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CNN Saturday Morning News
Suspected U.S. Air Missile Strike in Pakistan; Gun Owners Fear Their Rights and Their Guns Could Be Taken Away; Interview With Bob Barker; What Are Recent Graduates Facing When They Enter the Workforce?
Aired May 16, 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: From the CNN Center, this is early CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Apparently.
HOLMES: Yes. But it's May 16th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: How are you doing, T.J.?
HOLMES: I am well, getting going with my Gatorade here. I don't do the coffee thing. So, it's not working yet.
NGUYEN: I know. I just got a little water. Kind of boring up here this morning, but the show is not.
Hello, everybody, I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 6:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 5:00 a.m. in Houston, 3:00 a.m. in Phoenix. Thanks for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: And we need to start with a developing story in Pakistan. Ten people at least that we know of dead in a -- this morning in a suspected U.S. missile air strike that hit a religious school. At the same time, thousands of civilians trying to run from that area as fighting continues between the government and Taliban forces. We will take you there live in just few minutes.
NGUYEN: Plus, more than 50,000 people convening in Phoenix this weekend. Why? Well, you're looking at it right there: guns. The politics and controversy surrounding the second amendment straight ahead.
HOLMES: All right, a lot of, also, game shows out there.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: But there's one host that everybody knows no matter what.
NGUYEN: That would be Mr. Bob Barker.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: But it's his famous last line that really sticks in people's mind. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BOB BARKER, TV GAME SHOW HOST: If I'm remembered at all in the years to come, they'll refer to me as that old man who was always talking about spay and neuter.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That is true. He always talked about it -- in fact, ended the show with it. So, I sat down with Bob Barker at his home in L.A., and you know what? Nothing is off limits. He talks about how Drew Carey is doing his old job, why there will never be another Mrs. Bob Barker and get this -- how he almost became a porn star. Yes, can you imagine that? Don't want to miss that.
But first, happening overnight, let's get to this. President Obama is offering a job to a man who could challenge him in 2012. Sources say he will name Utah governor Jon Huntsman as the Ambassador to China. Huntsman is a Republican who some believe could become a presidential candidate. He speaks Mandarin Chinese and adopted a daughter from China.
HOLMES: Also, President Obama's commencement speech tomorrow at Notre Dame's drawing more protest now. Anti-abortion groups are upset the Catholic university is giving the president an honorary degree. Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes and several others were arrested after going on campus yesterday to protest his speech.
NGUYEN: Well, here's something that you don't want to see. A wheel from the main landing gear of a Colgan Airlines plane came off as a plane was landing in Buffalo. That happened a little bit earlier this week, that fine (ph) Buffalo, New York, of course. Well, a spokesman for the airline blames a faulty wheel bearing, and this is the same type of plane involved in a fatal Colgan Airlines crash three months ago, also on approach to Buffalo.
HOLMES: All right, we will turn back to Pakistan now and that suspected U.S. missile strike that destroyed an Islamic school in northwest Pakistan, that just happened today.
NGUYEN: Yes, it did. A Pakistani intelligence official says at least 10 people were killed. The "Associated Press" reports two foreign militants were among those killed. And a strike in the village of the Mir Ali area -- the U.S. has carried out a number of missile attacks in Pakistan's border region over the past year. U.S. officials rarely confirm the attacks though, but say they have killed many al Qaeda commanders.
HOLMES: And this strike comes as Pakistan's army pushes its offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley. Now, many of the militants are trying to evade Pakistani soldiers by changing their appearance.
CNN's Ivan Watson is in the capital of Islamabad for us. Ivan, hello. We want to get to this U.S. air strike in a second. But tell us, there was just another blast we're hearing about and there may be some casualties as well in that one. Give us the update on this latest blast.
IVAN WATSON, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes, T.J., bad news in Pakistan. In the western city of Peshawar, a car bomb we're told that killed at least nine people that went off less than two hours ago and Pakistani police say it blew up next to a passing school bus. At least nine people killed, all civilians. And this is by my count the third major deadly car bomb in and around the city of Peshawar just this month.
So, that city is being hit hard by violence and it's hard to imagine it's not related to this Pakistani military offensive that is going on in the nearby Swat Valley -- T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, the latest -- one of the details we have also on this air strike, suspected U.S. air strike. What are the casualty updates there?
WATSON: Ten dead according to Pakistani intelligence sources, T.J., and these things are not telegraphed. We don't get official confirmation. We get some news from local law enforcement authorities on the ground. This was in north Waziristan. A missile hitting before dawn, targeting a madrassa, that's a religious school in that area.
By the CNN Islamabad Bureau's count, T.J., that brings it up to at least 16 suspected U.S. drone attacks in this area this year alone. The Obama administration has been stepping up these drone attacks against suspected al Qaeda and Taliban targets operating in that area. And they're very controversial here, T.J., because many Pakistanis say that's an invasion into Pakistani sovereignty, it puts the Pakistani government in a very difficult position with its alliance with the U.S. -- T.J.?
HOLMES: All right, and Ivan, one more thing here quickly for me if you can. We know that hundreds of thousands of people were fleeing that particular area of the Swat Valley, areas of northwest Pakistan where the Pakistani military was expected to launch a big offensive against the Taliban. What is the latest on that offensive? What should we be expecting to see in the coming days?
WATSON: Well, the Pakistani military formerly announced the launch of this offensive. It looks like they're trying to get their troops in position. There are clashes going on in and around that area. They've dropped in some troops by helicopter in an area where the Taliban are said to have had training camps.
And right now, it seems like the Pakistani military is just trying to allow civilians to flee that area so that they can possibly conduct urban warfare, especially in the town of Mingora with Taliban militants. And T.J., the figures are staggering for the civilians who fled the area. Probably more than one million people now in just under two weeks. That's an enormous, hard to imagine number of refugees that Pakistan now has to deal with -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, Ivan Watson for us in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad. Ivan, thank you so much. NGUYEN: Well, don't restrict the gun rights of law-abiding Americans because of weapons smuggling into Mexico. That is the message Senator John McCain delivered to the NRA Convention yesterday. The National Rifle Association Convention is taking place in Phoenix. McCain said limiting gun sales in the U.S. won't stop the illegal drug cartels from buying weapons from other countries.
HOLMES: And as you know, a lot of gun owners fear that Democratic president and Democratic Congress would infringe on their rights, try to take their guns away. So far, not the case.
NGUYEN: Yes. CNN's senior political analyst Bill Schneider has that part of the story for us.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WILLIAM SCHNEIDER, CNN SR. POLITICAL ANALYST (voice-over): Now that Democrats control Washington, you would think gun control advocates would be celebrating, but they're not.
DENNIS HENIGAN, BRADY CAMPAIGN TO PREVENT GUN VIOLENCE: I guess the right term is we're frustrated.
SCHNEIDER: Just this week, the Senate voted 67 to 29 to allow visitors to national parks to carry concealed weapons. In February, the new attorney general said ...
ERIC HOLDER, ATTORNEY GENERAL: There are just a few gun-related changes that we would like to make and among them would be to reinstitute the ban on the sale of assault weapons.
SCHNEIDER: The response?
WAYNE LAPIERRE, EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT, NRA: ...that 65 Democrats wrote Attorney General Holder after he said he wanted to send that phony assault weapons ban back up on Capitol Hill and said don't send this phony stuff up here. You ought to be enforcing the laws you have.
