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CNN Saturday Morning News
Pakistani Forces Recapture City from the Taliban; Magna International Taking Over Opel Brand; Barack Obama Pushing for Sonia Sotomayor in Radio Address; Same-Sex Marriage Debate Continues
Aired May 30, 2009 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is Saturday, May 30th. Good morning, everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Thus since the name.
NGUYEN: Right.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes. It's 8 o'clock here in Atlanta, Georgia; 7:00 a.m. in Chicago, Illinois; 5:00 a.m. out in Seattle. Wherever you may be -- thank you for being here.
A Canadian company has announced it's going to purchase Opel. You might be thinking what in the world is that? It's important because that's a brand that's run by GM over in Europe. So given that we're expecting possibly GM to file bankruptcy on Monday, this is a big deal. The German chancellor weighed in on this just a short time ago, announced that she spoke with President Obama during the negotiations. We got the full report coming up.
NGUYEN: Also, we are talking to a Michigan mayor who is proposing that the GM plant move to his town. Yes, he wants to move GM from Detroit to Warren, Michigan. Is that a good idea? Well, we're going to hear from Mayor Jim Fouts about his plan in just a few moments.
HOLMES: He has a heck of a sales pitch. Look forward to talking with him.
Breaking news to tell you about this morning. In Pakistan after some fierce fighting for about a month that raged from street to street literally, Pakistani forces say they have reclaimed several areas of the city of Mingora from the Taliban. Mingora the largest city in Pakistan's Swat Valley, that disputed area.
According to the U.N., more than two million people have fled that area from the violence, many of them holed up in refugee camps. CNN international correspondent Dan Rivers live in Islamabad for us this morning. Dan, tell us what's been happening there, tell us the latest and the importance of this city.
DAN RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, the Pakistan army is describing this, T.J., as a great achievement. They just held a press conference with the army spokesman General Abat (ph) who has said that as you confirmed that the strategically important town of Mingora is basically under army control now. They say that they have found several caches of arms and ammunitions. They defused six IUDs as they were securing the city today, that 25 militant suspects have been killed in the last 24 hours including men they suspect of being commanders.
We're being told that a team of 21 doctors are now in the city, that gas has been restored but mobile generators are being sent out into the streets there because they think it's going to take perhaps two weeks to restore the city's regular electricity supply. Meanwhile, in another place in Quazicala (ph), a huge effort under way to try and feed 40,000 people displaced just in that one location. We're being told by the army that 25 tons of food have been sent in there as well.
So basically the army is saying they captured this place. They kicked the Taliban out. It's crucially important but it's going to be a while before things get back to normal. It's going to be a long while before citizens, as you say, more than two million people who fled that area because of the fighting are going to be able to go back home.
HOLMES: All right, Dan Rivers for us this morning in Islamabad. We appreciate you.
NGUYEN: I want to turn now to General Motors. GM's board meets again today with Monday's bankruptcy deadline looming. That deadline was set by President Barack Obama. Kate Bolduan joins us now live from the White House with the latest on this. We understand talks have been going on overnight into today. Have you heard anything new?
KATE BOLDUAN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey there, Betty.
We know that the president has said more than once and the press secretary repeated yesterday, that the White House and President Obama are not interested in owning or being the heads of auto companies. We'll soon find out exactly what that means in terms of general struggling to General Motors.
Two interesting developments that are coming, that the White House is definitely keeping an eye on. The negotiations and the agreement of the UAW, United Auto Workers union, agreeing to a package of concessions Friday that basically is intended to kind of cut labor costs for the auto maker and then, as you talked about, the news with Opel brand coming out, the Canadian auto parts maker Magna International is moving ahead with taking over the Opel brand, which is a large part of GM's European operation.
The White House, as I said, is clearly watching these developments and the negotiations that are ongoing at the same time they're being very careful in characterizing the state of the talks as everyone is expecting a bankruptcy filing come Monday.
Listen here to press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ROBERT GIBBS, WHITE HOUSE PRESS SECRETARY: I know the president is encouraged that whatever happens at the deadline, the progress is being made to restructure General Motors and put it on a path, as I've said, to being a viable auto company. We have seen encouraging signs and what happens in the next few days, the president obviously will certainly watch and will have something to say about it next week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: And also next week, the Obama administration officials are fanning out in the Midwest, hitting states like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana, Wisconsin, all states that are affected by GM's troubles and the White House has been describing it as a way for the administration to talk to these affected communities about what the government in light of the possible developments coming early next week, they're trying to do to cut through the red tape and help these communities revitalize and survive as the restructuring happens.
NGUYEN: Let's break it down like this, because once everything is settled and government will own, what, more than 70 percent of GM, yet the administration says it will be a silent partner. Is that realistic?
BOLDUAN: I think it depends on which way you look at it. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs was asked about this yesterday and he said in his words, he said there's going to be a clear delineation of roles, that the board and the chairman of the company will be handling the day-to-day operations.
But he said at the same time with such a large investment of U.S. taxpayer dollars, the government has a responsibility to make sure that the decisions that come out of what the board is doing are the correct steps, as he says, towards restructuring and making sure that they are on a path to viability as we've been talking about. So I think it's hard to say that they're going to be a completely silent partner in this because they say they have a responsibility to make sure the taxpayer dollars are well used.
NGUYEN: Especially when you have a 70 percent stake in the company. All right, Kate Bolduan, thanks so much for that. Tonight CNN's Ali Velshi and Christine Romans explore the fall of the American auto industry and where it might go from here. How the wheels came off, the rise and fall of the American auto industry runs tonight 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
President Obama says that he is certain he made the right choice.
HOLMES: He's talking about his Supreme Court pick in his weekly Internet and radio address released this morning. The president called for swift Senate confirmation for his Supreme Court nominee, Sonia Sotomayor. The president said pointing to Sotomayor's 17 years of experience as a Federal judge as one reason he picked her.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP) BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: She was appointed to the U.S. district court serving six years as a trial judge where she presided over hundreds of cases. Most recently she has spent 11 years on the U.S. court of appeals, our nation's second highest court grappling with some of the most difficult constitutional and legal issues we face as a nation. She has more experience on the Federal bench than any incoming Supreme Court justice in the past 100 years. Quite simply, Judge Sotomayor has a deep familiarity with our judicial system from almost every angle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Judge Sotomayor still has a lot of work to do to get to the high court. Next week she'll do a meet and greet on Capitol Hill to win over some of her skeptics, possibly.
CNN's radio's congressional correspondent Lisa Desjardins joins us now from Washington. Good morning to you once again. Now before the fight even starts over the judge, some fighting is starting over the time line for her confirmation hearing. Explain this, please.
LISA DESJARDINS, CNN RADIO CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: This is absolutely the initial skirmish that will only (ph) be clarified on Capitol Hill right now, when will the Senate vote on her confirmation? Let's take a look at some calendars to go through this debate.
