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CNN Saturday Morning News
4 W.Va. Coal Miners Found Dead; Stevens Retirement Jump-Starts Replacement Talk; Stupak, Linchpin of Health Bill, Calls It Quits; Polish Leader, Dozens of Others Dead in Plane Crash; Tenn. Mom Sends Adopted Russian Boy Back to Moscow
Aired April 10, 2010 - 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: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. Six a.m. where we sit in Atlanta; 3 a.m. out in Los Angeles, California. Wherever you may be, glad you could be right here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
BRIANNA KEILAR, CNN ANCHOR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. Thanks so much for starting your day with us.
Here's what we have:
A Tennessee mom ships her adopted son back to Russia. She put this 7-year-old on a plane by himself with a note that said she didn't want him anymore. And she says it was because it was violent and psychotic.
So the big question this morning, did she commit a crime, or was this just bad judgment?
HOLMES: I don't know if it's criminal just yet, but there's some things apparently, they say, the child was doing that would have been disturbing to anybody. But a lot of people (INAUDIBLE) to send the kid off, return to sender, since we (ph) sent him with a note.
KEILAR: I guess some parents might want to do this, right?
HOLMES: Yes, I'm sure both of our parents, at some point, wanted to do that.
KEILAR: Surely not.
HOLMES: Well, another question we're asking this morning -- everybody's asking -- who is the president going to nominate to fill the seat of that man, John Paul Stevens. Of course, he has announced he is going to step down from the high court by this summer. And as soon as his announcement was made, let the speculation begin about who could possibly be taking his place. We'll take a look at some of the potential replacements. Also going to be telling you about the confirmation process this morning.
But first, let's give you some updates from news we're getting overnight. We had hoped -- everybody holding out hope that things could have worked out better for those four unaccounted-for miners in West Virginia. But now, crews have, in fact, confirmed that those last four, in fact, are dead. They have found the bodies. That means now that 39 people died in Monday's explosion at that West Virginia mine. Worst mine disaster we've seen in this country in almost 40 years now.
Officials say the miners never made it to the safety chambers that had food and oxygen.
KEILAR: More members of Congress are watching their backs. Lawmakers reported 42 incidents of threats in the first three months of this year. That's actually nearly three times the 15 cases that were reported -- that were reported during the same time period last year.
Some of those threats were connected to the hard-fought battle over health-care reform.
HOLMES: And a plane carrying 132 people, including Poland's president and first lady, has crashed in Russia. And a Russian official says there are no survivors. A spokesman for Poland's Foreign Ministry says the plane was approaching the airport when it appears to have hit a row of trees.
Want to turn back to a story we -- we're really keeping an eye on all week, out of West Virginia -- that explosion that happened there, and people were holding out hope that maybe the last four that were unaccounted for, maybe had found their way to safety.
KEILAR: Yes, but this was a rescue mission. It is now a recovery effort after crews found the bodies of the four missing miners early this morning.
CNN's -- CNN's Ines Ferre is in Naoma, West Virginia.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
INES FERRE, CNN EN ESPANOL CORRESPONDENT: This West Virginia community was hoping for a miracle. But the sliver of hope held for the last five days is gone.
GOV. JOE MANCHIN (D), WEST VIRGINIA: None of the chamber had been deployed. And none of our miners suffered. So this journey -- this journey has ended. And now the healing will start.
FERRE: The governor says that the families are pulling on all their strength. It's been an excruciating five days for the families. Rescue workers had gone into the mine numerous times this week, only to be pulled back because of the conditions of the mine.
But when all was said and done, the four missing miners were found dead.
KEVIN STRICKLIN, U.S. MINE SAFETY & HEALTH ADMIN.: You know, when they reported to the command center, it was very professional, with respect, and that's on the outside. I'm sure on the outside it was hurting them more than anybody could imagine.
FERRE: Officials say a full investigation will be done now on the worst mining tragedy in the last 40 years.
Ines Ferre, CNN, Naoma, West Virginia.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Well, the announcement by Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens that he will retire this summer sets up another big battle in Washington. President Obama, who already nominated Sonia Sotomayor to the court last year, now has another opportunity to shape the nation's highest court.
Stevens is the court's oldest member and leader of the liberal bloc. The associate justice has been on the court some 34 years. He was nominated by President Ford and took his seat on the court in December of 1975.
CNN's senior legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin says the president's nominee could give liberals a shot in the arm, while the president says he'll seek someone similar to Justice Stevens.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: While we cannot replace Justice Stevens' experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities: an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dedication to the rule of law and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.
It will also be someone who, like Justice Stevens, knows that in a democracy, powerful interests must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN SENIOR LEGAL ANALYST: New justices often bring new energy, new ideas and the fact that Obama will have two quick appointments, having appointed Sonia Sotomayor last year, really does give the liberals a tremendous shot in the arm at the court.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: And like we said, as soon as he announced retirement, already some names started being floated around.
Among those possible replacements: U.S. solicitor general Elena Kagan; federal appellate Judge Merrick Garland of the District of Columbia; and 7th Circuit federal appellate Judge Diana Wood.
You're looking now at some of the process for filling a Supreme Court vacancy. The president, of course, is going to select a nominee. And then let the investigating begin. The FBI is going to look into that person's background extensively. Eighteen senators on the Senate Judiciary Committee then going to essentially interview that nominee. The committee will vote, and then the matter will head over to the full Senate to try to get a majority vote, try to get at least 51 votes. And it will take 51 to confirm that nominee.
KEILAR: He was a key figure in helping pass health-care reform, and a key target of those who opposed reform. Nine-term Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan announced that he's not seeking re-election.
And CNN's Dana Bash sat down with Stupak. She asked him if pressure from the "tea party" movement led to his decision not to seek re-election.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
DANA BASH, CNN SR. CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Is there any risk in looking like you're actually...
REP. BART STUPAK (D), MICHIGAN: No.
BASH: ...a coward.
STUPAK: No.
BASH: Not a fighter here?
STUPAK: No.
BASH: (INAUDIBLE), as they're here trying to get you out of office?
STUPAK: No. No. Tea party is not even from my district. You know, I'm -- I'm glad -- I'm hope they're spending..
BASH: I -- I was here yesterday. There were a number of people from your district at that first rally.
STUPAK: OK. Most of the calls that come from our office, Texas. I mean, that's what the tea party is. You have groups come and go.
When I ran, it was the Perot people -- the Ross Perot people. I mean, I get along with these folks. And even if they were from my district, they're my friends. And there's no doubt in my mind, I'd win re-election if I chose to run again. I've chose not to.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Now, with Stupak retiring, the total number of open House seats -- seats where there is not an incumbent to defend it, 35. Democrats have 16 of those seats, Republicans 19.
HOLMES: Well, a busy week this week in the sports world. We saw the national championship, basketball. And then women's actually happened. They were (ph) Monday and Tuesday. The first full week of the baseball season. You've got the Masters going on right now.