SCHNEIDER: Mr. Holder this week ...
HOLDER: We want to enforce the laws that we have on the books.
SCHNEIDER: Why isn't gun control advancing? The election rallied gun owners.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've seen an increase in gun sales. You know, actually, people in through the door, ticket sales at the gun shows since October, the beginning of October I think people saw the writing on the wall.
SCHNEIDER: Democrats have been making gains in a lot of conservative areas where gun owners are a powerful force to defend the second amendment.
LAPIERRE: They've proven over and over again election time, they'll go to the polls and defend it against politicians that try to take it away from them.
SCHNEIDER: What do Democratic legislators have to fear? Fear itself.
HENIGAN: It's all about generating fear among gun owners that somehow President Obama and the federal government are coming after their guns.
SCHNEIDER (on camera): The Democratic Party has been growing and when a party is growing, what does it need? A bigger tent.
Bill Schneider, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: OK, all right. Over here now, Karen Maginnis sitting in for Reynolds Wolf ...
KAREN MAGINNIS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Good morning.
HOLMES: ...this weekend. I was just saying to you -- of course I'm no meteorologist, but looking at that, it looks pretty serious, but maybe not as bad as it looks to the untrained eye.
MAGINNIS: Well, compared to what we've seen throughout the week where we had big thunderstorms and reports of tornadoes and funnel clouds, we aren't seeing that kind of activity right now. But what we are seeing is lots of heavy rainfall.
I want to show you an i-Report that our ace i-Reporter sent in. That would be Steve Wilson. He was driving around just to the west of St. Louis, Missouri. As he was doing that, they were seeing the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning and he took these amazing pictures that were found right along Wentzville. Wentzville they have a GM truck assembly plant there. Just so you know, it's also known as the crossroads of the nation.
Got another tower cam for you to show you out of Chicago. They are mostly cloudy right now and the temperature is 59 degrees there. They'll have about a 40 percent chance of a shower. Looks beautiful right now. But by this afternoon, those winds are going to be really picking up, maybe around 35 miles an hour.
(WEATHER REPORT)
MAGINNIS: T.J., back to you.
HOLMES: Weather-weary, no doubt about it. A lot of us are. But again, not as bad as it could be there.
Karen, we appreciate you.
MAGINNIS: All right.
HOLMES: We'll be checking in with you again.
MAGINNIS: See you in a little bit.
NGUYEN: All right, and coming up, I actually got to sit down with Grammy winner Usher. You know, he's not just a singer, he is a successful entrepreneur and part of a very impressive crowd.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Denzel, Bill Clinton.
USHER, SINGER: Yes. Denzel, Bill Clinton ...
NGUYEN: Shaq.
USHER: Shaq.
NGUYEN: Michael Jordan.
USHER: Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jordan, you know, Bill Cosby. All of them.
NGUYEN: That's a good crowd.
USHER: Yes, man, I mean it's a pretty cool company, right?
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes, not too bad. He's actually a Hall of Famer now and we're going to explain that to you.
HOLMES: Also, another person you talked to was Bob Barker. Kind of a strange little getting around you've been doing here, Bob Barker and Usher. But some interesting stuff. Everybody knows ...
NGUYEN: They're going to be in a new music video. You didn't know that?
HOLMES: Oh, I can't wait to see that.
NGUYEN: Can you imagine, right?
HOLMES: That's a hit right there. All right, but something -- a few things we didn't know about him.
NGUYEN: Oh yes. I sat down with this legendary talk show host and you got to take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKER: Ma'am, will you come right over here, please. I think ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) JOHNNY OLSON, THE PRICE IS RIGHT ANNOUNCER: Here's the star of the new Price Is Right, Bob Barker.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Yes. Many of you know Bob Barker from "The Price Is Right," but did you know he got a start on a show called "Truth or Consequences?" Barker has spent more than 50 years on television, and now, he's talking about his priceless memories in a new book.
Well, I sat down with him at his home in Los Angeles to find out how he got his start and you'll be interested to know that while the price was right, it could have been even better.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
BARKER: Mark Goodson who created "The Price Is Right" and had the famous mark the Goodson-Todman Productions. He saw me working on "Truth or Consequences" and he liked my work. And he told me that he would like to have me do the new "Price Is Right. I found out that Bud Grant, who was the head of daytime at CBS at that time had told Mark Goodson that if he could get Bob Barker to host "The Price Is Right," he'd buy the show.
NGUYEN: Really?
BARKER: Now, if I'd known that he had to have me in order to sell the show, he would have been even more generous than he was.
NGUYEN: You would have asked for a little bit more in that contract?
BARKER: Yes. I would have asked for the top dollar.
NGUYEN: You've been on "The Price Is Right" for 35 years. What is your fondest memory of a situation or a contestant from that show?
BARKER: In the 35 years that I did the show, and this happened probably in the tenth year or so, it probably was 25 years ago, there was a young lady in the audience in a tube top. And her name was called to be on the show. And she jumped to her feet and began jumping up and down and both of them came out of the tube top.
NGUYEN: No.
BARKER: She came on down and they came on out on CBS. And no one ever forgot it. And the funny thing is I didn't see it. I was behind the doors. She was one of the first four contestants. And they called four contestants down to contestants row and then introduced me. So, when I came out, the audience was screaming. They were just screaming. And I thought oh, they love me, they love me.
And then, I came to terms with the fact that nobody has ever loved me this much. And I turned to Johnny Olson and asked him Johnny, what is going on out here? He said, Bob, this girl has given her all for you. NGUYEN: Drew Carey, he's got some really big shoes to fill. What do you think of his job so far?
BARKER: Well, I met Drew before he did the first show. And he asked me, he said, do you have any advice? And I said I'll give you the same advice that Ralph Edwards gave me before I did "Truth or Consequence." Ralph had hosted "Truth or Consequence" himself on radio. Ralph told me, Bob, you go out there and you do this show the way you think it should be done. He said you do it your way. Don't imitate me, Ralph, or don't imitate anyone else. And that's what I told Drew.
ANNOUNCER: Bob Barker!
NGUYEN (voice-over): That advice worked for Bob Barker. He spent 50 years on television and won 19 emmys and today with his furry friend, Jesse, at his side, he's still on a mission to protect the animal population.
BARKER: Well, I think that if I'm remembered at all in the years to come, they'll refer to me as that old man who was always talking about spay and neuter. Wherever I go, people -- they'll say, I've had this dog spayed or neutered or Bob, this cat is spayed or neutered or whatever. And I think that's probably what I'll be remembered as the guru of spay and neuter.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Indeed he will. And his dog there, Jesse, I tell you, I don't know which one controls the other because all Jesse has to do is groan and Bob Barker is quick to pet her.
HOLMES: Awww.
NGUYEN: I mean, she doesn't mind interrupting an interview for it, in fact, and Bob was happy to oblige. But Barker does say proceeds from his book, "Priceless Memories" will go to the DJ&T Foundation, and what that does is helps lower the cost of spaying and neutering your pets. Barker has also set up endowments at several universities for the study of animal rights.
And of course, you can see more photos and untold stories on my blog. We haven't been talking about our blog very much. Well, we have one, folks, there it is. It's Newsroom.CNN.com. And you'll get some more behind the scenes stories. You'll also get some photos,as well, so you definitely want to go there.