First, let's look at when President Obama wants her confirmed, by the end of July. Now the reason he wants that date, let's look at August. What happens in August? Well, that is when the Senate is gone on recess. President Obama doesn't want to waste that time. He wants her in place so she can be preparing for the court.
Now Republicans, they say they need August so they want her to be confirmed in September. So a difference of two months here. Now all of this is very important because of what happens in October. Now on the very first Monday in October, October 5th, that's when the Supreme Court comes into session. Everyone pretty much agrees they want a confirmation by then. The difference is do you do it in July as the president wants or September as the Republicans hope?
HOLMES: Yeah, getting into September, that's kind of cutting it close for the court's new session to start up in the fall. We're talking about and we'll be seeing a lot of names, a lot of faces during these confirmation hearings. Which of the senators really are going to be running things up there on Capitol Hill?
DESJARDINS: Let's break down the big dogs when it comes down to this. Look at four key players here. We've got two Democrats, Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont. He's the chairman of the Judiciary Committee. He is the man that will set the calendar. He's the one who will say when hearings happen and pretty much help determine when a vote happens. Watch for that information in the next week.
Now Chuck Schumer of New York, a lot of people familiar with him, he is the so-called Sherpa, the one who will be guiding Sonia Sotomayor through the process, trying to wrangle as much support as he can.
Now two Republicans to watch, John Cornyn of Texas and Jeff Sessions of Alabama. Those two sit on the Judiciary Committee. Both of them say that their vote is up for grabs right now but they have big doubts about Sotomayor especially on affirmative action and some of her comments, but if Democrats could get either one of them to support her, it would be a huge coup.
HOLMES: You talk about doubts over some of her comments. One that has come to the forefront at least is the one she made out at UCAL-Berkeley, a comment saying essentially that a Latina woman with the richness of her experiences, there it is, You can read the verbatim there, richness of her experience would make a better conclusion, come to a better conclusion than a white male.
Flat out, some have called that a racist comment if you would essentially invert it and put a white man would make a better decision than a Latina woman. This would be a whole different conversation. Is this, does this seem to be the theme that her critics are going to hone in on?
DESJARDINS: You bring up race these days, it is always a hot potato and no doubt it is here. In fact, the White House just in the last day, both the president and his press secretary have backed off these comments and said, well, she would have chosen other words. The key question is, will it matter on Capitol Hill? We'll certainly hear about it. Will it matter?
Here is what Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, also on the Judiciary Committee, a Republican, said when he was asked about this. Roll the tape.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF BLITZER, CNN ANCHOR: Do you agree with Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker, she's a racist?
SEN. ORRIN HATCH (R) UTAH: No, I don't agree with that. And, frankly, I think it's a little premature and early because she hasn't had a chance to explain some of these comments that she's made.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DESJARDINS: Here's the game, T.J. Republicans so far are playing hands-off but they want more time on the clock in case something else does come up and in case perhaps opposition grows. They want to use that time in case there's a way that they can maybe go up against this nomination. So far they don't see that opening yet.
HOLMES: Lisa Desjardins, again CNN Radio's congressional correspondent, thank you so much this morning.
DESJARDINS: Sure thing.
NGUYEN: There's some severe weather moving across parts of the Midwest this morning and Reynolds Wolf will let you know if you are in the path of those storms.
HOLMES: Also later this morning, General Motors on the verge of bankruptcy and one mayor says relocating the headquarters from Detroit to his small town is the solution and he's willing to pay for it. His plans, we'll have him here live with the (INAUDIBLE) Also take a look.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, a major decision in California this week to tell you about with the state supreme court leaving in place a same-sex marriage ban. But the debate is not over. Right now at least two other states are considering legalizing same-sex marriages.
Our Josh Levs has a way that you can keep up with all of these changes.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The events in California certainly are a reminder how quickly laws about same-sex marriage can change all over the country and we now have an interactive way that you can follow those changing laws in literally any state.
Let's zoom in on the board. I want to show you a spread that's been set up here at cnn.com. It's an interactive map and you can click on any state and see what the laws are. This continues to be updated as the laws change. You got over here in the northeast section, you got New York, Maine. And you can click on literally any state.
Now while we're here, take a look at this. You can see the vast majority of states in the country do not recognize same sex unions. When you also look at this map it's a reminder of why Iowa was so significant, over here when Iowa made the decision to start allowing same-sex marriage, on this one issue, it kind of punctured this whole section of the United States. It's interest to see.
Now another thing we're getting a lot of is a lot of your I- reports at ireport.com. We've been asking about this issue a good deal lately. You can see lots and lots of them coming in. Let's take a look at one I-report we got from a rally.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We are prepared to go back to the ballot and earn the support of our fellow citizens that we can have full equality.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I'm heterosexual so I feel like everyone should get the chance to marry.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: And we're hearing from I-reporters who oppose same-sex marriage. Take a look (INAUDIBLE)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You can get married in your own church, make up a church. I do believe in civil unions though so you get all your rights, your health care benefits, your visitation rights and all that stuff. No marriage.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: No matter where you stand on this, we encourage you to join the conversation at ireport.com and while you're online, check out cnn.com as well. Check out the interactive map we were showing you. You can learn what the laws are in your state.
Back to you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: You can learn where the severe weather is in your state. Reynolds Wolf is joining us with a look at that. Hey, Reynolds.
(WEATHER REPORT)
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: If you're thinking about something to do this weekend, you happen to be in parts of the northeast, you've never been to Massachusetts or Boston, try Harvard Square in Cambridge. It offers a very unique and historical walk through time and you're likely to find a few surprises, too.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: Four subway stops from downtown Boston is the heart of Harvard Square.
SARAH KANTHOWITZ, TRAVEL + LEISURE: Harvard Square was founded in 1630 as the town of new town. Since then it's become the center of life for students at Harvard University.
WOLF: Visitors window-shop, catch up on the news or even play chess.
KANTHOWITZ: There's plenty of areas to just relax and enjoy the campus.
WOLF: Just a short walk across the university campus known as Harvard Yard is the Harvard Museum of Natural History.
KANTHOWITZ: Don't miss the (INAUDIBLE) collection of glass model plants. (INAUDIBLE) and his son designed over 3,000 glass plants made of 830 different species.
WOLF: The museum is also home to some very surprising exhibits including the world's largest egg from the now extinct elephant bird. Back on the square, restaurants offer a true taste of Boston.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You haven't been to Boston, you haven't been to Cambridge unless you have been here. We are Harvard Square. (END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: 5.7 million people have lost their jobs since the recession began in September of 2007. That's forced them to acquire some new skills, even re-invent themselves in this changing economy.