KEILAR: Which you -- you checked out.
HOLMES: Oh, on Thursday.
KEILAR: Pretty amazing, right?
HOLMES: It was (INAUDIBLE).
KEILAR: And perhaps you have some outdoor plans as well. I'm actually going on a hike, so I have a vested interest in this.
Because we want to know, is the weather going to cooperate? And Reynolds Wolf is here with some more on that.
REYNOLDS WOLF, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Yes, you know, actually, weather is going to cooperate coast to coast. It doesn't matter if you're going to the Masters, going on a hike or maybe even seeing a dandy implosion. Because implosions on weekends can be dandy, especially one that's going to be in Dallas, taking place tomorrow.
Let you know what you can expect coast to coast weather-wise in just a few moments.
HOLMES: All right. Renny, we appreciate you, buddy. We'll see you here shortly.
Also, the story we mentioned a short time ago, a 7-year-old Russian boy adopted by a Tennessee mother. Then she buys a one-way plane ticket and sends him back to Moscow alone.
Lots of people talking about this story. Her actions now sparked an investigation and caused some international tensions.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: All right. Getting back to a story that's breaking this morning, about a plane that went down in Russia. This plane was carrying the Polish president and first lady. Some 132 people on board. All are believed to have been killed.
You're seeing some of the -- some of the wreckage here, some of the first video. This happened around 3:00 Eastern Time this morning. This was on landing there in western Russia.
I want to bring in Brien Barnett from the -- from "The Krakow Post" who can help us here (INAUDIBLE) -- talking to us from Poland this morning, I do believe.
Sir, thank you for jumping on the line with us.
What more do we know about what possibly happened upon landing? There was some issue possibly that it had clipped some trees. Is that what you're hearing as well?
VOICE OF BRIEN BARNETT, "KRAKOW POST": Yes. What we're hearing in the reports is that there were -- the -- the scenario, basically, possibly went something like, they were trying to land in heavy fog, and because they wanted to go to this commemoration, may have tried to land and land, and then upon possibly the fourth attempt, hit some trees and crashed.
HOLMES: And -- and Brian, give us more about who exactly was onboard. We -- again, we understand the president was onboard, along with the first lady.
But who else? We're talking about 132 people, we're told, were onboard.
BARNETT: Yes. I think -- I think the numbers are -- are going to be a bit confusing over the next 24 hours.
HOLMES: Right.
BARNETT: But in general, what it was a delegation of about 88 people who were going to this commemoration of Katyn in western Russia, and possibly other people either going for that or with the president in general, up to 130 is the other number that we have heard.
HOLMES: Do we know -- of -- of the people onboard -- again, we're not -- not exactly sure -- like you said, the numbers might be all over the place. But how many aboard were part of the -- the Polish government.
BARNETT: The Polish government itself, actually -- you mean, like, ministers and -- and people such as that?
HOLMES: Ministers or any parts of the -- any -- how big was the Polish delegation? Are you telling me...
BARNETT: Well, the Polish delegation was about 88 people, and we believe that included a number of -- not only the president and his wife, but a number of ministers, of aides, one undersecretary and at least one, maybe more army generals.
And so quite -- quite a large number of the Polish presidential corps, I guess, of people who would normally be in his offices and work with him.
HOLMES: Brian, how, I guess, is the Polish community -- how, the country itself -- how the media as well -- how has the coverage been right now? What has the reaction been in -- in Poland to this accident?
BARNETT: Well, I think the very thing is that Poland is in a high state of shock right now.
It -- it -- it is -- you know, it -- it is not at all unexpected, as I don't think any crash is. But this particular week has been a -- a moment of -- of Russian and Polish accord, of them trying to -- to talk to over this issue of Katyn, which was a massacre that happened in World War II.
And so this commemoration was highly, highly important. And for this to happen, I think for many Polish that I've already been speaking with today, it's almost as if it's resurrected a -- a painful memory in the past, via this crash. It's just -- it's -- it's unbelievable, to be honest. So -- it's really amazing.
HOLMES: Brien Barnett, we appreciate you hopping on the phone here. We might, if we can, talk to you a little later as we continue to gather information...
BARNETT: Certainly.
HOLMES: ...about this story. But thank you so much.
And again, to our viewers, the word is, plane crash goes down -- plane goes down western Russia today, possibly clipped some trees trying to land. And aboard that plane was the president, President Kaczynski of Poland. Also his wife. And as we just heard from Brien Barnett there, several other -- a number of members possibly of Polish government. And just a huge Polish delegation.
But the investigation already under way.
KEILAR: Let's take a turn now and head over -- let's take a turn now and head over to the CNN Weather Center and Reynolds Wolf.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: We're going to turn back to the story we've been watching out of West Virginia all week. And of course, a lot of emphasis and attention being paid now to the coal-mining industry, which was kind of happening a bit of a struggle before this tragedy.
KEILAR: Josh Levs is talking a closer look at some of the challenges that the industry is facing and why mining for coal is so important to many of our daily activities -- Josh.
JOSH LEVS, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Yes. Hey there, guys, and good morning.
The tragedy that we have been seeing there hits home for you, and really, for pretty much everyone in the entire country. How struggles in coal can hurt employment in America, and how you are probably using coal right now and don't even know it.
I'm about to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Crews have found the bodies of four miners missing nearly a week since an explosion at a West Virginia coal mine. The death toll now overnight going to 29
HOLMES: Yes, the community mourning those lost. And this disaster also means more problems for a struggling industry that impacts the entire country.
Josh Levs here to explain that and to show that to us.
LEVS: Yes.
HOLMES: Good morning to you, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning again to you guys.
Yes, look, I mean, a lot of people feel a lot about this, of course. And that's the most important thing here, the human side of what we're seeing.
But at the same time, there is a financial impact on the whole country. Let's zoom in. I want everyone to see something here. If you've ever looked at Google maps at, let's say, West Virginia, as an example, every time you see an area like this, there's about a 99 percent chance that what you're seeing is an area where coal mining is done. Most of it is surface mining.
It's all over the place. West Virginia is the second-most- prolific state for mining. And Wyoming is the first. And when you look at the Google satellite maps over Wyoming, you're seeing it pretty much absolutely everywhere. It is huge.
And you know what? Let's just go straight to this number I have for you guys on the graphic, because this is what's been happening to the industry in America. It's been struggling. And this impacts the country.
Production in this economy fell 8.5 percent last year. And look at how historic that was. It was the biggest tonnage drop-off in America since 1949. And we're talking about an industry that employs 87,000 people that's already been struggling. Some people were hoping to see things improve in the coming days. Maybe there would be some improvement -- or rather, in -- in the coming months, because the economy is picking a little bit. Maybe there would be more jobs.
But what they've been seeing so far is a real struggle in this industry. And you know what? We'll go right to this, because it popped up here. The vast majority of the coal that is mined at all these plants, guys -- nearly all of it -- you can see it there, 93 percent, is used for electricity.