HOLMES: What was that site again?
NGUYEN: Newsroom.CNN.blog -- something like that. We're still trying to figure it out.
HOLMES: That's why, yes. That's why we don't talk about it too much, we don't even know how to find it.
NGUYEN: Yes, but ... HOLMES: No, we're going to you that.
NGUYEN: ...you can find our Facebook pages.
HOLMES: We can find those, we can find those.
NGUYEN: You can find us on Twitter. And we do want to here from you today. Getting one right here from -- on my Facebook page from Hanna Chaldria (ph) talking about Bob Barker, saying "I watched Bob Barker since my childhood. I'm still missing him on "The Price Is Right."
But you know, Bob said Drew is doing a pretty good job and I don't think he's going to be going back any time soon. He's enjoying retirement.
HOLMES: Yes, and that show is not going anywhere. It's an institution now.
NGUYEN: It is.
HOLMES: It's probably -- anybody. And I don't want to say anybody could host that show, not at all.
NGUYEN: I mean, I know you watched it as a child, right?
HOLMES: I can't remember doing that. No, I didn't watch "The Price Is Right."
NGUYEN: I did. I loved the little yodeleho (ph) game. I don't know what's -- I think it's called the cliff-hanger or something. I don't know.
Anyways, coming up at 7:00 Eastern, Bob Barker, a porn star? Yes. Before "The Price Is Right" fame, Barker was offered a job in the porn industry.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKER: I really had to talk with him for a few minutes before I realized he was offering me a role in a pornographic movie.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Can you just imagine?
HOLMES: No, no.
NGUYEN: Maybe you don't want to. It's a job he clearly turned down, but the story that you don't want to miss.
HOLMES: Yes, we like to remember him a certain way, Betty.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: We don't want to imagine that. Also coming up here, what are recent graduates facing when they enter the workforce? Josh Levs tracking the train for us. Good morning.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning, guys.
OK, I know an easy way to get to the newsroom blog.
NGUYEN: OK.
LEVS: All you have to do: CNN.com/newsroom. Boom.
NGUYEN: Oh, perfect.
LEVS: All the confusing stuff just appears on its own once you do that.
NGUYEN: Got you.
LEVS: All right, now let's get over ...
HOLMES: Why don't we just do that?
NGUYEN: I know. We should have consulted you first.
LEVS: Sorry about that. Yes, I just discovered that yesterday.
All right, let's talk about this. This is crazy. You know, even with all the financial reporting we do, I was stunned by this. How many college students are graduating this year with no jobs in hand?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Usher for you this morning to get you started. My interview with him in about 30 minutes. You don't want to miss that.
HOLMES: That was one of his first hits, that might have been -- well, one of his biggest, certainly.
NGUYEN: Was the biggest, yes.
HOLMES: But yes, I remember him coming along as a baby face guy, though.
NGUYEN: Dropped his first album at 15. Can you imagine?
HOLMES: I think I had that album.
NGUYEN: I don't know what I was doing at 15. It definitely wasn't becoming a superstar.
HOLMES: Well, that's coming up, 30 minutes your interview with him. Stick around for that. Also, graduating from college with no job in hand. It happens all the time, but not quite like it's happening right now. NGUYEN: New numbers show just how few graduates do have jobs and which majors may be more promising. Our Josh Levs joins us with that. Now, this is good information. I know a lot of people listening very closely.
LEVS: Yes, you know, a lot of college students graduating this weekend, right.
NGUYEN: Yes.
LEVS: I mean, we're going to be talking about a big one and obviously throughout this month, we're finding hundreds of thousands of students around the country who are graduating. And I'll tell you, these numbers are amazing. It's a new survey. Let's get right to it.
I want you to see this graphic. What I'm doing is starting off with what it was like a couple of years ago. In 2007, of students who applied for jobs before graduation, half of them had gotten jobs. So, that wasn't so bad. It was pretty good in 2007.
Look at the numbers this year on the next graphic. I mean, this is just stunning. So, down from half to 20 percent. And this is a totally even comparison. We're talking about of students who pursued jobs, this is how many managed to get them. So, it went from half of them a couple years ago to only 20 percent this year, which is a massive drop.
And one more graphic just to show you here because I was curious how many are going to keep going to grad school and try to avoid the job market. But guys, that has pretty much stayed the same. So, one in four are going on to grad school. The rest are entering the job force. You still have all these -- the young people, Betty and T.J., who are going into the workforce and so many fewer have jobs. A lot more unemployed young people.
NGUYEN: All right, well, let's provide some kind of hope out there. What majors are doing the best?
LEVS: Right. Yes, you know this is interesting, too. This is from the same group. Let's go right to that graphic. It's accounting and engineering. In this economy, these people are more likely to have applied for jobs and more likely to have gotten jobs. I mean, salaries are pretty good. It's the last figure I have for you here on the last screen. Check that out.
If you're an engineer, average starting salary straight out of college $58,000. Better than I did straight out of college. And average accounting if you were an accounting major, $48,000 straight out of college. It's starting salary. And that's the average. So, you got plenty who are doing more than that.
So, if you're in one of those two, you're likely to be doing better overall, but most of them obviously, most young people graduating with no jobs, facing that tough market going out into the world hoping to get something. HOLMES: And we've been hearing from a lot of folks during the economic downturn about their survivor stories. I guess we're hearing from some young people, as well, some graduates out there.
LEVS: Yes, after this went up this week, we posted about it on Facebook. Let's zoom in for a second, I'll show you what some people are saying.
We got a question here on my page, Josh Levs CNN. I'll just give you an example here from Terry who wrote that Terry just graduated with a degree in finance, additional minor in economics. Usually, a pretty respectable combo to have. "Know what I can find? Nada."
And that's what we're hearing from a lot of people. So, I'll tell you, you know, the stories are really tough. Everyone's hoping for a turnaround. Right now, if you're brand new to the workforce with no experience, you're in a tough situation. Hopefully, you know, once things -- people get out there, move to some cities, they'll be able to find some work. But obviously, it's way tougher than it's been for years, guys.
HOLMES: You hear from so many students who say I'm just staying in school.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: Law school or grad school.
LEVS: It's all some can do.
HOLMES: Sometimes (ph) to just stick it out, wait it out. All right.
NGUYEN: And maybe that's what you have to do at this point in time, you know.
LEVS: Maybe.
NGUYEN: All right, thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: Well, we got a situation of he said, she said. Who's not telling the truth here? Nancy Pelosi perhaps the most powerful woman up there on Capitol Hill or is it the Head of the CIA?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Start the show like that every morning.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
HOLMES: We should get rid of that other music we use.
NGUYEN: Your playlist?
HOLMES: No.
NGUYEN: Because this is mine.
HOLMES: No, you know the ...
NGUYEN: Usher's on my play list.
HOLMES: ...the generic dun dun dun, that stuff is what I'm talking about.
NGUYEN: Oh, I see what you meant.
HOLMES: Let's go with some R&B every morning.
NGUYEN: It kind of gets you up in the morning.
All right, you know, welcome back, everybody. Hopefully, you're awake and enjoying the music. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all, I'm T.J. Holmes.
There's a reason we are playing Usher's "Confessions" this morning.
NGUYEN: Yes. The multi-Grammy winning singer, well, I sat down with him this week to talk about a lot of things, including being inducted into the Boys and Girls Club Hall of Fame. He also tried to teach me a little bit about tap dance.
