cut it. That's just one of the questions though that we asked radio talk-show host Steve Harvey. You want to join us for the rest of it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, a lot of people in the Southeast waking up to storm damage this morning. Tornadoes killed five people within the past 48 hours in Arkansas and Tennessee.
NGUYEN: Also, bad weather ripped through Alabama, halting traffic and wrecking property. Thousands lost power when storms rolled through upstate South Carolina.
And that is not all. Central Tennessee caught some of the worst of it yesterday.
I think we have some video; hopefully we got it for you -- yes, we're -- T.J., you're in the way here.
HOLMES: Oh, I...
NGUYEN: There it goes. A mother and her baby actually -- listen to this, folks -- died when a tornado ripped through Murfreesboro. Dozens more were hurt and crews searched into the evening for others. Some were spared, but others, like the Lane family, they lost nearly everything.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WILLIAM LANE, MURFREESBORO, TN., RESIDENT: It wasn't too bad; it was just a big shape. Really, a bunch of stuff crashing and breaking. And then it was over.
(END VIDEO CLIP
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KAROLYN LANE, MURFREESBORO, TN., RESIDENT: Like, Tristy (ph) went out, and then my brother forced us to go in the bathroom. And about a couple seconds after he laid down on top of us, there was just this big crash. And so after it was all clear, we came out, and our house was demolished.
KIM LANE, MURFREESBORO, TN., RESIDENT: I'm just glad we're OK. But -- we can replace the house. We just can't replace them. So I'm just glad they were OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DORIS COADY, MURFREESBORO, TN., RESIDENT: When I seen what it -- what it did down here, it's a miracle that we didn't get hit.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ALTON PRUITT, MURFREESBORO, TN., RESIDENT: The house -- you can go in, it's completely gone. Everything's gone. Everything we've worked for for life. But it happens. I mean, it's kind of sad, but like I said, we just trying to bear with it. That's all we can do. We've done real good so far. Probably after the shock, it'll probably be worse. But we're going to try to make it.
It's just we hated to lose everything we had.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Now, officials say the storms destroyed or damaged at least 250 homes in the area.
HOLMES: And another possible tornado to tell you about in northeast Alabama. This is according to the Associated Press. High winds ripped the roofs off homes, snapped trees, downed power lines -- you know, the standard stuff we see with these storms. We got reports of trees falling onto cars, also bringing traffic to a halt in some areas.
NGUYEN: Still a threat of thunderstorms off the Carolinas this morning. Affiliate WYFF reports that thousands have lost powered, or at least they did yesterday, when those dangerous storms hit upstate South Carolina.
Now a lot of cleanup is ahead for residents there, but we're not hearing of any reports of injuries so far. And that is the good news.
HOLMES: That's good news, but some of these pictures still -- we -- and -- and -- and, you know, no matter how many times you see this...
NGUYEN: Oh man.
HOLMES: ...Reynolds, I mean, this -- this is -- kind of like I said, almost the standard stuff you see after a lot of these storms. But still...
WOLF: Absolutely. HOLMES: ...it's amazing every time you see it.
WOLF: And unfortunately, this is almost a rite of springtime.
HOLMES: Yes.
WOLF: We see this in this part of the country this time of the year. And it -- it's a seasonal thing. What happens is we see the Gulf of Mexico open up; a lot of that moist air comes through. And when those frontal boundaries sweep through the area, too, you have those strong showers; the storms; and of course, the tornadoes.
You know, we really were focusing on parts of Alabama into Tennessee and the Carolinas, but we got some video to share with you from -- law-enforcement video from De Queen, Arkansas. It's kind of grainy; kind of black and white; but it's also unmistakable. You can see it there, right off in the distance. You see the clouds; you see the funnel touching -- touching with the ground. And when it makes that contact, it is a -- indeed a -- a tornado. This one just tearing right across the landscape, one of many that were ripping across the southeastern United States like a giant buzz saw, leaving all kinds of destruction in its wake. Awful thing to see.
But I'll tell you, there is some good news. The good news today is that we are seeing much of that begin to move out. Take a look; in many places, like, say, Nashville, back into Kentucky even. Of course, Arkansas and into Georgia and Alabama and the Carolinas, people will be cleaning up today.
And we're going to still see some of those scattered showers moving off the Eastern Seaboard, out of harm's way. Still some beneficial rainfall in Washington, D.C. -- you definitely need it there -- and for the Eastern Seaboard. Cooler, drier air is going to come in right behind it.
So things are going to be better in the Southeast. Problem is, things could begin to ramp up in terms of rough weather for parts of West Texas. So in Amarillo, Lubbock, even in Midland; the Van Horn Mountains and the Davis and Apache mountains, big thunderstorms possible into the afternoon. Looking at possibly some -- some -- could have not only some strong storms, but when you have the heavy rain that lands on that -- the ground out in West Texas, that dry caliche, what happens is the -- the rain begins to -- to -- of course, it falls and then it begins to spread out and you could get some flooding. It could happen very quickly. So keep that in mind, especially in the Midland, Odessa areas.
Another thing to keep in mind: This storm system is going to drift its way to the east, eventually moving into places like Arkansas, where (INAUDIBLE) they're still cleaning up. So as they're going to try to clean up, later on tonight, they could be dealing with another round of storms into your Easter Sunday.
We're going to have more on your forecast, plus your Masters forecast -- a lot of golf going on today here in Georgia -- we're going to have that in moments. Let's send it back to you guys.
NGUYEN: All right. It is a big weekend.
WOLF: (INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: And Mother Nature is not cooperating with a lot of folks out there. But...
WOLF: It doesn't appear to be that way.
NGUYEN: ...we will be watching. All right. Thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: Also, keeping lawmakers honest by checking the numbers.
HOLMES: Yes, Josh Levs here with something that's been a bit of a hit on the Internet.
Good morning.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you guys.
Yes, they're calling it online hide and seek. And the idea is this: Lawmakers now are supposed to be posting their earmarks online. Well, some of them are making them really easy to find. Some of them are making it really, really hard. We're going to show you who is doing which.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(PLAYING NSYNC, "JUST GOT PAID")
HOLMES: Thank you for bringing your TV in (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: That is not mine, although it's a good way to wake up, right?
HOLMES: It's OK. It's OK, Betty.
NGUYEN: Just got paid, Friday night.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: If you're waking up way early on a Saturday, you probably didn't party too much last night.
OK, as we promised, part of something we're going to be talking about a lot, and that's your money. Where's it going?
Well, lawmakers, they agreed to post their earmark requests...