So right now you're watching TV, right? You might have the lights on in your home. You might be running some other electrical appliance. Very, very good chance that what you are using right now, some of that coal is actually -- some -- some of that power that you're using right now is coming from coal.
Nearly half the electricity in America comes from coal. And the more the industry struggle, the more electricity can get expensive. The fewer people have jobs, and now you see tragedies like this. Obviously, in addition to the human toll, a financial toll as well.
So, T.J., Brianna, as we keep an eye on this, that's one good example of how one tragedy and one spot in our country has ripple effects for all of us that could impact the whole country.
KEILAR: No, it is really amazing. I mean, almost all of that coal going to these -- these coal-fired electric plants.
LEVS: Virtually all of it, yes.
KEILAR: (INAUDIBLE)
LEVS: And almost half the power that we have comes from that coal. So we count on it every day.
KEILAR: Yes.
All right. Josh Levs, thanks so much.
LEVS: Thanks, guys.
HOLMES: Well, adopting a child can be a tough transition for -- for millions of parents, and also the child.
KEILAR: So when it didn't go so smoothly for one Tennessee mother, she actually sent her new 7-year-old back to his home country, Russia, on a plane all by himself. And just wait until you hear why she said she had to take such drastic measures.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Here a few of the stories that are making headlines this morning.
A sheriff's deputy is accused of using a stun gun on 30 high- school students. But it's not what you think here. They actually asked to be stun-gunned if you will.
He's been suspended now for a week without pay. This happened in Leadville, Colorado, during a job fair. Police say the students actually pressured the deputy into using the gun on them because they wanted to know what it felt like.
Two of the students suffered minor burns. The deputy now facing possible criminal charges.
KEILAR: That is just nuts. A crazy story.
Well, we'll be learning Monday when Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is charged with sexual assault. The district attorney in Milledgeville, Georgia, is planning a news conference, and he'll reveal the results of an investigation into a 20-year-old college student's claim that Roethlisberger assaulted her in early March at a nightclub south of Atlanta.
HOLMES: And the Obama administration new education policy is prompting a march on Washington today. Protesters want Education Secretary Arne Duncan fired. They criticized the Race to the Top program, saying it awards federal dollars to states based largely on how many public schools they disband, and how many teachers they fire. (COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: OK. Something apparently went wrong here.
U.S. and Russian officials investigating after a 7-year-old boy, who was adopted by a family in Tennessee, was put on a plane by himself and essentially shipped back to Russia.
KEILAR: The family says that the boy was exhibiting psychotic behavior. They say he was violent.
But the boy has some allegations of his own, and Martin Savidge is following this story.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARTIN SAVIDGE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: T.J. and Brianna, the adoptive American family was supposed to have a meeting with the Shelbyville sheriff here to talk about this case, but now that meeting has been put off until at least next week, apparently at the advice of an attorney.
Meanwhile, the anger continues to grow internationally.
(voice-over): He is a very little boy at the center of what's becoming a big international incident between the U.S. and Russia.
Seven-year-old Artyom was adopted by an American family seven months ago and started his new life in a small Tennessee town. But Thursday, this little boy showed up at the international airport in Moscow all alone, after his U.S. family accused him of being violent and psychotic, and put him on a plane back to Russia with nothing but a note.
Artyom is now under the care of Russia's Child Protection Ministry as an international investigation gets under way.
Russians are outraged, chief among them Sergey Lavrov, Russia's foreign minister, who's calling for a freeze on Americans adopting Russian children.
"What has happened is far beyond the borders of good and evil," Lavrov said. "We have taken the decision, and the Russian Foreign Ministry will stand for this firmly, to freeze -- to suggest a freeze on any adoptions to American families."
The incident was even brought up at today's briefing at the U.S. State Department.
P.J. CROWLEY, STATE DEPARTMENT SPOKESMAN: Regarding this latest case, we are obviously, you know, very troubled by it. You know, this child, as with all of the children that are involved in adoptions between Russia and the United States, they are U.S. citizens. They are Russian citizens. And we ensure -- we share responsibility to ensure their welfare.
SAVIDGE: The Kremlin's children rights commissioner said the boy is making accusations of his own against his adoptive American family.
"I asked him, 'Did she hurt you?' He says, 'No, she didn't beat me, but she did this to me all the time.' He showed me what she did.
So she pulled his hair all the time. And I asked him, 'Did she do this often?' And he said, 'Yes, she did this very often.'
(on camera): Fifty-seven-hundred miles away, in the small town of Shelbyville, Tennessee, the boy's adoptive American family has so far refused to talk on camera, speaking only through an attorney.
TRICIA HENEGAR, FAMILY ATTORNEY: It's the early stages of the investigation. We'll be conducting our own investigation. Initially, it appears there is a lot of pressure from external matters involving the adoption.
SAVIDGE: The adoptive American family isn't saying anything on camera, but they had plenty to say to CNN on the telephone. They claim that the little boy has violent tendencies, that he had a hit list. And topping the list of people he wanted to hurt was his adoptive American mother, whom they say he actually wanted to kill.
They also say they've got video to back up, documenting his violent nature. And they say the final straw came four days ago, when they caught him in the act, they say, in their home, attempting to start a fire, to burn the house down.
That's when they packed his bags and put him on a plane bound for Russia, not realizing they were triggering an international incident -- T.J., Brianna.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
KEILAR: Martin Savidge in Tennessee.
They didn't know they would be triggering, I guess, which is -- I would think that you would probably know that that would get out and you would be triggering.
HOLMES: Something's going to be out.
But you said, she went through a couple of proper steps. Contacted an attorney that gave her the advice to -- to do it this way, had the child picked up and dropped off. But still, it seems disheartening for some that you could do that to a child. But -- and others here, well, he clearly was not -- did not come the way she thought he was going to be coming. Something was wrong.
KEILAR: Well, and it makes you think, if it were a domestic situation ...
HOLMES: Oh my goodness. Yes.
KEILAR: ...you would think that you would be very much in trouble for doing this. It just makes you wonder if it is a different situation because he came from another country. HOLMES: Will have an international situation.
KEILAR: We'll see.
HOLMES: All right. Well, picking up tabs at the strip club in Hollywood.
Also, mistakenly distributing fliers with a number to a phone sex line, if a news anchor is reading those lines and your face is up on TV that is probably not a good thing. The Republican National Committee under fire recently and its Chairman Michael Steele. So are Republicans still supporting their chairman?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody. Welcome back to CNN SATURDAY MORNING. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KEILAR: And I'm Brianna Keilar. Thank you so much for starting your day with us.
HOLMES: The Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele addressing the party faithful today at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans.
KEILAR: This is going to be very interesting because his speech coming amid growing calls for his resignation. Several high-profile members leading the charge.
Our Jim Acosta has details.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Just remember the problem solvers.