HOLMES: OK, I got to see this.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: That's all you're going to give us. Come on, Usher. A little something, give me a little James Brown.
USHER: Why don't you give me something.
NGUYEN: What do you want?
USHER: I'm putting you on the spot.
NGUYEN: No! Wait. You can't put me on the spot. I'm not the icon.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: He tried. Actually, that's not the exact clip I was thinking about. But he did try to give me a lesson or two in tap dancing, of all things. But, obviously T.J., you know that's not my forte.
HOLMES: It is not your forte. I can't tell people what your forte is, however.
NGUYEN: Oh, there he goes. You don't really want to see it. Because it's not that great. All right. We'll move right along. Straight ahead we are going to be talking about this, in fact.
HOLMES: Ye, the survival of the fittest for General Motors dealers right now. GM announcing it will terminate contracts with 1,100 dealerships as the struggling automaker tries to return to profitability. And 40 percent of the company's dealers could ultimately be done away with; many of the dealerships notified yesterday were underperforming.
NGUYEN: Well, the rally on Wall Street is over, for now at least. Stocks fell Friday to close down for the week. The first weekly decline in all three major markets in 10 weeks. Yesterday's economic reports and the GM announcement cooled any investor enthusiasm.
HOLMES: The biggest and oldest newspaper in Tucson, Arizona, has just published it's very last print edition after the owner failed to find a buyer. It is the "Tucson Citizen". It will continue to run its Web site, but will only carry opinion and commentary. As of yesterday, 65 people were employed by that paper.
NGUYEN: We're seeing paper after paper fall because of the economy. Let's talk about this for just a second. The most powerful woman in Congress and the head of the CIA, they are arguing over who knew the whole story about questionable interrogation tactics.
HOLMES: It appears somebody here is not exactly being truthful. It's opening the door for attacks from Republicans. Our Tom Foreman, now, cuts through this back and forth.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TOM FOREMAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Someone is not telling the whole truth. But who? Trying to track that down starts with a briefing the CIA gave to Representative Pelosi in the fall of 2002. As a leader of the Intelligence Committee, she insists she was misled in that meeting. About when or even if harsh interrogation techniques were used against suspected terrorists including Al Qaeda leader Abu Zubaydah.
REP. NANCY PELOSI, (D-CA) SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: Those briefings made in September 2002 gave me inaccurate and incomplete information. The only mention of water boarding at that briefing was that it was not being employed.
FOREMAN: No way. That's the sentiment from President Obama's own CIA director and Pelosi's fellow California Democrat, Leon Panetta, in a note to his staff obtained by CNN.
"Let me be clear. It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. That's against our laws and our values. Our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully about the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing "the enhanced techniques that had been employed." Pelosi has admitted for the first time this week that she was told about the so-called torture techniques back in 2003 but said nothing because of secrecy rules. It is all feeding a Republican frenzy. They see Pelosi tarring Bush officials over the interrogations, but ducking her own responsibility. The latest to pile on, former Speaker Newt Gingrich, on ABC Radio.
NEWT GINGRICH, FMR. SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE: I think this is the most despicable, dishonest, and vicious political effort I have seen in my lifetime.
FOREMAN: At once, trying to do damage control and turn up the heat on others, the speaker issued a late statement saying in part in part, "My criticism of the manner in which the Bush administration did not appropriately inform Congress is separate from my respect for those in the intelligence community who work to keep our country safe."
(On camera): Still she remains caught between Republicans who are accusing her of hypocrisy and some of her own Democrats, who are wondering why, if Nancy Pelosi believed for six years that America was torturing prisoners she did not sound the alarm. Who's not telling the truth? We still don't know for sure but it feels like we're getting closer.
Tom Foreman, CNN, Washington.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. And please continue to chime in on this and other topics. Anything would you like to talk about. We're certainly asking you this morning about the situation with Nancy Pelosi and the CIA Director Leon Panetta. Who do you think is telling the truth on this? You can find us on Twitter. You can find us on Facebook, as well. Also at Weekends@ CNN.com.
NGUYEN: Already got a few comments this morning. Let's go to my Facebook page. Terrance says, "No, Nancy Pelosi is not being truthful about this."
But then you go to Daniel and he makes a really good point. "How can we know without the release of all relevant documents?"
Below that Robert says, "Yes, she's being truthful."
But, back to Daniel, I mean, that's the case here. But we have also learned that in those documents those notes weren't take he verbatim. So, how will you truly know if you don't have what exactly was said?
HOLMES: But she had back-to-back months of press conferences and releases and standing in front of that camera and saying two different things. She was so -- has she not been so adamant that she didn't know last month then maybe there's some wiggle room. But a lot of people saying there is not wiggle room now.
NGUYEN: Perhaps we'll get a little bit closer as we heard in that piece, as some more information is released.
HOLMES: Somebody is hiring out there in this economy. That is -- the president. He's hiring. And it appears that he may be trying to hire Utah's governor for an ambassadorship. So what makes this governor qualified? And who exactly is he? Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We are playing Usher, that song in particular, for our political guy. Mark Preston is a huge ...
NGUYEN: President of the fan club, in fact.
HOLMES: ...huge fan of Usher. You can see him there. He's smiling. He's loving it, right now. We're always just trying to make you happy. We always appreciate when you're on our show. When you're here, we want to make you happy.
Mark, good morning. How you doing?
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: Good morning, T.J. Hey, I'll tell you what, you have the hippest show right now on television. No question.
HOLMES: Thank you. You should come back more often. We're hip this morning because you're here, Mark.
We're talking about another hip guy, some would say, the governor out there in Utah. Jon Huntsman is his name. A Republican who endorsed John McCain for president, maybe working for this president, now offering him a job.
What is the job and why is he the guy for this job?
PRESTON: Well, T.J., what is that famous Chinese general that said keep your friends closer and your enemies closer. Jon Huntsman is a centrist Republican. He is a Western governor. He's on a lot of people's short list for a potential run in 2012 to challenge President Obama.
But what we've heard overnight is that, in fact, President Obama is going to nominate him to be the next ambassador to China. So, a very, very big job. We heard from the Obama administration officials right from the outset that they were going to bring Republicans into the Cabinet. And this looks like this is yet another example of them trying to reach across the aisle.
HOLMES: All right. Well, you talk about that aisle there. But politics has a role in everything out in Washington. Let us understand here. Some would say because he could be a challenger. You say, you should keep your enemies even closer, that maybe he's trying to take one of his enemies out of the fray, if you will, down the road. But also on the other side couldn't the governor now be getting this experience and trying to set himself up for that very run? PRESTON: Sure. There's going to be a lot of questioning about why the governor has decided to do this. Again, on a short list for a lot of Republicans to run for the Republican nomination in 2012.
But, you know, Governor Huntsman is a centrist Republican and right now we know GOP is going through this whole soul searching about what direction they want to go in. Centrist feel like they're alienated within the party. We've seen Arlen Specter, the senator from Pennsylvania who just switched his party affiliation recently to Democrat. Maybe Huntsman thought to himself that there wasn't a place for him in 2012.
You know, in any effect, he's going to be someone that President Obama can send to China. He has a lot of experience over there. He's served in two administrations already as U.S. deputy trade representative. He was also the ambassador to Singapore. You know, Huntsman is somebody that I think people keep a close eye on. I don't know if 2012 is on the table for him anymore, though.
