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CNN Saturday Morning News
Woman in Embryo Mix-Up Gives Birth to Baby Boy; Bomb-Plot Suspect Reportedly Eyed Attack on 9/11; Biden Visits Georgia Flood Victims; Xbox Technology May Aid Heart-Disease Fight; Brewer Uses Rainwater To Create 'Green' Beer
Aired September 26, 2009 - 06:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: Hi.
BETTY NGUYEN, CNN ANCHOR: We're trying to get it together, everybody. Hello.
HOLMES: We have it together.
NGUYEN: On this Saturday morning.
HOLMES: What are you talking about? We have it together. We have it all together.
NGUYEN: It takes a little work. Come on. This doesn't come naturally, right?
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE). You look great.
NGUYEN: I mean, you jump out of bed and look like -- well, you do. I don't.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: No, but the hair is perfect this morning.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: You got it all working this morning, Betty.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Thank you, T.J.
HOLMES: Well, hello to you.
NGUYEN: Paid to say that.
HOLMES: To you all on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes. She is the aforementioned and also lovely-this-morning Betty Nguyen.
(INAUDIBLE)
NGUYEN: Thank you, T.J. He'll brighten anybody's day.
It is 6 a.m. here in Atlanta; 5 a.m. in Houston, Texas. Thank you for starting your day with us.
Let's get right to it, because Atlanta still cleaning up this morning. And more heavy rain is expected today, what the city really does not need after so much flooding. Vice President Joe Biden visited yesterday, got a really good look at the damage. We'll give you much more throughout the show.
HOLMES: They had a mess here for the past really...
NGUYEN: Oh my goodness.
HOLMES: ...week or so of floods.
NGUYEN: Millions and millions in damages.
HOLMES: In damages.
We're starting to get it together, but a little more rain is on the way.
This story also this morning we'll be talking about has a lot of people talking...
NGUYEN: Gee, wow.
HOLMES: But quite frankly, that is the best way to play it: wow.
A lady is implanted with the wrong embryo. She finds out 10 days later, but decides not to terminate the pregnancy and also not to fight for custody. She essentially unknowingly and just decided she would carry this baby ...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ...for this family that she did not know. Well, she has given birth. It is a -- a topic that we'll have online. Want you to chime in on this issue.
NGUYEN: Really, the question is: Would you do it? I mean, or -- or would your wife do it? You know, implanted. You -- you go to this fertility clinic, you think you're going to have a baby, and it turns out to be....
HOLMES: Somebody else's.
NGUYEN: ...the wrong embryo. Yes. So e-mail us your comments, Facebook, Twitter, also our blog at CNN.
And guess who's back this weekend?
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Reynolds Wolf.
HOLMES: Our Reynolds. And what is Reynolds doing this weekend? How... NGUYEN: He's tapping a beer keg.
HOLMES: How perfect is this? There's our guy, all right? Oh, it sounds like he's getting some applause there as well.
NGUYEN: They've had a few.
HOLMES: Yes, there's more to this story, actually: beer that's made from 100 percent rainwater.
NGUYEN: Hmm.
HOLMES: Of course. Who else but our meteorologist to track this down? And our resident beer drinker. It's a perfect story for our Reynolds Wolf. He'll be along here in just a bit.
But also, we do have some top stories we wanted to tell you about. There as you see Reynolds over there in the corner.
NGUYEN: And he's not drinking it this morning.
HOLMES: He is sober folks, we assure you. Maybe.
All right. Our top stories here this morning.
First of all, let's take a look at what happened -- show you this video out of Pittsburgh. Major protests we've been seeing. This is what we got in last night. Massive protests outside the University of Pittsburgh. This is at the end of the G-20 Summit. Police officers had to break up large groups of demonstrators who they say did not have permits to be out there.
Now inside, an assembly of members of the new G-20, President Obama, says the group is confident with the efforts made so far fixing the global economic system and preventing future financial meltdowns.
NGUYEN: Well, Iran is answering some criticism of its nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismisses claims by President Obama that Iran's nuclear program is violating international rules. Tehran though acknowledged yesterday that it has a second uranium- enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom, which is about 100 miles southwest of Tehran.
Now, the Iranian leader also is being critical of President Obama, calling his claim "baseless."
He spoke last night with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
LARRY KING, CNN HOST: You told the editors of "Time" magazine that it would be a mistake for Obama to bring up this newly revealed nuclear plan. Why -- why is this a mistake for him to bring it up?
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, PRESIDENT OF IRAN (through translator): Well, I believe he's made a mistake. The mistake is very clear. We informed the agency even before we were required to about the facility's operation. So how can he possibly accuse us of secretly engaging in an activity that did not take place? This is a big mistake, accusing us of an action that did not take place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, President Obama said yesterday that Iran is -- quote -- "on notice" regarding its nuclear program.
HOLMES: Turn to Pakistan now, where 14 people are killed in two bomb attacks. Eight were killed in Peshawar when a bomb went off near a state-owned bank and a military hospital. Two people were arrested. The other explosion was at a police station in the northwest frontier province.
NGUYEN: Well, it has been a busy month for federal agents tracking terror right here in the United States. Three separate plots have been uncovered, and suspects, they've been arrested. And listen tot his: Men in Illinois, Texas -- those two are accused of trying to blow up buildings with car bombs.
HOLMES: Also, federal investigators in Denver and New York looking for more evidence and accomplices in a plot to attack an unknown target.
Let's start by looking at that plot in particular. The suspect, Najibullah Zazi being held in Brooklyn this morning. He was moved there after his appearance in federal court over in Denver yesterday.
NGUYEN: Yes, and prosecutors say Zazi was planning an attack in New York on September 11. Now, it never happened, but he faces a charge of conspiring to use a weapon of mass destruction.
But just how was he going to do that? Well, CNN's Susan Candiotti is taking a closer look.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
SUSAN CANDIOTTI, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: T.J., Betty, the surveillance video obtained exclusively by CNN Thursday matches court documents that puts a terror suspect in a beauty-supply store twice in July and August. The store's owner says the FBI approached him during a canvas of businesses last week, looking for unusual sales of hydrogen peroxide, a chemical used to make a powerful explosive called a TATP.
In the first video, a man to be (ph) Najibullah Zazi, wearing a baseball cap backwards, walks up to a counter in Aurora, Colorado, with six bottles of a cheap peroxide hair product. He throws in a few more items, including a shower cap.
A few weeks later, the FBI says Zazi goes back to the same store and buys a dozen more bottles, and a makeup bag. He puts the bottles into a shopping cart and moves it down the aisle.
The store's chain CEO says that is an odd amount, but employees were not alarmed. The customer joked that he was buying it for a lot of his girlfriends.
KARAN HOSS, CEO, BEAUTY SUPPLY WAREHOUSE: There was some small talk and specific to the product, I believe one of the employees actually asked, 'What are you buying -- what are you using all this stuff for?' And he jokingly said, 'Oh, I have a lot of girlfriends.'
CANDIOTTI: The store voluntarily turned over to the FBI the videos and two receipts that coincided with purchases on those dates. He paid cash. The bottles are cheap; in all, 18 bottles for about $3 each.
In court documents, prosecutors say Zazi and others bought other large quantities of chemicals intending to make a bomb. So far, no chemicals have been found, and no other helpers arrested -- T.J., Betty.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUYEN: Well, a teenage terror suspect is in jail in Dallas this morning. Nineteen-year-old Hassan Smadi has little to say during his...
HOLMES: OK. Oh. (ph).
NGUYEN: ...in court. That happened yesterday. And investigators say he parked a truck that he thought was packed with explosives in a parking garage under a skyscraper in downtown Dallas. But the explosives given to him by an undercover officer, they were fake. He's due back in court on October 5.
Agents had a similar story in Springfield, Illinois. Investigators there say they arrested Michael C. Finton when he tried to blow up a federal courthouse with a van full of phony explosives. He thought he was working with a low-level al-Qaeda operative, but it was actually an undercover FBI agent.
