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CNN Saturday Morning News
President Obama Will Hold Town Hall in Colorado; Seven Killed in Pre-Election Blast; California Wildfires Raging; Storm Brewing in Atlantic; Lawmakers Agree
Aired August 15, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everybody. From the CNN center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is August 15th. Good morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. Good to see you. I'm T.J.
NGUYEN: Good to see you, too.
HOLMES: We need to reintroduce ourselves.
NGUYEN: Exactly.
HOLMES: It's been a month. You had a lot of stuff going on.
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: I was gone for a second. But we're back.
NGUYEN: We're back. The show is back on with the team. All of us -- Reynolds is here today...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: Oh, it's going to be a good day.
HOLMES: Everybody is here. Yes, it's 6:00 a.m. here where we sit in Atlanta, Georgia, 5:00 a.m. in Ann Arbor (ph), Michigan, 3:00 a.m. out in Monterey (ph), California. Thank you for starting your day right here with us. We are going to be talking about this morning what a lot have been talking about in this country for the past few weeks, health care. We've got more town halls to tell you about today. They're going to be happening across the country including one in Grand Rapids -- excuse me -- I have to say Grand Junction...
NGUYEN: Grand Junction...
HOLMES: ... Colorado -- special guest there -- I guess we should say -- the president...
NGUYEN: The president, yeah...
HOLMES: ... doing that one with. Also have them in Atlanta, Chicago, all over the place, going to be breaking down also where the Democrats and the Republicans actually agree on health care. NGUYEN: Yeah, that's something a lot of people want to know. We've seen the debates. We've seen the arguments, scuffles all that, but where do they come together on the issue.
HOLMES: They actually do.
NGUYEN: So we'll be talking -- yeah, believe it or not. And this is something that we're going to be talking about -- the wildfires out there in California. They have been fighting these for days. People are waking up near Santa Cruz (ph) facing more evacuations. In fact, a state of emergency has been issued. Again, this thing started on Wednesday, eight square miles burned, only 15 percent contained. We're going to get you the latest on the fires and how many people it's affecting today.
HOLMES: Then also a little something we have for you this morning, "Fantasia"...
NGUYEN: Good.
HOLMES: ... "American Idol" fans -- there she is. We can explain why she's in a robe.
NGUYEN: I was about to ask because you do all your interviews in a robe...
HOLMES: I just want my interviewees to be comfortable.
NGUYEN: Did you request...
HOLMES: Yeah, oh but Fantasia is back. Many people remember she was in the "Color Purple" (ph) a few years ago, show was huge, then she disappeared for a while. She left the show, missed a lot of appearances -- well she had a very serious health issue going on. She opens up about that and also getting her GED. She never got it. She's going to be taking the test, hopefully getting that -- a lot going on with her.
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: We got a funny interview to share with you this morning.
NGUYEN: Very interesting stuff. All right we're going to begin with this. Some serious news to talk about this morning, especially since this happened overnight. Despite tighter security ahead of the presidential elections, a suicide bomber set off a car bomb in Afghanistan's capital Kabul. At least seven people were killed, close to 100 injured. The explosion went off near NATO security headquarters and the U.S. embassy. The Taliban which has vowed to disrupt next Thursday's elections is claiming responsibility.
HOLMES: Memorial services happening in Taiwan this morning to remember victims of the typhoon Morakot (ph). That typhoon slammed into Taiwan last Saturday. It spawned the worst flooding and landslides there in 50 years. Over 100 people confirmed dead. Officials say the death toll, however, could exceed 500. We'll have a live report in our next hour.
And Michael Vick expected to report to his first practice with the Philadelphia Eagles today -- a lot of people talking about this. He signed a two-year deal worth $6 million. Vick joins the team just a month after completing his sentence for running a dog fighting ring. Vick has vowed to campaign for animal rights and says he knows what he did was quote "a bunch of terrible things."
Well some people are OK with Vick getting back into the game while others not so much. We want to know what you think, though. So send us a message on Facebook and Twitter. We're going to read some of your comments on the air, but you can always reach out to us on Facebook, Twitter, CNN.com/blog, weekends@CNN -- there are so many ways, but we want to hear from you today.
HOLMES: All right. Well, you've seen this -- a lot have been going on with health care. This could be a make or break month for health care reform. Seen a lot of these town halls across the country, how would you describe them? Spirited, let's say that.
NGUYEN: Contentious.
HOLMES: Yes, there's that as well, but more happening today. Democratic Congressman Pete Stark holding three in California in Alameda, San Leandro and Fremont -- that's all up in the bay area. He represents the East Bay, that district up there. In Grand Junction, Colorado, this afternoon the president holds his own town hall meeting on health care.
NGUYEN: Yeah, Democratic Congressman Danny Davis has one this morning in Chicago as well. Reform opponents will hold a rally in Atlanta with former Republican Congressman Dick Armey and in Jonesboro, Georgia Democratic Congressman David Scott will be at a health fair.
HOLMES: And of course as we said, the president, he will be in Colorado -- his family traveling with him on this trip. Not the exactly the typical summer family vacation...
NGUYEN: No, no, no -- instead of the station wagon they, of course, have Air Force One and Ed Henry tells us from Big Sky, Montana, that instead of just sightseeing the president is mixing business with pleasure.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ED HENRY, CNN SR. WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Sure, Montana is a nice place to visit this time of year. But the president had more on his mind than just fly fishing. He also came for urgent business, buttering up the state's senior senator and chairman of the Finance Committee, Max Baucus, who could hold the fate of health reform in his hands.
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: First of all, the man who is working tirelessly to make sure that the American people get a fair deal when it comes to health care in America, please give Max Baucus a big round of applause.
(APPLAUSE)
HENRY: In private, top presidential advisors acknowledge the fight has reached a critical stage because the opposition has gained some steam, capitalizing on anger over federal bailouts and debt at many congressional town hall meetings.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Where does that state that the government has these powers to take over health care?
HENRY: By comparison, the president's town hall here was pretty tame. Though he did get one pointed question that reflected the strong opposition he's facing.
RANDY RATHIE, MONTANA RESIDENT: We keep getting the bull. That's all we get is bull. You can't tell us how you're going to pay for this. The only way you're going to get that money is to raise our taxes. You said you wouldn't.
OBAMA: Look, you are absolutely right that I can't cover another 46 million people for free.
HENRY: But the president did not shrink from the challenge and vowed again he will not raise taxes on the middle class to pay for the difference.
OBAMA: When I was campaigning, I made a promise that I would not raise your taxes if you made $250,000 a year or less. That's what I said. But I said that for people like myself who make more than that, there's nothing wrong with me paying a little bit more in order to help people who have got a little bit less.
HENRY: But many agree that's easier said than done and so that leaves it to Baucus to figure out the pesky details of how to pay for reform. White House aides privately acknowledge his panel is the last best hope of getting a bipartisan deal. The weeks of negotiations in Washington have thus far come up empty.
(on camera): And White House aides acknowledge that when Congress returns to work in September the window on reaching a deal will be closing fast if they hope to meet the president's deadline of the end of the year.
Ed Henry, CNN, Big Sky, Montana.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And as you see there, our Ed Henry is following the president on this trip. We'll hear from Ed Henry live in our 8:00 hour -- 8:00 Eastern from Montana. And if you want to know more about the health care debate and how the reforms could affect you and your family, check out the special health care in America Web site on CNN.com. You can get the latest from town hall debates, fact checks, iReports and other health care news -- again that's CNN.com/healthcare. NGUYEN: All right, we want to get you back to our developing story right now. Despite today's bombing in Afghanistan NATO forces say they feel confident that they can secure the elections which are just five days away. CNN's Atia Abawi is in Kabul. Atia, first tell us what's the latest with the attack that happened overnight.