HOLMES: Mm-hmm.
NGUYEN: ...on their Web sites. HOLMES: Yes. That doesn't necessarily mean it's easy to find. It might be there, but they make you search for it. You got to scour some of the sites for it.
Actually, Josh Levs is here to tell us what's been called an online hide and seek.
Good morning, Josh.
LEVS: Yes, you know, some people have some fun with that. Yes, good morning to you guys, too. And yes, that song is waking us up.
All right. Let's zoom in, because you want to see this headline. Check this out; it comes from "The Hill," which is a newspaper that covers the Capitol. And they're the ones who coined this term, and now it's catching on: "online hide and seek."
It is interesting to see what some different lawmakers are doing. Let me point to you one -- one good example over here. Congressman Joseph Crowley out of New York. And we're going to look at -- at -- at both parties, Republicans, Democrats, both doing the same mix.
If you want to find where he has posted his earmarks, it takes several clicks. You got to click on -- on the 7th District, which is over here, which brings you to a 7th District page. Then you need to scroll down until you get over here, to "Local Issues." Then, within "Local Issues," you have to scroll down until you see the chance to poke (ph) there, at the "Appropriations Request." That brings you to another page that you click on something else, and ultimately you get there.
So basically, what this article did is, they went through literally hundreds of lawmakers examples, and they tried to figure out, how tough are people making it? And what they're finding is that since they've begun talking about this, there have been some changes. Now maybe it's a coincidence, or maybe it's a result of it.
We'll zoom back in; I'll show you another example. That's right over here. For example, you got this: Congressman Steven LaTourette out of Ohio. Now originally, they pulled up a picture of how hard it is. It took them a few clicks to find what would happen. You have to scroll way down there and click on "Other Issues," other stuff, this is their screen capture.
But now, he's changed it. All you have to do now is click on "Issues," and it gets you right there to his list of appropriations.
Meanwhile, there are some people who put them front and center. Like, you literally would have a hard time missing it. John Murtha put it right there on his main page, "Appropriations." And over here, Glenn Thompson put it right there. As soon as you see his name, you're put in the appropriations. Some really proud of this.
So what we're seeing, guys, is that there is this whole mix. You got some lawmakers that are really making it very easy to find; some making it very hard to find. And that's what they broke down there at thehill.com.
HOLMES: All right. You said some put it right here...
LEVS: Some.
HOLMES: ...on the front. How many are making it difficult to find? Do we have an idea of just how many are -- are going that route?
LEVS: Yes, the announcement that they're doing -- they're saying about 1 in 5 are making it very, very hard to find. Like, you'll really -- you'd have to be very committed to sit there for awhile and probe through the sites to find. About 1 in 5. So you could say, overall, that's pretty good; or you could say, hey, 20 percent of lawmakers are still kind of only following the letter of the law and making it pretty tough.
NGUYEN: All right. So if people want to see all of these earmarks, where they can go online to find it? I mean, because there has to be some way for them to find out without having to search through all these different Web sites.
LEVS: Exactly. Yes, because how many voters out there are going to actually do that? Although maybe you will for your local reps.
There's a really good site I want to show you guys, because a lot of people don't realize it's an option. It's something that the White House has set up. It's actually its own federal Web site, earmarks.omb.gov that talks all about earmarks. It's part of the White House, basically -- earmarks.omb.gov. You can search through right here, and it will take you through to all of these appropriations that different lawmakers have asked for.
So in the end, there is a way to find it. Just sometimes it won't be on your actual lawmaker's Web site.
NGUYEN: All right. But it's out there, and now we know.
LEVS: It's out there. You got it.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, Josh.
NGUYEN: OK, so T.J. and I, we do want to hear from you this morning. Mail us your questions. It's not about that, but it's about your tax questions. Mail that to weekends@cnn.com. What? -- tax day is on Wednesday, April 15. Don't have a lot of time; some of you are scrambling to figure out what to do at this point. Well, hopefully we have some answers for you; in fact, we do have an expert.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: You won't get those answers from us.
HOLMES: Oh no.
NGUYEN: Because we go to the experts as well.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
NGUYEN: We have an expert on hand today to answer all of those questions. So go to our Facebook pages, Twitter, MySpace, weekends@cnn.com. You can find us on the Web. Just Google us. You'll find us. And we'll read some of those on the air.
HOLMES: All right. Want to return now to our top story, a major story we're following that continues to develop: an American being held at sea in a lifeboat. What is the Obama administration doing about it? We're going to go live to D.C.
NGUYEN: Also, several states hit with severe weather. A tornado just tears a path through one of them, leaving several homes damaged. We have the aftermath.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, his book still tops "The New York Times" best- seller list. And we are talking about comedian and syndicated road host Steve Harvey. From Oprah to Tyra, he is wowing the ladies across the country.
But you know what? We talked to him first.
HOLMES: We made him.
NGUYEN: Yes we did.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: We made him here.
NGUYEN: It's all because of us, Steve.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Hear the advice he has for women on how to get that ring (ph).
Welcome back, everybody. It's good stuff. I mean, he really does have some really good advice. It -- puts it out there very plain and simple.
HOLMES: Yes. Nothing you don't already know, just things you don't hear. And when I say you, I don't mean you personally.
NGUYEN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: I mean, just women sometimes don't -- and men, too.
NGUYEN: I took notes. It's fine.
HOLMES: Yes, indeed (ph).
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. Welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. Glad you could start your day right here with us.
NGUYEN: All right.
So among our top stories, Captain Richard Phillips' ship, the USS Maerk (ph) Alabama is --- Maersk Alabama, I should say -- is due to dock in Kenya this morning. He's still being held hostage in a lifeboat. And the freighter was on its way to Kenya with food aid when it was attacked off Somalia on Wednesday. It is the first time pirates have attacked a U.S. ship off Africa in more than 200 years.
HOLMES: Also, a mother and her baby died when a tornado ripped through the central Tennessee area. Dozens more were hurt. Crews searched into the evening for others. People living there had to move quickly to protect themselves as well as their family.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MARK GARRISON, MUFREESBORO, TENN. RESIDENT: My daughter and son were here with me. I immediately put them in the closet underneath the stairwell. I looked out the front window and saw it directly in front of the house with just garbage and debris just circling around.
It honestly, it sounded like a freight train coming through. At that point when I heard stuff hitting the house, I immediately got in the closet with them. And 30 second later it was over. It was just like that. I mean, it was the most unbelievable thing I had seen in my life with my own eyes. I almost noticed a sense of not being able to breathe. It almost felt like it sucked the wind out of the room for a second. I don't know if it was anxiety or what.