NGUYEN: Absolutely and this holds true for those in just about any profession. I recently sat down with a well-known brother and sister team that's faced many challenges both on stage and off, yet the Osmonds have seemed to find a way to stay on top.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Both of you have been at this for decades, I mean (INAUDIBLE) but you're still going strong. What's the key to staying power?
DONNY OSMOND, ENTERTAINER: Vitamins? I don't know, just tenacity I guess, just keep persevering and believing in yourself, because there's a lot of people out there that will throw darts and say you can't, you can't, you can't until you can and they say we told you you could. I love that.
NGUYEN: It's been nearly 30 years since the Osmonds last performed in Vegas and now they're back on stage at the Flamingo.
D. OSMOND: I think it's refreshing for the audience to see how much energy we put out on stage as well.
NGUYEN: Speaking of energy, I hear there is a dance off in the show. What is that all about?
D. OSMOND: We play on the fact that Marie was on "Dancing With the Stars" and that she thinks she's a better dancer than I am. She's not.
NGUYEN: Are you sure?
D. OSMOND: Yes, she's not.
NGUYEN: OK, but Marie is in heels. Let's not forget that.
MARIE OSMOND: When a man can wear five-inch heels and kick his leg over his head and do 15 spins to a death drop, then we'll call it even.
D. OSMOND: You haven't seen me do that?
M. OSMOND: And split.
D. OSMOND: I've done that.
NGUYEN: No doubt this brother and sister team has done a lot, but it hasn't always been easy growing up in show business. It's also documented that you struggled with bulimia. Is it true though that producers of "The Donnie and Marie Show" kind of aided in that?
M. OSMOND: There isn't anybody in show business who doesn't struggle with image issues. At that particular time, it was short lived, but yes, I was, what, 15 or 16 and I was taken out into parking lots and told that -- I'm about 120 pounds now. I was 110 at the time. They said I was fat and embarrassment to my family and if I didn't drop 10 to 15 pounds the show would be canceled. I don't know if you knew it was going on.
D. OSMOND: Not at the time.
NGUYEN: The single mother of eight is speaking out about another topic. Here's what she told "Entertainment Tonight" about her daughter Jessica.
M. OSMOND: So what if she's gay. She's an amazing woman. She's a good kid.
NGUYEN: She even addressed the issue of gay marriage with KOST radio in Los Angeles.
M. OSMOND: I think everybody should have the right to share homes and finances with somebody that they care about. On those types of things, I'm very supportive. When it comes to marriage, I think that civil rights need to be for all.
NGUYEN: When I asked the question, this was her response. Give me a little clarification on this. When it comes to the latest reports about gay marriage and that you have come out in support of that, is that true?
M. OSMOND: I've made my statements. My daughter is 21 and I don't answer for her. And so let's not make this tabloid. I've made my statement.
NGUYEN: That you support equal rights?
M. OSMOND: Yes and civil rights.
NGUYEN: While the Osmonds would rather not jump into the debate, it's clear that after 45 years in the spotlight, they have seen society change.
M. OSMOND: We grew up in a different era. Even though we were very young when we started, we worked with the Groucho Marx and Lucille Balls and the Frank Sinatras and Sammy Davis Jrs.
NGUYEN: Have you felt you've had to in a sense reinvent yourselves in a way to keep the people coming, to keep those seats filled?
D. OSMOND: Doesn't everybody in show business have to reinvent themselves sooner or later? Otherwise the public gets a little bored. The challenge that we have is that you don't want to reinvent yourself too much because that's what people come to see.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Interesting catching up with those two to say the least. The real reason why I was in Vegas was to check out the housing market. It's one of the worst in the nation. And next week I'm going to take you on a safari, a foreclosure safari where we found, I kid you not, a home for $25,000. That was the asking price.
HOLMES: In Las Vegas.
NGUYEN: You may be able to get it for even less.
HOLMES: It was one of the hardest hit and we've been covering this city for a while, the whole housing mess. So all right, looking forward to that. Coming up next week?
NGUYEN: Next week.
HOLMES: We'll see that next week.
Coming up here in just a moment, we got two mayors, two cities facing some pretty tough consequences in the face of the General Motors pending bankruptcy. We're going to be talking to them live just ahead.
NGUYEN: And later as politicians and pundits sort through Judge Sonia Sotomayor's positions on critical issues like affirmative action, abortion, one thing is clear. She has a passion for sports. We're going to talk about the impression that she's already made with a major ruling for baseball fans.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, two Midwestern cities with one big problem -- the auto industry. The fallout is massive, the answers few. And yet these mayors are dealing with the crisis quite differently. I want to introduce you this morning to Carty Finkbeiner. He's the mayor serving his third term now as mayor of Toledo, Ohio, and also Jim Fouts, his first term as the mayor of Warren, Michigan.
And Mayor Fouts, you have made a move saying you would like General Motors to relocate essentially its headquarters from Detroit to your town of Warren, which is not far away. Tell me why you think that's the way to go.
JIM FOUTS, MAYOR, WARREN, MICHIGAN: Well, the General Motors Tech Center in Warren is a complete facility. It has research, testing, design, engineering, administration, everything you would need. And over the last decade or so, they've basically consolidated most of their operations in Flint, and Pontiac and Detroit, cities to the north of Warren and moved them into the tech center. The Rencen (ph) merely houses an administrative staff of probably 4,500. The tech center has gone from about 25,000 to 15,000. So they could easily accommodate the personnel in the Rencen.
HOLMES: And that Rencen you're referring for a lot of people, it's the Renaissance Center there in downtown Atlanta -- excuse me, downtown...
FOUTS: The Renaissance Center downtown. And in addition, Warren has their real property taxes are 54 percent lower. Our industrial property taxes are 70 percent lower. And we have no city income tax. So the minute General Motors is able to move to Warren, they're going to save millions of dollars. And in the process, I hope they're going to saving thousands of jobs and they're going to protect pensions and the benefits of retirees alike.
HOLMES: So Mayor...
FOUTS: It's absolutely critical. Yes, sir?
HOLMES: ...it sounds like you're making a heck of a sales pitch here, but it hasn't made you I guess the most popular guy right now.
FOUTS: No. As a matter of fact, it hasn't. The entire political establishment in Michigan from the governor on down and many of the congressional delegates and county execs and what have you are opposed to this. But they're opposed to this not based on dollars and cents, they're not opposed to it based on logic, they're opposed to it based on political partisanship. And obviously, they would like to keep the Rencen in Detroit, but it makes no sense financially not to consolidate and make General Motors efficient.
HOLMES: All right, well...
FOUTS: And if partisanship prevails, General Motors could be in trouble.
HOLMES: All right, well, I'm going to bring in now the Toledo mayor, Mayor Finkbeiner. You're your town depends heavily on the auto industry as well. How is the ongoing -- and I should ask you first like the Mayor Fouts there just said, how some of this is being politicized. I guess how much is that offensive even and certainly detrimental to your town to see politics maybe come into some of this. And what do you need to happen now for your town to come back, which is at would you say 17 percent unemployment?