We should point out that both cases, the one in Dallas and in Springfield, Illinois, are unrelated to the terror investigation we told you about dealing with Denver and New York.
HOLMES: Oh, I just get tired of seeing that severe-weather graphic that comes up...
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Oh yes.
HOLMES: ...on the screen. Because it has been severe down here. A lot of us have been hit with it and affected by it, no matter if that's just our houses got hit or just trying to get around.
WOLF: Absolutely.
HOLMES: Everybody down here was affected in some way. We were all reporting in it, and some of us were reporting right in our own front yards in some cases.
Let's take a quick look here. Let's roll and show you what my man was doing just a few days ago.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: In a normal day, what we could do, if you happened to be over here, is we could go for a walk about 100 yards back in the woods, all the way to the creek itself. Down at the other side of the creek, we have a nature preserve.
Well, right now, the creek is in our backyard.
HOLMES: Wow.
WOLF: You can see right there -- I'm going to move very slowly, I understand we're online so we're just going to kind of slowly move over there. And you can just make out, hopefully, the backyard. You can see a swing set...
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, we can see it.
WOLF: ...where my daughters play all the time. And water's actually all the way up to the slide and actually moving a blue seat that you see kind of halfway submerged in the water.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WOLF: First -- first comment, working from home, highly overrated.
HOLMES: Yes.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: Highly, highly overrated.
No, but I mean, what -- what we had is we had some damage just in our backyard, and I mean, the water came within 20 feet of the house, then it receded back into Sweetwater Creek. But I mean, that's nothing compared to what so many people had to deal with across the area.
HOLMES: (INAUDIBLE)
WOLF: I mean, look at this. I mean, we're talking a nightmare scenario. We're talking about nine people dead; some people lost everything they have. Many people who don't have one bit of flood insurance because they were told they'd never need it, because they live beyond the 100-year flood plain, are completely submerged. Today, they're waking up and they'll -- of course, the water's gone. But there's -- they still have a heck of a cleanup. And we have more rain in the forecast today, T.J.
HOLMES: And we have several -- several counties here who -- that have declared disaster areas, will get some federal money. We know Vice President Biden was down here checking it out not too long ago.
But like you've mentioned, there are nine deaths blamed on a lot of this flooding. And it -- I don't know why this always -- and I -- you just -- it gets -- just throws you off-guard. I mean, we got so much rain. I mean, you -- how do you even prepare for that?
Some people -- I mean, we're not used to it here in Atlanta to that degree. But I mean, really, what kind of an event was this? I mean, how often will we see (INAUDIBLE)?
WOLF: You know, this is exactly what we refer to when we see "flash-flood event," because it happened so quickly. I mean, you'll think about some of the flooding that happened, say, in Fargo earlier in the year, when you had huge sandbagging operations. We didn't have time for sandbags with a thing like this, because it happened so quickly.
And today, that's going to be the possibility in some sports of Georgia today.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Well, we were talking about this a little earlier: A couple wanting to have a baby, need to go to a fertility clinic to get some help here.
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: They got their wish; the lady's pregnant. Ten days later, she gets a call, says, 'By the way, that baby's not yours.'
NGUYEN: Yours.
HOLMES: They implanted the wrong embryo. But she decides to go ahead and carry that baby for the other couple that she did not know...
NGUYEN: Not know.
HOLMES: ...at all. Well, she has now had the baby. That is the topic we're asking you about on Facebook and Twitter today, asking you: What would you do? What do you think about the decision that she made?
NGUYEN: Yes, reach out to us; let us know. You can find us on Facebook, Twitter; also, our blog, CNN.com/Betty, CNN.com/TJ.
And we got to tell you -- tell you about this: How a video-game system can actually help your heart.
Josh, how does that work?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: It's pretty amazing, guys. They found out the chip in this one major video-game system, it has a medical purpose that no one saw coming. We're going to show you how it works, and why it's a helpful new tool to save lives.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(MUSIC, MISSY ELLIOTT, "WORK IT")
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: Put a street (ph) on it. It's Missy E, not Missy Elliott.
HOLMES: Oh yes. Of course. I wish she would call in and let us know what she's saying in those lyrics right there.
NGUYEN: Yes, the rah rah rah (ph).
HOLMES: I hadn't figured it out for years.
NGUYEN: All right, T.J., you don't do a lot of us; I don't do a lot of this.
HOLMES: No.
NGUYEN: But many people do, and that is play video games. And we know video games can provide hours of distraction.
HOLMES: Distraction.
NGUYEN: But now one of them actually has a medical purpose.
HOLMES: Yes, Josh Levs has his eyes on that for us this morning, and what we call "Levs on the Lookout."
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
(MUSIC)
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Oh my goodness. That is the first time we've ever shown that.
All right. Well, let's take a look at this story. This is great. You know, I love to keep an eye on these funky stories for you, CNN.com/tech has all these great technology stories and talks about the edge of discovery. And one of the headlines just the other day said this: "How Xbox can help fight heart disease."
So I made some calls, figured out what we're talking about here. In order to explain, what I needed is a 3-D image of a heart, and I found one right here, at 3dscience.com. Take a look here. All right.
Heart disease is the No. 1 killer in America, by far, and in several other countries. What a lot of researchers are doing these days is they're making these animated videos of parts of a hear. They'll go way into one tiny little specific section of a heart, and they'll say, 'OK, what if these few cells here go bad, or these few cells here go bad, what would it cause?' And they use these videos in order to predict things like heart problems, heart attacks, arrhythmia, that kind of thing.
All of a sudden, researchers have discovered that the chip inside this video-game system, the Xbox, can revolutionize what they do. And here's why: Right now, in order to create these heart-modeling system, it takes these really expensive things called supercomputers. A lot of researchers can't get their hands on them; a lot of places can't do it.
So this researcher comes along and discovers that this tiny little chip inside this, this Xbox, can do everything they need for this heart research way faster and way less expensively than what they're doing right now.
In fact, let's go to this quote. I want you to see it from him. His name is Simon Scarle. He's this researcher in the University of Warwick in England. He says, "Game consoles are literally the most powerful computing hardware you can get for the money."
And "Time" magazine, which took a look at this story, here's what they say, in their quote. They say, "This new tool has the potential to revolutionize the medical industry." Because now, what they're discovering, if you stop and think about it, it actually makes sense, right? There's this tremendous economic incentive for a game system out there to come up with something that can work faster, better, cheaper. Faster, better cheaper.
I guess it was inevitable that one day, there might be a medical purpose for this.
So Betty, T.J., what we're seeing here is that now these days, more researchers all over the world can start to do this kind of heart modeling, save patients, predict major problems that could ultimately kill people just by grabbing that chip out of an Xbox, and ultimately, we all hope, save lives, guys.
NGUYEN: Yes, we hope so. But here's the question: How soon can we expect researchers to actually start using this technology?
LEVS: Yes, that's something we need to keep an eye out for.
Now, the researchers -- this was published in a -- a major science journal, and they are saying that they think, within a year, it's quite possible that people will start to grab these chips and use them in that way.
One thing we have to see though is, it's not necessarily about buying an Xbox and just taking out that chip. These researchers might realize, 'You know what? Let's just replicate what the game makers are doing, copy their technology in their own way, and start making their own really simple graphic system.'
But, you know, the big point here: Medical is now -- medical- research field is now gaining a lot thanks to this, from these game makers. So maybe this opens up a new door to more medical research, learning more from the game industry. I love this kind of thing.
Oh, and here's how you can learn more. So up on the graphic we got it posted, at the blog, Facebook and Twitter, joshlevscnn. And we're going to give you links to all this stuff. You can tell us what you think, what should be the next stage... NGUYEN: All right.
LEVS: ...in the (INAUDIBLE) of discovery?
NGUYEN: Sounds very good.
LEVS: Thanks.
