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CNN Saturday Morning News
Wildfire Forces Thousands From Homes; 4 Dead After Storms Hit Missouri, Kentucky; White House Officials Resign Over NYC Flyover; Lawmaker Wants To Restrict Airings of Viagra Commercials
Aired May 09, 2009 - 06:00 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, from the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this May 9. Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Yes, good morning and hello everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
It is 6:00 a.m. in Atlanta; 5:00 a.m. in Missouri, where thunderstorms and deadly tornadoes just ripped through the state. Five people have been killed across Missouri, Kansas and Kentucky. We're going to take a live look at all that damage straight ahead.
HOLMES: Plus, let me show you a beautiful photo this morning. Do you think that one is worth $328,000 and your job? Well, that's what it cost one man in the Obama administration. He is paying the price; he is out of a job. We'll take a look at his role and his decision to step aside over this photo.
NGUYEN: And our Reynolds Wolf is getting his hands dirty on the job.
Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know, there are people everyday that go off to work and they -- they hate they -- what they do. They don't like their job at all. You seem very happy.
ABRA LEE, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTL. AIRPORT: Very happy. Plants make me happy. Plants don't talk back. They're beautiful; they're colorful; they're fun. Every -- I mean, is this not gorgeous?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I like that she says they don't talk back.
Well, if you thought keeping your garden was hard work, wait till you see what's involved in creating runway appeal at one of the nation's busiest airports. These stories and much more this hour.
But first, new from overnight -- look at this: Fire crews have been working throughout the night in Santa Barbara, California. The wildfire that ignited Tuesday has forced more than 30,000 people to evacuate. Eighty homes have been damaged or destroyed; 11 firefighters hurt; almost 9,000 acres have burned.
The fire is only 10 percent contained, with a high-wind advisory. Reynolds Wolf will be in the studio here with more on the fires coming up in just three minutes.
HOLMES: A 24-year-old who was text messaging being blamed for a trolley crash in downtown Boston. No, this 24-year-old was not a passenger; he was operating that trolley. And he has told investigators now that he was, in fact, on that cell phone sending text messages when his trolley rear-ended another.
Twenty people hurt, no one seriously injured. Of course, it goes without saying, operators prohibited from using cell phones while they're operating those trolleys.
Now, the transit authority probably going to fire this operator even though the investigation continues. Even though he's 24-years- old, he's actually a two-veteran of that trolley system. The NTSB will be at the scene investigating this morning.
NGUYEN: Pope Benedict XVI is meeting with Muslim leaders in Jordan this morning. It is the second day of -- of his weeklong trip to the Middle East. And he's hoping to improve relationships between the faiths.
Christian-Islamic ties -- well, they were strained three years ago after the pope quoted a critic of the prophet Muhammad.
HOLMES: Let's turn to some weather now. It has been severe; it has been deadly; it has been dangerous, of course, in the Midwest. Could continue today.
Brutal yesterday. Thunderstorms and tornadoes ripped across much of Missouri as well as Kentucky.
NGUYEN: Yes, five people were killed, and there are reports of a significant number of injuries. Want you to take a look at this, because there is a lot of damage to dozens of homes and businesses. More than 150,000 customers have no power this morning.
Also this: A suspected tornado touched down in Tennessee. WATE affiliate reporter Shelby Baker talks with one victim who was inside her home when it was thrown 15 feet.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHERRI BIRD, STORM VICTIM: I just thank God that we're all right.
SHELBY BAKER, WATE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Clutching her dog Snuggles, Sherri Bird describes terrifying moments.
BIRD: The wind started blowing, and it just started getting harder. I was in the sunroom though, where all the windows are.
BAKER: In a matter of seconds, she says, the roof of her sunroom, gone. And her home thrown about 15 feet.
Other family members were also inside at the opposite end.
BIRD: I just thank God that my husband -- (INAUDIBLE) his nephews and the people that was helping him in the garage was OK, because I knew the garage was gone.
BAKER: Her home is just one of a handful in the small community of Fairview hit hard by what EMA officials are saying was a tornado.
The daylight revealed the destruction: Power lines down; trees on top of homes; this cell-phone tower a mangled mess.
BIRD: It all just felt like it happened just a few seconds. To do that much damage in just a few seconds is -- it's just unbelievable.
BAKER: Sherri's husband helps her back into their home, and together they look at the devastation for the first time. They say it's a miracle they're alive, and God is their rock and salvation.
BIRD: My Bible in the house was still laying in the same place. It hadn't been moved. And I know that's God.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: A lucky lady.
HOLMES: Yes, a rough day yesterday for a lot of folks.
Reynolds Wolf in the Severe Weather Center.
Reynolds, good to have you back with us this weekend. And here we go. Is it going to be another rough day?
WOLF: I know. Yes, it sure looks that way. Right now, it's really just taking a pounding in parts of Tennessee and into Kentucky.
You know, yesterday came down like a sack of hammers across parts of the Midwest and the mid-Mississippi Valley.
Right now, we're going to show you where it's falling heaviest, and that would be in parts of Tennessee, the Volunteer State, where in Nashville this morning, it is just coming down to beat the band.
You'll notice on radar, some of the areas that are shaded in orange, those areas are the spots where you're having the heaviest precipitation at this time. And as we zoom in, you'll notice mainly north of the city, and then slowly moving farther to the south, we're seeing all kinds of development, especially north of Columbia along parts of I-65.
If you're tuning in this morning, say, from Murfreesboro, and you were to go and step outside and look to the north, you're going to see just an unbelievable fireworks show well to the north, compliments of these storms. These are not only packing some heavy rainfall, but also the possibility of some large hail and damaging winds.
Something else to notice: You're going to be seeing a lot of this forming right along some of the same area; a lot of these storms training, meaning they're going to be moving over the same topography. So when that happens, the ground is really going to get saturated. When that in mind, we may have some runoff to deal with.
As we go a little bit farther to the west in the state, check out Memphis. It looks OK for the time being. Then that band of showers and storms comes through, not only in downtown Memphis, along Union Avenue or over on Beale Street, but also towards Mud Island. Even in, say, West Memphis -- T.J, call your mom and dad, I'm sure they are dealing with those thunderstorms this morning. No question.
And later on today, farther south, along parts of 55, we could see those storms.
One other thing I want to talk about, what we're going to be seeing out West today, we're going to talk about that coming up in just a few moments. Still rough weather out there; only 10 percent of the wildfires near San Diego are contained. They've got over 2,300 firefighters out there at this time battling this blaze. We're going to give you the very latest coming up in mere moments.
Let's send it back to you guys.
NGUYEN: Oh, a lot going on today, Reynolds.
WOLF: Always seems to be that way, guys.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you.
HOLMES: All right. Thanks, Reynolds.
NGUYEN: It is an image New Yorkers have dreaded over the last eight years: Another low-flying plane across the city skyline.
HOLMES: All right. Well, White House officials trying to explain this one though. This was a picture of an Air Force One jet flying way too low for some New Yorkers' comfort. It was a photo op, but it embarrassed the administration, and of course somebody had to pay. Someone has now; they've lost their job.
CNN's senior White House correspondent Ed Henry with this one.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: Betty, T.J., the significance, of course, this is the first forced resignation under fire involving a White House aide in the early days of this Obama administration. This one, of course, stemming from that Air Force One flyover that cost taxpayers over $328,000.
The president accepting the resignation of Louis Caldera. He had been running the White House Military Office. He's now taking the fall for that incident that really sparked so much panic in New York and New Jersey; people thinking that maybe this low-flying Air Force jet had something to do with a terror attack late last month, that this internal review by the White House suggesting that there was a communications breakdown, not enough officials on the local level knowing that this was a photo op, not a terror attack. And also, the whole incident, not properly vetted.
Now White House aides say the president has ordered that Defense Secretary Robert Gates make sure that this not happen again, make sure the White House Military Office is reorganized so another incident like this does not occur.
What's also interesting is the White House decided to release this internal investigation late on Friday afternoon. White House officials over the years have always done that when they want to try to bury bad news, when they think people maybe are not paying attention.
Of course, also, the whole mess was sparked by a -- an attempt to snap a new publicity photo for Air Force One. As part of this investigation, the White House released a -- a beautiful photo, really, of the Air Force jet flying past the Statue of Liberty. But White House officials say they have no plans now to use this publicity photo because it has become so tainted -- Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So, $328,000 of taxpayer money. Someone lost their job. And now they're not planning to use the photo.