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well what we're hearing right now Betty is that there are at least seven killed and at least 91 injured and several ISAF (ph) service members also injured; no word on ISAF (ph) deaths. This is an international security assistance force -- U.S. troops being a part of it. This is their headquarters in Kabul.
And today they were attacked. This car bomb shook up the city of Kabul, shook up our bureau as everyone else in Kabul. We all went up on our roof and saw smoke bellowing up. When we went to the scene we weren't allowed to get too close to the scene, but when we spoke to the witnesses there, they told us there is a big crater for where the bomb went off. We later went to the hospital to speak to victims, and they were very shaken up -- their families waiting outside also shaken up.
And we asked them, they're five days away from the Afghan elections, will they even go out and vote? I spoke to a 21-year-old girl who was there in the hospital being treated. And she told me that today's bomb made her decision for her and she will not go out and vote. And when I spoke to her mother and her grandmother, they said the same exact thing. They said it's been 30 years now that they haven't had a government that can secure them and they don't think that their vote will even count. Betty?
NGUYEN: Well Atia, what is the government saying in light of all this? The election, as you mentioned, just five days away, are they prepared for the kind of security that's needed?
ABAWI: I think with the ideology of some of these attackers there's no way that you can prepare yourself. When there's someone that's willing to kill himself to bring out his ideology, not even a security blimp that's been hovering over the city for the past week, a blimp that has brought some sort of false security to the people here because it monitors each and every move throughout the capital.
Any suspicious activity is caught, but this suicide bomber, this car had passed many checkpoints before he made it to the ISAF security gate, a gate that is very well protected and under tight security. And also these ISAF service members also injured in the blast -- this is a huge attack, one of the biggest since February. Betty?
NGUYEN: Yeah, so far seven killed in that -- all right, Atia Abawi joining us live -- thank you for that.
And to really understand what is going on in Afghanistan and why we're over there, we invite you to watch Christiane Amanpour's documentary tonight. It's called "Generation Islam". It starts at 8:00 Eastern. HOLMES: All right, Betty, thank you. Over here Reynolds keeping an eye on some things, some what, dry conditions out there I assume, got a few fires (INAUDIBLE) in California right now. We've got two main ones. I'll tell you and I'll show you actually one fire up in Santa Cruz. This one is called the Lockheed (ph) fire.
Eight square miles we're told. This is some of the newest fire video we have gotten. You can see overnight video here, this fire burning eight square miles burned so far. I'm not sure how much this thing is contained; anywhere from zero to 15 percent possibly right now -- a lot of firefighters on the scene.
But this is some other video we can show you now that I believe we got the day before -- firefighters here -- you're seeing we're told about 1,500 firefighters are trying to work this thing out and it's -- what kind of help or hurt is the weather putting on it, Reynolds.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: You know unfortunately the Mediterranean style climate that you have in this part of the world is not helpful at all. I mean wildfires have been happening in this part of the world for millions, millions of years. I mean you've got very dry summers obviously. You get very strong winds that pop up along the coast.
With that, vegetation tends to be very dry. You get the chaparral (ph). You've got of course the California oaks very dry wood there and these guys are going to have their hands (INAUDIBLE) really have their hands full for quite some time. Let's see -- the Lockheed (ph) fire, you talked about that, the Labria (ph) fire, which is down in -- let's see -- that would be Santa Barbara County -- last I've seen is about 10 to 15 percent contained. We're talking about 67,000 acres that have burned.
HOLMES: Wow.
WOLF: We're going to start with that video again. Let's roll that again. I'm going to step over the wall and just give you an idea of how this is forming. Here you see high above again some of the fires just beginning to really pick up. And as we go to the wall for a moment, let me give you an illustration of just how all every thing just happens, how all of this unfolds. Let's put this into motion.
You'll notice the fires, what happens they begin to -- they tend to set you know in the middle, the bottom of the hill. But then you have the upslope winds, they actually tie in with a lot of that dry chaparral, they get to those dry trees and it goes up like a tinder box. I mean you've got really rough conditions there to say the very least.
Now another process that we often see when it comes to these kinds of issues -- I'm going to minimize this one for just a moment -- here we go -- let's show you what happens when you have something that we refer to as crowning. Basically what happens is you have the trees where you have the fires that come on through, and of course they scorch the trees, they dry the trees out and eventually those fires, those flames are actually going to go from treetop to treetop. They refer to that as like a crowning effect. So that's one of the big reasons why you see these flames that sometimes shoot up in excessive of 100 feet, so certainly some rough times to say the very least and the strong winds are not helping. Now and speaking of the strong winds -- let's go to something else. Let's show you what's happening with tropical storm Ana.
We've been keeping a sharp eye on this. Just recently named a tropical storm, and the latest forecast path we have brings the storm a bit more closer as we go toward say Monday and into Tuesday, just north of, say, the Dominican Republic and we get into Tuesday the storm path from the National Hurricane Center brings it moving right into the Bahamas as a tropical storm with winds of 65 miles an hour and then just below hurricane force at 2:00 a.m. on Thursday with winds around 70 miles per hour, moving just north of (INAUDIBLE) Island.
A lot can happen between now, tomorrow and certainly over the next 36 hours. So we're going to watch this for you very carefully for you. But Ana, the first named storm of the Atlantic hurricane season. Let's send it back to you guys at the news desk -- busy morning no question.
NGUYEN: All right, once again, the Bahamas are going to get soaked in the coming days?
WOLF: Yeah, you know I would say anyone that might have plans to maybe go to the Bahamas maybe on Tuesday, yeah, they might have some issues, so if anyone has a birthday plan of going there might get some rain...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Those poor folks, hope they can adjust...
NGUYEN: Yeah, thanks -- maybe things will change between now and then.
HOLMES: Yeah, absolutely.
NGUYEN: You know...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You bet.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: All right, Reynolds, thank you.
NGUYEN: All right thank you.
HOLMES: Well you have seen her in movies and a really popular network soap opera. I guess you can figure out who I'm talking about out of the three people you see there...
NGUYEN: The picture might help you.
HOLMES: She's there with Morgan Freeman, Samuel L. Jackson, but Victoria Rowell, what happens when she goes off script?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
VICTORIA ROWELL, ACTRESS, "THE YOUNG AND THE RESTLESS": I, as you know, grew up as a farmer in rural Maine.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah.
ROWELL: So when I arrived into Roxbury (ph), Massachusetts, everyone was looking at me like I had a third eye.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: A third eye. I don't know if anybody has accused her of having a third eye before...
NGUYEN: No.
HOLMES: ... but she made a contribution -- wrote an essay for a book we're going to be talking about here in a second, but talked about two languages that African-Americans choose to speak -- one a white corporate language, if you will, and another an Ebonics (ph) language that black people choose to speak sometimes. She will explain that, but a candid interview coming up with her a little later this morning.
NGUYEN: That's going to be interesting stuff right there.
HOLMES: Yeah.
NGUYEN: Plus, where were you this weekend back in 1969?
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: T.J. and I weren't alive then, but thousands in fact were and they were at that place right there. We're talking about Woodstock. We're going to take a look back 40 years.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC)
HOLMES: He was pretty good with the guitar.
NGUYEN: You think?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Jimi Hendrix?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: (INAUDIBLE) little bit.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: He's fair, yeah...
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He was all right. I mean...
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: What a great way to wake up. I mean that will get you up.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, I know. We're going to be talking more about him because of course this is going to be a lot of...
NGUYEN: Woodstock, 40 years.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you believe it?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: No, I don't.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yeah, before you guys were born. Yeah I was shortly thereafter, but that's a story for another time. We have some great events to start with, guys.