NGUYEN: Thank you, Josh.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
NGUYEN: OK. Let's get back to this story that we've been telling you about. It's really a talker, and you've been weighing in already. A fertility clinic implanted the wrong embryo into an Ohio woman. She went there with her husband expecting to get a child implanted her -- her child biologically. They put the wrong embryo in there.
So the woman, named Carolyn Savage, she became an -- really, an unwilling surrogate. But then decided, 'Hey, you know what? I'm going to go through with this.' And a baby boy was born yesterday.
HOLMES: Yes, and the thing here -- you know, you may think, 'Well, maybe it was too far along in the pregnancy.' No, she actually found out 10 days after the embryo was implanted. So she really had time and had the option...
NGUYEN: Full pregnancy, yes.
HOLMES: ..if she wanted to terminate...
NGUYEN: That's true, yes.
HOLMES: ...that pregnancy. And she decided to keep the baby, to -- to go ahead and go through with the pregnancy. Didn't know the parents were in Michigan, didn't know them all. So became a surrogate for them, just had the baby and handed the baby over. She's not fighting for custody of the child.
Now, there might be some legal issues here.
NGUYEN: I would assume so.
HOLMES: Have an attorney, that they may go after...
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: ...the fertility clinic to make sure they're held accountable. Don't know for sure just yet there, but that might be coming. But everybody just going wild.
NGUYEN: Well, that's a tough decision. I mean, if -- if that had happened to you, or -- or your loved one, would they go through with the pregnancy? Is that something they would do?
We're getting a lot of responses from you. Let me go to my Twitter site first of all. And Siennagold says, "Oh my. That is a tragedy, Betty. It would be hard to do, but if the child didn't belong to me, the right thing to do is to give it back."
HOLMES: That's a good point.
Sandra Gonzalez also just there to the right on my Facebook page saying, "Wow. Sounds like we could learn a lot from this woman. What a great act of love and also of unselfishness."
NGUYEN: Mm-hmm.
HOLMES: So we're getting a lot back-and-forth. A lot of people are saying there is no way I would go through...
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: ...with this (INAUDIBLE).
NGUYEN: And some people saying that -- they -- she just needs to sue the pants off of the fertility clinic.
HOLMES: And that might be coming.
NGUYEN: Yes.
HOLMES: That might be coming. But we appreciate you all sending in comments. We'll be sharing these all morning. I know you all will be talking about this story.
Please, check us out, Facebook, Twitter, send us messages, weekends@cnn.com, and also our blog, CNN.com/TJ or /Betty.
NGUYEN: All right. Let's check some top stories for you right now.
Four bodies found in a home in the Maryland town of Mount Airy, which is about 30 miles west of Baltimore. Police say a man and a woman and a boy and a girl all suffered trauma injuries. They aren't certain how those wounds were inflicted. The troopers say it appears to be a murder scene, but add that they're not searching for any suspects.
HOLMES: Well, the student murdered at Yale University will be laid to rest this afternoon. Services for Annie Le will be held at her home state of California. She was found dead in a Yale research building on what was supposed to be her wedding day this month.
A lab technician, Raymond Clark, is charged in her murder.
NGUYEN: More federal aid is on the way for flood victims in Georgia. Just look at that video. Wow.
The Governor's Office now says that a total of 14 counties are under a federal-disaster declaration. The torrential rains last weekend caused massive flooding, much of it around the Atlanta area. And nine deaths are blamed on the bad weather. HOLMES: All right. You -- you've been to a number of my cookouts before.
NGUYEN: Pretty darn -- doggone good, I would say.
HOLMES: Right. All the food, I can assure you, that I grill for you...
NGUYEN: Uh huh.
HOLMES: ...came from the store.
NGUYEN: Of course. I mean, I don't think you're slaughtering cows in the backyard or anything.
HOLMES: But some people cooking up road kill.
NGUYEN: What?
HOLMES: There's a cookout...
NGUYEN: Don't invite me to that barbecue. No.
(LAUGHTER)
HOLMES: ...a cookout that celebrates road kill, and we're talking about squirrels and things (ph) maybe. We'll be talking about this coming up.
NGUYEN: Armadillos, all that good stuff. You know. Hey.
And our Reynolds Wolf had the tough assignment -- oh, it was so very difficult...
WOLF: Mm-hmm.
NGUYEN: ...of testing out beer. What kind of beer? "Green" beer. So what exactly makes it environmentally sound?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Yes, I know, it's early on Saturday and we're already talking about a beer run. But hey, we've got something newsworthy, kind of.
HOLMES: Very much so.
WOLF: Kind of sort of.
HOLMES: You're the guy we usually send on the beer run.
WOLF: Well, I mean, there is a reason. Not because of nefarious reasons, of course, for you to associate me with beer. Heavens forbid.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: But rather because, you know, obviously, rain has been a big story in Atlanta.
NGUYEN: Right.
WOLF: I mean, we've had certainly some bad news...
NGUYEN: Too much of it.
WOLF: No question.
But I'll tell you, for one business, too much of, say, rain is not necessarily a bad thing. We're talking about a business, a brewery, in fact, that was able to take advantage of the rainfall in both an economical and environmental way.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
WOLF (voice-over): At the 5 Seasons Brewery in Atlanta, they've been preparing for the perfect pour. They claim to be the first brewery in the world to serve a micro-brewed "green" beer.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Here we go.
WOLF (on camera): Just like this?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.
WOLF: One -- one good -- good hit?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just smack it.
WOLF (voice-over): Master brewer Crawford Moran gave me the honor of tapping the very first keg.
(CHEERS AND APPLAUSE)
CRAWFORD MORAN, 5 SEASONS BREWER: Not only does it make the beer better, but it's -- it's a green-oriented.
WOLF (on camera): When you think about "green" beer, most people think about that stuff you have on St. Patrick's Day or that six-pack that you left in your car on a really hot day.
(voice-over): But here, the term takes on an entirely different meaning.
(on camera): Crawford, what does -- what does "green" beer mean here?
MORAN: It means something different than St. Paddy's Day stuff. It means beer that is made with pure, pristine rainwater, which is harvest straight out of the clouds and just the way Mother Nature intended it to be.
WOLF (voice-over): Heard him right: The beer is made with pure rainwater. Now, the concept isn't new. People have been harvesting rainwater for drinking, cooking and farming for centuries. But what is new is the brew pub has teamed up with Rainwater Harvest System (ph) to create a beer made from 100 percent rainwater captured onsite.
RUSS JACKSON, BREWER: Basically, what you do is you put this big tank under your downspout, and you're collecting water. When it rains, the water comes off the roof, comes through the downspout, goes through a series of different filters and collects in the tank. And then from there, we pump it through some more filtration into the brewery. And that's where we start with the beer.
WOLF: The management here insists that the water is cleaner than city water, and it's softer, too. One secret of making better beer.
MORAN: As brewers, we really like to see soft water. So not a lot of mineral content in there. And rainwater, that's what it is.
WOLF: But don't just take his word for it.
MORAN: There you go.
WOLF: The proof is in the drinking.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It definitely has a smooth taste to it.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it's actually very smooth, very mild in flavor, really tasty.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: The -- the flavor of it's a little bit different. I actually like it a lot better.
WOLF: Now beyond taste, there's a bonus in green beer for both the environment and the 5 Seasons Brewery. They could be trucking in the water from a far-off mountain spring. Now, that would pollute the air and cost money. So they use nature's source rainwater that is local and free. It's what the customers and owners of the brewery agree is a green-green, win-win.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: How about that? Who would have ever thought taking rainwater and converting it into something as yummy as beer.
NGUYEN: It was smooth, huh?
WOLF: It was nice. It was really -- really good.
And you were -- you were mentioning the -- the idea, 'How can you keep using...
NGUYEN: Yes. Well because, you know, you think of rainwater and all the pollutants in the air and whatnot, and...
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: ...how do -- do they filter out, or...