HOLMES: Well, it's a -- a lot of people argued, of course -- and it is a -- you can't argue; that's a beautiful shot.
NGUYEN: It is.
HOLMES: It just is; two iconic images like that together. But why does Air Force One need publicity? A lot of people would say, 'It's not like you're trying to sell tickets to -- for flights on Air Force One.'
NGUYEN: It's not like you've even got a poster of it up somewhere, do you think? I mean...
HOLMES: Not at all. Some reports that they were going to use it, I guess, for a souvenir shot or something like that. But now it won't be used at all. Never imagined a publicity shot would get this much publicity. But this is not the kind of publicity, of course, they wanted.
NGUYEN: Yes. Just, you know, the -- the fear that's initially sparked...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ...when people saw a plane flying so close and low over New York City. And then now, to know that not only did it cost a whole lot of money, but it's not going to be used. All right. Well, moving on, if you're used to seeing Viagra in the morning, that could soon change.
HOLMES: Yes, we're talking about Viagra, Cialis, Levitra -- you know all those commercials ...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ...we see with the guy and the lady in the tub.
NGUYEN: In the bathtub? I never get that.
HOLMES: You hate that, don't you?
NGUYEN: Two separate people in two separate bathtubs outside. Who does that? Anyways.
HOLMES: Well, it's not going to be the case, maybe, any longer because someone now wants to ban those ads....
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ...from airing at certain times during the day so you wouldn't see them, like, during our morning show or during the day.
NGUYEN: Yes, and the problem is -- what? -- because children are watching at this time.
HOLMES: That's what they said. So...
NGUYEN: And then, you know, there are the questions: 'Mommy, what's Viagra?'
All right. And then we're going to be talking about this: Many people are waking up early to give their home a little curbside appeal. But imagine being responsible for runway appeal.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
RICH ROWER, HARTSFIELD-JACKSON ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT: Do not touch anything!
WOLF: Not touching a thing, boss man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Yes, we -- we have to tell Reynolds that all the time here around CNN.
NGUYEN: Don't touch anything, Reynolds.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Reynolds on a tractor. We'll explain this -- there he is there, our -- our resident farm boy. We'll get a look at his attempt to keep the ground groomed at Atlanta' international airport.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, U2, "BEAUTIFUL DAY")
NGUYEN: It is a beautiful day.
WOLF: It is.
HOLMES: And you know what? It's a beautiful day that I actually know the song that we're playing. Sometimes...
NGUYEN: Finally.
HOLMES: Sometimes Dee (ph) back there picks some questionable tunes, sometimes.
NGUYEN: All right. You know -- you know why it's such a beautiful day?
HOLMES: Well, we got Reynolds -- well, the whole team is back together. We haven't been together in a (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: Oh wait -- no, no, no, no. I like what you said the first time.
HOLMES: What's that?
WOLF: The first -- the first thing that came to your head was, 'We got Reynolds.'
HOLMES: We got Reynolds.
NGUYEN: Hey, absolutely.
WOLF: Yes, I'm here.
NGUYEN: That's all we need.
WOLF: And I get you guys (ph). So...
NGUYEN: And you know what you also have?
WOLF: What's that?
NGUYEN: A green thumb. Well, kind of, sort of.
WOLF: Sort of. Yes, and I -- I actually was able to fine tune the green thumb by going out to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and working with a -- a -- a person -- a wonderful individual. Her name is Abra Lee. And is -- and she is in charge of dealing with over 5,000 acres of flowers, trees, shrubs -- 15 miles all the way around the airport itself.
Got a chance on the job to see how she got her work done.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
Lee: We're going to get our hands dirty a little bit.
WOLF: Abra Lee knows that first impressions matter. So when you travel through the world's busiest airport, chances are you'll see some of the 15 miles of trees, flowers, shrubs and grass surrounding this major transportation hub.
And she's in charge of it all.
(on camera): You know, there are people every day that go off to work and they -- they hate they -- what they do. They don't like their job at all. You seem very happy.
LEE: Very happy. Plants make me happy. Plants don't talk back; they're beautiful; they're colorful; they're fun. Every -- I mean, is this not gorgeous?
WOLF (voice-over): It sure is. And to keep things pretty, an artistic touch along with a green thumb is required. Changing the seasonal plants outside the airport front door is the first objective of the day.
LEE: What we all want to do is, we want to have a centerpiece to it. We want to have something filling in the sides, and then we want to have something spilling over.
WOLF: Abra's talent is seen throughout airport roads, entrances and exits -- all of this sustained with soil from an onsite compost pile and recycled rainwater gathered in these cisterns.
But not all of the processes are delicate.
ROWER: This is a new (INAUDIBLE) track (ph).
WOLF: It's one of 15 grass-cutting behemoths that operate night and day, seven days a week.
Rick Rower is one of Abra's teammates, and on the field, he's the boss.
ROWER: Do not touch anything!
WOLF (on camera): Not touching a thing, boss man.
(voice-over): After a quick lesson, the FAA-mandated cutting begins.
ROWER: We can't let the grass get too far ahead of us.
WOLF (on camera): Well, let's see...
ROWER: Because if it do, then the tower is going to be raising a lot of sand (ph) because the pilots can't see that sign right there. If you can't see that sign, you can't get to the terminal.
WOLF (voice-over): It's all part of a coordinated effort of safety and aesthetics.
LEE: We're so happy with what we do, it's not about the money. Like, money just can't compensate for the peace of mind I feel. I'm happy to come to work.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Don't you love hearing that? She is happy to come to work.
WOLF: I really do.
You know -- you know one thing, since I've been doing these on- the-job stories, when it comes to, say, this particular story, or talking with the -- the -- the guy who dealt with surgeries with the turtles, or -- or....
NGUYEN: Yes.
WOLF: ...any of these jobs, one common thread is that everyone loves what they do.
NGUYEN: Mmm.
WOLF: And maybe that's the most important thing in this kind of job market, where so many people are losing their jobs....
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Right.
WOLF: ...they're trying to reinvent themselves. The most common thing -- the most important thing to do is to love what you do. If you love what you do, then...
NGUYEN: Hey...
WOLF: ...who cares about money?
NGUYEN: ...it's the meaning of success, isn't it?
WOLF: Yes. And money's still good.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: Don't get me wrong. I mean, it's important.
NGUYEN: Don't get us wrong.
But I'm speaking of money -- I'm surprised they let Reynolds....
HOLMES: The tractor.
NGUYEN: ...ride that tractor. I mean, we don't have that kind of insurance. What's going on with there?
WOLF: We didn't ask for permission; we just went ahead and did it. So, you know, the phone's ringing...
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: And you lived to tell about it?
WOLF: Yes. And I'm -- it's been great working with you guys.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: (INAUDIBLE) taken out of the building, then you understand.
NGUYEN: No, you're fine.
WOLF: Pretty much so.
NGUYEN: There was no accidents, right?
WOLF: Yes, exactly.
HOLMES: But that's neat to see. It's something you never think about; you just see the grounds, and everything's nice, and you never...
NGUYEN: Take it for granted.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: We appreciate that. Thank you, Reynolds.
NGUYEN: Yes, thank you, Reynolds.
HOLMES: Shall we keep him around for this next story?
NGUYEN: Yes, absolutely. You're going to want to listen to this one, Reynolds.
HOLMES: Oh yes.
NGUYEN: Go ahead, T.J.
HOLMES: These are -- sure, I'll take this; I don't mind.
Everybody has seen these ads, the drug companies promising a satisfying end to erectile dysfunction -- don't look at me like that.
WOLF: What? This is what I had to stick around.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Well, OK. Well, we talked -- you've seen -- everybody's seen the little blue pills, the Viagra, the Levitra, Cialis.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: OK, there's a congressman in Virginia, says he doesn't want to see them anymore. His name is Jim Moran, and he has introduced a bill, HR 2175 if you want to look it up, that would ban these ads between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. That's essentially all day.
NGUYEN: And why is that?
HOLMES: He says the ads are intrusive, offensive, indecent -- and yes, even embarrassing.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
REP. JIM MORAN (D), VIRGINIA: Especially at sporting events, if you're sitting down with your kids and your grandkids, invariably they're going to ask you, you know, 'What is ED? Why do you have to go for a doctor if it lasts longer than four hours?'