I was able to focus for a second and saw a chase lounge chair swirling around, and then all of a sudden it was thrown out toward the house. Again, that's when I immediately jumped in the closet and took cover with my kids. You know, just hoping the house was going to withstand the direct impact because I literally thought it was going to directly hit the front of my house.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Officials say the storm destroyed or damaged at least 250 homes in that area.
NGUYEN: Well, a doctor who worked at Northwestern and two other Chicago hospitals touched off a tuberculosis scare. Health officials say the doctor was recently confirmed with an active case of T.B. and may have exposed patients and to hospital staff. Screenings are being offered to hundreds who may have come into contact with that doctor.
And we are also watching this -- very closely -- the high seas, for a possible somehow down. Several pirate ships reportedly sailing toward the four men, who are holding American Richard Phillips hostage in a lifeboat.
HOLMES: Yes, so far we can call it still, just that, a standoff. It could really end up to be a serious showdown between these pirates and the U.S. military. This thing continues to heat up. Add another twist to this story, as the captain is being held hostage, he tried to get away yesterday.
CNN's Randi Kaye takes a look at how all that unfolded.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RANDI KAYE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): It all happened in seconds. Captain Richard Phillips jumps overboard, just after midnight. In the darkness he tries to swim to safety to the USS Bainbridge, an American warship a few hundred yards away, but before the Navy could even make a move, the pirates fired shots from their AK-47 rifles then jumped in the water and grabbed him.
CAPT. JAMES STAPLES, FRIEND OF CAPTAIN PHILLIPS: That shows you Richie's -- his character. He is not giving up. He'll be thinking all the time what he can do to get out of the situation safely. He is not going to lay down.
KAYE: Captain Phillips is unharmed. He was later seen moving inside the lifeboat after his escape attempt. Yet, now with the captain back in enemy hands, an almost unbelievable chain of events is unfolding 300 miles out at sea, a potential showdown.
Another Navy warship, the USS Halliburton with helicopters and missiles is now on the scene. And the USS Boxer, with a medical facility on board, could be there within 24 hours.
(On camera): But the pirates aren't backing down; now steaming toward the lifeboat, at least four ships previously hijacked by the pirates. The pirates are not taking any chances launching smaller skiffs they typically use for hijackings.
(Voice over): The U.S. military says audio intercepts indicate the pirates on those ships are communicating with each other and trying to track down the lifeboat where the captain is a hostage.
CHRIS VOSS, FMR. FBI NEGOTIATOR: You could refer to it as bold. You could also refer to it as possibly ill-advised. A lot more of them are exposing themselves to a risk they wouldn't otherwise be exposed to. If I was a pirate, I wouldn't get in the middle of this. I would want to stay in business safely.
KAYE: And the pirates say they are bringing with them at least 50 hostages. Human shields to stop the Navy from firing as they try to maneuver the American captain off the lifeboat on to one of the pirate ships and then to Somalia.
VOSS: I don't think the navy is going to let the pirates take this American out of there and take him back to shore, once they have him isolated. I think this is a really risky move on the pirates' behalf and it could end up with a lot of pirates in jail and a lot more hostages freed.
KAYE: That's just what Captain Phillips' wife is hoping for. In a written statement, she says her husband is a strong man. Strong enough to survive a showdown brewing in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
Randi Kaye, CNN, New York.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: The White House and the State Department both have been monitoring the situation off the coast of Somalia. Let's bring in CNN Political Producer Sasha Johnson now.
Sasha, good morning to you. Thank you for being here.
I guess, what's the extent of the involvement of the White House, specifically, the president? Are they making a conscious effort to keep the president of a distance from what's happening over there?
SASHA JOHNSON, CNN SR. POLITICAL PRODUCER: Well, it sort of that it appears that way. I mean Robert Gibbs made clear at the briefing yesterday that the president is being kept up to speed on all developments. He's being briefed constantly. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Defense Secretary Robert Gates have been out front talking about this, talking about the U.S. involvement, the Navy's involvement.
So, really, Barack Obama has almost delegated this to them. He is kind of taking a backseat. He refused to answer reporters' questions about it. So far , we have not heard from him on this at all.
HOLMES: We have not heard from him on this. When do we anticipate, will we ever? I guess, will there come a point where the public gets frustrated with this, the American people get frustrated to a point where like, hey, let's get this handled. This is one of our guys and they start looking at the president and say, why aren't you handling the crisis?
JOHNSON: I think we are not at that point just yet. Because the situation is changing so much every hour and it is clear that the U.S. is heavily involved. You have those Navy battleships surrounding this lifeboat. I think people do understand that the Navy can't exactly attack this lifeboat to get the captain back because, you know, a Navy ship attacking a lifeboat, the guy's life could be in danger.
But I think if the president -- if this continues to go on for about another week, or even just a couple more days, and we don't hear from Barack Obama, I think you are right, people could start to say, hey, I want to hear the president on this. What's he's going to do? He's getting criticism from the right, saying, you need to stand up to show American forces, show the American people and the world that the Americans aren't going to stand for something like this. But this is an incredibly delicate situation. Because obviously, if the U.S. does do something right now, does use a show of force to get him back, they are setting precedent. And this situation with these pirates is a worldwide issue right now. The U.S. doesn't necessarily want to own it. So they are really trying to be careful right now.
HOLMES: All right. Sasha Johnson for us, CNN political producer out of D.C. A lot more to get into on this.
JOHNSON: Yes.
HOLMES: Including if this is that crisis that we heard talked about whether or not the president would be tested. Is this possibly going to be one of those first major tests? Maybe we'll get back to you on that question in a little bit.
JOHNSON: OK.
HOLMES: But thank you for being here. We will see you again here, shortly.
JOHNSON: Sure.
HOLMES: Tonight at 8 o'clock Eastern, the CNN Special Investigation, "Somali Pirates: Can They Be Stopped?" And what's going on out there, now that they are hijacking ships and capturing Americans. CNN takes you inside a story that's captured the world's attention tonight at 8:00 Eastern Time.
And we want to get to that breaking news out of Tracy, California. The story, I understand an arrest has been made now in the case of an eight-year-old girl who has been found. Or was gone missing and found dead in a suitcase. Let's bring in Tony Sheneman, who is a sergeant out there with the Tracey police.
Sergeant, I appreciate you joining us here on the phone though it's really early out there. But we understand an arrest has been made. What can you tell us?