JIM ACOSTA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice over): Spring break. It didn't take long for Washington to come up with its the latest parlor game. Will the chairman of the Republican National Committee, Michael Steele, stay or go?
(On camera): Does Michael Steele have any plans to step down?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: None at all.
ACOSTA: That's not happening?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's not happening.
ACOSTA (voice over): That is despite calls from some Republicans who are already weary of Steele's history of gaffes. The recent disclosure that a group within the RNC, known as the Young Eagles had spent nearly $2,000 of committee cash at a Hollywood strip club could be the last straw.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think a change at this moment would be a good thing. ACOSTA: One RNC member Sean Mahoney jumped ship publicly sending his resignation letter to a New Hampshire newspaper.
"Mr. Chairman," Mahoney wrote, "do I need to remind you that the Republican Party is supposed to be the conservative party?"
Two better-known Republicans, former White House advisers Karl Rove and Ed Gillespie are promoting a separate fund raising machine called American Crossroads, which some in Washington are calling a shadow RNC. Doug Heye, the RNC's communications director, says Steele is trying to ease tensions by shaking up his staff and holding a conference call with RNC members.
(On camera): You have some distractions you are dealing with right now.
DOUG HEYE, RNC COMMUNICATIONS DIRECTOR: Certainly there have been and why we've put the changes in place and the real changes that are not just administrative but personnel, as well, because they are real changes that needed to be made.
ACOSTA (voice over): Steele didn't help matters when he recently told an interviewer that as an African-American he has a slimmer margin of error.
GOV. HALEY BARBOUR, FMR. RNC CHAIRMAN: When you are a fat redneck like me, and got an accent like mine, you can say, well, they're going to hold me to a higher standard.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Oh, Governor Barbour. While Steele takes center stage at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference, some other high- profile speakers have already sounded off in New Orleans, and their favorite target, President Obama.
Oh, we don't have that for you now. We'll grab that for you. A lot of folks have been talking and saying a lot down there, including Sarah Palin, who just spoke to the group yesterday. Michael Steele, of course, coming this afternoon we'll certainly bring you his comments and see what else is happening down there as far as calls for his resignation.
Quick break here on CNN SATURDAY MORNING. We'll be right back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Apparently not all you need. Sunshine's good, too. We have that coming in here in Atlanta. But that's actually an important song today.
HOLMES: Yes. Even if it's gloomy day, though, Brianna, all you need is the love.
KEILAR: That is true, that is true.
HOLMES: Yes, there's a reason for the song today.
KEILAR: 40th anniversary of the break-up of the Beatles. Just kind of sad and happy and I don't know.
HOLMES: All that stuff. Some people -- we weren't around for that.
KEILAR: No.
HOLMES: But I understand that people were distraught when this happened.
KEILAR: Yes.
HOLMES: Reynolds -- no, you weren't around for that.
WOLF: No, no, no, no.
KEILAR: Good save.
WOLF: There are really two kind of schools of thought, though. There are people that seem to be kind of into Beatles or they're Elvis people. It is like into one or the other. I have always liked Elvis. One reason why is because the Beatles broke up, but Elvis can't break up. Elvis can't break up with himself. Can't do that. When you are into Elvis, it is a good thing.
HOLMES: Perspective, Reynolds. That's why we love you.
WOLF: Got that right, man. Let's rock and roll and show you what's happening with the forecast today. Looks like things are going to be pretty good around much of the nation. One thing that will not be so great will be your pollen. We had some rain that moved through parts of the Southeast. Pollen in this part of the world has just been just oppressive. The showers are long gone.
High pressure's building in and with that we can expect the allergies to be tough for a lot of people. If you have been sniffling and sneezing and maybe the ragweed, plenty of it in the Southern tier of states. You get into parts of the Central Northern Plains, moderate activity, but we do have some scattered showers that can be expected in parts of the Northeast. With that, your pollen counts will not be quite as bad.
(WEATHER REPORT)
HOLMES: Given the economy right now, a lot of people would say it's a tough time to be trying to start a business. One man, in New Orleans, he doesn't believe that.
KEILAR: We are going to introduce you to the store owner who overcame Hurricane Katrina, a tough economy, and a lot of other obstacles to become a unique success story all with the help of a T- shirt.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) HOLMES: Well, here are some of the stories making headlines. Thirty high school students had a stun gun used on them and they asked for it, literally. A sheriff's deputy accused of using the stun gun on the students. He is suspended now for a week without pay. This happened in Leadville, Colorado, at a job fair.
Police say the students pressured the deputy into shooting them with this Taser because they wanted to know what it felt like. The deputy went as far, police say, as writing up his own waiver for them to sign. Two of the students suffered minor burns. The deputy now facing possible criminal charges.
KEILAR: Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will learn Monday whether he faces sexual assault charges in Georgia. That's when a news conference is scheduled by the district attorney, in Milledgeville, about 75 miles south of Atlanta. The D.A. will reveal results of an investigation into a 20-year-old college student's claim that Roethlisberger assaulted her last month at a nightclub in the town. Roethlisberger's lawyer has disputed the claim and he has hired his own team to investigate.
HOLMES: The Obama administration's race to the top education program prompting a march in Washington today. Protesters say it awards federal dollars to states based largely on how many public schools they disband and how many teachers they fire. The demonstrators say they want the Education Secretary Arnie Duncan fired.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: What do you say after that? I mean, that's ...
HOLMES: That's dramatic.
KEILAR: You have to deliver after you hear that music.
WOLF: Or just break into tears, either way. It's like, oh, my gosh I'm such a failure. How can I possibly live up to such music.
HOLMES: You can handle that. Good morning, to you, Reynolds.
WOLF: Good morning to you guys.
There's a reason why we have that music. That is the theme song to the '70s, maybe early '80s series "Dallas." We have a lot of things happening for Whacky Weekend events in Dallas. Starting off with what is happening in Grand Prairie. What's happening there? Try this, A Prairie Dog Chili Cook off. Not a chili made out of prairie dogs but they call it the Prairie Dog Chili Cook Off.
Chili is the official state dish of Texas as you can tell, and again, prairie dogs are not used. And also the world championship of pickled quail egg eating. Take 60 seconds and see how many you can eat and then enjoy the ride home. Great time for you, yeah.
Also let's switch gears a little bit. Let's go back over to New York. And in New York they have the annual blessing of the bicycles because what else would you do on a day like today? The Cathedral of Saint John The Devine, at 10:00 a.m. sharp, the big ceremony, great thing if you get the opportunity to head throughout. The bikes are sprinkled with holy water.
And then back in Texas what is going to take place tomorrow. Guys, this really, I think surpasses the big chili cook off. We are talking about Texas Stadium, the famous stadium that has the hole in the roof, it was the home of Dallas Cowboys, going down tomorrow. A lot of former Cowboys, including Roger Stauback (ph), very, very sad about this, to see this thing come down.