HOLMES: All right. Mark, we appreciate it. We'll have you back plenty this morning, of course, to talk about a range of topics with the president. Mark Preston, always good to have you here with our show. Have a good one. We'll see you here, shortly.
PRESTON: Thanks, T.J.
NGUYEN: Heroic efforts by a veteran police officer and it is all caught on surveillance tape. You'll definitely want to check it out. We're going to find out what led to this dramatic moment.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: You have to see this story. In Buffalo, New York, a police officer is being credited with saving the life of a toddler who had an allergic reaction to medication and then stopped breathing.
HOLMES: Yes, let's show you this video now and explain to you what you're seeing here. It's kind of hard to make out in there. But this is the officer giving that baby CPR. You can see the tiny child there being held and the officer performing CPR.
The parents were rushing the child to the hospital -- ah, there he is -- when they spotted Officer Jose Vega and flagged down the officer for help. Listen now to Officer Vega.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OFC. JOSE VEGA, BUFFALO POLICE DEPT.: Every morning I wake up and pray that the Lord will make me an instrument at his disposal, and on this day my prayers were answered.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Vega is a 22-year veteran of the force. The baby, now in hospital, still in critical condition, but hopefully the child will be able to pull through. Certainly his actions helped out in getting the child this far.
NGUYEN: No doubt.
HOLMES: Well, another story that got a lot of reaction here about a young man who was getting what some say a second chance in life. He has a scholarship to the University of Tennessee to play football. Sounds great. So what's the problem here? Why are people upset? Well, this young man has a rape and kidnapping conviction on his record.
It happened when he was 13-years-old. But there is a whole lot more to the story than just that.
Get this, the victim gave him a recommendation to the school. Your comments on Facebook and Twitter. Chime in on this one. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Listen to this young man. He's a national honor student, high school player of the year, recently signed on to play football for his home state school, the University of Tennessee. Sounds like a storybook ending to this career for this young man. We have a little problem here. It is causing a lot of consternation for some folks because this young man was convicted for a role he played in a brutal rape when he was 13-years-old.
His name is Daniel Hood. He said his scholarship offers pretty much dried up when schools looked into his background. The new head coach at Tennessee, however, Lane Kiffin, opted to give him a chance. Also, the victim is giving him a chance. She wrote a letter to the school.
(BEGIN AUDIO CLIP)
"TIFFANY": I wanted to write that letter for him so, you know, he could do what he's always wanted to do. And that's why I done it. And you know, I'll never regret doing it.
(END AUDIO CLIP)
HOLMES: Again, that was from the victim in that rape. He was 13 at the time. She was 14. I spoke with Ashleigh Banfield of Tru TV's "In Session". Just talked to her about this case. Take a listen.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, TRU TV, "IN SESSION": People should know, first of all -- whether it matters or not it's something they should know -- that he was not the rapist. He stood by and didn't do anything about it in the room while this young woman was violated with a foreign object. Those are the facts of the case.
He was also treated as a juvenile at the age of 13. Like our last story. The kid was not treated as a juvenile at the age of 13. In this case he was treated as a juvenile. The other perpetrator was not and is serving 10 years.
You know, T.J., this is exactly the way our system of justice is supposed to work. We're supposed to be able to give people second chances if they can rehabilitate and do their time and become contrite, and become apologetic and try to make good. And this kid, by all accounts, has done all of the above.
How long do you want to punish a 13-year-old kid for making a terrible decision at the age of 13?
HOLMES: But you say that's how the justice system is supposed to work and in this case, it appears, maybe it did work. But how society is supposed to work? We can be forgiving but when people hear that this young man is getting this honor, this privilege, this money to get an education. And then they hear rape and they hear kidnapping. How forgiving are they going to be?
BANFIELD: Look, he did the crime, he did his time. He's making good. He earned -- he earned, what he's doing. He's not being given this because of the crime. There's a big difference. He earned this.
By all means I think the most important thing in all of this is that the victim has been consulted and has played a very big role in all of this. Not only has the victim come forth and give been her opinion, but the school actually sought out her opinion and met with her and cleared all of this. Everybody is kind of done the right thing here. I know it's not a popular thing that I'm saying right now but this is the way justice is supposed to work. We're supposed to fix criminals and not just punish them forever.
HOLMES: But the other young man in this case who is 17 who is actually the one who -- I guess, the guiltier party if you will. If that had been this young man -- you know, he was standing by but a lot of women's groups will say it doesn't really matter. A lot of victims groups will say it doesn't really matter. Can you be rehabilitated? He was in the room?
BANFIELD: I know. I got to be honest with you and think back to your teenage years, too. You were a different person at 13 than you were at 17, which is why our legal system has constructs that allow a 13-year-old to be treated as a juvenile, or an adult, and allow a 17- year-old the same privileges. It's all about facts in each individual case. In this case, personal opinion and the opinion of other legal experts here, this was treated appropriately. This young man did exactly what the system expected of him and he is -- he is actually reaping rewards from trying to turn his life around.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: All right. This got a lot of reaction, this story. A lot of people chiming. Let's go to two quick comments.
Jennifer Erland, one, on Twitter, says, "Convicted ballplayer may deserve second chance but doesn't deserve a free ride. It shows sports stars are valued over all else." And then, right below that another says, "Well, he deserves the scholarship. He earned it. He did something wrong in the past. He paid for that already."
So, by all accounts this young man has really lived an exemplary life since that incident, if you will. But still, just to hear -- extenuating circumstances.
NGUYEN: You really need that back story.
HOLMES: You need to know.
NGUYEN: Just to hear that he took part in a rape or was there during it makes it seem so much different than exactly how it played out in reality.
All right. We're getting your comments about House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, and how much she knew about water boarding and when. Also my interview with R&B superstar, Usher.
Five-time Grammy winner and entrepreneur, but he also cares about his community. We'll show you how he's giving back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: This week Grammy-winner Usher was inducted into the Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. I sat down with him to talk about the influence that club had on his life.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
USHER: It was actually like a rest haven, a rest haven for -- or a haven just for productivity. It was a place that was very compelling to do something. If you didn't like foosball, if you didn't like kickball, you would find it a way to make it to basketball, football, whatever it may be.
NGUYEN: Hey, you turned out pretty well, don't you think?
USHER: It actually managed to work out for me. But it did motivate me. That's what I think these clubs are really all about.
NGUYEN: Inducted into the Boys & Girls Club of America Hall of Fame. What does that mean to someone like you that's come so far?
USHER: I have to attribute a lot of my success to the fact I was motivated to do something positive, as a child, through the Boys & Girls Club in Chattanooga, Tennessee. But to now be recognized for it, you know, I have to thank my mother, one, for paying admission for me to be there.
But more than anything all of the counselors that I worked with, all of the people that I met. You know, it teaches you communication skills. Everything. It's just such a positive place to be. But now to be amongst all of the alumni, who have been elected to be in the hall of fame, it's like something to be proud of. NGUYEN: Denzel, Bill Clinton.
USHER: Yes, Denzel, Bill Clinton, Shaq, Jennifer Lopez, Michael Jordan, Bill Cosby, all of them.
NGUYEN: It's a good crowd.
USHER: Yeah, man, it's pretty cool company.
