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CNN Saturday Morning News
Obama's Recent Speeches Sound Like Campaign Rhetoric; Older and Out of Work; Denard Span's Foul Ball Hits His Mother; President Karzai Backtracking On His Words
Aired April 03, 2010 - 08:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
T.J. HOLMES, CNN ANCHOR: All right. Hello there everybody. From the CNN center, it is CNN SATURDAY MORNING for this April 3rd., 8:00 a.m. where we sit here in Atlanta. I'm T.J. Holmes.
SUZANNE MALVEAUX, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Suzanne Malveaux. Thanks for starting your day with us. The unemployment numbers, they are out now. If you haven't seen them, they seem pretty dismal. Coming up this hour, facing unemployment after being in the work force for 40 years, out of the workforce of course very difficult. We talked to one man who is trying to cope.
HOLMES: Also, did you see this video this week, Suzanne? This is unbelievable. Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span (ph) hit a foul ball and it hit somebody in the stands. It was his own mother. Mama says (INAUDIBLE) you don't knock mama out.
MALVEAUX: Yeah, LL Cool J's (INAUDIBLE) that's not the words.
HOLMES: She's OK. We'll let you know that. But still, we're going to explain how he's trying to get more protection for the fans out there.
Also, you got a lot of people seem to be upset with Tiger Woods these days, including his kindergarten teacher. She's explaining why and why she wants an apology from the golfer. Stay tuned for that.
MALVEAUX: Time now for our top stories. A Friday night attack in Iraq has left 25 people dead including five women. Police say gunmen wearing military uniforms stormed into houses in a Sunni village just south of Baghdad. All of the victims were found handcuffed. The area used to be a hot bed for insurgents.
A fifth person has died in a refinery explosion and fire in Washington State. Two other people are in critical condition. The fire broke out during maintenance work and people who lived miles away felt the blast. The specific cause is still under investigation. The (INAUDIBLE) refinery was recently fined for safety violations.
Air travelers coming into the United States now face new screening measures after U.S. officials dropped those that were rushed into place after the Christmas day bombing attempt in Detroit. Now, those measures included subjecting virtually all travelers from 14 predominantly Muslim countries to additional screening. These new rules will rely more now on threat-based intelligence. T.J.. HOLMES: Well, the calendar says yes, it's 2010, but the president's speeches this week sounded a bit like campaign rallies we heard a few years back. As we all know, nothing is a coincidence in politics. Going to get the back story on what's happening with our CNN political editor Mark Preston who is here with us in studio.
Good to have you here with us. We heard the speech. So many people reacted just in the newsroom and hearing him over the past couple years, really. He really sounded fired up. He sounded like he was energetic and almost having a good time poking back at people after his big win.
MARK PRESTON, CNN POLITICAL EDITOR: No question about that, T.J.. Someone said that the 2008 campaign never ended. President Obama had to go out and sell his policies. We saw that over the past year. But really after this health care win he had just 10 days ago, two weeks ago, gosh, he sounds like he's really fired up and back on the campaign trail.
HOLMES: Now are his coattails now what they used to be when it comes to Democrats?
PRESTON: It's something that Democrats certainly really need right now and in fact, we have new numbers out this week that show where President Obama is. His approval rating, T.J., had dropped below 50 percent. It had dropped to 46 percent before the health care vote. Right after the health care vote, it climbed back out of that cellar, up to 51 percent. Very, very important for Democrats because they need Barack Obama come November. They need Barack Obama's coattails to win.
HOLMES: Now how much of a bounce? It hasn't been long. He was saying in that speech. We're going to show a little bit of it. We talked about him being fired up. Take a listen to this for yourself in case you missed the speech earlier this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: John Boehner called the passage of this bill -- no need to -- we don't need to boo. I just want to give the facts -- called this passage of this bill Armageddon. Yet others who said this is the end of freedom as we know it. So after I signed the bill I looked around. I looked up at the sky to see if asteroids were coming. I looked at the ground to see if cracks had opened up in the earth. You know what? It turned out it was a pretty nice day.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Well, poking a little fun there, but he really seems, a lot of people say, got this footing. This seems like the old Obama of the campaign. Maybe for a little while during that health care debate, he was trying to strike as much of a bipartisan tone as possible but it doesn't sound like it too much there.
PRESTON: He just really doesn't sound that way. And in fact T.J., he was criticized by people in his own party for being too bipartisan through the whole health care debate. If you remember, health care was supposed to be done August of last year and a lot of people said that President Obama didn't put enough of his own political capital into the game at that point. He was stepping back and seeing if Republicans and Democrats could work together.
HOLMES: We got another example from that speech. Take a listen again.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: You have to love some of the pundits in Washington. Every single day since I signed the reform law, there's been another poll or headline that said, nation still divided on health care reform. Polls haven't changed yet. Well, yeah. It just happened last week. It's only been a week.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: It goes back to the point. Every time he goes back, asks for a little more time to help me fix this economy, ask for a little more time to get these poll numbers changed asks for a little more time to see this health reform kick in. He's back out -- it seems strange, but he's already passed the thing, signed the law, now he's selling it again.
PRESTON: He has to sell it again. And again it comes to the midterm elections. He asked Democrats, a lot of Democrats, to take the hard vote. As he said, if you look at the polls, half of the American public doesn't even like this health care bill. We are just months out before the midterm elections. Democrats are going to lose seats in the House.
The question is, how many seats will they lose? They need Obama out there on the campaign trail. They need his coattails. That's why a lot of these guys won, a lot of these congresswomen won in 2008. They rode his coattails then.
HOLMES: We'll see what those coattails are like come November. Mark Preston, good to have you in the studio with us. Thanks so much. Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: All right, thanks T.J.. Parts of the northeast hit by heavy rain still this week they are under water and so the big question is whether the weather is going to cooperate with the cleanup efforts. Our Chad Myers is joining us with more and shows us which area is going to see a lot of sunshine this Easter weekend.
Plus older and out of work, millions of baby boomers have lost their jobs in this recession. But they're not ready to pack it in and retire.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
PAUL CALABRESE, UNEMPLOYED DRAFTSMAN: I contributed and I made a product and at the end of the day I said, well, I had a good day. I helped to make this or I helped to make that. Now I don't have that anymore.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: That's a man with a lot of experience but even more rejection letters.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: A pleasure to have Chad Myers in with us, in for Reynolds taking the day today. Do you find severe weather or does it find you?
(WEATHER REPORT)
MALVEAUX: Thank you, Chad.
President Obama says that the nation's battered economy is beginning to turn a corner. Now, he is referring to the latest jobs report that showed employers added 162,000 jobs to the payrolls last month. Now, I want to give you some perspective here. That is only the third month of gains since the recession began.