SGT. TONY SHENEMAN, TRACY, CA. POLICE DEPT.: Mr. Holmes, over the course of a discussion we had with Melissa Huckaby today we developed enough probably cause to arrest her for the kidnapping and murder of Sandra Cantu.
HOLMES: And, Sir, I want to understand, Melissa Huckaby, here, a 28-year-old, we understand.
SHENEMAN: Correct.
HOLMES: Also a Sunday schoolteacher out there. Also lived in the same mobile home park where this young girl also lived. I guess was she a suspect, a person of interest, even, throughout the investigation? What changed to get to a point where you felt you should arrest her?
SHENEMAN: Well, initially, no. She is affiliated with the Clover Road Baptist Church where her grandfather is the pastor. We did not have a great deal of contact with Miss Huckaby as she was unavailable for several days due to a medical condition. We received some information that I can't go into that led us to want to speak to her. We asked her to come in and talk to us today. We had spoken to her briefly, previously. But we asked her to come in and talk to us today. During that interview, she provided enough information with us to arrest her for kidnapping and murder.
HOLMES: Sir, when you say provided enough information, she didn't go as far and you are not going as far, as saying she actually confessed to this?
SHENEMAN: No. No, I won't say that for two reasons. Primarily one, it could affect the outcome of any cases against her. And for two, I don't have that information.
HOLMES: And Sir, another -- some more details that are coming out. The possibility that a suitcase that this young girl -- we are showing her pictures now -- but the young girl, the suitcase she was found in, did it actually belong to the suspect now that has been arrested, Melissa Huckaby. We understand she reported it stolen.
SHENEMAN: It was never reported stolen to us, or to the San Joaquin County Sheriff's Department, which has jurisdiction just a little bit west of Orchard Estates Mobile Home Park. But, yes, every indication is that that is her suitcase.
HOLMES: So you have any idea, at this point, of a possible motive for this?
SHENEMAN: We do not.
HOLMES: What do you know about the relationship Melissa Huckaby, again the suspect, possibly had with Sandra Cantu? Did they know each other?
SHENEMAN: Sandra was friends with Melissa's daughter.
HOLMES: Sandra was friends with Melissa's daughter. We understand the young girl had gone playing that day. Is Melissa Huckaby's house one of those houses she was going to, to play that day?
SHENEMAN: I don't have the answer to that question.
HOLMES: All right. As far as Melissa Huckaby goes, what do we know about her? Or you all know about her standing in the community, has she had issues in the past? Had run ins with the police? Were you all familiar with her?
SHENEMAN: We have had contact with her before. She's -- for specific information, you have to contact the San Joaquin County Sheriff's office, but we have known who she is. She is a Sunday schoolteacher at the Clover Road Baptist Church.
HOLMES: But she is not someone who has given the police -- or I mean, had an issue with her or history of any kind of violence, or problems or arrests that you know of?
SHENEMAN: She does have a, excuse me, she does not have a history of violence.
HOLMES: All right. A lot of questions here. Sergeant Sheneman, sir, I appreciate you taking the time out here to speak with us on a story that really has had a lot of people's attention. Thank you so much for your time and your help in updating our viewers.
But, again, to our viewers, the update here, the young girl, eight-year-old Sandra Cantu whose body was found in that suitcase on Monday, out there in Tracy, California, after she had gone missing on March 27. Found dead, well now a Sunday schoolteacher, 28-year-old Melissa Huckaby, a Sunday schoolteacher at a Baptist church, Clover Baptist, we understand, out there in Tracy, has been arrested.
According to a police officer there charged with kidnapping and murder. The relationship between the two, according to the officer, is that the young girl was friends with the daughter of the suspect, Melissa Huckaby. But again, an arrest has been made. More details to come.
NGUYEN: What is so interesting about that, T.J., as you were speaking with him, is that he said there was information they could not provide to us right now, but that really links her to the case. Aside from the fact that that suitcase that Cantu's body was found inside did belonged to Huckaby. So, something occurred.
HOLMES: During that interview ...
NGUYEN: During the interview that we should get some more information on as this thing plays out. It is very interesting, it is a new twist that an arrest has been made.
Another thing that we are working on for you; we are tracking deadly storms that rolled through several states. We do have some really remarkable video that you don't want to miss.
Plus, Reynolds has a look at where the storms are headed today. He's working on it right now with our magic wall. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. Severe weather today, we are watching deadly storms as they really cut a wide path across the South. I want to show you video from Mena, Arkansas. There a tornado killed at least three people, 30 are injured. We have a lot of pictures up to show you here the damage and how much damage has been caused by this; 600 homes damaged or destroyed.
Also, in central Tennessee, a tornado has killed two people there. Dozens injured. The storm damage in several areas ripping off roofs, damaging homes, also a possible tornado hit other counties in northeast Alabama, but no reported deaths there. That's the good news. The hail was reported in North Carolina. Oh, so much to tell you about in the weather department today. Also, tornado warnings went up in three counties of South Carolina. We are watching it very closely. Reynolds Wolf is all over it. He joins us now.
So could these storms, more of them, be on the way? Because we've already had quite a dose of it.
WOLF: There certainly could, Betty. The problem is that many of the places that have been dealing with the rough weather could see another round of it as we end up the weekend.
Right now things like places like Mena, Arkansas, they are just cleaning up. And what's amazing, Betty, as we go back in time. You have to remember that just some 72 hours or so ago people were waking up in this community and things were fine. Kids were playing in the streets, maybe on their way to school, some on spring break, obviously. But things were great. This is what they are waking up to. I mean, just debris everywhere.
Weather is expected to be better there, a little bit today. But still it is going to be a rough time and a long time for them to clean up.
Now, it wasn't only in Arkansas. We have an iReport to share with you. This one was actually sent in by Tommy Nossfanker (ph). This is right along parts of the I-24 corridor. Looking to the northeast, towards Murfreesboro. There you see it. Let me zoom in this thing just a little bit. Let's get this thing started back up again. Here we go. Let's try this.
We saw this, again, pop up on radar just yesterday afternoon, but if you look very carefully, you viewers at home, take a look at this cloud. You have the shelf cloud there, then of course, you have the funnel cloud that is forming. Now, as soon as that makes contact with the earth, that's when it is classified as a tornado. That's what we saw yesterday afternoon, not just in places like Arkansas and back into Tennessee, but many other locations.