But again, if you happen to be a Redskin or maybe you happen to be, say, a fan of the Philadelphia Eagles, you are happy about this.
KEILAR: You'll be cheering it on.
HOLMES: We are a fan of that $1.2 billion, billion-dollar plus new Texas stadium that people love, as well. I always thought the old one was weird with the hole in the roof.
WOLF: It is kind of strange. People say the reason why they put the hole in the roof is so God could look through. But wouldn't God have X-ray vision anyway? Couldn't he see through without a problem? Just throwing it out there.
KEILAR: Random thoughts with Reynolds Wolf.
WOLF: Just playing with that one, but it is going to be taking place tomorrow. We'll have it for you. And it should be very interesting to say the least.
KEILAR: Very cool.
HOLMES: Appreciate you as always.
KEILAR: Thank, Reynolds.
Get ready far possible shake-up in Washington. Just yesterday Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak announced he will not seek a new term and the total of 35 seats up for grabs, 35 seats that don't have incumbents defending them. That is what we are going to be seeing that in the midterm election in November.
HOLMES: Josh Levs taking a closer look at these upcoming races and how that could all play out.
Hello again, Josh.
LEVS: Hey, gang. We have the big 35 numbers and then hundreds of incumbents working to hold on to what they have. How big a shake- up could there be in November? Answers for everyone across the country-- and for you, wherever you are, are right here. I'm about to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK) KEILAR: We are certainly used to shake-ups on Capitol Hill, but this is a pretty big one. Nine-term Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak, of Michigan, announcing that he is not seeking reelection and frees up another seat for November.
HOLMES: Democrats already had enough to worry about just defending some seats and now there are several that will be essentially vacating. How much can things change in the midterm elections? Josh Levs here with a few answers.
Good morning to you, Josh.
LEVS: Good morning to you, guys. For those of us, unlike Brianna, that don't pretty much live on Capitol Hill all the time. We have to check in on just how much those numbers are growing and how it can affect any are across the country, which is why I want to show you this. I'm glad it's up and running now. Because it is a great site that helps you keep track of everything leading up to November, including in your specific district.
Let's zoom right in. This is it, CNN.com/elections. It's all sorts of features here, but I'll focus on for now is this breakdown that we keep updating all the time. This is the House and showing you here the seats that have been vacated. And you are seeing it says 16 here and over here the blue representing the Democrats, the red representing Republicans. And within this we list each day and we update it right away including Bart Stupak.
Zoom right over here. They are not going to see all the words, but basically we continue to update every single list whenever anything changes in Congress. Here's how you can keep track of how it affects you, boom, a national map. Click on your state. It shows when the primaries are going to be and it shows what is happening with representation for your state. It's all on the address at your screen, CNN.com/elections.
Plus, keep in mind, we talk about November. Excuse me. But a lot happens before that. You're having all these key dates along the way so our timeline is up and running now. What states to watch out for on which dates. Which are the key races? Because leading up to November, based on what happens in a lot of these primaries we are going to start to get a sense of how things might change for you ultimately then.
And finally, I'm going to mention one non-CNN site here. Because it is a really good one, it is one we look at a lot. It is the Rothenberg Political Report. I'm betting that T.J. and Brianna watch, this as well. Rothenberg, what they do at this blog is they actually look at every single district and they judge which one is leaning towards, is it leaning Democrat or is it leaning Republican? All that information gets culled together and ultimately it helps inform us, as well.
Keep it here on CNN.com/elections any time you want to know what is likely to happen in your district in November, guys. KEILAR: So fascinating, these shake-ups we are seeing. Especially someone like Bart Stupak, because all of these questions about of whether the Democrats can hold on to the majorities and likely Stupak would have been re-elected.
LEVS: And by how much? As we know it is not just having a majority at this point in time, big as your majority that helps inspire how much you can actually get done.
KEILAR: Yeah. All right, Josh, thanks for taking a look at that.
HOLMES: The New Orleans Saints inspired the whole city after winning the Super Bowl, also helped one business owner overcome years of adversity.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: That's foot stomping jam, right there.
HOLMES: I never heard anyone describe Dolly Parton as a foot- stomping jam type of ...
KEILAR: It is. You can't help it, right? You are just tapping your foot. You got roll with the changes. That is the advice form a New Orleans business owner who is following his passion for art as a T-shirt designer and store owner.
Chris Range is his name, he faced a lot of obstacles after Hurricane Katrina, like so many others did, but like so many others, as well, he didn't give up. We'll let him tell his own story to you now.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
CHRIS REAMS, ENTREPRENEUR: My name's Chris Reams and I'm an artist. I might spend two or three hours on this design.
I was working on my masters' degree in mental health counseling. I was going to be an adolescent LPC, and I started to print T-shirts in my apartment.
Can you get that T-shirt order in yet?
I opened up about four months before Hurricane Katrina. You know, everything was going great. When Hurricane Katrina hit, I was actually in -- at a trade show in Las Vegas. I paid cash for everything so I didn't have any money left to rebuild that location, so we had to close after the storm.
After Katrina, my life was upside down. I started skipping and whistling. So I'm 6'4" skipping and whistling, at night down the sidewalk, but I was able to laugh at myself. And it made me feel good. So, well, you know, well, let's get this business back.
If I had any advice for anybody starting out, there's no time like the present. There'll always be war, economic down times. Things like that. Just do it. Do something that you love.
The Saints winning, it was awesome. It was awesome for every business in New Orleans. During the Saints, a couple of nuns came in here to buy the Jesus Loves Saints T-shirt. I design T-shirts. One of my biggest, best selling T-shirts was, you know, Jesus Loves The Saints. And black and gold, everybody wanted black and gold.
Thanks for coming into my store.
Yeah. Yeah. I had a business plan but I don't know how official it was. You have to roll with the changes. The hardest part about being the owner and the boss is I don't have anybody else to go to.
What I've learned is be frugal. Try to -- try to keep things streamlined as best you can. Because you never know when the hard times are going to come. And whenever you run a business like that, you're prepared better for when the storm does come.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
HOLMES: Hey there, everybody. From the CNN Center, this is CNN SATURDAY MORNING. It is 7:00 a.m. where we sit here in Atlanta; Georgia, 4:00 a.m. out West. Glad you could be here. I'm T.J. Holmes.
KEILAR: And thank you so much for starting your day with us. I'm Brianna Keilar.
One of our top stories today out of Tennessee where a mom shipped her son, her adopted son, back to Russia. She put that seven-year-old boy, you can see him there getting into the van, on a plane by himself with a note that said she didn't want him anymore. She said he was violent and psychotic. The big question this morning she commit a crime or just bad.
Also, let the battle begin. You thought the health care debate, that whole thing was a tough fight, well, getting ready for another one. Who will President Obama nominate to fill Justice John Paul Stevens' seat on the highest court in the land? We'll take a closer look at the possible names, some of those names, some of the faces, you are seeing there and the names already out there.