Now, that was 27 months ago. In other words, only two other months have seen the number of jobs grow and those gains were much smaller. Now, economists largely agreed with the president. They say that the news marks a significant turning point in the economy and that the worst may be finally over.
Well, baby boomers who are not ready for retirement, they're losing their jobs in big numbers in this recession and now they are tapping into their shrinking egg nest just to pay those bills.
Our Tony Harris has one man's story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
PAUL CALABRESE, UNEMPLOYED DRAFTSMAN: This is a roller, a big roller.
TONY HARRIS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Paul Calabrese lights up enthusiastically describing his life's work in the textile business.
CALABRESE: And this wire is wrapped around the outside. You have another roll over here ...
HARRIS: Paul spent 40 years as a draftsman designing thousands of versions of what's called metallic cloth. That's a piece of metal essential to mass manufacturing textiles and he's passionate about it.
CALABRESE: These kind of drawings I used to do, that's what the wire is and there was all different kinds of geometry on it.
HARRIS: But those days are behind him now. He was laid off more than a year ago after the company he worked at for 16 1/2 years shut down. CALABRESE: I sent out probably a couple hundred applications. I've had one phone interview and I haven't even had a sit-down interview with a perspective employer yet.
HARRIS: Paul counts the weeks of unemployment.
CALABRESE: This is week 55.
HARRIS: Paul is casualty of South Carolina's devastating recession, 12.6 percent of the population is unemployed, the fourth highest rate in the country.
CALABRESE: It's just not me. There are thousands of people in this area that have lost their jobs. Textiles is just practically non- existent now.
HARRIS: Paul is 62 years old making this recession even more challenging. Many of the jobs he's competing for require an engineering degree. But Paul is old school. He learned drafting in trade school.
CALABRESE: A lot of these jobs they want, they're looking for engineering-type people with degrees. I've got two diplomas. I don't have any degrees.
HARRIS: Paul is eligible for early retirement, but for him it is not an option.
CALABRESE: When people take early retirement, like if I took it at 62, then if I got a full-time job, then you start getting penalized. You're only allowed to make so much.
HARRIS: Besides the money, Paul says he's not ready for the rocking chair just yet. He's still got a lot of work left in him.
CALABRESE: I was always used to contributing. I had ideas you know and I did work. I contributed and I made a product and at the end of the day I said, well, I had a good day. I helped to make this or I helped to make that. Now I don't have that anymore.
HARRIS: Paul's wife Mary is the sole bread winner now working a low-paying clerical job. The couple is now dipping into their small nest egg just to pay day-to-day bills. They live very modestly.
MARY CALABRESE, PAUL'S WIFE: At our age, we're supposed to be making a little bit more money so we can put it away and live not extravagant but comfortable. We're going the other way.
HARRIS: Mary is the psychological savior for her struggling husband.
M. CALABRESE: Well, I tell him, just be positive, that God will take care of us and you're doing everything you can.
HARRIS: But sometimes her husband is inconsolable.
CALABRESE: I just start thinking about it and I toss and turn and I don't sleep well anymore.
HARRIS: Tony Harris, CNN, Greenville, South Carolina.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: Well, the president's administration is touting some big successes, but is President Obama keeping his campaign promises? Our Josh Levs, he's got that question, my favorite topic. He shows us the big new number on the Obameter.
HOLMES: Why do you like that topic so much Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: I'm the White House gal.
HOLMES: Yes you are. Well it's good to have you in here in the south with us for the day at least.
Also Tiger Woods, he has a big press conference coming up on Monday down at Augusta. Also he's going to be playing his first tournament since the whole sex scandal. A lot of women have come out, you've seen them have press conferences talking about what Tiger Woods did to her, all these so-called mistresses. Another woman has come out, his kindergarten who's saying that the golfer owes her an apology as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right, health care, check. The president can take that off of his list of things to do. He's looking ahead now to the next big task.
MALVEAUX: And some people are also looking back to see whether the president is coming through on what he promised. Our Josh Levs, he's one of them. I'm one of them too. We all love to do this, to hold the president accountable, see if he's doing what he said, he promised. And you've got this Obameter?
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: (INAUDIBLE) It's from politifact.com, the Pulitzer Prize winning website from the "St. Petersburg Times." They put together hundreds of promises that President Obama made when he was campaigning for office. What he said he would do and they're calling it the Obameter and right here is his current tally. Let's zoom way in.
On the Obameter score card, see how close you can get to those numbers, right here, promises kept. As of this week, they are saying the president has kept more than 100 of his promises. The number broken, you see over here, is at 17.
Let's start off taking a look at a few examples of the big promises kept. Politifact pulls out some of this here, the top promises. And these are the ones that they named right there. They say requiring kids to have health insurance coverage. He did say he'd push that mandate, sending two additional brigades to Afghanistan, also reviewing mandatory minimum sentences to look for potential reforms in the prison system. He signed one of the bills he signed into law will establish that. So some big promises kept.
That said, I have no qualms about focusing more on some that have been broken because they should keep all their promises. You're seeing a couple right there. The first one talks about negotiating health care reform in public sessions on C-Span, which he said he would do, did not end up doing.
Actually, he has since said it was a mistake to ever promise that he would have all of the sessions take place on C-Span. This is what he said.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: A legitimate mistake that I made during the course of the year and that is that we had to make so many decisions quickly in a very difficult set of circumstances, that after a while we started worrying more about getting the policy right than getting the process right. But I campaigned on process.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: Going on to have a bipartisan session as you know that was televised with lawmakers about health care. And there's one more that you saw flash before you before about promises broken. That is, he said he would reduce earmarks to the levels they were at before 1994. That did not happen.
In fact, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense which tracks this stuff, total number of dollars in earmarks actually a little bit higher for fiscal year 2010 than they were fiscal year 2009. So T.J., Suzanne, that's why politifact says that's one that's broken. You can see the full list at politifacts.com.
MALVEAUX: OK, well thank you Josh.
LEVS: You got it. Thanks guys.
HOLMES: So video here, a story that was just remarkable this week. A lot of people out there -- you know you go to baseball games and sometimes the closer you sit, the more danger you're in with some of these foul balls flying off. The Minnesota Twins outfielder Denard Span, he wants more protection for fans after this. He hit a foul ball and it hit a fan. That fan happened to be his own mother.
MALVEAUX: Now, she was sitting in the dugout watching him play when the ball shuck her in the chest. The umpire stopped the game for about five minutes while Span went to check on his mom and she's expected to be OK. Can you imagine that, at your son's game ...
HOLMES: Imagine the odds of that. You saw his reaction. Everybody in the stands, his mon. There she is with her son's jersey on. Yes. She's expected to be OK.
MALVEAUX: Bet you he's in trouble.
HOLMES: With his mom.
MALVEAUX: He's going to get in trouble.