That's the bad news. The good news is that we are seeing a lot of that rough weather begin to move out to sea. The problem is, as you make your way back to the West, and parts of Texas, we are seeing this area of low pressure dealing with a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. This storm system is expected to make it's way into Arkansas as we get into tomorrow. So, although they are going to be cleaning up. It looks like the second storm could really add insult to injury for many places.
Many homes, many trees, weakened by the earlier storms, this could really give it just the final one-two. That is going to be a tremendous concern for a lot of people right here in Arkansas as we get into your Easter Sunday.
That is a look at your forecast on the Magic Wall. Let's send it back to you, guys.
NGUYEN: Well let's talk just a little bit about the Magic Wall.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: You brought out a new toy this morning. We were not even aware that you had all the skills to do that. That's pretty cool.
WOLF: Beginner skills. I'm not quite as good as some of our friends up in D.C. John King, who is certainly up in New York. But we are playing with it quite a bit. It is just a way to tell the story with the rest of America, to show them what's happening. It gives us a chance to view in a couple of locations. Like in the Outer Banks, we are going to see some storms today.
Of course, this big storm is going to be affecting people throughout much of Texas. Keep in mind there are a lot of areas, say, in parts of Oklahoma and Texas, they have been inundated with this wildfire, so the heavy rainfall that we expect today they could see some flash flooding there. So, it is just a great way, here, in the Weather Center, for us to tell a story for people and let them know what they can expect for days to come. Certainly useful, of course, during hurricane season, which is just a short time away.
Let's send it back to you.
NGUYEN: You like using that, I can tell.
WOLF: You have no idea.
NGUYEN: You are just moving the different pictures. Notice, T.J., they keep us far away from that wall.
HOLMES: Reynolds, don't break it, please.
WOLF: I don't think I have permission yet. And probably won't after this.
NGUYEN: Yeah, we can't even get near it. We have been cordoned off.
WOLF: It's all good, guys.
NGUYEN: Thank you.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: So, radio talk show host Steve Harvey says the number one question on women's minds, what would that be?
HOLMES: What is the number one question? It is how to keep him from cheating, probably?
NGUYEN: Ah, it is just about men in general.
HOLMES: Oh. NGUYEN: But I think that's probably one of them, though, absolutely. So, he is teaching us a thing or two about the opposite sex. You want to listen up because it is pretty good stuff.
HOLMES: By us, you are talking about women, you guys.
NGUYEN: Yeah.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN MUSIC VIDEO CLIP)
BEYONCE, SINGING: Put a ring on it ...
(END MUSIC VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Come on, Suzanne (ph).
HOLMES: What do you mean, cue. What's wrong with ...
NGUYEN: You just want to watch the video.
HOLMES: What's the problem here? Put the video back up. There we go.
All right. You go ahead and talk.
NGUYEN: Oh, no, you have a line or two here.
HOLMES: All right. We are not talking about Beyonce necessarily this morning. But we are talking about ...
NGUYEN: Talking about putting a ring on it, though. That topic, yes, putting a ring on it. You have seen this guy on "Time" magazine, "Oprah Winfrey Show" and countless other TV shows. We are talking about Steve Harvey. But where did you see him first?
NGUYEN: Right here.
HOLMES: Right here.
NGUYEN: That is because his book, "Act Like A Lady, Think Like A Man," is a number-one seller out there. Advice book, if you want to call it. "New York Times" best-seller, in fact, and we talked to him a few weeks ago. But you know what? The advice he gives is really worth revisiting.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Steve, in your book you talk about there are five things that women need to know about men. What are those things?
HARVEY: Well, it's five questions that a woman should ask a man when they meet. You know, because a lot of women have been sold a bad bill of goods, you know. We have created this thing that if you ask us too many questions, if you are too inquisitive, that you are encroaching on the privacy. And that we won't have anything to do with you. Well, that's not the truth. You have every right to know what you are getting into.
NGUYEN: So, just stop messing around and just find out what you need to know to either keep him or let him go?
HARVEY: You know, it's in your best interest. You know what I'm saying? You have not go stop -- women have got to empower themselves. That's what the book is for. So you can empower yourself. You've got to be -- you've got to stop being at a man's beckon and call. You have every right to know if he wants to marry you or not. You have every right to know when the marriage is going to occur. This is your future we're talking about. You really need to know if he's into your kids.
HOLMES: A lot of people follow you. And the fellows might say, why are you not talking to us? Why are you not giving us some relationship advice?
HARVEY: That would be great, but they don't buy books.
(LAUGHTER)
HARVEY: Let's just tell the truth. So I really don't care what you think.
Not really. But you know the first three chapters in the book, what drives a man, what a man needs, and how a man loves is absolutely the best part of the book, because it actually helps a man in his relationship. Because a lot of women just really don't know, as the title of the book, they don't know how we think. Our love is different. We don't love the same.
You all are great communicators, you're very nurturing. You encompass a lot of things in your love. A man's love is shown in three ways. I call it the three Ps. We profess it, we provide, and we protect.
HOLMES: We sit here and we're laughing, cracking up having a good time, and what not, but are people going to be disappointed? Maybe you even got some reaction already? People pick up the book, they see your face, they see your name, they expect to open this book and laugh.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: This ain't funny.
HARVEY: No, it's not. And I mean, you know, I'm sorry. But I've got enough stuff out there on tape that's funny. This book isn't a clinical study. You know, most women aren't married to Dr. Phil anyway. You're married to a regular guy. You're dating a guy that's got a job somewhere that you are trying to figure it out. I took all of my talks with T.J., who is a friend of mine, guys that play ball, guys that are TV stars, guys that drive trucks, guys that I worked in the factory with. I put all of this -- and I'm 52. I put all of this information together of how we really think. And it's done purely to just empower women.
NGUYEN: For all the ladies out there, answer me this one question. Why do men cheat?
HARVEY: Well, that's a million-dollar question no matter how I answer, it's going to be a $10 answer. But I'll tell you this. Number one, I try to teach women to release themselves from blame. You know, as soon as the guy cheats, a woman tries to find out what's wrong with her. And it has nothing to do with you, oftentimes. It's just an inadequacy in your man, that makes us go outside. Because we're constantly trying to feed our ego, trying to feel better about ourselves.
HOLMES: Now, a lot of this in the book can be applied to all men and women. But speaking, particularly, to black men and women here, is there a new standard for all black men and women and couples to follow given what we see in the White House now?
HARVEY: The book is written for everybody. But there is a new mandate here. Obama is the president. We got to do better than this. That's just the tone that's out there in the country, for a lot of people. There have been other beautiful families in the White House. Nobody is knocking that. I think George Bush -- I liked the guy personally. I thought he was a good family man, a good father, you know. But this is special for a lot of people, especially in the African-American community. Everybody has got to, you know, got to kind of understand that.