WOLF: They -- they -- they -- seriously, they -- I think they triple-filter it, and then it -- it's actually goes through a really intensive process. So I mean, when it comes in, it's as pure as can be.
But let's be honest: I mean, when you were at school at Texas or you at Arkansas or me at Jacksonville State, did we care if there was a speck of dust or dirt before we were about to drink a beer, especially after a game? Give me some of that. You know, probably crawl underneath and, you know, get the (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: But what happens also if they don't have the rainwater to deal with?
NGUYEN: Right.
HOLMES: What if it's a little drought?
NGUYEN: A drought.
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: That is a phenomenal question. And -- and to tell you the truth -- you know, you've heard of these season beers. You know, especially this time of year, you have, like, the October wheats, you have the -- the -- the pumpkin mixes, that kind of -- that kind of thing.
HOLMES: You know your beer then.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: Exactly. Don't -- don't take any -- any -- any sound (ph). Yes, exactly.
NGUYEN: It's research.
WOLF: But it -- it -- it -- the thing -- exactly. The thing about it is, you might just have, like, limited editions. There are going to be times when you can have a...
NGUYEN: OK.
WOLF: ...surplus in the beer. There are times that there's going to be a little bit of a deficit. And that's truly one of the things that truly makes this an amazing and special beer.
NGUYEN: And right now we're looking at a surplus after all this rain.
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. You better believe it.
NGUYEN: So there's going to be beer for days around here. WOLF: Yes, exactly. Come back to the Weather Center. I might have some for you.
(LAUGHTER)
NGUYEN: OK.
HOLMES: Reynolds, we appreciate you, as always. Thank you so much.
And to all of you, welcome back. Welcome back? We didn't go. We're still right here with you.
You're watching CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Glad you could be here.
I'm T.J. Holmes.
NGUYEN: And I'm Betty Nguyen.
HOLMES: We begin with a quick look at some of the top stories and stuff you may have missed overnight, including this. Want to let you see and hear some of these clashes.
Some massive protest outside the University of Pittsburgh at the end of the Group of 20 Economic Summit. Police officers had to break up large groups of demonstrations who they say did not have permits to protest.
Inside, those in assembly, of course, were the members of the G- 20. President Obama among them. He says the group, confident with the efforts made so far, fixing the global economic system and preventing future financial meltdowns.
NGUYEN: Well, Iran is calling criticisms of its nuclear program baseless. President Obama, accompanied by the leaders of France and Britain, accused Iran of violating international rules with its nuclear program. Tehran though has acknowledged for the first time yesterday that it has a second uranium enrichment facility which is near the holy city of Qom.
Well, Iran meets October 1st with Germany, the U.S., and other four permanent members of the U.N. Security Council about its nuclear program.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Iran is on notice that when we meet with them on October 1st, they are going to have to come clean and they are going to have to make a choice.
Are they willing to go down the path which I think ultimately will lead to greater prosperity and security for Iran, giving up the acquisition of nuclear weapons, and deciding that they are willing to abide by international rules and standards in their pursuit of peaceful nuclear energy, or will they continue down a path that is going to lead to confrontation? (END VIDEO CLIP)
NGUYEN: Well, Iran has been threatened with international sanctions over it suspected nuclear weapons program.
HOLMES: A terror suspect accused of planning to set off a bomb is back in New York this morning. Here's the picture of Zazi.
His name is Najibullah Zazi, and was arriving in New York after his transfer from Denver. Prosecutors say he bought chemicals at beauty supply stores in an effort to build bombs. This exclusive tape as well obtained by CNN of Zazi in one of those stores.
Again, he was accused of going to beauty supply stores, buying some of these peroxides, something that could be used to build these bombs. Now, this case, the Zazi case, just one of three alleged terror plots federal agents have been following.
NGUYEN: Yes, there's a case in Illinois where a man tried to attack a federal courthouse. Then in Dallas, where a 19-year-old tried to blow up a downtown skyscraper. Both are in custody now.
And I actually had a chance to talk with all three cases with Clark Ervin, who is a former inspector general of the Department of Homeland Security.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CLARK KENT ERVIN, FORMER INSPECTOR GENERAL, DHS: Well, it's really striking, Betty. We have amazing similarities between these two cases in Springfield and Dallas, aside from the timing, of course. Neither Springfield nor Dallas is typically considered a top terror target, even though Dallas is a very big city.
NGUYEN: Right. So, why these cities? You would think, you know, these large-scale cities with mass transit, mass casualties and whatnot. Why these particular cities?
ERVIN: Right. Well, it appears to be opportunistic. It appears that both these fellow lived in Springfield and Dallas respectively, and so they took advantage of where they were. It just underscores that every city in the United States, no matter how big or prominent, can be a potential terror target. That's an important lesson for us to take away.
NGUYEN: But is that part of plotting fear throughout the U.S., trying to hit places that some people wouldn't even suspect?
ERVIN: Yes. You know, I've often thought that, if there were to be a successful terror attack, God forbid, somewhere in the middle of the country, not New York, not Washington, not Los Angeles, that everybody thinks is a terror target, but in a place like Springfield, even in a place like Dallas, it would arguably have an even bigger psychological effect for precisely that reason.
NGUYEN: But why are we seeing this now? I mean, is it just coincidence, or are we seeing an increase in homegrown terrorism?
ERVIN: Well, you know, we -- I think it's really too soon to tell. It is striking that all of this is happening apparently all at once, right around the anniversary of 9/11. It appears that, at least in the Zazi case in New York and Denver, and in the case of Dallas, that these attacks may have been planned for 9/11 itself. That certainly appears to be the case in the Dallas one.
And so, here we are eight years after 9/11. And it just underscores that we remain under potential attack here, and there are vulnerabilities that remain in the country that need to be shored up.
NGUYEN: And it doesn't seem like it's the same group. Let's go through these three different ones. The Zazi case, the one out of Denver, and also connected to New York. How does that differ from the other two?
ERVIN: Well, I think the biggest difference is that Zazi apparently had a direct tie to Afghanistan and to Pakistan. He was trained, apparently, by al Qaeda central, we call it, in the heartland there, to carry out an attack on the United States.
And also I believe this is the first time someone from Afghanistan, people from Afghanistan, all three, have attempted to attack the homeland. And this really just shows the nexus between the war in Afghanistan and here at home. You know, a number of people are asking whether that war in Afghanistan is worth fighting. And I think the answer is yes, because it has direct implications here at home.
NGUYEN: OK. What about the Smadi case?
ERVIN: The Smadi case is interesting. In that case we've got -- it's arguably homegrown or it's arguably not. It's homegrown in the sense that this person was already here, but he actually came to the United States from Jordan illegally. We don't know quite how he came illegally: whether he came with fraudulent documentation and was admitted, or whether his documentation was proper. It's just he overstayed his visa. It's my bet it's the latter.
And if so, that's important, because even though we do have a process now to check who comes into the country after 9/11, we still don't have a process to check out people, people who are supposed to have left, and determine whether they've done so.
NGUYEN: And that's the case where Smadi in Dallas tried to set off a fake bomb, in fact.
ERVIN: That's right.
NGUYEN: And then Finton out of Springfield, Illinois, how does that one differ?
ERVIN: Right. Well, arguably, that's the most worrisome one, Betty, because this fellow I would call a classic homegrown terrorist, because he was born in this country. He is a classic Anglo-Saxon American, an archetypal American. He was a convert to Islam. And therefore, he is the kind of guy who can be walking down the street in America, and probably most Americans would not even suspect that he'd be tied to terrorism.
He was inspired by al Qaeda. He wanted to carry out a terror attack. He was particularly inspired by John Walker Lindh, the American Taliban caught after 9/11 on the battlefields of Afghanistan. So we have to be particularly vigilant against people who don't fit the terror profile.
NGUYEN: All right. So we've got three different scenarios here, all you know, alleged to be homegrown terrorists. As the general public, as officials trying to prevent this, what can be done?