We're going to start off with the Foreign Wars National Convention that's going to be taking place -- that's actually in Phoenix, Arizona. And I want you to notice how things really change in terms of kind of the focus of these because we're going from (INAUDIBLE) the veterans of foreign wars to the air and water show in Chicago, which happens to be one of the oldest and largest free air and water shows in the U.S.-- OK, got those two -- then we go to Woodstock. Woodstock Music Festival, of course a three-day event, we're going to from that to the International Gift Fair then...
HOLMES: What is that?
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) Reynolds?
WOLF: Well, you know, sometimes you like to give gifts and sometimes you like to do so internationally. So they have a little fair which they refer to as the International Gift Fair. You can just -- you use your imagination from that. Next up we have the American Chemical Society Meeting, so if you're really into testing chemicals, that's your thing. You like that, good times for you.
But then -- take a look at this -- the Seattle Hempfest. That's where the world's largest marijuana legalization festival is, because you know they think about hemp and how it can be used for clothing and for rope, not for anything else... NGUYEN: So none of them are smoking it.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: Of course not.
NGUYEN: Of course not.
WOLF: Now why in the world would you possibly think about that...
NGUYEN: Why would you do that at a hempfest, right?
WOLF: Yeah, exactly. I mean you know come on.
NGUYEN: Where did you get all of these different events? I mean they vary -- you went from a yo-yo competition, international gift fair to the hempfest.
WOLF: Well the thing is you want to go to all those events, then you want to hit up the yo-yo contest. But I mean the yo-yo contest actually took place in Orlando. There are actually 250 contestants from 20 countries...
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: They're all coming together and you see them. I mean it's an amazing thing. It's kooky. It's crazy. It's weird. You wonder how they are doing it. Did they stop off at the hempfest before they came there? I don't think so because you have to have great focus to do this kind of stuff. You know are they athletes? Maybe so -- in a very...
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: ... strange way.
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: ... Olympic event?
(CROSSTALK)
NGUYEN: Maybe not...
WOLF: Maybe not. But I mean if you look at some of the Olympic events and you look at them and you may wonder, why are they? Well then you'll go back to yo-yos and maybe so, but I mean it is...
NGUYEN: That's pretty advanced since what walking the dog...
WOLF: Absolutely, yeah, they do walking the dog, the cradle rocker and all that kind of stuff. Yeah I mean they're good with what they do. It's a beautiful thing to see and go down there to Orlando.
NGUYEN: All right... WOLF: And what else (INAUDIBLE)...
NGUYEN: Well you know what you should be doing this weekend. You should be celebrating those who really took part in the event, remember it well, the 40th anniversary of Woodstock. Can you believe it's been 40 years?
HOLMES: Again, you were -- came here soon thereafter.
WOLF: Soon after -- not that my parents were inspired.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: OK.
WOLF: I mean you know come on. They love (INAUDIBLE) Jimi Hendrix and whatnot, but I don't think they were inspired in that regard...
HOLMES: Well that was our question. Of course this was -- the original concert was 1969, August 15th through the 18th...
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: ... at a dairy farm in New York?
NGUYEN: Thirty-two acts -- yeah, over four days, including The Who, The Grateful Dead, Janice Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, just to name a few and you know the lines were so long that a lot of people really wanted to get that event. The traffic was so bad that a lot of them just kind of got stuck.
HOLMES: Wow, what was going on there...
NGUYEN: But those who got in had quite a time.
HOLMES: That was hempfest 1969...
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: No, no, no, no, but yeah, we'll be talking a lot about Woodstock this morning as well. Also, health care -- what do legislators actually agree on it? Josh Levs keeping an eye on it -- good morning Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hey, good morning to you guys. Yeah, we keep hearing about all the rancor, but there really are places where both sides agree. And when you look at that you realize we already know some of what probably will change about health care in America. We're going to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So we've heard a lot about the disagreements over health care reform, but is there anything that lawmakers actually agree on? HOLMES: You wouldn't think so, given a lot of what you watch out there on TV...
NGUYEN: Yeah.
HOLMES: ... but they actually do. Josh Levs looks at what likely will make it through Congress.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
LEVS: So we've been hearing this hypothemy (ph) of disagreement from the House in Washington and echoing across the country. And what we want to do now for a couple of minutes is focus in on what where many Democrats and Republicans agree across the aisle on health care.
And to help us do that, we have two lawmakers joining us -- actually from the same state. I'm really glad we're doing it this way. Representative Marsha Blackburn is joining us, as well as Representative Steve Cohen, both from Tennessee -- thanks to both of you for being here.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Thank you.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You're very welcome.
LEVS: This is an interesting article I saw in "USA Today" that lists some places where there's a lot of agreement, Democrats and Republicans. Does each of you -- and Representative Blackburn to you first -- agree that there should be government subsidies to help low- income Americans buy health insurance?
REP. MARSHA BLACKBURN (R), TENNESSEE: I think there is a way that government subsidies can be done and certainly many of us who have served in state legislatures have looked for ways to voucher people into a private system.
LEVS: Representative Cohen, what about you? Do you see government subsidies to help low-income Americans buy health insurance?
REP. STEVE COHEN (D), TENNESSEE: Unquestionably. We do that now with Medicaid, a great program, started in 1965. Lyndon Johnson signed it into law about 44 years ago, Medicare and Medicaid -- that are great program referred to as socialism at the time that are as American apple pie today.
LEVS: One of the things they point out here is that lawmakers pretty much across the board want to see increased competition including something like a marketplace in which people would be able to compare and contrast the different insurance plans and have more options. Is that a principle you both want to see?
BLACKBURN: There is a concept that Newt Gingrich has pushed forward with -- like a Travelocity type concept where you could go in and compare rates and compare what is offered in insurance plans. That greater transparency will help lead to greater competition and that is something that is badly needed in the health insurance market.
LEVS: Representative Cohen, are you pretty close on that one?
COHEN: Well I think so. The exchange would be an opportunity on a national level for people to compare the different insurance policies that are offered and the public plan would keep them honest.
LEVS: I think you both agree with this, preventing insurance companies from refusing to cover preexisting conditions.
BLACKBURN: Yes. I think that what we have to look at here is that for those who have pre-existing conditions, as they go into the insurance market, there needs to be some kind of risk pooling that they can move into for a period of time with those pre-existing conditions.
COHEN: I agree with Congresswoman Blackburn, but if she said that you know for a while in going to a pool, pre-existing conditions are generally with you until your death. And people, it's going to cost more to have people in insurance pools with pre-existing conditions. And that's going to cost some money wherever it is. And if it's in a private sector there needs to be some countervailing force to keep those private sector forces from getting up too high.
LEVS: How far apart honestly do you think your parties really are in coming to a resolution?
COHEN: Probably as far apart as the two sides of the Grand Canyon.
BLACKBURN: I think what we have is not so much a partisan divide as it is a philosophical divide.
LEVS: Well look I'll tell you, we all obviously hope that if you are on opposite sides of the Grand Canyon that these places in which you do agree on principle can start to surface a bridge -- obviously a lot of people counting on that ultimately happening. Thank you so much to both of you -- very good to have you with us today -- we'll talk to you again.
BLACKBURN: Good to be with you. Thank you.
LEVS: Always nice to be with Congresswoman Blackburn.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: And we do invite you to send your questions today to our 4:00 p.m. Eastern hour, which is going to be dedicated to getting you answers about health care.
HOLMES: We'll turn to Afghanistan -- a story that broke overnight -- a blast in Afghanistan, some damage was done and a few people dead in this as well. We'll tell you who's claiming responsibility for that.