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, AD)
ANNOUNCER: In the rare case an erection lasts for more than four hours, seek immediate medical attention.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So Moran says he doesn't want to censor broadcasters; he just wants them to look at the impact of their ads on young people.
And, you know, Reynolds, you've got young kids.
WOLF: Yes.
NGUYEN: They haven't asked just yet. They're too young.
WOLF: No.
NGUYEN: But, I mean, that's a difficult conversation, right?
WOLF: Yes, but I mean, you don't see those kind of ads when you're watching Elmo or Curious George.
NGUYEN: No, but like you said....
WOLF: Different demographic.
NGUYEN: ...if you're watching a football game or some kind of sporting event...
WOLF: Absolutely.
NGUYEN: ...they may come up.
WOLF: It's going to bring up some interesting questions, no question.
NGUYEN: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: But we -- we are -- been getting a lot of reaction. We know we're going to get more, probably, to this story. But you can always catch us on Facebook, Twitter and our blog, and also e-mail.
But that makes the point here. Someone -- Karen says she...
NGUYEN: What's her last name?
HOLMES: Her name is Karen. She finds it...
WOLF: Oh, Karen Karen!
NGUYEN: If you only knew.
HOLMES: Her name is Karen: "But what are little kids are watching and wondering what a four-hour erection is?"
It just brings up some embarrassing and uncomfortable conversations that some people shouldn't be (INAUDIBLE)
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Especially when they're so young, and -- and you're just not ready and prepared for that kind of a conversation just yet.
HOLMES: But the debate continues; we will continue it right here.
NGUYEN: All right.
HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you for sticking around.
NGUYEN: Yes, thanks for sticking around, Reynolds. I know you enjoyed that.
WOLF: Thank you. I think so.
NGUYEN: All right. We're going to move on very quickly.
"Emily" moving out and "Barack" moving up. They are the most popular baby names of the past year.
HOLMES: Also, for comedians to make it these days, you've got to be funny in the nightclubs, and you got to be funny on -- where else? -- Twitter these days.
Josh Levs explaining now how the world of standup is changing.
Good morning.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Good morning to you guys. Yes, you know, it's a whole new era. Pros are showing me now how to be funny on this when they're used to doing stuff more like this:
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CRAIG SHOEMAKER, COMEDIAN, TWITTER: Like, how drunk was the guy that came up with a Pez dispenser? Imagine they're sitting around a corporate table at the candy company -- 'Any new ideas today?'
'Oh, here's my idea.'
(LAUGHTER)
SHOEMAKER: 'Look, you got a big plastic head. You pull his head back, a brick pops out of his throat.'
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOHN HEFFRON, COMEDIAN, TWITTER: ...excited to drive down with the lights, which is awesome because -- ha, ha -- how would I know what lane to be in while he's coming down here if she wasn't with me? How would I have known them? I wouldn't have known.
'That lane's moving.' 'I know. I know. I know. OK.'
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Well, a new forum for standup comedians, and it's giving the pros a whole new set of challenges. Because apparently, to be successful these days, you have to build a following on Twitter.
HOLMES: But what is it? A hundred and forty characters on Twitter?
NGUYEN: That's all.
HOLMES: How can you be funny in 140 characters?
Josh Levs finding out for us this morning.
Good morning, sir.
LEVS: Yes, I don't know how to do it. Do you guys know how to do it?
HOLMES: Hey...
NGUYEN: Well, we wouldn't be here, right?
(LAUGHTER) LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) be off doing that.
NGUYEN: Yes, exactly.
LEVS: I'll tell you what happened. I was on Facebook, and I saw this ad for a comedian, and it called him, "one of the funniest comics on Twitter."
So I got to thinking: Is that central to the comedy world these days? And it turns out, yes, it is.
We spoke with two successful pros who are working now to get established on Twitter. One is John Heffron, who you just saw; he's the last -- a "Last Comic Standing" winner. And over here, Craig Shoemaker, goes by the Lovemaster, who is currently the reigning champion on XM satellite radio. He is a Twitter newbie.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SHOEMAKER: I'm on the information super cul de sac. I mean, I'm -- I'm not so great at this.
(LAUGHTER)
SHOEMAKER: I'm learning. And I -- I -- I -- and I have no friends. I -- I had more friends in my house yesterday than I have on Twitter. And he's the king.
LEVS: How did you build up your fan base, John? How did you build up this number of followers on Twitter?
HEFFRON: I try to be funny; I try to be entertaining. I try to do stuff that hopefully gets re-twitted -- is that the word?
LEVS: Sure.
All right. Let's take a look at some of your popular tweets here. You have this section called "The Original Last Tweets," right?
HEFFRON: Yes.
LEVS: And you have one here, "Guy who always gets killed on Star Trek. Last tweet: Got my uniform. The rest of the landing party wearing a different color. Weird."
And then my favorite one, "Married man's Last Tweet: About to go into the champagne room. Wish me luck."
HEFFRON: Those are the things that end up -- people, you know, start passing it around, and then that's what gets people to go, 'Who is this guy? Yes.'
LEVS: And Craig, is this what you're chasing? Are you after the same idea here, those one-liners that get tossed out?
SHOEMAKER: Yes, I mean, I -- I'm a storyteller, so it's not so great for me. I'm still working on this under-140-characters thing.
LEVS: I did pull out one of yours that I liked, too. You wrote, "Up late in my Pittsburgh hotel. Just read a 'USA Today' article about how Twitter is no good for intimacy. No worries. I'm alone."
SHOEMAKER: I don't know if anybody's laughing at the jokes. I just -- I tweeted that last night. We'll see how that goes.
(CROSSTALK)
LEVS: Is that part of what's hard about Twitter? Like, when you're doing this, you don't have that kind of instant feedback? You know, if you're doing standup somewhere, you got the laughter.
How do you know? It's like just doing this in an echo chamber.
(CROSSTALK)
HEFFRON: It's the replies. To me, I judge by the replies.
SHOEMAKER: I've had -- I've had zero replies, so apparently I got to work on my tweeting.
You know, the -- the whole thing is, when you write though, it's different. It doesn't have the nuance or -- or things like that. Like I put something about, you know, my ex-wife and I got divorced, and tonight's show is a benefit show, and all proceeds go to my ex-wife.
And people are writing back, you know, 'Oh, I feel so sorry for you.' And I go, 'No, it's a joke.'
HEFFRON: Well, yes, Cris Angel was on my flight. So I tweeted, "Chris (sic) Angel is on our flight. We will not have to use fuel. He will use his superpowers to get us home."
And the replies were, "I spelled Cris Angel's name wrong." It's like, come on, people. How am I supposed to -- come -- you know, that's not the point.
LEVS: The previous generation has never had this problem. You know, like, if you go back to previous standup, and you got, like, standup in the Adirondacks, right? And you've got early television. You've got all these generations -- no one's ever -- until really, the last few years, no one has ever dealt with the opportunities and the challenges that you guys have.
Is Twitter the new standup?
HEFFRON: You know, as a comedian, it's funny; now it seems like you have to be funny and be this crazy Internet marketer. How can I let somebody know that I'm coming into whatever city? And Twitter and Facebook and all those things are the best way to do it.
SHOEMAKER: I hate to see though that we're on stage at the Punchline in Atlanta actually tweeting the crowd from the stage. Yes, I'm -- I'm doing my act with my thumb on my -- on my BlackBerry. Hold on for a second; I have a new joke I'd like to try on you. Turn on your text.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: All right. So we can all hope that's not the future. But I'll tell you something, this is where everyone's turning to now in this industry.
And we want to hear from you. We're inviting you to send us the funniest tweets that you have seen out there. You can send them to my Twitter page, joshlevscnn. Or -- we're going to make a whole list of them over at Facebook. That's my Facebook page, joshlevscnn.
And I just posted this the other day; we're already getting a bunch of them. And you know what? When I'm off the air, I'll go post links to these guys' Twitter pages. Maybe we'll get them some Twitter followers along the way.
And hopefully, Betty, T.J., get a little comedy into people's early mornings now.
NGUYEN: Yes, they may like some of the jokes we get. And who knows? Maybe they'll use it next time on stage.