But first, we want to start with a breaking story this morning. News out of the Western Russia, in particular, where the president of Poland and the first lady of Poland have apparently been killed in a plane crash there along with some 87 others. Again, we have confirmation now from the foreign ministry that 89 people have been killed in this plane crash.
CNN's Phil Black joins us now live from London.
Phil, hello to you. What can you tell us about what they know so far as far about what possibly could have caused this crash?
PHIL BLACK, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, let's talk through it, T.J. The details only still just coming in, but what we understand is that this aircraft carrying this very high level polish delegation, as you said, including the President Lech Kaczynski. It was landing near Smolensk in Western Russia, in heavy fog, we are told, early this morning, and it appears that it had struck trees as it has descended just short of the runway. It didn't make it. And as a result, what we have seen pictures of the wreckage, and it strewn over a wide area and there is not much left of that aircraft.
And as you've said, we now know -- it's been confirmed that 89 people so far have been confirmed killed by the Polish foreign ministry. And it's possible those numbers will rise. There are reports that there were as many as 132 people on that aircraft.
Now, this large, significant delegation, as I say, not just the president on board, but we've heard reports of the governor of the Polish central bank, as well as the chief of their armed forces, MP ministers and so forth. They were traveling to Russia to attend a significant ceremony marking a very big event in Polish history. It was a massacre of Polish prisoners of war, about 7,000 of them or so 70 years ago by Russian forces.
That's why this large delegation was traveling. That's why they were traveling in these numbers, and it appears to have a terribly tragic outcome, T.J.
HOLMES: And, Phil, what kind of reaction are we seeing so far? Maybe from the Russian government but maybe, also, from the people of Poland right now?
BLACK: Well, the Russian government responded quickly. The Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has appointed to head up an investigation to find out precisely what happened. But within Poland itself, it really can't be overstated just how significant this is because you are looking at so many people in such a significant level not just the president but so many other members of the leading Polish elite. This is no doubt and will be a dark day in this Eastern European country's history, T.J.
HOLMES: All right. Phil Black for us this morning, really any plane crash and death sad situation, but real lay shock to lose a head of state like that. Phil, we're going to be checking in with you again this morning. Thanks so much.
A little background now on the Polish president: Lech Kaczynski. You've seen here there, born June 18th, 1949. He has actually an identical twin brother. The twins have been in the public eye since an early age, first rose to prominence as child actors before they got into politics.
You fast-forward from that early childhood, several decades later, and Lech Kaczynski became mayor of Warsaw in 2002. Three years later, ran for president as a social conservative promising a moral revolution. He won and he then quickly named his twin brother to prime minister and he served from mid-2006 until November of 2007.
We'll keep an eye on that still fast-moving story this morning.
Also, something pretty fast-moving from yesterday, a vacancy now we know will open up on the bench. I'm not talking about baseball here. I know it's the season, but Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens plans to retire this summer.
KEILAR: And then, of course, it's up to president -- President Obama -- to fill this latest vacancy.
And CNN's Sandra Endo in Washington. Good morning, Sandy. And what can you tell us about these potential nominees and how hard it's going to be for President Obama to get a green light for his nominee?
SANDRA ENDO, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, T.J. and Brianna, it is a unique year this year. And, Brianna, for you, this must feel like deja vu, because last year, we were talking about Sonia Sotomayor and her confirmation process. You were here on the Hill for that. And already, President Obama made his stamp on the high court by selecting her the first Hispanic to serve on the bench.
Well, now, the president has a task to fill the big shoes of retiring justice, John Paul Stevens, and he served the bench for nearly 35 years. He's turning 90 this month, and as the president said, he's leaving at the top of his game.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: I view the process of selecting a Supreme Court nominee as among my most serious responsibilities as president. And while we cannot replace Justice Stevens' experience or wisdom, I will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities -- an independent mind, a record of excellence and integrity, a fierce dead case to the rule of law, and a keen understanding of how the law affects the daily lives of the American people.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
ENDO: Now, this process is always very tough. But keep in mind, the backdrop of it all. This time around, it is an election year. So, the president will be very mindful in choosing someone who will be able to sail through the confirmation process without a huge political fight.
HOLMES: Well, President Obama's efforts -- again, Sandra Endo for us. We'll check in with you again.
And the president's efforts, the first time around to get somebody seated took about a month and a half. It was Judge Sotomayor -- you remember, it wasn't too long ago -- who's nominated by President Obama on May 26th, following the appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee and debate by the Senate. Sotomayor was confirmed on August 6th.
KEILAR: Well, another day of revving up conservatives at the Southern Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans. Former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin whipped up the crowd with choice words about President Obama.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
SARAH PALIN (R), FORMER ALASKA GOVERNOR: Now, a president with all the vast nuclear experience that he acquired as a community organizer, all that experience, still no accomplishment to date with North Korea and Iran.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
KEILAR: Palin also criticized the president's health care policy and national security.
Let's take a look at today's lineup. You have Representative Mike Pence, former Senator Rick Santorum, Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour, Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty. We've also got Representative Ron Paul. And very interesting, we are going do see the embattled RNC chairman, Michael Steele.
HOLMES: And drawing fire from both conservatives and liberals alike for his last-minute vote for the Obama health care plan, nine- term Democratic Congressman Bart Stupak of Michigan announced he is not seeking re-election to his House seat. Stupak says, after 18 years of public service, he feels he's accomplished what voters sent him to Washington to do.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
STUPAK: I wanted to leave a couple times but I always thought there was one more job to be done. Health care was always a major issue. In fact, some of my friends over here will remember this little pamphlet. It's one of my first election things: "Health care reform right now."
(END VIDEO CLIP)
HOLMES: Now, with the news of Stupak's retirement, the total number of open House seats in November is 35 -- Democrats with 16 of those seats to defend in the midterm elections. Republican haves 19 that they will need to defend.
As you have seen, the commercials for companies promising to consolidate your debts. It sounds like a good idea sometimes. But is it really?
KEILAR: We're going to ask financial analyst Clyde Anderson whether it is a good idea. He's going to give us the real skinny, the real answers on that.
HOLMES: He's coming up.
Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
KEILAR: Severe weather, not severe weather. Reynolds Wolf. WOLF: Yes. Yes, that's right.
(LAUGHTER)
WOLF: It feels like, you know, after hearing the theme music, you want to -- you want something that's going to live up to the expectation. Sometimes, it just doesn't meet it.
So, what we're going to do is we're going to start off things with just a very tranquil morning. Certainly beautiful out west in San Francisco where we have a shot from CNN affiliate KGO. This is not far from Pier 39. It looks pretty good across the Bay Area.
They might deal with some strong winds later on today, all across that region, southward to San Jose -- even to San Luis Obispo, you might have some gusty, breezy conditions, around 30 to 40 miles per hour, but nothing too bad.