ERVIN: Well, I guess I'd say two things. As far as the government is concerned, we really have to give huge kudos to the FBI. They have done exactly the right thing post-9/11. To not wait until something happens, so you're absolutely certain that you catch everybody and that you have an airtight criminal conviction, but instead to act quickly. Sometimes so quickly that you don't completely disrupt and know everything you need to know, because the number one priority is preventing another attack. And we need to continue that.
Secondly, as far as we average citizens are concerned, the "see something, say something" campaign that you see in Washington, where I am, cities around the country, we need to take that seriously. When average citizens see something out of the ordinary, it's incumbent upon them to help the law enforcement officials by being additional eyes and ears. This is a big country, and every one of us has a role to play in securing the homeland.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: And, of course, we'll be covering much more on the alleged terror plots throughout this morning. Betty and I will be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: Checking take top stories for you right now.
Four bodies found in a home in the Maryland town of Mount Airy, which is about 30 miles west of Baltimore. All right. Here's what we know so far.
A man, a woman, also a boy and a girl, all suffered major injuries. Not certain how those wounds were inflicted upon them, but troopers say it appears to be a murder scene, but add that they were not searching for any suspects at the time.
HOLMES: A teenage terror suspect in jail today in Dallas. Nineteen-year-old Hosam Smadi had little to say during his first court appearance yesterday. Investigators say he parked a truck he thought was packed with explosives in a parking garage under a skyscraper in downtown Dallas, but the explosives given to him by an undercover FBI agent were fake. He's due back in court October 5th. More federal aid is on the way for flood victims in Georgia. The governor's office now says a total of 14 counties are under a federal disaster declaration. The torrential rains last weekend caused massive flooding, much of it around the Atlanta area. Nine deaths blamed on the bad weather.
HOLMES: An exclusive interview that we got here at CNN with the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi sitting down to talk with us about Pan Am Flight 103
NGUYEN: Also, new claims against Iran. Is the country breaking international agreements with a second nuclear facility? We'll delve into that.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi in the U.S., a one- man show at the United Nations, a lot of people would say, earlier this week.
NGUYEN: Yes. And he went, what, over an hour and a half?
HOLMES: An hour and a half.
NGUYEN: Talked about all kinds of things. Well, he was met by protesters outside the U.N. angry about his country's role in the Lockerbie disaster. But, while he was in New York, Gadhafi met with two people who lost loved ones in the attack on Pan Am 103.
Lisa Gibson lost her brother at Lockerbie, but she saw her meeting as a step toward reconciliation. The Libyan leader talked about the encounter when he sat down for an exclusive interview with our Fareed Zakaria.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
FAREED ZAKARIA, CNN HOST: I gather from your aides that you have met with the victims of the Lockerbie bombing. Tell me about that.
MOAMMAR GADHAFI, LIBYAN LEADER (through translator): Yes, I met some of them yesterday. It was a friendly meeting, friendly encounter. And I offered my condolences for their relatives who lost them (ph). They also expressed their condolences for my daughter who was killed during the American raid in '86.
ZAKARIA: The 1986 raid.
GADHAFI: Yes. It was very sentimental and touched, the meeting.
ZAKARIA: So you understand the grief of these people?
GADHAFI: Of course. Of course. It is a tragedy. It is a catastrophe.
(END VIDEO CLIP) NGUYEN: All right. Be sure to tune into this week's edition of "FAREED ZAKARIA GPS" for the entire exclusive interview with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi. That's coming your way Sunday, 1:00 p.m. Eastern.
All right. So, the Southeast just been dealing with flooding, and a whole lot of it over the past week. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden toured the metro Atlanta area yesterday.
HOLMES: We had a lot of issues trying to cover a lot of this weather because...
NGUYEN: We were out in it.
HOLMES: ... we are in Atlanta and it was tough to get around. A lot of us couldn't get into work, so we actually had to report from our own neighborhoods, in some cases.
NGUYEN: Right. Unfortunately.
HOLMES: We saw Reynolds a little earlier, how he was affected. Well, our executive producer, the lady who runs the show here, has a story to tell as well. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
NGUYEN: And speaking of rain on me, it rained in buckets. Mops and cleaning supplies, in fact, are being distributed this morning as the Atlanta area recovers just from some massive flooding.
HOLMES: All right. Some pictures here to show you.
We've been looking at a lot of these really the past week, and they were similar to this. Now, not too many people were amused at this amusement park. This is Six Flags, just west of downtown Atlanta here. This whole neighborhood, Austell, where -- look at that. The park...
NGUYEN: It's all a water ride now, right?
HOLMES: It's not supposed to be a water park, but it was at least for the past week.
A lot of homes in the area also covered by water. Flooding happened so quickly. That's what really got us here in the area. It happened so quickly, a lot of folks did not have time, literally don't have time to get out. That's why they call them flash floods a lot of times. Here's some of this video of people just trying to make it out.
One of the hardest hit neighborhoods, again, was Austell. That's where our Tenisha Abernathy lives.
She is -- there she is. That's her perch in the back here. While Betty and I are sitting up here on the desk, she's in the control room there. NGUYEN: She's our executive producer.
HOLMES: Yes.
NGUYEN: She pretty much runs the show. And she's looking all serious right now and not looking at the camera.
But Tenisha, we want to talk to you a little bit about the flooding, because not only did you experience it in your neighborhood, but you actually captured some pictures. Kind of walk us through what you saw and what happened.
TENISHA ABERNATHY, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER, "CNN SATURDAY MORNING": This particular photo is actually the main street into our subdivision. As you can see, it's completely washed out.
We were stuck in our homes for three days, could not get in or out. That's the main street.
Those are my neighbors. I missed all of these waters. The floodwaters were up to probably the top of garages, if you can see that particular house.
This is where it receded a little bit, but you still can't get through. We kind of, like, walked and waded over a little bit to get as close as we could, and just zoomed in on photos. But I had never seen anything like it in my entire life.
HOLMES: Tenisha, what happened? Did folks -- we talk about this flash flooding, but did this stuff happen so fast, people maybe thought they would wake up the next morning and it will be fine? Just people did not heed the warnings and people just didn't think they need to leave?
ABERNATHY: People had no idea we had to leave. We were actually -- it was "Monday Night Football," everyone is home watching football and enjoying themselves. And most of my neighbors talking to Donald (ph), who's about six houses from me. He was downstairs with his family, with his wife and kids, and firefighters came banging on the door, "Get out! Get out!" And just swooped up their entire family.
And when they got a couple houses down and looked back, water just gushed and just rushed the entire house. My other neighbor, Tawana (ph) -- actually, our kids go to the same school -- she came out when firefighters -- they had to, likely, literally lift her up. So, she lost both of their cars. They lost everything.
NGUYEN: Yes. I know a lot of people, too, were saying that they thought it was just another rainy day, so they would hit the button on their garage door. And you can see, if you did that on one of these garage doors, the floodwaters would just start racing inside. Not that it's not already there, but to an extreme point.
Well, hey, we're glad that your house made it through OK. But unfortunately, so many others did not. And these pictures are pretty dramatic. ABERNATHY: Yes.
HOLMES: Thanks for sharing.
NGUYEN: Stick around, will you? Because we kind of need you throughout the morning.
ABERNATHY: I will.
HOLMES: I need you to look at one script for me, by the way.
ABERNATHY: I will. What page?
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: Tenisha, thank you.
NGUYEN: Talk to you soon.
All right. In the meantime, though, flood watches, they are in effect for this weekend as well. So, yes, that means more rain is headed our way.
Reynolds Wolf joins us now.
(WEATHER REPORT)
NGUYEN: You know, days of heavy rains just flooded parts of the Southeast, as we've been talking about, with water shutting down highways, businesses, schools. To find out how you can make a difference, visit our "Impact Your World" page at CNN.com/impact.