CARTY FINKBEINER, MAYOR, TOLEDO: No, we're at about 12 percent.
HOLMES: 17 percent, forgive me. Over in Warren, it's 17 percent. Yours is 12.
FINKBEINER: Yes, Warren is 17.7 percent.
HOLMES: All right, go ahead, Mayor Finkbeiner.
FINKBEINER: Here's exactly what we're doing. First o fall, Chrysler built a state-of-the-art manufacturing plant here for the Wrangler and the Liberty just about a decade ago. So the Italian merger with Chrysler, the Italians have already been here, the Fiat people have already been here, looking at that wonderfully versatile assembly line. Very modern assembly line. And we're very confident that we will have some new automobiles rolling off of that line we hope in the year 2009, if not early 2010. General Motors invested about a billion dollars in retooling for the six-gear transmission that they were just beginning to produce. And we're confident both those workforces have received the Harbor awards within the last year as outstanding in their fields for productivity. We're very confident that once this General Motors and Chrysler bankruptcy time frame passes, we'll be strong.
But in the meantime, we don't think we can just rest on our laurels there. We've moved to alternative energy. We are the center of solar energy here in the United States of America. And we think alternative clean, green energy is the wave of the future. We're -- our university and our community are really working hard to become the alternative energy center of this country.
HOLMES: Well, mayor, stand by. We're going to take a quick commercial break, kind of pick up on the point you just made there about diversifying and maybe getting to a point where some of these cities are not so dependent on one industry. Maybe just the auto industry. And some interesting ideas that both of you all have come up with in your towns for saving money and also promoting the auto industry, one requiring workers who buy American made cars and also coming and helping out and volunteering and mowing some of the parks and cemeteries around town.
I'm back with the mayors right after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, cities in crisis, as the bottom falls out of the economy and thus the tax base, one mayor mowing the grass at city parks, another has the entire state in arms over his efforts to lure General Motors to relocate to his town. Jim Fouts, the mayor of Michigan, Carty Finkbeiner, mayor of Toledo spending time with us this weekend.
Mayor Fouts, I'll pick up on that point you made a moment ago, how your idea to have General Motors relocate from downtown Detroit, have its headquarters in your town of Warren, has really put you against the establishment, a lot of including the governor there has come out against your plan. A lot of people call it anti-Detroit. There's no doubt Detroit would be hurt if General Motors came to Warren. So I guess, is this kind of an approach each man for himself, each town for himself?
FOUTS: Well, no, absolutely not. This is not anti-Detroit. This is pro-General Motors and it's pro jobs. Right now, General Motors is at a critical juncture in their corporate history. They're going to probably go into bankruptcy. And they're going to need to be efficient. And they're going to need to convince investors and the government that they can produce more financial revenue.
And one way to do it is to consolidate and put all of their operations in the tech center. If the tech center in Warren were located in Detroit, I would have no argument. It has nothing to do about Detroit versus Warren. It's about the survivability of General Motors and what financially makes sense. And it makes sense to consolidate and move everything to one location.
HOLMES: And of course, Warren, essentially a suburb of Detroit, not too far outside, 15, 17 miles I believe is right.
FOUTS: Right.
HOLMES: Mayor Finkbeiner, let me bring you back in here. Let me -- let's show this video of you, sir. A lot of mayors having to get creative around these days. But this is something you came up with essentially to have people volunteer. And you helped out volunteering yourself to mow the yards and mow the parks around your town. How is this working?
FINKBEINER: Well, it's obviously just a small and symbolic way of showing that when the going gets tough, everybody from those in the white collar jobs and the top floors of one government center where city hall is located to those who normally work out on our streets, we all need to roll up our sleeves. We are going through a glitch. It's a tough glitch in the American economy. We are all going to make it through this. And we all want to be stronger when we make it through just like the mayor of Warren.
HOLMES: And Mayor, would you say -- oh, excuse me there. Has it saved you much money or again, is it more of a symbolic, I guess just to get kind of spirits up around town?
FINKBEINER: It is -- well it's not -- it's saving us some money, but the most important thing is it is a spirit of we're all in this together. The town folk and the city leaders are rolling up their sleeves. And we're not only cutting the grass. I'm on my way this morning to cut grass at a Central City park.
We are cleaning up the parks on long holidays when garbage tends to accumulate as a result of the barbecues. We're looking at each and every way we can as a community come together to help ourselves get through this challenging time period that we're in. And when we come out on the other side, be stronger for it spiritually be stronger for it. And as a community, be stronger for it.
That's one reason why we're not only continuing to encourage the development of the new automotive industry here, but we're looking to alternative energy as part of our future. We want to be stronger as a result of everything that's taking place in 2009.
HOLMES: All right. Well, last question here, I'm going to give to you, Mayor Fouts. And that is about, and if you can hear quickly, just tell me about this, a plan. You said you are pro-GM. And it sound like it. You have an effort to try get some of your city workers to buy American cars, essentially requiring them to do so. How are your employees receiving that mandate?
FOUTS: Well, let me clarify this. I'm not -- I have political appointees or at will appointees like the police commissioner, the fire commissioner. And I issued an executive order requesting that the next new vehicle they buy be from the Big Three, either General Motors product, Chrysler or Ford. And there's good reason for that because 15 percent of my fiscal budget is dependent upon the taxes that General Motors and Chrysler pay in the city. We have four big facilities here.
In addition, I am currently negotiating with our employee unions to have a buy American made products from the Big Three included in that. It is perfectly legal if you do that. And it makes sense because we need to support those who support us.
And if something happens to Chrysler and General Motors in Warren, then I'm going to have to drastically reduce my budget, reduce my payroll. And some people will be laid off or their salaries will be reduced. So it's help those who help us. And it's what all cities in Michigan should do as well.
And I have proposed that to all executives and officials. In addition, I put my money where my mouth was and I bought a new Chrysler a few months ago. And that's what other elected officials and county execs and the governor also need to do.
HOLMES: Well, I read about that Chrysler and heard it's pretty sharp, you driving around town. So Mayor Fouts of Warren, you enjoy driving around in your new Chrysler. Mayor Finkbeiner, mayor of Toledo...
FINKBEINER: I'll be on my new mowing machine.
HOLMES: You'll be riding two different vehicles today. Gentlemen, I appreciate you and continue with the creativity. Certainly everybody is pulling for those towns in Michigan and in the Midwest as well to come on back. So thank you all so much for being here.
FINKBEINER: Thank you for having us on.
HOLMES: No, thank you guys so much.
FINKBEINER: Thank you very much.
FOUTS: Enjoyed it. And don't forget to buy from the Big Three, particularly Chrysler and General Motors.
HOLMES: He said he was pro-American and he is.