HOLMES: We could use a little laughter. We could use some.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: I heard a pretty good one today. But I can't mention it.
LEVS: Oh man.
NGUYEN: Maybe later. It -- it dealt with -- well....
HOLMES: Don't tease him like that, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, I shouldn't. It dealt with the Viagra story, I'll tell you that.
LEVS: Oh lord.
NGUYEN: Yes, we may have to send that through standards before we put that one on the air.
All right. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it (ph).
HOLMES: Well, more states, more and more, are taking up gay marriage. And why some now think the president not in line with his own party on this issue.
NGUYEN: Also, several homes have been destroyed by fires in Santa Barbara. And now, many nervous residents -- well, they're waiting to see if they, too, will be forced to leave.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) NGUYEN: Well, good morning, everybody, and welcome back. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I am T.J. Holmes.
We need to tell you the updates on these fires we've been watching out in Santa Barbara, California. Firefighters have been working pretty hard out there, still struggling to get a handle on this thing. It's forced more than 30,000 people to evacuate from the area. The fire has burned about 9,000 acres so far, and it continues to rage. At least 80 homes have been damaged or destroyed.
We do know also that 11 firefighters have been injured. Not sure of the severity of those injuries.
Also, like I mentioned, they're trying to get a handle on this thing, but right now, only 10 percent contained. Also, officials estimating that the fire has cost more than $3 million in damage so far.
NGUYEN: Well, while many people are waiting it out in shelters, others are watching from the nearby hillsides, nervously waiting to see if the fire will reach their home.
HOLMES: KCAL affiliate reporter Juan Fernandez talked with some of them, and he filed this report late last night from the Painted Cave area. That's near Highway 154.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JUAN FERNANDEZ, KKAL REPORTER (voice over): With sunset came concern the winds would fan the flames alive once again.
GRAEME NEWELL, SANTA BARBARA RESIDENT: Anything could happen, you know. It's all depending on wind, weather.
FERNANDEZ (on camera): So, we're watching and waiting to see what happens?
NEWELL: Watching and waiting.
FERNANDEZ (voice over): This is the Painted Cave area just off Highway 154. It's under a mandatory evacuation order. But long-time Santa Barbara resident Roger Bradley and many others are staying put. Watching to see what the Jesusita Fire will do next.
ROGER BRADLEY, SANTA BARBARA RESIDENT: Tonight is the turning point because the weather is going to change tomorrow. I think there's going to be an onshore, yep. So we are, if we can get through tonight up here, we'll be in good shape.
FERNANDEZ: This DC-10 tanker, based out of Victorville, was brought in making many fire retardant drops. Fire officials also tell us cooler temperatures helped in the firefight. So far 30,000 people are out of their homes at shelters, or with family and friends and thousands more like Bradley are ready to move just in case. BRADLEY: I have my car, you know, packed, ready to go.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: This fire story, we've been covering here for the past several days, right now, is our top story on CNN.com. A lot of people wondering if these firefighters will get help from Mother Nature?
NGUYEN: They really do need it especially with the winds. Reynolds Wolf has been watching this. He joins us now live.
Reynolds, any chance they'll get some relief?
WOLF: Not today. Not today at all. In fact, you have to remember that this part of the nation is suffering a horrible drought. They have a good chance of having wind gusts topping 50 to maybe 65 miles an hour today with very low humidity and with flames, the very dry vegetation, we could see those fires spread even more. As you mentioned, only 10 percent contained right now.
Let's give you a couple things to notice. First and foremost, we're taking a look at the atmospheric setup. We have high pressure sitting off the California coast. That's not unusual. Normally happens this time of year. It's going to limit the chance for precipitation. Also give or take you time and make that way down the coast along say, Highway 101, you often notice that during parts of the day you have this thing called a marine layer. It's like a thick layer of clouds that keeps a lot of moisture right along the coast. They're not going to have the benefit of that today.
Something else you'll notice is this area we have circled along the central coast is part of the area we'll have the issue. Santa Barbara will be right about here. Oxnard will be right about there. Highway 101 runs right down the coast. We have highway 154 that goes back right through the mountains. That's been closed due to the fires.
Speaking of those fires, take a look at this shot. We'll expand this a bit. You see the fire lines just erupting with these flames. Some of these flames actually hundreds of feet high. Winds, again, as I mentioned expecting to accelerate this afternoon; we're going to see more of these flames spread. These temperatures in the flames themselves are in 1,400 degrees. Just brutal stuff to deal with.
This is like a military operation. We're attacking the fire from not only the skies above but also on the ground with some 2,300 firefighters certainly will be some rough times. One of the things to show you, very quickly, as you'll remember the fires we had in Oklahoma, recently certainly in parts of South Carolina, and relatively flat areas. You have to look at the terrain. A lot of mountains, a lot of hills; very difficult for the firefighters to get back there and attack this thing. That's what they'll try to do through the weekend, and for possibly much of next week.
No sign of rain in the forecast from now through maybe next Saturday. Looks like it will be tough times ahead no question. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right. Thank you for that.
WOLF: You bet, guys.
NGUYEN: This week Maine became the fifth state to recognize same-sex marriages and soon there could be a sixth, but lawmakers in step with voters on the issue? That's the question.
HOLMES: Our deputy political director looking for the answer now. Paul Steinhauser now joining us from Washington.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR (on camera): Betty, T.J., when it comes to gay marriage, all eyes right now are on New Hampshire Governor John Lynch. State lawmakers there passed a bill this week that would recognize same-sex marriage as legal and now the governor has to decide whether to sign the bill and let it become law without a signature or veto it.
Next door in neighboring Maine, the state's governor there this week signed a similar bill making Maine the fifth state in the nation to legally recognize gay or lesbian marriages.
You know, the controversial issue remains a real political hot spot that many politicians discuss only with great care. And that includes President Barack Obama.
During his campaign for the White House, Mr. Obama said he supported equal rights and civil unions for same-sex couple, but not guy marriage. The question is, is Barack Obama out of step with his party? Our most recent CNN/Opinion Research Corporation national poll indicates that Democrats overwhelmingly support gay marriage.
But let's take a look overall; our polls suggests that 44 percent of Americans back same-sex marriage. That's up from 10 years ago, 54 percent remain opposed.
But if you break it down by age, our poll indicates that younger voters support gay marriage while most of those over 65 remain against it. There appears to be a clear generational gap on this controversial issue, Betty, T.J.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. A small-town police force accused of highway robbery. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I believe it's a shakedown. I believe it's a piracy operation.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Cash and property taken from drivers under a forfeiture law. Now, questions about where some of that money went.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Despite receiving a death sentence for killing his pregnant wife, Lacy, and their unborn son back in 2002, Scott Peterson continues to insist that he's innocent.
NGUYEN: Yes, the condemned killer is using the Internet to plead his case, posting comments and updates on a blog from his cell on death row. The site was created by the Peterson family and they hope to use donations to pay for an appeal. Now, if you have any comments on this story, or others, you can post them on our blog at Newsroom.blogs.cnn.com. Just click on Betty or T.J.
You know it is a cash-poor Texas town, near the Louisiana state line, that has had the same mayor for 54 years.
HOLMES: It also holds some pretty bad memories for a lot of black and Hispanic drivers. The town we're talking about is Tenaha. It is in Texas. You may arrive there with cash some say, but don't count on leaving with it because local police are accused of cashing in.
Here now CNN's Gary Tuchman.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GARY TUCHMAN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): We heard the same story over and over; drivers telling us this small stretch of a Texas highway was a trap, a systematic ambush. Amanee Busby of Maryland was forced off the road here.
AMANEE BUSBY, STOPPED BY POLICE: They took everything out of the car. They took all of us out of the car.
TUCHMAN: Jennifer Boatwright and Ronald Henderson were driving through with their two kids. They tell us they had $6,000 with them to buy a car when they were stopped.
JENNIFER BOATWRIGHT, STOPPED BY POLICE: He was already going through the glove box. And he got Ron's money.
TUCHMAN: Roger (sic) Daniels was coming through from Tennessee. He says he had $8,500 in cash, also to buy a car. They took all of it.
RODERICK DANIELS, STOPPED BY POLICE: It makes me feel sad, not more than angry, I feel like there's no justice even with the law.