HOLMES: Keep that ball in play next time son. Hard enough to be called a cheater. Tiger Woods has been called that an awful lot and his former teacher now coming out and calling him a liar as well. We're talking about his kindergarten teacher. She held her own news conference yesterday. What did she want? An apology.
MALVEAUX: Maureen Decker apparently says she says that she had to deal with health problems because of a story that came out that said that she had ignored a racial attack on five-year-old Woods at the time and Woods discussed this attack with Barbara Walters.
Now the story is also mentioned in a book by Charles Barkley and Deckard said the story in her words, it just didn't happen. So Decker's attorney, Gloria Allred, we've heard of her before, says there are no plans, no plans for a lawsuit, even if Woods never apologizes. So I guess she's just coming out to set the record straight here.
HOLMES: But you have Gloria Allred, you have an attorney and Gloria Allred has been known to represent a lot of people in these cases. I believe she represented one of the mistresses.
MALVEAUX: She did. You got to wonder where this is going to go next.
HOLMES: Where it's going to go, but everybody is coming out.
MALVEAUX: I imagine a lot of people are going to be watching that press conference to see what's going to happen on Monday.
HOLMES: And to see what kind of questions he gets, our course.
MALVEAUX: I'm going to watch.
HOLMES: Yes, we'll have coverage.
MALVEAUX: (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: Everybody will watch next week. Quick break right here. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Yeah, you waited day and night for the iPod and the iPhone and now you techies got your new iPads, the wait, almost over. For some, these folks have been waiting in line in New York trying to get these much hyped iPads. They go on sale today in the U.S. If you haven't heard, this new tablet computer can plays games, play movies, store e-books. You can surf the net.
Apple isn't exactly saying how many orders it has taken. You can pre-order some of these things. Estimates say they are going to sell probably a half million of these. Apple says the gadget is going to be available in Australia, Japan, the UK, a few other countries by the end of the month. In case you're wondering, you can take your checkbook with you. These things start at about $500 and go up to $900. Suzanne?
MALVEAUX: You may remember the sci-fi thriller "Minority Report." That was set in the future and it had technology that when the movie was released eight years ago, seemed impossible, technology in particular that played an important role in the film. It's called iris identification.
I want you to check this out.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
"MINORITY REPORT" 20TH CENTURY FOX: A road emerges in the desert. The road you're on (INAUDIBLE)
No wonder ...
Do you know how to get there ...
Good evening, John ...
Gourmet cuisine ...
You could use a Guinness ...
How well, John ...
Forget you're ...
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Well, you'd be amazed to know that this is not sci-fi fantasy anymore. It's iris identification and our technology guru Mario Armstrong, he's joining us now to tell us all about it, because this is out there. This is very cool stuff. Tell us about this technology. What is it?
MARIO ARMSTRONG, TECHNOLOGY COMMENTATOR: Good morning, Suzanne. Yeah. This technology is absolutely out there already. Meetings have been had, products shipped, investment is happening at a rapid rate for these products. The reason why it's taking off is because many people have conceded in this industry that scanning your iris, that is the colored ring around each pupil gives a very distinct pattern and a distinct recognition of every individual. So no two eyes can actually be identical, even between your left and right eye are different.
MALVEAUX: Tell us about this. It's now being used in the government sector, like the Defense Department, I imagine. So are we going to see this? When are we going to see this?
ARMSTRONG: We're going to see it actually right now. I reached over because I grabbed the device that I brought into studio with me here. This is made by a company called Global Rainmakers. And I talked to the CEO of this company, Hector Hoyas (ph) and essentially what you're seeing here Suzanne is a device that's mounted in some of our Bank of Americas in the United States.
And so right here in this area is where you would actually look into this device and it would detect your identification. So in the near future, you'll be able to drive up to an ATM machine and not have to use your ATM card and a pin number to identify yourself.
MALVEAUX: Wow, so you would drive up and it might be something like that or maybe something a little bit smaller at that point and when they --
ARMSTRONG: That's correct.
MALVEAUX: ...and when they develop the technology. Bank and medical information, is it being used in that way? How is this technology actually being employed?
ARMSTRONG: Yeah. Because a lot of people are worried about you know, how does this connect to my information? So here's an example. There's a company called Eye Controls that actually launched a plan, an opportunity, in urban health plan clinic in the Bronx. And what they're doing is they're actually testing and utilizing a device that scans their eyes and helps you identify that the person that you're scanning gets the right medical record that's associated with them.
For example, if you have a scenario where you have several names that are the same, how do you determine that this particular patient is the right patient and that you have the right medical record? So we're seeing, as we look forward to electronic medical records, how we can have better identification technologies in this type of standing like the one from Eye Controls is helping to do that as well.
MALVEAUX: They're actually doing this now. They're actually using this technology to identify people ...
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
MALVEAUX: ... with their medical records?
ARMSTRONG: That's right. They're absolutely doing it now and it's helping with making sure that people get the right medical record, but not only that. They're also going to be having a scanner coming soon that will allow that same device to also bar code scan the medication that they're prescribing.
So what we're getting to is a more accurate medical record and that's what the goal of Eye Control's company is all about. The idea of Global Rainmakers, they're looking at the consumer market as well as the health care market and how we as individuals might even use our cell phone at one point where we can look down at our cell phone and actually be able to authorize a transaction on our device just by looking at it with our eyes.
MALVEAUX: Real quick, I've got to ask you here obviously ...
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
MALVEAUX: ... the question about stealing your identity. Is that possible ...
ARMSTRONG: Yes.
MALVEAUX: ... if you're using your iris and this pupil identification, is that possible to steal your identity?
ARMSTRONG: Yes, but two quick things. One, it's going to be pretty impossible for someone to steal your eyes, number one. Number two, the data in the system is pretty much the same as any data in any system right now anyway.
So privacy concerns are valid and we need to make sure that these systems are very safe, tamper resistant and secure, but -- but there really are kind of the same systems in the same structure that we have today.
MALVEAUX: All right, Mario, thank you so much. I appreciate it.
ARMSTRONG: Thank you, Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Joining us every Saturday. This time, our tech guru, Mario Armstrong delivers the scoop on the latest technology -- T.J.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, some of the stories we're keeping an eye on this morning -- one of the top high school football recruits in the country, and a kid who planned on playing football at Notre Dame next year has died in a spring break accident. According to several published reports, 17-year-old Matt James died after falling from a hotel balcony in Panama City, Florida.
He was one of the top recruits of the Notre Dame class. He attended St. Xavier High School in Cincinnati and he was just a week away from his 18th birthday.
MALVEAUX: Wow.