NGUYEN: And he is, absolutely.
HOLMES: He is about American vehicles.
NGUYEN: I like what he says, you know, support those who support you.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: But I don't think I'll be mowing your lawn today, just so you know. But I do support you.
HOLMES: I appreciate that. NGUYEN: Know that. In the meantime, though, being environmentally responsible can be expensive. But one small company has found a way to bring affordable, renewable energy to the developing world. Our Richard Lui has more on the bright idea in this week's "small and global."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
RICHARD LUI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Wales is an unlikely place for a Californian to start a solar power company.
ROBERT HERTZBERG, G24 INNOVATIONS: You know, when people say it rains in Wales, my answer always is, well, it works in the rain. And that's the great thing about our technology.
LUI: G24 Innovations produces a flexible solar cell that can power lights and charge mobile phones.
HERTZBERG: We designed this for Africa. It's a telephone charger that fits -- it's either you can put your phone in here or you can put a light.
LUI: G24 co-founder Bob Hertzberg was speaker of the California Assembly during the energy crisis of 2001. When he left politics, he followed a passion for renewable energy across the pond. The solar cells made in Wales are sold to people in remote areas of the third world.
HERTZBERG: In these rural areas, a lot of folks have no access to any electricity or power at all.
LUI: The G24 solar cell costs around $50 and could become an important part of developing economies.
HERTZBERG: The largest market in the world for mobile phones is Africa, India and China. How do you get power? You walk to the next village. All of a sudden, you now have a device you can carry with you.
LUI: A sunny opportunity for the world starting in rainy Wales.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, still ahead, imagine spending more than 30 years building a sailboat.
HOLMES: Got to be a heck of a sailboat.
NGUYEN: Oh, yeah, the inaugural voyage and how one couple actually did it coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Bob Seger for you this morning. And of course the name is...
HOLMES: "Against the World"?
NGUYEN: "Against the Wind."
HOLMES: The wind, yes.
NGUYEN: And we're playing this in honor of one couple who are now going with the wind. Let me tell you, it was a long time coming.
HOLMES: Yes, the story of real perseverance here and maybe just downright stubborn. Allen Shoffler (ph) of KING TV in Seattle introduces to the crew of the Delores M. Jackson.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALLEN SHOFFLER, KING TV NEWS CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Roy Jackson thought it would be a good idea to build his own sailboat. That was in 1976.
ROY JACKSON, BOAT BUILDER: This boat, if it were built by a pro with all of the stuff necessary and not having to acquire it would still be for one guy a pro about a four-year boat.
SHOFFLER: But he worked just weekends on the project. And today finally more than 30 years later the "Delores M. Jackson" is ready to set sale. And the original Delores M. Jackson, Dee to everybody, is delighted to have the work behind her. A labor of love, we think.
DELORES JACKSON: I've done a lot of work on it.
SHOFFLER: As much as Roy?
D. JACKSON: No, not as much as Roy, but I have made all the damn plugs that go over all the screws.
SHOFFLER: Traditionally rigged and detailed, the ship has a custom cast bronze wheel. She is a walk through piece of kinetic maritime art, crafted of teak, mahogany, white oak, and cedar with a coal burning stove familiar to Roy.
R. JACKSON: Are you kidding me? I grew up in the '30s.
SHOFFLER: The schooner took shape in a barn on the Jacksons' Bainbridge Island property. Roy and Dee learning new skills as the emerging boat demanded them. She may not sail the Pacific or the Baltic as the 77-year-old boat builder originally dreamed, but this is good, a freshening breeze, a volunteer crew, a small flotilla of well- wishers. It is time to sail and time to recognize the volunteer navy that helped make it all happen.
R. JACKSON: Most proud of having had the chance to move out here and meet all these great people and all the help I've gotten.
SHOFFLER: On Puget Sound, I'm Allen Shoffler, KING 5 News.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: That is quite amazing. 30 years.
HOLMES: 30 years. Hopefully that boat holds up for a while so.
NGUYEN: Yeah, I think so.
HOLMES: And they get some good use out of it. That's amazing to think that you can put a boat together.
NGUYEN: And did it on weekends.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Imagine what we could do with our time on the weekends?
HOLMES: Not much.
NGUYEN: You know, it is a tough competition and it's not for the faint of heart. The challenge, spelling some of the most complicated words imaginable on national television.
HOLMES: Yes. So coming up at 10:00, we're talking to the winner of the National Spelling Bee. There she is. She stayed cool under pressure and took home a cool $40,000.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: OK in the meantime though, Prince Harry on an official visit to New York City. His first, in fact.
HOLMES: Yeah, he made a stop at Ground Zero yesterday. He's also meeting with some American veterans. We'll look at why it's a very personal stop for him.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, foreclosures are rising, prices are falling. So what do you do right now? Is this a good time to buy a home? Or is this a time maybe you should just rent for now? Gerri Willis here with us to answer some of these questions. I guess it's an interesting position a lot of people find themselves in. And it seems like a good time to buy or is it really?
GERRI WILLIS, CNN PERSONAL FINANCE EDITOR: Well, it's a tough decision. You know, just this week, we learned that house prices are down nearly 20 percent in the nation's largest metro areas. And the question for many potential buyers is, you know, do I wait for prices to fall further?
The answer is, T.J., is it's tough to really time the real estate market. You really have to investigate prices in your area to find out the status of the market locally. If you're getting a significant discount to the market ties, it is a good time to consider buying a house. Check out trulia.com or city-data.com for price information. Some local realtor's groups will have data on line as well. And second, before you get in that market, make sure you feel secure in your job. Many new foreclosures are occurring because people are losing their jobs. They can't afford to make the house payments. So you want to also have a commitment of four or five years in any area that you're buying in. So you don't have to worry about unloading that house a year after you buy it. T.J.?
HOLMES: Yeah, and also information new from the Department of Housing and Urban Development that might seem -- make it even more attractive if you want to buy a home right now.
WILLIS: Yeah, this just out. You know, senior HUD officials saying this week that the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers it's available right now. Instead of folks having to wait until they pay their taxes on April 15th, or when they file an amended tax return, lenders and other HUD affiliated organizations are going to step in and offer that $8,000 as a loan to buyers who can use it to pay closing costs, points, even mortgage insurance premiums.
The only stipulation here is you won't be able to use it for your down payment but that requirement for loans backed by FHA is just 3.5 percent anyway. And frankly it's important to have some of your own skin in the game when it comes to buying a home. T.J.?
HOLMES: Your own skin in the game. I like that. Also, of course, it's the weekend. So it's time for "YOUR BOTTOM LINE." What do you got coming up for us here?
WILLIS: That's right. At 9:30, we'll be talking about buying versus renting. How to go green, how to get a green lawn. Plus, we'll tell you the best cities to find a new job in. Great stuff. Great advice. We'll be there at 9:30. Join us -- T.J.?