NGUYEN: Yeah and President Obama, he is taking the kids to Yellowstone and our Reynolds Wolf was there this year. He's going to show us what the first family can expect.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Hello and welcome back everybody on this Saturday morning. I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: And good morning to you all. I'm T.J. Holmes -- 6:30 a.m. here in Atlanta, Georgia where we sit, 4:30 in Grand Junction, Colorado where the president will hold a health care town hall. Wherever you may be, thanks for starting your day right here.
NGUYEN: Absolutely. OK, let's get to our top story right now -- a huge suicide blast just rocked Kabul, Afghanistan, this morning, just days before the presidential election there. At least seven people were killed, but close to 100 more have been injured.
CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen was just a few miles away from that explosion and here's what he had to say.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST (via phone): It's perceived to be much larger than anything I've experienced before and certainly given the fact that I'm several miles north it was loud enough so that everybody in the place I'm staying in ran out to see what was happening.
I wouldn't say the security is sort of outrageously tight. I mean, clearly there is a great deal of concern, but you can travel around most of these streets of Kabul with no problem. You know, there are routinely traffic jams every day. There is no lockdown right now. You know, that may change on election day.
But to be honest with you, just on the surface level, the security in Kabul doesn't look a great deal different than it does in any other trip I've been here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Hello again, everybody. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. The Taliban, which has vowed to disrupt next Thursday's elections, is claiming responsibility.
HOLMES: Investigators looking into last week's collision over New York's Hudson River. Wow, that video is just amazing to see that every time. Somebody actually caught that on tape.
Well, now investigators are taking a closer look at an air traffic controller. Of course, nine people died in that crash when that helicopter collided with the small plane there. Wow.
Investigators say the controller failed to advise the pilot about potential air traffic. But union leaders argue he couldn't have done anything to prevent that crash. They say the helicopter didn't come up on radar until seconds after the crash. NGUYEN: Well, it is the biggest bank failure of the year and likely the most costly according to experts. Federal officials have shut down Colonial Bank, which has more than 300 branches across the South. The closure expected to cost taxpayers almost $3 billion. BB&T has agreed to purchase the bank and branches are expected to be back open today. BB&T is based in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. It is also a regional banking power with 1,500 branches across the Southeast. And it is a major mortgage lender. By the way, four banks in Nevada, Arizona, and Pennsylvania are also closed.
HOLMES: All right. Sometimes when you go on vacation you just have to do a little work while you're gone.
NGUYEN: Yeah. Can't help it. With this day and age of Blackberries and iPhones, and all of that they can find you anywhere.
HOLMES: They can find you everywhere.
So the president has a little family vacation going right now, however, doing a lot of work on his vacation. He's in Montana, right now, heading to Colorado. But yes, this is a working trip.
NGUYEN: Oh, absolutely. He's going to take some time off today, though, to visit Yellowstone National Park with the first family. But then it is back on the road for more town halls to continue the pitch for health care reform. But yesterday at a town hall in Montana, the focus was on the insurance companies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As you know, the health insurance companies are in favor of health care reform and have a number of very good proposals before Congress to work with government to provide insurance for the uninsured and cover individuals with pre-existing conditions. Why is it that you changed your strategy from talking about health care reform to health insurance reform, and decided to vilify the insurance companies?
OBAMA: My intent is not to vilify insurance companies. If I was vilifying them, what we'd be doing is to say that private insurance has no place in the health care market, and some people believe that. I don't believe that.
What I've said is, let's work with the existing system. We've got private insurers out there. But what we do have to make sure of is that certain practices that are very tough on people, that those practices change.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: All right. Well, several other town hall meetings are planned. They are in Colorado, California, and Georgia later today.
HARRIS: As we mentioned, the president going to be stopping by Yellowstone National Park. Going to be there around 11:30 this morning local time. Reynolds, you were there not too long ago, at Yellowstone. You had two different stories you brought us out of there.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: It was one that was gloom and doom, essentially.
WOLF: Yeah?
NGUYEN: It made you want to go quickly before it blew up.
HOLMES: Before it blew up, essentially. But that's not the one we'll talk about this morning. There was another one.
WOLF: The other one was definitely a draw.
When the president and the first family make their way to Yellowstone, they'll be seeing all kinds of animals, they are going to see bison, they're going to see grizzlies, they're going to see geysers. But I'll tell you, they're also going to be one of the finest Americans I have ever had the chance of meeting. He's called Yellowstone home for the past 40 summers.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice over): It's the reaction you hear nearly every 90 minutes at Yellowstone National Park. After 43 summers at the Old Faithful Geyser, Sam Holbrook still finds it equally inspiring. As a park ranger, he observes each eruption, takes notes and explains the phenomena to the thousands visiting each and every day.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: How long do the eruptions last?
SAM HOLBROOK, PARK RANGER, YELLOWSTONE: Each eruption lasts about four minutes, generally. About one minute up high, at about 130 feet, then it starts down, and for three minutes coming back down.
WOLF: For Sam, there are lots of questions.
HOLBROOK: 7:05, plus or minus 10 minutes. So, you've got about an hour.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. Thank you.
WOLF (On camera): How many times do you get that question each day?
HOLBROOK: You're out here roaming for about two hours at a time. People stand and watch me answer that question. They say, you should put a sign on your chest. Don't you get tired of that? No, I never do. I just -you're talking to people. That question comes up and then right after that, two or three more questions.
WOLF: Let me guess, it's "when does the geyser erupt?" The second is, "where's the bathroom?
HOLBROOK: Where's the bathroom?
(LAUGHTER)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How many gallons of water does it spurt out?
HOLBROOK: How many gallons of water; 8,000 gallons of boiling water, every hour and a half.
WOLF (voice over): Sharing that information is all natural for this former science teacher.
HOLBROOK: Where with else can you find a job where you get to be outdoors, talk to people, see the light turn on in their face, give them some information they're so excited about. I am thrilled to be here. People say, how do you get a job this? I'm not going to tell you.
Grab you a seat here, folks, because it's going to fill up.
WOLF: And while he calls it a job, he definitely doesn't think of this as work.
HOLBROOK: And I'm 77 years old so how much longer have I got to work a 40-hour week? I don't have to work a 40-hour week, but I love it here. This is not work. I'd probably do this for nothing, but don't tell the Park Service that.
WOLF: Fitting words for a man as true to this park as the Old Faithful Geyser itself.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF: One of the greatest things about this guy is you know what's happened. That there have people who have come through with their kids, maybe in their 30s, 40s, they've been there years ago with their parents. And may have met Sam, right there, at Old Faithful. I mean, he's a really, truly one of the great things about the park. To many people, just as important, say, as Old Faithful or Yellowstone Lake or any of the grizzlies.
Did you just compare him to a bear? I think I did.
NGUYEN: I think you did.
WOLF: He's not as mean as a grizzly, though, so just keep that under your hat.
NGUYEN: But he's doing something he loves. When he says, they don't have to pay me to do this, but don't tell my boss that.
WOLF: I think they know. Absolutely.
NGUYEN: Ah, OK.
WOLF: Good guy, though.
HARRIS: Reynolds, thanks.
NGUYEN: All right. So, what do you think of these town hall meetings on health care? The latest poll show it affects the way people think about the protesters.
HOLMES: Also, she grew up on a farm and became a successful actress. You'll recognize her there. My chit chat with Victoria Rowell and how childhood formed her family values today.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: CNN continues its special coverage of "Black in America 2". We want to keep the conversation going. And this morning we're looking at the story behind this book, "Family Affair". It's a collection of personal narratives from people from all walks of life.
One of those essays in there is from a familiar face -- that face. Actress and author Victoria Rowell.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: I guess it's fair to say you're a friend of our show on CNN SATURDAY & SUNDAY MORNING.