As we head to the weather maps, we're going to show you the reason why we could see that strong wind is this area of low pressure that's going to be rolling right off the coast of California -- at least the northern half. And we could see some scattered snow showers up in parts of the Cascade. Not California but further to the north.
Meanwhile, back to the southeast, high pressure is going to be your dominating feature. And with the beautiful conditions for the Masters at Augusta, expecting 73 degrees, just pristine for you. You might actually need a little bit of sunscreen today for much of the eastern seaboard.
When you get up in parts of the Northeast where we could be seeing some scattered rain showers for you, from, say, (INAUDIBLE) New York back to, perhaps even to Maine even and to Vermont.
Now, for the Great Lakes, different story altogether -- scattered showers, not much in terms of thunderstorms, but at least some decent rainfall for parts of I-75, back into Detroit, even into Flint. And then back into the Rockies, we might see a few major -- easy for me to say, minor snow showers for places like up in Steamboat Springs, Colorado, where it seems as though the ski season will never end, which is great day for skier. They're going to be smiling today. But just light precipitation as I mentioned, and like outside of Salt Lake, it's basically the same thing.
Very quickly, 72 the high in Chicago today; 76 in Kansas City; 78 in Dallas; 77 in Houston; 57 in Billings; upper 50s for Seattle; and San Francisco back at 56. Then you head down to Miami and Tampa, mainly 70s and 80s, and 62 in New York.
So, all things considered, pretty nice day around much of the nation. Let's send it back to you guys at the news desk.
KEILAR: I this is what we need -- we need the new age music with the calming, soothing graphic for a day like today.
WOLF: We'll work on that for you. HOLMES: We appreciate that, Reynie. And, well, actually, Reynie, don't go too far. This might be something you're interested in. I don't think you're too much one of these carb-conscious guys. You know, some folks don't want the bun on their sandwiches because they don't want all the carbs. Well, they have a fix for this at KFC. There's a boneless chicken sandwich.
KEILAR: It's bouncy, too.
HOLMES: And it's bouncy. That's the key to any good sandwich, Brianna. But it has -- you have a slab of chicken, you have sauce, cheese, bacon, cheese, more sauce and then chicken. So, the pieces of chicken kind make up the buns.
KEILAR: And my favorite thing is that it has 1,380 milligrams of sodium, which is -- I mean, that's what you look for in any fast food sandwich.
HOLMES: Why do you have to ruin stuff for me here?
All right. But 540 calories -- is that good or bad?
KEILAR: My goodness. It's like in bread, it's just buns of fried chicken.
HOLMES: But they have a grilled version that's 460 calories. The other -- the fried, the one you're seeing there, 540 calories.
But, see, look at Reynolds.
KEILAR: Wait, that was 540 -- no way. Are you kidding me?
HOLMES: About the same as a Big Mac, Reynolds. Five bucks.
KEILAR: That defies common sense.
WOLF: That dreams do come true. This is the most incredible thing. If they could just get this thing and just wrap it in bacon, that would be just the best ever. I'd never leave the house. This would be just --
KEILAR: You like it that size, too, right?
WOLF: Oh, absolutely. Are you kidding me?
KEILAR: Poised to take a bite out of it.
WOLF: Oh, yes. My blood type is Ragu. I mean, the consistency of my blood is like toothpaste. Are you kidding me? It's putty. I mean, this is -- this is awesome stuff. Look at that.
HOLMES: I guess we are doing an advertisement for them if you will. But it does -- it's going to be on sale on Monday. So, guys, next weekend, we'll get us some. We'll have them for lunch here, off the air at noon next Saturday.
WOLF: Wow.
HOLMES: Unbelievable.
KEILAR: We're just presenting the facts. You decide.
HOLMES: Yes.
All right. Reynolds, we appreciate you. (INAUDIBLE) out of that.
WOLF: Wow.
HOLMES: Well, we're going to turn from that to the Supreme Court, the face of the Supreme Court is going to be changing real soon. Of course, with the resignation we just saw of Justice John Paul Stevens.
KEILAR: Yes. Who are the top candidates to replace him? Well, our Josh Levs has been looking at that.
Hi, Josh.
LEVS: I need Pepto-Bismol just from looking at those sandwiches just now. Oh, my goodness.
All right. Yes, the Supreme Court. Well, this is really interesting. One of the top candidates has no judicial experience, and while there are some things that these major candidates share in common, there are also some ways in which they could change the court. I'm about to show you.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Well, apparently, John Paul Stevens wants a vacation. And he is about to take one. There's an opening now at the Supreme Court. Justice Stevens says he is stepping down, going to go on vacation. So, who might join the high court now?
KEILAR: And Josh Levs has been taking a look at this, trying to figure out how this could affect the makeup of the court.
So, how might it, Josh?
LEVS: Yes, you know, it's interesting, because we do keep hearing this is probably the case, that big picture in terms of the ideological makeup of the court. No one's expecting a huge shift that Stevens in the end is considered a key liberal voice on the court and most of the major candidates would most likely be in the same similar camp on some major issues.
But I want to talk you through some of these interesting players that we're hearing about. You're going to be hearing a lot more about them in the coming weeks as things get closer to a potential actual replacement.
We're going to start off with our nation's solicitor general. Here she is, Elena Kagan. One of the big names we're hearing.
So, solicitor general, one thing she does is she argues cases for the federal government in the Supreme Court. She was a policy aide in the Clinton administration. She was also former dean of Harvard Law School, where, as we know, President Obama actually attended and studied. And she was a finalist last time around in 2009.
One thing that's interesting about her is that she doesn't have judicial experience. So, she would be bringing a different perspective, a different voice to the court.
Let's go over here to Diane Wood. This is someone who does have a lot of judicial experience. This is a judge in the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals and she's been on the bench for quite a while. We're talking about 15 years at this point. She's been there since 1995.
She also served under two different Justice Departments, Reagan and Clinton Justice Departments, and that might help convince some people that here is a woman who had support from, you know, a conservative Republican, as well, and seen more seen as ideologically in the middle in that sense.
Let's take a look over here, Merrick Garland. I have to time to touch on him. We'll take a look here. He is also a judge. U.S. Court of Appeals in D.C. there and he's been on the bench for a while, too, since 1997.
One thing that he did was he got a lot of praise for back when he was playing inside the administration, Justice Department, managing the investigation of the Oklahoma City bombing -- won a lot of support there. He was seen as tough and as successful.
So, guys, just three of the major players that we're hearing there. And in the coming days, we'll be telling you about even more of them.
KEILAR: And, Josh, one of the most interesting things about Stevens' retirement is religion, right? I mean, he is the last Protestant, is that right, on the court?
LEVS: It's so interesting. I mean, think back to the founding of America, right, and how critical this whole Protestant background is in the United States and in the day, back in the day the Supreme Court was all Protestant white men. He is now the only Protestant in our nation's Supreme Court.