HOLMES: And stay with us. New numbers, a new CNN poll to share with you about American support for the war in Afghanistan.
Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Should I...
NGUYEN: Yes, my microphone -- pardon me, folks.
HOLMES: That's Betty right there getting herself together.
I'm T.J.
Thanks for being with us on this "CNN SATURDAY MORNING."
Are we good to go now?
NGUYEN: We're good to go. The microphone is hidden somewhat.
Hello, everybody. Yes, I'm Betty Nguyen.
It's 7:00 here in Atlanta, 6:00 a.m. in Houston, Texas. We so want to thank you for starting the day with us. But let's focus on Atlanta right now, because cleanup is under way this morning.
Unfortunately, though, after all of that flooding and all the damage that was caused, more heavy rain to come. In fact, Vice President Joe Biden visited some of the hard-hit areas. We're going to give you the update on that.
HOLMES: And a "wow" story of the morning we've been covering but finally an Ohio woman who had been implanted with the wrong embryo, she has given birth to a little baby boy. Everybody is ok. And she has handed that baby over to the biological parents.
This was a mistake, she found out about ten days after the wrong embryo was implanted but decided she would not terminate the pregnancy and would be a surrogate for the stranger she did not know. We'll be talking about that plenty this morning.
NGUYEN: Yes and in fact though, we want to hear from you. What would you have done or your wife or anyone that you love had that happen? Implanted with the wrong embryo, do you think it was right thing to do for her to go through with that pregnancy?
Very difficult nonetheless, let us know go to our Facebook, Twitter pages, e-mail us at weekend@cnn.com or you can reach out to us on our blog, CNN.com/betty, CNN.com/tj. There's a lot of ways to reach out to us and we will be reading your responses on the air.
But first, let's get you to our top stories, because 15 people killed in three suicide bomb attacks in Pakistan today. Eight were killed in Peshawar which is near state-owned bank in a military hospital. And another bomb killed six people at a police station in the northwest frontier. A third blast killed one people near the Indian border. These attacks injured more than a hundred people.
HOLMES: Well, Iran is defending itself after international criticism of its nuclear program. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissing claims by President Obama that Iran's nuclear program is violating international rules. Tehran acknowledged yesterday it has a second uranium enrichment facility near the holy city of Qom, about 100 miles southwest of Tehran.
The Iranian leader calls President Obama's accusations quote, "baseless." He also spoke last night with CNN's Larry King.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
KING: You told the editors of "Time" magazine, that it would be a mistake for Obama to bring up this newly revealed nuclear program. Why is this a mistake for him to bring it up?
AHMADINEJAD: Well, I believe he's made a mistake. It's a mistake, it's very clear. We informed the agency even before we were required to about the facility's operation. So how can he possibly accuse us of secretly engaging in an activity that did not take place? This is a big mistake, accusing us of an action that did not take place.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And President Obama threatening more sanctions if Iran does not give up its alleged nuclear weapons program.
Also overnight, Pennsylvania's massive protests happening there outside the University of Pittsburgh at the end of the group of 20 economic summit. This is where police officers had to break up large groups of demonstrators who they say did not have permits to be there.
Inside meanwhile, an assembly of members of the new G-20, President Obama says the group confident with the efforts made so far to fix the global financial crisis and preventing future financial meltdowns.
NGUYEN: Well, a terror suspect accused of planning to set-off a weapon of mass destruction back in New York this morning. Here's a picture of Najibullah Zazi arriving in New York after his transfer from Denver. Now, prosecutors say he bought chemicals at a beauty supply store -- in fact several of them -- in an effort to build bombs. Here's an exclusive video obtained by CNN of Zazi in those stores.
Now, the Zazi case isn't the only alleged terror plot making news. Federal agents broke up a couple more this week, in fact.
HOLMES: And as CNN Homeland Security correspondent, Jeanne Meserve, reports the plots shine new light on domestic threats and have experts wondering what's next.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JEANNE MESERVE, CNN HOMELAND SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Bomb plots allegedly targeting New York, Dallas, Texas and Springfield, Illinois, all unfolding in the same week. Although, the FBI coordinated the stings in Springfield and Dallas, authorities say none of these cases is related.
Some experts say it is pure coincidence that they broke almost simultaneously, but others say the calendar is a factor.
CHRIS VOSS, FORMER FBI NEGOTIATOR: It is the vicinity of the anniversary of September 11th, it's also at the same time Ramadan was just over. So there are a variety of reasons that has heightened the fervor, if you will, of the people that would like to do these things.
MESERVE: This week also brought new charges in connection with an alleged plot to attack the marine base in Quantico, Virginia. That case in the alleged bomb plot in Springfield involved American converts to Islam. Proverbial home grown terrorists were often hard to detect.
ERVIN: I don't think that this recent spate of incidents, necessarily in and of itself, indicate that home grown terrorism is a greater threat today than it was a couple of weeks ago. MESERVE: But at least one analyst disagrees he thinks this could signal that the domestic terror threat is growing in size and severity.
PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: There are a constellation of cases which taken together suggests that some of the kind of maybe self-congratulation we had that this was not really such a problem as it is let's say in Britain, maybe we need to re-examine that proposition.
MESERVE: Some terrorism experts believe we should expect more domestic terrorism cases that the situation will only get worst not better. But they are encouraged that all of these alleged plots were short circuited by law enforcement before they could be carried out.
Jeanne Meserve, CNN, Denver.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, at least one of the alleged terror plots under investigation in this country has ties to Afghanistan. And the Obama administration is reviewing calls for more troops to be called there despite heightened attention to the region and support for the war in Afghanistan appears to be on the decline.
CNN's deputy political director and friend of our show here on CNN Saturday and Sunday Morning, Paul Steinhauser here to look at these numbers.
Paul, always good to see you, I don't know if the president will be happy to see some of these numbers.
PAUL STEINHAUSER, CNN DEPUTY POLITICAL DIRECTOR: Yes and it's not just us T.J. Just about every polling organization that's been questioning about Afghanistan has shown this. Take a look at our numbers though at CNN in the Opinion Research Corporation and National Survey earlier this month.
You can you see opposition to the war now up to 58 percent. And people who favor the war who support the war down to 39 percent, T.J.
HOLMES: Where are we getting -- or people I guess this was -- I guess, the war that everyone thought at the beginning right after 9/11 we should be fighting and a lot of people are opposed to -- to maybe what was happening in Iraq.
I guess -- what have we seen trending here in the past several months?
STEINHAUSER: Yes, we have seen support drop and opposition rise since probably about back in March. Take a look at these numbers also from our poll and other national surveys show the same thing. But you can see April, 53 percent of Americans supporting the war, now down to 39 percent.
Remember, July and August were the two deadliest months for U.S. troops for fatalities over there and also Americans seeing more and more troops going to Afghanistan. They are getting more news about the war in Afghanistan they've got in a while and it seems a lot of that is contributing to the drop in support -- T.J.
HOLMES: And before we let you go here, some perspective at least for us. You can't let polls and opinion decide what you're going to do when it talks about war strategy. So where does it appear the president is going to be going. We've been waiting to hear from General McChrystal how many more troops he may need.
So the president is going to have to make a decision pretty soon.
STEINHAUSER: Yes, well and earlier this week you know -- we saw reports -- some leaking of that McChrystal report, he's the top U.S. general in Afghanistan and calls for tens of thousands of more troops.
The president yesterday at the G-20 summit -- he had a news conference at the end -- but he was asked about Afghanistan. He said, "I want to get all the best answers from my top generals and advisers before I make any decisions about sending more U.S. troops to Afghanistan."
What do Americans think though? Because you did ask about the polls. A new Gallup poll came out this week after the leaking of the McChrystal report -- it suggests that more Americans are opposed than supporting sending more troops -- T.J.
HOLMES: All right, our Paul Steinhauser as always, we appreciate you. We'll be talking to you again this morning. Thanks so much buddy.