TUCHMAN: Over the last two years scores of drivers, virtually all of them African-Americans or Latinos say they couldn't report these crimes to the police, because the men who forced them to pull over, the men who took so much from them are the police.
(On camera): Roger (sic) Daniels journey took him here, to the tiny town of Tenaha, Texas. Population about 1,000, on this portion of U.S. 59, the posted speed limit is 35 miles per hour. Daniels says police pulled him over for going 37 in 35.
(Voice over): Police asked Daniels if he had money. He says he told them he had the cash to pay for that new car.
DANIELS: They said they were going to charge me with money laundering. I actually thought that this was a joke. I'm like, money laundering? It sounds so dramatic.
TUCHMAN: Two cops brought him to jail. He was frightened. Had no idea what he had done wrong, but was told no charges would be brought if he left behind his cash and jewelry.
DANIELS: To be honest, I was 500, 600 miles away from home. I was very petrified.
TUCHMAN: So, he agreed to the deal.
(On camera): Roger (sic) Daniels was released from this Texas jail without his money, without his jewelry, without the car he wanted to buy, and without any hope he would see his valuables again. But now he realizes he's not alone.
(Voice over): Jennifer and Ronald were also offered a deal, this one in writing. The district attorney signed it herself. It's a form letter, a kind of get-out-of-jail card that says, in exchange for forfeiting their $6,000, no criminal charges shall be filed and our children shall not be turned over to child protective services.
Cops terrified their son, Jonathan.
(On camera): So, what did he say about your parents to you.
JONATHAN BOATWRIGHT, SON: That they were going to be taken away. Me and Jacob would be put in CPS, or foster care.
TUCHMAN (voice over): His mom says the DA showed up at the police station, berated her as a bad parent and also threatened to separate the family.
JENNIFER BOATWRIGHT: I said, if it's money you want, you can have it. If that's what it takes to keep my children with me, and not separate them from us, take the money.
TUCHMAN: Amanee Busby was with her young child.
BUSBY: The first police officer who pulled us over would say things to me like, "Your son is going to child protective services. He's going. He's going. You're not saying what we want to hear."
TUCHMAN: So, what's going on here? This attorney has filed a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 150 drivers who were stopped at Highway 59.
DAVID GUILLORY, CLASS ACTION ATTORNEY: They're disproportionately going after racial minorities. And my take on the matter is that the police in Tenaha, Texas, were picking on and preying upon people that were least likely to fight back.
TUCHMAN: The cops in the county took their money and yet none of them was ever charged criminally.
GUILLORY: I believe it's a shakedown. I believe it's a piracy operation.
TUCHMAN: Records show this town and county have made a lot of money doing this.
Under Texas law police in fact are allowed to confiscate money and other property if it is believed to be used in a crime. But if the person is not charged or is found not guilty, the valuables must be returned. The lawsuit claims Tenaha and Shelby County often keep the money no matter what.
JOHN WHITMIRE, TEXAS STATE SENATE: I was angry.
TUCHMAN: This Texas state senator is leading the fight to reform forfeiture laws partly because he's shocked at what he's heard about in Tenaha.
WHITEMIRE: To have law enforcement and a district attorney, and the criminal justice system, essentially be crooks, in my judgment, it should infuriate and does infuriate everyone.
TUCHMAN: The town has made many forfeiture arrests of people who really have been guilty of crimes but when you include the alleged fraudulent arrests, roughly how much money has the town taken in? The attorney has done some math.
GUILLLORY: The amount is close to $3 million.
TUCHMAN: $3 million. So, what are they doing with that money? We found a $10,000 check, from the DA directly to this man, the cop, who pulled over most of these drivers. We had questions for him.
(On camera): We're doing a story about this guy, Roderick Daniels, he was pulled over here by you, a year and a half ago. You took his money and his jewelry. Do you recognize him?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I cannot comment.
TUCHMAN: We had questions for the DA. After avoiding us we finally located her. Surprised to find her on center stage.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, I guess if you're trying to run from Gary Tuchman you probably don't need to be on a stage somewhere.
NGUYEN: On stage somewhere, yes.
HOLMES: So, Gary continues his struggle to reach the DA. This is a story that's not over. We'll have more on it in just a minute. The second part of that really kind of a shocking report there. NGUYEN: You don't want to miss that. We've all been asking where the money went when it comes to the housing market.
HOLMES: We have an idea. And we also have an idea of when it might be coming back. Yes, we have some encouraging news about the housing market. We'll tell you where this encouraging news is and how it will affect you. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: This is the alleged crime, going 37 miles an hour in a 35-mile-per-hour zone. This was the punishment. Lose your car, your cash, and your jewelry. Does that punishment fit the crime? We're talking about one Texas town.
NGUYEN: Yes, and you know, some call it highway robbery. Others say it's perfectly legal. Perhaps not for long though. Texas lawmakers could take up a bill to reform state forfeiture laws as soon as next week after CNN Gary Tuchman visited the small town of Tenaha.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TUCHMAN: Many of the drivers pulled over on Highway 59 tell us they're guilty of one thing, and one thing only, driving while black or Latino. So we didn't expect the cop who many are complaining about to be this man. His name is Barry Washington.
(On camera): It seems like you pull a lot of people over, though, and take their money and take their belongings, more than I've seen in any town before. What's your response to that?
BARRY WASHINGTON, TENAHA, TEXAS POLICE OFFICER: I cannot make a comment. This is on litigation. This is a lawsuit.
TUCHMAN: I appreciate your courtesy to me.
WASHINGTON: Yes, sir.
TUCHMAN: But that's the story that we're doing. That it just seems like there's a propensity to do that.
WASHINGTON: I don't have anything to say to you right now. I've told you that twice.
TUCHMAN: OK. If I could just ask you one final question.
WASHINGTON: Have a safe trip. Have a good day.
TUCHMAN (voice over): The district attorney wasn't as easy to find. We made repeat visits to her office.
(On camera): We came here yesterday and we asked if she would be in today. We were told she would be in today.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I thought she was going to be, but she's not. That's all I can tell you. TUCHMAN: But you can't tell me if she's on vacation or just not planning to talk to us.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's none of your business what she's doing.
TUCHMAN: Well, it is our business, because the taxpayers pay her salary. So it is really is the public's business.
(On camera): Ultimately they told us she would have no comment. We looked elsewhere for DA Linda Russell.
We found her on stage belting out country tunes at a fire department fundraiser. We couldn't get near her until the event was over.
(On camera): Ms. Russell ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Guys, she doesn't care to speak to anybody.
TUCHMAN: Ms. Russell, my name is Gary Tuchman with CNN.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't have anything to say.
TUCHMAN: I need to ask her. Ms. Russell, I just want to see if you want ...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't want to talk to you.
TUCHMAN (voice over): But we kept trying because we had found out even more about her that raised serious questions. Texas law states that when money and valuables are legally taken from motorists charged with crimes, it can only be used for the official purposes of the DA's office, and for law enforcement purposes for police.
We acquired copies of hundreds of checks the district attorney wrote over the last two years. The entire account funded only with money the cops took from drivers they stopped on the highway. Official purposes? The documents show the DA has given herself wide discretion on how she spends the forfeiture money.
Here is a check and receipt for a popcorn machine and popcorn, costing $524. Here's another one, a $195 for a poultry festival. She bought Tootsie Pop, Dum-Dums and Double-Bubble for the event. Here's one, 400 bucks, for catering from Pete & Jennifer's Barbeque. More records show she made donations to clubs and organizations she seems to like, including the local Chamber of Commerce, youth baseball. Good causes, but official business?
(On camera): According to the check registry from the district attorney's forfeiture fund, these two checks totaling $6,000 were given to this Baptist Church in Tenaha. But this one, this check really stands out. This is the check the DA wrote for $10,000 and paid directly to Police Officer Barry Washington, for what are described as investigative costs. So, we wanted to give the DA a chance to explain. Why would she write such a huge check directly to a cop and why it seems the cops are targeting so many minority drivers?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't want to speak to you, guys.
TUCHMAN: Sir, I'm not asking you. If she doesn't want to comment, she can tell me. She's the district attorney.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She doesn't want to speak to you.
TUCHMAN: I need to give her the opportunity. That's my job to get both sides of the story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: She knows she has the opportunity. She doesn't care to speak to her.
TUCHMAN: The DA's personal attorneys give CNN a general statement.