A 31-year-old Colorado woman arrested in Ireland has been indicted on terror charges in the states. Jamie Pauline-Ramirez has been accused of conspiring with Colleen Larose to provide support to terrorists. Now Larose is a Pennsylvania woman known as "Jihad Jane". Pauline-Ramirez's mother lives in Glendale, Colorado and she was asked how her daughter got into all this mess.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
CHRISTINE MOTT, MOTHER OF ACCUSED TERRORIST: She was looking for somebody to love her. They came into that computer and have ripped my family apart.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MALVEAUX: Pauline-Ramirez was arrested yesterday after voluntarily returning to the States from overseas. HOLMES: So the air travelers coming in to the United States will face new security measures. U.S. officials are abandoning the safeguards they were (INAUDIBLE) and replaced after that Christmas day bomb attempt in Detroit. Those measures included singling out passengers from 14 countries that has been home to terrorists. The new rules will rely more on threat-based intelligence.
MALVEAUX: And the fog of war claims the lives of six Afghan Army soldiers. NATO led German troops fired on the soldier's vehicles as they were delivering food to a village. It happened late Friday night and is under investigation this morning.
And still on Afghanistan, President Hamid Karzai and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton spoke by phone for several minutes yesterday. Clinton wanted to know more about the Afghan President blaming election fraud on the international community.
Our Atia Abawi, she is in Kabul. And Atia, what are you hearing about this phone conversation that took place?
ATIA ABAWI, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it seems that President Karzai is backtracking on his words -- some stinging words during a press conference on Thursday, pointing the finger at the international community. He said for the first time that fraud was involved during the 2009 presidential election, but he says it wasn't the fault of his campaign nor was it that the fault of the Afghan official that were a part of the electoral bodies here in Afghanistan.
But what he told Hillary Clinton by phone was that he in fact didn't mean it like that. He was actually pointing the finger at western media including CNN, "New York Times" and the BBC.
Obviously, President Karzai backtracking on his words because he's realizing that it's causing more and more tensions with his relationship with his administration as well as President Obama's administration, as well as other countries involved in the coalition country -- government here in Afghanistan -- Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Well Atia, let's talk about that, because President Obama just went to Afghanistan. He was visiting with President Hamid Karzai. They had a conversation which officials told us was productive, but we know that there's some strains between those two men. And the administration was very -- they were upset, they were frustrated, that hear Hamid Karzai just days afterwards blames everybody else for the fraud.
The Obama administration didn't see it that way. Is he trying to make amends here do you think with President Obama in the United States?
ABAWI: Well, right now it seems like these words came just days after President Obama's first visit to Afghanistan since President Obama took office. President Obama avoided Afghanistan for a full year. His first year in office and that was a sign in itself, because he was trying to distance himself from President Karzai, because President Karzai's government had been known to be involved in corruption whether it be his family or other it be other officials within the government.
And he has promised to actually fight the corruption, but just days after President Obama's visit he attacks the international community. We have to remember there are 43 different nations involved in Afghanistan at the moment; 43 different countries. People involved in the war as well as the rebuilding process. And when you talk to critics of President Karzai, they say that this will result in damaging the relationship with the Afghan government and the international community.
We just interviewed Dr. Abdullah Abdullah, who was Mr. Karzai's main challenger during the 2009 presidential elections and Dr. Abdullah says that if this doesn't change this could cause big problems especially with the 2010 parliamentary elections which he says President Karzai is trying to take control over to have parliamentarians who support him in those seats.
MALVEAUX: Ok.
ABAWI: Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: Atia Abawi in Kabul, thank you so much for your report and for that perspective. Thanks again, Atia.
We want to go to Chad Myers for an update on the weather. Hey, Chad.
CHAD MYERS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Hey, we're talking about final four.
HOLMES: Yes.
But, important -- yes, I didn't know, we're talking about some of these record highs.
MYERS: Yes.
HOLMES: It's a pretty nice weekend in Indianapolis.
MYERS: Yes, it cools off a little bit today, but it was 81 yesterday.
HOLMES: Yesterday.
MYERS: A brand new record high. Did you fill out a bracket?
HOLMES: I don't fill out the bracket.
MYERS: You didn't do it ...
HOLMES: I'm a purist. It ruins the experience for me.
MYERS: Yes, the Weather Department, also a lot bracket.
HOLMES: Ok.
MYERS: It was Rob Marciano, Bob and Dylan and all the producers -- and -- Rob Marciano had zero teams in the elite eight.
HOLMES: Ok, that's ok.
MYERS: That's how random this final four has been.
HOLMES: Who's ahead, though? Who is winning in your bracket?
MYERS: I'm -- I'm the only person that has Duke still in it.
HOLMES: Really.
MYERS: So theoretically, I win.
HOLMES: You will?
MYERS: Yes that's $7.
All right, hey, let's go right to Orlando. The band shell, if you're headed to Orlando or maybe, I don't know, Port Saint Lucy or something, Daytona, there you go. The WKMG, the band shell right there in the foreground. A beautiful shot, also the ocean front park. A couple other things I've got going for you here, too.
KHOU, my, you've been having panning for me. Look at this, nice shot. They are panning the skyline in Houston for us, a beautiful sunrise this morning in Houston. Temperatures, though, if you're going to be in Houston or Galveston or South Padre, where all of us from Nebraska used to go, in the middle 80s all the way through the week. Next chance of rain for Houston and Galveston and Texas would be into Wednesday.
There are showers and thunderstorms across parts of Alabama into the Mississippi right now. A little bit farther to the north we have showers into Bowling Green (ph) moving up into Kentucky. All just pan this thing for you, we'll move it all the way down.
See rain showers; there is Indianapolis, although you were 81 yesterday. You don't get that warm today because of the cloud cover and the showers. Some showers into Chicago. Could be a 15-minute airport delay in Chicago today, O'Hare, midway, but I just don't see too much. And the big plane traffic, the airplane traffic really was yesterday.
For a while I saw 6,500 airplanes in the sky at one time. That is traffic like you only see on a Thanksgiving or a Christmas Day and so people were getting out of town for spring break or Easter at the in-laws or whatever you're doing.
MALVEAUX: I think I was part of that traffic.
MYERS: You do, right, you were on one of those planes? Yes.
MALVEAUX: Yes on my way here.
MYERS: Yes.
HOLMES: I'm glad you made it.
MALVEAUX: Well, I am too.
MYERS: It's nice to have you here by the way.
MALVEAUX: It's so far a couple hours.
HOLMES: Yes thanks buddy. Yes we were worried you might run off after the first hour or so.
MALVEAUX: But I came back.
MYERS: There she goes.
HOLMES: We've got to go until noon, though. Keep that in mind.
MALVEAUX: All right, just treat me to brunch afterwards.
HOLMES: Not a problem.
MALVEAUX: That's all I ask for.
HOLMES: Not a problem.
MALVEAUX: I just want to be fed, that's it.