NGUYEN: We appreciate your time, Steve. Thank you so much.
HARVEY: Best interview I've ever done.
(LAUGHTER)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: He says that to everyone.
NGUYEN: I'm sure he does. Right? But, hey, you saw him first here many, many weeks ago. The advice is very valid, though. It is very simple. You put out there what you want and if the person that you want to be with isn't going to be there to give you that, then maybe it is not the one for you.
HOLMES: But remember, he was here with us first, and now he is big time. We can't even get him to call us back.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: All right. But congratulations to Steve and the success of his book. Top stories, here, for you this morning. We continue to follow that drama out there, that pirate story. Who knew? A pirate story would captivate the country and the world like this. The captain out there, being held, he actually tried to get away.
NGUYEN: To get away and it didn't work.
And our other story today, several states have a severe weather, a tornado just tears a path through one of them. Leaving several homes damaged. You don't want to miss it.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: From the CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It's 7:00 here where we sit. It's 6:00 a.m. in the heartland; 4:00 a.m. out in San Diego. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
Listen to this. A Texas lawmaker suggests that Asians should change their last name because she says they're too hard to spell or pronounce. We want you to take a listen to what was said off-camera.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese -- I understand it's a rather difficult language ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
BROWN: ... do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: A name that they could deal with more readily there. Hey, Asian, any other ethnicity, should you change your name so that as that representative said that they could deal with it more readily? Is that something that should be done? We want to hear what you think about that.
HOLMES: All right. Also, this is the last weekend -- I'm not sure what to say about that.
NGUYEN: Yes. It's one that kept people talking. That's for sure.
Send us your thoughts on that. We're at Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Weekends@CNN.com.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Let us know. Should people change their names to make them more easy to pronounce? HOLMES: Yes, you can sound-off about that or any of the other topics. And also, something else you can send to us, are your questions about your taxes. A lot of folks this weekend will be doing their taxes because this is your last weekend to try to get them done. We do have an expert who will be here on hand. E-mail us the tax questions. We will be answering them live here on the air.
Well, also, a big story we have been following the past several days, that continues to just change minute by minute. The USS Maersk Alabama is expected to dock in Mombasa, Kenya, at 10:00 this morning, Eastern Time. That's a few hours from now. Even though the crew managed to regain control of that freighter, the ship's captain is still being held hostage on a lifeboat.
The ship was on its way to Kenya with food when it was taken by pirates on Wednesday. The Navy has now brought in an FBI negotiator to help end the standoff. The ship has an armed security detail onboard this time as it makes its way to Mombasa.
Also, we are hearing from the fiancee of one of the crew members aboard the Alabama. She describes tense moments onboard the ship during the hijacking and the conversation she said with her fiance when he finally called.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I was told they did not know it was an American ship when they board it.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Oops. Yes, oops. Right.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It was a big "oops" moment on their part.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How are you holding up tonight?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We are tired. We are tired. We certainly feel good and better that he's safe, we know he is safe and on his way home. It feels like a dream, you know, I keep thinking it can't possibly be happening.
And, you know, you just have to keep doing because otherwise I feel like I can't breathe. John called me and he said he loved us, he loved me, but I had to pay attention. He told me to shut up, actually. He said, "Shut up and listen to me."
He said, "All hands are safe. All hands are safe. Nobody is injured. We have the ship, but there are four Somalis in the lifeboat in the water and they have the captain, and they have guns and they are going to kill the captain, and there's nobody here, there's no military here."
People were flying over, but they had told them there was nothing they could do, they couldn't get down to them and to do something, call somebody, get help.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How relieved were you when you heard his voice?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Oh, I was absolutely elated. I mean, I knew it was him because it was an international number when it came through. I was so relieved to hear his voice. They said enough and we're not doing this, and they took over. And these are bright men, capable, strong men that do a very difficult job. You know, I don't think people realize the type of the work that these men do. They were ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Meanwhile, the wife of Captain Richard Phillips who is still being held hostage released a statement saying, "My family and I would like to thank our neighbors, our community and the nation for the outpouring of support. We have felt the compassion of the world through your concern for Richard. My husband is a strong man and we will remain strong for him. We ask that you do the same."
NGUYEN: Well, President Obama was in Iraq this week, visiting the troops in Baghdad. And he praised them for their sacrifice and service, but he also stressed the need for Iraqis to step up and take over.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: You have given Iraq the opportunity to stand on its own as a democratic country. That is an extraordinary achievement, and for that, you have the thanks of the American people.
(CHEERS)
OBAMA: That's point number one. Point number two is -- this is going to be a critical period, these next 18 months. I was just discussing this with your commanders, but I think it's something that all of you know. It is time for us to transition to the Iraqis. They ...
(CHEERS)
OBAMA: They need to take responsibility for their country and for their sovereignty.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Let's check in now with CNN's senior political producer, Sasha Johnson, a friend of the show. She joins us now live from Washington.
All right, Sasha. You know, talking about Iraq and Afghanistan, it's more than just talk because the president wants a supplemental spending bill for this. Is that something that he's going to get an uphill battle for in Washington?
JOHNSON: It sort of depends. I mean, he's going to request and has requested and we're expecting probably action this week, about $84 billion for both Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts. Just for the remainder of the 2009 budget year, Obama has pledged that he will no longer ask for war funding in the supplemental fashion, instead it will show up in his 2010 budget and the Pentagon budget, the funding for the war.
He could say it's an uphill battle. I mean, you know, liberal Democrats are not happy about the two wars going on. They are concerned about getting into a quagmire in Afghanistan.
So, some liberal Democrats have come out and said, "Look, President Obama, just because you are a Democrat, we are not going to support you on this issue." Some Republicans have come out and said, "Well, of course, we want to vote for funding for the troops, but we have to make sure that this is a clean supplemental bill, that you are not trying to tie the commander's hands on the ground through this bill."
Remember that Senator Obama did vote against some war supplementals because they said they didn't include a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq. So, it will be interesting to see how this is handled. I think he's going to have to deal both with Democrats and Republicans on this issue.
NGUYEN: Let me ask you this very briefly, we saw the president speaking there during that surprise visit to Iraq, but during his European tour, he really talked a lot about Afghanistan and the war there, trying to muster global support for that. I mean, and some are questioning -- why not make a visit to Afghanistan, why to Iraq?