VICTORIA ROWELL, ACTRESS, AUTHOR: Thank you.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
ROWELL: Thank you.
HOLMES: Why did you want to be a part of this? When it was first brought to you by the author, why does it sound like something you want to be a part of?
ROWELL: Because I think family has many different faces and colors. I thought I might have something to offer in that respect, because I come from a collective, a quilting of people that raised me. So I think I was right.
HOLMES: I think you were with right. Your essay, which I read, I pulled a few things I want to share with our audience. The first one here, it says, and I quote: "Unifying one's own fray to bring about change is an offensive not defensive action, and it should be applauded. But we've moved away from that mindset in this day and age, where everything has to be flashy and fast."
What do you mean?
ROWELL: We live in a glossy world. And I think it's really important for us to get ourselves back as family, get our children back to basics. That we don't have to run out and make something happen. We have it within ourselves, within our own nucleus, within the home, really teaching our kids that home is sacred.
Another one I pulled which will get a lot of people's attention and you don't hear talked about that much. But this one says: "I speak two languages, corporate white American English and black American patois. Although some call it Ebonics, I do not refer to it in this somewhat derogatory manner. Our patio emerged from necessity ..."
Now we hear these conversations.
ROWELL: Yes.
HOLMES: This is not something that comes out that often, that you hear people talk about openly, but it is conversations that black people have behind the scenes.
ROWELL: Absolutely. I mean, I -- as you know -- grew up as a farmer in rural Maine. So when I arrived into Roxbury, Massachusetts, everyone was looking at me like I had a third eye. I learned a whole different language when I got to Roxbury, and I feel that African- Americans, like anyone who comes from a different country, is speaking a different language at home. It's just our patois. It's what we have derived I think from the whole journey.
And where we were not able to retain custom from different tribes from the continent of Africa, we have derived from that experience, developing our own language. So when we go into the board room, it's going to be something else. Whereas when we come home, it's our tongue. So there are two tongues.
HOLMES: But do you find that black Americans have a difficult time or feel uncomfortable using that tone they might have at home out in public. Some may even say it's inappropriate. In some ways, when you say Ebonics, certainly, which sounds derogatory to a lot of people.
ROWELL: I think some people refer to it as being phony. I don't see it as being phony. I think if you're going to be in the corporate world, whether you're tongue may be from Indonesia, you're going to speak necessarily the King's English in the boardroom. I think it it's just a necessity if you're going to be a player in corporate America. And that's how I look at it. I don't think that it's being false. I think it's being professional.
HOLMES: All right. I'll wrap up here though, talking about you. A lot of people curious about you, what you're doing, what you'll be up to. We remember when you left you were with here with us on our show right after you had left the soap opera.
ROWELL: Yes.
HOLMES: There was still the open possibility of that character coming back. You had fallen off a cliff or something.
ROWELL: This is true.
HOLMES: But we never saw the body.
ROWELL: Never saw the body.
HOLMES: So is that a possibility?
ROWELL: Always.
HOLMES: That's always a possibility.
ROWELL: Because soap operas thrive on ghosts, you know. So there's always a possibility of Drusilla coming back.
HOLMES: There she is.
ROWELL: There she is.
HOLMES: Could come back.
ROWELL: You never know. Working on that next book about daytime, "Secrets Of A Soap Opera Diva". So we'll see what happens there.
HOLMES: So, the book is happening. The other thing finally, here, a big thing happened in your life not too long ago. Were bouncing around when you walked in the studio here. That is because you were just married a couple of months back.
ROWELL: Yes. To a fabulous painter, Radcliff Bailey. There we are, with my ballet teacher, Esther Brooks and Alfre Woodard, of course.
HOLMES: "The New York Times" picture here, that we have. You look like a happy lady there. You seem like a happy lady now.
ROWELL: I'm quite happy. It it's great. It's really great.
HOLMES: Well, congratulations. We're looking forward to the next book. Congratulations for all the success from the first book. You're welcome back here anytime.
ROWELL: Thank you so much.
HOLMES: Good to see you.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: I love her. She has an incredible since of calmness about her. She knows her place, she know her being. She just has it.
HOLMES: She's been around, done a lot. Spending more time in Atlanta here, because he is from Atlanta. So, her husband -- she was out in LA, spending a lot of time here now. The first book, you remember, when she was here, when she left the soap opera, fell off the cliff,
The first book, "Women Who Raised Me," talked about those women who have been part of her life. Still on tour with that book, even signing books in Atlanta, actually today. She's still out there doing this. But the interesting point, you and I were sitting here talking about, the two languages that people speak. She made, like you said, a valid point there about you're one way at home, it doesn't make it inappropriate, it just means you have to be professional when you are out in the boardroom.
NGUYEN: It's corporate speak.
HOLMES: She called it white corporate, but it is corporate speak.
NGUYEN: It's just the way of doing business these days.
All right. Well, imagine this, folks. Driving 135 miles an hour from about Baltimore to New York. Actually, not an hour, just 135 miles. It would be pretty fast if you're going that speed.
Now, imagine running in extreme heat while you're doing that 135 miles. Well, 86 people did that. We followed them through the Badwater Ultra Marathon.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: What we're about to tell you about not taking it easy, at all, as the Eagles sing. It's a challenge like no other. A 135- mile run up three mountains in 120-degree heat. The annual Badwater Ultra Marathon in California has been called the hardest footrace in the world. Something Ashley Fantz knows firsthand.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ASHLEY FANTZ, CNN.COM WRITER, PRODUCER (voice over): This is Death Valley, California. Every July 90 runners gather here in this broiling desert that reaches 120 degrees. They'll run 135 miles in the hardest footrace in the world. The Badwater Ultra Marathon, 135 miles.
That's like running from Baltimore to New York with a million blow dryers pointed in your face. Battling sleep deprivation and altitude, runners start at 282 feet below sea level, climb more than 13,000 feet across three mountain ranges to finish on Mt. Whitney.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: You have to dig deeper than you've ever dug, and it's like to experience this with your family and friends, and just the beauty of it all, it really brings me back. And the people that I meet at these, the runners, and the crew, it's like a little family. It's something you get drawn to.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I felt deeply connected to the earth and everything that encompasses the desert. To some people it's just a place. To me, it's really a spiritual place.
FANTZ: This how I spent my summer vacation. I went to Badwater as a marathoner who wanted to up my game. Plan A was observe and report. But when a race official said, hey, you should run the first 17 miles. I went to Plan B. (On camera): It's crazy.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That is awesome. We have the sun coming out now. I'm excited.
FANTZ: Good attitude. I think maybe 80 percent of this thing is attitude, right?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Being miserable.
(Voice over): That's the same guy at mile 72 having a needle put (AUDIO GAP)
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Oh, my goodness.
HOLMES: That was nasty.
NGUYEN: Did you see that callous or whatever that was on her foot. Ashley Fantz joining us now. First of all, can you explain what that was? Was that your foot?
FANTZ: No, no, no. That was someone else's foot.
NGUYEN: Oh, good. I didn't see you wobbling in here.
FANTZ: No. Inevitably people are going to have their feet turn into pizza, very, very blistered.
HOLMES: This is morning television here. Can you take it down?
NGUYEN: That's a nice thought for you, having a little breakfast out there.
FANTZ: Maybe I should take it down a notch.
HOLMES: Please, a little bit.
NGUYEN: You are a little hard core, but this is an ultra marathon, right? Why would people want to do this? I mean, that's difficult.
FANTZ: There are different reasons why people want to do it. It's a bit of an understatement to say that they want challenge, but I like to think as the Badwater as more a pilgrimage through the desert than a race. Because it's 135 miles.