Well, if you haven't done your taxes yet you've got about 12 days left and we're going to help you out here.
HOLMES: Yes. Every Saturday we're giving tax tips until tax day. And if you're thinking about getting that rapid rebate, that's sounds great, you get the money quickly, you might want to think twice. We'll tell you why.
Also, students across the country being taunted and teased; well, we're not ignoring it today. Coming up at 9:00 a.m., a national conversation that needs to be had about bullying.
So this is something the whole family can get around the table and the TV to watch this. Wake those kids up. I know it's a Saturday, but you might want them that hear some of this, this morning. We'll be talking to parents, teachers, students as well; experts weighing in to take your questions. Send them to us, weekends@CNN.com. Also you know where to find us on Twitter also on Facebook. And we're going to be answering those coming up, top of the hour. Stay here.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: While some of us are still trying to get our taxes filed by the April 16th deadline, others are already planning on how they're going to spend their refund money that's due. So why wait for the IRS when there's some companies that offering refund money now?
Russell Pearlman is here to tell us why. He's our senior marketing editor at Smart Money Magazine. If you have some money that is coming to you and you're willing to pay this fee to get the refund now, what's the problem?
RUSSELL PEARLMAN, SR. MARKETING EDITOR, SMART MONEY MAGAZINE: Well, there's no problem if you're willing to pay the fee. The problem is the fee can be pretty high. Between all the fees and potential interest rates, you're looking at, it's not really a rapid refund you're being offered. It's a rapid loan, because you essentially get the money up front and your tax preparer takes your actual refund when it comes from the IRS.
The Treasury Department did a study about this two years ago and between all the fees, the kind of the charge for the service anywhere from 5 percent, it's kind of steep, it's up to 25 percent which is really, really steep. So you've got to ask yourself, is it really worth kind of taking this huge chunk of your refund away just to get the money so quickly?
The IRS is actually pretty good at getting your money back, if you electronically file and then direct deposit right into a checking account. Usually the IRS will have your money within would weeks. If there's any possible way for to you wait, that's the best bet.
MALVEAUX: So, if I'm one of those people though who realize, ok, I know this going to cost me some money. I know what I'm facing in advance, but could it be worth it when you compare it to these late fees for these overdue bills?
PEARLMAN: If you absolutely need the money and there are late fees, let's you need the money to pay off high interest credit cards, then, yes, go ahead and do it. But, really, it kind of takes a -- these fees that you're going to have for these rapid loans are pretty high.
Probably the best bet is to kind of take a look at what your refund is and kind of try to add up all the fees that you're going to pay before you actually make the decision to take one of these rapid loans.
MALVEAUX: So are these pitfalls avoidable? If you work with like reputable tax preparing company, like say H&R Block?
PEARLMAN: All the companies are going to charge kind of a fee. Obviously to prepare your taxes for one thing, but there is a fee for all of these kind of rapid refund services, and it's just a matter of scale. Again the Treasury Department did a study. It's anywhere from 5 percent to 25 percent, and the issue is the lower your refund, usually the higher the percentage the fee is that is going to be taken out, if you get a refund loan.
MALVEAUX: All right. Russell Pearlman, thank you so much. Appreciate it -- T.J.
PEARLMAN: Thanks a lot.
HOLMES: All right. Suzanne, we have a couple of big-time programs; a couple of big-time coaches hoping that's going to equal some big-time money coming into Indianapolis this weekend for the final four. We're looking at the economic impact coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: We have a resident D.J. Suzanne was just asking, who picks the music? You like it or you don't like it?
MALVEAUX: Pick another selection.
HOLMES: Oh, wow. You come down here and start offending our staff.
MALVEAUX: No, no, no. Just, I'm offering to make some (INAUDIBLE).
HOLMES: Oh, wow. Ok. That's coming up next segment.
But right now, March madness. What are we talking about? It spilled over now into April just a bit; lots of men and women gearing up for the final four this weekend. The men's basketball teams that battled through this whole 65-team tournament, they're playing later today in Indianapolis while the women's final four, tomorrow in San Antonio.
The cities and the schools all stand to benefit, but not just financially. Author of the book, "Beyond the Box Score" and CNN's sports business analyst, a friend of our show here on CNN SATURDAY and SUNDAY MORNING.
Rick Horrow joins us now to break down some of the dollars behind the brackets. Let's talk about the cities, first of all. Indianapolis, San Antonio. What kind of bump are we talking about?
RICK HORROW, CNN SPORTS BUSINESS ANALYST: Four years ago when the final four was here in Indianapolis, about a $40 million economic impact, T.J. Now they have a bigger stadium, converted to basketball built for the NCAA and the Colts, by the way, Lucas Oil Stadium and an airport expansion.
So I think the economic impact here is twice that, not to mention all the Butler flags all around this place. It's a hometown team as you know.
On the women's side, they're all in San Antonio, $20 million to $30 million of economic impact to see Connecticut potentially continue their dynasty run. Look at that undefeated UCLA 88 game win streak on the men's side 30 years ago.
They won't do it this tournament but I don't see them losing in a long time.
HOLMES: Anytime soon and people not -- the college basketball fans, maybe don't like women's basketball. You need to pay attention to the story of the Yukon women. They're (INAUDIBLE) 75, 76 game win streak. They're beating teams by an average 35, 36 points. These women are unbelievable. Let's go on and talk about the schools now. Of course, the cities, some of the local businesses might get a bump, but the schools themselves get a little piece.
HORROW: Well, remember. The NCAA largely because of that huge $6 billion television contract funds a lot of their operations through that deal, but $600 million of it funnels back to the tournament. About a sixth of it goes to member schools based on scholarships and how they deal with that.
Another piece goes to the schools based on the economic impact that they have, the scholarship commitments. Not just the number of sports. Sports, scholarships. The half of it, though, goes to the wins in the tournaments based on the last six years. So the Butler team, the Duke team, others, they have a great run, but it benefits future tournaments because it's a formula looking backwards.
So the last six years, they divide the pot based on those performances.
HOLMES: And finally here, it's not just money. This is a big deal to be on this stage for these schools.
HORROW: It's huge. All over town. This is that hometown school and not only that, but the other teams of the final four, there's a 6 percent to 7 percent increase in enrollment application based on a team winning the final four, plus I flew my family in, my Duke kids in from Raleigh. So dollars come out of my pocket. I can say, "Go Duke", but that wouldn't be objective, so I'm not going to say that.
HOLMES: Yes. We expect nothing else from you there, Rick. Always good to see you, enjoy your weekend. We'll talk to you again here soon.
Quick break. We're right back on this CNN SATURDAY MORNING.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Time now for our top stories. A Friday night attack in Iraq has left 25 people dead, including 5 women. Police say gunmen were wearing military uniforms when they stormed into houses in a Sunni village just south of Baghdad. Now, the area used to be a hotbed for insurgents. All of the victims were found handcuffed.