STEINHAUSER: Thanks.
NGUYEN: And so trying to sell your home but not finding any takers, a lot of people feeling that these days.
HOLMES: Well, our housing expert is in the house with an option that could help you pay your mortgage.
Also Josh Levs on how to make sure you get accurate information on Twitter. Good morning again Josh.
LEVS: Hey, good morning to you guys. You know what? Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, talked about this, this week. She said, the nation needs Twitter to be trustworthy as an important resource in protecting the country.
We have four tools to help you protect your Twitter account.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. The real estate market may be slowly recovering. Last month sales of existing homes hit its highest mark in two years. It sounds great.
But what if your house isn't moving? A lot of desperate homeowners are now renting their property. Is that a good idea? Let's figure it out.
Who else are we going to ask but our housing specialist Clyde Anderson? Author of the book "What Had Happened Was..." He's back in the house with us here.
All right, this sounds pretty good.
CLYDE ANDERSON, AUTHOR, "WHAT HAD HAPPENED WAS...": Right.
HOLMES: You can't pay your mortgage get somebody to help you pay it by renting it out. Now, is this supposed to be a short-term or a -- this is supposed to be a short term thing and not a long term solution you're looking at here, is it?
ANDERSON: It can be both...
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: It depends on what your needs are. It depends if you just need that short-term solution, meaning the job called you away and you've got to move quickly...
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: ...and you want to move closer to family. It could be a short term solution for you. The most leases are generally going to be 12 months to 24 months.
HOLMES: Ok, now what happens -- it was something I was curious about reading through a lot of this stuff -- this can be an expensive proposition. Even if you have -- your mortgage is $2,000 and maybe all you can get somebody to rent it is $1,500...
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: Don't you have to be careful with your numbers, because this is still going to cost you -- you need some kind of like renters insurance?
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: All kinds of stuff you need.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: Can't it be expensive?
ANDERSON: There are several costs that you're going to incur. But you really ought to look at and say, ok, if my mortgage is $2,000, I'm getting $1,500, something is better than nothing...
HOLMES: Ok.
ANDERSON: ...it's helping you cover that payment and instead of you being just locked in and having to pay both mortgages if you had to move if you're being called away... HOLMES: Right.
ANDERSON: ...so you've got to look at both sides.
HOLMES: All right, both sides, that was one thing there. But let's look at some of the pros and cons.
ANDERSON: All right.
HOLMES: The pros; let's go with those first. What are the upsides to do this? Obviously, it defers some of the cost to somebody else.
ANDERSON: Yes, I think there are several up call -- I mean upsides, I think one of them will be that now you have the freedom to move on. You can definitely move on, you can continue with your life and go ahead and do it. Do what you have to do.
Also, it's going to help pay the mortgage. You know like you said, it may not cover the whole payment but it's definitely going to help.
Now also, the tenant may become your buyer. I think that's one of the best things. You've got somebody in there -- their comfortable and maybe they like the school system and the kids are in school. And I mean that's a good fit and they may buy it after the lease.
HOLMES: Something else I'm going to ask you and it may come up on the con side; we're talking about the potential buyer. What happens if you're still trying to sell that home and you've got somebody living in it...
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: ...does it make it tougher to other potential buyers, if they have to come in at look at the house that somebody is renting with and they're doing whatever?
(CROSSTALK)
ANDERSON: Yes, you're definitely going to have -- you're definitely going to have your challenges there and nobody really wants to have somebody tramping...
HOLMES: Yes.
ANDERSON: ..through their house that they are living in just to look at it every day. So you definitely going to want to know that if you're going to lock in, 12 months is surely going to be one of the shortest times.
HOLMES: And here are some of the other cons, responsible for maintenance, yes you've got to be a landlord.
ANDERSON: Maintenance and you alluded to that, that M word, that maintenance. A lot of people don't want to take care of their own properties they usually outsource. Have maybe somebody come in to do landscaping or painting. Now you're going to be responsible for that cost as well.
HOLMES: Finding the right tenant. Now, this is something that I would be nervous about.
ANDERSON: Yes.
HOLMES: I mean, you've got to go through to credit checks for people and look at background and all this stuff.
ANDERSON: You do.
HOLMES: That's tricky.
ANDERSON: You do. And you've got to be careful.
The right tenant is hard to find. It's like a needle in the haystack sometimes. And you've got -- the market has increased so there's a lot of renters out there. But you definitely have to go through and (INAUDIBLE) to make sure you're getting the right person who's going to take care of the property.
HOLMES: Now, we're talking about recovering the housing market here. How can it hurt the housing market in the recovery if we have more people renting out their houses?
ANDERSON: Well, it's not going to help because you've got all of these rentals out there. You may be moving into a neighborhood, a lot of people don't want move into a neighborhood with a lot of rental properties.
They want owners in their neighborhood. But to me it's better than foreclosures in the neighborhood.
HOLMES: All right and last thing here, I guess I, it seems like it's such an expensive proposition to try to get a house ready...
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: I mean, you might live in another city and you have to worry about your house. I mean, what other costs are we talking about you would have to incur if you do have to rent it out? You're still talking about - what is it, some kind of insurance to these landlords.
ANDERSON: Well, you've got to get homeowners insurance but you can't have the normal insurance policy you have to have investor's policy. So now you're an investor, so you've got to keep that in mind.
So that could be a little more costly than what you're primary residence is, but you also can look at a management company to help take care of the property if you're out of state.
HOLMES: Well, that sounds like that could cost you some money too. ANDERSON: Generally you're going looking to about 3 to 12 percent of the rental cost.
HOLMES: Wow.
ANDERSON: So you've got to really weigh out everything. Look at the pros and cons and see how much it's going to cost you. And make sure it works for you.
HOLMES: All right, Clyde Anderson, always good to see you, my man.
ANDERSON: It's my pleasure.
HOLMES: Thanks so much.
Betty, back over to you.
NGUYEN: That is good information. Thank you guys.
And I want to tell you about this because three friends, they start a company helping people move. Their target clients may surprise you. How they built a successful business; that is coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, Twitter, tired of hearing about it yet? Well, get used to it.
NGUYEN: I love Twitter.
I do. I'm kind of addicted to it.
HOLMES: Or a little bit. You love reading.
NGUYEN: But you're the one who started on it and you were all into it and remember. Yes, I resisted for a long time and now, it's taken hold.
HOLMES: Yes. So please know we are reading your comments when you send them in.
NGUYEN: And that's really us too.
HOLMES: That is us reading that stuff.
Twitter has, of course, come a long way and you know it has when the head of homeland security is now talking about it being important.
NGUYEN: Definitely. And that happened this week. Our Josh Levs is here to tell us about it. He's another Twitter fanatic.
LEVS: Yes, I think we both got the Twitter bug.
NGUYEN: Yes. LEVS: Yes, it caught on.
NGUYEN: T.J.'s trying to sound like he doesn't but he does.
LEVS: He is all over Twitter.
NGUYEN: On it all the time.
LEVS: I know, he's checking it during breaks. Go ahead, tweet them.
This is a big deal. I mean, when Janet Napolitano is bringing this up as an important resource to help protect the country whether it's from disease or a potential threat.
Take a look at what she said this week. We have this quote for you here. This is what she said, "Text, Twitter, et cetera, all forms of media can and need to be an accurate source of information so that we can begin jointly to get accurate information out and accurate assessments about what the risks really are. She was talking to a group of media about Homeland Security. She brought this up.
We want to help people understand how you can protect your Twitter account from getting false information, from getting spam, from getting Malware. I'm going to show you some sites but joining us on the phone is the guy who told me about all these sites, from mashable.com, Ben Parr. Ben, are you there?
BEN PARR, CO-EDITOR, MASHABLE.COM (via telephone): Yes, I am. Thank you for having me.
LEVS: All right. Great, Ben, thanks a lot.