You're going to stop every now and then and eat and maybe you'll have a little bit of sleep. You're talking about an altitude battle, dealing with sleep deprivation. You have a 60-hour time limit, but the prize for Badwater is a belt buckle. And you need to come in, in 48 hours to get that. There's no money in it.
NGUYEN: So they do it because they love it, apparently. How long do you have to train? What do you need to do to get ready for something that difficult?
FANTZ: You need to train for the road and train for the heat. So most people are out there eight, nine hours a day sometimes. And they have jobs, too. They'll get up at 3:00 in the morning and they'll run. When they come home, they'll run. A lot of times they'll work out in the sauna to get that dry heat.
HOLMES: Oh, my goodness. Well, interesting you say about 30 percent fall out. Maybe they do literally fall out.
FANTZ: They do fall out. They collapse. Yes, yes.
You have to have a crew with you. And it's required that you have a crew with a medical person that can monitor your vitals just to make sure that you're hydrated, that you're sane, too, because you're in the desert. It's very hot. There is sleep deprivation. You're probably going to hallucinate maybe a little bit.
HOLMES: Wow.
NGUYEN: See an oasis out there somewhere, it's nothing but sand.
FANTZ: Right, exactly, exactly.
HOLMES: Obviously they're not sane, if they're starting the race anyway.
We appreciate you bring that interesting story this morning. Could have done without the foots as pizza.
NGUYEN: We may check your sanity as well.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: Ashley Fantz, thank you this morning.
FANTZ: That's good. You haven't had breakfast yet. I'm just trying to help you out with that.
HOLMES: It would be coming up if I did.
NGUYEN: Yeah, let's make sure.
FANTZ: Thank you.
NGUYEN: All right. We want you to take a look at this remarkable video. This is a rescue mission. In fact, they're continuing today in Taiwan. Because thousands of people, they are still trapped because of that typhoon there. Our correspondent John Vause is on the scene. We'll go to him live in just 10 minutes.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. We've been asking you this morning, in light of Michael Vick signing with the Philadelphia Eagles, what do you think about it? We've gotten a lot of comments from you so far. You've been talking to us via Facebook and Twitter. Want to read some of those right now.
Let's go to my Facebook page first of all. Edward says, "Let this road show begin. All the protesters, media, Eagles just grabbed a big-time distraction."
Go to Twitter, Smoky C-4 says, "I will never watch the Eagles play football again. What Vick did is just unforgivable."
But then you go down here and you've got JMG1995, who says, "He has an opportunity to impact the community just by doing his job and being a good citizen. I hope he does well."
So, a lot of people not so happy about it. Don't want to let go of what occurred. But others are saying, look, he did his time. So let the man earn a living. We're going to see a lot of people talking on both sides of this issue as he starts, what, when does he go to practice?
HOLMES: Should start today, be in the Eagles practice. Again, he's going back for a pretty decent chunk of change, $1.6 million for the first year, $5 million option, for the second year. We'll see what happens. He's in a good system, an established coach, an established quarterback there already, with Donovan McNabb.
NGUYEN: He was key on getting Vick on the team, wasn't he?
HOLMES: Oh, yes. He actually recruited Vick to come to Syracuse when they were back in college. It didn't work out that way. But still he's known him for a long time. Hopefully he's got a good group of folks around him.
Of course, you can always send us Facebook, Twitter, our blog, as well. There it is. There are. There we are. Nice picture there.
NGUYEN: The way to find us, very easy, Facebook, Twitter, weekends@cnn.com, or our blog. We want to hear from you today. Let us know what you think.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this August 15th. I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: Good morning everybody. I'm Betty Nguyen. It's 7:00 a.m. here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in St. Louis, and 5:00 a.m. in Grand Junction, Colorado. Thanks for starting your day with us.
All right. We talk about Grand Junction, Colorado, well, there's going to be a big town hall there today in fact. And guess who's going to be there? President Obama. Yes, Grand Junction really has quite a health care plan in place. And, in fact, it could be a model for the rest of the nation. We're going to break that down for you as well.
Also, we're going to break down where the Democrats and the Republicans actually agree on the issue of health care. HOLMES: All right. And also, a lot of people could use some mortgage assistance these days.
When we saw these huge lines, we can check this video out behind me. A lot of people are lining up, there's a National Assistance Corporation of America. And what they do, they travel around, they have a tour, trying to help people get these -- they work with lenders to try to get the mortgage rates down. Well, a lot of people showed up just outside this it building in Atlanta, up to 10,000 we're told.
We'll let you know how this is working for some, but it's not necessarily working for others. We'll explain that, our mortgage expert will be there, Clyde Anderson. We'll talk to him shortly.
But first, the top stories overnight to tell you about.
Despite a tighter security ahead of the presidential elections, a suicide bomber set off a car bomb today in Afghanistan's capital of Kabul. At least seven dead, about 100 injured. This explosion went off near NATO security headquarters as well as the U.S. embassy. The Taliban, which has vowed to disrupt next Thursday's elections, is claiming responsibility for this bombing.
NGUYEN: All right. Well, listen up, folks -- because starting today, you're going to have to give your birth date and your gender when booking a flight. The new requirement is part of a program that will eventually put federal authorities in complete control of checking passenger identification. The Transportation Safety Administration says the additional information will help increase security while making sure innocent people are not mistakenly identified as those on the terrorist watch list.
HOLMES: And memorial services are happening in parts of Taiwan today to remember victims of typhoon Morakot. The typhoon slammed into Taiwan last Saturday, spawning the worst flooding and landslides there in 50 years. As much as 100 inches of rain fell in Taiwan, more than 100 people confirmed dead. Officials say the death toll could go as high as 500.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's get to that massive rescue operation to help the victims of Typhoon Morakot. More than 1,000 villagers are trapped in villages blocked by mudslides and heavy flooding.
CNN senior international correspondent John Vause joins us now live from Taiwan.
John, talk to us about the devastation and what's going on to find those people who are trapped.
JOHN VAUSE, CNN SR. INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, Betty, right now, with nightfall, those operations are starting to wind down. But all day again today, rescue crews continue to push on into those mountainous regions by foot, by air, by SUV, trying to reach the people who are still waiting to be evacuated. The government says that, right now, as of tonight, 1,375 people are still waiting to get out. And there are still being some dramatic rescues. On Friday, a local Taiwanese video crew filmed this man as he was trying to cross a very fast-moving river. He was clinging to his safety rope when he was almost washed away. They reported his two sons looking on. Rescue workers nearby convinced him to let go of that safety rope. When he did, they grabbed him and took him to safety. I was at that river yesterday and saw a number of people in a similar situation, being swept away and then rescued.
Today here in Taiwan, though, was a chance to remember those who did not make it -- in particular, in one village of Hsiaolin where it's believed the most number of people died. And there on the mud, the survivors gathered. And as tradition here in Taiwan, they burnt money, they had gifts for the dead to take into the afterlife.
And some of the survivors, they told CNN that they don't want that village rebuilt. Instead, they want it made into a permanent memorial. They just want the dead now to be able to rest in peace.
There's also grieving today for a volunteer rescue worker who died and Taiwan's president, Ma, was there. And he did what he's been doing a lot of in recent days. He offered his apologies.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MA YING JEOU, TAIWAN PRESIDENT (through translator): We can do it better. We can act more quickly. But we didn't do it better. We weren't quick enough. Of course, we express our apologies.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
VAUSE: Now, President Ma and his government have been roundly condemned for their handling of this disaster. Their next challenge will be the recovery. And some say that could take a year, probably more, Betty.