HOLMES: The Tea Party Express rolls on. The political movement was in Topeka, Kansas and Tulsa, Oklahoma yesterday. Tea party members headed for an April 15th tax rally in Washington. Today the express takes a southern turn as it rolls into Little Rock, Arkansas and then Tupelo, Mississippi.
MALVEAUX: Grammy award winner Erykah Badu's naked stroll in Dallas not only drew some stares but has also earned her a citation for disorderly conduct. Badu she walked through Dealey Plaza, then collapsed close to where President Kennedy was assassinated. The video shot was March 17th. Now police say they couldn't press charges against Badu earlier because nobody had come forward to complain. If convicted she'll have to pay $500.
HOLMES: Students across the country are being taunted and teased. Some even saying they're being bullied to death. Coming up in five minutes, a national conversation about bullying.
Get the family together. Wake those kids up. Might want to hear what some of our experts have to say this morning.
MALVEAUX: Because we're talking to parents, we're talking to teachers and students; we even have an expert here who's going to be taking your questions. So, please, send us your e-mails as well.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: High school was brutal.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sad to even be in school right now.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You have to imagine what they are all jealous of ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: There were four memorial pages that were set up by her friends in honor of Phoebe, and these bullies went online and trashed those.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These adults should have stepped in ...
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Certain faculty, staff and administrators at the high school also were alerted.
UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: One positive thing that could come out of this, that kids would learn to treat other kids with respect.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Each Saturday here, we promise to go beyond the statistics, beyond a number. Beyond the big news topic of the week and introduce you to someone who's actually experienced the issue.
This week, meet Jaheem Herrera, fifth grader, here in Atlanta. And he was bullied. In fact, local officials say Herrera was "bullied relentlessly." His father said kids called him "gay and a snitch." Herrera hanged himself with a belt last April after coming home from school. His younger sister found him.
Also this morning, meet Carl Joseph Walker Hoover, 11 years old, also hanged himself last year after suffering from the taunt of bullies in his Springfield, Massachusetts School. Also John Carmichael. Officials say he was bullied by bigger classmates. He was an eighth grade. His friends say he had been picked on for years because he was short. All these children, mothers, fathers, family members and friends, this young man took his own life in Texas last Sunday. We just thought they were some of the people you should know. And for the next half hour we're having a national conversation, parents, teachers, counselors everywhere. So if you have a school-aged child in your home you might want to have them wake up and have them take part in this program this morning.
We're talking about bullying and the profound impact it can have on a child. We have parents and experts on hand. So if you have a question, send it to us. You know, where to find us there, Facebook, Twitter, or our blog as well as weekends@cnn.com. Suzanne.
MALVEAUX: And of course, the emphasis for this national conversation is the sad case of Phoebe Prince out of South Hadley, Massachusetts. The 15-year-old committed suicide back in January after enduring months of alleged brutal bullying at the hands of her schoolmates.
Our CNN's Alina Cho, she lays out the facts.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ALINA CHO, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): By all accounts, 15- year-old Phoebe Prince was fun, approachable and popular. A pretty 15- year-old transplant from Ireland with a nice brogue and a nice smile.
(on camera): Why on earth would people want to bully her?
NICK SHENAS, PHOEBE PRINCE'S FRIEND: Jealousy, probably. I would imagine they were all jealous of her because she got a lot of attention from people, positive attention.
CHO (voice-over): Nick Shenas was Prince's close friend and pallbearer at her funeral. He says the cryptic explanation the D.A. gave about why she was allegedly bullied ...
ELIZABETH SCHEIBEL, DISTRICT ATTORNEY: It appears to have been motivated by the group's displeasure with Phoebe's brief dating relationship with a male student.
CHO: To friends it's clear.
SHENAS: It was just a whole secret thing. I don't know.
CHO (on camera): They were dating in secret.
SHENAS: Yes.
CHO (voice-over): Shenas says Prince, a freshman caught the eye of a senior, football player Sean Mulveyhill. The two started dating, but Mulveyhill he says already had a girlfriend, Kayla Narey, another student at South Hadley High School. If the two looked familiar that's because Mulveyhill and Narey are among the nine students facing criminal charges in connection with Prince's death.
(on camera): When you saw this on the front page of "The Boston Herald" today what did you think?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: True. I mean, that's been the fight since the beginning.
CHO (voice-over): Darby O'Brien is a spokesman for Prince's family.
DARBY O'BRIEN, PRINCE FAMILY SPOKESMAN: The word bullying is probably not even accurate. I mean, really, when you look at what happened with her, it's persecution. I mean, this thing was a hate crime.
CHO: Prosecutors say verbal and physical abuse so severe every day and over several months that on January 14th, Prince took her own life.
In addition to the taunts she allegedly endured in the hallways and school library in plain view of faculty, more details are emerging about her final walk home.
(on camera): She walked home ...
O'BRIEN: A car went by and threw -- one of the girls threw an energy drink at her and they yelled out of the car "you Irish slut, you Irish whore." I mean, supposedly said, "Why don't you kill yourself?"
CHO (voice-over): So when the 15-year-old arrived home ...
O'BRIEN: She walked into her house. Took a scarf her sister had given her for Christmas and hung herself.
CHO: An act that not only ended her life, but shattered the community. People like Shenas' mother, Susan Smith.
SUSAN SMITH, NICK SHENAS' MOTHER: I could not imagine it, honestly. It's unimaginable and to happen in your own town a mile from your house. It's unimaginable.
CHO: How could this happen? Why didn't anyone stop it? Shenas says because Prince was able to hide behind her smile.
SHENAS: It was just like a sense of shock and disbelief, just that something like that can happen to a close friend.
CHO (on camera): But what also is becoming clear is that bullying appears to be part of the culture, the attitude, not my town, not my kids, but that attitude appears to be shifting. Parents are outraged and they're calling for the principal and the superintendent to resign.
Alina Cho, CNN, South Hadley, Massachusetts.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
MALVEAUX: We'll have more reaction from South Hadley School officials in just a moment. In all, a total of nine students have been indicted in connection with Phoebe Prince's suicide. Charges ranging from statutory rape to criminal harassment to civil rights violations. Three of those students go to court on Tuesday.
Now, as for South Hadley School officials they say they only knew about Phoebe Prince's bullying problem a week before her suicide, and the school system's investigation is continuing.
HOLMES: Unfortunately, we are seeing more and more stories like this all over the country of kids being bullied every day. One mom in Washington state says her daughter's being bullied for the past couple of years. She is now fighting the school to take action. Susan is on the line with us, only going to use her first name for the sake of the family, protection of her daughter.