"Ms. Russell has denied and continues to deny all substantive allegations set forth. She has used and continues to use prosecutorial discretion and is in compliance with Texas law, the Texas constitution, and the United States Constitution."
George Bowers has been mayor for 54 years. The class-action suit also names him.
MAYOR GEORGE BOWERS, TENAHA, TEXAS: We try to hire the very best trained, that have all the training, and we keep them up to date on the training. You know, where they will follow the law.
TUCHMAN: You have faith they've done the right thing?
BOWERS: That's right.
TUCHMAN: All of the defendants in the lawsuit deny the allegations and say they followed the law. The Hendersons and Amanee Busby spent a lot of money on attorneys and eventually got their seized cash back. But Roderick Daniels, like scores of others charged who have been charged with nothing, is still out the $8,500 the cops took from him. For a husband and father of four, that's a lot to lose.
DANIELS: To this day, I don't understand why did they take my belongings off of me.
TUCHMAN: Maybe he'll find out some day from the cop ...
WASHINGTON: This is under litigation. We'll just have to see what happens in the courthouse.
TUCHMAN: Or from the country singer, whose day job may be getting her in big trouble.
Gary Tuchman, CNN, Tenaha, Texas. (END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That's quite a story.
HOLMES: Gary Tuchman, good job there, Gary, on that story. We'll see what comes. If he ever gets an interview; she doesn't seem to be shy.
NGUYEN: Didn't you hear the guy? She doesn't want to talk to him.
HOLMES: The third microphone she doesn't mind being in front of.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: His, is the problem. All right. Thank you, Gary.
Well, a community came together to rebuild her home, after it was burned down. Now it is being threatened by flames, again. All the neighbors have left, but one California family vows to defend their home from fire.
NGUYEN: Plus, Arlen Specter gets a welcoming gift from one Senate Democrat. It wasn't exactly what he was wishing for. Now the long-time Pennsylvania senator may have trouble selling himself back home.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Our floor director, I don't know. Maybe, Juanita, is that your play list? No. That's OK.
HOLMES: Our producer sets this up.
NGUYEN: Move on, please.
HOLMES: Can we show that shot again of Juanita?
NGUYEN: Come on.
HOLMES: Can we get that shot back?
NGUYEN: Juanita!
HOLMES: She's an unsung hero here.
NGUYEN: Yes, she is.
HOLMES: She's always helping us out. There she is. We're just giving her a hard time. That's who we talk to behind the scenes.
WOLF: There she is!
NGUYEN: There she is. Say, hi, Juanita. (CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, unfortunately Juanita, your name didn't make the list and neither did any of ours. And what are we talking about? Go ahead, T.J.
HOLMES: The most popular baby names for 2008. The Social Security Administration released Jacob, tenth year in a row. I don't know a single Jacob.
NGUYEN: I don't either.
HOLMES: But for 10 years straight -- I guess, they would all have to be under 10-years-old, if I knew them. I don't know any Jacobs. Number one, again, for 10 straight years, followed my Michael, Ethan, Joshua and Daniel, on that list.
NGUYEN: That sounds pretty standard. Well, for girls, Emma, Isabella, Emily, Madison and Eva. We do have to tell you about Emily; that was number one for 12 years, but that reign is over. As you see on the list, it seems like biblical names dominated the list for boys and popular culture seems to have influenced the girls' names.
None of your girls' names aren't on there.
WOLF: No, no Annisons, no Landrys, but Jacob is important because I know if 15 or 16 years I'll have to scare a young man named Jacob who is coming over to my house to try and date my daughters. Bad news.
Jacob, I know you're out there. Come on over to the house, slowly.
HOLMES: That's right.
Another name that made it up the list because of pop culture, is the president's first name was heard everywhere during the campaign. The first name didn't make the first 2,000 on the list but it did still moved up.
NGUYEN: Yes, it jumped 10,000 spots ending up near 2,500. Social Security has it as number 2,409. And of course, it is expected to rise because the popularity among people under their 30s and the popularity of the president, obviously.
All right. So, from the CNN Center, as you know, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We invite you to the show. Thanks for being with us. May 9th.
Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello, there. I'm T.J. Holmes. Seven o'clock here in Atlanta, Georgia; 6:00 a.m. in the Midwest.
Let's take you now to a live picture -- something we're keeping an eye on. You may recognize it if you know the central Florida area. This is a hotel. This is Colony Plaza. This is near Orlando.
And you see it now and you won't see it shortly, because we are awaiting an implosion. This has interesting history. This hotel was actually put there, it was built a year after Disney announced plans to put -- is it Disney World or Disneyland in Orlando?
NGUYEN: This is -- oh, in Orlando. It's Disney World.
HOLMES: Disney World, I always get them mixed up.
NGUYEN: Yes. Disneyland is out in California.
HOLMES: All right. Disney World, the one there. This hotel was put up not long after that. And this was one of the original headquarters and meeting places for Disney folks when they were making plans.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But it's about to be imploded. It is coming to some disrepair. So, we're coming an eye it. You see it now. You won't see it in about 15 minutes.
NGUYEN: And we are hoping to give you a live shot of that implosion.
HOLMES: We'll go back to it.
NGUYEN: Yes, we'll go back it. Sixty hundred and thirty sticks of dynamite they're using to make this thing happened. And it's going to be quite a sight when it does.
HOLMES: All right. But we need to tell you also about the powerful storms and tornadoes that hit the South and Midwest yesterday. At least five people dead that we know of in Kentucky and Missouri, also, Kansas. Dozens of homes destroyed in the town of Kirksville, Kentucky. Officials say one person killed when a possible tornado touched down in their elementary school.
Also, storms damaged homes and businesses across southern Missouri. Tens of thousands of homes are without power today. Two people killed in the town of Popular Bluff when a tree fell on their SUV.
NGUYEN: Pope Benedict XV1 is in Jordan today. And he's meeting with Muslim leaders. It is the second day of his week-long three to the Middle East. And he's hoping to improve relationships between the faiths. Christian-Islamic ties, well, they were strained three years ago after the pope quoted a critic of the Prophet Mohammad.
HOLMES: Thousands of families have been forced from their homes by that wildfire that's happening now in Santa Barbara, California -- and among those families, the Camarillo family.
NGUYEN: Yes. Their previous house burned to the ground less than a year ago. And CNN's Thelma Gutierrez tells us they haven't even had time to settle into this new home.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Worried that we could still see flames. And it's burned over that area once already and it's still burning.
THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): For three days and nights since the Santa Barbara fire began, Lisa and Kay Camarillo have watched the flames on the ridge. All their neighbors have evacuated. Camarillo told us they're staying behind.
KAYE CAMARILLO, HOMEOWNER: My family lived here for many generations. This is our -- this is our land and we have to defend it.
GUTIERREZ: Their nerves are raw.
Just seven months ago, flames roared through this canyon, destroying hundreds of homes.
CAMARILLO: It happened so suddenly that the sparks flew and we're right here.
GUTIERREZ: Kay Camarillo fled for her life. The home she grew up in, where she raised her children, burned to the ground.
(on camera): It's hard to imagine what the homeowner feels when they come back and look at that.
CAMARILLO: The memories. The little things. The photographs. Yes. You know, little things like the bench that my father built that we all sat on when we were little kids. Those are irreplaceable things. That's hard.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Camarillo didn't have enough insurance to rebuild, so the Community Environment Council in Santa Barbara came to her rescue. Volunteers built a new fire resistant green home. Two weeks ago, that home was relocated to her property.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You'd be absolutely astounded at how many people put their time and effort into this.
GUTIERREZ: And just when she was ready to settle in, the fire threatens once again.
(on camera): Why would you rebuild here? Why not move elsewhere, live somewhere else than Santa Barbara?
CAMARILLO: No. This is our home. This is our land.
GUTIERREZ (voice-over): Land high above Santa Barbara that has belonged to the Camarillo family for more than a hundred years.
CAMARILLO: And now we have ashes again on our mountain tops.
GUTIERREZ: Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, Santa Barbara, California. CAMARILLO: And the other canyons.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. Our meteorologist Reynolds Wolf, he is tracking flames for us.
A lot of people, sometimes, they can't get these things under control, wondering if the weather is going to help them out.
WOLF: Well, guys, unfortunately, not a chance. We're going to be seeing today another day of very dry conditions. You know, the Golden State has been mired in a huge drought, especially parts of the central coast.