NGUYEN: And, John, I want to get back to just those remarkable pictures that are coming out from the river crossings where people are trying to be rescued. I understand you tried to cross a river yesterday as well. Talk to us about what that experience was like.
VAUSE: Well, we got there yesterday and what they've set up, they've set up a system of harnesses and pulleys where they're getting the villagers out of Sinkai. And about 300 people came out via that harness system. It's about 200 feet up. It's a straight drop right down onto some very jagged rocks into that fast moving water.
Some people decided what we saw that they didn't want to do the harness. They thought they'd take their chances in the river. That turned out to be pretty dangerous.
Now, that harness system is no longer working. It was put to such use that the cables had started to slack. They're worried that those cables would in fact snap if they'll continue to be used. So, at one point, I was actually stuck on the other side and I actually had to make that trip through the river a little bit further downstream. It was a little slower moving down there. So, it's actually a lot easier to get through where those people were trying to cross.
But all in all, it's a very harrowing experience no matter which way you want to do it, Betty.
NGUYEN: Yes, just an example that they are trying anything and everything they can to rescue those trapped villagers.
John, thanks so much for that. We do appreciate it. We'll be checking in with you very shortly.
HOLMES: We will turn back to the, I guess, the housing crisis, mortgage crisis we've been seeing here in this country. NACA, that's a nonprofit group. Have you heard of it? NACA is what it's called, N-A-C-A. A lot of people have heard of it a whole lot.
Look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I heard about the NACA program that helps families like us to get the loan program started. So, that's -- I drove 18 hours here.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Eighteen hours. Why would she drive 18 hours? We'll explain. And they promise to save the American dream when nobody else can. We'll see if they can really do that. That's coming up.
NGUYEN: Also -- plus, some answers every parent with young children are looking for. We have them and we are sharing them with you right here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Well, foreclosures, they are on the rise again. Some areas are far worse than others. Now, last month a record number of defaults, repossessions and auctions were filed -- more than 360,000 in all.
And I want you to look at the impact here. According to RealityTrac, one in every 355 homes in the U.S. had at least one court filing in July. The worst-hit areas -- take a look at this - Nevada: that is where one out of every 56 homes is in trouble; Arizona: one out of every 135 homes is in foreclosure procedures there; and in Florida: the number is one out of every 154 homes.
HOLMES: Yes, desperation? That's the whole new meaning when you're about to lose your home. That's desperate.
So, look at some of these folks we're going to show you video of. They stood in line for days, literally. Scorching hot Atlanta, Georgia -- Hotlanta, what they call it here.
A nonprofit group was promising to do what no banker before them could do. That's why they were lined up. Look at that folks. They were trying to save the American dream.
Now, this company -- this nonprofit actually -- are they the real deal? We're going after that answer this morning.
First, though, this report from Diana Davis with our affiliate WSB showing the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America at work.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You are not standing in line in vain. Everybody will be served.
DIANA DAVIS, WSB REPORTER (voice-over): In blazing sun, the line estimated at 10,000, all in desperate straits to pay their mortgage. Waiting in the hot sun for what they hope will be debt relief indoors.
Out of work since January, Rudy Hernandez hasn't paid his mortgage in six months.
RUDY HERNANDEZ: Thirteen hours in there yesterday. My counselor told me with this voucher I could go to the front of the line. And now, I get there and there's this humongous line. It's going to take forever to get in there.
DAVIS: But the line moved quickly, helping people cut budget and refinance to prevent foreclosure.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Work with us. Be patient with each other and we will get you seen today.
DAVIS: Marion Walker's (ph) monthly payment was reduced $300.
MARION WALKER (ph): I got a reduction yesterday. I just got to comeback today to see the mortgage people -- to verify with the mortgage people.
DAVIS: Jimmy Vickers (ph) and his daughter waiting patiently. They have a first and second mortgage on their Douglasville house. And now that he's lost his overtime, he can't afford it.
JIMMY VICKERS (ph): About $1,600.
DAVIS (on camera): Can you afford anywhere near that?
VICKERS: No. That's the reason why I'm here in line.
DAVIS (voice-over): Counselors say it's a sadly familiar story.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We know it's desperate, you know? And we don't want to go on these tours, but, you know, we're forced. To be honest, if the government and other nonprofits were doing more, they wouldn't need to stop here.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: (AUDIO BREAK) with me this morning.
National -- excuse me -- Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America, can they do what they claim they can do?
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL EXPERT: You know what, T.J.? I've seen them help a lot of people.
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: They have helped a lot of people. They've, reduced interest rates. I've seen some people that went into the event, got interest rates as low as 2 percent. So, they've been a saving grace to many.
HOLMES: So, that sounds great. So, do people need to go in there with certain expectations? Everybody that lines probably thinks they can get help. But what are the limitations?
ANDERSON: They do. You really got to know it. And some people felt that they went to the event and didn't know everything.
HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: Like you can't do FHA loans. They're not doing modification on FHA loans, which is big. A lot of people that gotten in those lines have FHA loans. So, they've got to understand that.
But you got understand also, they're not the end all to end all. They've got some issues too as far as customer service. I've seen people complain and say, "Hey, you know, I thought I was getting this and nothing happened." Or, you know, "I went down there, sat in line forever and they turned me away." But I was also seeing some great stories of people that got help.
So, you know, you really got to do your homework and do your research to make sure they can help you.
HOLMES: We did a little homework, a little research here. And, you know, this, NACA is what they're called, has been traveling around, they were in Columbia, South Carolina, back in March. We're going to show you what at least one of our affiliates there reporting, WIS. They were following this story of this guy Neil Johnson (ph).
And this is what he says, "Five months after the NACA event and months behind on his mortgage, Johnson didn't find out that using NACA wouldn't be an option for him until just last week."
And what they're talking about here is not every company that you might have your loan with, not everybody is willing to work with NACA.
I mean, how many people do recognize NACA as legitimate and willing to work with them to get these loans down?
ANDERSON: I can tell you, the lenders that I know, and NACA has relationships or partnerships with certain lenders, Bank of America is one. HOLMES: OK.
ANDERSON: Citigroup is one, Citi Mortgage. And then also Wells Fargo -- I know they have a partnership as well. So, those are the ones I know. So, you really got to ask to find out, who will they work with and ask NACA that question, first of all.
HOLMES: All right. How many would you say -- I know it's tough to guess out there with all these folks lining up but -- I mean, what's the percentage of folks for the most part who were out here. We're talking about 10,000 here in Atlanta.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: How many of those folks actually were eligible even for some kind of NACA help?
ANDERSON: I would say, you know, what I've been seeing is almost one out of three, I would say, that have been able to get some help. You know, some people had stories of, "Hey, they couldn't help me." But some people are saving $500 a month in their mortgage.
Someone called and said they got a 2 percent interest rate, you know. And some people had six months forbearances where there no mortgage payment for six months allows them to get back on their feet. So, they got several options that will help people, but it won't be for everybody. So, some people going out there won't be able to get help.
HOLMES: All right. But -- you can save yourself a lot of grief and a lot of time in line if you just do your homework ahead of time.
ANDERSON: That's it.
HOLMES: Before you go and then find out whether or not they can help.
ANDERSON: That's it. Do your homework, ask questions, and make sure it's for you.
HOLMES: All right. Appreciate it. How's the finger, man?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE) on everything.
ANDERSON: It's doing all right.
HOLMES: Yes. All right. Clyde Anderson, our housing expert, good to see you this morning.
ANDERSON: You, too.
HOLMES: Betty?
NGUYEN: Nothing gets past you, T.J. All right. Well, so many claims flying around about health care. CNN has brought back the truth squad to separate fact from fiction -- and our Josh Levs joins us with that.