Susan, thank you for hopping on the phone with us and being a part of the conversation this morning. But ma'am, what does that feel like? You say your daughter, who is in sixth grade now, has been bullied since she was in the fourth grade. What is it like for two years as a parent to have to have your child come home every day and listen to what she's enduring at school?
SUSAN: It's very difficult. My daughter spends as much time at school being bullied as much time as she spends at home. And when she comes home and she tells me in tears what had happened during the day, that she feels worthless, as a parent you look at her and you're just heart broken because you see the potential in your child and you're afraid that she's never going to be able to reach it.
HOLMES: Ma'am, what happens, that some of this stuff, and you know, kids can be mean, that's one thing, but what do you hear that makes this sound like this not just a kid being picked on or called a name, but your child and this bullying goes a step beyond that?
SUSAN: Well, when the bullies and friends surround my daughter, four or five of them at the time won't let her leave, and they taunt her. Or if she tries to leave they grab her arm and they usually do it when there's no one looking, no playground duty. No teacher. It's way beyond teasing someone about what they wear or who they are.
HOLMES: Well, ma'am, how do you go about as parent, and I'm sure a lot of parents are listening to this and curious to how you might answer it. How do you go about keeping your child's spirits up when she probably some days does not even want to walk out the front door and go to school?
SUSAN: It is difficult, but I keep reminding her that no one can tell her who she is except her, that she has to find a way to realize that she is who she is and these children I tell her that we should feel sorry for them in a way, because they haven't learned how to love or how to be kind, and it is difficult for me, because the first response you want if someone who hurt your child is usually and you want it to stop.
HOLMES: And ma'am, we know you have been trying with the school district and the school to try to get some help and they keep complaining about what happened to her. But one final question to you, and that is, given some of the stories we've seen, unfortunately these kids taking their own lives, do you ever worry about your child hurting herself?
SUSAN: You know, I do, and more recently because of what's been happening, but I think that if I keep talking to her and she feels like she has an ally in me, I hope that we can make it through this.
HOLMES: Well, ma'am, thank you so much for hopping on and being a part of the conversation. We might have you back here to be a part of some of the Q&A we're going to have with a couple of our experts here, but thank you so much and good luck to you and your daughter and your family.
Do want to let our viewers know that we reached out to the school officials about this particular case. Susan's case. Want to let you know what they had to say in relation.
They say the school district and the elementary school "are committed to maintaining a safe and civil educational environment for all students that is free from harassment, intimidation and bullying. We take these types of complaints very seriously. Students who feel bullied or harassed should report the incident to their school's administrators. Matters brought to the school's attention will be investigated and handled with due process."
MALVEAUX: And still to come, we have expert that can help parents who are dealing with a child being bullied. We talk with Jodee Blanco. She was bullied herself and is now traveling the country to help others. And we also have famed TV judge Glenda Hatchet here in the studio to help answer some questions. We're back in 90 seconds.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: We are continuing our national conversation on bullying. I want you to meet Jody Blanco. She says she was threatened, beaten, dragged across a parking lot, burned with cigarettes, taunted and teased for years. Jodee survived and she is now the author of "Please Stop Laughing At Me." She joins us live from Chicago this morning. Jodee, you wrote a very eye opening article on our CNN.com opinion page this week.
I want to read a line, if I can.
JODEE BLANCO, AUTHOR: Please. Thank you.
MALVEAUX: You say, "I was mocked in gym, snickered in class, ambushed at sleepovers, spit-balled on the school bus. My adolescence was a living hell. It backed up into my system like a toxin and poisoned my spirit." Jodee, first of all, I want to thank you for having the courage to come and talk about your story, obviously. Because it's easier as adults -- we get through these things, we survive and there are so many kids who don't understand that you can ever get to that point. That it's going to be OK.
And you had listened, you heard this caller, Susan, she's very concerned about her sixth grade daughter who's being bullied and she's out of Washington state. I want to give Susan an opportunity to ask you a question, if you could. Susan?
SUSAN: Yes. Hello. If you could talk to my daughter directly what would you tell her to keep her spirits up so that she can get through this?
BLANCO: This is what I have to say to your daughter. Listen to me. There is nothing wrong with you. It is everything that is right about you that's making you a target of these mean kids. And I don't want you to change for anyone, because it is these kids who are putting you down and excluding you. They are the ones who need to change, sweetheart, not you.
And I also have something, Susan, to say to you that I want you to listen to very carefully. OK? Yes, you have to deal with the school and, yes, eventually you'll have to deal with the parents of the bullies. That's all true, but the first thing that needs to be done is to tend to your child, because the bullied child is bleeding and they're bleeding in the form of loneliness.
And one of my best recommendations to parents is that you create an interim social life, contact the park district and the local library, the nearest district next town over that does not feed into your child's school. Get a list of their organized activities for kids. Go through it with your daughter. Let her pick something she would love to participate in and enroll her.
But it's got to be one town over because the whole purpose is that your daughter gets a sense of a whole fresh start with brand new faces, and this interim social life will give her something to look forward to, new friendships with new people will boost her confidence, make her less of a target at school, and that will bide you the time you need to deal with the school, and if the school doesn't respond, go to the school board meetings. They have one every month. They have to listen to you. It's a public meeting and plead your case there.
MALVEAUX: Jodee, I want to ask you really quick, Jodee, should they leave the school? Should the student leave the school? The girl leave the school where she is now and just get a fresh start somewhere else? Do you think that that's the best way to handle this?
BLANCO: I don't always recommend transferring schools, because who you are goes with you wherever you go. And if for some reason a child is then excluded or picked on at the next school, it makes them feel as if they failed twice.
MALVEAUX: So they've got to deal with the situation there. OK.
BLANCO: Yes. And that's why I recommend the interim social life. If you can get them another social life outside of school with kids they don't go to school with, that's why you go one town over. That gives them a life line while things at the school can be worked out. If there's no way to work it out with the school, then you transfer. But try an interim social life as a measure first.
MALVEAUX: Jodee Blanco, we got to leave it there. Thank you very much for your time and your insights. We really appreciate it.
BLANCO: Thank you.
HOLMES: Well, in some cases, kids are actually being charged with bullying. Next, we're going to talk to Judge Hatchett. Many of you know her by her television show? She used to preside over Georgia's largest juvenile court before hitting the screen. Her advice to some of you, and she's also going to be taking your questions. I have received them via Facebook, via Titter, I am pulling them as we speak. I'm going to pose them directly to her. That's coming up next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, as we've learned, schools often don't or can't go far enough in punishing bullies or changing their behavior. Many cases they are acts or crimes and some judges say they needed to be treated like criminals if they're going to turn their lives around. And for Judge Glenda Hatchett, this works.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE GLENDA HATCHETT: I don't care about the backhand, why did you beat up on her? Don't roll your eyes in here, boy. Oh, do not -- oh, you're messing with the wrong person in here today.