Here's the California coastline, at least part of it. The area that you see shaded in red, that's the spot where you're really going to have the biggest issues with the fires not far from Santa Barbara, of course. Then turn a bit farther to the south, we're dealing with the Sierra Madre mountains where you have that very dry vegetation and wind gusts today that are going to top 60 miles an hour possibly into the afternoon. We're going to see those flames really begin to fan.
Something else to consider -- not only do we have issues with severe drought and strong wind conditions, but we have relative humidity around 15 percent. So, many of these spots high in the hills outside of Santa Barbara are just going to be roaring today with those fires. So, certainly, rough times. Again, 2,300 firefighters that are going to be out there today, working and doing what they can to battle the blaze but no cooperation with Mother Nature for the rest of the weekend and through much of the next week.
Let's send it back to you, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. Reynolds, thank you for that.
WOLF: You bet.
NGUYEN: We'll be checking in shortly.
HOLMES: And word we're just getting this morning, sad story about a legendary coach in the NBA. Chuck Daly has died. Many people who maybe didn't follow the NBA are familiar with him because he coached the original Dream Team back in 1992, that Olympic team that went and really just tore through the Olympics, including Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Magic Johnson, he coached that original gold medal team, the original Dream Team -- has died now.
We've gotten word that a few months back, that he had been battling pancreatic cancer. He was the legendary coach of the Detroit Pistons, led them to back-to-back championship in the early '90s, then coached the Dream Team. He did a few stints at other teams in the late '90s but really known for his runs and putting together those bad boys up in Detroit -- you remember that, Detroit Piston, a bad boy team, if you will, Bill Laimbeer, Isaiah Thomas, some of those guys -- but dead now at the age of 78 of pancreatic cancer. But again, Chuck Daly, dead at the age of 78.
We're collecting more information about him and we'll be reaching out to some people, of course, who knew him. And we'll continue to follow that here at CNN.
NGUYEN: Well, in other news. Have you gotten a notice that your credit card costs are up? Well, some rates and penalties are unbelievable.
And in his weekly address, President Obama talks about the credit card reforms that he'd like to see Congress pass.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, WHITE HOUSE VIDEO)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: It is past time for rules that are fair and transparent. That's why I called for a set of new principles to reform our credit card industry. Instead of an "anything goes" approach, we need strong and reliable protections for consumers.
Instead of fine print that hides the truth, we need credit card forms and statements that have plain language in plain sight, and we need to give people the tools they need to find a credit card that meets their needs. And instead of abuse that goes unpunished, we need to strengthen monitoring, enforcement and penalties for credit card companies that take advantage of ordinary Americans.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: The president wants to sign the reforms into law by Memorial Day.
HOLMES: Now, the political world has had more than a week to adjust to the bombshell from Pennsylvania Senator Arlen Specter. He switched from, of course, the Republican to the Democratic Party.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But it came with a personal tradeoff.
NGUYEN: Oh, yes. Our deputy political director, Paul Steinhauser, says it's been a mixed bag for Senator Specter.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
STEINHAUSER: Betty and T.J., one big step back and two steps forward for Senator Arlen Specter this week. On Tuesday, one week after Specter rocked the political world by switching parties from the Republicans to the Democrats, Senate Democrats voted to strip Specter of his seniority when it comes to his committee assignments. That matters because Specter faces a tough reelection next year. That's the main reason why he switched parties.
Now, one of his selling points back in Pennsylvania is he has built up seniority over nearly 30 years in the Senate. And he says that allows him to bring home bacon for his constituents. But without his seniority on the committees, especially the very powerful appropriations committee, it may be hard for Specter to live up to that promise.
But Thursday this week, Dick Durbin, the number two Democrat in the Senate, announced he was giving Specter his powerful judiciary subcommittee chairmanship. And that same day, Republican Tom Ridge, a former popular Pennsylvania governor, announced he won't take on Specter next year. You know, polls up there in Pennsylvania indicated that Ridge would have given Specter quite a fight.
But with Specter now a Democrat and if Al Franken wins his long battle for Minnesota's Senate seat against Republican Norm Coleman, the Democrats will get those 60 seats in the Senate, a super majority, they will be able to stop any filibuster efforts by the Republicans to shut down the chamber. That's why all of this is so important.
Betty? T.J.?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. Let's talk about this for just a second. Putting your money where your faith is.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REV. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH, FOUNDER, AGAPE INTERNATIONAL CENTER: In one of those moments, I heard, sell all your stocks. I said, sell all my stocks? Sell all your stocks. I said, OK.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: I talked with Reverend Beckwith about turning to God for financial guidance.
HOLMES: Also, there are some glimmers of hope out there in the housing market. We'll take a look at which cities are on the rebound and does that mean this is the beginning of the end on this economic crisis?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Check it out. There's the implosion taking place in Ocoee, Florida. This is the old Colony Plaza Hotel. Well, at least it was. Sixty hundred thirty sticks of dynamite brought that down.
This was actually a 1960 era hotel. That was once a posh hotel, though, for Disney-goers. Well, the city has paid some $600,000 for this demolition that you're watching and they're hoping to recoup that money when the property is sold.
But as always, we enjoy an implosion on this show. And here's another one for you this morning -- T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, Betty. Let's turn to some -- a different video of destruction. Let's go ahead and roll this footage, and you're not going to believe what you're seeing. Less than 18 months ago, new homes in one southern California subdivision were on the market for $350,000. This week, this is what happened to them.
Folks, these are brand new homes that the bank decided it was cheaper to destroy these homes that had never been lived in than to keep them and try to sell them. That's what you're looking at, folks. These homes are brand new. Some of them completed, some of them not finished, but never been lived in.
For the first time in months, we are hearing, however, that maybe we won't have to see stuff like this again. Possibly, there's an end in sight to this whole housing meltdown.
Our mortgage consultant, Clyde Anderson, author of the book, "What Had Happened Was," not even in the script there, we'd just like to say the title of your book.
CLYDE ANDERSON, MORTGAGE CONSULTANT: Thanks, T.J. Appreciate it.
HOLMES: "What Had Happened Was," in studio for us this morning.
Everyone wants to know, are we near, are we at, have we hit the bottom? Give us that answer first.
ANDERSON: T.J., I think we're getting close to the bottom.
HOLMES: All right.
ANDERSON: I really do. And that's the key sign to let us know that it's time for recovery.
HOLMES: Time for recovery. All right, we're seeing some signs. What are those signs? Even as minor as they may be, what are those signs people are turning to now and say, "All right, maybe this is it"?
ANDERSON: Well, I think some of the markets are just starting to see that are coming back and some markets that were hit really hard, markets like Sacramento -- Sacramento was hit hard, lots of foreclosures. But now, some of that inventory is starting to shrink. You know, we're seeing situations where houses have multiple contracts being put on them, which we didn't see before.
HOLMES: How significant -- and you spoke about Sacramento. What other areas do we know of? Is it all those major areas that had major foreclosures that are coming back?
ANDERSON: Well, yes. I think that's the first ones because we're so many of them hit so hard.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: So, we're seeing areas like Sacramento. But we're also seeing, you know, Las Vegas got hit hard. Las Vegas is starting to have increases, I think at 35 percent increase. You got Sacramento. Then you also got some cities in Texas that are starting to come back, as well as Jacksonville, Florida. You know, Florida was hit pretty hard. South Florida is not there yet because they have, you know, so much appreciation that it's not there yet. But it's coming.
HOLMES: Is this the absolute way for a comeback? A lot of folks think that the housing -- this whole economic downturn started with the housing mess. So, the only way we are going to come back is if the housing pulls us out of it.
ANDERSON: Yes, I think definitely. The housing has to come back. We've got to get rid a lot of this inventory. There's a lot of inventory out there caused by all the foreclosures. Soon as that starts shrinking, people that are waiting on the fence to sell their homes, they'll start getting that value back and they'll feel more comfortable and in a position where they can actually come in now and sell their properties.
HOLMES: OK. Does it give us in some way, maybe a -- you know, any sense of optimism is great -- but, does it give us a false sense, if you will, because so many of the homes -- as people might hear this and think, OK, maybe I can sell my home now maybe it's coming back.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: But really, what we're seeing right now is just these foreclosed homes, but does it gives kind of a false sense, but at the same time, it still is good news that's going to help us.