HOLMES: Well, I will be listening. All right, Gerri Willis, always a pleasure. Thank you so much.
WILLIS: My pleasure.
NGUYEN: Hello, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is May 30th. Good morning and thanks for joining us. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And hello to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes 9:00 here in Atlanta, Georgia. 8:00 a.m. in St. Louis. 6:00 a.m. for you Lakers fans out in Los Angeles. Your team just solidified its spot for the finals last night. Congratulations. We're glad you could be here with us.
The president, we'll start with him, he is starting his day pushing for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor. He lobbied for her in his weekly address. We'll hear some of that address straight ahead.
NGUYEN: Plus, Jay Leno's last night after 17 years. He says good-bye to "The Tonight Show."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JAY LENO: Welcome to the exciting season finale of "The Tonight Show," Ladies and gentlemen. 17 years. Thank you very much.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Yeah, 17 years. If you missed this final monologue, we have it for you this morning.
HOLMES: Breaking news we want to start with now from Pakistan. Pakistani forces say they have reclaimed several areas of the city of Mingora from the Taliban after about a month of fierce fighting. Mingora is an important city. It's the largest in Pakistan's Swat Valley.
CNN International correspondent Reza Sayah joins us now, just got out of a news conference. Give us the update that you learned from that conference, Reza.
REZA SAYAH, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., the big news coming out of this press conference was the retaking of the city of Mingora from the Taliban by Pakistani security forces as you mentioned. Mingora, the biggest city in the Swat Valley where for the past month, security forces have engaged Taliban militants.
Mingora was supposed to be the big test for Pakistani security forces because this is where the house-to-house fighting with the insurgents was supposed to take place. Of course many critics said the Pakistani troops are not experienced in house-to-house fighting.
But based on what we heard from the Pakistani military's top spokesperson General Athar Abbas, about an hour ago, the troops were very successful in beating back the militants. He did say the militants have taken over a number of buildings in the city, a number of hotels were set up as bunkers. But he said the troops were successful in pushing the militants back, T.J..
HOLMES: And, Reza, explain to our viewers. We hear that this city is and we hear that it is the largest in the Swat Valley but explain to our viewers why this city is so critical.
SAYAH: Well, Mingora is the largest, most prominent city in the Swat Valley and it is also the mouth of the valley. So the perception is whoever has control of Mingora has control of the Swat Valley and for the past few months it has been the Taliban. So this was really the prize city. But we have to mention in this press conference there was no word of the military taking the leader of the Taliban, Mullah Fazlullah(ph).
The Pakistan military spokesperson was asked about Fazlullah. He did say a number of second and third tier commanders have been captured and killed but when it comes to Fazlullah, he did not reveal any information. He said they are pursuing him. There is intelligence and they are after him but he's the key get. Mingora is the key city but Fazlullah is the key get and the Pakistani military is yet to capture him or kill him, T.J..
HOLMES: All right. Reza Sayah for us in Islamabad. Thank you so much, Reza.
NGUYEN: Well. you know, General Motors is getting in line right now preparing for Monday's deadline to file for bankruptcy protection. And GM's board meets again later today with new concessions from the autoworkers in hand. Now just a few hours ago Germany's subsidiary Opel, well it's found a new owner.
CNN's Kate Bolduan joins us now this morning from the White House and help us understand exactly what that means for GM.
BOLDUAN: Absolutely, Betty. Well, you know, the president has said over and over again that he is not interested in running auto companies. But we will soon, looks like find out what is next for struggling General Motors.
You mentioned one of two potentially key pieces of the restructuring efforts that are happening right now to help out General Motors, one being that the UAW, the United Auto Workers Union yesterday they largely, overwhelmingly, agreed to a package of concessions that basically the intent of that is to reduce labor costs for General Motors.
And then, you just also mentioned, Opel, the Opel brand. There is an announcement - pardon me, the White House is making an announcement now. But Canadian auto parts maker, Magna International, has come out to say that they are moving ahead with the plan to rescue and take over Opel brand. That is a large portion of GM's European operation.
The White House for its part is clearly watching all of these developments very closely as well as discussions going on in what is next for General Motors. The announcement for bankruptcy filing is expected Monday. However, the White House is being careful in characterizing the state of the talks and really what's next. Listen here to Press Secretary Robert Gibbs.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
GIBBS: I know the president is encouraged that whatever happens at the deadline, that progress is being made to restructure General Motors and put it on a path, as I've said, to being a viable auto company. We have seen encouraging signs. And what happens in the next few days, the president obviously will certainly watch and will have something to say about this.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
BOLDUAN: Also, next week the Obama administration has announced that administration officials will be fanning out to the midwest to states like Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Wisconsin where administration officials will be talking to communities that are hit and affected by General Motors and the decision that will be coming out in the next few days of trying to, as they bill it, help them cut through the red tape and offer some relief to these communities -- Betty?
NGUYEN: All right. CNN's Kate Bolduan joining us live and let us know if the White House announcement there was anything newsworthy.
BOLDUAN: We will. Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Thank you. And tonight CNN's Ali Velshi and Christine Romans explore the fall of the American auto industry and where it might go from here. "How the Wheels Came Off: the Rise and Fall of the American Auto Industry" runs tonight at 8:00 p.m. Eastern only on CNN.
HOLMES: And President Obama is setting the stage for his Supreme Court nominee. He's getting Judge Sonia Sotomayor ready for the confirmation process. He talked a little more about her qualifications during his weekly White House address this morning.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: She was appointed to the U.S. district court serving six years as a trial judge where she presided over hundreds of cases. And most recently she has spent 11 years on the U.S. Court of Appeals, our nation's second highest court, grappling with some of the most difficult constitutional and legal issues we face as a nation.
She has more experience on the federal bench than any incoming Supreme Court justice in the past 100 years. Quite simply, Judge Sotomayor has a deep familiarity with our judicial system from almost every angle.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And if Judge Sotomayor is confirmed, she would be the first Hispanic on the court. Also just the third woman on the court and the third ethnic minority. But as our Josh Levs explains in another way she would already be in the majority.
LEVS: Well, you know, amid all this talk about diversity. It is interesting to look also with this religious angle. This is Judge Sonia Sotomayor and she could be the next Supreme Court justice. Take a look at this headline here at cnn.com. Sotomayor would be part of the court's Catholic shift. And this is something big that's been happening at the Supreme Court in recent years.
Let's go straight to this graphic. I want to you see the religious breakdown in the United States and you can see right there this country is half Protestant, just over half, technically majority Protestant, 51 percent, about one-quarter Catholic and then 1.7 percent Jewish. Well, now take a look at the makeup of the court if Sonia Sotomayor joins it. You'll have six Catholic judges on the Supreme Court. Six Catholic justices. One Protestant and two who are Jewish.