And depending on who replaces him, there might no longer be even one Protestant on the U.S. Supreme Court. As it is, there's been a big, historic shift on the Supreme Court in that religious sense. And we'll see what happens with his replacement, if there's none at all. And half the nation is Protestant. It will be interesting, Brianna.
KEILAR: It is so interesting, especially Sonia Sotomayor, I think. You know, we talked about she was a Hispanic woman and we didn't talk about this issue. So, it's really intriguing.
LEVS: She's Catholic. And she helped move in the Catholic direction. That's right.
KEILAR: Yes. Thanks, Josh.
LEVS: You got it.
HOLMES: And some people wonder, you might be one of them, is it better to have a lot of smaller debts or to just have one huge debt?
KEILAR: Many families right now, they are faced with the tough choice of consolidating their debt. And financial analyst Clyde Anderson takes a look at what works best.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Here are some of the stories making headline this is morning.
It has a lot of people scratching their heads. A sheriff's deputy accused of using a stun gun on 30 high school students. Why? They asked him to.
He is now been suspended far week without pay. This happened at Leadville, Colorado, at high school there during in a job fair. Police say that the students pressured the deputy into using the gun on them because they wanted to know what it felt like. Well, two students ended up suffering minor burns. The deputy is facing possible criminal charges.
KEILAR: We will learn on Monday whether Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is charged with sexual assault. The district attorney in Milledgeville, Georgia, is planning a news conference for that day and he'll reveal the results of an investigation into a 20-year-old college student's claim that Roethlisberger assaulted her in early March in a nightclub south of Atlanta.
HOLMES: And the Obama administration's new education policy is prompting a march in Washington today. Protesters want the Education Secretary Arne Duncan fired. They criticize the Race to the Top program, saying it awards federal dollars to states based largely on how many public schools they disband and how many teachers they fire.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
HOLMES: Of course, a lot of people having money issues these days because of the tough economy. Sometimes when things get tough, people break out the credit cards, start using them like crazy, and end up too deep in debt.
So, what about debt consolidation once you get in trouble? What about those programs? That's where you get a big loan to pay off all those smaller loans.
Our financial analyst Clyde Anderson is here this morning.
Good to see you as always. We all these -- you see the commercials and you get all those fliers in the mail.
CLYDE ANDERSON, FINANCIAL ANALYST: Yes.
HOLMES: So, let's just -- on the surface, for the most part, it can work for some people. This can be a good deal.
ANDERSON: It can be. It can be a good deal for some people that feel like, hey, I can't get this under control. I need somebody to help me. Either negotiate lower interest rates or really just make it into one payment, like it's easy for them to pay it.
HOLMES: OK. We know there are a lot of companies. And that's the part you don't know who to trust. Everything seems like somebody's trying to get at you.
So, how do you know a reputable company from one you should probably stay away from?
ANDERSON: I mean, it's hard. You really got to go and be aware. You got to really do your homework, do your research. Look at Better Business Bureau, you know, "Consumer Digest," and really find out who's helped to other people in the past.
Also, ask people that you know. A lot of people have used these companies, and may not talk about it all the time, but they've used them. So, find somebody that you know and get a good reference.
HOLMES: All right. So many of us, we just get them in the mail and we discard them. We see the commercials. We don't really pay attention.
But then some people might wake up one day and say, you know what, that will work for me. Where do you go to even try to borrow this money? Where do you even start that shopping?
ANDERSON: Well, there's a couple different places you can do this. A lot of personal loan companies or even your banks.
Credit unions will lend you money to do that consolidation. And I love those because credit unions usually have the best interest rates. So, you go with something like that, and they'll consolidate the debt.
The problem is a lot of people never change those habits that they had to get into the problem in the first place. And I think that's key. You got to change your whole mindset. They have a new shift to understand that I can't keep charging like I used to and I can't, when that card gets paid off, I don't go back and charge again.
HOLMES: Now, clearly, there are so many companies out there we assume because it must be profitable for them to do this type of business. How much is it going to cost you? Because you do it to save money.
ANDERSON: Right.
HOLMES: But in the beginning, other costs associate up front or you're just paying certain interest rates?
ANDERSON: You do pay -- they're tacking on a little bit percentage unto what you're paying them monthly. A lot of times, they're tacking on 10 percent as a fee that you're paying. And also, on the other side, the credit card companies are going to pay them, as well. The credit card companies are happy to be getting some money. So, they'll pay this debt consolidation companies' money to make sure that they're getting the money from you.
HOLMES: How do you -- how do people qualify for this? I mean, can you get loans for up to -- I mean, all kinds of astronomical amounts and do you have to qualify them with some credit checks?
ANDERSON: Yes. They're going to do a credit check. But a lot of times, these people have already had dings on them. So, you're going to pay a little bit more sometimes for a debt consolidation loan. But it's the same, the credit union, generally they're going to want you to have a little bit better credit.
But there are some other companies that will give you a personal loan with a little bit higher interest rate that, you know, that you can handle to make sure that you can get those debts out of there and so you're not having all these debts with high interest rates just accumulate.
HOLMES: All right. Last thing here -- are there limits to what you can use that money for? The do they want to know for sure you're going to pay off this credit card and this card, do they want to know that upfront or are they just going to hand you a big check and you go do with it what you will?
ANDERSON: Generally, they're going to handle it. So, what will happen is, you're going to list all of your creditors. And they're going to really deal with those creditors directly to either lower the interest rates or just pay it off to make sure that they have that one payment.
So, you really wouldn't be handling the day-to-day. They would handle that. They get the loan for you. And then they'll make those payments.
HOLMES: All right. Clyde Anderson, good information this morning. A lot of people are, unfortunately, looking into this because of the economy. But still, it can help the folks out.
Clyde Anderson, of course, our financial analyst here with us every weekend. Good to see you as always.
ANDERSON: Pleasure to be here.
HOLMES: All right -- Brianna.
KEILAR: A successful surgery in London is grabbing international headlines. More ahead on this 14-hour operation that helped two conjoined twins begin a new life.
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KEILAR: This is a great story. Doctors in London, they successfully separated twins, conjoined twins. And this is video of them while they were still conjoined. So cute, 4 months old -- so cute.
HOLMES: Now, we see these every now and again. I mean, you have all over the world, certainly, very delicate procedures, but -- oh. Look at the little guy there. Oh my goodness. OK. That's kind of cute. That's kind of cute.
But they didn't share any major organs. The babies now are still in stable condition. They call them the two little fighters. They're grateful to the doctors and hospital. But again, we see this -- such complicated, such complex surgeries to separate them. And we have seen several successful ones over the years.
KEILAR: Yes, and they are in stable condition. So, this is the beginning of a new life for them -- a very good story.
HOLMES: Well, Brianna and I will be back at the top of the hour. More live news when CNN SATURDAY MORNING continues.
KEILAR: But, first, "SANJAY GUPTA, M.D." begins now.