ANDERSON: Right. And yes, it is. It's great news because it's shrinking that inventory. I don't know if I would say a false sense of hope necessarily because we got to get that down first before these people that are waiting to sell their houses. It's still a buyer's market. So, some perfect time for buyers to buy a house.
And a lot of people say, I'm waiting to buy a house until it bottoms out. This maybe the bottom. So, I would say -- don't wait. If you like it, buy it.
HOLMES: Last thing here and quickly -- one downside to this, if you will, once we see these houses and some of these foreclosures and some of these books starting to get cleared, we're going to see those interest rates go back up.
ANDERSON: Yes. We're probably going to see the rates come back up, you know? I mean, we've had so many incentives like that $8,000 tax credit. That's helping a lot right now. Low interest rates, that's helping a lot right now.
So, we're seeing those things. Once the market starts stabilize a bit, the downside is we're going to see rates start to come up a little bit.
HOLMES: All right. Our housing expert, author of the book, "What Had Happened Was," Clyde Anderson, always good to have.
ANDERSON: My pleasure.
HOLMES: We're going to see you again soon.
Betty?
NGUYEN: All right. We do have some breaking news this morning. Legendary coach Chuck Daly has died. We're going to talk with our Larry Smith about his life.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Our Larry Smith here from CNN Sports has come upstairs to join us here. He's getting calls and e-mails and some things right now.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: We understand, because of this breaking story this morning. Chuck Daly, legendary coach, out of Detroit, a lot of people familiar with him, also, the Dream Team -- has died now. We've gotten word. Put this in perspective for people. A lot of people don't maybe follow the NBA but people will remember the Dream Team, just what he was to basketball.
LARRY SMITH, CNN SPORTS CORRESPONDENT: Well, keep in mind that in 1992, he was a coach of the Detroit Pistons, and they had won back- to-back titles in '89 and '90. They were the last NBA champion before the Bulls dynasty with Michael Jordan. So, he was the coach to take this team over.
And you'd think about where you'd put 12 superstars out there, you know, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley, all these different guys, you know, how easy ...
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) personalities.
SMITH: ... just roll the ball out there. But it wasn't that simple because you had to meld all of these 12 superstar personalities into one team. It wasn't as easy as throwing the ball out there, (INAUDIBLE) was happy with that. And he did that.
Yes, they were a great team. They were greatest assembly of basketball talent we will ever see. But as we've seen in recent years with the -- when you put just 12 NBA superstars together, it doesn't necessarily mean that it's going to be successful. We've seen that happened before in 2004 in the Athens Olympics.
So, what Charles Daly -- what Chuck Daly, I'm sorry, did was simply phenomenal. A great coach, the two NBA titles. Last time I saw him was in 2005 at the NBA finals. And we had a nice conversation -- was always gracious, always very friendly, very thoughtful, great coach, loved the game. The players loved him. This is really a tough loss in the NBA.
HOLMES: How much did we know about -- it was pancreatic cancer. But we only found out a few months ago, it seems. I mean, how much did we know about what he was going through and how much he was suffering.
SMITH: Yes.
HOLMES: And, apparently, it was obviously far along to have died of it (ph).
SMITH: Yes. Well, I mean, probably Dr. Gupta, Sanjay -- and Sanjay is better to talk about it. But, I mean, you know, when you hear those cases, pancreatic cancer, we do know is a very aggressive cancer. We first heard back on March 6th. I heard a couple of conversations before that in late February that, you know, he was kind of going through some things.
But we don't know how -- we've seen the coaches, a lot of the NBA coaches and the guys on TNT are wearing this "CD" pins to show support for him. So -- but, certainly, the basketball world right now is saddened by this news.
HOLMES: Had he stayed active -- last thing here. How active had he been even after he retired? I think it was the late '90s with runs in New Jersey and also Orlando, other places outside of Detroit. But how active did he stay with the NBA and NBA family after he officially retired?
SMITH: Well, I don't know how many things on a daily basis he did, but I know, I saw him at Magic Johnson's Hall of Fame induction. He was retired then. I saw him at both Pistons recent NBA finals they were in. So, he was always around the game.
HOLMES: All right. Larry, we appreciate you coming up.
SMITH: Sure.
HOLMES: Again, Chuck Daly, legendary coach of the Detroit Pistons and also the first Dream Team, dead at the age of 78. Thank you so much.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, don't you wish you'd gotten out of the stock market just before it hit the skids? Well, in Los Angeles, the Reverend Michael Bernard Beckwith says a voice told him to get out of the market last fall. But, was it intuition, divine intervention, was it God? What was it?
Well, I traveled to Los Angeles to ask him myself.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN (voice-over): It was here in Reverend Beckwith's media room where he says he heard a message that would change his financial future.
REV. MICHAEL B. BECKWITH, FOUNDER, AGAPE INTERNATIONAL CENTER: I was sitting hear signing books for a book signing I had to do the next day. When I was signing, I had to stop every now and then and just kind of take in the people that I was signing for prayerfully. And one of those moments, I heard, sell all your stocks. And I said, sell all my stocks? Sell all your stocks. I said, OK.
Next morning was Monday and I went into the brokerage and I said, I'm selling all my stocks.
NGUYEN: Here are the statements showing he sold on September 29th, 2008. Less than two weeks later, on October 12th, the International Monetary Fund warned the financial system was teetering on the brink of systematic meltdown. So, was his timing divine intervention? After all, Reverend Beckwith has spent his life centered on faith. He founded the Agape International Spiritual Center in Los Angeles which ministers to thousands.
(on camera): So, what do you attribute it to -- this inner voice?
BECKWITH: It is spirituality. Everyone has the ability to hear that kind of guidance. And if it cultivates the willingness to be still, to listen, to pray, to take the time every day to liberate yourself from the bobbles of the world and to get to what's really important, which is your soul.
NGUYEN (voice-over): Reverend Beckwith admits he's no financial expert, just a man rooted in faith who enjoys spending time with his family. But when he does get back in the markets, he says he only wants to invest in socially-responsible companies.
BECKWITH: In terms of investing, I had to really think about the fact that, where do I want to put my money, because I don't believe in just making a profit. I believe in what is called noble profit. And that is the profit, not only has to support the business that it comes from but it also has to support the kind of world I want to live in.
NGUYEN: It's a noble plan, but is it sound investment advice or financial suicide? I took that question to CNN's chief financial correspondent, Ali Velshi.
ALI VELSHI, CNN CHIEF FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: The problem comes in when you're dealing with an environment where it's just about making money, where others are just investing for greed so they'll cut corners and you may get stuck with a lower return because you're investing in the type of company that's doing the right thing. It maybe best to try and do the right thing in other areas of your life, because when you're trying to invest, you can do better if you get the money that you need and then you got the money to make your own decisions about how you're going to do things.
NGUYEN: However, Natalie Pace has to side with Reverend Beckwith. She's the author of "Put Your Money Where Your Heart Is." We caught up with her with this economic forum in L.A. and asked her about socially-responsible investing.
NATALIE PACE, AUTHOR AND FINANCIAL ADVISER: It forces companies to evolve. So, ExxonMobil may be full of talent and infrastructure, and if we switch to electric cars, maybe they become the lithium ion battery makers. Who knows? But as you start forcing new products that really serve our world better, you don't lose all the talent, you don't lose all the infrastructure. You just get better products.
NGUYEN: And that's the kind of change Reverend Beckwith hopes his investments will make.
BECKWITH: I think it's a time for us to reassess our priorities as a nation, as a culture.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And, you know, Reverend Beckwith says when he does get back into the market, he's only looking to invest in, you know, those things that he calls noble initiatives whether it'd be green, sustainable energy or things along those lines. He calls it the next stage in our evolution as a species. So, he's really done a lot of thinking about this. It will be interesting, though, to see if that is actually profitable.
HOLMES: Does he have anymore visions about the housing market or anything he wants to pass along to us?
NGUYEN: I know. I'm going to have to ask him on that. A daily basis kind of thing.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Well, coming up, a procedure once thought impossible now doctors have revealed the new face of a patient who underwent a face transplant.
NGUYEN: Yes, have you seen this? Our chief medical correspondent, Dr. Sanjay Gupta, talks with her doctors. "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