Very different from the U.S. makeup in general. Now, there's also something else we have for you here. We have this graphic here that shows everyone's picture and how they identify religiously. You can take a look here. You can see the six that identify as Catholics. I'll emphasize as we see this, the fact that they identify as Catholics doesn't mean they're all the same religiously or certainly they all share the same views on some major issues.
But this is how each of the justices identifies in terms of religion and here are the other three. They are identified as Jewish. The one Stevens there, 89-years-old, who would now be the one Protestant on the court in a country that is just over half Protestant. It is very interesting to take a look at that and we're going to continue to look at other angles about how the Supreme Court might change if Judge Sonia Sotomayor indeed becomes the next Supreme Court justice. Back to you.
NGUYEN: All right.
Well, you know, date night for President Obama and the First Lady, they are heading to New York City later today and local reports say that they will take in a Broadway show. But after today it's back to business. The president heads overseas next week and Tuesday he leaves for Saudi Arabia. Now on Thursday President Obama will be in Cairo, Egypt. After that, a stop in Germany and then next Saturday he'll be in Normandy, France, for 65th anniversary of the D-Day invasion.
HOLMES: Time for us to turn now to Reynolds Wolf who is standing by. We have our fingers crossed that your microphone is going to work this time.
NGUYEN: Oh, you're joking with us.
WOLF: I'm just teasing that time. It was on. I just had to do that for you. It was one of those mornings. Got to keep you guessing a little bit. Hey, people in St. Louis are guessing when the weather is going to get better. They've had one round of showers that come through this morning.
You can see them now moving just the southeast of the city and south of the city right along parts of 64. But take a gander back to the north west and when you do you see another clutch of showers coming through not quite as heavy but in places in St. Louis that already have pour drainage or you happen to have ground that's already saturated, you could have a little bit of flash flooding, creeks, areas like that, the water rise rapidly before dropping back a bit.
Meanwhile, we're seeing some scattered showers a little bit further to the north in places like Chicago, also up in Milwaukee, but it looks like the heaviest precipitation could occur later on today right along this frontal boundary. That's where you have that moist air coming in from the Gulf of Mexico, the colder air coming again from the north, right along the Great Lakes.
And it could be kind of severe into the afternoon. It could have some window rattle in places like Cincinnati, maybe Louisville before the day is out. Wouldn't be out of the question for, say, Indianapolis also and some strong storms as you make your way along the Gulf Coast, relatively dry in many places. Texas extremely hot especially back into say Dallas and Ft. Worth. Scattered showers in the (INAUDIBLE) crystal mountains and in Denver looks pretty good there with a few scattered clouds. But back in the mountains, only 70, yes, you can see some snowflakes. Imagine that for this time of year and also some rain in the Pacific northwest.
Now when it gets to temperatures, we're going to throw these around for you. Take a low, 84 degrees (inaudible) the steps of the capitol. Dallas with 91. Kansas City by compensating with 87. Denver with 77. Billings, a beautiful day and warm with 88 degrees and back into Boston, New York, mainly into the 70s. A beautiful day up by Fenway Park with 74 degrees if you don't mind those scattered showers because they will be in the picture for you.
All right. That is the weather picture. Let's send it back to you guys loud and clear.
NGUYEN: Yes. We like it that way.
WOLF: Yes.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Reynolds.
HOLMES: Well, Prince Harry taking on the Big Apple and a lot of places he's visited have a personal connection for him.
NGUYEN: Yes. "Vanity Fair" contributing editor Victoria Mather joins us in just a moment to talk about the Prince's official visit and what he hopes to accomplish.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, New Yorkers seem smitten with Britain's Prince Harry, the younger of the two princes is in New York again today. Harry is the one who more often seems to be popping up in the clubs, also the tabloids. But now he is on his best behavior.
Joining us from London to talk about this royal visit is Victoria Mather, contributing editor for "Vanity Fair" magazine. We do appreciate you being with us today. All right. So the prince, he was at Ground Zero yesterday. Today at a Harlem school. Give us the motivation behind this trip to New York and why New York.
VICTORIA MATHER, "VANITY FAIR" MAGAZINE: Well, I think if you were cynical you would say because he was invited to play polo.
NGUYEN: Which he was.
MATHER: Which he was for Veuve Clicquot Manhattan Classic which he shall play this afternoon but rather cleverly it has been surrounded by some very serious engagements. I thought he looked very princely at Ground Zero yesterday. I was proud of him being my prince and I thought he looked enchanting with the children. That little girl, Madison, he was his mother all over again because you notice he got down to her height. Exactly what Diana always, always did. NGUYEN: We see him right now shaking some hands, Victoria, with some of the officials there, some of the men and women who work the streets of New York to keep it safe, but he also said a prayer at Ground Zero and I under he's meeting with wounded veterans. He's definitely making a point to make this a symbolic and an important visit aside from the polo.
MATHER: Oh, very much so. Very, very much so and, of course, there is a connection. He is a serving soldier. He's been in Afghanistan. He knows what posttraumatic stress is. He will be very interested to meet the veterans and very interested to take any advice or any impressions that he gains from that visit home to Britain.
NGUYEN: Well, you know, it's no secret that Prince Harry has been a bit of a bad boy, shall we say, at least what we're reading in the press, you know, wearing that Nazi uniform at Halloween, making a bit of a racial slur. So is this a way of maybe giving America a different view of this prince?
MATHER: Well, I think it's probably a way of giving both America and Great Britain a different view of the prince. I thought he did look -- Prince Harry grows up is what this is about. It's very interesting. It's his first official visit. He's ahead of his brother, Prince William, on that. New York is a perfect city and a perfect showcase for him. He's going to the Harlem Children's Zone this morning with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho who is his co-patron at Sentebale, which is his charity.
And for the American friend -- he is playing polo in aid of the charity. And I think that was so tempting that he wanted to come and raise money in the U.S. for his charity. Now this is very much following in his father's footsteps. The Prince of Wales has had the most fantastic success with having the American friends of the Prince's Trust, I mean, Joan Rivers is among them, and he has raised enormous amount of money to help the young.
The Prince's Trust has been a revolutionary organization and I think Prince Harry not only really cares about Sentebale which he founded in memory of his late mother but I also think he's prepared to work very hard for it.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. You know, I can't let you go without you asking this, because we only have so much time. I want to talk just for a minute about Prince William because there are these rumors that there may be a wedding in the works. I know the BBC has been working on this wedding series or some kind of a special they have coming up. Is it going to be a reality? Is this really going to happen or are they on the fast track to a wedding?
MATHER: Well, Betty, I will tell you one thing. Prime Minister Brown would love a royal wedding to distract from the recession, and the political corruption scandals here in this country. But I don't think it's really on while Prince William is still serving in the forces. What is interesting is that Prince Harry, regardless of his bad boy image is fun. He's charming. He is good looking. He's much more attractive and charismatic than his older brother. NGUYEN: Really?