This can be fixed, because my instincts tell me that deep down in his soul, this is a good kid.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Judge Hatchett is here. She spent her judicial career and now a television show helping troubled kids get back on the right path. She is here in the studio with us to help us with this. Good morning. Good to have you.
HATCHETT: Good morning. It is great to be here with you this morning. Thank you.
HOLMES: We're getting great response to this topic today. I want to start with this question that you probably get, you hear oftentimes. Kids have been bullying each other since the invention of kids.
HATCHETT: Absolutely.
HOLMES: OK. So what is going on now that's different? Is it getting tougher or this social media stuff and all the texting making it easier?
HATCHETT: I think it's a combination of a lot of things. What happened is that when -- you know, I was a kid my hair might get pulled, I might get teased. But now, the texting, it's not just me, 50 kids, 100 kids, 1,000 kids know that I'm being bullied and it just kind of takes on a life of itself.
And so when this becomes viral it becomes far more intense. And so we're not only seeing the emotional bullying and the physical bullying, we're seeing what we're now referring to as cyber bullying. That's a whole another dimension that's very new for us.
HOLMES: But is that making all the difference -- it's not fair to say the kids aren't getting any meaner these days, are they?
HATCHETT: Well, I don't though that thy are getting any meaner these days. I do think that we are, perhaps, seeing more pressure on kids, because of the whole dynamic, of the scene having changed. And kids really are being tormented. They are.
HOLMES: We're going to get to, and I promise, they started sending questions in. I want to make sure I get to some of the people sending them in.
(CROSSTALK)
HATCHETT: Sure.
HOLMES: One from the Facebook page, Dianna Kinley (ph), she says, asking what is the best way for a child to deal with a bully, what do you do?
HATCHETT: Well, the first thing is that you have to talk to your children and you have to say, listen, don't suffer on this. You are not alone. Our children have to know that they're not alone. The tragedy is that we have seen, and particularly that you're focusing in on this morning is that suicide ought not be the answer for bullying.
A child shouldn't feel that that is the only way out of this. And so encourage your kids. These are teachable moments, T.J., have your kids sit down and talk to you and then intervene. Go to the school. Talk to the counselors, talk to the teachers, talk to the principals. You know, weigh in on your child's behalf.
HOLMES: That's about the teacher and the parent getting involved. That's about that kind of intervening, but what about the child that moment? You're being called that name ...
HATCHETT: Right. Right.
HOLMES: And when getting that text, how is a child supposed to respond?
HATCHETT: Yes, well, actually what you need to do is you need to try to pull yourself away from the situation. You know, some parents say, well I tell my kids that they just need to fight back. Fight back. But then that escalates. So now you've got two kids in court on an assault charge, perhaps. And so that's the risk that you run.
And I encourage parents to tell their kids to try to pull out of the situation and put some room in it until you can resolve it.
HOLMES: You kind of hit on our next question here that came to us on twitter from B. Leak (ph) that says "Is it the best way to do this, is it best to just get up and move? Give your child a fresh start somewhere, or teach them to fight through it." And you do and I know, you've heard parents say, stand up.
HATCHETT: Yes, you've got to stand up. In fact, I had one parent say to me, that she tell her kid, either you fight or I'm going to beat you when you get home. And so, I don't encourage that. I don't encourage that, because that can get out of hand. I don't think that you get up and move your family. I don't.
Because then what happens when it happens at the next school? I mean, you've got to be realistic about this but I think that fighting and the whole aggression and that escalating is a dangerous path to (INAUDIBLE)
HOLMES: And you have a method as well that you're trying to fight back, not physically, but still -- what are you trying to do starting next week?
HATCHETT: Yes. Actually, just launched a new program called "Parent Power Now.com." And I'm so excited about it. And it's a community online where parents and influences of children come together and we talk about these issues. So literally Monday night at 10:00, I'm doing a live call. You can register at parentpowernow.com for the call and we're dealing with this issue of bullying, talking about strategies, and we're also talking to parents who have children who are bullying, because this is a piece that works both sides.
What responsibilities do we have when we know that our children are engaged in this kind of conduct?
HOLMES: Well, we will be looking on Monday, again, such an important topic, we're getting a great response from. Judge Glenda Hatchett, I might want try to talk you into sticking around.
HATCHETT: Absolutely.
HOLMES: We're going to take a quick break. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
MALVEAUX: Well, we know that there are a lot of parents out who are concerned about their child's safety, especially if he or she is the target of a bully. But what you may not know is just how serious the federal government is taking the problem.
Our Josh Levs is joining us with some real eye-opening information. Josh?
LEVS: A lot of parents out there, Suzanne and T.J., turning to the web, looking what do we do? And the government has this web site here called Stop Bullying Now. It has a lot -- it's packed with information. One thing too, it's the heaviest cartoons. Take a look here.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Check this out. I'm going to squeeze this pudding down teeny-weeny's (ph) shirt. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: OK. If I join you, Milton?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, sure.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
LEVS: All right. So you're seeing there another friend goes to help a kid who has been being bullied. And they have tons of them. They are called webisodes. And along with this information for young people, information for parents, information for teachers. I don't think I've ever seen a government web site this packed with advice. I encourage you to check it out. Stopbullyingnow.
Come back to my screen, if you can. I want to show you two more web sites that you should out when you're going online, and you don't need to write this down, because we're posting all of it for you. Check out this one here from Acer (ph). This one's called "Teens Against Bullying" and this is packed with information, specifically for teens. What to do if you're in that older age group, you're really suffering. How do you handle this? Who do you talk to? What words do you use?
And finally, a web site we've just learned about this morning from Judge Hatchett. Take a look at this. She was just telling us about this. Parentpowernow.com. She's lending her voice. This is going to be another web site. Hopefully doing its part.
We can see a lot of people working on those online resources to try to get you empowered to know what to do for your kids, to know what to do in school. And you know what else? To help notice that maybe your kid might be a bully and you didn't even realize it. All these right here on how do you find the links? They're right there. There you go. Thanks, guys.
It's all in my Facebook page. Right now. Josh Levs CNN, I'm going to add a link to Judge Hatchett's site. So T.J. and Suzanne, we'll make sure parents out there have these and hopefully get some help.
HOLMES: All right. Great resources and a great half hour here. Hope that you all, and your children, maybe this was a discussion for a lot people out there.
MALVEAUX: A lot of good information.
HOLMES: But certainly hopefully you got something out of it. Certainly what we planned on doing here but ...
Suzanne and I will be back. 30 minutes. More live news at the top of the hour. Right now, I want to turn it over to Stephanie Elam and "YOUR BOTTOM LINE."