It takes a village to raise a child. My village happen to be the Harlan (ph) Place Boys Club. If they had not invested that time, if they had not made my life a priority, I wouldn't have known my way.
NGUYEN: You've done a lot. You lived a lot. You also decided to give back. You're using your power and your celebrity and all of the talents that are behind you to help something that really matters half a world away, and we're talking about the Nothing But Nets Campaign. It's the U.N. sponsored campaign. Talk to me about how you got involved in that.
USHER: Hearing about Nothing But Nets was something I felt like would really make a difference and allow our kids to identify on a global scale with service. I had actually recently visited the White House and met with the administration to talk about ways to be more effective globally. And malaria being an epidemic that is killing a child every 30 minutes, but there's a solution and Nothing But Nets has figured it out and the U.N. Foundation, I support them 100 percent and all of their efforts.
NGUYEN: The beauty of it is that solution is very simple if you can have that mosquito net to prevent malaria.
USHER: Simply by purchasing a net you can make a difference. Buy a net. You know, you can buy a net for $10, you save a life. Just think about that, $10 is all it takes to save a life. I think $12 is all it takes in order to join the Boys & Girls Club of America and some day be great and be iconic. So, think about it. Paying it forward.
NGUYEN: It's a small investment but a huge payoff.
USHER: It's a small investment, but a huge net profit at the end.
NGUYEN: Why is it so important for you to pay it forward?
USHER: I feel like we are blessed to be blessed, and as a way of giving back, someone else is in need of help. You have the time to offer service to them. We are a country. We are a unit. We are one. We have to help each other. You can truly make a difference through service, you know.
Rather it's making an investment or spending your time, it's all valuable. What it is, is raw power. Power to change. You can truly make a difference by simply engaging in life and engaging in service, and engaging by spending your hard earned money to save someone, to help someone else.
It makes you a better person. We all are humanitarians in some way, shape or form or fashion, because we're blessed to be blessings to each other. That's really a motto that works in life. It should make you feel great about being an American.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And the next hour we'll have more on Usher's business. He's an entrepreneur. He's got a cologne line. He's part owner of the Cavaliers, which he thinks by the way is going to take it as NBA champs.
HOLMES: A lot of people think that.
NGUYEN: We'll see how that goes. And you can read much more about my interview with him from behind the scenes as well. Just go to CNN.com/newsroom.
HOLMES: Well, that's cool to see. And those ads all up around town, those billboards.
NGUYEN: Be iconic.
HOLMES: And his baby picture up there.
NGUYEN: He looks the same, doesn't he?
HOLMES: I think he looks exactly -- a little baby fro. That's all right. But no, it's a great picture and those great ads around town.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: Good to see that. And good to see you all this morning. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for May 16. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Yes, good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 7:00 a.m. in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Chicago, 4:00 a.m. in Phoenix. We do want to thank you for starting your day with us. We also have a lot to tell you about. So, let's get right to it.
President Obama offering a job to a man who could challenge him in 2012. Sources say he will name Utah Governor Jon Huntsman as ambassador to China. Huntsman is a Republican who some believe could become a presidential candidate. He speaks Mandarin Chinese and adopted a daughter from China.
Well, President Obama's commencement speech tomorrow at the University of Notre Dame is drawing more protests. Anti-abortion groups are upset the Catholic university is giving Mr. Obama an honorary degree. Former Republican presidential candidate Alan Keyes and several others were arrested, in fact, after going on campus yesterday to protest the speech.
We also want to hear from you about that. What do you think about it? Go to our Facebook pages as well as Twitter.
And this: A U.S. missile strike is suspected in today's destruction of a religious school in northwest Pakistan. A Pakistani intelligence official says at least 10 people were killed in the village of Mir Ali. Now, this is believed to be the 16th such strike in Pakistan this year. The U.S. military doesn't comment on the strikes which usually target Taliban positions along the Afghan- Pakistani border.
HOLMES: Well, she says she didn't know about the so-called enhanced interrogation techniques under the Bush administration, but not everybody is buying that claim from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. And this week, the Democratic leader tried to clear the air.
Take a listen and you decide whether or not this cleared everything up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PELOSI: We are not using waterboarding. That's the only mention that they were not using it. And we now know that earlier they were. So, yes, I am saying that they are misleading -- that the CIA was misleading the Congress. And at the same time, the administration was misleading the Congress.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: OK. Let's bring back in our CNN political editor, Mark Preston.
Mark, I guess, if she wasn't so adamant last month in that other press conference that she was not told, did not know, then maybe this would be a little different. But, did she help herself with this press conference this week?
PRESTON: No. I mean, what a shaky -- really, what a shaky point for her this week, T.J., when she went out there and she really tried to explain herself what she knew and when she knew it. You know, and we've also found some new information as well. She said that she eventually did find out that waterboarding was being used. Something that we had not heard in the past when an aide told her five months after that initial briefing from the CIA.
Now, of course, we saw there, T.J., where she was critical of the CIA in that press conference. You know, in turn, the head of the CIA, Lon Panetta, put out a communication to his staff that said, "Look, let's turn down the volume. You're doing a good job. Don't worry about this." It forced Nancy Pelosi -- House Speaker Pelosi to come back and really draw back her comments a little bit and say she was not being critical of the CIA, she misspoke, in fact, she was being critical of the Bush administration.
HOLMES: OK. How bad of an idea was it to take on the CIA, despite whatever they may be doing, a lot of people do believe, at least, this is an agency with a lot of men and women dedicated to protecting this country? PRESTON: Yes. And I think that's it right there, especially when you come to the whole issue of the war on terror. You know, a lot of people realize that this is a very difficult situation. We don't really know who we're fighting, you know, day-to-day.
And then, of course, when you're working in the CIA and you're putting your lives on the line every day, I think that people understand that, and I think that's why she drew back her comments. She realized that she should not be criticizing those who are really on the front lines really trying to protect, you know, the nation from terrorists.
HOLMES: And the GOP now, they see blood in the water?
PRESTON: There's no question they see blood in the water at this point.
What they're saying is, how can Democrats go out publicly, T.J., and say, "Look, you know, what the Bush administration was doing with waterboarding was awful. They should have never done it. We can't believe it was done." And at the same time, Republicans are saying, "Look, Democrats are saying that they knew about it. Why didn't they speak up then?"
HOLMES: All right. Mark Preston for us. This one will not go away. But yes, that press conference yesterday or this week, it did not help this situation at all. Mark Preston, we're going to be talking to you plenty this morning. Always good to have you and good to have you back. We haven't had you here in a while. Thank you, buddy.
PRESTON: Thanks, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Betty?
NGUYEN: And we also want to hear from you about this. Who's telling the truth here? The CIA? Nancy Pelosi? We're asking your thoughts this morning. You can check us out on Facebook, Twitter or email us Weekends@CNN.com.
Let me take to you my Facebook page right now. And Jack says, "It seems like a lot of sidestepping and backtracking going on here. Is there any truth in Washington?" Well, it seems like that's what we're all trying to get to the bottom of.
So, let us know what you think about the whole situation. Who's telling the truth here?
Also, talking about this. Those looking to buy a house -- well, you might want to head for the auction block to get a good deal because there are some dos and don'ts though that you really need to be aware of before you put that money on the line.