MATHER: Who is a bit of a bore. Oh, yes. Prince William is a bit of a bore and I think that if there is a royal wedding it will be quite a boring one.
NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness, Victoria. Just tell us how you really feel, why don't you. All right. Contributing editor for "Vanity Fair" speaking her mind today. We appreciate your time this morning. Thank you.
MATHER: Thank you.
NGUYEN: Well, our coverage of Prince Harry's visit continues in our next hour when we take you inside the Harlem Zone and show you what the prince will likely see during his visit today. An academic oasis in one of New York's poorest communities.
HOLMES: NGUYEN: I hope William was not listening.
NGUYEN: I hope he wasn't watching or his bride-to-be, right, that he's a boring bull.
HOLMES: Who is not as good looking as his younger brother.
NGUYEN: Wow.
HOLMES: Wow. Victoria.
NGUYEN: They're kind of tough across the pond, as they say.
HOLMES: We should have her back on some other topics.
NGUYEN: I know. Right? Get her talking.
HOLMES: All right.
Well, coming up here, hitting the road to be your own boss.
NGUYEN: Yes. Meet Jennifer and Joe, casualties of the dot-com bust and how they've become their own bosses and carved a road to success.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So a couple tired of working for big corporations become their own bosses carving their own road to success, shall we say.
HOLMES: Yes. Then a cross-country tour. In an air string (INAUDIBLE) in a whole new direction, our Tony Harris has the story in this morning's survival of the fittest.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Back when these photos were taken in London, a smiling Jennifer and Joe Remling had no idea what was around the corner. They had moved overseas with lucrative jobs as a corporate recruiter and an architect but it was 2001 and the dot-com boom was about to go bust. They both lost their jobs.
JENNIFER REMLING, AUTHOR "CARVE YOUR OWN ROAD": I would wake up in the morning and, you know, my thoughts would be like, OK, what's the point of getting out of bed? I have no job. There's no prospects. There was a period of deep reflection and deep soul- searching and I determined at that point in my life that I wasn't going to allow this to happen to me again. I was going to be in control the next time a recession came around.
HARRIS: Five months later she was spinning the plans to become her own boss and get control of her own financial destiny.
REMLING: I went on a journey of reading about 300 books in two years from the very esoteric to the very scientific and everything in between about that and started to apply those principles to my life.
HARRIS: She found another corporate job but slowly began building her own recruiting company, one client at a time.
REMLING: And you can't just jump off a cliff and everything appears. It's like I say build a bridge and it takes about two years.
HARRIS: And after two years, she quit her day job. Joe had his own epiphany. After years of working for large corporate firms, he split away and founded his own architecture and design firm with two partners.
JOE REMLING, AUTHOR "CARVE YOUR OWN ROAD": You have to be the director and not the participant in your own life.
HARRIS: With two entrepreneurs in the family, their lives changed completely.
JENNIFER REMLING: This started out with Joe and I becoming a lot happier with our lives after carving our own road, so to speak.
HARRIS: They not only carved their own road, they hit the road, literally.
JOE REMLING: It started off actually as an adventure for us as a couple, kind of hit the road.
JENNIFER REMLING: We wanted to get out and find out about other people so we could share with the people in this country who want that for themselves but don't know how to get it.
HARRIS: Jennifer and Joe took a cross-country road trip in this borrowed air stream. The end result, this book, "Carve Your Own Road."
JENNIFER REMLING: Interviewed about 40 people who had been either in a corporate job and quit to become a entrepreneur or who had figured out a way inside the corporate setting to innovate and do really cool things.
HARRIS: Through these interviews Jennifer found a common denominator for success, first get clarity.
JENNIFER REMLING: We aren't taking the time to get deep clarity about what we want with our lives so it's really about taking that time to ask yourself the bigger, deeper question. What am I doing when I lose all sense of time? You know, what is it that feeds my soul? Do I want to have an impact? What does that look like? What things am I told that I do well? You know, these are the kind of questions, deep soul searching questions.
HARRIS: Second, set big goals: write a vision statement.
JENNIFER REMLING: Big goals move me forward and they get me really excited about overcoming fear and obstacles. When you set sort of mediocre goals it's just hard to get super motivated and excited about it.
HARRIS: Third, immersion.
JENNIFER REMLING: Taking 10 minutes out of your day every day to set the tone for your day and where you're headed and from that point you can be very clear about what actions you take.
HARRIS: She also recommends a visualization board, cutting out pictures of your goals so you can get a literal picture of what you want. Now Jennifer only does corporate recruiting 10 percent of the time. The rest she's holding workshops, getting paid to help others find their life's work.
JENNIFER REMLING: Your work, your life, your turf, period. I mean, it's sort of taking control, realizing that you have control and exerting that again.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I like that, your work, your life, your terms.
HOLMES: Yes. And just the plan "a." You don't need a plan "b."
NGUYEN: No fallback.
HOLMES: No fallback plan. That's not our advice. Chris Gardner, we had him on a couple of weekends ...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: No plan "b." Focus on your plan "a" and you will succeed.
NGUYEN: Absolutely.
You know as host of "The Tonight Show" it was Jay Leno's last call. HOLMES: Can you believe he's done? He went out in style. Look at this guy bouncing around. I love that. Stick around. We'll explain who in the world these kids are and how they landed a coveted spot on "The Tonight Show" stage.
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JAY LENO, HOST "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH JAY LENO": How many kids have been born to "The Tonight Show" staff in 17 years? Here is the answer. Take a look.
The answer, 68. We have 68 kids. Hello. So that's what I like my legacy to be, when these kids grow up and say, hey, mom and dad, where did you guys meet? They're going to say, they met on the stage of "The Tonight Show." Thank you, everybody. Thank you for watching.
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NGUYEN: That is so great. 17 years with children, there must be something in the water there over at the "Tonight Show."
HOLMES: A lot of maternity leave. Amazing they could get the show on for the past 17 years.
NGUYEN: Did you know he took over for Johnny Carson back in 1992. His first guest last night was of course, Conan O'Brien, who takes over as host on Monday. It was a great show, I heard. Obviously we weren't awake for it. We had to get up early for our show. But, boy, 17 years.
And he's not going too far actually. He's going to be in prime time on NBC so you'll still get a chance to watch Leno although it's going to be a different ball game there on prime time.
HOLMES: Yes. As he joked last night he's going to go some place and retire to a place where you can't find, and he said NBC prime time. But, yes, congratulations to him. Looking forward to see what happens on Monday.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: With Conan. Well, you know what's going to happen here in 30 minutes. Betty and I are going to be back here live with the top news of the day.
NGUYEN: But in the meantime, though, "YOUR BOTTOM LINE" with Gerri Willis starts right now.