Let's zoom right in here. I want to show everyone first of all. Something that you told me about called PowerTwitter.me; this is an important resource. What does it do?
PARR: The problem is that with these short links on Twitter, you really can't tell where they lead until you click them. But what Power Twitter does is expands them so that you can see what the link is before you click it.
LEVS: All right. Let's show it right here. It's great because this is my Twitter page over here. So, when I'm looking at my Twitter page, I'll see some mystery links like tinyurl.com, blah-blah, blah. I have absolutely no way of knowing where on the Internet that will really bring me. Bit.lit (ph); I've no way of knowing where that will lead me.
But once I click on PowerTwitter.me, it totally changed my Twitter page. So now, when I look at my tweets, it doesn't show me that anymore. It actually shows me what the Web page is and what it's all about. It's free. I was just like clicking one thing.
Let me take a look at another thing that you gave me here. TweetBlocker.com; what does Tweet Blocker do? PARR: Essentially what you do is you type in your user name of someone else's user name and it will show you whether that person is a spammer or not.
LEVS: Ok, I'm going to type in me right here, joshlevscnn, and that's it. So it gives me this grade here; so basically it's saying, ok people you can trust this guy, right?
PARR: Exactly.
LEVS: Ok. So there's that.
Now then, there's this one over here tweetgrade.com. Is that the same idea?
PARR: It's similar. But instead of trying to tell you whether someone is a spammer, it just tells you whether someone is a valuable person on Twitter.
LEVS: And I'll tell everyone here that -- I'm going to show you where you can all get these links. You don't need to write this down. I'm typing you in to tweetgrade.com. I have Ben Parr here -- and ok, it's saying that was not working right now. We'll deal with that one right one later.
Before we go I want to show this right here, which you told me is a place that you can actually go inside Twitter to report someone. If they are sending out false information, if they're sending out dangerous links, there's this thing inside Twitter, Twitter.com/spam, that you can go right now and you send a message and it reports them, right?
PARR: Exactly. You can send a direct message to Twitter.com/spam with the names of anyone that you believe is a spammer.
LEVS: That was fantastic stuff. Let's do -- I have one other graphic. This is where you can get all the links I just showed you. You have there our Newsroom blog, cnn.com/josh. I posted it off my Facebook page and I'm sending it up by Twitter as joshlevscnn.
Ben Parr from Mashable.com. Thank you so much.
PARR: Thank you again.
LEVS: And Betty and T.J., I'll tell you. I've downloaded these over the last 24 hours since speaking with him. I already feel better about clicking some of these links on my Twitter account knowing where they are actually going to bring me.
NGUYEN: Right. Well, you know what? What I feel bad about is I can't figure out how to do a tweet-pick. Still can't figure that out.
LEVS: Yes. I haven't done one of those yet.
Sanjay does well. NGUYEN: We're going to have to have a remedial course for all of it.
We're going to talk about this topic now, though, the fertility clinic -- what it did was it implanted the wrong embryo into an Ohio woman. She decided to go ahead and be this unwilling surrogate. She had no idea this was happening but she ended up being a surrogate and gave birth to a baby boy yesterday.
We've been asking you what you think about it. Would you have done the same thing? Would anyone that you know have this happen to have done the same thing?
Let me go to my Facebook page really quick. And Steve Perpetino (ph) says, "It was an extremely unselfish act, amazing really considering how big a decision it was and the fact that it delayed her ability to have her own baby. Others would have held press conferences and have probably sued the hospital. The world needs more people like her."
Let us know what you think. It's one of those wow stories that you just can't believe it happened. Implanted with the wrong embryo, but this woman decided -- you know what -- it's what happened so I'm going to deal with it. I'm going to go through with this pregnancy. She could have very easily terminated the child because it was only ten days in when she found out.
So hit us up Facebook, Twitter, our blogs; many ways to reach out to us. Let us know what you think about the situation and we'll read your responses on the air.
HOLMES: And of course, you've seen plenty of them out there, home makeover shows, they organize clutter, they fix up rooms, they also redecorate...
NGUYEN: You can come to my house.
HOLMES: Yes.
Some of these, you know, they give people brand-new houses in some cases.
NGUYEN: Yes, I need that too.
Three women started a business capitalizing on just that. But their clients, they're not typical.
Aisha Tishpar (ph) has their story in this week's "How We Got Started."
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
AISHA TISHPAR: Paula, Patty and Carol aren't your typical movers.
PATTY GABAL, CHANGING PLACES: We help seniors down size and move from a larger place that they've been living in to something generally smaller. We help with every aspect of that move.
TISHPAR: While starting up their company, Changing Places, the women kept their day jobs as they developed their business plan.
PAULA MEIGHAN, CHANGING PLACES: We started to get together on Sundays here at the kitchen table to talk about how we can do it and how we can get it off the ground.
TISHPAR: The three friends pulled together talents. Paula Meighan is a registered nurse and geriatric social worker. Patty Gabal has experience in marketing and nursing and Carol Lightbody has a business background.
After a year of research they put the plan into action. They got a $25,000 credit line and invested $1,500 each in the company.
MEIGHAN: We jumped in and we did the first client for almost no money, just to sort of get the experience.
CAROL LIGHTBODY, CHANGING PLACES: Get the experience.
MEIGHAN: And it was great.
TISHPAR: Three years later their hard work and passion for helping seniors is paying off.
LIGHTBODY: When they are in a house for 40 years it is just not a matter of moving the bedroom or living room. It's a matter of moving their whole lifetime of memories.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
NGUEYN: Coming up at 9:00 a.m., a special half hour devoted to health care reform. We're going to be talking with some of former President Clinton's most trusted advisers who actually tried to bring about reform under his administration. That, of course, did not work, as we know.
HOLMES: Yes. A massive failure many would say.
Also we're going to be looking at potential cuts to Medicare and how affordable are some of these plans that the Senate is looking at.
Again, all ahead at 9:00 a.m.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
WOLF: Do you feel like going on around the nation this week? We really do. A lot more than meets the eye -- in any one part of the country, you think the whole world begins and ends right here. But if you look at the broad picture, you've got a lot to deal with.
HOLMES: Interesting stuff.
WOLF: Really, really so. Especially like in Texas where you have the state fair in Dallas. NGUYEN: It doesn't get any better than that.
WOLF: You've been there. You know them.
NGUYEN: Howdy folks, says Tex.
WOLF: That's right. The big...
NGUYEN: The big mascot for the state of Texas.
WOLF: We're actually going to travel there hopefully in the coming week or so and give you some great things there.
Also the New York film festival takes place in New York City. Cranberry festival in Warrens, Wisconsin. Buffalo Round Up and Arts Festival in Custer State Park, South Dakota, grand time there. Tunnel to towers...
(CROSSTALK)
WOLF: We're going to get back to it -- Tunnel to Towers Raw in New York City and the Fiesta in D.C.
NGUYEN: And of course, the bottom right hand corner of your screen and...
WOLF: Road Kill Cookoff in Marlington, West Virginia. Absolutely speechless. How does that happen?
NGUYEN: And do people really eat that? Squirrel -- what else is road kill? Birds.
WOLF: Let's think of the concept for just a few minutes here. You're driving along and boom, you hit something. I don't know about you, I'm feeling hungry right now.
How does that happen? How do you go from that awful event to -- you tell me I just don't...
NGUYEN: And how long has that been sitting out there before you decide to put it on the barbecue grill?
WOLF: Speechless.
HOLMES: I don't know. People hit deer sometimes and deer meat is good meat.
I'm sorry. I'm from Arkansas.
(CROSSTALK)
HOLMES: We don't hit it with a car.
WOLF: It tastes like fender. Come on. It's just weird.
NGUYEN: All right. We're being told to wrap this up. There's some more road kill to come. You won't miss much. But Sanjay Gupta is coming up at the top of the hour.
HOLMES: And of course, Betty and I, and Reynolds, we'll all be back at the top of the hour with more top stories. See you shortly.