HOLMES: Also, we have this coming up.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You own it, girlfriend. You own it. You own it.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Wow. One New Yorker making it her mission to whip you. All right. Not just get you into shape, she's trying to whip you into shape.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: A little "Price is Right" theme music for you this morning. We're going to show you the second part of my interview with Bob Barker coming up, including a job offer that could have made him a porn star. T.J.?
HOLMES: Betty, you got a Bob Barker music and Usher music playing in the same morning. You are something special.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: All right. Thank you, Betty.
All right. Well, you've seen all these ads in the paper and on the TV to buy foreclosed property. But if you want to cash in on a great deal, there's some stuff you need to be paying attention to. You can't just go out there and just start buying up a home. And we always put this up because I love the title of this book. We love it. Our housing expert Clyde Anderson, author of the book, "What Had Happened Was" -- he's here to walk us through some of these steps.
Before we get to some of those steps, first of all, we talked about this last week.
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCE EXPERT: Right.
HOLMES: The foreclosures being bought up that's kind of helping us come out. That might be the first thing that helps us come out of this housing bust, if you will.
ANDERSON: Exactly. That's what's moving right now, the foreclosures. And so, it's a great time to buy foreclosures and it's good to know what you're looking for and take advantage of it.
HOLMES: OK. How can people go about this? And we do have some tips we're going to put up here on the screen and walk some folks through it. But how do you, I guess, go about finding a home? Here it is. Buying at an auction -- some of the things we do need to know.
Of course, research the property. So, you need to go in prepared. ANDERSON: You got to be prepared. Do your homework. Find out the shape of the property. And it's hard because a lot of times you can't get into the property. So, you're going to have to look around. Look at comparable sales in the neighborhood. Find out the condition of the property. But still, you could get some surprises once you purchase it.
HOLMES: And another one we have here is determine the bid price. How -- I guess, that might be one of the trickiest parts there.
ANDERSON: Right. You got to know, get an idea of what the house is going to go for -- where the starting price is going to be. And a lot of times, banks are going to jack up that price just a little bit in order to have that room to negotiate and come down. So, you really want to know what the price is going to start at.
HOLMES: And do banks often -- do they ever put any feelers out there to jack those prices up?
ANDERSON: Oh, yes.
HOLMES: So, you got to be aware of that.
ANDERSON: You got to be aware of it. Now, you know, I can't prove it.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: And that's the key, you know? But -- I think, a lot of times, the bank wants to get top dollar for this property.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: They really want to get their money back; they want to make some money still. So, they're going to put people out there that are going to kind of -- you know, like in any auction. They're going to bump it up.
HOLMES: All right. Let's go show a few more tips here. We're talking about some pros and cons here -- I guess, the upside and downside of buying a home at auction. I guess, some of the obvious pros are you get a good discount.
ANDERSON: Great discount. Most times, you can get up to 45 percent discount when you buy in this.
HOLMES: Wow.
ANDERSON: So, that's a huge savings, you know, to go in and buy a property. At 45 percent off, you can't really beat that. So, this is where the most value is going to come in, but also is the most riskiest. So, you know, more risk, more reward.
HOLMES: Do a lot of people -- or are we finding people are buying these homes because they want to live in them or is it, mostly, people want these for investment opportunities? ANDERSON: I think it's a combination. And that's what you have to decide when you go to the auction. You know, are you an investor? Do you want to be landlord? Or are you really looking to buy this house to move in as your primary residence?
And so, I think you're going to see a combination of both. A lot of investors are out there. When you go into these auctions, you got to be real savvy because these investors are out here really taking advantage, and they came to play and they came to play hard.
HOLMES: All right. And we're looking at some of the downsides to buying at auction here, which -- I'm going to point out this last one here says the balance may be due quickly if you're paying a percentage of it.
ANDERSON: When you go into the auction, most of the times you want to deal in cash, you know, certified checks. So, you're going in and you're ready to pay the price of the property.
HOLMES: All right. Let's go to pros and cons here -- and this is for folks who are buying homes in more traditional ways, I guess, from -- if you're buying from an owner or also buying from a real estate, but you're buying from an owner, some things you have to do as well. This is not like going through a real estate agent -- where you might be a little more comfortable buying from an owner. Some of the things here you need to look out for.
ANDERSON: You really do -- you really got to check the property. I mean, that's key. You're going in and buying the property, sometimes site unseen. And you got to know, you got to have the reserves available to go in and do the necessary repairs, too. So, it's not just about being able to purchase the house, it's being able to maintain the house or get the house back up to a standard that's, you know, capable to live in.
HOLMES: All right. A lot of stuff we kind of throwing at our folks this morning. But it's good information. Certainly, we hear about these auctions and foreclosures all the time.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: And a lot of people -- I talk to folks who want to get in on it and don't exactly know how to do it. But glad you could get you on to talk about some of this stuff.
ANDERSON: My pleasure, T.J.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Author of the book, "What Had Happened Was" -- good to have you here as always.
ANDERSON: Always a pleasure.
HOLMES: All right. Betty, I hand it back over to you.
NGUYEN: OK. You know, the American population is changing fast and reaching a turning point. Our Josh Levs has that.
Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Hi, Betty. You know, some minorities in America were looking at that today how big are the different minority groups, and how close are we to the day that most children in this country will be considered minorities? Actually, very, very close.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) the song, isn't it?
HOLMES: Yes. How does that one go?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: We can't say that in this show.
HOLMES: We can't tell you.
NGUYEN: All right. Coming up, though, figures from the Census Bureau -- well, they paint a new picture of America.
HOLMES: Yes. The country is becoming more diverse and it's reaching a tipping point among children. Josh Levs here to explain.
Good morning.
LEVS: Guys, I'm trying to find a way to play off that music and I got nothing.
NGUYEN: Yes. Neither did we. Can you tell?
(LAUGHTER)
LEVS: (INAUDIBLE) for a little while.
Let's check this out. I mean, by the way, U.S. population, it's pretty cool. You can follow it right here, Census.gov, 306 million. Well, it came out this week that's interesting is this whole new picture, as I was just saying, of what the country looks like.
Let's go straight to this graphic. One-third of the country is now considered minority. Thirty-four percent of this country is considered minority, which crossed over that 1/3 mark this decade.
The next graphic -- this is how the groups break down. You got 15 percent of the U.S. that's Hispanic, 14 percent that's considered black or African-American, and five percent that's Asian. So, right there, is 34 percent, pretty much the minorities in America.
And one more key factor here. And that's the kids. And this is where you get to the turning point in this country. Right now, under the age of five, basically half, 47 percent of children under age five are considered minorities and minority groups are growing -- which means, at this rate pretty soon, more than half of the kids in America will be considered minorities. Interesting stuff.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. And I know you have some interactive maps that show exactly what's happening in each state.
LEVS: Yes, this is pretty cool. We set this up at CNNMoney.com. And I like it because while you're here, you can get a sense of what your state is like. Red is the overall population, the more red, the more people in your state. But if you click over here on nonwhite population, the more blue it is, the more minority populations.
Now, it's not shocking to see California or Hawaii and Pacific Islanders are considered minorities, Texas. But, what you can see is wherever you are in this country, approximately, relative to other states, how many people considered minorities live in your state there. And you can always get lots more information here at CNNMoney.com. It gives you the whole breakdown, guys.
NGUYEN: All right. We appreciate it. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks.