JOHNSON: Well, a lot of it had to do with proximity. Turkey and Iraq are really kind of right there next to each other. But also, because he has been spending so much time talking about Afghanistan, he doesn't want to forget that Iraq is still a big issue. It's costing the United States a lot of money. People are still dying there. Soldiers are still fighting.
He wanted to go there to show that there is still work to be done, there are elections coming up in the country. And he wanted to thank the servicemen and women for their work, and to make sure that they don't think that they are not forgotten because so much attention has been turned to Afghanistan. He is dealing with two wars, after all.
NGUYEN: Absolutely, and trying to get more funding to have them both.
JOHNSON: Yes.
NGUYEN: Sasha Johnson, as always, we do appreciate your time.
JOHNSON: Thanks.
NGUYEN: Thanks so much. We'll talk to you shortly.
Well, you know, a state representative -- this is a story that is a talker -- in Texas, where I grew up, is caught saying that Asians should change their name so that people can pronounce them better. What? Really? Just the facts, folks.
HOLMES: Why don't we ask (ph) that problem with Betty Nguyen? I wonder.
NGUYEN: Perhaps so. But, you know, the thing about it is, is that something that should be done? And let's broaden that a bit. Should it just be Asians? There are plenty of people with ethnic last names ...
HOLMES: Complicated names, yes.
NGUYEN: ... that maybe difficult for some people to pronounce.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Should they all have to change their names? Well, that's something that is being suggested in Texas.
We want to hear from you. Go to our Facebook pages or Twitter pages, MySpace, weekends@CNN.com. Find us on the Internet and sound- off on that one.
HOLMES: Also, we know the tax deadline is coming. It's coming up next week. There are some changes you may not know about. We got a tax expert here answering your e-mails and your questions.
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NGUYEN: Yes, the heat is on, especially if you haven't filed those taxes as of yet. You have until Wednesday, April 15th. It is right around the corner. There are over 500 changes to the tax code this year, did you know that? That's got a lot of people lining up for advice, ourselves included. We had to seek that professional advice.
But let's find out what services tax credits and free services are out there.
So, joining me this morning is Amy McAnarney, executive director of The Tax Institute at H&R Block.
All right. Amy, we are looking to you for a lot of information today. First and foremost, let's get to that tax software, because a lot of people thinking that's a cheap and easy way to file those taxes. Are there any problems with it?
AMY MCANARNEY, THE TAX INSTITUTE AT H&R BLOCK: You know, what I tell people is that, if your situation remains the same over last year, you haven't gotten married or divorced or claim a new child, if you know your financial situation and if you're certain about any tax law changes that could impact your situation, you should be OK about doing taxes yourself.
NGUYEN: All right. So, when do you go pro? I mean, when do you solicit the advice of professionals out there to file those taxes?
MCANARNEY: You know, that's when -- you should actually ask for expert help when you have questions yourself, when you don't like filling out the tax forms -- which we know a lot of people hate filling out forms -- and quite frankly, when you just don't have enough time to really think through, am I getting all the credits and deductions that I deserve.
NGUYEN: Yes. But some people, Amy, don't know what to ask. For example, we just reported, 500 changes to the tax code this year. There are new credits, there are new things there -- a lot of people, if they are not professionals, they may not know.
MCANARNEY: Yes. And that's why it's really important, if you do seek a professional help, ask them -- what are some of the tax law changes this year? And if you get an answer of -- you know, I don't know, or I don't see if there's anything that really impacts you, that's probably not a good answer.
NGUYEN: Oh, red flag.
MCANARNEY: Right, definite red flag.
NGUYEN: All right. So, quickly, what are the big changes that we need to be aware of?
MCANARNEY: You know, big changes that a lot of us have heard about is the first-time home buyer credit. Even if you purchased a home in 2009, by December 1st, you could be eligible for an $8,000 credit. So, that's a new one.
NGUYEN: That's something. Yes.
MCANARNEY: A big one. You can deduct real estate taxes for your home if you don't itemize. That's great for those who paid off their mortgage. You know, older people who have been in their house for a long time. So, that's a really great, new deduction this year as well.
NGUYEN: What are some of the overlooked deductions? Because a lot of people think they know the system and they know what to deduct, but sometimes, they are missing a lot.
MCANARNEY: You know, and we are seeing a lot of high unemployment. And one of the items we have been telling people is -- track your expenses of searching for a new job, the mileage going to job interviews, your resume preparation, job coaching -- gather those expenses and document them. They could be eligible for a deduction.
NGUYEN: You know, everybody wants as many deductions as possible to lower those taxes and not have to pay. But some people that that could trigger an audit. So, what are some of the things that can trigger an audit?
MCANARNEY: You know, audits from the IRS can be frightful and scary. What I was telling people is that, you know, typically, it's random audit. So, you could be one of these people just with bad luck.
But then, there are certain things that the IRS could look for such as areas of self-employment. People tend to get creative with expenses and they think the government should cover it, but the question is, can you defend it? Is it required and exclusive for the use of that business?
NGUYEN: And another thing, too, to know is that audits have more than doubled since the year 2000. So, absolutely, make sure that information is correct on there and you are not trying to take a deduction that you are not supposed to be because that can come back to haunt you a little bit later.
Very, very quickly, any free advice out there for people who have tax questions and need tax help?
MCANARNEY: You know, I would recommend people going to some Web site, IRS.Gov, HRBlock.com. Also, one thing that we're seeing is one in five people are still eligible for additional dollars from President Bush's stimulus plan. But you need to file a tax return to get that money. So, that's a freebie right there.
NGUYEN: All right. Amy McAnarney -- trying to get that correct -- thanks so much for your time and information today. We appreciate it.
MCANARNEY: Thank you.
NGUYEN: And you probably do have some tax questions of your own. We're going to get those answers from you -- Amy is going to stick around and hang out for a few hours to answer those e-mails.
So, send us your tax questions: Weekends@CNN.com. You can also shoot them over to our Facebook and Twitter pages. We'll be checking all of them throughout the morning. This is good information. It is free advice. So, utilize it and send us your information and your questions.
HOLMES: And we will get them answered. It's so complicated.
NGUYEN: It is. And there's a lot of, you know, deductions out there that can really affect that return. But if you don't know to use them, then that's money wasted.
HOLMES: And I have to admit, I just gotten forms back, letters back from the IRS. They want me to confirm something from years ago.
NGUYEN: Are you serious.
HOLMES: I'm not kidding.