Hey, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, Betty. Yes, we're all over it. This one right now: Will health care reform give the government access to your bank account? The truth squad has a verdict on that one.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: What was the word we used earlier to describe these town halls?
NGUYEN: Contentious.
HOLMES: Contentious? I wanted to go with spirited.
NGUYEN: Yes. It was contentious in some parts.
HOLMES: In some parts, we've seen a lot of this video around the country. Well, the president at a town hall, he's had a couple of these thing about health care reform. Everybody was curious what's going to happen, if people are going to yell at the president.
NGUYEN: At the president. Right.
HOLMES: Not so much.
Well, there's some questions about the crowd as well, saying it was kind of hand-picked, it was kind of a friendly crowd.
But take a look here. The president finished some of these -- and for the most part, they have been pretty nice. We don't have the video for you, but the crowd pretty much kept it civil. He had one in Montana, had one in New Hampshire as well. But pretty much, they all kept it civil and certainly, yesterday, in Montana as well. And then he has another one coming up.
NGUYEN: Yes. In fact, the president holds another one today in Grand Junction, Colorado. It's just one of several health care- related events that's going on.
Democratic Congressman Pete Stark -- well, he is holding three, in fact, in California. Take a look at this map. There's a lot going on. Yes, he is a brave man to do three.
But a lot of these town halls taking place this weekend, and here's map of that.
Let's get you to Democratic Congressman David Scott. He is going to be holding a health fair.
And then who else is doing it? Fellow Democratic congressman, Danny Davis, he has a town hall meeting this morning as well. And reform opponents will hold a rally in Atlanta with former Republican congressman, Dick Armey.
So, boy, a lot on the agenda today. If you can get out and go to one of these, try to. But in some places though, the emotions may be a little high.
HOLMES: Yes. And we're curious to see what's going to happen. Representative Scott, as we know, he was the one who had the swastika actually painted...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ... outside on his office after he had kind of a run-in with somebody at a town hall meeting, a little shouting match. But he's having a health fair today. A lot of people are wondering how it's going to go. Not a town hall, just a fair.
NGUYEN: But that's what he had last time and that's when the debate erupted.
HOLMES: Well, he claims that that meeting was supposed to be something totally different. Then he got a question about health care. And that's when he kind of shouted the guy down and he said, "Hey, we're not here to talk about health care." But the clip you see on TV looks like him and this guy really going at it about health care.
Talking about these town hall meetings -- Josh Levs is looking into health care and this whole debate for us this morning.
Good morning to you again, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning to you. Yes, I'll tell you something, you know, as we're following these things, we're hearing a lot of stuff shouted. You guys just talking about some examples of how contentious this can get.
Let me just show you one example. At a town hall just the other day, there were people talking about this idea that the government might ultimately get access to everyone's bank account in the country. Take a look.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: On pages 58 and 59 of this bill, which gives the government access to private individual bank accounts at their free will. I do not think the government has the right to do that. I would think -- I'd have to brush up on my Constitution -- but I would think that's unconstitutional. I know definitely it's un- American.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. Now, I'm just going to give you a couple of basic facts and our verdict. Let's go straight to it.
First, something here on this graphic to understand, that the House bill, which is the one bill a lot of people are looking at, it's 1,000 pages long, it calls on the government to set rules for electronic transactions.
But what we'll show you here on the next screen is what it's really designed to do, what it does is create this system, this standardized payment system, between insurers and doctors so hospitals and doctors offices can get paid. And the idea behind the bill is that they'll get paid in the way that is the most efficient, that avoid duplication and it specifically is not designed to cover every of individual out there.
So when the truth squad tackled this one, we said that accusation out there is simply false because the provision affects companies in medical billing, it does not affect individuals. And, guys, that's one of the many rumors that have been flying around out there.
There are so many that we've actually set up a system right here at CNN.com/healthcare. Check it out. When you go there at slash healthcare, right here, you'll see on the main page, we bring you to some of our fact checks. And you can see we'll be looking at one later this morning: Will new health bill cover illegal immigrants? We'll have our verdict on that in just a couple of hour from now. And all of it, everything -- including the one I was just talking to you about -- you can see any time of day, CNN.com/healthcare.
And we're going to keep growing this thing in the coming days, guys. It's really interesting, pulling together all of these reports, all these different videos, everything you need to know to set facts from fiction.
So, join us there at dotcom and obviously keep watching here for truth squad throughout the day.
NGUYEN: Well, it's so important too because -- and when you see a lot of the video coming out of the town hall meetings, a lot of it, you know, the shouting, the shoving and whatnot. But a lot of people at home just want to know, hey, what are the issues and where can I get answers?
LEVS: Yes.
NGUYEN: So, it's a great site where you can do that. Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks.
HOLMES: Well, we were expecting to show you something.
NGUYEN: A song here.
HOLMES: It was a song we are waiting with.
I don't expect you to bust out in song.
NGUYEN: I will not be singing this. HOLMES: So, let's improvise. Fantasia, there she is. She is still doing her thing on stage these days, but she's not just singing anymore, throwing in some acting in there as well. I spent some time with her not too long ago. Hear what medical issue threatened her singing career.
NGUYEN: And you have to see this 11-year-old boy. Damon Weaver, all right, he gets his dream interview and actually makes a new friend.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAMON WEAVER, 11-YEAR-OLD BOY JOURNALIST: When I interviewed Vice President Joe Biden, he became my homeboy. Now that I interview you, would you like to become my homeboy?
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Absolutely. Thank you, man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: You know you've made it when the president is your homeboy.
Well, he asked President Obama a couple of things, including can he dunk, what can a kid like him do to make a difference, and was Obama actually bullied in school?
So, we're going to get you some answers to all of those questions. That's a great interview. Stay with us for that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: All right. So, finding a good babysitter can be pretty tough, but one company is making it a little more scientific.
HOLMES: And our Issa Tespar (ph) explains in this week's "How We Got Started."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ISSA TESPAR (ph), CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Adrienne Kallweit, mother of three and professional private investigator. So, when she considered hiring a certain babysitter, she ran a background check.
ADRIENNE KALLWEIT, SEEKINGSITTERS: I was shocked what I found on her. She had protective orders, eviction notices, things that just weighed on her character.
TESPAR (ph): Then she started screening all potential sitters for herself, family and friends.
A. KALLWEIT: We had come to our own pool of sitters here at Tulsa. TESPAR (ph): But when Adrianne and her husband needed childcare while on vacation, they didn't know who to call. On the drive home, they came up with a solution -- SeekingSitters, an on-call babysitting service that prescreens experienced sitters and their clients. The couple launched the Web site the very next day.
A. KALLWEIT: Our goal from day one was to be a national company.
TESPAR (ph): The Kallweits tried to open an Oklahoma City branch from Tulsa, but it lacked a local feel.
DAVID KALLWEIT, SEEKINGSITTERS: That's why we went into the franchising, to have that local person interactive with the community and they know all the girls personally.
TESPAR (ph): There are now 31 franchises in 12 states. But no matter how big the company gets, the driving force is peace of mind.
D. KALLWEIT: You look at that big question: would we trust this sitter with our kids before we send them out to any of our members.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. We've been talking a lot about Michael Vick. He has found a place to play football. We're getting your comments this morning after he signed with the Eagles. Alison sent me a tweet over here, saying, "Cheering for Michael Vick even though not a football fan, he has done his time, now time for him to go and earn a living."
We have several more comments we're going to be sharing with you this morning. We appreciate you sending those in. Continue to do so. You know where to find us -- Facebook, Twitter and also at our blog.
NGUYEN: And more top stories at the top of the hour when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
But first, "HOUSE CALL" with Dr. Sanjay Gupta starts right now.