HOLMES: Well, thank you, Josh.
Well, bathing suit season. Wow. It's almost here. And one New Yorker is making it her mission to whip you into shape.
NGUYEN: Yes. Here is Melissa Long in this week's "How We Got Started."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three.
MELISSA LONG, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): This is no ordinary workout.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Why are we working? Come on, guys.
LONG: It's pure power boot camp where civilians train military- style, fatigues and all. The founder, Lauren Brenner, used to wear high heels to work instead of combat boots.
LAUREN BRENNER, FOUNDER/DIRECTOR: I was a trader on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. And I really wanted to leave Wall Street and combine my three passions of sports, entertainment, business.
LONG: After witnessing the events of 9/11, the life-long fitness buff decided to leave her lucrative career behind to fulfill her dreams.
BRENNER: I wanted to have some impact on someone's life in as positive way. I wanted to feel good about getting up every day.
LONG: After a few years and scaling a few walls, Lauren opened her indoor military-style obstacle course in a New York City loft.
BRENNER: Go get them, (INAUDIBLE), go get them.
They think (ph) I was crazy. There was not a question in my head I had to make it work. I have to prove to everybody, I have to prove to myself.
LONG: Last year, Lauren opened a second location in Long Island.
BRENNER: When you walk in the door, you forget about relationship problems, your work problems, your money problems. They're not going to go away, but for one hour, you're here. And at the end of the day, you're going to feel better about your life if you feel better about yourself.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One, two, three!
(CROWD CHEERS)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: All right. So, most of us know Bob Barker from "The Price is Right," right?
HOLMES: Of course.
NGUYEN: But his career could have taken a whole different turn -- let me tell you about that -- and some other great moments from "The Price is Right."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP, FROM CBS TV DISTRIBUTION)
BOB BARKER, "THE PRICE IS RIGHT" HOST: Congratulations! Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKER: And I don't think they heard your first words. What did you say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said I want to kiss you.
BARKER: My dear, that can be -- yes, arranged.
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERS)
BARKER: She has -- there's no sense in fooling around with a little peck on the cheek here, darling. Now, what did you say?
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I said I don't even care if I win. BARKER: Let's forget about this. Let's get up here, darling.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Wow. OK. So when you think of Bob Barker, you think of "The Price is Right," not Bob Barker the porn star. Yes, that was one of the first job offers Barker got when he moved to Hollywood as a young man. And it's all spelled out in his new book "Priceless Memories." I recently sat down with him at his home in Los Angeles to find out what exactly led to that job offer.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: So, is it true that you were once offered the opportunity to be a porn star?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: What is that all about?
BARKER: Oh, what happened was this. I worked for a year in Palm Beach, Florida, before I came to California. I worked in a radio station there. And I also did some modeling.
And there was a New York photographer who came down there to shoot and I worked for him. And I told him that my wife and I were coming to California. And he said, "Well, while you're trying to break in radio," he said, "Maybe you could do some modeling." He said, "I'll give you a card here." And he gave me a card of a photographer in Hollywood "who might be able to use you."
So, I went down on Santa Monica Boulevard. And this fellow did this so diplomatically and so gently that I really had to talk with him for a few minutes before I realized he was offering me a role in a pornographic movie.
(LAUGHTER)
BARKER: When it finally got through to me, I said, "Mister, this is not for me." And I headed for home. But I was laughing because I couldn't wait to tell Dorothy Jo, my wife.
NGUYEN: And how did your wife react to that?
BARKER: So, I came in and I said, "Honey, I've been offered a role in a pornographic movie." And she just looked at me straight face and said, "Did you take it?"
(LAUGHTER)
BARKER: If there had been an audition, I would never been offered the role.
NGUYEN: Oh.
(LAUGHTER) NGUYEN: Let me ask but Dorothy Jo. Tell us a little bit about the love of your life, how you met her and how you just had this wonderful relationship for so long.
BARKER: Our first date was November 17th, 1939. And you know where we went? We went to an Ella Fitzgerald concert.
NGUYEN: Wow.
BARKER: Now, how is that for a first date at 15 years of age? And we were never apart after that. She and I fell in love. And we went through the rest of high school together.
Then I went into -- we went to college together for two years and then I went into the Navy. And I was a naval aviation cadet, but when I graduated and got my wings and became an officer, we were married that quickly. And that's how it all started for us. We were together all of her life.
NGUYEN: And she passed away in 1981. You never remarried since then.
BARKER: October 19th, 1981. No, I never remarried.
NGUYEN: Ever thought about it?
BARKER: No. I really haven't. I've known some lovely ladies but Dorothy -- she was Mrs. Bob Barker. And to me, she always has been and always will be.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: But I love what he said when he came home with that job offer his wife said, "Well, did you take it?"
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Hey.
NGUYEN: Your answer to that was -- the price is not right for that one. And obviously, it led to actually -- because he didn't take it, it led to a better and bigger career for him.
You know, coming up in the 8:00 hour, did you know Bob Barker almost got his black belt in martial arts? And his trainer? None other than Chuck Norris. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARKER: I was so impressed that I asked him if he would give me lessons. So he came over and we started working right out there in the lawn but I eventually had my garage all padded and had mirrors put in and it became a karate studio and we worked out there. And I worked with Chuck for eight years.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: For more stories about my interview with Bob Barker, just check out our blog. Newsroom.com -- actually, what is it, CNN -- we don't even know this.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: CNN.com/Newsroom. This blog is kind of new to us, folks. But you have behind the scenes information there. You've also got some pictures and all of that good stuff. You don't want to miss it.
HOLMES: OK. We're going to get this right.
NGUYEN: CNN.com/Newsroom.
HOLMES: OK. We were just handling the Facebook and Twitter thing, if they want to hit us for something else.
NGUYEN: And then MySpace and Weekends@CNN.com. Yes. It's enough to get you confused.
HOLMES: All right. But, Bob Barker, again that's something a lot of people didn't know about him.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: A lot of interesting background from his book. And I was talking earlier about "The Price is Right." I mean, I'd seen it before. But I didn't necessarily come up with it (ph) and wasn't a regular viewer of the show. And someone on my Twitter page here told me, that "Hey, you've never watched "The Price is Right." That is so un-American."
NGUYEN: Oh.
HOLMES: My bad.
NGUYEN: Well, my -- on my Facebook page, we've got Nismo (ph) who says, "Laugh out loud, Bob Barker in a porn movie? I'm sure the price won't be right." Yes, it apparently was not.
But do send us your thoughts. We've got a lot on Facebook and Twitter today, talking not only about this but my interview with Usher.
Also, the situation at Notre Dame University. You know, President Obama is speaking there this weekend. There's going to be some anti-abortion protesters out as well. What do you think about him speaking there? Got a -- some other politics on the pages.
HOLMES: Also, of course, the big story with Nancy Pelosi -- everybody trying to figure out who said what -- well, actually, who knew what and when did they know it about Pelosi.
NGUYEN: Exactly. HOLMES: So, chime in on that as well. A bunch of topics, hit us up at Twitter, Facebook, also, Weekends@CNN.com. We'll have you part of our discussion this weekend.
But for now, Betty and I are going to hand it over to the good doctor, Sanjay Gupta. He's going to breaking down health care reform in today's "HOUSE CALL" and getting a look at how to get affordable medical treatment if you have pre-existing condition.