NGUYEN: That's not good. Or, you know, a lot of times, too, some of your bank or your accounts will give you a revised, was it a 1090 form, so you've already filed your taxes, now, you got to do a revised form. I mean, there's a lot to consider. So, I know there are questions out there. So, send them to us. HOLMES: I'm going to sneak in all my questions.
NGUYEN: Yes. T.J. Holmes is on my Facebook page.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. We'll turn back to this story that's really captivated the country. This thing keeps changing. Josh Levs is here now.
Actually, you're going to take us through at least via the Internet this drama on the high seas. Good morning, again, Josh.
LEVS: Yes, good morning to you, guys. You know, it's interesting. One thing you're going to see that I'm going to be able to show you here, a new kind of interactive map as how incredibly often this incidence happened. We're going to show you some pretty shocking recent history.
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NGUYEN: Well, CNN is following every twist and turn in this standoff with Somali pirates who are holding an American captain hostage. Our team at CNN.com is working around the clock to explain the drama which really does continue day by day.
HOLMES: And it's hard to kind of keep up with all the twists and turns.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: So, some explaining is necessary. Josh Levs is here with an interactive map, actually, that shows what the pirates have actually been doing.
Good morning, again, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning. Have you guys seen this -- the latest map here? If it's kind ...
HOLMES: I have not seen. No, I have not seen this one.
LEVS: Yes. I'll show you. I mean, you know, we often will have maps at CNN.com. But I want to start off doing is showing you everywhere that you see a red mark. Every one of these red marks is a piracy incident in the region just this year. So, we're only going back to January of 2009. That's how incredibly and frequently these things have been happening.
I really like this map because it gives you the sense of the area that we are talking about. It's sometimes difficult to keep in mind. You got Saudi Arabia right here, parts of the Arab world we often hear about. This is Ethiopia, and Djibouti. Over here, you got Somalia.
All right. Now, you've seen maps like this, but what you don't often see -- I'm going to get out of the way, zoom back in. I want to show you how close that you can zoom in on any of these areas.
And while you are there, you can check out what happened in every one of these incidents. It gives you a date. It gives you the type of attack. It gives you whether U.S. was involved or exactly what happened in all those areas and you can kind of work your way around the map, check out the coastline where all these shipping vessels need to go in order for business to really take place, a lot of critical commerce in that region.
Now, as part of this, we have some video I want to show you. Let's go to some video right now of one incident that happened earlier this year that CNN has for you right here. This was the case in which the U.S. Navy boats approached some suspected pirates in that area -- there you go --in this area, just outside the gulf.
And what we're going to see is that lots of these incidents throughout this year and also some previous years have been captured. And you can see there, the suspected pirates have their hands up in the air. And U.S. Navy approached them and believed that they were pirates to who been involved in piracy activity.
Let's go to the other video now. We're going to go back to the previous year -- because this has been going on for the last several years, and more and more each year. Check this one out, guys. This one is from Somali forces that went and rescued a hijacked ship right there. And seven suspected pirates from that ship there were taken into custody.
So, again, I'm going to encourage everyone to check this out at CNN.com. We got lots of explainers here on the main page. And we also link you to tons of video that can explain what these pirates have been doing in that critical area for years now, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you, Josh. We appreciate it.
LEVS: You bet. Thanks.
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HOLMES: His name is Flo Rida. He is from Florida.
NGUYEN: Florida.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: He is a popular rapper, if you haven't heard, but he actually wants fans to know that he wants to be in touch with you. And you can be in touch with him.
NGUYEN: Just pick up the phone, right?
HOLMES: And call him.
NGUYEN: In fact, he gave out his personal cell phone number. How often does that happen? You never hear of that. In a little bit, T.J. and I are going to give him a wake up call this early Saturday morning, to see if he answers. He wants to be in touch, we'll find out.
HOLMES: We'll get more to that.
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NGUYEN: I don't know who brought this music in, but it's quite an interesting mix.
HOLMES: It will get you going.
NGUYEN: Yes, it does. It's just a nice upbeat, especially for the story that we are about to talk about. It may get you fired up a little bit.
Here is the background. A Texas state representative, Betty Brown is her name, says voters of Asian descent should adopt names that are easier for Americans to quote-unquote, "deal with it." She's a Republican from Terrell, Texas.
And if you don't believe, here's what she said. Listen to it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BROWN: Well, rather than everyone here having to learn Chinese -- I understand it's a rather difficult language ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Right.
BROWN: ... do you think that it would behoove you and your citizens to adopt a name that we could deal with more readily here?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: So, there you heard it, right from her mouth, suggesting that Asians should change their names so that they are easier to pronounce. Now, the backstory is that it's essentially dealing with polling and voter identification. And then they are saying that, you know, it's typical for some of those people -- those poll monitors to understand who exactly is showing what identification and who's who and making sure it all matches up.
So, should you really have to change your name? I mean, this is your heritage.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: This is your identity. This is your family history. But she says, "Hey, it makes it easier." HOLMES: But there's a legitimate concern there at least with the I.D. Everybody wants to get it right when it comes to voting, but a lot are suggesting this is not the solution and it should never have been suggested in the first place.
NGUYEN: Well, it's not only Asians.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: There are plenty of people from different ethnic backgrounds that may have names that are hard to pronounce, hard to spell, whatnot -- should they all have to change their names?
HOLMES: We all have family members, we got folks right there in the newsroom, we could talk to right now. We have names that would be difficult to someone who's not use to seeing it or saying.
NGUYEN: Right. Exactly.
All right. So, we want to hear from you this morning and we are hearing from you. I know that you've gotten a lot on your Facebook and Twitter pages, T.J.
HOLMES: Yes. And before we get to the story, we are just telling you the story was coming up and people started to talk about it. But I'll take you to my Twitter page here. I got one here that says, "It sounds like she doesn't want to get re-elected." Talking about this story.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: I got several more here. One is saying, "My name is hard to pronounce -- hard for some to pronounce, but I'm not about to change because someone can't or doesn't want to say it right."
NGUYEN: Yes.
Let's go to my Twitter page. This person says, "That is offensive and lazy on her part. People's names are their identity, cultural background and history." And this other person says, "To suggest someone to change their name because you won't learn how to pronounce it is the epitome on arrogance."
So, keep them coming. We know this is, you know, really sparking a response in you, to hear that fact that people want you to suggest that you should change your name because it's hard to pronounce.
HOLMES: Yes. Please, keep those coming.
More at the top of the hour. Betty and I will be back with all the stories -- today's top stories.
But right now, I'm going to hand it over to Dr. Sanjay Gupta and "HOUSE CALL."
